Betrayals of the Heart

by Melissa Ohnoutka

  Ryan pushed away the pictures of what Nicholas might be going through. He needed his senses to be sharp. Couldn’t let emotions get in the way. This would be the hardest thing he’d ever done in his entire career.

  Eyes focused, he watched the tiny dot in front of him. The closer he came, the clearer he could see Makayla. She was traveling in excessive speeds. Speeds unsafe for an inexperienced motorcyclist. If she didn’t kill herself, he’d ream her good for her carelessness when he caught up with her. That is after he made sure she was safe.

  The moment the golden arches appeared over the horizon, Ryan knew exactly where Makayla was headed. How could she put herself in danger like this? She had to know Steven would have people watching for her.

  That proved it. She wasn’t thinking at all. She was making careless mistakes, further confirmation that she was indeed still the victim and not a part of Steven’s sick plan.

  ***

  Makayla’s heart raced in her chest as the ground zipped by beneath her feet. She’d never ridden the motorcycle so fast alone. Ryan was always right behind her egging her on, but she’d stayed to speeds she felt comfortable with. Too dangerous. Her common sense protested over and over. Slow down, you’ll be worthless to them if you have an accident.

  But the minute the McDuffs cleared the horizon, she silenced all the voices. Her thoughts were busy trying to devise a plan to rescue both her sons. Michael would be easy to spot. His newly crew cut hair spiked with blonde tips were still a sore subject. What kids did nowa-days to show their unity in sports drove her crazy.

  Slowing down next to the curb, she braced herself for the weight of the machine. If she wasn’t careful, the minute the momentum ceased, it would overpower her small frame. She’d go down fast, the heavy weight trapping her beneath the metal.

  One, two, three, stop.

  A quick move of her leg and she caught the curb with her foot, keeping the motorcycle upright. Whew. That was easier than she thought. Holding the beast steady, she switched off the ignition and brought the other leg over. Then she let the motorcycle rest on its kickstand beside the curb. She’d made it.

  Now to find Michael.

  And avoid Steven at all costs.

  Peering around the glass door, she scanned the sitting area. Nothing. Next, she studied the parking lot for signs of Steven. He’d travel in class. Never went anywhere without his stupid limo and driver. It would stick out among the rough, beat up trucks and sports utility vehicles common to the area.

  She breathed a sigh of relief. No sign of anything out of the ordinary. She was safe for the moment and could continue searching.

  “Mom!”

  Michael’s voice echoed behind her like drums through her skull. She tried to decipher his tone. Was he in distress? No. Extremely pissed off was more like it. She swallowed hard and turned to face him.

  “Don’t you mom me, mister! You scared me to death. What do you think you’re doing? You have no idea what kind of man you’re up against.” Her voice rose with each sentence, her body shaking with anger.

  “Yes, I do. I couldn’t protect you then. But I plan on doing more than that now. Let’s see how the asshole stands up to someone his own size.”

  Makayla’s breath caught in her throat. Her son’s tone held so much hatred, his demeanor changing in mere seconds. What she saw scared her to death.

  “First, watch your mouth. Second, you’re no match for him. He isn’t human.”

  “Yes, I am. He will pay. For every time he caused you pain. For every time he laughed at your weakness. For every time he told me what a pathetic mother you were. And, for every time he went over the details of how we’d dispose of your body when you died.”

  She stood horrified. The things Michael was saying shredded her resolve. How could a father tell a child such things? No wonder he had nightmares. Dispose of her body? Nausea rolled in her stomach. Her entire world came crashing down around her with is confession. Why hadn’t Michael said anything? All this time, he’d been holding these feelings inside. He’d been reliving a nightmare she had no idea existed.

  “Michael. I’m so sorry. I should have left earlier.”

  “You did all you could to survive. For that I thank you. Your strength is what kept me going. You were always there when I needed you most. And now I’m going to be here for you. He’ll never lay a hand on you again. Or Nicholas.”

  She reached for him, but he backed away. Anger, bitterness, pain transformed his features into a familiar and scary reality. The next thing she knew he was bolting around her. He had the motorcycle upright with a leg thrown over the seat before her next breath.

  “Michael, wait!”

  With one kick it started and he stared over at her for a long breathless second. “You don’t understand, Mom.”

  Apparently Ryan had been instructing Michael on how to handle the motorcycle without her knowledge. Never before had he looked so much like a man. A fierce warrior on his way to fight a battle. One that couldn’t be won. At least not by an angry fifteen-year-old bent on revenge. He didn’t have a chance. Steven wouldn’t travel alone. He always paid someone a hefty price to cover his back. Her protests and attempts to change Michael’s mind were useless.

  “I love you.” The words choked from deep in his throat before he turned the motorcycle to the street and zoomed away.

  “No!” Defeat consumed her. She’d done the worst thing possible. Instead of rescuing Michael, she’d provided him with the means to reach Steven faster. She should have stayed put. Michael might have wised up on his own and gone home or been found by the police. If only she’d trusted them to do their job.

  Now her son had transportation and could cover more ground. He’d find what he was looking for. But it wouldn’t play out like he imagined. He might be Steven’s son. But Michael had a soul, a conscience. Steven had neither.

  Makayla wanted nothing more than to call Ryan for help, but dread held her back. He’d never hung up on her before, never raised his voice.

  With a few words, she’d transformed him back into the scary stranger she’d met that horrifying night in the airport so long ago. How could things have gone so wrong? One bad decision made at the young age of nineteen had managed to ruin the future of so many.

  Bowing her head, she closed her eyes, gritted her teeth against all the doubts bombarding her and held on to the truth of what she’d been taught as a little girl. God never left or forsake anyone. All the struggles in life were meant to bring people closer to the one who held all the answers. The one who loved more deeply than any human ever could or ever would.

  With a deep breath, she opened her eyes. And gasped.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Ryan stood before her, his clenched fists resting on his hips.

  “Do you want to die?” An angry challenge coated his words.

  “I-I only wanted…” She couldn’t finish. She knew how stupid she’d been. Knew she’d put Michael and even Nicholas in more danger.

  “Ryan, I’m so sorry.” She swallowed back the knot at the base of her throat and choked out the words. “What do we do now?” She could feel his frustration, disappointment and worry emanating from every jagged breath. All she wanted to do was erase his pain.

  “Makayla. If you don’t trust me now, we will never see our boys again.” His voice held so much raw emotion, it ripped at her heart. Could she be so bold as to think he could still love her? She was about to find out. Her next statement would put any ounce of feeling he had left for her to the ultimate test.

  “Michael took the motorcycle.” Choking down one last sob, she added. “It’s all my fault. This is all my fault.”

  A heavy sigh escaped his lips before he pulled her into his arms. “Oh, sweetheart. The only one to blame for this fiasco is Steven. You have no idea the extent of his evil. The FBI and I have been tracking his operations for years. Watching. Waiting. But he is clever. You and Michael only added a whole new twist to the game.”

  He pulled her bac
k to gaze into her frightened face, his hands lightly gripping her shoulders. “Protecting you and Michael was my job from the beginning. Before we ever met. Before you ever ran.” He paused to let it sink in and then added, “When I realized I’d let myself get to close, I quit my job with the FBI and went out on my own just so I could get closer to you. Working as a private investigator, I didn’t have to follow their rules, but could still be a part of the operation. I felt that was the best way I to protect you.”

  Chills sped over her. “What?”

  His face flashed with guilt. “I was at the mall that day you gave Ricky the slip. I followed you to the airport that night. Never had any intentions of letting you get on that plane. The bad weather worked to my benefit.” He reached up and swiped a tear from her cheek with the gentle touch of his forefinger. “You really had no choice but to come with me.”

  She swallowed hard processing the information. “You were the stranger who stopped Ricky.”

  He nodded. “But now, Makayla. You have a choice. You can come with me and let me do my job. Or you can run. Try to finish this on your own.” He dropped his hands to his side as sign of his surrender.

  Would he really let her decide? “I…I don’t know what to say.”

  “I’m the one who is sorry. I never meant for it to take so long to gather the evidence on Steven. I never meant to lose control of the situation. But the next thing I knew, I had an amazing new wife and not one but two great sons. You all mean more to me than you’ll ever know.”

  Makayla couldn’t speak. She watched awestruck as he opened his heart wide to her and knew without a doubt he was her last hope. All this time, God had been answering her prayer. He’d sent this man to protect them and there was not one single day he’d ever wavered from that job.

  “Will you trust me, Makayla?”

  Her gaze met his deep blue eyes and she held her breath. She wanted this feeling of being so loved to last for an eternity. “Yes, Ryan. I’ll try.”

  He leaned forward to plant a soft kiss on her forehead. Then taking her by the hand, he led her across the parking lot to his truck. “We need to get you home. Get you ready for your meeting with Steven. Michael’s a smart boy. He won’t do anything stupid.”

  Her head snapped in his direction. “But…” She’d left out one very important detail.

  “Nicholas needs us more right now.” Determination set deep in the strong line of his jaw. The take-charge attitude she’d found so frightening, yet intriguing, from the very first day in the airport.

  “I know, but...” She stopped. It was true. Nicholas was too young to defend himself. Maybe now wasn’t the best time to tell Ryan about the gun. Michael might not even find it. She needed to be more worried that Nicholas hadn’t provoked Steven with his hyperactivity. Steven wouldn’t be kind with his punishments.

  “Are you having second thoughts about going through with the FBI’s plan?” He opened her door and helped her up with a firm hand.

  Her voice too weak to respond, she shook her head no, gaining strength from his intense presence. If Ryan trusted them, their plan, then it should be good enough for her. But the mere fact they wanted her to face Steven scared her to death. They knew where Steven was holding up, in some vacant warehouse on the edge of town. What they hadn’t pinpointed was Nicholas’ location. There had been no signs or sounds of her son. Her throat constricted to the point it was difficult to breath.

  She felt sure Steven was aware of the surveillance teams watching the outside of the building. He was banking on the fact that the FBI wouldn’t make a move if it might endanger Nicholas’ life. But she wasn’t sure of their motives. For some reason, she felt their willingness to wait was rooted deeper. Had more to do with their case and the legality of their actions. That fact ate at the lining of her stomach.

  What had Steven done with Nicholas? She needed to find out fast, before the FBI obtained their warrants. It was almost as if Nicholas’s kidnapping was coming second to their ongoing investigation. Wasn’t a child more important?

  Steven said he’d call back with further instructions and at this point he had made no further contact. Like it or not, Steven still held all the cards.

  Following Steven’s orders to the tee appeared to be the only way she’d ever have the chance to see her youngest son again. The FBI wanted her to wear a wire and planned to have agents within reach should things take a turn for the worse. What the FBI didn’t understand was Steven’s purpose for wanting her back. They thought it was to keep her from talking. The truth was–lethal.

  Chapter Eleven

  Satisfied Makayla was safe in their home under the protection of the FBI, one really pissed off Eric McCoy and finally on the same page strategically, Ryan pulled out of their driveway and hurried back to the warehouse. He needed to be on site in case the FBI went against their word and decided to go in before Nicholas was safe. They wanted Steven, and Ryan knew from past experience that sometimes innocent people died in the process.

  “Not this time.” He took a deep breath, gritting his teeth and switched his train of thought back to Makayla.

  McCoy would never get over the fact he’d been outsmarted by a girl. But Ryan warned him. He didn’t know whether to be mad at his friend or apologetic. Predictable was not in Makayla’s makeup. After all she’d been through, nothing was going to stand in the way of protecting her sons. Not the FBI, not Eric McCoy, not even Ryan.

  As he drove, alert and searching for signs of Michael, his memories tried to get the best of him. He remembered Michael holding his hand for the first time, a clear sign he’d gained this little boy’s trust after months of grueling efforts. He remembered Nicholas’ birth, of how that one tiny life changed his world forever. And he remembered the look on Makayla’s face when she’d said those three simple words that shook his world.

  I love you, Ryan. These were words he never thought could affect him the same way again after Jennifer’s death. But in truth, they’d ended up just as powerful coming from Makayla’s sweet soft lips.

  He shook his head, gripping the steering wheel tighter as the light in front of him turned red and he had to slam on his brakes to avoid a collision in the intersection. Focus, damn it.

  The small town stretched out over several miles with numerous farm roads and trails connecting to the busier paved roads. Michael knew the area frontward and backward. If the boy wanted to stay hidden, they’d never find him. Ryan only hoped Steven wouldn’t get lucky and stumble across Michael unintentionally.

  Recognition would be immediate. The strong resemblance between father and son was scary. Under normal circumstances, Steven wouldn’t hesitate to take Michael down. But one fact remained in Michael’s favor, if you could call it that. Steven wanted to punish Makayla more. What better way to make her pay than to finish off both of her sons and have her witness the evil act first hand?

  “Sick bastard.” Ryan’s gut churned at the thought as he pulled around the corner leading to the abandoned building, slowing to a crawl.

  The old warehouse sat on the edge of town and had been used to store supplies during the last big hurricane that blew through over five years ago. The inside had long since seen the light of day. How Steven managed to set up camp so quickly had Ryan considering the possibility of inside help. Money was always a strong motivator.

  Just how had Steven found Makayla anyway? They’d been extra careful. Everything was in his name alone. The house, the car, the motorcycle she never wanted. No link to Makayla’s past existed. He’d even had her mother moved to safety after learning Makayla had purchased the plane tickets with her credit card. To this day, only Ryan had any knowledge of her mom’s exact whereabouts. The phone calls and private meetings between them were always carefully planned and executed. He’d covered every aspect of the case with meticulous precision ever since Makayla decided to run that day over ten years ago.

  But he’d missed something. And that fact bothered him beyond irritation.

  What the he
ll was it?

  ***

  Makayla sat in the kitchen under the disapproving eye of Agent Harrington. Eric McCoy had reassigned himself to curb duty after her little escape fiasco. Well, this agent could try, but there was no way to make her feel any worse than she already did about it all. He could call her every name in the book and it wouldn’t phase her one bit. She knew how stupid she’d been. Now she only prayed Ryan would be able to repair the damage and rescue both her boys.

  ‘Trust me,’ he’d said. Hadn’t she been doing that for years? Not once over ten years had she suspected him of being anything else but the stranger from the airport she’d falling in love with. It all made more sense now. Why he’d been so understanding, so careful about setting up the meetings with her mom. Now to find out he’d been watching her, following her, protecting her even before they’d met, rocked her world.

  Ryan had been the stranger in the hooded jacket that day at the mall. He was the reason she and Michael had escaped. All this time, she’d worried about what happened to the stranger that day. Shots were fired. People screamed. But she never once looked back. She ran to the cab that waited for her, opened the door and dragged Michael in behind her before slamming the door.

  So many emotions flooded her chest she could barely breathe.

  Ryan had saved them. Gave them the extra time needed to get away.

  She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. Was he the one Ricky shot at that day? So many unanswered questions and guilt swarmed her now she could barely keep her emotions in check.

  If it hadn’t been Heritage Month at the high school requiring a project for a major history grade, Michael would not have gotten a copy of his original birth certificate. The one that listed Steven Prichard as his biological father.

  Fingers against her temples, she worked to relieve the pressure building behind her temples. Who would have thought something so trivial could bring their world crashing down around them? New identities with authentic documentation, including Michael’s birth certificate listing Ryan as his father had been obtained by less than legal means. Michael started a new school without a paper trail. She’d started a new life with a new husband complete with a new last name.