The Baby Assignment

by Christy Barritt

  “My dad is still working at the hospital,” she said.

  “I thought he’d be looking at retirement by now.”

  Macy shrugged. “He’s cut back his hours some. He got remarried.”

  “Did he?”

  “To a woman in her forties with two children. Ten-and twelve-year-old girls. They’re all really sweet.”

  “I see.” Compassion lined his voice. He knew about Macy’s issues with her father and wondered if he was being the dad to his stepdaughters that Macy had always wanted him to be for her. It couldn’t be easy to see or experience.

  Macy drew in a deep breath, still seeming guarded. “And my sister is living about an hour from here. She’s still working as a wedding planner. Her boys are six and eight now, and they love baseball. Every weekend I think they’re at a different tournament.”

  “Six and eight? It doesn’t seem possible they’re that old now.”

  “I know. It doesn’t seem that long ago that we babysat them.”

  Tanner shook his head. “No, it doesn’t. It was my first experience changing a diaper.”

  Macy smiled. “I remember.”

  “So do I.” His smile faded. “I’m sure your family is happy you moved back.”

  “Always. And your family?”

  “Dad fishes a lot now that he’s retired. My mom has decided she wants to enter a half marathon.”

  Macy smiled. “That’s great. They were so kind to me. I’ve never forgotten that.”

  “They always liked you.”

  His words hung in the air. His parents had been just as disappointed in their breakup as he had. She’d claimed a place in their family, a place that had been empty since she’d left.

  Just then, a creak outside caught his ear. Tanner froze, his instincts going on alert. He put a finger over his lips.

  “Did you hear that?” he whispered.

  Macy visibly tensed. “I heard something.”

  It could have been Armstrong or Manning. But Tanner had to be certain. Besides, it almost sounded like it came from the porch.

  His muscles pulled taut as plausible scenarios flashed through his mind. Had the bad guys found them? Were they watching them now and just waiting to make a move?

  “Stay here,” he said in a low whisper.

  Macy’s face paled. She sank back onto the couch but looked anything but relaxed as she sat upright and alert.

  Moving slowly and carefully, Tanner peered out the front window. Darkness stared back. He could vaguely make out the outline of some trees and the edge of the porch, but nothing else. He went window by window and did the same check, searching for anything out of place and visible to the human eye.

  He didn’t see anything.

  “It could have been a deer or a raccoon.” He took a step toward Macy.

  Even as Tanner said the words, he knew that wasn’t it. The creak had sounded too heavy, too hidden.

  Suddenly, Macy stood. “Do you smell that, Tanner?”

  The scent hit him.

  Smoke.

  There was a fire somewhere. Close.

  “Go get Addie,” he barked. “Now!”

  Eight

  Macy flew up the steps, urgency nipping at her heels as she raced to get Addie.

  Where there was smoke, there was fire. Wasn’t that the saying?

  Somehow, she instinctively knew that those words were the truth. Whoever had set this fire had done it on purpose. They wanted to push Tanner, Macy and Addie outside. Into harm. Into a trap.

  As she climbed higher, she spotted the flames. They licked the edges of the house, already beginning to consume it.

  Despite the heat around her, ice formed in her gut at the thought.

  She scooped up Addie, hating to wake the infant when she was sleeping so peacefully. As she did, Macy saw the first flicker of orange outside. Alarm raced through her.

  She had to move. Fast.

  Macy rushed downstairs, where Tanner waited for her. He grabbed her arm and ushered her toward the door.

  “We don’t have time to linger outside,” he called over his shoulder to the other agents. “The longer we’re exposed, the greater the chances are of someone getting hurt. We’ve got to move. I’ll take Macy and Addie. You two stay together.”

  “We’re not going to try and find out who did this?” Manning asked, confusion rippling across his features.

  “Whoever started this fire is most likely waiting for us outside. They have the upper hand right now. We don’t have time. Addie’s safety is the most important thing.”

  “Got it,” Manning said.

  Flames licked the walls now, slowly devouring the house. Tanner pulled out his gun and turned toward Macy. “We don’t have much time.”

  “I gathered that.”

  Macy could hardly breathe. Just then, Addie awoke with a cry. She looked around, her eyes wrinkling with obvious unhappiness at being jostled from her slumber.

  The poor baby. She had no idea what was going on. She didn’t deserve this.

  Tanner kept his arm around her and Addie. If only Macy had time to grab a bottle. A pacifier. Something to make the baby feel better.

  But right now, they had more important issues to focus on. They’d have to deal with crying and concentrate on staying alive.

  “Let’s do this,” Tanner said. His voice held no room for argument. He was in full-fledged cop mode. This stuff was what he lived for. Saving people’s lives. Putting the bad guys behind bars.

  He opened the door. Flames licked their way inside.

  Macy gasped as the edges of the fire felt dangerously close. She pulled Addie tightly to her chest, determined to protect the baby at all costs.

  Manning flanked one side of her and Tanner the other. She held her breath as they slipped outside. She waited for bullets to fly. For a burning sensation to reach her skin. For pain.

  But there was none. Not yet, at least.

  They rushed to the car. Manning ushered Macy and Addie inside while Tanner climbed into the driver’s seat.

  There was no car seat. There hadn’t been time.

  Instead, Macy continued to hold Addie close to her chest, trying to shield her from any incoming danger or threats. Addie’s wails only tightened Macy’s muscles until they felt like they might snap with tension.

  Macy lifted a quick prayer.

  Please help us. Help me keep my head right now in this situation. To use all those skills that I teach others.

  As Tanner started the car, a bullet shattered the window.

  Of course. The men were waiting out here. All of this had been a trap. What else did they have up their sleeve? Had Tanner and Macy been lured into the lion’s den?

  “Hold on!” Tanner yelled.

  Macy pulled Addie to her chest, continuing to pray she would stay safe.

  Apparently, these guys had been expecting them to run outside but not to the car. They didn’t seem to have a vehicle ready to chase them. That was the good news.

  Tanner sped away from the flames engulfing the house, out the gate, and pulled onto the country highway outside.

  Addie continue to bawl. Macy bounced her in her arms, still holding tight and praying hard. She waited for another bullet. For screeching tires behind them. For signs that the danger was still real and on their heels.

  But she heard nothing other than Addie’s wails. Macy spoke in soothing tones, trying to calm her down. “It’s going to be okay, sweet baby girl,” she whispered. “Macy isn’t going to let anyone hurt you. I promise.”

  She had a feeling this was far from over and that keeping that promise might be one of the hardest things she’d ever have to do.

  * * *

  Thirty minutes later, when Tanner was sure no one was behind them, he pulled over in a parking lot outside a shopping
center. It was dark outside—it was 3:00 a.m.—and only a single overhead lamp lit the deserted area. A few cars passed on the highway in the distance, but otherwise the area was quiet.

  His phone rang, and he saw it was Manning. Where had the agents gone? They’d split up after leaving the house.

  “What’s going on?” Tanner asked.

  “We’re going to circle back around and head back to the house,” he said. “We want to know what happened.”

  “We all do,” Tanner said. “I want to know how they found us.”

  “Are you guys okay?”

  He glanced in the rearview mirror. “Yes, we’re as well as to be expected. I don’t know where we’re headed yet, but we’ll be in touch.”

  Tanner hung up and released his breath. He tried to gather his thoughts amidst the chaos that they’d just barely escaped.

  How had someone found out where Addie was? How had these guys eluded the cameras and other surveillance in order to set the place on fire? And the most disturbing question was, what if Tanner, Macy and Addie hadn’t gotten out in time?

  Tanner didn’t want to think about it, but he had no other choice. He had to consider all the risks in this situation. That safe house hadn’t been at all as secure as it should have been.

  He released his breath and glanced behind him.

  Addie’s sobs had finally quietened, and she slept in Macy’s arms. The baby had cried and cried, despite Macy’s efforts to calm her. She’d probably dozed off from sheer exhaustion in the end.

  He and Macy had no car seat with them. They hadn’t had time to grab one. But they couldn’t travel like this for long. It wasn’t safe for Addie. But getting away from the fire and the bad guys had taken precedence over car safety when they’d fled from the cabin.

  “What now?” Macy asked, her voice soft and tired.

  “I’ve got to get in touch with headquarters. We need another safe house. Now.”

  “How did they find us?” Macy asked, shifting ever so slightly under Addie’s weight.

  “I don’t know. That’s a great question.” He ran a hand over his face and peered more closely into the back seat. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded after a moment of thought. “My nerves are frayed, to say the least.”

  “We’ll get through this.”

  Macy frowned. “These guys are persistent. They really want Addie, and it’s disturbing the lengths they’re willing to go to.”

  “I know.” He bit back. “There’s a piece we’re missing here, and none of this makes sense without it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Why does someone want this baby so badly that they’re willing to kill to get her?”

  She nodded slowly. “You’re right. There is something we’re missing.”

  He ran a hand over his face again. “I need to make a phone call. Sit tight for a few minutes, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  Within minutes, he’d arranged for another safe house location. An agent would check out the place first and ensure that the proper surveillance was set up. They couldn’t let this place be compromised, and Saul assured him that would be the case. They’d take every precaution that was necessary.

  “Tanner, there’s a car pulling into the parking lot.” Macy’s gaze was focused on a vehicle in the distance. “Could be a coincidence. But...”

  Tanner wasn’t taking any chances. He put the car in Drive. “We’re getting out of here.”

  As soon as they hurried toward the exit, the other car sped up, coming toward them.

  It was definitely the bad guys. How had they found them?

  Dear Lord, help me protect this baby. Please. And protect Macy, too. She’s just a civilian who shouldn’t even be involved in this.

  His hands gripped the wheel even tighter. He had to think quickly and use every ounce of his FBI training.

  He turned onto the street.

  Rule number one: make sure the public isn’t harmed. For that reason, he needed to retreat from this little suburban area and find some country roads. There was a better chance of those streets being deserted. He also knew it would be harder to lose the guys on those deserted roads. There would be fewer places to hide.

  Tanner glanced in the rearview mirror. The car continued to gain on him.

  He tried to make out the face of the person behind the wheel, but he couldn’t. It was too dark outside.

  The headlights came closer and closer.

  The driver was going to rear-end them.

  “Hold on,” he muttered to Macy.

  He knew that whoever these people were, they wanted Addie alive. They wouldn’t try to kill them. Only to run them off the road, take the baby and maybe then put a bullet through Tanner and Macy.

  He couldn’t let that happen.

  He pushed the accelerator to the floor and scanned the road in front of them. Thankfully, this area of the road was wooded. That would afford them more places to hide.

  It was their only opportunity.

  Taking a risk, Tanner made a sharp left turn onto a side street. He’d put just enough distance between himself and the other car that there was a possibility the other driver hadn’t seen him turn.

  But he couldn’t stop now. No, he cut his headlights and kept driving, full speed ahead.

  Tanner took the next left also, onto another rural road. He kept speeding ahead, checking the rearview mirror.

  There was still no sign of the other driver.

  Suddenly, the road came to a dead end at what appeared to be an old, abandoned farm.

  Tanner gritted his teeth.

  There was only one thing he knew to do. And he hoped it didn’t get them killed.

  He charged toward the barn. When he reached it, he pulled through the open doorway, into the dark recesses of the old building, and cut the engine. Wasting no time, he hopped out and shut the outbuilding’s weathered sliding doors to conceal the vehicle better. Then he waited with his gun drawn.

  * * *

  Macy rubbed Addie’s back with steady, soothing circles. Stay quiet, little girl. Please, stay quiet.

  She closed her eyes, praying that they could somehow disappear from these people who were following them.

  Tanner opened the back door of the sedan.

  “What do we do now? Do we just wait?” Macy whispered, almost as if the people following them could hear.

  “We’re too exposed if we stay in the car.”

  Macy’s hands trembled as she carried Addie and scrambled from the car. Tanner waited for them and put a hand on her back. The darkness was so intense that it felt heavy. Macy’s throat constricted.

  Tanner escorted her away from the door and into a stall far away from the entrance. The dusty scent of old straw and hay tingled her noise, but Macy held back her sneeze.

  “Stay low,” he whispered.

  Before she could respond, she heard a scratching sound behind her. She pulled Addie closer.

  Just then, eyes glowed in the darkness and someone lunged toward them.

  No, not someone. Something.

  A cat.

  Macy released her breath and let out a soft laugh.

  “Just a barn cat,” Tanner whispered.

  The cat didn’t seem to care that it had scared them. Instead, the tabby sashayed into another stall. Macy shook her head, envying the cat’s carefree attitude for a minute.

  As silence fell between them, another sound hit her ears.

  Tires crunching on gravel.

  Macy held her breath.

  No, no, no...

  She peered through one of the cracks in the barn’s siding. Her breath caught. The car had pulled down the lane leading to the farm.

  Tanner crouched beside her, one hand still on her back and the other gripping his gun. His presence brought h
er a strange comfort.

  Addie let out a loud babble. Macy put a finger over her lips and bounced the baby. She had to keep her panic at bay.

  She looked between the boards again and saw the headlights coming toward the barn.

  “Do you think they know we came in here?” she whispered.

  “The dust has settled,” Tanner said. “At this point, the other driver is just guessing.”

  Macy held her breath as the car stopped.

  Dear Lord, help us. Please.

  A man stepped out of the vehicle. Macy strained to see him, to identify him. But it was dark. His headlights did illuminate part of the area by the barn, though.

  As he walked closer, she strained for a better look. He was tall and thin with dark hair. Probably in his late thirties. Macy had never seen him before.

  He started toward the barn when his cell phone rang, and he paused. “I don’t know. I lost them.”

  Silence stretched another moment.

  “What?” the man asked, his voice rising. “Are you sure?”

  Just then, Addie let out another squeal.

  The man froze and glanced at the barn. Had he heard her?

  Macy prayed he hadn’t. Please, Lord. Please.

  “Okay, okay,” he said. “I get it. Listen, I’ve got to run. I’ll be in touch.”

  He walked toward the barn.

  Tanner pressed his hand down on Macy’s back, obviously feeling her nerves.

  He’d heard Addie, and now he was going to come and check things out.

  The barn door creaked open, sending Macy’s nerves into a tailspin. What would they do if he found them?

  Tanner was here. He could protect them.

  Still, the unknown left her feeling shaky.

  She bounced Addie, praying that the child would stay quiet. Just one more baby gurgle would give away their location and put them all in jeopardy. Yet she knew reasoning with an infant was impossible.

  Just then, another screech sounded.

  Macy’s lungs tightened. What was going on?

  The sound was followed by a loud meow.

  The cat!

  The man muttered something beneath his breath. Footsteps sounded. She looked outside again.

  He was going back to his car! He’d thought the earlier sound had been the cat.