Expired Refuge

by Lisa Phillips

  “You wanted Ed, right?” he said to her. The guy spoke loud enough for Conroy to hear but otherwise ignored him. “So then move.”

  Twenty-seven

  Conroy ran to the door, gun first.

  Shots exploded like fireworks. One sang past his ear. He took cover against the wall, pinned down and unable to look outside.

  They’d taken her.

  You wanted Ed.

  Car doors slammed. Another shot hit the wall by the door, outside.

  “Lieutenant!” Officer Ridgeman stood at the far end of the hall, face flushed. Gun ready.

  “Stay there.” He waved her back.

  After a few seconds of no shots, he looked out. Engines revved on two vehicles, an old, small SUV and a car.

  Through the window, one of the men made a gesture directed at Conroy.

  He really wanted to shoot at the fleeing car, but not doing so was safer for innocent bystanders. And it was a good rule, even if he didn’t want to follow policy right now.

  “Lieutenant!” Dean Cartwright, the medic and former SEAL—and Ted’s brother—raced around the building.

  Conroy waved him over and went back inside.

  Jessica Ridgeman stood at the end of the hall. “Mia?”

  “They took her.” He reached her side. “How’s the chief?”

  “I need to go check. The nurse was with him.”

  He nodded. “Go.” She’d shown loyalty to the whole department by protecting the house and everyone in it first. Not just her grandfather. The lines of blood family and family in blue probably blurred for her.

  Dean pounded down the hallway.

  Conroy turned in time to see him frown at Jess’s back as he slowed. “What?”

  He turned that frown to Conroy. “Nothing. Anyone hurt?”

  “Yes. In the bull pen. And tell Kaylee I want a headcount.”

  “Copy that.” Dean headed through the same door Jess had gone through.

  Conroy hadn’t managed to take any of them out, though not for lack of trying. He’d had to dive out of the way to avoid being seen. But he’d heard a shot right before those men emerged with Rich’s phone. Who had they shot at?

  Conroy checked Ted’s office. No one. The bathroom?

  He pushed open the men’s room door, then the ladies. “Hey!”

  On the floor. He raced to the far end, where a leg stuck out of a stall. Thankfully the person was dressed. Probably hiding.

  He tugged the shoulder over, her blonde hair fell back. “Wilcox? When did you get here?”

  She didn’t answer. She was unconscious; a bullet embedded in the vest she was wearing.

  “Did you hit your head on a toilet?” He gathered her in his arms and stood. “What am I going to do with you?”

  She’d probably entered from that same side door where they’d taken Mia, trying to take down the intruders herself. He shook his head and turned sideways to get through to the bull pen. A one-woman powerhouse. Until they’d clocked her and put a bullet in her vest.

  Kaylee gasped. “Is she okay?”

  Conroy said, “Chair.”

  She held one steady so it didn’t roll while he set Wilcox in it, then crouched and patted her cheek. “Wake-y, wake-y, Savannah. Rise and shine.”

  She didn’t rouse.

  “Dean?” He called the guy’s name across the bull pen.

  The former SEAL lifted his head up. “This one has one to the shoulder, through and through.”

  “Officer Allen?”

  “I’m good, Lieutenant.” His call out was full of pain.

  “Get it taken care of.” He turned back to Savannah and watched her grumble something too low for him to hear. “Rise and shine, detective.” Then he turned to Kaylee. “You made the calls?”

  She nodded. “Bill is running point on that. Everyone’s asking if they can help. Ambulances are on their way.”

  “Both of them?”

  When she nodded, he said, “I want to know if Tate calls in.”

  “Copy that.” Kaylee turned back to her desk. Probably to call Tate himself and ask why he wasn’t calling in when the Lieutenant expected him to. Like he should just know to do that.

  Ted stepped out of the chief’s office.

  “How is he?”

  “Slept through the whole thing, thankfully. The nurse is ready to throw a freak-out fit to end all freak-out fits, though. Jess is talking to her.”

  Conroy nodded.

  Ted said, “Where’s Mia?”

  Dean stood up, Officer Allen’s good arm draped over his shoulder. He was so big that Dean’s bulk lifted the guy off his feet. “Ambulance?”

  Kaylee said, “On its way.”

  Dean started walking. “Tell them I’m headed straight there in my truck. We don’t need to wait.”

  She glanced at Conroy, who nodded.

  Dean said something to his brother as he passed. Ted frowned, even after Dean hauled Officer Allen to the front door.

  “What was that?”

  Ted didn’t seem so inclined to tell Conroy the answer to that.

  Savannah moaned. He crouched in front of her. “Okay?”

  She hissed out a breath. “Did I really get shot in a bathroom?”

  “You’re still alive.”

  “If I die that way, you’ve gotta tell my mom it was clean. Okay? She’ll be mad.”

  He squeezed her shoulder. “Sure thing. Give yourself a minute. Get checked out by these EMTs.” They walked through the door, so he waved them over. “When you’re ready, and not a minute before then, there’s work for you to do.”

  “Copy.” She didn’t sound happy about it. “Hey, where’s Mia?”

  He got out of the way of the EMTs.

  “Conroy.”

  He glanced at her.

  “Respectfully? Answer the question, Lieutenant.”

  “They took her.”

  She grasped the chair handles, ready to launch herself up. He held up a hand, palm out to her. “Not until you’re ready.”

  He walked to the hall again, looked at the door they’d taken her out of. It had been a coordinated attack, but more about brute force than any kind of finesse.

  His mind flashed back to the events leading to Mia being kidnapped. Again. He’d made his way to the store room, diving to keep from being seen in the process. He’d gotten a vest, hearing the shot that hit Wilcox as he fastened the straps. The shotgun had been his next grab.

  To the hall. But not in time to save her from being taken.

  Second time something happened to her on his watch. Though he couldn’t help thinking of the man’s words.

  You wanted Ed.

  She’d gone with them, instead of fighting. Some people would have done that same thing. Others would fight to their last breath even if it meant losing their life, just for the sake of not being taken.

  Mia had training. She knew the odds of survival after the victim was put in the car, but probably didn’t consider herself a victim, even now. She would fight.

  They had her gun.

  Stiles had her father.

  She would hedge her bets, account for Conroy and his department, and consider the risk to her own life worth it.

  Lord, help me get them both back. Mia and her father. Help me bring justice to Anthony Stiles.

  Was this his ticket to getting Ed Summers as well?

  That could not be the focus right now. Not when Mia might be in Stiles’s clutches already; fighting for her life against a known psychopath.

  Ted strode past Conroy to his office. “You okay, boss?”

  “No.”

  “Come in.”

  Conroy leaned against the door frame. Mia had grabbed the phone right before she’d been taken. “Now we’ll never get that location. And they have Rich’s phone as well, so we have no leads.”

  Ted frowned. He tapped two keys on his keyboard, a shortcut to something Conroy didn’t know how to do. When the login window showed up, Ted tapped a mind-numbing series of letters and numb
ers.

  “Please tell me you have something.”

  “Not that I want to burst this bubble of misery you’ve got going on, but…” He clicked a few keys and a folder popped up. “This is everything we got from the dead man’s phone…Garrett whoever. It’s currently running a program on Tyler Lane’s phone that will look for correlations, or anything else that’s notable.”

  “You have everything?”

  Ted nodded. “If they were trying to handicap us, they should’ve worked a whole lot harder than this. No one is dead, and we’ve lost nothing.”

  “Except Mia.”

  “Is that really a loss?”

  Before Conroy could bite his head off, Ted held up one hand.

  “Hear me out. What I mean is that it could be an ‘in.’ Maybe the one we’ve been looking for all this time.”

  Conroy folded his arms. “I’m not in the mood for a ‘Ted’ talk.” The kid was always going on about having a growth mindset.

  “Just trying to think positively.”

  Conroy shot him a look.

  “It helps. Sometimes.” Ted turned back to his computer. “I’ll send you the location for where Garrett was going to get his money from Anthony Stiles.”

  “Thanks.” He walked to the door. “Do you need anything?”

  Ted glanced over. “Not something you can help me with.”

  “If you’re sure?”

  “Yeah.” Ted nodded. “Thanks anyway.”

  Conroy left him to it and went back to the bull pen. There were more officers here now. Helping. Cleaning up to get the place to rights. Two uniforms who worked nights, dressed in plain clothes, stood in the chief’s office talking with Jess and the nurse.

  The second Wilcox saw him, she stood. “I’m good, boss.”

  The EMT didn’t seem to agree, and his associate just seemed to find the whole thing hilarious.

  Kaylee wandered over. “Tate said he’ll call you. I think he might have something.”

  “Thanks.”

  Wilcox made a face. “What do we need his help for?”

  Kaylee held up both hands, flashing the warm, dark color of her palms. “Girl.” She dragged the word out. “If you need me to explain it to you...”

  Conroy felt his lips curl up. Humor was good, even in the middle of a crisis.

  Wilcox said, “I didn’t mean that. He was all buddy-buddy with Ed, and don’t even get me started on him being there when Mia was taken from the Lieutenant’s house. We should haul him in for questioning. Try to get an accessory charge to stick.”

  Before she could make a plan, Conroy said, “I’ll get my keys. We’re out of here.”

  Kaylee nodded. Conroy crafted a quick update email he sent to everyone in the department, so they’d know to get assignments from Kaylee. She wrote down what he wanted them to do. Increased patrols for tonight. Photos out for everyone they knew to be involved, as well as notes to look for Mia and Rich. Stiles was top priority.

  He needed officers to go through the security footage for the department building. See if they could ID any of the men who’d broken in.

  Repairs.

  Cleaning.

  Conroy stood by his desk and gave himself a second before his head could explode. He squeezed the bridge of his nose and prayed again. For safety and protection, for both Rich and Mia. That he’d find them. Get them back. That neither would be hurt beyond what they were able to heal from.

  Ted’s email came through.

  Conroy dismissed the notification and scrolled through his contacts and hit Meena’s name.

  She didn’t pick up.

  When the message system beeped, he said, “When you get this, you call me.” No exceptions, no arguments. It was time for Mia’s sister to do the right thing.

  Wilcox followed him out to the car. He turned the engine on, and as soon as the vehicle connected to his phone, Conroy called Tate.

  “Hey.”

  “What’ve you got?” He stepped on the gas and pulled out as he asked the question, ready to find Mia already.

  All the while his mind screamed that it was some kind of double cross. That she hadn’t called her ATF people because she’d been working with Ed Summers all this time. Just like Tate—in cahoots with Conroy’s enemies. The way she’d talked in low whispers with her sister. Leaving with those men.

  No. He’d seen that look of fear and pain on her face. He couldn’t let his mind believe what it insisted he should. He had to remember who she was and the look on her face, right after he’d kissed her.

  Wonder.

  There was no mistaking a look like that. Conroy wanted to see it again, maybe when he rescued her from Ed Summers. Or Anthony Stiles. Either way, he was going to get her back.

  Tate said, “I was trying to follow Stiles, but I got a call from an associate. Ed has Mia.”

  “What?!” Wilcox’s yell filled the whole inside of the car.

  Conroy winced. “Just give us the address.”

  Wilcox said, “He probably got it from playing kissy face with Ed.”

  “Savannah.” Conroy kept his voice low, but the fact he was chiding her came through loud and clear.

  She folded her arms, mushing her lips together like every teen girl he’d ever met who’d been denied a trip to the mall. Except that was sexist, and she didn’t just look mad. She regretted what she’d just said.

  Tate said, “What’s your problem?”

  “I’m sure it doesn’t have to do with the fact I was shot half an hour ago.”

  Conroy wanted to shut his eyes and sigh, but he was driving. “Just send me the address.”

  Wilcox abruptly ended the call right as Tate started to roar.

  “Oops.”

  Conroy said, “Super professional.”

  “Sorry. I’m just scared. I get weird when I’m scared.” She rubbed her hands on her pant legs. “He gave me the address. We need to get to Mia.”

  “Yes,” Conroy said. “We do.”

  Twenty-Eight

  Crazy guy shoved her into an empty bedroom at Ed Summers’s house. Her sister sat in the corner, leaning against the wall. Face turned away.

  Mia said, “This seems familiar.”

  How could she not see the correlation between the two times she’d had some one-on-one time with her sister these last few days? Trapped within four barren walls. The fact her sister had something to do with her previous abduction.

  This time, however, they’d taken her badge and gun. And this was Summers’s house. And she was being held in one of the upstairs rooms. She glanced out the window. Not the place where Meena took her.

  Her sister didn’t move.

  “Meena.” She strode over, crouched, and shook her sister’s shoulder.

  The only answer she got was a low moan. Then she turned her head and the swatch of dark hair over her face fell to the side as she looked up at Mia.”

  “Oh, baby.” She crumpled to sit beside her sister on the floor. “What did they do to you?”

  Meena’s body shook. Mia started to gather her sister to her so she could hold her. That was when she realized her little sister was laughing.

  “Nothing about this is funny,” Mia said. “They beat you.”

  “You think I care? Not the first time. Won’t be the last.”

  Apparently she thought Mia was a total sap. Still, she’d like to know what made Meena so sure it would happen again. And why it’d happened this time. “Why?”

  Meena sucked in a breath that appeared to be painful. “Talking to you and Conroy.”

  The official conversation. “So you talked, and you still wanted back in. But this is the cost?”

  “It’s my life.” Meena shifted away from her but didn’t get far.

  “Well it doesn’t make any sense to me.”

  Meena pushed a breath out between her lips.

  Mia said, “They took me—and for what? I’m not a bargaining chip in this. It makes no sense for Ed Summers to drag me into his thing. Not after what he did
to us.”

  “You mean Mara?”

  “He drove drunk and she died.” Did Mia really have to explain that to her sister?

  “Ancient history. People around here barely even remember.” Meena lifted a finger and touched the cut at the corner of her lip. Someone wearing a ring had punched her repeatedly in the face. What wounds did Meena have that couldn’t be seen—ones her sister could hide from everyone?

  Kind of like the wounds Mia carried around. Self-inflicted, since her refusal to forgive Conroy for his part in Mara’s death had really only succeeded in hurting one person. Mia.

  “I remember,” she told her sister. “I’ll never forget what happened to our sister.”

  Meena said nothing.

  Mia was working on forgiving Conroy. Did that mean she would have to forgive Ed Summers as well? After all, Conroy hadn’t done all he could to prevent it, but it also hadn’t been his fault. And maybe it wasn’t so fair to presume he even could have saved her life.

  Not quite so difficult to let that go and forgive him. On the other hand, Ed Summers had been convicted of his actions, serving time for Mara’s death. He’d been the responsible party. Responsible for her safety and, when he made the poor choice to drive drunk, responsible for her death.

  He was culpable. Mia knew he would be much more difficult to forgive.

  Meena looked around. “What’s going on here?”

  Mia said, “I don’t know. I was hoping you would tell me.” She held her breath. Would her sister finally come around? Would she finally see Ed for who he really was? “This man killed our sister. Yes, it was in the past, but he took something important from us. And now, by the look of your bruised body, he also took something from you.”

  What could she say to convince her sister that working against Ed was the right thing? She had no idea how long her sister had been living this life. What she’d come to believe about herself, and the way the world saw her.

  Maybe she had no hope.

  “Women like us,” Mia said. “We have to fight to prove that we’re worth it. Otherwise we start to believe we’re not. Because no one sees us the way we think we should be seen.”

  Meena shifted to meet Mia’s gaze.

  “You’re just as beautiful as you always were. Just as smart, and street savvy. That’s been twisted, and they’ve probably made you do things you never thought you would. Right?”