To Honor and To Protect

by Debra Webb

  The car slammed into Park and the driver cut the engine. Drew decided not to dwell on the obvious concern that their captors weren’t hiding location or faces. He’d cheated death plenty and intended to keep up his winning record now that he had two amazing reasons to stay alive. The men in the front seat climbed out and the back doors opened a moment later, flooding the vehicle with bright morning light.

  Drew hopped down, hiding his trepidation behind a cocky squint. “Nice place.”

  “Shut up,” the driver said, pushing him toward the nearest door.

  New Orleans was a fine town, but this grimy industrial area wasn’t the sort of area preferred by a man like Everett. This seedy environment was, however, just the sort of place Drew could navigate with expertise. Places like this lurked in the shadowy corners all over the globe, always controlled by the man with the most money and biggest weapons.

  Gang graffiti decorated nearly every rusting surface. Drew wondered how much Everett’s men had paid, in dollars or blood, to gain temporary control of this area. The ripe scents of trash, grease and stale fuel stained the thick, humid air. Drew hoped to turn his unfortunate affinity and experience with this kind of place into an advantage. Surely the powers that be would grant him that much, giving him a chance to create something good from the sorry remnants of his career.

  “Where are we?”

  Andy’s small voice sliced right into Drew’s heart.

  “I’m not sure,” Addi said, “but we’re together.”

  Drew didn’t turn, picturing mother and son holding hands as Everett’s men pushed them into the dreary interior of the warehouse. Two cars were parked near a wide garage door. Three battered couches and an oversize flat-screen television made up a seating area in the far corner. The windows of what might have been a supervisor’s office were covered with peeling black paint. An odd mix of industrial equipment was scattered around the space, but the stack of crates along one wall looked too new to be anything but valuable.

  Drugs or guns. Drew hoped like hell this gang was the gunrunning sort. He could hardly beat the crap out of this crew with drugs. He needed a weapon.

  The office door opened as they approached and out stepped Everett, looking preppy in a short-sleeved polo shirt, creased khaki slacks and loafers; Drew understood Addi’s comment about polish and charm. It wasn’t hard to picture them as an attractive power couple, able to give Andy every advantage. Drew wanted to bloody that smug face beyond all recognition.

  “Addison, so good to see you again.” Ignoring Drew, Everett reached for her hands, hesitating when he saw she was cuffed. “That’s ridiculous. Take those off.”

  The driver shook his head. “Not recommended.”

  Drew smothered a grin, remembering how Addi had clocked the other man when he’d grabbed Andy with too much force.

  “She won’t hurt me,” Everett insisted. To Addi, he said, “This can be over in minutes. A few answers and you and Andy can be on your way.”

  The driver made a snorting sound as he sliced through the zip ties binding Addi’s hands. Whatever delusions Everett was under, Drew knew they weren’t supposed to survive this meeting.

  As soon as her hands were free, Addi slapped Everett across the face hard enough to knock him back a step. The red handprint bloomed instantly across his freshly shaved cheek. Drew wanted to crow with pride.

  “Told you so,” the driver muttered.

  “Screw you,” Everett said to the driver. “Keep these two under control.” He shoved Addi toward the office. “I just need a few minutes.”

  Drew knew she wouldn’t break, yet it took all his willpower not to make eye contact as Everett led her away. Neither Everett nor his men could know how invested he was, or they’d kill him where he stood.

  * * *

  ADDISON HEARD CRAIG close the door behind her and she rubbed her elbow where his hand had dug hard into her arm. In all the time she’d known him, he’d never shown a ruthless side. Oh, she’d known he was a formidable force in a financial negotiation or conference room, she’d known he kept fit, but he’d never demonstrated this dark edge. She supposed that was why the truth of his illegal dealings had been such a shock.

  He shoved her into a cold metal folding chair and leaned back against an old metal desk, folding his arms across his chest. “Let’s do this the easy way,” he suggested. “Tell me what you think you know and who you’ve told about your theories.”

  “What theories?”

  “This isn’t a game or a courtroom, Addison. You ran away from home flinging accusations at me.” His quiet, unflappable tone strained her composure. “It’s been expensive tracking you down and I intend to make sure the investment was worth it.” He reached out, running a fingertip across her sunburned cheek. “You forgot the sunblock.”

  She refused to flinch. If he was focused on her, Drew could get Andy out of harm’s way. Getting that sunburn while her men had been fishing might be the last truly happy moment of her life. She wouldn’t let Craig cheapen it. “How did you find me?”

  He shook his head, his eyes hard as stone. “I’ll ask the questions. You’ll answer them.”

  “And then you’ll let us go,” she said, refusing to make it a question. Though he nodded she wasn’t buying it. She wanted to rail, to shout and scream that he wouldn’t get away with any of this. Not after what he’d done and what she assumed he would do in the coming moments.

  “Addison, who have you talked to?”

  “No one.” Technically it was true. Talking to Drew didn’t count, as he was officially “deceased” and she hadn’t shared any details of Craig’s activities. She’d sent emails and one snail mail package as insurance. Her stomach clenched as she realized that insurance would be used if Craig had his way here.

  He blew out a heavy sigh. “You’re wasting my time. I wouldn’t have been arrested unless you blew the whistle on me. You’re the only one who had access.”

  She pulled on the composure that had served her so well through depositions and negotiations during her legal career. “I don’t have any idea what you mean.”

  Craig leaned forward, his lips twisted in a menacing grin. “Why did you run from home?”

  She nearly blurted out the “adventure” answer she’d given to Andy, but she didn’t want to divert Craig’s attention. “There was a death in the family. My presence was requested.”

  “Bull.” Craig leaned back. “You don’t have any family beyond your son.”

  “That isn’t true.” Mama Leonie was family. Nico was family. Bernadette and Professor Hastings were family. Maybe not by blood, but some bonds went deeper, some roots were stronger. She didn’t expect a money-grubbing sellout like Craig to understand that.

  “Answer me!” Craig shouted. “Who else have you told?”

  She shook her head. “No one.”

  Craig grabbed her shoulders, shaking her hard enough to make her teeth clack together. “Addison, cooperate.” The chair rocked back when he released her with a violent shove. “Answer my questions now or I can’t protect you.”

  A chill of fear skittered down her spine. She didn’t fight it, embracing it instead and using it to hold her ground. “I have nothing to say to you, Craig.”

  He stared at her for another long moment, then moved around her chair and tapped twice on the door. In the interminable silence, she heard the squeak and scrape of footsteps in the warehouse coming closer to the office.

  Two men hauled in Drew and tied him to a chair at the other end of the room. Addison felt a wave of dread. Her hope of him saving Andy fizzled and died. Her son was alone with these terrible men. She had to find a way out of this nightmare or her dream of a family would be crushed again.

  “Who is this?” Craig demanded.

  My heart. My love. “A friend,” she said, hoping to protect Drew.

  Craig snorted. “Here’s how it will go, Addison,” he began. “I’ll ask you a question. You’ll answer me, or your friend will suffer. Is that clear?”
<
br />   “We don’t know anything about your problems,” she replied. Drew didn’t want her to talk, so she wouldn’t talk.

  “We’ll find out, won’t we?”

  She kept her gaze on Craig, not risking eye contact with Drew. If Craig discovered this was Andy’s real father, if he discovered how much she loved him, Drew would pay. And he’d already been through more than any person should endure.

  “Why did you run from San Francisco?”

  “I came out here to help a family in need,” she replied honestly. She and Andy were a family, and they’d definitely needed to get away from Craig.

  Craig raised a finger and one of the men behind Drew came around and punched him in the belly.

  She closed her eyes. “That was an honest answer.”

  Craig bent over, bracing his hands on his knees to look her in the eye. “They are going to rig a battery to your friend and electrocute him for every lie you tell me.”

  “Craig, this is insane. I can’t help you.”

  He gave another signal and suddenly Drew’s body jerked and seized. Addison’s resolve faltered.

  “Don’t talk, Addi,” Drew rasped as his body recovered.

  “Addi?” Craig turned on his heel. “You told me you despised that nickname, that it was weak.”

  “Is there a question in there?”

  Craig flung an arm toward Drew. “Who is he to you?”

  “My best friend,” she said as her heart raced on with more of the truth she would never share with Craig. My heart. My should-be husband. My son’s father. My soul mate. She’d been delusional to believe she could be satisfied with bland contentment when she harbored all this passion for Drew. Alive or dead, no one else had meant the same to her. Or to Andy.

  “I was your best friend. We were supposed to be on our honeymoon now.”

  “With blood money!” she shouted, furious.

  “It all spends the same,” Craig said with a slimy smirk. “You can’t judge me, Addison. I know who your clients are and how you ‘negotiate.’” He mocked her with air quotes.

  “I never traded innocent lives for personal gain!”

  “No?” Craig signaled and Drew’s body started quaking again.

  “Stop it!”

  “Tell me who you’ve told.”

  “Don’t talk!” Drew whispered between electricity-induced spasms.

  Addison wouldn’t dishonor Drew by giving in now, no matter how much it hurt her to watch him suffer. “We’ll get out of this,” she promised.

  “You want out of this? Tell me the truth!”

  Addison shook her head.

  Craig scrubbed a hand over his mouth and closed his eyes. “Get the boy.”

  “No!” Drew and Addison shouted at the same time, but Craig’s men were already moving, dragging Drew away.

  Tears streaked down her face. “You can’t do this,” she cried out. “He trusts you.”

  “Your choice,” Craig said as Andy was led into the office. “Whatever happens now is on you.”

  Andy’s eyes were wide as they led him to another chair out of her reach. “Mama?”

  She blinked away the tears, determined to be strong for her son. “Don’t worry. We’ll be out of here soon.” As long as Drew was breathing, as long as her heart beat, they would see that Andy survived.

  “Well?” Craig raised a finger, bringing those horrific battery cables too close to her son’s small body.

  The blood in her veins turned to ice. “If you so much as pluck a hair from his head, I’ll kill you.”

  Craig laughed. “Start talking, Addison, or I’ll prove just what an incompetent and incapable mother you are.”

  She swallowed, her jaw clenched as she tried to smile at her son. “Andy, get your stopwatch ready.” Anything to distract him. “Press Start when I say go and Stop when I stop talking.”

  “’Kay.” He chewed on his lower lip as he concentrated.

  “Go.” She met Craig’s hard gaze. “About six weeks ago, while I was cooking dinner, your phone beeped with a text message and I checked it. One of the names was familiar. You remember the ambassador’s assistant arrested for human trafficking?”

  Craig scowled, gesturing for her to continue.

  “Curious and a bit worried on your behalf, I started doing some digging into your financials. I didn’t actually speak to anyone about you. I gave the authorities a place to start looking into a troubling association. I trusted that if you were innocent you’d cooperate. If you had been innocent they wouldn’t have arrested you.”

  “But you left town.”

  Andy interrupted, announcing the time on his watch. She beamed at him. “Good job.”

  She looked up at Craig. “I left because I didn’t want Andy getting dragged into your problems.”

  “Too late.”

  “Apparently,” she agreed. “How did you find us?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  Oh, she was sure that it did. If Craig’s contacts had compromised Drew’s friend Casey, they were out of allies.

  “Who else did you notify about your discovery?”

  She shook her head.

  “How many volts do you think his little body can take?”

  “Shut up, Craig,” she snapped, adrenaline pounding through her system. She might not have Drew’s skills, but she had the benefit of being in full-blown mama-bear mode. “I’ve cooperated. Now let us go. I promise you’ll never hear from us again.”

  “Not so fast. I know you too well. You always have a contingency plan.”

  “Not this time,” she insisted. “There wasn’t any time. Discovering what you’ve been doing spooked me. I did what I could, then did what I felt best protected Andy.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  She shrugged. “That isn’t my problem. You did this to yourself,” she started, unable to keep a leash on her temper. “Quit lashing out at us with your guilty conscience. I’ve answered your questions. Now let us go.”

  “Who else knows, Addison?”

  “No one!” Professor Hastings wouldn’t open the package unless she failed to make contact on the tenth.

  “I’m satisfied,” a voice declared. Addison hadn’t noticed the cell phone on the desktop. Craig must have had it on speaker this entire time. “Clean up and come in.”

  “Yes, sir,” Craig said, his face a mixture of relief and regret. He tucked the phone into his pocket and turned to the men flanking Andy. “You heard him. Let’s clean up.”

  Addison cringed as they urged her son out of the chair. He raced across the room and took her hand. “It’ll be okay,” she said, determined those words wouldn’t become a lie. “You did a great job.”

  “I know,” he said, his smile wobbling. “Drew told me the secret of how to be brave.”

  “Good.” Probably some quote from one of their favorite comic books. Whatever it was, she was grateful for the positive influence. Andy’s hand felt so small in her grasp. She vowed to find a way out of this. Her son would grow into a man and she and Drew would be there to watch and support him along the way. She had to seize the first opportunity, she thought, praying she’d recognize it. “You’ll have to tell me that secret sometime,” she said as they were shoved roughly into the back of one of the cars parked inside the warehouse.

  “But he said you taught the secret to him.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Did you forget it?”

  “Of course not,” she said, though she had no idea what secret Drew had credited to her. Whatever it was made Andy feel better and that was the important factor.

  “I love you,” Andy said, scooting across the backseat of the car to sit close to her side. “Where are we going now?”

  “I’m not sure,” she admitted, battling back fear. Where had they taken Drew?

  The driver twisted around to face them. “You like to swim, kid?”

  “Yes,” Andy replied warily.

  “Well, I’m supposed to find the perfect swamp swimming h
ole for you,” he said with a nasty smile.

  Addison didn’t need a translator to get the hidden meaning. Craig—or whoever was calling the shots here—planned to silence them permanently. “I don’t have my swimsuit, Mom.”

  “It’ll be okay,” she assured him.

  “Or dry clothes. Or a place to put my watch,” he added. A worried frown clouded his face.

  She wanted to tear Craig apart for this. “We’ll figure it out,” she said. “I don’t want you to worry about anything.”

  “We can’t leave without Drew!”

  She glanced around, seeing no sign of him. “He’ll find us,” she said. Or they would find him. She wasn’t giving him up without a fight, whether or not he wanted to stay in their lives after this.

  “Oh, you’ll see him soon, kid. It’ll be a regular family picnic.”

  With that cryptic comment the driver started the car. The big overhead bay door rose with a groan and scrape of neglected metal and a rattle of chains across a squeaky pulley.

  As bright sunlight flooded the space, Addison shielded her eyes against the glare. This man planned to kill her and her son out in the swamp, where nature would be more than happy to clean up the mess. Odd as it sounded, even in her thoughts, she felt a surge of gratitude that Craig knew so little about her.

  Chapter Sixteen

  From the backseat of the black SUV, Drew watched the white sedan pull out of the warehouse and take the lead. He had three men with him, two in the front seats and one back here with him. That left only one or two with Addi and Andy, which gave her a fighting chance.

  He’d heard the orders to dump their bodies in the swamp and had been overwhelmed with relief when he’d seen her and their son walking to the car rather than being carried. No big surprise that Everett was too squeamish to do the dirty work.

  When Everett had taken Addi into the office, Drew had used the distraction to turn on the transmitter. With Andy’s help, he’d managed to drop the device into the couch where they’d been ordered to wait. He hoped Casey could mobilize a team quickly enough to snare Everett.