Mystery Bride

by Daniels, B. J.

  Maybe she’d get lucky. It was probably too much to hope that Zack had taken the kidnappers’ wallets, but maybe whatever he was protecting would help her keep the boy safe. Will was distrustful of Zack’s father and even more so of his “birth” mother. It didn’t appear the kid had anyone he could depend on. Except Samantha.

  “We’d better get going, then,” she said to Zack, and got to her feet.

  Will got up, too, and watched Zack slide out, pulling his backpack after him. Whatever it held, it wasn’t much. The contents barely made the cloth bulge, even with the CD player inside.

  As Will held the door of the café open for Samantha and Zack, he tried not to notice how tiny and defenseless the boy looked. Nor how small his protector was. Or how very female.

  They stepped out into the warm sunshine, the cloudless sky overhead wide and clear blue. Anyone watching might have thought they were a family. Will doubted anyone could have guessed the truth.

  Samantha stopped just outside the door. “I’m…sorry,” she said, and then shrugged, reminding him of the boy. The simple gesture said it all.

  “Me, too. It’s been—” fun, frightening, embarrassing, crazy “—interesting,” he said.

  She smiled a little at that. A slight breeze tugged at the golden tendrils around her face. Then she turned and walked toward the Bronco, her hand on Zack’s small shoulder. Will watched her push a stray lock away from her face as she fumbled in her pocket for the key to the passenger door.

  “Samantha,” he heard himself call after her.

  She turned.

  “Good luck,” he said lamely.

  She nodded.

  He shifted his gaze to the boy, automatically checking for his own wristwatch and wallet. “See ya, Just Zack.”

  “Bye.” The boy dipped his head in a way that reminded Will how many times Zack must have had to say goodbye in his young life.

  Before he could do anything stupid, he headed for the rental agency, fighting the urge to look back, unconsciously listening for the roar of the Bronco’s altered engine.

  AS SAMANTHA UNLOCKED the car door, she watched Will Sheridan’s long legs walk away. She hadn’t expected him to look back. Still she was disappointed when he didn’t. Predictable. Just as she’d first thought. But not unimaginative, she amended, remembering his kiss last night.

  She opened Zack’s door, anxious to get going. Although there hadn’t been any sign of the kidnappers, she knew they’d probably be driving something different—just as she was—especially after the Buick’s “accident” yesterday.

  Zack seemed reluctant to get into the car. She watched him slide the strap of his backpack off one shoulder and glance after Will. “I liked him,” the boy said wistfully.

  “Yeah, me, too,” she grudgingly admitted as she dropped her hand to Zack’s dark head. “Come on, let’s get moving, okay?”

  STILL NO SOUND of the Bronco’s engine. Will swore under his breath. What was the point of a souped-up Bronco, anyway, if it couldn’t zoom her out of his life as quickly as possible?

  He slowed his steps, arguing with himself and losing. “Ah, hell,” he groaned as he stopped walking.

  As he turned, he heard an engine roar. For a fleeting moment, he thought it was the Bronco’s.

  From out of a side street, a dark green Oldsmobile came flying around the corner behind the café, and roared into the parking lot, headed for the Bronco.

  Time jumped into overdrive. Will saw it all happening too fast. The Olds skidding up beside the Bronco. Samantha and Zack still next to the Bronco’s open door, Zack just moments from being safe inside.

  Two men. The one Zack had called Al sitting behind the wheel of the Olds. The larger Ralph leaping out to grab Zack. Getting a handful of backpack and T-shirt. Dragging the boy toward the waiting car.

  Chapter Six

  Will was running before he even realized he was moving. His legs pumped hard, but his movements seemed slow and futile. All he could do was watch as Samantha flew at Ralph.

  She kicked out at the kidnapper and wrenched the boy free, the backpack falling to the ground as she tried to get Zack to the safety of the Bronco.

  Zack was yelling something Will couldn’t understand, fighting her as he strained to reach for his pack.

  Ralph snatched up the fallen backpack from the ground, grabbed Samantha’s shoulder and spun her around, breaking her grip on Zack. The kidnapper backhanded her. She fell against the Bronco, as the kidnapper lunged again for the boy.

  But Will got there first. Already in motion, he hit Ralph full force with a body block. The kidnapper slammed into the side of the Olds with a loud thunk, dropping the backpack. Ralph spun and came at him, head down, charging blindly.

  Will dodged Ralph’s charge, catching the large man in the side with an elbow and a jab to the jaw.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Al start to get out of the Olds, as Samantha forced Zack to the open door of the Bronco.

  “What the hell’s going on?” a coarse male voice boomed from the back of the café.

  Al slammed the car door, grinding a few gears as he fought to get the car into reverse. A limping Ralph scrambled around to the passenger side and barely got in before Al tromped on the gas and, gravel flying, sped away. Heading east. The same direction Samantha and Zack would be going.

  He stared after the kidnappers, his heart thundering. He couldn’t remember a time he’d been more afraid. They’d come after Zack. Again.

  “Is everything all right?”

  He turned at the sound of the voice. A burly cook stood in the café doorway with a meat cleaver in his beefy hand.

  “Fine,” he called.

  The man nodded, then turned, shaking his head, and went back into the kitchen. Across the narrow street, several people eyed them from the back of a sporting goods store.

  Will bent to scoop Zack’s backpack from the dirt, still shaken. How many kidnappers tried to grab a little kid in broad daylight? Especially when they knew the second time what they were dealing with: Samantha.

  When he straightened, he saw that Samantha had the boy in her arms, crushing him to her, her expression a mixture of fear and anger and relief. She looked up at Will, determination burning in her eyes, revealing a strength of will that might have surpassed his own.

  The moment she released Zack, he ran straight for Will, hand outstretched, face pale.

  He handed the boy the backpack. Zack hugged it to his thin chest. Tears welled in the large dark eyes. What was in that damn backpack, anyway?

  Will shifted his gaze to Samantha. But she wasn’t looking at the backpack or the boy’s reaction to it. She was staring at Will.

  “Are you all right?” Her voice sounded close to tears, and she looked scared. With surprise, he realized her fear now was for him.

  He felt a bubble of pleasure, was touched by her concern. “I’m fine,” he assured her with a smile. Then he noticed the bruise darkening her cheek where Ralph had hit her. His gut clenched.

  “We’d better get going,” she said, putting an arm around Zack’s shoulders, her gaze coming up to meet Will’s. “Thanks.”

  He shrugged, desperately trying to come up with a good reason why he couldn’t go to Seattle. Of course, she wouldn’t want him along. She’d feel she had to protect him as well as Zack. But he liked that about her.

  “No, I mean it,” she said. “Thank you.”

  “You had it covered,” he assured her as he stepped over to the Bronco to open the passenger door for Zack.

  She seemed to hesitate before she went around to the driver’s side, as if she thought she should say something more.

  “Goodbye. Again.” She opened her door.

  He just nodded and leaned into the car. “Get in the back,” he whispered to the kid.

  Zack was fast on his feet, both physically and mentally. He grinned, then hopped in the back seat and buckled up, as Will straightened to look over the roof of the Bronco at Samantha.

  “What a
re you doing?” Her tone made it clear she not only knew, but was dead set against it.

  “Going to Seattle. Unless I can talk you into taking Zack to the police and letting them handle this.”

  “I can’t do that, Will.”

  He nodded, not in the least surprised. Hadn’t he known there was a lot more to this? Common sense warned him to walk away. Who knew what he was letting himself in for? And he could be pretty sure Samantha wasn’t going to tell him. On top of that, he’d lay odds that she still didn’t have a plan. That in itself should have sent him packing.

  But for the first time in his life, something stronger made him slide into the front seat and close the door behind him. If he’d had to put a name to it, he’d have called it insanity.

  SAMANTHA STOOD LOOKING over the roof of the Bronco, breathing deeply as she counted to ten. The man was impossible. He didn’t have a clue how dangerous this was or what was at stake. She didn’t even know. But she knew one thing for sure: nothing was going the way she’d thought it would. The kidnappers had tried to take Zack again and in broad daylight. Something was very wrong, and the last thing she needed was some contractor playing hero.

  She counted to ten again and then climbed in without looking at him. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?”

  “Not a clue.”

  “This doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

  “Or you, right?” he asked. “It’s just a job, right?”

  His tone made it clear he suspected this case was personal. “Speaking of jobs, don’t you have one you need to get to?” she asked, finally looking over at him.

  He smiled, although a little regretfully, she thought. His blue eyes were bright behind his wire rims.

  “Actually, I’m on a leave of sorts. Some personal things I needed to tend to. But they can wait.”

  He was just being a nice guy. And here she’d thought guys like him were extinct. They could be—if she let him get involved in this.

  “Please, let me handle this,” she said more kindly.

  He buckled his seat belt. “Believe me, I won’t get in your way. I’m just going along for the ride. I’ve heard Seattle is nice this time of year.”

  She shook her head. “I know you want to help—”

  “You really don’t expect me to walk away knowing those men haven’t given up?” he said, his gaze suddenly intent.

  So this was about protecting her and Zack. Under other circumstances it might have been funny, since she was trained for this and he wasn’t. She took a deep breath. He’d gotten in a couple of lucky punches in the café parking lot. But he didn’t realize the kind of people she was dealing with. He was a nice man with a comfortable, ordinary life, and he’d mistakenly thought the two of them had that in common.

  “Will, I appreciate your worrying about us, but I have to tell you, there’s a good chance it’s going to get a lot more dangerous, and quite frankly, you aren’t—” She waved a hand through the air. He was no Van Damme. “Trained for this.”

  He raised a brow. “But you are, right?” He smiled at her, all hundred watts.

  He did have a wonderful smile.

  “I promise to stay out of your way. Just ignore me.”

  Ignore him? He had to be kidding.

  Desperate, she thought about trying to force him out of the car at gunpoint. Great idea. She’d seen this particular set of his jaw before. Well, she could always handcuff him again. But she had a feeling it would take more than a kiss next time.

  “Is there anything I can say to change your mind?” she asked with a sigh. “Or make you come to your senses?”

  “Not until we reach Seattle and Zack is safe.”

  He had no idea what that might take. She had no idea what that was going to take. She glanced back at Zack. He looked pleased Will was coming along.

  She looked at Will again and felt a sharp pang of guilt. She’d done this to this man. Taken a perfectly normal man, kissed him, handcuffed him and ruined him.

  If he kept behaving this out of character— She hated to think what he’d do next. She’d have to watch him closely.

  Come on, admit it, you like having him along.

  Right, just what I need—a man who wants to protect me even though he doesn’t have a clue from what.

  Exactly.

  It’s stupid.

  You think it’s kind of sweet. And you know Zack likes him.

  Mumbling under her breath, she started the Bronco and backed out, wondering when she’d be seeing the kidnappers again. At least now she knew it was just a matter of time. The kidnappers wanted Zack too badly. Zack and his backpack.

  WILL FELT STRANGELY light-headed, senses heightened, heart pounding, adrenaline pumping.

  Reckless, was more like it. It was as if someone had taken control of both his mind and body. He was wearing another man’s clothing. Riding in a souped-up Bronco. On the run from criminals. With a woman who was all wrong for him and a five-year-old thief.

  And amazingly, what surprised him the most was that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so good.

  He watched for the dark green Oldsmobile as they drove through the sleepy little town of Malta. He didn’t think the kidnappers would make another move on them in town. But what did he know?

  She pulled up to the stop sign across from Honker’s convenience store and gas station at the junction for Highway 2. Then turned west.

  “We need another car,” she said.

  He glanced around. “Do you want me to look for one you can hot-wire?”

  She glanced over at him askance. “I don’t steal cars—” she said, sounding offended. Just kids.

  “I have a cousin who lives in Butte. We can borrow his pickup.”

  “Another cousin?” he asked in disbelief.

  “It’s a big family.”

  “I should say. Just how many cousins do you have?”

  She shook her head. “On both sides of the family? A lot. I’ve never bothered to count them.”

  He couldn’t imagine a family that large. His had been small—just his father, mother and sister. His father’s work required him to travel a lot, moving his family with him, never settling for long in one spot. If he had a lot of relatives, he wasn’t aware of them.

  The Bronco cruised down the two-lane, the land flat, pale-yellow dry and smelling of autumn. In the distance he could make out the purple smudge of a mountain range.

  She hadn’t driven far when she pulled down a fishing access road and stopped beside the Milk River, flushing a flock of Canada geese. The river water was brown, low and slow-moving.

  “Zack, sweetie,” she said, shutting off the engine to turn in her seat. “I’m sorry but I need to look in your backpack.”

  Will glanced over his shoulder to see Zack slip off one earphone. “What?”

  He was pretty sure the kid had heard her the first time and was just stalling.

  “I need to look in your backpack,” she repeated. “Please. It’s important.”

  Reluctantly, Zack lifted the pack from beside him, cradling it in his lap for a moment before he slowly handed it to her.

  Will watched with anticipation as Samantha dumped the contents onto the console between them. He was immediately surprised by how little was inside. And nothing, unfortunately, looked all that interesting. Just kid stuff. Candy and gum, some worn Pokémon cards, several Hot Wheels cars, a pen, some cash, a half-dozen CDs, several keys on a ring, and what looked like a credit card.

  He watched her rummage through the pile, wondering if he’d been wrong about something being hidden in the backpack. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected. Something of value. Jewels. A treasure map. Stolen plans. A microchip worth millions. He read too many mysteries.

  She picked up the cash, counted out more than fifty dollars, then dropped the bills into the pile again. She sorted through the CDs, fingered the keys for a moment, then looked back at the boy.

  Zack sat perfectly still, poleaxed with what appeare
d to be fear. What was he scared she’d find?

  “What are the keys for?” she asked.

  “My house,” he said, his voice small, barely a whisper. “And stuff.”

  Will reached back to reassuringly squeeze the boy’s thin arm. “What’s your house like?”

  Zack seemed torn between watching Samantha dig through his backpack and talking to Will.

  “It’s little,” the boy said quietly. “But I have my own bedroom.”

  Samantha picked up the credit card and studied it. She put it back down. He could see the name on it was Robert Walker. It didn’t belong to Al or Ralph, unless those weren’t their real names.

  “Where did you get the credit card?” she asked Zack.

  The kid shrugged. “Ralph.”

  “And the cash?”

  “Ralph.”

  It was clear Ralph hadn’t given either to him.

  Would Al and Ralph have tried to grab Zack again to get back fifty bucks? Will didn’t think so. He watched her sort through the rest of the items, making a stack of the CDs, several of which appeared to be computer games. Alien Attack by the Spider Planet. Weird World Warriors: The Final Battle.

  She searched through everything, studying the Pokémon cards as if she expected them to be altered in some way. She even checked inside the empty candy and gum wrappers.

  Will picked up the pen. It was from a Seattle bank. He unscrewed it and looked inside, immediately realizing he wouldn’t recognize a microchip if he saw one. He screwed the pen back together and handed it to Samantha.

  She glanced at it, but didn’t appear to find anything of interest, either. He wondered if she’d know a microchip if she saw one.

  “Zack.” She reached back to take his hand. “Those men took a heck of a chance trying to grab you in town like that. They seemed to want your backpack pretty badly.”

  The kid said nothing, just looked at her with saucer eyes, unblinking.

  “There has to be something they want in it,” she said. “Can you think of what it could be?”

  He shook his head as if it were a mystery to him, as well.