“You know what I want.” Oh, dear God. What promises had Steven made Ricky? All those years ago the big goon had made it clear how he felt. How he would love nothing more than to have his way with her. As long as Steven was still interested, she was safe from whatever repulsive ideas ran through Ricky’s head. But maybe that was Steven’s plan after all— to let Ricky have his way with her as punishment.
She held her breath to keep from screaming.
The truth hit hard. Their chances of getting out of this mess were slim to none. Too much precious time had zoomed by already. If by some miracle they managed to escape this madman and his crew of criminals, Steven wouldn’t follow. He would never hurt them again.
Whatever means possible.
She’d make certain.
Steven was itching for another cigarette by the time they got back on the road, heading to Mobile, Alabama by way of Georgia. He needed something to counteract the angst building in his chest. Smoking was the one thing Makayla hated more than anything. She said the smell made her sick to her stomach. Odd. He never cared before. Used to light one up just to see her face turn green. So what was keeping him from doing that now?
He turned his attention to little person beside him. At some point during the drive, the boy’s energy ran out and he dozed off. His girly blonde curls bounced against the door where his head rested.
Blonde curls?
Steven sighed heavily. First order of business when they got back to the estate in California would be to take care of those unruly things. No son of his would have curly locks like a girl. If it meant a crew cut his entire life, so be it. That would be only one of the many sacrifices this boy would be expected to make.
Steven turned his attention to the back of Makayla’s head. Her hair wasn’t curly. Not at all. He knew of no one in her family with curly hair either. That meant the boy got his curls from who? The cop?
He gritted his teeth to the point it hurt.
The idea of another man touching his Myka burned deep dark holes in his psyche. He planned to make certain this cop paid for every glance, every affirmation of love, and every touch. No one had any right to Myka but him. She’d vowed to be his and his alone. The ceremony may have been phony, but the words they’d shared were not.
He’d meant every single one.
“Till death do us part, my love,” he whispered, blowing her an imaginary kiss through the glass.
***
Ryan felt Michael watching him as they drove down Interstate 10 toward Mobile, Alabama. He could only imagine the questions Michael had about how Ryan became involved in all this. Michael’s feelings would change drastically when he found out the truth.
But reality couldn’t be avoided.
“Michael, talk to me. What’s bothering you?”
Michael looked away, his voice low as he said, “Why did you help us?”
“Because you’re my family. I love you.”
“No. I mean that night.” Michael paused and wiped at his nose with the back of his hand and then hesitated before adding, “At the airport.”
Ryan’s heart jolted. Michael remembered. “I had to, son.”
Michael sniffled, holding onto his composure somehow. “Oh.”
“Don’t be afraid to question me, Michael. It’s okay. You have a right to know everything.”
Michael swallowed hard. Took a few minutes to collect his thoughts and then turned back to Ryan. “You and my mom, is it real?”
This question shocked Ryan. He’d expected something along the line of “why, how, or when did you get involved,” but not questions about his true feelings for Makayla.
He shot Michael a brief glance across the interior of the truck and found a desperate need etched deep in the boys eyes. He wanted the relationship between Ryan and his mother to be just that. Real.
“I can only answer for myself. My love for your mom goes way beyond real. I never thought it possible to love again, but your mom changed that the moment I saw her.”
“Again? You said love…again.” Michael’s tone rang with uncertainty. He couldn’t possibly understand why opening up those doors right now wouldn’t be a smart idea. Ryan just hoped Michael wouldn’t misinterpret his avoidance as deceit.
“That’s another story I will need to tell you and your mother. Details of my past.”
“Your past. Before us?”
“Yes, son.”
Michael nodded, then sat quietly as he processed the information. Then came the words Ryan dreaded. “The first time you two met was at the airport?”
There it was. The start of the questions that could transform Michael’s opinion of him forever.
“Michael. I was one of the men assigned to watch your mom from the beginning. To see if she was involved or just being used. Once we determined she had no choice but to follow along with Steven’s sick plans, my job turned into more of a protection phase of the operation instead of observation.”
He dared to look at Michael. The young man’s expression was just what he’d expected. Devastation. Disbelief. Doubt.
“The night your mom ran away with you to the airport, I followed with a few of my acquaintances. She’d have never made it past the checkout counter of the store where the taxi awaited, if I hadn’t stepped between Steven’s goon and her before she got outside.”
A moment of silence passed between them.
“The gunshot.” Michael closed his eyes and let the memories drift back. “You were the man in the hooded jacket. “But why?”
“The FBI wanted to get you and your mom to safety so they could find out more about Steven’s dirty operations. We didn’t want to risk approaching your mom again while you were locked on the inside of the estate. The threat was too great.”
Anger edged into the tight muscles of Michael’s face. “You said we. So the truth is, you’ve all just been using her, us.”
“No. That’s not it at all. The FBI needed her cooperation, but wasn’t able to safely make contact. That’s where I came in. I wasn’t on the FBI payroll anymore.”
“Anymore? What’s that’s supposed to mean?”
“Michael, my involvement is a little harder to explain and I need more time for that.” Doubt and disappointment etched the corners of Michael’s eyes. “It’s complicated, son.”
“Yeah. I bet.” Michael turned away to stare out the window and apprehension filtered all the way down to Ryan’s toes. He didn’t blame Michael one bit. He knew how mixed up the boy’s life had been. And now to find out the life he’d thought normal had turned into a big ball of tightly wound secrets and lies caused all kind of new questions and fears to arise.
Keeping his mother’s involvement in Steven’s acts a secret was the smartest thing he’d ever done. Michael didn’t need to know about his mom’s criminal record or the things she’d been forced to do in order to keep him safe.
“Michael, I love you like my own son. That’s why I gave you my last name. And your mom…” He paused to choke back the sudden rush of emotions. “She is a treasure like no other. Please believe me.”
“Let’s just find them, okay?” Michael kept his eyes on the scenery flying by, fighting to keep the tears away.
No words. Ryan couldn’t come up with one single word to convince him of his true feelings. His explanation was complicated all right. So complicated, he found himself trying to decipher the emotional war battling within.
If Makayla had only listened to him, trusted him and the FBI to do their job, they might not be in this situation right now. As it was, she’d led the bad guys right to Nicholas.
Silence loomed thick and heavy between them for more than thirty minutes. Then, the hum of a cell phone split the tension into what felt like a million electrical sparks. The unnerving sensation shot through Ryan’s entire body.
Slowly, he lifted the new cell phone Agent Harrington had given him to his ear. “This is Ryan.”
Ryan turned all his attention to the call, hoping Michael could hold it together a little longer. “Good. Keep tracking the signal.” His heart lurched. Placing the cell phone on the seat between him and Michael, he heaved down a sigh of relief.
“They’re still…” He paused. He’d almost said alive and then thought twice. “They’re still okay. The 911 operator has picked up a signal from a cell phone. No one’s answering. They can only hear what appears to be road noise.”
At that news, Michael twisted in his seat to face Ryan. Michael wanted to be strong for his mom and Nicholas. The extra effort to try and show no signs of weakness was taking one hell of a toll on him. His cheeks and nose were red, blotchy, but there were no other signs of the tears hovering just below the surface.
“We’re going to find them, Michael. They’re tracking the signal as we speak. In a few more minutes we’ll have an exact location.”
“Then what?” A simple question. No trace of false hope or relief.
“We’ll tackle that hurdle when we get there. Let’s just prepare ourselves for the encounter.” Michael’s eyes drifted to Ryan’s hands. That’s when Ryan noticed he was gripping the steering wheel so tightly his white knuckles almost glowed in the dark. He barely had any feeling left in his fingers as he forced his grip to loosen.
Relax. It won’t be long now.
Uncertainty and frustration were a lethal combo. Not good. Not good at all.
No matter what he knew about Steven and how little this man valued human life, Ryan needed to stay in control. He couldn’t let the horrifying images playing Russian Roulette in his head get the best of him.
Stay in control. No matter what. Just stay in control.
He saw the flashing lights ahead and strained to make out the vehicles as he slowed down. They were all SUV in make and dark in color. That along with the two familiar men waving his truck down told him what he needed to know. He’d reached one of the road blocks they’d set up.
“Let’s see if we can find out some new information.”
“Like where they are now?” Michael asked.
“Could be.” Ryan swallowed hard, trying to keep the worst scenario from taking root. He pulled his truck over to the side of the road and parked next to Agent Harrington. “Let’s go find out.” Hopping from the car and expecting Michael to follow, he was taken aback. Michael didn’t move. He sat stiff in his seat and just glared with deep troubled eyes at Ryan through the open door of the truck.
Ryan sighed. No words existed to ease the boy’s pain. The one thing that would give Michael peace was the one thing Ryan had little control over at this point. It would take nothing short of a miracle to return his mom and half-brother safely.
“Ryan.” The FBI agent nodded and waved him over.
“What did you find out so far?” Ryan needed information. And fast.
“We’ve pinpointed their location.”
“Good.” Ryan waited for more. But Agent Harrington looked down at the paperwork in his hands.
“And?” Ryan said, agitated he had to ask for more.
“And they’ve stopped.”
The words cut clear to his core. This was a bad sign. If they’d stopped, it meant Steven might be putting his sadistic plans in action. He raked a hand over his mouth. No. He wouldn’t let his thoughts go there.
“Come on. So where are they!” His cool demeanor went south. He’d played the good guy. Kept his emotions in check. Hadn’t caused trouble. But this was too much. He’d reached his limit.
“Ryan, I can, and probably should, pull you off this case. The only reason you’ve been allowed to continue so far is your vast knowledge of Steven’s activities.”
“No. I’m fine. I can handle this. Just talk to me. I need to know all the details.”
Agent Harrington lifted his eyes to meet Ryan’s. “I know. I’m just trying… I just don’t want to give you false hopes,” Harrington finally said. “We’re trying to put an address to the location right now. It’s about two hours from here, and that’s what worries me. It’s too close. Why would Steven stop so close? Why would he risk being found so quickly?”
Ryan smiled. “Because he has other business to take care of and has no idea we’re tracking him. He thinks he’s being smart. Knows the FBI would, under normal circumstance, think he’s rushing to get across state lines and set up road blocks accordingly.”
Again the proud feeling filled him. Nicholas had done just as he’d taught him. Still, he wondered how he’d managed to get a cell phone so quickly without being caught. He had to give it to his son. The little stinker was as tricky as a fox.
“Under normal circumstances? So what’s different? You want to fill me in now?” Agent Harrington asked, studying Ryan.
“Steven has no idea Nicholas sent that 911 call. No idea he has a cell phone. At least not yet. As long as the signal holds out, we can hope Nicholas’ act hasn’t been discovered.”
Agent Harrington brows furrowed. “That’s pretty far-fetched, Ryan. Don’t you think it’s more likely Makayla is the one who did it? I mean, where on earth did a six-year- old get a cell phone?” He shook his head. “And more importantly, the idea”
“Nicholas is five and the details of
how
is a long story. One I’m sure his mother will be waiting to hear as well. When this is all over.” They had to make it through this. They just had to. “Besides, Steven will have Makayla restrained. It’s just his MO.”