WITNESS PROTECTION 02: The Baby Rescue

by Margaret Daley

  “Most likely. No telling where he is by now.”

  When she hung up, all she wanted to do was talk with Colton. But she couldn’t.

  * * *

  Maxie greeted Lisette at the door into the café. “It’s nice to see you. Will Colton be joining you this evening for dinner?”

  “I don’t know. He’s been in Dallas today.”

  “I have a cozy table for two over here for privacy, if he comes.”

  If he comes. Those words echoed through Lisette’s head as she took a seat, facing away from the door. Otherwise, she would sit and watch people come in and be disappointed every time that it wasn’t Colton.

  “I’ll order in fifteen minutes. Just bring me a cup of your decaf coffee for now, please.”

  Lisette thought about the day at work with updates on the search for Saunders. He had disappeared. There had been no sighting of him, although his photo had been plastered everywhere in the media. There were also no leads to Baby C’s family, but many people had come forward wanting to adopt the child. At least she would have parents one way or another.

  “Are you ready to order?” Maxie asked.

  Lisette glanced over her shoulder at the door. No Colton. She had to accept this was his answer to her. He didn’t want to risk his heart. “Yes, I’ll have a buffalo burger with onion rings.”

  When Maxie left, Lisette dropped her head and kneaded the tight cores of her neck and shoulders. She searched her mind for something to think about that had nothing to do with Colton or her job. For a long time, she came up empty, only emphasizing how much she had allowed her work to take over her life.

  A hand clasped her shoulder. Lisette gasped and swung around to find Colton standing behind her with a smile on his tired face. “You’re here,” was all she could think to say to him.

  He brought the chair across from her around the table to sit beside her. “I’m sorry I was late. The plane was delayed and landed an hour late, then there was a wreck on I-70. I tried calling you. I did leave a message on your cell.”

  “You did?” She rummaged in her purse and found her phone. “I forgot to turn the ringer on after my meeting with my boss at work.” She noted a message from him was waiting on her cell.

  Taking her hand, he asked, “Have you ordered yet?”

  She nodded, a part of her still stunned that he was here. “How was Dallas?” she finally asked, all of a sudden not wanting to broach the subject of their relationship. But he was here. That’s a good sign, isn’t it?

  Maxie brought Lisette her food. “I was getting worried about you. What would you like to order?”

  “I’ll have the special.” His gaze captured Lisette’s.

  A warmth spread through her body. The look in his eyes melted her. But she waited until Maxie left before asking, “Are you moving to the Dallas office?”

  “Nope. Not what I want.”

  “Ah, so you’ll wait to see how L.A. is?”

  “Nope. Not what I want.”

  She gulped, her mouth dry. “What do you want?”

  “You. I had some time yesterday and today to think about what you said. About these past weeks. I realized I’ve been a coward. I’ve been scared to risk getting involved with someone because that meant I would expose myself to being hurt again. My childhood was full of that and I didn’t want to go through adult life the same way. I didn’t set out to fall in love with you, but I did. My running away to Dallas or L.A. won’t change that. I love you, Lisette. I want to marry you. Will you take a chance on me?”

  “No.”

  His jaw dropped.

  She hurriedly added, “I mean that I know I’m not taking a chance when it comes to you. I know you. I trust you. I love you and want to share the rest of my life with you. I’ve never shared myself with another like you. It must be those long hours working together.”

  “I knew surveillance was a useful tool for a law enforcement officer.”

  She laughed and placed her other hand on top of his. “You understand me.”

  He brushed her hair behind her ear, his fingertips grazing down her cheek. Then he tugged her closer. His mouth settled over hers. She poured all her bottled-up longings into that kiss, the pieces of her shattered heart mending together.

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt from TREACHEROUS SLOPES by Terri Reed.

  Dear Reader,

  This is the second book in the new continuity series about U.S. Marshals and a baby-smuggling ring. I can’t think of anything worse than losing a baby and trying to find your child. I loved working with the other authors on this series. A huge thank-you to Shirlee McCoy, Liz Johnson, Sharon Dunn, Valerie Hansen and Terri Reed. You are great to work with.

  I love hearing from readers. You can contact me at margaretdaley@gmail.com or at 1316 S. Peoria Ave., Tulsa, OK 74120. You can also learn more about my books at www.margaretdaley.com I have an online quarterly newsletter that you can sign up for on my website.

  Best wishes,

  Questions for Discussion

  Colton Phillips has been a loner most of his life. He was a foster kid early in life and used to being shuffled from one home to another. He didn’t know how to put down roots in one place. In fact, he purposely moved every two years, if not sooner. Are you used to staying in one place or moving around like Colton? Is this what you want? If not, how are you dealing with the situation?

  What is your favorite scene? Why?

  Lisette Sutton has learned not to trust others, starting with her relationship with her mother and later with a boyfriend who betrayed her. She’s been hurt and holds herself back from others. Has this happened to you? How did you get over the distrust in others? If you didn’t, how is it affecting you?

  Colton refuses to get emotionally close to the people he works with. He knows he will move on soon and it makes it easier when he hasn’t invested himself emotionally in his life. Do you do that? If so, how is that affecting you? If not, why do you put yourself out there emotionally with your fellow workers?

  Who is your favorite character? Why?

  This series is about selling babies. Some of the children were sold. Others were kidnapped. For a parent whose baby has been missing, how would you help that person cope with the situation?

  Lisette felt she had to prove herself constantly in the FBI because of her mother. Have you ever felt that way—that you had to prove yourself because of who you are? How did you deal with this?

  Lisette needed to forgive her mother in order to move on in her life. This was difficult because she had a hard time letting the past go. Have you dealt with something like this with another person? How did you resolve it? If you did, how has it affected you?

  Both Colton and Lisette dealt with some hard issues from their past. Lisette questioned her faith while Colton’s belief in the Lord strengthened him. How has your faith been tested? How did you resolve it?

  Lisette was hurt at the end and this scared Colton. He realized he was in love with her, and was afraid of that feeling. He didn’t get emotionally close to others because he was hurt as a child. How can he get past that? What kind of life would he have if he never got close to others?

  Trust is important in a relationship. Neither Colton nor Lisette trusted easily with the job they had and the issues from their past. Has anyone caused you to distrust him or her? Why? How did you settle it?

  Lisette went undercover at a fertility clinic. She wasn’t comfortable playing a role, but she did it because this was important to finding out information about the missing baby. Have you ever had to do something at your job that you struggled with but knew it was important you did it well? What helped you do it?

  Lisette is a by-the-book FBI agent while Colton is much more flexible. Which are you—needing to be in control with boundaries or someone who can change if needed quickly, someone who can go with the flow? How has it worked for you?

  Colton and Lisette had to deal with a criminal who might get a break if he offered testimony a
nd help in taking down someone bigger in the organization. This man kidnapped a child to help him get away and give him money. How would you deal with that situation, trying to protect a criminal who had done some bad things?

  Do you agree with the government making deals with lesser criminals to catch bigger ones? Why or why not?

  We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense story.

  You enjoy a dash of danger. Love Inspired Suspense stories feature strong heroes and heroines whose faith is central in solving mysteries and saving lives.

  Enjoy four new stories from Love Inspired Suspense every month!

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  ONE

  “Welcome to this evening’s segment of Northwest Edition. I’m Julie Frost reporting to you live from the annual Festival of Snow in beautiful Bend, Oregon. It’s a crisp Friday night and a perfect way to start the weekend. The festival is proud to host the U.S. Aerial Freestyle National Championship. Excitement is in the air.”

  Julie kept her gaze on the round, black lens of the handheld camera in front of her. The temperature had dipped below ten on this January evening. Though she’d lived in central Oregon all her life, she couldn’t remember it being this cold. Her smile felt frozen in place, like her toes. She should have worn thicker socks. Or boots made for the cold, not fashion. The station stylist had insisted the pink boots matching the pink ski suit completed the outfit. She felt like a big, pink lollipop. The price she paid to be on camera. She refrained from stomping her feet and settled for wiggling her freezing toes. It didn’t help.

  “As you can see around me, quite a crowd has turned out for the festivities.”

  She paused as Bob, her cameraman, panned the area, giving their viewers at home a glimpse of what they were missing. The Festival of Snow was held across the Deschutes River from the Old Mill shopping center. The mill with its three towering smoke stacks had been converted into a popular sporting-goods store and provided the anchor to the center. On this side of the footbridge, along the river path, white tents and canopies gave local vendors and artisans warm, dry places to show off their wares while local eateries tempted festivalgoers with tasty treats. A live band played in the amphitheater opposite the wooden structure erected for the skiing competition.

  Every year more and more tourists traveled to the mountain oasis to attend the annual festival celebrating the best of winter in Oregon.

  When the lens focused back on her, she smiled and raised her voice. She hoped the viewing audience was able to hear her over the cheers of spectators waiting for the aerial freestyle skiers to take to the ramp.

  “Tonight’s competition is a precursor to the upcoming winter games. Athletes will compete for points as well as a cash purse of twenty thousand dollars. Points for each jump will be added to the skiers’ total season score. Names of the team members representing the U.S.A. at the winter Olympic games will be announced in one week. That will give the athletes two weeks to prepare before traveling to this year’s games host city, where they will represent the U.S.A. and compete for gold, silver and bronze.”

  Julie’s gaze slipped to Bob. He nodded encouragingly and made a rolling motion with one hand, letting her know to keep stalling as they waited for the first skier to take his jump.

  “Behind me is a specially constructed snow ramp known as a ‘kicker.’ The skiers will perform two jumps consisting of single or multiple somersaults with or without twists. Each jump must vary by one somersault or one twist. Points are awarded for takeoff, form in the air, difficulty and landing.”

  Bob motioned with his hand, indicating the competition was starting.

  Bubbles of excitement knocked against her ribs. Though she wasn’t daring enough to ever try aerial freestyle skiing, she certainly enjoyed watching. It took a risk-taking, adrenaline-junkie personality to pursue a sport where you launched yourself off a fourteen-foot-tall ramp, performed flips and twists fifty feet above the ground, and then landed upright on a steep incline.

  Unfortunately, Julie was drawn to that exact type of man. Drawn to and burned by them. She’d had her fill of men who lived life on the edge. Her ex-fiancé had been that sort of man. Only trouble was John Mateo hadn’t limited his risky behavior to sports. Thankfully, she’d found out before she’d married him.

  Never again would she allow herself to get swept into a relationship with an adrenaline junkie. Next time around—if there was a next time—she wanted stable and steady. Until then she would focus on her career.

  Her first step had been convincing her boss at the television station to give her a shot at moving up from production assistant to on-camera personality. The second step had been successfully pitching the idea of a feature story on one of Bend’s local heroes, aerial freestyler Nick Walsh, to her boss. He’d said yes. Then she’d contacted Nick’s biggest sponsor, Thunderbird Ski Equipment and Apparel, figuring the best way to gain access to Nick would be through his sponsor. The head of the locally based sports company had enthusiastically embraced the idea and looked forward to the promotional aspects of the story. Now all she had to do was put together an excellent story and she’d be given the promotion she craved.

  To the camera she said, “Hometown favorite Nick Walsh is taking his position.”

  When the camera swung away to zoom in on the tall, broad-shouldered skier readying himself at the top of the ramp, a flare of feminine awareness made a joke of her being career-focused. And worse yet, there was so much more to Nick than his good looks.

  With a shake of her head, she reminded herself what the story was as the camera came back to focus on her. “Early last year calamity struck the Walsh family when Cody Walsh, Nick’s younger brother, had a horrible accident during a practice and died.”

  Her heart ached for the family. She remembered Cody as a sweet kid who worshipped his older brother.

  “The Walsh brothers were taking the aerial freestyle world by storm and were poised to vie for gold against each other as well as the world’s top aerialists. Many people speculated Nick wouldn’t continue to compete when he dropped out of sight for several weeks after the tragedy.” One of the topics she planned to cover later when she interviewed him.

  “However, Nick did return to compete and is leading in men’s aerials.” Recalling the phone conversation she’d had with Nick’s manager a few hours ago, she said, “According to Nick’s manager, Gordon Lewis, Nick will be performing a new trick for us tonight. One he hopes will take him all the way to gold in the biggest competition of his life!”

  A roar for the hometown favorite went up from the crowd. Even as a kid, Nick’s one and only passion had been skiing. He’d had his eyes set on winning gold one day. This could be his year.

  Bob pointed toward the ramp.

  Julie turned to watch, stomping her feet to stay warm, her gaze riveted to the skier waiting to take off. Walsh wore the U.S. team’s bright blue-and-red ski suit. Though she couldn’t see his face, she had no trouble remembering his vivid blue eyes, thick dark hair and strong jawline.

  They’d grown up together, attended the same school and church all the way through to graduation. While she’d been the geeky girl who sat in the front of class, he’d been the one everybody gravitated to at the back. The guys tried to emulate him and failed; the girls vied for his attention and failed. Including her.

  She doubted he’d remember her at all.

  * * *

  Nick Walsh flexed his legs, readying his muscles. He took deep calming breaths. The crowd’s roar of expectation lifted on the chilly evening air. Floodlights illuminated the smooth ramp and pooled in a bright circle highlighting the landing track and outrun twenty feet below. A wiser man would resist the urge to scan the crowd for a glint of steel, the small
black hole that would put him out of his misery once and for all.

  But he wasn’t wise.

  However, he was definitely unnerved.

  This morning he’d received a menacing note—letters cut from a magazine to form three words—TIME TO DIE.

  After the failed attempt on his life a few months ago, it was little wonder he was edgy.

  A flash of color snagged his gaze. A woman stood slightly apart from the rest of the onlookers. Dressed from head to toe in neon pink, she looked like a highlighter except for a long blond braid draped over one shoulder. He blinked and forced himself to focus, which took all his mental prowess considering the death threat looming in the shadows like a mountain lion that roamed the Cascades waiting for an opportune moment to pounce.

  Tonight was about testing out a new trick. And moving closer to achieving his goal of medaling in the upcoming games. For Cody.

  Nick’s heart twisted in his chest.

  He concentrated his energy into the moment, blocking out the noises of the spectators and the grief that stabbed at him with each breath. Blocking out the fact that he was back home in the place where his dreams of gold had been born. Blocking out the knowledge that his parents wouldn’t be among the audience watching the competition. They still blamed him for Cody’s death.

  His jaw clenched. He blamed himself.

  “Go!”

  Heart pumping with adrenaline, Nick pushed off. Pointing his skis down the inrun slope, he picked up speed. He needed to reach thirty miles per hour for optimum liftoff. He approached the kicker. He had to hit it just right to get the height required to perform the quad back, double twist. Wind whipped over his helmet, whistling through the facemask. Keeping his gaze focused upward, he lifted his arms overhead to elongate his body, increasing his rotational inertia by moving more of his weight away from his hips and allowing for more flipping power.