* * *
THIS WAS THEIR best shot.
Peter believed it, but he didn’t like it. If this were any other case, he’d bring in his team. He’d trust them to do their jobs better than a group of civilians. Proceeding by the book would have meant officers surrounding the cabin, bringing in a state SWAT team if they had time. It meant keeping higher-ups abreast of every single movement of the operation. It meant Alanna would stay safely outside, far away from danger.
As much as he wanted that last part, Alanna was right. They wouldn’t have captured Darcy without her. Darcy and her husband had taught Johnny how to shoot, how to hide, how to fight. Right now, sending Alanna into danger was their best shot at getting Elysia back to her parents safely.
Since Kensie and Colter hadn’t immediately nixed Alanna’s plan, they knew it was true, too. From the way they were staring at each other—fear, hope and helplessness all over their faces—they didn’t like it any better than he did.
Of course, they didn’t have to do it completely Alanna’s way.
Her plan was probably going to save Elysia’s life. But it was probably also going to destroy what was left of Peter’s career. It would take down Tate with him.
Thinking about either of those things put a pain in Peter’s chest, but Tate knew what he’d agreed to, understood what was at stake. If it meant giving Alanna the life she deserved with the people who loved her, the way it should have been all along, Peter could accept giving up what he’d only recently discovered was his life’s calling.
What he wasn’t willing to do was risk Alanna’s life.
She could be right. She knew Johnny best, knew what he was capable of and, hopefully, where he’d draw the line. Whatever their sins, the Altier “family” had loved each other. But love that had turned into hate was dangerous. It was unpredictable.
They could trade Alanna for Elysia, make sure the infant was safe. But they needed a backup plan, needed something to trade Alanna for, too. Peter wasn’t willing to risk Johnny driving off with her and having her disappear again from everyone who loved her.
Peter’s family could really annoy him sometimes. His parents still treated him like a teenager. Their encounter with Alanna at the coffee shop hadn’t been the first time they’d seen him around town with someone, assumed he was on a date and told the woman how badly he needed to settle down. His siblings weren’t much better. They were all older than him, all happily married with kids and certain that what they had was all that was missing from Peter’s life. That if he would only hurry up and find the right woman, settle down and make a couple of babies, he’d forget all about the reporter job he’d left behind, forget how hard he’d fought over the past year to be accepted at the Desparre PD as an equal, rather than a possible liability.
No matter how little he sometimes felt they understood him, they loved him. They supported him. And he’d gotten their support his entire life.
Alanna deserved the same thing. She deserved to watch her niece grow up safe and happy and surrounded by her real family.
If he was being honest with himself, she made him see what his family was always insisting he needed. If she lived in Alaska, he could imagine dating her, could imagine one day marrying her and making babies, little miniature versions of her, maybe with his eyes.
It wasn’t meant to be. But he wasn’t going to let Johnny decide her future. Even if it couldn’t be with him, Alanna deserved to have her own babies and watch them grow up safe and happy, too, surrounded by the family that had waited and searched for her for fourteen long years.
“I have a plan, too,” he announced, making everyone’s head swivel his way. Even Rebel and Chance looked up at him expectantly.
“Colter and Kensie, you should drive Alanna back to my place. Drop the dogs off there and wait for my call. Then Alanna should take her rental and you two should follow at a distance.”
Chance and Rebel looked from him to Colter and Alanna, as if waiting for their reply. When there wasn’t an immediate rebuttal, Chance barked and Rebel followed suit, like they didn’t approve of the plan.
“Sorry,” Peter told the dogs, as a smile broke free, the first one he’d felt since they’d gotten the call from Kensie. “But you two need to stay home this time.” He looked at Tate. “I’m going to tell the chief that Alanna has good reason to suspect the baby is at the first cabin we went to, the one where Darcy started the avalanche. I want you to go there with them, keep them looking. Keep them out of the way.”
Tate shook his head. “I know what you’re doing. You want to keep me out of trouble, hopefully save my career. But it doesn’t matter. If you pursue this on your own and I looked the other way, it’s the same thing as going with you. Face it. I’m in this. I’m with you.”
“I want you to make sure the police go. I want you to make sure they’re out of the way long enough for us to pull this off.”
Tate crossed his arms over his chest. “Where exactly am I supposed to say you went?”
“Tell them I’m going to make sure Alanna and her sister don’t try to get to Johnny first.”
Tate shook his head. “You’re trying to make things better for me and I appreciate it. But do you really think the chief will believe that I didn’t know what was really happening? It would be better if I came with you. What if you need backup?”
“We’ll be okay.” He wasn’t sure it was true, but this was about more than just doing whatever he could to salvage Tate’s career. It was also about getting his partner out of the way. Because trying to take down a criminal without backup or following procedure was one thing. But what the rest of his plan entailed? Not even the closest partner would agree to it.
“I really don’t think—”
“It’s the best way,” Peter insisted, knowing he needed to put this in motion fast before he thought better of it, too. He headed for the door, then pivoted back toward Alanna, Kensie and Colter, who were all standing immobile, like they hadn’t absorbed his plan yet.
“Get moving,” he told them. “Then wait at my place until you get my call that the rest of the department has cleared out. I want them far enough away that if anyone calls them to a situation at the old Altier place, they won’t be able to respond quickly. But I also want to do this now, while it’s still dark. Hopefully give us some element of surprise and keep Johnny off-balance.”
His gut knotted at how badly this could all backfire and he tried to ignore all his training, all his common sense screaming this was a mistake. “Go,” he insisted again, and finally Colter and Kensie nodded, heading for their trucks.
Rebel followed, but Alanna stayed where she was. She shook her head mutely at him, studying him too closely like she knew he wasn’t telling her everything.
He wasn’t going to give her time to figure it out. Moving in close, he looped an arm around her waist, pulled her to him and kissed her.
Her arms slid around his neck and she half leaned, half fell into him as Chance gave a sharp bark. Then she was kissing him back, the desperation in those kisses telling him that what he’d planned was necessary.
She pulled back first, stared at him a long minute, then spun and hurried to the truck where Kensie and Colter waited. Chance barked at him once more, then bolted after her.
“Let’s do this,” Peter told Tate, passing his partner and reaching for the door to the station.
Tate put a hand on his arm. “What are you really planning?”
“Trust me, it’s better if you don’t know.” He yanked open the door and went inside before Tate could argue.
Then he was running toward the chief, pasting a frantic look on his face that wasn’t completely feigned.
She was on her feet and met him before he made it halfway there. They met in the middle of the bullpen, all eyes on them. Chief Hernandez looked from him to Tate. “What’s happening?”
“Alanna an
d her sister and brother-in-law just took off,” Tate said.
“I told them they could leave their dogs at my place and get some rest, then come back to the station. I said we’d call if we had any updates,” Peter jumped in, not wanting Tate too involved in the lie. “I think they are going to drop the dogs off, but I don’t think they plan to stay there.”
The chief’s eyes narrowed. “Why not?”
“I overheard Alanna telling Kensie and Colter that she thinks Johnny took Elysia to the cabin over in Luna, where Darcy started the avalanche.”
“Why does she think that?” Chief Hernandez asked. “I saw the conversation between Darcy and Alanna. Darcy never said anything about that cabin.”
“Alanna spent fourteen years with that woman,” Peter said. “She can read between the lines better than we can. Look, she might be wrong. But do we want to risk it? We need to go out there. Actually…”
The chief’s narrowed eyes shifted into a scowl. “Actually, what?”
“I should go to my place, see if I can keep them there, keep them out of the way. I might be able to get Alanna to listen.”
“I’ll go with the team,” Tate said. “I don’t know what Darcy said to Alanna, but she seemed convinced they’d be at that cabin. We need to go now.”
Peter swore inwardly at Tate’s addition, because it made him part of the lie, rather than someone who’d trusted the wrong partner. But Tate’s word seemed to be enough, because suddenly Chief Hernandez was nodding and waving her arms for the rest of the officers to gear up.
As they raced to the equipment room to gather the heavier weapons and protective gear, Peter ran out to his SUV and whipped out of the lot in the direction of his house. Around the corner, he turned off his lights and parked. He slipped out of the vehicle and pressed himself against the corner of the grocery store, waiting until the last police vehicle raced out of the parking lot.
Then he made one quick phone call, before he ran back to the station. He used his key card to get in the rear entrance, knowing there’d be an officer who’d stayed behind. They couldn’t leave the station totally empty, not with a prisoner in a cell at the back.
Hopefully, that officer wouldn’t check on Darcy for a while.
Peter ignored the voice in his head screaming at him. Yes, he was about to break the law. Yes, it was against everything he believed in. But he couldn’t think of any other way to ensure the woman he loved wasn’t heading willingly toward her own death.
The woman he loved. The words rang in his head, ridiculous after such a short time knowing her, yet they felt all too real.
He’d worry about it later.
Slipping the cell keys from their drawer, Peter unlocked the only occupied cell inside the Desparre station.
Darcy stared at him, unmoving even as he yanked open the door.
“Let’s go,” Peter said, striding inside and pulling her to her feet.
She resisted, staring up at him suspiciously.
“You want both your son and daughter to still be alive by morning?” he demanded.
She stopped digging her feet in and allowed him to lead her as he whispered, “You’re my backup plan.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
A prisoner was handcuffed in the seat beside him; one he’d broken out of her cell. If his plan worked, she’d be back behind bars soon—and there was a decent chance he’d be headed there himself.
The whole thing sounded ridiculous, even in his head. When he’d first met Alanna, he’d seen her as his chance to finally find acceptance at the Desparre PD. Instead, he’d lied to the whole department and committed a crime inside his own station. How had this become his life?
Peter tried not to think too hard about the consequences as he maneuvered up the slick mountain roads toward a cabin well hidden in the woods that he’d only visited once before. Of course, his passenger knew the route from memory.
As soon as he’d gotten Darcy clear of the Desparre police station, he’d hustled her down the dark sidewalk around the corner to his truck, praying no shop owner was watching from behind darkened windows. Then he’d slapped handcuffs on her and pushed her into the passenger seat of his vehicle.
For a brief moment, he’d considered cutting Alanna out entirely, just driving Darcy up to the cabin and trying to make the trade directly for the baby. But he’d reconsidered before he’d reached the base of the mountain. It would be too hard to manage it all alone. The safest thing for Elysia was to get her completely away from the line of fire. At least with Alanna, she could walk toward him. How would he hold a baby while keeping his gun trained on Johnny? Even cuffed, there was no way to predict what Darcy might try. And while Johnny probably didn’t actually want to raise the baby, Darcy might.
Besides, Alanna had asked him to trust her. Maybe she’d be able to get through to Johnny and end the whole thing peacefully. Maybe he’d even be able to slip Darcy back into her jail cell without anyone noticing she’d been gone.
Yeah, and maybe he’d still have a job come daylight.
Still, there was a chance. Somewhere on the road ahead of him, Kensie and Colter were driving up in one vehicle and Alanna in another. Alanna was supposed to text them all once she’d reached the cabin, then wait for their confirmation before she went to the door.
Once Alanna left with Johnny, he would follow. Kensie and Colter were going to get the baby and take her to safety. When he’d called to tell them to get moving, he’d gotten Colter off Speaker. The man had a leg injury he’d sustained as a marine that had never fully healed, but he still had a military mentality. If needed, Colter had promised to get his wife and child down the mountain, then come back up with a weapon and possibly Rebel. While her specialty had been tracking bomb-makers and she was long retired, she’d been military, too. Peter had worked with enough soldiers to know: once military, always military.
Peter hoped he wouldn’t need them, but he did feel slight relief at the idea of having backup if everything went sideways. Overseas, the deadliest thing he’d carried had been a pen. But he’d been with soldiers, who’d been armed and ready to protect. Now on the force, he worked with a partner. But right at this moment, he’d never felt more alone. And it might be Alanna’s life on the line.
“You’re in love with my daughter, aren’t you?”
It was the first time Darcy had spoken since she’d let him pull her silently out of the station and into his truck. She hadn’t even protested when he’d handcuffed her.
He glanced briefly at her, remembering the harsh words she’d spoken to Alanna in the interrogation room. “If you still think of Alanna as your daughter, then you’ll help me convince Johnny to let her go and take you instead.”
“So, that’s your plan. I figured it had something to do with my son. I didn’t think you actually planned to let me go, though. You must really love her if you’re willing to break the law. Or have you always been a crooked cop?”
He darted another glance at her, trying not to show how her words stung. Her opinion of him didn’t really matter. But he did wonder what she thought of their chances of getting both Elysia and Alanna out of there safely.
She just stared back at him, a mix of curiosity, distrust and anticipation on her face.
If this went sideways, he’d have to worry about more than just going to jail. If he couldn’t find a way to stop Darcy and Johnny after he got Alanna to safety, he’d be letting two child kidnappers go free. He had no doubts she and Johnny would start up right where they’d left off.
A ball of dread filled his stomach and twisted angrily. Peter clutched the wheel harder as the icy dirt roads beneath him became even more rough; this was an area that the town’s snowplows didn’t go. Anyone who lived up the mountain was tough. They lived at the mercy of the Alaskan wilderness and they always had a backup plan, too.
Peter darted one last glance at Darcy, hoping she’d b
e worth enough to Johnny that he’d give up his dreams of revenge. Hoping he didn’t have his own plan that would leave all of them at his mercy.
The phone in his cup holder buzzed, startling Peter, and he glanced at it. Alanna. She’d arrived and was waiting for their go-ahead. Less than a minute later, Colter texted that he was in place, hidden off the side of the road. They were just waiting for Peter.
He hit the gas and his wheels spun out slightly. As he righted the vehicle, Darcy warned, “Don’t drive us off the side of the road now. Not when we’re so close.”
She sounded too calm, like this had been her plan instead of his, and he tried not to let it worry him.
Then they were near the top of the mountain, still deep in the woods, as the first rays of morning sunrise started to filter through the trees. In theory, there weren’t many routes off this mountain, just the main roads that snaked their way up and down, and they were sometimes impassable. But Alanna had lost him up here less than a week ago and if she could do it, so could Johnny.
He pulled the truck off the side of the road, far enough away that Johnny wouldn’t be able to see him from the cabin. Then he took a deep breath and sent a group text. I’m here. Be careful.
I’m going in, Alanna responded.
From where he was positioned, Peter could see the very end of the Altiers driveway. He watched as Alanna’s rental pulled in and then disappeared up toward the house. Now all he could do was wait.
Time seemed to stretch out forever and Peter couldn’t stop his fingers from tapping a nervous beat against the steering wheel. Beside him, Darcy kept craning in her seat, trying to get a glimpse of the house. But it wouldn’t happen. Alanna had told him exactly where to wait to stay out of view from the house.
Maybe he should go in. In theory, he’d be able to hear a gunshot from here, but a gun wasn’t the only way to kill someone. Alanna was fairly tall for a woman and much stronger than her thin frame suggested, but he’d seen pictures of Johnny from five years ago. The man was six feet tall, even back then, and made up of all lean muscle. Plus, he was full of rage.
Harlequin Intrigue January 2021 - Box Set 2 of 2 Page 56