More Than a Mission - Caridad Pineiro [64]
Raising a hand and giving a wave, he once again yelled her name.
She finally noticed and looked his way, but acted as if she didn’t even recognize him. Puzzled for a moment, his delay allowed her to turn down the side street before he could react.
Fixated on following her, he jumped into the street, but stopped short at the strident blare of a horn. He glared at the driver who had nearly hit him and who shook a fist at him angrily.
Aidan ignored the driver and continued across the street, past the traffic in the opposite lane and onward to the corner of the block onto which Lizzy had turned.
No Lizzy anywhere on the street. There were a number of shops, however, and so he walked down the block, pausing at the shop windows to peer within searching for her, but she was nowhere to be found. At the end of the street, which had turned out to be a dead end, he paused, wondering where she could have gone when Lucia came on over the wire.
“Blender Boy. The Sparrow’s returned to her nest.”
He examined the street, unable to determine how she had eluded him. “Confirm, Red Rover. Cottage or restaurant?”
“Cottage.”
“I’m on it,” he said, and foregoing any further exploration of the dead end, he rushed back to the main road and then to the restaurant. Once he was within sight of the low stone wall for the building, he said, “Red Rover. What’s your ETA?”
“Walker and I are already in position about ten yards behind the cottage along the shore. Just say the word.”
Mitch, he thought, a second before confirming Lucia’s communication. Funny how after nearly two years of searching, his goal was within his grasp, but it gave him no satisfaction. No relief.
Entering through the gate to the restaurant, he cut across the front yard, straight to the back patio and the granite stepping stones that led to Lizzy’s cottage. At the door, he hesitated and took a deep breath.
No matter the outcome of this confrontation, whatever was going on between him and Lizzy would never be the same.
Chapter 22
The knock at the door surprised her. She hadn’t been expecting anyone, only possibly hoping for…
She smiled as she opened the door and her hope was fulfilled. A fierce and all too serious look marred his face. One that warned trouble was ahead. “You okay?”
“May I come in?” he asked and motioned to her front parlor. The parlor where, the night before, they had done wonderful things both to and with each other. She suspected that wouldn’t be the case this morning.
“Sure,” she said and extended her arm in invitation.
He walked in, but didn’t sit. Just stood there, obviously awkward.
“You okay?” she asked again as she closed the door and went to stand before him.
He shrugged and the movement pulled the front of his jacket open slightly, revealing a quick glimpse of something at his side a moment before the black leather dropped down again, hiding it from sight.
“Saw you in town. Waved to you.” A puzzled look crossed his features. “You were dressed differently.”
Town? She’d been in and around the house and restaurant all morning. “I’ve been here,” she said, but then it occurred to her what might have happened.
“Dani. She must have come home as a surprise.” Joy swept over her at the prospect of seeing her sister.
“Dani? Who’s Dani?” he asked, another quizzical look on his face.
“Dani’s my twin sister. She must have—”
Aidan raised his hands and waved them while shaking his head vehemently. “You don’t have a twin, Lizzy. Look, if you’re having any kind of mental problems—”
Now it was her turn to silence him with a slash of her hand. “If anyone’s gone mental, it’s you. How the hell do you presume to know—”
She abruptly stopped when Aidan took out some official-looking badge from beneath his jacket and the movement also revealed the gun tucked into the holster. She realized then it was what she had spied before.
Barely glancing at the badge,