Sparks Of Deception

by Barb Shuler

  “Kristol is bleeding, I think. Dani Lynn is fighting pain and the kids are freaking out.”

  “All right, you wrangle kids, I'll get them to the bedroom. Just keep the kids down here, okay?” I hugged her close and kissed her head.

  “Okay,” she hiccuped and I ran to where she said they were. The broken whatever it was at the bottom of the stairs gave me pause but once I looked up to see two very pregnant woman in pain that was forgotten. “What did ya do, woman?” I asked Dani Lynn as I moved up the stairs. She swatted my arm and glared.

  “Don't make me break you, boy. Now, help me get Kris to her room. We gotta call for an ambulance or call Doc G.” She stood carefully with my help and I shook my head.

  “Doc is busy. Ambulances are on a call,” I said. No need to panic them now. “Stella said she was on the way. She was gonna get Shelby.” I spoke softly as I helped Kristol up and then we made our way to the top floor landing.

  “Call Drew and Jackson, tell them to get here.” Dani Lynn’s words made me pause for a moment then I pushed forward.

  “Can't, they're on an emergency call. Gramps knows I'm here and what's going on. They'll be here as soon as they can. Come on. Lay down, both of ya. And don't argue.”

  I moved to the bathroom and grabbed some towels and grimaced as I thought of Kristol’s sheets. Oh well, she could buy new ones. I got them both propped up and ran back downstairs. The minute Stella busted through the door with Shelby I motioned them upstairs. I had to keep busy, so first things first. I helped Lana get the kidlets upstairs and into Taylor's room since it was in the opposite end of the house from where Dani Lynn and Kris were.

  We put on Jurassic World, then I moved back downstairs to clean up the broken furniture. If Jacks and Drew came in and saw that they'd shit a brick. There was no way to hide it. I stacked the pieces on the floor of the back porch and then moved the other three boxes up to the half empty nursery. I laid them out where they'd go and moved to shut the door.

  I was catching my breath and trying to sort out the thoughts in my head when I heard Tyler shriek. I jogged down to Taylor’s room. Lana had her head in the trash can. Ugh, I hated when people puked.

  “Butterfly?” I moved to her and helped her to the door. “Y’all stay and watch your movie. La La needs a little water. She's fine.”

  “I'm okay…” she sighed as we walked. I helped her across the hall to the bathroom. I lifted her to sit on the counter and cupped her face.

  “What's the matter? You look kind of green, baby. Did your blood sugar drop?” I cocked a brow at her as she shook her head.

  “No, my leg hurts though. It got whacked by the falling furniture. It's okay though,” she said, waving me away.

  I ignored that and rolled her jeans up. She had a gash on her leg. It was still bleeding a little so I propped her leg up and moved to get the first aid kit I knew was in the linen closet. I brought it back in and opened it up. It didn't take long to get it cleaned and a temporary bandage on it. I'd see if Shelby would check it before she left.

  When I had her settled in the kids room, her leg propped up on the edge of Tyler's bed I moved down stairs to get everyone a snack and something to drink. When I came back up I had a plate full of animal crackers, grapes, apple slices and a sippy cup for each kiddo. And, a big glass of OJ for Lana.

  I got everyone resettled with snacks and juice and we cuddled up to watch Jurassic World. Taylor and Tyler had this thing memorized but it was one guaranteed way to get them to sit still. Hopefully soon we’d know who had a baby and what they had, I just hoped Drew and Jackson made it in time.

  Four and a half hours later, Stella was shaking me awake. I glanced around and saw we had all fallen asleep. I untangled myself from Lana and Tyler to follow her out of the room. She looked up at me.

  “Well?” I asked?

  “Drew and Jackson just got here. They're in there now. Dani Lynn had a girl. And Kris had a boy. Dude, they're exactly two minutes apart. I tell ya, that freak twin mojo ain't no joke.”

  I snorted out a laugh and hugged her tight.

  “Thanks for your help, Stella. I wasn’t about to be delivering no babies today,” I said, my face as serious as I was. There was no way in all that was holy that I was going there. Not now, not ever.

  “Is everyone all right? Moms and babies, I mean?”

  “Yeah, Kris had a little harder time but she's okay now. Shelby was keeping a close eye on them both. It was a scary ride, I can't lie man.”

  “I'll let them rest. If you need me I'll be in the nursery putting together furniture… since that's what started this all.”

  “What do you mean?” Her question made me laugh nervously but I decided I might as well tell her. As we walked into the nursery I filled her in. Also told her to ask Shelby to look at Lana’s leg.

  “Damn, she ain't even had the girl twenty-four hours and she's already tried to kill her. I should have known…” She laughed as she walked out and I couldn’t help but laugh right along with her. Today had been a wild day… tomorrow would be better. Hopefully.

  Five Days Later

  The last few days have been both chaos and quiet, which is a weird combination, but such is life. The case I've been working on with the FBI just turned a corner. Seems we still have a ring of these assholes in town. I managed - with Hatcher’s help - to track them to an abandoned farm house about ten minutes outside of town. The information was old now, but it was progress. And they managed to catch a few of them there and got a helluva lot of incriminating evidence. Seems they were the ones that started the forest fire back in the summer. They've also been the ones responsible for the fires in town, and the surrounding areas. It's not so easy to hide now so they're making a mess of things. No one is impressed.

  Right now that’s all on the back burner. I’m going to meet Lana at Trudy’s Salon and take her to lunch. Shayna, Stella’s almost sister-in-law and Shayna’s cousin Riley, who is also one of the towns EMT’s are going to play babysitter for us for about two hours. So it will be time well earned for Lana today, and needed.

  She's been such a big help with both Dani Lynn and Kristol on bed rest after having the babies. Drew and Dani Lynn named their little girl Gabriella Christine. Jackson and Kris named their little man Joseph Christopher. Both babies had strong, family names. I couldn't be more proud. I went from an only child in bad home to being adopted and loved by this family and now, I have baby sisters and a baby brother. And some adorably cute cousins. It's perfect.

  When I made it to Trudy’s Salon I could hear nothing… thank all that was holy. That meant I could be in and out before the littles saw me. What I hadn't expected when I walked into the back room was that they'd all be asleep. All but Lana and Ryan, that is. I chuckled as Ryan clung to her La La. Tyler hated to share me, and Ryan hated sharing Lana. So, after a few minutes of Shayna trying to get Ryan to come to her we gave up.

  “It's okay, she can come with us. We won't be too long. Thanks for the help, ladies,” I said to Shayna and Riley.

  “Y’all have fun. I've got a few appointments coming in but Ry will make sure the monsters stay in line.” Shayna laughed and I shook my head as we walked out.

  A few minutes later we were at Mrs. Nettie's, or as it's aptly named, Border’s BBQ Pit, where you would find the best barbecue in the state, as far as I was concerned. We sat at a booth so we could sit close and keep Ryan from having to let go of Lana. Kid was like a clingy little spider monkey. We ate, talked and laughed at the multitude of faces Ryan made while eating pickle slices. She was puckered up like she was about to die one minute then reaching for another the next.

  After we ate, we walked around the square and just relished the quiet, alone time until we made it back to the Salon.

  “Okay, so I'll be at the station if you need me. See you in a couple of hours?”

  “Yep, then we get to go home and do this all over again.”

  Her laugh was bright and I couldn't help but laugh with her. I leaned in and
kissed her softly. I was distracted by her lips until I heard tires screech. I looked up in time to see two figures dressed in all black jump out of a black van and grab Lana, who still had Ryan clinging to her.

  “You're coming with us.” The deep, familiar male voice boomed as he grabbed onto Lana tighter. He was wrong if he thought she was going anywhere with him. This was not going to happen.

  I punched the figure closest to me and jumped forward, trying to tug Lana back to me. I was hit in the side but kicked out, knocking him back down. Asshole! Something happened then and the tides shifted, so to speak. Something hard connected with the back of my head. A pain shot through me and, I blinked quickly. It was as if I moved in slow motion. As I fell forward I saw Lana and Ryan shoved into the van. The door shut and they were gone.

  Nothing made sense. I saw blurry images and could hear muffled voices… but nothing was making sense. My eyes closed and that was all she wrote. I tried fighting the faint feeling I had, the pain that rippled through my head… but I couldn't. I finally gave in and the darkness took me.

  22

  Searching...

  Derek

  When I was able to open my eyes again I was looking into the panicked eyes of Shayna and of course, Riley. Riley was calm - as one would expect an EMT to be - but something wasn't right. Lana! Oh shit, someone had Lana and Ryan. I tried to get up, but my head spun fifty ways from Sunday. It wasn't happy with my moving but I didn't care. I had to get to her.

  “Derek, whoa. Listen to me, kid. I need you to lay back down.” I pushed Riley’s hands off and got to my feet.

  “I have to..” I blinked several times until the Street came into better focus.

  “You have to sit your ass down. Listen, you're bleeding and I can’t assess your injuries if you're being difficult,” she said, growling out her words.

  “Station. I need to get to the station.” I started walking. My stomach rolled and the pain in my head was making it hard to breathe, but nothing was stopping me. I heard Shayna yelling into the phone, Riley cursing me and someone say “stupid ass men” as I walked towards the station.

  That walk seemed to take fucking forever. The longest minutes of my life passed as I walked by the storefronts that would lead to the station. I couldn't dwell. No, there was no time for that. I had to find Lana and Ryan. I was met by Gramps and Charlie at the door but moved passed them to my desk. I hit the speaker on my desk phone and pressed #9. It rang once before he picked up.

  “Hatcher.”

  “They have Lana, and Ryan. I need you now,” I said as I flopped down in my chair. Okay, so maybe it was more like slumped into it, but whatever. I let out a panting breath as I fought the bile rising in my throat. No time to puke, I had to focus.

  “Fuck. I'll be there in five minutes.”

  When the phone went silent my fingers flew across my keyboard. Lana’s phone could tell us where she was. It had to still be on. God, please, I beg you, please let it still be on. There was a hand that pressed to the back of my head and I hissed. I tried jerking away but Gramp’s angry voice stopped me.

  “Sit your ass still. I won't have you bleedin’ all over my shiny floors.”

  “Derek, who has Lana? Where’s Ryan? What's happened to you, kid?” I looked up to meet the eyes of one pissed off McKenna. I looked back at my computer as I replayed what had happened. That voice. God, it was so familiar. I wracked my brain as the front door of the station burst open and Stella, Anna and Robert came in. Trace, of course was right behind them.

  Everyone was talking at once, their voices sending shear bolts of pain through my head. The yelling got louder and it wasn't until Hatcher came in, and hooked his laptop to my desktop, that things started to become clearer. It was like deja vu. The voice of the man that grabbed Lana. I knew it because he'd been in here when the shit happened at the school.

  As I pulled up school records Hatcher pulled up what he had in his files. We worked in tandem - in silence - until it all fell into place.

  “That son of a bitch!” I jerked up from my seat and stumbled over to Drew’s desk. My fingers moved across his keyboard with ease. Shit! How had I not seen it before?

  “Derek?” Gramps voice pulled my eyes from the screen. I met his as the rage bubbled up inside of me. I flipped Drew’s monitor around and pointed to the screen.

  “Martin Evans and Ray Evans. They're wanted for armed robbery, assault and a slew of other crimes. They also have a connection to the Jacobs family. Gerald Jacobs is a known associate.” I said as I moved back to my computer. My program was locking in on Lana’s signal. I just needed a clear shot at it.

  “All three of these men have warrants out for their arrests. A few of them are worth loads of dough. Surprised bounty hunters haven't grabbed them yet.” Hatcher spoke as he stood. He pulled the swivel board closer and started writing out the important info we pulled up.

  Twenty minutes later we had a clear view of what we were dealing with. Hatcher and I filled Gramps, Charlie, and three FBI agents that had been sent in on what we knew. Lana’s phone signal hadn't caught yet. I was hoping she had turned it off but I watched that monitor like a hawk.

  When the station door opened again Jackson, Drew, Stella, Trace and a man I didn't know came in. I hadn’t seen Stella dn Trace leave earlier but I had been busy. I was waiting for Jackson to freak out, but all he did was put a hand on my shoulder and give it a squeeze.

  “Game plan?” Was all he said. I sighed and looked at the monitor before me.

  “We wait for a signal or for them to fuck up,” I said, rubbing my face. My damn head was beyond pounding now and there wasn't anything I wanted more than to jump in my Jeep and haul ass after my girl.

  “That's where you're wrong, kid. This here’s Tank. He's been on the trail of a few people lately that seem to have crossed paths with the ones we’re looking for,” Stella said, all business now. I took a good look at her and she was covered in head to toe leather. I raised a brow.

  “What does that mean?” I asked, confused as all get out.

  “Means I'm about to make some money and the lot of you get to kick some ass. Pull up the county map, and I'll show you where the house is.”

  I pulled up the map on the big screen and after a brief chat with this Tank fella, Stella’s finger went to a spot on the map, way up in the trees. Hatcher started a search for land records but no one expected him to come out with the name he said. Everyone in the room, except the FBI and Tank went dead silent.

  “What? You know this man, this J. Edgar Kryder?”

  “Son of a fucking bitch!” Gramps threw a desk lamp across the room and I just shook my head, anger rolling off of me.

  “Run it again. We have to be sure, like no doubt whatsoever about the property owner.” My gaze met Hatcher’s and he nodded, though he answer didn't change.

  “Who is this man?” Hatcher asked. I let out a frustrated breath before speaking.

  “The fucking Mayor. The same one fucking the twat of a principal at the high school. The same one who must have known she hired a wanted felon as a fucking teacher. The same goddam man that snatched Lana out of my fucking hands!” As I spoke I stood, my chair falling over as I met the eyes of the people around me. “Gramps? How do we play this?”

  The door to the station opened and Agent Carson walked in with none other than Walker Kane and the Men In Black. Hot damn! Back up had truly arrived now.

  “Everyone sit down, shut up and just listen. We have to do this right, and we are gonna do it just the way I say,” Gramps said, his Sheriff’s tone taking over. He nodded to Carson and Kane before he turned back to us. It was do or die time now.

  It took only a couple of hours to get everything in order. The location was mapped out and Kane took his team out to scout the area. I was sure there was more to that then what I thought but hey, as long as we got Lana and Ryan back I didn't care.

  Lana

  Being pulled away from your comfort zone, shoved in a moving vehicle and manhandled i
s not how I envisioned this afternoon going. Ryan is still crying and screaming. I'm not sure what happened once I got in the van. A hand went over my face and… that was all she wrote. That was until I woke up to Ryan screaming.

  I've been trying to sit up for what seems like forever but finally manage to roll over. My eyes took a few seconds longer to open though. Grunting I rolled back over and sat up slowly. I shook my head and managed to get my feet to move, barely. I felt woozy, but the more I moved the clearer things seemed to be. I pulled the door open slowly and followed the voices, and Ryan’s crying.

  I stopped with a gasp when I came upon a room, what seemed to be a living area, and saw the beast and Mr. Evans in there. There were a few other men as well but they all faded away as my anger spiked. I moved towards Gerald Jacobs, who was holding Ryan out in front of him and yelling at her to shut up.

  I walked up to him and kicked him as hard as I could in the balls. I’ve never done something like that before, but he was yelling at a baby. One that was scared and not happy with his ugly face in hers. As he dropped,clutching his balls and groaning, I took Ryan from him. Mr. Evans stormed towards me. His hand connected with my cheek and the sting of his ring meeting my skin sent pain radiating through me. I stumbled back, gasping from the shock and pain. My ass hit the floor hard, but I kept Ryan tightly in my arms. I would not let them hurt her.

  Out the corner of my eye I saw Gerald get to his feet. I whimpered as the blood fell from my lip and hit my shirt. “Watch yourself, girl or I might have to get rough with you,” he snarled as he stepped closer to me. I scooted back, got to my feet, and moved out of his reach only to run into Mr. Evans. His arm went around me and I shoved an elbow into his stomach, but to no avail.