Safe House Under Fire

by Elisabeth Rees

  No matter where they hide

  her pursuer always finds her...

  Bank clerk Lilly Olsen’s the only witness who can identify a vicious conman—and nobody who’s seen his face has ever lived to testify. While entering protective custody with FBI agent David McQueen is necessary, the pair can’t agree on anything when it comes to managing Lilly’s teen daughter. And everywhere they go, danger follows. Is it just coincidence...or has someone betrayed them?

  “There’s a fire in the basement and we need to leave immediately…”

  Lilly looked down at her robe and slippers. “Can’t we get dressed first?”

  “There’s no time,” said David. “I want to be out of here before the fire department arrives, so we only have five or six minutes at the most.”

  “You’re talking like they’re the bad guys.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of, Lilly,” he said. “Henderson might be masquerading as a firefighter again. We have no way of knowing who to trust.” He pointed to her open bedroom door. “Go get your daughter, and let’s leave.”

  David’s partner approached the front door as someone knocked. “The fire department got here really quick. It looks like they’re doing door-to-door checks.”

  The locks turned just as David realized what was about to happen. “No! Don’t do it.”

  It was too late. The door flew open with a bang, kicked firmly with a firefighter’s boot.

  “I just want the woman and the girl,” Henderson said from behind his mask. “Give them to me…and I’ll let you live.”

  Elisabeth Rees was raised in the Welsh town of Hay-on-Wye, where her father was the parish vicar. She attended Cardiff University and gained a degree in politics. After meeting her husband, they moved to the wild rolling hills of Carmarthenshire, and Elisabeth took up writing. She is now a full-time wife, mother and author. Find out more about Elisabeth at elisabethrees.com.

  Books by Elisabeth Rees

  Love Inspired Suspense

  Caught in the Crosshairs

  Safe House Under Fire

  Navy SEAL Defenders

  Lethal Exposure

  Foul Play

  Covert Cargo

  Unraveling the Past

  The SEAL’s Secret Child

  Innocent Target

  Safe House Under Fire

  Elisabeth Rees

  And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

  —Ephesians 4:32

  For my daughter, Alys

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader

  Excerpt from Mountain Hostage by Hope White

  ONE

  “Astrid, will you please come here this minute. If I have to ask again, you’ll be grounded until Sunday.”

  Lilly Olsen rushed around her living room, plumping the cushions, straightening the throws and arranging the magazines into piles. She hated to return from work to a messy home, so she tried to make life easier by keeping on top of things. Juggling her job as bank clerk with parenting a wayward fifteen-year-old daughter was difficult enough already.

  “Astrid,” she shouted, feeling her patience wear thinner than ever. “It’s eight fifteen. You’ll be late for school and I’ll be late for work.” She muttered under her breath, “Again.”

  “Okay, Mom, you don’t have to yell. Why do you always have to yell?”

  Astrid appeared in the hallway of their one-story home, wearing head-to-toe black clothing, topped off with a velvet beret. She was apparently now going through a goth phase. This came on the heels of a skater phase and a Japanese cartoon phase. She was clearly struggling to establish her identity, and Lilly had learned to pick her battles carefully.

  “You can take off that black lipstick in the car,” she said, choosing to ignore the rest of the outfit. “I have some wipes in the glove box.”

  Astrid flounced past her. “You’re such a killjoy.”

  “Yes, I am,” Lilly said, retrieving her keys from a hook on the wall. “And that’s a good use of the word killjoy, by the way. You have a great vocabulary when you choose to use it.”

  Her daughter groaned and sighed, picking up her school backpack from the hallway floor and opening the front door. As if the day was set against her, a fine mist of rain was falling. Lilly’s perfectly straightened, fine blond hair would now frizz up in seconds.

  “Well, let’s go,” Astrid said with an eye roll. “You were the one desperate to leave.”

  “Don’t you roll your eyes at me, young lady,” Lilly said sharply, sounding horribly like her own mother. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately. Did I do something wrong?”

  “Um, let me think,” Astrid said. “First of all, you gave me a totally stupid name.”

  Lilly was aghast. “Astrid is a beautiful Scandinavian name. You should be proud of your Swedish heritage.”

  “Second of all,” her daughter said, beginning to check the numbers off on her hand. “It’s my sixteenth birthday soon and you haven’t organized a thing. You know I want a party.”

  Lilly pinched the bridge of her nose. “I know, I know. We’ll talk about it later, okay?” She ushered Astrid through the door and beeped her car to unlock it. “I’ve been so busy dealing with a very important client at work that it slipped my mind.”

  “And third of all,” Astrid said, following her mom down the path, clomping in her heavy black shoes. “I wanted Dad to come visit for my birthday, but you drive him away all the time with your snarky attitude.”

  Lilly stopped dead, turned around slowly and looked her daughter straight in the eye.

  “Is that why you’re acting up?” she asked. “Are you upset because your father never comes to see you?”

  Astrid avoided her gaze and rubbed an arm self-consciously. “It’s been two years, Mom. I barely remember what he looks like.”

  “And you think I’m the one keeping him away?”

  “Yes.”

  Lilly tried to keep her anger in check. She was the one who had cared for Astrid since babyhood, the one who had borne all of the financial burden and was the sole parent barely coping with the emotional roller coaster of teenage emotions. Lilly’s ex-boyfriend, Rylan, had been her high school sweetheart and had reacted badly when she became pregnant at the age of eighteen. She’d wanted to do the right thing and get married, but he was adamantly against it. Instead, he’d abandoned her, gradually lessening contact until finally moving away from their small hometown of Oakmont, Pennsylvania, when Astrid was only four years old. He now lived in California, and Astrid was fortunate if she received a Christmas card or a rushed phone call telling her that she had another new baby brother or sister. Astrid had a total of five half siblings, born from three of Rylan’s many girlfriends over the last ten years.

  “Your father loves you, honey,” Lilly said. “It’s just that he has a hard time showing it. I promise that I’ll try my very best to get him to come visit. I would never keep him away from you. Never.”

  Astrid stomped to the car and sat in the passenger seat, scowling. At five feet nine inches tall, she cut a willowy and elegant figure when dressed nicely, but in this macabre and imposing
outfit, she appeared intimidating. Lilly wished they were as close as they used to be, when Astrid would offer to plait her mom’s hair or paint her nails. In the last year, her daughter had grown into a young woman that Lilly mostly didn’t recognize.

  “Hi, Mr. Peters,” she said, noticing her elderly neighbor walk past with his dog on a leash. “I’m sorry for the Wednesday Addams vibe you must be feeling from Astrid this morning. She’s having some trouble finding her place in the world.”

  Mr. Peters smiled. “She’s a beautiful soul, Lilly. And she shines brightly just like her mom.”

  “You’re too kind,” she said, walking to her car, the compliment lightening her step. “Thank you.”

  Astrid was peering intently through the windshield when Lilly settled herself behind the wheel of her compact car. “The guy in that van has been watching our house all morning,” Astrid said. “Do you know him?”

  Lilly looked at the dark gray van parked across the street, the kind of vehicle often used by utility companies. The man in the driver’s seat was immobile, staring straight ahead, wearing sunglasses despite the overcast day.

  “I’m sure he’s not watching the house,” Lilly said, fixing her cell phone into its holder on the dash. “He’s probably repairing some damage to power lines or something. There was quite a wind last night.”

  “I’m telling you,” Astrid insisted, as Lilly pulled from the driveway onto their leafy suburban street. “He’s been there since six thirty. I thought he was waiting to give someone a ride, but he’s been watching us like a hawk. It’s creepy.”

  “How can you get up at six thirty and not be ready by eight fifteen?”

  Astrid clicked her tongue. “It takes a long time to look this fabulous.”

  “That reminds me,” Lilly said, leaning across to open the glove box. “Take off that lipstick.”

  Astrid huffed and pulled out the pack of wipes from inside. “Look!” she said, turning around. “The creepy guy is following us.”

  Lilly glanced into the rearview mirror. The van was on their tail, driving too close for comfort.

  “It’s just a coincidence,” she said, quashing her fears. “He’s probably just going in the same direction.”

  Astrid dragged a wipe across her mouth. “I don’t like it. It’s making me nervous.”

  Lilly’s phone began to buzz in its holder and the name flashing on the display was Kevin Lovell, her boss at the bank where she worked in Oakmont.

  “I gotta take this,” she said to Astrid. “But don’t worry about the van, okay?”

  Eyeing the clock, she punched the answer button and put her cell on speakerphone.

  “Hi, Kevin,” she said. “I might be a little late this morning.” She avoided looking at Astrid. “My usual routine didn’t go to plan.”

  Kevin’s voice was bright and breezy, totally out of character for her usually grumpy boss.

  “Don’t worry about it, Lilly. If you’re still at home, then stay there and don’t come into work today. And lock your doors.”

  “What? Why? I’m on the road already.”

  “Mom!” Astrid’s voice was high-pitched. “That van has gotten even closer. I’m scared.”

  Lilly touched her daughter’s knee. “Hold on, honey. Just give me a minute.”

  “We have a serious situation here at the bank today,” Kevin continued. “A couple of agents from the FBI visited a few minutes ago, expecting you to have started work already. They’re on their way to your house, so turn around and go home to wait for them. They should be with you soon.”

  “I have to drop Astrid at school,” she said. “Why do I have to go home? What’s going on?”

  Kevin was silent for a moment. “The agents said you’re in danger.”

  Lilly exchanged a worried glance with Astrid as her daughter grabbed for her hand. She approached a junction and turned left, intending to double back and return home. She didn’t know what was going on, but Kevin’s words were chilling.

  “Mom, the van is following us,” Astrid said, beginning to cry. “He’s definitely following us.”

  A different man’s voice was now on the speakerphone, a deeper one.

  “Ma’am, this is Agent David McQueen from the FBI. I’m patched into this call in my vehicle. Did I hear someone say you’re being followed?”

  “You’re from the FBI?” Why would the FBI be patched into her call? “We think a van is on our tail. What’s happening?”

  “There’s no time to explain the situation right now,” the agent continued. “I’m already in the vicinity, en route to your home. Where are you exactly?”

  “I’m on Harewood Avenue, approaching the junction to Filton Road. I’m going back home.”

  “No!” Agent McQueen’s raised tone caused them both to jump. “Stay in your vehicle, keep driving in that general area, don’t stop and don’t panic. I’ll be there in five minutes. I’ll find you.”

  Lilly struggled to keep up with the changing pace of the day. Just a few moments ago, she was arguing with her daughter about lipstick. Now an FBI agent was coming to save them from a danger that she had had no idea existed until now.

  “Who is in the van?” she asked.

  “I’ll be there soon. Remain calm.”

  “How can I remain calm?” Astrid was squeezing her hand so tight that both their knuckles were white. “I have my daughter with me and she’s scared out of her mind.” She kissed Astrid’s fingers and briefly looked over at her. “I’ll keep you safe, honey. I promise.”

  But then the van on their tail revved its engine hard and lurched forward, touching Lilly’s bumper. The car skipped, Astrid screamed and Lilly gripped the wheel with both hands to steady their path.

  “Mom! Please do something,” Astrid yelled. “Make him stop.”

  Lilly floored the accelerator and tore around the corner of Filton Road, the car’s back end skidding away slightly on the wet asphalt.

  “What’s going on there?” the agent said, still on speakerphone.

  “We’re being rammed off the road.”

  “Take evasive maneuvers,” he said. “Do whatever it takes.”

  “I’m trying,” she shouted as the van hurtled toward them once again. Thinking fast, she swerved onto the wrong side of the road. Fortunately, this residential street was always quiet, and she faced no oncoming traffic.

  The van was now alongside them and she noticed the driver’s gloved hand sharply yank the wheel. He was intending to ram them from the side.

  “Hold on, Astrid!” Lilly yelled.

  The crunch of metal seemed to sound forever as the van sideswiped her car, pushing it onto the sidewalk, toward the thick trees that grew there.

  “Mom,” Astrid cried, now beside herself with fear. “I don’t want to die.”

  “Nobody’s gonna die, sweetheart. Not today.”

  She slowed right down to let her assailant pass and then attempted a hand brake turn. But she messed it up and the car ended up sitting awkwardly in the road, straddling both lanes. Meanwhile, the guy in the van was clearly a much more accomplished driver and spun easily on the asphalt, tires squealing and billowing smoke.

  Lilly’s hand shook as she put the stick in reverse, desperately trying to turn the car around before the van would reach them. But she messed that up too and couldn’t move fast enough to avoid the strike. The driver’s side of her car bore the brunt of the impact from the hurtling van. Lilly was jolted sideways with huge force, her head banging on Astrid’s shoulder. All she could think about was protecting her daughter. This man was crazy. He wanted them dead.

  When the car finally stopped shaking, Lilly leaned across her daughter and opened the passenger door.

  “Run, Astrid,” she yelled. “Run.”

  Astrid could barely speak through her hyperventilating. “Mom, no, no, I can’t leave you.” />
  “Please, honey,” Lilly pleaded, seeing the man exit his vehicle and walk toward them. “You gotta go now. Run to Mr. Peter’s house and don’t look back.”

  Yet Astrid seemed frozen, unable to move, unable to do anything except cry out in anguish. Lilly turned to see her assailant move calmly and steadily toward them, gun in hand. The hood on his sweatshirt was pulled up and, with his head slightly bowed, his appearance reminded her of the grim reaper.

  “Please don’t hurt my daughter,” she shouted through the shattered window. “I’ll give you whatever you want.” She grabbed her expensive cell from the dash, a gift from her parents. “You can take this. It’s worth over a thousand dollars.” As his hand reached up and removed his sunglasses, she forced herself to look him in the eye. “Please.”

  That’s when she recognized him. “Mr. Berger?” she said, confused. “Why are you doing this?”

  This man was her important client at the bank. He had visited in person the previous day, wishing to transfer his bank accounts overseas before returning to his native country of France. She had handled the paperwork, shaken his hand, chatted to him about his family. Why did he now want to kill her?

  Mr. Berger pointed his gun at her window, and with the sound of Astrid’s screams resounding in the car, a bullet cracked the air.

  * * *

  Agent David McQueen heard the unmistakable bang of a gun being discharged as he raced to the intersection of Harewood and Filton. The car was being driven by his FBI partner, Goldie Simmons, and she had wasted no time in rushing them to the scene with the siren blaring. Through his phone’s speaker he had been listening to the screams and cries, but they had abruptly stopped. He prayed they weren’t too late.

  Goldie tore around the corner of Filton and instantly slammed on the brakes to avoid colliding with a blue compact car blocking the street, a gray van stopped behind it.

  “That’s our guy,” David said, seeing a hooded man in the road, weapon in hand. “That’s gotta be Henderson.”