Tracie Peterson

by Entangled

  Peering into the darkness, Cara was tempted to return to the lighted hall below. The soft glow of the first-floor lighting penetrated the blackness through the open rotunda, but for some reason the normal second-floor illumination had been removed. Perhaps Kerns had thought it would work to his advantage in moving Melissa. Cara couldn’t help but worry that the whole security team had sold out to Kerns.

  Looking down at the gun in her hand and realizing her own feeble attempt at sleuthing, Cara wanted to laugh out loud. How could she hope to overcome Kerns and rescue Melissa? Suddenly she felt very foolish. This was the stuff television shows and movies of the week were made of. She started to put the gun away, when much to her surprise a hand reached out to pull her through an open door.

  Breaking away, Cara whirled around, gun in hand.

  “I’ll shoot!” she said in what she’d planned to be quite a yell, but what was in fact hardly more than a whisper.

  “Cara?”

  “Harry?” She felt sick inside. She’d almost put a bullet into the man she loved. Lowering the gun, she began to tremble from head to foot. “Oh, Harry,” she moaned as a haze seemed to settle over her mind.

  “Where in the world did you get a gun?” he asked angrily, taking the revolver from her hands. He pulled her farther into a dimly lit room. “Are you all right? What are you doing here?” Then, without giving her a chance to answer, he exclaimed, “This is my revolver!”

  “I know. I know. Listen, Harry.” Gasping for breath, she seemed to snap out of her daze. “I tried to call you, but you didn’t answer your page. Somebody telephoned at the apartment and said Melissa was here at the Capitol. They’re going to move her tonight.”

  “I know.”

  His matter-of-fact statement held no emotion, no thought of comfort. “You know?” She looked up into his face, seeing the harshness soften at her questioning expression.

  “Yes. I can’t explain now, but Melissa is safe. She was pulled out of a trash dumpster about ten minutes ago and Kerns’ men were taken into custody.”

  “There’s a light on in Kerns’ office. When I didn’t see anything going on outside, I thought I’d go to his office and . . .” Her voice trailed away.

  “And what were you going to do? Shoot him?” Harry asked, the anger subsiding from his voice.

  What had she planned to do? Would she have burst into the office waving the weapon around, demanding answers? And what if Kerns had refused to comply with her wishes? Would she have shot him?

  “I don’t know. I just thought—”

  “No, you didn’t think, that’s the problem.”

  Cara grew angry. “I did what I thought was the only answer. I had to try to help Melissa and I couldn’t find you!” she declared accusingly.

  “I was already on the job. I couldn’t answer any pages.”

  His explanation made perfect sense, but Cara felt her pride gravely wounded. “I just wanted to help. I didn’t know you’d be here.”

  A gunshot rang out from several offices away, seeming almost like the popping of a firecracker.

  “What is it?”

  “Gunshots.”

  “No,” Cara said, refusing to believe him.

  “Stay here,” he said, going to the door.

  “No.” She came up behind him. “I’m going with you.”

  “Then stay low and keep behind me.”

  Harry’s refusal to argue with her made Cara fully aware of the severity of the moment. She tiptoed behind him, wondering what they’d find and praying that no one was hurt.

  It was the sobbing sound that first reached her ears. Cries that sounded like those of a hurting child. She’d heard the same cry from Brianna.

  Harry motioned her to stop at the doorway to the governor’s outer office. They could both see the silhouette of a person at the entrance to Kerns’ private office. It was that person who appeared to be crying. It was also that person who held a gun.

  “How could you do it, Daddy? How could you kill Teri?”

  Cara thought her heart would break at the emotionally torn voice of Danielle Kerns. She couldn’t see Kerns’ face, but she could tell he was sitting at his desk.

  “You don’t . . . don’t know . . .”

  Kerns was gasping to say the words, and Cara knew that Danielle’s bullets must have found their mark.

  “Daddy, you killed her. You got her pregnant and you killed her. I know!” Her voice raised hysterically. “I found the tapes. I found the recordings in Russell’s office. I found papers, too. Things Russell had written down.”

  “That’s his doing, then,” Kerns said, forcing his voice to be steady.

  Cara could see him lift his arm and pull it to his chest. Harry motioned her to remain still while he crept forward. Neither one had any idea if Danielle meant to shoot again, but it was evident to Cara that Harry meant to disarm her if possible.

  Danielle was crying again. Crying and straining to say what had to be said to the father who’d never bothered to give her the time of day.

  “You made Mom drink. You slept with other women and broke her heart. You were never there for Gary or me, and I hate you!” she shouted. “I hate you! Do you hear me?”

  Harry was almost to the door and within reach of Danielle’s arm.

  “Danielle, I’m not that bad. I didn’t do the things—”

  “Stop it! Stop lying to me!”

  Just as Harry reached out a hand, Danielle crossed the room to her father’s desk. Cara held her breath as Harry struggled to regain his balance.

  “All of my life I watched other kids with their dads, and I kept wishing I could have a father like they had. Their fathers played games with them, but not the kind you played.” Danielle’s voice was full of emotion. “I needed you. I needed you to take away the monsters in my world, but instead you became one of them.”

  “Dani, listen—”

  “No! You listen. I needed a father and you were never there. I needed to be able to count on you, but I couldn’t. You never cared about anything or anyone but yourself.”

  “I cared.” Kerns gasped for air. “I worked hard so that you and your brother could have the best.”

  “No, you lived your life to be in control. You forced everyone around you into the cruel devious world that you designed. You don’t deserve to live. You arranged for Russell to kill Teri so that you didn’t have to live with your mistakes. You put Mama in Menninger’s and drove Gary away from our home. What did you plan to do to me? When would I have become a liability like them?”

  “I wouldn’t . . . have hurt you, Dani.” Kerns’ voice was growing weaker.

  “Well, I’m hurting you. I’m making you pay for all that you’ve done.” She paused and the hurtful childish voice added, “And for all you didn’t do.”

  Cara could see Kerns clearly now. He was slumped back in his chair, a crimson stain spreading out across the right side of his chest.

  Danielle’s hands were shaking and the gun bobbed up and down with the motion. “You need to die!”

  Without regard to her well-being and ignoring Harry and his orders, Cara came out from her hiding place.

  “If you kill him, Danielle, we won’t find Teri’s baby.”

  Danielle turned to face the darkness. “Mrs. Kessler?”

  “Yes, Danielle. It’s me.”

  “He hurt you, too. He made you join the campaign. I read Russell’s notes. You didn’t want to do it.”

  “No, I didn’t,” Cara admitted, coming into the office.

  Harry walked in behind her, as though nothing at all was amiss, while Danielle moved to the far side of her father’s desk.

  “You want him dead, too, don’t you?” Her voice begged for assurance that she was doing the right thing.

  “It won’t change anything,” Cara said softly, studying the girl for any change in expression. “It won’t bring Teri back to life, and it won’t help Jamie.”

  “Jamie?”

  “Teri’s little girl. Your si
ster, actually.”

  Danielle glanced from Cara’s face to Kerns and back again. The young woman seemed to be trying to assimilate this new information.

  “Before you do anything else,” Harry said, maneuvering between Cara and Danielle, “we should find out where Jamie is.”

  Danielle nodded and turned to her father. “Where is my sister?”

  “Don’t call her that!” Kerns exclaimed with more strength than anyone had expected. The words came at a price and he broke into a fit of coughing and gasping.

  “Where is she?” Danielle brought the gun up and leveled it at Kerns’ head.

  “A family in Great Bend has her. All the information is on a computer disk in the safe at home.”

  Danielle looked at Cara and Harry as if to question what she should do next. Harry stepped forward and held out his hand.

  “Give me the gun, Danielle. Your father is wounded and needs medical attention. Killing him won’t make him pay for what he’s done, but providing evidence will.”

  “It’s true, Danielle,” a recognizable feminine voice sounded. “You and I can bring him to justice.”

  Lights came on in the outer office and Serena Perez stepped into the now crowded room. Behind Serena, Cara could see several men in dark blue with gold KBI letters marking their identity.

  “I’ve been playing your father’s game in order to get enough evidence to send him to prison for a long, long time,” Serena said while Harry reached for the gun.

  “I’m sorry that you and your mother had to suffer because of my part in this mess,” Serena said, holding up an identification badge for Danielle to see. “If you’ll look this over, you’ll see that I’m telling the truth. Your father has caused a lot of problems over the last few years and he’s broken a lot of laws. You don’t need to worry about him anymore. Where he’s going”—Serena paused to look at the bleeding Kerns—“he won’t be hurting anyone else.”

  Danielle looked at Serena’s badge, while Cara nervously twisted her hands together. If Danielle went berserk, Harry would be the first one to get it. Please God, she prayed, let Danielle give up the gun.

  “How can I believe you?” Danielle asked, eyeing each of the players in the macabre scene.

  “Who do you think called Harry and Cara?” Serena asked gently.

  Cara nodded, knowing now for sure that Serena had placed the mysterious call to Harry’s apartment. “She’s right, Danielle. You may think that no one else cares about you, but it isn’t true. I care and I want to help you.” Danielle looked at her, as though weighing the truth of her words. Cara stepped forward. “Please give them the gun.”

  And then without further complication, Danielle did just that.

  Handing the revolver to Harry, Danielle buried her hands in her face. “I hate him for what he’s made me.”

  Cara put her arm around Danielle. “It’s all right, Danielle. He can’t hurt you anymore, not if you don’t let him.”

  Danielle looked up, fresh tears streaming down her face. “Are they going to put me in prison?”

  Cara looked to Harry and Serena for answers. It was Serena who came to take Danielle by the arm. “I don’t think you’ll have to go to jail, Danielle, but it would be best if we check you into the hospital. Would that be okay?”

  Serena talked to Danielle as though she were a child, and in many ways, Cara thought, she really was.

  Danielle went willingly with Serena, leaving Harry to take Cara in hand. The office was a mass of confusion, so he led her into the semi-quiet of the hall.

  “Are you okay?” Cara asked, suddenly concerned about Harry’s well-being.

  Harry drew a deep breath and pulled her into his arms. Cara went stiffly, but at the wonderful way Harry tucked her against him, she relaxed and sighed.

  “You should have stayed put, like I told you,” Harry said softly. “I love you, or have you already forgotten?”

  Cara smiled against the cold metal of his badge. It was suddenly all so clear. Her heart seemed to take flight. “I love you, too, Harry,” she whispered.

  Harry dropped his hold on her and stepped back to look at her very sternly. Cara thought for a moment that she’d said the wrong thing.

  “You what?” he said, registering disbelief.

  Cara crossed her arms and raised a single brow. “You heard me, Oberlin.”

  “No, I don’t think I did. The words I heard couldn’t have come out of that mouth, because I remember a time when that same mouth told me that you wouldn’t say those words until you were ready to accept the responsibilities of a commitment to me.”

  “Yeah, what of it?” She tried to assume a tough facade, but her happiness and relief at having come through the night unscathed got the better of her and she grinned from ear to ear.

  “Say it again,” he demanded, still not smiling. “Say it again, and this time sound like you mean it.”

  Cara made him wait for several silent moments in which she did nothing but meet his stare, hardly daring to blink. Then, stepping forward very slowly, Cara reached up her hand to his face. She felt his stubbly cheek before slipping her hand behind his neck.

  “I love you, Harry.”

  She pulled him down to meet her lips and kissed him warmly on the mouth. Pulling away only far enough to speak, she whispered the words again, “I love you.”

  Harry pulled her hard against him and kissed her as though his life depended on it. Cara felt a surge of elation. For that moment, there was only Harry.

  But it was only a matter of minutes before the traffic in the hallway doubled and the fragile silence was broken.

  With a firm arm around her waist, Harry suggested, “Let’s get out of here and go check on Melissa at the hospital. You can elaborate on your statement on the way over.”

  Cara nodded, then gazed down at the floor like a nervous schoolgirl as she answered, “I’d like that, Lieutenant Oberlin.”

  “And we’ll discuss your future as the governor of Kansas,” Harry replied casually.

  Cara’s head snapped up to meet his amused expression. “What?” Her gaze traveled to the governor’s office and back to Harry. “What are you talking about?”

  “Kerns is going away for a long, long time. Maybe even for the rest of his life. Within hours he’ll be formally removed from office and his lieutenant governor will assume the position of governor.”

  Cara felt the color drain from her face. “I think I’m going to need to sit down.”

  Harry laughed and pulled her along with him. “I’ll carry you if the shock is too much, soon-to-be Governor Oberlin.”

  “Governor Oberlin,” she repeated, looking at Harry in complete wonderment.

  Forty-One

  Cara sat behind the governor’s desk, feeling the edges of the wood surface, wondering what the future would hold. In a matter of months her entire world had turned upside down, and now she was responsible for the state of Kansas. In front of her was a newspaper that blared the headline, “Robert Kerns Indicted on Eighteen Counts.” The by-line read, “Melissa Jordon.”

  “How does this look?” Liz Moore questioned. Coming into the room, she held up a large bronze and wood nameplate.

  “Governor Kessler.” Cara read the words and shook her head. She smiled at Liz, who’d eagerly made the transfer to Topeka in order to be executive secretary to the new governor. “It just doesn’t seem real.”

  “Well, it is,” Harry announced, surprising her.

  She looked up at him with a shy smile. “Hello, Lieutenant Oberlin.” He looked glorious in his uniform, and Cara couldn’t help but stare at him. Harry just grinned at her appraisal and winked.

  Liz noted the looks between them and graciously put the nameplate down and exited the room, making a special point to close the door securely behind her.

  Harry tossed his hat to an empty chair. “I got a message that you wanted to see me.”

  “I understand you’ve asked for the next two weeks off. I wondered if you were going away.” She
was trying hard not to sound worried or overly interested.

  Harry came around the desk and held out his hand to her. “I have some plans.”

  Cara let him pull her into his arms. “I suppose we’re scandalizing the office,” she murmured.

  “After the last governor, you’ve got to be kidding.” Harry kissed her ever so gently on the lips, then abruptly let her go. He reached into his dark blue slacks and pulled out a jeweler’s box.

  Cara was unable to hide her sharp intake of breath. Harry opened the box to reveal a solitary diamond engagement ring. Tears came to her eyes, blurring her vision. Taking the ring from the box, Harry lifted her left hand and slipped it on.

  Then holding her fingers to his lips, he asked, “Will you marry me, Cara Kessler?”

  “Oh, Harry, it’s beautiful.”

  “You’re avoiding the question.”

  “I guess I’ve been avoiding this particular question for some time, huh?” Cara looked up into his face and saw the reflection of all the love she felt in her heart.

  “Too long, as far as I’m concerned. Now how about an answer?”

  “Are you sure you aren’t just asking me to be your wife so that you can be married to the governor of Kansas?” Cara teased.

  Harry laughed and pulled her into his arms again. “You need me to keep you out of trouble.”

  “Who, me?” she said, looking wide-eyed and innocent.

  “Stop putting me off,” he said, tightening his hold on her. “I’m not letting you go until I get an answer.”

  “Hmmm.” Cara snuggled against him. “I may have to think on it for a minute or maybe . . . an hour or two.”

  Just then the door opened and Brianna burst in with Melissa and Peter not far behind.

  The lively eleven-year-old danced around them chanting, “Harry’s going to be my new daddy.”

  Cara eyed Harry with a questioning look. He shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “I had to get her permission first, didn’t I?”

  Melissa and Peter laughed, but Harry maintained a hold on Cara with one hand and motioned everyone else to quiet down. “She’s just about to answer an important question,” he said rather dramatically. All eyes turned to Cara in anticipation of her reply.