He nodded. “I’m sorry, Rachel. The whole time we thought he was selling secrets to the other side, he must have really been trying to help Meredith and her family.”
Rachel’s head spun, and nothing seemed to make sense. “I don’t know what to say. I…I need time to process this.”
“Of course.” His voice sounded hoarse, raw.
Both of their heads snapped toward the doorway when they heard a noise there. Mrs. Sergeant stood there, looking back and forth between the two of them, wringing her hands together. “Rachel. Jack. Where’s Aidan?”
Rachel stood, fear pumping through her veins. “What do you mean, ‘Where’s Aidan?’ He’s sleeping in his room.”
Mrs. Sergeant looked ghostly pale. “I just stuck my head in there to check on him. His bed is empty.”
Nausea turned in Rachel’s gut. Jack appeared behind her as her legs buckled. “Aidan. Oh no, not Aidan.” He lowered her back to the couch, but Rachel bounced back to her feet. This was no time to sit down and worry. It was a time for action, to do something.
Jack raced to the front door and peered out the window atop it. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. He could have just wandered to another part of the house.”
Rachel shook her head, shock setting in. “No, they got him. I just know Apaka got him.”
Jack hurried back over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, back in soldier mode. “Mom, wake up Dad. We’ve got to look for Aidan. He was just there a few minutes ago. Rachel, get Denton and let him know what’s going on. And then sit tight. We’ll find him.”
Rachel hardly heard him. She sprinted up the stairs, ignoring her aching ankle, to Aidan’s room. She wanted to see for herself. Maybe he was under the bed? In the closet? Maybe he’d had a nightmare?
She threw the door open. The covers were thrown back, as if he’d flipped them off to go to the bathroom or something. First, she looked under the bed, in the closet. He wasn’t in the room.
She hurried down the hall and opened the bathroom door. No one. She threw the shower curtain back. It was empty.
Jack approached down the hallway.
“He’s not in his room or in here.”
“I’m going to go outside and search for him. You need to stay in here.”
“I can’t stay in here. This is my son we’re talking about. What if Apaka has gotten to him?” Her words caused ice to form in her chest.
“Denton and I will be searching outside. You need to stay safe so you can take care of him when we find him. Do you understand?” He grasped her shoulders and shook her, bringing her out of her daze.
“Jack, you have to find him,” she whispered.
He nodded, confidence in his gaze. “We will.”
He hurried away and Rachel stood in the hallway a moment, letting the shadows splay over her skin. Aidan. Her sweet Aidan. She sank to her knees. What if something happened to her son?
She felt an arm around her and looked up to see Jack’s mom. “Come on downstairs. Jack and Denton are outside looking right now. They’ll find him.”
Not if Apaka already had him.
Rachel nodded. “I’ll be right down. I just need a minute alone, please.”
Jack’s mom nodded and stepped away, giving Rachel just one more worried glance back.
Rachel stayed on her knees. Where could Aidan be? Did Apaka get him? Jack had said that Aidan was never the target, only Rachel. What if Aidan had simply wandered out to explore? He’d loved his time on the farm. Maybe he’d wanted to see more. He was only four, after all. He didn’t understand the gravity of the situation.
What if he had just gone outside to explore? Where would he most likely be?
The barn! That had been Aidan’s favorite spot. He’d even asked Rachel earlier if they could build a barn behind their house. Had Jack remembered to check the barn?
New life pulsed through her. Rachel had to go there herself. She couldn’t assume that Jack would think about the barn.
Quietly, she crept down the steps. She could see Jack’s parents seated on the couch, their hands knotted in front of them and lines of worry at their eyes. Careful so that they wouldn’t hear her, she stepped off the staircase and darted around the corner to the back door. Her hand gripped the knob and turned slowly. She cracked the door open and slid out without a sound. As soon as she stepped foot on the grass, she began a sprint to the barn. Her ankle screamed for relief, but she pushed on anyway.
She didn’t care what Jack told her. She had to help look for her son. This was her son. She couldn’t sit idly by when something might be wrong. She’d never forgive herself if she could have done something to help.
The barn grew closer and closer, and her lungs burned for air, but she didn’t care. She pushed ahead. Finally at the barn, she threw open the doors and stepped into the dark place.
A shudder raced through her. “Aidan?”
Nothing.
She stepped in farther. “Aidan, can you hear me, honey? Are you in here?”
She heard movement in the distance. Maybe she should have waited for Jack, she thought as fear crawled over her.
No, she had no time. She had to get her son.
She grabbed a rake from beside the door and stepped forward, toward the noise. All sounded quiet again. What had that noise been? Birds? A barn cat? Or something more sinister?
“Aidan? Is that you, honey?”
“Mom—” She heard Aidan’s voice, but it sounded like it had been muted, like…a hand had gone over his mouth. Her heart lurched.
She ran toward the voice only to hear a gun cock. “Stop right there, Rachel.”
She froze, still squeezing the rake in her hands.
Whose voice was that? She’d heard it before, only now it sounded more gravelly and almost had the hint of an Eastern European accent.
Her blood went ice-cold as realization washed over her. She knew exactly whose voice that was.
She lifted a prayer, knowing that the fight of her life was about to begin.
TWENTY-FIVE
Luke stepped from the shadows and into a beam of moonlight that crept in through a crack in the siding. A cocky grin stretched across his face. Rachel’s heart plunged as cold fear invaded her.
“Luke? I thought you were at Eyes. When did you get here?” Even as the words left her mouth, she felt the truth sinking in. Luke wasn’t supposed to be here. He was holding a gun. Pointed at her.
His eyebrow flickered toward the sky. “A few minutes ago.”
Rachel drew in a ragged breath, daring to ask the next question. “Where’s Aidan?”
“He’s not hurt. He’s just in the corner, playing by himself like a good little boy.”
“Aidan?” Her gaze searched the darkness, trying—desperate—to see him through the inkiness.
“I’m right here, Mommy! I’m trying to make a sword out of this stick.”
Luke nodded toward the other end of the barn, the side closest to the country lane that stretched beside the farm. “We need to move. And fast. So no arguments or—” Luke made a shooting motion with his fingers.
“Why, Luke? Why are you doing this?”
“No time to explain all of those fun details now, Rachel.” He grabbed her arm. “Now walk.”
Without time to think, she swung the rake until it knocked Luke in the side of the head. He toppled for a moment and grasped at his head. He righted himself and drew the gun. “That was uncalled for. You’re lucky I don’t shoot you now.”
“Luke, put down the gun,” a deep, familiar voice commanded.
Rachel gasped and turned toward the voice. Jack. Jack had found them. Praise God.
Luke shook his head and let out an agitated laugh. “Jack, just let us walk away. This is really none of your business. You’ve done everything in your power, up to this point.”
“I’d say it is my business.”
Luke sneered. “Only because you had to go and fall in love with your client. That’s not advisable, boss. I think that wa
s covered in Training 101.”
Jack slowly crept closer. “Let’s not talk about me right now, Luke. Let’s talk about you. Why are you doing this?”
Rachel looked over in the direction that Luke had pointed. She could make out the vague outline of Aidan, sitting in the corner of the stall. If only she could get to him. But she didn’t want to make any sudden moves, didn’t want to risk being shot in front of her son. Yet she needed to hold him, protect him.
She looked back at Jack behind her, his calm demeanor. He was trying to keep everyone’s emotions down. His gaze caught hers and Rachel saw something there. He was trying to give her some sort of message, but what?
Luke’s gun was still aimed at her. All it would take was one moment for her world to forever change. She sucked in a breath.
Aidan. She just wanted to get Aidan.
“Guess what? Terrorism pays pretty well. I bet you didn’t know that I’m originally from Uzbekistan. Do pretty well disguising the accent, huh?”
“But I did a background check.” Jack kept his voice steady, in control.
Luke smirked. “When you’re good, you’re good. What can I say?”
Rachel stepped closer to Aidan, inching her way toward him. If Jack could keep Luke talking, she could reach her son.
That’s what Jack was trying to tell her. Get Aidan. That’s what his look had been for. She felt certain.
She stepped back and her hands felt the rough wood of the stall door prickling her fingertips. If she could just get the door open…
Jack held his hands in the air, as if offering surrender. “You’re not going to get away with this, Luke. I’m sure Denton will be here any minute.”
“I knocked him out and tied him up. He’s no good to you right now.”
The latch dropped quietly. Rachel scooted over another step until her fingers felt the crevice between the door and the wall.
“You need to calm down and think this through,” Jack said. He glanced again at Rachel, and Rachel saw a slight nod.
“I’ve done enough thinking to last a lifetime,” Luke sneered. “I should have just done away with Rachel when I had the opportunity.”
Rachel eased the door open until her hand reached through. She felt Aidan’s fingers grip hers. Temporary relief flashed through her. Reaching Aidan was just the beginning. Now they had to get away.
“Why didn’t you, Luke? Why did you wait until tonight?”
“There are bigger things at play here, Jack. I thought you would have realized that by now.”
Jack nodded ever so slightly toward the barn door. If she was reading him right, he wanted her to run.
“Rachel’s parents are the connection. I just haven’t figured out why yet. Probably something to do with their work at the Department of Agriculture.”
Luke chuckled. “Very good. I underestimated you.”
Luke paced toward Jack, and Rachel could see he was caught up in the brilliance of his scheme for a moment, busy giving himself a mental pat on the back. This was her opportunity.
Gripping Aidan’s hand, she tugged him forward and swung him into her arms. She then darted toward the door, her legs straining with each step.
“Stop!” Luke shouted.
Rachel looked back in time to see him raise his gun. She sucked in a breath, praying, grasping Aidan more tightly toward her. Just a few more steps and she’d be outside. A few more steps.
She heard a blast, a grunt and then a tumbling sound. She dared another glance back. Jack had tackled Luke. The two struggled. But no one had been shot.
Jack looked over at her, urgency clear in his eyes. “Run, Rachel!”
She reached the grass, ready to run for her life. Then she heard another gunshot.
She looked back. Luke stood above Jack, the gun in his hand. Jack lay on the ground. Was he dead? Her heart ripped in two.
She wanted to stop, to turn around and go back. But Aidan’s fingers dug into her neck, reminding her of the other precious life she had to look out for. So she ran. But her heart broke with each step. Oh, Jack.
Just as she stepped around the corner, another gunshot rang out.
Tears began rolling down her cheeks.
Luke had finished him off.
TWENTY-SIX
Rachel pushed aside the images that dashed through her mind. Images of Luke finishing off Jack, of him taking a fatal gunshot wound to the heart. She’d have time to mourn later. Right now, she had to get to safety. Luke could come after them any minute.
But Jack…
She wiped away a tear. Jack would want them to get to safety. He’d probably just given his life to ensure that that happened. Rachel couldn’t let that sacrifice be in vain.
The house, Rachel thought. She had to get to the house.
But then she’d be putting Jack’s parents in danger.
Where did she run? Her gaze darted across the landscape. The farmhouse to her left, the cornfields in front of her, the woods in the distance. Beside the house, there were several vehicles. But she had no vehicle of her own, nor did she have keys to Jack’s vehicle.
She didn’t know where to go, where to hide.
So she ran toward the woods, limping as she went. She pushed ahead. She’d stay at the woods edge, near the little country lane that ran beside it. At least she wouldn’t get swallowed by the foliage that way. The road could be her guide, but the trees would allow her cover.
But Jack…she couldn’t stop thinking of Jack. Of his body laying there on the ground in the barn. Had Luke killed him? Had he died thinking that Rachel blamed him for her husband’s death? Because she didn’t. She needed to tell him that.
Keep moving, Rachel. Keep moving.
Her back ached. Aidan’s forty pounds caused her arms to strain. His death grip on her made it hard to breathe. But she had her son. He was safe. She had to make sure he stayed safe.
She reached the woods, and fear shuddered through her as she looked into the gaping blackness before her. Were there Apaka operatives hiding there? And where was Luke? Was he behind them, just steps away from catching up? She couldn’t bring herself to look back, to slow down enough to notice. She had to keep looking forward, to keep moving.
Aidan sniffled in her arms. She wanted to comfort him but couldn’t. She had to keep him alive first.
She dodged trees, sprinted through weeds that grabbed at her legs, fought off rocks that threatened to twist her ankles. She moved. Everything blurred around her.
Keep moving. Keep moving. That’s what she kept telling herself.
Jack…was Jack dead? Tears burned her eyes at the thought. He couldn’t be dead. He’d taken the shot in order to save her life. She wouldn’t have escaped without his intervention.
Oh, Jack.
Her breath came in ragged gasps now. Her legs felt like gelatin. All the old wounds from their previous escape through the woods felt raw again, rubbed open in her escape.
Her body demanded that she slow down.
But was that a shout behind her? Was it Luke coming after her?
She heard men talking but couldn’t make out their words. All she could think of was Apaka, on their trail.
What would she do? Could she really keep moving? Would her body hold up? Maybe she should find a hiding place and hunker down until someone found her. But what if that someone were an Apaka operative?
Oh Lord, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how much farther I can make it.
Just then she saw headlights flickering down the lane in the distance. Was it help? Or was it the opposite?
She sunk down into a bush, needing to rest for a moment, to gather her thoughts.
The headlights got brighter. The sound of the engine stalled, as if the car had stopped. Her heart nearly stopped also.
“We have to stay quiet, okay?” she whispered to Aidan.
Aidan nodded.
Then she heard a voice calling her. A familiar voice.
“Rachel? Are you out there?”
She
stood, relieved that help had come. Someone she knew she could really trust.
“I’m right here.”
Jack staggered from the barn and looked in both directions out the door. Where had Rachel gone? Somewhere safe, he prayed. He had to find her. He had to protect her.
He’d checked Luke’s heartbeat. He was hanging on, but barely. They needed to get an ambulance out here. Luke might be their only hope of locating Rachel if Apaka got her. He was the only one who held the answers they needed.
Luke hadn’t known that Jack carried another gun tucked into his belt. He’d taken Luke by surprise when he pulled it out and got in that shot a split second before Luke had pulled the trigger on Jack. That split second had determined if Jack would live or die.
He had no choice but to live. He had to live to ensure that Rachel was okay.
His gaze roamed his surroundings again. Maybe Rachel had gone back to the house, to the safety offered by his parents. He hoped that’s where she’d gone.
If only she’d stayed inside like he’d insisted…but he knew a mother’s instinct was strong. She’d gone after her child because, in her mind, she’d had no choice.
A car sped down the lane in the distance. Instinctively, he knew Rachel was inside. He knew Apaka had gotten to her. He had to stop them, but outrunning the car was out of the question.
He reached for his gun and aimed, but everything began to blur around him. Energy seemed to seep from him. His wound must have been worst than he thought. He leaned against the barn to hold his balance. Aiming again, he shot at the car’s tires.
He missed. The taillights became mere specks in the distance.
He squinted, trying to see the license plates. It was no use. They were getting away—with Rachel. The thought of someone hurting them crushed his soul.
Grasping his shoulder, Jack started toward the house. He finally reached the back porch, climbed the steps and rapped on the door. His mother’s worried face appeared in the window atop the door. The lines around her eyes softened some when she spotted him, and she unlocked the door, pulling him inside.
The Last Target (Love Inspired Suspense) Page 16