by LAURA HARNER
“Hey, sweetheart. Are you okay?”
“Sure, fine. I think dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes…”
Grant turned her to face him, lifted her chin, forcing her to look up to meet his gaze. “Don’t shut me out, Patti. You know I want—”
The ringing of her cell phone was like a lifeline. She truly was happy for her two best friends, but right now her heart was a little too tender for conversation. She pressed her palm against his chest, forcing Grant to take a step back. Snatching her phone from the counter, she had a second to see the call was from Enwright Security.
“Hello?”
“Patti? Graeme here. We’ve got trouble. It seems the two boys weren’t working alone.”
*****
Despite his frustration at the interruption when Patti had answered the phone, Grant had whispered that he would take over cooking, leaving her free to retreat to the back of the house to take the call in private. From what she'd said earlier, she only had a few more days of vacation left and he wondered if the call was work related. He didn't want to think about her leaving, especially now that RJ had said he was staying. Well, at least he hadn't argued about the house. Not yet, anyway. Grant wasn't stupid enough to believe RJ would go along with his plan to move him in to his house—into his bed—into his life. Not without a fight. That was a given with RJ. He would argue and guilt himself for days before he’d finally come around to where Grant wanted him. Needed him.
There was a reason they were both still single after all this time—they were meant to be together—no need to make it any more complicated than that. But damn it all—they needed Patti, too.
Lost in thought, his gaze drifted over to his daughter and he almost laughed out loud.
RJ was smiling at her, too. “Hey, I like the look, tiger,” RJ said.
Annie paused with her last forkful of spaghetti halfway to her mouth and looked at RJ. “What look?”
“You've got a red streak showing across your cheek,” RJ said with a grin. “Hang on…” He dug out his iPhone and snapped a picture, but hummed a little before he showed it to her. “Something's missing…”
Grant blinked in surprise when RJ dipped his finger into the spaghetti sauce and painted a matching stripe on Annie's other cheek.
“Much better.” He snapped another photo with his phone. RJ frowned at the display for a long minute, then nodded once and showed her. Annie giggled as RJ spun her a tale about being the long lost Princess Geranium of the Valley of the Sauce.
Grant bit his lip, holding back the laughter that threatened. RJ was really good at this…no wonder he’d made fun of Grant’s storytelling earlier.
He knew damn well he should scold them for playing with their food—but there was no way in hell he would interrupt the magic. They were caught in the moment, again…another page in their family memory book. He only wished Patti was off the phone so she could see.
Just as he was about to go down the hall to see what was keeping her, he heard the rush of bathwater. Patti emerged from the back of the house, her expression neutral. After spending the last few days with Graeme and various law enforcement personnel, Grant recognized cop-face when he saw it. What the hell happened now?
“Hey, Annie, are you almost finished with dinner, honey? I started you a bubble bath,” Patti asked.
“Yay…can I be done, Daddy?”
“Sure. You get in the tub, and I'll be down to check on you in a minute. Just let me clean up dinner.”
Patti joined them a few minutes later. “She's okay, in there, right? I didn't fill the tub too much.”
“Yes, she's okay, but what's going on?”
RJ pushed a plate of spaghetti in her direction. “Talk and eat.”
Picking up her fork, Patti said, “That was Graeme. There's been some news and it isn't good. Apparently the two boys from your class weren't working alone.”
Grant gripped the counter, uncertain if his legs—or his heart—could take any more. RJ came around and placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him.
“Who is it? Did the police catch him?” RJ asked.
Grant looked from one to the other, trying to get his mind around the fact that there was another person out there who wanted to take his daughter. How was that even possible?
Swallowing a bite of spaghetti, Patti shook her head. “No, the police aren't talking about it yet. Apparently, they don't necessarily agree with Michael's assessment. They've got their own method of investigating and the official word is all reasonable lines of investigation are being pursued. That's why they haven't notified you, yet.”
Patti was still talking, explaining the situation to RJ, but Grant was too numb to take in the details. He was stuck on the phrase reasonable lines. What did that even mean? How could anything be considered reasonable about two young men stepping into the path of destruction and taking Grant's life with them? Somewhere along the way, these two boys from nice, upper middle class families decided it made more sense to kidnap a teacher’s child than to do a couple of hours work to turn in a final research paper. They’d had guns, for God sake, and been so caught up in whatever bullshit fantasy they’d concocted that they’d started a shootout with Enwright's people. It was nothing less than a version of suicide by cop. Now Graeme said yet another person was involved?
Something Patti said penetrated his jumbled thoughts.
“What? Wait—this someone works for the school district?”
“He used to, but he's a vice principal at Desert Valley right now.”
Grant's stomach lurched, like he'd just missed the last step as he was racing down the staircase. “Why in God's name would this man care if two of my students were failing? Is he a parent to one of them or something?”
“No, honey.” Patti’s voice was gentle. “The fact that they were failing is what made them perfect tools. He didn’t care about the boys—he has a much more personal motive. This was never about you at all—Michelle Cutchin was his ex-girlfriend. Apparently, he really wants Annie.”
Chapter Seventeen
As Grant walked away, shoulders slumped, gait slow, his long, lean runner’s body seemed somehow diminished, as if he’d aged decades in the few minutes since they’d laughed over foolish stories at dinner. RJ wanted to race after him, hold him and bring a smile to his lover’s face, promise everything would be okay. And it would be, he thought fiercely. There wasn’t anything RJ wouldn’t do to protect Annie. Meeting Patti’s gaze across the counter, he realized she was thinking the same thing. Her narrowed eyes and the tight line of her mouth told him more than any words. They were in this together.
“What now?” RJ asked. “Where is this guy…what did you say his name is?”
“Uh…” Patti reached for the pad of paper where she’d jotted the information. “Dr. Franklin Kendrick. Michael found him through a background search of the mother. He thought one more school connection seemed to warrant a quick look. He discovered Annie’s mother—Michelle—had hooked up with this man shortly after she stopped dating Grant.”
“How the hell did Enwright find that and the cops didn’t?”
“Wasn’t too hard on the credit bureau side, they shared a lease on a house for nearly two years. The hospital information would have been trickier to obtain, but I’m not asking. The records from Annie’s birth listed Kendrick as Michelle’s next of kin, but she didn’t list him as the father on the birth certificate.
“Again, according to credit information, right after Annie’s second birthday, Michelle once again had a lease in her own name on an apartment—the same year Kendrick took out a mortgage on a new house. Apparently, they didn’t have the same understanding of their relationship. Law enforcement has most of the same information, I’m just not sure they’re drawing the same conclusions.”
RJ pointed at Patti’s nearly full plate of spaghetti. “Eat. I’ll clean up while we talk. Grant should be busy for a while in the back of the house with Annie’s bath and story time.”
&n
bsp; Patti nodded, twirled her fork into the pasta and took a bite. While RJ wrapped the food and cleared the plates, he thought about what this new bit of information might mean.
“Patti? Does Enwright have eyes on this guy? On Kendrick?”
Swallowing quickly, she said, “Not yet. They just got his name a little while ago and are trying to track him down.”
Looking down the hallway to verify Grant was well out of earshot, RJ said, “Annie’s safe enough here, right? I mean, we used my rental car, my credit cards for the house, and paid cash at restaurants. I can’t think of anything to electronically link Grant to this trip to Sedona. Even if Kendrick is loose, there’s just no way he could find us out here in the middle of nowhere.”
“Not so fast, RJ. Graeme said there was activity two days ago on Kendrick’s credit card at a place called the Scottsdale Spy Shoppe. You know, the kind of place where everyday people can buy their own James Bond gadgets and guns. Hidden cams, phone taps, pocket guns. The works. The owner is hedging, but Graeme says Enwright has all the leverage they need and should have the information this evening. The odds are you’re right—still, we should be careful.”
“Agreed.” RJ loaded the last plate into the dishwasher, but decided against running the machine until morning, since it was only half full. Wiping his hands on the towel, he looked down the hall once more. Grant held Annie in a wet bundle of towels and was galloping with her toward her bedroom as she squealed and hollered for Patti. His lips twitched. “You Miss Patti Cox are the queen of bedtime storytelling. I think you better go.”
“And you, too, Mister-I-don’t-know-nothing-about-dealing-with-kids…”
“What?” RJ laughed. Then the weight of their discussion seemed to settle in and make itself at home on his shoulders. In his heart, he knew he would never be more for Annie than maybe a favorite uncle or something…but she would have Annie and Grant, and they would love that little girl and raise her right. “There isn’t anything I won’t do to protect her, Patti. Nothing.”
“I know. I feel the same.” She reached to her waistband, patted absently, then looked down, as if realizing she wasn’t armed. Meeting RJ’s gaze, she sighed heavily. “I didn’t wear my service revolver today, just the ankle piece. I didn’t want Annie to have the reminder, you know? The scene at that nursery was…awful. I’ll never forget those boys. If this sick fuck Kendrick thought it was a good idea to turn junior sociopaths like that loose and put them in charge of kidnapping a girl he supposedly loves…” Patti shook her head.
“As soon as we say good night to Annie, I’m going to put my holster back on. We’ll just have to sit her down tomorrow and talk about my job. In fact…I’m sort of surprised she hasn’t asked anything about the kidnapping. RJ, I just can’t tell you how bad it was. She had to have been so scared that whole time.”
RJ stepped around the counter and Patti moved easily into his arms. He rested his cheek on top of her soft hair and breathed deeply of the outdoor scent that always seemed to be so much a part of her. Not floral or sweet or girly in any way. This woman always held a hint of adventure, like a walk in the deep woods, a hint of pine, a rich earthy woman. In this moment, he could admit to himself, Patti would always own a piece of his heart. He leaned back and pressed a kiss to her forehead, hoping to smooth away the worry lines.
“Remember what the psychologist said. Whatever her reactions are, they are normal for Annie. As long as she’s able to interact and doesn’t have excessive nightmares. The counselor said she’ll continue to monitor and I think they have another appointment next week.”
He reached for a glass and filled it with water. “Come on, let’s go tell the tiny terror good night. And when we’re finished—you get your service piece, and I’m going to take your backup.” He held out a hand before she could say anything. “I’m weapons qualified, Patti, remember?” She nodded, and together they walked down the hall to Annie's room.
“Patti!” Annie bounced up on her bed, arms stretched out, fingers splayed wide. “Hug, hug, hug,” she said, punctuating each word with a little jump. As if maybe none of the grown ups in the room would notice. Grant sat at the edge of the bed, Annie's stuffed bear in his hand, looking at the plush animal as if he couldn't quite decide what it was.
“Sit down, Annie,” he said, his voice quiet, and perhaps more effective because of the tone. Grant watched Patti as she crossed the room to wrap Annie in her arms. She smiled at Grant over the top of Annie's head, and once again, RJ felt that tightness in his heart that hinted at the pain to come.
“Patti, did you get this bear for Annie?” Grant asked, his voice still an odd note of quiet.
“Me? No, I just packed it because she told me she wanted to sleep with it, why?”
Grant shook his head slightly. “Annie, baby? Where'd you get the teddy bear?”
“The lady doctor.” Her big eyes suddenly filled with tears and she looked stricken. “The policeman gave it to her for me. She said it would be okay.” She sniffled as one big fat tear rolled down her cheek. “Was I bad, Daddy?”
“Oh, no, baby. You weren't bad at all. I just needed to know where it came from. It just surprised me, that's all.” Grant looked to RJ, then Patti, clearly uncertain about the source of the toy.
RJ stepped forward. “Hey, sweetie, how about this? Since Daddy never met him before, how about I take Mr. Bear to the kitchen and check him for gobbledy goop-itis, while Daddy and Patti read your story.”
Annie sniffled, but nodded her head. “Night, RJ.”
“Good night, baby girl.”
Chapter Eighteen
After settling Annie, Patti headed to the master bedroom to retrieve her weapon. Grant followed slowly, his gait heavy, as if he just couldn’t take another blow. Collapsing onto the edge of the bed, he leaned forward, propped his elbows on his knees and rubbed his hands over his face. When he looked up, Patti nearly lost her breath. He’d aged ten years since dinner.
Resisting the urge to go wrap him into a comforting hug, Patti took her shoulder holster from shelf and cinched it in place. Once she retrieved her gun from her lockbox, she holstered her weapon and settled her gear. After a moment’s hesitation, she pulled one of RJ’s button front shirts from a hanger and slipped it on, then rolled the sleeves up to her elbows. She didn't want to restrict her movement, but she also wanted to avoid frightening Annie, if the child got out of bed unexpectedly.
While she got ready, she summarized what she’d told him earlier, repeating the relevant parts she assumed he’d missed when he’d been lost in thought. Especially the news Kendrick was in the wind and most likely armed. Definitely dangerous. When her phone rang for the second time that night, Patti glanced at the display. “It's Kennedy, again.”
“Hey, Graeme, hang on…let me go to another room and put you on speaker.” Patti kept moving toward the front of the house, not wanting to wake Annie.
She set her phone on the counter, switched to speaker mode, and gestured to RJ to join them. Handing him her pocket SIG, she approved of the way he gave the gun a quick inspection, checked the safety, then tucked it into the front of his jeans.
“What did you find out?” Grant asked, leaning forward.
“It's not good. We pried loose more information about his recent purchases. As I reported earlier, Kendrick is most likely armed, he has two registered handguns, and he purchased another, two days ago. The weapons found on the boys were not registered to him, so there are at least three weapons unaccounted for and assumed to be in his possession.”
“But he doesn't know where we are, right? I mean, it was coincidental, but I haven't used my credit cards or anything since we've been here,” Grant said. “That's how you find someone, right?” His voice was pitched higher than usual.
Patti placed her hand on his neck and gently rubbed at the tight muscles. She met RJ's gaze. They both knew there were plenty of ways to track someone beyond tracking spending. Hadn't they found Annie through GPS tracking themselves? Pressing her lips t
ight together, she thought maybe it would be better for Grant to remain less involved in the gritty side of the protection concerns. Apparently, Graeme thought otherwise, because he continued.
“I'm sorry, Grant, I'd like to make that assumption, but Kendrick also purchased a nanny cam and a GPS tracker. It's a motion activated device—similar in size to a cell phone. The battery life is dependent on use, obviously. If he somehow managed to plant the device, he could conceivably have your general location. We believe that's unlikely, because he purchased the tracker after Annie was back home and since he wouldn't have known about RJ's rental car, it would have been damn near impossible to introduce something into your possession that you would have with you now.”
“Fuck!” RJ said. “Hold on, Graeme.” He grabbed the bear from the counter and began to squeeze the toy. His hands settled on a spot just below the bear's bright blue bow tie. With another muttered curse, he ripped the head from the body, then reached inside and removed a white case the size of a deck of cards and a micro camera. “I found both devices, Graeme. Annie had a bear with her that someone gave her yesterday. I've powered them both down, but it could already be too late. Should we take off?”
“Stay put a little longer. I've already dispatched Marcus and a team to your location. They should be there in another fifteen minutes. Meanwhile—”
The house plunged into darkness, leaving Patti's cell phone screen the only source of light.
In less than a second, Patti's gun was in her hand. “Too late, Graeme,” she spoke quietly, cutting across his words. “The power just went out. I think we've got company—leaving you on speaker—but call the locals for us,” Patti said. She depressed the button to dim the display on her phone, so they weren't lit up like targets.
Turning quickly, she hissed orders to the others. “Follow me.” She led them into the hallway in case Kendrick was outside watching them. With or without a gun, this situation was dangerous. “Grant, you go to Annie. Take her into the closet in the master bedroom. I'm sorry, I know she's going to be scared, but you stay there and keep quiet. You hear me? Go, now!” Grant struggled for a moment, as if he wanted to argue, but realized he needed to be with his daughter. When he turned and walked away, she focused on RJ.
