Eliot wished he hadn't had to play that card with Kate watching. It was one thing for her to know that he broke the law for a living, and quite another for her to see the kind of fear the mere sound of his name could inspire. She'd had enough fear in her life. But it was the only sure way to make Jarret back off. There weren't many things Tobias Jarret feared, but he feared Eliot Spencer, and with good reason. No one knew better than he what Eliot was capable of, not even Damien Moreau.

He could feel Kate watching him as he led her toward the van. "This is Lucille," he said to distract her. "I did not pick the name."

She smiled reflexively, but it faded quickly. "Eliot, are you sure Toby sent him?" she asked as she climbed in to the passenger seat. "I know he's not exactly a good person, believe me I know, but . . . hiring someone to kill me doesn't seem –"

"Not Toby," Eliot said. "His father. This is exactly his style." He revved the engine and maneuvered out in to the traffic.

"But why?" Kate asked. "The trial's over. They won."

"It's not that simple. It was a scandal, not just a crime. As long as people are talking about it, it continues to damage his reputation. He wants to erase all reminders of it so he can pretend it never happened. But I'm not going to let him do that. I promise. He'll rethink his plan when he gets my message. No one could ever call Tobias Jarret stupid."

They drove in silence for a couple minutes, but the silence was uncomfortable, filled with unspoken questions. Finally Eliot said, "You can turn on the music if you want. It's going to take us a bit longer to get back than it took me coming."

"Where are we going?" she said.

"Back to the Bridgeport pub. It's the safest place I can think of."

Her eyes widened. "You got here from there in five minutes? In this traffic?"

"I drove fast."

She looked at him skeptically.

"And I might have run a couple red lights."

"A couple?"

"Or a couple dozen. I wasn't counting."

"While talking on the phone? How are you still alive?"

He laughed. "Darlin', I've piloted helicopters through missile fire, and you want to know how I survived a trip through Portland rush hour?"

She smiled, and some of the tension was dispelled. She turned on the van's CD player. Hardison's "chase music" started playing.

Eliot winced. "Skip that one please. Anything but that, or it'll be stuck in my head all night."

"It is quite a persistent little tune," Kate said, flipping through the tracks.

"It's even worse with the lyrics."

"What are the lyrics?"

He shook his head. "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

He knew right away it was the wrong thing to say. She stopped flipping tracks, letting it stop on a David Bowie song.

"It's only forever.

Not long at all.

The lost and the lonely."

"Did you mean it when you told him you would kill anyone who tried to hurt me?" she asked very quietly. "Would you really kill them?"

"No one can blame you

For walking away

From too much rejection . . ."

"If I have to. But I won't have to," he said, not sure if he was reassuring her or himself. "The important thing is that Jarret knows I'm part of the game now, and that changes his whole approach. You're not worth lives to him."

She was staring out the passenger side window at the darkening city flashing by. She couldn't look at him. "So when you said before that you knew Jarret, what did you mean?"

Eliot bit his lip. It was hard enough to discussing these things with the team. With someone he hadn't even know for a day, it was excruciating.

"Don't tell me truth hurts, little girl,

'Cause it hurts like hell."

"I worked for him," he told Kate.

She drew in a sharp breath. "Worked for him . . . like that guy back there?"

Eliot kept his eyes fixed on the road, thinking over his answer. He needed her trust if he was going to help her, and he had to help her now. If he didn't, she'd be dead in a day. But if he lied to her and then she found out the truth, she certainly wouldn't trust him. Truth might hurt like hell for a while, but secrets could destroy you.

She was looking at him now, sensing that he was struggling with himself.

"Yes," he said. "Exactly like that."

She waited.

With a sigh, he pulled the van over to the curb and put it in park. "Listen," he said. "I . . . I wasn't always the person I am now. I've . . . done some very bad things in my life. Things I can never forgive myself for. But I'm not that man anymore. Now I help people instead of hurting them. That doesn't erase the past, I know. But nothing can. This is all I can do." He studied her face in the dim light, praying she would understand and let him protect her because he was probably the only person who could.

"But down in the underground

You'll find someone true."

"Please believe me, Kate, when I say I will never hurt you. You don't have to be afraid of me. The people who want to hurt you do."