But she, Travis and Seth weren’t about to put the children in danger.
Jess walked across the lawn. The helicopter grew nearer. The masked criminal pushed her head down as they walked under the rotors. The helicopter had doors on both sides, with two pairs of seats that faced each other in the back and two seats in the front, separated by what looked like a bulletproof divider.
Travis sat with his back to the cockpit, Dominic strapped to his chest and Willow half curled on his lap. There was an armed and masked man to his right. Seth sat alone on the seat facing them, his face pale and seemingly frozen with fear. Yet, as she glanced from one man to the other, the first glimmer of hope brushed her heart.
Neither Travis nor Seth had been handcuffed.
The gunman forced her in and pointed at the seat beside Seth. Then he slammed the door and went around to the front of the cockpit and took the seat beside the pilot. The masked man sitting across from her balanced his weapon on his lap, steadied it with one hand and tapped his earpiece with the other.
“Tell the Chimera we’re on our way,” he said, speaking in Ukrainian. Thanks to the language training she’d taken when researching the Chimera, she could understand enough to know what he was saying. “We’ve got the lady detective. She came without resistance... Also four civilian hostages... Scared and compliant. No problems... Two are little children... Ask him if he wants us to keep them all.”
Jess’s eyes met Travis’s. She watched as they widened.
Four civilian hostages.
And like that, her tiny glimmer of hope sparked and flickered into a tiny flame.
They didn’t know who they had. They were after her—and only her. As far as they were concerned, Seth, Travis and the kids were expendable. It wasn’t much of an advantage. But it was something and she’d take it.
The helicopter began to rise. She gasped a breath, filling her lungs with courage. Then she met Travis’s eyes again and prayed silently both for God’s help and that Travis would know what to do. He nodded slightly as if reading her mind.
Now all she could do was pray, hope and act.
She spun around on her seat, grabbing for her door handle. But before she could even reach it, the mercenary across from her leaped, shoving her back against the seat hard and grabbing hold of her hands.
“Stop!” he barked in English. “Or I will make this journey very unpleasant!”
Her hands were trapped in his. Her body was pressed back against the seat. And still the helicopter rose. He forced her hands down to her sides. Men swore and shouted to him from the front seat in a mixture of Russian dialects and he shouted back. The barrel of his weapon slipped to the side as he fished a zip tie from his pocket and looped it around her thin wrists to fasten them together. As he did, Jess struck out. Using the man’s pressure on her wrists as an anchor, she spun her body around at lightning speed, raised both legs and glanced at Seth.
“Stay safe!” she shouted and kicked the hacker hard with both legs, propelling Seth backward off the seat and against the far door, just as Travis leaned over and opened it for him. Seth’s eyes widened and prayer escaped his lips as he fell, tumbling out of the helicopter and onto the ground just ten feet below.
Thank You, God.
“We have to land!” the man holding her shouted.
Wind whipped at them through the open door. The helicopter swayed unsteadily. The mercenary slapped Jess hard across the face, knocking her head back against the seat. She felt the zip tie yanked hard around her wrists and pain shot through her arms as he tethered her to the seat.
She kicked back hard at her kidnapper, trying to knock his high-powered rifle away from him before he could fully regain his grip on it. Yet, as she fought and thrashed, she watched as Travis brushed a kiss across the top of Willow’s head, scooped her up into his arms and slid her toward the door.
“Be brave and trust Seth,” he said. “He’ll catch you.”
The helicopter rose. Eighteen feet. Twenty feet. Willow jumped. Her tiny body tumbled through the air. Jess’s heart froze. Then she watched through the open door as Seth caught the little girl in his arms.
Seth hugged Willow tightly to his chest and ran with her toward the farmhouse. Prayers of thanksgiving swelled in Jess’s heart. The helicopter dropped suddenly, taking her stomach with it. She looked out. They were back to hovering just twelve feet off the ground.
“We have to get back!” the mercenary yelled.
“No!” another masked man shouted. “Let them go! We just need her.”
A truck, red and battered, raced down the driveway toward the farmhouse. The window rolled down and Nick Henry, Liam’s military friend, leaned out. He fired a handgun at the rising helicopter. The mercenary in the front seat returned fire and the truck windshield shattered. Her captor regained his weapon and aimed it at Jess, his colleagues screaming orders in his headset. But Travis leaped to his feet and, with a strong blow, knocked the man sideways. The mercenary slumped back against the seat, momentarily stunned as the helicopter lurched upward. She looked at Travis, where he now crouched with the open door behind him and Dominic still in the harness on his chest.
“Go!” she shouted. “Now! Save Dominic while you still can! I’ll be okay.”
Somehow. In some way. She had to have faith.
Pain flooded the depths of Travis’s eyes. “Not without you!”
“You have to!”
He had to let her go. Couldn’t he see this was the only way?
The mercenary stumbled to his feet.
Travis’s eyes met hers.
“I will find you,” he said. “I promise.”
Then he leapt from the helicopter.
* * *
Travis fell through the air, wrapping his arms protectively around the baby on his chest and cradling him with his arms. Wind rushed past. The ground came up toward them. He lowered his head over Dominic’s and curled his body around the little boy’s body as he stretched one arm out to take the blow.
He hit the ground and rolled, tumbling over in the grass and shielding Dominic with his body. Then he leaped to his feet and ran for the safety of the farmhouse. He reached the porch and looked back. The helicopter was rising. One of the Chimera’s mercenary was leaning out the open door, ineffectually showering the ground with bullets. Travis pressed against the wall and felt his heart tear in his chest as he watched the helicopter disappear over the horizon, taking Jess with it.
Lord, please keep her safe and help me find her.
Then he looked down. Dominic blinked up at him, his eyes wide with shock. Travis slid down and sat back against the wall, removing Dominic from his carrier and checking him for injury. Dominic giggled. Travis thanked God and brushed a kiss over the top of the baby’s head. The baby squealed happily and reached out his arms as Willow and Seth ran toward them.
“Dominic!” Willow shouted. And Travis was barely able to open his arms before Willow launched into them. Travis hugged them both tightly, for one long moment. Then his eyes rose to the helicopter as it disappeared in the distance. It was gone. And so was Jess.
“Don’t worry.” Seth’s voice was by his side. “We’ll get her back.”
“How?” Travis asked. He hadn’t meant to say the word out loud, but now there it was. “How do we get her back?”
“I don’t know yet,” Seth admitted. “All the tools I had at the house have been destroyed. I’ve got no way of tracking the helicopter.”
“Find a way,” Travis said. “Figure it out. If anyone can, it’s you.”
He glanced at Nick, coming up across the lawn behind them. Without a word, Nick handed Seth a cell phone and Seth immediately started typing.
And I just have to trust Jess’s team to do their job, Travis thought. Then he prayed. I feel helpless right now, Lord. Just like I was when I came to Kilpatrick.
Travis
rose slowly, helping Willow to her feet and sliding Dominic into the crook of his arm as he did so.
“Please tell me you have emergency medical training,” Travis said.
Nick nodded. “Enough to check the kids and make sure they’re okay.”
“Thank you,” Travis said, “again. For this. For everything.”
“No problem.” Nick nodded. “I’m just glad I could help. Liam called me as soon as you went silent. Gotta admit, I didn’t expect to get fired at by a helicopter.” He glanced back at his truck. It was riddled with bullet holes and the front windshield was destroyed.
“Looks like Liam owes you a truck,” Seth quipped.
“I owe him a motorcycle,” Nick said. “As well as eternal gratitude for helping me save the life of my wife and child.” He ran his hand over his face as if a memory had crossed his mind. “If it wasn’t for his help at a crucial time, I might have lost them both. He also helped solve my sister’s murder.”
“I’d like to hear the story one day,” Travis said, “when the dust settles.”
And Jess was back beside him.
Seth’s furious typing turned into a phone call that Travis couldn’t hear either side of. Dominic wriggled from Travis’s hands. He set him down on the porch, but Dominic grabbed Travis’s leg and pulled himself up to standing.
“Do you have a son or daughter?” Travis asked.
“One of each,” Nick said. “Zander turns seven this year, and Rosie is one.”
What must this man think of him? He’d jumped from a helicopter holding Dominic. He’d told Willow to jump. And he’d lost Jess to kidnappers.
“Ever feel they deserve better?” Travis asked.
“Every single day.” Nick chuckled. “I figure every good father and husband does. Every wife, mother and caregiver, too.”
“Okay,” Seth said. “So here’s the good news. If I take my laptop to the bookstore, I can use the rudimentary framework I created when I upgraded your security system to access the remote backup I created of my computer when I wiped all my devices clean. Then we’re back in business and I can launch a wide sweep for Jess. Liam is now scrambling to change our evacuation plan. He’ll give you an hour to pack up anything you need.”
Right, because once they left, they were never coming back.
They said goodbye to Nick and went back into the house just long enough to get the kids dressed and fed, and to pack a few things. Then Travis said goodbye to the house that had been like a home to him.
The sun was rising as they reached the bookstore. To his surprise the door was open, and the store was packed. His volunteer firefighter crew, local business owners, members of his church and parents from Willow’s school were working together to stack books, tidy shelves and sweep. Hot coffee and fresh pastries were being served by Harris, Cleo and Alvin on the shiny-clean snack bar.
A cheer arose as they entered the store. Person after person came up, patted him on the shoulder and hugged him before moving back to work. Willow ran over to join a group of her friends and their parents on the carpet and Travis set a wriggling Dominic down beside her.
Something in his heart swelled. He’d just been planning on just sneaking out of town and slipping off without saying goodbye to anyone. And now, without knowing it, the town had come together and showed up giving him one more last chance to see them all.
“This town really loves Patricia and those kids.” The gruff voice came from his left. He turned. Chief Gordon Peters was standing just to the side of the door, in full uniform, his chest puffed up in that usual pose, like he was about to take a deep breath.
“Yeah, they really do,” Travis said.
“I’m sorry we haven’t found a lead yet on who tried to grab Willow at the Spring Concert yesterday,” the police chief added. “But we won’t give up until we figure out who it was.”
“Thank you,” Travis said.
“You know, you could’ve told me that your ex-lady was a cop,” Chief Peters said. He snorted. “Might explain something about why she left you.”
Something bristled at the back of Travis’s neck. He’d held his tongue for far too long. Maybe Travis-of-Kilpatrick didn’t have the same bite that Travis-the-detective had. But that was before he’d seen the woman he cared about snatched by evil men.
Travis crossed his arms. “What’s your problem with me? Why don’t you like me?” Travis asked.
The chief blinked. “I assure you I—”
“Don’t!” Travis cut him off. “Please. Just be blunt with me. You’ve never liked me, and you’ve always made snide comments about my file. So right now, man to man, tell me why.”
Chief Peters crossed his arms, matching Travis’s stance, and something hardened behind his eyes.
“I don’t like reckless drivers,” he said. “You should get that, after what happened to Geoff and Amber. You were in my town less than two weeks before you crash into a tree and, according to your file, you’re a repeat offender when it comes to breaking speed limits and driving recklessly. I lost a very close buddy that way once, when another driver fell asleep and plowed into him. And I’ve worked way too many accident scenes. I’ve got no patience for people like you.”
Well, then.
“Fair enough,” Travis said. “But people change. I did. Patricia might never recover and the kids might need the community’s help.” Especially once I leave their lives and they need a foster family. “So I hope you meant it when you said you’d be there for them, regardless of what you think of me.”
The chief blew out a hard breath and didn’t answer. Travis watched as Willow scampered around the room with her friends, picking up fallen books as she went. As she ran past Alvin, the kindergarten teaching scooped her up into his arms, hugging her from behind, and whispered something in her ear.
“No!” Willow shouted. “No, you can’t buy my fav’rite book! Not for lotsa moneys!”
The room faded away from Travis’s eyes as he watched Willow whimper and try to pull from Alvin’s grasp. He knew, without a doubt, that Willow was terrified.
“Alvin!” Travis shouted. “Let her go!”
The kindergarten teacher laughed. A loud, disarming chuckle, with a grin full of teeth. “Hey, she’s fine, aren’t you, Willow?” Alvin chuckled and let her go with a little pat on the back. “She’s fine. I just made a joke and she’s just being silly.”
Willow ran across the room toward Travis. She wrapped her arms around his leg and he brushed a hand over her head.
He looked down at her. “Is everything okay?”
Willow shook her head. Her voice rose. “He’s the Shiny Man who ki’napped me.”
Travis locked eyes on Seth’s across the room and nodded at him to pick up Dominic. He felt facts click rapid-fire through his mind. Alvin needed money for his master’s degree. He’d had the opportunity to grab Willow. He’d have known about Braden from Cleo.
And Willow was certain it was him.
“I’m so sorry, chief,” he said. In a single, swift move, he yanked the cop’s weapon out of his holster, moved Willow behind him protectively and aimed the gun at Alvin. “Where is Jess?”
THIRTEEN
The room froze. Travis held the weapon steady and aimed it between the kindergarten teacher’s eyes.
“Travis.” A warning rumbled through Chief Peters voice. “Give me back my weapon.”
“I wish I could,” Travis said. “But Alvin is the Shiny Man who tried to kidnap Willow yesterday. He gave information about Jess online to some really bad criminals who’ve kidnapped her, and I’d do anything to get her back.”
Alvin laughed. “What is this? Some kind of joke?”
“Slide your cell phone across the floor to Seth,” Travis said. “Then put your hands on your head and get down.”
Something went cold in Alvin’s eyes that belied the artificially wid
e grin on his face. His hand twitched down to a faint lump at the side of his sweatshirt.
“Stop!” Travis ordered. “You so much as try to reach for that gun and I’ll shoot!”
Voices babbled around the room. There were a million different ways this could go wrong. And only one way he could make it go right.
“I’m a former undercover detective with the RCMP,” Travis said. “I’ve wanted to tell all of you that, so many times. But I’ve been in witness protection for the past four years, after taking down a particularly nasty international crime lord’s operation with the help of my partner, Jess.”
Eyes blinked and jaws dropped. But legs and arms still tensed as if to strike.
“And yeah—” he glanced at Chief Peters “—I was a selfish driver and not the greatest man. But Jess is an incredible RCMP detective, the best person I’ve ever met, and, thanks to Alvin, is now in the hands of a major crime lord. All that matters now is saving her.”
The kindergarten teacher smirked, but the look in his eyes grew colder.
“And why would I do any of that?” Alvin asked.
“I don’t know yet,” Travis admitted. “But I’ll figure it out.” For now, he’d focus on how. Then he glanced at Cleo, huddling with her dad behind the counter. “If I’m right, then Alvin and Braden were working together. He betrayed your trust, teamed up with your abusive ex and used you as an alibi. That means Alvin called Braden for updates and to give him direction while you were at the hospital with Patricia. Is that possible? Did he make secret phone calls while you were together? Calls he didn’t let you overhear?”
“Don’t answer that!” Alvin snapped.
But it was too late. Cleo had already nodded. “He did.”
One step closer. Thank You, God.
“You all know me,” Travis said, glancing around the room. “You’ve prayed with me, had meals with me, and played baseball with me. I’ve helped put out your fires—both real and metaphorical—and you’ve helped put out mine. Right now, I need your help to save Jess.”
A pause spread through the room, filling the store and spreading between the books.
Witness Protection Unraveled (Protected Identities Book 3) Page 15
