Run, Hide

by Carol Ericson

“I wanted you and the money. Just to prove I could do it. I figured I’d let Zendaris stew a little, blame you, go after Jenna and Gavin and maybe even succeed. But you were too good for him, Cade. The idiots he hired couldn’t keep up with you. So I decided to help him.”

  “How was that plan going to help you get to me?”

  “You’d be so distraught at losing your wife and son, you’d need a shoulder to cry on, and I would’ve been there for you.”

  His laugh was a sharp bark of disbelief. “Never. Would’ve. Happened.”

  “Or—” she twirled a strand of hair around her finger “—I could be the bad guy and sell those plans to whoever I want for big bucks. I’d share it all with you. You, Beth and I.”

  “Beth’s dead.”

  Her brow wrinkled. “No, I’m doing this for Beth, too. I always made things right for Beth. I taught her how to cheat on exams. I...uh...handicapped the competition in a big race she had. This horrible professor was bothering her and I got him in trouble. Beth didn’t know how to go after what she wanted, so I made sure she had it. Now I’m going to make sure she has you.”

  Abby’s loose hold on reality could only help him at this point. “You would share that money with me?”

  She stopped twirling her hair and yanked some strands from her head. “Yes.”

  “I really wanted to hang on to those plans myself, but I just couldn’t do it.”

  She nodded. “You see, I can do those things that you can’t bring yourself to do. I’m not bothered by my conscience. I know you worry about being like your father, but you don’t have to. I’ll be him for you.”

  A chill seized the back of his neck. How did she know so much about him? “What happened in the warehouse, Abby?”

  “I shot Jeff and hit myself on the side of the head. He was going to get you and Jenna all relocated in some nice, cozy place. I couldn’t allow that.”

  Sweat dampened his brow. How was he going to get to Jenna and Gavin? If he tried to walk out now, Abby would shoot him, and God knows what would happen to his family.

  “Of course you couldn’t allow that. What now? Should we go to your mother’s house and tell Jenna our plans?”

  Abby’s jaw dropped and the gun wavered—for a second. “M-my mother doesn’t live near here.”

  “Come on, Abby. You don’t think I knew all along that your mother lived two doors down on this same street?”

  “Why didn’t you say something before?”

  “I wanted to wait and see how this all unfolded. I didn’t realize you had the plans. That changes everything.”

  “I’ll take you there on one condition.” She pointed to the floor. “Give up your weapon and slide it toward me.”

  Every instinct in his body screamed no, but he had to get to Jenna and Gavin. He had to see if they were okay.

  He reengaged the safety on his gun, ducked down and slid it toward Abby’s feet. Keeping her weapon trained on him, she scooped up the gun. She shoved it between the cushions of the couch.

  “Now open the door slowly and don’t try anything.”

  As he opened the door, he could feel her breathing down his neck.

  “Turn to the right and keep walking. It’s the house with the flower box at the window, but then you already know that.”

  If only J.D.’s text had come sooner. The house with the flower box would’ve been Cade’s first stop.

  Low lights seeped from beneath the drawn blinds. When they reached the porch, Abby tossed him a set of keys. “The big, gold one opens the dead bolt and the lock on the handle.”

  Cade shoved the key in the dead bolt and stopped. “Is there anyone else in there?”

  “Not yet, but I have one of Zendaris’s men on speed dial, and he’d be more than happy to collect his cargo.”

  Gritting his teeth, he pushed open the door. His gaze swept the dimly lit room, and a pulse throbbed in his temple. “Where are they?”

  “The house isn’t that big. They’re in the back. Your kid’s sleeping. I gave him a little something to help him along.”

  Cade’s fingers itched to wrap around Abby’s throat, but he put one foot in front of the other to get to his family.

  Abby jabbed him in the back with the gun. Could he spin around and take her right now? She’d have no problem shooting him.

  “It’s this room.”

  Cade pushed open the door, and his blood percolated through his veins, hot and rash. Abby had bound and gagged Jenna and she lay diagonal across the bed. She hadn’t bothered with Gavin, parking him on the floor in the corner.

  His little legs were drawn to his chest and he had one arm curled beneath his head to act as a cushion from the hard floor.

  Jenna’s eyes widened above the gag and she choked.

  “Don’t get too excited, Jenna.” Abby lined her back up against the wall and leveled the gun at Cade. “We’re here to tie up loose ends and you’re one of them.”

  “Has Jenna properly met you, Abby?”

  “No, she wasn’t in any condition to carry on a conversation after I spiked her wine.” She waved the gun at Jenna. “Take her gag off.”

  Cade crouched by the bed and loosened the tie behind Jenna’s head, cupping her face as he did so. Her eyes, as blue as the Pacific, told him everything. She trusted him with her life right now and the life of their son.

  And he wouldn’t let them down.

  “Step away.”

  Blocking his action from Abby, Cade caressed Jenna’s cheek before he pushed away from the bed, the gag dangling from his hand. “This is Abby, Jenna. She’s Beth Warren’s twin sister and has decided to take her sister’s place at Prospero. She’s the one who hacked into my computer and stole the anti-drone plans.”

  Cade allowed Abby to babble on about her plans so that Jenna could understand how truly crazy she was.

  Jenna took it all in, peppering Abby with questions. Jenna was playing it just right—not panicked, not fearful, not whiny. When had that adorable rich girl he’d married turned into this strong, capable woman?

  Must’ve been when she had to.

  “So, what’s the upshot, Abby?” Jenna rolled to her back, toward the edge of the bed, giving Cade a hard stare.

  His pulse leaped. Could she roll off the bed toward the wall and cover Gavin with her body while he tried to take down Abby? What happened if he missed? What happened if Abby shot him?

  Jenna and Gavin would be at her mercy with nothing standing between Abby and whatever evil plan she concocted next.

  “The upshot—” Abby straightened her spine along with her aim “—is that I’m going to call my contact with Zendaris and tell him his hostages are waiting. Then I’m going to sell the plans to the highest bidder.”

  Jenna scooted closer to the edge of the bed. “What’s the point of that now? When Zendaris has me and Gavin in his clutches, it’s not like Cade is going to run to your arms for comfort.”

  “But you’ll be out of the way.” Abby’s brow wrinkled. “Cade will need someone, and Beth will be there for him.”

  Cade tensed every muscle in his body. “Beth or Abby?”

  “B-both of us.”

  Jenna whispered. “You killed Beth.”

  Abby’s hand began to tremble for real this time. “No. I did this for Beth, and Beth is part of me. She’ll never die.”

  As a sob wracked Abby’s body and the gun wavered, Cade yelled, “Now!”

  He ducked and charged at Abby. The thump from the other side of the bed told him Jenna had rolled off the mattress.

  He drove his shoulder into Abby’s midsection while grabbing for her gun hand.

  She wailed and got off a shot. Cade smashed her body against the wall, his fingers encircling her wrist. She yelped in pain but wouldn’t release the gun.

  He twisted her hand so that the gun was pointing away from him. Slowly, slowly, he turned the gun toward Abby.

  Her panting stopped. Her dark eyes bore into his, and then she squeezed the trigger.

  Th
rough the blood spattering his face, he watched the light die from Abby’s eyes.

  Jenna screamed. “Cade? Cade?”

  “I’m okay. It’s Abby. She’s dead.”

  Epilogue

  Cade grabbed the chains of the swing to slow it down so Gavin could jump out of it for about the hundredth time that morning. When Gavin’s legs got closer to the ground, he launched himself out of the swing, flying in the air for a few seconds before landing in the sand.

  Cade grinned at his son rolling over and over in the sand. Daredevil. Like father, like son—and this time, that was okay.

  Gavin hopped to his feet and scampered toward the yellow plastic slide to join another boy heading down on his stomach.

  Holding up his hands, Cade yelled, “I’m taking a break.”

  A woman sitting near the slide looked up from her book. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”

  “Thanks. I’ll be right over there.” He pointed to a picnic table with Jenna sitting on top and J.D. straddling the bench.

  He joined Jenna on the table. “I think the SEALS could adopt some training from the playground.”

  J.D. punched him in the leg. “Man, you need to get in shape. All that lolling around in hotel suites has made you soft.”

  “Ah, I think we were in that suite for maybe six hours.” Jenna grabbed Cade’s hand. “You owe me some pampering. I had to wear flea market clothing and makeup from the drugstore.”

  “There’s the girl I married.” He kissed the side of her head.

  “You’ll get lots of pampering where you’re going. Wish I could get an all-expenses-paid trip to Europe.” J.D. reclined on the bench and folded his hands behind his head.

  “I wish we could go home.” Jenna squeezed Cade’s hand tighter.

  “We will. I can feel it, right, J.D.? This old cowboy’s going to pick up where we left off and if he doesn’t nail Zendaris, Gage will.”

  “Damn straight.” J.D. crossed one booted ankle over his knee. “We’re getting close, and now that Zendaris knows Abby Warren had the plans, he’s going to get sloppy in his haste to get them back.”

  “But what did she do with the plans?” Jenna waved at Gavin playing with his new friend. “Maybe she already sold them.”

  Cade shook his head. “No way. That girl was nuts—brilliant and calculating, but nuts. She didn’t know what to do with the plans once she hacked into my computer.”

  Jenna asked, “You know for a fact she had them?”

  J.D. nodded. “We know she sent the first page to Zendaris as proof. We confiscated that computer, but that’s all she had on there—the first page.”

  “So where’s the rest?”

  “While you two head off on your European vacation, I’m going back to D.C., where Abby lived before she took up residence in her twin’s life.” J.D. hoisted up to his elbows. “I’m going to find those plans, and then Gage is going to find Zendaris.”

  Cade laced his fingers with Jenna’s and kissed her pursed mouth. He wanted to kiss away her worries forever. “If anyone can do this, Prospero Team Three can.”

  “Look, Daddy!” Gavin was dangling by one arm from the top of the slide like a monkey.

  Cade knocked J.D.’s legs from the bench with a well-aimed kick. “You look too comfortable. Go do your duty as an honorary uncle.”

  J.D. eyed him and Jenna through half-closed lids as he hoisted himself off the bench. “I can take a hint.”

  While J.D. loped toward the slide, Cade turned to Jenna and cupped her face in his hands. “I can’t wait to start our lives together, even if that life begins in Europe.”

  She cinched his wrists with her fingers and met his gaze. “That life began the moment I met you, Cade Stark. You were always the man for me.”

  “Even when you lost faith in me?”

  “I never lost faith in you—could’ve strangled you for doing the right thing when you left us to keep the secret of Gavin’s birth from Zendaris, but never lost faith in you.”

  “You’ll teach me to be a good father.”

  Turning her head, she laid her lips against his palm. “You don’t need lessons. All Gavin needs is your love and protection, and you’ve provided that over and over.”

  And then, even with his son hooting and hollering at them, Cade took his wife in his arms and kissed her long and deep.

  * * * * *

  Brothers in Arms: Fully Engaged continues next month.

  Look for Carol Ericson’s CONCEAL, PROTECT

  wherever Harlequin Intrigue books are sold!

  * * *

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  Chapter One

  Three months later

  “Dugan is out.”

  Miles’s fingers tightened around his cell phone as he wheeled his SUV around and headed toward the station. “What?”

  His superior, Lieutenant Hammond, didn’t sound happy. “Based on the Kelly woman’s murder and some technicality with the chain of evidence when they’d searched the man’s place, Dugan’s lawyer got his conviction overturned.”

  The past few weeks of tracking down clues and false leads day and night taunted him. He released a string of expletives.

  Hammond cleared his throat. “If we’d found evidence connecting Dugan to a partner, maybe things would have gone differently, but...”

  Hammond let the sentence trail off, but Miles silently finished for him. If he and Mason had found such evidence, Dugan would still be in a cell. And the world would be a safer place.

  But they’d failed.

  The day Dugan’s verdict was read flashed back. Dugan’s threat resounded in his head—you’ll pay.

  “Now that he’s back on the streets—”

  “I know. He’s going to kill again,” Miles said. And he’s probably coming after me.

  His cell phone chirped, and he glanced at the caller ID. Marie’s number.

  Damn, she was probably on his case for working again last night and missing dinner with Timmy. He’d thought he might have found a lead on the copycat, but instead he’d only chased his own tail.

  The phone chirped again.

  You’ll pay.

  Panic suddenly seized him, cutting off his breath. Dammit...what if payback meant coming after his family?

  “I have to go, Hammond.” Sweat beaded on his neck as he connected the call. “Hello?”

  Husky breathing filled the line, then a scream pierced the receiver.

  He clenched the steering wheel with a white-knuckled grip. He had to clear his throat to speak. “Marie?” God, tell me you’re there....

  But the sudden silence sent a chill up his spine.

  “Marie, Timmy?”

  More breathing, this time followed by a husky laugh that sounded sinister, threatening...evil.

  Dear God, no...

  Dugan was at Marie’s house.

  He pressed the accelerator, his heart hammering as he sped around traffic and called for backup. The dispatch officer agreed to send a patrol car right away.

  A convertible nearly cut him off, and Miles slammed on his horn, nearly skimming a truck as he roared around it. Brush and shrubs sailed past, the wheels grinding on gravel as he hugged the side of the country road.

  Images of the dead women from Dugan’s crime scenes flashed in his head, and his stomach churn
ed. No, please, no...Dugan could not be at Marie’s house. He couldn’t kill Marie...not like the other women.

  And Timmy...his son was home today with her.

  The bright Texas sun nearly blinded him as he swerved into the small neighborhood where Marie had bought a house. Christmas decorations glittered, lights twinkled from the neighboring houses, the entryways screaming with festive holiday spirit.

  Somehow they seemed macabre in the early-morning light.

  He shifted gears, brakes squealing as he rounded a curve and sped down the street. He scanned the neighboring yards, the road, the trees beyond the house, searching for Dugan.

  But everything seemed still. Quiet. A homey little neighborhood to raise a family in.

  Except he had heard that scream.

  His chest squeezed for air, and he slammed on the brakes and skidded up the drive. He threw the Jeep into Park, and held his weapon at the ready as he raced up to the front door.

  Cop instincts kicked in, and he scanned the outside of the house and yard again, but nothing looked amiss. He glanced through the front window, but the den looked normal...toys on the floor, magazines on the table, TV running with cartoons.

  Only the Christmas tree had been tipped over, ornaments scattered across the floor.

  He reached for the doorknob, and the door swung open. His breath lodged in his throat, panic knotting his insides. No sounds of holiday music or Timmy chattering.

  Gripping his weapon tighter, he inched inside, senses honed for signs of an intruder.

  Slowly, he made his way through the den to the kitchen. The Advent calendar glared at him, mocking him with a reminder that Christmas was only a few days away.

  There was a half-empty coffee cup on the counter and an overturned cereal bowl on the table. Milk dripped onto the floor.

  Timmy...God...

  Terror seized him.

  A creaking sound suddenly splintered the air, and he swung around, braced to shoot but he saw nothing. Then another sound came from above, water running...the shower? No, the tub...overflowing...

  He clenched his jaw, then inched toward the staircase, slowly climbing it and listening for an intruder, for Marie, for his son.