by Dana R. Lynn
He took off on foot after the fleeing man. Ryan took care of the injured man still moaning and muttering on the grass. Within two minutes, the injured man was completely subdued, his weapon safely confiscated. The other one had dashed out of reach, jumping into a car and zooming off, leaving his comrade to fend for himself. The remaining youth stared after where his partner had been, glaring, his eyes filled with hatred. Chances are that it wouldn’t go well for his partner if they ever met up again. Not that that was likely to happen. The young man they had in custody was looking at spending the rest of his life behind bars.
Ryan rolled the man on his stomach and tugged his arms behind him, reciting the Miranda rights as he clicked the handcuffs shut.
“You okay, Parker?”
Jackson helped him pull the prisoner to his feet, but his eyes carefully surveyed his friend.
“Yeah. I’m good. I want to check on Elise, though. She’s in the house.”
Jackson nodded. “Safest place for her to be.”
Ryan nodded without responding. He wouldn’t be able to relax until he saw for himself that she was okay. And chances were good he wouldn’t relax even then. Not while she remained at risk and her nephew remained missing.
Jackson shoved the prisoner into the police car. “There’s no way I’m gonna bring this guy into the station. Not with the other one still running loose out there. You need backup.”
“Better call for another car to come get him.”
Jackson nodded. He stepped away from the vehicle so that the prisoner wouldn’t overhear the conversation and made the call. Ryan stood by listening, lightly pounding his fist against his thigh as he waited.
Jackson pressed the end button, then cast him a sardonic smile. “You feeling antsy, Parker?”
“Huh?” Oh. He was acting restless. Forcing himself to still his fist, he straightened. “Ha-ha. No, I’m fine. Just thinking about the case.” He made sure they were far enough away from the prisoner before he brought Jackson up to speed. “Hudson Langor apparently broke into the house yesterday and found the picture that Rebecca had drawn of Leah. He went to Leah’s cousin’s house asking about her.”
Jackson whistled and then glanced at the criminal sitting in the back of his car. “We were obviously right about more than one person being after Elise. Are they working with Langor, do ya think?”
“Not a clue. We should know soon enough.”
Ryan looked his colleague and friend square in the eyes. Jackson’s blue eyes were glacier cold. Just like Ryan, he knew they were against a ticking clock. The Amber Alert has produced no leads so far. Not to mention the fact that so many people were gunning for Elise. But why? Did it all stem from her confrontation with her brother-in-law? Or was she mixed up in something even darker, something she hadn’t told him about? Maybe something she didn’t even fully understand herself? People got in over their heads all the time and then were ashamed to admit it.
As much as he hated to think about it, he knew he needed to keep his guard up around her. He couldn’t trust her absolutely. Not when he still needed to prove himself as a cop.
No one else was going to die because he was distracted by a pretty face.
A wide beam of light startled him out of his reverie. The hum of an engine thrummed up the driveway. Both Ryan and Jackson tensed, their hands going to the service weapons securely attached to their belts. They relaxed as Officer Gabe McLachlan parked behind Jackson’s cruiser. He and Officer Lily Shepherd exited the vehicle. “Hey, y’all,” Mac called. “Chief sent us to get your prisoner.”
“Aren’t you guys off duty?” Ryan asked, even as he helped Jackson transfer the snarling, swearing killer to the other car. Shepherd and Mac were the newbies on the roster. Which meant that they often got stuck with the third shift.
“We will be soon. Had a late-night incident. Just getting back.”
“Gotcha.”
Transfer complete, they watched as Mac managed to turn the vehicle around in the wide drive, only going into the grass once. Pretty impressive. Of course, he had done a short-lived stint as a race car driver.
“Should we go see how Elise is faring?” Jackson broke the silence.
“Yeah.” He looked back to where Mac and Shepherd had recently disappeared. “I’m glad to have you here as backup, but if this is a contract hit, it might be more than our department is prepared to handle.”
The two men looked at each other. Ryan saw the grim expression settle on Jackson’s face. He felt the same way. The chances of ending this case without further bloodshed were slim. And it was impossible to know who would strike next—and where.
* * *
Elise sat on the floor in the kitchen, her arms wrapped around her knees as she leaned back against the cupboard. The gunshots had ceased, but her legs still felt too shaky for her to stand. She couldn’t believe herself. She was a trained 911 dispatcher. She knew what to do in a crisis situation. But all her knowledge had meant nothing when she realized that Ryan was out there being shot at. Shot by people who were coming to get to her. And because of her, that strong, sweet, brave man was putting his life in danger. The final straw had been listening to the silence after all the shots had ceased. Her mind had started to play tricks on her. Maybe Ryan had been hit! Maybe he was even then trying to get to the house.
It was when she realized that her hand was on the dead bolt that she came to her senses. Was she really planning on stepping outside to check on him? Doing that might distract him and put him in even more jeopardy. She had backed away and stumbled against the cupboards, where she had stayed ever since.
The stress from the past three days was taking its toll. She allowed her head to loll to the side and closed her eyes. Weariness pressed down on her. It felt like she had lead weights over her shoulders. Where was her baby? And Leah? She hadn’t really known the girl that well, but she certainly didn’t deserve to be put in danger, especially since she had placed herself at risk to protect Mikey. She whispered a prayer for the teenager she’d hired to clean her house.
Someone knocked on the kitchen door. She jumped. Her heart stopped as the blood roared in her ears.
“Elise? Elise—open the door. It’s me—Ryan. And Jackson’s here, too.”
Scrambling to her feet, Elise rushed to the door, tripping over her own feet. Her fingers trembled as she undid the main bolt and slid the safety chain back. It seemed to take her forever to open the door. When she did finally open it, it was all she could do not to throw herself into Ryan’s arms. He represented all that was safe in her world right now. She restrained the impulse. Wouldn’t that be a great way to embarrass both of them?
“Did you get him? Was it Hudson? Are you okay?” The questions tumbled off her lips one after the other. As she sucked in a breath she noticed that both Parker and Jackson had amused grins on their faces. Suddenly she felt defensive and lifted her chin. “What?” A soft chuckle rolled out of Ryan. As the smooth sound rolled over her frayed nerves, she shivered. And chastised herself for it. She didn’t have time for this.
“I wasn’t sure you were going to give me time to answer any of those questions.”
Heat crawled up her face. It had been a long time since she’d been this rattled. There was a reason for it, that was true. But, deep inside, she hated the fact that Ryan was the person who was seeing her acting this way.
The smile slipped off Ryan Parker’s face as quickly as it had appeared. Suddenly the man standing in front of her was all cop, searching for a killer. And for her nephew, the one bright spot in her life.
No, that wasn’t true. No matter what happened she always had God’s light with her. She’d not been as faithful as she should have been in the past few years, allowing other people, other situations, to come before her relationship with God. Right now, though, she knew that she needed Him to help her to overcome and survive. No matter what happened, she couldn’
t allow herself to put God on the shelf again, talking to Him only when she needed Him. He deserved better from her.
“Elise...” Ryan’s voice broke through her reverie. She shivered at the intensity in it. “This is gonna be hard for you to hear, but it’s important. The two guys that were out there—”
“Two?” she squeaked.
Those chocolate-brown eyes softened. “I’m sorry, Elise. But, yes, there were two men out there with guns. I recognized both of them. If I had to guess, I would say that they were contracted to kill someone.”
He didn’t say, but she understood his message. “Someone put a hit out on me?” Her ears buzzed. A wave of light-headedness hit her. She barely noticed the strong arms that swept her up and carried her to the front room before everything went black.
When she came to again, she was lying on the sofa, with a fleece throw tucked over her. That almost made her laugh. It was eighty degrees outside, and she was sweating under a fleece blanket. All laughter fled when she noticed the two worried police sergeants standing over her.
“I’m okay.” She sat up. Ryan moved forward to help her, but she waved him back. “Seriously, Ryan. I’m good now.”
He didn’t look convinced, but he backed up, letting her have her space. She needed to take charge of herself. If she didn’t, he wouldn’t want to keep her in the loop. And she needed to be a part of this investigation.
“Okay,” she said. “So who do you think put the hit on me? Was it Hudson?”
Ignoring the glances that passed between the two officers, she waited it out. Surely they’d tell her something if she was patient and didn’t let up.
Finally, Ryan nodded. “It might have been Langor. At the moment, that seems like our best guess. Your sister was correct. We’ve found evidence that Langor had some ties to a crime syndicate.”
She drew in a breath, shocked. It was one thing to have thought it, but quite another to have it confirmed. “Apparently, he was hired to do different jobs. Theft, money laundering. Murder. He was discreet and charismatic.”
“Not to mention the little fact that he didn’t seem to care what they hired him to do as long as it paid well,” Jackson ground out, his voice filled with disgust.
Ryan nodded. “Yeah. That, too. In fact, I talked with the police department that had dealt with your sister’s murder. After we informed them that he was still alive, they looked at his file again. They called twenty minutes ago. They believe that he was paid to kill her, too.”
She’d known it. As frightening as it was to hear it from Ryan, she’d known that Hudson was capable of horrible deeds. And she’d never doubted that he was the one who’d murdered her sister. Nor, if she was honest with herself, did it surprise her that he’d been part of a crime group. Had there been any clues to his true nature when he’d first appeared in their lives? Or had he changed?
It was so long ago she could barely remember.
The couch sagged as Ryan sat down. Jackson left the room. “Elise, talk to me.”
“My sister was all I had for so long, did you know that?”
He shook his head, his eyes never leaving her face. “It’s true,” she told him. “Our parents died when I was two. Karalynne was four years older than me. She was my protector. They placed us with a few different foster families, but it never took. When I was ten, we were adopted. To a family who wanted us only until they had kids of their own. Then we were a nuisance. As soon as I was eighteen, I moved out and stayed with Karalynne. When she got married, I found my own place, but we were always each other’s best friend. Hudson tried to stop that. He deliberately set out to separate her from those she loved.”
Her phone chimed. So did Ryan’s. Within seconds, the dispatcher radio in her kitchen went off. She recognized Monica’s voice.
Several departments were called out, including LaMar Pond. “Shots fired on Mountain Lodge Road. Multiple entrapment.”
Jackson ran back into the room. He and Ryan stared at each other. Mountain Range Road wasn’t that far from her house. It could have been a coincidence, but she didn’t believe that. And, judging by their expressions, neither did Ryan or Sergeant Jackson. LaMar Pond was a small town. Two incidents involving guns in a single day was almost unheard-of.
Had Hudson struck again?
EIGHT
What else could possibly go wrong? Ryan didn’t even want to pursue that line of thought. Too many things could go wrong. Without knowing how widespread the contract on Elise was—and he was pretty sure that’s what they were dealing with—the threat had just multiplied. Exponentially.
“Are you going to take me back to that motel?” Elise asked. Her words were meek. Her tone was anything but. And why not? The idea of trying to keep her safe in that motel with a single door between her and the outside world was ludicrous. One patrol car stationed outside the door was not going to be enough to protect her, and they didn’t have a large enough force to put much more manpower on the scene.
“Honestly, Elise, at this point, I have no idea what we’re going to do.”
She was spoiling for an argument. Having grown up with two sisters, he knew the signs. He also knew that she wasn’t mad at him. Rather, she was upset at the current situation. Most likely, she felt she had no control. He got that, and still he wasn’t going to argue with her.
It was almost a relief when his phone rang.
“Hold that thought.” He lifted a finger to stall Elise. The sparks that shot from her eyes were almost hot enough to burn him.
Swiping a finger smoothly across the front of his phone to unlock it, he answered the call. “Parker here.”
“Parker, it’s...Mac.”
Mac? It sure didn’t sound like Mac. The voice on the other end was weak and harsh. Gasping. It sounded like he was having trouble breathing. Ryan’s senses went on high alert.
“Mac? Buddy, you okay? What’s wrong?” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jackson’s body snap around in his direction before striding toward him.
“Tires shot out. Car flipped. On its roof. Lily’s unconscious.” Ryan straightened, his glance shooting to Jackson, whose expression was flat, although concern shimmered in his eyes. Lily Shepherd had come on board around Christmas, the same time as Mac. She was quiet with a sharp wit. An excellent cop and a genuinely kind person. She was one of them. And now she was hurt. Mac, too, though at least he was still conscious. Mac continued, his voice growing weaker with each word. “The prisoner...he’s gone. Dead. Two guys. They shot him through the window.”
“Did you get a look at them?”
Mac drew in a harsh breath. “They came at us on motorcycles. Helmets on. Never saw...faces. And when the car flipped... I blacked out. Didn’t see where they went. Trouble breathing...”
Pulse racing, Ryan drew in a deep breath to calm himself. He was grateful that the shooters hadn’t decided to finish off the police officers. He frowned. Grateful, but surprised. It seemed a little off that they hadn’t taken the time. Unless they had another agenda. One that focused on the woman standing mere feet away from him. He tensed. Elise was still their main target. No matter how much she protested, they needed to move out. Now.
Mac coughed on the other end of the line, his labored breathing lingering.
“Mac, where are you? Did you radio in your condition? I didn’t hear the siren go off.”
“Just did—”
At that moment, the pagers and the dispatcher radio Elise had in the kitchen all went off. Ryan instinctively flicked his gaze back to Elise. The argument had drained from her face, leaving it paper white.
He ended his call to Mac, saying a quick prayer for the safety of his two colleagues. They were good officers, good friends.
“We’re getting you outta here now,” he said to Elise, deliberately keeping his voice brisk. He wasn’t going to argue. Not anymore. This was too important.
&nbs
p; A sigh huffed out when she nodded.
“Where are we going?”
That was a good question. The motel was, of course, out of the question.
He thought quickly. “For now, why don’t we head back to the station? I need to update the chief. He might have some suggestions for where you can stay.”
He had to give her credit. She didn’t argue. Sure, her lips tightened up and her hazel glance narrowed, but she followed him with no further argument. Ryan appreciated her acceptance. Feeling that time was their enemy, he and Jackson moved quickly to get her to the front door, pausing there to look around warily, making sure the coast was clear.
“You go first,” Jackson murmured, his face blank. “I’ll be right behind you. And once we’re both behind the wheels, I’ll drive out first.”
He shot Jackson a concerned glance. Others might not recognize it, but he had known Jackson long enough to know that when his face went blank, he was dealing with strong emotions. Something about this was deeply upsetting his friend. There was nothing he could do, though. He respected Jackson’s privacy. And, anyway, now wasn’t the time to press him to talk.
Nodding, Ryan got himself and Elise into the cruiser and waited for Jackson to back out first. At the road, Jackson waited for Ryan, allowing him to move onto the road without running the risk of another car coming in between them. Without hesitation, Ryan flipped on his lights as soon as he started forward. Jackson followed suit. They both held off on the sirens. The strobe lights from two police cars would be enough to keep most people out of the way.
It was almost six when he escorted Elise into Chief Kennedy’s office. Her eyes cut to the side of the desk where the chief kept his prized possession: a picture of himself and his wife, Irene, on their wedding day. Standing with them were AJ and Matthew, Irene’s sons, and the chief’s beloved stepsons. Briefly, pain flared in Elise’s eyes before she turned back to the chief, seating herself in the chair he offered her.
