Summer leaned forward. “What did you do?”
“I did all the right things. I notified the police and they sent DEA agents to investigate. I expected things to be straightened out. Guess I watched too many movies.”
“It doesn’t work that way in real life?”
“Not when the ‘good’ guys are corrupt. Oh, they made a big show of cracking down, vowing to catch everyone involved. If I hadn’t continued checking invoices, I’d have never realized the scam was still going on.”
“What did you do then?” Summer asked in a tight voice.
“I went straight to the agents in charge of the investigation—Wilcox and Fisher. I just didn’t realize they were the ones masterminding the cover-up.”
“I suspect that’s only part of the story,” Summer guessed, her tone questioning.
Reality struck, that fiercely painful reminder of just how wrong things had gone, how the irreversible course of events had changed his life forever. “Tom Matthews, a DEA commander from another unit, was brought in—apparently I wasn’t the only one to see that things weren’t quite right. He convinced me to participate in a sting operation to take down Fisher and Wilcox.” The pain struck, persistent and agonizing. “I discussed it with Linda—told her I thought I should cooperate. She thought it was the right thing to do as well. I had some half-baked idealistic notion that when you’re doing the right thing, you’re damned near invincible.” He laughed bitterly. “For that matter, I guess I was. I’m still alive and kicking.”
Glancing at Summer, he could see the realization light in her eyes, as though she suspected what he was going to say next.
“The sting didn’t come off as planned. Fisher and Wilcox escaped the initial net. They didn’t take it well that I’d been part of it. They came to my house, gunning for me. I wasn’t there...but Linda was.” His voice tightened, as the memories washed over him. “She never had a chance.”
“They killed her?” Summer asked in a horrified voice, her eyes glinting with unshed tears.
“She didn’t die...right then. She lived for months in a coma. After the baby was delivered C-section, she died. It was as though she hung on just long enough to give him life....” Jack had to pause, not certain he could trust his voice.
“I...don’t know what to say,” Summer managed, her tears escaping unchecked. “I’m so sorry.”
Jack saw her tears, realized they were genuine. “Not as sorry as I was...as I always will be.”
“Are these the men who are after you now?”
Jack shook away the past with a vengeance, knowing he couldn’t sink into that abyss right now—Danny’s survival depended on it. “Yes. I testified against them, and they were sent to prison.”
“Did they get an early release?”
“Not in the way that you mean. They weren’t due for parole for years. The only way they could have gotten out was with help from a highly placed insider. Someone inside the agency with enough pull to hide or destroy records and arrange for new records that would allow Fisher and Wilcox to be released.”
“Are these the guys we ran onto the sandbar?”
He nodded, remembering how the pair had been flung from the boat, and his disappointment when they had resurfaced. He wasn’t bloodthirsty, but he knew that as long as the men lived, he and Danny wouldn’t be safe.
“How did you know they got an early release?” Summer asked.
“I’m only guessing about the release—it’s not like I saw any paperwork. But I’m pretty certain they didn’t bust out of a high-security prison. Also, someone was feeding them information because they knew right where to look for me. And I know they’re out because I nearly tripped over them at my house.”
“What?”
“I was coming home. I had Danny in his stroller and we were headed toward the back of the house. Just as I turned the corner, I spotted Fisher and Wilcox trying to break in.”
Summer gasped, apparently realizing the seriousness of his situation.
“Exactly. If my timing had been a little different, they could have surprised us when we were in the house. We wouldn’t have stood much of a chance.” He glanced over at Danny, felling the surge of protectiveness that was never far from the surface. “Since the boat was stocked, we rushed there and set off. It’s part of why I liked living on the Florida coast. I figured the waterways were the safest escape, especially since Fisher and Wilcox didn’t know I owned a boat—at least, not at first. Not until someone filled them in on that as well.”
“And you were making a good escape until you had engine trouble,” Summer filled in, easily grasping the rest of the story.
“Exactly. I’ve been trying to reach Tom Matthews, but so far I haven’t had any luck.”
Eyes wide with shock and concern, Summer asked, “And you think he can help?”
“He can find out how my protection was compromised and to what degree. He’s the only person I trust.”
She hesitated. “Are you sure he’s not in on what’s happening? Someone engineered the agents’ early release and fed them information. Why not him?”
“Tom was brought in from a completely different unit. He’d never met Fisher and Wilcox before the internal investigation. Because he’d convinced me to participate in the sting operation, Tom felt responsible for Linda’s death. He took it hard when she was killed. Afterward, he was a man with a cause—determined to bring Fisher and Wilcox down, which he did.”
Summer tried to assimilate what Jack had told her, but the enormity swamped her. “But why aren’t you in the witness-protection program?”
“I was.” Everything in Jack’s demeanor became even grimmer. “I’ve been on the run since before Danny was born. I couldn’t stay at the hospital and put Linda in danger. So I entered the program immediately. When Danny was born, he was brought to me.” He paused for a moment. “Then Linda died, and we couldn’t go to the funeral. But we’d said our goodbyes.”
Throat tight, Summer couldn’t begin to know how to reply.
Jack looked up at her. “My cover was blown—from the inside. That’s why I ditched my most current disguise—a mustache, glasses and dyed hair.”
“I don’t understand. How can your cover be blown from the inside?” But even as Summer voiced the question, the answer hit her with stunning force. Horrified, she asked, “How could this happen? Isn’t the witness-protection program designed to offer the ultimate protection?”
“Corruption can worm its way into the most unlikely places. I never dreamed that working as an architect would endanger my family, cause my wife’s murder.”
Impulsively she laid one hand over his. “You can’t believe that was your fault.”
He ignored her words of comfort. “I can’t even reach Donald Sedgewick. He’s been my contact person in the program since the beginning.”
“But you said you were trying to find another man.”
“Tom Matthews. He’s the DEA commander, stationed in Washington, D.C. That’s where we were headed when the boat’s engine gave out.”
“You haven’t been able to reach him by phone?”
“The autobots answering the phone keep saying that Tom is away on extended leave.”
“Maybe he is. Maybe he needed a long vacation.”
Jack was shaking his head. “I don’t think so. Tom’s always been a workaholic. And why now?”
“Now?” she echoed.
Jack met her eyes, wondering how she would react to the most damning piece of evidence. “When I called, they didn’t recognize my alias. I was told they can’t find my file.”
Puzzled, she angled her head. “I don’t understand.”
“My file, my identity. Everything that was set up to protect Danny and me has vanished from their computer.”
“But if it was in the witness-program files, then how...?” Summer’s voice trailed off as the horror in her expression grew.
“Exactly. Without that protection, we’ve been thrown to the wolves. And the file
could only have disappeared in the agency. Which means everything in the government’s arsenal is at their disposal. I also suspect that if my file exists, it has been altered.”
“Altered how?”
“There’s no telling. I could be listed as dead, a wanted felon—take your pick.”
“But wouldn’t someone notice and get suspicious?”
“They obviously have an important internal contact, one who can deflect suspicions.”
“I could try to research your file on the computer,” she offered, “if I could get my hands on some decent equipment.”
Jack shook his head. “At this point it wouldn’t do any good. Besides, they have real experts in their computer department.”
“But—”
“Really, I appreciate your efforts, but you don’t know who’s behind this.”
“Wilcox and Fisher?” she questioned weakly.
“I’m not sure how, but I know it’s them. Question is, who’s their inside man?”
She hesitated. “Are you sure it couldn’t be this Tom Matthews you’re trying to find? Do you suppose he’s turned? Could that be why he’s so difficult to locate?”
The thought had occurred to Jack, but he refused to believe it. He also knew that if he allowed himself to believe that Tom was a traitor, he had literally nowhere to turn. If Tom Matthews had gone against his grain and sold his soul to the highest bidder, Jack knew no place on the globe was safe any longer. It was something he could deal with for himself, but not for his son.
“If I believed that, I’d have to give up, and that’s something I don’t intend to do.”
Summer had been afraid to learn what he was running from, but this was far worse than anything she might have imagined. And despite his apparent sincerity, she couldn’t squelch all her suspicions. What if this was simply a wellconcocted story? “Why don’t you go to the FBI for help?”
Jack shook his head. “The long arm of the government has too far a reach. Going to the FBI would sign my death warrant.”
She blanched. “But you and Danny...” Her voice trailed off helplessly.
“They’ll have to kill me to get my son.” The quiet grimness in his voice chilled her; it was far more effective than bravado or swaggering.
Summer realized that he was a powerful man, one who didn’t have to brandish that strength. Which made him that much more appealing. It also made her realize that he would only have asked for her help as a last measure. “Surely you don’t think they’d harm a baby?” she asked, her gaze settling anxiously on Danny.
“If they had him, they could use him to get me. Beyond that, I don’t know what they’d do. They are men without morals.”
She gasped. “I guess I never really believed people like that existed outside of the movies and America’s Most Wanted I mean, I guess I knew they did—that horrible things happen. But they never happened to anyone I knew before.”
“Frankly I felt much the same way until I was the someone it was happening to.”
“It must be awful,” she murmured.
“Sometimes it seems like a bad dream,” Jack admitted. “One that I’ll wake up from and everything will be normal again. My family is whole, we’re leading happy, uncomplicated lives.”
“And then reality hits,” she guessed softly.
“Yep.”
Summer glanced down at their hands. She had not withdrawn hers, nor had Jack pulled away. Heat from his hand warmed her palm, making her aware of the latent strength resting so close. Although she’d offered the touch as a gesture of comfort, she was highly aware of feelings that had nothing to do with comfort.
It was absurd, inappropriate, completely out of place. Yet as they sat in the ordinary little café drinking bad coffee, talking about the magnitude of his dilemma, her pulse quickened at the inexplicable intimacy of their joined hands.
At that moment, his gaze met hers, and the sudden light in his eyes signaled a response. Not sure how to interpret that response, she was flooded with uncertainty.
Danny fussed at that moment, kicking plump little feet.
Not certain whether to be relieved or disappointed at the interruption, Summer turned her attention to the baby.
“He’s cutting a tooth,” Jack explained.
She reached over, playfully tugging one of Danny’s toes. “That’s rough.”
“And it’ll be rougher ahead.”
Eyes widening in concern, Summer felt every maternal instinct she possessed kicking into gear. “We have to keep him safe.”
“That’s the general idea.” He paused, his gaze refusing to relinquish hers. “Does that mean you’re going to help us?”
Chapter 3
Jack studied Summer’s face, waiting for her answer. He had run out of ideas and options. Otherwise he wouldn’t have asked. He hated doing it. Since he was accustomed to solving his own problems without help, it rankled to have to ask for her assistance. But she was his last resort. Literally. Summer’s cooperation could give them the advantage he’d prayed for.
Her gaze lingered on the drowsy baby. “If I said yes, it could only be for a short while.”
Jack released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “I understand.”
“And I’ll have to think of something to tell my mother.”
Pausing, he stared at this unusual woman. Most would have wished him luck and fled. And Summer didn’t even like him. “You could tell her I need help with Danny.”
“That’s why I’m doing this,” she reiterated as though afraid he would get the wrong idea. “For Danny.”
He nodded.
“And only until you get a good head start.”
“I understand.” Jack pulled out a plastic-coated menu from a slot behind the napkin holder. “But before we sign a binding contract, let’s order some dinner.”
“Dinner?” she echoed blankly.
“You know, the third meal of the day, except that by my count we’ve only had one so far.”
“How can you think of food at a time like this?”
“Because we won’t get very far running on empty stomachs.” He could see by her expression that she hadn’t really grasped what running would mean. “Aren’t you hungry?”
“I guess so. I just thought we ought to be mapping out strategy.” Summer waved her hands in a vague motion. “Or something urgent.”
“I map better on a full stomach.” Jack managed a smile, hoping to relax her. “And no one feels the urgency more than me. How’s this for strategy? We find a hotel and go from there.”
Her eyes narrowed. “A hotel?”
“There’s not enough room for all of us to bunk on the boat. Besides, it’s too high profile. I hate that we spent as much time as we did in the boat. It leaves too recognizable a trail. Wilcox and Fisher will be looking for it, tracing what direction we took. The first thing we do is get alternate transportation.”
She nodded slowly.
“Rather, the second thing,” he corrected. “Now we eat and then find a hotel.”
A hotel.
It was perfectly normal to locate a place to stay. Then why did the idea send her into near panic? Summer wondered.
Because it seemed intimate. One room, usually one bed. No outside distractions. As Danny wriggled to get down, Summer was glad to have him as an inside distraction.
Jack tossed the key on the small bureau top. “It’s not the Ritz, but it’ll do.”
“It’s fine,” Summer murmured, noting with relief the two double beds.
Jack anchored Danny on his hip. “I’m just going to dunk this little guy for now. He’s had a pretty long day. Then the bathroom’s all yours.”
Nodding, Summer watched him carry Danny into the bathroom. Then she stuck both hands in her pockets, uncertain what else to do with them. She thought of her brief conversation with her mother, the lengthy pause after saying she would be away for a short time helping Jack care for Danny. They were too close for her mother not to suspect she was conc
ealing something.
Despite her independence, family was important to Summer. So important she’d risked her engagement to remain on Edisto and help her mother with the family business. But this arrangement was short-term. It wasn’t as though Jack would want her with him on any other basis.
“Summer?”
She whirled around, torn from her wayward thoughts. “Uh, yes?”
“The bathroom’s all yours. I’ll get Danny dressed out here.”
“Right.”
As Jack walked out of the bathroom, holding a towelshrouded Danny, he stopped suddenly. “Idiot.”
Summer blinked. “I beg your pardon?”
“I’m an idiot. I totally forgot you don’t have anything with you. Not even a toothbrush.”
“It’s not something I carry in my toolbox,” she admitted. “But I’ll go to the nearest store in the morning, get a change of clothes—”
“Better get more than one,” he advised, expertly toweling off his son, then reaching for a diaper.
“Right.”
“And maybe you could get something more...girlish,” Jack added without glancing up. “Since Fisher and Wilcox saw you in the overalls and probably thought you were a guy.”
Stiffly she nodded and retreated to the bathroom.
Opting for a quick shower, Summer lingered in the bathroom, finally donning the clothes she’d just shed. Self-consciously she reentered the bedroom, expecting to face Jack. She was painfully aware that she still looked ungirlish , dressed as before sans the cap.
Glancing across the room, she immediately saw that Jack was sprawled across one bed, Danny close beside him. Hearing a tiny gurgle, she inched closer. Danny stared up at her with his huge, unblinking blue eyes.
“You’re not asleep, little one. How’d that happen? I think your daddy thought you were.”
“Da-da,” he replied, clearly wanting to continue the conversation.
“You’d better go to sleep,” Summer offered in response.
The Hijacked Wife Page 4
