“None worth talking about.”
He disconnected the call and Walker took a deep breath. He needed coffee before they did anything.
Mark was on his own in the kitchen when Walker walked in.
Walker glanced around. “Where’s Raines?” he asked warily.
“Gone.” Mark sounded pissed off but at least he was still talking to Walker.
“Is he coming back?”
“You’re safe for now. You survived Mitch then?”
“And Doyle.” Walker grimaced. “I’m on my final warning. One more screw up and I’m out.”
“That’s a bit drastic. A final warning already?”
“We all got warnings over the way we behaved toward Jake.”
Mark winced. “You’re never going to be allowed to forget it, are you?”
“I doubt it. Is there any coffee?”
“Machine’s on. I’m gonna cook breakfast. God knows when we’ll eat again.”
Walker nodded. Then he glanced across the room. “Just stay out of sight of the window, okay?”
He was pleased Mark didn’t try to negate his fears. Instead he said, “Good idea. We’ll keep the curtains and blinds closed.”
“Is Raines coming back?”
“I imagine so,” Mark said dryly. “You know he’s not gonna be able to keep his nose out of agency business. Do you know where they’re taking me?”
“I’m taking you,” Walker corrected.
“You are?”
“I’m escorting you to the safe house, and my team will be guarding you until the threat is neutralized.”
Mark’s expression was troubled. It wasn’t hard to guess what he was thinking. He wasn’t going to want a rookie team guarding him.
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”
Walker drew himself up stiffly. “I know we’re inexperienced but—”
“No. That’s not what I mean. What about your secret?”
Oh. Mark had been concerned about him. Walker was touched.
“That horse has bolted. The whole team know. I guess Doyle told them.” He tried not to show just how shit-scared he was to face Collins.
From Mark’s expression he wasn’t that successful in hiding his emotions. “Oh shit. I’m so sorry, Walker.”
“You don’t have to be. Doyle said he wouldn’t allow any bullying in his team, right before he reamed me out for not answering the phone again.”
“He really does sound like Mitch.”
Walker grimaced. “You know that’s not a good thing, right?”
“It depends if you’re running the agency or not. I think a degree of assholeish-ness is necessary,” Mark said.
“You’re probably right. It’s not something that is ever gonna bother me.”
Mark narrowed his eyes. “You’d better not be feeling inadequate right now, Mr. Walker. You’ve got to get me to the safe house.”
Walker shook his head. “I can do that. I’m good at being muscle. This is just an acknowledgement that I’m never gonna have to worry about running the agency. I can leave that kind of thing to Doyle and Mitch.”
Mark’s expression eased. “Good, because right this second you’re the one with the important task.”
“You’re probably more capable of getting yourself to the safe house with all your experience than I am.”
“I’m not agency anymore, and I haven’t been for many years. Mitch isn’t gonna take any chances.”
Which was a tactful way of saying Mark agreed with him, but he’d play along for now.
“Let’s get breakfast made,” Walker suggested. “We need to be on the road as soon as we’ve got the destination for the safe house.”
There was none of the lazy enjoyment of the previous day. Mark cooked a big breakfast including bacon and eggs and sausage from the fridge.
“I may as well use up everything fresh or it’s just going to stink the place out by the time we get back.”
Walker noticed the ‘we’ but he made no comment. He concentrated on making coffee for both of them.
He was halfway through shoveling food into his mouth when he received a message. He chewed and swallowed before he relayed the information to Mark. “We’re driving to Denver. Someone is gonna leave a vehicle for us at the diner. Si is going to get us there. He’s picking us up in fifteen minutes. Are you packed?”
“Almost. But finish the food and get cleared up.”
They worked efficiently, clearing away the plates and getting the dishwasher started. Mark threw away milk and fresh produce that would spoil while he was away. There was no point taking anything with them as they had no idea where they were going to end up or if they’d have any cooking facilities. Walker got the dishwasher started and checked his phone.
“We’ve only got a couple of minutes. We need to get packed.”
Mark grimaced. “I really need a shower.”
“We’ll do that when we get there,” Walker said. “We can’t afford to stay here too long.”
He was anxious to get on the road. Fear coiled in his gut. He didn’t want to spend a moment longer here than necessary. He should have questioned Mark more closely about the strange calls yesterday, but it hadn’t occurred to him that they could be anything other than someone trying to find a therapist. He ran upstairs to pick up his pack, stuffing clothes and toiletries haphazardly into it. Then he shoved his feet into his boots and shrugged on his hoodie. Mark came into the bedroom and pulled out a pack almost identical to his. He caught Walker’s quizzical look and shrugged.
“Once an agency man, always an agency man,” Mark said wryly as he went into the bathroom to collect supplies.
Walker nodded, glad that Mark was so prepared. He pulled out the keys to his rental. “I’m going to need to talk to Si about getting the rental back to the airport.”
Mark came back into the bedroom. “Moose will do that for you if the agency doesn’t. He likes the chance to go to the airport. I think he’s a closet plane spotter, although it’s not like he gets a lot of choice at our local airport.”
“Quit dicking around and get down here!” Si yelled from the bottom of the stairs.
Walker looked at Mark. “Do you usually leave the doors unlocked when there are killers after you?”
Mark pressed his lips together, but he said, “Relax, Si’s had a key for months. He just generally doesn’t use it.”
Walker relaxed a fraction. “Okay, I’m sorry. I’m just on edge, and anxious to get out of here.”
The irritated expression on Mark’s face eased, and he tugged Walker towards him. They dropped their packs and hugged for a moment, Walker’s face buried in Mark’s hair.
“Don’t make me come and get you,” Si yelled.
Walker huffed, and Mark sighed.
“It could be worse,” Walker said. “He could be the one escorting you to the safe house.”
Mark tilted his head to grin at him. “You know he’s my best friend, right?”
“Yeah.” Walker drawled it out till it was just this side of offensive.
Mark patted his bicep. “Don’t worry big boy, you’ll get used to each other.” He picked up his pack and turned to walk down the stairs.