Love Inspired Suspense June 2015 - Box Set 2 of 2: Exit StrategyPaybackCovert Justice

by Shirlee McCoy

  Her knee-jerk reaction to his tone today proved that deep down she’d lumped him in with all the rest. And that wasn’t fair. Aiden was better than that.

  Catherine brought over a small plate of treats, and two more groups entered the restaurant. It was getting busy.

  Nia glanced out the window in search of her brother, but there was no sign of him.

  She sent another text, asking where he was.

  He didn’t respond. She decided to at least enjoy the sweets.

  Half an hour later, when he still hadn’t arrived, Nia grew worried.

  Catherine waltzed over and motioned to the plate in front of Nia. “So, what did you think?”

  “Oh, the sweets are delicious, thank you.”

  “Good. And don’t be in a hurry to leave. It looks good when customers are waiting out front for a table. It builds buzz—at least, that’s what my teenager tells me.”

  “Thanks.”

  The door jingled again. Nia looked up.

  And recognized the tall, fortyish man who’d broken into her apartment last night. Wait a second. How was he free to walk around? Had he escaped the local lockup?

  They made eye contact and she quickly looked away. Of all the places to eat in town, why was he here? He wouldn’t do anything to her in public, would he?

  Her gaze darted to Will’s little girls, sitting only a few booths away, and then to a booth across the restaurant where a teenage couple held hands. Nia was putting all these people in danger by coming here.

  She focused her attention out the window, shame warming her cheeks. Maybe Aiden was right. She shouldn’t have left the cottage on resort grounds.

  But she had, and now what should she do? She calmed her breathing and motioned to Catherine. Out of the corner of her eye, Nia caught sight of the tall man taking a seat at the counter.

  Catherine approached Nia’s table.

  “I’ll take the check, please,” Nia said.

  Catherine slid the check onto the table.

  “Hang on.” Nia dug in her purse for cash. She pulled out a twenty.

  “Be right back,” Catherine said.

  Nia didn’t dare make eye contact with the man at the counter. Her plan was to pay the bill and dash out of here. Right, she was going to dash on crutches?

  Catherine returned with Nia’s change. “It was nice meeting you.”

  “You, too.” Nia got out of the booth and adjusted the crutches under her arms. “Where’s your restroom?”

  “In the back.” She pointed.

  “Thanks.”

  She wouldn’t leave quite yet, but she’d remove herself from the room full of customers, lock herself in the bathroom and call for help. As she hobbled down the hall to the bathroom, she noticed a back door leading into the parking lot. Even better.

  Heart pounding, she glanced over her shoulder. The man hadn’t followed her. She pushed the door open and stepped outside, focused on getting to her car. A cool breeze drifted across her cheeks, making her shiver. Her crutches wobbled awkwardly on the gravel parking lot, so she decided to carry them and limp to her car.

  She wondered if Danny had seen the man and taken off. Closing in on the car, she heard the creak of a door.

  She glanced across the parking lot.

  The man was jogging toward her. “Miss Sharpe?”

  She fumbled in her purse for her keys. Why hadn’t she taken them out before she’d left the restaurant?

  “My name’s Gus and I need to talk to you.”

  “Leave me alone!” she cried. Her eyes watered with fear, making it even harder to find her keys. Sensing that he was closing in, she flung out her crutch as a weapon.

  “Stay away.”

  “I wanted to explain—”

  “What, how you got out of jail after threatening my life?”

  He put up his hands. “I wouldn’t have hurt you. It’s your brother I’m after.”

  “Well, he’s not here, so why are you following me?”

  “I wanted to apologize for scaring you last night. But Danny drives me crazy with all his lies.”

  “So that gives you the right to threaten me?”

  “I was threatening to end him, not you.”

  “Nia?” Will called as he crossed the parking lot. “Everything okay?”

  Nia glanced at Will, then at the restaurant. Will’s daughters had plastered their faces against the window. The last thing she wanted was for them to see their father being brutalized.

  “Stay back, Will,” she said. “I’m fine.”

  “You don’t look fine,” he said.

  “This is none of your business,” Gus said.

  “It is if you’re upsetting my friend.” Will approached the man from behind. “It seems like she wants you to leave her alone.” Will grabbed Gus’s arm and yanked him away.

  Gus shoved Will, and Will shoved back. “Leave her alone,” Will threatened, taking a step toward Gus.

  With a nod, Gus looked as if he was going to leave peacefully. As he passed Will, Gus slugged him, and he fell to his knees. The sound of shrieking girls echoed from the restaurant.

  Will started to get up.

  “Stay down,” Gus warned.

  In that moment, Nia felt their fear, the same fear she’d felt as a child: the fear of brutality.

  Nia gripped her right crutch with both hands and wound up. “Leave him alone!”

  Ears ringing with adrenaline rushing through her body, Nia swung her crutch and nailed Gus in the back.

  “Stop,” he said. “I’m not going to hurt anybody.”

  She kept swinging, needing to get him away from Will.

  The howl of a siren mirrored the ringing in her ears as defensive instincts consumed her. The next few minutes were a blur.

  Suddenly someone was there, dragging Gus away from Nia and Will. Yet she couldn’t stop swinging the crutch.

  A pair of strong yet gentle hands gripped her waist and pulled her against a firm body.

  “Nia,” Aiden said. “It’s okay.”

  “He…hurt…Will,” she gasped.

  “He’s okay, aren’t ya, Will?”

  Will stood up. “Yep, I’m good.”

  Through a haze of anger, Nia watched Will brush himself off.

  “Nothing broken except my ego,” Will said.

  “Daddy!” his little girls cried, racing out of the restaurant.

  Catherine chased after them. “I tried keeping them inside, Will.”

  The girls launched themselves at their dad and he offered a big hug in return.

  His daughter Claire eyed the tall man as Nate escorted him to the patrol car.

  “He should be in jail!” Claire cried.

  “Yeah, he should be in jail!” Marissa echoed.

  “Nia?” Aiden whispered against her ear. “It’s okay. You can put the crutch down.”

  She was unable to let go, her fingers clutching the weapon as if she thought she might have to use it again.

  Gus hesitated and glanced at Will then Nia. “I just need to talk to her.”

  Nate shoved the guy into the backseat and slammed the door.

  “Nia?” Aiden said.

  All the fight drained from her body and her legs buckled. Aiden scooped her up and put her in the passenger seat of her car. He shut the door and she closed her eyes.

  She heard muffled discussion between Aiden and Nate outside her window, although she couldn’t hear what they were saying and she didn’t much care. She was ashamed and embarrassed—ashamed that she’d brought trouble to the restaurant, exposing Will’s girls to violence, and embarrassed that she’d gone a bit crazy just now, using her crutch as a weapon.

  At this moment, she just wanted to disappear.

  Someone tapped on the window. She opened her eyes and spotted Will’s girls studying her with worried expressions. Just then, Aiden got in the car and turned on the engine so Nia could lower the window.

  “Thank you for saving my dad,” Claire said.

  “Yeah
, thank you for saving my dad,” Marissa echoed.

  “Sure.”

  “Okay, girls, I’ve gotta get Superhero Nia back home,” Aiden said.

  “’Bye, Superhero Nia,” Claire said.

  “’Bye, Superhero Nia,” Marissa echoed.

  With his hands on their shoulders, Will led the girls away from the car. Aiden pulled out of the lot. In the side-view mirror, Nia saw the girls wave. Nia stuck her hand out the window and waved back. Sadness washed over her. She could be responsible for potential nightmares about their dad being hurt.

  “So, you went out to eat without telling me because…?” Aiden said.

  Surprisingly he didn’t sound angry or critical, just curious.

  “My brother texted me, asking if I’d meet him.”

  Aiden frowned.

  “I thought since it was a public place it would be safe.” She shook her head. “Guess I’m an idiot.”

  “You’re not an idiot. I just wish you would have let me tag along.”

  She studied his profile. “He wouldn’t have confided in me if you’d been there. It’s obvious you don’t like him, which would have made him uncomfortable.”

  “So, what did he say?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Nia, look, I know I can be overbearing, but you’ve got to believe it comes from a place of caring. I need you to trust me, tell me about your secret meetings and what your brother says to you.”

  She glanced out the passenger window, hoping Danny was okay. “He never showed.”

  “Oh,” Aiden said.

  “How did you know where I was?”

  “Nate’s sister texted him that the famous concierge from Echo Mountain Resort was in her restaurant.”

  “A good thing she did.”

  “Yeah, I was just about to track the GPS on your phone.”

  “You were that worried?”

  “I was.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Can I ask you a favor?” Aiden said.

  “Sure.”

  “Please, never do that again.”

  “Leave without telling you?”

  He nodded. “I think it took ten years off my life.”

  She reached out and placed her hand on his arm. “I was trying to be a good older sister.”

  “I understand, and I admire you for that, I do, but I wish you’d focus on taking care of yourself until this is resolved. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  A few minutes of silence stretched between them.

  “I feel really bad,” she said.

  “What, are you hurt? How’s the ankle?”

  “The ankle’s fine. I feel bad that I lost it back there.”

  “You were defending yourself.”

  “I embarrassed myself.”

  “I’ve found that people are a lot more forgiving than we give them credit for,” he said.

  “I guess.” She thought for a second. “Is that why it’s so important for you to protect me?”

  “I’m not sure I understand the question.”

  “Because you haven’t forgiven yourself for failing to protect someone you cared about?” She was pushing, she knew it, but she couldn’t stop.

  “Something like that.”

  “You say you’ve found people to be forgiving, yet you can’t forgive yourself?”

  “Let’s not talk about me. Let’s talk about you.”

  She studied the passing countryside.

  “Did your brother indicate why he wanted to meet with you?”

  “He sounded desperate, like he wanted to explain his situation.”

  “You got this from a text?”

  “He wrote ‘ASAP’ and ‘have to see you.’”

  “And then he didn’t show?”

  She shook her head. “I hope he’s okay.”

  “After everything you’ve been through because of him, you’re still worried about his well-being?”

  “He’s still my brother.”

  “Well, you should know, your brother stole a lot more than two grand.”

  She glanced at him.

  “Two hundred thousand,” Aiden said.

  “Oh, Danny.” She sighed.

  “However, the guy I tangled with outside Bree’s cottage has nothing to do with your brother’s situation.”

  “Well, that’s a good thing, right?”

  “I think so. It was a random attempted burglary of Bree’s cottage, but he wasn’t able to get in, so he was probably about to move on when I caught up with him.”

  They pulled onto Resort Drive.

  “Nia?”

  “Yes?”

  “Why did you hang up on me?”

  “That was insubordinate. I’m sorry.”

  “I’m asking as a friend, not your boss,” he said.

  “I was frustrated.”

  “Because I was worried about you?”

  “Because you were being judgmental and condescending.”

  “That’s how I sounded?” he said in a soft voice.

  “Yes.”

  They drove the rest of the way to the cottage in silence. Nia considered explaining why his tone had set her off, but that would require a more in-depth explanation of her experience with men, both as a child and as an adult.

  She simply didn’t have the energy to get into that. Exhausted from events of the past hour, she wanted to flop down on a bed and shut herself off from the world.

  Aiden pulled up to the cottage and parked. Before Nia could get a firm footing on the ground, Aiden was there, cupping her elbow to help her out.

  “Thanks,” she said.

  Knowing it would make him feel better, she adjusted the crutches under her arms.

  “Is she okay?” Bree called from the porch.

  Aiden looked into her eyes. “Are you?”

  She nodded that she was.

  “She’s good,” Aiden called back. He stayed close as he escorted her up the steps and into his sister’s cottage.

  “We were so worried,” Bree said, motioning them toward the kitchen. “What can I get you, Nia? Tea? Milk? Cookies?”

  “I should probably lie down.” She started for the stairs and Aiden blocked her.

  “Here.” He took the crutches from her and handed them to Bree. “This will be quicker.” He scooped Nia up in his arms yet again and made the climb to the second floor.

  “Aiden, you don’t have to—”

  “Sure he does,” Bree said.

  Nia closed her eyes and leaned into him as he carried her into the spare room and placed her on the bed. “I need to check in at work, but I’ll be back later, okay?” Aiden said.

  “Sure, thanks.”

  As he left, he hesitated at the door. “If you decide to leave again for any reason—”

  “I won’t,” she said.

  With a nod, he brushed past his sister and went downstairs. A moment later the front door clicked shut.

  Bree studied Nia from the bedroom doorway. “You meant it, about not going anywhere, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good,” Bree said. “I thought my brother was going to have a heart attack when we couldn’t find you. I’ve never seen him like that.” Bree paused, looking directly at Nia. “Ever.”

  *

  For the next hour, rest eluded Nia as her brain kept replaying the scene from the restaurant parking lot. Finally she sat up and grabbed the Bible, hoping for something to ease the anxiety.

  She found one of her favorite passages, Isaiah 41:10, and whispered the words.

  “‘So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.’”

  She took a deep, calming breath, letting the words wash over her.

  The sound of a slamming door and deep, angry voices destroyed her momentary peace. She climbed off the bed and headed for the hallway.

  “You can speak to her tomorrow,” Aiden said.

  “We’ll talk to her
tonight.”

  Nia turned the corner and spotted Aiden, with Scott by his side, facing off with a stranger in a blue suit. A second man came up behind the stranger.

  “We have orders—”

  “But not an arrest warrant,” Scott said.

  “We weren’t planning to arrest her,” the man in the blue suit said. “Unless you know something we don’t.”

  Aiden took a step closer to the guy. “What I know is that she’s been through enough these past two days and needs her rest.”

  “Aiden?” Nia said from the top of the stairs.

  “Nia Sharpe?” The guy in the blue suit started for the stairs.

  Aiden blocked him.

  The guy shoved Aiden.

  Aiden shoved back.

  The guy in the blue suit spun Aiden around, pinning him against the wall and yanking his arms behind his back. “We can arrest you for interfering with a federal investigation.”

  “Stop! Let him go!” Frantic, Nia started down the steps a little too fast, and she lost her balance.

  EIGHT

  Aiden elbowed the federal agent and shoved him back, then dived toward Nia to catch her before she tumbled down the entire flight of stairs.

  His knee hit the edge of a stair as he focused on stopping her descent. It seemed as if it were happening in slow motion: Aiden scrambling to get to her, Nia waving her arms as if she was trying to grab on to something.

  Almost there.

  He caught her about midway down and pulled her against his chest, but he couldn’t stop her momentum. The sharp edges of the stairs dug into his back as they slid down the rest of the way. He clenched his jaw against the pain, holding her in such a way that he’d bear the brunt of the fall.

  They finally hit the floor with a thud.

  “I’ll call the resort doctor,” Bree said.

  “Stand back,” Scott said to the agents. He knelt beside Aiden. “You okay?”

  He was anything but okay. The guy who’d introduced himself as Agent John Nevins had threatened to arrest Aiden, which made Nia panic and lose her balance.

  “Not sure,” Aiden said. “But they need to leave.”

  Agent Nevins stepped into Aiden’s line of sight. “We need to speak to both you and Miss Sharpe.”

  “Not tonight you won’t. Give Scott your phone number and we’ll call you tomorrow.”