“If you knew who was backing us, you wouldn’t be saying that. He’s got money. Plenty of it, and getting us out of town isn’t going to be a problem for him.”
“Unless he decides he doesn’t need you to make it out of town. Maybe he’ll just have your buddy bring him the disk and leave you here to rot. Then you’ll end up in jail like my ex, while whoever hired you goes on with his life. Give it a year and you’ll be dead. Just like Cody.”
“Shut up!” A harsh slap followed the command, and Morgan shrieked, the sound echoing through the cellar as she tumbled down the steps, landing in a heap on the floor.
The door slammed, and Jackson lunged forward, scooping Morgan into his arms and knowing it was the worst thing he could do if she had a neck or head injury. “Morgan! Are you okay?”
“I will be once you stop smothering me.” Her voice shook, and he could feel her heart pounding frantically. He eased his grip, his hands shaking as he cupped her face in his hands, tried to see through the darkness. Make sure she really was okay.
“I hate to break up the reunion, but I still can’t get this tape off my ankles,” Lauren whispered, and the fear in her voice spurred Jackson to action. He moved quickly, lifting Morgan and carrying her across the room to her sister.
“Hey, I can walk.”
“But you don’t have to. Sit here while I get your sister ready to go.” It took too long to find the ends of the tape, to unwind the tight bonds from Lauren’s ankles. Each minute seemed like an hour, the time ticking in Jackson’s head, reminding him that at any moment Lauren and Morgan’s captors could return.
Were the police outside, waiting for a chance to bring both men down?
Jackson wasn’t going to wait to find out.
He ripped the last piece of tape from Lauren’s ankles, patted her foot. “That’s it, kid. You’re free. Think you can walk?”
“I can’t feel my lower legs, but I’ll try.”
“Jackson can carry you. I can make it out myself,” Morgan said, and Jackson could hear her shifting, getting to her feet.
“Works for me.” Jackson lifted Lauren’s trembling body, was across the room, heading up the steps to the back door when the floor above their heads creaked. He shoved at the heavy door, forced the rusted hinges to move again. Finally, it opened and he set Lauren outside as the other door opened and light spilled into the darkness.
“Hey! What’s going on?”
“Look out!” Morgan screamed the warning as Jackson turned, saw the gun aimed at his head. He dove to the side too late. Knew the bullet would find its target.
Morgan moved, leaping into the line of fire, flying backward as the first report exploded through the room.
Somewhere above glass shattered. Men shouted. Another gun exploded, but Jackson’s focus was on Morgan, lying in the shadows, blood pooling beneath her, spilling across the dirt-covered floor.
Dead?
Fear and rage filled him, and he ran to her, ignoring the sound of boots pounding above his head, the next sharp report. The clatter and thud as the gunman who’d shot Morgan fell.
Please, God, don’t let me lose someone else.
The prayer filled his mind, filled his soul as he ripped off his jacket and pressed it hard against the bleeding wound in Morgan’s chest.
TWENTY-ONE
Pain pulled Morgan from silky blackness.
Pain and the sound of someone crying. The quiet rumble of voices. A door closing.
She opened her eyes, groaning as bright light drilled hot pokers into her head.
“Morgan? Can you hear me?” Jackson spoke quietly, his voice pulling her further out of the darkness, and she turned her head. Met his eyes. Felt something inside her shift. Something cold grow warm.
“Is someone crying?”
“Your mother was. Your dad just took her to get some coffee. They’ll be back in a minute.” His fingers traced a gentle line down her cheek, his palm coming to rest on her shoulder. Light. Warm. Comforting. She wanted to close her eyes again, sink back into unconsciousness.
“Are you planning on leaving again so soon? And here I’ve been waiting two days to look into those beautiful eyes,” he whispered into her ear, his breath tickling her flesh, drawing her back from the edge of darkness.
Two days?
Morgan opened eyes she hadn’t even realized she’d closed, blinked, trying to clear her mind.
“I’ve been here for two days?” Her throat felt hot and sore, and she swallowed hard.
“You went into surgery Sunday night. It’s late Tuesday.”
“It seemed like just a minute ago….” What? She remembered terror. Remembered Lauren’s trembling voice. Jackson’s grim one.
Had the unthinkable happened?
Had Lauren died?
“Why was Mom crying? It’s not Lauren, is it? She isn’t…”
“Lauren is fine. She’s got a few bruises, but nothing that won’t heal. Your mom was crying because she’s been worried sick about you. We all have been.”
“I’m okay.” She tried to struggle up, but he pressed her back, his touch as light as a butterfly’s wing.
“Your clavicle was shattered, and you nearly bled to death. You need to stay still and rest until the doctor tells you differently.”
“I’m sorry I worried everyone.”
“Worried is an understatement. Remind me to lecture you on throwing yourself in front of a bullet once you’ve recovered.” His tone was light, but the concern in his gaze was unmistakable.
“Is that what I did?” The last thing she remembered was tumbling down a flight of steps, hearing Jackson’s voice, feeling his arms around her. Hearing Lauren’s voice.
Then nothing. Just darkness. And pain.
“You saved my life, Morgan.”
“I guess I owed you.” Despite her best efforts to keep them open, her eyes closed again. She blinked, tried to focus on Jackson. “What happened? The two men who grabbed Lauren, are they in jail?”
Jackson hesitated, then shook his head. “They’re both dead. Killed by the police.”
“Then I guess we’ll never know who hired them.” She wanted to care, but her body was leaden, her mind fuzzy, the pain that had woken her beginning to fade. Warm contentment taking its place.
“Actually, the police have made an arrest. A circuit court judge in New York City. Edward Santino. He’s from a wealthy family. Inherited his father’s estate when he was young.”
“I’ve never heard of him.”
“You would have eventually. He was being groomed to run for Senate. Probably would have made an appearance in next year’s polls.”
“What does that have to do with Cody?”
“We think that Santino was on a local drug cartel’s payroll, accepting bribes in exchange for lighter sentences. There’ve been a half dozen drug dealers who walked on technicalities during Santino’s time on the bench. The New York State attorney general is investigating, but it looks like Santino has been responsible for a lot of very bad men going free. The disk Cody sent to Shannon listed several offshore accounts where Santino was hiding funds. No proof yet where those funds came from, but there’s no doubt the police will find it.”
“So Cody decided to blackmail him in the hope that Santino could get him out of prison?”
“Get him out or find a way to shorten his sentence. We’re not sure which. Not surprisingly, Santino isn’t cooperating with the police.”
“With Cody dead, he’s probably hoping there won’t be enough evidence to convict him,” Morgan said, tired, but relieved to have answers. To know at least some of the truth.
To know that Lauren was alive and safe.
That her family was together.
They were good things, and Morgan smiled, her eyes closing again.
She opened them quickly, almost afraid that she’d wake up and find that it was all a dream. That the nightmare wasn’t over.
“It’s okay. Rest for a while,” Jackson said, his lips brushing h
er cheek.
“I’m afraid to. What if I wake up and I’m back in that cellar in Spokane? Or still in my apartment, blood all over my kitchen floor?”
What if I wake up and you’re not here?
She wanted to say it, but the words caught in her throat and she could only stare into his eyes, will him to be there when she woke.
“You won’t be. It’s over. And when you wake up, you’ll still be here in the hospital, and your family will be waiting to chew you out for taking so many risks.”
“In that case, maybe being unconscious has some benefits.”
Jackson laughed and shook his head. “I’m glad to see that nearly dying hasn’t ruined your sense of humor, because there’s something else I need to tell you.”
“What?”
“I’ve got a lead on your brother.”
“My brother?” She had three and didn’t know why he’d need to have a lead on any of them.
Unless he meant Nikolai.
At the thought, Morgan’s heart jumped and her muscles tensed. “You mean Nikolai?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve found him?”
“Not yet, but I’m getting close. I found his adoptive family. They live in Florida. Your brother is in the military and they haven’t heard from him in two years.”
“That’s a long time.”
“They’re as anxious for me to find him as you are.”
“You’re sure it’s him?”
“I’m sure. I traced him from Latvia to an adoptive family in Utah, then into foster care and to the family in Florida.”
“He had two adoptive families?”
“The first placement was disrupted. Things didn’t work out.”
“Poor Nikolai. I wonder if that’s why he’s disappeared.”
“I don’t know, but I’ll find out. And while I do, I want you to rest and heal. I’ve got some canoeing to do when I get back to Lakeview, and I want to take you with me when I do it,” Jackson said, lifting her hand and pressing a kiss to her knuckles.
“Canoeing?”
“There’s nothing more romantic than the lake at sunrise.”
“Jackson—”
“It’s okay if you’re not sure, Morgan. It’s okay if you’re scared. Your ex was a jerk, and I know you need time and space to heal from that, but I can’t turn my back on you. I can’t walk away and forget the way I feel when I look into your eyes. I think God brought us together for a reason. I’m willing to take as much time as we need to figure out what that is.”
Morgan tensed. Jackson was right. She was scared. To hope. To believe. To trust that what she felt when she was with him was real and right and good.
But moving forward meant letting go of the past. It meant being in the moment, embracing what was, rather than longing for what could have been.
The pastor had said that two days ago, and the words seemed truer now than ever.
She took a deep breath, looking into Jackson’s eyes, seeing a future she’d never dared to dream of. “You’re right.”
“About what?”
“About sunrise on the lake. There’s nothing more romantic, and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be there to watch it with than you.”
Jackson smiled, leaning down to press a kiss to her lips, the touch as sweet and gentle as the first rays of sun falling across the morning sky, whispering of hope, of love and of the one thing Morgan had always wanted but never quite found—home.
Dear Reader,
Running for Cover is a story about many things. It is the story of a man who is trying to free himself of guilt, of a woman who is searching for a place to belong and of two people who are clinging to faith as they face an unseen enemy.
While I was writing Morgan and Jackson’s story, I was preparing to travel to China to meet my daughter. She’d been through a lot in her seven years of life, and I wondered how someone who had lost so much could ever understand and accept that she is loved by her parents, her siblings and, most importantly, by God. My thoughts about my daughter’s life journey are reflected in Morgan’s journey from doubt to faith, from loss to love.
I hope you enjoy the first book in the HEROES FOR HIRE miniseries!
I love hearing from readers. If you have time, drop me a line at [email protected].
Blessings,
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
Morgan Alexandria moved to Lakeview, Virginia, to escape her past, but running hasn’t freed her from the guilt she feels over the mistakes and poor choices she’s made. What is it she most regrets about her past, and why does she have difficulty letting it go?
Jackson Sharo is also dealing with guilt, but his guilt is of a different kind. Why does he blame himself for his sister’s death?
Jackson was in the right place at the right time to save Morgan from harm. Do you think this was luck, or did God have a hand in bringing them together? Has anything like this ever happened to you?
Why has guilt over his sister’s murder led Jackson to quit his job as a homicide detective?
Morgan’s fresh beginning does not include reconnecting with her adoptive family. Why is it so hard for her to accept the love her family offers?
Morgan has no desire to be in a relationship again. She’s already failed at marriage, and she doesn’t want to risk her heart. What is it about Jackson that makes her reconsider her decision to stay single?
Jackson lived a rather wild life before his sister’s murder. In what ways has her death changed him? How have those changes prepared him for a relationship with Morgan?
Morgan learned to rely on herself at a young age. Having to depend on another person makes her feel weak and vulnerable, and she’d rather go it alone than accept anyone’s help. How does this interfere with her relationship with God? How does it keep her from accepting the help Jackson is offering?
Jackson promises Morgan he’ll help find her biological siblings for her. Do you think Morgan believes he’ll help? Do you think she believes she’ll find them? Why or why not?
During the story, Jackson is searching for redemption. Does he find it?
Morgan is searching for something else. What is it that she’s hoping to find? What is it that she realizes she needs?
Why does personal guilt make it difficult to have a relationship with God? What is God’s solution for this?
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5064-6
RUNNING FOR COVER
Copyright © 2010 by Shirlee McCoy
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Steeple Hill Books.
® and TM are trademarks of Steeple Hill Books, used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
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*The Sinclair Brothers
*The Sinclair Brothers
*The Sinclair Brothers
**Heroes for Hire
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