The Broken Road

by Melissa Huie

  Chapter 27

  DAYS TURNED INTO WEEKS, and soon it was the Fourth of July. I was twelve weeks along and definitely showing. Mom, Kate, and I headed into town to do a little shopping. We needed groceries and I needed more shorts with elastic waistbands. Rick, the ever-imposing agent, acted as our personal chauffeur. I headn’t gleaned much information about him. Aside from his formidable stance and his obsession with the Washington Redskins, I didn’t know much.

  We were loading our shopping bags into the back of the SUV when Rick got a call. He rushed over, his eyes hidden behind aviator sunglasses and his lips set in a grim line.

  “Just got a call from Tommy. They’ve lost Reggie and have no clue as to where he is. There was a sighting of him heading down I-95 toward Virginia. But we can’t confirm it,” he said quickly as he loaded the rest of the groceries into the back of the SUV. Kate went into high alert mode and ushered me into the backseat, all the while scanning the area.

  “Tommy and a couple other agents are on their way up here just as a precaution,” Rick said as he jumped into the driver’s seat. Mom passed me a worried look and I tried to squelch the panic that was building inside me. Kate was in the passenger seat, scrolling through her bureau-issued Blackberry.

  “When was the last sighting?” Kate asked, peering out the window.

  “Six hours ago,” Rick said bitterly.

  Six hours? What the hell? Kate’s voice echoed my thoughts perfectly. “What the hell do you mean six hours? Why didn’t we hear about this earlier? Who fucked up?” she spat out, anger rolling off her in waves. Rick gave her a knowing look and Kate just looked away, shaking her head. That look meant something, something that they weren’t telling me.

  “What? What aren’t you telling us?” I demanded, but they didn’t answer. We pulled up to the house. Rick got out with his gun drawn and motioned for us to stay put. Five minutes later, he returned and opened the passenger doors.

  “It’s good. Let’s get you inside.” He held onto my mother’s arm and quickly ushered her into the foyer. Kate did the same with me. Penny came running toward us and did the happy dance of joy with her woobie in her mouth. I absentmindedly threw it into the next room while I waited for Rick and Kate to bring in our purchases. Mom and I unpacked everything and set about making dinner. Rick and Kate stayed in the command center down in the basement. All the alarms were activated. We were only allowed to have the sliding glass door open. Mom stared Rick down when he tried to close it. The air was tense. I needed answers, so I headed to the basement. Kate and Rick were huddled in front of a monitor, and barely glanced at me when I entered the room.

  “What is going on? Why do I feel like you‘re holding something back?” I asked cautiously. I wanted to know the truth.

  Kate turned around and sighed. “I’m sorry, Megan. We don’t want to worry you and honestly, we’re not sure ourselves.”

  “But . . . ” I led, encouraging her to finish.

  She gave a funny look to Rick, then turned back to me. “We can’t figure out why we were told six hours later that Reggie had gone off the radar. That’s not standard protocol. Our counterparts in Maryland should have told us right away, but we didn’t get any sort of message or phone call. And there have been some other issues too. A witness who saw Reggie and his brother Christian doing a drug deal has been murdered, and we didn’t know about that until a few hours ago. We are being kept in the dark. We should be one of the first people they call, especially since we’re supposed to be protecting you. We’re limited regarding who we can trust and who we can’t.”

  “So what are you saying exactly?” I asked slowly, trying to wrap my mind around this wave of information. My stomach suddenly soured as I saw the coldness in her blue eyes.

  “We think there is a leak. Someone is trying to cover Reggie’s ass and make sure no one talks. The bigger issue is that we don’t know who,” Rick piped in, his eyes still glued to the monitor.

  My mouth dropped open and I looked at Kate in terror. “Okay. What about my mom? What about Shane? Who do we need to talk to in order to get him more protection?”

  “We haven’t heard from Shane’s location; we’re not in constant contact. I’m sure more agents were added to his detail, and more agents are coming here with Tommy. Your family is going to be okay. We just have to be more vigilant. And it could be nothing more than a miscommunication or an alert that didn’t get sent out. It could be nothing,” Kate said in a rush. It was a lackluster attempt to calm my fears. I appreciated that, but it did nothing for me. I gave her a worried look then headed upstairs. Mom was putting the finishing touches on the potato salad when I walked in.

  “You missed it, Megs. I added my secret ingredient. Wait. What’s wrong?” she said, as she hurried over to me with worry etched on her face.

  I didn’t want to worry her. There would be no point in that. Kate said more agents were on their way. Tommy would be here soon and Reggie was last seen in Virginia. There was no reason to panic.

  “Nothing. I just had a mild hormone attack. These flashes come on quickly,” I lied as I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. She patted my arm and gave me a small smile. She brushed a tendril of hair out of my eyes.

  “Baby cakes, you’re handling this so well. I’m proud of you. And Shane would be too,” she said softly. Mom pulled me to her in a tight hug. I buried my head in her shoulder and inhaled her perfume. Having her here kept me from falling off the brink of sanity. I wiped away the tears that threatened to spill over and smiled.

  “Are the hormones always this bad?” I joked, forking a bite of her potato salad.

  Mom chuckled as she pulled the apple pie from the oven. The intoxicating smell of Americana—cinnamon, apples, and sugar—swept through the house. “It gets worse. Soon you’ll be crying over toilet paper commercials.”

  “Great,” I replied dryly. I was antsy. I hated not being honest with my mom, but at the same time it wouldn’t do any good to get her or myself all worked up. I plucked a cherry tomato out of the salad bowl and popped it in my mouth. I really wanted to take a walk, but not until Tommy arrived. It was an unspoken rule that we were to stay indoors. I made my way back to the bedroom and lay on the bed. I was on edge. I hated being in the dark and not knowing what was next.

  I didn’t have to wait long. I heard Rick bound up the stairs and run to the front door. The ringing of the alarm startled me out of bed. I hurried down the stairs to see Tommy talking with Rick. Our eyes met and he hurried over to me and took me aside.

  “Tommy? What’s going on?” I demanded. He rubbed his face and paced in front of me.

  “Megan. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Shane’s safe house was blown up last night,” he whispered, holding me tightly. It was a good thing that he grabbed my waist, because my legs gave out. I stopped breathing. Tommy’s face said it all.

  “Oh God, Tommy. Please don’t tell me that Shane . . .” I couldn’t finish. I couldn’t say the very words that would destroy me.

  Tommy shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know, Megs. Bodies were found but we haven’t identified them yet. There is no way anyone got out of that place alive. There was an accelerant and what looked like several homemade explosives. They are going through the crime scene now. But we need to get out of here. We need to leave now.”

  I stood stock-still. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t fathom the very notion that Shane could be dead. My heart dropped to the bottom of my stomach as I fought back tears.

  “Megan, we gotta go. Norah! We’re leaving. Grab the dogs! We’re rolling out!” he bellowed as he ran to the basement. My fight or flight instincts kicked in and I ran upstairs. I would deal with this later. I would grieve as I deserved to. But now my child’s life was at stake. My mother’s life was at stake. My mother was already on her way up the stairs to grab her things. I followed her lead and threw some clothes and a few personal items into my duffle bag. The rest of the clothes and books could wait. I grabbed Penny’s woobie and whistled for her to
follow me downstairs. I met Tommy at the bottom where he grabbed my bag and threw it to Kate who carried it outside. Rick and Tommy were speaking in code, talking of mileage, weapons, and such. Kate rushed back in and took the dogs out to the car.

  “Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” my mother yelled. Her face was flushed from running around, and she was missing a shoe. Tommy and Rick gazed at her with an openmouthed stare, as if they had forgotten that we were standing there. Rick quickly shook his head and gestured for my mother to follow him.

  “Shane’s safe house was destroyed and we just received word that Reggie is twenty miles out. We need to get you guys to safety,” Rick said as he ushered my mother into the back of a waiting black Suburban.

  “I thought there were more agents coming with you?” I questioned as Tommy led me outside.

  “They are more than thirty minutes out. We can’t wait for them. We have to leave now. They’ll catch up with us once we get on the highway.”

  I quickly shook out the cobwebs that had been nesting in my head. I grabbed his arm and demanded, “What about Mom? Who’s going to protect her?”

  “We’re separating you. It’s for the best. You’re his primary target, not your mom. The further we get her away from here the better,” Tommy muttered to me. I stared at him in grim horror. After what had happened to Shane, I fully accepted it now. We were in incredible danger. We both knew I might not make it home. I could see the pain in his green eyes; he hated that we were in this position. A passing thought went through my head. Tommy actually thought that this would work. That we would be safe and that he could protect me. He had never meant for this to happen, neither had Shane. But it would never end. Reggie would keep coming after me, whether Shane was around or not. I understood. I would face my demons and accept my fate. I took Tommy’s hand and gave it a squeeze and a nod. Then I ran over to my mom. She was fighting against Rick, who was trying to shove her into the back seat.

  “No, No No! You’re coming with me. You get in this car right now. I’m not leaving without you,” she screamed, tears streaming down her face. I choked back a sob and threw my arms around her.

  “Mom, I’m going to be with Tommy and Kate. I’ll be well protected, I promise. Nothing is going to happen to me. I swear, Momma. I’ll be fine. Just, please, go with Rick. Take care of Penny for me until we get back. And when this baby is born, you can spoil him or her rotten,” I whispered. I wanted her to believe that everything was going to be okay even though I knew deep down that it would probably end badly. I smiled at her through my tears and kissed her cheek.

  “You’re damn right I’m going to spoil my grandchild. And your behind better be home soon. You come home. Do you hear me? You come home,” she cried. I tried to pull away, and with assistance from Rick was able to step back. Kate and Tommy hurried me over to the other SUV as my mother yelled behind us, “Tommy! If you don’t bring her back to me I’m hunting you down myself!”

  Kate and I clambered into the back seat while Tommy got into the driver’s seat. “Megan, remind me when we get through this never to piss off your mom. She scares me.”

  I gave an uneasy grin and wiped away the remaining tears. “Everyone is scared of my mom.”

  Kate helped me into a Kevlar vest and told me to keep my head down and body slouched. We pulled out in front of Rick’s car, gravel from the driveway flying behind us. Unfortunately for us, the town’s Fourth of July festival was going on, and most of the major thoroughfares were full of families and stargazers intent on seeing a spectacular fireworks display. Little did they know, the fireworks were just about to start—in more ways than one.

  Chapter 28

  KATE CLIMBED INTO THE FRONT passenger seat to use the FBI computer and communications equipment. She was reporting our location to someone who I assumed was at FBI headquarters. Tommy told Kate what to relay to headquarters while trying to navigate the traffic and the street crowds. He let out a stream of curse words once we hit the open road. We were on the outskirts of town trying to meet up with the rest of the caravan that would take us to our next destination, our new home away from home.

  “Fucking traffic. Reggie really planned this well. He knew full well that we’d have trouble getting out of town,” Tommy grumbled as he picked up his phone. “Mac. It’s Tommy. I need some help—”

  Tommy never finished the call. We were crossing over an intersection at full speed in an industrial part of town when I saw a red blur coming from the right of our SUV. Suddenly we were thrown sideways, the car rolling over three complete times before coming to a stop. My head was thrown against the window. All I heard were the tires screeching, the groaning of metal bending, and screams. My screams, maybe Kate’s. I couldn’t tell. Glass and plastic showered down. A groan escaped me as I fumbled for the seat belt. My head screamed in pain, my body ached. It hurt to move and there was blood blocking my vision. I struggled to get up when the door I was leaning against was thrown open. Kate’s face swam into my vision, looking like an angel with her bright blue eyes.

  “We’ve gotta run. We have to get you out of here,” she urged. I could see the fear on her face. With her help, I managed to get out of the SUV. My leg buckled and I saw a large gash in my knee. Tommy was screaming into his cell phone for backup. Kate led me away from the SUV when I heard the rat tat tat tat of gunfire. She pulled me alongside a boarded up storefront, looking for a way in. Kate found a wooden back door and shot out the lock. She pushed me inside. “Get in, get down, and stay out of sight. I’ll be right here,” she reassured me. I believed her. The courage in her eyes was quite clear.

  My heart was trying to burst out of my chest. I could barely breathe, let alone take in anything that was happening. I didn’t think, I just reacted. I hurried over to the small counter and crept down. Kate was hunkered down by the back door, waiting. I wanted to ask her about Tommy, if he was okay. If my mother and Rick had gotten away in time, but fear silenced my voice. I glanced to my right and, through a small sliver of open glass, could see the carnage of the crash. More cars were on the scene and the sound of gunfire echoed the sound of fireworks. I wanted to close my eyes and wish it was all a dream, but I couldn’t tear myself away.

  Suddenly, the storefront was blown open. Automatically, I threw myself down and covered my head. Wood particles and flames flew across the room. As if in slow motion, I could see Kate dive to get to me. At the same time that she leaped into the air, bright red circles appeared on her T-shirt. She landed two feet away from me, her face twisted in pain. Horrified, I struggled toward her. She had been shot in the neck, back, and stomach.

  “Megan, run,” she managed to shout out before moaning in pain. A strangled scream came out of my mouth as I crawled over to her. I couldn’t let her die. I couldn’t. I groped her neck for a pulse. Kate shuddered a breath. Spasms took over her body and then she went limp. I was panic-struck.

  “Dammit, Kate, no! You stay with me!” I screamed. Adrenaline surged through me and my heart pounded. I needed to save her, to save myself. I had to fight. I started CPR when I heard voice. A voice I will never in my lifetime forget.

  “You have been the biggest pain in the ass I have ever dealt with.” The voice. Menacing and dark, my attacker had returned. I quickly scooted backwards, slicing my hands on broken glass, only to stop once I hit the counter. Recognition finally dawned on me. The high school creep who never grew up, the same one that Shane was going to beat down in the club. Dominic. Holy shit. Everything was coming together. Dominic didn’t fight with Shane because Shane was supposed to be part of his crew. Dominic worked for Reggie.

  “Dominic. Why are you doing this?” I asked, my voice coming out hoarse and meek. Desperation filled me and I could feel the hysteria building. The opportunity to run was quickly fading. The only light in the store came from the busted window and it filled the room with shadows. I lightly ran my hands across the floor around me, hoping to find something I could throw at him; I needed a distraction or a weapon. E
ither one would do. My hand brushed against the cold, hard steel of Kate’s Glock. I slowly pulled it underneath my knee, hiding it from Dominic’s already obstructed view.

  “Why? Your boy is the reason why. At first, I thought he was alright. Dude was chill. But after that night in the club, I didn’t like him. Once he ran off, without you, we knew something was up. We found out that Shane talked to the feds and we weren’t having that. We needed to get a message to him. Unfortunately for you, the message was sent. Shane’s dead, and now you’re our only loose end,” Dominic said, walking slowly toward me. Any hope of Shane being alive sank to the pit of my stomach. He was truly dead, and if I didn’t act soon my baby and I wouldn’t live either. But I was backed up against the counter. I had nowhere to go.

  “Dammit, Dominic. Just shoot the bitch and go,” demanded another voice. A large man, heavy set and the size of Andre the Giant came into view. With a shaved head, black menacing eyes, and a huge tattoo covering his face, the man had a horrifying presence. With Dominic, I was scared. This man brought a whole new level of terror. Panic filled every fiber of my being. Scared beyond belief, I struggled to stay focused.

  “Look. I don’t know who you are. I really don’t. Just please leave me alone. I won’t talk to the cops . . . I won’t . . . ” I stammered. Bile was rising from my stomach and burning my throat, and the overwhelming need to puke put me in a frenzy.