White-knuckled grip around the steering wheel, Lara drove through the night toward her meeting with Ronald and Vincent Drayton. During that horrible phone call while she was yet in the marshal’s custody, the senior Drayton had directed her to a location a few blocks away from the courthouse. This vehicle had been waiting for her and the baby with an infant seat installed in the back. She’d also been told to bring with her all documents designating her as a caregiver or custodian to Maisy. That directive had come with his pledge to let her walk away once they had the baby and the documents.
As if Lara was about to believe such empty assurances! But she’d kept that thought to herself.
Now that she’d acquired the car and left the city, she was driving fast to stay on the strict timeline the senior Drayton had given her to reach the destination that had been preprogrammed into the car’s GPS. Withholding the destination until she was already out of the marshals service’s offices had prevented her from leaving that information in a note for Ethan. He was smart, though, and he would catch on to what she needed him to do. She had to hang on to that belief, or she’d lose her mind with fear.
Vincent had also warned her not to attempt to contact anyone from the phone they’d given her. It was being monitored by his people. Any reaching out for help via text or call would result in the death of her mother. She would also face the same consequence if she were even a minute late at the meeting site, ensuring she wouldn’t dare stop anywhere on the way.
Vincent Drayton had dictated all the terms except one. Lara had stipulated that he and Ronald be present to personally take custody of Maisy. She’d absolutely refused to turn the child over to garden-variety thugs and stated she wouldn’t make a move out of the courthouse without their pledge to be on-site. Vincent had seemed impressed by her caution and care for his granddaughter, which offered her a glimmer of hope that he and his son would meet the stipulation. If they didn’t, this whole exercise would be a fruitless disaster, ending her and her mother’s lives for nothing.
But no matter what, at least those evil people wouldn’t get Maisy. She just needed to keep her adversaries from taking a closer look at the car seat. That doll would fool people only from a distance or in the dark. She’d have to think up any reason to put off letting them get near. Any delay or diversion would be golden, allowing Ethan and his rescue team an opportunity to catch up with her.
She reached out and touched the tracker she’d placed in the cup holder of the central console. Ethan, you’re on my trail, aren’t you?
On one level, the hours of travel crawled past, and she filled the hollow minutes with worship music from the radio and short, desperate prayers. On another level, the time flew by, and suddenly the GPS was telling her to make a turn onto a gravel road with her destination only a mile ahead. Minutes later, she arrived at a long driveway leading up to a building site.
Lara took her foot off the gas pedal and allowed the vehicle to coast up the driveway. Gravel crunched softly under the tires, and a pole light faintly illuminated the yard. Ahead and to her left was the burned-out shell of what must have been a house at one time. Ahead and to her right loomed a large barn, a bit rickety looking, but unscathed by the fire. A pair of large dark vehicles were parked in front of the structure. Golden light trickled from gaps in the barn door and shuttered windows. Her adversaries must be waiting for her inside.
Her pulse throbbed in her neck. She was about to come face-to-face with the people who had been trying to kill her and snatch Maisy. God, be with me.
She pulled the car over into a patch of shadows near the gutted house and sat still, struggling to draw in deep breaths. But she didn’t dare delay for long, or the bad guys in that barn would come out after her. She couldn’t have that.
With trembling fingers, she opened the car door and got out, custody papers in her hand. Balmy night air washed over her, carrying no trace of smoke, so the house fire must not have been recent. She locked the door of the vehicle, then looked down at the car keys in her hand.
Here goes.
With her best softball-star pitch, she flung the keys into the overgrowth around the house. If her adversaries wanted to get at the car seat and its occupant, they’d either need to find the keys or break into the car. The delay might come in handy. Of course, they might just shoot her down for hindering them, but it was a risk she’d have to take.
Squaring her shoulders, Lara trod toward the unwelcoming committee awaiting her in the barn. She hadn’t gone a dozen feet when the barn door opened and a rifle barrel poked out, pointing in her direction.
“Where’s my daughter?”
Lara’s heart jumped at the harsh voice. From fear, yes, but also exhilaration. Ronald Drayton was present, and presumably, the man’s father was also here. At least that much of her hasty plan had worked.
She kept walking slowly and waved the papers in the air. “Maisy is asleep.” A truth she was reasonably confident about—she simply omitted where the infant was sleeping. “We conduct our business and you let me leave. Then you can collect the baby carrier out of the car.”
“Stop right there,” Ronald Drayton ordered, and Lara complied. “How do we know you’ve brought her if we can’t see her?”
“Have patience, Ronnie,” a more mature voice admonished from beyond the door. Vincent. “What purpose would it serve Ms. Werth to have failed to bring our sweet Maisy with her? But if it pleases you, I’ll send Gary out to check that she’s there.”
A moment later, a large man with a big pistol stepped out the door. He scowled in Lara’s direction as he passed her on the way to the car. Lara suppressed a shiver as she looked over her shoulder to follow the thug’s progress.
Would the lifelike doll fool him? She’d placed a light blanket over the car seat, leaving only part of the doll’s head and hair visible. The precaution would have to be sufficient. Her gut tightened as the hired gun leaned close to the rear window and bracketed his face in his hands to peer in.
The guy stood up with a grunt. “She’s here,” he called as he turned and headed back toward the barn.
“Good,” said Vincent. “No need to disturb her yet. She will be fine there for the moment. Collect our guest and bring her inside.”
The thug grabbed Lara’s arm in a viselike grip and dragged her toward the door. She suppressed her natural instinct to pull away. The better part of wisdom right now dictated she go along. She stumbled over the threshold into the well-lit interior of the cavernous building, and her throat clogged as if a fist had closed around it.
No fewer than six heavily armed thugs formed a half circle around a tall, dapper figure dressed in a suit. Next to him stood an equally tall but muscular younger figure wearing a button-down shirt and pair of slacks. Vincent and Ronald Drayton, beyond a doubt. Otherwise, the barn was empty. Odors associated with animals and machinery were mere whiffs of memory.
Vincent stepped forward and held out his hand. “The papers, please.”
Without a word, Lara handed him the will and power-of-attorney documents. The man pulled out a lighter and lit a corner of the sheets. Wearing a faint smile that sent chills down Lara’s spine, he gazed at the flames until they had nearly consumed the papers. Then he dropped the remnants and stomped on them with his expensive shiny shoes.
“May I go now?” Lara dredged up her voice from beneath a layer of ice in her mind. Ethan, where are you?
“Certainly.” Vincent’s tone was cheery. “We’ll all go.”
He nodded toward the thug who still had her by the arm. The man grinned and pointed his gun at her. Lara went rigid. This is it, God. See You soon.
“Not in here!” barked Ronald. “For all the trouble she’s caused us, I don’t want her body or any trace of her ever found. Take her out back where there’s a nice field to plant her. I’m going to get my daughter.”
“Start the vehicles,” Vincent told his men. “I’m going to greet my granddaughter. Keys, please.” He held his hand out toward Lara.
She shrugged as casually as she could manage, which turned out more like a jerky-puppet movement. “I threw them in the grass.”
The elder Drayton narrowed his eyes and then strolled past her. “No matter. We’ll get the vehicle open in no time, with or without them.”
Lara was dragged by the arm in the midst of the herd as they moved en masse toward the open barn door. But as they stepped outside, a pair of headlights suddenly blinked on, illuminating their faces. Everyone froze, and Lara’s heart jumped. Ethan?
“Stop right there,” a familiar female voice called out. “I’m a great shot, and at this range, I won’t miss you, Ronnie, or you either, Vincent. Let Lara go.”
“Izzy?” Her friend’s name whispered from Lara’s lips.
The thug who had her by the arm released her and lifted his gun. Lara began to edge backward to the rear of the group, but Ronald suddenly grabbed her and dragged her in front of his body as a shield.
“You shoot me, honey, you shoot your friend.”
Lara struggled against the big man’s hold, but his arm snaking over her shoulder and down to her waist was like a band of iron. In his other arm, he held his rifle in a one-handed firing position.
With an oath, Vincent darted behind one of his gunmen. A shot rang out, and the thug in front of Vincent abruptly hit the dirt. Then everyone with a firearm began blasting away.
Lara lifted her foot high and brought it down with all her might on Ronald’s instep. The man yelped and loosened his grip. She jerked away from him and flung herself to the ground even as a feminine cry chilled her ears. Had Izzy taken a bullet?
“Stop firing,” Vincent screamed at his men. “You could hit Maisy.”
The dapper man began running toward the car Lara had driven to the site, but his son dropped to one knee and took careful aim with his rifle at his wife’s vehicle. Still on the ground, Lara kicked out at the man’s shin, and his shot went wild. Swearing, Ronald pointed his rifle down at Lara. Their gazes met, and the darkness in his core sent a shiver through Lara. His lips peeled back from white teeth, like a predator about to pounce, and the man’s finger curled around his weapon’s trigger.
A gunshot reverberated from a new direction, and Ronald screamed and flopped onto his back.
“Drop your weapons!” Ethan’s voice cracked through the air. “This is the marshals service. You are surrounded.”
Tears welled from Lara’s eyes as her entire body melted into a puddle on the warm earth.
At the head of his fellow deputies, Ethan hurried forward, gun extended. His team had left their vehicles on the county road and crept up on the site as quietly as possible. When the shooting started without them, they rushed in. Isabelle Drayton showing up a step ahead of them had been a total stunner. Now she might be wounded or even dead. Men were converging on her vehicle. Terry and another deputy grabbed Vincent, who had reached the car Lara had driven and was yanking at the door handle.
“I want my granddaughter,” he kept hollering over and over, even as the cuffs went on.
Ethan’s gaze focused on the knot of thugs. As Drayton’s crew dropped their weapons and raised their hands, Ronnie remained motionless on the ground. But where was Lara? There! Another figure was on the ground, but this one was moving.
Lara. Was she hurt?
His pulse hammered in his ears as he dropped down beside Lara, letting the others apprehend the hirelings. She was crying. He didn’t blame her.
“Oh, Ethan!” She flung herself into his arms and buried her face in his chest.
He wrapped her close, murmuring comforting words. His body began to shake. Until this moment, he hadn’t allowed himself to acknowledge how terrified he’d been since she’d gone missing. What did that say about how deeply he felt for this woman?
“Are you wounded?” he asked, stroking her hair.
“No.” She pulled back slightly. “Just so relieved. All my emotions are gushing out.” She lifted her head and gazed at him, eyes and cheeks moist. “You followed me. You found me.”
“How could I do anything else?”
And he wasn’t talking about doing his duty. Duty didn’t cut it. Not now and not ever with Lara. But did she feel the same way? Now was not an honorable time to make a declaration of love or press her for one. Like she’d said, emotions were running so high.
Now that the Draytons had been apprehended, would the time for declarations ever come? After all, she was free to resume her life. Would she even want him in it as a reminder of all she’d been through?
If this was the only opportunity he had to express himself, he was going to do this one thing. As she gazed up at him with shimmering eyes, he lowered his mouth to hers. She went very still and then wrapped her arms around his neck.
Could his fellow deputies handle the arrests without him? Yes, they could. Would they see him kissing the woman they’d just rescued? Yes, they would. Did he care? Not at all.