“The hell I don’t. I have an entire team of Navy SEALs who will do anything I ask. I won’t keep you from running, but at least let me help you get a head start under the cover of some of the best protectors in our nation.”
Kate let his words sink in a minute. He definitely had a point. “You would do that for me?”
“I told you, dammit. I’m not some one-night stand.”
She placed a hand against his face. “I’m beginning to see that. Let’s go, then. You can drive me to get Sarah.”
Chapter 15
Colt
Colt drove. Kate fidgeted in the seat beside him. She alternated between silence and barking directions to Sarah’s friend’s house. Colt reached across the console and grabbed one of her hands. “It’s going to be okay,” he reassured her. Somehow he needed to convince her to let him in further and explain what, exactly, she was running from.
She shot him a dark look.
As Colt drove Kate’s car, all he could think about was the fact that Kate and Sarah were not going to make it far in this run down, piece of crap excuse for a car. And if her life really was in danger, he couldn’t in good conscience let her go off with her four-year-old in a vehicle that might well give out one town over.
Colt brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “I really would like to help you.”
“Driving me to get my daughter is helping. It’s giving me time to calm down and think rationally. But as soon as I have her, I’m leaving.” She shot him a weak smile. “I’m sorry, Colt, that I dragged you into my very messy life.”
He tightened his left hand around the steering wheel. He didn’t want an apology. He refused to allow her to be sorry for anything that had happened between them.
“You didn’t drag me into anything. I willingly chose to be with you.” Colt reviewed the details of the morning. He thought back to the words of the note, not-so-subtlety calling Kate a rat. How she had reacted to the note and to the phone conversation she’d had immediately after. “Tell me this,” he said. “Are you in witness protection?”
She gazed at him for a couple of beats, then turned and looked out the window. “Take your next right.”
He took that as a ‘yes.’ “So, your name isn’t Kate?”
She laughed. “No.”
“What about Sarah? Is her name her own, or does she have a different identity?”
She turned to Colt and smiled. “No. I named her Sarah.” Her smile faltered. “Look Colt. Don’t ask me any more questions. The less you know the better.”
“I know enough about witness protection. You’re under no obligation to live your life alone forever. You did nothing wrong. And you surely didn’t know someone would discover your identity.”
“I really didn’t. You got me to relax, and for a brief moment I actually thought I could have something more—something with you. But I never intended to bring danger to your life. For that, I’m sorry.”
“Stop apologizing to me. And stop talking like you’re saying good-bye. You’re not alone, dammit. And you’re not the only person making decisions in this relationship.”
She turned to him again. “Colt. This is not a relationship. We both knew this was nothing more than a two-day fling. We agreed, remember?”
“We’ll see about that after we get you and Sarah to a safe place.”
Kate lifted a finger and pointed ahead. “See the house with the white SUV out front? That’s Sarah’s friend’s house.”
Colt pulled in front of the house.
“Leave the car running,” Kate said.
“Want me to come in with you?”
“No. It’s going to be strange enough. I’ve never brought a man home to meet Sarah. And she’s not going to understand when we don’t return to our house.”
“You go get Sarah.” Colt was going to call Tex and give him a heads up that he might need a little help. “It would help if I knew who left the rat on your front porch.”
She glanced toward the house, then back at Colt. He wanted so badly to make her feel safe.
“I’ll be right back.” She leaned over and touched her lips to his, then pushed the door open and started for the house.
Colt immediately dialed Tex’s number.
“Hey, Filly. What’s up? Didn’t expect to hear from you the rest of your time o—.”
“Tex, I need your help.”
Tex was injured years ago and now served as an analyst for several counter-intelligence units, including Colt’s. He must have heard the urgency in Colt’s voice. “Name it.”
“The woman you guys met last night is in WitSec.” Colt watched as someone answered the front door, and Kate disappeared inside.
“Witness Security? Are you sure?”
“She all but confirmed it. Someone left a dead rat on her porch this morning, the second in as many days. She freaked, called someone, and I heard her ask how someone had broken out of jail yesterday.”
“You think this person who broke out of jail left this rat on her porch?”
“She doesn’t think so, but someone has discovered her identity, and is tied to the guy that escaped prison. See if you can find something for me.”
“I’m on it. Any idea how long she’s been in witness protection?”
“I’m guessing a little over four years.” If she gave Sarah her name, and her name wasn’t changed, he assumed Sarah was born after Kate went into witness protection.
Colt watched the front door. But no movement. “Why is she taking so long?”
“Where are you now?” Tex asked.
“Kate has a daughter. We’re picking her up.”
“Oh, man, you know how to find complications. Oh, wait… I think I have something.”
“What is it?”
“Jake Boone, member of Samael’s Army, an outlaw motorcycle gang out of Lexington, Kentucky, escaped from the infirmary at the Kentucky State Penitentiary late yesterday,” Tex read. “Authorities are on the lookout for a woman who has regularly visited all of the MC members since they were incarcerated four years ago… Holy shit!”
“What is it?” And why wasn’t Kate coming back out?
“This woman is the spitting image of Kate, only older and with darker hair.”
“Send it to me.”
“Done. And I’m sending you a link to an article.” Colt could hear Tex clicking around on his computer. “I remember this. I can’t believe it’s been four years. It was a drug thing. Carfentanil, I think. These idiots were manufacturing a drug that is known mostly as an elephant tranquilizer and testing it out on Lexington’s homeless and prostitutes in tiny quantities to enhance the affects of heroin. Gray Packstone was the ringleader. The woman, whose picture I just sent you, is his mother. His father was also convicted of a slew of charges. Oh… and get this… Charley Packstone, Gray’s twin sister, was killed when police stormed the warehouse where the drugs were being made.”
“Is there a picture of Charley?” Colt asked. Something in his gut told Colt that Charley did not actually die in that raid.
“Let’s see… Here we go. Oh man…”
“It’s Kate, isn’t it?”
“ʼFraid so, buddy.”
“And now these gang members know she’s alive. They’ll kill her.” Colt tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. “Why isn’t she coming out? I’ve got a bad feeling.”
“Where are you? Want me to send help?”
Colt thought about it. He was watching the house; his eyes scanning every window. A curtain in the front window moved. Someone was watching him. “I might be overreacting, but yes. I’m in a neighborhood on the outskirts of town. I’ll text you the address. Call Wolf. Tell him to grab Abe and whoever is available and get in the car. Tell them to call me when they’re on their way.”
Colt hung up, then, after sending Tex the address, pushed out of the car. Just when he was rounding the vehicle, he heard glass shatter. A single gunshot rang out and hit the passenger door of Kate’s car. Colt inst
inctively ducked down and took cover behind the vehicle.
He heard screams from female voices inside the house, followed by a man yelling.
He pulled his gun from his ankle holster, but realized quickly that he was at a major disadvantage.
His phone rang. “Wolf, some asshole has Kate trapped inside a house with her four-year-old daughter and at least one other small child and another adult.”
“Did you call the police?”
“Not yet. You do that, I’m going in.”
Chapter 16
Kate
“Mommy,” Sarah screamed and hugged tightly to Kate’s neck.
Kate was kneeling, holding her daughter close with one arm while keeping her other hand free. She was kicking herself for not arming herself before entering the house. She had completely underestimated how much the people who wanted her dead knew about her whereabouts. Obviously, someone had watched her closely enough to know about Sarah and where Sarah had been staying the past couple of days.
Sarah’s friend, Ashton, was hugging her mother on the other side of the room. Annie looked worried, but strong. They were in the dining room in the front of the house where Jake could watch out the front window while hidden behind thick curtains. Kate could still see to the street through white sheers, but saw no sign of Colt.
Jake was waving his gun around. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked. He had just shot at Colt, and was pacing irrationally back and forth in front of the window. Jake had shaved his head and was wearing jeans and a T-shirt that were at least one size too big. His eyes were crazed as he paced; his pupils dilated like he was strung out on something. He had to know he didn’t have much time before police tracked him down, which made him desperate and likely to do anything to not get caught again. And coming here proved to her that his need for revenge was greater than his desire to stay out of prison.
Kate kept trying to see if he’d actually hit Colt. God, she hoped not. She didn’t want Colt or anyone losing his life because of her.
“Jake, I will tell you anything you want to know. Just let these three go.” Sebastian, Annie’s husband, was at work. Kate assumed that Jake had figured out where Sarah was, and since a man was with Kate at her house, Jake came here to wait like a coward until Kate showed up for her daughter.
“Let them go?” he yelled. “I’m not letting anyone go.”
“Just send them to another room so we can talk.”
“No, Mommy,” Sarah cried. “I don’t want to leave you.”
Kate held Sarah away from her body and framed her face gently. “Listen to me. You’re my strong little girl, right?” Sarah nodded as a tear slid down her face. “I need you to help Ashton and Annie, okay?”
“Okay.” Her little lip quivered.
Kate looked up at Jake again. “Jake, I’ll tell you everything. How the FBI jammed me up. How I was pregnant…”
Jake angled his head. “You knew you were pregnant and didn’t tell me?” He held the gun up in the air, tapping it to his head like he just couldn’t wrap his brain around the idea that she would hide her pregnancy.
Kate wasn’t sure what he would do if she told him that Sarah wasn’t his child.
“Jake, you’re scaring Sarah. You don’t want to scare these beautiful little girls. Let’s you and I talk.”
Jake took two steps toward Kate and pointed the gun at her temple. “I should kill you here and now. That’s what the club wants me to do. And it’s what you deserve for keeping this from me.”
“Mommy,” Sarah whimpered.
Jake pointed the gun at Sarah. “Stop your crying.”
Kate reached out her quivering hands, a scream caught in her throat. She bit it back, not wanting to spook Jake. “Please Jake. Don’t point the gun at her.” Her voice cracked, but she held it together. “You don’t want to hurt her.”
He pointed the gun at Kate again. “You’re right. It’s you that deserves to suffer.”
Kate pushed Sarah away gently, while keeping her eyes on Jake’s. “Sarah, you remember the story of Little Red Riding Hood?”
Her daughter stiffened beside her, and her eyes grew big. “Uh-huh.”
Kate hated to scare her daughter further, but she had to pull out the story that Kate had read to Sarah since she was old enough to even remotely understand that people like the big bad wolf existed. Sarah knew that if Kate ever mentioned the story of Little Red Riding Hood, she was to not ask questions, but do as Mommy said, in silence. Of course, that’s all well and good in theory. In reality, her four-year-old daughter was terrified.
“I want you to go with Annie and Ashton. I’ll come find you when Jake and I are done talking, okay?”
Her eyes filled with even more tears, but she nodded anyway.
“Don’t worry about me. I promise, I’m going to be okay. Jake won’t hurt me.” Kate reassured Sarah, knowing she could be wrong. “Now, go with Annie.”
Annie reached out and grabbed Sarah. She pulled Sarah and a crying Ashton out of the dining room and away from Kate and Jake.
Kate’s heartbeat was thumping loudly in her head as the hard edge of the pistol rested against her skin. She vowed right then that given the opportunity, she would kill Jake for pointing that gun at her innocent little angel. The idea that she ever considered marrying the man who was now holding a gun to her head—who had pointed the same gun at a four-year-old child—sent a new level of energy through her.
Jake smiled. “Even your mother wants you dead.”
Kate looked up at Jake. Even though his words didn’t surprise her, they still stung like a knife to her heart.
“That’s right. Who do you think made sure a photo of you and the kid landed in my hands? Who do you think told me where to find you? She’s been following you for weeks. She got your brother all riled up, and she came up with a plan for me to bust out of prison.”
Even with the gun to her head, Kate stood and stared Jake straight in the face. It had been her own mother who put dead rats on her porch. The same way members of the MC had threatened Brooke Fairfax, the FBI agent who had helped Kate fake her own death. “Why didn’t my mother just kill me herself?” she asked through gritted teeth.
“She thought I deserved the chance to see my child—the child you never told me about.”
Jake had his back to the front window. Out of the corner of her eye, Kate saw Annie and the girls running to the street. Annie had a phone to her ear, talking into it as she ran.
Kate heard sirens in the distance.
Jake heard them, too. He straightened. He reached out and grabbed Kate by her hair at the nape of her neck and pulled her toward the doorway. “Let’s go find my daughter.” He looked into the next room. “Where did they go?” he demanded. “The police won’t do anything if they know I have four hostages in here.” He turned right out of the dining room and began checking the other rooms. He threw open doors as he went. “Where’d they go?” he screamed, getting more and more irate.
Jake had never been the sharpest tack. Add his stupidity to the obvious desperation not to get caught again and whatever he’d taken to make him so high, and Kate was facing a very dangerous man.
He dragged Kate into the master bedroom on the first floor of the house and shoved her to her knees on the hardwood floor. He put a gun to her head again, and said in an eerily calm voice, “Come out here right now, Sarah. Your mommy needs you.”
The house was silent except for the distant cries of police sirens.
“Tell me where they went,” he said.
She simply looked up at him with a stone cold look of pure determination. Through gritted teeth and a low voice, she said, “You will never get your hands on my daughter.”
His face grew red. He drew his arm back, and with a closed fist, hit Kate in the side of her temple. The pain in her head exploded like a canon. She fell to the floor. The residual ringing in her ears drowned out all other sounds. Whatever Jake said after that was muffled inside her head.
Kate rolled
from side to side on the hard floor. Jake straddled her and held her arms over her head. This time when he put a gun to her head, she knew he would end her life. And the only thing that gave her peace was the fact that her little girl had gotten away. She laughed. “You could kill me, but it won’t change the fact that you’ll be dead soon after.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.”
Chapter 17
Colt
Colt slipped around to the back of the house. He’d darted from behind Kate’s car after the first shot nearly hit him, but he was surprised that whoever was inside didn’t continue firing.
He eased around the rear of the house, slowing when he reached windows, and snuck a peek inside. He was on the back deck and peered inside a window into the kitchen. No one was there, so he continued. He saw no movement in the living room, but he could see a doorway that had to lead into another room where the person who fired the shot would have been.
His phone vibrated, and he answered.
“Talk to me, Colt,” Wolf said.
“I can hear the sirens. The cops are nearly here. I’m at the back of the house. I don’t see anyone yet.” Just as he said that a couple of shadows moved near the doorway where he had his eye trained. “Wait.”
A woman backed out of the room. One girl was hugged into her side, and the other—Sarah—was being pulled out, but she wasn’t fighting it.
“From what I can tell, the two little girls and the other mother are safe. I don’t know how many others are in the house, but I suspect it’s only Kate and whoever fired at me. I’m assuming that person is Jake Boone, who escaped from prison yesterday.”
“Don’t do anything stupid. Help is on the way.”
Colt hung up without making promises. He knew his SEAL unit was still too far away to help him, and the police would be coming in hot, which put them at a distinct disadvantage for entering the house undetected like Colt could. The one thing Colt knew for sure was that if that was Jake Boone in there and Kate was the one who ratted him out four years ago, he didn’t come here just to catch up. He and others from his motorcycle gang wanted Kate dead.
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protected in Darkness (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 7