The first call was a hang-up. She frowned as the second call played. It was a hang-up. And so were the next two. Her hands fisted tight around the receiver. Like the calls she had gotten at her apartment in the middle of the night.

“Who was it?” Mark yelled.

She debated . . . tell him—don’t tell him. He was already was too protective. If this was nothing, he’d make her life hell and what purpose would it serve? This was a private hotel room. No one could get to her here. She sat the receiver down.

“Lindsey?”

She pushed to her feet and walked towards her wine. “You were right. Courtesy call.”

Chapter Twelve

The plane ride was bumpy.

Just as Mark was certain his path to Lindsey’s heart would be. He looked down at Lindsey, curled under his arm, hand on his chest, and a smile played on his lips. Slowly, her walls were coming down. He wasn’t kidding himself, though. There was still a long way to go. She was a loose cannon in some ways, ready to explode and jump to conclusions. He needed to get rid of her past skeletons to ensure a future with her. To do that, he was afraid she would need to get Hudson behind her. That could mean catching the killer, a task that might not prove easy, and could, in fact, prove dangerous.

The plane jerked, the turbulence getting heavier. Over the intercom, the pilot announced a seatbelt warning and asked the flight attendants to sit down. Lindsey lifted her head, confusion in her eyes. “I hate when it gets bumpy,” she admitted as she gripped the arms of her seat, knuckles going white.

Mark gave her a comforting smile. “Ah, now, you know that planes are tough. They can take more than people would ever imagine possible.” He slid his hand on her knee and gave it a light squeeze. She swallowed hard, nodding. The plane jerked a couple times in a row, and her face was etched with unspoken fear. “Talk to me and keep your mind off the plane,” he told her.

Her lips were thin, her jaw tense. “About what?”

He wanted to know about the place she called home. “Tell me about Washington.”

She shrugged and then grimaced as a heavy bump shook the plane. “There’s not much to tell.”

“Have you ever met the President?”

“Yeah, I’ve met him.”

“And?” he asked, surprised she hadn’t said more.

“Nothing to tell,” she said. “I was on a special task force that got up close and personal. It was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of opportunity.”

Mark looked at her, searching her face, praying he wasn’t going to lose her to her job in Washington. “You like your job there?” he asked but almost didn’t want to hear the answer.

“If you would have asked me that a month ago I would have said yes, but—”

“But what, baby?” he asked, quietly encouraging her.

She gnawed her bottom lip. “I don’t know what I want anymore,” she admitted, seeming to fight a bit of confusion. “Did you ever doubt your decision to leave Paxton?”

The plane jerked and Lindsey jumped, letting a little yelp escape her lips. Mark couldn’t hold back a small chuckle. She glared at him. “Don’t laugh at me, damn it. I hate this.”

He held his hands up in mock surrender. “I’m not, I swear. You’re just cute like this.”

Lindsey shot him an angry look. “Like this?” she asked in question. “Like what?”

A slight smile played on his lips. “I think it’s adorable that you are afraid of flying.”

Lindsey rolled her eyes. “I am not afraid of flying,” she said between her teeth. “I simply don’t like turbulence.” The plane jerked again and Lindsey grabbed her seat arms, shooting Mark a warning look. “There’s a big difference.”

Mark smirked. “If you say so, sweetheart.”

“Ohhhhhh,” she growled. “Anyway, you didn’t answer my question. Did you know you wanted to leave Paxton with absolute certainty?”

Mark’s expression grew serious as he thought about her question. It was time to tell her about the past. “I didn’t want to leave, Lindsey. Your father gave me no option.”

Her eyes filled with a million questions. “I offered to buy your father out.” Mark held up a hand. “Nothing hostile about it, I promise.” He paused to see her reaction. When she nodded her understanding, he continued, “We agreed on the financial aspect of things, but when it came to other things, it got hairy.”

“What other things?”

“He wanted certain partners guaranteed certain things,” Mark said grimly. “I couldn’t do it. The partners in question were ones I didn’t even want to keep around.”

Lindsey understood. “So what happened? Did you pull out or did he?”

Mark put two fingers to his temple. “I did. We argued. It got nasty, and I just finally had enough.”

“I see,” Lindsey said. “So you wanted Paxton.”

Mark eyed her, trying to understand what motivated her words. “I thought I did, but when I left—it felt right.” He paused, thinking back on the past. “When it came down to it, I decided Paxton wasn’t supposed to be a part of my future. When you showed up on my doorstep, it was hard to fathom returning.”

“And now?” she asked.

Her short questions were making him nervous. How was she feeling about him and the past? Had Edward planted ideas in her head? “All I know is how important you’ve become to me, Lindsey.” He took her hand. “I came back for you and no other reason. I want you to know that with certainty. I need to know you believe me.”

Lindsey looked into his eyes, and he saw her soften, yet she didn’t reach out to him. “I know. I believe you.”

He’d hoped she’d say more. He stared at her, searching for any underlying feelings. Finally, he said, “Good.” Forcing himself to sit back in his seat, to not press her, he closed his eyes. Her walls were still there, and as many times as he had promised himself he’d be patient, he wasn’t feeling it at that very moment.

An hour later, air laced with a tension that had seemed to sprout out of nowhere, they were in his car, heading towards his apartment. “Mark, where are we going?”

He stared at the road as he answered. “To my place.”

She cleared her throat. “Aren’t you forgetting to take me home?”

He peered at her from the corner of his eye. “No, I’m not. I have no intention of taking you home.”

She slapped her hands in her lap. “Mark, I have no clothes. I need to go home.”

His response was immediate and clipped. “We’ll go by in the morning.”

“I don’t want to have to deal with it in the morning.” Her voice was sharp.

He wanted to insist, to bully her, to do anything possible to get her to do things his way. He counted in his head, willing himself to calm. This was Lindsey. Pushing would get him further away from her. They pulled to a stoplight, and he turned to her, a soft plea in his voice. “I don’t want to give you up for the night, Lindsey.”

He watched her expression go from anger to understanding. “I need clothes,” she said softly.

“We can either go get your stuff and take it to my place or I can stay at yours.”

Lindsey smiled, laughing with her defeat, but clearly not unhappy about it. “Fine, your place. Mine doesn’t have much since it’s temporary.”

Her words took a bit of his satisfaction. He didn’t want New York to be anything but permanent for her. “It’s settled then. We will get your clothes and you will come home with me.”

“Okay.”

Mark took her hand and raised it to his lips, kissing it softly. “Thank you.” And then he added, “I would never have done your father wrong.”

She looked at him, her eyes wide. “I know that.”

“But yet you’ve barely spoken to me since I told you about the firm.”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s not you. I just hate the way things are with my father. He’s on my mind.”

Mark reached over and took her hand. “He’ll be okay.”

“I hope so.”

He knew there was something else. “What is it, Lindsey?”

She looked at her lap. “Just trying to figure out what to do with the firm. That’s now clear as day.”