Chapter 6

6

N o black SUVs followed them. At least, not that Will could tell.

He pulled into a parking lot outside the neighborhood restaurant Gwen had suggested. The scent of French fries and grilled meat wafting from Bailey's made him think of hamburgers, but if Gwen wanted the ice cream, he couldn't see any reason why she shouldn't have some. Maybe sitting inside would help her relax.

"I saw you studying the neighborhood when we left Leslie's house." Gwen stepped out of the car.

She'd pulled the elastic from her hair, and the soft strands fell around her face. For a second he couldn't tear his gaze away. But she seemed to be waiting for a reply. He racked his brain for a moment before remembering. Will put a hand at her back. "You're right. I was watching the street. Second nature, probably. Situational awareness."

"Is that an intelligence operations word?"

"Military for being always aware of your surroundings. As a soldier in enemy territory, you always look for escape routes." He locked his Jeep and led her across the crowded parking lot. Dinnertime had passed and they were well into the teenager Friday night dating scene.

"Well?" She stopped walking, her blue eyes wide. "Don't keep me in suspense."

He smiled. "As far as I can tell, we're still good." He held Gwen back from the entryway while a group of giggling teenaged girls pushed outside.

"You're very thorough." She gave him one of her sweet smiles.

He held the door open for her. "That's probably the only reason I'm still alive."

She slipped her hand through his arm and leaned close. "I'm glad you managed."

Warmth flooded down to his toes. She'd been judging his every action since he'd met her, but her suspicion had finally vanished. Whether or not that was because he'd talked easily with her family, he didn't know, but he still appreciated that no end. "Are you?"

"You've been wonderful, and you know it."

"I try," he said. Laughter rose from a booth of teenagers. A waitress, her blond hair caught in a hairnet, passed with a tray of filled soda fountain glasses. "It's busy in here."

The hostess greeted them, and they followed her to an empty booth.

Gwen turned over her menu. "This chain is famous for ice cream. That's what I want."

"You might want to get something to eat, too. We have a long drive back." We. He liked the sound of that.

He studied the choices and then laid the card flat to scan the restaurant for a waitperson. Gwen had been watching him expectantly but looked away now. He leaned back and clasped his hands. "Go ahead. The floor is yours." Color swept her cheeks, the contrast with her pale skin making her even prettier. "Ask me anything."

"Anything, huh?" She raised her dark brows. "You're not afraid of what that might be?"

"No."

"Actually." She clasped her hands on top of the menu. "I don't have a question, but I was just thinking you're not at all how I pictured you."

"You mean I don't have two heads and walk with a limp?" he asked.

"That's not what I imagined and you know it!" She laughed. "I thought you'd look more like an engineer."

He leaned forward. This could get interesting. "What's an engineer look like?"

"You know." She waved a hand. "Nerdy with glasses and a pocket protector."

"I take it you're disappointed?"

"No!" she exclaimed and then blushed again when she realized she'd spoken loudly.

"Glad I pass muster." Will shared a smile with her. This woman continued to surprise him, and he didn't think he'd ever met anyone quite like her. He signaled to a different wait person, but she also ignored him.

"What did you do while in the Navy?"

"I worked in intelligence. Covert assignments."

"Like what the Seals do?"

"In a way."

She raised her eyebrows. "Is that all you can say because it's so secret?"

"Something like that." A server passed them with a tray full of drinks. She acknowledged him before serving another booth. "My dad was a career officer, my uncles had all been to the academy, so the Navy was a given for me. I wanted to make the same contribution."

"Now that I'm getting to know you, I can see that. Then you went to college for your engineering degree so you could build ships. In fact, Erin says you motivated her to finish her degree."

He shifted uneasily but decided to play this for laughs and slapped his cheeks. "I feel so exposed."

She laughed, and he smiled inside, pleased to discover that not only was Gwen beautiful and smart, she had a sense of humor. He decided to use this to his advantage. "This is unfair. Now you know more about me than I know about you."

She shook her head, her tiny stud earrings flashing in the light. "I'm not interesting."

"Come on, give me something."

"I work in a research lab studying viruses, most of them very dangerous. Sequencing genetic material, that sort of thing." She raised her eyebrows as if to ask if he knew anything about that.

"I've read about it and seen photos. I frankly can't imagine the patience that takes."

The waitress with the tray stopped beside their booth. She pulled a pad from her frilly white apron. "You ready to order?"

He gestured to Gwen to go first. "I'm going to have a chocolate malt."

"That's all?" he asked.

Gwen nodded, and the server turned to him. "I'll have the BLT on wheat with fries."

"They have BLTs here now?" Gwen raised her dark brows. "They didn't used to."

He pointed to the item on the laminated card.

"I've already had a sandwich, but with all the running around we did, I need something more."

He nodded, knowing well how stress could deplete a person.

"Besides, bacon's my weakness." She turned to the server. "I'll have a BLT on white. Chips instead of fries."

The waitress nodded. "Anything to drink?"

"Water for me." Will set the menu aside. The waitress jotted their order and left. Gwen sighed.

He folded his arms on the table, one part of his attention watching those around them and the other the cars turning in off the street. "I would have thought visiting your family would be relaxing."

"Are you kidding? I was dodging questions right and left."

"What kind of questions?" He slid the menu card behind the ketchup.

She said nothing for a moment. "The usual sort relatives ask single women."

"I got it now." He nodded. "‘When am I going to meet your girlfriend? It's time you settled down. That sort of thing."

"Ohmigod." She leaned forward. "You really do know."

"Same thing happened to me, but I didn't mind. Your uncle and aunt were so busy asking me about myself they didn't want to know why we were so late."

Giggles erupted from the booth behind them where four high school kids sat. Will turned back to their table. "Were you serious as a teen?"

"I don't remember, but it's not bad to be focused."

"It's admirable. A skill I'm sure you use as a research assistant, whatever that means."

"I work for a professor studying viruses. I'm his senior lab assistant."

That didn't give him much more information. Was she being intentionally vague? Or merely modest? "I'm not clear what that entails. Can you share or is it a secret?"

"I get my name on the research papers he writes along with some of my other lab colleagues. I get to help present our findings at conferences and local seminars. We gave one at the university a few weeks ago, very well attended, too, because my boss is famous."

"You're a science star." Will had trouble reconciling that with his own preconceived notions about her as a frazzled woman with a messy ponytail.

"No, Dr. Hepler is. I like the work and knowing that maybe we can create a vaccine to cure some of the world's worst diseases."

"That's impressive." He clasped his hands on the table.

"Not really. I'm just his lab assistant."

Will didn't believe a lowly lab assistant would be listed on the publications. But again, he appreciated her modesty, which was rare these days. "I'll bet you have an advanced degree."

"I do. A masters."

And scientists theorized ahead of time about their expected results. This went a long way to her having preconceived ideas about him. But knowing this beautiful woman had given him enough thought to visualize him stirred a strange awareness inside. Strange, because he couldn't remember ever feeling this way before.

Their sandwiches arrived, along with Gwen's malt. By mutual consent they concentrated on eating. He had popped a fry into his mouth when high headlights swept the parking lot outside. He stilled, pretending to be studying the menu card while keeping an eye on a large, black SUV entering the restaurant lot.

"Do you want—" Gwen stopped speaking. "Will?—?"

As he watched, the vehicle disappeared past the row of parked cars. He'd noticed earlier that the lot wrapped around the restaurant to the other side. This place seemed popular, but, if the driver found a space, he would come inside any minute. What were the chances this person would be the driver they'd noticed earlier surveilling Gwen's apartment?

* * *

Gwen sank back against the red vinyl seat. She'd been practically clinging to the windowsill, following the progress of the big black SUV as it rolled out of sight. Her throat tightened. "Did you see what just came into the parking lot?"

"Yeah." Will swiveled to stare at the restaurant entrance.

"Shouldn't we get out of here?" Gwen set her BLT on her plate and pulled her tote up onto the seat beside her.

A frown puckered his forehead, and when he looked her way that wave of dark auburn hair flopped over his brow. "This is a public space. We're safe."

He chewed and swallowed, keeping hold of the half sandwich in his hand. A slice of tomato slipped to the plate, which he ignored. His brows lowered, and the edges of his eyes crinkled. He set down his meal. "Do you want to leave?"

Wow, Will wasn't going to boss her around, a trait she hadn't encountered very often in the male species.

"Not really. I'm loving my malt." She smiled. "Thanks for stopping here."

"Only because you wanted Rocky Road." His lips twitched. "If it had been chocolate or strawberry, I might have driven past."

"This has ice cream in it." She tapped a fingernail against the glass.

He picked up his sandwich and then put it down again. "We can get some Rocky Road to go."

"No, really. This is enough. Stop teasing."

He took another bite and caught her gaze. She couldn't look away. He lifted the last of the sandwich half. "This is great, by the way."

"Because it's got bacon." But she ignored her food to tear a strip off her paper napkin. She'd been debating actions if they spotted the car again. Sitting still and waiting to see what would happen next didn't feel like the right thing to do. "Have you had experience in this sort of situation before? Being followed?"

"Not in the U.S., but yes." He picked up a fry.

"Did you see who was at the wheel?" She tore another strip.

He wiped his mouth and moved his plate aside. "The driver just now?"

She nodded.

"A man. That's all I could make out." Will chewed another fry.

"We don't have a clue what the guy parked in the bushes looked like." She balled up her pile of napkin strips.

"You're right. But I think we'll know if it's the same guy."

A gust of warm air accompanied by noises from the street traffic, swept inside. Gwen straightened and peered toward the entrance. The hostess held the door wide, and a gray-haired woman with a cane tottered inside, followed by her equally senior citizen husband.

"I doubt that couple came in a black SUV." She pulled the toothpick from her sandwich and took a bite. What on earth had she ordered? It tasted like sawdust. She switched to her malt. "It doesn't seem like a senior-citizen-type vehicle."

"They might like the protection of all that armor." Will stood and tossed a couple of twenties on the table. "Finish my fries if you want. I'm going to check around outside. Stay here."

"But what if—" Will's long legs had already taken him halfway to the exit. What if the mysterious "driver" does come in? I think we'll know if it's the same guy . Will probably meant was that if the man surveilling her apartment came inside, he'd stalk right up to their table and take Will's seat.

Maybe she should hide? Or ask the jerk if he knew a tall, skinny guy with long black hair?

"Everything all right?"

Their waitress stood beside the booth with her empty tray propped on her hip. She scooped up the little pile of napkin pieces and slapped a new one beside her. "Can I get you anything else?"

"A doggie bag for the rest of my sandwich, please." She lifted her malt glass and handed over the bills. "And do you have a cup for this?"

The waitress took the money and returned with to-go containers and change.

Gwen had boxed up the rest of her food by the time Will came back inside, his hair windblown. His gaze landed on the carry-out containers. "You're ready to leave."

"I am. Is it going to be safe?"

* * *

"This is as good as we're liable to get." Will lifted a few dollar bills from the tip tray and left the rest for the waitress. He wanted to ask Gwen if she had figured out yet why the guy in the rock band tee seemed familiar. That would possibly give them a lead to track, but he wasn't going to bother her with that right now. What he needed to do now was get them back to the city and his apartment before she collapsed from exhaustion.

She dragged her tote off the bench seat and rose, hooking the straps over her shoulder. "Did you see the black SUV that passed our window?"

"Probably. There was one in the lot." Will reached for the foam containers and extra napkins. "No one was standing around nearby, as if waiting. I even ran up and down the block to double check the other businesses, but didn't see any cars that looked like the one outside your place. Those senior citizen customers must be driving the sports utility."

"I'm glad I'm going home with you." She followed him outside.

He stilled. She sounded eager, and heat rippled along his nerves.

Don't get excited. She doesn't mean what it sounds like. She had only agreed in the first place because she didn't want to be alone, and that was probably the emotion behind her words. But he would have her to himself a little longer, which suited him fine.

He opened the passenger door, waited for her to settle, and handed over the take-home containers. After he climbed in and started the engine, he said, "I think I can remember how to get back to the highway, but feel free to give me directions."

Between the two of them they reached Henry Hudson Parkway without trouble and headed south.

"Do you mind if I eat my sandwich? I'll be careful not to drop any food in your car."

"Go ahead." He was glad she'd relaxed enough to feel hungry. "You'll feel better. I know I did."

Soon the heavenly scents of bacon, tomato, and mayonnaise drifted to him, but he focused on the road. Ten minutes or so later, a soft sigh came from the passenger seat. "That was so good."

Suddenly, he envisioned a warm and naked Gwen sighing in his arms, and his pulse quickened. Jeeze . He rubbed a palm over the top of the steering wheel. He'd promised her no strings, and he didn't need to torture himself.

Will stared at the taillights ahead of them. He should simply concentrate on getting home. He wouldn't mind hearing her voice, though, but they needed a neutral topic. Before he could think of anything, she shifted in her seat.

Eyes front, Will. What was it about this woman that her every word and movement etched itself in memory like a groove laid down on a 45-rpm record?

"Were you okay with my uncle and aunt? I sort of bailed on you," she asked.

"You did not abandon me." After checking his mirrors, he merged with the traffic flowing over the bridge. This was the second time she'd mentioned her relatives and their visit. "We'd already agreed we didn't want to stay long and you took care of what you had to do right away. I enjoyed meeting them."

"You really did?"

He glanced over to see her twisting her hands in her lap. Why? "I enjoyed talking to your uncle."

"What did you talk about?" She leaned toward him.

"Ships. His military experience. Who will win the Super Bowl next year. We found out we had a lot in common, including rooting for the Jets."

"I was afraid you'd be bored." She rubbed her hands down her jeans.

"Not at all." Will smiled as he remembered. "I can tell your uncle and aunt are fond of you from the way they spoke of you."

"You talked about me ?"

Was she upset? "Come on, Gwen. You did bring me there. I told them I was a friend of your roommate, Erin, and about the workbook you picked up."

"That's good." She settled back in her seat, her relief evident.

He smiled because he could understand her relatives' interest. Gwen was smart, pretty, and working in an important job. He glanced at her. He'd meant what he'd said to be a compliment so why was she fiddling with her seatbelt?

Gwen was a mystery he wanted very much to solve.