Man of Her Dreams by Debra Webb (good ebook reader txt) 📕

behind them. What would they think about her sudden need to follow the voices in her head? They would call it in and some reporter monitoring the police band would hear her name and rush to get the latest scoop. She couldn’t go through that again. How could she risk telling the cops what she felt?

Darby wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer to that one. This was something she needed to do alone. She cast a long, assessing gaze at the man behind the wheel. Well, maybe not completely alone. The FBI had sent him to keep an eye on the case and ultimately her.

“When we get into the city, is there some way we can give the cops the slip? Maybe pretend we’ve—”

“Why would we want to give the slip to your bodyguards?”

She couldn’t quite read his tone, something between noncommittal and suspicious.

How did she explain this without sounding like a fool? Whatever she felt at the moment was different from her dreams. She was wide awake, for one thing, and she felt an extreme urgency rather than the usual dread or panic. She had to do this.

“There’s something I have to do.”

His gaze met hers for a moment. “Related to Lester’s case?”

She nodded.

For three seconds that turned into ten, she was certain he intended to deny her request.

“All right. This is what we’ll do.”

THEY HAD WAITED until it was dark.

When they’d returned to the city, Aidan had made a show of dropping her off at her borrowed apartment and then driving away. He’d parked his car three blocks beyond the opposite side of the apartment building from where the cops had set up their stakeout. He’d given her one instruction before leaving: dress in dark clothing.

She’d dug through her friend’s closet until she found black jeans and a navy sweatshirt. Black hiking boots had completed her getup. Her friend wouldn’t mind…she hoped. If Darby ruined anything, she’d just have to replace it. She’d only brought a few changes of clothes with her to her friend’s home. She hadn’t expected to stay this long.

When night came, she’d slipped out of the apartment, leaving the living room light and the television on, and took the stairs down to the lobby. She’d packed a flashlight and a few other necessities into a small backpack, which she draped over one shoulder. A frown creased her brow when she didn’t find Aidan.

She moved quietly toward the communal laundry room. He’d said they would go out the side door and slip away via the alley between this house and the next. Sounded good to her. She just wasn’t sure where her partner in crime was at the moment. She couldn’t help wondering if he’d changed his mind. Or if something had happened.

Her heart jolted at the idea of his being hurt in any way. If Lester had learned her new address…if he was watching…

“I’ve been waiting.”

Darby barely clamped her hand over her mouth to trap the squeal that lodged in her throat.

Aidan stepped from the dark shadows in the far corner of the room. “Sorry,” he offered. “I thought you knew I was here.”

Now how would she have known? Instead of asking, she tamped down her annoyance and headed toward the side door.

“Guess not,” he murmured as he cut in front of her to be the first out the door.

That would have annoyed her as well if she hadn’t known the move had been made to protect her.

In the dark alley, he took her hand and walked quickly toward the end that opened into the street where he’d parked his car. Once he had ensured the coast was clear, they covered the three blocks in no time. Darby felt the power of his muscular body as he pushed quickly forward with hardly any effort. She, on the other hand, had worked hard to keep up with him.

In the car, he asked, “Where are we going?”

She thought about that for a moment. Remembered the last time she’d been there when she’d led the police to his hideout. “Back to the water—to the swamp. He likes it there.”

He pushed the gearshift into position and rolled away from the curb. “Is this the same place where the police found him before?”

She nodded. “That’s where we need to go…only deeper into the bayou. I know they’re there. Hidden away so no one can find them.” A new kind of fear eddied through her as another frightening possibility zoomed to the forefront of her thoughts. “I hadn’t even considered that he might be hanging around there somewhere.”

“He won’t risk getting too close.”

Aidan made the statement with such certainty. She wondered how he could be so sure.

Before she could question his conclusion, he said, “The police will have crawled all over the place. Probably still have a team watching the same way they’re watching you.”

She hadn’t thought of that either.

Seems she hadn’t thought of much.

Hurry.

The urgency nudged her again. It didn’t matter what the police or Lester did or didn’t do. She had to do this. There wasn’t a choice.

Forty-five long, gut-wrenching minutes passed with the anticipation and urgency mounting in Darby before they reached the small town where they would be required to leave land behind. The water forked around the small fishing village, leading deep into the swamps…to where they needed to go.

“Park there.” She directed him to a small lot where tourists converged to venture out into the swamp. “They keep the boats in the back.” Real Cajun Guides, a sign boasted. She got out of the car, not waiting for Aidan to come around and open her door.

He looked at her across the top of the car, the sliver of moon providing barely enough light to make out his features in the gloomy darkness.

“So we’re going to steal one,” he suggested. She didn’t miss the note of amusement hiding just beneath the surface of his skepticism.

“No, Agent Tanner,” she said sweetly, “we’re going to borrow one.”

Aidan did smile then, couldn’t hold it back any