Mission--Colton Justice

by Jennifer Morey

  The agent further explained someone had reported a hit and run. Tess had backed out of the parking space when a car had been oncoming. She forwarded the email to Jeremy with a note that said only, In case you’re interested. She also included the report from the agent.

  Finished packing, she took her luggage downstairs. She found Jeremy at the front door.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “Too late. I’m leaving.” She stopped when he wouldn’t move out of the way. Getting involved with him had been a big mistake. She should be glad he’d lost his temper. Now she had ample reason to get away. No man would hurt her again.

  “I am sorry. I shouldn’t have spoken to you that way.”

  “But you still meant what you said. You still insist Livia killed Tess, even though all the evidence proves otherwise.”

  He didn’t respond but he didn’t disagree.

  “I’ll put my things in the car and come back to say goodbye to Jamie.” She couldn’t leave without seeing him one last time.

  Jeremy moved out of the way of the door, opening it for her and taking both her suitcases.

  She unlocked her car and he loaded the luggage, then tossed her coat on the passenger seat. She marveled at how easily he helped her leave.

  She headed back inside. Jamie was still playing in his room. He looked up when she entered.

  “Hi, sweetie. I came to say goodbye.”

  Jamie’s eyes drooped in dismay. “Where are you going?”

  “It’s time for me to go home now. You’re safe and your father no longer needs me.”

  “But...you’re my mommy.”

  “Yes, I am your mommy. Nothing will change that. I’ll still come and see you.” She hoped Jeremy wouldn’t stand in the way of that. He’d told her she could, but she wouldn’t trust a thing he said now. She’d rather not take him to court, but she would if she had to.

  Looking back, she saw him in the doorway. He nodded a couple of times.

  Good. He’d let her see Jamie. She’d make arrangements so that he wouldn’t be around when she did. Just like divorced couples.

  “If you ever want to talk, tell your dad and he can call me, okay?”

  “Okay.” Jamie stood and put his tiny arms around her. She held him for a while, again feeling the sting of tears. She hated leaving him at all. She wanted to spend every second of every day with him, or as much as she could. Mornings and evenings and weekends. No gaps in between. But Jeremy would make that impossible.

  She kissed his cheek and let him go. “I’ll see you soon.”

  “Okay.” Jamie looked crestfallen as she stood.

  “I promise,” she said. “We’ll have a pancake breakfast real soon.”

  Jamie smiled hugely. “Yeah!”

  She faced forward. Jeremy moved out of the way so she could pass. Maybe some morning soon she could come over when Jeremy had to go to work.

  A lump formed in her throat as she descended the stairs. She’d go home to her empty house. No more family nights.

  When she reached the door, Jeremy said, “I’ll call you.”

  She stopped and looked back. “Don’t bother. I’ll contact your executive assistant and make arrangements to see Jamie through her.” She would not talk to him directly. “I’d rather not have to see or speak to you.”

  He stood stock-still at that.

  Adeline forced herself to turn and leave, closing the door softly behind her. Each step to her car brought more agony. Jamie’s adorable face had permanently implanted itself on her brain. She wouldn’t be able to get that out of her head. At least she’d think of him more than Jeremy.

  At least...she hoped.

  * * *

  Standing at the back patio window, looking out at the rainy morning, Jeremy tried calling Adeline again. He’d tried a couple of times already. She had good reason not to answer. He should not have let her go without resolving his outburst this morning.

  After he calmed down, he regretted everything he’d said. He’d seen her emails after she’d gone. At first, reading what the agent said about Tess backing out of a parking space in front of an oncoming car infuriated him. Not only did it suggest Tess had started drinking before she had gone to the bar, he’d thought Adeline had sent that to dig the knife in deeper. Then he realized he had gotten angry with Adeline and none of this was her fault.

  He was angry because he couldn’t blame someone for Tess’s death, for her being taken from him when they had just started a family. Livia had been a convenient culprit. After Tess had died, he’d struggled with disbelief and grief. It had taken him a while to get to the anger stage. Taking over one hundred percent of Jamie’s care had slowed the process. He’d had to learn how to carry on all the responsibilities of both father and mother. He’d also had to keep his business going. All along, though, he couldn’t accept that Tess had simply died as the result of a car accident. Sure, she drank, but to die so suddenly and so soon after they brought Jamie home?

  Life wasn’t fair. Life happened no matter what plans people made. He couldn’t have prepared for losing Tess, even if he’d tried.

  Why had he gotten so angry over Tess’s accident? Her death?

  Guilt.

  The word came to him like a train rushing by, plowing through air and sending a gust of wind at him. Adeline had seen it long before he had. He couldn’t believe he’d felt guilty then. Now he could. He had missed all the signs Tess had relapsed into drinking again. If he had known, he could have done something, but since he hadn’t, she’d wrecked her car and died. He might have been able to prevent that. That was what had him so torn up inside, and why he had lashed out at Adeline. Now that he recognized that, he could finally let her go. Yes, he might have been able to prevent her accident, but he couldn’t go back in time. He had to accept she’d died as a result of her drinking.

  He and Tess had other problems in their marriage. Her drinking must have awakened those. He’d always worried she’d fall back into her old patterns, but looking back he realized more than that had been at play. He’d wanted all-encompassing love for his family, but her addictive personality influenced more than her alcoholism. A creature of habit, she needed structure and sameness. As an entrepreneur, that would send him to an early grave. They hadn’t been a match made in heaven.

  He and Adeline, on the other hand...

  Where was she?

  He couldn’t go after her with Jamie. He wouldn’t expose his son to that conflict, not when he’d been such an ass and now had to find a way to make it up to Adeline.

  His ringing doorbell sent hope firing. Had she come back?

  Hurrying to the door, he opened it to Knox and two deputies standing there.

  “Adeline called 9-1-1 from her cell phone,” Knox said. “Come with me.” He nodded his head toward the deputies to his left. “These two will watch over Jamie.”

  Stunned with a rush of dread, Jeremy had to take a second to gather himself. “Where is she?”

  “The dispatcher said the line went dead as soon as she said she needed help. She was able to get a location on her, though. She was at her house.”

  Jeremy could see by Knox’s face that Adeline was no longer there.

  * * *

  Adeline came out of unconsciousness and opened her eyes to darkness. She remembered arriving home and someone had followed her into the garage before she could close the overhead door. She’d recognized Evan and saw he had a gun. She’d tried to draw her own pistol, but Evan had reached her. She’d struggled with him and he’d knocked her gun out of her hand. Rather than shoot her, he’d tried to subdue her, to strike her with his gun. She’d kicked him in his groin, which bought her enough time to make it to the inner garage door. She’d dug out her cell phone and ran into the house, pressing the numbers with one hand and trying to close the g
arage door with the other.

  Evan had put his foot in the door so she couldn’t lock him out. She ran through her house. Unfortunately, Evan had caught up to her and tackled her on the living room floor. Her phone had fallen from her hands as she’d frantically called out for help. She didn’t know if the dispatcher had heard her and she didn’t remember anything else.

  Evan must have hit her with his gun. Her head hurt. She lifted her hand to test the area, only to discover he’d bound her with a zip tie. Next, she realized she was in the trunk of a car, which then slowed to a stop.

  In the dark she felt around for something, anything, to use as a weapon, but the trunk had been cleaned of any items. Evan had planned to put her in there.

  Would he kill her? He’d failed to get the second ransom, therefore failing to make Jeremy suffer as much as he’d intended—and also hadn’t gotten the money. Would he take his revenge out on her now?

  Only the sound of light rain pattering on the trunk broke the silence. What should she do?

  Make sure he gets caught.

  She pulled out some of her hair and dropped it in the trunk, as far in the corner as possible so Evan wouldn’t find it before the sheriff did...if she didn’t make it. She had every intention of making it.

  She heard Evan’s steps approach the rear of the car. Closing her eyes briefly, she gathered her strength. She wouldn’t get out of this alive if she succumbed to fear.

  The trunk opened and Evan’s impassive face appeared. Rain dripped on him as he aimed his gun.

  “Get out.”

  She braced herself on the edge of the trunk. Evan grabbed her by her zip-tied wrists and dragged her out of the car.

  Finding her footing, she shoved Evan. He stumbled a couple of steps back.

  “What are you doing?” Rain dampened her hair and clothes. She wasn’t wearing a coat.

  “Take a walk.” He gestured toward the woods.

  She looked around, not recognizing the area. Would he kill her and leave her body? She glanced back. He had the gun aimed midtorso. If he shot her this close, she’d be in bad shape.

  She started walking, having no choice. After a few steps she saw a cabin ahead—the same cabin where Emily had stayed. Why would he take her there? Did he not know that’s where authorities had captured her? The news had reported her arrest but hadn’t said where, only that she’d been arrested for the kidnapping of Jamie Kincaid. Evan must have known where Emily had kept Jamie. He must have assumed she’d been arrested either there or at home.

  Adeline watched for an opportunity to escape. As she approached the cabin she looked for the best route to run.

  At the front door, Evan grabbed her arm and stopped her. He dug into his jacket pocket and produced keys. His aim faltered as he fumbled with them, searching for the one to open the door.

  Adeline took her chance. She stomped down hard on his ankle at the same time she swung her arms to knock the gun out of his hand. He hollered in pain but didn’t drop the gun.

  She ran away from the front porch, her feet sinking into soggy ground, balance unwieldy with her hands tied. She ducked behind a tree and headed for more cover in the woods. Gunfire rang out. She ran so that tree trunks protected her, but heard him running behind her. His footfalls sounded uneven, as though he limped.

  Seeing a boulder ahead, she veered to her right, running along the back side and slowing to see if Evan saw her. She heard his unsteady footing approach the boulder. The canopy overhead protected her some from the rain.

  She moved to the side of the rock as Evan neared. His running slowed, indicating he’d either lost sight of her or had seen her go behind the boulder.

  When he kept going through the woods, she breathed a sigh of relief. Walking softly along the front of the rock, she peered around the edge and watched Evan walking and looking to his left and right and straight ahead. He stopped and began to turn.

  Adeline ducked behind the boulder, out of sight.

  She heard him walking again and took another peek. He continued to walk away.

  Adeline walked the opposite direction, staying quiet and low, with the boulder blocking the line of sight between her and Evan. When she made it far enough to no longer use the boulder, she began running, struggling with her hands bound. She didn’t see Evan anymore, but he would give up and retrace his steps to search for her. He might even consider she’d used the boulder.

  Back at his car, she looked inside for keys. There were none. She ran to the cabin, hair soaking wet now and dripping water. The front door was locked, but the back was open as before. She entered and closed the door, trying to lock it, but the lock was broken.

  She looked for something to use as a weapon. In the kitchen she found a butcher knife. Taking that, she sawed off the zip tie, every second that took feeling like an eternity. The zip tie fell off. She left the cabin, running for the road leading to the highway. She ran until she had to slow to a walk to catch her breath. The hem of her pants were brown with mud. Her skin was chilled through her wet clothes and her teeth chattered.

  Then she heard an engine start up. Evan had returned to his car.

  She ran into the woods, getting off the road leading to the cabin. When she was deep enough into the trees, she hid behind one of them and watched the road, or what she could see of it.

  Catching glimpses of Evan’s car passing by, she crouched as low as she could and waited for him to pass. A few minutes later she left her refuge and walked to the road, then toward the highway.

  She hadn’t been on the road five minutes before she heard a vehicle. The engine sounded the same as Evan’s. She jumped over the drainage ditch. The vehicle approached fast, too fast for her to get out of sight. Headlights cast her running form in a shadow in front of her. She dove for the ground, careful to hold the knife up and away from her. Flattened on her stomach, she craned her neck to try to see. Tall grass and tree trunks blocked her view. She heard the car skid to a halt on the dirt road.

  He’d seen her.

  Adeline ran through the woods toward the road. She shoved branches out of her way. Some scraped her as she raced by. Seeing the road, adrenaline soared. If she could flag down a car...

  Evan swerved his car out onto the highway just as she reached the drainage ditch. She stopped as he sped toward her. He had the passenger window down and began firing at her. Ducking, she leaped back into the woods, taking cover behind a trunk. Bullets hit bark. She screamed and crouched down.

  Seeing Evan had stopped his car and got out, she had started to turn and run when he ran out of bullets. As he dug into his jacket pocket for more ammo, she stepped out from behind the tree and marched toward him. Raising the knife, she flung it at him as hard as she could.

  He looked up just as the knife torpedoed toward him. He only had time to take one step back before the knife sank into the right side of his chest.

  Looking stunned, he dropped the gun and put his hand around the handle of the knife. Stumbling, he fell onto his butt and then slumped back. Grimacing, he pulled the knife from his chest. Dropping that, he pressed his hand over the bleeding wound.

  Adeline went to the gun and picked it up. Then she stepped on his left hand and reached into his jacket pocket, retrieving the ammo. After removing the empty clip, she inserted the other and aimed for Evan’s head.

  “Move,” she growled. “Give me a reason to blow your brains all over this road.”

  * * *

  Jeremy and Knox drove with lights flashing down the highway, windshield wipers issuing a monotonous tap-tap sound. Jeremy had insisted on going with him despite the pushback. They’d checked Evan’s house and also Emily’s and her neighbor’s. Jeremy had the desperate idea to check the cabin. His mind reeled with the threat of losing Adeline. He could lose two women he loved. While he had to fight to control those terrible thoughts, the ma
n in him refused to give up. He’d do anything to keep her from harm. If Evan hurt her in any way, he’d kill him with his bare hands.

  As it happened, he wouldn’t have to. He spotted Adeline ahead on the highway, pointing a gun at Evan, rainwater dripping from her. Jeremy jumped out of Knox’s vehicle before it came to a complete stop.

  He ran to her. “Are you all right?” He checked her body for signs of injury, removing his jacket.

  “Yes.” She lowered the gun.

  Jeremy draped his jacket over her shoulders. She clutched it to her, but took a step back when he put his hand on her shoulder.

  He didn’t try to touch her again.

  Evan lay holding his hand to his chest, clearly in pain and fear as he fought for air.

  Jeremy went to stand over him. All of his evil scheming had led to this moment. What a waste.

  “Why?” Jeremy asked, even though he knew. Was anything worth this—risking death or a prison sentence?

  “You,” Evan forced the word out. “You...had...to pay.” He coughed and struggled for breath.

  “I fired you for sexual harassment and you think killing Adeline and kidnapping my son are justifiable?”

  Evan stared up at him. If he wasn’t stabbed in the chest and in pain, that stare would probably hold a lot more malice, crazed malice. “Your...company...wouldn’t be what it is today...” He coughed and caught his breath. “If it weren’t for me.”

  “You?” Jeremy couldn’t believe it. “You think you’re the one—the only one—responsible for my success?”

  “I...built...your first start-up.”

  “It was my money and my idea. I hired you to manage the finances, which you did.”

  “Yes...with no thanks from you.” He coughed again, this time spitting up blood.

  “I compensated you well. It isn’t my fault you were unethical. Why should I have to pay for your bad choices?”

  Evan coughed more, rolling a little to one side to expel more blood. He needed medical attention fast.