Watching Their Steps

by Alana Terry

  He was an important part of my life for a season, Sandy had said. Her mom was so wise. Lacy hoped that she’d eventually learn to do the same thing with Kurtis. Move on. Accept the good times they’d had without wishing they could continue. With him, though, it was harder. Kurtis had never jeopardized her life, never cost her four years of pain and isolation. Still, she would have to go forward. She considered her placement in South Dakota God’s way of giving her a new start. How many people would kill for a chance like that? Forget all the mistakes of the past, forget all the doomed relationships, the wasted time. A chance to start over with a clean record.

  Lacy was trying to be grateful for that.

  It was a start.

  Chapter 27

  “SO HERE WE HAVE YOUR identification.”

  Lacy took the card Drisklay handed her and stared at the picture, a close representation of herself on a South Dakota driver’s license. Marissa Hummel. Well, it was better than Jo. Her birthday had changed. She was a year and a half older now. Fifteen pounds heavier. She hoped that wouldn’t prove prophetic. She flipped the card around as if there would be more to discover about herself there.

  “Birth certificate.” Drisklay passed her the crisp page, and Lacy stared at the names of parents, dates, and cities she had never heard of. She’d have to get used to it. This was her life now.

  “My folks made you a resume. I think you’ll find you have a little more to work with than what we gave you last time.”

  Lacy’s hands shook just a little as she held up the paper. Right there on top was an associate’s degree dated three years ago. She doubted if whoever put it there would realize how vindicated it made her feel. Those community college credits she took in Massachusetts hadn’t been completely wasted after all.

  She scanned her employment history. Marissa Hummel had volunteered at an animal shelter since high school and then worked various retail jobs before moving to nowhere, South Dakota. “This would be great if I ever want to work at Petco.”

  Drisklay took a sip of coffee. “Good. You’ve got an interview there next week.”

  “Where? At Petco?”

  He strummed his finger on his disposable cup. “I figured you could use a break from kids.”

  Lacy took a deep breath. It was a lot to take in. Of course, it was going to feel a little overwhelming. But she could get used to it. She was older now, more mature. There were worse jobs than working at a pet store, right? She had been reading in Philippians a few nights ago and came across a verse about complaining. Do all things without complaining and disputing. For the first time, Lacy experienced what Carl and Sandy and other Christians talked about, how reading the Bible could reveal your own sinfulness. It wasn’t as pleasant or exciting as they all made it sound.

  She thought back over the years she spent in Glennallen, how she’d always found something to complain about. The weather, the mosquitoes, the daycare kids. She had grumbled incessantly about Drisklay and the witness protection program even though they were the ones who kept her alive.

  She wasn’t going to live like that until she withered up and died a bitter old woman. So what if Petco wasn’t the future she’d pictured for herself? She couldn’t change it. It wouldn’t be easy starting over, but she could do it.

  She hoped.

  Drisklay handed her the rest of the small file. High school diploma. Childhood shots record. Last, he held up an unmarked envelope.

  “What’s this?” she asked.

  He cleared his throat. “This is something my team and I have decided to leave up to you.”

  She wasn’t sure she liked the way he was looking at her.

  “Your assailants will be looking for a single woman, so we agreed we had to come up with a different cover.”

  He opened the envelope and handed her a slip of paper.

  “Certificate of divorce?” Lacy read.

  Drisklay nodded. “This guy, this Frank Bulgari, you married him right out of high school, divorced him a year and a half later. No contest. No kids. No baggage. Just a blip on the radar.”

  Lacy didn’t want to touch the page. There was something else Drisklay wasn’t telling her.

  “That’s option one.” His fingers hesitated before he pulled out another form. “Here’s option two.” He passed her the document.

  “A marriage license?” Lacy stared at it. “What, you’re giving me an imaginary husband? I think people will eventually figure out that I’m not living with anybody.”

  “That’s why we have a gentleman pre-screened and chosen for the job.”

  Lacy was sure she misheard him. Was this his way of making a joke? Pre-screened? He couldn’t really think he could take two perfect strangers, bind them together with his forged marriage license and actually expect them to live together, could he?

  She reached for the divorce paper. “Give me that one.”

  Drisklay chewed on his red coffee stirrer. “Before you make up your mind, maybe you want to meet your potential husband.” He glanced at the document. “A certain Mr. Hank Murphy.”

  The name sounded like a sixty-year-old plumber. Not Lacy’s idea of a romantic conquest.

  “Mr. Murphy is a gym teacher at a private Christian school. Baseball, football ... You name it, he can coach it.”

  Lacy stared at the forged wedding certificate. “So you found this guy who’s willing to marry a girl he’s never met and ...”

  “It’s not quite that simple,” Drisklay interrupted. “He’s got experience that would allow him to offer certain protective services. And he’s on the run too, you see. So in a way, hiding you two together would be a two-for-the-price-of-one deal from our end of things.”

  That’s what this was all about? Lightening his paperwork load?

  “I really don’t think ...”

  Drisklay pulled out one more envelope. “Before you make up your mind, take a look at the file we have on him.”

  She rolled her eyes but did as he requested. Hank Murphy’s portfolio was about like hers. Birth certificate, college diploma, driver’s license ... She pulled out his identification and squinted at the grainy photo. “Wait. Is that ...?”

  One corner of Drisklay’s lips curled up in an unsettling grin that looked completely out of place and unpracticed on his otherwise expressionless face. “I’d like to introduce you to your potential husband, Mr. Hank Murphy.”

  He turned his head and mumbled something into his hand-held radio.

  The front door opened, followed by the pitter patter of excited, tiny feet rushing down the hall. “Daddy says you might be my new mommy!”

  Lacy had already gotten down from her chair and knelt on the ground to catch Madeline, who ran with arms outstretched for a hug. Lacy nuzzled her face in Madeline’s hair, surprised by the tear that was sneaking down her cheek.

  “Daddy says the bad men who tried to shoot you are angry with him because he arrested one of their friends. He says we get to move to a whole new state, and if you say so, we can all move together and you and Daddy will be married, and I’ll be your daughter, and I’m never allowed to say anything about Alaska because it’s a really big secret and we don’t want the bad guys finding out where we are, so it’s kind of like hide and seek, and won’t you please marry Daddy so we can all be a family?”

  Lacy didn’t know what to say. Was this some sort of trick? Drisklay’s attempt at humor? She looked up at him, saw him hiding a wide smile behind his coffee cup.

  Lacy rose to her feet. Kurtis stood behind his daughter, looking both shy and hopeful. “For the record,” he said, “I voted against the big surprise entrance.”

  Lacy stared at him. Blinked her eyes to make sure all this was really happening. It had to be a dream.

  He took a step forward. “Munchkin and I have to lay low one way or another.” He brought his face closer to Lacy’s and whispered, “We’ve already gotten two death threats, and I caught an intruder lurking around the daycare.”

  The acid in Lacy’s stomach cu
rdled. Someone had gone after Madeline?

  “I called Drisklay, told him what was going on. Said I had to leave anyway, so why couldn’t I leave with you? Help keep you safe and get the munchkin away from all the drama. I guess he thought it was a good idea.” Kurtis took her hands in his. “I don’t want to rush anything. If you’re not ready, if you need more time to think about it ...”

  Outside, a marching band played a slightly off-key rendition of The Stars and Stripes Forever.

  Kurtis shifted his weight and took a small box out of his pocket. “But, well, I’ve already got this ring, and it is the Fourth of July ...”

  He dropped to one knee and opened the case. Madeline was hanging on his arm, beaming as bright as Alaska’s midnight sun.

  “Marissa Hummel, will you be my wife?”

  Madeline let go of her dad to wrap her arms around Lacy’s leg. “Please?” she begged.

  Lacy didn’t know if she was doing more laughing or crying. “Yes,” she answered. “Yes, I will.”

  Kurtis slipped on the ring. It was a perfect fit.

  Madeline bounced up and down, clapping her hands. “Goody, goody, goody!”

  Drisklay cleared his throat. “We better get down to business if we want to have you three in South Dakota by tonight.”

  More music from the parade floated by. Kurtis and Lacy sat down in front of the pile of documents. Drisklay stirred his empty coffee cup. “So now that we’ve settled on that, let’s talk about your new life.”

  From the Author

  DID YOU ENJOY READING Identity Theft? Now that you’re to the end, you can dive directly into more heart-stopping, page-turning, edge-of-your-seat Christian suspense with a special three-in-one box set.

  If you liked Identity Theft, you’re going to love the Kennedy Stern novels — the most binge-worthy Christian suspense series available today.

  Join Kennedy Stern as she starts her life as a first-year college student. Even though she grew up on the mission field, Kennedy’s a lot like any other student her age — trying to keep up her grades, grow in her spiritual walk ... and stay alive one more semester.

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  Dive into this bestselling series with the first three-in-one box set today. (Just be prepared to stay up late ...)

  Learn more about Alana Terry and her books at www.alanaterry.com

  Out of Circulation

  Hemlock Creek Suspense Book 1

  Heather Day Gilbert

  OUT OF CIRCULATION

  By: Heather Day Gilbert

  Copyright 2016 Heather Day Gilbert

  PUBLISHED BY WOOD HAVEN Press

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, posted on any website, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations in printed reviews and articles.

  Series: Gilbert, Heather Day. Hemlock Creek Suspense; 1

  Subject: Romantic Suspense Stories; Genre: Suspense Fiction

  Chapter 1

  REARRANGING THE NEW books, librarian Katie McClure reflected on just how completely her dreams had run aground.

  Growing up, she’d always planned on joining the FBI, where her father had worked for fifteen years. But a permanent foot injury and her dad’s early death had negated that plan.

  So much for doing anything memorable or spectacular. It seemed God had a funny sense of humor, derailing her noble aspirations and sticking her in the podunk West Virginia town she grew up in.

  “Miss Katie, where’s the latest Georgia Ray book? I’ve read five in the series and can’t find the next one.”

  Katie snapped out of her funk, directing the young patron to the correct Juvenile Fiction shelf. The girl’s mother, searching for her own reads in Adult Fiction, shot her a grateful smile.

  Returning to the New Releases shelf, Katie caught sight of a tall man she’d never seen at the Hemlock Creek Library before. He seemed out of place in his urban button-down and slim dress pants. His wavy, nearly-black hair set off crystal-clear blue eyes. He winked in response to her gawking, and she mentally kicked herself. Seriously. Her life was so boring that instead of bird-watching or stargazing, she’d resorted to nearly salivating over some handsome man perusing library shelves?

  Sighing, she decided to reorganize the week’s display books by color, starting with red. She’d worked up a small grouping of her favorite reads when she glanced toward the Reference section. Something caught her eye.

  A man in a mask.

  She didn’t hesitate to scream. “Everyone hit the floor!” Why wait around to see if the man had a gun?

  Her boss, Reba, shot her a quizzical look from the floor behind the front desk. Katie pointed toward Reference, breathing slowly and pondering what she could use as a makeshift weapon, should the masked man move her way.

  Sure enough, black combat boots marched straight toward her. Probably hadn’t been the smartest move to shout and draw attention to herself, but she had to do something to protect the library patrons—especially the children.

  She slid a chunky, oversized book from the shelf, hoping to hurl it at the fast-approaching man. She was utterly exposed in the middle of the floor.

  Out of nowhere, the dark-haired stranger crept her way, positioning himself in front of her. “It’s going to be okay,” he whispered.

  As the masked man rounded the corner, his unnaturally golden eyes narrowed, taking in Katie’s would-be protector before fixing on her. A shorter masked man with a submachine gun trailed behind him, glancing around nervously.

  A thick, foreign voice filled the air. “Ms. McClure—”

  How did he know her name? Had he targeted her?

  She closed her eyes, breathing a prayer she couldn’t even put into words. Seemingly in direct response, police sirens wailed and tires screeched to a halt on Main Street.

  The men exchanged glances, then bolted for the side door that gave way to an outdoor reading area.

  Everyone stayed frozen for a few moments. A slight whimpering sounded from the Children’s Section, followed by a mother’s soothing murmurs.

  Katie’s tried to de-escalate her ragged breathing. The man had known her name. But why? What had he wanted from her?

  As police officers burst through the doors, the dark-haired man lightly tapped her shoulder, pulling her back to reality. He stood, thrusting out his hand to help her to her feet.

  “Thank you.” She tried to keep her balance, but stumbled into him, accidentally reaching for his waist to right herself. Her eyes widened as she realized he had a concealed gun tucked under his shirt. Guns weren’t allowed in the library, but then again, it comforted her to know that if there’d been a shootout, he would have been armed. Who was this guy?

  “So sorry.” Her face reddened, and in return, the man dazzled her with a brilliant smile. For the thousandth time, she wished she could be more like her older sister. Molly didn’t have a stumbling gait like her own. Molly’s hair was a glossy auburn, while hers was a bright, flaming red. Molly always knew exactly what to say to men. Molly had boyfriends in droves, but refused to marry anyone with a salary under $120,000.

  After an intense but brief conversation with the police officer in charge, Reba made an announcement on the library speakers. “The intruders are gone. Please gather in an orderly fashion in the conference room so the police can take statements.”

  “Ace Calhoun,” the man intoned, drawing Katie’s attention back to him. His voice was deep and had a decidedly Northern clip to it. “Nice to meet you. Good thing I was passing through today. I thought I’d get a taste of small-town life, but I’m guessing what happened here isn’t a daily occurrence?”

  She shook her head, still in disbelief. “Not at all.” She took his proffered hand, giving it a weak shake. “Katie McClure. Thanks so much
for trying to protect me.” She kept her eyes on his chiseled face, but couldn’t stop thinking about his concealed gun.

  He seemed to read her mind. “Don’t mention it. I’m just visiting from Manhattan. I came down to attend the Executive Protection Conference. I’m a bodyguard.” He subtly patted his belt holster.

  She nodded mutely, unsure how to respond.

  A young police officer walked over to take their statements. It was more than possible that Ace didn’t want the cops to know he was packing heat in the library, so she left out that tidbit as she explained the course of events.

  When their statements were complete and the officer strode off to speak with other witnesses, Ace smiled. “I really need to get going, but nice to meet you, Katie McClure. Here’s my card.”

  He pressed a business card into her hand, but she pocketed it and watched as he walked toward the library doors. Pushing through the turnstile, he ambled out onto the street without looking back to notice her final wave. She doubted she’d ever see him again—maybe he was her guardian angel.

  ACE CALHOUN WAS ON a mission—a mission he hadn’t wanted to accept. But his boss wouldn’t take no for an answer. “You have to do this job. You owe me one favor, then you’re off the hook.”

  Pretending to be a bodyguard wouldn’t be hard. He knew his way around weapons and bulletproof vests. And his orders—to charm a couple pretty sisters and gain access to their home—couldn’t be easier.

  But he hadn’t expected company.

  Those masked thugs had made it clear they were looking for Katie. Who had tipped them off? This would throw a massive kink into his plans.