Mistletoe Reunion Threat

by Virginia Vaughan

  “I know it’s hard, but it’s necessary.”

  “It’s not just hard, Garrett. It’s unbearable. Why do I have to keep reliving it? Why can’t these people just leave me alone? Everything in my past keeps coming back to haunt me. Even you, showing up here, dredging up painful memories.”

  He grimaced at her words and she sighed. She hadn’t really meant to be so cruel. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “It wasn’t my intention to hurt you, Ashlynn.”

  “No, it wasn’t your intention, but intentions don’t matter, Garrett. You did hurt me. I don’t ever want to feel that way again. I realize this isn’t really your fault, but I can’t get past the feeling that if you’d been here, if you hadn’t left us all those years ago, this wouldn’t be happening. Jacob would be here with me and he wouldn’t have been abducted. I know I shouldn’t blame you, but I do. I’ve tried to get past it. I can’t forget how you left us.”

  She pushed away from Garrett, but he tightened his arms around her. “Don’t, Ash. Please, don’t push me away.”

  “I can’t do this, Garrett. I just can’t.”

  He touched her face, stroking her cheek with his finger. “I can’t pretend I don’t care for you. I want you and Jacob to be a part of my life, Ashlynn. I love you. I love you both. I want us to be a family.”

  Her heart was divided. On one hand, she longed to fall into his embrace and lose herself. He was offering her everything she’d ever dreamed of, a life she’d yearned for all those years ago. But the other side of her heart, the side that had been battered and broken too many times, cried foul. He’d shattered those dreams of happily-ever-after and she’d worked too hard to build a life for herself and Jacob to put it at risk again, especially for someone who had already proven himself unreliable in sticking around when things got tough.

  She shook her head, tears springing to her eyes. She couldn’t risk Jacob’s future that way. “I can’t,” she said, her voice choked. She turned away from him. “I can’t. This will never work, Garrett. I don’t trust you anymore. I don’t know how I can ever trust you. How do I know you’ll be there for us?”

  “I will be.”

  “I wish I could believe that but I... I just don’t.”

  He sighed and dug his hands into his pockets then put some distance between them. The pain on his face was evident and sharp. She knew she’d hurt him and wanted to insist that that wasn’t her intention, but then she smiled, realizing those were the same words he’d expressed to her. Neither of them meant to hurt the other, yet somehow they’d both been hurt.

  “I appreciate your help in finding Jacob. I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t here, Garrett, but I can’t do anything else. Whatever it was we had all those years ago, it ended the day I received your call.”

  He nodded but didn’t speak for several moments. Ashlynn turned away. There was nothing else to say. She’d made her decision and nothing could change that.

  His voice was low and gruff with emotion when he spoke. “I think I’ll step out and call Josh. See if he’s heard anything on those background checks I asked him to do.”

  She nodded then turned in time to see him walk out of the conference room. She knew she was doing the right thing for herself and her son. She just wished it didn’t hurt so badly.

  * * *

  Once he was clear of the suite, Garrett leaned against the closed door and took a long, steadying breath. Her words had stabbed him, not because they were mean but because they were true. She didn’t trust him enough to allow him to be part of her life and her family. He’d lost his opportunity for a family when he’d let them down. It only cemented what he already knew. He wasn’t cut out to be a father. He’d tried so hard to pretend he could do it, that he could re-create what they’d lost, but Ashlynn was right. He was a failure.

  And he couldn’t ask her and Jacob to take on that kind of risk. He should never have returned to town, and some part of him admitted that he had always hoped to run into Ashlynn. He hadn’t sought her out, but he couldn’t deny he was glad he’d seen her again.

  He rubbed his face and looked up at the midday sky. It was a bright blue with little cloud cover and he stared up at it feeling better in such close proximity to his Lord. He didn’t understand why God had left him here and he hoped his son and Ashlynn wouldn’t suffer because He had.

  Please, Father, help me to find Jacob. Don’t let my son pay the price for my selfishness. And no matter how Ashlynn feels about me, keep her safe. Father, give me guidance. Light my path.

  Even if he couldn’t be a part of his family, he would still do everything he could for them before he let them go.

  * * *

  Ashlynn pulled the papers back toward her and tried to concentrate on examining them instead of the wounded look she’d seen on Garrett’s face. She couldn’t think about that now. She felt terrible about laying this all on him, but after that kiss this morning, she hadn’t wanted to lead him on, allow him to believe there was a future for them when there really wasn’t. Finding Jacob still had to be her first priority.

  She glanced at the clock on the wall, noting he’d been gone for over ten minutes. That made her uncomfortable. The last time he’d let her out of his sight, Meeks had attacked her. She reminded herself that she was in no danger. The suite was empty and Garrett hadn’t gone far. He was just giving her space to work. She closed one file and placed it on the read-through stack before getting another and opening it. She needed something else to concentrate on and hopefully he would return soon enough.

  As she flipped through her papers, she landed on a case of domestic abuse from back in the spring. It didn’t seem to have any bearing on anything and she nearly added it to the not-relevant pile until she spotted a name she did recognize—Paul Rollins. His name was listed on the defense’s list of character witnesses.

  She hadn’t seen it previously because the case had never gone to trial. The defendant had accepted a plea for a lesser sentence. But she knew the name instantly—Paul Rollins, Kathryn Rollins’s biological son. She and Meeks had been fostered in the same home where this man had also lived. He’d been a teenager in the photo they’d recovered from Meeks’s apartment. She had no idea what had happened to him after his mother went to prison, but it seemed too coincidental to dismiss that his name had been in her case files. Had he come to court to support his friend during the preliminary phase and seen her there, re-sparking some anger against her, just as Garrett had suggested?

  She decided to check him out, just in case. Using her laptop, she typed his name into the police database the DA’s office had access to. He had an extensive criminal record. He wouldn’t have made much of a character witness in her opinion. She would have torn him apart in court. But when the mug shot of Paul Rollins materialized, she gasped, recognizing the sharp eyes and features she knew so well.

  Paul Rollins had been right here in her office many times, getting close to her and probably planning his revenge against her for months.

  Fear pulsed through her. She reached for her phone and quickly dialed Garrett’s number. He needed to know what she’d found. His phone rang once then went straight to voice mail. Now he wasn’t even taking her calls? She waited impatiently for the beep. “Garrett, call me. It’s important. I know who’s behind the attempts on my life and Jacob’s kidnapping. It’s Ken.”

  She hung up the phone, then stood. If Garrett wouldn’t accept her calls she would just have to track him down and make him listen to her. She was certain he wouldn’t have gone far. He had to still be in the building somewhere or possibly outside. She walked to the window and gazed out, hoping to spot him on the front lawn. She didn’t see him, but she instinctively knew he was close.

  Suddenly, she heard the main suite door open and close. Was it Garrett returning? She prayed it was. She headed toward the door bu
t stopped, frozen when she saw it wasn’t him.

  Ken was approaching the conference room.

  Her heart raced and anger bit through her, but she wasn’t sure what to do. She wanted to confront him, to demand to know why he’d deceived her and to ask if he took Jacob. But if Ken was truly behind this, she had to be smart. Jacob’s life depended on it. Would he attack her once he saw Garrett wasn’t around? Or would he continue to play the role of the concerned friend? That thought sickened her.

  Oh, God, what do I do?

  She grabbed her phone and tried Garrett’s number again. It again went straight to voicemail so she shot off a text to him instead.

  God, tell him to come back. I need him!

  Still uncertain how to react, she turned to face Ken. But his gaze was focused on something behind her. She turned to look and saw her computer screen displaying the image of his mug shot along with his real name. His deception was now out in the open.

  His eyes moved to her and his mouth twitched into a self-satisfied grin. “So, you’ve uncovered my true identity, have you?”

  Anger pulsed through her. This man had pretended to be her friend when all along he’d been playing her for a fool. And since they were no longer pretending, she decided confronting him was her only option. “I know who you really are, Paul. Where is my son? Where is Jacob?”

  “You’ll soon find out everything.” He took a step in her direction and she instinctively backed away. He grinned, obviously satisfied at the fear his movement had caused in her. She had to get away from him, to find Garrett and end this once and for all. This man was responsible for all the heartache and pain in her life recently. He’d killed Stephen and Mira, and tried to kill her, too. And she’d led him right to herself each time, believing him a friend and confidant. He’d always known their location and had used that to his advantage in planning his revenge.

  “You were the one who drugged me,” she said. “It wasn’t Judge Warren’s brownies at all.”

  “No, it wasn’t. I took an opportunity to distract Bridgette and slipped it into your coffee.” He removed a syringe from his pocket. “In fact, I was able to get my hands on another dose. My girlfriend, Barbara, is an LPN over at the medical center. At least, she was until she agreed to run away with me and my son.”

  Ashlynn gasped. “Your son? Jacob is not your son.”

  “That doesn’t matter to her. I’ve got her convinced we’re protecting Jacob from you. She’s a pushover for a nice smile and a sad story.”

  He moved again and Ashlynn did, too. She couldn’t allow him to drug her again. She took off, running around the table, but the room wasn’t large and he was able to reach out and grab her, taking hold of her arm and pulling her toward him. She kicked and struggled but was no match for his strength. He wrapped his arm around her neck, blocking her airway, then injected the syringe into her neck. She kicked and flailed, sending papers from the table flying, but she couldn’t land a shot that loosened his tight hold on her and she couldn’t breathe in enough air to even moan much less scream for help.

  Finally, she went limp in his arms and felt herself fading, unable to stop it. She only had two hopes now—Garrett and God. She silently prayed for God’s intervention. Don’t let me die without knowing Jacob’s safe, her heart cried.

  He lowered her to the floor and stood over her. As she finally faded into unconsciousness, he whispered something in her ear that haunted her soul.

  “I warned you there were a lot of crazies out there.”

  * * *

  “Don’t give up hope,” Josh said when Garrett phoned him and finally spilled everything—his nervousness about being a father, his rekindled feelings for Ashlynn and even her insistence that she could never trust him. “Trust is earned. You’ll just have to prove it to her. I know you have it in you to be a great husband and father,” Josh insisted. “Just remember, God is the Great Restorer.”

  Garrett took a deep, cleansing breath. “Thanks, Josh. I needed to hear that.” He could always count on his friends be to there to lift him up when he was down. One more reason reconnecting with people had been the right decision for him.

  “I know you’re still struggling, but don’t give up believing that God is on your side, Garrett. He left you here—He left us all here—for a reason. Right now your family needs you. That’s your reason.”

  He realized Josh was right. His family needed him and he would be here for them. He would find Jacob and he would bring him home to his mother. He owed them both that and he needed to concentrate on that instead of on his own aching shell of a heart.

  He was a ranger and it was time he started acting like it.

  “Have you found anything in those background checks I asked you to do?” Garrett directed the focus of the conversation back to the finding of Jacob.

  Josh didn’t flinch at his abrupt change of gear. “No red flags on any of the names you gave me.”

  He sighed, unsure if he was glad Ashlynn had no friends who were betraying her or upset that they still had no leads.

  “Thanks. I’ll call you later.” He hung up with Josh and walked back upstairs to the suite. He pushed open the door and immediately saw the conference room was empty. Case files were scattered on the floor, which made his heart quicken with apprehension.

  “Ashlynn,” he called, hoping against hope that she’d taken a bathroom break or gone to the supply closet. But he knew better. A thousand scenarios rushed through his mind. Maybe she’d thought he wasn’t coming back. Would she have left without him? And where would she have gone?

  He pulled out his phone and saw two missed calls from her. He kicked himself. She must have phoned while he was on the call with Josh. Why hadn’t he noticed? He saw she’d left him a voicemail.

  “Garrett, call me. It’s important. I know who’s behind the attempts on my life and Jacob’s kidnapping. It’s Ken.”

  He held his breath. She’d figured out Ken was behind this? And now she was gone. Had she gone after Ken when Garrett didn’t answer? Or had he shown up and grabbed her? How had he not seen Ken enter the building? He tried her phone and heard it ring. He followed the sound and found it on the floor beneath the table.

  Not good.

  He dialed Ken’s phone and it went straight to voicemail. That didn’t really answer his question. He was the one who’d convinced them to come to the office then hadn’t shown up. Had he lured them there? Or had Ashlynn gotten out before he’d arrived?

  He pulled his gun and hurried out, searching the hall, the stairwell and the outer offices. If Ken had grabbed her, he couldn’t have gotten far pulling someone with him. He worked his way down through the building but found no sign of Ashlynn or Ken. As he pulled open the double glass doors that led outside, fear and regret soared through him.

  And that old nagging guilt returned to him. He’d let her down again.

  * * *

  Garrett kicked open the door of Ken’s apartment and burst inside, gun drawn and ready for a fight. Josh, Vince and several officers followed him. The apartment was empty. He hadn’t really expected to find them here, but it was the only place he knew to start looking. The others fanned out and checked the rest of the apartment.

  “It’s clear,” Vince said, after checking the back rooms. “They’re not here.”

  Garrett felt frustration wash over him. Security cameras at the DA’s offices had confirmed that Ken had, indeed, abducted Ashlynn. It had shown him carrying her to his car. Garrett had taken her case files from the office, hoping to find something in them that would lead him to answers, but so far they’d found nothing. They needed to learn everything they could about Ken Barrett and quick. Why had he taken Ashlynn? Why had he kidnapped Jacob? And was he behind the deaths of Stephen and Mira? Everything seemed to point to the fact that Ken had a grudge against Ashlynn, only they still didn’t know why.<
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  He scanned the apartment. It was sparsely furnished and held no visible personal effects. In the kitchen he found a photo taped to the refrigerator. It looked like the same photo Meeks had had in his apartment. Only in this picture, a red circle had been drawn around Ashlynn’s face and a big red X marked through it.

  Had Ken gotten a copy of the image from Meeks? Or did he have some connection to the foster home where Ashlynn had grown up? He was frustrated by all the questions that still remained unanswered.

  Vince approached him. “I’ve got a BOLO out for Ken’s car and a trace on his phone. He must have turned it off because it’s not pinging anywhere.”

  Garrett nodded. “He’s smart and he knows police procedures.” He shook his head. “There must be something we’re missing.” He turned to Josh. “You did those background checks on Ken. Did you find anything that seemed suspicious?”

  Josh took out his phone and pulled up a file. “Nothing that raised any red flags. He’s worked as an investigator with the DA’s office for six months. Before that, he worked as a parole officer in Pennsylvania for twenty-six years until he moved to be closer to his daughter and her family. Exemplary performance records.”

  “Wait, you said he moved here to be closer to his daughter?”

  “That’s what his supervisors at Philly PD told me on the phone. Why?”

  His gut started screaming that something wasn’t adding up. “Because Ken told me he didn’t have any children.”

  Josh pulled up the file on Ken again and Garrett watched over his shoulder as an official photograph appeared. His heart sank. “Is this from the file Philly PD sent over?”

  Josh nodded. “What’s wrong?”

  Garrett felt a rush of dread pulse through him. The man in the photograph was gray haired and round, not sharp featured and thin. It wasn’t that he just looked different. He was someone else completely. “That isn’t Ken Barrett. I’ve never seen that man before.”