by KB Winters
On The Run
The Elite Series Part Nine
By KB Winters
Copyright © 2016 KB Winters
Published By: BookBoyfriends Publishing LLC
Copyright and Disclaimer
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 KB Winters
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of the trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Contents
On The Run - The Elite - Part Nine
Copyright and Disclaimer
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Epilogue
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More From KB Winters
Acknowledgements
About The Author
Dedication
This book is dedicated to the brave men and women of our armed services who put their life on the line everyday to protect our freedom.
Thank you for your service.
~ KB
Chapter One
Chase
“All right, we have officially run out of the good stuff,” I announced, laughing as I wiped at my mouth to remove the lingering taste of the sorry excuse for wine that filled my glass. The sun was setting on another day spent with Melissa and Jackson in our little corner of paradise. The days were simple, but deeply satisfying. We all kept busy enough to block out the reminder that the only reason we were living in a remote, beachside cottage was for survival. After dinner, Jackson liked to go out and play on the beach, and Melissa and I enjoyed our own private happy hour on the front porch.
I lifted the offending bottle of wine and checked the label. It had been a gamble, but we’d run out of the supply on Matt’s boat a few days ago, so I purchased a few different bottles on our last trip to Manzanilla for groceries and other supplies. This one was a no-go. I smiled at Melissa across the table. “You were smart to bow out this round.”
Melissa smiled softly down at her glass of sparkling water. “Good to know.”
My own smile faded at the sad look in her tired eyes. It had been a few days since I’d seen her smile, despite my attempts to cheer her up. A few days ago she’d fallen into a darker mood and remained low spirited and somewhat out of it. Not that I could blame her. Sure, we’d found a pretty sweet little spot to hunker down, but it still wasn’t her home—not even close. With her husband’s money, I had no doubt her mansion back in the Palisades was the stuff most people couldn’t even dream up.
I pushed the glass of wine off to the side of the table. “Is everything okay, Melissa? I mean, other than an upset stomach.” I reached across the small table and brushed my fingers along the back of her hand. Jackson was playing a few yards away and we’d agreed not to show affection in front of him. I enjoyed having Jackson around, his spirit and energy lifted the mood and provided comic relief when it was desperately needed throughout the day, but I was ready for him to go to bed so I could have Melissa to myself.
It wouldn’t be long, he was sitting on the sand, and looked about ready to call it a night. Something we’d both appreciate.
Or, at least, I thought we both appreciated it. Over the past few days, Melissa had become withdrawn from both Jackson and myself. She was lost in her own world and I had no idea how to find her and bring her back out again.
She looked up from her water glass and nodded. “Yeah, I’m good. I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”
“Tell me how I can help,” I replied, tracing my thumb over the back of her hand. “That’s what I’m here for, remember?”
Melissa nodded. “I know, Chase. Believe me, you’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty. I’m just ready for all of this drama to be over with. But somehow, it feels like that’s never going to happen.”
“It will.” I held her gaze and saw a flicker of doubt. “I’ll call Matt first thing tomorrow and see what’s going on. Will that help?”
“Sure.” Melissa glanced down at our hands. I studied her and wished I could get inside her head to see what she was really thinking about.
“Melissa…”
She pushed away before I could finish getting out my question. “I’m exhausted, Chase. I think I’m just going to get Jackson off to bed and turn in too. I’m sorry.”
I stood up. “You don’t have to apologize. I’ll get this all cleared up. Get some rest.”
She called Jackson from the shore and after he paused to say goodnight to me, they went off towards the bedroom they were sharing without so much as a glance back at me. I ached to kiss her goodnight. It had been a couple of days since the last time we made love. Thinking back, I realized that her mood change and the last time we made love all lined up. Had I done something wrong? Said something wrong? Was she feeling guilty because she was still married? Or worried that Jackson might find out what was going on?
I rubbed my eyes and then dragged my hands down the rest of my face. I wasn’t used to working security jobs by myself. Even though we were safe and relatively settled in, I found it hard to sleep at night, especially after the close call in Cabo. I tossed and turned most nights and got up several times to go check the house at the slightest noise. My body was screaming at me to rest and recharge, but I couldn’t turn it off. As a result, I was driven by large doses of caffeine. Luckily, while the wine wasn’t my taste, the locals could roast some amazing coffee beans. I was already looking forward to my first cup of the morning as I trudged off to my own bed.
Something had to change or we were all going to be miserable.
* * * *
The next morning, I woke up and after checking in with Melissa and Jackson, who were mid-pancake flip, I went outside to wander the shore and call Matt. He answered on the third ring and I figured he’d just woken up based on the low timbre of his voice. “Matt Hart.”
“Matt, it’s Chase.”
“Chase! What’s the word?” he asked, perking up.
I drew in a breath, wondering where to start. “We’re safe. Everyone’s good. But we’re getting a little antsy for news. Please tell me you have something.”
Matt groaned. “Nothing good. At least, not yet.”
“Well lay it all out. I’ll filter before reporting back to Melissa.” I raked a hand through my hair and glanced back at the cottage.
“O’Keefe hasn’t responded to the divorce papers yet. It could be a while before we hear anything more on that. In any case—he’s not making it easy. Not that I expected him too. I have a handful of people lined up that will testify on Melissa’s behalf in regards to her parenting methods and overall character. I haven’t found a way to disprove the doctor that O’Keefe has lined up to talk a
bout her fictitious stint in rehab. Still working on that.” Matt sighed. “The other complication is that my PI dug up some new dirt. It looks like the FBI has started poking around into some of Henry’s business dealings. Most notably his last development deal in Stallion Bay. He built a massive resort there a couple of years back and there were some questions over the way he got his permits.”
“What kind of questions?”
“Well, it seems the entire town—including the mayor—were against the whole thing. But that son of a bitch swooped in and got his way. Funny thing is, the mayor ended up dying. It didn’t appear suspicious, but now the feds are raising questions about it.”
“Shit.” My mind spun with the unspoken accusation. “And he’s linked to it?”
“I don’t know. But the FBI is doing some digging and unless O’Keefe has someone on the inside there—which, I wouldn’t necessarily doubt—he’s going to be tangled up with them for a while. I don’t know what they’ll be able to shake out, or how long it’ll take, but for the time being, the investigation has taken some of the heat off of the divorce. Or at least his attention. He probably doesn’t want any more lights shining on his business right now.”
“Makes sense.” I shook my head, marveling at how slippery Henry was turning out to be. How long was this monster going to manage to escape?
“How long can he possibly drag this whole thing out, Matt?”
“As long as he wants. He’s already responded to the divorce, but he can get extensions till the cows come home. Same with custody. He hasn’t yet, but who knows what he’ll do?”
I nodded, adding the new information to my mental file. “Hopefully the FBI can catch him in the act or find something that will stick.”
“Let’s hope.”
I turned away from the house and walked a few more yards down the shore. “I think Melissa’s starting to lose her patience with this. I’ve done everything I can to make this easier on her. I’ll ask her if she knows anything about Stallion Bay or the FBI. Maybe she knows something that could be a clue.”
“I wouldn’t. She’s got enough on her mind.”
“Fair enough. What about you? Any more goons I need to add to my list of people to hunt down when this is all over?”
Matt chuckled. “No. I sometimes see a familiar looking car but then, right as I start to worry, I’ll see the driver and realize that it’s not one of his men. Or, goons, as you would say.”
“From what you’ve told me, it sounds like O’Keefe has quite an army built up. How can you be sure he’s not changing drivers every few days? It’s not like we’re dealing with an amateur here.”
“I suppose that could be the case. But no one has approached me and since changing the office over to an answering service, the nasty phone calls have stopped. What about you guys? I know you can’t tell me much, but no more problems?”
“Nope. There’s no way in hell they can find us.”
“Glad to hear. Well, we better wrap this up. Send my best to Melissa and give Jackson a high five or whatever it is kids his age like to do.”
I laughed. Matt was definitely a ladies’ man but had no interest in children—whether they belonged to him—or someone else. “I will. Take care of yourself and call me if anything changes. I wouldn’t be surprised if this whole thing blew up in the next couple of weeks.”
“I agree. It has a critical mass feel to it. Something’s gotta give. O’Keefe can’t cover his tracks forever.”
I held back the argument that men with O’Keefe’s resources actually could cover their tracks forever. It wouldn’t help and Matt needed to have my vote of confidence. Not my paranoid anxiety.
We said goodbye and I pocketed the phone before going back down the shore and into the cottage. As soon as I stepped inside, Jackson came flying at me, a plate of pancakes hoisted over his head. “Hot off the grill!”
Melissa laughed softly. “Griddle, Jackson. The grill is what we use for the giant fish that you’re going to catch me later today.”
I laughed and took the plate from Jackson before he ended up wearing a pancake top hat. “Thanks, buddy. What do we have today?”
“Peanut butter and chocolate chips with a banana I picked from the tree out back.” He balled his hands and set them on his hips, puffing out his chest with pride.
“Whoa, sounds amazing! These might knock blueberry out of first place.” Since settling down at the cottage, both Melissa and I had worked to find ways to keep Jackson active. Each day consisted of little routines and traditions that kept him happy and content without other kids or the usual entertainment he was used to from his life in California. Each morning started with a pancake feast, as the ingredients were easily accessible and quick to make. Not to mention they were delicious. Jackson had taken it upon himself to come up with a new recipe every few days for us to try.
I took my plate of pancakes into the dining room and sat down opposite Melissa who still had a full plate in front of her. She caught me watching her and looked down at her short stack with renewed interest. But when she cut a small triangle from the stack, I thought I saw her grimace ever so slightly.
“Did you talk to Matt?” she asked before forcing down a bite of her breakfast.
“Yeah. I just got off the phone with him. Not much to report, unfortunately.” I glanced over at Jackson who was still in his pajamas. “Hey buddy, if we’re gonna get a jump on the fish you better go get dressed.”
He hopped up and scampered down the short hallway to his room and seconds later I heard the door click closed.
“Is there something I need to know?” Melissa asked, setting down her fork.
I leaned against the table and braced myself on my elbows. “His lawyer responded to the divorce papers and asked for an extension. But as Matt just explained to me, that doesn’t mean anything except they’ll put your court date on a calendar. I’m assuming Matt can stand in on the preliminary stuff for you and Jackson, no?”
“Yeah, I think. I wonder why Henry postponed it. Probably so he can get his thugs riled up. Asshole.”
She raised her eyes to mine and I wanted to read her thoughts. I considered her for a long moment, debating what to say. She cut off my thoughts, “Chase, I thought you promised to shoot straight with me? Just tell me what Matt said.”
“Henry’s got the FBI on his ass in regards to his resort property in Stallion Bay. More specifically, the way he went about getting his permits.”
Melissa shook her head, clearly not understanding the situation. My hope that she might have some dirt on Henry we could pass along to the FBI quickly evaporated. “Permits? Why would the FBI care about Henry’s permits? That sounds like something the county or maybe the state would be interested in. Not the feds.”
“Right, except for the fact that the mayor, a staunch opponent to the development, passed away right before Henry was able to get the actual permits. Then magically, he got his way.”
Melissa’s hands flew to cover her mouth. I hated to be the one to reveal just how deep and dark her soon to be ex-husband’s depravity was, but she deserved to know the truth. I wasn’t going to be another liar and deceiver. She’d already dealt with too much of that bullshit.
I held up a hand. “We don’t know anything yet. It’s just an investigation. But from what Matt said, it can be a positive thing for our case. Your case, I mean.”
Melissa nodded slowly and dropped her hands to the table. She pushed away her half eaten food. If she didn’t have much of an appetite before, then she certainly didn’t have one now. “I keep thinking that I’m going to wake up from all of this and things will go back to the way they were before. Instead, it feels like I just keep tumbling farther and farther down this rabbit hole. I’m beginning to wonder if there’s ever going to be an end.”
I tried to reach for her hand from across the table but she pushed up from the table and left me alone in the dining room. I sighed, pushed my plate away, and leaned back in my chair. I’d lost my appetite as
well.
Chapter Two
Chase
Once breakfast was cleared away, Jackson appeared all suited up for a day of fishing. Melissa waved us off from the front porch as we started off to our lucky fishing spot. I didn’t like leaving her behind, mostly because I didn’t think hours alone, in a near silent house could help her mentally, but I didn’t argue with her decision. Around noon, Melissa came down to bring us some sandwiches and then spent the rest of the afternoon with us. When we had a few fish and were worn out and dirty, we trudged back to the cottage. Melissa took Jackson off to get cleaned up and I took care of prepping the fish for dinner.
As the evening settled into the rhythm of our routine, I relaxed and cracked open a beer since the wine sucked. The only thing holding it back from being the ending to another perfect day was the worry in Melissa’s eyes. As I cleaned the fish, I wondered if I should have held back some of the information that Matt had given to me. It wasn’t that she couldn’t take it. She could. She was incredibly strong. But I felt guilty for adding more worries to her already weighted down shoulders.
I got everything ready and went out to the back patio to start a fire on the small, charcoal grill. I hummed an old Navy song to myself and didn’t hear Melissa approach. I jolted at her hand on my shoulder. “Oh, wow. You’re sneaky, little miss.”
“I was a jewel thief in another life,” she said, smiling up at me.
I raised my eyebrows, surprised by her first real attempt at a joke or banter in days.
She laughed softly. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Scare me? Nah. Big tough guy, remember?”
“Right.”
“Is everything okay?” I asked, running a hand down her arm. “Jackson seemed to have fun today.”
“A little too much fun. I put him straight in the tub. The wet wipes weren’t gonna cut it.” I laughed and she joined in. Melissa nodded. “He’ll probably be in there for a while, so I figured I’d come see if you needed a hand with anything.”