Brace For Impact (HQR Intrigue)

by Janice Kay Johnson - His Best Friend's Baby

Silence told him he’d surprised her.

  “That’s possible,” she said after a minute. “But postponement wouldn’t help the defendant’s cause.”

  “Forget Kevin Mooney. The former judge is clearly a ruthless man who will do anything at all to avoid going to trial. As multiple attacks on Maddy make plain, he wants her dead. A postponement would give him more time to find her.”

  “Very well,” the DA said stiffly. “I’ll relocate for the rest of the week and will request personal security until the trial ends.”

  “Good.”

  He let the two women wind it up. Torkelson would likely appear before a different judge on his day in court, but this trial could in effect convict him. Considering he’d ordered the original murder to cover up a rape, it was his bad luck that neither he nor Mooney were likely to get much sympathy from the female judge, female prosecutor and female primary witness.

  Tough luck.

  After Maddy hung up, Will said abruptly, “Are your parents planning to attend the trial the day you’re testifying?”

  “I’m sure they are.”

  “If their lives were threatened...”

  “I’d do just about anything,” she finished, stricken face giving away how hard she’d been hit. “I should have thought of that sooner.”

  “Somebody should have,” he said grimly. “From the minute the marshal’s office knew a bomb had brought that plane down, I’d have expected security measures to have been ramped up to DEFCON one. Why hasn’t that happened?”

  “I...don’t know.”

  “You get a sense of anything off with Ms. Yates?”

  “No.” She started shaking her head. “No.”

  “Okay.”

  Maddy was the one to say, with clear reluctance, “Marshal Ruzinski?”

  Will went with his gut. “No. I think he’s focused on finding the leak.”

  “So what? You think Torkelson might have a hold on some police officers? Courthouse security?”

  He blew out a breath and scrubbed his hands over his head. “Yeah, I guess I do. The man was a prominent local judge. He could make or break people’s lives. It’s pretty clear he lacks a conscience or any kind of morality. Sociopaths can be CEOs of a Fortune 500 company...or an attorney or superior court judge. We don’t know whether he preyed on just one woman, your client, or whether he’s bought off or intimidated a bunch of women. From his point of view, his career and life were going just fine until the one woman decided to speak out. First, he blamed her, then you. I don’t trust even round-the-clock security for your parents, I’d like them to fly out tonight. London, the Caribbean, doesn’t matter. What’s important is that they go off the grid when they get there. Find a place to stay that accepts cash and doesn’t insist on getting a name.”

  The way Maddy had blanched worried Will, but even if he could, he wouldn’t take back his suggestion. The stakes were high, the man set on stopping Maddy intelligent and remorseless.

  “Let’s go for a drive,” he said.

  Maddy didn’t argue.

  * * *

  WILL DROVE ALL the way to Bellingham, not far from the Canadian border, before he pulled into a vast parking lot in front of a shopping mall.

  Then he took a phone out of the glove compartment and handed it to her. “Call them.”

  Maddy nodded.

  His steady gray eyes held hers for a long moment before he smiled, bent his head and kissed her. The kiss was quick, but also tender and possessive. She tingled all over by the time he opened his door and got out.

  “You can listen if you want,” she said.

  “You deserve a few minutes with them. Just be sure nobody says anything too specific. I’m calling Ruzinski.” He slammed the door and walked around to the front of his Jeep, where she could see him lifting another phone to his ear. Typically for him, he didn’t stand still. He paced with seeming idleness as he talked, but never going far from the Jeep. She had a feeling he was aware of every car in their vicinity that had a person waiting in it, every shopper heading toward the mall entrance or returning to a car with full bags.

  He also looked incredibly sexy, his jeans well worn to conform to his butt and the long muscles of his thighs, his brown hair rumpled, strong forearms bared by the T-shirt. Maddy had never been involved with a man who had anywhere near his physical presence.

  She gave herself a shake, dialed her parents’ phone number and stared down at it for a minute. She’d missed them so much, hated knowing how scared they must have been about her. Then she pushed Send.

  “Hello?”

  “Mom?”

  The sound her mother made might have been a sob. “Maddy? It’s you?”

  “Yes.” When she tasted salt, Maddy realized she was crying. She had to say, “Just a minute,” and juggled the phone while she swiped away the tears. “I’m sorry.”

  Her father must have picked up an extension, because it was him saying urgently, “Maddy? You’re all right?”

  “I’m fine, Dad.” She took a deep breath. “Mostly.”

  “Mostly?” Mom. “What’s that mean?”

  “I don’t know if you read about the small plane going down in the North Cascades.”

  They had, and were horrified when she told them about the bomb. She didn’t linger on the ordeal getting out of the mountains, but gave a quick summation.

  “You know I’m supposed to testify Monday.”

  “We didn’t know what day for sure, but we’ll be there.”

  “No, that’s the thing. Will—he’s the ex-army Delta Force guy who found me up there and got me safely out of the mountains—he thinks you could be in danger. There have been other attacks. I won’t go into that right now, but he wants you to pack and go somewhere tonight. Get on a plane and wherever you go just use cash. It’ll only be for a week or two.”

  After a long pause, her father said, “You’re right. We have to remove any chance we could be used to influence you. We could go to—”

  “No! Don’t tell me. If your phone is tapped...”

  She heard her father breathing. Or maybe both of her parents, synchronized.

  “Understood,” he said finally. “We’ll do that. As long as you have someone...”

  “I do.” Maddy had to clear her throat and repeat the words. “I do. Will has been amazing. I trust him.”

  Her voice must have softened, because her mother said, “Like that, is it?”

  Her lips trembled on a smile. “Yes. Maybe. I don’t know.” Her face was wet again. “I love you. Please stay safe.”

  “You, too,” her father said gruffly, and she ended the call.

  After mopping her cheeks with the hem of her shirt, Maddy lifted her head to see that Will had come to a stop right in front of the car where he could watch her. She couldn’t seem to draw a breath. She could only look at him and hope she wasn’t imagining what she thought she saw in his eyes.

  And that he didn’t take a bullet for her and die.

  * * *

  WILL TOOK HIS time making love to Maddy that night. They could explore each other’s body in between quiet talks tonight and every night to come. He pretended the days weren’t counting down.

  He found Maddy endlessly fascinating, starting with that supple body and feminine curves, with the way she responded to his touch—and the way she touched him.

  But it was more than that. He’d liked women he’d been involved with before, but nothing he had felt measured up to this. He wanted to know everything about Maddy. How had a beautiful woman who’d grown up in privilege become so tough and principled? Why did she regret not having broken more of her ties to home? What did she imagine she’d have done with her life if she hadn’t become an attorney?

  What would she think about moving to Houston or Los Angeles, Cincinnati or Atlanta, depending on where he was accepted to medical s
chool?

  Maybe most important, he needed to find out what happened when she was no longer living in fear for her life, depending on him for her safety. She might see him differently then, start noticing that he had an ugly scar on his face and worse ones on his body, that he knew more about primitive living in the bone-dry mountains of Afghanistan than he did fitting in with people his age in a sophisticated American city. She’d discover that he wouldn’t have a clue how to pick from a wine list at a fancy restaurant, that most nightlife held no interest to him even if he could stand the crowds and the noise and flashing multicolored lights.

  Deep in his heart, Will didn’t believe any of that would make a difference to her. Going through what they had together, he and Maddy knew each other better in barely over a week than most dating couples would in a year or more. Stress and danger did that to you—taught you whether someone had the qualities that meant you could rely on them, now and forever.

  With an effort, he pushed all that out of his mind. Their first lovemaking was slow and emotional. Then came fast, even desperate. He woke up once to find her rubbing against him. Come morning, his body spooned hers, and he slid into her from behind for another tender lovemaking. He wouldn’t mind waking up like that every morning for the rest of his life.

  Getting dressed, starting the coffee and scrambling some eggs while Maddy wrapped a plastic bag around her arm and showered, Will glanced involuntarily at a calendar that had hung in this kitchen when he moved in.

  Five more days.

  * * *

  THE GOOD NEWS came from Ruzinski, who called Friday to let them know that a clerk in the marshal’s office had been arrested for selling info about Rankin’s plans for Maddy. Once accused, the clerk had crumpled and admitted that she’d overheard him talking to the pilot when he booked the charter. Ruzinski was confident she’d acted alone.

  He also informed them that a female Seattle PD officer who resembled Maddy enough to pass as her from a distance agreed to serve as a decoy. She would be escorted into the courthouse the way a protected witness normally would be. Will guessed there was a tunnel directly from the jail, or it would be via a loading dock or something like that. He didn’t ask, and Ruzinski didn’t volunteer the information.

  Ruzinski did admit to being bothered by the courthouse security liaison’s insistence on knowing Will and Marshal Ruzinski’s plans. The guy didn’t like it when Ruzinski refused to share how they intended to reach the courthouse. It was possible the security liaison felt he was being kept from doing his job—but it was also possible he needed the information for another reason altogether.

  Ruzinski and Will had already made the decision to trust no one. They’d considered calling the detective who arrested Kevin Mooney and would also be testifying. He almost had to be trustworthy. But there were risks. He might trust somebody whose integrity had been bought. He wasn’t a direct threat to the judge, but his testimony was critical to convicting Mooney. If he and Maddy both were killed, Mooney would walk. No, best if he, too, knew nothing about how Maddy was to get safely into the courtroom.

  If Ruzinski and Will didn’t involve anyone else, they had two options: take her in through a tunnel from the county admin building across Fourth Avenue from the courthouse, or walk in the main entrance. Either way, they’d have to stand in line like everyone else to go through airport-like security.

  Ruzinski liked the first option, Will the second. He’d have to turn in his gun before entering the tunnel, leaving Ruzinski the only one of them armed. If a cop or guard had been turned, the tunnel could be a trap. Put someone ahead, someone behind, and they’d have no escape. Plus, they’d have to get safely into the administration building in the first place.

  His suggestion to stroll right in the main entrance might be the most unexpected but had its own downside if they drove themselves. The closest parking lot was a block away. He shook his head at the idea of them standing to wait for lights to change so they could cross streets. At least a moving target was harder to hit.

  “Better,” he had said to Ruzinski, and with Maddy listening in, “we take a bus, a taxi or an Uber. We could be dropped off right in front.”

  “That’s the busiest entrance. There can be long waits until you go through security.”

  “Maddy isn’t likely to testify until afternoon. How much line would there be once the morning rush has passed?”

  “She’d stand out less if she arrived at the same time as employees and jurors,” the marshal argued.

  “Late morning we could get her inside a lot quicker.”

  “You picturing a disguise?” Ruzinski asked.

  “Of course I am. She could be—” His gaze touched on her breasts. Not a man. “An old woman. I’m her dutiful son.”

  “And I’m the old man,” Ruzinski said drily.

  Will grinned despite the serious subject. “When the shoe fits.”

  Maddy laughed.

  The marshal grumbled, “Tell her I heard that.”

  Laughter sparkling in her eyes, she said, “A little hair dye and he could be my dutiful son.”

  “Sure.”

  “What if we were a trio of old people?” Maddy suggested.

  “Why would one witness, juror, whatever, bring two other people along? I think Ruzinski should be arriving separately. Just happen to be ahead or behind us in line.”

  “I agree,” the marshal said. “Crap. You know witnesses who have been threatened are safely brought in and out of the courthouse all the time. Maybe we should trust the usual protocols. Maddy isn’t the first one I’ve worked with who was threatened, you know.”

  On a bite of anger, Will countered, “So far, she’s narrowly escaped death three times, and then there was the ambush we evaded. And the ultimate defendant isn’t a crooked businessman or money launderer. He’s a superior court judge.”

  “Was. But you’re right. I’m just frustrated. Wait a minute. Could we bring her in by helicopter?”

  Maddy must have heard that last word, because her eyes widened, and not in a good way.

  All Will had to say was, “Bomb, remember?”

  Ruzinski swore.

  Maddy spoke up. “One of the men in the alley escaped. They know I have a broken arm. How are we supposed to hide that?”

  Good question.

  * * *

  MADDY DIDN’T EVEN hear what the Uber driver and Will were saying. She sat in the backseat of the silver Toyota Prius, gazing out the passenger window at a wet, gray day. Raindrops slid over the glass.

  Only a year ago she’d belonged here in downtown Seattle. She might know some of the men in well-cut suits and women in heels carrying umbrellas as they navigated the steep, rain-slicked sidewalks. Her law firm was in the building at the corner ahead. She could go in, take the elevator to the fifth floor and stroll in. Would anyone recognize her in the thick makeup? Would they recognize her without it? How much turnover in personnel had there been in the past year?

  She’d always assumed she would go back to work there, as if the slice of time she’d been away was nothing. Vacation. What she hadn’t imagined was the changes in herself she only now began to recognize.

  I don’t belong.

  Her strange mood today might have something to do with the sense of alienation, Maddy recognized. The long-awaited day was here, and she felt fatalism instead of fear. Which might be best, if it didn’t slow her reaction time.

  Will might be talking to the Uber driver, a prematurely balding young man, but really he was keeping an eye on her.

  The rain was a stroke of luck, allowing Maddy to wear a calf-length, enveloping raincoat that hid both the splint on her left arm and the bulky Kevlar vest that Marshal Ruzinski had supplied. With a forest green hooded slicker over his own vest, Will looked thicker through the waist and chest than usual, which fit with his drastically aged face. Meeting him for the first time, Maddy wo
uld have sworn he was in his sixties, courtesy of salt-and-pepper hair and lines skillfully applied by the woman who’d done their makeup. Her own face was equally strange to her.

  Maybe that last, astonished look in the mirror had given rise to her peculiar mood.

  She heard Will say, “I didn’t realize the hills were so steep here. Why don’t you go around the block so you can drop us right by the entrance? My wife needs hip replacement surgery.”

  The driver obediently took a left on Cherry Street, his eyes meeting Maddy’s in the rearview mirror. “My dad had the surgery six months ago. I’d swear it took ten years off his age.”

  Her lips curved on command. “I’m looking forward to not living with constant pain, I can tell you.” How true.

  “I can imagine.”

  Two right turns, and they passed the small city park where she’d sat on a bench and eaten lunch a few times during a break from a trial. Almost there. Her pulse jumped.

  A last right, onto Third Avenue, and the Uber driver steered them to the curb in front of the main entrance.

  Will’s phone buzzed. He took it from his pocket, read a text and, expression never changing, held out his phone so she could read it, too.

  Decoy under attack. Shots fired.

  They thanked the driver and exited onto the sidewalk, Will first then Maddy. He tucked her close to his side, his head turning. The sidewalk was busy despite the rain.

  A taxi pulled up behind the Prius and a man got out. Dismissing him, Maddy worried. Where was the marshal?

  “We’re ready,” Will said in a low voice. “Let’s move.”

  Ready? Maddy felt a shock as she sneaked another look at the stranger from the taxi. Not a stranger. Ruzinski.

  He didn’t so much as glance at them but, as planned, fell in behind them as they started toward the doors.

  Maddy had taken only a few steps when she heard a horribly familiar coughing sound. At the same moment somebody bumped her from behind.

  Ruzinski had fallen to the sidewalk and wasn’t trying to get back up. The gun he must have had in his hand skittered a few feet across the concrete.