by Sommer Smith
* * *
Lauren felt completely alone, even though Grayson and Cole had sent in extra men from the Marshals Service for protection while they were gone. They had been on duty out along the road to the house, watching since just after Paretti had shown up. He couldn’t have planned his breach any better, it seemed.
Shayla was downstairs babysitting him in case he decided to share any more information or try anything stupid. The new guys weren’t exactly the social type. Lily was sleeping, and though it was still in the wee hours of the morning, Lauren was wide-awake. She was worried for Grayson’s safety, and that concerned her, as well.
Sure, it was normal to want someone to be safe, but the knot of anxiety in her stomach didn’t indicate a typical level of concern. She kept thinking about all the things that could go wrong. What if it was a trap? What if the kidnapper had it all planned out and decided to kill them if they showed up in place of his hired man without the baby? He could be watching, and he would know who Grayson was. So many scenarios played in her head. So many things could happen.
Trying to distract herself, she turned on the TV. The local news was on, and coincidentally, the reporter was talking about Arnie Romine. Interested, she paused and listened to the report.
“Some say Romine’s organization has been a rival of the Harmon gang for decades, but we have no confirmation of that story at this time. We do, however, know that three members of the Harmon gang have been shot. Two are dead, while one is in critical condition. Only one man associated with Romine has been reported injured, but onlookers say they believe one other man was dragged into a nearby vehicle with possible injuries, as well. Some onlookers say that there have been threats about a possible war escalating between the two gangs.
“A source says Harmon may be after Arnold Romine’s alleged child. Other sources say the gangs have reached an agreement. Local police are investigating the matter at this time.” The pretty reporter nodded at the camera and sent the transmission back to the studio reporters, but not before Lauren got a glimpse of a nice neighborhood strewed with crime scene tape in the background. A black Cadillac Escalade riddled with bullet holes sitting along the curb not far behind the reporter illustrated the severity of what had happened there.
These were the kinds of people who wanted Lily... This was the kind of danger such an innocent child was in.
Lauren turned off the television and walked over to the sleeping baby. Looking down at the innocent face, she allowed all her bottled-up tears to release. She just stood there crying for several minutes, letting the tears cleanse her—body and soul. But when they stopped, she took a deep, almost violent breath. It was time to toughen up. She was going to protect this child if she was the only one who could. She would do whatever she had to do to keep Lily safe.
She would either keep her safe or die trying.
She went to find Shayla as soon as she was assured that Lily’s monitor was working well. She only intended to be gone a moment, anyway.
Shayla met her on the stairs. “Oh, Lauren. I was just coming to check on you and Lily. Is she sleeping?”
At Lauren’s nod, disappointment came over Shayla’s face.
“I will let you know when she wakes, and if you aren’t busy, you can hold her then.” Lauren smiled at her. “But I wanted to talk to you about something I just saw on the news. It might affect Lily’s safety.”
“What is it?” Shayla turned her head sideways in question.
“Do you know anything about the Harmon gang and their rivalry with Romine’s?”
“Just that there is one. What does that have to do with Lily?” Shayla looked confused.
“The reporter said that a war is escalating between the two gangs and that Harmon’s gang might be after Lily. They called her his ‘alleged child,’ but I’m sure it was her they referred to.” Lauren was shaking. She was so afraid for Lily. If she was Romine’s daughter, he at least wouldn’t harm her, but this rival gang... That was a whole other story. They might do anything to get to Romine.
Shayla had paled, as well. “Maybe the reports are false.” But she put a hand to her head. “How did they find out about Lily? No one except the parents, a few marshals and a handful of hospital staff is supposed to know anything about her. They have been asked to keep it quiet. Someone is talking. And something isn’t right.”
“Somehow they have found us everywhere we go with Lily. How could that be?” Lauren was afraid to voice what she feared.
Shayla did. “I have to call Grayson. I think we might have a leak.”
* * *
Grayson had allowed Cole to drive, only because he wanted to be the one to remain in the car when they made the switch. The plan was to get the woman in the car before she knew Grayson was there. If she would take them to the next drop spot, they would be able to identify and arrest another of the kidnapper’s people. The more of his cohorts they could get to cooperate with them, the closer the marshals would be to capturing the kidnapper himself. Eventually, they would hit on someone who knew where he was. If not, sooner or later, he would come after the baby himself—whoever it was behind this.
The roads wound tightly through the hills, so their pace was slower than Grayson would have liked. It was too dark to see much, but the heavy copses of trees on either side of the road made it feel closed in and shut off from the rest of the world. Clouds drifted in front of what little sliver of moon there was. The rain they had been hammered with the last few hours might still be hanging around.
“According to Paretti, the gas station should be up here on the left.” Cole gripped the steering wheel of Paretti’s Honda Accord. “You’d better get in place.”
Grayson had to work to get his tall, muscular frame out of sight behind the driver’s seat. Thankfully, Cole’s legs weren’t quite as long as his, so he’d moved up the seat enough to give Grayson some room. The child carrier was on the opposite side and he hoped the woman wouldn’t look too closely before getting into the car. If she realized it wasn’t really the baby, she might do something stupid.
The ideal situation would be to stay hidden and let her take the child to her destination, but it would be impossible for his presence to go undetected for so long. So he intended to show her his badge once she was where she couldn’t flee, then have her continue with the plan. Cole would follow at a safe distance in the exchange vehicle until they reached their destination.
Grayson couldn’t see much from his awkward position, so Cole spoke quietly, giving him the layout. “She’s here. We are parked between the gas pumps and the road, under a dim streetlight. Her vehicle is a small crossover SUV. Looks like one of those newer Toyotas. It’s dark red. It has the star-shaped sticker on the back glass that Paretti said he was to look for. There’s no one else here and the station is closed. I will leave in the opposite direction, so as not to tip her off too early, and double back.”
Before Grayson could have any second thoughts, Cole was getting out of the car. His thoughts went unexpectedly to Lauren. Was she safe with Carlos and Jeff, the marshals who’d taken his and Cole’s covers when they’d left? Was Lily giving her any trouble? Did she get any rest at all?
As if in response to his thoughts, a text came through from Shayla.
More trouble. Harmon gang could be involved. Text back ASAP.
Would Lily and Lauren be safe until he could get back? Was Shayla prepared in case of another attempted kidnapping while he was gone?
He shook away the thoughts. It was a bad time to be having them. Of course Shayla could handle it. She was one of the most competent marshals he knew. He needed to focus. He had a job to do.
Grayson could barely make out the voices as Cole and the woman exchanged words. Then it was quiet as she opened the car door. He felt her weight shift the seat in front of him as she settled into the car. A thud and a puff of air came as she closed the door and the engine sputtered to life
. Grayson steeled himself, willing every muscle in his body to remain still.
She never looked back, just sped onto the highway, throwing gravel as she went. She hit the gas with a heavy foot and took the first curve a little too quickly. The thought occurred to Grayson that whoever the kidnapper was, he clearly wasn’t too concerned about the child’s safety. This woman drove like a maniac.
Before Grayson could make his presence known, she was on the phone. “Yeah, I’ve got the package. Headed your way. I don’t know. Sure, I’ll check.” She disconnected.
When the woman slowed to turn and check out the child, Grayson rose from his crouch behind the seat, badge at the ready, his other hand on his Glock, just in case. He spoke before she could react. “US marshal. Listen carefully. I want you to keep driving to your appointed destination. I have a gun and I will use it if you choose not to cooperate.”
The woman’s eyes widened before she turned to look at the road. Her breathing started coming fast. “Oh my—” She looked back at Grayson again and cursed.
He hadn’t anticipated her reaction. Her calculating eyes were searching right and left. Then they gleamed. Anxiety bubbled up in him. This wasn’t good. What was she going to do?
Before he could guess her intentions, she jerked the wheel, sending the car careening down a steep embankment. Grayson’s head slammed against the side window. The Honda rolled several times, smashing into rocks on the way down.
Grayson, without a seat belt, tumbled heavily around the car’s interior until it finally came to an abrupt rest. White powder from the now damaged bag of flour filled the air like a heavy cloud. The vehicle, leaning against a tree, was up on its side, but the woman wasted no time. The driver’s door was facing the sky, but she pried it open with considerable strength for a woman her size and began to hoist herself out. Grayson waved the flour cloud out of his face as he scrambled to follow, not entirely sure nothing was broken, but not about to let her get away. He couldn’t see her well through the powdery haze, but he could see enough to know she was on the run.
She hopped down and, as he’d expected, took off at a quick sprint. “Hey! Stop!”
Getting his large frame out of the car proved more difficult than Grayson had anticipated, giving him a new appreciation for the woman’s strength and agility. He would have a fun time chasing her down with his banged-up frame.
He pulled his Glock, shooting at the ground near her feet, hoping to scare her into stopping. No help there. She jumped and picked up speed.
He hopped from the car and chased her into the woods, calling Cole on the run. “Hurry up, buddy. The woman pulled a crazy stunt. I’m pursuing on foot.”
“Almost there,” Cole reassured him. “I see where the car went off the road.”
The woman was agile, but slow. Grayson’s long legs quickly caught up with her, and he rolled her to the ground in one swift motion. He had cuffs on her by the time Cole came skidding down the embankment.
“I thought you needed backup?” He shot him a look of disappointment.
Grayson jerked the woman to her feet. “Nah. Just a ride home.”
SEVEN
Lauren’s pulse ratcheted up a few notches as the unfamiliar vehicle pulled up to the house in the early morning light. She froze by the temporarily repaired living room window, uncertain if she should make a run for Lily or call for Shayla.
Relief swept through her when she recognized Grayson’s handsome face through the windshield. He had never looked better as he got out of the car to reveal scrapes and bruises along his square jaw and temple. He saw her watching him and sent her a crooked grin. Heat suffused her cheeks, but she continued to watch as he helped Cole haul a woman out of the car. She was young, maybe in her early twenties, and had thick dark hair that hung past her shoulders. She wore heavy bangs across her forehead, and attitude was written all over her face. She was pretty tiny, though, which Lauren found comical in comparison to the attitude.
Grayson followed them up the porch steps to the door, where Lauren met him.
“Grayson, are you okay?” Lauren touched his cheek and then thought better of it, pulling back.
“I’m fine. Miss Angelina Burris here thought it would be fun to thwart our plans by driving down a steep embankment to try to get away.” Grayson gestured to the woman Cole was bringing into the house. Shayla was coming up the basement stairs.
“Shayla, let the boss know they’ll need to pick up two today instead of one.” Cole took the woman past Shayla and down the stairs to where Paretti was still being held.
“Wow. It’s been a busy night.” Shayla laughed. “I’ll let him know.”
“Where’s Lily?” Grayson asked, running a hand across his forehead.
“She’s sleeping. You should shower before the others leave. I can help Shayla and Cole if they need me.” Lauren plucked some grass from his shirt on the back of his shoulder.
“I need one that bad, huh?”
She avoided his question. “Are you sure you aren’t injured anywhere?”
“I’m good. I’ll be back in ten.”
Grayson strode off to the shower, not a hint of fatigue in his self-assured manner. She shook her head at his inexhaustible energy.
Lauren wanted to go down the stairs to see what was happening with the woman, but she didn’t want to interrupt without permission. She didn’t know if they would be okay with it. Grayson had allowed it the first time. She would just have to wait for Grayson to tell her about everything that was happening.
Shayla came up the stairs then, rolling her eyes. “Cole doesn’t want to start questioning her until Grayson gets back, so here we are. I’ll wait with you until he’s done.”
Shayla plopped her skinny frame down on the sofa, so Lauren sat in the chair across from her. “He won’t be long.”
“That’s good, because I’m not usually good at being patient.” Shayla laughed, shaking her blond head.
The two women sipped coffee and discussed some mundane things, along with rehashing what they knew about the case so far. It just felt like they were missing something that might tie it all together, but no amount of talking about it was making things any clearer. Lauren couldn’t help feeling this sort of job would have some frustrating moments.
Shayla, however, seemed to love the thinking process and going through the details repetitively to try to solve the mysteries surrounding the case. Lauren found her joy was contagious.
“Are you ready to go help Cole interrogate, Shayla?” Grayson asked, entering the living room. His hair was damp, and the scent of the masculine shower gel he had used drifted into the room alongside him. Lauren tried to ignore the surge of interest that rushed through her.
Shayla rubbed her hands together. “Of course. But before we do, Lauren is going to fill you in on the details about the escalating gang war.”
“Yeah, I didn’t really know what to think from your text. We never quite connected on that. What exactly is going on?” Grayson looked from Shayla to Lauren and back again.
“Romine’s people are warring with the Harmon gang.” Shayla stood. “They shot up a neighborhood last night in Houston.”
She had gained Grayson’s full attention. “Really? That’s terrible. Although, I can’t say I’m all that surprised. If Romine is behind this, maybe it will detract some of his attention for a day or two. If he has other things to worry about, maybe he’ll stop looking for the baby.” Grayson frowned even as he made the hopeful statement.
“You don’t believe that, though, do you.” Lauren’s soft voice made the assertion.
Shayla grimaced. “A man like Romine has so many resources... He probably isn’t even near Houston. It could be a long time before Lily’s safe—if ever.”
“Yes, we need to get the WITSEC paperwork done and set her up with a new identity. She’s going to need to disappear.”
Lauren
felt a hard knot swell in her chest. “You mean put her in witness protection? But she’s not a witness. And she’s just an infant. Isn’t that a little unorthodox?”
Grayson shoved his hands in his back pockets. “Unorthodox, maybe, but it may be her only chance. You’d be surprised at how often it happens. Do you want her growing up in the middle of gang wars and drug-lord rivalries?”
“Absolutely not. But why not just put her up for adoption? If her mother doesn’t come back for her, that is.” Lauren couldn’t imagine any mother choosing not to return for such a precious child. It saddened her to think of the rough start this tiny girl was getting in life.
“For one thing, Lauren, that would endanger any family that adopted her. She has to disappear, or her life will remain in danger.” Grayson looked at her sympathetically.
Grayson spoke calmly and rationally, but Lauren didn’t like hearing any of it. What kind of life was that for a child? What kind of future would she have? They had no guarantees they could ever completely shut down Romine’s crime syndicate. Someone might always be out to harm Lily.
She squeezed her eyes shut. This was one of those things to put in the Lord’s hands. It wasn’t something she could rectify.
“Lauren, it’ll be okay.” Grayson had appeared right beside her. Shayla had disappeared to help interview their captives, and he and Lauren were alone in the living room. He reached a hand out and grasped hers. When she looked into his eyes, she saw strength, empathy and understanding. He was offering her a pillar of support. “I’ll make sure of it.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
Not just for caring for Lily, but for offering her someone to lean on. She didn’t have to say it, though. When he squeezed her hand, she was sure he knew.
* * *
Grayson circled their captive one more time, barely containing his fury. “You nearly killed us both, Miss Burris. The least you can do is answer my questions.”