No Way Out
Page 11
“He looks happy, doesn’t he?” Dani disconnected and shoved her phone into her jeans pocket.
“You mean Cole?” Alyssa clarified.
“Yeah. I haven’t seen him smile like that in years. You and your family are good for him.”
Alyssa still wasn’t ready to talk about Cole so she went to the refrigerator and grabbed juice boxes and cheese sticks.
When she turned, Dani was waiting. “You do care about him, don’t you?”
Alyssa set the lunch supplies on the counter. “Yes, of course. He’s been so helpful and kind. And I can never repay him or all of you for risking your lives for us.”
Dani’s chin when up. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
Unwilling to have this discussion with Dani, Alyssa ignored the comment and put peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in a bag then added juice boxes and cheese sticks.
“He’s an amazing guy, Alyssa. Any woman would be lucky to have him.” Dani gave Alyssa a long look then headed into the living room.
Alyssa wrote the twins’ names on the bags then watched Dani and Cole. They were so protective of each other. Derrick was probably the same way. How great it would be to have a big family. An only child, Alyssa had always wanted siblings. She was thrilled the day she learned she was expecting twins. Though they’d had a tough life, they also had a special bond to help them get through life’s trials.
Cole looked up and caught her studying him. He crossed over to her and smiled that kind of sleepy, charming little grin he’d greeted her with this morning and her pulse thrummed. “Dani’s ready to take the twins to school if you want to say goodbye.”
She peered at her children and a sudden fear clutched her heart. “Are you sure they’ll be okay? I mean, I trust Dani, I really do, but it’d be better if you took them.”
“I’m not leaving you, Alyssa.” Gone was the warmth, his lethal tone taking over. “Dani will stay at the school all day. She’s very capable.”
“But you’re better. Admit it.”
“I’m more than willing to admit it.” He paused and smiled wryly. “But the threat is to you, not the twins, and I need to stay where the threat is greatest.”
He had a point, and she knew she needed his protection.
“You said yourself that you don’t think Saunders would hurt the kids,” Cole went on as if he thought she would continue to argue with him.
“I don’t, but then he’s done many things I didn’t think he was capable of doing.”
“If you really think they’re in danger, we could keep them home. But honestly, if Saunders comes for you today, it would be better if they were in school.”
“You’re right. I’ll say goodbye to them.” She picked up their lunch bags and headed for the living room, praying on the way that her children and Dani wouldn’t run into any harm today.
* * *
Late that afternoon, Cole leaned back from his computer and stretched his arms overhead. Across the table, Alyssa bent over Brianna, helping her with spelling homework. Riley was sitting next to his sister and writing with a thick pencil. The scene was so cozy it was hard to believe Agent Carter from the DEA had sat at the same table this morning and promised to secure a deal for Gibson.
Riley suddenly looked up at Cole. “How come you have to do homework at your age?”
Cole stifled a laugh. “I’m not doing homework. I’m just working.”
“But you’re home and you’re working so why isn’t it homework?”
Alyssa studied her son. “Do you really want an answer to that, or are you putting off doing your spelling?”
His face took on a sheepish look.
“That’s what I thought. Now back to the spelling.” Alyssa looked down. Cole caught her gaze and they shared a smile. Being part of this private moment made him feel like a member of her family, and a longing for what he couldn’t have was a physical ache.
What was it about this woman that she could make this kind of impact on him?
Brianna asked a question and Alyssa changed her focus to her daughter. He went back to his research and focused on another news story about an unsolved murder in the area. He searched the article, looking for a similar pattern to Todd’s murder. Earlier in the afternoon, he and Alyssa had found two comparable cases and he’d phoned the local police departments to secure additional information. The chiefs all promised to email details of their cases. So far, he’d heard nothing.
He scrolled down the Daily Astorian’s Web site. A man’s body had been found in the landfill with meth in his bloodstream. He was a known drug dealer, and local authorities believed his death was related to his occupation. As of the date of the story, the case hadn’t been solved.
The police chief in Astoria was an old family friend so Cole fired off an email asking for additional information about the case. He went back to his search, but an hour or so later when a spicy aroma drifted into the room and made his mouth water, he couldn’t concentrate any longer.
“How long until dinner?” he asked Alyssa.
She glanced at the clock above the fireplace. “If these two little monsters will wash up while you find Dani and Derrick, I’ll have the chili on the table when you come back. Deal?” She smiled widely.
“Deal.” He smiled back at her, that goofy feeling in his stomach again.
He hurried to corral everyone at the table and, as promised, Alyssa had steaming bowls of chili and thick corn bread on a plate with a dish of honey butter waiting to melt onto the perfectly browned tops.
As they ate, Dani and Derrick kept the conversation going by entertaining everyone with stories of growing up as twins.
“Enough,” Alyssa said, nodding at her twins. “Don’t give these two any more ideas of what they can get away with when they get older.”
“Aw, Mom, it was fun,” Brianna grumbled.
Alyssa stood and placed her hands on the twins’ shoulders. “It’s bath time for the two of you. If you make it quick, I’ll read to you before bed.”
Brianna and Riley got up without a comment or even a look and headed toward the bathroom. Alyssa started picking up dishes.
Dani held up her hand. “You and Cole have been working hard all day. Derrick and I’ll do the dishes while you two relax in the family room.”
“Speak for yourself, sis.” Derrick stood and yawned. “I’m gonna catch some sleep before I stand watch out here all night.”
“Fine,” Dani said. “I can handle the dishes by myself. You two get out of here.” She made a shooing motion with her hands.
Cole saw right through Dani’s ploy to get him together with Alyssa. But if Alyssa noticed, she didn’t say a word. Cole wasn’t about to encourage the relationship his sister hoped for. He opened his mouth to offer an excuse when his phone rang.
“Agent Carter,” Cole, thankful for the interruption, said into his phone.
“I need to talk to you,” Carter barked. “In person.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“Just a precaution. With the way phones are hacked these days I don’t want to take a chance of someone overhearing us.”
Cole knew the Justice cells were secure. Dani made sure of that, but he couldn’t vouch for Carter’s phone. “Can you come to the house?”
“I can be there in five minutes.”
“I’ll wait for you on the deck.” Cole disconnected and stowed his phone. “Carter’s coming over to talk.”
Worry consumed Alyssa’s face, and the desire to comfort her nearly outweighed Cole’s common sense to keep her at arm’s length. He had to get out of here. “I’ll wait for him on the deck so the twins don’t accidently hear our conversation.” He went to retrieve his jacket.
“Did he say what this is about?” Alyssa called after him.
“No.” He shrugged into his jacket.
“It can’t be good news if he wants to see you in person.”
“It’s just a precaution.” He fisted his hands to keep from reaching out and smoothing the worry lines in her forehead or holding her to take away the fear lurking in her eyes.
“Don’t worry, Alyssa. You’re safe.” Dani shot Cole a harsh look. “We won’t let anything happen to any of you.”
“Thanks,” Alyssa said, not looking at Cole. “I’ll go help the twins.”
The minute Alyssa disappeared down the hallway, Dani jabbed him in the arm. “What was that all about?”
“Ouch,” he complained.
“You deserved it. She was afraid and you made it worse. And don’t tell me you didn’t see it. When it comes to Alyssa you don’t miss a thing.”
He didn’t want to get into this discussion with Dani. “I’ll be on the deck.”
“So you’re going to run from this just like you’re running from what happened in Iraq?” she called after him.
He cringed at her tone but kept going and stepped into an icy-cold wind. The temperature had plummeted since sundown, and with the deck raised high above ground to catch the view, ice formed quickly.
He leaned on the railing and stared into the starless night. Cold seeped through his coat and bit into his skin. Good. He deserved to be as cold on the outside as he felt on the inside. He wanted to let go of all his issues and embrace these feelings for Alyssa, embrace the desire to find a wife and have a family, but he’d been frozen for so many years that thawing wasn’t as simple as everyone made it out to be.
After a while, he felt movement behind him and turned in time to witness the cozy scene inside. Alyssa had the twins fresh from their baths tucked under her arms and they settled onto the sofa to read that promised bedtime story. They appeared to be the ideal little family. Except he knew they had issues like every family had. And he had no right to add to that turmoil by falling for Alyssa and saddling her with his problems.
Soft footfalls climbing the steps changed his focus. Carter, his moves measured and deliberate in the dark, joined him.
“Justice.” Carter tipped his head at the house. “Sorry about pulling you away from the family. It’d be a lot nicer inside than waiting out here for me.”
“No problem,” Cole answered. “So what do you have?”
“I’ve been trying to locate Gibson, but he’s missing.”
“You’re sure?”
He nodded. “He’s not at his home. His wife says he’s at work, but he’s not there. I’ve been hounding them down at the police station all day. Finally got an employee to tell me he called in last night saying he was taking a few days off. They haven’t heard from him since.”
“We both know he’s not taking a few days off.”
“Agreed, but I don’t have anything concrete to use for a warrant for his home or his phone, so there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“I anticipated this thing with Gibson going south. Dani’s already working on obtaining Gibson’s phone records.”
Carter shook his head. “Sometimes I wish I was on your side of the fence. It’d be a whole lot easier to get what I need without the law constraining my moves.”
“It has its good points at times, but we have to work harder for information that you have at your fingertips. I figure it’s a wash.”
“Point taken.” Carter gestured at the house. “I’ll let you get back inside. I’ll keep after Gibson and you keep me in the loop on what you find.”
Cole nodded and instead of facing Alyssa and the twins, he looked out over the ocean swells angrily pounding against the shore. A storm was brewing. Usually that comforted him, but tonight it only added to his turmoil.
He didn’t want storms anymore. He wanted the bright hopeful mornings that Alyssa saw unfold over the horizon on her morning runs. He wanted a family like the one sitting on the sofa. But did he want a family badly enough to overcome his issues? To relax and let his guard down to make it happen? Could he even do it if he so chose?
He sighed and lost himself in the waves until he was chilled to the bone. By the time he went inside, the family room was empty. Alyssa was likely putting the twins to bed and Dani sat at the kitchen island, her computer open.
“Have you found anything on Gibson’s phone?” Cole put his laptop on the table and opened it.
“No luck yet.” Dani swiveled on her stool. “Is there a problem?”
“Carter can’t locate Gibson. Either he’s taken off or Saunders got to him.”
“I’ll make the search my top priority.” She turned back to her computer.
Cole opened his email and found replies from all three police chiefs. The deceased in all three cases had meth in their bloodstreams and were known to law enforcement for dealing drugs, but that’s where the similarities to Todd’s murder ended. Not much to go on. Still, he could have everyone read the emails to see if he missed something. He sent the files to the printer and it whirred into action.
Alyssa came back into the room. “Did you work everything out with Agent Carter?”
Cole wanted to keep this development from her, but she deserved the truth. “Gibson is missing.”
Her face blanched. “Missing as in Nolan did something to him?”
Cole shrugged. “It’s too early to tell. Saunders could have gotten to Gibson, or he could have simply taken off to avoid prosecution.”
She watched him for a moment as if processing the information, then nodded at the end table holding his printer, still spitting out pages. “Is that the information about the murders?”
He nodded. “I’ve already read the emails but didn’t see anything helpful. Maybe if you look at them you’ll see something I missed.”
She grabbed the pages and, eyes glued to the paper, she dropped into the chair across from him. He focused on his computer but heard her flip pages and set them on the table.
“Oh, no,” she said.
Cole looked up in time to catch her digging her phone out of her pocket.
“What is it?” he asked as Dani joined them.
“Nolan’s been doing some traveling for work recently. Since he often helped me with the kids, I included his schedule on my calendar.” She tapped the screen of her phone and sat back. She tapped a few more times, then her face filled with terror. She held up the emails. “Nolan was in each of these towns the day of the murders. He killed them. All of them.”
TEN
Cole listened to the storm pummeling his window and tried to kick off his covers. The fabric of his pajama pants tangled in the sheets before he freed his legs and sat up. The chilly wood floor nipped at his feet and he glanced at the clock. 2:00 a.m. Only thirty minutes since he’d last checked.
He got up and paced the room, his mind working over their latest lead suggesting Saunders was a serial killer. He’d played down the implications of Saunders’s travel schedule for Alyssa, but this was the break he’d been hoping for. True, he didn’t hope that Saunders had actually killed three people in addition to Todd, but with three more dead, it upped the odds of being able to bring him in without Gibson’s testimony.
He neared the door and a loud crash, followed by glass shattering, sounded from the family room. He grabbed his gun from the nightstand and eased into the hallway. His room was closest to the living areas, and he could see Derrick standing in the family room, his weapon drawn. He suddenly took off, moving out of view.
Was he chasing a suspect?
A door opened behind Cole, and he spun. Dani stepped out of her room, her gun cradled in her hands.
Alyssa poked her head out of the next door. “What is it?”
“Not sure. I’ll check it out. Dani, take Alyssa into the kids’ room and wait for my all-clear.”
Dani nodded and directed Alyssa down the hall. Once the bedroom door was firmly closed, Cole flattened his back against the wall and eased down the hallway, his bare feet making no noticeable sound. He heard rain beating against the front window, but the howling wind sounded loud. Too loud, making him think the window had shattered and rain was pouring in.
At the end of the hallway, he confirmed the broken window and saw a large rock in a plastic bag on the floor. The front door was flung wide and there was no sign of Derrick. Cole suspected his brother had indeed gone after whoever heaved the rock through the window. Cole wouldn’t follow and risk Derrick firing at him. So he waited and looked at the rock. Something white, perhaps paper, lined the bag.
Probably another warning.
He saw movement in the doorway and took a defensive stance.
“We’re clear,” Derrick announced and flipped on the overhead light.
The glare blinded Cole for a moment before he could make out Derrick lowering the hood of a dripping slicker.
“I’ll get some shoes on and tell Dani we’re clear,” Cole said. “Can you check the garage for something to board up the window?”
Derrick nodded though Cole could tell he wanted to look at the item nestled in the bag with the rock. So did Cole, but he’d slice his feet open on shards of glass if he crossed the room without shoes.
He went down the hall and softly called to Dani, not wanting to wake the twins if they’d slept through the disaster. She opened the door and came into the hallway. Alyssa stood in the doorway.
Cole hated to give her more bad news, but he couldn’t very well hide the shattered window. “Someone threw a rock through the window.”
A strangled cry slipped from Alyssa’s lips. Dani simply lifted an eyebrow.
“Looks like there’s a message with it. You should both get some shoes on to protect yourselves from the broken glass and meet me in the family room.” Cole didn’t waste time rushing back to his room, where he traded his pajamas for jeans, slipped into his shoes and clipped his holster on his belt to free up his hands.