by Katie Ruggle
“I wish I’d had you come here yesterday,” Hugh said, sounding unusually serious. “I hate that you were hurt because of me.” His honest regret worked where his puppy face had failed. She studied him for a moment before pushing her half-full plate in front of him. Hugh gave her a surprised glance.
“Sure?” he asked, even as he was shoveling in his first mouthful.
Grace just rolled her eyes at him before turning to the other two. “What’s the plan?”
They exchanged a look. Theo opened his mouth, but the door opened before he could say anything, and Jules breezed in, followed by all the kids.
Theo’s expression immediately turned from grim to smitten, and he gave Jules a gentle smile as she detoured to kiss his cheek on her way to the table. Right before her lips connected, he turned his head, meeting her lips with his own. The peck turned into something a little more intense, and Grace looked away. She met Hugh’s gaze, and they smirked at each other.
“Hi, Theo! Hi, Hugh! Otto!” Dee bounced over to give Otto a side hug before dropping to her knees to pet Lexi, who thumped her tail against the floor in response. “Hey, Grace. We brought you some clothes. Can I go see the animals? Where’s Viggy?”
“Yes. And in the exercise yard.” Otto answered both questions while giving Dee a gentle pat with his huge hand. Grace looked on, fascinated. He was such a big guy that it was odd and endearing to see him be so careful with the little girl. At the kennel, he’d been like that with the shy dog, too. “Stay away from the new horse in the back paddock, though. He’s still scared.”
“Okay. Thanks!” Dee ran out the way they’d just entered.
The twins exchanged a glance, and Ty nodded as if Tio had said something out loud. “We’ll watch her,” Ty said as the two jostled each other to be the first out of the door.
“You too, Sam,” Jules said a little breathlessly, having reclaimed her lips. When her brother gave her a look, she returned it. In that moment, Grace could see the resemblance between brother and sister. “We’re going to be talking about things the twins don’t need to be involved in. You know they’ll have at least one ear pressed against the door any second now.”
After another moment of holding his stubborn expression, Sam gave an amused snort and shook his head. “An ear? T-t-too low-t-tech. T-Tio pr-probably has the room b-b-bugged.”
Jules laughed. “Yeah, you’re right. Now will you please go keep them from listening to our conversation? And, while you’re at it, don’t let them blow up anything.”
“F-fine,” he grumbled, and headed outside.
“Okay,” Jules said as the door closed behind Sam with a thump. “So will someone please tell me why Grace can’t live with us?”
“Martin Jovanovic is after her,” Theo said with a growl in his voice as he jerked a chair away from the table with enough force to make Grace jump. He looked at Jules and waited until she’d settled into the chair before taking the seat next to her. It was only then that Grace realized the angry chair movement had been a courtesy. Turning her head, she met Hugh’s amused gaze, and she bugged her eyes out at him. In response, he smirked and gave a tiny shrug that she translated as “That’s just Theo.” Holding back a snort of laughter, she refocused on the conversation.
“So?” Jules was saying.
“The FBI guys in Denver have briefed us on Jovanovic. He’s a dangerous guy.”
Grace barely kept from rolling her eyes at the understatement.
“But everything that’s been happening—the shooting, the falling deck, the explosion—have been targeting Hugh, right?” Jules pressed. “This Jovanovic guy still doesn’t know where she is.”
Theo’s jaw set. “We don’t know that for sure.”
“Is there any sign that he does know where she is?” Jules was obviously not going to give in to Theo without an argument. Amused, Grace glanced over at Hugh and saw that his gaze was focused on her. She couldn’t read the look in his eyes. For some reason, that made her feel shy, and she dropped her eyes, returning her attention to the debaters.
“If he does find out”—Theo was leaning toward Jules, his mouth set and a muscle twitching by his eye—“she’ll be dead, and so will anyone who gets in Jovanovic’s way.”
The raw truth of that made Grace flinch. It was true, but hearing it out loud made it so much more horrific. This was her life now. Anyone who was around her would be in danger until Martin Jovanovic was stopped. Hugh took her hand, making her start and look down. His bandage scratched her palm a little, but she could still feel the heat of him through it. It reminded her that she wasn’t alone in her nightmare anymore. Hugh would protect her with his life. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, hoping it didn’t hurt his rope burns.
From the way her mouth turned down, Jules didn’t like Theo’s statement, either. “So it’s not okay for Grace to be around us, but it’s okay for Hugh to be around her when he has that big target painted on his butt?”
Hugh flinched before dropping her hand.
“Okay,” Grace said, trying to keep her voice calm. Everyone turned to look at her. “Enough playing the who-will-get-whom-killed game. I actually have an idea about how to get rid of Martin Jovanovic.” That sounded so threatening, as if she was going to put a hit on him, too. “A nonviolent idea.”
With all eyes focused on her, Grace shifted. The plan, which had come to her the previous night before she’d fallen asleep, seemed flimsy now that she was about to say it out loud. “Martin’s nephew, Noah Jovanovic. Do any of you know anything about him?”
There was an exchange of blank glances before Hugh spoke. “Haven’t heard of him. Why?”
“I…ah…dated him.” There was an actual growl to her right, and she rolled her eyes at Hugh. “For about five minutes, until the whole uncle-tortures-people thing made me flee the state and killed the whole deal.” When Hugh didn’t look appeased, she shrugged, winced at the ache in her shoulder, and continued. “I don’t think Noah’s involved.”
Hugh snorted, for once sounding unamused. “Of course not. I’m sure he’s completely innocent.”
“Maybe I’m wrong, but it’s worth a shot, right? I mean, he has access to his uncle’s properties. If it ends up that he doesn’t know what his uncle does, he’d be able to get us proof, something we could use to put Martin in prison.”
There was a silence, but it felt thoughtful, rather than like the others were trying to come up with a kind way to tell Grace she was crazy.
“What are you thinking?” Theo finally asked, and Grace let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
“Maybe a phone call, just to feel him out?” she suggested. “An untraceable phone call, of course.” Grace frowned. “Are untraceable phone calls something you can do?”
Otto sat in the chair at the head of the table, stretching his long legs in front of him. “Should we bring Shankle in on this?”
“Who’s Shankle?” Grace asked.
“He’s the FBI guy heading up this thing with Truman,” Hugh said, leaning back in his seat. Stretching his arms out at his sides, he dropped one over the back of Grace’s chair. She stared at him, still trying to wrap her brain around the fact that he’d just casually called having a hit put out on him a “thing.” “That’d be a good idea. I know there’s a federal investigation of Jovanovic.”
The front door slammed open, and everyone jumped out of their seats. Hugh yanked Grace behind him, and she saw his hand reach for his hip, the spot where a gun would be if he’d been in uniform. She peeked around his arm to see the four kids and Theo’s dog, Viggy, piling into the kitchen. Her first instinct was to relax, but then she saw their scared faces.
“What happened?” Theo demanded. Grace noticed that he’d stepped between the entrance and Jules.
Sam yanked the door shut behind them and turned the dead bolt. “Th-th-th…s-someone w-w-was w-watching us.”
“Where?” Hugh asked.
“On the ridge,” Tio answered. “Just north of that single, crooked tree.” He and Ty had Dee squeezed between them, and Grace felt a shot of rage at Truman. Not only were his hit men trying to kill Hugh; they also didn’t hesitate to take out anyone who got in their way.
Otto started moving toward the entrance to the living room. “How many?”
“Two.”
“Th-three,” Sam corrected Ty, who frowned at his brother.
“Are you sure? I only saw two.”
Although Sam nodded, it was hesitant.
Jules shifted toward the kitchen window, as if to look out, but Theo caught her by the hand. “Stay away from the windows.”
“You going to call it in?” Hugh asked, his voice and posture tight.
“Not yet,” Otto said. “Sirens’ll just tip them off, and they’ll disappear. Let’s come at them from the back way.”
“Back way?” Hugh asked, but Otto didn’t answer. Instead, moving surprisingly lightly for such a big man, he hurried into the living room. Grace followed, wanting to do something. He put his hand flat against the biometric reader on a safe, and the door clicked open. One at a time, he pulled out three rifles with slings and a pistol, handing them off to Hugh and Theo, who’d leashed their dogs.
He eyed Grace. “Can you shoot?”
Feeling a little useless, she bit her lip. “I never learned, so I think I’d do more harm than good with a gun.”
When he turned to Jules, she shook her head. “Not for me, thanks.”
Closing the safe, Otto looped his rifle sling over his head and one shoulder. He moved to a small door, opening it to reveal a coat closet. Shoving aside the hangers, he popped a piece of paneling free, exposing a keypad and what looked like another biometric scanner. Sure enough, he pressed his thumb to the screen and entered a code on the keypad. The back of the closet slid aside, revealing a steep staircase.
Grace couldn’t hold back a choked laugh. “It’s like the doomsday prepper’s Narnia.”
Otto gave her a quick grin, the first real smile she thought she’d ever gotten from him, before disappearing down the shadowed stairs. Theo ushered Jules and her siblings down the steps next, and Hugh waved Grace to follow them. When Otto had mentioned going out the back way, she hadn’t expected something as elaborate as this. She just assumed he meant a regular back door.
Although she’d braced herself for cobwebs and creaky stairs, the steps were clean and vermin-free. It wouldn’t be the worst place to wait out the invasion…if that was what the people on the ridge were planning. Maybe they were just some lost hikers who didn’t realize they were trespassing?
Grace mentally rolled her eyes at her inner optimist. Sure. There were multiple people out for Hugh’s blood, but the ones staking out Otto’s house were just innocent nature lovers. Right.
Hugh nudged her forward. She descended the last few steps and then looked around. They were in a midsize, windowless room, lit by a bare fluorescent bulb. Her “doomsday prepper” comment hadn’t been far off, judging by the amount of canned goods and water jugs stacked along the walls. Otto was already moving through another doorway, followed by the rest of them like a huge, gun-toting pied piper.
The corridor was narrow and shadowed, except when they were directly underneath an infrequent light fixture. Grace glanced at the ceiling. Had it gotten lower? Were the walls a little closer together? The tunnel was really long. Where was Otto taking them? And how did he oxygenate the space? Grace felt her breathing speed up, and she tried to slow it down. Until she learned how he ventilated the corridor, it would probably be smart not to suck down all the air.
Hugh’s hand found her shoulder, and she jumped, clenching her teeth to hold back a yelp of surprise. Once the initial shock faded, though, the contact was reassuring, and she was tempted to reach back and squeeze his hand.
The corridor slanted uphill, and it felt like they walked for miles before Otto started climbing a ladder that was bolted to the wall.
“Anyone who’s not a cop stays down here,” Theo stated quietly.
Before he was even finished talking, Jules was shaking her head. Grace had been so preoccupied with her own growing claustrophobia that she hadn’t noticed how pale Jules had gotten. Theo studied her for a second before stepping back so the kids could get to the ladder.
“When we reach the top, stay close to the caves.” Although he still sounded stern, he squeezed Jules’s arm as she started up the ladder behind Dee. Without saying anything else, the rest of them followed, Theo lifting Viggy to one shoulder before climbing. Soon Grace was grasping the metal rungs in her hands. When Otto reached the top, he shoved open a square trapdoor that was set in the ceiling at the top of the ladder.
As Grace popped her head out of the opening, she blinked in the dimness before scrambling all the way out. Hugh emerged next with Lexi over his shoulder, and Grace hurried to get out of his way before looking around. The walls of the cave were irregular and rocky. She wanted to ask where on the mountain they were, but there was still a hush over their group that discouraged her from speaking. What if they were close to the bad guys and her question gave them away? She didn’t want to be that person, the one who got them all killed.
Once again, it was as if Hugh could read her thoughts, because his heavy, bandaged hand landed on the back of her neck and gave a reassuring squeeze. They all started following Otto again, moving across the rocky floor. The light increased, getting brighter and brighter, until they rounded a final curve to see the mouth of the cave.
Blinking in the full, blinding sunlight, Grace peered over the edge. The cliff’s rough surface reminded her of hanging off the deck, one hand clinging to Lexi as the other one grasped on to the railing for dear life. Hugh’s hand rubbed her back as she fought for calm. When her heart rate finally slowed enough for her to look again, she saw Otto’s house and outbuildings. They seemed surprisingly far away.
Turning her head, she looked for the ridge where the kids had seen their unwanted visitors. She saw the single, scraggly tree almost directly below her, but she didn’t see any people. Just as she started to turn away, a quick movement caught her attention, and she refocused on the spot.
“Stay here,” Hugh said, his mouth close to her ear. “We’ll be right back.”
Although Grace wanted to protest, to grab onto his arm and keep him there with her, out of danger, she managed to swallow that urge and simply nod. The three men and two dogs started down a narrow trail. Hugh glanced over his shoulder and met her gaze, giving her a secret half smile. Despite the circumstances, she smiled back. It was impossible not to. Stepping closer to Jules, Grace watched them until they were out of sight around the jagged edge of rock.
Tipping her head closer to Grace’s, Jules murmured, “Half of me is relieved that we don’t have to confront those guys, but the other half is kind of annoyed to be considered the helpless women.”
“They’re cops. Heading into danger is what they do,” Grace whispered back, tilting her head toward the huddled and silent kids. “Besides, we have a different job.”
“True.” Jules moved closer to her siblings. “Quit looking so worried. They’ll be fine.” She offered the kids a reassuring smile that was met with varying degrees of skepticism.
Grace turned back to the ridge, narrowing her eyes in an attempt to watch what was happening. It was hard to be the ones left waiting, hoping that the guys returned safely. She strained her ears for gunshots—or any sound really. Something that would give them a hint about what was occurring on the ridge below.
Suddenly, there was a distant yell, and one of the dogs started barking furiously. Grace’s heartbeat took off at a gallop as she met Jules’s anxious gaze. Grace couldn’t make out any words, but the voice, although male, didn’t sound like any of their guys. It definitely wasn’t Hugh. She would’ve known if
he was the one shouting in what sounded like distress. The yells died away, and silence returned. Time seemed to crawl by as they waited for another shout, another sound that would give them a clue about what was happening below.
Above them, there was the scratch of a boot against rock, the tiny pattering noise of a pebble rolling downhill. Grace whipped her head up to find a grinning stranger on a ledge right above them. In his hands was a matte-black gun. With a sharp inhale, she reached toward the kids, instinct telling her to yank them back into the cave.
“Calm down, now,” the man said, his voice casual, as if he wasn’t aiming a gun at them. “If you just stay quiet and do as I say, none of you will get hurt.”
He kept the weapon pointed toward them as he climbed down from the ledge. His feet slipped a few times, and Grace tensed, hoping desperately that he’d fall, giving them an opportunity to overpower him and take the gun…or at least run. To her dismay, he kept his balance—and the pistol.
Grace moved back until she was next to Jules. If she couldn’t get the kids to safety, then she could at least stand in front of them. Her arm bumped Jules, who was glaring at the gunman like she wanted to rip his arms off.
“Kind of wish I’d taken Otto up on his offer now,” Grace muttered under her breath. Her voice sounded strange, as if she wasn’t getting enough oxygen, but she had to try something to bring Jules down a few notches before she attacked.
Jules’s scowl didn’t waver. “No.” It was almost a growl. “Wouldn’t have helped. I’d have just managed to shoot my foot off.”
A bubble of hysterical laughter rose in Grace’s throat, and she forced it down. Risking a glance behind them, Grace saw that Sam had pushed the younger kids behind him, although… She shifted slightly, trying to get a better view. Tio and Dee were there, but where was Ty? Her stomach jumped and squeezed tightly as she eyed the edge of the ledge several feet behind them. If he’d fallen, they would’ve heard, right? There would’ve been screaming, at least. At the thought, Grace gritted her teeth against a groan.