WITNESS PROTECTION 02: The Baby Rescue

by Margaret Daley

  “I see her. Her attention is on Saunders.”

  Colton parted, moving around to watch the exchange. The young woman smiled at Saunders.

  “Do you know a good hotel nearby?” The woman asked the question the note indicated the courier would say.

  “Any of them are good.” Saunders perked up.

  She sighed, her shoulders sagging. “Mr. Saunders, you look just like the photo I was given. I wasn’t sure it would be that easy.” The dark-haired woman’s low voice with a slight quaver sounded in Colton’s earpiece.

  Since not all people involved in the stakeout had direct access to what was transpiring between Saunders and the courier―only his team―Colton said over his comlink, “The exchange is going down.” While Lisette kept an eye on the meeting, he turned his back on the pair to give more information. “She is five feet four or five inches, with dark brown hair in a ponytail. She’s wearing jeans, a black sweatshirt and tennis shoes. Looks to be between twenty and twenty-five.”

  Colton moved with Lisette toward the carousel as the last of the baggage came by. In this new position he was behind the lady.

  She brought the baby, wrapped in a pink blanket, around for Saunders to get a view of the child. “I was told to ask you for the code sentence before handing over the package.”

  “Package,” Lisette muttered. “She has to know what she’s doing. No chance she was duped.”

  “Jackson wishes you a happy birthday,” Saunders said, amusement in his voice.

  “Oh, good.” The young woman thrust the child into Saunders’s arms. “She’s been crying a lot.”

  “What’s her name?” Saunders asked.

  The woman shrugged. “No one told me. This is her diaper bag with what you need. The phone is inside, and you’ll be contacted about where to take her.” She looped it over his shoulder, then hurried out the door closest to her.

  “Courier is coming out,” Colton said into his comlink, then described the lady again. “Brad and Mark, I want you two to follow her. See where she goes. Stay with her and report in. For the time being she will be under surveillance until we make contact with the middleman.”

  Saunders stared down at the girl in his arms with a silly grin on his face. “I’m heading for the car. I think everything is okay. I haven’t seen anyone but you hanging around.” He cooed to the baby as he walked outside.

  “Heads up. Saunders is going to the car. Don’t lose him.” Colton scanned the baggage claim area one more time, then followed a few yards behind Saunders.

  A black SUV pulled up to the curb with Neil driving. Saunders climbed into the rear seat of the vehicle with Lisette slipping into the car on the other side. She took the child and put her into the car seat facing the back cushion.

  Colton passed a set of handcuffs to Saunders. “Put them on. Lisette, check to make sure they are secured.”

  As she tested the handcuffs, Lisette nodded. “They’re fastened.”

  Colton leaned into the SUV to look at the baby—sleeping with a peaceful expression on her face. She appeared no more than three or four months old with a patch of dark hair and long eyelashes that brushed the tops of her rosy cheeks. “I’ll follow you to the safe house. Let me know if he receives a call about where to take the baby.”

  “Will do.” After Colton shut the door, Lisette signaled to Neil to leave.

  Colton started for his Firebird parked nearby and slid behind the wheel. Going as fast as he could in the traffic leaving the airport, he kept an eye on the black SUV three cars ahead of him as well as the vehicles surrounding him. He didn’t want everything to go all right at the airport only to fall apart en route to the cabin. When he took his left hand off the steering wheel, he flexed it to ease his tense muscles, then he repeated the same thing with the right one. But nothing he did loosened the taut grip tension had on him.

  * * *

  Lisette sat next to the car seat in the back of the SUV, keeping her hand on the baby as though that would protect the child from the man on the other side of the little girl. Visions of her younger sister when she was this age taunted Lisette, threatening her concentration. The little girl scrunched up and wiggled closer to Lisette’s hand, still asleep. Just like Lydia used to do when she was trying to get her to sleep—before she died from SIDS and her family fell apart. Everything changed after that. She never saw much of her mother. She worked all the time. The same with her dad until he left them. But for the short time she’d had Lydia as a baby sister, she’d protected her the best she could for a six-year-old.

  “She’s a cute one.” Saunders usual whiny voice morphed into a normal-sounding one. “Can I hold her?”

  “No. She stays in her car seat,” came out of Lisette’s mouth so fast it surprised even her. “She’s asleep, and we want her to stay that way unless you want her to cry. Didn’t you hear the woman say she’s been crying a lot?”

  “I’m good with children.”

  Chills shivered up her arms and flashed through her whole body. The very idea he dealt with any baby made her skin crawl. “Then why are you involved in a child-smuggling ring?”

  “To make money. I have nothing against kids, and the ones we sell go to parents who really want them. They pay a lot to have them.”

  “Everyone? You know for sure?” Sarcasm dripped off each question.

  He glared at her. “When you haven’t done anything wrong, then you can say something. I supply a service to couples who can’t have children.”

  Her stomach roiled, bitter acid swelling into her throat. She swallowed hard and studied the passing scenery. This assignment with Saunders should be over soon—at least the part where she had to deal with the lowlife. She would take great pleasure in catching Jackson and helping to bring this child-smuggling ring down.

  When Neil exited the interstate, she watched the traffic behind them to make sure Colton was still there and no one else was following them. With her muscles aching from holding herself stiff for so long, she forced herself to relax back against the cushion, thinking about the day they’d bring the ring to justice. She’d been wound so tightly the whole morning, waiting for something to go wrong at the airport. She spied Colton taking the same off ramp, not far behind them.

  The little girl stirred beneath her hand, her eyes opening. The child stared at Lisette, who leaned over the car seat. Her tiny features screwed up as though she were going to start crying.

  “Hi, sweetie. You’re safe now. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.” The soft, calm tone of her voice seemed to soothe the baby.

  The child locked her attention on a necklace around Lisette’s neck and reached up with her fat fingers to touch it. The sunlight streamed through the window and gleamed off the gold heart.

  But when the child pulled on the chain, Lisette smiled. “I can’t let you have this. I’ll find something more appropriate for you to play with when we get to the cabin.” She raised her head when Neil made a turn onto the gravel road that led to the safe house. “We’re almost there.”

  “You got a kid or something?” Saunders cut into her conversation with the little girl.

  “Or something.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It’s none of your business.”

  “Well, la-di-da.” His mouth settled into his usual frown. “Who do you think you are?”

  “I’m Special Agent Sutton, serving on your security detail. Remember that when your previous employer comes after you.” The words tumbled from her mouth before she could censor herself.

  * * *

  Up ahead half a mile, the black SUV Neil drove took the road to the cabin. As Colton neared the turnoff for the safe house, a red Ram truck sped up behind him and passed him. At the same time a dark gray Suburban came toward him in the opposite lane. The driver of the Suburban slammed on his brakes to avoid colliding into the truck on his side of the highway. The thin layer of snow caused the car to fishtail, sliding toward Colton. With quick reflexes, he steered his Fir
ebird onto the shoulder of the road while easing up on the gas.

  The red truck slowed, as though the driver was making sure no one was hurt, then he drove away, disappearing around a curve a few yards past the gravel drive. The man in the Suburban righted his car, waved at him and continued south on the highway. Colton exhaled a heavy sigh, counting his blessings. A wreck wasn’t on his to-do list.

  He pressed down on the accelerator, but slowed when he reached the turnoff. Suddenly out of the corner of his eye, the red Ram truck came barreling around the curve straight for him.

  * * *

  Neil pulled up to the cabin. “We’re home.” He parked the car in front of the cabin. “And it’s only noon. I feel like I’ve been up for twenty-four hours.”

  “Yeah, you got me up early enough. I’m taking a nap. Wake me if Jackson calls.” Saunders reached down on the floor with his cuffed hands, picked up the diaper bag and shoved it toward Lisette’s feet.

  Neil slid from the SUV first and came to Saunders’s door to open it. Lisette scooted out of her side, released the baby from the car seat, then grabbed the bag and slung it over her shoulder. She looked toward the road. Colton should be here any minute. He wasn’t far behind them.

  The little girl began to squirm, fussing. “I’m going to get her inside and see if she needs her diaper changed.” She hurried toward the cabin while Neil escorted Saunders.

  Inside, Lisette disarmed the security system, her gaze sweeping the living area and kitchen. Everything was the same as they left it.

  When the baby started fussing and wiggling, Lisette headed for the couch. “I need to take care of her.”

  “I’ll check the bathroom and bedroom.” Neil led the way down the hall, peering into the small bathroom then moving toward the single bedroom to make sure it was secure. Saunders followed, still handcuffed.

  The child’s cries increased.

  “Sweetie, I’m right here.” She laid the child on the couch. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” she said in a singsong voice.

  The sound of Lisette’s voice didn’t calm her. The baby still wailed, a piercing noise that bounced off the walls of the small cabin. Her face reddened, her tiny hands clenched.

  “I’m hurrying.” She confirmed the diaper was soaking wet and dug through the bag for another.

  Through all of this the child continued to scream. Her sister used to do the same thing. Her cries drowned everything else, forcing a person to see to her needs before doing anything else. Rushing as fast as she could, she grasped a diaper then searched for the wipes.

  A crashing sound came from the bedroom. Lisette jerked up and twisted toward the short corridor that led in that direction. She snatched up the bawling baby and placed her on the floor where she wouldn’t roll off. Straightening, Lisette clasped the handle of her gun and swiveled toward the hallway.

  Just inside the living room, Saunders stood beside a large burly man who had a gun pointed at her.

  Sneering, Saunders sauntered farther into the cabin’s living room and glanced at the baby by Lisette’s feet. “If you’re smart you’ll pull your weapon out slow and easy, then place it on the floor and slide it to me, using your foot.”

  Heart hammering against her rib cage, Lisette did as instructed, not wanting to put the child in any danger. “What you’re doing isn’t smart. You’ll be hunted by the U.S. Marshals Service and your not-so-happy employer. You’ll have to look over your shoulder for the rest of your life.”

  One eyebrow lifted as Saunders plucked the diaper bag off the couch. “I’m flattered you care about my well-being, Lisette, but I have no intentions of living a substandard life working for minimum wage under the government’s watchful eye.”

  “It beats prison or death.”

  Saunders cackled, a sound that grated down Lisette’s spine. “That’s what I like about you, your cheerful outlook on life.” He waved at the baby. “Pick her up and bring her to me. Remember my friend behind me has his gun pointed at you and has orders to shoot if you cause any problems. Otherwise, I’ll leave you like Marshal Simms, tied up but alive. I must say, he might be in a little worse shape.”

  “What have you done?” She hadn’t heard a shot, and there wasn’t a silencer on the gun in the bulky guy’s hand.

  “My friend had to knock him out when he came into the room. His head might be hurting, but that’s all.”

  As slow as she could, she knelt next to the little girl playing with the skirt on the couch; now that her diaper had been changed she seemed happy and content. Lisette picked up the baby and rose, remembering her words to the child only a moment ago about her being safe now. “Are you taking her?”

  “Why, of course. She’s my ticket out of here.”

  Lisette held the child close to her chest. “Take me instead of her. I won’t cry, demand to be fed and have to have my diapers changed.”

  “True, but you aren’t worth the thousands of dollars I need to escape and disappear. Baby C is.”

  “You had a good deal. No prison time. A new life.” She fought to keep desperation from her voice. Calm logic might work.

  “If I did anything wrong, I’d be locked up for the original crime plus any new ones. No way. I don’t like restraints on my activities like that. It’s like living in a kind of prison. Who knows what things I’d like to do in the future.” Saunders stepped in front of her and snatched the baby from her arms. “Besides, I’d be a fool to turn on the people running the child-smuggling ring. Probably dead, too. I’m getting out of here and as far away as I can.”

  The urge to protest overwhelmed her, but she clamped her lips together. It would do no good. If she kept him talking, Colton might arrive and be able to prevent Saunders from escaping. “So what happened on the way to St. Louis’s airport was a planned escape, after all?”

  “Yes, but the ice storm hit and messed it up.”

  “How did your people know where you were?”

  “My call before I went into the WitSec Program set everything in motion.”

  “Your friend there knew about this cabin and its security code from when the lights went out at the masquerade ball?”

  “You’re one smart lady. It’s not hard to see a code when it’s punched in, and I read road signs on the way here so the cabin wasn’t hard to explain how to get to. I didn’t have to say a word at the ball. When the lights went out, I passed my own note to my cohort there with that information. That and it gave my contact at the ball a chance to leave.”

  “Who was it?” Where is Colton? Did something happen to him? Or is he outside waiting for them to leave to take them down?

  “You ain’t getting that from me.” Saunders pulled a small tracking device from his pocket. “I had this on me since the ball, the same type as the one I had in the car to St. Louis airport. I had to leave that one in the car, and this morning I left this tracking device at the cabin so my friends knew exactly where it was.”

  “Friends?”

  “I have another helping me. Do you think I wouldn’t take care of Colton, too?”

  A hot knot jammed her throat. “What did you do?”

  “I caused a delay. Not sure, though, how bad he was hurt. Oh, well.” Saunders shrugged. “Sometimes there are casualties.” He nodded toward the bulky man behind him.

  King Kong came toward her, only pausing long enough to give Saunders his weapon. The gorilla pulled plastic ties out of his coat pocket and gestured for her to turn around. When she did, he yanked her arms behind her and fastened the restraint around her wrists, then he shoved her down on the couch and bound her feet.

  Saunders started for the front door with the baby beginning to fuss again. He told her to shut up and that only made it worse.

  Lisette bit her lips, worrying about the child with Saunders. Worrying about Neil and how badly hurt he was. Worrying about Colton, who should have arrived by now unless something did happen.

  Lord, please protect the baby, Neil and Colton. They’re in Your hands. I can�
�t...

  “Oh, by the way, I’ve changed my mind.” Saunders turned at the door. “I don’t want to leave here and have you immediately get free and call for help.” He nodded toward King Kong standing beside Lisette.

  Before she could open her mouth to say anything, the butt of the gun came crashing down onto her skull. She slumped to the side, colliding with the softness of the couch cushion.

  * * *

  All Colton saw was red as the truck barreled toward him. He immediately reacted and stomped on the gas, but the driver of the Ram must have anticipated his tactics because a second later the pickup smashed into the side of his Firebird, T-boning it. The crashing sounds of the collision drowned out the rat-a-tat of his heart beating. The exploding air bag followed, its impact forcing him back against his seat with a punch that knocked the breath from him.

  The world spun before his eyes. Coughs racked him. He sucked in the fine white powder from the air bag, causing more coughs to rack his body.

  Then he felt another jolt as the truck rammed him again, pushing him off the road and into a ditch. Pain streaked up his legs. His car sat at an angle. Through the haze and spinning terrain, he realized he was hanging on the edge of the ditch, teetering. Any movement could send him crashing to the bottom of the six-or seven-foot trench.

  Another shove came. His Firebird toppled over into the ditch. A bolt of pain threatened his consciousness. He opened his eyes to find himself hanging upside down with the seat belt the only thing holding him above the water seeping in through a broken window.

  He searched his dazed mind for a picture of the gully. How much water had been in it this morning? Inches or feet? It kept rising toward the top of his head.

  He wiggled, trying to find the buckle to undo his seat belt. But before he could, the top of his car slipped down the slope, and icy cold water rushed in from both sides.

  SEVEN

  Fighting with the seat belt, Colton finally released the latch and plummeted the few inches into the icy water in his car. His left shoulder took most of the impact with the roof of his Firebird. His body ached and cold burrowed deep into his bones, but neither was important at the moment.