by Sheila Kell
Reagan jumped up and had her clothes on before he’d had Amber stripped out of her nightclothes. Handing him the pull-up and then his daughter’s clothes, Reagan urged, “Hurry, Uncle Jake.”
Kate grabbed the girls’ attention before they bolted from the room. “All right you two, get two toys each to take with you. Hurry. I bet your uncles are planning on winning.” With the children rummaging in their toy chest, she turned to him and whispered, “What happened?”
His eyes remained riveted to his daughter. “Anthrax in a letter. The post office caught it, but not before a few people were exposed.”
“Christ.”
“I planned to grab Em and my daughter and get the hell out of here, but it looks like you’re a step ahead of me.”
After zipping the two bags, she turned back to him, and her demeanor reminded him she was a strong member of the team and an ex-FBI agent. “Go pack a bag. We’ll leave immediately.”
“I’m not letting Amber out of my sight.”
Em rushed into the room, picked up her daughter and held her tight. Her eyes widened when she saw Jake. What emotion lurked in there was unreadable, but he could sense the fear rolling off her in waves.
Reagan jumped up and down. “Mommy, hurry. We need to beat Uncle Brad and Uncle Matt downstairs.”
Em raised her brow at Jake, who shrugged in an innocent gesture.
“Great idea. I bet we’ll beat them and still have time for breakfast.” Kate reached out to stop Reagan from racing from the room. “You, young lady, stay with me.”
Following the group out of the room, not willing to leave them out of his sight, he grumbled to no one in particular when Kate turned around and told him, again, to go pack. Only after seeing Jesse meet them at the top of the stairs, did he obey her.
Things had been so calm that the danger had almost been forgotten. Almost. Someone out there still wanted something from her. Something she didn’t have. This danger had to fucking end. He would not lose them. Anthrax. Christ!
Thirteen
ON THE LARGE private airplane Jesse had hired or borrowed, who the fuck cared at this point, the family gave the appearance of cliques in high school with three groups huddled together separated from each other. Observing the group with the women and children brought a smile to Jake’s face regardless of their reason for fleeing. At that moment, they were safe.
The two little girls chatted non-stop about how they’d showed the boys that girls were faster, the cupcakes Mrs. Kessler had given them for the trip, and their plans when they reached their new destination. The kids didn’t even know where they were headed. A child’s imagination was wonderful.
His eyes strayed to Em’s wishing they sat together, her on his lap, and then joining the mile-high club. A smile crept on his face but immediately disappeared when she glanced at him and quickly looked away. She said they’d do this together so he wouldn’t let her take them a step back. Fighting the pull between them was futile, and she’d soon realize it.
As for the other, he would see someone in Oxford. Someone who could help him heal, if that was what he needed. He wouldn’t harm his family, even accidentally.
Dragging his gaze to the second group, Brad and Les pointed to spots on the house plans Jake knew they were reviewing with the team. While the men had military, law enforcement or a government alphabet job behind them, Brad’s secret service experience had enhanced the group’s tactics and planning in situations such as this.
Matt’s question brought his focus back to his group. “Jess, are you sure going to Oxford is smart? It’s not a safe house.”
“I’ve had enhancements to security installed this past year,” Devon said. “It’s just as secure.”
“And they can’t find it attached to us in public records because it’s in a dummy corporation.” Questioning eyebrows rose at Blake’s statement. “I wanted a place I could stay where people didn’t know it was mine. You see how people are driving around to see Grisham’s house. I wanted you kids to have peace and quiet.”
“But, don’t you come here for ballgames regularly?” At least Jake remembered them doing it while he’d grown up in the Hamilton household.
The senator nodded. “I do, but not regularly. But remember, there are quite a few prominent people who attend these games. Quite a few. So I’m not necessarily a big deal.”
Jake still didn’t like it. They’d be too exposed. “Yes, but don’t you attend the first football game every year. Wouldn’t someone expect that at least?”
Jesse smiled. “But, they’re not after Dad, and that’s why this location is perfect. They know we’re hiding Em and wouldn’t expect us to bring her near Dad and somewhere so public.”
Outrage rushed forward in Jake’s mind. “Are you fucking nuts? Are you really thinking of bringing her to the game?”
From behind him, a hand rested on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Jake.” Brad continued around him and sat. “We’ve got this covered. You don’t truly think we’d put our sister in danger, do you?”
“It sure as hell sounds like it.” Did they not hear themselves? Bringing her to a place where people knew the senator would be didn’t sound like keeping her out of danger to him. He should’ve taken off with her and Amber before anyone had been the wiser.
Jesse heaved a heavy sigh. “Jake, trust us. It’s not like we’ll be flaunting her all over town.”
Blake stood. “My boy, this isn’t the first time I’ve allowed my sons to hide a client there. It’s secluded, and they’ve got it down pat.” He walked to his daughter.
Turning back to the men, Jake faced numerous stern faces. He raised his hands in a surrender gesture. “Okay. I’ll trust you. But, if even a hint of danger rears its ugly head, I’m getting them the hell out of there.”
AJ chuckled and leaned back in the leather seat, moved his hands behind his head, and closed his eyes as if he hadn’t a care in the world. “You’d have to catch up to us first.”
A giggling toddler raced across the cabin and launched herself onto AJ’s lap.
“Oomph.” AJ’s eyes flew open, and his hands grasped Amber’s waist, a smile stretched across his face. “Is that my little doodle-bug?”
The volume of her giggling increased as her little hands scratched at her uncle’s chest in an attempt to tickle him only to end up squirming when he returned the favor.
The playful laughter and antics of his daughter and AJ sent an unwanted slice of jealousy carving its way through his heart. Not that he begrudged Amber loving her uncles and playing with them, but he envied the close relationship she and her Uncle AJ had, a closer one than he’d developed with her so far.
Giving himself the mental kick in the ass he deserved, he had to remember to be thankful that AJ had been there for Em and Amber when he hadn’t.
Jake had wanted to wring Jesse’s neck when he’d learned about the danger when they had been possible targets in a deadly game a psychopath played with Jesse and Kate. All had turned out well, but it only reinforced his thoughts to the fact they were once again in danger. Whereas before it was just a possibility, this time, they were the targets.
Amber climbed in Jake’s lap, leaning against him, her thumb in her mouth. Pulling his tired daughter against him, his heart still ached about her being in the hands of a kidnapper. Thank God that man had treated her well, as if it was an afternoon of fun with a family friend. Hugging her tightly, never wanting to let her go, Jake kissed her soft hair on the crown of her head.
Although early for a nap, he’d already learned to take advantage when he could to let her sleep. Reclining in his chair as AJ had, the love any father should have for his daughter flooded his veins. Snuggling her, he closed his eyes and washed away the jealousy he’d felt with her and AJ. He’d take her trusting him to keep her loved and safe any day.
He just had to live up to that.
�
��Em, we need to go through the information I pulled.”
“Sure, Dev. Jake?”
Opening his eyes, he drank in the sight of Em, still in awe at the womanly figure she’d grown into. Without her makeup and hair all fixed up, she reminded him of his little sprite. How had it taken him so long to realize how deep his feelings for her ran? He’d definitely been an idiot. “Yeah?”
“Will you keep Amber occupied for me?”
Part of him wanted to scream, “Hell, no,” because he wanted to know everything that Devon had pulled. The other part of him mentally leaped for joy at the fact she’d asked him, trusting him after what they’d discussed. The sucking noise from his daughter’s sleeping form made the decision for him. He nodded. Devon would update him later. This was what he needed to be doing.
KEEPING her eyes focused on the financial documents her brother had handed her proved difficult for Emily because she kept gazing at the loving picture of Jake and their daughter sleeping.
Damn Jake, and damn her body’s intense craving for him that had taken over her actions last night and allowed him into her bed. The warmth of his lips slanting over hers, his tongue making love to her mouth, and his hand fondling her breast brought back the erotic events on her eighteenth birthday and the beautiful love they’d made.
This time, he’d been awake and oh, how she’d enjoyed it, enjoyed touching him, knowing his responses were real. It had been something she’d craved for so long, but she no longer knew what to do. The painful memories of rejection and humiliation returned and warned her to let it go, let last night be what it was—sex.
Her hand moved to her neck. And then there’d been that.
“Are you going to give him a chance?”
Snapping back to the present at Dev’s question, she wondered how long he’d been talking to her while her mind had been elsewhere. She bounced the edge of the stack of papers on her thigh in a half-hearted attempt to straighten them. Focusing on the printouts as best as she could with her mind being a traitor and returning her to last night and the pleasure she’d experienced. “Did you get these from the burned piece of equipment from the office?”
His silence made her almost blurt it all out… her feelings… her fears.
A heavy sigh reached her ears. “Okay. I’ll leave it for now. But, give him a chance. I believe he’s sincere.”
Looking up, her gaze fell on Jake and Amber again. Give him a chance? She somewhat had by spending time getting to know each other again and by rolling in the sheets with him. Maybe she needed to go with it and see where it took her. Besides, she had promised to help him. And, she had to do that to ensure she and Amber were safe around him. And so he didn’t look so pained. She hated seeing that despair in him the previous night.
“In answer to your question, no, I didn’t get these from the burned piece of equipment. These are from where I dug into the financial companies you told us about.”
Flipping through the few pages, she furrowed her brow in confusion and then looked up at her brother. “Dev, there are only two companies here. I gave you a dozen.”
“You did. These are the only two that had the red flags you told me to look for. Both Strickland and Randall have had problems with the SEC that mysteriously disappeared. I’m pretty confident Strickland is clean but wanted you to take a look.”
“Oh, no,” she whispered in disbelief. “These are Dad’s friends.”
Nodding, Dev’s gaze landed on their father. “We’ll have to tell him, but I want you to do that forensic accounting stuff you do. Maybe I’m wrong and overlooked something with another company, but we need to eliminate these two. Unfortunately, my gut tells me it’s Randall.”
“I hope not, but these are the two wealth management companies we dealt with the most.”
“I know this isn’t all you’ll need, but I hoped you might notice something from here before we pulled more data. These companies have security the likes of the CIA. I don’t dare stay in too long and tip our hand too early.”
Flipping through the pages, absorbed in reading through numbers, doing quick recalculations in her head, she ignored any further comments from her brother. Math, her favorite subject in school, came naturally, and after taking a class in accounting in high school, she’d found her calling. The potential loss of her career in accounting wouldn’t discourage her from finding the man who had swindled people, stealing their investments and, for some, their life savings. And who had kidnapped her daughter.
She wanted to quickly rule out her father’s college buddies, the men who generally went to the first Ole Miss game of the season with him, especially since that was where they were headed. But, she refused to rush.
Setting aside Strickland’s financials, she glanced up at the still sleeping Jake and Amber. The picture of them set a flip-flop in her stomach. She prayed he didn’t have a nightmare. That thought almost had her out of her chair and reaching for her daughter. Then she took a deep breath. Trust. Plus, there were plenty of people nearby; it wasn’t that big of an airplane, in case something happened. Mind somewhat settled, she turned back to the task at hand. “When are you calling in the SEC?”
“Soon.”
Tearing her gaze from the paperwork, she looked at her brother and furrowed her brow. “Why not now?”
He chuckled. “You’re as bad as Jake.”
Her eyes automatically snapped to the man in question. He’d been asking her brothers about her problem. She shouldn’t be surprised with how protective he was.
“You know why we’re not calling yet, Em. We don’t know if it was only Paul. Plus, we don’t wish to implicate Dad’s friends without cause.”
Nodding absently, she searched through Randall Wealth Management’s file, her finger sliding across the page as she read. Halting her finger, she moved it back. “Pull up Randall and any trades he did for Warren Mills earlier this year.”
Dev plucked away at his keyboard. “Any particular reason?”
“It’s the trade prices on February fourteenth. They seem off.”
He stilled his hands, looked at her and raised his dark brows. “I know you have somewhat of a photographic memory when it comes to numbers, but that was a long time ago, Em.”
Looking away, deep in concentration, she stared at a stained spot on the dark blue carpeting, recalling the Mills’s account financials. “His was the most recent account I audited, and I went through it three times. His numbers stick out.”
Her brother spun the laptop around on the small table between them, so it faced her. “Here you go.”
Flipping between Randall’s reporting of Mr. Mills’s account and the archived trading on the stock exchange, she stopped and looked up, and then started when she noticed Jesse sitting in a seat facing her. When the hell had he come over?
She nodded at Dev.
He spun the laptop around and pushed some buttons before looking expectantly at her.
“I think it’s him. Mr. Randall. I remember specifically how the accounts seemed off on that particular date. It’s because there are different stock prices listed on the accounts between Randall and my boss. The other lines seem to match, but I didn’t review his entire account, just a snapshot.”
“If they were running a scheme, they’d have a separate set of accounting files with the actuals before Randall shuffled the money around and sent the statements with the doctored amounts to his clients.” Jesse waved Kate over. “If they didn’t cover their tracks one day, they’re bound to have screwed up again.”
Emily’s sister-in-law settled in the seat beside her.
“Dev, tear through everything you can find on them.” Jesse turned to her. “Em, I want you going through what he finds.”
Kate cocked her head to the side. “What did you need me to do?”
A sly grin stretched across her oldest brother’s face, and he winked at his wife. “N
othing. I just wanted to look at you up close.”
She tossed him a saucy look. “I’m glad you’re in a good mood. Tomorrow, we’re taking the Graceland trip we’d planned.”
“Dammit, Kate. You know better.”
Stabbing her index finger on the table, she snapped back at Jesse, “Tomorrow is the perfect time, and your sister is coming if she wants to.”
Emily’s gaze bounced back and forth between her brother and his wife, watching their silent standoff. Kate knew she wasn’t going with them so this must be a war of wills. The dynamic between these two always surprised her.
Dev broke the uncomfortable silence. “Jess, if it’s Randall, we need to move Em. He goes to the first game with Dad every year. Him and Strickland.”
Shaking his head, Jesse pursed his mouth. “Randall canceled his trip. I sent a couple of the men to watch both of them for us when you gave me their names. I’ll call back the ones on Strickland, which will give us more men for things like”—he glared at his wife—“the Graceland trip.”
“See, it’s all settled. We’re going.” Kate’s confident nod brought a smile to Emily’s lips. She loved how her sister-in-law typically got her way with her controlling brother.
Reaching across the table, he threaded his fingers through his wife’s hand. “Sweetheart….”
Jake cleared his throat and gazed down at Emily. “She wants you to take her to potty.”
Fourteen
REQUIRING THE DIRECTION from a six-year-old in the proper buckling of his daughter’s car seat embarrassed Jake, and he imagined Em was observing and silently laughing. Pulling here, clicking there, and inserting an arm through a hole confused the hell out of him. He’d never figure out how to get Amber out of the torture device.
Bags were tossed in the cars and van at the small Oxford private airstrip. One day he wanted the pull Jesse had. A couple of phone calls and they had the private jet for the trip and vehicles waiting for them in the otherwise deserted parking lot.