Glenn came hustling into his office and closed the door. “Okay, what’s up?”
“I saw a man out in the parking lot tonight,” she said, jumping right into the middle of the subject. “He’s been stalking me for almost a year, and now he’s found me again. I have to leave.”
Glenn’s face went dark red. “Point him out to me, and I’ll make damn sure he never bothers you again,” he growled.
“You can’t protect me from him,” she said gently. “I don’t think even around-the-clock guards could stop him. The only thing I can do is stay one step ahead of him.”
“Have you been to the police?”
“Glenn, you know restraining orders aren’t worth the paper they’re written on,” she chided. “If he’s caught violating it, then it’s a felony misdemeanor or something like that, I don’t know the right term, but a restraining order never stopped anyone from doing something he really wants to do.”
He chewed on the reality of what she’d just said, scowling as he finally admitted she was right. “Damn, I hate to lose you. You’ve turned into a good waitress. Provided some entertainment around here, too. Got any idea where you’re going?”
Andie took a minute to get past the idea that she’d been providing entertainment, though she supposed he might have found a certain amusement in her threat to skewer some guy’s balls on a fork. “No, I’ll drive until I find somewhere that feels safe. I’ll shake him for a while, but he knows how to find people.” She knew exactly where she was going, but it was better that Glenn stay in the dark.
He heaved himself out of his chair and went to the electronic safe behind his desk. Keeping his bulk between her and the readout he punched in the numbers; there was a whirring sound, then a click as the lock opened. “Here’s what I owe you,” he said, counting out some cash from the day’s take. “Drive carefully, and God-speed.” He flushed again, then leaned forward and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “You’re a good woman, Andie. If you ever see your way clear to come back, there’s a job waiting for you.”
Andie smiled and impulsively gave him a quick, affectionate hug, then blinked back tears. “I’ll remember that. You take care, too.” She stopped suddenly, her gaze losing focus as she stared at him and through him. “You need to change your routine,” she blurted. “Stop taking the cash by the night deposit on your way home.”
“Well, damn it, when else am I supposed to take it?” he asked irritably. “The bank’s right on the way home and it isn’t as if I have a lot of time-”
“Make time. And use a different branch for the next week or so.”
His mouth opened, then he pressed his lips together in a grim line. “Are you having one of them visions?” he asked suspiciously.
“I don’t have visions,” she denied, her tone as irritated as his. “It’s common sense. You’ve been taking a chance going to the night deposit at the same branch every night, and you know it. Make better decisions, and you won’t get shot.”
She’d actually had the thought that he’d get knocked on the head and have a concussion, but getting shot sounded a lot more dramatic and serious, so maybe he’d listen to her. He still looked obdurate, so she muttered, “Go ahead and be bullheaded then,” and left his office before she started crying. She was really fond of the stubborn jackass, and she hated the idea of anything happening to him, but at the end of the day the decision was his, not hers.
She had enough big-time decisions to handle on her own, she thought as she trudged out to her Explorer. The other second-shift waitresses were leaving at the same time, so she wasn’t alone and she supposed that was as safe as she was going to be. She didn’t see him, but then she hadn’t expected to. He was gone. Just as she felt his presence, she also felt his absence. He didn’t know she’d seen him, and the cat had gone off to take a nap somewhere, confident the mouse would stay in its hole.
She felt oddly…calm, now that her decision was made. The first thing she would do was take care of dispersing that two million dollars, because if she got killed before she did anything then the money would just sit there, not doing anyone any good. St. Jude’s could always use the bucks, and she would be helping sick kids. There. Decision made. It was so easy she wondered why she’d wrestled with the problem for so long.
Her second decision was that she would never be free as long as Rafael was alive. He would keep the assassin hunting her, and in the meantime he himself would keep on bringing drugs into the country, ruining lives, killing people, while he raked in the dough. She couldn’t let him continue.
She’d been a coward when she lived with him, making sure she never looked deep enough to find any hard evidence that could be used against him, deliberately ignoring the opportunities she’d had to discover more about what he was doing. She hadn’t wanted to know, and as a result she had no knowledge she could take to the FBI that might result in his arrest. Rafael had the money to fight the legal system, anyway; even if he was arraigned, he could keep the case dragging on in court for a long time.
But she knew him, knew the brutality he hid under his three-thousand-dollar suits and designer haircut. She knew his ego, and the rules of the world he lived in. If he actually saw her, if he knew she was alive and right under his nose, it would drive him nuts. He might lose all sense of caution, because his machismo couldn’t tolerate letting her go. He’d stop at nothing to kill her.
The FBI might be able to keep her safe. She hoped so, but with a sense of fatalism she accepted that they might not. One way or another, though, she had to do what she could to stop Rafael, to break up his business. This, then, was the cost of her new life-and the price might well be her life.
25
AT FIRST HE THOUGHT SHE HADN’T SEEN HIM. RATHER, he knew she’d seen him, but he thought she hadn’t recognized him. He’d gone to his car immediately, swearing at himself for being so damned stupid as to stand outside knowing a lightning flash could expose him at any minute. He’d felt compelled to watch her, though, and in the end the temptation had been too strong; she’d been laughing, and he’d realized how much he wanted to hear her melodious laugh again. So he’d stood there for a minute, and the next thing he knew a sheet of lightning lit up the night and she turned to look out the window.
The parking lot was lit, but the rain had seemed to absorb a lot of the light and he’d parked in a deep well of shadows between two rigs, in the area normally used only by the truckers. He could still see in the windows, though; that and the area of shadow were why he’d chosen that spot. He lowered a couple of windows just enough to let in some fresh air and keep the windshield from fogging, then sat in the dark and watched, waiting to see if she ran, but she had gone back to work and for a little while he’d let himself think she hadn’t recognized him. Then his instinct kicked in; did he want to take that chance? The answer was a definite no.
He hadn’t wanted her to ever know he was watching her, watching over her. She was terrified of him, with good reason. The one thing he didn’t want to do was frighten her again, or cause her more pain. Now he thought he probably didn’t have a choice. He had to see her, let her know she had nothing to fear from him, before she ran again.
She couldn’t get away from him, unless she jettisoned the phone and the SUV at the same time and he wasn’t able to pick up her trail, which was unlikely. But she’d wear herself out running, and she wouldn’t let herself settle anywhere. Drea was a woman who needed to settle; she needed a home, and friends, a life where she felt safe and normal. He didn’t want her to live in fear; he didn’t want her thinking she had to run for her life.