They had gone to a movie, and afterwards, stopped in for a drink at a local bar.
Alice had more fun than she had dared to hope for, and even found herself forgetting her past for a time, but only to an extent, because to let her guard drop completely could prove disastrous.
As they reached the door, Rob took her hand and echoed her thoughts about their date.
“I had a great time tonight, Alice.”
“So did I.”
“Does that mean that you’ll go out with me again next weekend?”
Alice smiled.
“I would love to,”
Rob lowered his head and kissed her. When they separated, they were both grinning. Rob released her hand, but only to caress her face.
Alice asked him inside and when she opened the door, she saw her daughter, Kimmy.
The little girl was sitting on the sofa beside Alice’s Aunt Dawn, and she had tears on her cheeks.
Alice went to her and kissed her.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
Kimmy pointed to the TV. There was a newsbreak between programs, and they were reporting on the shooting of Jessica’s husband.
“I saw that earlier, honey, and they say he’ll be fine soon,” Alice said, then, she looked back at Rob. “Kimmy is very sensitive and hates to see anyone get hurt.”
“Those are good qualities,” Rob said. “But it looks like you have your hands full, and so I’ll be going, but I’ll see you at the diner tomorrow.”
Alice walked him to the door, where they shared a quick kiss and said their goodbyes.
When she returned to the sofa, she found her Aunt Dawn gazing at her with questioning eyes.
“How was the date?”
“It was good,” Alice said, as she bent over to give Kimmy another kiss. Kimmy had blond hair and blue eyes, and had just turned eight.
“I like Deputy Rob, Mom.”
“Where do you know him from?”
“He ran the D.A.R.E. Program at school, you know, where they tell you why not to take drugs. He also talked about bullying.”
Dawn smiled at Alice.
“The man like’s children, it sounds like he’d be a good father.”
“Dawn, it was one date.”
Dawn’s smile widened.
“That’s how it always starts, with a first date.”
Alice sighed at her aunt and then spoke to Kimmy.
“It’s past your bedtime, let’s get you upstairs.”
A short time later, Alice left Kimmy’s room after reading her to sleep. She then went downstairs and poured a glass of wine.
As she sipped the wine, she thought about Rob Bolan, thought about him, and wondered if it was possible for her to start over and lead a normal life again.
She wanted that so much, especially for Kimmy.
She whispered to herself.
“It’s time to stop running and leave the past in the past.”
It was a good sentiment, however, the past rarely stayed in the past, a fact that Alice would learn the hard way.
CHAPTER 8
He awoke early the next day, and struggled to separate reality from his memories and dreams.
As his mind cleared of sleep, it filled with the awareness of pain, and afterwards, he recalled the shooting.
As his eyes opened wider, he realized that he wasn’t alone, as Jessica sat sleeping in a chair beside the bed.
He said her name, but his voice was weak and his throat dry, and so it came out as little more than a groan. After swallowing and moistening his lips, he tried again.
“Jessica.”
She startled awake as if her name had been shouted, and when she saw him looking at her, she lowered herself onto her knees beside the bed and kissed him.
“Oh, thank God you’re awake.”
“Are you all right, the babies?”
“Yes, yes, everyone is fine, and you will be again too, but you were seriously wounded.”
“It was Circe Doyle.”
“We know, she... she killed herself after shooting you.”
He licked at his lips and then spoke again.
“I’m thirsty.”
Jessica brought a cup to his mouth and he drank through a straw while still lying on his stomach.
“How serious are my injuries?”
“You lost a lot of blood and your heart stopped beating for a time. They had to operate to remove two of the bullets, and you’ll likely need months to recover.”
“How many times was I shot?”
“Four times,”
He took a moment to absorb that news, before asking another question.
“What day is it?”
“It’s Monday; you were shot yesterday morning.”
He attempted to turn over, but the simple act of moving his arms seemed to sap his strength.
“Are you in much pain, baby?”
“There’s a little, inside, but I’m weak, very weak.”
Jessica gave him a kiss on the lips and then stood.
“I’m going to find a doctor to have a look at you, but I’ll be right back.”
He called to her as she reached the door.
“My life didn’t flash before my eyes, but... I did remember things, things about my early childhood, Amanda holding me, Jeffrey as a child, and Michael, I remembered my brother Michael so clearly.”
Jessica walked back to the bed.
“Amanda wants to find him, and I told her we would.”
He nodded slightly.
“Good, and I need to ask Amanda something about him, something I’m not sure I dreamt or remembered.”
“Something about Michael?”
“Yes, and, it was a good thing,”
Jessica lowered herself beside the bed again and kissed him.
“I was so scared yesterday, terrified at the thought of losing you.”
“I’m here, Jessica, and I love you.”
“I love you too,” she said, and then whispered his name like a prayer.
***
Cassandra removed the blond wig from her head and tossed it atop the picnic table in her sister’s yard.
“He’s not coming.”
Sitting across from her, Mia and Kelly both sighed. All three of them had been up all night while waiting for whoever had changed the locks on the doors to return, while fervently hoping that the man would turn out to be Numerical. However, the night had passed without incident.
“Maybe we can talk Elena into giving us more time,” Mia said.
“No,” Cassandra said. “The FBI is holding a meeting today about Numerical. They’re expanding the task force and I’m sure that Elena will pass on what we suspect about my sister being his next target.”
“I wish the bastard had shown last night,” Kelly said. “Do you realize how long he’s been killing?”
“At least sixteen years, since victim Number 1 happened back then,” Mia said.
Cassandra wiped at her eyes.
“And now he wants to make my sister Number 48,”
Kelly reached over and took her hand.
“Let the FBI have their shot at him. He may not get what he deserves, but when they capture him, at least you’ll know your sister will be safe.”
“Yeah,” Cassandra said, “And I’ll call Elena and let her know that nothing happened.”
“Do you think he’ll show tonight?” Mia asked her.
“I hope so,” Cassandra said, as she picked up her phone. “Because the Feds want him nearly as much as we do, and my guess is that once he sets foot on this property, he’s as good as captured.”
***
Later that morning, Special Agent Robyn Dyer felt her heart beat faster, as she spotted Thomas Lawson walking towards her in the main conference room at FBI headquarters in Washington DC.
Robyn tried to read Lawson’s face, to find any hint that she might be affecting him in a similar manner, but as usual, Lawson’s face revealed nothing. Still, it made her happy when, upon reachi
ng her, Lawson broke out in a wide grin.
“Special Agent Dyer, it’s so good to see you again.”
“It’s good to see you again as well, Mr. Lawson.”
“Please, call me Thomas.”
“All right, Thomas, and I’m Robyn.”
They stood looking at each other for a moment, but then Lawson broke the silence.
“I understand that you’re in charge of the Numerical Task Force, is that correct?”
“Yes, but I don’t know what I can do that my predecessor hasn’t already tried, in the end, I think it will come down to luck.”
Lawson smiled. “I’m about to hand you a bushel full.”
***
“This young woman, Emily Carson, is she willing to cooperate with us.” Dyer asked Lawson, as the two of them sat in a smaller conference room down the hall from where the meeting was to be held. Seated with them was Dyer’s right hand man, Russ Smith.
“Ms. Carson has already agreed to let us use her home, and I have a surveillance team in place watching for anything irregular. Of course, there’s no guarantee that it’s Numerical behind the changing of the locks, but the device found on the cell phone and the patient method strongly suggest that it could be him.”
Russ Smith spoke up.
“How is it that you have this info and not the cops in Daytona Beach?”
“Ms. Carson’s sister is an... associate of mine, and when her sister contacted her about the locks, I was subsequently informed.”
“Why are you handing this off to me directly?” Dyer said. “Why not take credit yourself?”
Lawson stared at her for several seconds before answering, seconds in which Dyer felt as if he were reaching into her.
“I don’t need credit, and I wanted to help you, Robyn.”
Dyer felt herself blush.
“Thank you, Thomas.”
Lawson stood.
“I actually won’t be staying for the meeting. I have to get to Montana; there’s been a development in the hunt for another serial killer, the Protégée case.”
“I hope it’s a positive development?”
“It is; Blue Steele has a plan to catch him.”
“I met Ms. Steele at the funeral for Dr. White’s mother-in-law, and by the way, how is Dr. White’s husband doing?”
“He’s severely injured but expected to mend.”
“Please give the doctor and her husband my best the next time you speak to them.”
“I will, and good luck with Numerical,” Lawson said, but then he just stood there, holding his briefcase.
Smith cleared his throat and headed for the door.
“I have to go and set things up for the meeting, goodbye Mr. Lawson,”
Lawson said goodbye to Smith, but kept his eyes on Dyer.
After Smith left the room, Robyn moved closer to Lawson, nearly close enough to embrace.
“I think this is the second time you’ve helped me, Thomas, and I would like to show my appreciation, perhaps I could buy you dinner sometime?”
“I would like that a great deal, Robyn.”
She gazed into his eyes.
“Please tell me that you’re not married.”
“I’m not, and I take it that there’s no one in your life as well?”
“No, not for a while now,”
Lawson put down his briefcase, stepped closer, and then reached up and caressed Robyn’s cheek.
“Loneliness is a terrible thing, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Robyn said. “And I’ve tried to fill it with work, but work isn’t enough.”
She reached up, took Lawson’s hand in her own, and then leaned forward.
After they kissed, they grinned silly grins at each other.
“I have to go, but I’ll call you later, okay?” Lawson said.
“Yes, and then we’ll make plans for that dinner.”
“Be safe, Robyn,”
They walked out into the corridor together, and among other people, they said polite goodbyes to each other, but as Robyn walked towards the meeting room, she recalled their kiss, and felt as if she were walking on air.
CHAPTER 9
Maggie leaned over and kissed her brother on the cheek even as tears filled her eyes.
She and Jace had come to visit him while Jessica returned home to see to the babies, but Jessica also planned to return later with Amanda.
“Why the tears,” he asked Maggie.
“Because I almost lost you too, and so soon after Mom,”
He reached out for her, with a hand that shook from weakness. Maggie took his hand and held it in both of hers. He was sitting up in bed, but leaning against several pillows, as the wounds in his back were far from healed.
“I’m all right, Maggie, and I’ll be home soon.”
Jace smiled down at him.
“I told her yesterday that you were too tough to die, and I’m glad you proved me right.”
“I came closer to dying than I ever want to, and if Circe Doyle hadn’t saved that last bullet for herself, she just might have killed me.”
Maggie shook her head in confusion.
“I don’t understand how she could have killed herself, knowing that she was pregnant, you’d think she would have wanted to live long enough to at least have the baby.”
“That girl wasn’t right in the head,” Jace said. “If she was, she never would have hooked up with Jeffrey Mitchell.”
“Jeffrey is part of the past now, but I have another brother named Michael, and... I think I want to find him.”
“I thought you didn’t care about that?” Maggie said.
“I didn’t, but, I’ve had memories surface, or maybe they were just dreams, I’ll know which they are once I’ve talked to Amanda.”
“It would be nice to have another brother, and who knows, maybe he has a family of his own too,” Maggie said.
“I hadn’t thought of that,” he said. “But yes, Michael could have a family too.”
A jolt of pain passed through him and he winced, causing Maggie to jump up from her seat with a worried frown.
“Should I get a doctor?”
He pointed to an empty IV bag.
“No, it’s just the pain medication wearing off, but I’m due for more soon.”
Maggie headed for the door.
“I’ll go get the nurse.”
With Maggie gone for the moment, he spoke with Jace.
“Have you moved yet?”
“No. I stayed at your house to make sure that Circe Doyle was acting on her own.”
“I thought you looked tired. You’ve been up all night, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, just in case,”
“Thank you, and please stay there until I get released.”
“Whatever you need, man.”
Maggie returned with a nurse who was carrying an IV bag, and a few minutes later, her brother was fighting sleep.
Maggie leaned over and kissed him.
“We’ll let you get some rest, and oh yeah, I almost forgot to give you this.”
When he saw what she took out of her purse, he smiled. It was a photo of his children, and when Maggie sat it on the table, he stared at it.
“I actually miss holding them, and I’m still so weak that I wouldn’t risk doing it; I might drop them.”
Maggie and Jace said their goodbyes and left him to rest, and he soon drifted off to sleep while gazing at the photo of his children.
***
Robyn tried to hide her annoyance as Agent Art Cashman walked up to the podium inside the conference room.
She had tried to get him reassigned and off the task force, but instead, the bastard had gained more power and was unofficially supervising other agents.
She had relayed to the gathering the information that Lawson had provided her with, and it was decided that she and her group would fly to Florida at the meeting’s conclusion and set a trap at Emily Carson’s house in Daytona Beach.
Cashman expressed his doubts t
hat Numerical was the one responsible for the changing of the locks and the installation of the listening devices, and said that it was likely a rapist or something to do with Emily Carson’s ex-husband. He wanted to just place of team of three men there to watch the house, while keeping Emily Carson in place.
Robyn ignored his objections and was going full out. A decoy agent would replace Emily Carson and a score of agents would be nearby and at the ready for whoever showed up.
Cashman stood at the podium, about to make an announcement, and whatever it was, Robyn felt that it should have been cleared by her first.
Cashman smiled at the gathering. He looked like a college basketball player who had grown soft in middle age.
“As most of you know, there was talk of bringing in an outside profiler into the Numerical hunt, in particular, Dr. Jessica White, but as you likely know, Dr. White’s husband was seriously injured in a shooting incident, and so she is not available. Still, I and others, such as the Deputy Director, believe the idea still has merit, and so I’ve brought someone on board.”
Cashman called to the agent that was sitting nearest to the door.
“Agent Ross, would you please let our guests in?”
The man nodded, rose from his seat, and after opening the door, he gestured to someone, beckoning them to enter.
And as a smiling Summer Gray sauntered into the room beside her husband, Todd, Robyn stood and uttered three words.
“Oh, hell no,”
CHAPTER 10
He awoke again in the late afternoon to find that Amanda and Jessica were with him. On a table near the bed was a tray of uneaten food that looked about as appetizing as the cuisine in a penal colony. He had slept through its arrival when it was hot, and thought that he would just wait to eat until they served dinner.
Amanda pushed the meal aside, reached into the bag at her feet, and brought out a thermos of her homemade soup, complete with fresh baked bread.
“I wasn’t there to cook for you when you were sick as a boy, but I’m here now and I’m not about to let you eat what they call food here.”
He smiled at her.
“Thank you, and I actually have a question for you about my childhood, my early childhood, and it concerns Michael.”
Amanda reached over and took his hand.
“What is it, baby? Have you remembered something about him?”
The TAKEN! Series - Books 13-16 (Taken! Box Set Book 4) Page 17