“What mission?” Eden spat. “Hope is out of her reach. Nicole’s in custody and facing multiple life sentences. Who knows what’s going on with her now?”
“So Nicole was involved?” Max asked.
“Up to her beady little eyeballs,” Vince said. “We need to find that car.”
“You won’t,” Cole said. “Simone’s right. She’ll have had a plan. Nicole said something about a trailer park in West Sac, near the river. They lived there. It’s where they buried Tyler. That’s what this is about. Tyler.”
“Because he killed Chloe?” Max asked.
“He didn’t mean to kill Chloe,” Eden said. “He meant to take Allie. It was always supposed to be Allie.”
“What are we waiting for?” Max couldn’t begin to fathom the amount of guilt Allie must be feeling at that revelation, nor could he just sit around and do nothing while Allie’s life was in jeopardy. “Let’s get the address and go!”
“We will. But there’s nothing stopping Mina from killing Allie the second she sees us,” Cole said. “We’re going to have to wait.”
“Until when?” Max demanded.
“Until dark,” Vince said with a slow nod. “Allie’s strong. She’s smart. She’ll hang on.”
“And she’ll know we’re coming,” Simone added. “First thing’s first. Let’s find that trailer park and go from there. Don’t worry, Max. We’ll get her back.”
“We’d better,” Max said, determined to make it happen. He appreciated Allie’s friend’s offer of a strained smile, the only thing he could cling to for now. “No way am I letting her out of this life before one of us wins that bet.”
* * *
The SUV stopped. Allie had lost all feeling in her arms and legs. It had been hours. At least she thought it had been hours. She’d forgotten how many times she’d fallen asleep and for how long. She was so hot. Sweat poured down her face, stinging her eyes. Her strength was gone. What she wouldn’t give for a sip of water, a breath of fresh air, anything to remind her that she was still alive.
That she still had a chance.
The music clicked off. The engine went quiet. The driver’s door opened and closed, and the latch on the hatch released. Fresh air swooped in. Allie choked, tried to inhale slowly, deeply.
She blinked into the darkness.
No lights. Nothing but pitch-black in front of her aside from the dim light cast by the taillights. What time was it?
Mina Goodale stood in front of her, her gray clothes as dull as the sallow tint of her skin. Eyes as dead as her son’s stared down at Allie, the woman’s jaw working overtime.
Allie didn’t cry, didn’t want to give her the pleasure of seeing that. She refused to give in. Not to the fear and not to this woman who was so far gone she’d murdered her other son.
Mina reached in and ripped the tape off Allie’s mouth.
She tried not to make a sound, but she failed. Her skin burned where the adhesive had stuck. Allie pushed herself up, tried to kick out her dead legs only to have Mina reach in, grab her by the front of her shirt and haul her out of the SUV.
Allie turned her head at the last second and took the brunt of the fall on her shoulder. Pain radiated through her entire body, but she welcomed it. She groaned, rolled over and gasped for air as Mina pulled out a knife and sliced through the tape binding her feet.
“Going to end this once and for all,” Mina mumbled. “Going to do what he should have done that first night and buried you so deep not even the Gods of the afterlife could find you.”
She left Allie on the ground as she returned to the car, pulled a shovel and flashlight out from the back seat.
A calm blanketed Allie as Mina returned. All that was left was her tied hands, and now that she was moving, she could regain enough circulation to snap off the restraints. Depending on how far she had to walk to her grave.
Mina grabbed Allie by her shirtfront again and dragged her to her feet. Allie gasped as her feet prickled to life. She stumbled to the side, leaned against the car before Mina shoved her forward and down a slope.
“Move. Straight ahead,” Mina ordered in a tone that made Allie wonder if she was salivating. Madness had overtaken her. She had only one thing in mind and she was going to make that happen no matter what it cost.
She had nothing left to lose.
Neither did Allie.
Mina clicked on the flashlight, and for the first time, Allie could see where they were, could hear the river rushing in the distance. Another field, only she could see trailers and RVs in the surrounding distance. She glanced behind her, spotted the tip-top telltale golden outline of the Tower Bridge. West Sacramento.
She’d been right.
Relief swept through her. “Tyler wouldn’t want this, Mina.” Allie tried to sound professional and reason this situation out; it was all she could do to try to play for time. “He didn’t mean to kill Chloe, which means he wouldn’t have killed me. You’re getting it wrong.”
“Stupid girl. My boy didn’t have it in him to kill anyone,” Mina said. “Would think you’d have known that given you were all he ever talked about. Allie and her perfect family. Allie and her perfect friends. He wouldn’t leave without you. So I said we’d take you with us. I told him to go get you.”
“You? You told him?”
“Always was as dumb as a sack of potatoes. Couldn’t even figure out what girl to take. He shows up with that Chloe girl and she’s crying and screaming and wanting to go home. Had to take matters into my own hands when he couldn’t get her to stop, didn’t I? Had to show him what to do. How to take charge.”
“You killed Chloe.” Tears pricked Allie’s eyes. It hadn’t been Tyler. And yet all these years he thought he’d been responsible. His own mother had let him believe he’d been the one to kill Chloe.
“Would have killed you, too, so didn’t matter who he brought. Didn’t expect to spend the next twenty years trying to clean up his mistake. Enough talking. There! I want you right there.”
“How do you know—” Allie’s foot caught on something solid. She pitched forward, landed flat on her stomach.
Mina walked over and flipped the plywood up and over. “A mother knows where her child sleeps. Get up.” She kicked Allie in the ribs.
Allie tightened her stomach muscles, absorbed the hit and rolled up. She scrambled away but not fast enough. Mina pulled out her knife again, and took less care slicing apart the cable tying Allie’s hands.
The blade nicked Allie’s wrists and set them to bleeding.
Allie pinched her lips together hard.
“I said get up.” Mina held out the shovel with one hand as she drew her gun with the other. “And don’t go thinking you can use this against me. I’d prefer you to die slow, but I’ll settle for quick.” She released the safety, cocked the hammer and aimed the barrel at Allie’s head.
Allie steeled herself and pushed to her feet, slowly, as slowly as she could as she counted the heartbeats of life she had left. The headlights from the SUV blinked dark, once, twice. She heard the faint rustle of footsteps.
She stood up straight, held out her hand for the shovel. Moved in.
“Now dig until you find him.” Mina circled around and backed up, kept the gun steady on Allie.
“Any idea how long that might take?” Allie asked as she jammed the shovel into the rocky ground. “I had other plans for the evening.” Nothing like channeling Eden when she was feeling desperate.
“Snide brat. Never did see what my boy liked about you.”
“Too bad you never let him tell you.”
Lights burst to life around them. Allie blinked as Mina turned and aimed her gun toward her attackers. Allie gripped the handle of the shovel in both hands and swung up and around. The dull thud of metal against skull echoed in the night as Mina wen
t still.
The gun dropped from her hand as she fell forward, looking at Allie, her eyes glazed over.
Allie dumped the shovel. Maybe she shouldn’t have. She swayed on her feet.
The next thing she knew, a crowd swarmed around her, voices familiar, barely breaking through the dull roar in her ears. Simone was there, and Eden, and she heard Cole...
“Jack,” she whispered as hands guided her away from Mina Goodale’s body and Tyler’s grave. She kept her eyes pinned on the mother who had destroyed nearly every life she’d ever touched, and took an odd sense of satisfaction at the darkness pooling around her head. “She killed Jack.”
“Jack’s in surgery,” the distant voice told her. Max’s voice.
She looked to her side, found Max there, his hands gripping her arms as he pushed her toward the EMTs waiting beyond the line of lights. “He’s alive?” The hope she’d been tamping down surged.
“So far,” Max said and pushed her into the waiting paramedics’ hands. “Let them look at you, Allie. I want to know you’re okay.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered as gentle hands pushed her into the back of the ambulance. “Max, about Hope and earlier, you were right, I never should have pushed her. I just needed to know. I needed... Chloe.” She blinked and felt tears land on her cheeks. “She killed Chloe, Max. How could a mother do that to a child? Anyone’s child?”
He was right. The whys hadn’t explained anything. Not really.
“I don’t know. And you’ve nothing to apologize for, Doc.” Max bent down in front of her, gripped her hands in one of his as he cupped her face with the other. “We were both wrong and we’ve moved past it now. I don’t want you to give this another thought, okay?”
She nodded as she gazed at his shaggy hair, drawn face. She didn’t think she’d ever seen anything more beautiful in her life. “Shaggy.” The nickname escaped her lips before she realized what she was saying. She brushed her hand down his hair.
The surprise in his eyes broke through the shock. “Now that was just a lucky guess.” He grinned. “Unless someone ratted me out?”
“No rats,” Allie smiled as one of the EMTs moved in to check her pupil response and then her pulse rate. She was hooked up to a blood pressure cuff and then she heard beeps and whines. “You owe me a secret,” she told Max when he started to stand up and move away. “Something no one else knows about you.” She blinked. Her eyes felt heavy. She could feel the darkness pressing in, tempting her to surrender.
“A deal’s a deal.” Max stood up, bent over and pressed his lips against her ear. “I love you, Doc. Joe and Hope might have given me a fresh start, but being with you has given me a new life. You’re stuck with me.” He kissed her, his lips against hers, his glistening brown eyes looking into hers. “Now let us take care of you. And don’t worry,” he added when she grabbed hold of him, her heart swelling so she could barely breathe. “I’ll be there when you wake up.”
She smiled. He loved her. Max Kellan loved her. She wasn’t alone. Not anymore.
“I love you, too, Shaggy.”
His words were enough. His words were everything.
She closed her eyes.
* * *
Max stood aside as Allie was moved to the stretcher, an oxygen mask slipped over her face. His momentary panic at her passing out was quickly eased by the EMTs assurances she had done just that. Everything else was reading normal, but they’d take her to the hospital to be safe.
“I’m going with her,” Max stated and was told they’d let him know when they were leaving.
“You’ve had a busy few days.”
Max turned his head and found Vince standing behind him, pistol sticking out of the waistband of his jeans, an odd expression on his normally stoic face. “Almost makes fighting fires feel like a vacation.” He grinned. His sense of humor was returning, something that would no doubt be irritating everyone near and far sooner than later.
He looked to where Eden and Simone stood beside Cole and his lieutenant over Mina Goodale’s body. His grin faded. “I can’t even imagine what they must be feeling. All these years and to finally have closure.”
“There’s going to be an adjustment period for them,” Vince agreed. “They’ve been focused on this case for twenty years, since they were kids. Now they can start living again.”
“We all can.” And there wasn’t anything he wanted more than to start that life with Allie.
“Speaking of living,” Vince inclined his head. “What are your plans employment wise?”
“Nonexistent,” Max admitted. “Other than babysitter and chauffeur to my niece. I’m not trained for much outside the firehouse.”
“Not true.” Vince’s expression hardened. “Sounds like Allie was right about your confidence issues. I’d appreciate it if you worked those out before you came to work for me. I know a psychologist who might be able to help.”
“Work for you? Where? You mean at your bar?” He could think of worse things than slinging beer mugs and flipping...ugh. Max cringed. Burgers. Ever since he’d worked for a butcher in high school he didn’t do so well with meat.
“As a P.I.,” Vince said with what sounded like exaggerated patience. “I’ve been offered a couple of contracts from insurance companies and I’ll also be working for the DA’s office. I’m going to have lots to keep me busy, probably more travel than I’d like, but I could use someone on the team who understands fire and arson. You’re good under pressure and you follow orders. You also have keener instincts than most people I’ve worked with. I’d need you to get some certifications, of course, and it’ll take some study and time. If you’re interested that is.” Vince shrugged. “Something to think about.”
Max’s heart hammered in a way it hadn’t since he’d decided to become a fireman. It seemed too good to be true, working with people he liked and respected, doing something important and being close to his family. He ducked his head, pinched his brows. “I’m inclined to say yes, but there would be one thing I need.”
“Worst case is I say no,” Vince urged.
There was little Max liked more than a straight-shooter. “A flexible schedule. I need to stick close to home, to Joe and Hope. There’s going to be some adjustments for both of them, too. They’re my priority.”
“I’d have been disappointed if you’d said otherwise,” Vince agreed. “We’ll work it out. What about Allie?”
Max frowned. “What about her?”
“You have any plans for her?”
“Oh, I have plans.” Max’s smile was slow to spread. “And I might just need the rest of you to help pull them off.”
Chapter 19
Somehow, thanks to the healing powers of time and understanding, Allie’s parents’ anniversary party the following weekend wasn’t the nightmare event she’d expected. Not that she hadn’t been anxious for her planned solitary retreat to the tree house, but it wasn’t for the reason she’d been expecting.
Allie stood at the base of the tree, looking up at the house her father had built over twenty years ago. It had been reinforced twice, the wood planks hammered into the ancient oak replaced and solidified. For a moment, she wondered if the opening was big enough for her to squeeze through.
“Only one way to find out.” She grabbed hold and stepped up, climbing the ladder until she poked her head into what she remembered as a spacious hideaway.
A couple of sleeping bags and blankets were huddled in the corner, a stuffed rabbit sagged beside them and a plastic tea set was tipped over on the makeshift table.
Her hideout growing up had been her refuge, her safe place. And for a few years, Tyler had been her companion, sneaking up here at night so they could look at the stars. Later, it was where she went to cry and talk to the friend she’d lost.
Except she’d lost two friends that day:
Chloe and Tyler. Tyler, who had been as much a victim of life’s tragedies as Chloe.
Whatever guilt she’d expected to feel at having ended Mina Goodale’s life never quite manifested in the way she’d thought it would. She’d been cleared of any wrongdoing, which wasn’t surprising, since she had at least a dozen police officers and an assistant DA as witnesses, but Allie hadn’t been able to shake this odd detachment from what had happened the night Mina kidnapped her. It was almost as if it had happened to someone else.
There would come a time, she supposed, when her mind would be ready to process it all, but she wasn’t in any rush. She wasn’t in any rush about anything these days.
Well. Maybe there were a few things.
Allie stooped down and looked out the window with the crooked trim that gave her a long view of the backyard. The chicken coop and vegetable garden were still in full operational mode, with her mother and father holding court with their family and friends.
She could still feel the unusual sensation of her mother’s arms around her hours after her parents had arrived at the hospital. Allie almost hadn’t known what to do when Sitara and Giles had offered a heartfelt apology for how they’d treated Allie.
It was an important step, she admitted, one that had been induced by what she’d only just learned was a rather vehement suggestion from Eden, Simone and Max. How she wished she’d been privy to that conversation.
“There you are.” Max poked his not-so-scruffy head through the opening. “Eden said she thought she saw you headed this way. Wow.” He glanced around at the tree house and gave an appreciative nod. “This place isn’t half-bad. Remind me to bring Hope up here before we leave.”
Allie smiled. “I’d love to show it to her.”
The little girl was doing remarkably well and had taken it upon herself to drop the “Doctor” from Allie’s name. It made sense due to Allie’s decision to change the focus of her practice. She’d still work with children occasionally, but hearing Max talk about the difficulties his friend Bixby had gone through, she wanted to work with firefighters, police officers, vets...those who were dealing with life-changing injuries or events. And her consultations with the police department and FBI? She was done for the most part.
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