by Janie Crouch
The panic ratcheted up another level. Maximum security? Hayley knew only what she had heard about it from other inmates.
And that was enough to know that people like her didn’t last long.
She forced herself to deliberately breathe in and out, to try to keep the anxiety tamped down. The feel of handcuffs around her wrists didn’t help. Amazing how two relatively small circles of metal could make someone feel so claustrophobic.
Hayley was stopped at a desk while the guard checked the paperwork.
“Sorry, kid.” He was actually nice enough to hold the papers out for her to read herself.
Sure enough, it said that she was to be transferred to the maximum-security prison, about eighty miles south of here. It had been signed by a judge.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Hayley just focused on that as she was led outside. This time she wasn’t going on a bus with other inmates, she was being transferred in a squad car.
“Look,” the officer said as they arrived at the car, “just keep quiet when you get there. Don’t demand anything in front of other prisoners. As soon as you can, ask to see your lawyer. Your lawyer can get this straightened out.”
Hayley nodded, but could barely make sense of his words in her panicked state.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
That guard left and another voice rang out. “Well, well, well. Seems like I have the luck of being with you twice in two days.”
It was Officer Brickman, who had arrested her yesterday.
“Looks like I’m your ride today.”
Hayley didn’t respond. The other, nicer officer who had been with Brickman yesterday didn’t seem to be anywhere around. Another younger man walked up to the vehicle.
“I’m Jarod Abrams. I’ve been assigned to partner with you in escorting the prisoner.”
Brickman didn’t seem happy about that. “I let them know that I could handle the transfer by myself when my normal partner got reassigned today. Not like she’s going to be a problem.”
The younger man shrugged. “Just doing what I’ve been ordered to do. And because I don’t think they want any prisoners only escorted by one person.”
Brickman’s jaw tensed, but he didn’t argue further. “Well, let’s get on the road then.” He climbed into the passenger side, leaving Abrams to drive.
Hayley withdrew into herself as they drove. The metal around her wrists seemed to rub no matter how she tried to move. Brickman and Jarod Abrams talked but she paid little attention. At one point they began arguing about a shortcut when Brickman demanded Abrams pull off the highway and onto a more isolated two-lane road leading toward the countryside. Abrams didn’t seem to want to, but he did it.
She was staring out the window at nothing, wondering if she might completely lose it and start bawling at any moment, when she realized Officer Brickman was talking to her.
“Is that true, Green?”
Hayley tore her eyes from the window up to him. “Is what true?”
“That you have a knack for getting out of handcuffs? That’s what I heard.”
Hayley had no idea what he was talking about. She no more knew how to get out of handcuffs than she knew how to do a backflip.
She held up her arms, showing they were completely secure. “I guess you heard wrong.”
Brickman chuckled. “It’s still what I’m going to say.”
Abrams looked over from where he was driving. “Say when?”
“When they ask me how Green got out of her cuffs and tried to escape.”
Before Hayley could figure out what was happening, Brickman reached over and jerked the steering wheel out of Abrams’s hands, causing the car to spin around and go partially off into the small ditch that paralleled the isolated road.
Hayley was jerked painfully to the side as the car stopped, slamming her against the door, unable to catch herself easily with her cuffed hands.
“What the hell, Brickman?” Abrams yelled.
Brickman pulled his gun out and pointed it at Abrams. “Get out of the car.”
“What the hell is going on?”
Brickman shook his head. “I didn’t want anybody else to get hurt and went to considerable trouble to get my regular partner reassigned. Not to mention he’s a Goody Two-shoes, and would’ve never gone along with this.”
“Gone along with what?” Abrams asked.
Brickman just kept his gun trained on the other man. “Out of the car.”
Hayley tried to shrink down in the back seat. Whatever was happening, she didn’t want to be part of it.
Sure enough, as soon as Abrams had gotten out of the car, Brickman shot him twice in the chest.
Hayley gasped as the younger man fell to the ground.
“Kid should’ve been wearing his vest. I guess this will teach him.” Brickman turned back to Hayley, yanking the car door open. She expected him to shoot her right there, but instead he reached for her.
“Come on, you and I have got to stage a huge escape attempt. I’m going to get fired for this, you know.” He grabbed her by the hair and yanked her out of the car. Hayley couldn’t stop her cry of pain. “But the half a million I’m going to get for killing you will more than make up for it.
“I’ll tell them I made Abrams stop so I could take a piss. That’s what will actually get me fired—breaking the rules like that. Then the kid, being a soft heart, not knowing how dangerous you were, and your ability to get out of handcuffs, let you out of the car.”
Hayley had no idea what Brickman was talking about.
He pulled her toward the top of the ditch. “You guys tussled. I came over to help. You shot him with my gun.”
Hayley was still trying to wrap her mind around what he was saying and totally wasn’t prepared for his fist that caught her on the jaw. She fell to the ground.
Brickman stood over her, sneering. “I’d love to have a little fun, but we’re kind of in the open out here. So I guess I should just get on with the killing you part.”
Hayley twisted so she was on her back. He had the gun out again, pointing it straight at her. Hayley had no idea what his whole monologue had been about, but damned if she was just going to lie here and let him shoot her.
Because one of the other books she’d read while in prison was about self-defense for women.
She swung her leg to the side and then brought it back toward him, hooking her ankle at his knees. He cursed as he fell to the side.
Hayley tried to scurry away, but Brickman grabbed her by the leg and pulled her back. A punch to the stomach doubled her over, stealing her breath.
“You know, you fighting me is just adding credence to my story.”
Hayley swung out with her elbow and cracked him in the face, glad to see when blood started gushing out of his nose.
“Screw this.” Brickman brought up his gun and Hayley knew this time it was really over.
Until a car rammed into the squad car parked just a few yards away from them.
Not sure what was happening but knowing it was her chance, Hayley scurried away. She heard Brickman’s ugly curse but she didn’t turn around, hoping he’d be so involved with whatever had happened at the car that she could make her escape.
But a flying tackle had her slamming back against the ground, air once again knocked out of her. Brickman spun her around until she was lying on top of him, her back to his chest, then stood, arm wrapped around her neck.
“Put the gun down or I’ll kill her right now.” Hayley could feel the muzzle of Brickman’s gun against her head.
“It’s over, Brickman. You’re not going to see any of that money, so you might as well let her go.”
Hayley almost sobbed with relief when she heard Cain’s voice. She had no idea how he’d found them or even known she was in trouble and right now didn’t care.
“We know ab
out the contract on her, but that’s not happening,” Cain continued.
“I may not get the money, but I can still kill her.” Brickman jerked his arm tighter around Hayley’s throat. She brought up her still-cuffed hands to try to get some air.
Brickman just laughed. “You know what, Bennett? I wonder how many times I can bring her to the point of almost passing out from lack of oxygen while we stand here playing our little standoff game? That’s pretty painful for her, don’t you think?”
His words began to fade as black spots started overwhelming her vision. She could feel herself beginning to droop when all of a sudden the pressure released and she was able to suck in air again. She breathed the beautiful oxygen as deeply as she could.
Then before she could even fully recover, the oxygen was cut off again. She whimpered and began to struggle, desperately pulling at Brickman’s arm, but couldn’t get more air.
“Your choice,” Brickman said from behind her.
“Fine,” Cain said, his voice less calm. “Give her air. I’m putting the gun down.”
After a moment, Brickman’s hold loosened again. Hayley breathed, so thankful for air, but wanted to tell Cain not to put his gun down. Surely he had to know Brickman would just kill them both.
“See?” Brickman said. “That’s the problem with all you federal agents. You think everyone’s going to follow your rules.”
Brickman moved the gun away from her temple to point it at Cain. Before she could even react, he was forcefully thrown away from her and then knocked unconscious onto the ground with a single punch from a man who’d crept up behind them.
He’d moved so silently Hayley hadn’t even known he was anywhere around. The guy took another step forward and kicked the gun out of Brickman’s unconscious fingers.
“Damn well took you long enough,” Cain said, rushing to Hayley.
“Didn’t want to take too much of a chance of this pretty lady’s head getting blown off by that bastard’s gun,” the big man said. He tilted his own head toward hers. “Ma’am. Ren McClement.”
Hayley nodded before finding herself wrapped in Cain’s arms.
“Are you all right?” Cain asked, moving his hands gently over her face and shoulders, kissing her temple.
“He was going to kill me.” Her voice sounded raspy even to her own ears.
“Hey, baby cop over here is still alive. We need to call an ambulance,” Ren said.
“Hayley can’t be here when the police arrive.” Cain was still looking her over, making sure she didn’t have any serious injuries. “They’ll merely take her back into custody and she’ll be in just as much trouble as she was.”
“I’ll stay here with them,” Ren said. “Pull the good old Texas boy who wandered into trouble act. I’ll say it was just the two men when I got here.”
Cain nodded. “She and I will have to leave on foot. So stall them as long as possible.”
Ren smiled. “You’d be amazed at how long it takes a Texan to tell a story sometimes.”
“Good thing I know you’re not from Texas.” Cain reached down and grabbed the handcuff keys from Brickman’s belt and unhooked Hayley’s hands. He rubbed her wrists gently from where the metal had abused them. He took the cuffs and locked Brickman’s hands behind his back, ignoring him as he moaned.
“We’re going to have to run. Can you make it? Once we leave here you’re going to be a fugitive. But until we figure out what’s going on and how to stop it, that’s safer than being in police custody.”
“We have to get to Mason and Ariel. I think they’re not safe, either.”
Cain nodded. “I’ve already sent someone to pick them up.”
“Who? Police? Can we trust them?” Hayley wasn’t sure whom she could trust anymore.
“Actually, Brickman’s partner, Perowne. We knew someone would be trying to kill you on the way to the prison, but it was him who tipped us off that Brickman used this shortcut, even though he’d been reprimanded about it before. If Perowne hadn’t called me, I wouldn’t have made it to you in time.”
Hayley nodded, still trying to figure out exactly what was going on. She just wanted to get to her son.
“You guys better get out of here. Paramedics are on their way. I’m sure the locals won’t be far behind.” Ren was keeping pressure on Abrams’s wounds.
They began walking across a field at a brisk pace, getting away from the road.
“Nearest town’s about four miles. I can arrange a ride for us there.”
She took in a deep breath through her sore throat. “Okay.”
“And then you’re going to tell me everything, Hayley. Every. Damn. Thing. What it is you know or have done that has someone trying to kill you. We’re not going to have any more secrets between us.”
Chapter Fourteen
Their escape didn’t leave much time for talking. The trill of sirens filled their ears before they were more than a few minutes away, prompting them to move more quickly.
“Don’t worry, Ren will buy us some time.” But Cain urged her to increase her speed with a hand on the small of her back.
“Is he really not from Texas?”
“Boston, I think. But with Ren nobody knows for sure.”
“But he’s Omega Sector?”
“Yes. One of the best.”
They picked up speed again and traveled in silence for a long while.
“Brickman was going to make half a million dollars to kill me,” she finally said.
Cain glanced at her. “And do you know who was offering that money?”
She knew she was going to have to tell him everything; she just hoped she could prove it.
“I don’t know the name of the person, but I think I have a way of finding out.”
Cain nodded. “We’ll talk about it more once we’re not in the open.”
Relief flooded her that he was at least willing to listen to what she had to say. Wasn’t just automatically lumping her into the criminal category. Given all the secrets between them, that was the best she could hope for right now.
It didn’t take long before keeping up with the slow jog pace Cain was setting became too much for her. Lack of sleep, lack of food, almost getting killed, were all taking their toll. She stumbled.
And he caught her arm and helped her right herself. “Let’s slow down for just a minute.”
Hayley shook her head. “No, it’s all right. I know we’ve got to hurry.”
But she could feel herself start to shake. Every time she swallowed she could feel where Brickman had choked her. When she moved she could feel where the cuffs had cut into her skin.
Cain put both hands on her shoulders, concern clear in his eyes. “Hayley...”
She couldn’t fall apart right now, there was too much at stake, too far to go. But tears she couldn’t control began streaming down her face.
“I’m sorry. This is stupid—”
She didn’t get any other words out as she was yanked against Cain’s chest, his arms surrounding her in a cocoon of safety.
“It’s okay. God, Hayley, what you’ve been through. It’s okay to cry.”
He kept her against his chest as sobs erupted out of her. He murmured soft words about her strength and her spirit and how she wasn’t alone in this anymore.
She could almost feel his strength seep into her. Cain could handle anything. Knowing he was on her side made everything seem more bearable.
“Better?” he asked.
She sighed. “Except for being a blubbering idiot.”
He shook his head. “You shouldn’t. I’ve seen trained agents crack under less pressure than you’ve been under. And crying for all of two and a half minutes doesn’t count as cracking.” He pulled her close to him again.
Hayley breathed in his scent. It hadn’t changed much in all these years. Deep
and musky and uniquely Cain. She hadn’t thought she’d ever really experience it again.
“Ready to go?” he asked, without pulling away from her.
She nodded. “Let’s go get our son.”
A half an hour of brisk walking later they made it to the town.
“What do we do, call a cab?” Hayley asked.
Cain shook his head. “No. We’re too far south of Gainesville and it will be the first thing the cops look for.”
“Do you want me to call Ariel and have her come get us?” Hayley didn’t like the thought of bringing Ariel and Mason closer to the danger, but knew she and Cain had to get out of here.
“No. We’re going to steal a car.” Cain shrugged. “Since we’re already fugitives and all.”
He didn’t look too worried about it, so she didn’t press. He found an old truck parked near the back of the town’s hardware store. After ripping out the small panel and crossing some wires, they were on their way.
She shook her head. “You know, considering I’m the ex-con, you sure do have some lawbreaking skills.”
He grinned at her, that grin she hadn’t seen since high school. The one that still melted her heart, and certain intimate clothing pieces. It was all she could do to not reach over and brush that errant dark curl off his forehead.
“Sometimes to help keep the peace you have to know how to break the law.”
A line she never thought she’d ever hear from Mr. Black-and-White.
A call from Officer Perowne had them going to his apartment rather than Hayley’s. Cain put it on speakerphone.
“I was here with them, like you asked, when a call came over the scanner,” Perowne said. “A domestic dispute call, with a child involved.”
“Let me guess, it was for Hayley and Ariel’s address.”
“Yep,” Perowne replied. “I got Ariel and the boy out quick, but almost wasn’t fast enough. The squad car got there maybe twenty seconds after we made it to my car.”
“Did you see who it was? Because that’s probably somebody else on the killer’s payroll.”
