by Laura Scott
Pulling his large frame into a ball as small as possible wasn’t easy. If anyone came close enough to look inside, they’d find him without a problem. From where he was hunched down on the floor of the passenger seat, he could see Mike was filling the gas tank, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. When his brother finished, he replaced the nozzle in the pump, replaced the gas cap, then turned and walked inside the convenience store.
At first, Miles was stunned that Mike had left them inside the car. Then he realized Mike couldn’t pay for gas with a credit card.
Still, Miles didn’t like being vulnerable. From his position on the floor, he couldn’t see the black sedan. What if the occupants came over and opened fire? They’d be dead before he could blink.
His gun felt useless in his hand. Miles considered whether or not to risk lifting his head to see if the black sedan with the tinted windows was still out there. The seconds ticked by endlessly. When he thought he couldn’t stand not knowing a second longer, he caught a glimpse of his brother approaching the car, head down as he jingled his keys.
Mike lifted his head, opened the driver’s side door and slid in behind the wheel. He didn’t look toward Miles or say anything at all, simply started the car and drove away.
Five minutes later, his brother gestured with his hand. “Everyone can get up now, we’re clear.”
“Where’s the black sedan?” Miles asked. Unfolding himself wasn’t easy. His muscles were stiff and cramped. He could see that Paige was getting Abby settled in the backseat.
“They drove by twice, moving with exaggerated slowness, which is why I made sure to act as if I was alone,” his brother explained. “I didn’t want anything to tip them off.”
Miles finally managed to twist around so he was in the seat. “Thanks, Mike.”
“You have some seriously determined people after you, bro,” Mike said, his gaze serious. “You’ve escaped from them three times now.”
“Technically four,” Miles corrected wryly. “If you count the attack near the post office.”
Mike didn’t smile. “Are you any closer to nailing the guy behind all this?” he asked.
“Not as close as I’d like,” Miles admitted, scrubbing his hands over his face. “And I’m sorry about the rental car. I left it back in the brush. It’s dinged up a bit.”
“Forget about it. I paid for the maximum insurance. Oh, and just so you know, this car is registered to Roberta Parker.”
“Who’s that?”
“A friend of a friend. No direct connection with the Callahan name.” Mike frowned. “Although the SUV was also registered to a person that couldn’t be linked to the Callahans either.”
“The fake ID worked like a charm,” Miles hastened to reassure him. “They couldn’t ID us from the vehicle, but somehow they figured out our location. I thought the fact that the SUV was a rental might tip them off, so we decided to try to sneak away.”
For all the good it had done.
Mike grimaced. “Yeah, I thought about the rental car aspect, too. This vehicle is solid, Roberta lives in Greenland, which is just outside of Milwaukee. Shouldn’t trigger any red flags.”
“Thanks again,” Miles said, lightly punching his younger brother in the arm. He glanced at the direction Mike was driving. “Where are you taking us?”
“To Roberta Parker’s house.”
“Huh?” Miles thought he couldn’t have heard that right. “I don’t understand.”
“You can’t keep running from one motel to the next.” Mike’s tone was reasonable. “This friend of a friend happened to be house sitting for Roberta Parker so we’re going to borrow the house and the car.” His brother slanted him a sideways look. “It would be nice if you could manage to leave this place exactly the way you found it. Same for the car.”
Miles grimaced and nodded. “I promise to do my best.”
His brother sighed. “Guess I can’t ask for more than that.”
“A house sounds wonderful.” Paige spoke up from the backseat. “Thank you, Michael.”
His brother’s mouth quirked up in a crooked smile. “You’re welcome, Paige.”
A flash of jealousy caught Miles off guard. He tried to hide his reaction, knowing that Paige was just being nice, but he couldn’t seem to erase the scowl from his features.
“There’s a laptop computer in the house. I checked before borrowing the car,” Mike went on, oblivious to his older brother’s inner turmoil. “There’s even a landline hooked up to a fax machine, so you have everything you need to continue working the case.”
Despite his annoyance, Miles couldn’t help being impressed. “You outdid yourself this time, Mikey.”
His brother’s eyes narrowed at the childhood nickname. “A simple thank-you is enough.”
A good fifteen minutes later, Mike turned into a quiet neighborhood and pulled up in front of a brown house with yellow trim. Roberta Parker’s house was modest, but so much better than any of the motels they’d stayed in, that Miles knew it would be like living in luxury. For one thing, they could cook their own food, so they wouldn’t have to risk going out. The best part was that the house and the car were both in the name of the same person. No way would any of the computer gurus from Sci-Tech find them here.
Mike parked in the two-car garage that was connected to the house. They waited until the garage door closed before getting out of the vehicle.
“Come on, sweetie,” Paige encouraged as her daughter blinked up at her sleepily. “You can rest some more once we’re inside, okay?”
Abby yawned, nodded and rubbed at her eyes. But she still didn’t speak.
“Sure is a quiet little kid,” Mike said as he unlocked the door.
Miles exchanged a glance with Paige, and the sadness in her eyes hit hard.
“She didn’t used to be,” Paige said in a low tone, before brushing past them to carry Abby inside.
“The bedrooms are down the hall to the right,” Mike pointed out. “Paige and Abby might want to take the master, since the spare bedroom only has a twin.”
“Good idea,” Miles agreed. His feet would hang off the end of the twin bed, but that didn’t matter as he wasn’t planning to do much sleeping anyway.
He needed to step up his investigative efforts in a big way. So far, they’d done more running than anything constructive. They were safe in the Parker home, but the way things had been going, he couldn’t afford to waste any more time.
“If you need anything, call,” Mike said.
“Wait, don’t leave yet. We’ll need some groceries, food for Abby at the very least.” Miles started a list, and when Paige joined them a few minutes later, apparently leaving Abby in the bedroom, he gestured to it. “Add whatever you think we may need to cover us for a couple of days.”
“Sure.” Paige opened the fridge, then quickly jotted down what she needed.
“I’ll be right back,” Mike said as he slipped the list into his pocket.
Once Miles and Paige were alone in the house, there was a moment of awkward silence. He tried to think of something to say, but his normal easy way with women seemed to have abandoned him. Maybe because he cared about Paige more than he should.
“I expect Abby will be up soon, so I’m happy to make breakfast once your brother returns with the groceries,” she offered.
“Thanks. That will give me time to begin digging into the case,” he said, gesturing at the laptop computer that was sitting on the counter.
She tipped her head to the side, her expression curious. “What are you going to search for?”
Good question. He reached inside his jacket and removed the papers Jason had sent him. “I’m going to start with the information in here. A lot of it is over my head, and I really need to figure out why Jason sent this to me. There must be something import
ant in here. Otherwise, why bother?”
Paige nodded slowly. She looked as if she might ask another question, but Abby padded into the kitchen, carrying Ellie under one arm and sucking her thumb.
“Are you hungry?” Paige asked her daughter.
Abby nodded.
“Mike will be back soon with groceries so I’ll make your favorite breakfast, okay?”
Abby nodded again, without removing the thumb from her mouth.
Miles watched the little girl climb up on the sofa and curl up in the corner, resting her cheek on the stuffed elephant’s head. His gaze clashed with Paige’s, sharing an unspoken concern about Abby’s welfare.
He wished he knew exactly what she’d seen on the ChatTime link that night. The way these gunmen kept coming after them, he knew that the child must have seen something significant.
But what, exactly?
He didn’t know. All he could do was to pray that Abby would soon feel safe enough to talk to them.
* * *
Cooking soothed Paige’s nerves. She had to admit that staying in a house was so much nicer than being in a musty motel room.
The muffins they’d consumed at the convenience store weren’t enough to hold them over until lunchtime. Abby loved French toast, so that’s what Paige was making.
Her eyes burned with exhaustion. She hadn’t slept through the night since this nightmare began, but maybe tonight, if they were truly safe, she’d be able to get some rest.
Miles needed sleep, too. He looked rougher around the edges than she felt.
Scary how much she’d come to depend on him and his family. Michael was a nice guy, but Miles was the one she couldn’t stop staring at.
Couldn’t stop thinking about.
Couldn’t stop longing for.
She jerked herself from those dangerous thoughts, knowing that it was ridiculous to daydream about a man like Miles Callahan. A man that good-looking could have any woman he wanted. Besides, she trusted him to keep them safe, but anything more? Not happening.
She flipped the slices of egg-battered bread, adding a pat of butter to the top of each one. She poured chocolate milk into a cup for Abby and set that on the table next to where Miles was working.
“Breakfast is ready,” she called out.
Abby slid off the couch and came over, dragging her stuffed elephant with her.
“Let’s not get Ellie all sticky, okay?” Paige took the elephant and set her on the seat of an empty chair, then brought in a large platter of French toast and a bottle of maple syrup she’d found in the fridge.
Miles closed the laptop and pushed it aside. He smiled at Paige and Abby. “Looks great. Shall we pray?”
Paige shouldn’t have been surprised by the way he’d taken the lead on the pre-meal prayer, but she was. She took her seat and then waited for Abby to bow her head before doing the same.
“Dear Lord, we thank You for providing us a wonderful place to stay and for the food we are about to eat. We also thank You for keeping us safe in Your care. Amen.”
“Amen,” Paige echoed.
Abby lifted her head without speaking, but she smiled when Paige put two slices of French toast on her plate and began cutting them into small pieces. “Miles, I’m really glad you’re praying.”
He hesitated, his fork halfway to his mouth. “It’s been a long time for me,” he said. He chewed and swallowed, then added, “We were raised to believe in God and the whole family still attends church services on Sunday followed by brunch at my mom’s house. Since my dad died, it’s just my mom and Nan living there now, but we make an effort to see them each week.”
She was touched by the idea of Miles and his tough looking brothers visiting their mother and grandmother each week. “Sounds lovely. I’m sure your mom and grandmother appreciate seeing you all together.”
“They do. But we appreciate them just as much.” Miles took another bite of his food, regarding her thoughtfully. “They’d like you.”
She stared at him for a moment, then tore her gaze away. “Tell me about your family.”
“My dad was once the Milwaukee chief of police,” he said. “He was killed in the line of duty about nine months ago.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” she said softly.
“Thanks. As far as the rest of my family goes, you already met Mike and Mitch. Michael is a private investigator and the only one in the family who doesn’t have a career serving the community. My dad was not very happy with his career choice, and I think his attitude really bothered Mike a lot, although he never says anything about it.”
She nodded, understanding how difficult it must have been for Mike to go against his father’s wishes. “You mentioned Mitch is an arson investigator. I assume he was a firefighter at one point, too, right?”
Miles nodded. “Our oldest brother, Marc works for the FBI. Matthew and Maddy are the twins, Maddy is the youngest one by three minutes, something Matthew never lets her forget. Matthew is a new canine cop, Duke is his K9 partner and Maddy is a lawyer working for the DA’s office.”
Paige felt as if her career in accounting was dull and boring in comparison. Although after everything that she’d been through, she couldn’t deny that dull and boring sounded pretty good right now.
“And you’re a homicide detective. Very impressive.”
Mitch’s expression hardened and he stabbed a piece of French toast with more force than was necessary. “Not a very good one, since I can’t seem to figure out who keeps trying to kill us.”
“You’ve kept us safe since the very first night you arrived at my house,” she corrected him. “I know there’s no way I could have faced any of this alone.”
His blue eyes meshed with her green ones and the warmth radiating from him made it impossible for her to breathe normally. She tore her gaze away, fearing he’d see too much.
She needed to get a grip on her wayward emotions.
“How is your breakfast, Abby?” she asked, focusing on her daughter. The only person who truly needed her attention.
The little girl smiled and bobbed her head up and down. Paige finished her meal, pushed her plate away and rose to her feet. After carrying the dirty dishes to the sink, she brought back a damp washcloth and began wiping away the sticky syrup smudges from Abby’s face and hands.
“Ready to watch a movie?” Abby had watched more television in the past few days than she had in an entire month, but there wasn’t much Paige could do about it. They’d been forced to leave the books and toys behind.
Once she found a kids’ channel for Abby, Paige turned and walked back to the kitchen. Miles was standing there, rinsing their dishes.
“I’d like to try talking to Abby again,” he said in a low voice. “See if she’ll say anything more about what she witnessed that night.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Paige protested. “She needs time to recuperate, time to feel safe.”
“I know. But so far, I’m having trouble deciphering Jason’s notes. I need something more to go on.”
It was heart-wrenching to realize that the outcome of his investigation depended upon what a five-year-old child witnessed. Paige knew he was right, but concern for her daughter overrode everything else.
“We’ll see how the day goes,” she hedged. “She hasn’t started talking yet, anyway, so I’m not sure how much help she’ll be.”
“Even answering yes-or-no questions is a place to start,” Miles said encouragingly. He glanced over to where Abby was sitting on the sofa again, her thumb having found its way back into her mouth. “I don’t want to upset her, either.” He turned back toward Paige and he was close enough that she could breathe in his clean, musky scent. “And you have to admit that having the truth come out might make her feel better.”
Paige remembered
how Abby had seemed to want Miles to understand what had happened. How her daughter had gazed at him, let him hold her and carry her.
As much as she hated to admit it, her daughter trusted Miles, probably more than Paige did.
“Maybe.” She gestured to the dishes. “I’ll take care of these.”
Miles shook his head. “My mom and Nan would have my head if I so much as hinted that doing dishes was women’s work.”
That made her smile. “You’re right. I think I’d like your mom and your grandmother just fine.”
“I’ll wash, you dry.” Miles ran hot water into one side of the sink. “I’d appreciate you looking through Jason’s notes, too. Maybe with your experience there, you’ll catch something I missed.”
Doubtful, but Paige agreed since there wasn’t anything else to do. Doing dishes with Miles created an intimacy she didn’t understand. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t shared living space with a man before.
Although, if she was being honest, she’d admit that Travis had rarely felt the need to chip in and help with daily chores. He’d claimed he needed to work, but she soon realized that was just his excuse to leave to meet up with one of his numerous lady friends.
She reminded herself that no matter what Travis had done, he hadn’t deserved to be murdered. And she still needed to find a way to tell Abby her father was in God’s hands now.
Miles cleaned up the counter, then went back over to the table where he’d left the computer and Jason’s notes. When she finished putting the last of the dishes away, she joined him.
“Here, we’ll split them down the middle,” Miles suggested. “See if anything jumps out at you.”
“Okay.” She took a deep breath, cleared her mind the way she did before starting any large project and began to read. At first she was completely lost, but the science behind the robotics eventually drew her interest.
If what she was reading was true, Sci-Tech was very close to creating technology that would allow people with spinal cord injuries to walk again. Electrodes strategically placed along both sides of the spine could recreate nerve function. Programming the electrical impulses could fire the nerves to enable walking.
