Fate’s Unseen Shadow (Cager #1)

Chapter 24

24

S later escorted Damon to his car, giving him nonstop instructions. “Ryker’s still tracking him. I left a message for Detective Moore to meet with me in the morning. Once Ella’s gone, I can lay it out for Jeff and show him the evidence to see how we should proceed. Don’t go more than a state away.”

“And you trust Jeff to do the right thing? He won’t be an asshole about us harboring Ella for the past three weeks?” Damon opened the driver’s side door, pulling Ella forward by the hand he held. He kissed the back of it. “Can you drive so I can research where we’ll stay tonight?”

“Yes.” She sat down, latching her seatbelt immediately. She was nervous. He’d felt her hand shaking in his. But she was tough.

Damon shut the door. “Do you think he’ll help?”

Slater shrugged and set his hands on his hips. “I don’t see why he wouldn’t. He can find the FBI contact and hand over what we have. He’s taken what Ryker’s found before.” He popped Damon on the shoulder. “Look at Jacksonville or Birmingham? You could find a cabin somewhere to hole up in for a while in the mountains of North Carolina. Not the worst way to spend a week or two. Maybe find time to tell her that you love her. Xavier told us, although it didn’t come a shock. We’re happy for you. You know I love going to weddings, so make sure it’s epic.”

“Let’s get through this before you send wedding gifts.” It was hard to consider their flight a romantic getaway when his best friends were putting themselves in danger for his Ella.

Slater looked at his watch. “It’s seven-thirty. I wouldn’t wait much longer. The last thing we need is for Walker to have you arrested for battery. I suspect he’ll be back with the police. You can’t help Ella from jail.”

“No, I can’t.” He held out his hand, shaking Slater’s. “Thank you. You know I’d rather be the one to finish this thing for her.”

“And you’re smart enough to know what’s best for her.”

He did. Which is why he didn’t want to waste any more time. He climbed in, and she started the car. “We’re going to be quick at the apartment. Five minutes and under. Grab what you absolutely can’t live without for the next two weeks.”

She put it in reverse. “Do I need to go fast?”

“No. We’re still trying to keep a low profile.”

She sighed and pulled out of the parking lot. “Can I drive your car really fast someday?”

“Yes. I’ll take you to the track.” Damon researched their options as she drove. “Do you have a preference for where we go? Slater suggested a cabin in North Carolina.”

Ella wiped her palms, one at a time, on her jeans. “You said two weeks. Is that how long you think we’ll be gone?”

He studied her profile, needing to look at where they’d stay tonight but wanting to make sure she knew the truth. “I don’t know. But no matter how long this takes, I’m not leaving you. It doesn’t matter if we’re back here by Monday or a year from now. I told you I wouldn’t be the one that walks away from this.”

“I know.” She took surface roads instead of getting onto the expressway. “But how you say that makes me think you mean something else.” With a small shake of her head, she adjusted the air-conditioning. “Never mind. I’m stressed and overthinking this.”

“You have it right, Ella. I’m yours until you decide you’re done with me. I love you. That means wherever you go, I go.” He’d planned to wait and ensure she understood that even though their situation had accelerated his feelings, the outcome was the same. He loved her.

She smiled and then swiped the back of her hand over her eyes. “Not sure they’re going to let you inside the women’s prison if I get convicted of murder.” She sniffed, but her tears seemed like happy ones.

“I’ll wear a dress and that red lipstick you love so much and sneak inside.”

She laid her head back on the seat at a red light, staring straight ahead. “I love you, too.” She swallowed. “God, it’s like saying it makes it feel ten times bigger than keeping it inside.”

“I know.” Their future came into sharp clarity. “What do you think about going to North Carolina?”

“That might be nice.” She turned into the apartment complex. “Hide in the mountains. Find a few trails to explore.”

He dropped his hand to her thigh as she parked in front of his building. “Hold on.”

Three people stood outside his door.

“Is that Detective Moore?” Ella asked, leaning forward to see better.

“Yes. Fuck. And the FBI. I recognize the suits.” He did the first thing he could think to get her out of there, having already been spotted. “Listen. I’m going to get out, and you’re going to drive. They can’t see into the windshield from here with the tint, so they don’t know you’re driving. Just ease away and go to Ryker’s. He already left Cager to keep searching for Davies. I’ll be there as soon as I get rid of them, and we’ll leave from there. Buy whatever we need on the road.”

“Drive to Ryker’s. Got it. Damon…”

He reached over, cradling the back of her head and hauling her to the middle. He kissed her roughly.

She parted her lips, giving him access to her sweet taste for the briefest second before he ended it.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can get away.” He rested his forehead against hers, eyes squeezing shut against the terror of sending her off alone. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered.

Refusing to let himself look at her again, he jerked open the car door and stepped out. He remained in the parking lot until her taillights disappeared. Satisfied she had escaped, he regained command over his emotions and strolled up to Jeff and the two FBI agents.

“I think your car is driving away without you.” Jeff held out his hand to shake Damon’s. “Nice to see you again.”

“I can’t say I was expecting to see you here. Why would you think I would be at home and not Cager?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t. This was our first stop for the night.” He pointed to the two people with him. “Agent Diggs and Agent Tillman. We would’ve gone to Cager next. I need to talk to you about one of your employees. Ella.”

“Ella is mine. You know, I wouldn’t have guessed you were the type of man to be upset over a woman rejecting you.” The two FBI agents shared a confused glance. Good. He needed to cast doubt in their minds for whatever Jeff had told them.

Jeff offered him a bland smile. “I didn’t know you were in a relationship then,” he said in clipped words.

“We weren’t.” He lifted a shoulder. “But you helped move that along. Maybe I should thank you."

“Congrats,” he said dryly. “Well, I need to talk to you about your girlfriend.”

“Fiancée.”

Jeff’s eyebrows shot up his forehead.

“Once I get her to agree to it. When you know, you know.”

“I see.” He looked away, sliding his hands into his pockets. “I still would like your cooperation.”

“You’ve been friends with Slater for a long time.” Damon eased past him to his door, pulling out his key. “I’ve never had a reason not to cooperate with you.”

“That’s good to hear. Do you know the real identity of Ella?”

He forced a small laugh. “Her identity? I think I know her pretty damn well by this point. We’re practically living together.” He unlocked the door but didn’t open it. “Will be after this weekend. Why are you asking me that?”

But Jeff bypassed the question. “Can we see the document she gave you to verify her employment?”

Damon frowned, pretending to be confused to buy a little time for Ella to get to Ryker’s. “Do you mean a copy of her driver’s license?”

“That’s a good place to start.” Jeff stood right behind him. “Can we come inside?”

“Sure thing,” he said as he walked into the apartment. “But I don’t have a copy of it.” He looked back in time to see Jeff roll his eyes. Yeah. He didn’t blame the guy for doubting that.

“Come on, Damon. Slater goes by the book on everything, and he wouldn’t co-own Cager if you didn’t, too. You hired her without any documentation?”

“But we agreed to a trial period with Ella.”

“When does the trial period end?”

Damon sent him a humorless smile. “Whenever I decide.”

“You want me to believe you’re not paying her to work there?” Jeff crossed his arms and glanced at the two FBI agents. “How is she living?”

Damon went to the kitchen and poured a glass of water for himself. “I’m paying her to work there. It’s not running through Cager’s books. It’s my personal bank account. So, I didn’t ask for her driver’s license. Why are you so interested in that?”

“I think the soon-to-be Mrs. Vargas may be wanted for murder.”

Damon stopped drinking and locked eyes with Jeff. He didn’t have to fake being shocked at Jeff saying it. The simple idea that anyone who met her would think she was capable of murder made him shake his head. “I’m afraid you have the wrong person, Jeff. Ella is not capable of murder.”

He crossed his arms. “Everyone thinks that until it happens.”

“What are you talking about? If she needs an alibi, she has me. She’s been with me for the past three weeks. Almost four.” And falling in love with her in a short time seemed impossible. But he was in love. He’d die for that woman without an ounce of hesitation. It didn’t matter if he’d known her for a week or a month or a decade. He loved everything about Ella and knew he’d love Elizabeth too.

But for him, she’d always be Ella.

“That’s sweet of you to offer her an alibi, but the murder didn’t happen in the last month.” Jeff sat down at Damon’s dining room table. “Have you heard of Elizabeth Cassin?”

With two FBI agents and a damn good cop staring right at him, now wasn’t the time to lie. “Yes.” He shrugged. “Anyone watching the news has heard of the billionaire who ran away after her stepbrother was found murdered. Did they ever find out if she was abducted or murdered, too? Because the fact all these people”—he leaned to the side to look at the FBI standing behind Jeff—“automatically assume she killed her stepbrother is a little ridiculous in my book. I’ve seen trained soldiers hesitate to shoot someone during combat. I realize people commit murder, but the idea a businesswoman like her without a big motive could pull the trigger at point-blank range is farfetched in my reality.” He shrugged. “But hey, that’s only my two cents.”

Jeff shook his head. “I guess I should rephrase it. She is wanted as a suspicious person. They don’t have any direct evidence pointing her to the murder.”

Getting fed up with Jeff, he finally asked, “What are you doing involved with this, Jeff?”

Jeff folded his hands behind his neck and surveyed the living room. “It’s been nearly two months since she left. Someone has had to help her survive.” He ended with a direct stare at Damon.

“Probably,” he agreed. “If she’s alive.”

Jeff’s quick smile worried him. “Oh, she’s alive. I took a picture of her leaving Cager last Saturday night.”

Cold dread filled Damon. “You mean Ella?” His attempt at distancing himself from this began to fail. “A little stalkerish of you.”

“I did a facial recognition against Elizabeth Cassin. It’s her. Ella is Elizabeth. I called the FBI here to confirm it.”

Damon leaned on the counter and shook his head. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Agent Diggs took out a small notepad. He scribbled something. “So you had no idea that Ella, the woman you’re seeing, is Elizabeth Cassin?”

Damon stared directly at Jeff. “No.”

“And are you going to tell us where Ella is so we can question her?”

He angled his head slightly, still locked on Jeff. “No.”

Agent Tillman cleared her throat. “I’d like to remind you that it’s a felony to willingly lie.”

Damon smirked. “And here I was trying to play nice and not to use ‘I plead the fifth’ for every other answer.”

Jeff unfolded from the table. “Who drove your car earlier?”

“A friend who needed to borrow it.”

“Are you going to tell us who?”

Damon set his glass in the sink. “Nope.”

Jeff chuckled. “I didn’t think you’d make this easy. I’m putting out an APB on your car. We’ll pick her up.”

“You have it wrong.” Damon came around the counter.

Jeff didn’t back down. “And what do we have wrong?”

He looked at both agents before returning his focus to Jeff. “Focusing on Ella. The longer you think Elizabeth killed Theodore, the closer the real killer comes to finding her. He’s out there, searching for her. And he will make his move, someone else will die, and that will be on your head.” And the longer he had to deflect this bullshit instead of leaving Charleston, the greater the chance Davies had of finding her.

Agent Tillman frowned, her unpainted lips turning down sharply. “Real killer? That sounds like you know who it is.”

“I do.” He addressed only Jeff. “Theodore’s killer will strike again. That’s who you need to focus on finding.”

“And you have proof of this killer?”

“Ryker does.”

That made Jeff’s eyes narrow. “And who will he kill next?”

“Elizabeth.”