Elite Ops: Black Jack Part 13

"What do you want?" Wariness filled her voice.

"You," he answered her. "Are you following me or do I follow you?"

She didn't answer. The powerful engine kicked in. Travis followed suit and started his own bike with a flick of his wrist.

He was ready when she moved. She shot ahead of him like a rocket, a black shadow burning down the road, her lithe body lying over the breast of the bike, shifting and flexing with innate grace.

"It looks as though I'm following you then," he commented through the link.

"If you can." There was a chill to her voice that had a hint of concern brewing inside him.

"Easy, Lilly." He kept his voice casual, soothing. "I'm not a threat to you."

How many years had he worked to gain her trust? Definitely the entire time Elite One had been training her team. A full year. And during that time he had laid the foundation that he'd only built upon in the years after that.

"No, you're not a threat to me," she agreed. "And I won't let you become one."

She sped up as she took the exit to I-81. Traffic was moving quickly, but Lilly was moving faster. Travis stayed close behind her, his attention on their speed, their location, and the display in his helmet that would tag any law enforcement vehicles that could catch sight of them.

"Lilly, we're coming up on radar," Travis warned her as his display indicated the speed check ahead.

She eased back as they pa.s.sed the first state police cruiser on the other side. Once he was clear, she shot back into high speed and continued to try to shake Travis.

"It's been nice riding with you, Lilly," he told her five minutes later as she hit 71 and began to head toward the state line. "I'd hoped we could talk."

There was silence for long minutes.

"I have a cabin." Her voice was low now, confused, breaking his heart with just a hint of tears. "I have a cabin, Travis," she repeated.

She didn't sound broken, she didn't sound scared. She sounded lost, and that was harder to hear than the former.

"Slow down, Lilly, if you want me to follow you."

Instinct was all well and good, but she didn't have knowledge, not yet. Without knowledge of the powerful machine she was riding, instinct might not be enough to keep her alive.

Ahead, she slowed until he caught up with her. Pulling in beside her, he glanced over to see nothing but the black shadowed visor pulled over her face.

He heard her breathing hitch, though, and he sensed her tears.

Lilly wasn't a crier, he'd learned that. She would lift that stubborn little chin and hold back the tears if it meant death. She had a backbone of steel and a sheer iron-strong core of determination that had had him clenching his teeth in frustration more than once.

Following her along the highway, he crossed the state line out of Maryland into Pennsylvania with her, staying silent as they made their way toward the West Virginia line.

Their absence would be noted, but he'd been ordered to figure out what she was hiding.

That was his mission and that was where he would lay the blame for his disappearance. He just hoped she'd been smart enough to cover her a.s.s with her family.

No doubt she had. No one had ever accused Lilly of being stupid.

Her voice was hollow in the link. "I know where I am. I know where to turn. What to watch for. I know I've been here before, but I don't remember why or when."

"Who am I, Travis?" she asked him then.

"A partner," he said softly, his gaze trained on the road as they took an empty exit and hit a narrow two-lane road.

The paved road soon turned into an unfinished lane, then gravel. They had to reduce their speed drastically, until they were creeping beneath the heavy branches of the sheltering trees that surrounded the lane.

Travis almost missed the turnoff to the cabin. He may well have missed it if he wasn't following Lilly.

They parked the bikes beneath a small garage at the side. Swinging from the seat, he watched curiously as Lilly headed toward the entrance of the parking bay, reached up and pulled down the garage door before securing it to the ground.

She didn't speak, just turned and pushed open the heavy entrance door before stepping inside.

Lilly stared around the single-room cabin. A small gas stove, which explained the gas tank in the rough garage outside. A woodstove, a table pushed against the wall and two chairs, a large bed on the other wall, and a bathroom beyond.

It was a safe house, nothing more. It wasn't a home. It was a place to retreat and hide.

She turned to Travis, staring at him silently as he removed his helmet and set it on the small table by the door.

"Nice." He looked around before his gaze came back to her. "Have you ever stayed in the winter?"

Had she?

She lifted her shoulders in a heavy shrug. "I don't remember."

She was staring around her, knowing where everything was hidden. Cash, ammo, weapons, and clothes. IDs, phone numbers, a laptop, and disconnected satellite and cell phones.

There were canned goods in a tiny, narrow cupboard by the stove. There was a fresh underground spring that fed water into a well. There was hot water, clean towels, fresh water, and a measure of safety because no one had known about it but her. And now Travis.

She pulled the helmet from her head and stared around curiously. Who was the woman who had needed this refuge?

She turned to Travis. "A high-priced call girl wouldn't have a safe house, would she?"

She watched, her heart heavy, as he turned away and stared around once again.

"You're not going to tell me anything, are you? Can you tell me this? Why are you here?

What hound do you have in this hunt, Travis?"

She watched his lips quirk. "It's been a long time since I've heard that phrase."

Her father had often used it.

"That doesn't answer my question," she told him.

He shook his head before staring back at her, his golden eyes dark now, concerned. "I can't answer your question."

"Who can, then?" she asked. "Somehow, I don't think my former employers can."

He snorted at that. "I wouldn't ask them."

She nodded slowly. "I'm in danger then."

"Someone tried to blow your head off, Lilly, what do you think?" he asked quietly. "You're in danger, there's no doubt about that. What sort of danger you're in is the question."

"And you can provide no answers?" she guessed.

"No," he finally said, sighing.

"It's a b.l.o.o.d.y messy situation," she bit out with a hint of the anger building inside her now.

"Everyone's watching me, yet no one is willing to help me. What sort of threat do I represent, at least?" she demanded.

"The threat isn't the problem, at least not yet." He scratched at his jaw thoughtfully as he watched her.

"The a.s.sa.s.sin and the reason why he attempted to kill me is the problem then, correct?"

Travis nodded slowly. "If you remember, Lilly, if you remember anything, for both our sakes don't allow anyone but me to know it."

"Why you?" Lilly moved across the small room to the cabinets over the stove and pulled free a bottle of her favorite whisky.

Turning, she lifted the bottle to him in invitation. At his nod Lilly took two gla.s.ses from the cabinet, rinsed them, then poured the drinks.

"You didn't answer me," she reminded him as she handed him a gla.s.s. "Why should I trust only you?"

Travis stared back at her, seeing Lilly rather than Lady Victoria as she stared at him, her green eyes flat and hard.

"Because if you think about it, if you remember or suspect anything about the past six years, then you know there wasn't a chance in h.e.l.l that I was the one to betray you."

She sipped at the whisky, her gaze never leaving his for long moments as she considered his answer.

"You suspect whoever killed Father and attempted to kill me six years ago managed to find me?"

"It makes sense to me." Travis shrugged his jacket off and tossed it to a nearby chair. "The day before you were shot, the doctor who supposedly did your plastic surgery was killed in a fire that destroyed his office and all his records. Somehow, someone has learned too much information about you, Lilly."

Picking up his drink, Travis watched as Lilly leaned against the counter, sipped her drink, and stared at him thoughtfully for long moments.

"Supposedly," she finally murmured. "Does that mean he didn't actually do the surgery?"

He inclined his head in agreement. "Certain steps were taken to ensure your ident.i.ty was well hidden."

"That's a lot of trouble to go to for a high-priced escort," she drawled sarcastically.

Travis merely quirked his lips in amus.e.m.e.nt. She knew as well as he did that she had never sold her body.

She had shared her body with him, though. She had given him her innocence and formed a bond between them that he still didn't completely understand.

Finally, when he said nothing more, Lilly shook her head before finishing her drink with a small grimace.

"Then I need to find my father's killer to find my own," she stated. "I imagine that killer is also the person behind the embezzling Father was investigating six years ago?"

Travis nodded. "That's what I think. I suspect the killer has been tracking you for the past six years."

Lilly's quick little exhalation, a mocking sound, had Travis almost grinning. That sound normally indicated a flare of irritation.

"Father drove himself crazy searching for the person responsible for the embezzling." She pushed away from the counter and paced across the room, a thoughtful frown marring her brow. "And I have no doubt MI5 has continued the search."

"No doubt." Travis's gaze focused on her a.s.s beneath the snug leather pants as she paced.

The sight of it was enough to steal a man's breath.

"If Mother suspects I'm investigating what happened six years ago, then she'll have me hospitalized for sure." She shook her head, the silken strands of dark hair rippling against her shoulders, tempting his fingers.

"Did your father have any suspects?" Travis asked, attempting to pull his attention back to the subject.

"Several," she admitted as she turned back to him. "He just hadn't given me names. I was still being trained. Certain information MI5 was hesitant for me to have. Father followed those dictates."

"Did you have any suspects?" he asked.

Lilly paused at that.

"Lilly, now isn't the time to hold anything back," he warned her.

Her arms crossed over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s defensively.

"There was no one person that tied into all the accounts targeted," she answered, her expression mutinous. "My original suspicions were way off base because of that."

"And they were?" Travis pressed.

"My uncle, Desmond, and my brother. Other than my father, they had access to the Harrington funds that were targeted but not to the other targeted accounts."

"Your brother Jared works for a very exclusive law firm," he pointed out. "The clients targeted were also represented by that firm."

Jared Harrington as well as his uncle Desmond were still suspects as far as the Elite Ops were concerned.

"Yes, but not all of them. At least three other families who had no such connections were targeted as well," Lilly said. "Besides, Jared wouldn't have done such a thing. He especially would have never killed Father."

"Yet you suspected him of embezzling," he pointed out. "He and your father argued often about the business as well as about the t.i.tle."

"Jared wouldn't kill Father . . ."

"You're defending a man who essentially disowned you." Anger surged through Travis at her defense of the other man. "Perhaps he wants you dead, Lilly. With you out of the way, he doesn't have to share the Harrington inheritance."

"Stop." He could see the pain glittering in her eyes now. "Jared wouldn't do it. I know he didn't because Father and I eliminated him and Uncle Desmond as suspects."

Travis's lips thinned. As far as he was concerned, Jared and Desmond Harrington were still at the top of the list.

"Stop!" She lifted her hand as his lips parted to argue further. "I'm certain I can easily prove Jared isn't involved. But to prove it, I'll first have to gain access to the family financial vault. It should be easy enough. I know Desmond and Jared share the online financial vault.