Way of the Shadows (Shadow Agents 8)

No, they couldn’t put lives on the line.

And so the perp gets away, for now.

The sheriff nodded once more, then turned away. The wind battered against Thomas. He was wearing a borrowed coat a sheriff’s deputy had given him. Noelle was wearing a similar one, only its bulk seemed to swallow her.

She stared up at Thomas with unreadable eyes. Strange, he’d believed he’d gotten pretty good at reading Noelle’s feelings. But right then, he couldn’t tell a single thing about her thoughts.

Thomas cleared his throat. “We should get back to our place.” Driving would be a nightmare if they waited much longer. It was a good thing their rented cabin was near town.

Noelle nodded, but she didn’t move. “Do you jump through fire often?”

He hadn’t expected the question. He felt his lips curl in a grim smile. “Only when I have to.”

She inclined her head and spun, heading back toward the diner and their vehicle. Thomas saw Henry was out, watching them with wide eyes. The sheriff had taken the shovel in as evidence. Maybe they’d get lucky on the fingerprint check.

Maybe not.

But at least they’d found the girl.

When he’d rushed into that cabin and seen her there, the blindfold covering half her face, her red hair streaming behind him, it had been as if Thomas had run straight into a nightmare from his past.

Only I wasn’t the white knight then.

He’d been the man ignoring the cries for help.

They reached their SUV. Snow coated the windows, and Thomas shoved it away. When the vehicle was clear—well, clearer—he glanced at Noelle. Her eyes were on him.

What is she thinking?

“I was wrong about you,” Noelle said, and the howl of the wind nearly swallowed her words. “The profile that I had in my head... It was all wrong.”

He stiffened at her words. “I warned you before that you shouldn’t profile me.” Because he’d been afraid she wouldn’t like the man who truly lived inside him.

“I just didn’t realize how good you were at keeping secrets and telling lies.”

She knows. “Noelle?”

She climbed into the vehicle. Thomas jumped inside with her. It was as cold in the SUV as it was outside. And the snow was falling in ever harder waves. He turned on the ignition. It took three tries for the motor to finally kick to life. The windshield wipers slashed across the glass, but they didn’t help him see any better.

The sheriff had been right. Thomas figured he and Noelle would be lucky to make it back to their cabin before the storm hit with its full fury.

He spared another fast glance for Noelle. She was staring straight ahead, her attention seemingly on the snow that blasted down on them, but he could feel the tension emanating from her body.

Oh, yeah, the storm was about to hit, and he had a feeling it just might wreck his world.

* * *

HE’D LEARNED TO cover his tracks when he was ten years old. But he didn’t slow down to erase his footprints. There was no need then. Mother Nature was erasing the tracks for him.

The fire was out. He didn’t even see the smoke drifting up into the sky any longer.

He’d watched the blaze, just for a moment, and he’d seen them escape.

Worthy prey.

Noelle had come out first. She’d been burning. He’d smiled at the sight. But the flames had been extinguished all too quickly. The male had followed her—and he’d brought out Jenny.

Jenny shouldn’t have made it out of the house.