Compromised Identity. Jodie Bailey

made it in time. She just needed to understand how vital it was for someone to have her back. If this didn’t convince her the danger was real, protecting her and getting to the bottom of this mess was only going to get harder.

      Reaching out to lay a hand on her arm, he turned her toward his car. “Let’s get out of the middle of the parking lot. You can wait in my truck while I clear your vehicle.”

      She stopped, pulling away from his grasp. “Wait?” She threw a hand out toward Clarksville. “No. I have dinner tonight for the college girls in my Bible study. We get together before Thanksgiving and—”

      “Whoa.” Sean held up a hand to stop the flow of words. She’d lost her mind if she thought she was going to up and leave a crime scene before they’d done all they could do to catch the man who likely would have killed her. “No leaving until the techs get here. And no Bible study at all, not until we know you’re safe.”

      She opened her mouth to protest, but he shook his head. “Cancel it. The last thing you need is to put someone else in danger because they’re at your house when the bad guys show up. I can’t let you do that.”

      Her mouth closed, and she at least appeared to be considering his words. Denial could be stronger than common sense sometimes. In Jessica’s case, it seemed she carried a pretty hefty dose.

      Unfortunately, Sean knew what a superhero complex coupled with denial could get you. A space in the hot seat staring a terrorist square in the eye. He’d rightly earned that seat by ignoring the signs that had led to his own kidnapping. He wasn’t going to let Jessica do the same, not if he could save her.

      Rather than reach for her arm and get rebuffed, Sean swept his hand toward his rental car. “I’d feel a whole lot better if you weren’t standing in the open right now.”

      He expected her to argue, but she fell into step beside him and crossed the remaining thirty yards to his vehicle. Just a short distance from the vehicle, she stopped. “I know that guy from somewhere.”

      Sean looked around but saw no one in the parking lot. “Which guy?”

      “The one in my car.”

      “Wait.” Sean stopped, pinning his hands to her shoulders so she’d look at him and not away as she had a habit of doing when she was cornered. “You know him?”

      “I don’t know his name, but he was in the ID card facility earlier when I was there and I wish...” She shook her head and balled her fists again, which seemed to be her trademark move when she was frustrated.

      Or scared.

      Sean watched her eyes as she talked. This had her spooked more than she would ever let on. Jessica Dylan did not have everything as held together as she tried to make it appear, but with her driven need to prove herself, she’d never give him the satisfaction of seeing her crumble.

      Fighting the totally inexplicable urge to draw her close, an urge brought on by her unexpected vulnerability, Sean dropped his hands and took a step back. “You wish what?”

      “Nothing. Just that I could figure out where I’ve seen him before today.”

      “So this isn’t the first time you’ve encountered this guy?” If the man had been following her before the incident yesterday, it was for certain this operation was much bigger and Jessica wasn’t a random target. “Think. Where?”

      “I don’t know. That’s what’s bugging me. I’ve seen him, but my mind won’t place him. I’ve run through everywhere I’ve been for the past week and can’t picture him in any of those places.”

      “Describe him. Tell me everything about when you spotted him inside, anything you remember about him, no matter how insignificant. His appearance, what he was doing, everything.” Before Sean took one more step, he needed to know what he was up against. Even though he’d had a brief glimpse of the suspect, he wanted to hear her details, see if having her talk would trigger another memory.

      “Not very tall. My height maybe. Light brown hair. Tanned skin. He looked like...” She pulled in a gasp, reaching for Sean, eyes widening with something close to excitement. “He’s on the cell phone.”

      “What?”

      “His photo was in Channing’s email. That’s why he seemed familiar. I’m sure of it. It’s one of the first emails, one of the oldest.” She grabbed his wrist, animated once again. “If you can let me see the backup you made of that phone before they deleted the emails, I’ll recognize him.”

      She’d recognize the man, but would it do them any good? Each attack came closer to stealing Jessica and, if the pattern continued, when it happened again, he might not be able to reach her in time.