Formula for Danger (Love Inspired Suspense)

by Camy Tang

  There was a heartbeat of silence, then the man shook his head at the ground.

  “You pointed your gun at me in the restaurant parking lot,” Rachel said.

  “I never wanted to kill you. It was Lee.” The man looked up at Rachel with pleading eyes. “Remember? I hesitated. I didn’t shoot.”

  “You shot at both of us just now,” said Edward.

  The man shook his head again. “I had a clear shot when you ran toward the vineyard, but I didn’t take it. I only started shooting when Lee ran around from the front of the house to head after you.”

  Rachel’s face was pale. “Who hired you to do this?”

  He ignored her. “I didn’t want anyone dead.”

  “Who’s behind all this?” she persisted.

  “You have to tell the police that I hesitated, that I didn’t try to kill you,” he pleaded.

  Alex tried talking to him, but the man shook his head, refusing to say anything more.

  “Jane said she’d call the police,” Alex told Edward. “They should be here soon, if they don’t get lost again.”

  “Hopefully they remember from the last time they came out here,” said Rachel.

  “You got here quick, Alex. Were you on the way?”

  Alex nodded. “I was only a few minutes away when Jane called.”

  “Mama’s with you? Where is she?” Edward tried to hurry toward the house, but his legs felt boneless, and he stumbled.

  Alex put a hand on his arm to steady him. “I told her to get in the house when I went to get the shotguns.”

  “Oh, no,” Edward replied.

  “What?”

  “I told Julio and Chase to meet me at the house. It was overheard by that bug when the men found out we were going to be here. When we got here, one of the men was already in the house.”

  Rachel gasped. “And Julio and Chase never responded when you called for them. Are they all right?”

  Carried on the wind, they heard a scream from the house.

  Alex took off, along with Jose. The two farmhands holding the man down tensed, but they stayed with him.

  Edward grabbed Rachel and they followed Alex. His legs were better, but Rachel’s slim frame shook in his arms, and he didn’t want to leave her alone.

  Mama raced down the back porch steps. Thank goodness, she looked okay.

  “Thanks for sending me into a house with two dead bodies inside!” she screamed.

  Dead? No, it couldn’t be. Julio and Chase were dead?

  No, Chase suddenly exited the rear door on wobbly legs, clutching the back of his head.

  “Mama,” Alex said. “They’re not dead.”

  “Well, I thought they were dead!”

  “Where’s Julio?” Edward asked Chase as they got closer to the house.

  Chase motioned back inside. “He’s awake now, but he’s not so good. I think they hit him harder than they hit me. He threw up on the living-room floor.”

  “Oh, no.” Mama headed inside to care for Julio.

  Chase didn’t look as if he should be walking around—he had a huge red bump at the back of his head.

  “Sit down,” Rachel told him, motioning toward a porch chair. “Hopefully Jane also called the ambulance when she called the police.”

  The authorities arrived at that moment in a swirling cloud of dust as the cars swerved to a stop in the dirt area in front of and around the house. Detective Carter got out of one of the cars parked to the side of the house, tense and ready, but then relaxed when he saw Edward and Alex standing in the backyard.

  “Are you all right, boys?” he asked.

  They nodded. Alex gestured toward the vineyard. “Billy and Grant have one of the men tied up.”

  “I see that,” Horatio replied, and Edward turned to see the two farmhands dragging the man between them on the way to the house.

  “Why don’t you tell me what happened,” Horatio said.

  Edward and Rachel both told him about being chased, about Alex rounding up the farmhands and arriving just in time.

  “It seems strange that someone would bug Naomi’s office instead of yours,” said Edward.

  “Not really,” Rachel said. “Naomi’s office is in a separate hallway from the spa rooms, but it’s much more accessible than mine, which is behind the card-key-locked doors.”

  “But what could they have hoped to overhear? Someone’s card-key code?” Edward said.

  “Regardless, the bug paid off, since they overheard where we would be today.”

  When Horatio had finished questioning them, he went to find Alex to take his statement. Edward enveloped Rachel in a hug.

  She was so small and fragile in his arms. Or maybe she only seemed that way after their flight for their lives today.

  “Edward, I knew you’d get us out of it,” she murmured into his shoulder. “I knew God would help us.”

  Before the past few weeks, she’d rarely mentioned God to him. She had never seemed to understand his relationship with God. And now he could see the changes in her—in her words, her actions, even her reactions to the new stresses thrown at her. At them.

  Compared to her, he felt tense. One man was captured, but the other was still out there. Rachel was still in danger, although less danger than before.

  His mind whirled. What could he do to capture the other man? What could he do to keep Rachel safe from him?

  No. He calmed his thoughts.

  He remembered the panic that had frozen his brain while in the vineyard. He’d felt helpless. More, he’d felt frustrated that he hadn’t been able to keep Rachel safe. His determination to save her had propelled him onward, had propelled his thoughts upward to God.

  He’d been so blind to his lack of trust in God. He hadn’t trusted God enough before—not with Rachel, not with everything else that had happened.

  He had to trust God to take care of them now.

  SIXTEEN

  As soon as Rachel entered the house, her father wheeled into the foyer and pulled her down into a fierce hug.

  “I’m so glad you’re all right,” he said.

  She patted his back. “God was watching over me and Edward, Dad.” She’d heard Aunt Becca say things like that before, but she now knew with startling clarity how true it was, how God really had been watching out for her, every moment she was in danger.

  He released her. “And one of the men is in custody?”

  “His name is Randy,” Aunt Becca said. “Horatio says that he’s determined Randy will tell us everything soon.”

  “Rachel, come with me.” Dad wheeled back toward his office. “I have something to give to you.”

  They entered the cool office, the light streaming from the windows casting a golden glow on the wooden floors. Her father reached into a desk drawer and extracted a small jewelry box. He handed it to her.

  It was a beautiful marquise-cut ruby ring, set in an old-fashioned setting. It took her breath away.

  “It was your grandmother’s,” Dad said. “I gave it to your mother on our one-year anniversary. She wanted you to have it, since you’re the oldest daughter. She told me, ‘Give it to her on a really special occasion.’” His mouth twisted. “I kept waiting for just the perfect time. Maybe your high-school graduation…no, that’s not special enough. Maybe your college graduation. No, maybe when you got your doctorate. No, your first product launch… Oh, Rach, I’m so sorry.” His voice broke.

  “Dad.” She grasped his shoulder.

  “After what you told me when we argued, I realized I was pushing you as if I wanted you to earn this ring. As if your mother wouldn’t be pleased enough if I didn’t give it to you on a really special occasion.” He shook his head. “And today I could have lost you. I would never have told you how proud I am of you.”

  Tears filled her eyes. “You don’t have to tell me, Dad. I’ve been pushing myself, too. I’ve been believing a lie.”

  “If it was a lie, it was a lie I told you,” he insisted. “Rachel, honey, I love you very much.
Don’t ever doubt that.”

  She reached down to hug him. “I know, Dad.” Now. “Thank you.”

  He untangled himself from her to take the ring and slip it on her right hand. “There.” He took her hand in his and looked up at her. “And now I can’t take you out to dinner. Monica’s making me go to bed early. So I want you to go out to dinner with Edward—my treat.”

  “What? Dad, there’s still Randy’s partner out there somewhere.”

  “If I know Horatio Carter, he won’t rest until Randy’s employer is in custody. And once that happens, the other man still on the loose won’t have a reason to keep pursuing you if there’s no one to pay him.”

  He had a point. Randy’s employer—the shadowy person or group after Rachel’s research and her life—might already be on the run because Randy had been captured and they feared he’d talk. He had no incentive not to talk. “We don’t even know if Edward is free—”

  “I called him on his cell phone while Horatio was driving you home,” her father said. He’d apparently already arranged things the way he wanted them. “He actually thinks it’s a good idea.”

  To be honest, the prospect of a few hours with Edward, in a restaurant, had its appeal. And for only ninety minutes or two hours, surrounded by people…surely not much could happen in two hours?

  Rachel’s favorite restaurant, Danica’s Café, was pleasantly crowded that night, but they got a cozy booth along one of the side walls. Rachel supposed it was so that Edward could get a clear view if anyone tried to attack them, but the restaurant was also full of small tables, so a direct attack would be a bit hard.

  Then again, what did she know about these things?

  One busboy delivered glasses of water while the waiter took their drink orders. Edward ordered coffee, while Rachel asked for her favorite Japanese tea.

  When the waiter had left, Edward reached over the table and grasped her hands. “Are you okay? After everything that happened today?”

  “Yes.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m glad I had you to keep me safe.”

  He shook his head. “I was afraid, Rach. I was leading you through the vineyard and into the ditch, but I was afraid I was only going to get us killed.”

  “I knew you wouldn’t.” He opened his mouth to protest, but she interrupted him. “I knew you wouldn’t because through it all, I felt God’s presence with me again.”

  His eyes were dark as they stared at her. “I had a hard time trusting Him in the midst of all that.”

  She smiled reassuringly at him. “It was almost as if He were whispering to me to trust Him, so I did. And for the first time in my life, I realized that God had His hand over us completely, even in the midst of those terrible twenty minutes. That He had His hand over everything, because everything is His.”

  She stared at the ruby ring on her finger. “You know I don’t normally read my Bible very consistently, but I’ve been reading it more lately. And as I crawled through the grapevines, the Bible verse I had read that morning flashed through my mind—‘The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.’ God had control over everything, so I could keep my attention focused on your instructions and not on my own feelings of panic.”

  They were interrupted by her steaming pot of tea and a teacup, but Edward didn’t relinquish her hand, simply shifted them to the side, his thumb caressing her knuckles.

  “I haven’t been trusting God enough,” he confessed. “Not with my life and work. Not with your life.”

  “God has been protecting me, all this time. I know that now.”

  “I didn’t know about your relationship with your dad, and I just backed away from you. I know I hurt you by doing that.”

  “Oh, Edward, you were reacting out of hurt. Your mother told me about your papa.”

  “You needed someone in your corner—you needed a friend just when things were getting stressful with your dad and the research. I wasn’t there for you then, but I’m here for you now, and I won’t leave you again.”

  “You didn’t exactly move across the state or anything like that.”

  He gave a half smile.

  Just then the waiter slipped Edward’s coffee onto the table. “Oh,” the waiter said, hefting a pot of tea but seeing Rachel’s pot already in front of her. “I’ll be right back to take your order.” He left.

  Edward sipped his coffee, then grimaced. “It’s cold.” He looked up to flag the waiter, but he had already disappeared.

  Rachel had poured a cup of her tea, so she shoved it toward him. “Want some?”

  He looked at her cup as if she’d offered him poison. “I had green tea once. It was nasty and bitter. It was also bright green like antifreeze.”

  She laughed. “That was probably matcha, which is the tea used in the Japanese Tea Ceremony. Not everyone likes it. This is genmaicha, which is a lighter green tea with toasted rice.”

  “Rice? In tea?”

  “It’s good. Try it.”

  He took a sip, then made a horrible face as he swallowed. “It’s really bitter.”

  “It is?” She smelled it. It did have a strange bitter smell. “I’ll ask for another pot. Dad always says I’m too picky about my tea—”

  “We should figure out what we want to eat, or we’ll be out too late.” Edward opened his menu, but his eyes twinkled over the edge. “I promised your father to have you back before midnight.”

  “I’m not going to turn into a pumpkin. And I’m not a teenager.” But then she embarrassed herself with a yawn.

  “A good night’s sleep will be good for both of us. Tomorrow we’ll be able to figure out what we’re going to do next.”

  The restaurant was busy, and after ten minutes the waiter paused by their table with an armload of entrées to apologize for the wait and promise to be back in a few minutes to take their order. Rachel didn’t mind—she took that time to tell Edward about her conversation with her father and the ring, which he admired.

  The waiter finally returned with profuse apologies.

  After Rachel ordered another pot of tea and lasagna, Edward glanced up from his menu. “Can you…can…” A strange spasm crossed his face. He blinked, rubbing a hand across his cheeks, his jaw, his mouth. “Sorry about that. Can you tell me what the soup is tonight?”

  “Baked potato—creamy potato soup with cheddar cheese, green onions and bacon.”

  Rachel perked up. “Oh, I’ll have a cup of that.”

  Edward looked strangely at her. “Lasagna and baked potato soup?” he asked, then his knee jerked, popping her in the kneecap.

  “Ow.”

  “Sorry.” His brow furrowed. “I don’t know why I did that. My legs are antsy.”

  He ordered rotisserie chicken and a salad, then added, “And I’d like…”

  Suddenly Rachel noticed that strange spasm across his facial muscles again, and his neck arched for a moment.

  “…a fresh cup of coffee. This one’s cold.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” the waiter said, his neck coloring. He whisked away Edward’s cup.

  “Edward, are you—” Her breath caught.

  He had turned pale, and was blinking rapidly. There was another spasm across his face. Another strange jerk of his legs, arching of his neck, stiffness across his shoulders. Then he collapsed onto the floor.

  “Edward!” She dropped to the ground next to him. At first she thought he was having a seizure, but then she realized that his muscle spasms and rigidity were different from the seizures she’d seen and treated when she did her medical-school residency. “Edward!”

  She became aware that other diners had gotten up and gathered around them. “Someone call an ambulance!”

  Her medical training, even though it had been years ago, came rushing back to her. She shoved aside empty chairs to clear the area around his body and then rolled him onto his side. His skin was clammy under her fingers.

  Oh, please, God, help him…!

  She had just talked to him about God being with her. She had fel
t His presence earlier today.

  The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.

  Please, God, only You can save him now. You hold everything in Your hands. Even Edward.

  And something deep inside her, something that defied logic, that spoke louder than her panicked thoughts, told her that God was here with her, no matter what happened.

  No matter what happened.

  Lord, You are everything.

  “Miss? I’m a paramedic,” said a deep voice at her shoulder.

  She immediately moved aside and let the man look at Edward.

  A woman who had been sitting at the booth next to them put her arm around Rachel. “It’ll be okay.”

  The paramedic’s body kneeling over Edward blocked her view of his face. What was happening? She had a medical degree and a Ph.D. in dermatology, and yet she was helpless. Oh, Edward.

  Her thumb pressed the ruby ring into her finger painfully.

  “Thank you for calling the ambulance,” she told the woman. She had seen her whipping out her cell phone.

  The woman shook her head. “I didn’t need to. This man was sitting at that table over there.” She pointed to a table and chairs a few feet away. “He’d just gotten off his shift and he happened to have his gear with him. You’re very lucky, dear.”

  A paramedic who happened to be here? With his gear?

  Thank You, Lord.

  The restaurant manager stepped into the circle around Edward. “Give him some space,” he said, and restaurant patrons backed up to give them some air.

  “Miss?” The manager turned to her. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know…” She glanced at the table. “My tea. He drank my tea.”

  Suddenly a fist closed tight over her heart. Edward had drunk the tea meant for her.

  Their waiter had a shocked look on his face. “I didn’t give you that tea,” he protested. “You already had it when I came with your order.”

  She thought back. He hadn’t brought it to them. The busboy who had given her the tea had been a much larger man…but she couldn’t remember more than that. She hadn’t even looked up at him because she’d been so focused on Edward.

  “He was a tall man,” she stammered. “The busboy who gave me the tea.”