It was horrible the events that had pushed Heather over the edge—her husband’s grim death only the beginning of the struggles that lay ahead for her. Trying to manage a toddler and a newborn on her own would be hard for Heather. Toni hoped she had family or that Joshua’s would be around to help. The Grimaldi Foundation and Toni herself would be making sure they did all they could, and not just in the short term—Toni had already made the decision that the Cain children would have all the financial support they needed. Heather was certainly going to need some professional care too. Toni was convinced of that.
Now if she could just get Heather to put down the gun and let her help, life would be a lot less stressful.
* * * *
The tingle in Jason’s back had progressed steadily in the last few minutes to that of a knife stabbing him. There had to be a concrete reason for his ill ease.
“How long has she been in there?” he asked Chris for the second time since he’d watch Toni walk up the path to the house. Even though he’d been watching her every move, Toni had disappeared inside so fast Jason hadn’t even got a glimpse of the poor widow. These visits were taking their toll on Toni, and Jason was looking forward to them coming to an end.
Only one more to go. Only one more and it will all be over
.
Jason could see Chris’ eyes reflected in the car’s rear-view mirror. Chris had been watching him intently for a while now. “It’s been ten minutes, J-man. What’s got you so antsy today? Toni normally sits with them for over an hour. What’s up?”
Jason heard the apprehension in Chris’ questions and wondered whether it was for him, his state of mind, or if Chris was sensing something too.
“I wish I knew, mate, but I don’t feel good about any of this. The state of the house, the drawn curtains, the fact I didn’t see this Heather Cain woman before Toni disappeared inside. I’m probably just letting my imagination run away with me, but I just dunno.” Jason rubbed his hand over his chin and neck trying to soothe the tension in his jaw line.
He heard the rustle as Chris shifted himself around to look him in the eye. Jason had seen that look on Chris’ face before, recognized it for what it was. “You feel it too?” Knowing that Chris was concerned didn’t make Jason feel better. Any sliver of hope that perhaps he was overreacting ripped away with the knowledge that Chris was sensing something too. They both couldn’t be wrong on this. Toni was in trouble.
“Yeah I do. This whole thing smells bad. I think you should go check on her. Or do you want me to, so Toni doesn’t rip your balls off, if we’ve both got it wrong?” Chris offered.
Tempting as it was to get Chris to do his dirty work, Jason needed to see Toni was okay with his own two eyes and needed it to happen in the next few seconds before he lost his mind completely.
“Thanks for the offer and your concern for my well-being, but I think I can handle this one,” Jason replied but the comedic element he was trying for to lighten the mood didn’t work.
He opened the car door and got out, before shutting it silently behind him. With a soft tread, Jason made his way toward the front door of the house. He took a moment to stop and listen through the door.
Maybe if I can hear her voice, hear them chatting like woman do, I won’t have to announce my presence and I can slink back to the car and forget it ever happened. Chris will keep quiet about the whole paranoid episode…
He couldn’t hear a thing, not a sound. The stabbing feeling between his shoulder blades got worse. Surely he’d be able to make out some kind of sound—the house wasn’t that well built? At least some noise from the kid. Jason had read all Tom’s reports and the Cain family had a two-year-old boy. Jason didn’t know much about kids but what he did know was that they were usually loud.
Noiselessly Jason inched his way toward the front windows. The curtains were drawn but he hoped that he’d be able to set his sight on Toni or her host through a gap somewhere.
He was in luck. There was an opening on one side of the window. It looked like someone had pulled the curtain closed too firmly. As he took a quick peep through the opening, Jason’s heart nearly stopped. Toni was sitting in the middle of the room on a wooden, straight-backed chair. Her head was turned away from him. Jason couldn’t see her face but he could see what was holding her attention. There was a woman sitting in a chair to her left holding a gun, positioned awkwardly across her lap.
The fact that he had been right all along was not really any comfort to Jason at that moment, as he tried to digest all the information at hand. The soldier in him overrode the desperate and panicking man to take control of the situation. He had to get out of sight but taking his eyes off Toni at that moment was the hardest thing Jason had ever had to do. Forcing himself to crouch back down below the windowsill took an enormous amount of self-discipline. Jason did his best to breathe normally, his heart racing, as he tried to figure out a way to get Toni out of there.
There has to be another way in
. Strategies and plans to accomplish the objective started to form in Jason’s mind—where possible entry points in a house of this design would be found.
If Chris can get in there from somewhere out back, distract the woman with the gun, it will give me time to come through the front and
surely between the two of us, we can disarm her. No, Chris needs to disarm her first. Maybe I should distract her, give him an opportunity to get that gun. She won’t be expecting an attack from behind
.
Keeping his body low to the ground and out of sight, Jason crept back to the car to fill Chris in on the situation. The distance may have only been a few yards but it felt like he’d traveled miles before he reached his destination. Chris was already out of the vehicle waiting for him.
“What do you need me to do?” Chris asked, his voice lowered, but it was clear he’d figured out that all was not right.
“We need to get her out of there. Toni is sitting in the front room just a few feet from that window—” Jason pointed out the location to Chris. “There’s a woman sitting to her left, holding a rifle on her. You need to find a way into that house from the back and be ready to move when I go in the front door. That gun has to be taken out of the equation first, and quickly. I’m thinking if I cause a distraction, you can get your hands on it.”
Jason was regretting his decision to leave his gun back at Haven Security headquarters. Australia’s gun laws were strict, carrying a weapon very unusual for the common Aussie. He’d had to go through some strict licensing requirements to even own a firearm. So there weren’t that many occasions Jason thought it necessary to be armed, let alone feel the need to draw his weapon.
He more often than not carried a stun gun—not completely legal either but a better alternative to putting a bullet in someone. Jason had always believed, after seeing so much death with his time in the Army, that it was better to try to defuse a situation without the use of deadly force. But that all had changed now his woman was being threatened. If he’d had his Glock 22 strapped to his ankle, he’d have been tempted to put a bullet in Heather Cain then spend the next fifteen to twenty years behind bars. And he would have done that time happily, knowing Toni was out of reach of that damn rifle and the woman who wielded it.
Jason and Chris synchronized watches, Chris believing a five minute time frame was all he needed to be in place and ready to roll. The seconds ticked by slowly as Jason waited.
Chapter Seventeen
“Heather, I really think you should take the opportunity to lie down and rest while your little boy is sleeping. Maybe I could look after him for a bit if he wakes up? I’d enjoy spending some time with Dylan. Have I mentioned I’m a kindergarten teacher? So you can trust me with him. I love children. Precious little gifts, aren’t they?”
It was a long shot thinking that Heather might leave Toni and lie down, but anything was worth a try. Toni knew time was running out. Jason would be coming to look for her soon—she wasn’t sure how long she’d been sitting in this uncomfortable chair but it felt like forever. Her shoulders and back were stiff from the tension Toni was trying hard not to show.
Heather made no reply.
“It’s great that your little one is such a good sleeper. I’ve heard some of my students’ mothers complaining their toddlers stopped taking naps quite early on.” Toni kept prattling on, smiling and trying to connect with Heather on a more personal note. She was sure she had seen this tactic used in movies, hoped it was the right thing to do. “I can’t remember if I was a napper or not…”
“Dylan slept through the night from the moment we brought him home from hospital. He is such a good boy. Never gives me any trouble…” Heather’s eyes glazed over, as if she was remembering back to the time she spoke of.
Toni heard a noise. It was coming from the front door. A small rattling sound, as if someone was trying to open the lock. Toni knew who it was trying to gain entry to the house so she kept her gaze fixed on Heather and the gun. It was clear that Heather had heard the noise too. The poor woman’s face lit up, a smile formed.
She thinks it’s Josh coming home
. The confusion and anger that had previously turned her features into those of a mad woman were gone, replaced by hope. It was heartbreaking for Toni to observe this change in Heather, knowing it would not last long. Joshua was not at the door.
Heather struggled to get up from her seat, her pregnant tummy hindering her actions. Then, out of the corner of her eye, Toni noticed movement on the other side of the house. She hadn’t heard any sound from the toddler.
Oh my God, please don’t let that be Dylan awake.
Toni was in a panic over what could happen.
Does he sleep in a cot or a bed? Is he about to come wandering into the middle of this just as Jason storms in?
Jason picked the lock with ease. He slid inside the open door, quickly surveying the layout of the house, getting his bearings. He only had a few seconds to get in between Toni and the gun. He went straight for the living room, the room his woman was in, fully focused on his objective of spotting Heather Cain before she saw him and getting that gun away from her.
Heather was on her feet and a big smile lit up her face—not the reaction he’d been expecting. And she was heavily pregnant. Then her smile faded. It was about this time that Jason got his first good look at the rifle, as she pointed it in his direction. It was an old Winchester double barrel, possibly dating back to the fifties and not in the best condition—which led to a whole new world of problems for Jason to take under consideration.
If the gun wasn’t well cared for—cleaned and oiled regularly—it could be damaged. If the gun was fired—and Jason hoped that wasn’t going to happen—the round could jam or hang fire, release a few seconds later and explode anywhere. Maybe rushing the gun carrier was not going to work. Jason just couldn’t stand idly by and do nothing, though. He’d much rather be the one to take a bullet if that scenario played out. He moved, positioning himself in front of Toni, blocking her from Heather Cain’s line of sight.
“Heather, relax, it’s just my driver. He was probably wondering what was taking me so long. You must have left the door unlocked. Maybe he didn’t want to wake Dylan by knocking. Jason knows how cranky two-year-olds can get if they’re woken abruptly.”
Jason could hear Toni’s voice behind him. She was obviously trying to keep the situation from deteriorating, doing her best to keep everyone calm and tell him there was a kid asleep somewhere in the house. She knew Jason didn’t have a clue about cranky kids.
Clever girl…
His eyes never left Heather’s position.
But you’d better stay put behind me…
Chris was inching his way slowly toward Heather. Jason could see him over the woman’s shoulder. Any moment now, Chris would make his play. Jason had to be ready to react, throw his body over Toni’s. But he had to give his buddy a heads up on the condition of the gun.
“No need to be alarmed, ma’am, I just need to pass a message on to Miss Grimaldi,” Jason said presenting his hands, palm up, to Heather in a non-threatening manner. “You should be careful holding onto that gun, ma’am. It looks pretty old and there’s so much rust, it can damage a gun. Make it more dangerous,” he said, not needing to fake the concern in his voice at all.
The more Jason studied the ancient weapon pointed at him, the more certain he was that if Heather fired it, she would be the one injured. If Chris didn’t comprehend his warning and grabbed the gun at the wrong time, then he and Heather would both bear the brunt of his predicted misfire.
“Have you ever had it cleaned, ma’am?”
It looked like Heather was going to say something. Her mouth opened, but before any words came out, Jason heard a long, high-pitched wail. It sounded like a child. Heather’s head swung in the direction of the noise. Chris took advantage of the distraction and pounced. He snatched the gun right out of her hands. It was so quick, all over in a split second. As Jason moved toward the now unarmed woman to contain her, Toni’s hand touched his back.
“Let her go to her son, Jason. I think now you all are here, she can’t do anything else. Thank you for getting the gun away from her, Chris. Maybe you can follow Heather and make sure she and Dylan are okay.”
Now I’ve heard it all.
Toni was worried about how Heather was feeling. The woman was going to be the death of him. Nodding to Chris in approval, he waited until they were both out of sight then spun around to face Toni. Seeing her safe, out of danger, was enough to make his knees go weak. He dragged her into his arms, hugging her to his chest. Not sure if it was to comfort her—or him.
Chapter Eighteen
With a blanket around her shoulders, Toni sat in the car. The local paramedic had said that her body was more than likely going into shock. Judging by the way her bones shook and her limbs trembled, he was right but she refused to leave without Jason by her side. It had been awful watching Heather being carted away by the police. Even though the doctor had sedated her, Heather had been weeping uncontrollably. Toni hoped the medication kicked in soon so the poor woman could feel some peace, even if it was artificially induced by drugs. Little Dylan had looked so sad and confused, crying out for his mother the whole time.