Q uinn handled the situation regarding their child. His in-laws were more than happy to pack up Susie and get her out of there. After all, no one wanted an innocent child to be a victim in all of this. Besides, they wouldn’t mind taking her home to show her off to all of their friends.
This was their only grandbaby.
For now, Callie’s father would remain on alert, keeping the child safe. He may be retired, but he would still protect his family to the best of his ability.
Quinn trusted them with his daughter.
When he had finished handling that, he returned to the room. That’s where he found his family getting ready to handle the situation.
“What’s the plan?” he asked.
Luke was the first to speak up. “Personally, I think we need to keep the killer off track. In order to do that, we need to remove his target. If he’s still after Maura, then we should get her the hell out of here.”
“I’m not leaving!” she stated adamantly.
Quinn agreed with Luke. “Yeah, but where can she go? I’d offer my house back in Myrtle Springs, but if the killer knows about me, it’s easy to just go online and Google that property. He’ll find her in a matter of days.”
“I concur,” said Callie. “We need to do something a little more drastic.”
They looked over at her.
“What does the team profiler think we should do? You know, since we’re dealing with some sort of lunatic,” stated Nate. He trusted his sister to give them a direction to head.
She leaned back in her chair to ponder it. “Well, whoever is doing this is moving in secrecy. They’re trying to keep this as quiet as possible. If Maura is marked to die, which I believe she is, then he or she is going to keep at it.”
“I can’t leave. I have three other team members here. They need me to make sure they’re safe!” she objected. “I just can’t save my own skin and leave them to hang. That’s not how we do this! I’m a Marine first and foremost.”
Luke touched her arm. “Listen, can you tell them to go under? Make it harder to be found?”
She thought about it. “I already told them to lay low.”
“Okay, then you need to do the same. Besides, if the killer is after you, this person isn't going to give up. If you’re a target, you going under may keep him or her busy long enough to buy us some time.”
She didn't think of it that way. “I understand what you’re saying. Continue.”
“If we make it really hard to find you, then that’s going to waste the killer’s time. It may eventually save a few lives. If your men know you’re telling them to watch their backs, they’ll be aware.”
When Luke’s fingers stroked her arm, Maura felt a wave of calm filling her. His touch was cathartic.
“Okay. I’ll do it.”
“Holy shit! My stubborn sister just agreed to something and no one had to shed any blood,” teased Quinn. He was relieved that Maura would be safe.
“You’re funny,” she said. “Shall I tell Callie all about your antics as a child? Maybe we can swap stories.”
Before she could get excited, Quinn covered her mouth with his hand. “Not happening.”
From the other couch, Nate finally spoke, “Well, the only issue I see in this is that we don’t know where to hide you out. At some point, this place may be compromised. Who knows if we’ve been followed here? I’m Callie’s brother, and she’s Quinn’s wife. We’re a chain and traceable. Luke is my partner, and there’s been news stories on us.”
Maura agreed. “I can make myself scarce. You don’t need to worry about it. I’m a ghost. I have cash and can go under.”
There was no way in hell that Luke was going to let that happen in this lifetime. Come hell or high water, he was sticking by her side. She’d appeared back in his life, and Maura Gaines wasn’t wandering back out of it.
“I have an idea,” he offered.
They all glanced over at him.
“Every few years, I take a fishing expedition. I rent this cabin out in the middle of nowhere. It takes over a full day to hike to it. I’ve told you about it, Nate.”
He recalled the stories. “Isn't it bare minimum?”
“Oh, we’d be roughing it, but it isn't any of ours, I can pay the owner to keep quiet, and we’ll be off the grid. Who will think to look there? I’ve never told anyone about it but you.”
Quinn liked the idea. “Is it really safe? This is my baby sister we’re talking about here. I don’t want her to be out in the open, miles from civilization.”
He pulled out his phone and scrolled through the photos. Pulling up one, he passed it around. “It’s surrounded by trees. There’s one main river branch, then the rest is pretty dense forest. It’s not hunting season or fishing for that matter, so it’ll be quiet. We can trek up there and lay low.”
“You’re not coming with me, Luke,” she said.
He laughed. “Yeah, I really am.”
She stood. “No, you’re not.”
“Well, you really don’t have a choice, honey. I’m going and playing bodyguard until this is all over.”
“NO, YOU'RE NOT.”
Luke calmly stood. “If you’ll excuse us, your sister and I are going to have a little discussion in private. When we get back, we’ll start making our plans.”
They watched as Luke firmly took her by the arm, practically dragging her toward the stairs. The most surprising thing to Quinn was that his sister didn't kick the shit out of the man.
It was very telling and gave him insight on how to handle what was happening between them.
“She’s going to hurt him,” Callie said. “I hope he’s in the mood to get his balls kicked up into his throat.”
“This is going to be fun,” stated Nate. “It looks like Luke has finally met his match.”
Quinn wasn’t sure how he felt about the man being ‘with’ his sister. “Let’s get planning.” Honestly, he didn't want to think about it anymore.
“Works for me,” Nate said, grabbing Luke’s personal laptop off the table. “Let’s commit some high treason.”
Upstairs, Luke pushed her into the bedroom and closed the door. When she stared at him in shock, he pointed at her. “No. You can stop right now, Maura. I’m not listening to it. You came to me, and now you’re going to use my help, one way or another.”
She already felt bad about that.
Before she could open her mouth, he continued, “You’re not traipsing around in the woods with a killer chasing you. It’s not happening. If you want to have a fight, go ahead. Take a few swings. I can promise you that I’m not going to change my mind or strike back. If you want to hurt me, have at it.”
What could she say to that?
“Why are you doing this, Luke?”
“I have no freaking idea. All I know is that I’m all twisted up inside. We have a date and you make me believe it’s all going well, and then you kiss me goodnight and goodbye at the same time. You’re hot, then cold, positive, and unsure all at once. Well, I’m not playing this game.”
Was that how he saw her?
“You showed up here in my closet, and you’re going to use my help. I care about you, Maura, and I can’t let you wear a target while you wander the woods alone. The mere idea makes me sick to my stomach.”
She moved toward him.
Luke braced for her to strike out. He could see the emotion on her face, and was well aware of this woman’s temper. Callie had told him the tales. She took her much bigger brothers down all the time, and with ease.
She was furious that he didn’t trust her. After all, she ‘traipsed around’ in the woods all the time. It was kind of what she did for a living. While she could get angry, Luke had a very valid point. She had jerked him around, pushing him away, and then returned to the scene of the crime.
She owed him.
Now, she was going to make amends. Her actions obviously hurt him a great deal.
Her options were all gone.
Going into h
is body, she wrapped her arms around his waist. She felt the hesitation from him, and it broke her heart. “I’m sorry that I hurt you.”
His heart thumped in his chest, and there was no doubt that she heard it. While Maura’s head rested on his shoulder, she was privy to his trepidation. In all honesty, he couldn’t handle her reeling him in, just to let him go again.
He would admit it.
Luke wanted more.
“I appreciate you not making this a battle, Maura,” he finally said, his hand stroking her back as she leaned into him.
“Thank you for taking this journey at my side. It means a great deal to me.”
Her words shocked him. When she went up on her toes and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, there was another wave of emotion. His flesh burned at the contact, and his body reacted to the simple offering.
Yeah, he was screwed.
Already, he knew his heart was gone. “We should start getting ready,” he admitted.
Maura stared into his eyes. “You’re right. We should get on our way before it’s too dark.”
“I have some camping gear in storage. I may have another sleeping bag,” he offered, trying not to think about her gentle kiss.
Maura contemplated it. “How many miles is this hike?”
Thinking back, Luke did the mental math. “I believe it’s just under twenty.”
“With gear, that’s going to be tough, but I’ve done worse. Instead of packing two of everything, just bring one sleeping bag.”
He swallowed.
Yeah, he could do that.
“I've had to buddy up when it gets cold. I don’t mind.”
Here, he had been excited, but now the only emotion he was feeling was irritation. The last thing he wanted to think about was this woman curled against some other Marine.
Screw that! Curled against anyone else in the universe!
It pissed him off.
Made him irate.
And worked him up.
“Sure, we can do that,” he offered, fighting to keep his temper in check.
“Then let’s get packing. We need to head out tonight.”
Despite being irritated, Luke was looking forward to the hike. Sure, they were likely going to be chased down, but if he had to go at least Maura would be with him.
Already he knew the truth.
He couldn’t live without her.
Out in the living room, the other half of the team made their plan. When Luke and Maura headed out, they were going to start working on pulling everything apart.
“I’ll take the psych exams,” offered Callie. “I want an insight into everyone’s lives. It may help me figure out how this killer snuck up on four well-trained Marines. These men were accustomed to watching their backs. Someone got the drop on them.”
Nate was good with that. “I’ll take their past missions. We’ll start to pull them apart too. Maybe something they did caused their deaths. I’ll need to see who they came across and transported.”
“Then that leaves me the autopsy reports. I’ll start going over those and the crime scenes. Something has to be there. Once we find out what, we can figure out what the hell happened to those men. If Maura is right, they should have put up a fight.”
Nate had an idea. “Once they’re on their way, we need to get the hell out of here. I don’t like the idea that I could have been followed here. I didn't exactly try and evade anyone. I wish I had known what was going on because I would have been more careful.”
Yeah, he hated the idea that his family might be compromised because of his mistakes.
“We can go to a hotel,” Quinn suggested. “If you wave your FBI badge, we can claim it’s some secret stakeout. It might buy us some time.”
Callie shook her head. “Yeah, or it won’t. If this person is killing, by going there, we’re risking other people. We need a place less accessible.”
Nate agreed. “I’m supposed to be off a few days, but we can head into my office. If we bring Luke’s laptop and run it off our personal Wi-Fi, we can avoid using government equipment.”
That worked for all of them.
“We should print everything out,” suggested Quinn. “I don’t want to even use his laptop.”
They agreed.
“Okay, let’s print out copies of everything, and then lock Luke’s place up. We’re going to go hang out at the FBI office where it’s safe,” Callie said.
Nate found it ironic that they were going to go to a place where law was king, and here they were going to be breaking so many rules.
Oh, the irony.
“Elizabeth Blackhawk is going to kick my ass,” he muttered. “She’s going to love every damn second of it too.”
Callie patted him on the knee. “You’re not the only one. We’re all going to likely get fired, or worse, go to jail.”
“Great. I feel so much better, Callie,” Nate stated, as he hit print.
This was going to be a clusterfuck.
At least they all knew it.
* * * C a r t e r C h r o n i c l e s * * *
It didn't take long to pack up everything they needed. Lucas Mars could tell that the Marine beside him was accustomed to shipping out on secret missions. She packed with efficiency, weighing every option over in her mind.
There were things that would keep them alive, and items that were nothing more than a luxury.
Apparently, they were really going to be roughing it.
Major Maura Gaines was hardcore.
After his pack was put together, and they had both changed, they headed down into his garage. The plan was that he would back his Hummer in, and they would load the gear up. The least amount of time she was seen outside his home, the better. Who knew if they were being watched or not?
Now, it would be time to screw with anyone who was stalking them.
Out in the parking area, he rolled down his windows and got to work. Backing in, he waited for Quinn and Nate to load their gear into the trunk. When Callie came to his window, she looked worried.
“You be careful, Lucas Mars. I happen to like your hide intact.”
He offered up his most charming smile. “Well, Callista Gaines, I didn't know you cared.”
She hopped up onto the running board to lean in the window. Giving him a kiss, she took his face in her hands. “You watch your back, Luke. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
There was no question about it. He was touched. They might not be his family by blood, but they’d taken him in anyway. He was definitely one of them.
“Your cargo is intact,” Quinn said, before slamming the back of the Hummer. When he approached, he held out his hand. “Good luck. My sister is a total pain in the ass.”
“Hey!” she objected from the back. It was bad enough they were talking about her, but she was only feet away.
Luke shook his hand and then dropped his sunglasses on his face. “I think I can handle one woman alone in the woods.”
Nate snorted. “Yeah, you do so well in a crowd of people.”
There was snickering in the back.
“For that, I’m hitting every bump,” he stated.
As he pulled out, they watched him go. There was that wave of unease as they saw them disappear down the road.
“I hope he knows what he’s doing,” Quinn said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Nate spoke up, “He’ll be safe. Luke has been a great agent for over eight years. They’ll be okay.”
Quinn laughed. “I was more worried about him getting involved with my sister. She’s a train wreck waiting to happen. I’ve seen her break hearts left and right.”
It was telling.
Lucas Mars had definitely met his match.
He drove about a mile with the windows and sunroof open. Luke was trying to draw as much attention to himself as possible. Normally, he’d want to be stealthy, but in this case, he wanted anyone following him to think he was alone. When he hit the highway, with no one insight behind him, it was time to get ser
ious.
After rolling up the tinted windows, he called to Maura in the back, “Honey, you can come out. No one’s behind us. I don’t think we’re being tailed.”
She climbed over the first row of seats, and then wiggled her way into the front beside him. It almost made her laugh that both of them were similarly dressed. They wore black cargo pants and similar black t-shirts. They definitely looked like a couple on a mission.
The word ‘couple’ caught her off balance, making her stomach flip at the implication. The blonde-haired man beside her was making it hard to be strong.
There was a giant part of her that wanted to know what it would feel like to be part of his life. She was so accustomed to relying on her team, but being reliant on a man she had feelings for was new.
It was scary.
“You should probably text your team. They need to watch their backs while you’re MIA.”
She could do that. Pulling out the burner phone she had squirreled away in case of emergency, she typed in their numbers from memory. This wasn’t the first time she’d had to send them a text with instructions.
Generally, they weren’t to hide.
This was definitely a first.
“What are you telling them?” Luke asked, glancing in the rearview mirror. There was a red sports car approaching fast. His heart was already beginning to thump in his chest. Pulling his sidearm from his hip, he laid it on the console by his hand.
Just in case of an emergency.
Maura analyzed his actions. She could easily tell that he was used to being in dangerous situations. He was on alert, and his entire body was tense. “Problem?”
The car blew by them. “No. We’re good.”
She saw him relax. There was the release of frown lines on his brow that gave it away.
“I was just sending them a coded text, that’s all.”
He laughed. “How very secretive of you. Care to share with me?”
Maura read it off to him.
‘Ghost one vanishing. Specter, Spirit, and Apparition are to spook out. Until further contact, disappear. Visual on 6. Out.’
“That’s an interesting text,” Luke stated, as she hit send. Immediately, Maura shut down the phone. It was one of their only way to contact her team and Luke’s. They needed to conserve battery life for when they were in the woods.
Sinner Realized Page 7
