by Laura Scott
Including the unknown Rafe.
He let out a harsh laugh. “Yeah, right. Why would you trust me? You told me you saw a light last night, but I didn’t take the threat seriously enough.”
“You investigated,” she protested.
“Yeah, I did. And I checked behind the woodpile and didn’t see these footprints, so they must have been made after I came inside. But still, when I didn’t see anyone outside, I should have called Rafe for backup.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. If Rafe had been there helping Alex, would they have found the guy? Maybe. But maybe it would have led to another confrontation where someone got shot, or even killed. There was no way to know.
Self-recrimination blazed in his eyes before he turned away. “My negligence nearly got you and Cody killed.”
She didn’t believe that, not for a moment, but she also couldn’t deny how seeing those footprints in the snow along with the two cigarette butts had shaken her deeply.
“How did he find us?” she asked, bewildered.
“I don’t know. But it doesn’t really matter, since we’re not staying here.” Alex turned and stalked toward the door. “Pack up whatever you have and borrow stuff from Kayla if necessary. Rafe should be here within the hour.”
Alex had arranged what he could as far as next steps in his escape plan. When those preparations were finished, he began working on Kayla’s leaky pipe, since standing around and waiting was driving him crazy.
Rafe arrived fifteen minutes later. Alex heard Rafe and Kayla talking in the great room. No doubt his sister was filling Rafe in on the details of what had happened before Rafe came to find him.
“Alex. Is it true?” his coast guard partner demanded.
“What? That I blew it last night?” He snorted and nodded. “Yeah, I’m afraid it is.”
Rafe sent an exasperated glance. “Not that. The boy. Cody. Is he really your son?”
He concentrated on wielding the bulky pipe wrench with his left hand, ignoring the zinging pain that traveled up his right arm. He thought about how he’d planned to have a DNA test, but it wasn’t necessary. He knew, with deep certainty, Cody was his son. He finished opening up the elbow pipe and lowered the wrench, sitting back on his heels. “Yes. It’s true. He’s a good kid, but a scared one. He saw something the night before Trina was shot.”
“Something? Like what? Didn’t you talk to him?”
“He’s only four, Rafe. I can’t very well interrogate him.” Odd how he sounded like Shelby when she’d staunchly defended Cody. “He’s been traumatized, practically saw his mother being killed. Besides, it’s not as if the court is going to take action on the word of a child eyewitness.”
“Maybe not the court, but it would give us something to go on,” Rafe responded. “We need answers and we need them quickly.”
“I know.” He went back to work on the pipe. “I will talk to him, later. Right now, I want you to get a security system installed here at the B & B.”
“A security system, are you crazy? Your sister and her daughter can’t stay here,” Rafe argued hotly. “Not until we’ve cracked this case.”
“I know, but I want it installed anyway, for when they can return.”
Rafe looked like he was going to argue, not that Alex could blame him. What good would a security system do if Kayla’s business involved inviting strangers into her home on a regular basis? He didn’t care. He didn’t want an intruder on the grounds catching him or Kayla unaware ever again.
“Okay, consider it done. Anything else?” Rafe asked.
He’d made a lot of arrangements, but he wasn’t sure Rafe was going to approve. Especially since he wasn’t quite ready to turn over Shelby and Cody into Rafe’s protection. He lifted the heavy wrench again. “I’ve made some initial plans,” he admitted.
“Like what?”
He glanced at Rafe and in the split second he’d taken his eye off the pipe, the wrench slipped from his grasp. Since he was leaning on it with all his strength, the tool skipped off the pipe and crashed back down on his injured right hand landing directly on the deepest and longest surgical scar.
Blood spurted from the wound and a shaft of pain stole his breath, as if he’d been hit by a cargo flat full of steel. For a moment he was paralyzed by the pain.
When the dizziness passed, he scrambled to his feet, holding his injured arm and swallowing the waves of pain that rolled up his arm. Blood sprayed everywhere, and he vainly attempted to use his other hand to keep it from going all over Kayla’s floor.
Cody chose that moment to charge into the kitchen, skidding to a stop, his eyes wide with horror as they fixed on Alex’s bloodstained arm.
Alex found his voice. “It’s okay, Cody,” he hastened to reassure him, forcing a grim smile. “I’m fine. This is no big deal, it’s just a scratch.”
To his utter surprise, Cody let out a shrill scream. Before Alex could stop him, he turned and ran from the room.
Shelby gasped when she heard Cody scream. She ran into the dining room, snagging him as he darted past. When he saw it was her, he clung like a monkey around her neck.
“Cody, honey, what’s wrong?” She gathered him close, running a soothing hand over his back as he trembled and sobbed against her. “Shh, don’t cry. You’re safe. Don’t worry, everything is going to be okay.”
Alex came rushing out, a towel wrapped around his right arm. Deep grooves of pain lined his mouth, but he leveled his concerned gaze on Cody.
“Is he okay?” Alex asked.
She shook her head, feeling helpless. What had gotten Cody so riled up? He’d seen small injuries before at the daycare. They’d never upset him like this. “What happened in there?”
“I’m not sure.” Alex tightened his grip on the towel.
Shelby held Cody until he stopped crying, realizing the young boy’s emotional status was more fragile than she’d realized. He needed to talk to a professional child psychologist, the sooner the better.
Kayla walked up behind her. “You’d better let me take a look at that,” she said, indicating his injured arm.
Alex frowned and shook his head. “Later. I think Cody freaked out because of the blood.”
Why would Cody react so strongly to the sight of blood? She continued to hold him close, murmuring words of encouragement even as her mind raced over the possibilities.
He couldn’t have seen blood from Trina being shot, because his mother and the gunman had been too far away. She hadn’t even seen any blood, and she was the one who saw Trina drop to the ground.
Which meant Cody had to have seen blood at another time. Like when he saw his mother talking to the bad man. Had he witnessed a physical confrontation? Trina hadn’t seemed injured when she’d handed over Cody at the marina, so perhaps she’d hit the bad man so she could escape.
Alex’s green gaze was watching her intently and she wondered if he’d come to the same conclusions she had. She narrowed her gaze, vowing to monitor Alex’s questions for Cody very careful. Yes, they needed the information, but there had to be away for getting it from Cody without upsetting him further. If the poor child reacted like this to the sight of blood, then he’d been far more traumatized by what he’d seen than she’d imagined.
“I’m going to take him upstairs for a minute,” she murmured, hitching Cody higher in her arms so she could carry him through the great room.
She half expected Alex to stop her, but he didn’t. She could feel his gaze boring into her back as she headed upstairs to the sanctuary of their rooms.
After she’d gotten Cody calmed down and had washed the tears from his face, they returned to the kitchen where Rafe, Kayla and Alex were gathered around the large picnic table. She was relieved to see that a bulky white bandage covered Alex’s injured arm.
“I don’t understand why I have to go anywhere,” Kayla was saying in a stubborn tone. “I’m fine with you taking Brianna someplace safe, with Ellen, my mother-in-law, to watch, but there’s no reason for
me to leave, too.”
Alex opened his mouth to argue, but Rafe beat him to it.
“No. Absolutely not. You will be safe. I won’t allow anything else,” Rafe commanded, anxiety making his thick Hispanic accent stronger.
“You won’t allow it?” Kayla narrowed her gaze. “You don’t have control over what I do.”
“The decision has been made,” Rafe brushed aside her protest as if it was nothing more than a bug to be squashed. “You, Brianna and her grandmother will enjoy an extended stay at a resort offering an indoor water park for entertainment.”
“Why drag Ellen into this?” Kayla asked.
“Because your mother-in-law was watching Brianna the day Shelby arrived. If someone had followed her, we can’t assume they didn’t see Ellen dropping Brianna off later that day. I don’t want to take a chance on her safety.”
When it looked like Kayla was going to argue some more, Shelby stepped in, catching Kayla’s gaze with hers. “Please go somewhere safe. For me? I hate knowing I put you and Brianna in danger by coming here.”
“It’s not your fault, Shelby.” Kayla’s stout defense touched her heart. “But if you think I should go, I will.” Her eyes widened and she glanced at her brother. “Maybe Cody should come with us?”
Considering the magnitude of Cody’s breakdown, Shelby didn’t think leaving him alone with Kayla and Brianna was a good idea at all. “I don’t think so…”
Rafe and Alex exchanged a look and they both simultaneously shook their heads. Alex spoke up. “No, Cody needs Shelby.”
She was pleased he’d understood. Obviously Alex really did have Cody’s best interests at heart.
“I’ve made arrangements for Shelby and me to hide out in a small hotel several miles from here,” Alex said, changing the subject. “Rafe, I want you to take Kayla, Brianna and her grandmother to the resort and then come and meet up with us afterward.”
Rafe nodded. “All right. But I think we need to get rid of Shelby’s car, in case someone used it to track her here. I can’t figure out how else they found her. I tried checking it over, but without the proper instruments, a tracking device could be anywhere. I thought I’d have some friends of mine pick it up and take it back to Green Bay.”
“Sounds reasonable.” Alex raised a brow. “Can I borrow your Jeep? There’s a storm headed this way.”
“Sure.”
They finalized their plans. Kayla offered the use of her SUV since Ellen had agreed to pick up her and Brianna to head to the resort. When they had every angle covered, they ate some quickly prepared sandwiches, more for the kids’ sake, before splitting up.
When Cody realized the puppy wasn’t coming with them, he threw a rare temper tantrum. Shelby concentrated on calming him down, and she couldn’t help wondering if she’d made the right decision. Was she being selfish? Would it be better for Cody to be at the water park resort with Kayla and Brianna?
“Did you know that Clyde is going to have a new batch of brothers and sisters soon?” Alex asked, crouching down so he was at eye level with Cody.
Magically the boy’s tears vanished. “Really?”
Alex gave a solemn nod. “Yep, the puppies are due in early May. Maybe we can get one of the puppies for you. Would you like that?”
Cody’s eyes widened in awe. “A puppy? For my very own?”
Shelby wanted to protest that Alex had no right to promise such a thing, yet hadn’t she already thought of getting Cody a puppy once this was over? Still, this was the sort of thing both parents should agree on. Alex had no idea she’d planned on allowing Cody to have a pet.
“You have to be a good boy and listen to your mother—er—your aunt Shelby. Do you understand?”
Cody nodded vigorously and the crisis was adverted.
Irrationally annoyed, the brief conversation replayed over and over in her mind as she buckled Cody’s toddler seat into the back of Rafe’s Jeep.
“All set?” Alex asked softly.
She nodded and pushed her uncharitable thoughts away. Why was she upset? This was what she’d wanted, for Cody and Alex to have some sort of relationship. She’d asked for God’s help. He’d answered. She should be glad.
She then buckled Cody in, making sure he had his animal kingdom figures to help keep him entertained on the long ride, before she climbed into the passenger seat. The time was only about three in the afternoon, but the clouds were so dark and thick overhead that the hour seemed much later.
She swallowed hard, trying not to succumb to the impending sense of doom. Being close to Alex in the car was a bit unnerving. She wasn’t afraid of him, but it felt strange for her and Cody to be alone with him. Still, she couldn’t deny she was relieved they were leaving the bed-and-breakfast and those disturbing cigarette butts, to find anonymity in another hotel far from here.
“Do you really think the bad guy put something on my car?” she asked.
He glanced at her, his brow furrowed in a deep frown. “I’m not sure how they found you, Shelby. Could be they somehow tracked either Trina’s phone or your car. Or maybe you were followed and we just didn’t catch on. But either way, we should have our bases covered now. You didn’t bring Trina’s phone, right?”
“I turned it off and left it back at the B & B like you told me to do.”
“Good. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
He sounded so certain, she believed him. Slowly she unclenched her twisted hands, willing herself to relax.
Alex had only driven for ten miles when large, fat, wet snowflakes began to fall. The slick roads forced him to slow his speed considerably.
“Do you think we’ll get to the hotel before dinnertime?” she asked, not because she was hungry but because traveling with a child Cody’s age meant keeping track of meals.
“I hope so.” Alex’s attention was riveted on the highway. She could see from the compass in Rafe’s Jeep they were heading northeast.
The snow fell harder, covering the roads with an icy slush, forcing Alex to slow his speed even further. He glanced in the rearview mirror frequently.
“Is there someone behind us?” Shelby asked, craning her neck around.
“Yeah. For the past two miles.” Alex did not look happy and he gripped the steering wheel tightly. “As soon as I find a cross street, I’m going to pull off so we can lose him.”
Her stomach clenched. Another coincidence? She hoped so.
“What is he doing?” Alex suddenly ground out.
Before she could ask what he meant, she saw the black truck swerve into the oncoming lane of traffic, pulling up beside them even though they were in a no-passing zone, heading into a sharp curve in the highway.
“Hang on!” Alex shouted as he hit the brakes.
Too late. The black truck smashed into them, sending the Jeep skidding across the slick road, crashing up against the side rail of the highway.
“No!” Shelby cried. The metal rail gave away, allowing the Jeep to barrel down into the steep ravine below.
SEVEN
Alex fought to stay conscious, even though his head pounded from the impact of the air-bag deployment. The Jeep finally came to rest against a band of evergreens, miraculously intact. For long moments he couldn’t move. The abrupt silence after listening to the Jeep crash against the rocks and trees was just as deafening.
“Shelby?” He leaned over to put a hand on her shoulder, fearing the worst. Relief overwhelmed him when she stirred and lifted her head. There was a small cut on her forehead, but her eyes were clear.
“I’m fine. Cody?”
Cody, who didn’t have the benefit of air bags to protect him from the crash. Alarm gripped him by the throat and he struggled to release the latch of the seat belt so he could turn around to check his son.
A soft keening cry from the backseat nearly made him weep in relief. Shelby got her seat belt undone first and crammed her body through the narrow opening between the seats to reach him.
“Shh, Cody. It’s all right. We’re fine. God
was watching over us. He kept us safe.”
Alex paused at her words. Maybe she was right. Maybe God had been watching over them. This accident could have ended much worse.
Except it wasn’t an accident. The black truck had stayed on his tail, no matter how hard he’d tried to put distance between them. And when the truck had pulled up alongside, Alex had glimpsed the driver through the tinted windows the moment the guy had jerked the steering wheel, sideswiping them.
There was no doubt in his mind that the driver of the black truck had hit them on purpose. Alex would have bet his pension on it. Spurred by a new sense of urgency, he unlatched his seat belt and took stock of their situation. Thankfully they’d taken Rafe’s sturdy Jeep. If they’d been in Shelby’s small compact car, they wouldn’t have stood much of a chance. He swallowed hard, trying to see out the cracked window.
The snow had cushioned their fall, minimizing the damage but they weren’t out of danger yet. The driver of the black truck could be right now coming down the ravine to finish what he’d started.
“We can’t stay here,” he rasped, using all his strength to pry his dented driver’s door open.
Shelby had gotten Cody out of his seat and was holding him protectively in her arms. “Alex, it’s cold and wet out there. He’ll freeze.”
He shared her concern. Cody’s body mass was so small he was at a much higher risk for hypothermia. Yet if they stayed here, they were too much like a beacon, drawing the driver of the truck directly toward them.
“I’ll come up with something,” he promised before he jumped out into the snow and made his way to the back of the Jeep.
Rafe worked for the coast guard. And he loved to camp and fish. Surely he had some leftover gear in the back they could use. The back window was broken open and he leaned in, thrilled to discover his gut instincts were right.
Rafe had plenty of stuff tossed back there.
As he rummaged through the gear, picking and choosing what they needed the most and discarding the items that held little value other than weighing them down, he listened to Shelby talking in a low voice to Cody.