Just One Kiss

by Susan Mallery

  “Excuse me,” he said, and stood. “Hello?”

  “Justice?” The sound was more of a sob than an actual word. Patience sucked in breath. “Justice?”

  He could hear the tears in her voice. The panic. His body went very, very still.

  “What’s wrong? Tell me what happened?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s L-Lillie. At school. A man c-came. He had a gun and he took her. Justice, please.” She began to cry.

  In less time than it took him to absorb the words, he began the process of disconnecting from all that was around him. There was only the moment and the mission. He didn’t know what had happened or why, but he knew how it was going to end.

  “You’re at the school?” he asked.

  “Yes, but Police Chief Barns wants me to go home.”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  “I DON’T understand.”

  Patience didn’t know how many times she’d said the words, but they remained the truth. She didn’t understand. How could she? Things like this didn’t happen in real life. They were the stuff of crime shows and movies. She lived in Fool’s Gold. There was no way a man walked in to an elementary school and kidnapped her daughter.

  Only it had happened and Lillie was gone.

  Fear was cold and dark and clung to her like a giant leech. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. She wanted to scream she would do anything, give all she had, if only Lillie would come home.

  She stood in her kitchen, shaking and fighting tears. Felicia was with her, as was Police Chief Barns. There were other people, too, but she couldn’t focus on them right now. Not when it was so hard to breathe.

  “Why?” she asked.

  Felicia put her hands on her shoulders. “You’re in shock. You need to keep your breathing steady and even. I’ll get you some water. I don’t know why, but offering water is what we do and drinking it is surprisingly helpful.”

  Chief Barns shook her head. “I’m with you, Patience. None of this makes sense. We have a roadblock in place and are contacting state authorities. Every person in my department is out looking for Lillie. We’re interviewing her teacher. What we know is that a man walked into the classroom and took Lillie. He wanted her specifically. Can you think of a reason why? It’s not your ex-husband, is it?”

  “Ned? I haven’t had contact with him in years.”

  “Is there anyone new in your life?”

  “Just Justice and he would never—”

  “What did the kidnapper look like?”

  Patience turned toward the speaker and saw Justice walking into the kitchen. She rushed to him and threw herself at him.

  “You have to help,” she said, tears pouring down her cheeks.

  “I will.” He lightly kissed her. “I’ll get her back, Patience. No matter what it takes, I will find her and bring her home.”

  There was certainty in his eyes. A promise. She knew she could trust him with her child and was able to draw in a breath.

  Chief Barns flipped open her small notebook and began to read from it.

  “About five-eleven. Graying hair, brown eyes. Mid-to-late fifties. Black or dark jeans, a black T-shirt.”

  Patience felt Justice tense.

  “Did he have a scar on his cheek? His left cheek? Almost like a question mark?”

  The police chief stared at him. “How did you know?”

  Justice ignored her and turned to Felicia. “It’s Bart. We need to set up a command post and fast. Help the police. They’re out of their league on this one.”

  Patience watched wide-eyed as Felicia crossed to the police chief and started talking about phones and computers and personnel. Then his words sank in.

  “You know who took her?”

  Justice’s expression tightened. “I do. I’m sorry. This is my fault.”

  “What? Why?” Bart. He’d said Bart. Why was that name familiar?

  “It’s my father.”

  “But he’s dead. You said he died.”

  “I thought he was. That’s what we were told. There was a fire.” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter now. I’ve sensed he was nearby. I told myself I was imagining things, but I wasn’t.”

  Justice wasn’t making sense. How could his father not be dead? Why would he have taken Lillie? She pressed her hands to her stomach and wanted to be able to scream her fear and frustration. Take me. That was the answer. She should have been the one, not Lillie.

  She stood in the center of her living room as people moved around her. They all had purpose and all she could do was be afraid. Ava and Steve raced in.

  Patience went to her mother and they held on to each other.

  “I don’t understand,” her mother said over and over again.

  Patience told her what she knew, which wasn’t much, and they clung to each other. Less than fifteen minutes later, the phone rang.

  “We’re not ready,” Felicia said. “I can’t trace the call or tap in to it.”

  Ava straightened. “We’ll use the phone in my office. It has a speakerphone.”

  Patience realized everyone was waiting for her to answer. She walked into her mother’s office, both eager and reluctant to hear whatever Bart Hanson had to say. She felt more tears on her cheeks and pushed the speaker button.

  “Hello?”

  “You must be the mother. He’s there, isn’t he? My boy?”

  “I want to talk to Lillie,” Patience said, her voice more firm than she would have expected. “I want to talk to my daughter right now.”

  There was a short, humorless laugh. “You think you can boss me around? I don’t think so. You can’t talk to your daughter, but you can hear her.”

  There was a moment of silence, followed by a short scream of terror. Patience lunged for the phone. The room spun, but she refused to give in to weakness.

  “Stop it!” she screamed. “Stop it!”

  The screams ended and there was only a soft whimpering sound.

  Patience hung on to the desk. Arms came around her. She wasn’t sure who held her and she didn’t care. She needed to crawl through the phone lines and get to her daughter.

  Justice moved closer. “You know this isn’t about Patience or her daughter.”

  “No, it’s not, son. It’s about you. It’s always been about you. I’ve waited a long time to find you, and now I have.”

  Patience was mindful of both Chief Barns and Felicia in the living room, frantically talking on their cell phones. The part of her brain that was still rational wondered if they were trying to trace the call. To find Bart so they could rescue Lillie.

  She realized Steve was the one hanging on to her. She wanted to tell him she was fine, but she knew she wasn’t. She would never be fine again.

  “Take me,” she whispered. Maybe she could talk Bart into an exchange. He could do whatever he wanted to her.

  “Let her go,” Justice said. “I’m ready to take her place.”

  Bart chuckled. “Where’s the fun in that? You come find me, and then maybe I’ll let her go and maybe I won’t. I waited a long time for you to show your hand, son. A long time.”

  The phone went dead.

  Patience screamed and reached for it. Steve held her back.

  “What does he mean?” Ava asked. “About you showing your hand.”

  “He waited for me to care about someone,” Justice said flatly. “He’s been out there watching. He took Lillie to hurt me.” He turned to Patience. “I’m sorry.”

  * * *

  FELICIA HELD OUT the bulletproof vest. Justice pushed it away.

  “You think getting dead changes anything?” she asked, her green eyes cool. “That Lillie will be safer with you bleeding out? You have to be alive to get her away from him.”

  He couldn’t deny the logic of her argument. Of course, his father could take him out with a head shot, but that was a problem he would deal with if it became an issue.

  He stripped to the waist an
d slipped on the vest, then pulled on his shirt. Bart would probably guess he was wearing one, but there was no need to advertise the fact.

  Less than thirty minutes had passed since his father had hung up. In that time equipment and backup had arrived. There was a large map of the town and the surrounding areas on the wall. The police were setting up a phone and computer system. One of the police officers had been sent to CDS for a sniper rifle.

  “Hell of a time for Angel to be out of town,” Justice muttered. “I could have used the help tracking him.”

  Felicia sighed. “I’d offer, but I know you’d refuse.”

  “I need you here, handling this. Chief Barns does a good job, but she has no experience with a man like Bart.”

  “They’re calling in the feds.”

  “By the time they get here, it will all be over.”

  Felicia grabbed his arm. “You can’t let him beat you. He’ll try to get in your head. That’s the only way he wins. You’re not him. You’ve never been him.”

  “I’m going to kill my father today, Felicia. What does that make me, if not like him?”

  “You’re doing what you have to. You’re saving a child. You take no pleasure in the act.”

  She was right about that. But he also knew the price he would pay. He wouldn’t hesitate, wouldn’t second-guess himself. He’d killed before, but this was different. Killing Bart meant crossing a line, and once he did, there was no way back.

  He tucked in his shirt, then took the earpiece she held out. Once it was in place, they tested it to make sure it worked.

  The police would follow, but he would be the one to go in. No one on the Fool’s Gold police force was trained to deal with a situation like this. He hoped they never had to again.

  “Do you have any idea where he is?” she asked.

  Together they crossed to the map.

  The school had already been marked, along with Patience’s house. Justice sensed they couldn’t believe the actual motive. That his father wanted retribution. As a sixteen-year-old kid, Justice had chosen the police over his father. Bart had spent nearly twenty years looking for payback. He wanted his son to find him.

  Justice scanned the map. “Not by the casino,” he said. “There are too many people.” He studied the roads out of town. Lillie wasn’t drugged, so Bart was dealing with a terrified little girl. Even tied up, she would slow his progress. He wouldn’t have gone far.

  Then he saw it. The road he and Patience had taken to look at property. The clearing where they’d talked. Where she’d said she knew there were secrets and accepted him anyway.

  His gut churned as he realized Bart had been there that day. Had been there the whole time.

  “Here,” he said, pointing to an old road leading up into the mountains.

  “That’s a fire road,” the police chief said.

  “I got it.” A woman in uniform jogged into the house. She held Justice’s rifle in one hand and a box of ammo in her other.

  He took the rifle and checked it. “I’m ready.”

  He crossed to Patience, who stood with her mother and Steve. She was pale and trembling. Her brown eyes filled with tears as he approached.

  “I’ll get her,” he said. “I will bring Lillie home to you. I give you my word.”

  She flung her arms around him. He hung on tight, knowing this was the last time. That when he returned, he wouldn’t be who he was at this moment.

  “I love you,” he whispered, then turned and walked out. As he went, he touched his earpiece to activate the unit. “Felicia?”

  “I’m here.”

  While everyone back at the house would be on the same frequency, only Felicia would talk to him. Right now he didn’t need any more voices in his head.

  * * *

  BART’S TRUCK WAS parked less than fifty feet off the highway, on the fire road. Not fifty feet from where Justice and Patience had gone only a few days before. Justice pulled in behind him, taking the extra second to block his escape.

  He carefully hid his keys under a pile of leaves, then started up the road until he saw the broken branches that flagged his father’s path.

  “I’m here,” he said quietly to Felicia. He gave the coordinates. “Tell the others to stay back. If he gets spooked, he’ll react badly.”

  “Will do.”

  He moved quietly, even knowing there was no point. That Bart was expecting him. But his training couldn’t be ignored. Ten minutes later, he was in a clearing. Lillie lay curled up at the base of a large tree. She was blindfolded and tied, but alive.

  “Lillie, it’s Justice,” he called, loading his rifle. “I’m here.”

  She struggled to sit up. When she turned, he saw the gag in her mouth and the blood on her arm. Blood from where Bart had cut her.

  Hatred burned hot and bright inside Justice. Then he pushed it down to the darkest part of his being. No emotions, he reminded himself. This was business—what he’d been trained to do. He was a man who killed and he would do it again. Today.

  “I knew you were weak enough to come after the girl.”

  His father’s voice came from the woods. Justice ignored him.

  “Whatever happens, Lillie, I want you to listen for my instructions, okay? You need to do exactly what I say as soon as I say it. Do you understand?”

  She nodded frantically.

  “Your mom and I love you very much,” he said, his voice slightly softer. “You’re going to be okay.”

  “Aw, that’s so sweet,” Bart said. He appeared by Lillie and jerked the girl to her feet. “You love her and now you’re going to watch her die.”

  Lillie screamed, the sound muffled by the gag. Justice stayed in his head, disconnected from all except what he had to do.

  His father was older. Grayer, but still strong, with a straight back and cold eyes.

  “Why aren’t you dead, old man?”

  “I should be. They thought I was. You did, too, and you should have known better.”

  “How’d you do it?”

  “Fake my death? Easy. There was a man in prison just my size. I made friends with him, convinced him to escape with me. Got the dentist to forge the dental records. I was declared dead. And here I am.”

  “You killed him, too.” It wasn’t a question.

  “The dentist? Sure. Why not? Killing’s the best part. He thought he was going to make a shitload of money off my little trick.” Bart kissed the top of Lillie’s head. “To be honest, I can’t decide what I should do. Kill her first and let you watch, or kill you first. Then you’d die knowing you didn’t protect her from whatever I decide to do.”

  Justice knew his father wasn’t interested in young girls, at least not sexually. Lillie would be spared that. But if Bart made good on his word, then Lillie would die and not quickly. Bart had always enjoyed the process.

  “A quality problem,” his father said with a cackle.

  “I’m getting all this,” Felicia said in a low voice. “So are the others. They’re moving in. They only need a few more minutes.”

  Justice knew they wouldn’t be here soon enough. He wasn’t sure anyone was a trained sharpshooter, and with Lillie so close, she could easily be hit.

  Justice took aim.

  Bart picked up the girl and held her in front of him like a shield. Lillie screamed. He lowered the gun and Bart lowered the girl.

  “You see how this is going to be,” his father told him. “I’m glad of that. I thought you were too far gone to play the game. What were you thinking, son? It was one thing when you were in the military. You belonged there. But this town? With folks like her?” He shook Lillie. “You can’t. It’s just not right.”

  Justice watched and waited. Bart would make a mistake. He had to.

  “You’ve got too much of me in you, boy.”

  “You’re right about that,” Justice said. “You fooled them all and you found me. How’d you do it?”

  “You got your picture in the paper, boy. Guarding some fat-cat banker
in Europe. From there I got your name. Justice. What the hell?”

  “One of the marshals suggested it. I like it.”

  His father glared at him. “You’re my son and you’ll take my name. You hear me?”

  “I want nothing from you.”

  Bart was getting angry. The tactic had risks, but Justice knew how fast he could fire. At this distance, taking out Bart was a sure thing. It was all going to be about the timing.

  “You never were right in the head,” his father said angrily. “Siding with the cops. That was wrong. You had too much of your mother in you. Too much of her weakness. I tried to beat it out of you, but I wasn’t hard enough on you. Damn you, boy.”

  Bart stepped to the side. For a second, he released his hold on Lillie. The girl spun.

  “Lillie, get down!”

  The shout filled the quiet, but Justice hadn’t been the one to call out. Before he even got his rifle in position, a shot rang out and Bart dropped to the ground.

  Not knowing who had intervened, Justice was already moving. He crossed the clearing and grabbed Lillie.

  “It’s me,” he told her, peeling away the blindfold, even as he carried her into the woods and away from Bart. “You’re okay now.”

  He removed the gag next and she gasped for air, then started to cry.

  A tall, dark-haired man stepped out from behind a tree. Ford Hendrix shrugged. “I had the better shot,” he said. “So I took it. Hope you don’t mind.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  PATIENCE WATCHED HER daughter sleep. For the first two nights, her daughter had slept fitfully, but now she was more relaxed and settled.

  The past couple of days had been a blur. Once Lillie had been rescued, there had been a whirlwind of conversations with the police and counselors. She’d been checked out by her doctor and hailed a hero by the town.

  Patience slipped out of the room and returned to the living room. She’d finally convinced Ava and Steve it was okay for them to leave. Patience knew she would be sleeping in Lillie’s room for however long it took for her daughter to feel safe.

  From what she could tell, Lillie was healing. Patience wished she could say the same for herself. Every time she closed her eyes, she was back in the horror of what had happened. She was so tired of talking about the kidnapping, yet nearly every daylight hour brought another concerned friend or neighbor stopping by with food and good wishes.