Agent Undercover

by Lynette Eason

  “Sure.”

  Dylan delivered Cheryl to her car, and she handed him the file. “She’s pretty.”

  He raised what he hoped was innocent brow. “Yes, I’d noticed that.”

  “Whew. That’s a relief. I was afraid you were going to pine away for Erica forever.”

  “Pine away? I hardly think so.”

  Cheryl simply grunted, gave him a half grin, climbed into her car and drove off.

  The back of Dylan’s neck tingled, and he looked around, wondering why he would feel as though someone was watching him. His gaze took in the action going on, and nothing looked out of place. No one seemed to be staring at him. Yet goose bumps popped out on his arms, and a sense of foreboding covered him.

  Hurrying back into the restaurant, Dylan set the file on the table and slid in the booth opposite her even while his eyes probed the play area, easily spotting Will on the kid-size, rock-climbing wall. His heart calmed, and he shrugged off his unease. To Paige, he said, “You picked a good spot. We’ll be able to talk, and I’ll be able to see Will at the same time.”

  A smile curved her lips. “No problem.” Her eyes landed on the file. “What do you have?”

  “A possibility.”

  She arched a brow at him. “Why don’t you tell me about it?”

  Dylan sighed and opened the file to the first page. “It was my first year in practice on my own. A man brought his wife in with severe, abdominal pain. After ruling out ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage and other possible causes for the pain, I told him I thought she had appendicitis, and that he needed to go into Bryson City for an ultrasound. He refused, wanted me to treat her in my office.” Dylan closed his eyes and shook his head. “As I was explaining why I couldn’t perform surgery, her appendix ruptured. And still the man argued with me.”

  “What happened?”

  “She died.”

  Paige winced. “Oh, no, that’s awful.”

  “It’s the only case I can think of where someone might have a grudge against me.”

  He watched her rummage in her purse and come up with a pen and small notebook. “Give me the name and contact information of the husband, and I’ll pass it on to Charles. He can have someone investigate what this guy’s been up to the past few days.”

  Dylan gave the information. She tucked it away and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Every once in a while, her gaze would flick over to Will, watching him play, and a soft light would momentarily light her eyes before she looked back at him.

  “You know, Will’s been seeing a therapist ever since the fire.”

  She started. “No, I didn’t know that.” A pause. “I mean, I think you mentioned something about some counseling, but you never gave me the details.”

  “She’s someone who was recommended to me by my pastor. He suggested someone with play-therapy experience.”

  “That’s a good idea. Play therapy can be a great, non-threatening way to get kids to open up. I use it myself when I have to interrogate a child.”

  “He’s not responding to her.”

  “Oh. Did you tell her about the situation with the knife?”

  His eyes searched hers. “No. I’m not taking him back to her. I want you to work with him.”

  She simply stared at him and he shifted, uncomfortable with her direct gaze.

  “But I’m really not qualified—”

  “Look.” He held out a beseeching hand. “Will has taken to you from the moment he saw you. I don’t know why, I don’t know what’s going on in his mind. But I see it, and I want to take advantage of that. Will you try to find out what he saw the night of the fire?”

  Paige sucked in a deep breath. She knew he was right. Will was drawn to her for some reason. Maybe it was the fact that she’d saved his life. She didn’t know. One thing she was sure of was that she needed to keep digging. Not only with Will, but with the staff at the school. She needed to take this opportunity to learn more about what Will knew, but what if she couldn’t help him?

  “Dylan, I …”

  Commotion from the playground area snapped her head up. A man in a dark shirt and a baseball cap had a child in his arms.

  And was heading for the Emergency Exit. The alarm sounded.

  Other children pointed and yelled.

  The child struggled, the terror on his familiar face saying he didn’t want to go with the man who held him.

  “Will!”

  Dylan was already racing for the play area.

  Paige snatched Dylan’s keys from the table and bolted for the door, her plan to go around the side and trap the man in the middle. Or follow him in the car if she wasn’t fast enough.

  Already he was out the door, the crowd watching in horror as the kidnapping unfolded. One young mother tried to stop the large man and earned a punch to the face for her efforts. She dropped like a rock to the floor.

  Through the glass, Paige could see Dylan having trouble wading through those crowded around trying to see the action. Her gaze fixed on the man hurrying Will to his car. He tossed the boy in the car and yelled something at him.

  She saw Will roll over the front seat into the back and disappear from view. Rage and sheer terror filled her. If the man managed to drive off—

  Paige figured she had only one option.

  Bolting to Dylan’s car, she slid in and rammed the key in the ignition and shoved the car into reverse. Pressing the gas pedal, she squealed from the parking spot, threw the car in Drive and headed straight for the car that now held Will and his kidnapper.

  TWELVE

  Dylan finally managed to push his way through the gawking crowd, only to find he was too late. Fear like he’d never felt before screamed through him. “Will!”

  Screeching tires and the sound of colliding bumpers rent the air, and Dylan watched as Paige jumped from his car to race toward the one that she’d just stopped head-on.

  A figure bolted from the other car and took off toward the row of stores lining the parking lot. Dylan let him go without a second thought; his sole focus was getting to Will. The crash seemed minor, but it had been a major risk to cause an accident with Will in the car.

  Paige caught his eye and motioned she was going after the man. Torn, he wanted to tell her to stay put, to not place herself in danger. However, he knew she wouldn’t listen. And Will was his main concern at the moment. He nodded, shot her a please-be-careful look that she didn’t catch as she’d already taken off in pursuit of the man.

  Arriving at the car, he found Will hunched in the backseat, his shoulders shaking, tears streaming down his pale cheeks. “Will. Hey, it’s okay.” Dylan placed a hand on the boy’s back, and Will jerked, his head shooting up. Seeing Dylan, he launched himself into his arms.

  Dylan pulled him from the car and turned to find three police cars in the parking lot, lights flashing.

  “Which way did he go?” one deputy asked.

  Dylan pointed in the direction he’d seen Paige bolt.

  His arms clutched his nephew; rage boiled beneath the surface. If he got his hands on the person responsible for terrorizing his nephew, he’d probably kill him.

  Paige dodged a pedestrian as she desperately tried to keep the fleeing kidnapper in sight. Concern over Will’s safety was pushed to the back burner as determination to catch the man fueled her faster. Without pause, he pushed past two ladies exiting a store, never stopping as they expressed their outrage.

  Paige followed with a muttered, “Excuse me.”

  And came to an abrupt halt.

  Her eyes scanned the store. A woman pulling a dress off the rack. A toddler ducking under his mother’s legs.

  But no man in a black T-shirt and a baseball cap.

  Where had he gone?

  She whirled in full circle, eyes probing each face. Striding toward the back entrance, she pulled her cell phone from her pocket and dialed 911. As soon as the operator came on the line, she blurted, “I saw a kidnapper. He raced into Maguire’s Clothing on Twenty-ninth. I think
he might go out the back and try to get away.” She could see the flashing lights in the parking lot of the restaurant.

  Paige hung up. She needed to make a decision. Head for the back door and see if the man had gone out, or go back out the front and try to cut him off. But if he’d gone out the back, she would be too late.

  But what if he was hiding behind a rack of clothes? If she wanted to blow her cover, she’d immediately call for the store to be shut down.

  But it might be too late anyway.

  And she wasn’t ready to give up her cover yet.

  Slowly, she made her way to the back of the store, noting the security cameras.

  “May I help you?”

  Paige turned to see the questioning expression on the clerk’s young face. She couldn’t be more than twenty-one. Paige nodded. “Did you see a guy come through here with a baseball cap on?”

  A frown drew her perfectly arched brows together over her nose. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t see anyone.”

  Frustration bit at her. So, did he go out the back or not? “Does your back door have an alarm on it?”

  “Only at night. Why?”

  Paige realized she sounded too much like a cop. But she had to know. “Because a guy tried to kidnap a little boy a few minutes ago, and he ran in here.”

  The clerk gasped. “You’re kidding!”

  “So, the door wasn’t alarmed?”

  “No, during the day, we leave it off because we get deliveries and employees use that door.”

  Paige grimaced. He was long gone by now.

  There was nothing left to do but head back to the restaurant and see how Dylan and Will were.

  She thanked the woman and started to leave. If it were up to her, she’d question everyone in the store, but she couldn’t. It wasn’t her job. It was Eli’s. An idea struck her.

  She turned back to the clerk. “Um, you’re going to think I’m crazy, but do you think you could get everyone’s name and contact information in case the police want to talk to them? I mean he did run in this store, and someone might have noticed something.”

  “Are you a cop?”

  “Just a concerned citizen who watches too much cop television.” Paige gave a weak smile and left before she completely blew her cover.

  When she arrived back at the restaurant, Dylan still clutched Will, and it looked like Will had no intention of letting go of his uncle anytime soon.

  Eli stood on the sidewalk directing the investigation. Just as she walked up, she heard him tell Dylan, “A forensics team from Asheville is on the way. They’re coming by helicopter so they’ll be here shortly. I’ll have one of my deputies meet them at the landing area.”

  Paige looked at the crunched bumpers. Everything in her wanted to go over there and search the vehicle.

  Eli looked at her and frowned. “What do you think you’re doing chasing after a kidnapper?”

  Paige opened her mouth then closed it. Then opened it. “I didn’t really think about it. I just did it.”

  His eyes narrowed. “That was some pretty quick thinking ramming his car. And I don’t know if that was brave or stupid of you to go chasing after him.” Suspicion glinted in the depths of his green eyes and she knew he had a plethora of questions running around in his cop brain.

  She gave a weak shrug. “Thanks. I just couldn’t let him drive off with Will. I figured he’d be better off bumped and bruised a little, rather than gone.” She shuddered. “The kidnapper ran in that store but I couldn’t catch him before he ran out the back.”

  “And my guys weren’t here fast enough.” Eli’s tight jaw looked like it might shatter. He looked around and motioned for two officers. “Go question the people in the store. I want to know everything they know.”

  Paige felt a surge of satisfaction. Eli was a good cop.

  Dylan grabbed her in a hug and whispered in her ear, “That’s twice you’ve saved him.”

  Paige placed her hand on Will’s head and gave thanks for his safety. Thank You for putting me here, God.

  She jolted at the prayer that seemed to come from nowhere. And then smiled. She supposed Dylan was having more of an effect on her than she would have thought.

  As she studied the car, a sense of foreboding curled through her. It was white. She wondered if the front bumper had a dent in it before she had rammed it.

  Paige elbowed Dylan. “Does that look like the same car from the school?”

  His eyes narrowed on it and she watched him swallow hard. “Yes, it sure does.”

  Dylan raked a hand through his hair. After two hours’ worth of statements, questioning and hanging around to see if they could find out anything new about the man who had tried to snatch Will, Dylan was just plain exhausted.

  But grateful that Eli had promised to get back with him on any new developments.

  Medical school had been a breeze compared to the past few days.

  And they still needed to eat.

  Although Will hadn’t said anything, he was cranky in his silent-Will way. Shifting, sagging, refusing to walk and clinging to Dylan were all pretty good indicators that the child had had his fill of adventure—and terror—today.

  Dylan was ready to join him. “Hey, big guy, how about those chicken nuggets now? I bet you’re starving.”

  Will froze, his eyes wide, yearning.

  Dylan gave him a squeeze. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He looked at Paige who stood watching them. “Let me get us all some food, and we can pick up where we left off.”

  She nodded. “Sounds good.” As he carried Will to the counter to order, he saw Paige pull her phone from her pocket, punch a few buttons, then hold the device to her ear.

  Who was she calling?

  “Sir? May I take your order?” Pulling his thoughts from whoever was on the other end of the line he placed his order.

  By the time he returned to the table, Will had finally turned loose his death grip and was willing to slide into the booth.

  Paige was no longer on the phone, she was studying the file he’d left on the table in his rush to rescue Will. Looking up, she glanced at the child, then at Dylan. “We could go eat somewhere else.”

  Dylan paused. “I know. I thought about it. But then he’ll be afraid of ever coming in here again. And there’s no reason to be afraid. The bad man’s gone.” His words answered her question but were directed at Will. “Right Will?”

  Will seemed to think about that as he watched Dylan distribute the food. His eyes went to the playground area where three children played and giggled.

  Apparently deciding his uncle made sense, some of the tension left his shoulders, and he dipped his first nugget into the barbecue sauce.

  Dylan looked at Paige.

  She grinned at him, and he felt his heart thud a little faster. It was a good thing she turned her attention back to the file in front of her.

  Paige read for a full five minutes, taking bites of her sandwich every so often. Looking up, she finally said, “I can see why you might think this person would have a grudge against you. This happened quite a while ago, though. It doesn’t make sense that he would come after you now.”

  Dylan shrugged. “I thought of that. The only thing I could come up with was that he obsessed over her loss, decided I was to blame and is now out to take away—” he paused and cut a glance at Will, then finished “—the most important thing in my life.”

  Nodding, she shut the file. “While you were ordering the food, I called my boss and gave him a description of the car. And the license plate.”

  “Eli will take care of that, won’t he?”

  She smiled. “Yes, he will, and not to sound arrogant, but Charles has resources Eli doesn’t. Before we leave, Charles’ll probably call back with all kinds of information long before Eli has the plate run.”

  Even as the words left her mouth, the phone rang, and she gave a satisfied smile when she checked the screen. “Hi, Charles. You have some information for me?”

  As she listened,
Dylan looked at Will. The child had eaten all of his nuggets and had about three french fries left. Leaning over, Dylan asked, “If I check the playground for you and promise it’s safe, you want to go play again?”

  Will’s eyes went wide. Dylan saw him gulp as his gaze flicked to the area where someone had tried to snatch him only hours before.

  Paige finished her conversation, stood and held out her hand. “Come on. I’ll show you that the bad man is all gone, and you can slide all you want.”

  Will still hesitated, his gaze swinging back and forth between the playground and Paige. She smiled at him. “Sometimes we have to face our fears to find out there’s nothing there to be afraid of anymore.”

  Dylan jerked and looked at Will. Would he understand her soft words?

  Something must have registered, because he rose from his seat and held out a hand to her. She grasped his fingers and led him to the play area. Warmth suffusing him, Dylan watched her take Will through the whole area, gently pointing out that he was safe.

  Finally, she asked him something and Will nodded. Then threw himself at her, wrapping his small arms around her waist. Dylan’s throat clutched at the scene. He knew Will missed his mother. Was the boy hoping Paige might take Sandra’s place? The thought shot fear through him. Fear he might mess up, and Will would wind up scarred for life.

  Swamped by self-doubt about letting Will care so much about a woman who declared that she’d never be a mother, Dylan wondered if he should cut off all contact between the two. At least until he was convinced Paige might stick around.

  Seeing Will’s smile as he climbed the plastic steps to slide down into Paige’s waiting arms nearly did him in.

  It was too late to do anything about keeping Will from Paige. She and the child had a special bond.

  Now it was up to Dylan to convince Paige of that.

  When she returned to the table, he couldn’t take his eyes from her flushed cheeks. “Will is falling hard for you. You have a real connection with him.”

  For a moment she froze, her gaze on his food. “He’s an easy child to love.” Pulling in a deep breath, she cleared her throat, and Dylan had a feeling she was getting ready to change the subject. “So,” she said, “tell me more about the people Sandra hung around with and any names she might have dropped while in your presence.”