Shield of Protection

by Dana Mentink

  Finally, positive that he had everything, Tyler switched off his light and headed out again. Gene’s light was on. That man worked even harder than Tyler did. He could hear the murmur of Gene’s voice. He was probably on the phone.

  I’ll just stop in and remind him that I’m going directly to the courthouse tomorrow morning.

  Sauntering to the open doorway, he popped his head in.

  Crack!

  Stunned, Tyler watched as his boss fell back in his chair, red blossoming like some obscene flower across the once pristine shirt he wore. Gene was still, his eyes staring vacantly. Was he dead? Tyler jerked his gaze to the man standing across from Gene. His back was to the doorway. But Tyler knew exactly who it was. He recognized the dragon tattoo rising up from the collar of his dark jacket. Wilson Barco. The most wanted man in town. The man suspected of running a crime syndicate that was involved in everything from money laundering and drug trafficking to murder.

  He hadn’t seen Tyler yet. That was the only thing that was keeping Tyler alive.

  He had to get out of here. Backing away from the door slowly, Tyler moved as quietly as he could. It wasn’t quiet enough. Spinning around, the killer snapped the gun up and aimed.

  Tyler ran. The bullet meant for him smashed into the wall where he’d been standing. A watercolor painting crashed to the floor, glass skittering across the surface.

  Tyler didn’t give it a second glance. His only hope was to make it to his car. He kept his head low as he ducked around a corner. Another bullet, but this time it made a solid thunk as it was embedded into the wall. He bolted past the elevator. No way was he risking waiting for it to open. Even if he made it, he’d be a sitting duck once it arrived at the bottom. The stairs. No other choice.

  Another gunshot. A hot pain shot up his arm. He’d been shot. Despite the pain, he kept running. A little pain was better than being dead. Which was what he’d be if he slowed down.

  Darting through the empty lobby, he grabbed his lanyard with a shaking hand and swiped his badge in front of the security panel, unlocking the door to the stairwell. It beeped, and the light turned green. He yanked open the door and jumped through the entrance, pulling it shut as the killer burst into the lobby.

  He hit the stairs as the next bullet pinged against the metal door. He didn’t slow down. Even though the door automatically locked when it shut, he wasn’t taking any chances. He had no idea how Barco had made it into the building after hours. For all he knew, he could have already figured out a way to bypass the security system.

  His feet made loud clanging noises as he rushed down the stairs to the basement. It couldn’t be helped. He had just hit the second landing when he heard another set of shoes racing down the stairs behind him. He didn’t have as much time as he’d hoped.

  Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he whipped open the door to the parking garage and ran to where his four-door sedan was parked. It was still unlocked. Tyler hopped in and started the car, just as Barco burst out of the doorway.

  Without fastening his seat belt, Tyler shifted into Drive and yanked on the gearshift harder than he had in years. The car jerked forward. Spinning the wheel, he drove toward the exit. His rear passenger window shattered. A second bullet hit the side of the car.

  “God, help me!”

  Tyler hadn’t talked to God since his wife had packed up and left, taking their toddler daughter and his joy with him. He’d been so angry at God for not intervening. For not opening his eyes to what was happening. But even if God had shown him, would he have been able to change? He was a workaholic, just like his father had been. Plus, his work was his private mission. God hadn’t helped him then, so he had decided he didn’t need God.

  He needed God now.

  Tyler careened around the parking ramp leading to the exit. Glancing up into the rearview mirror, he sighed. The killer wasn’t there. Yet.

  The street was just ahead of him. All that separated him from the outside world and the parking garage was the long wooden gate arm. Out of habit, he slowed. The gate started to lift as the sticker on his windshield was registered. Another glance in his rearview mirror. His blood froze.

  Barco was running up the ramp.

  What was he doing? He stomped on the gas pedal. The engine roared, and the car shot forward. The boom barrier splintered as his car broke through it. He could hear an alarm sound as he pulled onto the street. The car he cut off braked and skidded, and the driver blared his horn at Tyler.

  “Sorry, buddy,” Tyler muttered.

  Where did he go now? He had to go to the police. And then home.

  Home. He couldn’t go there. Barco had seen him pull out of his parking space. His very prominent parking space with his name on it. In this day of technology, it would be easy for anyone to find his identity and address. He had no doubt that if he went home tonight someone would be waiting for him.

  He couldn’t worry about that now. He had to go to the police. A vision of Gene flashed through his mind. What had he done to deserve being murdered?

  He turned into the police station so fast that he barely missed sideswiping a police cruiser. He threw open his door and raced up the steps, holding on to his injured arm. The clerk at the window gaped at him for three seconds before rushing to assist him.

  * * *

  Two hours later, Tyler was sitting in a conference room at the police station. His arm had been cared for by the paramedics, and he’d been given something to take the edge off the pain. Fortunately, it wasn’t a bad wound.

  Officers had taken pictures of his arm and the side of his car. A team had been dispatched to the law firm. He’d heard something about an ambulance being sent there, as well. He remembered Gene’s blank stare. He feared the ambulance was too late to do Gene any good.

  An officer entered the room. Officer Cale. They’d worked together on cases before. Tyler had always liked the quiet officer. “Tyler, our men have caught Barco. They’re bringing him in now. I hate to tell you this, but your boss—”

  “He’s dead.” Tyler’s voice was flat.

  Cale nodded.

  “Where did they catch Barco? Surely the man wasn’t dumb enough to hang around the crime scene when you caught him.”

  Cale hesitated. Sensing more bad news, Tyler tensed.

  “You were right that he would find out who you were. He was in your apartment.”

  Stunned, Tyler stared at him. Then some of the tension drained out of his shoulders.

  “Good to know they caught him. Though I don’t like that he was in my place.” Tyler took a long drink of the bottled water they had brought him. He hadn’t realized how thirsty he was.

  Cale gave him a funny look.

  “What?”

  “You know it’s not that easy, Tyler.”

  Before he had time to think about Cale’s words, the door opened. A man who looked to be close to his age entered the room. Officer Cale straightened. The new arrival nodded at the officer before his gaze zeroed in on Tyler. His face was hard to read, but Tyler thought he could detect some sympathy in his eyes.

  I’m not going to like this.

  “Mr. Everson. I’m US Marshal Jonathan Mast.”

  Tyler’s gut clenched. It couldn’t be good if the US Marshals were getting involved.

  “You’re in a precarious position right now. Wilson Barco has his fingers in just about every crime venue you can imagine. But he could never be prosecuted because we could never find witnesses to his crimes.”

  Tyler nodded, not liking where this was going. He’d known that Barco had slipped through the cracks before.

  “We believe that Gene Landis was on his payroll.”

  “No way. Not Gene!” He shook his head vehemently. Gene had always been a stickler about doing everything the proper way. And now to find out he’d been living a double life? He couldn’t wrap his mind around it.r />
  “Yes, Gene.” Mast pulled out a chair and sat across from him. “Sorry, but that’s what the evidence is adding up to. Barco is a man with vast resources. You are the first reliable witness we’ve ever had who could incriminate him. If we were to allow you to remain in your apartment, there’s no doubt in my mind that you would be killed or simply vanish before you could testify.”

  For a moment, there was silence as Tyler thought through the matter. Finally, he spoke. “What’s your plan? Will I get police protection? Go to a safe house?”

  Mast shook his head. “Neither of those options would be enough. Barco’s reach is too vast. No telling who we can trust. We’re putting you in witness protection.”

  A sick feeling overwhelmed him. He knew all about witness protection. Those who went in lost all connection with their families. His daughter, Bethany—would he never see her again? Would she even know about him, or would she grow up and forget he even existed? And what about Annabelle? He had no hope of ever winning back his wife again, he knew that. He couldn’t change who he was, and she had already shown that she couldn’t accept that. Not to mention the danger he’d put her in if they were to get back together. But he’d never imagined a life where he could not even see her or hear her voice again.

  The future that loomed ahead of him was dark and empty.

  * * *

  The hair on the back of Annabelle Everson’s neck rose. Was she being watched? She glanced around the grocery store, but no one appeared to be paying any attention to them. She must have imagined it. She shivered, then blamed it on the air-conditioning.

  Even though she knew it wasn’t the cold that was making her shiver. This was the second time today she’d felt like someone was watching her. The first time had been outside the library, where she took her daughter every Wednesday afternoon for the reading hour. Today the library had been busier than normal. The local fire department had sent several of the firefighters and a truck to talk about fire safety. The children present were thrilled to get to touch a real fire truck.

  After the library, she and Bethany went shopping. It was their weekly routine.

  Annabelle pushed the cart down the aisle, listening as Bethany chattered on about the letter she’d received from her kindergarten teacher. Annabelle could hardly believe that her baby would be starting school in a month. Where had the time gone?

  “Mommy, Tasha and Nikki said that their daddy is taking them swimming tomorrow.”

  Annabelle braced herself. Tasha and Nikki were the twins who lived two doors down from them. Since they had moved in three months ago, Bethany had started to talk about their daddy constantly. Which nearly always progressed to “Why doesn’t my daddy do that?”

  In truth, Annabelle wasn’t even sure that Bethany remembered Tyler. It had been three years since she’d left him. He’d seen Bethany a few times after that, but not since she was three years old. She had seen pictures of him, though.

  Her heart ached for her baby.

  “Mommy, when will I see my daddy again?”

  And there it was.

  “Honey, I don’t know. You know that. But I can take you swimming or to the playground with your friends if you want to go. I always do.”

  It didn’t help. Bethany crossed her arms across her thin body and pushed out her lower lip. Oh, no. The last thing Annabelle wanted was for her daughter to go into a full meltdown in the middle of grocery store.

  “Don’t even think about throwing a tantrum, Bethany Jane. Or you won’t be going swimming with your friends tomorrow.”

  Bethany glared, but wisely kept silent. Annabelle never proposed consequences she wasn’t prepared to follow through on. It was one thing she’d learned as a single parent—something she’d never planned on being.

  “Mommy, why is that man watching us?”

  Forgetting her daughter’s near tantrum, Annabelle swung her head in the direction that Bethany pointed. Her heart pounded at the thought that she’d finally see who was watching them. No one was. A young man in his early twenties was reading the label on a soup can. After a second, he dropped two cans into his shopping cart and moved past her to continue shopping.

  “He’s just shopping, Bethy. Like us.” Despite her words, she couldn’t relax. Her gut tightened. Her maternal instinct was on full alert. A mother knew when danger was near her child.

  “Let’s finish up and get home, okay? If we hurry, we can stop and get pizza for dinner.”

  Bethany’s eyes lit up and she grinned. “Yay! Pizza! Can we get ice cream, too?”

  Annabelle tousled her daughter’s blond hair and smiled back. “Of course! What’s pizza without ice cream for dessert?”

  Happy again, Bethany skipped beside the shopping cart.

  Annabelle hurried as much as she could. She couldn’t shake the thought that someone was watching again. She turned her head suddenly. Her eyes were pinned by the stare of the young man she’d seen earlier.

  Bethany had been right. That was not the face of someone shopping. The cold stare she encountered made her shudder. All thoughts of shopping left her mind. She needed to get her daughter home, where they’d be safe.

  “Bethy, come with me.” Grabbing her daughter’s hand, she abandoned the shopping cart and made for the exit. A glance over her shoulder confirmed her fear. The man was on his cell phone, watching her. She moved quicker.

  “Mommy, what about the ice cream?”

  “Honey, I will see if we can get it somewhere else. But we need to leave. Now.”

  Bethany was a very bright girl. She didn’t argue with her mom. Looking down at her daughter, Annabelle could see that she was pale and her eyes were wide. She hated that her daughter was afraid. Better scared and safe. That was the important thing.

  She tightened her grip on Bethany’s hand and left the store. The little girl was trembling now. Who was that man? An image of him grabbing Bethany and running off flashed through her mind. Annabelle paused to lift her daughter in her arms. Bethany didn’t question it but wrapped her legs around her waist while winding her arms around her mother’s neck.

  The parking lot was crowded. Annabelle ducked between two cars, crouching low. She set down Bethany, motioning her to keep low. Bethany squatted next to Annabelle. “Shh. Don’t make a sound. Okay?” she whispered in Bethany’s ear. The child nodded, burying her face in her mother’s shoulder. Moving as if in slow motion, Annabelle raised herself enough to peer across the parking lot through the windows of the car on her left. The man was standing outside the store, talking on the phone while his eyes searched the parking lot.

  For her.

  What did he want?

  Settling back down, she considered her options. Her car was three rows away. It would be practically impossible to get there without being seen. Or worse.

  She peeked again. Oh, no. He was heading this way. Now what?

  Putting her finger to her lips to let Bethany know to keep silent, she crouch-walked away from the row, heading toward the next one. Her daughter stayed close to her side. She glanced back. Not good. He’d seen them and was picking up his pace. His eyes were glued to her as he moved toward her.

  “Run, Bethany!” Grabbing her daughter’s hand, she ran as fast as she could with a five-year-old in tow. “Please, God. Keep us safe. Protect my baby.”

  A police car turned down her aisle and pulled in two cars away from her.’

  “Thank You, Jesus!”

  The officer stepped out of his car.

  “Officer!” She ran up to the man. “Help! We’re being followed!”

  She pointed to the man who’d been following her. He was gone.

  “Ma’am?”

  She shuddered. “There was a man. He’d been following us around the store. When we left, he followed us out here. We hid, and tried to get to our car, but he saw us and was chasing us.”

  Her
cheeks heated. The officer probably thought she was being paranoid.

  “I was scared,” Bethany offered in a shy whisper.

  Fortunately, the officer seemed to believe them. “Ma’am, do you think you could give me a description of the man?”

  An hour later, they arrived home. Bethany was happy. They’d stopped and picked up pizza and ice cream. Annabelle wanted to sleep for the next ten hours, she was so emotionally drained. Fear for her daughter still swirled in her head, but she wasn’t panicking anymore. Going around the house, she locked and dead-bolted all the doors and windows. She was probably overreacting, but she didn’t care. The whole situation had freaked her out.

  She was cleaning up the dishes when her cell phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number.

  “Hello?”

  “Annie, it’s me.” There was only one person in the world who called her Annie.

  Tyler.

  Her husband. The man she hadn’t seen in two years.

  “Annie? You there?”

  She shook her head. “Yes, I’m here. It’s been a frazzling day, Tyler. What do you want?”

  A pause. “Something happened last night, Annie. I can’t tell you everything, but the US Marshals are involved. I’m being put into witness protection.”

  “Witness protection?” Stunned, she lowered herself into a chair at the kitchen table. “Tyler, people in those programs have to completely disappear.”

  In her mind, she heard Bethany ask when she would see her daddy again.

  “I know. It won’t be forever. At least I hope it won’t. I need to testify against someone. Maybe after that, I can go back to being me.”

  A sudden thought occurred to her. “Tyler, the reason you’re going into witness protection... Would it affect me at all?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Someone was following me today.”

  Copyright © 2019 by Harlequin Books S.A.

  ISBN-13: 9781488050671