by Laura Scott
“You’re a good guy to have around in an emergency.”
Liam gave a mock bow. “Aw, shucks, ma’am. Ain’t nothin’.”
She grinned at the exaggerated accent.
“Now, if only I could sprout wings,” he added, “I’d fly us out of here.”
Once again, she smiled in appreciation of his humor. The truth was, though, there was little to laugh about in their situation. The wind picked up, and she shivered in clothes wet with mud.
“We’re stuck in the middle of nowhere, and I’m guessing we don’t have cell coverage.” She let her gaze travel over the sweep of earth and sky. The beauty of God’s creations never failed to move her, but the mountains and valleys didn’t make for good cell reception.
She said as much to Liam, causing him to pull his phone from his pocket. “You’re right.”
“I wish I wasn’t.” She looked around, got her bearings. “The highway should be about five miles east. We’d best start walking.”
He looked down at her shoes. “That’s another thing I remember about you. Sensible shoes. Even in high school.”
She followed his gaze to her well-worn high-tops in hot pink, her favorite color. Right now, she could have used a pair of hiking boots, but the sneakers would have to do. “I never saw the point of wearing shoes that you can’t walk in.”
With that, she took point and prayed her sense of direction wouldn’t lead them wrong.
So many things could have happened in the last few minutes. She and Liam could have been killed as they jumped from the car. They could have been seriously injured. Other motorists could have been killed as the car careened down the highway.
But none of that had happened.
Thanks to the Lord. She recognized His hand in saving them. She said a silent prayer in her heart, knowing that the Lord heard every prayer, however it was uttered.
She slanted a glance Liam’s way. She longed to urge him to give thanks for their safety, but she didn’t.
He would undoubtedly take it as preaching, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. To her mind, preaching defeated the purpose of bearing testimony of the Lord’s love, so she remained silent.
Gratitude to the Lord couldn’t be forced. It had to be freely given, as was His love. She wished she could convince Liam of that and that she could share with him the healing balm of His care.
Liam’s gaze rested on her. “Your eyes reveal your every feeling.”
His words startled her from her musings.
“What do you mean?”
“Right now, you were giving thanks to the Savior that we came through this with our skins intact. You’re also wondering why I don’t feel the same.”
“None of my business.”
His short nod of acknowledgment confirmed her suspicions about his feelings if she were to share her faith in the Lord right now. “Thank you for not preaching to me.”
“That’s not my job. Besides, preaching doesn’t work.”
“No. It doesn’t.” He let the subject go. “You’re very transparent. How did you ever make it in the DEA? Isn’t there a lot of undercover work?”
She ignored the last question and focused on the first. “How did you—” She stopped. Of course he would know what she’d done before joining S&J. He’d mentioned that he’d followed her career. In addition, her background was posted on the company’s website.
If he’d done more digging, he would have learned that her fiancé had died on her last operation with the ATF. And that it had been her fault. A picture of Ethan Stockton, his body bloodied and broken, flashed in her mind. With the resolve of long practice, she willed it away.
But there was no censure in Liam’s expression. Only sincere interest. She didn’t pursue the opening he’d inadvertently provided about not being a believer. She had too many secrets of her own to pry into those of others.
* * *
Liam wasn’t surprised that Paige had been praying. Nor did he begrudge her faith. He only wished he still believed. As a child, he’d gone to church every week with his parents. While they had listened to the preacher’s message, he’d attended Sunday school. He’d continued attending church until the day that everything had changed forever.
He could no longer believe in a God who had allowed five young people to die so senselessly. The feeling was only confirmed when he’d observed what he had in Afghanistan. Brutality, on both sides, didn’t begin to describe the horrific acts he’d witnessed.
Whatever remained of his faith had vanished.
Paige had handled herself like a pro on the cliff side. She’d been scared—who wouldn’t be—but she’d done what was necessary.
He wasn’t sure what to make of her. She was beautiful, smart and courageous, but there was a shadow in her eyes that spoke of pain. Was she still grieving for her brother? It was possible, but he sensed it was something more.
Now wasn’t the time to probe. Nor were the shadows in her eyes any of his business. Once this was over, they’d go their own ways, she back to S&J and he...well...he might be taking a different path from running the software company. Taking a job with the US Marshals was looking more and more appealing. He wanted to make a difference in the world. Maybe serving with the Marshals was the way to do it.
He checked his phone and found that he had reception. “We’re in range.”
“I’ll call S&J. They’ll bring us wheels.”
Within twenty minutes, two burly SUVs appeared. A giant of a man stepped out of one. Liam gaped, recognizing the man at once.
Raphael Zuniga, known as Rafe the Strafe to those in the special ops community, reached out to clasp Liam’s hand. “I heard you were a client.”
Liam did his best not to wince when Rafe shook his hand. Though Liam was in no way small, his hand was dwarfed by the larger man’s. The two had served together in Afghanistan years earlier. A mutual respect had developed, along with a healthy appreciation for each other’s abilities, but Liam readily admitted that he was outclassed by Rafe, who stood six feet five inches and came in at a hefty 250.
Rafe had a reputation for having a soft heart when it came to kids and animals. Otherwise, watch out. He was a force to be reckoned with, and his reputation among the spec ops community and the enemy had grown until it had taken on legend status. A modest man, he’d been largely unaware of it, making him all the more likable.
Paige stepped forward. “Thanks, Rafe.” She nodded to a second man, who climbed out of the other vehicle. “And the big man himself. Jake Rabb, meet Liam McKenzie.”
Liam studied the cofounder of S&J with interest. Shelley Rabb Judd and Jake Rabb had built the firm from a modest two-person operation to one that was now internationally recognized with offices all over the Southeast and in a couple of other countries. “Thanks for helping us out,” he said, his nod including both men.
“No problem.” Jake tossed a set of keys to Paige. “You okay?” he asked, eyeing her arm with concern.
“Nothing a bath and clean clothes won’t take care of.”
“Heard you had a little problem.”
“You could say that. We almost ended up at the bottom of a canyon, along with Liam’s car.”
Rafe raised his eyebrows. “What’ve you gotten yourself into?” he asked, looking first at Paige and then at Liam.
Liam quickly outlined what had brought him to S&J. “Paige is helping me sort through it.”
“If anybody can do that, it’s Paige.” Jake winked at her, then his expression sobered. “Do you need backup?”
“We’re handling it.” She turned toward Liam. “Let’s go back to the office and get cleaned up. Then I want to find out who hacked your car.” Determination vibrated in every word.
Liam slammed a fist into his palm, the smacking sound mimicking what he’d like to do to the men who had hacked his car. “And tried to
kill us.”
THREE
Four hours later, after a trip to the hospital, where Paige’s arm was put in a proper sling, and a shower and change of clothes, Liam and she were once more on the way to Willow Springs. The SUV belonging to S&J was a powerhouse, and they made the trip without incident.
Before leaving the office, Paige had set up a program to trace the hack into Liam’s car’s operating system. If they were fortunate, the program would give them a username. In the meantime, they had work to do.
Liam was more grateful than ever that he’d sought help from S&J. Paige had jumped right in and made his fight hers.
“Cheer up,” she said as she navigated the congested roads out of the city. “We’re making progress.”
“How do you figure?”
“Someone tried to kill us. That means he’s running scared.”
Liam snorted, thinking Paige had a strange idea of progress. “Whoever it is already tried to kill me. Forgive me if I don’t see a second attempt as progress.”
The pessimistic outlook wasn’t like him, but two attempts on his life in only a couple of days tended to take the humor right out of a person.
“But this time he didn’t try to make it look like an accident. The hacking is traceable. It’s provable,” she said. “We’ve got something to take to the police when we decide to involve them, which I hope is sooner rather than later.” An earlier attempt to tell the police what he suspected was met with outright disbelief.
“You’re right. On both counts. Maybe there’s a way to put an end to this before anyone else has to die.” He shoved a hand through his hair. “You’re pretty great, you know that?”
“How so?”
“You jump from a speeding car. You get tossed down the side of a cliff. You climb your way out with a sprained arm. And you don’t complain. Not once.”
“I was complaining plenty when the ER doctor decided I needed a tetanus shot.”
“You scared of a needle?”
“Not much. Well,” she amended, “maybe a little. And it was a really big needle.”
He laughed. “In that case, your fear is perfectly justified.”
“That looks good on you,” she said.
Some of the tension fell away from him, and he felt more like the young boy he’d once been, ready to take on the world.
Reality intruded far too quickly, though, reminding him that he was no longer that idealistic boy, certain he could change the world for the better. He had seen too much of the world’s violence and hatred and had come away sobered by the ugliness he’d witnessed. Waging war on those who preyed on his country and other freedom-loving countries had made him stronger, but it had also stripped away his innocence.
“What?” he asked.
“Laughter.”
“There hasn’t been much to laugh about lately.”
“No, I guess there hasn’t.”
Paige was quiet after that, her profile in repose, giving him the opportunity to notice the soft line of her cheek, the firm set of her jaw.
No woman had truly caught his interest since his wife had left him and Jonah. Though he’d dated a few times, he’d only been going through the motions. There’d never been a second date.
He kept his mind on the trip to his hometown and did his best to keep it off the very appealing Paige Walker.
The small town located west of Atlanta’s sprawl hadn’t changed much since Liam had left it fifteen years ago.
Memories too powerful to deny crowded his mind. Though Willow Springs was only a scant twelve miles from Atlanta, it might as well have been twelve hundred in terms of growth and progress.
Two white clapboard churches stood as sentinels on either end of Main Street. A dress store advertising “ladies’ fine apparel” occupied a small storefront, flanked on one side by the town’s only barbershop and on the other by the VFW. Veterans and nonveterans alike congregated outside, always ready to swap a tale that grew with each telling.
Liam recalled that, according to his father, his grandfather had marched in the town’s first veterans’ parade celebrating the end of WWII.
It was a good town. Or it had been. The accident had claimed more than five lives—it had claimed much of the town’s spirit, as well. The high school graduation that year had been subdued, the celebratory air associated with such events conspicuously absent. Everyone had done what they could to bring a festive note to the occasion, but the effort hadn’t been enough. In the end, the graduation ceremony had been cut short, even the mayor’s normally robust speech unable to rouse the newly minted graduates and their guests.
“It hasn’t changed much, has it?”
Paige’s question penetrated the murky mire of the past. “No.”
“I’ve been back a few times,” she said, surprising him. “I wanted to see if it was like I remembered.”
“What did you decide?”
“On the outside, yes. But the feeling was different. It was as though the town and everyone in it were only going through the motions.”
That mirrored his own thoughts. “I remember a headline from right after it happened. ‘Bus accident claims five of Willow Springs’ finest and brightest.’ Every time I went out, I felt like people were pointing to me and whispering, ‘He’s the one that let our kids drown.’”
“Could be that’s you projecting your own feelings. What I heard is that you were a hero. And that’s what I told anyone who said different.”
“You were in the minority then.”
Paige reached for his hand, giving it a quick squeeze. Though she didn’t say anything, the simple gesture warmed him through and through. When she released his hand, he felt the loss.
They began with the family of Liam’s best friend, Danny Howard. The two had competed in football and basketball and just about everything else and had come out at the end closer than ever. Far from resenting the competition, they’d used it to be their best.
Danny had been good-natured and an admitted class clown. College hadn’t been in his future, and he’d accepted that, always planning on going into the army. It hadn’t taken a degree in psychology to know that was why Liam had entered the army shortly after graduating from college with a degree in engineering. Honoring Danny’s memory that way was the only thing Liam had been able to do for his friend. Plus, he had desperately wanted to make a difference in the world, to protect his country, as both his father and his grandfather had done.
The exterior of the house was as he remembered. Neat. Well maintained. Until he looked more closely. Chipped paint around the door. Piles of rotting leaves left unraked. Mr. Howard had once been fanatic about keeping up the house and yard.
Liam didn’t want to believe that his friend’s parents had anything to do with the so-called accidents. The Howard family had been a second home to him, Mr. and Mrs. Howard another set of parents. He’d tried to keep in touch, but when his letters had been returned unopened, he realized that the relationship he’d once cherished had died along with his friend.
Danny’s father opened the door to their knock. He recognized Liam immediately. “McKenzie. What are you doing here?” The gruff voice was not at all what Liam had remembered of his friend’s father. Nor was the combative stance of arms folded across his chest and legs spread, firmly planted.
“Mr. Howard. It’s good to see you.” Liam introduced Paige to his friend’s father, who ignored her and fixed his gaze on Liam.
“Why are you here? We’ve got nothing to say to each other.”
“Mr. Howard,” Liam tried again, “I need to talk with you. If you could spare us a few moments of your time—”
He opened the door and pointed to two chairs. “Say what you’re going to say and get out. I’ve got no use for you. No use at all.”
Liam and Paige each took a seat. He gave a thumbnail sketch of the accidents th
at had claimed three lives.
But the older man didn’t seem to be listening and ignored Liam’s explanation for the reason of the visit. “You and Danny were best friends,” he said. “How could you have let him die like that?” Accusation and grief warred in the man’s voice, the years in no way softening either.
Liam understood both, had felt the biting sting of accusation and the bruising pain of grief himself. Now he attempted to give that understanding to a man who glared at him with soul-piercing contempt.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Howard. Sorrier than I can say. If I could have saved Danny, I would have. I’d have given my right arm for him, as I know he would’ve for me.”
Liam’s failure to save his best friend still ate away at his soul in the dark corners of the night. When the driver fell asleep, the back end of the bus was hit because he was swerving. Rosemary had been trapped by the damage, and the others had convinced Liam to go for help because he was the strongest swimmer. They’d said that they would free their friend and be right behind him. Liam had done as they’d urged.
When it was all over, many had blamed Liam for not staying behind to help free Rosemary, claiming his added strength could have helped save her and his closest friends. If only he’d been quicker, stronger, smarter and gotten back to them sooner. If only...
“You have a strange way of showing it, coming here and accusing me of what...killing three people and then trying to kill you?” The man’s mouth stitched tight on the last word.
It turned out he’d been listening after all.
“That’s not what we’re saying,” Paige said, speaking for the first time. “We’re trying to find out who’s picking off the survivors and put a stop to it. We thought you might have some ideas.”
“You’ll get no help from me. Good riddance to them, I say.” He clasped his hands together, wrung them, then looked down at them as though he didn’t know how they’d ended up in his lap.
