Jenna instinctively grabbed Eli. Matthew motioned for her to take the little boy into the bedroom, out of sight.
They both knew the reality of this situation: they were trapped in the cabin with no escape route.
She snatched Eli’s diaper bag and rushed into the bedroom.
This was it, the end. Her brain spun with panic. It had to be the authorities coming to take Eli away from her, arrest Jenna for kidnapping and give the child back to his father.
No, that wouldn’t happen, because Gary was on the run. So where would this precious little boy end up?
She shut the bedroom door. Eli squirmed against her, wanting to get down and play. She glanced at the closet. Her first instinct was to hide…
“No more hiding,” she said softly.
Instead, she put Eli down on the floor with a few toys, and she searched the room for a weapon, something with which to defend herself and Eli.
As she went through the closet, she decided she could use a wire hanger to poke someone in the eye. It would inflict more pain than was necessary, but it would serve the purpose, giving her time to get away.
Could she overpower a thug sent to retrieve her and Eli? If not…
She prayed that Matthew would stop the guy from getting into the bedroom. If he couldn’t, Jenna would be ready.
As she untwisted the hanger, she wondered how on earth Billings’s men kept finding them. Tracking them to Marcus’s cabin made sense because he was Chloe’s cousin, but how had they found out about this remote spot? Jenna was using a burner phone, and Matt had disabled his GPS. Maybe Chief Billings had tracked them from the recent phone call using triangulation? No, she’d watched too much TV. A small police department like Cedar River wouldn’t have access to such technology, would they?
Eli entertained himself by opening and closing the nightstand drawer, putting his bear inside, then taking him out. Jenna uncoiled two more hangers and folded them together to create a four-pronged weapon. She clutched the hangers in her right hand and pressed her ear to the door, but the wood was too thick to hear much. On one hand, she was relieved she couldn’t hear what was going on because that meant no one could hear Eli’s squeals of delight each time he’d find Bubba in the nightstand drawer.
On the other hand, her adrenaline pumped with the anticipation of the bedroom door crashing open and a violent encounter between her and one of Chief Billings’s men taking place. She stood behind the door.
Waited.
Inhaled slow, deep breaths.
Casting all your care—
A tap on the window made her yelp. She spun around and spotted Marcus waving from the other side of the glass. Rushing across the room, she slid the window open.
“Marcus, how did you—?”
“Later. Hand me the kid.”
She hesitated.
“Don’t second-guess yourself now, Jenna. The local police are on the other side of the bedroom door questioning Matt, and they’re coming in here next to search for you and Eli.”
Trust your gut. Patrice had taught her that. Well, Jenna’s gut told her Marcus was one of the good guys.
She tossed her weapon on the bed and grabbed Eli and his bear.
Marcus reached out and she passed Eli through the window. “Bring his bag. Don’t leave anything of his behind.”
She stuffed Eli’s things into the bag and dropped both hers and Eli’s bags out the window. She climbed out and landed on the soft snow.
“Close the window,” Marcus whispered.
She slid it down, aware of the blue and red lights flashing across the parking lot. Marcus motioned her away from the small cabin.
Jenna couldn’t worry about what would happen next.
About what was happening to Matt.
He’d want her to concentrate on keeping herself and the little boy safe.
Marcus led her down a shoveled walkway past four cabins to a clearing at the north end of the property. He opened the back door of an insipid dark sedan and placed Eli into the back seat of the car. Jenna climbed in beside the little boy.
“You don’t have a car seat,” she said.
“I’m hoping we don’t have to go anywhere.”
He shut the door behind her. She entertained Eli by offering him a toy truck. Marcus slid behind the wheel and shut the door.
“How did you find us?” she asked.
Marcus glanced over his shoulder. “Planted a tracking device on the kid’s overalls. Tried to tell you back at the cabin, but didn’t have a chance.”
“What happened with the men who took you into custody?”
“I told them you left yesterday. I said if they released me, I’d help them track you down.”
She snapped her attention to him.
“It’s called being a double agent,” Marcus said. “I convinced them I’m an innocent bystander who could care less about my cousin Chloe or Eli. It wasn’t hard to believe. Because my work is so all-consuming, I didn’t have much contact with my extended family.” He handed her a blanket from the front seat.
“Thanks.” She tried draping it around Eli’s shoulders, but he would have none of it. “Who took you into custody?”
“Said they were federal agents, but I’m not convinced. Their IDs didn’t look real, and once they figured out I could be bought, they let me go—well, with a tracker on my phone. They didn’t think I’d notice. Idiots.”
“So they followed you?”
“Nah, I tucked the phone beneath the front seat of an eighteen wheeler headed south. Anyway, picked up my spare vehicle from a storage facility outside of town and followed you guys here. I heard on the scanner that local authorities were checking out all cabins, resorts, you name it, in Bonner County. I figured once they questioned Matt, they’d move on to the next cabin, and when they’re done questioning everyone on-site, they’ll check it off the list and head west. After they’re gone, the resort will actually be the safest place to hide out for a few days.”
“Safe would be nice for a change.” Jenna glanced in the direction of their cabin, but couldn’t see anything. “Don’t you worry that they’ll come ask you what you’re doing sitting here?”
“They’ve already asked. Said I’d been driving for twelve hours and needed to catch some sleep. They bought it. They’re looking for a couple and a little boy, not a single guy who hasn’t shaved in a week.”
She wheeled one of Eli’s toy trucks across the leather seat. “By the way, Gary found me in the shed.”
“What? How?”
“I have no idea. You think he’s tracking Eli like you tracked him?”
“I should check the kid’s stuff. Hand me his bag.”
She passed it to him. “Gary seemed scared. He said he wanted out. That’s why they’re after Eli, for leverage against him.”
“What did that lug nut get himself into this time?” he muttered.
“This time?”
“I did a background check on the guy before Chloe married him. Gary likes to push the envelope. He built his business by breaking into secure IT systems and exposing their vulnerabilities. Maybe he broke into one system too many.”
“Or maybe he’s involved with the cartel.”
“What cartel?”
“Matt thinks there’s a connection between Chief Billings and the Guerro drug cartel suspected of laundering money through the foundation.”
“Does he have proof?”
“Not yet.”
“Too bad. That would put a quick end to all this.” He rolled Eli’s clothes up one piece at a time and repacked them in the bag. “It’s clean.”
“How did you track us?”
“Top right button on his overall strap.”
Jenna looked closely and saw a small dark disc.
“Cops are headed this way,” Marcus said. “Stay down.”
Jenna coaxed Eli onto the floor and draped the blanket over herself and Eli. “We’re in a fort, Eli,” she whispered. The floodlights from the parking lot gave off enough light to illuminate the blanket fort. Eli reached out with a dimpled finger, poked at the blanket and giggled.
Time seemed to drag by as she struggled to keep Eli entertained so he wouldn’t cry out for something, such as a bottle, which she didn’t have handy.
You can do it, Jenna. You’re a natural at this.
She dug into his bag for a new and exciting toy to entertain him. “What’s this?” She pulled out a clear wand with sparkling stars that glittered as they slid from one end to the other. The little boy’s eyes lit up.
She steeled herself for the tap on the window from police, demanding to check Marcus’s car again.
Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.
At least she knew God cared for Eli, an innocent child.
She used a visualization technique her counselor had taught her after she’d left Anthony. She pictured taking her anxiety and fear and forming it into a snowball, then hurling it toward a tree, where it exploded into pieces. She much preferred the freedom of release to the bondage of anxiety.
As she pointed the star wand up toward the top of their fort, she noticed her trembling hand.
Apparently her visualization didn’t totally ease the trepidation in her body.
“Look at those beautiful stars, Eli,” she said softly. “Blue and green and red.”
Eli grabbed the wand out of her hand and waved it left, then right. As he swung it over his head, he hit the blanket and she suspected they’d lose their cover if she didn’t act quickly.
“Eli, look at this.” She pulled a pink plastic pig out of his bag and made a soft oinking noise.
Eli giggled and mimicked her. She couldn’t help but smile.
She fully embraced this moment, even with danger looming close, and surrendered her worry to God.
“We’re clear,” Marcus said from the front seat.
Jenna threw back the blanket. “They’re gone?”
“They’re pulling out of the lot.” He slid a device out from beneath the driver’s seat and clicked it on. “Let’s listen in on the scanner.”
“Base, we’ve cleared the Lazy Shade Resort, over,” a voice announced.
“Where to next, over?”
“South to Coeur d’Alene, over.”
“Ten-four.”
Marcus glanced at Jenna. “Let’s get back to the cabin. We’ll leave the car here in case we need to make another escape out the bedroom window.” He winked.
“Eli’s going to wear a cape, like Superman, aren’t you, Eli?” She packed up his toys and wrapped the blanket around him. “Ready.”
Marcus got out and opened the door for her. She noticed he’d brought the scanner with him so they could continue to monitor police activity. Even though he said police had left the premises, she still found herself peeking between cabins to scan the parking lot for cops.
They made it back to the cabin and reentered the same way they’d left, through the window. The minute she put Eli down on the floor, he ran back to the nightstand to continue his game of hide-and-seek with Bubba the bear.
The boy was remarkable. If only Jenna could be as unflappable as Eli.
As she headed for the door to the living area, Marcus stepped in front of her.
“Let me go first,” he said.
He slipped his gun out of a holster at his belt and cracked open the door. She watched as his eyes darted left and right.
She instinctively went to stand near Eli.
Marcus pushed the door wide, stepped into the living area…
And froze, raising his hands.
* * *
The county police officer had asked pointed questions, which Matt answered directly. Then the cop said he needed to search the cabin. Matt held his breath when he pushed open the bedroom door, trying to figure out how to explain Jenna and Eli’s presence.
When the cop turned, thanked Matt and left, Matt bolted into the bedroom.
They were gone. Vanished. He rushed to the closet.
Empty.
He looked out the window. No sign of them.
Matt tried coming up with an explanation. She wouldn’t have taken Eli away.
Not willingly, at least.
He shoved the window open. Boot prints were visible in the snow. As well as a second set of prints, and both led away from the cabin.
They’d taken her and the child. Matt had failed to protect them.
Panic coursing through his body, he rushed into the living room and grabbed his jacket to go in search of Jenna and Eli.
Then he heard a thump in the next room. Matt stalked silently across the cabin, positioning himself beside the bedroom door.
It creaked open, and a pistol pointed through the doorway into the cabin.
“Drop the gun,” Matt said.
The intruder did as ordered and stepped into the living area.
Marcus.
Didn’t matter. Matt couldn’t trust anyone.
“Take it easy,” Marcus said.
“Drop the pack.”
Marcus squatted and let it drop off his shoulders.
“Matt—”
“Where are Jenna and Eli?” Matthew said.
“We’re here,” Jenna said, stepping up to the doorway.
He couldn’t look at her, not when he needed every ounce of attention to be on Marcus.
“Eli and I are fine,” Jenna said. “Marcus kept us safe. What are you—?”
“Go sit at the kitchen table,” he ordered Marcus.
The former Navy SEAL did as ordered.
“Jenna, tie Marcus’s hands behind his back. There’s duct tape in my bag.”
“But Matt—”
“Do it.”
She hesitated, and then followed Matt’s order. The little boy toddled behind her. Noticing the barrel of his gun pointed across the room, Matt felt remorse about Eli witnessing Matt’s aggressive stance.
But he had no choice. He needed to keep Jenna safe.
He wasn’t going to lose her again.
Jenna led Eli to the sofa and handed him his bear. “Bubba wants to play.”
Matt didn’t take his eyes off Marcus, who directed his gaze to the floor.
Jenna went to Marcus and tied his hands behind his back. “Sorry,” she said softly.
“It’s fine. Matt’s doing his job.”
Standing, she planted her hands on her hips and squared off with Matt. “I don’t get it. He’s on our side.”
“Don’t be naive, Jenna. He led the authorities here.”
It was the only explanation as to how they’d been found so easily.
“I didn’t, Matt, honest,” Marcus said.
Jenna wandered closer to Matt. “Then why would he protect me and little Eli?”
“It probably earns him a bigger payout in the end.”
“He’s Chloe’s cousin. Eli’s cousin,” Jenna argued.
“Then how did the police know to check this resort for us?”
“It was a random check,” Marcus argued.
“Because you knew we were here.” Matt leaned against the wall and lowered his gun. “How did you know our location?”
“He put a tracker on Eli’s overalls,” Jenna said.
“Making sure you don’t lose your payday, huh, Marcus?”
“There is no amount of money worth Eli’s life,” the man argued.
“Save it. I found out your bank account has a little over a hundred-dollar balance, and you’ve got a balloon payment due on your cabin next month.”
Marcus didn’t say anything at first. Matt supposed that was because it was hard to argue with the truth.
“I’ve got an explanation if you’re willing to listen,” Marcus said.
Matt nodded, not that he’d believe the man’s lies.
“I keep most of my money offshore to protect my clients’ identities,” Marcus explained. “I can log in on my phone and show you my accounts. I’ve got over three hundred thousand in my Cayman account.”
“You have an answer for everything, don’t you?” Matt said.
“Plus, the job I recently completed is going to deposit ten grand into my US bank account.”
Matt heard the man’s words, but his explanation didn’t ease the distrust in his heart.
“What can I do to convince you I’m on your side?”
“I believe him,” Jenna said.
Matt glanced at her innocent and trusting expression. How could she be so naive after everything that had happened to them?
“Marcus said they let him go because he agreed to be a double agent,” she said.
Matt snapped his attention to Marcus.
“He’s pretending to work for them so he can help us protect Eli,” Jenna continued.
“You’re too trusting,” he ground out, adrenaline still pulsing through his body.
“If he’d wanted to turn me over to Billings, he would have taken us away.”
“But he didn’t, and now they know where we are. We’re easy targets,” Matt said.
“Matt—” Marcus began.
“I’m not talking to you,” Matt interrupted him.
“Marcus said we’d be safe here because police checked the premises and didn’t find us, so there’s no reason for them to come back,” Jenna said. “We listened to the scanner. They’re headed south.”
Matt couldn’t take his eyes off Marcus, trying to logically assess the situation. What Jenna was saying made sense. Marcus could have left with Jenna and Eli.
But he hadn’t. He’d brought them back inside.
To Matt.
Because being here, in a cabin that had been checked and cleared, was the safest place for them to hide.
It dawned on him that Jenna was being the grounded one, while Matt orbited in crazy world.
Because he cared so much about Jenna. Were his feelings making him paranoid and distrustful when he didn’t need to be?
“May I speak?” Marcus asked.
Matt nodded.
“I’ll admit I agreed to be their spy to find you guys and expose your location. I could have done that just now, but I didn’t. Matt, I’d never do anything that would put Eli in jeopardy. You’ve gotta believe me.”
Silence permeated the room as Matt studied the man tied to a chair. Eli ran up to Jenna and raised his arms.
“What’s your story, little man?” she said, picking him up.
Protect them. You have to protect them.
“We need to pack up and get out of here,” Matt said.
“That’s a bad move—”
“Quiet,” Matt interrupted Marcus.
“Matthew?” Jenna said tentatively.
He glanced at her as she bounced little Eli in her arms.
“Why not listen to the scanner to see if it’s safe to leave?” She went to Marcus’s bag, pulled out a scanner and walked it over to Matt.
He holstered his weapon and clicked it on.
For the next few minutes they listened to the activity of local law enforcement. Cops were spread out everywhere. Of course they were, because a child’s life was at stake—a child with a phantom medical condition.
Leaving the resort and fleeing on any surrounding roads would be risky.
And extremely dangerous.
As Matt fought to find clarity, he struggled against the panic that had blinded him when he’d opened the bedroom door and they were gone.
“My gut tells me staying here is the best choice,” Jenna said.
Her gut told her. This woman who’d been abused by her former husband, chased by thugs for the past few days and survived more than one dangerous situation was relying on instinct. She was able to trust her gut, while Matt’s was a tangled mess.
Thinking critically, as an agent without a personal agenda, Matt catalogued the facts in his mind—Marcus’s background check had come up clean. Marcus could have turned Jenna over to Billings’s men—twice now—but he hadn’t.
Jenna and Eli were safe. They were here, right in front of him.
Because Marcus had protected them.
“You can leave me tied up if you want,” Marcus said. “I’m okay with that.”
Matt glanced from Jenna to Marcus and back to Jenna. They both looked at him like he was a little insane, maybe a lot insane, and with good reason. Matt’s perspective had been blown apart.
He was falling in love with Jenna North, which put both Jenna and Eli at risk.
“Look,” Marcus began. “Chloe didn’t have an easy childhood. My aunt and uncle were mean drunks. I saw what was going on, but I was just a kid. Chloe suffered her share of abuse and I couldn’t protect her. I’d really like to help protect her son.”
It was a reasonable request, an honorable request, from a man who loved his family.
Matt started to come down from his adrenaline rush and realized his paranoia stemmed from the feeling that someone close to them was feeding information to the other side, setting up Matt, Eli and Jenna to be snared like animals in a trap.
As he studied Marcus, the sounds of a playful little boy drifted across the cabin. A boy who was happy and safe.
Jenna touched Matt’s arm. He couldn’t look at her. He’d just lost his concentration, his professionalism. This time it didn’t threaten anything, didn’t put them at risk.
But next time?
Bottom line—the thought of losing Jenna had destroyed his ability to think clearly.
You’re in big trouble, Weller.
When she squeezed his arm, he glanced into her caring green eyes.
“What do you think?” she asked.
Voices echoed from the scanner and it was obvious that the county officers were heading away from the Lazy Shade Resort, in both directions. Assuming the thugs who’d been after Jenna, Matt and Eli were also listening to the scanner, and using that information to decide where to look next, Matt decided that staying put was a safe choice, at least for now.
He also admitted he was overreacting in regards to Marcus, whose background check had portrayed him as a dedicated soldier who’d earned a medal for valor in combat. What more did Matt want?
He crossed the cabin, pulled out his knife and cut Marcus’s hands free. “Sorry.”
“No problem. I appreciate how much you care about Eli.”
More like how much Matt cared about Jenna. Not good. He had to…
What? Stop caring about her? That ship had sailed and wasn’t coming back to port. Instead, he had to make a responsible decision: find a replacement guardian, someone who’d have the necessary perspective to protect Jenna, not put her at greater risk.
Jenna studied him with an odd expression, as if she were trying to read his thoughts. Matt turned to the counter to make coffee.
“I’m not sure what the plan is, but I’ve got a tablet in my bag if that’ll help,” Marcus said.
“Getting Gary to testify against the cartel would be the biggest help,” Matt said.
“That weasel?” Marcus went to retrieve his tablet. “Not likely.”
“What do you mean?” Matt asked, scooping grounds into the coffee maker.
“I did surveillance on Gary before Chloe married him.” Marcus sat at the kitchen table with his tablet.
Jenna continued to play with Eli, but her eyes were on Matt.
“As I told Jenna,” Marcus started, “Gary would hack into IT systems to prove his talent as a tech specialist. The companies he broke into were either so grateful that they hired him as a consultant, or in some cases they threatened to take legal action.”
Matt turned to Marcus. “Were charges ever brought against him? Because we never found any.”
“Nope. He only exposed his identity to companies that had something to lose.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Companies that were involved in questionable activity, maybe even criminal activity. Basically Gary would breach their system, they’d threaten to bring charges and he’d threaten to expose them. Then they’d back off.”
“That’s a good way to make enemies,” Matt said.
“You’re thinking this may not be related to the cartel’s money laundering?”
“Perhaps, except that Gary’s exact words were, There is no getting out,” Matt said. “That sounds like the cartel.”
“Although he didn’t come out and admit it,” Jenna offered.
“Maybe he didn’t want to incriminate himself?” Marcus suggested.
“It would help to have access to Gary’s emails,” Matt said.
“I know a guy—”
“We need to keep this legal,” Matt interrupted Marcus. “I’ll contact my IT guy at the agency.”
“Marcus, did you tell Chloe about Gary hacking into secure systems?” Jenna asked.
“She didn’t want to hear it. She was so in love, kept saying how her life was finally working out and she’d found a kind man to take care of her, someone who was the opposite of her dad. She was angry with me for trying to ruin her happily-ever-after and, well, we didn’t talk much after that.”
“She was in love with the idea of love and security,” Jenna said softly.
Matt sensed she was speaking from experience.
“Some would say Gary was pretty harmless, just manipulative for a buck,” Marcus added.
Jenna handed Eli a toy. “Not so harmless if his work put his family at risk.”
“True,” Marcus agreed.
Matt joined Marcus at the table, careful to avoid Jenna’s scrutiny. How was he going to do this? How was he going to leave her and Eli in someone else’s care and not share his reasons for the decision? Because he knew if he told her of his plan, she’d push back.
He sensed she was feeling it too, this pull between them.
“You okay?” she said with a questioning frown.
She knew something was up, and somehow he had to distract her from figuring out his next move.
“I’ll be better once we put an end to this thing.”
* * *
They spent the next day going through online files, even Jenna’s work files, to see if the flow of money was going through her foundation fund. She certainly hoped not. The thought of somehow being a party to the cartel’s money laundering sent a shudder down her spine. Is that why the big donations had come in? Because they were being funneled from the cartel?
While she took care of Eli, either Matt or Marcus would keep an eye out the window, as the other took the lead on digging into the case via the tablet.
Jenna stretched out on the bed beside Eli for his afternoon nap. As she lay there, humming the little boy to sleep, Matthew’s words taunted her:
I’ll be better once we put an end to this thing.
So would Jenna, although she admitted she didn’t want her time with Matt to come to an end. How dysfunctional was that? He was just doing his job, that’s all.
Yet last night he’d seemed irrational about Marcus being a threat. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to talk him out of his dark place. Ironic that she’d been the grounded one in that situation.
Ironic and refreshing. Jenna was learning to cope with dire situations more quickly than ever before. She no longer felt the need to run every time things got hard.
With a sigh, she studied the ceiling and pictured an easier life where she and Matt went for pizza, took Eli sledding, or even…attended church.
Wow, where had that thought come from?
She remembered him talking about how God had touched her life, how He brought the women of Gloria’s Guardians to her, how she’d developed strength through tragedy.
Matt’s words had resonated deep within Jenna. Somehow this man had peeled away the resentment encapsulating her heart, the anger she clung to against a God who never seemed to listen.
Yet hadn’t He? After everything she’d been through these past few days, Eli was safe. And Jenna was still safe too, even with a police bulletin out on her.
She silently thanked God.
As night darkened the cabin, Eli awoke in an irritable mood. She completely understood since she wasn’t one to wake up with a grin on her face most mornings either. She changed him, gave him his bear and went into the living room, where Marcus sat at the kitchen table, studying his tablet, and Matthew kept watch out the window.
“How’d you sleep?” Marcus asked.
Matthew glanced at Jenna and offered a strained smile, but didn’t say anything.
“Eli slept pretty well, didn’t you, little dude?” she said. He rubbed his cheek with his bear and leaned against her shoulder.
“Wish I could say we’ve made progress,” Marcus said. “But even the FBI tech can’t crack Gary’s code and back doors to his files.”
“So we’re no better off than we were a few hours ago,” Jenna said, heading into the kitchen.
“Jenna?” Matthew said.
She turned to him.
“We’ll figure it out.”
A sudden crash sounded from the bedroom.
“Stay here,” Matt ordered, drawing his firearm.
He rushed across the cabin and disappeared into the bedroom just as something hurled through the living room window, shattering the glass.
“Close your eyes!” Marcus shouted.