Armored Attraction

by Janie Crouch

After driving around the block twice, and turning around and driving a different block in another direction, Liam was sure no one was following him. He stopped at a doughnut shop for coffee and doughnuts, as one last precaution, and because they needed food anyway.

  And Vanessa could not survive without coffee.

  The thought popped into his head unbidden. But to be honest, Liam wasn’t sure if that was true anymore. He had no idea what was true about Vanessa. He got her coffee anyway.

  Right before he left the shop, he texted her to let him know he was coming. ETA five minutes. Watch for me through the peephole and get out fast. Keep K’s head covered.

  This was it. Either the hotel was under surveillance or it wasn’t. Regardless, now was when they were going to make their move.

  Liam drove back to the hotel as if he wasn’t in any particular hurry. Still no sign of any tail. The moment he pulled up to the hotel, the door to the room opened and Vanessa flew out, her arm around Karine, her jacket draped over the girl’s head. She opened the back door to his SUV and they both piled into the backseat.

  Liam was pulling out of the parking spot before Vanessa’s door even closed.

  This time he did not drive leisurely. He didn’t drive fast enough to attract attention to them, but he got out of there with purpose.

  The problem when trying to lose a tail in the Outer Banks was the lack of main roads. Highway 158 was the main four-lane drag, and that was about it. There was also Highway 12 that ran parallel to 158, but it was a two-lane and much slower. All Liam could do was take the back roads and cut-throughs that he remembered from his youth.

  This wasn’t his first time trying to get away from the Outer Banks police without calling attention to himself.

  Vanessa and Karine kept crouched in the backseat so it would look as if Liam was driving alone. If they did happen to pass anyone studying the drivers of vehicles, they wouldn’t be looking for him.

  “Do you think anyone is following us?” Vanessa asked after a few minutes.

  “No, I think we got out in time.” If someone was following them, he’d know it by now. The winding route he’d taken over the past mile would’ve made it obvious.

  “What about my car?”

  “I think it’s better to leave it there. Maybe it will buy us a few hours’ time if they think we’re still in the room. This car wasn’t parked near you, so hopefully Officer Atwood didn’t notice.”

  “Okay. What are we going to do? I’m sure they’re still searching cars, right? We can’t make it off the islands.”

  “No leave, Miss Vanessa,” Karine said. “Must help other girls. Must.”

  The girl didn’t know a lot of English, but she knew what she wanted.

  “It’s okay, Karine.” He glanced back at them in the rearview mirror. “We’re not leaving. We want to help them, too.”

  “Can you call your DEA contacts in, Liam?” Vanessa asked. “Or the FBI or whoever handles cases like this? Obviously we don’t know who we can trust with the local police.”

  “I’m not actually with the DEA anymore. Haven’t been for the past five years.”

  “But I left a message for you with the DEA. How did you get it if you don’t work there?”

  He glanced at her again. Confusion was evident on her face.

  “I now work for an interagency task force called Omega Sector, in their Critical Response Division. I’m head of the hostage rescue team.”

  He watched as her eyes widened and her mouth fell open before turning his gaze back to the road.

  “Sounds like you’re pretty qualified to handle what’s going on here, then. You have people you can call in? People with big guns who can shoot the bastards responsible for this?”

  Liam rolled his eyes. “Generally we arrest the bad guys unless they shoot at us first, but, yes, I can get a whole team here.”

  “Then why haven’t you done that yet? Those girls are somewhere out there, trapped. Hurt and desperate.”

  He glanced in the mirror again and saw Karine’s face growing paler. He caught Vanessa’s eye and gestured with his head toward Karine. Vanessa looked down at the girl and immediately slipped an arm around her.

  “I’m sorry, sweetie. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “It’s okay,” Karine whispered. “They need help.”

  “And we will help them. We’ll get Liam’s friends here—people who help others all the time—and we’ll get the other girls out.”

  Liam caught Vanessa’s eye in the rearview mirror again. “We’ll talk specifics later.”

  She nodded, tugging Karine closer.

  “Where are we going right now?” Vanessa asked.

  “We’ve got to get off the streets. Once they figure out we’re not in the hotel, they’ll start searching again. I’m going to take you somewhere not related to you at all.”

  “Another hotel?”

  “No, that will always leave witnesses. A house.”

  She shook her head. “A friend’s? Are you positive you can trust the person?”

  “No. My grandmother’s house. I still own it.”

  That silenced her.

  He had a cleaning service come in once a month to clean, keep it in shape and take care of any repairs. He even paid for power and water each month, which wasn’t much because it was so small.

  After his grandmother died, he hadn’t been able to sell it. He had said it was because she’d been his last living relative—the only roots he’d ever had—and he didn’t want to part with it if he didn’t have to. But he couldn’t deny the other part of that truth now.

  He’d kept the house because it was the first place he and Vanessa had made love.

  Chapter Six

  An hour later they were safely tucked away in Liam’s grandmother’s house. His house now.

  They had stopped briefly at a grocery store, Vanessa and Karine tucked low in the backseat as Liam ran in. They had agreed it was better to go to the store now to get what they needed so they were prepared for as long as possible.

  In the house of a million memories.

  But Vanessa would accept living with the memories, as painful as some were, if it meant they were safe. If it meant Karine could get some real food and the real rest that she needed. If it meant they could figure out where the other girls were being held and do something about it.

  She still didn’t understand why Liam hadn’t just called in the SWAT cavalry or whatever. But he had been right; they didn’t need to talk about those details in front of Karine.

  Liam had come back to the SUV in less than fifteen minutes. He hadn’t said anything as he opened the hatchback and put the grocery bags inside. Hadn’t hurried around to the driver’s side. Hadn’t done anything that would call attention to himself.

  He was good, Vanessa could definitely see that.

  He hadn’t talked until he was pulling out of the parking lot.

  “You girls okay?” he asked.

  “Yes. Any problems?”

  “Nope. Got food and even a couple T-shirts and sweatpants. I had to get four different sizes, so I explained it was for my family while we’re visiting.”

  “Because you buying a size extra-small pants and shirt might have been memorable.”

  “Exactly. All the cloak-and-dagger was probably unnecessary, but always better to be safe.”

  He was good. He’d thought of details Vanessa probably would’ve missed.

  The drive to his grandmother’s house—his house—took about twenty minutes. They had gone to a grocery store on the opposite side of Nags Head just in case someone remembered seeing him or his car.

  But now they were inside, car pulled behind the back, Karine well fed and sleeping in one of the bedrooms.

  “She still needs medical
and psychological help. Professional help,” Vanessa said. It was probably too late for any sort of assault kit to yield any results, but everything should still be documented.

  “Yeah, those bruises on her wrists are pretty bad. And I hate to say this, but I’m sure she was assaulted, right?”

  Vanessa rubbed a hand over her eyes. “She won’t talk about any specifics, but, yes, I would say most definitely.”

  Liam reached out and pulled her down next to him on the seat at the table.

  “She’s a survivor,” he said. “She’s strong.”

  “I know. I just can’t bear to think about what she’s been through.”

  “We’ll get her a counselor and a doctor. We just have to figure out who we can trust.”

  She nodded. “Why haven’t you called in some sort of attack team yet?”

  “Because if we send in a blitz attack on the sheriff’s office, not knowing who exactly is involved and to what degree, the first thing the kidnappers will do is kill the remaining girls. They’re liabilities.”

  Nausea pooled in Vanessa’s stomach. “I hadn’t thought of that. But you’re right.”

  She rested her face in her hands.

  “That doesn’t mean we’re not going to stop them, Nessa. It just means we’re not going to roll in guns blazing.”

  He’d called her Nessa. He was the only one who ever had, ever dared. She hadn’t heard that name in eight years.

  “Not to mention,” he continued, “it’s the word of one small foreign girl, supposedly wanted by the law, against the word of people who may have lived in this area their whole lives.”

  “But I know she’s telling the truth,” Vanessa said. She had no doubt about it at all.

  Liam nodded. “I believe her, too, but it’s about what we can prove when it comes down to a court of law.”

  “I just can’t stand the thought of more girls trapped and scared.” Karine had told them that the youngest of the girls was only eight years old. Fortunately she was being “kept” for someone special—some sick buyer, no doubt—so she hadn’t been assaulted. The older girls hadn’t been so lucky.

  Liam reached over and grasped her hand. “I know. I feel the same. But it’s important that we keep whoever is behind this in the dark as long as possible. That is our best chance at saving those girls. By convincing law enforcement that you don’t really know anything about Karine and that you certainly don’t know where she is now.”

  Vanessa nodded. He was right.

  “Okay, then I need to call my office, let them know I won’t be coming in. If I just don’t show up, everyone there will be worried.”

  Vanessa stood and called her supervisor at Bridgespan. It wasn’t a long conversation. Vanessa told her she was sick but that she would hopefully be in tomorrow. Her boss understood and told her to take care of herself.

  “That seemed pretty painless,” Liam said after she finished. He was sitting back in his chair, long legs stretched out in front of him, arms crossed over his chest.

  He looked relaxed, lazy even, in that way Liam could pull off so well. But Vanessa had no delusions. He intended to have answers from her about the changes in her lifestyle.

  She didn’t want to fight with him. Didn’t want to go back to eight years ago in some epic battle of “who was right and who was wrong when we were young and stupid.” But she could at least give him the basics.

  “You want answers.”

  “I would just like to know what is going on. I find I do better in any tactical situation when I know all the information.”

  Was that what she was? What they were? A tactical situation?

  “There’s not a whole lot to the story. I grew up. Decided I couldn’t live on my parents’ money forever.”

  “And became a social worker. Like with a degree and everything?”

  She could tell he tried very hard to keep any trace of incredulity out of his voice, and almost succeeded.

  It stung a little. But it was the most common sentiment among people who had known her then and knew her now. Why would Liam be different?

  Vanessa ten years ago would never have been a social worker. An interior decorator? Maybe. Buyer for some fashion line or upscale boutique? Perhaps. Professional country club attendee and beach bunny? Absolutely.

  Helping other people for barely over minimum wage? No.

  But she wasn’t that person anymore. Thank God, she wasn’t that person anymore. Although the change had come at a high price.

  “After you left...after...” She trailed off. She didn’t want to talk about that. About him leaving or what had happened afterward. “I decided to go to college. I didn’t want to just sit around here anymore. I really enjoyed my basic psychology and sociology classes, and so followed that route. Ended up with a degree in social services.” In less than three years, she might add.

  “Wow.” He shook his head. “I just never would’ve figured—”

  “That I would ever be anything but a selfish, spoiled brat who didn’t have it in her to care about another person?”

  Silence fell between them. That was the quote, almost word for word, that he’d told his friends about her when he left. After he’d asked her to come away with him and get married and she’d said yes but then hadn’t.

  For reasons he didn’t understand. And, once she’d found out what he’d really thought about her, for reasons she’d had no plans to ever tell him.

  “You made a promise and then broke it.” Liam rubbed a hand over his face. “I was angry. Hurt. Plus, it was the truth.” He sat straighter in his chair. “How did you find out I said that?”

  “I went looking for you. Your friends were happy to relay the message.” They’d never liked her. Had always thought she was a snob.

  “When did you come looking for me?”

  “Maybe a week after you left?”

  “Why then?”

  Because it was the first time she had been able to. But again, not telling him that. “I wanted to see if there was any chance you were still around.”

  That mocking smile, so fake and handsome—the one that had always gotten under her skin—covered his face now. “Why? Didn’t think I’d actually leave? Even though you didn’t even have enough guts to explain to me yourself that you were no longer interested in marrying me? I had to find out by knocking on your door and your father telling me?” He stood from the table and walked over to the sink, farther from her. “Nope. I left and never looked back.”

  This was the fight she’d been trying to avoid. It was a situation too many years past, water having long since washed under the bridge. Pride and stubbornness and tragedy conspiring together to keep them apart.

  Vanessa turned and walked over to the window. This place was so bittersweet for her. Every time Liam’s grandmother had gone off to the grocery store or her bridge club or, heaven forbid, a weekend trip up to Norfolk to see her cousin, Vanessa and Liam immediately jumped into his big bed. They’d never been able to get enough of each other. She was surprised they hadn’t burned down the whole house with the passion between them.

  Yeah, she’d been selfish and spoiled, but she’d loved Liam Goetz with every fiber of her being. Hearing that he’d said how selfish and undesirable she was—combined with everything else she’d gone through at that time—had cut her to the quick. Him walking away and never looking back? That had just proved to her that he hadn’t loved her in the same way she had loved him.

  It had caused her to do something she hadn’t done in the entirety of her selfish, spoiled life.

  Give up.

  She should’ve fought for him. For them. But hadn’t had the strength at the time.

  So after she’d healed, she’d gone to college, waiting tables to pay for classes. She hadn’t wanted a dime of her parents’ money. She’d got
ten a degree in helping other people. It didn’t take much of a psychologist to figure out that Liam’s words had influenced her career choice.

  She’d survived. Found an inner strength she hadn’t known existed. Left selfish and spoiled behind her.

  Liam had walked away and never looked back.

  “I hope you’ve been happy, Liam,” she whispered from the window. “I never wished you ill.”

  She wasn’t sure the same was true in what he wished for her.

  Chapter Seven

  She’d come after him?

  A week later. But still... If he had known she had come looking for him, would it have made a difference? It was too late to ever know the answer to that now. Nearly a decade stood between them.

  Vanessa looked so tiny standing over there by the window. He wanted to go and wrap his arms around her.

  Not for the young woman he’d known then, but the woman she’d turned into now. Caring, passionate, using her strength for things that mattered.

  No, he hadn’t wished her any ill over the years. He’d been mad. Had sometimes thought about the few choice words he’d say to her if they ever happened to run into each other. But he’d never wished anything bad would happen to her.

  He still felt as though he was missing part of the story. Something had happened between her and her parents, but evidently she didn’t want to talk about it.

  And maybe he should just leave it alone. He’d come here to lay the ghost of his past to rest. The hows and whys and should’ves and could’ves couldn’t be changed and didn’t matter.

  But that kiss earlier. That he couldn’t get out of his mind. His body started to respond just thinking about it. It was time to change the subject, move it away from the past and back to solving the case and saving those girls.

  “I never wished you ill, either, Vanessa. Not ever.”

  She turned a little from the window and smiled slightly, nodding.

  “How about if I don’t ask any more questions and we concentrate on finding the other girls?”

  She walked toward him. “Yes, I think that’s a good idea.”