and had no patience for any of this. “Five years is a very long time, Ms. Bailey.”
Erin twisted her right wrist inside the confining handcuffs. She still couldn’t understand why the guard handcuffed her for this meeting. She wasn’t a violent inmate. And she could definitely count. “I’m very much aware of the time I’m facing, Mr. Logan.”
He leaned forward, pressing her with that unsettling gaze. “Then I wouldn’t be complaining about what time of day or night my one hope for freedom came.”
Freedom? Who was this man? What was he talking about? “Who sent you here?” she demanded, afraid to believe his words and equally scared not to. The false hope his insinuations engendered in her was too cruel for words.
“I can’t tell you that.” He folded his arms on the table, covering the file that likely contained information about her. “And even if I told you, you wouldn’t know any more than you do now.”
“I don’t understand.” For the first time since stepping into the room, fear for her safety rocketed through Erin. Was the guard still outside as he had said he would be? “I think I should go back to my cell now.”
She started to stand, but his next words stopped her.
“I can make all this go away.”
That was impossible. “How can you do that?” she demanded, knowing full well it couldn’t be true. She lifted her chin and glared at him, daring him to prove his statement.
“The people I work for are very powerful. If you cooperate with us, they will clear your record. You’ll be free to resume your life in any way you see fit.”
That sounded too good to be true. There had to be a catch. “And what do I have to do in exchange?” She surveyed the angular features of his handsome face, lines and angles, shadow and light. His expression gave nothing away, nor did those dark, dark eyes. How could she trust him? No matter how good-looking he was, or how important he appeared to be. She didn’t know him. He was a stranger. A stranger with enough power to waltz into a federal prison in the middle of the night and have the guards at his beck and call. That realization sent a chill straight to her bones.
He studied her for a while before he responded to her question. “We need you for a mission that involves national security. You will assume someone else’s identity, and you’ll be working very closely with me. Without you, the mission will have to be aborted.”
National security? Someone else’s identity? “Whose identity?” She had to be dreaming. This couldn’t be real. Stuff like this only happened in the movies.
“You’ll be briefed on everything you need to know before the mission begins.” He lifted a briefcase from the floor and placed it on the table. Once he’d opened it, he placed the file inside, then closed the case and stood. He leveled his gaze back on hers. “Any questions?”
“Wait.” She resisted the urge to reach out to him, touch him…just to see if he was real. This was all far too unbelievable. Surely he couldn’t expect her to make a decision based on so little information. She had to know more. “I can’t make a decision without more details than what you’ve given me. And I’ll need time to think it over.”
Impatience pounded in the muscle jerking in his tightly clenched jaw. “We don’t have time. If you choose to cooperate, you will do exactly what I tell you, when I tell you. There will be no discussion.” He lifted the briefcase from the table. “Now, are you in or out?”
Erin shook her head. This was crazy. “What kind of mission? Where?”
“I can’t answer either of those questions. You will be given that information on a need to know basis, and right now you know all you need to. What’s your decision?”
A mixture of irritation and fear fueled Erin. “You can’t expect me to just say yes. There are things I have to know and consider.”
“Like what?” He cocked his handsome head and glared at her. “Like whether or not you’ll survive if Inmate Evans decides she wants to do to you what she did to that judge in Savannah?” He lifted a speculative eyebrow. “Or maybe you want to contemplate Guard Roland’s next move as the months and years of your sentence crawl by.”
How could he know those things? No one knew. She hadn’t told anyone. “Who are you?”
“I’m your fairy godfather, Erin Bailey. I can make your greatest wish come true. I can clear your name, and I can make your old friend Jeff pay for his evil deeds.” Logan stared directly into her eyes for two beats before he turned and strode away. He didn’t stop until he reached the door. He glanced back at her, his expression challenging, openly condescending. “Are you in or out?”
Erin swallowed the fear climbing into her throat. What if he was right? What if this was her one chance for freedom? I can make all this go away. The mere thought of Jeff getting his due made her giddy.
“There’s one thing I have to know,” she insisted, delaying her answer though anticipation bubbled inside her at that last thought.
Irritation rolled off the handsome stranger in waves, but he waited for her question just the same.
“This mission you want me to help with, is it dangerous?”
Something changed in his eyes. All signs of cockiness and condescension drained from his expression. Erin’s heart hammered violently in the silent seconds that elapsed before he answered.
“Very.”
The solitary word echoed around her, filling her with renewed desperation. His gaze never leaving hers, he pounded once on the door. It opened instantly. He walked out, leaving the door wide open. Allowing her to make her own decision.
In or out.
Chapter Two
Two little words. I’m in.
Logan had stared at her for what felt like an eternity, something vaguely like regret in those dark eyes, before he turned to the guard and informed him that he’d be taking Erin with him. The guard had immediately removed her handcuffs as if the warden himself had given the order. Heart still pounding, palms still sweating, and a full twenty minutes later she settled into the back seat of a large black SUV parked outside the main prison entrance. Every second of those twenty minutes had ticked by one by one in Erin’s frantic mind. It didn’t seem possible that it was really happening, but it was. She was free to go with this stranger who’d shown up in the middle of the night.
Logan closed her door then slid into the passenger seat next to the SUV’s waiting driver.
“Airport?” the guy behind the wheel asked.
“Yeah.”
The driver glanced at her in the rearview mirror, his gaze brief yet assessing. She shivered beneath that swift scrutiny, but quickly forced the uneasiness away. She had to be strong. This was too important to allow fear to get in her way. She was out! Giddiness made her tremble. A few more feet and she would be clear of the last remaining barriers of incarceration.
The vehicle eased into forward motion, gaining speed as it rolled down the long drive. Erin held her breath as the massive prison gates opened and they passed through unimpeded.
