by Paula Mowery
He plopped onto the sofa while she slipped to the kitchen to retrieve two sodas. She returned, handed him a can, and sank onto the couch next to him. They sipped in silence.
Charlie turned her body and looked him in the eyes. “I still don’t like the idea of using you as bait.”
“There’s nobody else.” He shrugged. “It has to be me. And besides, I’ll have the best officer backing me up.” He raised his eyebrows and grinned.
She chuckled. She couldn’t help it. “Just don’t get heroic. Do what you were told. Lure him then move.”
Colton saluted her. “Yes, ma’am.”
Charlie slapped him playfully on the arm and settled back next to his side. He had no idea how many prayers she had offered since this whole operation was set up. She was definitely falling in love with him. She couldn’t see her life without him. Surely God hadn’t brought them together to allow something to happen to Colton. Over the past two days, her prayers had been more like pleading.
She scooted closer to Colton and leaned her head onto his shoulder. He slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her near. She craved more moments like this. If only tomorrow was already behind them.
EIGHTEEN
Colton followed his same routine for preparing for a trip. He arrived early to the airport and began the pre-flight checklist, even though he wouldn’t be leaving the hangar. Jordan and Charlie, along with a few other officers, hid somewhere nearby. He glanced around. They had done a good job of staying out of sight. Such a good job, he feared they weren’t there. But he had to trust.
His hand trembled slightly. He breathed evenly in an attempt to control it. Shaky hands might tip the man off and ruin the whole snag operation. Sweat dripped down his back. A movement to his right caught his attention. He swallowed and turned in that direction.
The man approached with a small brown box under his arm. “Mr. Thomas, beautiful day for a trip to Florida, wouldn’t you say?”
“Yes, sir. It is.”
“I heard on the news that you and your co-pilot had a little mishap.” The man’s mouth curved into a smirk.
Colton cleared his throat. “Yep. Engine failure, and some bad fuel.” Keep your tone even. He’s testing me. He propped his hands on his hips. Was this man responsible for almost killing Marshall and me?
“I wonder if I might trouble you with transporting this small parcel. It won’t take up much room. I have a colleague waiting for it in Florida.”
“I guess I could do that. Same arrangement?”
“Of course.” The man smiled.
Colton reached toward the package. “Here, let me put it in the back.”
Suddenly his peripheral spotted Charlie. His eye shift must have tipped the man as to activity behind him. Instantly the man drew a gun from inside his jacket and spun around. A shot echoed in the hangar.
Charlie cried out.
“No!” Colton screamed. Was she hit?
She was sprawled on the cement floor of the hangar. He took one step toward her, but the man whirled back around and aimed the weapon at him. Colton froze in place and braced himself for the impact of a bullet at such close range.
“You didn’t really think you’d pull something off against me, did you?” The man chuckled with an evil tone and raised the gun, leveling it with Colton’s forehead. Colton held his breath. A gun blast exploded. Colton tensed. The man yelped and his gun fell to the ground, bouncing at his feet. Clutching his hand, the man groaned. Colton exhaled and backed away from the man.
He scanned the hangar, spotting Charlie lying on the ground with her gun still aimed at the man. From around the corner of the wide entrance, three officers rushed the man and secured him, hands behind his back.
Charlie dropped her gun and called out. “I’ve been hit.”
Colton’s heart stopped. He dashed to her side and knelt. Blood oozed from her shoulder.
Jordan joined them. “Where are you hurt?”
“I think it’s just my upper arm. I’m okay.” Charlie gritted her teeth.
Jordan reached for Charlie’s arm, pulling her up. “Praise the Lord for bullet-proof vests. Let’s get you to the hospital.” He paused. “Oh, by the way, good shot.” Jordan grinned wide.
“That was you?” Colton looked directly at Charlie.
“I couldn’t let him shoot you.” Her tone was teasing. She leaned into him. “That was too close for comfort. I’m glad it’s over.”
Colton stroked her hair and led her to Jordan’s car. He guided her into the back seat and scooted in next to her. Jordan glanced back from the front seat.
“I’ll come back for my car later. I need to go with her.”
Jordan nodded and winked.
“Charlie, hon, what can I do to help?”
“Just hold my hand. I’m okay. Really.”
At the hospital, personnel whisked Charlie through the Emergency Room. Colton sat in the waiting room lost in thought. She saved my life. His promise to Marshall popped into his mind. He pulled out his cell phone and punched send. He related the whole scenario and ended with how Charlie had saved his life.
As Colton ended the call with Marshall, Jordan’s cell buzzed. He excused himself but quickly returned. His expression was disconcerting, but Colton didn’t have time to ask him why.
Jordan looked him in the eyes. “Look, I’ve called someone to bring your car. I’ve got to take care of something.”
“What’s up?”
“I can’t go into it now. You just take care of Charlie.” Jordan dashed out the Emergency Room exit.
Colton scratched his head. No need to mention Jordan’s abrupt exit to Charlie. She had been through enough.
“Mr. Thomas?” a nurse said. “You can come back now.”
He followed the nurse into a curtained area. Charlie perched atop an exam table with gauze wound around her upper arm.
“Hey.”
“Hey to you. So, what’s the verdict?”
“Bullet grazed my arm. I have several stitches, but I’ll live.” She shrugged.
Colton stepped closer and placed his hands on the sides of her face. He inched in and kissed her.
“What was that for?” Her eyes were wide.
“Thank you.”
He pressed his lips to hers again and lingered, not wanting to pull away.
“What was that for?” she asked again.
“Charlie, I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
* * *
Jordan sprinted to his car and immediately called the captain. “What’s up?”
“Jordan, Rusty Smith’s arrest went bad. I’m not sure how he was alerted, but somehow he knew. He escaped. He has his son, Joel, with him.”
Jordan ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Oh, man. Do we have any idea where he might have taken off to?”
“We’re checking a possible spotting at Grace Community Church.”
“I’m heading that way.” This called for speed. He reached into his glove box and shoved his blue light on the dashboard then hit the siren located in the front grill of his SUV. As he neared the church, he killed the siren. He steered into the parking lot. There must have been something to the report. Several police cars filled the front of the lot. He spotted the captain and pulled alongside his vehicle.
Jordan jumped out and jogged up next to Captain Parrott. “So, I’m guessing from the looks of things, the witness was right. Rusty is here.”
“Yeah, he’s in there.” The captain nodded toward the church building. “But I’m afraid we have a possible hostage situation.”
“He’s holding Joel?”
“Yes, and we think there may be someone else, but we’re not sure.”
“Wife or other son?”
“Nope. We’ve got both of them. In fact, we’re bringing her here to see if she might be able to help.”
Jordan’s cell phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen. Alyssa. At first, he shoved it back into his pocket, but a nagging wouldn�
�t let him ignore it. “Hey, babe. Is everything okay?”
“I think so. Could you check with the Smiths before you come home? Rusty came by earlier to take Hayden with him and Joel for some pizza. Rusty said he felt he had been distracted with Dwayne and all so he wanted to do this for the boys.”
The air whooshed from Jordan’s lungs. For a moment, he couldn’t find breath to answer. He stared at the church building. His son was the other hostage. He stifled a scream. Alyssa had a right to know what was going on, but terrifying her wasn’t his plan. How could he tell her? A burden of responsibility weighted his shoulders. He had sworn he wouldn’t reveal any of this until they caught Rusty, giving a better chance to arrest him.
“Jordan, are you there?”
“Babe, I…” His whole body trembled now.
“Jordan, what’s wrong?” Alyssa’s pitch rose.
“Honey, Rusty does have Hayden and Joel. I’m afraid he’s holding them hostage. Rusty turned out to be one of the drug suppliers we were trying to nab. He escaped when they tried to arrest him.”
“What?”
“Look, please pray and call someone to come be with you. I will call you as soon as I can.”
“Jordan, I need to do something.” Her voice broke.
“Please stay put. Hayden will need to come home to his mommy. Take a deep breath. Pray, and call someone to come sit with you.” He spoke slowly and distinctly.
“Okay. I love you.” She sniffed.
“I love you, too.”
“Jordan, be careful.”
“I will.”
Now to take his own advice. He inhaled deeply and let it out slowly. God, give us wisdom and keep my son safe. Now to get Hayden away from that man.
“Captain, I know who the other hostage is. It’s my son, Hayden.”
Captain Parrott’s eyes bulged. “You’re sure?”
“Yes. That was my wife. Rusty came to pick up Hayden, saying he planned to take the boys out for pizza. Alyssa had no idea, of course, about Rusty.”
“We need to pinpoint their location in the church building. This is your church, so you should be able to help us. We have had one contact with the suspect. We have his cell phone number.”
Jordan bowed his head and slid his cell phone from his pocket. “I’ve got it. Maybe I could talk to him. I can’t just stand here with my son in there. And besides, I know him, or one side of him.”
Captain Parrott patted Jordan’s back and nodded.
* * *
Charlie unlocked her apartment door and Colton held it open for her. Her land line rang. She rushed over and picked it up. “Hello?”
“Charlie?”
“Yeah. Alyssa? Are you all right?”
“No. I need you to come over and sit with me. Jordan told me to call someone to come sit with me during this ordeal. I need more people praying.”
“Alyssa, slow down. What are you talking about?”
“Rusty Smith has Hayden hostage.” Sobs echoed through the phone.
“We’ll be right there.” She ended the call on her portable phone and whirled around to Colton. “We’ve got to get over to Jordan’s.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“Alyssa said Rusty is holding Hayden hostage.”
Colton grabbed her arm. “Let’s go.” He led her back to his car.
Charlie thought out loud on the ride to the Wynn’s. “Obviously, we caught the one guy, but somehow Rusty caught on. Poor Alyssa. She didn’t know not to allow little Hayden to go with him. I thought we were home-free since we kept you safe.” She closed her eyes and laid her head back on the headrest. Tears slid down her cheeks.
Colton’s hand covered hers. “It’ll be okay.” But was it going to be okay? Charlie had been shot by one of these men. This was a deadly situation. These guys weren’t playing around.
Colton parked the car at the curb and they dashed to the front door. Alyssa stood waiting for them. She fell into Charlie’s open arms.
Alyssa glanced at Charlie’s bandaged shoulder. “What happened?”
“Work injury. But this isn’t the time to talk about that. Let’s go inside.” Charlie glanced at Colton and nodded.
She was wise to not explain her injury to Alyssa right now. Colton took the hint.
Charlie made Alyssa sit down, and she plunked down beside her.
“I didn’t know. If I had known, I would have never let him go…” Alyssa covered her face with her hands. Sobs rocked her body.
Charlie laid her arm across Alyssa’s shoulders. “It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay.” She glanced at Colton again. Was she right? Lord, let her be right.
* * *
Jordan sat in a van near the entrance of Grace Community Church. One of the men worked on tapping into some of the security cameras inside the church building so they could pinpoint Rusty’s exact location.
“The only problem with the cameras is if he isn’t near an entrance or the main office then you won’t see him. The church doesn’t have cameras throughout.”
“Jordan?” A voice called from behind him.
Jordan twisted around. Kim Smith stood outside his window. Her face was tear-streaked. She shook her head. “I didn’t know. I didn’t know.”
Jordan stepped from the van and put his arm around her. “I know, Kim. I know. None of us did.”
She leaned into him like she might faint.
“Jordan.” Captain Parrott approached. “We need to talk to him so we can get him to move.”
Jordan nodded toward Kim. “This is Rusty’s wife, Kim. She didn’t know about his drug dealings.”
“Ma’am, we need to coax him out somehow or try to get him to release those boys. Do you have any ideas?”
Kim shook her head.
“Let me talk to him.” Jordan brought up Rusty’s cell number on his phone and punched send.
“Worth a try,” the captain said.
“Yeah,” Rusty answered.
“Rusty? This is Jordan Wynn.”
“Yeah.”
“We need you to come out with the boys. You’re not helping anything by holding them in there with you.”
“I needed a little insurance to help me get away.”
“Come on, Rusty. It’s over. Just come on out.” Jordan struggled to keep his voice even and calm. He didn’t want to upset Rusty or cause him to do something irrational.
“I need a car.” Rusty’s words slurred slightly. Had he been drinking or was he under the influence of some other substance?
Jordan strained. The boys’ made engine noises in the background.
“Think on it, Wynn. I need a car.” The call ended.
Jordan stared at his cell phone. Hayden’s smiling face filled the screen inside his brain. His little boy giggles rang in his ears. The sweet aroma of the children’s shampoo he used wafted through his mind as the sweet bedtime prayers echoed, taunting him.
His heart pinched. Charlie knew the anguish from the hands of men like these. The string of deaths left in their wake had to be stopped. Adding to the list was unacceptable.
God, let’s break this cycle of death right now.
Jordan set his shoulders and turned to the captain. “I think I know where they are. I could hear the boys playing in the background, making truck noises. Their Wednesday night classroom downstairs has dump trucks and different toys like that. They must be there.”
“Where’s the nearest access? Can we see them from the outside or can they see us?”
Jordan described the area of the building. The specific room he suspected didn’t have a window. It was below ground level. “He wants a car. I think he’s not quite sober. He’s slurring his words. That makes him more volatile and unpredictable. We need to be ready for anything.”
The group of officers standing nearby blurted out strategy suggestions.
Jordan gazed into each set of eyes. “You understand this must be foolproof or we can’t attempt it, right? There are two little boys in there, and one of them is mi
ne.”
All the men nodded in full understanding. Most looked at Jordan with sympathy in their eyes. Could they be thinking about their own children safe at home?
When a plan was in place and agreed upon, Jordan called Rusty again.
“Yeah?”
“Okay. You win. There’s a car coming to the back door. Send the boys out first, then we’ll back off and let you get in the car.”
“Yeah, right. This ain’t my first rodeo. I’m a dead duck that way. Here’s how it will be. If you want the boys, you be the only one on that side of the church. I’ll bring them out with me. When I see you’ve followed my directions, I’ll let them go. Then, you let me go. I disappear and that’s how it works.”
“How do I know you’ll hold up your end of the deal?”
“Look, I may be involved in some things, but I don’t want to see my son hurt.”
“Then you know that I don’t want mine hurt either.”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Let me call you back when I get it arranged.”
The call ended.
“Jordan, we can’t just back off and risk him escaping again,” Captain Parrott said.
“If he were alone, I’d agree.” Jordan swallowed. “But he has my son and his. He loves Joel enough he doesn’t want to harm him. We just don’t have a choice. We can’t push him. I’m not willing to gamble with my son’s life.” Jordan spoke firmly.
The captain nodded. “Set it up.”
When an officer parked the car at the back entrance, Jordan made his way alone to the door. He punched in the number.
“Are we set?”
“Yes. I’m at the door for the boys and your car is waiting.”
“Jordan, I have a gun that I will use should you try anything.”
“I get it. I just want the boys safe.”
“I’m coming out.”
Jordan stepped back as the door slowly opened. Rusty positioned the boys in front of himself like a shield. Jordan should have predicted that.
Rusty reached for the car door.
“Rusty, why?” a voice called out.
Rusty froze and drew his gun. He glared at Jordan. “What’s up? We’re not alone.”
“It’s not the police, Rusty. It’s me.” Kim Smith stepped from the shadow of the building into the glow cast from the security light.
