“I thought it was,” she whispered.
“I know.”
She pulled away and stood, forcing him to shuffle backwards on his knees. He rose and she smoothed her palms down her jean-clad thighs and stepped away from him, keeping her back to him. “What happened after you picked up Ron?” she asked.
David gave a snort and rubbed his eyes. “Summer, I was a gambler.”
She swung around to look at him. “A what?”
“I gambled. A lot. And I lost. A lot.” He held his hands up. “It was like therapy or something. When I was playing cards and betting large sums, I could forget the nightmares of war, what I saw in Afghanistan, what I had to do while I was there. I could forget each piece of evidence that I found that proved the FBI was right and my partner, my closest friend, was a crook.” He shrugged. “I don’t really know how to explain it. But gambling is just as addicting as any drug.” The shock in her expression cut him, but he knew he had to keep going. “In the end, I owed a lot of money to a rather unscrupulous bookie. You see, I moved from cards to horses.” He shot her a look. “I was a statistic. I had a lot of money, but it was tied up in my business. And I never wanted to do anything to hurt the business. I was a gambler, but I wasn’t going to be stupid and hurt my livelihood. I did manage to keep from doing that.”
“But?”
“Yeah, I thought I was so smart. I’d always been a winner. Borrowing from a loan shark was no big deal. I could pay it back from my next winnings. Only there weren’t any winnings.” He gave a rough laugh. “At least not enough to pay my debt. I was a fool.” David paced, his story making him antsy. It was hard to revisit those days, but she deserved to know the truth. “You want to hear something crazy?”
“More crazy than what you’re already telling me?”
She had a point. “Before I had Raimondi after me, I had a bookie who was ready to do some serious bodily damage to me.”
“David,” she whispered.
“I know. I know. But here’s how it all ties together. The night I left New York with the laptop, the bookie’s goons found me.”
“How?”
“I still don’t know. Dumb luck, chance, whatever.” He paced a few more steps, then stopped. “I prefer to think of it as a divine appointment. God did it.”
“God? God sent the bad guys after you?”
Her confusion made him grimace. “You’ll understand in a minute. So, I’m driving down the highway and I pick up Ron. We make small talk for a while and then he pulls out his Bible and starts reading silently.” He tapped his finger against the butt of his weapon. “I’ve never cared much for religion. It had never done anything for me, so why would I be interested in it? I let Ron know this in no uncertain terms.”
Summer swallowed hard and stared. “But you went to church with me. You had all the right answers.”
He sighed. “Yes, I knew all the right things to say to get you to fall in love with me. And I knew it would make you happy.”
She flinched. “What about your grandmother? I remember you telling me about her one time. That she was a big influence in your life when it came to God.”
“She was. Which is how I knew all the right things to say and do. But I ignored her for the most part. Until Ron started saying the same things she’d said. The same things I’d heard you say … and seen you live.”
“Oh.”
“About that time, I noticed a tail, but Ron had piqued my curiosity. I decided to keep an eye on the car behind me and keep Ron talking. But he noticed the tail too. He looked at me and asked what I’d done and wanted to know why we were being followed. For some reason, I spilled the story. We were followed for the next three hours. Ron talked the whole time, answering my questions. And then they ran us off the road and started shooting at us. Ron pulled out a gun and shot back. I was beat up and fading in and out of consciousness with a concussion. The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital.”
“That seems to happen to you on a regular basis.”
He raised a brow and gave a chuckle. “I suppose twice in the span of a little over a year is a bit much, isn’t it?”
“What happened to the computer?”
“That was my first thought when I opened my eyes and remembered what happened. Ron was sitting beside me. He handed me the laptop. He asked if he could pray with me, and I let him. Then he walked out of the hospital room. I left that night, sick with a concussion, but figured that was the least of my worries. I knew it wouldn’t be long before either the bookie showed up or Raimondi’s goons.” He checked his watch, then the window. “All right, the sun’s going down. I need you to keep watch.”
“That’s it?”
“What?”
“The story with Ron. That’s it?”
“No.” He shoved his weapon into the holster under his left arm. “There’s more, but it’ll have to wait.”
“David—”
“Sorry, I’ll finish it later. Right now, I have a job to do.”
“What kind of job?”
“I’m going to set a trap.”
38
Raimondi let the boa slither to the floor before he answered the phone. “You better have good news.”
“We lost them.”
Raimondi sighed.
His door opened and Georgina stepped into his office. Raimondi leaned back in surprise. She looked wonderful. He spoke into the phone. “Hold on a second.” He looked at his daughter. “Are you going out?”
“I am.”
“Do you need something?”
“I need to know the truth.”
He lifted a brow.
“Are you looking for David for me or are you looking for him to kill him?”
Her blunt question left him speechless. He stared. Then found his tongue. “What kind of question is that?”
She walked toward him and placed both hands on the desk to lean in. “I know what you are. I know what this family does. I’m not an idiot.” Her dark eyes blazed with a passion he hadn’t seen in a long time. “Now obviously David has done something and you’re tracking him, desperate to find him—and not for me to confront.” She shrugged. “And I’ve gotten pretty good at eavesdropping.”
Raimondi felt an explosive rage building inside him. With effort he swallowed the first words that came to his tongue. He said, “That’s not a good thing, Georgina.”
“What? Are you going to kill me?” she taunted.
Raimondi stared at this girl he no longer knew. Her blatant disgust and disrespect caused his heart to pound and the blood to rush in his ears. “Surely it won’t come to that.”
The disgust and disrespect disappeared. She fell back against the chair behind her and slumped into it. “You’re serious. You would actually kill me?”
Raimondi forced a small laugh. “Of course I’m not serious. You would never give me cause to do anything so drastic.”
“Never give you—” She stared at him. “Stop looking for David. I don’t want you to find him anymore.”
“Stay out of things that aren’t your business, Georgie.” His childhood nickname seemed to deflate her. “I love you. You’re my flesh and blood. Everything I’ve worked for has been for you and this family. But you need to leave certain things alone. Am I clear?” He saw her swallow hard. And give a slow nod. He stood and picked up the boa that had made its way over to Georgina. She slid farther back in her chair and watched it with distaste.
He should have had a son. “Good. Now, where are you going?”
Georgina stood and walked toward the door. “I’m going shopping with a friend. I’ll see you later.”
The door shut behind her with a click.
Raimondi stared at it for a few more moments, wondering if she was going to be a problem. He’d have to deal with her later if she was. A trip to Europe might be in order. For now …
He picked up the phone. “You still there?” Hayes confirmed he was. “Where are you?”
When Hayes told him, Raimo
ndi narrowed his eyes as he thought. “Give me fifteen minutes and I might have something for you. In the meantime, we need some more insurance.”
“We have the sister.”
“We do. But Marlee and David have never gotten along. I don’t know that he wouldn’t sacrifice her to keep his secret.”
“How did you know about the friction between David and his sister-in-law anyway?”
“I have sources everywhere. You should know that by now.” Mike had kept in touch with Bennie, his boss, on a regular basis. Bennie had passed on bits of information that he thought Raimondi would find useful and people he thought could be used. Only it looked like Marlee had quickly outlived her usefulness. “I’m thinking of something a little more compelling.”
“What’s that? The mother and brother are out of town somewhere. They’re not due back until next week, and frankly, we don’t have the time to track them down.”
“No. There’s someone Summer cares about even more than her family, I think.”
“Who?”
“Olivia Todd and her two little girls. Summer and David risked their lives to be in court and keep those children from their father. That tells me a lot.”
“You want them?”
“I want them.”
“Then you’ll have them. I’ll start making calls while the others keep searching for Hackett.”
Summer snapped her mouth shut as David walked out into the darkness. She shivered and helped herself to another bowl of the canned vegetable soup, wishing she’d thought to ask David to grab her purse from the wreck when he’d gotten her coat. There wasn’t anything in it that she particularly cared about except her iPod. She hadn’t had any cash on her and she could cancel the credit cards. Even the pictures could be replaced.
She finished off the soup with a sigh. Not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination, but filling. Her nausea eased with the food and she felt much better, less shaky. She threw the paper bowl and plastic spoon in the trash and paced to the window.
Moving the curtain to the side, she peered out. Darkness hid David and covered his mission.
She kept the lights off. The sliver of the moon would have helped to light the small cabin if she’d felt comfortable opening the dusty curtain a little more. Her eyes adjusted and she finally caught sight of a shadow moving several feet to her left.
She stepped outside onto the porch and shut the door behind her. “David,” she whispered.
“Over here,” he called.
She moved toward him, guided by the dim light of the moon. He dug another scoop of dirt and tossed it on the growing pile behind him. At her approach, he stopped and leaned on the shovel for a short rest. Then his movements resumed and she watched him.
She swallowed hard. The initial flutters of attraction when they’d first met no longer attacked her midsection when she looked at him. And while she thought him the best-looking guy ever, the warm fuzzies had faded to leave a deep love and a respect she had thought was mutual.
Being betrayed by the one person she’d trusted implicitly had done some huge damage to her heart. Damage that might be beyond repair.
How had she come to this place? What was she going to do when this was all over? Was divorcing this man the right thing? The thought of it made her shudder. She’d married him for life. ’Til death do us part. But was she going to honor those vows she made when she’d been deceived? How did God feel about that? Would he still hold her responsible for them? Did she even care?
Yes. She did. She sighed. As mad as she wanted to be with God about the situation, she knew she needed to trust him, to continue to pray that he would keep them safe. And Marlee. Her heart thudded an extra beat. Please keep Marlee safe, Lord. Then she felt guilty for asking God for anything when she blamed him for letting everything happen.
But not praying for Marlee wasn’t an option. She tried not to imagine her sister in the hands of men who didn’t have any problem cutting off body parts or killing. Worry pounded inside her. But first, they had to do this, and she had to trust God would take care of Marlee. She had to. “Did you get it?”
“Not yet.” He paused, glanced at his watch, and looked out into the distance.
“What are you looking for?”
“Reinforcements.” He frowned. “You need to get back inside, okay?”
Summer sighed. “Look—”
A gunshot shattered the window behind her. Then the next window popped.
Summer gasped. David grabbed her arm and propelled her to the ground even as he reached for his weapon. He rolled close and whispered, “Don’t move.” And then he tensed.
She twisted beneath him to see Corbin Hayes standing above them, gun pressed to David’s ear, black eyes glittering. “Well, well, Mr. Hackett. We finally meet again.”
39
David froze. Summer did likewise.
“Get up,” Hayes ordered. David helped Summer roll to her feet.
David stood, keeping Summer behind him. He could feel her trembling. His eyes scanned the area and his nerves twitched. “What now?” He kept his hands where Hayes could see them.
“Now, we get what I came for.” He gestured to the ground. “Don’t let me stop you from finishing what you started.”
“How did you know we were here?”
“Raimondi usually finds out what he wants to know. You haven’t figured that out yet?”
“But no one knew about this place.” David never would have brought Summer here if he’d thought someone could connect him to it.
Hayes laughed. “Sam’s always been a bit of a snoop—one of the reasons he’s in such trouble. However, it seems he remembers seeing some papers in your office one afternoon. He said he thought it was interesting you were buying such an out-of-the-way place, because he never figured you for a mountain man.”
David clenched his fist, desperate to plant it on Hayes’s nose. He resisted and stepped back, keeping Summer with him. Hayes was joined by two more men dressed in black. Again Hayes motioned for David to continue digging. David picked up the shovel. Hayes lifted the gun higher. “Try anything stupid with that shovel and I’ll shoot her.”
David glanced again at the area across the creek. He could smell the smoke from the fire he’d started in the other cabin. The night air chilled his face and dried the sweat that had popped out onto his forehead as he’d dug the hole. He settled the shovel back into the ground and lifted a mound of dirt that he added to the growing pile. Summer stayed near him. One of Hayes’s goons kept his weapon on her while he held a flashlight with his other hand. But David knew one wrong move and Summer was dead. His stomach clenched and he kept digging, the flashlight’s beam making it easier to see.
Finally, he heard a loud clank.
Hayes drew in a satisfied breath. “Well, looks like we’ve hit pay dirt.”
David didn’t respond. He simply continued to remove the dirt. Finally, he said, “I’ll need some help with this. The laptop’s not the only thing in there and it’s heavy.”
Hayes studied him for a moment, then motioned one of his men forward.
David said, “You grab that end, I’ll get this one.” He looked at Summer. “Stay out of the way, will you?”
She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. However, she took several steps back. David reached in and wrapped his fingers around the handle. The other man did the same. Together they pulled the waterproof trunk from the ground.
Hayes grunted. “What do you have in there?”
“Nothing for you to be concerned about. The laptop is all you need.”
Hayes shot him an annoyed look, and David set the trunk at Hayes’s feet. “Just so you know, while the laptop is in there, you won’t be able to access it without me.”
Hayes smirked. “We have our guys for that kind of thing.”
David kept his face expressionless. “And I know that. Which is why I programmed the security the way I did.”
The smirk slid off Hayes’s face. David figured he was reme
mbering exactly what David did with the Rangers. And the fact that David would have the skills to make a computer practically hack proof.
“Move,” Hayes snarled.
David slipped his gloved fingers around Summer’s and gave her a tug. She glanced at him, her silent questions surfacing through her fear. He winked at her. She lifted a brow.
He took another subtle step back. Summer moved with him.
But Raimondi’s men were well trained. The one to their left simply lifted his weapon. David stood still. Summer did the same.
“Diego, keep an eye on them. Don’t kill them yet.”
Diego’s weapon stayed steady as Hayes leaned over the trunk. David leaned against the tree and gave a slight tug on Summer’s hand. She shot him a questioning frown, but moved closer. He tucked her up under his shoulder and she stiffened, then leaned into him.
Hayes pulled at the lock, then turned to shoot David an impatient look. “The combination?”
David told him. Hayes spun the lock.
David tensed and whispered in her ear, “Get ready.”
She glanced up at him again, but thankfully didn’t say anything, just nodded.
Hayes and the unnamed assailant opened the trunk and leaned in to look. “What is this? Just a bunch of—”
David pulled Summer behind the large tree. Diego moved as the explosion rocked the air.
40
Summer swallowed the scream as the left side of her face mashed into the trunk of the tree. David covered her with his body for a brief moment, then he was gone. She whirled, ignoring the pain in her cheek.
Hayes and the other man who’d been helping him, lay on the ground, unconscious or dead, she wasn’t sure which. David had his arms wrapped around Diego, wrestling the gun from him. Diego put up a good fight, but he was no match for her husband, who had him on the ground, weapon ripped from his grasp. Three good punches left the man unconscious.
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