CHAPTER TWENTY
Paige could hear low voices coming from the television mounted on the wall opposite Sam’s bed. She opened her eyes. It hadn’t been on when they made love. He must have turned on the TV at some point during the night because he knew it helped her sleep. Sam was on his side beside her with one heavy arm draped across her. She was tucked against Sam’s chest, her face near his heart, but still, she pressed tighter to him.
Sunlight filtered in through the slats of the blinds on Sam’s bedroom windows. It was a new day, and Thames was still out there. Their case against Thames in the murder of Janet Lambert was still nonexistent. They had nothing to tie him to the senator’s sister, nothing except Paige herself. It was because of her that an innocent woman had been killed.
And this was her life. On the run. Living in limbo. Existing but not living. She’d allowed herself to hope that she could have a life with Sam.
But she would never be free, and as long as she remained in Sam’s life, Sam would be forever in this nightmare with her. She loved him. God, she loved him, and she wouldn’t let this be his life, too.
Sam raised his head and peered down at her. “What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?”
Was she that transparent to him? Did love make her that way? “I’m just tired,” she lied.
“Why don’t you catch some more sleep? There’s time yet before we need to be in the office. I’ll hit the shower, then make breakfast. I’ll wake you when it’s ready.”
“Okay.”
Sam kissed her and got up. A moment later, Paige heard the shower start. She dressed quickly, then left Sam’s house.
Sam came out of the shower. He expected to find Paige as he’d left her when he returned to the bedroom, with the TV on low. Sam liked full darkness and quiet when he slept. Having the TV on would take some getting used to. His heart did a slow roll. An adjustment he would happily make to help her sleep. He was seeing firsthand how little rest she got each night, and it struck Sam to his core. He hoped she had gone back to sleep.
She’d fallen asleep right after they made love. He hadn’t been able to get enough of her. Each time he touched her, he burned hotter than the time before. He’d wanted to slow things down last night, but his need for her had overcome all else.
She’d been just as eager for him. But there’d been a desperation to Paige’s lovemaking, a finality.
The thought shook him. She was being ridden hard. He knew what was riding her. Thames. She blamed herself for Thames. She blamed herself for bringing Thames into her life. Sam’s words to the contrary had made no impact. She was carrying a load of guilt so heavy she was bowing under the weight of it. She was determined to punish herself. He didn’t know what he was going to do about that, for either of them.
He finished shaving and went back to his room. But she wasn’t in the bed. Had she gone downstairs to shower? He didn’t bother dressing. It was just the two of them in the house now, and naked, he went in search of her.
She wasn’t downstairs. Her van was no longer parked in his driveway. Where had she gone? Why had she left the house without him?
Sam went back to his room. As he hastily donned jeans and snagged a white shirt, he heard Paige’s voice. It was coming from the television. Sam wheeled toward it, and there she was, standing across from the Bureau office, speaking before a crowd . . .
It was a little after eight in the morning. Many businesses hadn’t yet opened for the day, but the activists were camped out across the street from the Bureau office, as they had been every morning for two weeks. Paige had called the local media and the press had gathered.
She needed to end this with Thames. It had all come down to this moment. A showdown between him and her.
She closed her eyes, battling back her fear, then looked out at the crowd of reporters and TV crews assembled across the street from the Bureau office. She’d called them here with the pretext that there was an update in the Janet Glaxton Lambert case, but what she really wanted was to send a message to Thames. If he was watching her, and Paige believed he was, then her message would reach him.
Paige looked out at the group. “I’m Special Agent Paige Carson.” She paused, giving those around her a moment to recall her name. “I’m going to keep this brief. As you know, this office is investigating the homicide of Janet Glaxton Lambert. Effective immediately, I will no longer be part of the investigation.” Paige repeated. “Though this office will still be active in the investigation, I personally will not be.”
Paige’s testimony at Thames’s murder trial and at his hearing to have his conviction overturned were a matter of public record. For once, Paige wasn’t trying to hide her identity. She hoped her notoriety from the Thames case would be enough for the media to consider it newsworthy and report her announcement. An instant later, she knew she wasn’t going to be disappointed.
“Agent Carson.” A female reporter brandishing a microphone like a sword stuck the device in Paige’s face. “Why will you no longer be working the Lambert murder? Does this mean you’re resigning from the Bureau, or have you been removed from the case? The FBI has issued a statement that they’re launching an investigation into evidence tampering in the Thames case. You were one of the agents involved in apprehending Mr. Thames. Are you under investigation? Are you resigning from this case because of that investigation?”
Paige had no need to further engage the media. She ignored the questions and pushed the microphone away from her face.
An activist bearing a huge orange placard shouted out, “No more innocent men you want to go after?”
Paige ignored his taunt, turned, and walked away. Her stomach was clenched tight. She hoped her message would reach Thames.
“Agent Carson!”
Paige ignored another reporter. A screech of tires made her whirl around. Sam’s truck rocked to a stop on the periphery of the crowd. He got out.
He was dressed in jeans and a partially buttoned shirt. His hair was still damp from his shower. Paige didn’t need to ask what had brought him here in such a hurry.
He stopped in front of her and said quietly, “In my office. Now.”
Inside the office, Sam turned on her. His face and shoulders were tense. “What the hell was that?”
Paige held her ground. “It was necessary.”
Sam gave her a hard look. “Necessary for whom? Why was it necessary for you to tell the world the lie that you’re no longer working the Lambert murder?” Sam went still. “Not the world. Thames. You wanted to tell Thames.”
Paige held Sam’s gaze.
Anger flared in Sam’s eyes. “So that’s your plan. Rile him so he doesn’t go after anyone else and comes after you. You set yourself up as bait.”
Paige swept an arm across the room. “Thames doesn’t need to hide from us. If he walked into our office now, there isn’t a damn thing we could do to hold him. Not one thing. I can’t let him get Ivy. I can’t let him hurt anyone else. We suspect he made Mary Emerson disappear. We know he killed Janet Lambert. But we have nothing to back any of that up. There wasn’t any evidence in the Lambert murder, Sam. He is very good at killing, so good we couldn’t convict him legally for the murders in New York.”
Sam set his teeth. “I’m not going to let you set yourself up.”
She fought back another wave of fear. “It’s done. At least like this I can set up the way this goes down.”
Sam’s voice was harsh with fury. “You haven’t set this up. You’ve done this Thames’s way all along.”
Paige’s face heated. “With Thames focused on me, we have a chance to stop him before he goes on another killing spree. Sam, you know I’m right.”
Sam’s eyes went so dark she could see herself reflected in them. “This is not the way to do this. You can’t expect me to condone one of my agents setting herself up.”
Paige’s voice vibrated with emotion. “Sooner or later, it’s going to come down to Thames and me. I think it’s what he’s been planning all along.”
Sam’s tone was as hard as his expression. “I don’t give a damn what he plans. He’s not calling the shots unless you let him.”
“Janet Lambert is dead because of me.”
“You’re not responsible for her death. Thames is.”
Paige lowered her head. “I won’t be responsible for the deaths of any more women.”
“So you’re going to sacrifice yourself? Tell him to come get you?”
Paige raised her chin, though it shook. “I have to end this.”
Sam’s mouth went flat. “Yeah, you do. But you don’t have to do it alone. And I won’t let you. Not only as your boss, but as the man who loves you.” Sam’s eyes ignited.
Paige took a step forward, closing the distance between them. “No, I’m not going to sacrifice myself. I don’t want to sacrifice myself. I need help. One year ago, I wouldn’t have been able to admit that. To ask for help, not from anyone. Not even from you.” She looked up into his eyes. “The man I love.” She clasped his hand and placed it over her heart. “If you think I haven’t changed, that’s proof right there that I have. I would have gone it alone.” She swallowed. “I did go it alone with Thames, thinking no one could do what needed to be done the way that I could, that my way was the only way. I don’t think that anymore. I need your help, Sam. I want your help.”
Sam brought their joined hands to his mouth and pressed a kiss to her palm. “You have my help. Anything you need. We will stop him, Paige. It’s going to end here.”
He wound his arms around her. Paige closed her eyes and ground her face against his chest, taking strength from his words, from his love, from the solid feel of his arms around her.
Yes, it was going to end here with Thames. Paige was going to make sure of it. She wasn’t brave and she didn’t want to die, especially now that she was finding her way back to Ivy, now that she had found Sam. Her heart squeezed. But she could not stand by and let Thames hurt more innocent people because of her. Somehow, for some reason Paige had not yet determined, Thames had made Lambert’s murder about Paige.
Sam loved her. He wanted to protect her. He didn’t understand that this was a battle he could not fight for her. Yes, she would take Sam’s help, but ultimately, she was going to have to be the one to end this with Thames.
She had no illusions about her own capability. She was skilled, but she was not an experienced agent like Sam. It was a very real possibility that she would not walk away from Thames. She closed her eyes shut, fighting back that fear. No, she was not going to sacrifice herself to Thames. She would not make it easy for him to kill her. She would not go out without a fight, and at the end of it, if she couldn’t walk away, she was going to make sure that Thames wouldn’t, either.