Hunted by the Mob

by Elisabeth Rees

  Willy narrowed his eyes, his impatience apparently giving way to anger. He squeezed the trigger, and Zeke felt a searing pain rip through his shoulder as his body jerked backward with the force of the bullet.

  * * *

  Goldie shrieked and held out both hands to steady Zeke as his back arched with a sudden and violent jolt. He cried out in pain, yet he didn’t release his weapon. He took aim and fired in immediate response, narrowly missing Willy, who dived to the floor and rolled on the concrete, coming to rest behind an old plywood counter. Mrs. Volto shouted, cursing angrily while running to the exit on the opposite side of the hall.

  “You’re on your own, Willy,” she screamed. “I have a plane to catch.”

  “We need to take cover,” Zeke said, pulling Goldie toward a pile of rubble in the corner. “Quickly.” He yelled to Karl, “Go get Mrs. Volto before she escapes.”

  “You’re hurt,” Goldie said, as she and Zeke scrambled behind a high mound of broken bricks. “Give me the gun and I’ll take over.”

  “Let me do this for you,” he said, gritting his teeth against the pain. “If I hold off Willy, it’ll give you time to climb through that window.” He pointed to a frame in the wall, its glass long smashed into pieces and fallen to the floor. “I’ll count to three and you run, okay?”

  There must be a better way, but Goldie couldn’t think clearly or breathe properly or even stand firmly.

  “No, Zeke,” she said. “You’ve already been shot once and I’m guessing you have no spare ammo once your bullets are gone.”

  “Go!” he urged. “On three.” He made a fist and started to count down by extending his fingers one by one. “Three...two...”

  She jumped up on one, just as the bullets began to fly. Launching herself onto the ledge of the empty window frame, she swung her legs over the side, ready to leap. But something was terribly wrong. The drop was at least forty feet, far more than she’d anticipated. One half of this factory was facing a steep hillside, unseen from the front. There was no way she’d be able to survive this descent. Hauling herself back over the ledge, she made a break for the door. But then a bullet cracked into the floor beside her and she stopped in her tracks, vulnerable and exposed. The gunfire had ceased, leaving a tinny ringing in her ears, one that hummed over the sounds of the sirens still some distance away.

  “Stop right there!” Willy was striding toward her, his gun held in a straight arm. In his other hand, he held a cell phone, apparently recording the scene before him. “This should be all the evidence I need to get that money.”

  She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, waiting for the moment to come, but what she felt instead was Zeke’s back pressed against her torso, his arms stretched out to the side as if trying to shield every inch of her body. She guessed that he was out of ammo.

  “Step aside, Agent Miller.” Willy was clearly anxious, continually glancing at the exit. “I’m in rather a hurry, but contrary to what you might believe, I don’t like to kill innocent people. I’ll let you live if you cooperate.”

  “Goldie’s innocent,” Zeke said, not missing a beat. “She did nothing wrong.”

  Willy considered that for a second. “You’re always ready with a smart answer, aren’t you?” He pointed his gun at Zeke’s head. “Was Louisa right? Would you die for her?”

  “Without a doubt.”

  Willy raised his eyebrows. “As you wish.”

  Goldie wrapped her arms around Zeke’s waist and rested her cheek on his muscled back, strangely thankful that they would be dying together. It somehow felt right, exactly as it was meant to be.

  “I love you,” she whispered. “I always did.”

  When the bullet sounded, she waited for Zeke’s body to fall, yet he remained upright and steadfast. The body to fall was Willy’s, crumpling downward, legs first, like a collapsing tower. And behind Willy was Karl, standing in the wide doorway, a faint wisp of smoke curling from the barrel of his gun. He rushed toward Willy, his weapon continually trained on the prone figure lying on the filthy concrete.

  “Is he dead?” Zeke asked.

  “He’s dead,” Karl confirmed, crouching over the body. “It’s a good thing I was able to come back so quick. Mrs. Volto sped out of here like a freight train and lost control of the car on the dirt road. She’s at the bottom of a ravine about a half mile away. I’ll go radio for help to get her, but I don’t think she’ll have survived.” He patted Zeke’s uninjured shoulder. “Good job, Agent Miller. I’m proud of you.”

  “I can’t thank you enough, sir,” Zeke said. “I’m glad you had my back.”

  “And you had Agent Simmons’s back from what I saw,” Karl said with a smile. “That was an honorable thing you did for her.” He began to walk to the exit. “You two make an awesome team.”

  Zeke placed a hand over Goldie’s, which was rested around his waist, and gently rubbed her fingers. Meanwhile, she breathed into the cotton of his shirt against his back, steadying her heart, calming her nerves and reminding herself that she was alive. And so was Zeke. This was a brand-new start for them.

  “Are you okay?” she asked. “That was pretty terrifying, huh?”

  He turned around, holding his shoulder tight to his body and clamping his jaw with the pain. After glancing at the bloodied bodies on the ground, he led her away from the sight, toward a stone pillar in the corner, which would obscure the view. What had happened there today would undoubtedly leave its mark on both of them but, for now, Zeke was trying to minimize the trauma, and she adored him for his tenderness.

  “Thank you,” she said, as they stood just inches apart. “I can’t believe what you just did for me.”

  “It was a no-brainer. I was never going to leave you.”

  “But staying with me could’ve involved taking a bullet to the head.”

  He stared at her. “I know.”

  “You’d have sacrificed yourself?”

  “Of course.” He placed a palm against her cheek, warm and soft. “When I said I was in this all the way to the end, I meant it. It was my choice, right? Just like it’s my choice to want to leave everything behind and be with you.”

  She searched his face, looking for any hint of indecision, a reason to reject his offer. She found nothing but sincerity and hope.

  “Are you sure?” she asked. “You have to be sure, Zeke.”

  “I love you, Goldie. I’ve always loved you. Don’t make me live without you.”

  She blinked rapidly, not wanting to ruin this moment by crying.

  “We might end up on a dusty plain in Idaho.”

  “That’s okay by me. I love potatoes.” He leaned forward and kissed her full on the mouth. “But I love you more.”

  “I love you too.”

  He took her hand, squeezed it tight. “Let’s go. We’ve got a whole new life to plan.”

  EPILOGUE

  Goldie stood on a stepladder, hanging new drapes in a cozy cabin on the banks of the Columbia River. Her beautiful home was in the small town of Hood River, Oregon, a place she and Zeke had chosen after weeks of discussion and deliberation. They had both fallen in love with the cabin as soon as they’d laid eyes on it, with its wooden jetty, tethered boat and leafy yard, all set against the breathtaking backdrop of a huge, snowy mountain. It couldn’t have been any more perfect.

  “Hey.” Zeke came through the door, carrying logs for the fire, stocking up for the winter months ahead. He saw her on the ladder, dropped the logs and rushed forward. “What are you doing up there?” He lifted her from the step and lowered her to the floor. “You shouldn’t be doing things like that in your condition.”

  She laughed. “I’m pregnant, not an invalid.”

  He placed a protective hand on her stomach. “And you only have one month to go, so let me hang the drapes and do all the heavy work, okay?”

  “You have a job to do,” she said,
straightening the collar on his plaid shirt.

  “I can take a little time off and let the mechanics take care of things for a while.” He gathered her into his arms. “That’s one of the perks of being the boss, right?”

  She smiled. Zeke had used the proceeds from the sale of his apartment in New York to buy a local car-repair shop, committing himself to learning how to fix all manner of vehicles. In little more than a year, the business was thriving, and he had managed to employ three staff members, creating a secure financial situation that allowed Goldie to take some well needed time off, to rest and recuperate and heal emotionally. Finding a great church had helped in that process, and they’d become part of a large church family, where God had provided wonderful friends and joyful worship.

  “It’s Christmas in six weeks’ time,” she said, looking down at her swollen belly. “If this little guy holds on, we could have a holiday baby.”

  “Great. We’ll choose the name Noel for a boy and Holly for a girl.”

  “You know what we agreed,” she said with a laugh. “Ezekiel for a boy and Marigold for a girl.”

  He smiled at her. “For somebody who always hated her name, I’m amazed you want to continue that particular tradition.”

  Her smiled faded a little. “We’re not Marigold and Zeke anymore, and I kind of want our names to live on somehow.”

  The whole process of changing identities had been arduous, only made bearable by the fact that Zeke was at her side. His upbeat and positive nature had kept her sane, made her laugh, allowed her to see the blessings in everything and given her hope for the future. He had never once complained, not even in cold weather when his shoulder injury caused stiffness and pain. He had been her rock.

  “Are you okay?” Zeke asked, noticing her waning smile. “You like it here in Hood River, right?”

  “I love it here,” she replied. “It’s the best place in the world, but sometimes it’s still hard to adjust to being a different person.”

  He cupped her cheek with his hand. “I know, but we were told that it’s a long process.” Kissing her nose, he added, “And as long as we have each other, we can face anything, right?”

  Her smile now returned with force. “Absolutely. I don’t know what I’d do without you, Jon.” She giggled. Even now, after almost two years in the program, she couldn’t say Zeke’s new name without a laugh or a frown. “After everything we’ve been through together, I think we might be the strongest couple in the world.”

  “Without a doubt,” he replied, lacing his fingers through hers. “Unbreakable.”

  She suddenly felt the baby kick, a tiny hand or foot knocking on her belly as if asking to come out. She guided Zeke’s hand to the spot and held it there while they gazed at each other, reveling in the new life they had created.

  “This little one is ready to say hello,” Zeke said. “I can’t wait to meet him.” He checked himself. “Or her.”

  “I’ve been thinking,” she said. “We could ask the Marshals to arrange a meeting with your parents around the time of the birth. They’d want to meet the baby as soon as possible, right?”

  While Goldie truly adored her life with Zeke, she still needed to ensure he retained a link with his family. Life in the Witness Protection Program allowed for these occasional visits, always carefully managed by the US Marshals to ensure secrecy was maintained. Zeke’s parents had even been at their wedding, the only guests besides Christina, Karl and Goldie’s sister, to watch them make a promise to love each other for the rest of their lives. Their new names had taken some getting used to for everybody concerned, but that became easier as time passed. Zeke Miller and Goldie Simmons were now firmly in the past. They were now Jonathan and Mary Freemont, newlyweds from Los Angeles, seeking a quiet and peaceful life in Hood River to raise a family. Along with their new identities came a sense of freedom and a clean slate upon which they could write a new story.

  “I’ll get in touch with the Marshals through the secure channels and see what they can set up during the holidays.” He held her close. “Are you sure you want to continue to see my parents after what they did to keep us apart years ago?”

  “They did what they thought was best,” she said. “We all want to do the right thing for our children, and I don’t hold a grudge. After all, things worked out well for us in the end, didn’t they?”

  “They sure did.”

  “I can’t believe I ever doubted that God had it all under control,” she said. “He answered my prayer, just twenty-one years after I first asked it.”

  “I guess that’s how He teaches us patience.”

  Goldie smiled and rested her face on Zeke’s chest, breathing in his car-grease scent. He would always be Zeke to her, even though she now called him Jon. He would always be her first love, the fresh-faced boy who goofed around and made her crease up with laughter. She had adored him then just as much as she adored him now.

  His heart was beating rhythmically beneath her ear, as steady and dependable as his character.

  “No regrets?” she asked, pulling away to look into his face.

  “None at all,” he said, kissing her forehead. “My place is with you, wherever that may be.”

  “I love you, Mr. Freemont,” she said. “Always.”

  “Ditto, Mrs. Freemont. Thank you for making me the happiest man alive.”

  * * *

  If you enjoyed this story, be sure to pick up Elisabeth Rees’s previous book, Safe House Under Fire, which introduces Goldie and features her FBI partner, David McQueen.

  Available now from Love Inspired Suspense!

  Keep reading for an excerpt from Following the Evidence by Lynn Shannon.

  Dear Reader,

  Sometimes, having faith can be difficult. It isn’t always plain sailing, and there are periods when we might struggle to remember that we are important to God. In Goldie, I tried to create a character who carries a lot of pain and anger, and whose faith hangs by a thread as a consequence.

  It is tempting to tell people like Goldie how to rebuild their faith, because we might think we know the answers—pray more, worry less, let go of resentment, listen to God, read your Bible. This is all good advice, but very difficult for people to digest when they are in a pit of despair.

  Zeke couldn’t comprehend how or why Goldie was struggling to connect with God, because his faith was unshakable. He initially didn’t understand that she simply wanted to be loved and supported, and not judged for being spiritually weak. When people are broken, our job is not to fix them but to sit with them in their brokenness until they are ready to resume their walk of faith once again.

  Zeke and Goldie eventually found the path that God wanted them to take, but it wasn’t easy, and they suffered greatly before finding happiness. If you are struggling right now, keep going. Because you are one of God’s stories, and they always end with a happy-ever-after.

  Blessings,

  Elisabeth

  WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS BOOK FROM

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  Following the Evidence

  by Lynn Shannon

  ONE

  Emma jerked awake.

  She automatically reached for the baby monitor on her nightstand. No cry or whimper came through the speaker, only the slight shushing sound of Lily’s steady breathing. Her muscles relaxed. The baby was fine.

  A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, followed by a loud clap of thunder. The storm must have woken her.

  Before Lily came along, there was nothing Emma couldn’t sleep through. Now every creak of the house disturbed her, a side effect of motherhood. Of course, recent events also had her on edge. The threats...

  Emma squeezed her eyes shut and forced t
he thoughts away. If she started pondering her new troubles, she’d never get back to sleep.

  Texas storms could be fierce, and this one was no exception. Rain pounded against the roof. Wind whistled around the corner of the old house, a hollow, mourning sound.

  A shiver raced down Emma’s spine. She tried to snuggle back into her pillow but something felt off. Wrong somehow. She extended her leg, parting the covers near the foot of her bed. Warmth caressed her toes but no solid form interrupted her progress.

  Where was Sadie?

  A low growl came from the bedroom door.

  Emma sat up. Her eyes hadn’t quite adjusted to the dark, but she could make out the large blot of her dog near the doorway.

  “What is it, girl?” Emma whispered.

  Sadie didn’t turn her head. Her body was rigid, the hair standing up on the back of her neck.

  Fear, sharp and instinctive, coursed through Emma. The Labrador wouldn’t behave that way if it was just Vivian, her sister-in-law, moving around.

  Lightning momentarily lit up her bedroom and the corresponding hallway. No one was there.

  Emma strained to listen beyond the sounds of the storm. It was impossible. The rain was coming down in curtains, the thunder as loud as a sonic boom. Sadie’s ears twitched, and another warning growl rumbled through her chest. This one was sharper and more urgent.

  Emma needed no further convincing. She threw off the covers and grabbed her cell phone. She hit the first number on Speed Dial.

  A woman answered. “Heyworth Sheriff’s Department.”

  “My name is Emma Pierce.” She ran to her closet. “I live at 125 Old Hickory Lane. I think someone has broken into my home.”

  “Did you hear someone break in?”

  Emma cocked the phone between her ear and her shoulder. Her hands shook as she pulled a small box from the top shelf. She ignored the dispatcher’s question. It would be too complicated to explain Sadie had alerted her. “I need deputies sent to my home immediately. 125 Old Hickory Lane.”