by Dana R. Lynn
She had never heard that male voice before. It sounded young. Dan’s shoulders relaxed beside her. Whoever it was, Dan knew and was okay with him.
“We’re in the kitchen,” Melanie called out.
Footsteps approached the door and it swung open. A man close to her own age appeared. He was wearing a paramedic jacket. Maggie noticed his dark curly hair and his dark eyes, but what really stood out was his face. He had the same high cheekbones, straight nose and strong jawline as she had. She was looking at the male version of her own face.
As if from a distance she heard Melanie say, “Hi, Seth. Come meet your sister Maggie.”
Maggie slowly rose to her feet, her eyes glued to the man who was staring back at her.
“What?” In all the drama of the past few years, it never had occurred to her that the senator’s son, her half brother, would want to meet her. Sure, she’d thought about him, wondered what he was like, but had never allowed her mind to wander beyond that. Part of her had assumed he would hate her. It was incredible to think that he had wanted to meet her, as well!
But the truth was walking toward her. And he had tears in his eyes.
“Maggie,” he said. Just her name. She was too shell-shocked to react when he embraced her. It was too surreal. The shock started to wear off and she pulled back. This was the son of Joe Travis. The man who had committed bigamy by marrying her mother under false pretenses. But his eyes were warm, and his open face spoke of his gentle spirit.
She grew worried she had offended him. But he only smiled, a sad and wistful smile.
“It’s okay. We need to get to know each other.”
A warmth at her right elbow alerted her to Dan’s presence. He was letting her know that he was there. She sent him a smile to reassure him.
“I only learned about you after you had disappeared,” Seth informed her. “If I had known... I always wanted a sister. I would have protected you, looked after you.”
Maggie felt tears well in her eyes but blinked them back.
“I could have used a big brother.”
* * *
Warmth soaking into her hair woke her. The bed in the guest bedroom was right next to the open window and sunlight was streaming in. Maggie sat up slowly and stretched to work out the kinks that the past few days had left her with. But at least something good had happened last night. A brother. Wow. A smile spread across her face. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror above the dresser. She looked happy. The happiness faded as she realized her babies had an uncle. But when would it be safe for them to meet him?
She had talked with Seth for an hour after dinner. He had recently lost his mother, who had been sick for years. His father had “married” her mother while still married to his. It pained Seth to know that if his mother hadn’t gotten sick, his father would have left her years ago. But he put the blame squarely where it belonged—on his father rather than on Anna or Maggie. Since learning of her existence, his relationship with their father had become strained. She was sorry for Seth, although she certainly couldn’t blame him. On the plus side, Seth was over the moon about gaining a sister and a niece and nephew. She also learned that Seth was the one who had put her belongings in storage. He’d never given up hoping to find her alive. They had tentatively planned to get together soon, although no details had been firmed up.
Her clothes were folded up on the chair in the corner. Melanie must have washed them. She should get dressed. Dan wanted to go through her belongings in storage to see if they could find what Phil—Malcolm—had on his old boss. Lazily, she glanced at the clock.
“Oh, my!”
Dan was picking her up at eight-thirty. It was 8:12 a.m. now. She never slept past six-thirty. Never!
Recent events apparently had left her exhausted.
After swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, her feet hit the floor and she took off to the guest bathroom, where she took the quickest shower of her life. Without even bothering to brush her wet hair, she bunched it up in a sloppy bun and jammed in several bobby pins from a drawer. Melanie did say she could borrow anything. She was dressed and ready by 8:25 a.m. Good. Hopefully Dan would be late and she could grab a quick bagel or a piece of toast. The aroma of coffee was drifting in the air as she stepped into the hallway, so she knew someone else was up and moving. Her old sneakers made soft shuffling noises in the hall. She walked into the kitchen.
Stopped.
Stared.
Leaning against the counter was Dan. It was a good thing she was so familiar with his strong features and casual posture as he leaned against the counter drinking coffee from a travel mug, because she might not have recognized him otherwise. Gone were the long hair and the short beard. The man before her was sporting a newly close-cropped hairstyle and a clean-shaven face. Who knew his jaw was so square? Whoa.
“Hi. I’m looking for a friend of mine. His name’s Dan. Kinda quiet, sometimes cranky.”
He rolled his eyes, but a grin broke over his face. When he tilted his head back and challenged her with his eyes, her stomach fluttered. Get a hold of yourself, Maggie. You have no time to go soft on a guy. Even if he is gorgeous and has a huge hero complex.
“Yeah, yeah. Ha-ha,” he responded to her quip. “It was time.”
“I have to admit, I’d never seen a cop with long hair before.”
He dipped his head in acknowledgment.
“And I never intended to be a long-haired cop. It just grew, and I was too lazy to cut it. But it was getting in my way.”
She couldn’t help herself. Moving in closer, she rubbed her hand over his head. And grinned. It tickled her palm.
“It’s fuzzy.”
“Men do not have fuzzy hair,” he growled. “It’s functional.”
Maggie chuckled and removed her hand. Or at least she meant to. As it slipped off his head, he caught it. And then her gaze. The breath whooshed from her lungs. She couldn’t breathe.
Pulling her hand free, she broke eye contact and grabbed the bag of bagels.
“Coward,” she thought she heard.
Whipping her head around to face him, she found him innocently reading an email on his phone.
“What?” she demanded.
“Hmm?” He put away the phone and raised a questioning brow at her. “We should head out soon. Think you can eat in the car?”
She glared at him, then finished making her breakfast in silence.
Five minutes later, they were in his car. Thankfully, not a police car. She didn’t want to draw any more attention to herself than necessary. Although, judging from the recent events, it seemed as though nothing they did could keep her hidden from danger for long.
Dan swerved the car to the curb to allow a pickup truck that was driving too close to pass them. His eyes were narrowed as he watched it in his mirror. Did he suspect that it might be following them? His expression cleared as it passed them.
A shiver went down her spine. Maybe she was paranoid, but she had a feeling things would get worse before they got better.
* * *
Man, he couldn’t believe all the stuff she had. How on earth could one person accumulate so much junk? Living in a myriad of foster homes and then the army had forever cured him of the need for a ton of material goods.
But Maggie? The storage unit was filled with furniture—more than necessary, in his opinion. Then there were knickknacks, boxes of cooking stuff and books. Boxes and boxes of books. Textbooks, hardbacks, paperbacks.
“You know,” he commented drily, “there is such a thing as a library.”
Maggie stuck her tongue out at him. He grinned. She was adorable.
“I like books.”
“Yeah, I can see that.”
A huge sigh erupted from her. She turned her attention to yet another box of stuff. “Books are like friends,
but without the judgment. I can always count on them to help me escape.”
He shook his head, but he understood, having heard about her childhood. Any escape would have been good.
“Ever thought of getting an e-reader?”
She frowned. “I love real books. They take up more space, but I don’t mind.” She cast a look around at the boxes. “I haven’t had the luxury of buying books since I went into hiding.”
“That reminds me, how did you have money to pay for things?”
Maggie shrugged. “Wendy paid me in cash for watching her house. Plus, the household expenses were on automatic from her account. And then there was the money...”
Her voice dwindled and her eyes grew huge. She lost color so quickly, Dan moved closer in alarm.
“Maggie? What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Money,” she whispered in shock. “I was using my husband’s money.”
Dan realized his mouth had dropped open. He shut it with a loud click.
“I think you need to explain that.”
“Phillip was paranoid about money, at least I thought he was. He kept a rainy-day fund in a safety deposit box at a bank in Erie. He said it was his life savings that we could use if we were ever struggling. I assumed that he meant if we lost our jobs, since the economy wasn’t doing so hot. When I ran after I saw him get shot, I drove there and opened the box. Took the money.”
“How much money?”
“Twenty K.”
Dan whistled. “Twenty thousand? That’s not pocket change.”
Maggie was shaking her head desperately. “There was more in there than just the money, Dan. I took the cash, but I left everything else.”
That meant...
“The evidence is probably in that box,” he exclaimed. Before she could answer, he had his phone out. “I need the number and the name on the box. And the bank location,” he rapped out. As soon as he had the information, he was on the phone with Paul. His chief’s normally calm drawl was taut with excitement as he promised to have the box checked out immediately. Exhilarated, Dan whirled back to Maggie. “We can probably—”
A revving engine cut him off. It was close. Too close.
The driver of the pickup truck he had let pass them earlier was gunning his engine and heading straight for them. Dan leaped over three boxes, knocking them over. He grabbed Maggie and pushed her to the back corner of the unit.
Slam!
The unit shuddered and creaked. Boxes toppled. Somewhere to the left something made of glass shattered. The truck backed up. Grabbing the mattress leaning against the back of the unit, Dan tugged and yanked with both hands. It moved, but not enough. Maggie’s hands joined his and they tugged again. This time they were able to put the mattress in between them and the front of the storage unit. Just in time. The maniac in the truck made another run for them, tires squealing. Maggie screamed and buried her face in his chest. Again, the unit shuddered. The dresser slid and banged against the mattress. It was a good thing the mirror wasn’t still attached to it. Bolts popped loose and the unit’s door caved in. Dust swirled, making breathing difficult.
A sliver of light sliced its way through the opening made by the broken bolts. The truck slammed into the unit again. The impact sent them crashing into the wall. Maggie gasped in pain. It was then that Dan noticed the tools spilled on the floor.
“Thank You, Lord!” he uttered in gratitude. Spreading his fingers as far as they could go, he stretched out and his fingers brushed over a crowbar. Once. Twice. Got it! Gripping it firmly, he wedged it into the gap created by the missing bolts and worked it wider with all his might. The damaged storage unit creaked and groaned, but he was finally able to get a big enough hole to slide Maggie through.
“Go!” he whispered harshly, letting out a sigh of relief when she complied without argument. He wedged the hole wider, then slipped through himself, taking care to avoid the sharp edges. Why wasn’t the truck still hammering at them?
He grabbed Maggie’s hand and motioned for her to stay low. She nodded. They scuttled off along the back of the row of units. That was when they heard the gunshots. The maniac was shooting into the unit. Dan shoved Maggie unceremoniously behind the bushes growing beside another unit. Then, drawing his gun, he flattened himself against a wall and started to inch his way to where he had a decent view of the perp. A car door slammed. A frustrated sound escaped between Dan’s lips. He jumped out from his hiding place just in time to see the taillights disappearing around the curve. Shoving his gun back into the holster, he stalked to the front. And felt his heart drop. The entire front of the storage unit was demolished, caved in like a cereal box that had been stomped on. Holes where the bullets had entered were clearly visible. The large door, which had previously slid up and down like a garage door, had been shoved off its track. In fact, the track itself was broken off in parts. No wonder the guy had left without going in to check on them. The perp probably figured there was no way anyone could have survived that. Seeing the damage firsthand, he was awestruck that they had both survived relatively unharmed.
“I can’t believe we’re alive.”
Dan jumped, then frowned. How had she sneaked up on him? “We survived because we had God on our side.”
“I’m beginning to think you might be right.”
It was amazing how much joy one simple statement could cause. That she wasn’t skeptical at the mention of God was astounding. That she was giving consideration to his statement was humbling.
“How did he know we would be there?”
Dan looked over at Maggie. Her forehead was developing a bruise already. He winced. That had to hurt.
Picking up his cell phone, he put a quick call in to Paul. In succinct detail, he related what had happened.
“Are you and Maggie okay?”
“Yes, sir. Didn’t get a license plate number on the truck, but I’m pretty sure it was following us this morning.”
“My guess, whoever was paying Dennis knew we were keeping guard over Maggie. He probably saw you with her.”
“Or,” Dan butted in, “maybe he saw who wasn’t with her. We don’t have a huge police station. Whoever this guy is, he appears to have enough money to pay for multiple spies. It wouldn’t have been difficult to learn that I was the only officer unaccounted for this morning.”
There was a thoughtful silence as they considered what they knew.
“It could be just a hunch,” Paul pronounced each word slowly, “but it seems to me that Malcolm Hutchins got himself involved with more than a mere money laundering scheme. Something bigger is going on.”
“I need to go see Hutchins’s ex-wife, but it’s too dangerous to take Maggie there.” Dan turned away slightly when he saw Maggie’s chin lift in defiance. He wouldn’t allow her to sway him on this. There was too much at stake.
A thought struck him.
“Paul, don’t let anyone know I called, okay? I think the only reason Maggie and I are still alive right this minute is because this guy smashed up the unit too badly to come in after us and make sure we were dead. This place is pretty out of the way, so it’s feasible that you wouldn’t know we were in there when this happened. Which buys us some time.”
“You could be right. If we could get Maggie in here to the station without anyone knowing about it, she could hide out in my office for a few hours. If we keep the window blinds down and the door locked, no one should have any reason to suspect she’s in there.”
Dan hesitated, remembering the last attack. A look at Maggie’s pale face strengthened his resolve.
“I don’t think we should risk the police station. It’s too public, even if we try to sneak her in. I could bring her to stay with Seth. He would do anything to keep her safe.”
“He would, but I don’t want the senator to get wind of her presence. Not yet. I d
on’t trust him.”
“He is a loose cannon, that’s for sure.” Dan flicked a glance at Maggie. She was attending his side of the conversation carefully, although he hoped she didn’t know who Paul was talking about. She did look worried. Oh, wait. He had mentioned Seth. Not Seth, he mouthed at her. She relaxed.
“All we need is for Senator Travis to start using his long-lost daughter as a political maneuver,” Dan continued. It was a sad statement, but the truth. The senator had a track record for his lack of compassion. In the past he had used other people’s problems to help his own agenda. That was part of the reason Melanie had gone to jail. The senator had used her case to bolster his political career. Not gonna happen this time.
Maggie tugged at his sleeve.
“Hold on, Paul.” Placing a hand over the microphone on his phone, he raised his eyebrows at Maggie.
“Seth said last night that his dad is in Ohio this week. Some kind of convention.”
He smiled and nodded before addressing Paul again. “Paul? Maggie says the senator’s out of town this week.”
A second later he hung up. It was all set. Maggie would hang out with Seth. A carefully vetted cop would be hidden on the premises. Dan muttered a prayer under his breath for her safety and his. It was only a matter of time before the killer caught up with them again. Hopefully they’d be ready.
TWELVE
Seth was more than happy to have Maggie over. They had spent the morning doing normal brother and sister things together. Talking and laughing. Playing board games. They had even watched a movie together. About halfway through the film, Seth had fallen asleep on the couch. Maggie was hesitant to wake him. She knew he had been on call the night before and had had only three hours of sleep. She decided to occupy herself with a book from his collection of mysteries. But she couldn’t focus on it. Her mind kept dwelling on Dan.
For what felt like the fiftieth time, Maggie looked at the clock on the wall. Five minutes later than the last time she had checked. With a frustrated sigh, she tossed the paperback she had been pretending to read aside and prowled around the combined dining area and living room. Seth had managed to create a warm and inviting, yet masculine environment. What was Dan’s house like? Dan wasn’t much about making a personal statement, she mused. She thought back to the brief glimpse she had had of his work area the one time she had been at the station. The wall next to his desk held his certifications, but nothing else. No pictures, no mementos from friends. Not even a colorful wall calendar. It was rather bleak. The office of an emotionally isolated man. But he was so much more than that. Yes, he was doing his best to keep his distance, but she had witnessed his warmth. His sense of humor. His despair.