Sealed In Lies (18 page)

“
Jesus,” he said softly. “Are you crying?”

Caroline didn’t answer. She just cried harder. Jack automatically went to take her in his arms. A crying woman was always his undoing, but he was stunned when screamed at him and pushed him away.

“
NO! Don’t touch me.” Her tear streaked face stared right at him. Her bright green eyes glowed angrily in the darkness. “I’m sick to death of being pawed by violent sex starved men. I may be your captive but I will not be your whore! You will have to kill me first.”

“
My what?” Jack was surprised at how stung he was by the rejection. He knew what she went through in the last few days, or at least he suspected he did. He was only trying to offer her some comfort and she just accused him of trying to attack her. “What the hell are you talking about? Are you crazy?”

Tears choked her voice. “All men are alike. They live for two things, power and sex. If they can’t have it they take it from whomever and whenever they please. They think women are just weak little kittens that will lie down and take whatever they dish out.

“
They do stupid shit, like putting tracking devices in our arms and treat us like some kind of animal. I will not be someone’s pet!” She twisted her arms around in the cuffs trying to dig at the bandage on her arm and get to the chip she now knew was lodged there.

Jack was becoming a little alarmed. Had she completely gone over the edge? He certainly couldn’t blame her, but he didn’t need her to break down right at this particular moment. He wanted to slap her but he was afraid that would make the situation worse, so he did the next best thing. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her, hard.

“
Caroline, listen to me.”

Caroline just shook her head back and forth and wailed, “No, no, no! I won’t listen, I won’t. I’m sick of being someone’s puppet.”

He shook her again, harder. “Caroline, we have got to go. Get yourself together. I don’t know what you thought I was going to do, but I assure you I will not hurt you. If you cooperate, I promise I will not hurt you. Let me get this car moving and we will find a safe place to stop and talk about this some more. Do you understand me?”

Caroline was still sobbing but she now only hung her head and rocked silently back and forth on the seat.

“
Caroline, nod if you understand.” She nodded. “Okay, I’m going to get out of the car and scrape the ice off the windshield. Are you going to be okay? I don’t want you trying to dig that chip out of your arm while I’m gone. You understand?” She nodded again.

Jack released her shoulders and picked up the ice scraper that had fallen on the seat between them. A wave of guilt washed over him as he watched that poor woman rock back and forth on the seat, one hand unconsciously picking at the edges of the bandage. He prayed she wasn’t going into shock. He wasn’t sure he had the time or the skill to deal with that tonight, and he couldn’t risk taking her to a hospital. Reaching behind the seat of the Pathfinder he grabbed a blanket that was lying on the back seat. He threw it over Caroline’s shoulders and wrapped it tightly around her body, tucking the edges under her legs. That would have to do for now.

Slipping out of the seat, Jack took the scraper and began to chip away at the ice on the windshield. The car warmed up during Caroline’s outburst and that made the ice much easier to scrape off. Within minutes, the front windshield and the back window were completely clean. He jumped back into the driver’s seat and backed slowly out of the parking space. He knew where he wanted to go and wanted desperately to stay off the main roads, but feared they were not salted or cleared. Knowing it was probably a bad decision, he headed for the highway.

The roads were indeed slippery and Jack needed to concentrate fully on his driving. Caroline calmed a little and sat in the seat next to him with her head pressed against the window. She stopped the rocking and those hiccuping, soul wrenching sobs were replaced with sniffling. When he could steal a glance away from the icy roads, he could still see tears leaking out of her eyes and plopping on her sweatshirt.

They’d traveled south about an hour when they reached an area of the state that wasn’t quite as icy, and Jack turned to look at Caroline. She was still leaning against the window her breath making foggy patches on the glass. She stared straight ahead.

Jack pulled out his cell phone. Punching in a number he listened as the line rang on the other end. A voice answered. “Hello?”

“
Hey, Luce, it’s Jack.”

“
Jack? Are you on a non-traceable?”

“
Yes, it’s safe.”

“
My God, Jack, are you alright? I’ve been following the bulletins. You are one seriously wanted man. What the hell happened in Colombia?”

“
I can’t go into all of it right now, Lucy. I need another favor.”

“
Anything, Hon. You know that.”

“
It might involve aiding and abetting. You still interested?”

“
Just tell me you’re innocent and I’ll do anything I can to help you.”

Jack chuckled. “Thanks for the show of faith. Lucy, I am innocent. I did kill Larsen but he drew down on me first. I’ll explain it all later but as I told you, before I left Colombia, there is some serious stuff going down in D.C. and I’m going to need someone inside to help me break it out into the open. I also need some money and a place to hideout for a while.”

“
Where are you?” Lucy’s voice was filled with concern.

“
I’d rather not say, for obvious reasons, but I want to use the cabin. Do you still have it?”

“
Yes, but its probably in pretty bad shape. I haven’t been there in years.”

“
That’s okay. It still has electricity doesn’t it?”

“
Yes, I still pay to keep the power on. I’ve been meaning to cut it off for over a year, but I just haven’t done it. There’s no water though. I cut it off because the plumbing springs so many leaks. Call me when you get there and I will call the water department and have them turn it back on. You could use the old well pump to get water while you wait on the county, but I’m not sure it still works.”

“
I need some money. I’ve got about ten thousand in cash on me, but I’m planning to need that before too long. I’ve got to go to ground, Lucy. I cannot be found until I solve this thing. I wish I could tell you more, but not yet. The less you know the better.”

“
Give me a name and I’ll set up an account for you at the bank near where you will be.” Jack could hear Lucy fishing around for a piece of paper and a pencil. He smiled into the phone. She never had pencil and paper when she needed it.

“
Kevin Johnson. Don’t move money from my account. Put in clean money and I’ll get it back to you when this is all over. Okay?”

“
Okay. Jack, tell me one thing. Do you have Caroline Walters with you?”

Jack looked over at Caroline. She was looking at him now, her eyes were red and puffy, but her expression was slightly curious. “Yes.”

Lucy let out a huge sigh. “Are you crazy? You of all people know what Warren is capable of. What were you thinking?”

“
Lucy, I didn’t have time to think. I acted; besides, I’m probably going to take care of that situation very soon. It’s slowing me down.”

Caroline sat up, staring at him with wide eyes. He kept his eyes turned toward the road.

“
Jack, you are in really deep shit. You know that don’t you. I’m scared for you.”

“
It’s going to be okay, Luce. I just need some time to sort this all out. If I can go to ground deep enough and long enough, I think I can makes sense out of the entire mess. Can you keep your eyes and ears open? I hate to ask you, but I don’t trust anyone else.”

“
I’ll keep a watch on things here. We have some heavy-duty cases of our own right now. Jack, the brass will figure out our relationship soon, if they don’t know already and know you will contact me at some point. I’ve got make sure they don’t find out we’ve spoken. From now on use this number. Ready?”

“
Go ahead.”

“
8135489765. Got it?”

Jack repeated the number and committed it to memory. “Got it.”

“
Be careful, Jack. I love you.”

“
I love you too, Luce. I’ll be in touch.”

Chapter 20

Jack snapped the cell phone shut and placed it in the cup holder next to him. He hated to get her involved, but he knew at the same time Lucy could take care of herself. She was one top-notch special agent and she understood how things worked on the inside. If anyone could help him she could. He was just going to have to move slowly and cautiously.

He looked over at Caroline. She looked back. Her eyes were still red and puffy but they looked a little clearer. “You better?” he asked.

When she spoke her voice was hoarse. “A little.”

He was silent for a moment and then he said, “I’m going to let you go.”

Caroline stared at him. “You’re what?”

“
I’m going to take you as far as the next city and drop you off somewhere safe. You’re a liability to me now. That chip in your arm changes everything. I can’t go underground and do what I have to do when you’re there like a damn blinking arrow pointing right at our location.”

Caroline looked down at her bandaged wrist and frowned. Her mind began to race. While Jack drove, she thought. Warren would locate her again. He would find her and take her home to that prison where she would continue to be his private punching bag. He would parade her around like some prize pedigreed dog on a leash for everyone to see. Once they made it to the White House it would get worse. They’d be in a fish bowl. Is that what she really wanted?

Who was she kidding? She didn’t have a choice. Warren told her that he would kill her if she tried to divorce him or caused him any public embarrassment. She was trapped with no way out.

As she listened to Jack’s conversation with someone named Lucy she wondered who the woman was. It was obvious she means a great deal to Jack. His voice was so gentle when he spoke to her. It was completely opposite from the steely coldness she’d heard in his voice right before he killed that man. Caroline shuddered. He was a puzzle, this Jack Weaver. He was capable of killing a man in cold blood one minute and then he was able to talk to this woman like she was the very lifeline he held on to.

Her jealousy surprised her. She was envious of this Lucy, who could have this man speak to her with such love in his voice. She wanted that. She wanted a man who could cherish her and make her feel like a princess, not one who terrified her and kept her dreading the minutes until he arrived home. She wanted children, quiet family dinners, noisy Christmases, and PTA meetings. She wanted to make crafts and knit baby booties.

She would never have that with Warren. If they ever did have a child together, and thank God they hadn’t, family time would be forced and awkward.

Suddenly she was engulfed by the memory of her miscarriage last year. She remembered the pain she’d felt at losing her child. When her fallopian tube ruptured and she was rushed to surgery she hadn’t known what was wrong at the time. When she awoke in recovery, the nurse gently told her what happened. Even though the child was but an embryo, it was still a baby to her and she grieved for it. She grieved for the loss of that little life, but at the same time she was glad.

Warren couldn’t be trusted with children. What if he beat them and abused them they way he did her? She was not strong enough to stop him. She hated herself for being so weak. She pressed her closed fist to her mouth fighting back the tears. She would not break down again.

“
What’s wrong, Caroline?” Jack looked anxious. “Are you sick?”

Caroline looked slowly over at him and shook her head. Her eyes met his and she held his gaze for a long time. She was curious about him. How different was he from the man she married? He was better looking than Warren. Jack was as dark as Warren was fair. His bald head was sexy and gave his sharp nose and strong square chin more prominence. Warren’s eyes were cold and icy blue. Jack’s could be two colors, black when he was angry, and a warm soft brown when he wasn’t. She was looking into the non-angry eyes right now.

Jack knew she wanted to say something. “What?” he prompted.

“
Did you kill both those men back at the hotel?” Why it mattered to her she couldn’t say, but she had to know.

Jack didn’t respond right away. He turned his attention back to the road and was silent for so long Caroline thought he wasn’t going to answer her.

“
No,” he finally spoke.