Second Chances(115)

"What about Julie and Jason?" Her question was barely a whisper.

He sneered and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. For a moment Linda feared he might lash out at her.

"Dillinger may have cut me out of official channels, but I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. I've been around for quite a while and I know where a lot of bodies are hidden. Literally and figuratively. I can call in a few markers, go through back channels and let loose some dogs on them. It won't be quick or easy, but maybe I get lucky and we can nail them. Maybe not. Either way, I honestly don't see them ever trying to resurface. Julie is well aware of how I handle business."

Linda tried not to shiver. She loved his passion and intensity, but he also scared the hell out of her. The venom in his words was palpable. She had no love for Paige and loathed Nathan for having made her look like a fool and having caused all of this, but a part of her also felt sorry for the two of them. She shuddered to think what Cameron might do if he ever got his hands on them.

They continued to sit in silence and slowly the time passed. He had stopped talking to her at least an hour ago. They had parked not far from Nathan's car. He sat watching it, his eyes never wavering. Linda wasn't even sure if he was blinking anymore. He continued to grumble under his breath every so often. He alternated between muttering that they would be back, that they had to come back and cursing out Dillinger. Linda could feel waves of rage just rolling off him. She'd begun to get very uncomfortable about a half an hour earlier, her bladder whispering for relief. Now that whisper was a scream and she feared if she didn't do something soon she was going to end up sitting in a puddle. Biology won over fear and she reached for the door handle.

"Where do you think you are going?" Cameron hissed, never taking his eyes off the car.

"I just need to slip into the motel and use the restroom."

"No. The desk clerk has already seen you once."

"But I am about to wet my pants."

"Then go outside behind the car."

She thought about protesting, but only for a moment. The tone of his voice chilled her to the point where she actually felt her bladder control slipping. She nodded and then slithered out the passenger side. She kept low, moving around to the back of the car, pulled her pants down and squatted over the pavement. It took her a moment to relax herself enough and she was just about to begin relieving herself when the sounds of an approaching car and the flash of headlights stopped her. She didn't have to look over the back of the car to see, she knew, was dead certain in fact, exactly who had just arrived. A shot of terror blazed through her and she lost all control.





CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE



The ride back to the motel was mostly silent. Nathan continually glanced around the car studying everyone. Paige was totally lost in her own world, trying to process everything she had learned. He had to admit it had certainly been mind blowing, he could only imagine how it felt from her perspective. To find out you are and yet aren't who you believe yourself to be. So many questions still remained, but first they needed to process what they had already learned.

Julie remained silent, her agitation and discomfort palpable. He actually sympathized with the woman. She had spent who knew how long plotting an escape with the man she loved and though unintentional, he and Paige had completely wrecked that plan. They had put Jason and her back into danger.

What Jason was thinking, Nathan had no idea. He glanced repeatedly at the man in the rearview mirror, but he couldn't read him. The man certainly had plenty of his own demons, but how many did he remember? He had seemed fairly coherent when they had explained to Paige exactly who and what she was, but Nathan wasn't sure how much of what Julie had said had been news to Jason as well. He clearly saw Paige as his daughter and in a way she most certainly was. But what does it do to a man to see and hear that his daughter has been killed again and again. And just how much damage had been done to his brain from receiving that drug all those years?

He did his best to stifle a yawn as he turned the car into the motel parking lot. He was drained. Was it possible that so much had happened in less than a week? It was all so horrible and yet so wonderful. Things seemed far from over and there was still so much uncertainty, but he'd felt more alive during the last few days then he had in over a year. He knew she wasn't his Paige, but he was thrilled to know he could still feel and even love again.

Nathan brought the car to a stop. He sat there, the engine still running as the others began to open their doors. A shadow of a smile played on his lips. He was still lost in his thoughts, hopes, of the future when he heard the sound of the roaring engine and the world around him illuminated.