The governor of Nebraska ended his speech to a smattering of applause. Governor Brent Ferrin had the same speaking voice that had penetrated Aubree’s worst nightmares for almost a year now. She reached for her cell phone and dialed Jason.
When he answered, Aubree’s throat was so tight with tension that she could barely speak. “This is Jolynn. I need to speak with Jaybird.” She said the code words that meant he needed to get to a private area to speak with her ASAP.
“I’m at the office, so we’re good. What’s up?” Jason said.
Aubree pinched the bridge of her nose and struggled to think how she could explain the thoughts racing through her mind. “I heard the voice. The one from the cell phone. It was Governor Ferrin, the governor of Nebraska.” The words came in a rush, and she wasn’t even sure how clearly she spoke.
“Wait a minute. Are you saying you think you heard the guy who called your cell phone? What was that about the governor?” Jason’s voice was alert.
“The voice I heard sounds exactly the same as the governor’s voice,” Aubree repeated.
She heard papers rustling and Jason mumbling, and then he asked, “Where did you hear his voice?”
“It was on TV just now. He was giving a speech on some kind of farming legislation he’s trying to pass.” Aubree could hardly believe what she was saying. Jason would probably think she was delusional.
Jason hesitated. “The governor? I can look into this, but before I do, how sure are you about this?”
It was a question she had anticipated. Her palms were sweating, and her throat felt thick as she swallowed. “When I heard his voice, it was like—” She paused and took a breath. “It was like I was back in my car again, answering Devin’s cell phone. His laugh even sounded the same.”
Jason swore, and she heard him click his tongue. “I’m going to run some searches and get a recording of his voice. We’ll do some checking and see if we can find anything linking him to the leads we’ve been investigating.”
“What if you don’t find anything?”
“If there’s something to be found, we’ll find it,” Jason assured her. “I don’t want you to worry. Just keep doing what you’re doing and take care of yourself.”
“Okay.” Aubree tried to keep her voice from trembling.
“I’ll contact you when I have more information,” Jason said.
She closed her phone and slumped back against the couch. At best, her information would sound far-fetched, but at least Jason appeared to be taking her seriously—unless he was just trying to calm her down. She hoped for the best and wondered what the rest of the FBI would think when they were told to find dirt on Nebraska’s governor.
Aubree knelt on the floor next to Scarlett, who gave her a toothless smile.
“Should we make some dinner?” Aubree asked and scooped up her chubby baby. At least she could pretend everything was normal, for now.
FOURTEEN
A WEEK HAD PASSED SINCE Aubree had contacted Jason, and she’d been jumpy ever since. She’d only left the house once and had watched every suspicious-looking vehicle closely in her rearview mirror. The past three nights, she’d reviewed all the training she’d received and reminded herself what to watch for. Even though she hadn’t noticed anything different, she felt on edge.
Yesterday, she’d checked and rechecked the emergency bags she’d packed and stowed away in the SUV in case Jaybird ever told her to leave the nest. She smiled when she thought of the funny phrasing Jason would use if he ever felt her situation was too dangerous to stay in the house.
Adding a few more items to the emergency arsenal gave her something to do, but it didn’t ease her mind. If the code was ever called, she would have to leave and head to a safe house where she would be re-routed again. She prayed the case would be solved before it ever came to that.
Aubree gave Scarlett one last bite of pureed squash, and the baby giggled and smeared the food across her face. Before Aubree could get her cleaned up, her cell phone rang. She jumped up and grabbed it. Her pulse raced when she read Jaybird on her caller ID. “Hello, this is Jolynn.”
“Jaybird here with some information.” Jason’s voice was brisk, and Aubree sank back into her chair.
“Did you find anything?”
“Governor Ferrin is squeaky clean. I’m sorry, but we haven’t found a trace of anything that would link him to this case. We’re trying to tread carefully, though, and we’re checking out all connections.”
Aubree leaned her head into her hand and sighed. She watched Scarlett playing with the orange squash splatters on her tray. “So, I guess everything stays the same for now?”
“Yes,” Jason said. “But we may come up with something yet.”
“I guess that’s why they call you guys the FBI,” Aubree said.
“We’ll keep trying to live up to our title,” he said. “We’re being very thorough. We’ll be double-checking to see if there are any known criminals the governor has come in contact with. I’ll call you next week and let you know what we find.”
“Thanks,” Aubree said and closed her cell phone. She felt restless as she digested the news Jason had given her. “Let’s go to the store and get our groceries, Scarlett. I guess we’re safe after all.”
Scarlett smiled and waved her hands in the air. Aubree cleaned her up, grabbed the list off the fridge, and headed for the door. Maybe a quick shopping trip would relax her nerves.
As she pulled out of her driveway, Aubree noticed a pile of thorny sticks she had pruned from her rosebushes and frowned. She kept forgetting to get them disposed of even though they had sat there for over a month.
When the snow had finally retreated, and spring was near, she’d spent quite a bit of time working in the yard. The roses near the driveway were overgrown and hadn’t been pruned for some time. It had taken a thick pair of leather gloves and a long-sleeved shirt to tackle the job. The thorns even made their way through her gloves at times. But with the help of the June sunshine, the roses had exploded into all kinds of beautiful blossoms. Now that it was almost July, Aubree made a mental note to get the pile of sticks by her front door taken care of today; the thorns could hurt someone if they tripped along her sidewalk.
“I’ll have to cut some of those roses for our table,” she said to Scarlett as they drove. Scarlett was happy to ride in the grocery cart, and the shopping trip was uneventful, but that’s how Aubree preferred it. After checking off everything on her list, the back of the SUV was full of groceries and supplies she needed for the rest of the month. At least she didn’t have to worry about money.
Jason had made it clear that all of her needs, within a reasonable amount, would be met by the program for the first year. Money was deposited into her account each month disguised as a paycheck. Her dear husband overseas took good care of them. At least that’s what everyone in her neighborhood thought.
Glancing behind her, she noticed that Scarlett had fallen asleep. She pulled into the garage and waited for the noisy door to close before she got out of the car. She popped the hatch of the SUV; she could unload the car while Scarlett slept. She grabbed her purse and unlocked the door.
When she crossed the threshold, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She stepped softly into the kitchen and looked around. Something wasn’t right, but what was it? She hurriedly punched in the code on her alarm, noting that it hadn’t been disarmed.
Turning slowly, she listened for a sound that didn’t belong. There was a slight rustle coming from the living room. Aubree’s heart hammered in her chest as she walked around the corner. Part of her wanted to turn around and run, but then she remembered how jumpy she’d been the last week about every strange noise. She took another tentative step forward and peered into the living room. Nothing seemed out of place, but then her breath caught in her throat when a light breeze wafted through the open window.
Aubree whirled around and dug her hand into her purse, searching frantically for her cell phone. She pushed the speed
dial and backed up slowly, straining her ears for any sound. There was nothing out of place in the kitchen or living room, and Aubree couldn’t see any sign of movement down the hallway. Her heart was pounding, and she gasped when Jason answered.
“Jaybird, I just got home from the store, and there was a window open in my living room,” she whispered.
“Has your alarm been deactivated?” Jason’s voice rose slightly, and it made her all the more nervous.
She walked back through the kitchen toward the alarm panel. “I entered the code when I got home.” She fished in her purse and pulled her pepper spray out, trying to ignore the blood beating in her ears.
“I can check from here to see when the code was entered last.” Jason said. “It’ll take a few minutes. Are you sure you didn’t leave the window open?”
Aubree squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t remember opening it.”
“Do you see any sign of an intruder?”
“No, but I’m scared.”
“I’ll send an officer over there for you. I want you to get back in your car and drive around the block.”
“Scarlett’s asleep in the car,” Aubree said. “Maybe I’m just being paranoid. I think if someone were here they would’ve come out by now.”
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about, but I’ve got dispatch sending an officer over,” Jason said. “Are you heading back to your car?”
Aubree glanced down the hallway and frowned. “Yes.”
“I’m glad you called me. I’ll have the alarm information for you soon to double check. We should be able to see when that window was opened.”
“I don’t remember opening it, and something didn’t feel right when I came home,” Aubree tried to explain. She took a few steps down the hall, noting that her bedroom door was closed as she had left it.
“I know it’s hard not to worry, but you’re hidden,” Jason said. “No one even has a picture of what you look like right now. There’s no record of the changes we made to your appearance.”
“But what about the one in my file?”
“What? That doesn’t look like you now. That’s from when you were seven months pregnant with blonde hair,” Jason said.
Aubree stopped near the front room, her breath catching in her throat at the memory of something that now exploded in her worried mind. “No, the one Miranda—Agent Olsen—took of me right after they dyed and cut my hair.” Aubree heard a choking sound from the other end of the phone. “Jason?”
“Jaybird says leave the nest! Get out! Get out now!” Jason shouted.
The room seemed to tilt, and Aubree couldn’t concentrate. Jason’s voice was echoing in her ears as she tried to remember what she was supposed to do next. She stepped back and looked at the open window in the living room again. A thousand different thoughts buzzed through her mind. She looked at the pepper spray in her hand at the same instant the front door burst open.
Aubree screamed as a man barreled toward her. She raised the pepper spray and shot it directly at his face.
Her attacker hollered and stopped, but Aubree rapidly came alive. She ran at the man with all her might and pushed him. He was already backing away because of the pepper spray, and her momentum sent him flying. He tripped off the front steps and landed in the pile of rose clippings with jagged thorns, howling in agony.
Aubree didn’t hesitate. She slammed the door and ran back through the house into the garage, coughing on the pepper spray that lingered in the air. She closed the hatch on the car and jumped inside, locking the doors. She put on her seat belt and opened the garage door. Behind her, Scarlett was still sleeping soundly. Aubree put the car into reverse and jammed her foot on the gas pedal.
She saw a flash of the dark jacket the man wore and heard a thump from the side of her vehicle. The tires screeched as she pulled onto the street and shifted the car into drive. The man lay unmoving on her driveway, and at first Aubree wondered if she’d run him over, but then she figured he’d run into the side of her car while trying to stop her. She sped down the street looking constantly in her rearview mirror.
During one glance, she noticed her own reflection. Mascara ran down her face, and she wiped at it, not even realizing she’d been crying. Her hands shook, and she gripped the steering wheel tighter. She willed herself to slow down as she headed for the nearest freeway entrance.
A buzzing sound from her purse made her heart jump. She fished out her cell phone and saw that Jason had just been trying to reach her. She glanced in her rearview mirror again as she pulled onto the freeway and dialed Jason’s number.
“Aubree, are you okay?”
“I don’t know. I think so,” she stammered. “A man came through my front door. He was going to attack me—I used my pepper spray. I got away, and I’m driving on the freeway now,” she said.
“The local police are on their way. I need a description to relay to them.” Jason said.
“He was wearing a dark jacket. He was around six feet tall, maybe two hundred and twenty pounds,” Aubree said. “I don’t know. It happened so fast. I think he had dark hair and a mustache.”
“That’s good. Can you think of anything else that might make him stand out in a crowd?” Jason said.
“Not right now.” Aubree tapped the steering wheel. “I’ll keep thinking.”
“Hold on a minute,” he said. Aubree heard him give out the description and then he came back on the line. “Are you headed for the safe house?”
“Yes,” she answered, but then hesitated. “How did they find me?”
“I’m trying to figure that out. It doesn’t make sense. Something’s wrong. They bypassed the security system.”
She pursed her lips and then blew out her breath in a huff. “I don’t think I’ll go to the safe house after all.”
“What? Aubree, you have to. It’s the only way we can protect you.”
“Maybe you’d better see who Agent Olsen shared her pictures with before I do that.” Aubree felt her anger rise to the surface as she realized how close she’d come to losing her life.
“We’ve already got her in custody,” Jason said. “We’ll find out what she was up to. I’m sorry. I had no idea she’d taken your picture. Why didn’t you say so before?”
“Because I trusted her. She had what seemed a legitimate reason to take my picture, and then I forgot about it.”
“That was too close. You’ve got to come in, and we’ll make sure you’re safe,” Jason said.
Aubree glanced at Scarlett in the back, still sleeping peacefully. She was headed to the safe house, but as the mile markers on the freeway whizzed past, she shook her head. “I’m not coming back in to be guarded day and night under house arrest, Jason.”
She heard him swear in frustration. “It’s the only way we can keep you alive.”
“No!” Aubree slammed her hand against the steering wheel. “You can keep me alive by figuring out who is behind all this and putting them in prison. Until that happens, I’ll never be safe. Your own agents have turned against you. Maybe you should look at what’s happening right under your nose.”
Jason swore again, but then he said, “Please. I’ve hardly slept since last week. I’ve been trying to find something on Governor Ferrin. I think we’re closer than we know—we must be for them to come after you like this.”
“I need time to think about what to do. I’ll let you know.”
“Please. Don’t do something stupid.”
“I won’t,” Aubree said, and she ended the call. Jason was sure the FBI could keep her safe, but she wasn’t anymore. Whoever was behind this was too powerful. She approached the exit to the safe house. She glanced in her rearview mirror again and pressed on the gas pedal.
FIFTEEN
AS SHE PASSED THE exit sign, Aubree’s chest constricted, but she sucked in a breath of air and kept driving. Her attacker’s face kept flashing before her eyes. She prayed silently as she drove and tried to think of a plan to stay alive. She had already lost
Devin; she was determined to be there for Scarlett. The shock was wearing off, and her tremors subsided, but she kept the needle on the speedometer as high as she dared to get away from Omaha as fast as possible.
Aubree felt tired and hungry, but she kept driving for more than two hours as Scarlett slept. Around four in the afternoon, Scarlett woke up.
“I know you’re hungry, sweetie. We’ll stop soon, and I’ll feed you.” She tried to soothe Scarlett by singing softly. They had been heading south from Omaha, and the next city coming up was a small town called Aurora. The signs on the interstate indicated Aurora had hotels and restaurants, and yet she wondered if they should stop.
Scarlett wailed louder as Aubree slowed the car and exited the freeway. She pulled into the lot of the first grocery store she found and parked the car. Climbing into the backseat, she unbuckled Scarlett. Feeling grateful for tinted windows, she fed her baby and tried to think what to do next.
The air conditioner blew on her and rustled the grocery sacks in the back. Aubree said a quick prayer of thanks that she still had her groceries. She had just purchased new diapers, wipes, and baby food for Scarlett that afternoon. She had a good stock of food on hand. With a few other essentials, a cooler, and some ice, she could make it for several days on her own. Aubree’s head snapped up as a thought came into her mind. She remembered all the fun experiences she’d had camping with her parents when she was young. She’d loved being outdoors where things were so secluded, away from anything and everyone.
By the time she finished feeding Scarlett, her mind was racing with the details of her new plan. If it worked, Aubree felt sure she could keep them safe until things settled down with the FBI. She reached over the backseat and pulled out a bag of bagels. Ripping pieces off a blueberry bagel, she chewed slowly while she thought of where to go next. Scarlett was content again for the time being, but she’d also need some solid baby food within an hour.
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