CHAPTER TEN
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“Who decorated your house?”
Townes glanced up from the reports he’d been looking over covering all known details of Caroline Marinovic’s murder. Brody had compiled the information from multiple agencies. Shailyn no longer resembled the brunette he remembered now that she’d gone back to her natural auburn tresses. The light dusting of freckles was covered by a light application of makeup, but there was no mistaking the lack of color in her cheeks as she didn’t use that much blush.
“You’re going to have to clarify your question. Your assumption that I consider it my house is a bit off, though. The entire team has a home here, so I consider it our home.” Townes leaned back in his office chair, thinking to himself that Shailyn belonged here as well. She most likely wouldn’t agree, but it was a bridge he would cross when the time was right. He motioned for her to take the guest chair, but instead she ran her hand along one of the bookshelves as she studied the leather-bound classics he’d acquired over the years. “Are you asking about the interior design of the house or the festive Christmas decorations?”
Townes waited patiently for her reply, sensing she didn’t want to be having this small talk about earth tones or holiday garland. Lucas Grove was still missing, the DNA analysis on the body found in the burnt ruins of the cabin had yet to be revealed, and the various authorities were basically in limbo until either the team turned up a lead or the local or FBI labs came through with the results.
“I guess both.” Shailyn tucked a strand of those red tresses he’d grown to love watching her day in and day out in the courtroom. She’d been a brunette the day he’d met her, but this rustic shade suited her much better. He never once looked upon her as a victim. Her strength shone through every word documented in the trial transcripts. “I thought this place was going to be like all the other safe houses I’ve seen over the years. You were pretty adamant about not settling down back in the day. In fact, at the time you wouldn’t buy anything that wouldn’t fit in the back of your pick-up or in the trailer with your bike. I remember you saying as much.”
“Age and wisdom play a very important part in determining what’s important.”
Townes had removed his hair tie earlier when a tension headache had started to take hold. He didn’t hesitate to grab the elastic band and secure the strands at the base of his neck. He stayed where he was, though. It wouldn’t take long before she brought up the real reason she had entered his domain.
“I have very particular tastes when it comes to my living quarters. I tend toward the more practical side.” Townes reached for the white porcelain mug he’d just topped off with his personal machine. “I was here close to a year putting the finishing touches on this place before I brought in the team. They all have their own apartments or houses either in the city or the surrounding towns. I’ve been having them stay here mostly because of the personal attack Moss made on Camryn. It wasn’t much of a stretch to believe he’d target the other team members and their families. Some of the men had stayed here when it was convenient rather than running back to their places prior to the team and their loved ones becoming a target.”
Shailyn had moved to the bookshelf that contained framed pictures of when he’d been in the service. Unfortunately, some of the men in those photographs hadn’t returned home on their own two feet. He honored them by remembering their faces and the sacrifices they made in his own way. He believed that he kept them forever young in his mind by remembering how they lived their lives and the tribulations that they had all endured together.
“How can you simply sit here as if nothing is happening outside of your little fort?” And there it was. Shailyn’s frustration and anger at being helpless was now beginning to show, and he didn’t blame her in the least. It wasn’t easy considering all the facts, yet remaining behind to shoulder the burden. She dropped her hand from the shelf and turned to face him in aggravation. “You should be out looking for Lucas Grove.”
“Keane, Royce, Sawyer, and Coen are tracking down leads, interviewing family and friends of Caroline Marinovic and Lucas Grove. I hired them for a reason. They have to be my eyes and ears on the ground.” Townes rolled back his desk chair enough so that he could cross his ankle over his knee. He took a drink of his coffee, needing her to see that he wasn’t allowing the wait to get to him. She would react to his lead. At least, he hoped. “I also have other Marshals out there following up on incidental interviews and heading up the aerial search of the county and subsequent areas where Moss may have fled to if he’s still alive. Just to make it perfectly clear, I’m not leaving you here alone.”
Townes’ last statement caught her attention, and she wisely refrained from commenting. He’d given her enough indications of what he desired for their future that he might as well have spelled it out for her in writing. It had taken him quite a long time to come to terms with the way he’d handled her original protection detail, her father’s demands after she recovered, the ensuing trial, her induction into WITSEC participation, and now the fallout of Moss’ escape from a federal prison.
Too much time had been wasted by both of them, and he’d already expressed his views on how age and wisdom went hand in hand.
Shailyn would come to him when she was ready to face their past mistakes. He could easily make it so that she didn’t have to go back into WITSEC again, providing her around-the-clock personal security even after Moss’ demise.
“Do you believe Moss is dead?”
“No, not for one second.” Townes stood and pushed the chair back even farther with the back of his knees. “Why don’t we head out to the patio? We could both use some fresh air. I have a 2005 Robusto Montecristo Edmundo that has been resting with its brothers in my humidor for the past six months. I believe it’s time to liberate one of those sticks.”
Shailyn shook her head in answer, once again walking the line of shelves that held two hundred or more of the leather-bound classics. What exactly did she think she’d find?
“I don’t believe he’s dead either.” Shailyn ran a finger over the spines of each book until she came to the corner. The window of his office faced the inner courtyard, so during the day he kept the security shutter raised. The curtains were drawn open, revealing one of his favorite shade trees on the property. The tree was an old cedar with tangled branches that reached for the sky. The cedars weren’t the fullest trees, but they all had fine character and that was enough. “Was my father convincing?”
Townes thought he had complete control of this conversation and even the ability to ease her concerns. She’d proven him wrong with just one question.
“Yes, at the time he was,” Townes replied rather cautiously, stepping out from behind his desk. He was a mere twelve feet from where she was standing. “I’m truly sorry for what your father and mother must be going through. I didn’t make this decision lightly, but their grief has to be real in order to satisfy Moss’ observations.”
It was entirely possible that Moss had one of his acolytes watching the family for any indication that her death might be a ruse. Hell, it could even be their family doctor, for all they knew.
“You asked me if I believed Moss was dead, and my answer was no. I think he’s faking his death in an attempt to bring you out of hiding or to cause one of the agencies involved with the hunt to relax their pursuit. The longer we keep you concealed, the more agitated he’s going to become. It’s then that he will make the mistake of contacting me once again.”
“Did you know that I can’t have children after what he did to me?”
It was so rare that Townes was taken by true surprise that he needed a moment to repeat her inquiry in his mind.
“Yes. I read the medical reports.”
Townes was truthful in his response. He would never mislead her in any way.
“A part of me is grateful that I’ll never have to experience what my parents have from the day I went missing to today.” Shailyn left her place by the window and walked over to his favorite chair next to the unlit fireplace. She toed off her shoes and took a seat, curling her legs up underneath her. He was fascinated at how fragile yet resilient she was in facing what had to be her greatest fear. “Another piece of me would give anything to experience that kind of unconditional love to another human being. I’d like to see them before I go back into WITSEC.”
Shailyn finally met his gaze, her emerald green eyes holding only acceptance. A sharp slice of anger cut into his gut. He wanted her to fight for what she’d been denied.
“I’ll make that happen when the time comes.”
His declaration seemed to satisfy her. She curled up in the chair and rested her head on her arm. It appeared she was staying in his office for the duration of the wait.
Townes reclaimed his office chair behind the desk, though he didn’t bother to pick up the folder he’d been reading over for the hundredth time. Something settled inside of him at her mere presence. This was where she belonged—not WITSEC.
An hour passed before Remy appeared in his office doorway. Shailyn had drifted off to sleep thirty minutes prior, but it was easy to see it was a restless slumber. Whatever he was needed for could wait.
Something stopped him from sending Remy away, though. He held up a finger for her to wait a second. He quickly grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled down his request. He quietly stood, folding the note in half before walking it over to her.
“Brody wanted you to know he’s combed through all the footage,” Remy whispered, having caught sight of Shailyn curled up in the chair. “No one entered or exited the cabin for seventy-two hours before the fire. He was able to confirm that with coverage the NRO provided of that general area by the way of a byproduct of other scheduled national asset surveillance. He’s going farther back to see when Moss arrived there in order to try and trace his steps backwards.”
Townes didn’t believe for a moment that Moss was dead, but their hands were tied until he was proven otherwise.
“Would you please do me a favor?” Townes waited for Remy to read his request, a bright smile connecting to her sparkling blue eyes. “I’d like to keep this between us until it’s done.”
“Of course. I think it’s a great idea.”
Townes waited for Remy to leave before quietly closing the office door to give them some privacy. It was rare that he did so, but he didn’t want Shailyn’s sleep disturbed. He silently crossed the room and picked up the soft throw blanket he kept near the ottoman on those rare nights in Florida it became chilly. He carefully covered her legs since she always seemed to be cold nowadays, hoping a little warmth might cause her to sleep more comfortably.
Head back to the cabin and check for a concealed access point in the floor.
He constructed the text and sent it to the team so that whoever was closest to that area could return and do a more thorough search of the cabin now that the embers had cooled somewhat. Granted, they’d had limited access until it was safe to scour through the remains completely. He had no doubt they’d missed some type of trap door that led underground through some escape tunnel. It was the only reasonable explanation for the prolonged lack of movement.
Another forty minutes passed as he sat and watched over Shailyn before his phone vibrated with a reply from Sawyer. It wasn’t one he’d expected.
No access point.
“Townes?”
He glanced up from his phone to find that Shailyn was studying him with earnest. She thought he’d gotten the results back from forensics on the DNA sample.
“We haven’t received word from the lab yet.” Townes could still see slight blemishes underneath her lashes that signified she hadn’t had nearly enough rest. He wished he had some type of news that would give her hope this manhunt was coming to an end, but he could only give her the facts. “It’s Sawyer. I thought maybe there might be an exit from the cabin we weren’t aware of initially.”
“And?” Shailyn slowly sat upright in the chair and tightly held the edge of the blanket in the palms of her hands. “Did Sawyer find what you expected?”
“No.” Townes still held the belief that Moss had somehow gotten out of the cabin before the structure had been engulfed in flames. Unfortunately, evidence didn’t lie. “The body found in the remnants of the ruins might very well be Shepherd Moss’ remains.”