Ring of Lies (36 page)

T
ears mingled with th
e flow of water from the shower
.
She washed them away along with her grief.
Jack was right
.
Daniel didn’t deserve her tears.
And this would be the last time she cried for him.
From now on she was going to live her life
,
her way.

Gradually,
her muscles relaxed and
the tension of the day
seeped away
.
She
stepped out the shower and vigorously rubbed herself dry.
A
pale
green
, silk and lace
bathrobe hung on the back of the door.
She held the fabric to her face.
No perfume linger
ed
in the folds.
S
he slipped it on,
cinching
the belt tightly around her waist.

She found Jack in the kitchen
.

‘
Here, drink this,
’
he said
and handed her a
steaming
cup of coffee.

She took a sip.
The alcohol burned her throat and made her cough.

‘
This is lethal, what’s in it
?
’

‘
Brandy, it was all I could find.
’

‘
You
r jeans are
wet
through
, Jack
.
Why don’t you go and change
?
’

‘
I’m a whole lot tougher than you
are
, Grace.
A little
cold
water won’t do me any harm.
Whoever was out there just now, will be back.
Keep the drapes closed and stay away from the
doors and
windows.
’

‘
Isn’t it a bit late for
precautions?
’

‘
It’s never too late.
Besides,
I don’t want
some drug crazed or trigger happy criminal
letting off a shot every time a shadow crosses
in front of a
window.
’

Grace swallowed her fear, determined that Jack shoul
dn’t see how rattled she felt.
‘
How
…
how
do you know that
the people on the boat
weren’t
teenagers
mucking about or fishermen out for a night’s sport?
’

‘
Since when did fish
start
crawl
ing
out of the ocean
and wait
ing
on
the beach
to be caught
?
’

Grace went still.

Jack finished his
coffee and put the mug in the sink
.

‘
Look, I’m not trying to frighten you any more than you already are.
I’m just telling you how it is.
Th
e
guys on the boat were interested in
two
thing
s
. S
and Dollars
and who might be inside
.
’

‘
If it’s so dangerous we
should
move into a
hotel.
’

‘
I
f we did, we’d never find out who is behind this scam
or
who killed your husband.
’

Startled by his comments, Grace’s mug clattered down on the counter.

‘
Daniel’s death was an accident!
’

‘
Says who?
’

‘
The police
and the
c
oroner.
He was driving too fast and lost control of
his
car.
’

‘
Accident
s are easy to fake
.
Shoot out a tyre, just before a
bend
and
the driver will lose control
.
O
r tamper with the steering
, cut a brake cable
—the result will b
e the same—you’re dead
.
’

Grace
wrapped her arms around herself in defence
.
She
fought the impulse to run out of the door and keep on running.

‘
You’re
…
you’re making some rash
assumptions.
’

‘
Y
ou’re
a smart woman
, Grace
.
Way t
oo smart to say that.
Do
you really think Daniel’s death was an accident after everything that’s happened to you
in the last few days
?
’

‘
I—
’
She chewed on her lower lip, her gaze fixed on him.
‘
I don’t know.
’

‘
Sure you do.
And you know something else.
The bad guys aren’t going to stop un
til they get their money back
.
If that means killing you too, they won’t hesitate
, which is why I’m calling Mike and asking for
back-up
.
’

She
looked away.
The harder she tried to ignore the truth the more it persisted.
She’d asked for Jack’s help.
The fact that he was destroying her world tiny piece
by tiny piece wasn’t his fault.
There was no anger in her voice, just acceptance.

‘
What do you need me to do?
’

‘
I need you to put on an act.
’

‘
What sort of act?
’

‘
We take control.
You’re the one who
has
the money.
So when they
make contact
, you tell them y
ou’re not going to hand it over without some guarantees for your safety.
’

‘
And if I don’t get them?
’

‘
Then
there’s no deal.
Instead, y
ou
pass on whatever information
we’ve uncovered
along with
the cash
to the
g
overnment
,
and we bury you in the witness protection scheme.
’

‘
But won’t they know I’ve talked to the FBI?
’

‘
We’ve been careful. I
see no reason why they should.
’

Grace tried to measure the risk rationally
.
If
she walked away chances are she woul
d end up like Daniel, her body broken and crushed beyond recognition.
If she stayed her life
would still be in
danger, but
with Jack to protect her, the odds were
marginally in her
favo
u
r
.

‘
It’s your call
, Grace
.
I can have you on a plane and out of the
state
within the hour
.
Or you can stay, and we bring Daniel’s killers to justice.
The choice is yours.
’

She offered him a bleak, tight light-lipped smile.

‘
I’ll stay.
’

‘
Good.
Mike will have two other agents here by morning.
In the meantime,
you and I
get to share
a room.
’

She grasped the collar of t
he bathrobe
and held it tightly against her throat.

‘
Now just—
’

Jac
k’s smile was almost apologetic
.