“Adam?”
“Mmm?”
She took a deep breath and held it, busy trying to find the right words. Her mind was a mess.
“What is it?” He rolled her onto her back and loomed over her, eyes serious.
“What happened last night?”
“Well, I was trying to figure out what was best.”
“For you.”
“No.” He shook his head, brows drawn tight. “For us. I only want what’s best for us, Louise. Always.”
Her hands cupped his face, the stubble on his jaw prickling her skin. “That doesn’t work, Adam. You making the choices. It can’t work.”
He said nothing at first. Lay back down, drawing her back in against him, her head cushioned on his biceps. “We’re going to have to trust each other.”
“Yes, but trust takes time.”
He made a noise. It could have meant anything or nothing at all. Annoying man.
“Adam, I’m kind of crazy about you. But you…” She hesitated again, not knowing how to tell him what was filling her head. Her heart. The alcohol had loosened her tongue and it was all there, ready to pour out of her. A torrent of emotion. She should be careful not to drown him.
“But I what?” he prodded.
“Look. Just…don’t disappear on me again. Stay with me. Whatever’s going on, we’ll handle it together. Okay?”
Her husband pulled her in tight against him. Held her so hard her ribs creaked, but she didn’t protest.
“Okay,” he said, his mouth warm against her ear. “I swear.”
Chapter Seven
Day Seven
Adam left his wife sleeping in bed, crept out before she woke. But not in the usual avoiding her, doom-and-gloom disappearing trick. On the bedside table he left a box of aspirin tied with a bow and next to it a glass of water. Sure, the bow was a shoelace, but she would understand. They were okay. And they were going to stay that way.
Whatever Louise was keeping hidden, he would find out about it and deal with it. Keep her safe.
They might have only been together for a week, but he knew his wife. She was a good person. Whatever skeletons lurked in her closet couldn’t begin to stack up against his.
So while it might be preferable for her to tell him in her own sweet time, he wouldn’t be waiting around. If she hadn’t been afraid, it might have been a different story, but she was. His wife was scared of something, and it wouldn’t do.
He found the person he needed lounging against a shuttle, flicking through reports on his com unit. How the man could manage to look as if he had a cocktail in his hand in the middle of the hangar, he had no idea. It seemed a gift peculiar to Nathan Hillier. Because of his dapper ways, many had underestimated him—to their loss.
“We need to talk,” he told the chief.
Nathan cocked a brow. “We tried that. I don’t think I’m up to another scuffle just yet. The rib still hurts. They had to tape it.”
“Don’t be such a baby. And I mean talk about Louise. She needs help.”
The chief straightened and slipped his com unit into a pocket. “What do you need?”
“Information. A full background check.”
“How deep we going to have to dig, Ad?”
Adam stared off into the distance. A storm was drawing closer. He could see it gathering, through the wide hangar bay doors. Heavy gray clouds hung low over the equally gray landscape. A shuttle powered up not too far away, the whine of the engines loud enough to make conversation an issue. Lights flashed red and white as it moved slowly out and mechanics scurried out of its path.
“She got out here,” he said, raising his voice to be heard above the noise. “Got through all those background tests. I’m thinking whatever we’re looking for, it’s not going to be just lying around, waiting for us to find it.”
“All right, let’s bring Bon in on this. Might be useful to have the questions coming from corp security.”
Adam nodded slowly. “Louise isn’t her real name. I’m sure of it.”
The chief narrowed his eyes on him. “Is she your wife, Adam?”
He got what the man was asking him, and there could only be one answer. “Absolutely.”
“Well, all right then. Let’s get to work.”
Something hit Louise’s face. Hard. It smacked into her cheekbone, sending pain streaking through her. Next there was yelling. They’d found her.
She scrambled off the side of the bed in a panic. The sensors tracked her movement and lit the room with a warm glow. Her pulse beat like a bass drum in her head, her heart hammering as she tried to breathe. She’d been fast asleep, what with it being almost midnight, but not now.