“Do a U-turn,” Lara blurted out.
“But we’re in a cul-de-sac. There’s no way out.”
“I know a way.” No time to second-guess herself now.
Deputy Marshal Ridgeway whipped the SUV around. He’d complied without further question? She could examine her astonishment at his lack of argument later.
“There!” She pointed toward a paved bike trail that led between two houses opposite hers on the street. “That trail leads out onto a through street.”
Shouts came from behind them, commanding them to stop, but the deputy gave his vehicle gas and they lunged toward the slot between the houses. A gunshot reverberated, and Lara ducked, but there was no shattering of glass or ping of bullet against metal indicating they were hit. Another shot, but again there was no sign the bullet had done any damage.
The walls of the homes flashed past on either side of their SUV, and they broke into the open, straddling the slight dip that was the bike trail between the two backyards. With a jolt, they hopped the curb onto the street beyond. Horns honked as they darted into moderate traffic, but the deputy marshal performed a smooth right turn and merged into the flow.
“That was close,” Lara said. “I’m amazed we weren’t hit when those goons started shooting.”
“They were trying to scare us into surrendering, not endanger the baby by actually hitting us. If they shot this kid they’re assigned to abduct, the Draytons would shoot them.”
“But that doesn’t mean they won’t kill you or me if they get the opportunity?”
“Now you’re catching on.”
“Where are we going? Vincent Drayton’s people are in town looking for us, and now they know what you’re driving.”
“I don’t dare head straight for the safe house. We’d just pull our enemies after us. Guide me to the police station. You and Maisy can be protected there until we can figure out a way to get you to a secret, secure location.”
“Keep going straight on this road until I tell you to turn.” Lara’s stomach twisted. “How long will Maisy and I need to hide in this ‘secret, secure location’? That’s no way to live.”
“Impossible to say, Ms. Werth, but we’ll do our best to capture the Draytons as quickly as possible.”
“Call me Lara. Now that we’ve been shot at and fled from gunmen together, it seems silly to stand on ceremony.”
“Deal. And I’m Ethan. I’ll be on your protection detail, so we could be spending a significant amount of time in each other’s company.”
Ethan got on his radio and notified the station they were coming while Lara settled back in her seat and checked on the baby. The little girl seemed unfazed by the wild activity. In fact, her eyes were drifting closed. Time for the morning nap, apparently. Smiling, Lara took one of Maisy’s hands, and the infant curled her fist around Lara’s pointer finger as her whole tiny body went limp in peaceful slumber. There went that warm, gooey effect the baby had on Lara’s insides.
If things had worked out between her and Matt, she might have her own baby by now. But then, marrying her ex-fiance would have been a horrible mistake, nearly on par with Izzy’s choice of husband. Little Maisy, though, was a treasure nobody could regret.
Ethan said there hadn’t been enough time for her to form an attachment, but this little one may as well have grabbed Lara by the heart as by the hand. Lara was a goner, and it was going to be a tremendous wrench when the time came to give Maisy back to her mother.
“You can turn left at this next stoplight,” she told Ethan. “We’re only about a mile from the police station now. Mostly a straight shot with one more right turn onto Pearl Avenue.”
“Let’s speed this up, shall we.” Ethan flipped some switches, and the vehicle’s sirens and lights came on.
Traffic ahead and around them moved aside as they roared up the road. Lara gripped her armrest tightly as they sped toward safety. Her gaze darted here and there, attempting to read the traffic for danger, but dark sedans were all over the place. It was impossible to tell which ones might contain enemies. They’d probably left their attackers behind, but being shot at tended to cause hypervigilance.
She didn’t have Maisy’s ability to simply relax and trust. Blithe confidence used to come easily, but that was before she’d invested her future in Matthew Sebring and found out how duplicitous and manipulative some human beings could be. That horrendous breakup, practically on the eve of the wedding, had left her with emotional scars as well as an aversion to any hint of being bossed around or controlled. Probably why her guard had gone up automatically against Ethan’s overconfident assumptions about what she should do with Maisy.
Lara rubbed her thumb across the back of the baby’s little hand. The skin was soft and smooth as warm butter. God, please help. This little one deserves Your watchful care.
“We’re going to protect you,” Lara whispered to the child. “You can trust us.”
“We’ve got an escort,” Ethan said as, halfway to their destination, a pair of marked police cars joined them. One took the lead position and the other pulled into formation at their rear.
At last they drove into the parking lot of the stone-fronted civic building, with its large round clocks on three sides of a short tower crowning the entrance. The officers emerged from their vehicles and escorted Ethan and her, carrying her go pack, the baby’s bag and Maisy still sleeping in her carrier. Once through the doors, Ethan went into the bowels of the building with an officer. Another one guided Lara and Maisy to what must serve as a small conference room. Vague odors of scorched coffee and stale pastries tinged the air. Lara set the carrier on a table, took a seat and put her head in her hands.
She should probably call her mother and let her know what was going on, but she dreaded the difficult conversation. Mom would worry and fuss and feel helpless. But what if her mom was in danger, too? These people knew who Lara was, and clearly, they were determined and ruthless. Would they try to use her mother to get her to give up Maisy? Or was Lara being melodramatic from watching cop shows on television?
Lara lifted her head from her hands to find Ethan standing in front of her. An involuntary jerk flowed through her body. The man moved like a panther, stone quiet and loose-limbed. His blond hair was a slightly lighter shade than hers, and his eyes were more hazel brown than her hazel green with gold highlights.
Those piercing eyes studied her now. “Are you all right?”
“I’m worried about my mother.”
The man pursed his lips. “Is she your closest relative?”
“Yes. My dad passed away nearly fifteen years ago. There are a few uncles, aunts and cousins, but we’re not close with them. Too scattered all over the country.”
“Good thinking about your mom. Where does she live, her place of work, that sort of thing?”
“Mom lives in Chicago. That’s where I grew up—where I knew Isabelle from high school. My mother’s name is Doris. She volunteers all over the place and organizes charity events. I can give you her home address and phone number and name a few of the charities where she donates her time. I have no idea what her schedule is today.”
Lara gave Ethan the information, and he took note of it.
“I’ll notify my office to locate her and put her in custody for the time being,” he said with a nod.
Lara snorted. “I’ll be impressed if you can pull that off. She’s a stubborn creature of habit and not likely to let her daily activities be disrupted by murderous thugs or officious deputies.”
A smile lit Ethan’s face, and it stripped away the businesslike air that he exuded. Lara dropped her gaze. No ring on his finger. That didn’t mean he wasn’t married, but it increased the probability of singleness. Of course, she couldn’t allow his marital status to matter to her, especially when the guy was too good-looking for her peace of mind.
Not to mention forceful, smooth talking and turn-you-to-putty beguiling when he smiled. All part of the recipe that had sucked her in once before. Ethan didn’t look anything like Matt, but their behavior traits were too similar for her to feel comfortable in his presence. Of course, Ethan had listened to her advice when they were escaping the cul-de-sac. Something Matt never would have done.
“Sounds like my mother,” Ethan said. “Maybe you should call her first. Give her a heads-up. Want me to give you some space?”
“Please.” Lara unzipped the pocket of her go bag that held her phone. She pulled out her cell as Ethan panther-prowled from the room. She dragged her eyes off his broad back and onto her phone. As she was about to tap the screen and initiate the call, a throat cleared from the vicinity of the doorway. Lara looked up.
A freckle-faced woman wearing a dark pantsuit and a serious expression stood in front of her. “Please come with me, ma’am. We have more comfortable accommodations arranged for you and the baby.”
“I was just about to call my mother.”
“You can call from there. It’s not far.”
With a mental grumble, Lara put her phone away, shouldered her go bag and picked up the baby’s bag and carrier. The woman escorted her up a hallway, striding about half a step behind Lara. Something in the tension of the stranger’s carriage raised the hairs at Lara’s nape.
“Where are we going?” Lara began to slow her gait, but her escort crowded in close to her side and something hard poked her in the ribs. A gun? A shiver coursed down Lara’s spine.
“Not a sound,” the woman hissed. “Keep moving straight ahead.”
A fair distance away stood a large metal door marked Exit. They passed a small office where a woman sat typing, her gaze riveted on her computer screen. They moved past another room where the door stood slightly ajar. Several voices carried to Lara, one of them Ethan’s.
The gun jabbed her hard. “Not a peep!” her captor said in a tone of velvet-wrapped steel.
No doubt existed in Lara’s mind that this woman would shoot her without a second thought. She was on her own against a killer who wanted to kidnap the baby in her charge. It would all be over for her if she allowed this woman to take them out of this building.
She had to do something. But what? She was no ninja fighter. Ah, but she was fit and fast from long hours of hiking and climbing to photograph and film her vlogs.
At her next step, Lara pretended to stumble forward. She released the baby bag and the carrier, which hit the floor with a small thump. Crouching and keeping herself between the gun and Maisy, she whirled her heavy go-bag toward her captor in one smooth motion. The woman cried out and her gun went off. Scrambling away, Lara lost her footing and hit the floor hard on her backside. She gaped up at the killer she’d struck with her pack. The woman’s lips peeled back from her teeth in a snarl as she recovered from the blow and took aim straight at Lara’s face.
The sound of a gunshot zinged an electrical charge through Ethan. Drawing his weapon, he raced into the hallway and pulled the trigger on the armed woman standing over Lara. Another shot echoed his own. The woman had fired, but she was already going down from being hit by Ethan’s bullet. Her shot went wild, striking the light fixture above their heads.
“Lara, are you all right?” Ethan called.
“Maisy!” Lara cried out as she scrambled toward the car seat, where the startled baby had begun to wail. She unbuckled Maisy from the seat and gathered the infant into her arms.
A pair of officers crowded into the hallway and began to secure the woman Ethan had shot. Ethan skirted around them and reached Lara, who was seated on the floor, clutching the fussing baby.
“You’re both all right?” he asked as he knelt beside them.
“Barely.” Lara’s voice was gulping and breathless, like she’d been running a marathon. “I couldn’t let...that woman take us...out of here.”
Ethan could hardly blame her for panicking. She was more than entitled after resisting an armed kidnapper at the risk of her own life. He leaned closer, patting Lara on the back and stroking the infant’s downy head. The delicate floral scent of Lara’s shampoo accented by the crispness of a woodsy soap graced his nostrils. Much like the woman herself, delicate on the outside but sturdy as an oak on the inside.
Pulling away from Lara and the baby, Ethan scowled toward the gunwoman. The would-be killer was cursing and moaning and clutching her bleeding leg as her weapon was stripped from her and she was cuffed.
“I want to know how this person got in here,” he told the officers, “and I want to know yesterday.”
At his bark, one of the officers jerked a nod toward him. “Right away, Deputy.”
The other officer hauled the injured woman upright. “We’ll escort her to the hospital for treatment and make sure she’s kept secure.”
“Do that.” Ethan returned his attention to Lara and Maisy. “Jackson is becoming too hot. An informant notified us that the Draytons have put out a sizable reward for anyone able to bring them Maisy uninjured and—” He halted before completing the sentence. Lara was scared enough as it was. He could tell her the rest later, when they were in a secure location. “I would imagine all the greedy, ruthless pond scum in the area are converging on the town now. The small PD here isn’t going to be able to handle the influx of hard cases.”
Lara offered a somber nod as he helped her to her feet. “We need to get out of here.” She bounced Maisy gently, and the child’s whimpers subsided. “What is it you aren’t telling me about the situation?”
Ethan released a soft groan. He might have known he wouldn’t be able to hold back from this perceptive woman.
“Apparently, an official contract has been issued on your life. The Draytons don’t want anyone left alive with a legal claim on Maisy.”
“What?” Lara gasped. “How did they find out about the power of attorney assignment and what’s in Izzy’s will? I only discovered those documents this morning, and law enforcement found out shortly thereafter. Is there a leak in your department?”
Ethan shook his head. “We think it might be worse than that.”
Lara’s face washed pale. “The Draytons must have Izzy. She’s the only one who could’ve told them about the authority she gave me. Do you think she’s alive?”
“We don’t know.” Ethan closed his hand firmly around Lara’s arm. “But we’re going to keep you safe and keep Maisy out of the hands of ruthless criminals.”
The depth and strength of his assertion sent a shock wave through him. Sure, he was doing his job, but this felt like...more. Not possible. He mentally shook himself. This couldn’t be personal. He’d just met this woman. His duty was everything. That’s all this was, and he would tell himself that until he believed it.
They walked up the hall and returned to the conference room.
“A marshals service helicopter is on its way to pick us up,” he said. “While we wait, let me bring you something to drink. Water? Coffee?”
“Thank you. I could use some water.” Lara’s gaze dropped toward Maisy as the little girl started to cry and suck on her fist. “I’m hardly an expert on babies, but I think this little one is telling us it’s time for her midmorning snack. Hold her while I mix up the bottle.”
Before Ethan could think twice, Maisy was in his arms. The little bundle squirmed and kicked. Her face puckered into a fierce scowl and turned red.
“It’s nothing against you.” Lara chuckled. “When a girl’s hungry, she’s hungry.”
“I guess.” Ethan smiled and bounced the baby.
Even throwing a fit, the child was adorable. This little one had her whole life before her. Who knew what great things she could become and do with the proper nurture and opportunities? No way could he allow her to be snatched and raised by criminal gunrunners, regardless of their biological kinship. If Isabelle Drayton was no longer alive, he’d seen enough of how Lara thought and operated to know that Maisy would be in good hands.
Their well-being was in his hands. He couldn’t, wouldn’t, fail them, especially by allowing emotion—specifically, this unwelcome attraction to Lara Werth—to interfere with his focus.
Finished with bottle preparation, Lara held out her arms for Maisy, and Ethan surrendered the child. Lara sat down in a nearby chair, gave the infant her bottle and in a split second, the tiny body went from rigid and squealing to relaxed and guzzling. Ethan smiled at the tender tableau—Lara with her blonde head bent over the infant while Maisy gazed back at her benefactor with big heart-stealing eyes.
“Ethan, buddy.” Terry’s voice yanked Ethan out of the very sort of emotionally charged contemplation he’d vowed only seconds ago to avoid when it came to Ms. Werth. Maybe he should go back to calling her that formal name simply to preserve proper distance—and his own sanity. He turned toward his partner.
“I heard what happened,” his partner said, stepping farther into the room. “Glad to see everyone is okay. Seton is hospitalized under guard. I’m guessing the same will happen with the unidentified woman. Neither one is talking. Surprise. Surprise.”
“I won’t be surprised if we get a hit on the woman’s identity when we run her prints. Someone with her ruthless savvy has been on the wrong side of the law for a long time and is likely to have a record. What I’m still wondering is how she got into the building.”
Terry rolled his shoulders. “Chief Taylor of the local PD stopped me on my way back here and said she presented herself at the front desk as the insurance representative he was expecting this morning. Had a business card and everything. She knocked the real representative out cold in the parking lot, left the woman in her car and took the card. She successfully passed through the metal detector, and the dispatcher buzzed her in. As soon as she entered, she downed the guy with a plastic taser and took his gun.”
“Resourceful.” Lara summarized Ethan’s inner reaction in a word. “Clearly, we’re not dealing with mindless thugs.”
“Don’t worry,” Terry said. “We’re getting you and the baby out of here and to a safe location pronto. The chopper is landing as we speak.”
“Are you ready?” Ethan asked Lara.
“Let Maisy finish her bottle. I also need to change her and then make that phone call to my mother. Oh, and I really could use that water.”
“The phone call is out of the question,” Ethan said. “No time. Let our agency secure your mother.”
That familiar mulish look came over Lara’s face. “But—”
Ethan held up a hand. “The situation has escalated, and the Draytons have the technological resources to tap your mother’s phone. We don’t want to alert any listeners that she’s being taken into custody before we have her in hand. In fact, I need you to give up your cell until this is over. As for the water, once we’re in the chopper and away, we’ll all hydrate.”
“I might even be able to rustle up a few sandwiches for the journey.” Terry chuckled and left the room.
Lara sniffed and scowled. “You know, you and your partner are a study in contrasts. Buttoned down versus hanging loose. Hydrate versus rustle up.” Her sour expression smoothed as she busied herself changing the baby. “I’m sorry. That sounded critical, but it was more of an observation.” She offered a small smile.
Ethan forced a return smile to cover the inner cringe. Was he really so stiff and formal? If he were truthful with himself, he’d have to agree with her assessment. By the book and distant was the persona he snapped in place when on duty. Too bad this woman seemed to have a knack for sneaking past his guard. He’d have to be more careful than ever from now on. In order to maintain a clear head to keep her alive and the baby safe, he needed to hold them at arm’s length.