So what was causing his senses to go on alert? Was someone watching them?
Maybe they should get to the car. The more quickly, the better. Nowhere felt safe at the moment.
He put his hand on Laney’s back, ready to quickly escort her across the parking lot. He’d keep his eyes open for any approaching vehicles or lurking shadows as they went.
Just as they stepped onto the asphalt, he heard another footstep above him. Then a crack.
The next moment, the scaffolding beside them crashed. Tools and buckets torpedoed toward them. Wooden boards slid from their holders. Metal bars toppled.
The weight of everything could be devastating on a human body.
Mark dove toward Laney, desperate to keep her safe.
But he feared he was too late.
NINE
Laney looked up and saw all the equipment tumbling toward her. She froze with fear as a sharp drill headed toward her face.
“Watch out!” Mark shouted.
Before she could react, Mark covered her as he dove toward the sidewalk. He twisted himself around, padding her fall and shielding her from the shrapnel from the scaffolding at the same time.
She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting to feel the pain of being punctuated, scraped, cut. She anticipated hearing Mark groan as the weight of the boards and metal trapped him.
Finally, the noise stopped. The avalanche was over and all she could hear now was her heart pounding in her ears.
Was she okay? Or had they been buried? Was Mark okay?
The questions thundered through her head, yet she remained frozen.
Mark spoke before she could. “Laney?”
She realized her eyes were squeezed shut. Finally, she forced herself to look around. She appeared to be unharmed—there was no blood or mangled bones or obvious signs of injury.
By some act of God, they’d come through that without a scratch. Well, maybe a few scratches and bruises, but far less than she thought they’d have. Some of the heavy equipment could have put them out of commission.
She looked up and realized that Mark was practically on top of her. She pulled in a breath at the realization. It wasn’t so much his physical closeness—it was the fact that she was attracted to him. That she could see the slivers of gray in his blue eyes. That she could smell his piney cologne. That she could feel his heart beating against hers.
All of it left her feeling discombobulated. Breathless. Both warm with pleasure and cold with fear.
“Laney?” Mark repeated.
“I’m okay.” Her voice sounded shaky, and she hoped Mark would assume the reaction was because of the danger they’d just faced, not at his nearness. “You?”
He pushed himself up, bits of plaster falling from his shoulders. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
As he moved, Laney viewed the wreckage. A huge pile of rubble lay where they had both been standing. They would have been buried. One of those poles could have easily pierced them. Killed them, for that matter.
It was even worse than she’d imagined.
“What happened?” she muttered, her bones aching with each movement.
“I’m not sure, but that wasn’t a coincidence.” He stood and helped her to her feet. His eyes looked dark and stormy as he looked off into the distance. “Stay here.”
He darted into the parking lot and looked toward the roof. As he did so, the crowd began gathering, gawking at the damage. Danny was one of the first ones out.
“Are you okay?” he asked, running up to her.
She nodded, trying to ignore the tremble in her hands. “Somehow I can answer that with a yes.”
“Thank God. I heard the crash after you guys left, and I thought the worst.”
She smiled as his words. “That’s right. Thank God.”
He looked at the pile of metal and wood and buckets. “The workers must have just left for a break. They’ve been out there all week. I can’t believe they would leave their job site unsecure like that.”
Even as Danny talked, Laney’s gaze followed Mark. He’d darted around to the back of the building. What was going on? Had someone really done that on purpose? That was Mark’s theory, she realized.
It was another attempt on her life, staged to look like an accident.
Someone wanted to make sure it looked like she’d died either at her own hands or by coincidence. It was becoming exceedingly clear that if she didn’t find answers, she might not make it another day.
A chill washed through her at the thought.
Just as Mark emerged from the back of the building, a police car pulled up. Mark talked to the officer for several minutes while Danny stayed with her. The rest of the crowds seemed to dissipate, their curiosity satisfied.
Finally Mark made his way toward her again. “Whoever did this is gone.”
“You really think someone did this on purpose?” She knew the truth but she wanted to hear him say it.
He nodded, his gaze flickering to the mess around them. The crew returned and talked to the police officer. Even from where Laney stood, she could hear the construction workers denying their involvement, claiming they left the area secure.
“I have no doubt that this was on purpose,” Mark said. “Someone must have waited until we were done talking to Danny and tried to make it look like an accident. They must have followed us here. Maybe they’ve been following us all day, for that matter.
“But why?”
He took her elbow and led her away from the craziness of the shopping center. “I wish I knew. Let’s get out of here and talk. I’ve already given my statement. Officer Payson will contact us if he has more questions.”
Mark didn’t let go of her until they were in his car. Even then, his gaze was hard as he continuously scanned around them. He cranked the engine and turned on the heat to stave away the cold.
“Did you see anyone?” she finally asked, desperate to make sense of things. Feeling like she’d lived enough over the past twenty-four hours to fill a whole year instead of a day.
Mark shook his head, his expression still hard as he stared out the front windshield. “No, but I want to be certain that no one tries something again. There’s too much at stake here.”
“Just me.”
“Like I said, there’s too much.”
Her cheeks warmed before she realized the error of her statement. There was definitely more at stake than just her. Sarah was at stake. It appeared that Mark’s life was also on the line. The situation continued to spiral into one giant disaster.
But Mark had said her life alone was worth the risk. Was he being sincere? His words caused something to shift and flutter inside her.
No man had had this effect on her since Nate, and she didn’t want that to change. She knew she’d never find someone else like her husband. She’d be asking for too much to even whisper the thought, to even begin to hope that.
No, Nate had been strong and loyal and patient...everything she could want in a man. Not perfect, but no one was. Finding a man like Nate had been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“Whoever is behind this is obviously a tech genius, Laney. They were able to hack in to your phone and make it look like you sent a message to Sarah. They opened a bank account in your name, stopped the check you sent en route, and deposited it into the new account. They gained control of the security cameras at the hotel. None of that is a small feat.”
She sucked on her bottom lip a moment, unable to deny his words. “I agree. Someone is brilliant at these things.”
“This person either has a partner or he’s willing to go the extra mile to attack you.”
“I agree.”
His eyes narrowed. “You work for a tech company, correct?”
She nodded, her thoughts slowing to a crawl. “Tha
t’s right.”
“What if someone at your work is behind this?”
The idea made her thoughts move from a slow crawl to a grinding halt. “Why would they be?”
“You tell me.”
She tried to remain expressionless, tried not to show too much. If only she could tell him the truth—the whole truth. But she’d taken an oath that she couldn’t break. “I have no enemies there. It’s like I said, I work alone and have only one contact—my boss.”
He pulled out his phone. “I want to call him.”
Her heart began racing again. She and Nicholas had gone over that plan. They had a cover organization that would answer. They even had a physical office in case people—relatives usually—stopped by.
Mark would think he was calling CybCorp. A receptionist should answer and confirm that she was an employee.
She’d only tried to call Nicholas herself, and she still felt unsettled that he wasn’t answering.
“Of course.” Her voice caught.
She gave Mark Nicholas’s number, and he dialed. A moment later, he lowered the phone. “No one answered.”
She pushed a hair behind her ear. Sorrow lingered in her voice. “He hasn’t answered for me, either.”
Mark narrowed his eyes, shifting to face her better. “Don’t you find that unusual?”
“I do. But I don’t know what to do about it. Maybe he took a vacation or became ill. It isn’t like him not to answer.”
“There’s no other number you can call?”
She shook her head. “No, I wish there were. But I’ve never needed any other numbers. It might sound far-fetched, but it’s the truth.”
He started tapping away on his phone, acting like he was on a mission.
“What are you doing?” she asked, her curiosity peaked.
“I’m looking to see if there are any other numbers I can call.”
The tension in her gut grew. “I see.”
“Aha,” he finally said. “Here’s one for CybCorp. Let’s see if I can get an answer now.”
She held her breath, waiting to see how everything would play out. Would her cover be blown? Why wasn’t her boss responding? Didn’t he realize how suspicious that made her look?
Mark pulled the phone away and frowned. “There’s a message saying the number has been disconnected.” He stared at her, long and hard until she cringed.
“I don’t know what you’re implying, but I can assure you they exist. They’ve been writing me a paycheck for the past year.”
“Do you have an address?” he asked.
“Of course. Would you like it?”
“As a matter of fact, I would. I’m going to have some of my guys check it out.”
“You still think I’m behind this?” After everything he’d seen and experienced with her, how could he believe that? The only way it was possible was if she had a death wish for herself. Any relief she’d experienced had been mistaken. Mark wasn’t on her side.
His gaze remained sharp. “I think you’re connected somehow. I don’t know in what way yet.”
“If someone I work with is trying to kill me, why kidnap Sarah? What does she have to do with any of this? What does she have to do with me?”
“I have no idea. I’m only asking questions at this point.”
Her thoughts raced. “What about Sarah’s dad? Danny said he’d been acting strange lately. Maybe he knows something. Maybe he’s being targeted.”
“Most teens think their parents are strange. Even Danny said so.”
“But he was acting suspiciously strange. And moving for another job? I hadn’t heard about that.”
“So you think Sarah staged this herself so she wouldn’t have to leave the area?”
Laney’s mouth dropped open. “What? No. That’s not what I said. She’s smarter than that. Maybe she would have just left. But she wouldn’t have staged something so dramatic.”
“Maybe if she was desperate. I’ve seen desperate people do things no one ever suspected they would do.”
“Well, she wasn’t like that. You don’t know her.” She crossed her arms, hating how upset she felt but unable to shake it. How dare Mark accuse Sarah of being behind this. And what would she do when the truth came out about her work? Would her cover be revealed?
It was best if she put as much distance between herself and this man as possible. Thinking she could trust him might be her biggest mistake. Whatever bond she’d felt with him was short-lived.
“Could you drop me off somewhere I can rent a car?”
He stared at her a moment, his expression unreadable. “Is that really what you want?”
She nodded, surprisingly sad about the separation she knew she needed to put between herself and the man who’d been her protector for the last twenty-four hours. “Yes, I’m sure. You don’t have to babysit me anymore.”
“I think this is a bad idea,” he muttered. “Just for the record.”
“You have a kidnapper to catch. That’s way more important than me.”
He rubbed his jaw, like he wanted to say more. But he didn’t.
Instead, he pulled up to a car rental agency a couple of blocks away.
Her throat clenched as she climbed out. She had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last time she saw the detective. But she dreaded to think what might bring them together for their next encounter. More accusations? Another attempt on her life?
Not if she found Sarah first.
“Thanks again,” she murmured.
“Take care of yourself, Laney. Be careful.”
* * *
Mark pulled onto a side street and waited for Laney to emerge from the car rental agency. She did ten minutes later, driving a light blue sedan. She headed toward downtown Richmond.
What was she going to do? Though his body longed for rest, his mind was alert. Whatever was going on here was dangerous and twisted at the same time.
He’d never seen so many blatant attempts on someone’s life and he was convinced the worst was yet to come. He needed to keep an eye on Laney—both because the captain had told him to and because she reminded him of an innocent doe caught in a hunter’s crosshairs. She wasn’t equipped to handle situations like these. Not on her own.
Slowly, he pulled out behind her, making sure he put enough distance between her and himself so she wouldn’t catch wind of his presence. He wanted to find out what she was hiding.
She drove several miles around the outskirts of Richmond before pausing in front of Allegra Accounting. Allegra Accounting? What in the world was she doing here? Getting financial advice?
He stayed back, watching as she put the car in Park. It almost appeared she was poised to get out when someone exited the building.
Mark sucked in a breath. Sol Novak.
Sol worked there? So why had Laney come?
He braced himself for whatever was about to play out. A confrontation? A secret meeting? He had no idea.
Instead of getting out and talking to him, Laney remained in the car.
Sol hurried across the parking lot, his overcoat flapping in the wind. His gaze skittered around him each step. It was almost like he knew he was being watched.
Did the FBI know what he was doing?
And why was Sol back at work already? Some people liked to stay busy in order to keep their minds occupied in the face of tragedy. But his daughter had just disappeared yesterday. And it was a weekend, at that.
Something wasn’t adding up, and he could feel danger looming on the horizon.
As Sol climbed into his own vehicle and pulled out, Laney began following behind him.
Interesting.
Five minutes later, Sol stopped at a park near downtown Richmond. After climbing out with a cup of coffee in hand, he walke
d toward a bench that faced the lake at the center of the busy grounds.
What was he doing there? Things kept getting stranger and stranger. The tension in Mark grew by the minute.
Laney continued to lie low, remaining in her car with her eyes riveted on Sol. Mark had parked at the perfect position to keep an eye on both of them.
Sol walked to a bench and sat for a minute watching people pass him on the lakeside trail. Several people passed. Some were speed walking on their lunch breaks. Others were walking dogs. Moms chased young children. Two men on bikes breezed past.
He saw the man reach into his coat pocket and pull out a thin manila envelope. He reached beneath the bench, pressed it there, and then subtly looked around. Not missing a beat, Sol stood, straightened his jacket and started back to his car.
What had just happened? Had he just made a drop of some kind? Was he leaving money for the kidnappers? The package didn’t seem big enough for any kind of sizable amount of cash.
Mark waited for Sol to climb back into his car. His gaze flickered to Laney. She remained in her car, but she looked poised to move. She wanted to see what was in that package too.
Before either of them could get out, a brunette wearing a scarf and glasses appeared on the opposite side of the walkway, headed toward the bench Sol had vacated and sat down.
Mark studied her for a moment. Something about her seemed familiar.
She looked like Laney he realized.
Could this woman somehow be involved in Sarah’s abduction? Did a neighbor mistake her for Laney since their features were similar?
More so, was she picking up some kind of ransom from Sol? Where were the police right now? The feds should know about this.
He got on his phone and called for backup, wishing he’d done so five minutes ago.
The woman reached beneath the bench, grabbed the package and stood.
He couldn’t let her get away yet. He couldn’t be everywhere at once. If she hopped into a vehicle, then he’d lose her on foot.
He tried to be patient, waiting for the right moment to act.
He didn’t care about Laney spotting him at that point. Someone inexperienced like Laney could mess this all up, though.
Shadow of Suspicion Page 9
