Fresh rainfall made the outdoors even muggier than usual, but Jane cued the music from her laptop and Pachelbel’s Canon in D filled the house as Allison stepped from her room—now their room—and descended the stairs.
Rod stood at the bottom, ready to escort her to Leo’s side. Leo watched, his heart a lump the size of Texas in his throat as she took her father’s arm. He’d expected a poofy dress—or at least a long one, but she wore something he couldn’t describe. Tiny white flowers sewn together tip to tip made up the fabric, and it was straight, skimming her body just enough to fit without clinging. She carried roses—pink ones. They suited her and her hair.
As father and daughter met him at the door, he took her hand and stepped out onto the deck. Sean waited under an arc of filmy fabric—what kind, only Eva knew. Sean, not being “religious,” had requested they not require him to pray. Allison had asked him to do it, so Leo cleared his throat.
“If you don’t mind, Allison and I want to pray.” He swallowed and tried to calm his nerves. He failed. “Lord, You know I don’t know what I’m doing here. So, I’m trusting You to take care of us. We have R—John and Anne to help us. I may not have had any example of a good marriage in my life, but A—Bethany and I do together now. I have John. She has Anne. I thank You for them. Just help us. That’s all we really need. Help. In Jesus’, name…”
Allison joined him. “Amen.”
The vows were mercifully short and to the point. The kiss, not so much. For the first time since he’d first imagined kissing her, Leo allowed himself to relax and immerse himself in the moment. From the chuckles, low whistle, and clapping, it didn’t seem as if anyone else minded either.
Eva ushered them back into the house for pictures and cake. Jane took half a dozen formal shots and asked about a bouquet toss. “You could do it from the stairs…”
“There’s no one to catch!”
“I’ll catch—after I get the shot. The point is to have the pictures, right?”
Allison’s eyes slid sideways. “Is that why you insisted on a garter?”
Eva shrugged. “I just thought…”
They stood at the end of the drive, Allison in her white knee-length dress, Leo with his sleeves rolled up and his suit jacket slung over one shoulder, waving at the Wahl-Watsons as they drove to Tulsa for a week in a hotel. “C’mon. It’s miserable out here and I want to look at the pictures again. I can’t believe how she transformed you. I can see what you’re going to look like now!”
Inside, he kicked off his shoes, tossed his jacket over the arm of the couch, and began rolling up his sleeves. Allison watched, a smile on her lips. “There’s Kaa.”
“What?”
“Kaa. I named him.” Her fingers traced the head of the snake, past the wrist, and up the arm to the tip of the tail.
“Why Kaa?”
“From The Jungle Book,” she explained. At his blank look she added, “You know, Rudyard Kipling? Disney even made it into a movie…”
“I thought you hated that snake.”
“I did at first.” Allison’s eyes met his. “But it’s a part of you.” Her fingers traced the part of the web she could see above his collar. “It really did fade a lot.”
Leo’s arms wrapped around her, pulling her close. “Maybe just a couple more laser treatments then.”
“I feel so ridiculous, but I’m going to miss it all. I wish you didn’t have to.”
He exhaled slowly, relaxing with each word. “For the first time since the day Pete Fenway got through to me, I almost wish it too.”
The laptop scrolled from picture to picture through the simple slideshow. Jane had promised to mail an “edited” CD with all the pictures on it, but she left half a dozen on the laptop for their enjoyment. Allison pointed to the last one. “That’ll be the first new picture in this house.”
Leo stared at the picture. Allison sat on his lap and her parents stood behind them, arms wrapped around each other. It was a nice picture—reasonably artistic for a gal who didn’t do wedding photography for a living—but why that one, he couldn’t imagine. “Why?”
“Dad wanted three things for his birthday.” She smiled up at him. “He wanted a Bible from me, an endorsement on his check from you—”
“What for!”
“Tattoo removal. I think he was still sure you’d refuse. He really wanted you to come with us.”
Leo held her closer, closing his eyes. “And I suppose a picture of some kind.”
“Yep, a new family portrait. He didn’t say it, but I heard it in his voice and saw it in his eyes. He wanted you in that portrait.” Allison swallowed back tears. “That was just a day or two before they took his pictures away from him.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Deep down,” Allison said, “I’m not. None of us would even consider it a choice. Our old life without you or our new one with you. We’d all pick the new one. Not one of us would hesitate.”
“Well, I owe some truck out there a lot of thanks.”
“For what?”
Leo took her hand and tugged her toward the stairs. “For putting a knock in that beautiful Camry’s heart.”
Don’t miss out on the third book in The Agency Files: Effective Immediately
The night air, cooler than it had been in weeks, descended upon them as Keith led Monica Sheridan out the back door and to his car. “Get in the back seat,” he murmured. “Buckle and then lie down.”
The young woman nodded and crawled into the back of the sedan. Once she was settled, he zip-tied her hands and feet. “Sorry about that.”
Not until they hit the Pacific Coast Highway did she speak. “I thought they said I was safe—”
“Well, you’re not anymore. Mark doesn’t know what changed, but they were going to take you in the morning when you stepped into the store.”
“I don’t understand.”
Keith shrugged. “I don’t either. Are you sure you didn’t say something to tip them off?” He shook his head. “No, you couldn’t have. They wouldn’t have let you leave. Someone else is watching—someone we don’t know.” He turned onto Malibu Canyon Road and sped toward the 101 Freeway.
“I wish the police believed me.”
“Well, they want to, sure,” he tried to explain, “but if you were a cop and a girl walked in and said, “I overheard someone planning to kidnap me,” what would you think?”
Her silence said it all. Several miles passed as they drove out of the hills of Malibu and onto the Ventura Freeway. A sniffle preceded Monica’s reply. “I would think it was some prank or a spoiled little rich kid with an ego.”
“And that’s why they gave you Justin’s card. He checked into what you said, there was something off, and he passed it to us.”
“Where are we going?”
“Sorry,” Keith murmured as he changed lanes, trying to dodge an idiot with a desire to play Indy 500 through Agoura Hills. “Can’t tell you.”
“So why did you have to tie me up. I mean, Mark said you would, but he didn’t say why. He said he’d leave that to the agent’s discretion.”
“It’s protection for me. If you were someone trying to infiltrate The Agency, or just out to get me, you might be insane enough to concoct an elaborate hoax like this.”
“Expensive one. My dad’s going to be ticked when he sees my bank account.”
“Not when his daughter arrives home safe and the men who plotted to kidnap her are behind bars.”
For the next hour, Keith answered questions and considered the circumstances. Nothing felt right—nothing. Once on the 33, he relaxed just a little. Monica sniffled, but Keith chose to ignore it. If his instincts proved right, she would need him not to coddle her. Keep it matter of fact and don’t compare her with Erika.
After this assignment, Mark had promised him two weeks off. The new guy, Dan, would go on fulltime. Keith had protested, reminding Mark they were still down two agents. He hadn’t wanted to object, but facts outweighed vacation time. Much
to his relief, Mark had remained adamant. “You’ve had four back to back intense cases. You need the break.”
That kind of intensity—Keith hadn’t felt it it since his first days on the job. Most weeks were drills designed to keep their instincts sharp. The need for protection didn’t come up every day—not at their prices. Four jobs in a row. It had to be some kind of record.
The thought of two weeks of relaxation sounded heavenly. He’d visit his parents—maybe take Erika to meet them. Was that weird? Could you take a girlfriend who wasn’t a girlfriend to meet your parents when you couldn’t be serious even if you wanted to? He didn’t know, but it still sounded like fun. He’d take her hiking. She acted as if she would like that.
As his car climbed the mountains behind Ojai, Keith wondered how it would be to hike through the hills, along the streams, and down again. Maybe he’d have a chance to take Monica. Did she like outdoor stuff? He remembered the perfectly manicured nails and suspected not. Someday, you’ve got to come back—alone or with a friend—and hike it. That thought disgusted him. Who was he kidding anyway? With a friend. Sure. Because he didn’t have anyone specific in mind.
His self-flaggelative thoughts nearly made him miss the turnoff. He’d only been to the house once and in the daytime. Under cover of darkness, the little road nearly hid itself amongst the trees and turns. He wound his way through the narrow road and into the drive. Just as he turned off the engine, his phone rang.
“I’m here.”
Mark’s voice—utterly panicked—shouted. “Get out of there!”
Bright lights shone behind him. Keith dove behind the seat, cut the ties, and grabbed Monica. “When I say run, you run!”
“What—”
“Go!”
To read the rest of Effective Immediately, visit Amazon today.
Chautona Havig’s Books
The Rockland Chronicles
Aggie’s Inheritance Series
Ready or Not
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Here We Come
Ante Up!
Past Forward: A Serial Novel (Six Volumes)
Volume One
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Volume Four
Volume Five
Volume Six
HearthLand Series: A Serial Novel (Six Volumes)
Volume One
Volume Two
Volume Three
Volume Four
Volume Five
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The Hartfield Mysteries
Manuscript for Murder
Crime of Fashion
Two o’Clock Slump
Front Window
Silenced Knight (A Christmas Mystery “Noella”)
Noble Pursuits
Argosy Junction
Discovering Hope
Not a Word
Speak Now
A Bird Died
Thirty Days Hath…
Confessions of a De-cluttering Junkie
Corner Booth
New Year’s Revolutions
Premeditated Serendipity
Random Acts of Shyness
Operation Posthaste
The Agency Files
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Mismatched
Effective Immediately
A Forgotten Truth
The Vintage Wren (A serial novel beginning 2016)
January (Vol 1.)
February (Vol. 2)
March (Vol. 3)
Sight Unseen Series
None So Blind
Will Not See
Ties that Blind
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Carol and the Belles
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Christmas Embers
The Second Noel
Silenced Knight
Merri’s Christmas Mission
The Ghosts of New Cheltenham
Sand & Mistletoe
Tangoed in Tinsel
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Meddlin’ Madeline Mysteries
Sweet on You (Book1)
Such a Tease (Book 2)
Fine Print (Book 3)
Dead Letter (Book 4)
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Ballads from the Hearth
Jack
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Legacy of the Vines
Deepest Roots of the Heart
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Prairie
Highlands
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Heart of Warwickshire Series
Allerednic
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The Annals of Wynnewood
Shadows & Secrets
Cloaked in Secrets
Beneath the Cloak
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Not-So-Fairy Tales
Princess Paisley
Everard
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Legends of the Vengeance
The First Adventure
Mismatched Page 27
