Two Reasons to Run

by Colleen Coble

  She set her glass on the counter. “How did you make it, Reid? You were what, eighteen or nineteen?”

  “Not quite nineteen. I don’t talk about it.” Not even Will knew the story of how he’d escaped and survived. “It was a hard time.”

  “Would it be easier to talk about in the dark? We can go to the screened back porch.”

  He could stare into those hazel eyes with their golden flecks for hours. It wasn’t her—it was him. He’d failed so often in the early years that talking about it was like struggling in quicksand that would try to suck him under again.

  He tore his gaze away. “Sure, let’s go outside.”

  He followed her out a door off the dining area. The moonlight cast long shadows around the furniture, which was cushioned and smelled new. He waited until she settled onto a love seat before taking a rocker on the other side. The crickets and katydids harmonized in a raucous noise that masked the way his pulse thundered in his ears.

  His mouth was dry, and he cleared his throat. “Uh, what do you want to know?”

  “What was the catalyst to leave?”

  The truth hovered behind his teeth. He tugged on the neck of his tee and wished he’d brought out something to drink. The sweltering night pressed in on his chest. “I wanted to find you. For Will.”

  He heard her light gasp but didn’t look at her. Couldn’t.

  “Yet it took you fourteen years.”

  The hard note in her voice struck him, but he still didn’t dare look at her. “It wasn’t as easy back then, and I was working two jobs to try to feed and house us. Once I had enough money, I started searching. Charles Hardy isn’t an uncommon name. And don’t even get me started on Jane Hardy.”

  “What jobs? And how did you escape?”

  “Will and I slipped out of the compound at midnight and I started hitchhiking. I made it to Chicago, where a trucker named John, with more tattoos than Justin Bieber, picked us up. He was on his way to Vegas. He was a family guy with four kids and couldn’t drive past a guy with a kid thumbing it down the road. He took us to his house in Vegas, and his wife, Geena, took one look at Will and opened the door wide. They let us stay with them for several weeks, and he helped me find my first job flipping burgers at a local café. It didn’t pay much—not enough to get my own place—but I kept plugging away.

  “A guy came into the café for lunch and asked me if I knew anyone who wanted a part-time job. He was a reporter, and the job was basically to be a gofer for him. Running errands, making sure he was where he was supposed to be, that kind of thing.”

  “And where was Will while you worked?”

  At her soft tone he glanced her way. “With Geena and John at first. When I got our first apartment, a fleabag studio I scrubbed up, I made friends with an elderly lady across the hall. She took a shine to Will and offered to keep him. I wasn’t sure at first, but she took us both to her church, and I could see she was good people. Really good. We still go visit her in Vegas as often as we can, and Will calls her Nana.”

  “And the job with the reporter eventually led to your profession?”

  He nodded. “Took a few years, of course. But I had a natural aptitude for the screen, and I started giving him ideas for documentaries. One day he told me to do it myself, and I was off and running.”

  “Where did Lauren fit in?”

  He winced. Lauren was an even unhappier memory. “She was Nana’s niece. I was vulnerable and right across the hall. An easy target. It didn’t last long though. We bought a small house, which she thought was a stepping-stone to a mansion soon. She thought I was going to start making money much faster than I did.”

  “When did you start looking for me? Before Lauren or after?”

  “After. Every Saturday I’d take Will to the library, and I’d search around on the computer. Then when several of my documentaries hit big five years ago, I hired an investigator. But I knew so little information. She’s not even the one who found you—I did.”

  “That news story you mentioned.”

  “Yes.”

  His chair squeaked as he rocked back and forth, more to soothe his agitation than anything.

  She rose and touched his shoulder. “I’m glad you found me. Get some sleep. I’ll take the first watch.”

  Before he could answer, she slipped through the door back inside the house. He exhaled and put his face in his hands. Those years seemed an eternity ago—and yet also seemed like just yesterday. He was beginning to understand he hadn’t escaped his past any more than she had.

  Ten

  She would never be able to sleep after what Reid had told her.

  The blue light from the security screens flickered in the small control room on the first floor. Jane glanced at the time on the one nearest to her. One o’clock. His emotionless recitation of escaping the compound left out so many nights where he must’ve second-guessed himself, and she’d sat in here filling in the gaps and sketching his face.

  She flipped to the last picture she’d drawn and stared into the slight smile in his eyes. He was a handsome guy, and everything about him drew her.

  Had he really tried to find her? His silence when he first came here seemed to indicate it was a lie. But then again, he did finally tell her. And he’d come here after he found out she lived in Pelican Harbor. Maybe he was just being careful.

  She rubbed her forehead and surveyed the backyard screen. A movement caught her eye, and she leaned forward to peer into the shadows in the woods. It could have been a deer. A lot of them roamed her dad’s property.

  The room plunged into darkness. She shot to her feet and drew her gun. “Reid, Dad!” she shouted up. Her dad had security speakers linking all the rooms even during a power outage, so they’d hear her instantly. “Will, take the stairway to the bunker!”

  Her dad’s feet hit the floor and ran down the hallway to the steps as she advanced through the living room and toward the back door. Reid came thundering down the steps from the third floor. When she reached the door to the screened porch, she paused at the right side, then peered into the dark yard. Nothing moved but leaves. Parker, who’d been sleeping with Will, reached her side before the men.

  His ears flattened, and a low growl emanated from his throat. Someone was definitely out there. She touched his head. “Easy, boy.”

  How had the intruder managed to cut the power without triggering the alarm? They should have been warned if someone managed to get through the fence.

  Someone touched her arm, and she glanced back to see her dad with an AK-47 in his hands. “No alarm,” she whispered. “I saw movement in the backyard just before the power went out.”

  Reid, handgun at his side, came into view. “Will should be in the bunker by now. I sent him down the secret passageway.”

  “Good.” She turned back to survey the yard again. Parker still bristled at her side. “My dog’s sure someone’s out there.”

  Reid turned. “I’ll go out the front and circle around.”

  Her father followed. “I’ll go the other direction.”

  What she wouldn’t give for a couple of officers with her too. Reid was a good shot, but he wasn’t a cop. Dad was, too, but she had no idea what she was facing out there. It could be a terrorist army for all she knew. Her dad had an armory in the bunker, and maybe she should have grabbed a rifle with an infrared scope instead of her Glock.

  Almost as if he’d heard her thoughts, her dad reappeared with night-vision goggles. He thrust one at her. “You’ll need this.” Two more pairs dangled on his wrist.

  “Good idea.” She took it and slipped it on.

  Details jumped out at her, and she could see nearly as well as if it were twilight. In a crouched position, she eased out the door onto the screened porch and moved toward the exit. The door opened noiselessly, and she stepped to the exterior door that opened to the deck with Parker on her heels.

  A bullet slammed into the door casing by her head, and splinters stung her cheek. She hit the ground as a fig
ure darted around the corner of the house to her left. Reid. He fired toward the woods lining the back of the property, and she heard twigs and debris snapping under someone’s feet. She caught sight of a figure fleeing farther into the tree cover.

  She sprang to her feet and ran after the intruder. Parker barked and gave chase as well, and she caught sight of Reid and her father circling around from either flank.

  The guy had vanished, and though they searched for another half an hour, they found no sign of him.

  Her dad signaled to her and Reid, and they convened under a large tree. “I want to get the power back on. I think it’s safest if Will sleeps in the bunker the rest of the night.”

  “I don’t think he should go to school tomorrow,” Reid said.

  She called Parker to her side. “Me neither. This guy brazenly waltzed in here without triggering the alarm and managed to cut our power.”

  Will wouldn’t like it, but they had no choice.

  * * *

  Reid’s every nerve was alert, and he couldn’t think about what might have happened.

  He propped a foot on a fence rail and frowned at the destruction the intruder had left. “He came through here, but why didn’t an alarm trigger when he cut through the fence?” He didn’t know that much about Charles’s protection system, but he knew it was top of the line.

  The Thursday morning dawn pinked the eastern sky and lit the trees with orange, purple, and red. Charles was back at the house guarding Will while Reid and Jane scoured the perimeter for clues about the attack.

  Jane frowned at her phone. “Just got a text from Dad. He found evidence of a system intrusion that turned off the alarm system. And the intruder turned off the power the same way. Sophisticated stuff. I need to find out who might have had the password to get into his Wi-Fi.” Her voice wobbled, and panic flared in her hazel eyes when she locked gazes with him. “How are we going to keep Will safe with someone like this?”

  He stepped closer and gripped her shoulders. “You’re going to find out who’s behind this, Jane. If Will needs to live in the bunker for a few weeks, that’s what we’ll do. Let’s call in all the help we can get and finish this. This guy has no idea who he’s dealing with.”

  Her eyes filled with tears and she swallowed. “I don’t know if I’m up to this, Reid.”

  “But I know you are.” He infused as much confidence in his gaze as he could. “Let’s arrange a meeting with Homeland Security and whomever else we need to talk to. Find out what they know. The state guys and the FBI too. Surely they are all on it.”

  She nodded. “You’re right—I know you’re right. I’m feeling overwhelmed from lack of sleep. I can do this.”

  He dropped his hands back to his side before she objected—which he knew was coming by the way she stiffened. “Let’s find your dog, make any calls you need to, and get on this.”

  “I’m going to leave Parker to help guard Will. We’d better tell Will he can’t go to school. He’ll be up by now.”

  The sun was already getting hot, and it was only seven. They walked toward the house, and Will sat on the porch with the dog. “What’s he doing out of the bunker?” Reid broke into a jog, and Jane ran with him.

  Will smiled when they reached him. “I wondered where everyone was. I heard Gramps in the shower, but you two were nowhere to be found.”

  Which explained why Charles hadn’t kept him in the bunker. Reid mounted the steps. “You need to go back to the bunker.”

  Will’s smile vanished. “I need to leave for school in half an hour.”

  Jane squatted in front of him. “Will, you’re nearly an adult, so I’m going to give it to you straight. Whoever broke in here last night had very sophisticated equipment. There’s no way we can keep you safe at school. We’ll need you to stay in the bunker until we apprehend him.”

  Will’s dark eyes flashed. “And how long will that take? Weeks? Months? I’ve only got another two weeks left of school, and I don’t want to miss it. We play the final baseball game of the tournament on Saturday. Our relief pitcher pulled a muscle in his shoulder, so it’s all up to me. I can’t let everyone down.”

  Reid set his hand on his son’s shoulder. “Your life is more important than school or baseball.”

  Will shrugged off Reid’s grip and leaped to his feet with his hands fisted. “No one will try to take me out with everyone around! And there will be a ton of people at the baseball game. Who would be stupid enough to shoot me in front of hundreds of witnesses? It doesn’t make sense.”

  Reid winced and knew he and Jane sounded unreasonable to their son. “Who would have guessed someone could bypass your grandpa’s security system and come after you? He shot at your mom. The bullet only missed her brain by inches.”

  Will’s eyes widened. “Mom?”

  Jane shot a glare at Reid. “I’m fine, honey. I’m a trained law enforcement officer. I can take care of myself, so don’t worry about me. We want to keep you safe.”

  “I’m not a kid! I need to be at that game.”

  Reid’s chest squeezed at the panic in his son’s voice, but he couldn’t back down. “You’re old enough to man up, Will. Adulting can be hard, and this is one of those times when you have to do the right thing to protect others. What if bullets started flying at school and some of your friends were hit? Or teachers? If the killer doesn’t care about collateral damage, being around you could be dangerous.”

  “But what idiot would think Mom would leave off an investigation because of a threat? She’s not that kind of officer.”

  Jane swiped at her eyes. “I’d like to abandon the investigation to protect you, but you’re right. I have a sworn duty to my town and the people who live there.” She rose with her head up. “You reminded me of all the reasons I have this job.”

  Will’s hands curled into fists. “I want to help—not be holed up in the bunker like I’m scared.”

  “The best way you can help is to let your grandpa guard you here in the bunker.” Jane swept her hand to the right. “And there’s a lot to do down there. Tons of electronic games, a treadmill, weights, even an indoor golf net. Books too. Your dad can pick up your assignments, and you can keep up. I’ll call in other agencies so we can crack this sooner. Please, just be patient, Will.”

  He heaved a sigh and hung his head. “You’re asking a lot.”

  Reid embraced him in a one-armed side hug. “I know we are. We need to pull together with this. Okay?”

  At least he didn’t shrug off Reid’s hug, and he relaxed in the embrace. “Okay, but figure this out before Saturday.”

  Reid’s gaze met Jane’s over the top of Will’s head. That was going to be a tough request.

  Eleven

  Jane couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

  She paced her office while Reid went to pick up coffee across the street. “How can you drop the case? Someone tried to shoot me last night!”

  The guy on the other end from Homeland Security—she’d already forgotten his name—sounded distracted. “Chief Hardy, as I said, we’ve found no corroborating evidence a terrorist cell is planning to attack the oil platform. The attack on you could have been anyone, correct? You didn’t identify the intruder.”

  “That’s true, but I got a warning to stop or they would hurt my son.” She wished she had Parker here to help calm her agitation, but Will had begged to keep him.

  “Stop what? The copy you sent over makes no mention of what you’re supposed to stop. I’m sure you have other investigations going on.”

  True enough. Attempted burglary at the bank, a rape case on the outskirts of town, and an assault charge in one of the bars. “Nothing worth trying to kill me over.”

  “But the shot might have been more of a warning. And we’ve combed through the McDonald man’s emails and contacts and have found nothing. Sorry.”

  “What about Keith’s death?”

  “It’s presumed an accident or suicide. Not foul play.”

  “We haven’t recover
ed his body. What if we find it and discover he was murdered?”

  “Then let us know and we’ll revisit it. Look, I have to go. Sorry.” The call clicked off.

  Jane plopped into her chair and huffed. The threat had to be related to Keith’s death. Had to be. There was no other explanation. Ruby would be devastated if the investigation was being abandoned.

  Reid came through the door carrying two cups from Pelican Brews. His smile fell when he saw her face. “What’s wrong? Is it Will?” He started to wheel to the door before she stopped him.

  “No, no. I talked to Dad fifteen minutes ago, and he and Will are playing a video game in the bunker.” She told him about the call with Homeland Security. “And with them discounting what we’ve learned, I doubt I can get the state police or the FBI to pick up the case. The FBI will investigate violent crimes, but we have no evidence yet that there is a murder.”

  He handed her a coffee, then sank into a chair opposite her desk. “So there’s no one but you to investigate.”

  “And without a body, I can’t even say for sure Keith was murdered. DHS thinks it was likely suicide or an accident.”

  “Is the Coast Guard still searching?”

  She shook her head. “They called off the search this morning. If we find him, it will be an accident.”

  Reid stared at her. “Did anyone dive down to see if they could find a body, or has it been an air-only search?”

  “No divers. Just boats and helicopters.”

  “I dive. How about I go down and see if we can find any clues to what happened?”

  She took a sip of her coffee. “You need a buddy to dive. I haven’t gone down in a while, so I’m a little rusty, but let me get my gear checked out. We could go down tomorrow. It’s very deep there, though. It’s doubtful we’ll find anything. The bottom is over two thousand feet down. I’m certified for a hundred and thirty feet.”