Love Inspired Suspense December 2013 Bundle: Christmas Cover-UpForce of NatureYuletide JeopardyWilderness Peril

by Lynette Eason

  “I know. I’m not planning on taking anything, but Katie doesn’t have enough for a search warrant yet.” He paused. “I don’t think. They might issue one based on the pictures of the cars, but I doubt it.”

  “I tried Frank’s phone again. It went straight to voice mail.”

  Jordan opened the next drawer and pulled out a file labeled Jenny. “Who’s Jenny?”

  “His niece. The one who drowned.”

  Jordan opened the file and stared at the picture on top. “Danny, how old was Jenny when she died?”

  “Seven. Or eight. I forget.”

  “Have you ever seen a picture of her?”

  “Yes. He used to have a picture of her on his refrigerator and one on his desk. After she drowned, he removed all the pictures. Like it was just too painful for him to see them.” He scratched his head. “I don’t even remember what she looks like now.”

  Jordan flipped the picture over. “Her obituary’s taped to the back.” He turned back to the picture, then pulled out his cell phone and scrolled until he came to the picture of Lucy Randall. “Look at this.”

  Danny looked. And sucked in a deep breath. “They could pass for twins.”

  Jordan looked at Danny. “You think you could find the address of Frank’s sister?”

  “Probably.”

  Jordan’s phone buzzed. Katie’s answer, FRANK, sent fear exploding through him.

  *

  Katie ducked as another shot came her way. “Frank!”

  Chills of fear raced all over her. Frank was shooting at her.

  She had to get out of the warehouse to get a cell signal or she was going to die.

  She had to move, change locations. Find a better hiding place. Something. She took a deep breath and darted for the next stack of crates, expecting to feel the burn of a bullet entering her flesh. The shot came, but he missed. When he moved to get a better angle, she got a glimpse of him.

  “Frank, stop! Why are you shooting at me?” She flipped her phone on silent.

  “Because you keep sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong!”

  Lucy.

  “She’s my sister. Why don’t you want me to find her?”

  Another shot. She ducked, noticed she had one bar and punched in 911 on her cell phone again.

  It rang once, twice. “Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”

  “I’m—”

  The phone blipped the sound of the dropped call and Katie bit back a groan. She quickly typed a text to Jordan, then one to Gregory. A footstep squeaked to her left. She caught her breath and moved toward the edge of the crates.

  “Where’s my sister? Where’s Lucy?” she called and moved as silently as she could down a passageway made of crates toward the window to her right.

  Another shot cracked the wood where she’d just been. But Frank wouldn’t answer. She figured he was doing his best to hunt her down and didn’t want to give away his location by opening his mouth. Fine. Two could play that game. She did her best to regulate her breathing, control the fear racing through her. If she could get to the window, maybe she could find a signal.

  *

  Jordan’s phone beeped, indicating a text message. He read aloud, “Need help. Two-four-five-six Buckley. No signal.” Terror shot straight through him.

  Danny glanced at him and frowned. “Katie?”

  “Yeah.” Immediately, he dialed her number. Straight to voice mail.

  “That doesn’t sound good,” Danny said.

  Jordan punched in the number for Katie’s partner. Gregory answered on the second ring. Jordan snapped, “Katie’s in trouble.” He gave the man the address.

  Gregory said, “I got her text. I’m on the way. I just got a report about shots fired there.”

  Jordan punched a text back to her.

  On the way.

  A sick feeling engulfed him. Please, God, let her be all right.

  *

  Katie fired back in the direction the last shot had come from and thought she heard sirens in the distance. It was hard to tell. It might just be the ringing in her ears. She prayed it was sirens. Her nose itched. The smell of gunpowder filled the air and she had to hold her breath to ward off a sneeze.

  A crate fell to her right and she spun, then darted toward it and to the right behind the crates next to it. Had Frank pushed one over trying to trap her into exposing her location? Or was it an accident?

  Either way, she stayed put, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth. She looked at her phone. Still not a good enough signal to make a phone call. The window was too far, with too much open space between her and it.

  And where was Frank?

  Another shot sent shards of wood raining down on her. One piece sliced the skin on the back of her hand and she bit her lip to keep from crying out. Blood dripped. Another hard piece grazed her forehead and she blinked as she hit the cement floor.

  Come on, come on, where are you, Gregory? Jordan?

  She couldn’t hold Frank off forever. She scuttled toward what had once been a break area with a kitchen. The appliances were gone, but the granite countertops were still there, as well as the cement base they sat on.

  Her phone vibrated. She glanced at the screen.

  On the way.

  Relief filled her. Blood dripped from her hand and she pressed it to her jeans, trying to stop the flow.

  Gritting her teeth, she did her best to ignore the pain that bit at her. Her entire body still ached from all the trauma it had been through in the last few days. She’d pushed herself hard and was paying for it.

  God, please. Don’t let this man kill me.

  *

  Jordan led the way to the address Katie had texted him. When he pulled up, he flashed his FBI badge to the officer on crowd-control duty. Knowing a gunshot came from the warehouse, all he wanted to do was rush the place. Common sense and training held him still. Worry for Katie ate a hole in his belly.

  Danny raced toward the doors, ignoring the shouts for him to stop. Jordan flashed his badge again and took off after the man. “Danny! Wait!”

  Danny ignored him. He pulled open the door and stepped inside the warehouse. Jordan pulled his weapon as the SWAT team descended. He followed Danny inside and let the door close behind him.

  “Frank!” Danny’s voice held a desperation that made Jordan wince. “Frank, are you here?”

  “Get out of here, Danny! This doesn’t concern you.” His voice echoed, but Jordan thought it originated from the left. He started moving in that direction, using the crates as shelter.

  “There’re cops all over the place,” Danny called out. “They have evidence placing you at the kidnapping. I don’t want you to die, and that’s how this is going to end if you don’t come out.”

  “Mind your own business, Danny.”

  “Why’d you do it, Frank? Why’d you take her?”

  “Shut up! Just shut up!”

  Jordan glanced around. Frank was hiding, but he had a good idea of where the man was. While Danny kept Frank’s attention, Jordan slipped behind the nearest crate and stopped to listen.

  *

  Katie froze at the new voice. Danny Jackson. She moved to the left and found herself closer to the window. When Frank had answered Danny, his voice had been scary close. She backed up, stepping carefully, her goal no longer the window, but Frank.

  Help was here. She needed to help them help her.

  She turned, silent and watchful. Where was he? Her fingers gripped her weapon. The safety was off. Step by slow step, she moved.

  A scuff from behind. She turned and came to an abrupt stop when a vise dropped over her head and closed around her throat. Adrenaline rushing, Katie dropped her phone, but years of training sent her into defense mode. She stepped backward into her attacker, jabbing with her elbow.

  He deflected the blow and jammed his gun into her ribs. She gasped and stilled. Her heart beat with fear and anger.

  “I took those courses, too, remember?” he his
sed into her left ear.

  “So what now, Frank? You know how this is going to play out. You either let me go or we’re both going to wind up dead.”

  “I’m not ready to die yet.”

  “Then let me go.”

  “I’m not going to prison, either.”

  Terror curled in her belly.

  “Frank!” Danny Jackson’s voice again.

  Frank stiffened and tightened his grip on her throat. She choked and he loosened it slightly. “Now we’re going to walk out of here and get in the car and go.”

  “They’ll just follow.”

  “Then we’ll lose them.”

  “What did you do?” she whispered. “What did you have to do with her kidnapping? Why did you botch the investigation?”

  *

  Jordan could hear Katie’s pained questions. Frank didn’t answer her. He peered around the edge of the crates, could hear the negotiator on the megaphone. Frank didn’t answer. In fact, he acted like there wasn’t a whole city of cops outside the building.

  He had a tight grip on Katie’s throat, and Jordan could see the man’s weapon pressed against her side. His heart thudded, and he took a deep breath. One shot. He’d only get one shot. He’d better make it count.

  The SWAT team was useless without windows. If they couldn’t see the perp, they couldn’t shoot him.

  “Frank, come on, man, talk to me.”

  Danny was in full cop mode, shrugging off his retirement like he’d never left. Jordan just prayed the man could talk some sense into his former partner while Jordan figured out a way to disarm Frank. Or shoot him.

  “Frank! They’ve got evidence that you kidnapped Lucy Randall,” Gregory joined in.

  Jordan spun back and stepped around the crate so he could see the door. Gregory had slipped into the warehouse along with four SWAT members. He turned his attention back to Katie. She had gone perfectly still. “You? You kidnapped her?”

  Whispered curses slipped from Frank’s lips. “I had to.”

  To Jordan, it looked as though Frank’s grip wasn’t quite as tight. Everyone talking to him had distracted him.

  Jordan raised his weapon and closed one eye as he centered the muzzle on Frank’s lined forehead. But the man had a gun on Katie. If Jordan shot, would Frank’s hand spasm and pull the trigger?

  Frustration gripped him.

  He shifted and tried to catch Katie’s eye.

  She saw him and her eyes widened.

  Then she wilted straight to the floor, as though her legs had given out.

  Frank cursed and held her by her chin. He looked up just as Jordan pulled the trigger.

  SEVENTEEN

  Katie felt Frank jerk and dropped the rest of the way to floor. She rolled and kicked out, clipping his knees and bringing him down beside her.

  Before she could blink, Jordan was on the man and rolling him to his stomach, yanking his hands behind his back. “You’re under arrest.”

  “You shot him. Oh, please tell me you didn’t kill him,” Katie said.

  Frank groaned, and Katie felt a giddy shot of relief.

  Jordan grunted as he clipped the cuffs onto Frank and hauled him to his feet. “I was going to, but figured we’d never find Lucy if I went with a head shot. You dropped at just the right time and I caught him in the shoulder. Nice moves.”

  “Thanks. Glad he didn’t pull the trigger when I slumped.” She stood in front of Frank and felt a strange mixture of emotions. And detachment. “Where’s my sister?”

  Frank shook his head and grimaced. The amount of blood covering his shirt said the shoulder wound probably needed to be looked at pretty fast.

  Law enforcement had them surrounded. Gregory looked at her. “You all right?”

  “I’m alive, so I guess that means I’m just fine.”

  He nodded. Katie waved paramedics over and Jordan helped Frank onto the gurney. None too gently, she noticed. Frank cried out and sucked air between his clenched teeth.

  Katie noticed Danny Jackson staring at Frank. When he saw her watching, he shook his head. “I didn’t know, I promise.”

  Katie stepped up to the gurney and looked down at the man who’d ripped her family apart. “Why?”

  He opened his eyes and glared. “It doesn’t matter now, does it?”

  “Of course it matters!” Her fist balled and she was ready to slug him. “Where is she? Is she alive?” The question ripped from her. Frank looked away and Katie grabbed his good shoulder and shook it. He gasped. “Is she alive!”

  He met her gaze. “No. She’s not.”

  Her knees buckled, and she felt Jordan’s hands catch her on her way to the concrete. “No. No, no, no. Please…”

  Jordan helped her back to her feet and away from Frank. She couldn’t stop the sobs that choked her. Jordan held her, then shook her. Why wouldn’t he just let her give in and have a moment of grief?

  “Katie! Listen to me!”

  She hiccupped and shuddered. “What!”

  “I don’t think she’s dead.”

  Katie drew in a ragged breath and stared. “Why?”

  “Because of what we found at his house.”

  “You searched his house?”

  “Yeah. And now that we got him on all kinds of charges including attempted murder, we won’t have any trouble getting a search warrant.”

  Katie wiped her eyes and sniffed. “What’d you find?” She watched the ambulance pull away from the parking lot.

  “Evidence that he took Lucy.” He gripped her hands. “His niece died a few months before Lucy was snatched. Danny talked about how inconsolable the family was and how Frank nearly fell apart, but that the job was the only thing that kept him going.”

  “So he took Lucy as an attempt to replace his niece?”

  “That’s what we think.”

  “So where is she?”

  “I’m going to take a wild guess and say he took her and gave her to his sister.”

  “Where do they live? Let’s go.”

  Jordan checked his phone. “I’ve got her address right here.” He placed a hand on her arm to stop her from heading to the car. “Let me call and see if she’s home.” He looked around. “Plus, you’re not done here.”

  Katie took another breath and closed her eyes. She had to get herself together. Hope flared like a spotlight, bright and piercing. Lucy might be alive. If she was, she’d just celebrated her twenty-first birthday two weeks ago. And she might even be somewhere close by. Her fingers itched to pick up the phone and call her parents, but she couldn’t do that until she knew for sure. She wouldn’t dare take a chance on raising their hopes only to have them dashed.

  It seemed to take forever, but Katie managed to get through the wrap of the crime scene, giving her statement and chugging a bottle of water.

  Impatience zipped through her. She looked at Jordan. “Are you ready?”

  “She apparently still lives with her par—” He shot her a look. “The family that she—” He held his hands up.

  Katie bit her lip. “I guess they’re her parents now, aren’t they?”

  Jordan nodded. “I’m sorry. I know this is a hard one, but she’s lived with them for fourteen years. If they raised her as their own, then yes, she probably thinks of them as her parents.”

  “Okay. I know you’re right. I’ll just have to remember that.” She paused. “In fact, we probably should talk to her parents first and ask them the best way to approach telling Lucy the truth about her past.”

  Jordan pressed the phone to his ear. “She’s not answering her phone.”

  “Then I’ll sit outside her house until someone comes home.”

  The four-hour drive to Raleigh, North Carolina, passed mostly in silence broken by Katie’s phone calls to the Banks residence every thirty minutes.

  Katie was glad for Jordan’s company. He drove to the address he’d gotten from his buddy at Quantico. Bill and Lindsay Banks lived in an older middle-class neighborhood with a lot of ranch-style h
ouses on one-acre lots. The Banks’ still hadn’t answered when Jordan pulled to the curb of the house.

  Katie’s phone rang, and she glanced at the ID, then at him. “It’s my parents’ number.”

  “Go ahead and answer it. We’re just going to be doing a waiting game for the next little while. I’ll step out of the car and give you some privacy if you want.”

  Katie shook her head and clicked the phone off. “No. I don’t want to talk to them yet. I want to be able to tell them I found Lucy and when they can see her.”

  “You think finding Lucy is going to make your mother love you again?” He asked the question softly and she winced. He grimaced. “Never mind. I’m sorry.”

  “No,” she said, her voice low. “It’s a valid question. The answer is—I don’t know.”

  “But you keep trying.”

  She gave a sad smile. “I don’t know how to stop at this point.” She took a deep breath. “However, I do think I’m going to have to come to terms with the fact that my mother may never change, and I’m going to have to figure out a way to accept that.”

  “And forgive yourself for Lucy’s kidnapping?”

  Another wince. “Yes.” She shot him a look. “Just like you need to forgive yourself for the death of that little girl.”

  Jordan’s fingers flexed on the steering wheel. “I know it wasn’t my fault. In my head I know that.”

  “I understand. I’ve finally come to see that Lucy’s kidnapping wasn’t my fault. I didn’t cause it. Someone else chose to do that and blaming myself is exactly the wrong thing to do. God doesn’t blame me. My mother may blame me, but God doesn’t, and that’s what I have to get through to my heart.”

  “You’ve been doing a lot of thinking.”

  “I have.” She gripped his hand. “Jordan, that little girl’s death wasn’t your fault. God doesn’t blame you.”

  His throat worked and he nodded. “I’m starting to see that.” He glanced at her. “Thanks to you.”

  Her phone rang and she jerked. “My dad again.”

  “Answer him, Katie. Talk to him.”

  With a deep sigh, Katie pressed the button. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Katie, I hope this is a good time.” Her mother’s voice echoed in her head. For a moment, shock held Katie speechless. Her mother had called her.