She threw her arms around him again and hugged him, trembling and shaking from head to toe with emotion. He rubbed his hands up and down her back and simply let her hold on, let her take what she needed while he held her just as tightly as she held him.

After a while, Wade bent and brushed his lips across hers in a tender kiss. “Plans have to change. I need to call Dane and apprise him of the newest developments. I want them on you tomorrow watching you every fucking second. And then you get your ass back here to me where you belong.”

Belong. Such a simple word and yet it hit her like a ton of bricks. She’d never belonged to anyone. She’d never belonged anywhere. Wade said she belonged to and with him, and she’d never felt anything sweeter than knowing that, finally, she actually felt a sense of true belonging.

TWENTY

ELIZA purposely arrived at the site of the press conference early so she could select a place directly in front of the podium so there was no chance of Thomas not seeing her. She hadn’t shared this with Wade, but she’d only given him one of her reasons for insisting on being here when Thomas had his day in the spotlight. She hadn’t lied. Every single thing she’d told him about needing to face Thomas was absolutely true. But there was another reason, one she hadn’t dared impart to Wade or he would have shut her down so fast her head would have spun.

She wanted to be as close to Thomas as possible because she knew once he spotted her, once he knew she was there, almost in touching distance, he would attempt to begin his manipulation. And now that she understood the difference between thoughts and feelings psychically implanted and those that were solely her own, she knew she was no longer that starry-eyed teenager living without hope with only her daydreams and fantasies to make life bearable.

She would know immediately if Thomas was able to break through the mental barriers she’d spent years strengthening. And she needed to know, because if he could still manipulate her, then she was a danger to every single person important to her. Thomas could use her to turn against people absolutely loyal to her, betray them, destroy them and herself in the process.

It was a test. The most important test of her life with everything riding on the outcome. Whatever the result, she would still walk away once Thomas registered her presence. It was only a matter of whether she would return to Wade, confident in her ability to withstand a mental assault, or . . . if her barriers were breached then she’d run and she’d keep running. Forever. Whatever it took to ensure she would never be under Thomas’s control again and used to destroy the lives of the people who meant the most to her.

She checked her watch, casually turning ever so slightly so she could view the growing crowd. Though she had yet to speak to Dane since the last time she’d seen him when she’d requested vacation time, it heartened her to know he was out there. Watching over her, taking her back like always, and with him the other DSS operatives. Zack. Newly married or not, she knew he would have insisted on being here. Next to Dane, Zack was closest to her of everyone she worked with.

She had the utmost confidence in her team. Knew they were watching, taking in every detail, any sign of danger, protecting her and then, when she left, they would shadow Thomas’s every move and even Thomas with his psychic abilities would never know he was being watched. Her pride in the people she worked with was well deserved, absolute and unwavering. They’d proven themselves time and time again. Even when she’d been abducted and subjected to grueling torture, she’d never once lost faith that they would find her and get her out alive.

More and more people gathered until the entire street between the grassy circle and the businesses behind them was clogged with bystanders making it impassable to vehicles. The businesses had all closed for the press conference. No one would be anywhere but here. Afterward, they’d reopen and likely do a booming business as the locals gathered to gossip and offer their opinions on Thomas’s statement. And Eliza’s presence of course.

As safe as she knew she was in the hands of her teammates watching over her, she wished Wade was here, even just doing what her team was doing. Watching, invisible, ghosts. But Wade had good reason not to leave the safe house. With so many people, media, cameras and filming, he couldn’t risk being seen by anyone.

If he was the one taking Thomas down—and he was adamant that it was his mission and his alone—then he couldn’t be linked in any way to the town or the media, and he could not be seen by anyone who could place him in the vicinity of Thomas.

It still made her sick to her soul to have Wade take someone’s life for her. It was her risk to take, her fall to take, her right to finally bring him to final justice. She shook off the unwanted thoughts and images of Wade risking all for her and did another quick scan of the now massive crowd. The many media crews were already set up, some giving a preliminary live report with cameras panning the huge gathering while the reporter chirped her spiel as if this was something good and exciting.

Her lips curled in disgust and then she froze, all her breath leaving her lungs in one forceful exhale. She stared, nearly paralyzed with panic and anxiety as she watched a procession of police cars flanking a four-door sedan pull up to the cordoned-off and guarded section of street directly in front of the courthouse on the opposite side of the grassy area from where the press conference was set up.

She stared in horror as the driver stepped out, doing a quick scan of his immediate surroundings before opening the door to the backseat. A half dozen police officers converged as Thomas stepped from the vehicle, surrounding him as they began walking slowly across the grass to where the platform and podium had been set up.

Even spending years in prison, Thomas looked as though time and age had been good to him. Even in his twenties, he’d possessed a timeless look, making it hard to accurately judge his age. And now, he looked only slightly older than he had at twenty-eight. Even more unbelievable, he had grown more handsome over the years.

He’d always possessed a quiet, distinguished air that drew people to him like a magnet and that look had only intensified. Anger and bitter hatred boiled in her veins. It wasn’t fair! He’d viciously murdered women with no remorse or regret. He felt nothing at all. They were dead, their lives cut short and he was now a free man whose looks and appeal had only heightened during the time he served, and he still had a long life to look forward to. The women he killed had nothing, their young lives ending in terror and unspeakable agony. Her only consolation was that if all went according to plan, his life would end just when he thought it would begin again.