“On the move,” Hayes said. “I’ve got our people on them right now. We should have them in our hands shortly.”
“So you say. Did you get the information we needed?”
“Yes. Our source feels quite sure Mrs. Abernathy will not let the fact that her life is in danger stop her from appearing in court to defend her client on Tuesday.”
Raimondi thought about that. “So if we lose them between now and then, we know where to find them on Tuesday.”
“Most likely. According to my source, Mrs. Abernathy is very passionate about helping this particular client.”
His office door opened and Phillip, one of his more trusted hired hands, shoved a trembling young man probably in his early thirties into the room.
Raimondi told Hayes, “Hold on one minute. I need to take care of something. It won’t take long.” He pressed the hold button and looked at Phillip. “You found him.”
“Wasn’t easy,” the man grunted. “But his girlfriend decided she’d rather keep all of her fingers than hide him any longer.”
Raimondi grinned. “You’re a fast learner, my boy.” He stood and stared at Chico. “You failed me.”
Chico swallowed. “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t know he was undercover, I swear.”
“And because you failed me, you must pay a very high price.”
Sweat broke out on Chico’s forehead.
Raimondi picked up the boa and held it for Chico’s inspection. The young man blinked and backed away. Phillip pushed him back, closer to the snake than before.
“You don’t like snakes?” Raimondi said.
“S-sure. I like them just fine.”
“Oh really?” Raimondi arched his brow. “Well, that’s good to hear, not many people do.” He put the snake back under the light. It curled around the base once more. “Now, down to business. I lost about two hundred thousand dollars’ worth of cocaine thanks to you. How are you going to pay me back? Can you go to your bank and make a nice little withdrawal?”
Chico paled. “No sir. I don’t have that kind of money.”
“No, I didn’t think you did.”
“B-but I can get it.”
“From where?”
“I-I don’t know. Just give me a chance. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
Raimondi pretended to consider it and Chico relaxed a fraction.
“No. No, I don’t think so.”
Chico lost even more color. “Please. I promise. I’ll rob a bank. I’ll do whatever.”
Raimondi nodded to Phillip. Phillip placed his weapon at the base of Chico’s skull. Chico whimpered and resumed begging.
Raimondi laughed. “I’m just kidding. You can leave.”
Phillip dropped the gun and Chico grasped at his chest as though to hold his heart inside before it pumped right through his skin. Raimondi gestured to the door to his right. “Go.”
Chico didn’t wait to be told twice. He pulled the door open and slammed it behind him. Phillip walked over and slid the bolt home.
Raimondi flipped the switch on his computer monitor. He watched Chico rush down the stairs and skid to a halt. Another careless flick of his finger released his friends that slithered toward the now-panicked man who realized he’d just walked into a den of vipers. Literally.
“Idiot. He really thought I would let him go? Oy, they fall for it every time.” Raimondi spoke the words aloud, aware that Phillip had already left the room. On the monitor, Raimondi watched Chico race back the way he’d come and grab the doorknob, which, of course, wouldn’t turn. The door rattled and Raimondi heard a faint pounding, a soft scream. He’d soundproofed the area to the point he could hear some, but not a lot. Raimondi watched the monitor.
Chico turned and pressed his back against the door and, in a panic, kicked out at the first snake, then the next. Fool. If he would just be still, the snakes wouldn’t attack. Raimondi clucked. His victims never failed to disappoint him. They panicked every time.
After the first bite, Raimondi lost interest. For some reason Chico’s screams annoyed him. He would be quiet soon enough and Phillip would be back to clean up the mess.
Raimondi flipped off the monitor, picked the phone up, and reconnected with Hayes, who’d been telling him about Summer’s court date with her client. “Who’s the client?”
“A woman by the name of Olivia Todd. She’s fighting her husband for custody of her two young girls. If Summer doesn’t show up, it’s very likely that Mrs. Todd will lose custody. Her husband’s a well-to-do stockbroker. Lots of money.” He grunted. “And an abuser. I’m tempted to take the man out and save them the trouble of going to court on Tuesday.”
“No. If you want to kill him, I’m fine with that, but wait until after Tuesday.” Raimondi calculated. “Okay, that’s three days from now. I want Hackett before then, but if he manages to elude us, we’ll have to grab him and his wife on Tuesday at the courthouse. Security is tight there. It’ll be hard to do.”
“I’ve got ways to get past that.”
“Then get it set up just in case we need to go that route. I don’t want to, but there’s too much at stake and I need the laptop and David dead before the trial.”
“Like I said, I’ve got an inside track to the courthouse. We’ll get them there if we have to.”
Raimondi watched the snake slither across the desk and down onto the floor. “I have a feeling David will do pretty much anything to keep us from hurting Summer.”
Hayes snorted. “He’s a former Ranger. He’ll know we’re just going to kill her anyway.”
“Very true, but it’ll be up to him how much she suffers before she dies.”
17
SATURDAY
11:45 A.M.
Summer sank into the warmth of her coat and watched the scenery fly by while she played with the cross necklace around her neck. She thought about what it meant. He’d given it to her for their first-month anniversary.
A symbol of their kindred faith. Of their love centered on the One who had brought them together. Only now she wasn’t sure who she married, much less what he truly believed—or if God had even had a hand in anything. Chase stomped on the brake. Summer jerked forward against the seat belt.
“What is it?”
“Sorry,” Chase said. “Traffic.” He looked in the rearview mirror at Mike and demanded, “Why didn’t we know about this?”
Mike was already on the phone. “Get off and take an alternate route. We can’t be jammed in like this.”
Adam had his laptop open, typing furiously. “If you can go up the shoulder to the next exit, we can get around this.”
“Anyone behind us?” David asked.
“Not so far.” Chase spun the wheel and moved onto the shoulder to go around the mess. Summer caught her breath as an 18-wheeler pulled to the right to block them. Chase laid on the horn. The trucker stayed put. “Unbelievable. Run his plates.”
Mike shifted on the seat beside her.
Three slow minutes passed. They inched forward. Summer’s tension escalated with each second. Dizziness hit her and she realized she was holding her breath. Breathe, she told herself. Just breathe.
The trucker stayed half in the lane, half on the shoulder. Adam snapped, “Get the company dispatcher to tell him to move.”
“No time for that. I want off this road.” Mike pushed open the door and stomped up to the passenger side of the truck. Summer saw the door open, Mike flashed his badge and waved his hand. A gunshot sounded and Mike dropped. The truck door shut and the driver gunned the engine.
Another shot from behind them and the car jerked. “Go! Go!” Adam’s shout rang through the vehicle.
Heart thudding, Summer spun her head to see three men bearing down on them, weaving through the traffic, weapons drawn. “Behind us!”
Adam already had them spotted. He knocked his computer out of the way and shoved his door open. “Stay down!” To Chase, “Get them out of here.”
Could Adam hold them off? And what about
Mike?
David grabbed her hand and opened his door. “Come on! We stay here, we’re dead!”
Chase spared him a glance. “Stay put.” The car limped forward. “They got two of our tires.”
“What about Mike?” Summer asked.
David’s grim face and tight jaw said he thought Mike was beyond help.
Another shot and Summer ducked as the bullet slammed into the window. Glass shattered. David pulled her from the vehicle. She managed to snag her purse and then sucked in a terrified breath as she scrambled after him.
Adam and Chase hollered, but David ignored them. His right hand gripped her left. “Hunch over and run,” he told her. “Make yourself as small a target as possible. Stay right with me.”
His unflappable cool gave her confidence and steadied her shaky legs. David moved between terrified motorists. If he was bothered by the pain of his ribs, she couldn’t tell. He moved like he did this on a daily basis.
Shots chased them down the highway as they weaved in and out of the cars. “We’re putting these people in danger,” she huffed.
“Keep going. To the left and down that hill.”
A bullet zinged past her right ear. More gunfire, screams, horns honking. Summer tried to block the sensory overload of sound. David’s grip tightened. Her feet flew across the ground. They scrambled down the hill. Thankfully, it wasn’t very steep.
Yet steep enough that they were now out of range of bullets. David pulled her along and she fought to keep up. She was in good shape, but no match for the husband who ran five miles every morning. He found the sidewalk. “There’s a hotel.”
“Won’t they expect us to do that?” she panted.
“I’m hoping they expect us to keep running as fast and as far as possible.”
She followed him, dodging other people on the sidewalk. David slowed, a hand pressed to his ribs his only indication they pained him.
She wanted to push him to go faster, but knew he didn’t want to draw attention to them. So they strolled, hand in hand, like they hadn’t a care in the world. “How did they know we were on the highway?”
“I don’t know.” He stopped outside the hotel and looked around. “We need to figure that out, though. Either there’s a mole with the marshals or they were tracking the car somehow.”
Summer frowned.
David led her into the nearest store. “Stay here out of sight of the street. I’m going to get a room and we’re going to lay low while we figure out a plan.”
“Stay here?”
“I’ve got cash and I don’t want to check in as a couple. That’s what they’ll be looking for. Not a single guy.”
She nodded. “Just hurry.”
David smoothed her hair away from her face and pressed a kiss to her lips. “I’m going to make up for everything, Summer, I promise.”
Pain lanced through her and she gave him a small shove. “Go get the room.” He muddled her thinking when he was so close. Everything in her wanted to shout that she forgave him, that it didn’t matter about the past. But she couldn’t do that. The memory of him looking her straight in the eye and promising to never lie to her just wouldn’t leave her alone.
He was a good liar. How did she know he wasn’t lying now?
She didn’t.
“Keep an eye on the street,” he said. “If you see anyone suspicious, get into the men’s room.”
“The men’s room?”
Frustration crossed his face. “They’ll look for you in the ladies’ room first.”
“Anything to throw them off. Okay.”
“We’re taking a lot of calculated risks. It’s all a gamble. Hopefully, this is one that will pay off.”
“I’ll be waiting. Go.”
He jogged across the street. Summer let her gaze pierce the surrounding area. So far she saw no one that stood out, no one who looked like the three goons who’d tried to kill them on the highway. She swallowed hard. Were Chase and Adam okay? And Mike? Had he been shot or had he just dropped when he heard the gun go off? And what about her family? She pulled out her cell phone and stared at it. Then stuck it back in her pocket.
She didn’t dare.
But what about her family? Worry cramped her stomach. She reached up and grasped the necklace, rubbing her thumb over the ridges of the cross as she prayed for wisdom—and a plan.
A sedan drove by the store. Slowed. And stopped on the curb.
She moved deeper into the clothes rack behind her.
“May I help you?”
Summer jerked and whipped her head to the left. The necklace popped off in her hand and she gasped. “Oh no.”
A saleswoman in her early forties stood watching her, brow raised. “Do you need any help?”
“Uh … I’m just …” She forgot about the necklace even as she tightened her fingers around it. Two men got out of the car. One in a dark suit, the other in khakis and a leather jacket.
“Ma’am?”
Summer turned back to the saleswoman. “I’m running from my husband,” she blurted. “That’s him. I don’t know how he found me, but he did. If he catches me, he’ll kill me.”
Shock blanched the woman’s face white. Then red. She stuck her chin out. “Follow me.”
“What?”
“I have a place you can hide. Then I’ll get rid of him.”
“But I don’t want to put you in dan—”
“Hurry. I’m Casey and I’ve been where you are.” She glanced at the window. “Come on now, he’s coming.”
Summer shut up and hurried after the woman, her spine tingling as the bell above the door announced the arrival of the men who wanted to kill her.
18
SATURDAY
1:20 P.M.
David slid the room key into his pocket and stepped to the glass entrance door to the hotel. He glanced across the street where Summer was supposed to be waiting for him. When his gaze landed on the dark sedan parked in front of the store, his stomach flipped. Fear for Summer invaded him.
He pushed through the door and crossed the street, his hand reaching for the weapon in the shoulder holster Chase had provided him.
Once inside the warmth of the store, he stepped immediately behind a clothing rack near the right front corner. Through the slitted opening created by two of the denim shirts, he scanned the area in front of him. Three customers who hadn’t even looked up at the dinging of the bell and one employee talking to the two suits at the cash register.
No Summer. That he could see.
He moved closer. David recognized the taller of the two as Raimondi’s nephew, Agostino Greco. A chill swept through him. Raimondi had called out the big guns. Agostino didn’t usually step up to the front lines to get his hands dirty. But when he did, he was deadly and efficient.
The woman shook her head. “I’m sorry, sir, I haven’t seen this woman.”
“We’ve tracked her to this store. Do you have security video?”
“Of course.”
“Then we’d like to see it.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Look, lady—” The taller of the two men jabbed a finger at her.
Agostino laid a hand on his shoulder. The other man let out a curse and spun on his heel to pace and shove aside clothing on the nearest rack.
“Hey! You’ve no right to manhandle my inventory. Back off or I’ll call 911.” She grabbed the handset from the base and shook it at him.
David saw alarm on the other customers’ faces. One woman swallowed hard and pulled out her phone as she backed toward the door.
The others followed, their instinct telling them this might be a good time to get out.
The bell chimed once, twice. David let out a slow breath. Through the window behind him, he saw the three women pause on the sidewalk. One had a phone pressed to her ear.
The cops would be here soon. Agostino shot a glance at the door. He knew it too.
“Ma’am.” Agostino kept his cool as he turned his attention back to the
woman. David had never seen the man lose it. “She’s a fugitive. And dangerous. We just don’t want to see anyone get hurt.” The false concern in Agostino’s voice grated all over David’s nerves, and if Summer hadn’t most likely been hiding somewhere nearby, he would have been tempted to do a little bodily damage. Instead, he exercised self-control. And prayed.
“Neither do I,” the employee said. “I haven’t seen that woman. Now if you want to come back with a warrant, we’ll talk about viewing the security footage.”
David processed the information. The men had identified themselves as law enforcement. And still she wasn’t talking. Thank you, Lord. Where was Summer?
Frustration stamped itself on the tall man’s face. He leaned in. “If you’re lying to me, I’ll be back.”
“I’ll be here.” She stared him down and he turned with a ripple of curses.
David gave a silent cheer for the woman’s unwillingness to be bullied by the two men. He didn’t think either of them would hurt her. Yet.
He hung back in his hiding place, keeping his cool, slowing his pulse by sheer will. Relief and worry filled him at the same time. Relief that Summer wasn’t in the wrong hands and worry about her location. Had she seen Agostino and his partner enter and somehow manage to escape the store?
David saw Agostino heave a sigh, as though by drawing in the air, he could pull in more patience. He gripped his partner’s arm and nodded to the door. “Thank you for talking to us.”
The two men came close enough for David to reach out and touch. He held his breath as they paused.
Agostino said in a low voice, “We’ll find her, Gianni, but not if you lose your temper. She’s here somewhere. Let’s get out and bide our time. You take the back door, I’ll cover the front.”
Gianni’s nostrils flared over his tight lips, but he gave a nod and stepped outside. David waited for the door to shut. He sidled around the rack toward the store’s interior and stood there. Waiting.
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