The man whirled, and for the first time Lucas caught sight of his tattoo. Clyde Harper. So Chapman had sent his hired hand to do his dirty work.
Holding the gun steady, Lucas pushed to his feet and inched forward. “You’re not going to make it across the lake in that boat, Harper. So put the gun down and let the girl go.”
Clyde’s face filled with rage as he spun back to face Lucas. His hand twitched, and he appeared to be undecided. He glanced at the boat and then toward the tree line to the right of Mia’s property. He raised the gun once more but didn’t fire.
Lucas took a step closer. “You don’t need to die here today, but that’s what’s going to happen if you don’t do as I say.”
Clyde cast one more glance at his disabled boat and let out an angry roar as he shoved his gun into Mia’s ribs. “No! You don’t want her to die, so you’re going to do what I say. Now, get out of my way.” Still holding the gun on Mia, he began to back toward the tree line. “You won’t shoot and risk hitting her, so I guess I’ll have to leave by an alternate route.”
Lucas grasped his gun with both hands and stared down the barrel. “Don’t be an idiot. You can’t get far in those woods carrying the deadweight of an unconscious hostage. The police will have you in custody before you get to the main road.”
Clyde chuckled. “I’ll be long gone before they get here.”
Lucas shook his head. “No, you won’t. They’ve already been alerted, and they should be on their way here now. If you surrender now and tell the police what you know about Kyle Lockhart’s murder, I’ll help you.”
Clyde’s mouth tightened into a grim line. “I don’t know nothing about a murder,” he snarled.
“Then why are you so intent on kidnapping the murdered man’s widow? Think, Clyde. You try to escape, and you’re going to be charged as an accessory to murder and anything else Tony Chapman has done since jumping bail. Do you want to go back to prison?”
His hand holding the gun wobbled, and he swallowed. “No.”
“Then cooperate with us, and I’ll talk with the DA about giving you immunity.”
“I don’t need your help,” Clyde growled.
“Yes, you do. You may have started out to help your friend with a deal he had going with Kyle Lockhart, but now there’s Kyle’s murder to account for. And kidnapping Kyle’s wife and shooting me will only make matters worse. You’ll be lucky if you ever see the outside of a prison again. But it doesn’t have to come to that.”
Clyde swallowed. “What do you mean?”
“Tell the police where they can find Tony and what he and Lockhart were involved in. You can have a get-out-of-jail-free card if you just cooperate.”
“I don’t know…” He stopped and turned his head slightly as the sound of sirens drifted on the air.
Lucas raised his gun and stared down the barrel. “That’s the police, Clyde. Make up your mind now. You can lay the girl and the gun down now and take the easy way out, or you can choose the hard way. Which is it going to be?”
Indecision lined Clyde’s face as the shrill sound of sirens drew nearer. He glanced over his shoulder as if gauging his chances of escaping through the forest. Then he exhaled a deep breath and released his hold on Mia. She slid down his body and landed in a heap on the ground.
Clyde dropped his gun and raised his hands. “I can’t go back to jail. I wouldn’t make it in there again. I’ll tell the police whatever they want to know about Lockhart and Tony.”
Lucas stepped forward and kicked Clyde’s gun out of his reach. “You’ve made the right choice, Clyde. Now get down on your knees and put your hands behind your head. The police should be here any minute.”
Clyde nodded, raised his arms and locked his hands behind his head. “None of this was my idea. I should never have let Tony talk me into it. I knew Lockhart and that other guy were bad news the first time I saw them.”
“What other guy?” Lucas asked.
“The one who is the brains in the whole smuggling operation.”
Lucas’s eyebrows shot up. “Smuggling? Lockhart was involved in smuggling? Who was the man in charge?”
Clyde opened his mouth, but before he could speak, two gunshots rang out from the forest. A stunned expression flashed across Clyde’s face as he clutched at his chest, and then fell facedown onto the ground.
A third shot kicked up dirt at Lucas’s feet, and he nose-dived to the ground, covering Mia’s body with his. He cringed as a fourth shot hit the earth just inches from where they lay. He cradled Mia closer as the fifth shot went wide. He braced himself, wondering where the next bullet would land, but there was silence from the forest.
In the distance, he heard car doors slam and voices calling out. He raised his head a few inches and spied four police officers, one with a K-9 dog on a leash, rounding the corner of the house.
Lucas laid his gun on the ground and raised his hands in the air as he pushed to his knees. “I’m Lucas Knight, a bounty hunter, in the pursuit of a bail jumper. There’s a shooter in the forest!” he yelled to the approaching officers.
“I know Lucas!” one of the officers yelled, confirming his story as they ran forward.
Three of the policemen ran past and into the woods, but the one who’d recognized Lucas stopped, knelt next to Clyde and searched for a pulse in his neck. After a moment he shook his head and spoke into his lapel mic as he called for an ambulance. Then he looked up. “He’s gone. What happened here, Lucas?”
Lucas pushed into a sitting position and pulled Mia into his arms. “This guy ransacked the house and tried to kidnap Mrs. Lockhart.”
The officer listened as Lucas explained the events that had occurred at the house, beginning with their arrival and concluding with Clyde’s attempt to escape through the forest. “I thought I had him talked into giving himself up when someone in the woods shot him in the back. It must have been his partner, who didn’t want to take a chance on him talking to the police.”
The officer leaned closer and stared down at Mia. “Is she wounded?”
Lucas shook his head. “I don’t know. She’s been unconscious for the last ten minutes—and I don’t know how she got that way. I don’t think a bullet struck her, but she may have hit her head.”
The officer pushed to his feet. “Dispatch had gotten the call that a burglary had been reported, and officers were on their way when the second call came in. An ambulance should be here any moment. I’m going to find the guys in the woods and relay the information you’ve given me and then see if I’m needed to look for the shooter. Will you be okay staying with her until the EMTs get here?”
Lucas bit down on his lip and nodded as he tightened his hold on Mia. The sensation of helplessness he’d felt when he’d walked out of the house and seen Clyde carrying Mia washed back over him. Now as he held her in his arms and stared down into her face, the need to protect her warred with his earlier determination to treat Mia no differently than he did any other client.
But he could no longer fool himself into thinking that she meant no more to him than a stranger, and he knew it. Just as surely as he’d known for years that he’d been kidding himself that he’d overcome his feelings for her. In the deep recesses of his soul, he’d always known the truth. Mia owned his heart and always would.
All the anger he’d felt for her over the past seven years melted away as he stared down into her still face. Then, pulling her closer, he pressed his lips to her forehead. “Mia, please, wake up.”
She stirred in his arms, and her forehead wrinkled. He leaned back and looked down into her eyes. Mia was staring up at him, a frown on her face. “L-Lucas, wh-where am I?”
He released a breath in relief and tried to smile. “We’re in your backyard. Clyde Harper tried to abduct you, but you’re okay now.”
She raised a hand and rubbed her eyes. “I don’t remember.”
Before Lucas could respond, two EMTs ran around the corner of the house. “Don’t worry about it now. We’ll talk about it lat
er.”
He released her and stood as the EMTs came to a stop beside them. Then, backing away, he watched while one checked Clyde’s body, the other examining Mia. A noise behind him alerted him to the return of the officers from the woods, and he swiveled to meet them.
“Did you find the shooter?”
The officer in charge shook his head. “No.” He pointed to the dog, whose handler was patting him. “Rocket trailed him through the forest and about a half mile over to the next house on the lake, where he lost the trail. The guy must have had a car there.”
Lucas nodded. “I suspected as much. But if his partner was only half a mile away, why did he come in a boat and where did he get it?”
“We know where he got it. The next house over has a boat dock, and we talked to the owner. She said she’d just discovered the boat had been stolen and was about to make a police report when we arrived.” The officer shrugged. “As to why he used a boat, I don’t know. Maybe he didn’t want to carry Mrs. Lockhart that distance, or maybe he thought the authorities wouldn’t think to look for him out on the water. I guess if we find the shooter, we’ll know.”
Lucas was about to ask another question when one of the EMTs spoke up behind him. “We’ve got Mrs. Lockhart ready to go to the hospital, and we need to leave with her. The other victim was already dead when we arrived. So we’ll leave him for the crime scene investigators.”
The officer nodded. “Thanks, guys.”
“Do you need me for anything else, or can I go with Mia to the hospital?” Lucas asked.
The officer shook his head. “I think you’ve told us enough for now, but the detectives may want to talk to you later.”
Lucas pulled his card from his pocket and handed it to the man. “They can reach me there. I know most of the detectives on the force. In fact, my brother-in-law is Ryan Spencer.”
The officer looked at the card, and his eyebrows arched. “Oh, you’re one of the Knights? I’ve heard about your agency. Go on with Mrs. Lockhart, and we’ll check with you later.”
Lucas glanced over his shoulder and saw that the EMTs were already pushing the gurney with Mia on it toward the house. He started after them but had taken only a few steps when he stopped and turned back to the officer who was crouched down beside Clyde’s body.
“Just out of curiosity, could you tell me who is the owner of the house where the boat was stolen?”
The man looked up and nodded. “Sure. It’s Christine Abbott.”
A cold chill ran down Lucas’s spine at the name. “Christine Abbott, the hotel heiress?” The woman beside Kyle in all those newspaper photos from a string of public events?
The officer’s blank face stared back at him. “I don’t know about that. I just know that’s her name.”
Lucas nodded and walked slowly toward the house, the pictures in the report Scottie Murray had sent him flashing through his mind. There had been something about the shots of Christine Abbott and Kyle Lockhart that hinted at more than a business relationship. Maybe it had been the looks they directed at each other or the way her hand seemed so at ease on Kyle’s arm, almost like a caress. Or the way their shoulders touched in almost every picture.
If there had been a more intimate relationship between the two, then maybe they had also been partners in whatever Kyle had been involved in. And the fact that the boat to be used to help abduct Mia came from her dock seemed too much of a coincidence.
Clyde had said something about smuggling before he died, and what better place to do it than an import business? And what better partner than a wealthy socialite who could provide money needed to help assure safe passage through the black market channels into the country?
Smuggling, a killer wanting something Kyle had hidden, and a wealthy socialite. With those three clues, Lucas at last had a lead to follow to find Chapman and help Mia. At the thought of Mia, he jogged forward and rounded the house just as the ambulance pulled away.
He headed to his car but stopped before getting in. His knees suddenly wobbled, and he reached out to catch hold of the car door. Mia could have been killed a few minutes ago, and it had opened his eyes to what he’d long tried to deny. He had never quit loving her.
On the other hand, she had hurt him deeply when she’d turned her back on him for Kyle Lockhart. He’d brooded about that for years, and he didn’t know if he could ever fully trust her again. What would happen when she no longer needed him? That was a question he couldn’t answer.
They both had a lot of healing to do. Maybe neither one of them would ever be able to overcome what they’d suffered since their college days. Only time would tell. Right now she needed a friend, and that’s what he would be.
He opened the car door and started to get in but stopped and glanced at the house. As a friend, there was one thing he could do for her. He closed the door and headed back into the house to find the one thing that brought her comfort, her teddy bear.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Mia sat up on the side of the bed in the emergency room cubicle where she’d been since arriving at the hospital and touched the bandage that covered the side of her head. The pain medication the nurse had given her had kicked in, and the room seemed to tilt.
She hated being in a hospital. It reminded her of all the visits she’d made in the past and her feeble attempts to explain away her bruises and injuries. Now as she thought about it, she wondered how she had ever convinced herself that she’d fooled the hospital staff into believing the stories Kyle had made her tell. After all, there had to be a limit to how many times even the clumsiest individual could fall down a flight of steps or walk into the corner of an open door.
To the credit of the doctors and nurses she’d seen on those visits, she had always been counseled about what she needed to do to protect herself from further abuse, but it had done no good. She had wanted so badly for her life to be different, and she had convinced herself to believe Kyle’s promises that he would never assault her again. But there had always been a next time, and each one worse than the one before.
Tears filled her eyes. With an angry swipe she brushed her cheeks and took a deep breath. Kyle was never going to hurt her again, but it wasn’t so easy to forget what had happened in the past. Time was what she needed. Quiet, peaceful, stress-free time—which she would never get until Tony Chapman was back in jail. Once she was safe, she’d be able to get on with her life. But what kind of life would she have? What did she have to fill it? A home that she hated. No job. No family. No friends.
Movement at the door caught her attention, and she darted a glance in that direction. Her pulse beat out a staccato rhythm when Lucas walked into the room. His forehead wrinkled, and his gaze raked her as if he was trying to convince himself she was all right.
He walked across the room and stopped in front of her. Her breath hitched in her throat as he reached up and touched her cheek just below where the bandage on the side of her head ended. His fingers trailed down to her face, and he cupped his hand around the curve of her jaw.
“I’m so sorry he hurt you,” he rasped. “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have left you alone.”
Mia reached up and covered his hand with hers. “It’s not your fault. We had no idea Clyde was anywhere around. I should have waited until you came back down from the attic. But if I had, he might have shot you and then kidnapped me. Tell me what happened. I remember him taking me out the patio door and hitting me on the head. The next thing I remember is waking up with your…” She hesitated. She had intended to say “with your lips on my forehead,” but she didn’t. “With you holding me.”
Lucas nodded. “Well, it’s kind of a long story. How about my telling you about it on our way to my parents’ home? You’re being released, and my mom is expecting us. I told the doctor you’d have your own private nurse until you’re feeling better.”
“I feel fine now, and I’m ready to get out of this place. I don’t like hospitals. They remind me of… Well, never mind what they remind me of. I
just don’t like hospitals.”
He smiled, and his eyes narrowed a bit. “I understand.”
“Can I leave now?”
“You can.” When she started to climb down from the table, he reached out and placed his hands on her waist. She’d forgotten how strong he was until he lifted her as if she was light as a feather and set her feet on the ground. He held on to her for a few seconds as if to see if she could stand alone before he released her. “My car is outside.”
He took her hand and led her from the room to the nurses’ station. A nurse came around the desk when she spotted them. “Mrs. Lockhart, all your paperwork is complete, and I have a wheelchair ready to take you to the exit.” She glanced at Lucas. “You can go get your car and pull around to the double doors. We’ll wait for you there.”
“Okay.” He held Mia’s arm as she sat down in the wheelchair. Then he bent over and gave her hand a squeeze. “I’ll be waiting for you in the car.”
She smiled up at him. “Thank you, Lucas. You’ve been wonderful today.”
“Don’t mention it. You’re easy to be nice to.”
She watched as he turned and hurried down the hallway. When he’d exited the ER, the nurse grabbed the handles of the wheelchair. “Are you ready to go?”
“I am.”
“The doctor gave you a prescription for some pain medication, if you need it tonight. Your friend said he’d get it filled on the way home,” the nurse said as she pushed her down the hallway.
“Thank you, but I feel fine now.”
“I’m glad, but you never can tell how you’ll feel later. You have a nasty bump on your head. Your young man was quite concerned when he arrived. He paced back and forth in the waiting room the entire time he was here until he was allowed back to see you.”
Love Inspired Suspense December 2015, Box Set 2 of 2 Page 27