“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 passed 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 ass 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 bloody 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 assassin 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.