Everything around her funneled out as she stared at the lifeless man. Pale, blue eyes stared up at her, but they weren’t seeing anything. A crimson stain had already spread, soaking the carpet and everything else in its path like an expanding river.
She’d never seen a dead body before. It definitely wasn’t like the movies. His lips had started to turn a purplish blue and the paleness of his skin was like nothing she’d ever imagined. Now she understood the expression “deathly pale.”
The unnatural stillness of his body was something she doubted she’d ever forget. It was as if she were being smothered as she stood there. She needed to get out of there or she was going to be sick. Involuntarily, she took a step back, but let out a scream when a hand clamped on her shoulder.
“Alexis! What are you doing down here?” Hunter’s familiar voice grounded her.
She swiveled to face him and was thankful for his sudden presence. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
His expression immediately softened. “Come on.” He led her to the kitchen where she found Connor on the phone, Alan at the table, and through the window she saw Mike on a cell phone.
“Why don’t you take a seat?” Hunter urged.
She shook her head and leaned against the counter. “I’ll stand, thanks.” Her words sounded sarcastic, but she couldn’t sit still. Not when a dead man was in the same house as her and her son.
“What happened?” She looked at Hunter for answers.
“Marcus Foster broke in and Alan shot him.” He motioned toward the other man.
“How did he even get in?” She’d assumed with the DEA agents in the house, they were relatively safe.
“Wasn’t hard. He waited until he saw an opportunity, then came in from the most logical point of entry.” After he said the words, something indefinable flashed in Hunter’s eyes, but it was gone so fast she wondered if she imagined it.
“Do you think he’s the man who tried to kill us at the beach?”
Hunter nodded slightly. “That would be my guess.”
She shifted against the counter. “The other man, what’s his name…Davis? He wasn’t with him?”
Hunter’s jaw clenched. “Unfortunately, no.”
What little hope she’d had that all this might be over, vanished. When she’d seen the body, she’d been upset, but also relieved. She thought their nightmare might be at an end. “So what do we do now?”
“Connor’s calling the locals right now.”
“Don’t they have their own guys?” It wasn’t as if she knew much about DEA procedure, but she’d assumed they’d want to keep this quiet at least for a little while.
“He wants everything done by the book so later when—if—we make it to trial, nothing looks fishy. We discussed calling in the Feds, but things will be wrapped up quicker this way.”
She noted the admiration in Hunter’s voice and guessed he’d finally put his trust in Connor. If she was honest, she had too. The moment she’d met the man, her instinct had told her he was one of the good guys.
“And you agree?”
He shrugged. “It’s a good plan to bring Davis down. Once this crime scene is processed, the DEA is releasing Davis’s picture to the media. My guess is he’s somewhere close to us so it will only be a matter of days before this is all over.”
“And you’re sure no one else is involved?”
He shook his head. “Not entirely, but from the start it’s only been them after us. Anyone else connected to Davis or Foster is already dead.”
“Then we can go home?” Her heart rate increased at the thought.
“Even if we don’t catch him, I think it’ll be okay to go home. If it comes down to getting out of the country or going to jail, I think he’ll try to flee. Especially when we put his picture on the news.”
“And that’s a good thing?”
“All the major airports will be alerted. Everyone will be looking for him.”
A burst of hope jumped inside her. They could go home. Instinctively she reached out to clasp Hunter’s hand. He was focused on the window. Outside, she could see one of Connor’s men.
“Why is he still on the phone?” Hunter’s lips pulled into a thin line.
Outside, Mike was still on the phone, and to say he didn’t look happy would be an understatement. The light from the kitchen and one of the bright deck lights illuminated his red, mottled face as he yelled into the receiver.
Connor set his cell phone down and she watched an odd, wordless exchange happen between him and Hunter.
Hunter spoke first. “Who’s he talking to?”
She’d assumed he was on the phone with the locals. Obviously so had Hunter.
Connor paused too long. Even Alexis could tell he was holding something back.
Before anyone could react, Hunter was outside and had yanked the phone out of Mike’s hand. The young agent looked startled, then fearful as Hunter held it up to his ear and started talking. It was too far for her to hear, but she knew he’d tell her what was going on when he got back inside. For now, she was staying where it was warm.
“Who’s he talking to?” Alexis asked Connor, her voice low and unthreatening. She figured it couldn’t hurt to ask him. The worst he could do was ignore her.
He sighed and rubbed a hand over his stubbly face. “Our contact with the CIA.”
“What?” Alan, who’d been sitting quietly at the table, was suddenly alert and pissed.
“You’re gonna find out anyway,” Connor muttered and glanced back and forth between the two of them. “We’ve got a guy on the inside who’s been keeping tabs on the situation on their end, and Mike’s been staying in contact with him.”
“And you didn’t think it relevant to keep me informed?” Alan’s voice was heated.
Before Connor could respond, Hunter and Mike walked back inside. Both their faces were grim. Mike quickly moved to the other side of the kitchen and took a seat next to Alan.
“Why have you been holding out on me Connor?” Hunter asked as he came to stand next to her.
A shudder ran through Alexis at his deadly tone. His words were calm. Too calm. She could practically feel the waves of anger and aggression rolling off him they were so potent, and she had no doubt the other men could too. His dark eyes had a predatory gleam.
Connor had the decency to look embarrassed. “It wasn’t relevant to your case and I didn’t want you getting spooked and running because we’re involved with the CIA. Arresting an agent is serious, something I don’t need to tell you. We’re keeping both agencies in the loop on this one. Considering your history, I think you can understand my hesitation.”
Hunter might be angry, but the majority of that fire had died down. It probably wasn’t discernable to anyone but her, but she saw it just the same. She could read the nuances of his body as well as he could read hers. “Anything else I should be aware of?” he asked.
Connor shook his head. “No. The locals are on their way down to secure the scene. They only have three full-time officers, but since the identity of the victim is known, they don’t need to bring in any outsiders to handle this.”
“Uh, is the body going to be gone by the time my son wakes up?” Her question sounded crass, but it was hard to care about social etiquette.
“Probably.” Hunter answered before anyone else. “If not, I’ll make sure he doesn’t see anything.”
Despite their argument last night, she sent him what she hoped was a grateful nod. But she couldn’t smile or even fake one. Her lips just wouldn’t work that way. She pushed up from the counter. “If you guys don’t need me, I’m going to check on my son and try to get a few hours of sleep.”
The three other men grunted at her, but Hunter followed her to the bottom of the stairs. “Are you okay?”
“I hate to say this, but I actually am. Jonathan’s fine and that’s all I really care about at this point. I’m starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel.” She wrapped her arms around herself to ward off a shiver and to keep her hands to herself. Standing so close to him, it was impossible to ignore what his presence did to her. Knowing it would be one of the last times she had the chance, she wanted to reach out and run her hands through his messy blond hair.
“Tomorrow—today will probably be a madhouse with all the extra police presence, but at least we’ll have that additional protection. This is almost over. I promise.”
“I hope so.” And she did. No matter what Hunter decided to do with his life, she wanted to get Jonathan back to his.
“It is. Don’t worry.” The tone of his voice made her wonder if he was trying to convince himself as much as her.
As she started up the stairs he stopped her. “About what you said last night. I feel like I’m a broken record, but I am sorry. I know you don’t believe me, but one day you’ll be able to see I was right.”
Her stomach balled up hard but she stayed silent until he looked at her again. “Please don’t take this the wrong way because I’m not saying it to be cruel, but the only thing I’ll be able to see is that you were a coward.” She didn’t raise her voice and she held his gaze, wanting him to see how serious she was.
His head jerked back slightly. “Damn, Alexis. You don’t know what you’re saying.”
She sliced a hand through the air. “Don’t tell me how I feel or what I think. I know you, Hunter. Whatever you think you’ve done, I know that the man I love is still in there. After six long years you came back to check on me, to make sure I was all right. You didn’t know we had a son and yet you stepped in and have protected us both. You could have gone on the run, started a new life somewhere else, but you didn’t. It’s because you’re a good person. Not everyone would have come back after so long. I deal with abused women every single day. Trust me, a lot of men out there aren’t so chivalrous.”