"Some hotel by the airport. She didn't say which. Do you want me to initiate..."
"Do nothing of the sort," he snapped.
She waited in silence. He could hear her breathing, rapid and shallow.
"Meet her and observe only."
"But..."
"Is this a bad connection? Did you not hear what I said?"
"No, I heard..."
"Repeat it."
"I'll go and observe."
"Very good. Be sure to get some pictures and report back as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Clear? Questions?"
"No, Mr. Kassar. I understand compl..."
Kassar clicked off the phone before she could finish. Cameron sighed and rubbed his forehead. Had they moved too quickly with her? He had to admit that they likely had and it had been his fault. She should never have been sent off without some kind of tracker on her, a cell phone at the very least. He cursed himself for such a simple oversight. Going off script eventually was expected, inevitable really, but something about this felt very wrong.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Nathan talked with the woman at the front desk and on her recommendation, they decided they would meet Linda at a small Italian restaurant that was about thirty minutes away. Well it was more Nathan who decided, insisted really. Paige had wanted to say yes when Linda had suggested that she drive out and pick them up at their hotel, but Nathan had vetoed that idea. He hadn't said why and hadn't really volunteered much of an answer when she had asked. He had mumbled something about wanting to get out for a bit, but now as they rode silently in the cab he considered his actions.
She definitely shouldn't have come to the hotel. No way, that was out of the question. But why? Why had his gut reaction been so strong about such a simple issue?
"No place to retreat to," he whispered.
"What?"
He looked over at Paige.
"Did you say something?"
"No, well yes," he replied. "Sorry, just talking to myself."
Just nervous, she thought. And why shouldn't he be? Hell, why shouldn't she be? He was so certain that she was his dead wife and yet in only a short time that belief would come crashing down. Linda would be able to prove that Paige was exactly who she said she was. She would thereby prove that whomever had been this man's wife had in fact lied to him about who she'd been. In essence his reality for the last several years would crumble apart. Linda would be able to prove that, right?
He looked at her for a moment, she had turned away and was looking out the car window, surely lost in her own thoughts.
No place to retreat to, he thought again. Yes that was it exactly. He'd never been out here before, but the hotel they had stayed at was as close to a home base as they had. You didn't let the enemy into your home if you could avoid it.
Enemy? Yes, he supposed that was exactly how he saw this woman. He was quite certain he was not going to like her, yet he wasn't sure he knew why. Certainly if she was able to backup Paige's own beliefs about who she was, confirm her location for the last few years, it would rob him of the hope he'd been clinging to. But was that the only reason he already hated this Linda woman? Was that the only reason he felt the need to have some place to retreat to? Was this happening too quickly? There were still so many things he wanted and likely should have addressed with Paige. So many things, similarities, that were the same and yet different or just off by a hair. So many theories were spinning around in his mind.
Paige glanced over at Nathan, he was mumbling to himself again. She did not bother to ask if he was talking to her this time. Maybe he was preparing himself for the inevitable truth. She found her heart ached for him, for the pain he was so near to experiencing. She had no doubt that Linda would be the one to crack the dam and let loose the flood that Nathan was desperately trying to hold at bay. She hated to see him hurt. She didn't know him, or rather hadn't until recently, but she realized that she already felt something for him. Oh, not the slightly scary all encompassing love which he expressed for her, but something more than a mild attraction. It wasn't just that he was good looking. She'd known plenty of good looking men, but he was somehow different.
Paige got the feeling that Nathan might very well be exactly the type of man she really wanted and it saddened her to think in just a short while she would hurt this man to his core. The truth would be revealed and he'd be devastated. He'd be emotional, as he'd been a number of times since they had met, but that was okay. The type of emotions he'd shown were understandable. If you lost the love of your life, you were allowed to show the pain.
She realized a few things as they drove along. One thing was that she absolutely loathed the woman who'd been this man's wife. Whether or not she was in fact dead, Paige hated her. She did not hate her for dying, if she had died, but she hated her for lying to him. Hated her for stealing her life story and passing it off as her own. How dare that bitch? Why? Why lie to such an obviously sweet and caring man? What could have been so bad in her life that she had felt the need to steal Paige's identity?