Authors: Debra & Regan Webb & Black
Tags: #Harlequin Intrigue
“Well?” Craig raised a finger, bringing those horrific battery cables too close to her son's small body.
The blood in her veins turned to ice. “If you so much as pluck a hair from his head, I'll kill you.”
Craig laughed. “Start talking, Addison, or I'll prove just what an incompetent and incapable mother you are.”
She swallowed, her jaw clenched as she tried to smile at her son. “Andy, get your stopwatch ready.” Anything to distract him. “Press Start when I say go and Stop when I stop talking.”
“'Kay.” He chewed on his lower lip as he concentrated.
“Go.” She met Craig's hard gaze. “About six weeks ago, while I was cooking dinner, your phone beeped with a text message and I checked it. One of the names was familiar. You remember the ambassador's assistant arrested for human trafficking?”
Craig scowled, gesturing for her to continue.
“Curious and a bit worried on your behalf, I started doing some digging into your financials. I didn't actually speak to anyone about you. I gave the authorities a place to start looking into a troubling association. I trusted that if you were innocent you'd cooperate. If you had been innocent they wouldn't have arrested you.”
“But you left town.”
Andy interrupted, announcing the time on his watch. She beamed at him. “Good job.”
She looked up at Craig. “I left because I didn't want Andy getting dragged into your problems.”
“Too late.”
“Apparently,” she agreed. “How did you find us?”
“It doesn't matter.”
Oh, she was sure that it did. If Craig's contacts had compromised Drew's friend Casey, they were out of allies.
“Who else did you notify about your discovery?”
She shook her head.
“How many volts do you think his little body can take?”
“Shut up, Craig,” she snapped, adrenaline pounding through her system. She might not have Drew's skills, but she had the benefit of being in full-blown mama-bear mode. “I've cooperated. Now let us go. I promise you'll never hear from us again.”
“Not so fast. I know you too well. You always have a contingency plan.”
“Not this time,” she insisted. “There wasn't any time. Discovering what you've been doing spooked me. I did what I could, then did what I felt best protected Andy.”
“I don't believe you.”
She shrugged. “That isn't my problem. You did this to yourself,” she started, unable to keep a leash on her temper. “Quit lashing out at us with your guilty conscience. I've answered your questions. Now let us go.”
“Who else knows, Addison?”
“No one!” Professor Hastings wouldn't open the package unless she failed to make contact on the tenth.
“I'm satisfied,” a voice declared. Addison hadn't noticed the cell phone on the desktop. Craig must have had it on speaker this entire time. “Clean up and come in.”
“Yes, sir,” Craig said, his face a mixture of relief and regret. He tucked the phone into his pocket and turned to the men flanking Andy. “You heard him. Let's clean up.”
Addison cringed as they urged her son out of the chair. He raced across the room and took her hand. “It'll be okay,” she said, determined those words wouldn't become a lie. “You did a great job.”
“I know,” he said, his smile wobbling. “Drew told me the secret of how to be brave.”
“Good.” Probably some quote from one of their favorite comic books. Whatever it was, she was grateful for the positive influence. Andy's hand felt so small in her grasp. She vowed to find a way out of this. Her son would grow into a man and she and Drew would be there to watch and support him along the way. She had to seize the first opportunity, she thought, praying she'd recognize it. “You'll have to tell me that secret sometime,” she said as they were shoved roughly into the back of one of the cars parked inside the warehouse.
“But he said you taught the secret to him.”
“Is that so?”
“Did you forget it?”
“Of course not,” she said, though she had no idea what secret Drew had credited to her. Whatever it was made Andy feel better and that was the important factor.
“I love you,” Andy said, scooting across the backseat of the car to sit close to her side. “Where are we going now?”
“I'm not sure,” she admitted, battling back fear.
Where had they taken Drew?
The driver twisted around to face them. “You like to swim, kid?”
“Yes,” Andy replied warily.
“Well, I'm supposed to find the perfect swamp swimming hole for you,” he said with a nasty smile.
Addison didn't need a translator to get the hidden meaning. Craigâor whoever was calling the shots hereâplanned to silence them permanently. “I don't have my swimsuit, Mom.”
“It'll be okay,” she assured him.
“Or dry clothes. Or a place to put my watch,” he added. A worried frown clouded his face.
She wanted to tear Craig apart for this. “We'll figure it out,” she said. “I don't want you to worry about anything.”
“We can't leave without Drew!”
She glanced around, seeing no sign of him. “He'll find us,” she said. Or they would find him. She wasn't giving him up without a fight, whether or not he wanted to stay in their lives after this.
“Oh, you'll see him soon, kid. It'll be a regular family picnic.”
With that cryptic comment the driver started the car. The big overhead bay door rose with a groan and scrape of neglected metal and a rattle of chains across a squeaky pulley.
As bright sunlight flooded the space, Addison shielded her eyes against the glare. This man planned to kill her and her son out in the swamp, where nature would be more than happy to clean up the mess. Odd as it sounded, even in her thoughts, she felt a surge of gratitude that Craig knew so little about her.
Chapter Sixteen
From the backseat of the black SUV, Drew watched the white sedan pull out of the warehouse and take the lead. He had three men with him, two in the front seats and one back here with him. That left only one or two with Addi and Andy, which gave her a fighting chance.
He'd heard the orders to dump their bodies in the swamp and had been overwhelmed with relief when he'd seen her and their son walking to the car rather than being carried. No big surprise that Everett was too squeamish to do the dirty work.
When Everett had taken Addi into the office, Drew had used the distraction to turn on the transmitter. With Andy's help, he'd managed to drop the device into the couch where they'd been ordered to wait. He hoped Casey could mobilize a team quickly enough to snare Everett.
Now if only his body would just get over the inconvenient and unexpected electric shock. It felt as though his blood would never stop sizzling. His thoughts were clear, which was a plus, and any pain was repressed by his determination to rescue his wife and son.
Wife.
The word was as soothing, as easy in his mind as swinging gently in a hammock on a shady porch. He wasn't sure when his brain had finally accepted the status his heart had never relinquished. He wasn't sure it mattered. Whether he had to wait an hour or another ten years for her to love him again, Addi was his wife in every way that mattered. No one would tear them apart again and no one would cheat him of another precious minute as a family.
“Can I have some water?” He tipped his head toward the bottle of water in the cup holder in the console.
“No,” said the man seated next to him.
Drew snorted. “Are you planning to give me a last meal?”
“Hell no.” This denial came from the driver. “You don't have long to suffer.”
Through the windshield, Drew saw the sedan with Addi and Andy two car lengths ahead. No other guards were in her car and both drivers were being very cautious on the return trip to the bayou.
“A little compassion could make a big difference,” Drew said.
“Compassion? For who?” The guard in the passenger seat snorted. “I'll shoot you right here if you don't shut your trap.”
“You shut up,” the driver balked. “Unless you want to detail his brains out of the upholstery.”
“Why work that hard? We can dump the car near the projects and it's someone else's problem.”
Drew nearly laughed as the men argued with each other, confident their captive was no threat. Keep believing that, he thought, fueling the delusion by slumping in his seat and leaning against the door.
They left the paved roads a few minutes later, following the sedan into the shady wilds of the bayou. This part of the world had always intrigued him with how quickly the terrain shifted from polished civilization to raw and unforgiving. Of course, the dangers shifted, too, from man to nature. At least nature didn't pick sides; it went after any threatening intrusion with equal fervor.
“Better head deeper,” Drew muttered. “You dump us here and our bodies will pop up too soon.”
“What do you know about it?”
“More than you do if you're thinking of stopping here.”
“Ignore him,” the guard in the front passenger seat said. “We do it the way the boss wants.”
“Does your boss even understand the bayous?”
The guard in the backseat plowed a big fist into Drew's jaw. “You're wasting your last words.”
Drew shrugged but kept silent. Wherever they stopped, he knew which man in this car to attack first. He only hoped Addi had figured out the same weak link in her car.
He hated that she and Andy were scared, but he also knew she had a well of strength and courage to draw from. Any woman who'd raised a child dealt with any number of false alarms and real scares on her own. Andy was a good kid, but that didn't mean he hadn't stirred up his fair share of trouble along the way. Addi's courage wouldn't falter, despite the overwhelming odds. The soul-deep fighter in her hadn't changed.
When he lined that up with her insider knowledge of the swamps and bayous out here, he felt a ray of hope flickering like sunlight through the cypress branches high above. Everett might have hired quality muscle to do his dirty work, but Drew and Addi held the real advantage.
Smart men would take them way back into the bayou, shoot them and sink their bodies in the deepest water. He didn't think this crew would be that patient. A few minutes later the team proved him right as they followed a dusty service track into a protected wildlife area.
“Triple homicide on federal land.” He shook his head. “That won't end well for you.”
The guard in the backseat pulled his gun and aimed it at Drew's temple. “You were saying?”
Drew stared him down, willing his body to hold still. The best time to strike was yet to come. He let them pull him from the car and managed to maintain an outward air of defeat as the driver of the sedan hauled Addi and Andy to the bank of the swamp.
It was as if time slowed, each second standing well apart from the previous and the next. Every beat of his heart might have been as long as a minute as his mind cataloged each detail. His senses were primed, his body ready to react. Drew felt the brush of the air on his skin, heard the rustling of leaves above and the absolute silence of the mirrorlike water.
Only one other time had he felt this timeless, out-of-body sensation. He looked around as they prodded him to stand next to his son. No surprise how Everett's men planned to proceed. The guard with the gun would raise his arm and it would be a simple double-tap to the back of each skull. In moments, the only two people he loved in this world would be dead before their bodies fell into the water, a feast for the scavengers.
Andy, his hands free, reached up to hold Drew's cuffed hands. “Mom says it'll be okay.”
Drew looked down into those wide brown eyes, so like his, and saw more awareness than any nearly eight-year-old kid should know. “She's right.” One way or another they would all be okay. He scanned the water and what he could see of the banks. Whatever the next moments held, he would ensure the two of them made it out alive.
Over their son's head he met Addi's gaze. Her eyes were bright, lit with the dangerous fire of a protective mother ready to do battle. “Trust me?” He slid his gaze to the water and back to her.
She smiled at him. “Always.”
Behind them the men were debating who should shoot Andy. Drew shifted his weight, bracing his feet wide. His hands gripping Andy's, he twisted around. “Let the kid go.”
“Hell no,” the man who'd driven the sedan said.
“He's a kid.” Drew was trying to push anything that might resemble a sympathy button in one of these four bastards. “A little kid.”
“Who shouldn't spend the rest of his life missing his mommy.” The sedan driver circled his finger. “We're doing him a favor,” he sneered. “Now cooperate and we'll make it quick. For them,” he added with a laugh.
Drew shook his head. “I'm sorry, son.” He squeezed Andy's wrists. Turning back to the water, he tossed Andy out into the shallow water of the swamp.
Reacting instantly, Addi lunged for the nearest of Everett's men, taking him down with a shoulder tackle a professional football player would envy.
It amazed Drew that he could fall any deeper in love with the woman, especially amid a fight for their lives, but it happened.
Guns fired in a rapid burst of violent noise, but Drew didn't care. Andy would find shelter, Addi was holding her own with one guard and the three remaining men were no real challenge. He rushed forward to safeguard his family, feeling a smile bloom across his face as he swung his restrained hands out, batting away the executioner's gun, then plowing an elbow into the man's jaw. When he dropped to all fours, Drew kicked him hard enough to crack ribs and leave him breathless. “Stay down,” he growled, picking up the man's gun.
A blow to Drew's kidneys caused more irritation than pain and he countered with a sharp, swinging kick to the second man's head. He put a bullet through his knee to keep him down and tucked that pistol into his waistband. Three down, one to go.
“Andy?” he called out.
“He's safe,” Addi replied.
Drew glanced back and saw Addi holding the guard she'd tackled at gunpoint. “Shoot the tires,” Drew shouted as the weak link from the SUV raced for the vehicles.
She put a bullet into one tire on each car, even as the jerk turned and shot recklessly in their direction. Drew's vision turned red at the edges and he fired back, calling out to confirm Addi hadn't been hit.
The man dropped his gun and begged for mercy, scooting backward as Drew advanced. “I'll cooperate, give a statement, whatever you want,” he stammered.
“How thoughtful.” Drew backhanded him. “You missed your chance for any mercy from me.”
“Drew,” Addi said from behind him. “We're okay.”
“We'll put them in the sedan and push it into the swamp,” he said.
“You can't do that,” the man with cracked ribs protested. “Th-the gators!”
Drew stood tall, keeping the gun on the pleading man. “You're right. We could get fined for animal abuse.”
“I'm willing to risk it if you are,” Addi said, coming up beside him.
He just stared at her, amazed and grateful. “Where's Andy?”
“Safe,” she assured him. “He scrambled up the bank and into a tree.”
Drew followed her gaze. Andy's clothes were wet, but he was tucked in tight in the strong bracket of a tree. “Good job.”
“My watch still works!” He pumped his small fist. “Can I come down and help push the car?”
Drew thought it sounded like a fine idea. “Sure.”
He stepped back, swaying a bit. His vision blurred, making it difficult to get his bearings. “Addi?”
“Right here.”
He didn't believe her; her voice sounded too far away. The adrenaline had carried him this far, but on the downward slope of the rush, he felt the wounds where a bullet, maybe two, had tagged him. “No big deal, Addi. Take Andy...get safe...” He couldn't catch his breath, felt his heart thundering in his chest. He shook his head to clear his vision, but it didn't help.
“I'm not leaving you. Let me take a look.”
Stupid to shoot out the car tires,
he thought, sliding hard to the ground as his knees gave. He should've had her shoot the bastard. He tried to slow his thoughts, reassess his injuries. Damn it, this wasn't about blood loss or injury. They were only flesh wounds. He was having a panic attack.
“I'll be fine,” he said through clenched teeth. He shook his wrists. “Get these off of me.”
He told himself he'd done well and had held it together when it mattered. Still, they weren't off the hook yet. Everett's men were down for now, but the survival instinct would have them attacking Addi again if they had an opportunity.
Drew tried to stand, but Addi held him down with a firm hand on his shoulder. “Stay put a minute.”
He stared up at the sky, hoping the clear blue day would calm him down. No such luck. He closed his eyes tight, fighting against the useless anxiety. She still needed him. He needed his body to get back on task. He heard her snapping out orders and felt his hands finally drop free. A small weight landed on his chest and he opened his eyes as Andy wrapped his skinny arms around Drew in a fierce hug.
“What's wrong with you?” Andy asked.
What wasn't wrong with him? How could he explain post-traumatic stress and a full-blown panic attack in terms Andy would understand? “I'll be okay in a minute.”
“You got shot.”
Drew glanced at his biceps where blood stained the torn sleeve of his gray T-shirt. “Looks like it.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Not much.” Not nearly as much as fighting the fear that he'd be locked up again, away from his son and the woman who should be his wife.
“Then why don't you breathe right?”
“Andy, hush,” Addi scolded.
“He's fine,” Drew said on a weak laugh, waving off her concern. His breath shuddered in and out and his lungs resumed normal function. To his surprise, answering the questions helped give him a focal point, something the shrinks suggested early in his treatment when the memories and nightmares had overwhelmed him.
“Did you see which one of them shot me?”
“That one.” Andy pointed to one of the men on the ground near the edge of the swamp. “You kick really high.”
“Thanks.” He ruffled his son's hair. “The army taught me.”
“Like Captain America?”
“I think the shield would've been helpful.”
“You could've knocked them all out with one throw. Before...”
Drew saw the moment Andy remembered Nico. He pulled Andy in for a hard hug. “The bad guys will pay for everything they did. Your mom and I will see to that.”
“If Nico could've kicked like you...”
It wouldn't have made any difference, but Drew understood the real problem. “Want me to teach you that kick?”
Andy nodded. “Will you throw me again? It was fun.”
“Maybe later.” Into the clear water of a pool. Between guns and alligators, he'd known this particular corner of the bayou was the lesser danger.
Andy looked from Drew to his mom. “What'll we do with all of 'em now?”
“I'm still for putting them in the swamp,” Drew said.
“Me, too,” Andy crowed, bouncing to his feet. “Let's go.”
“Drew,” Addi chided. “What happened to caring about the wildlife?”
“If we use the sedan, someone will come haul it out sooner rather than later. It's a classic.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine.”
The man protested as he and the others were loaded at gunpoint into the car. None of them seemed to realize what Addi had known from the start: the swamp wasn't terribly deep here. The men would be uncomfortable and, because of their ignorance, they'd be too frightened to move. Hopefully that fear would give law enforcement time to get out here and arrest the four of them.