Harlequin Superromance September 2014 - Bundle 1 of 2: This Good Man\Promises Under the Peach Tree\Husband by Choice (27 page)

“The scrawny kid.”

“That's right.”

Haveman laughed. “I'm looking forward to talking to you.”

Reid pocketed his phone and stared at the front door. “He didn't agree to extend his deadline.”

“I noticed.” Clay Renner stood beside him. He shook his head. “Does he really believe we'll just hand over his son?”

“Hard to say. It's difficult to figure out what a real crazy is thinking.”

“You've dealt with one before?”

“Couple of times.” The memories were no comfort at the moment, given the finales in both cases. “We ready?”

“Let me check.” Renner spoke quietly into a handheld radio. Voices murmured back. Reid didn't listen. A man who had unfailingly liked to be in charge and on top of every detail, he had discovered in himself the ability to let go. Clay Renner was good at his job and a good man. He was trustworthy.

A hand clasped Reid's shoulder and he turned his head. His boss looked steadily at him. “For the record, I want you to know I'm opposed to this. It's not smart to put yourself in his hands.”

Reid smiled crookedly. “You wouldn't do the same for any of those kids?”

Raynor scowled at him. “I didn't say I don't understand. I said it's not smart.”

“Maybe not, but I think it's our best bet.”

“Then take the son of a bitch out fast.” He nodded and stepped away, leaving Reid waiting.

“It's a go,” Renner said. “You be careful in there.”

Reid actually laughed. “Careful is my middle name.”

Clay grinned at him. “Sure it is.”

Reid hesitated only for one moment, when he did a quick scan of the onlookers for Anna and failed to find her. But she wouldn't have left, and the sight of her distress might have shaken him. It was best this way.

He started across the yard toward the front porch.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

D
READ
GRIPPED
A
NNA
as Reid crossed the brightly lit open ground to the lodge, his stride long and confident. Who had he bargained his life for? she wondered miserably. One of the boys? Paula Hale, whom Caleb believed Reid saw as his mother? How would that person live with the price if Reid died tonight?

How will
I
live?
She couldn't imagine.

She had seen heavily armed men in tactical gear melting into the darkness to surround the lodge. If they were trying to break into the old building, it had been silently. No shattering glass or thud of an ax. The boys who hadn't been captured likely had keys. To the back door? But TJ's father would be expecting that. He'd have blocked the door somehow, surely.

Reid mounted the steps, never pausing. He had reached the top when the door opened and a boy slipped out. From here, she couldn't make out his face. She saw Reid briefly clasp his shoulder and bend his head to say something. The boy sidled sideways and ran to the end of the porch. He clambered over the railing and dropped to the ground just as Reid went inside the lodge and the door shut again.

Anna pressed a hand to her mouth to hold in a sob.

* * *

T
HE
BARREL
OF
a handgun jammed against Reid's neck the second he stepped inside. He hadn't even gotten a good look at Haveman. “Don't move,” the slug snapped, and Reid obeyed, waiting while he closed and double-locked the door. “All right,” he said, “walk. Slowly.”

Reid had already seen Paula, Roger and Isaac sitting stiffly in a row on one of the scroungy sofas arranged in front of the fireplace. Roger, in the middle, had one arm around Paula and the other around Isaac, the skinny kid with the beaky nose. All three fastened their gazes on Reid as if looking for a miracle. No, he thought in dismay, what he saw in their eyes was unnerving trust. He wanted to say,
This may not work,
but knew it was just as well he couldn't.

“You. The woman. Come here.” When Paula froze, Haveman said,
“Now.”

Reid gave Paula a slight smile and the suggestion of a nod. Roger's eyes filled with fear, but he lifted his arm from her shoulders. She stood and came toward Haveman and Reid. The pressure of the barrel eased and then disappeared as Haveman backed off.

“Pat around his hips. I'll know if you find a weapon, and I won't hesitate to shoot you.”

“It's okay,” Reid said softly.

He'd come in with his holster empty, his Glock locked in his glove compartment. No point in giving it to Haveman.

“Now crouch down. Lift his pant legs.”

She gingerly removed the snub-nosed Colt he wore on a holster there, and Reid gave a mental shrug. There'd been a chance Haveman would be careless enough not to check for a backup weapon. Paula followed orders and laid the gun on the floor. Haveman kicked it away.

“Other leg.”

There was nothing there.

“Take off the jacket. Very slowly.”

Reid peeled it off, exposing the T-shirt stretched over the Kevlar vest.

“Think I wouldn't notice you were wearing one?” their captor mocked.

“No, it's obvious,” Reid said mildly. What he hoped like hell wasn't obvious was the way he had his belly sucked in—to prevent Jane Renner's small Ruger from creating a bulge.

“You.” Haveman waved the gun in his hand at Paula. “Go sit back down.”

She obeyed.

“
Captain
Sawyer.” In another of those lightning changes in mood, Haveman went from angry and commanding to pleased. “Over by the wall.”

Having a gun held on him from behind made Reid's skin crawl. He was damned if he'd give this nutcase the pleasure of seeing any reaction from him, though—unless that became good tactics. Without a word, Reid followed instructions.

“Turn around.”

At last, he could see TJ's father. He'd already noted the strong familial resemblance from the driver's license photo. Reid knew exactly what kind of torment that was for the poor kid. Randal was considerably stockier than his son, not quite fat but heading that way. Shorter than his kid, which he probably hadn't liked. Haveman senior was probably five foot nine or ten. Reid outsized him by four inches or more—but the advantage was outweighed by the National Guard Armory of weapons Haveman had brought along.

Reid couldn't be sure, but the nine-millimeter in his hand looked like a SIG Sauer. A police-or military-style tactical holster suspended from his belt and strapped to his thigh held another big handgun. At least two extra magazines in cases hung from his belt, too. Against the far wall rested a semiautomatic rifle. That one gave Reid a momentary twitch. The watchers outside needed to move back. Did Haveman intend to spray them with bullets? Before he shot everyone in the lodge...or after?

“So what's the plan?” he said. “Are we all going to hang out until TJ gets here? If so, how about a cup of coffee? I don't know about everybody else, but it's been a long day.”

Haveman's face darkened in anger. No sense of humor. “You're going to admit you've been lying. TJ isn't on his way, is he? An officer of the law, you're denying me my son.”

Not a question he wanted to answer. “You won't leave here unless you're in handcuffs,” Reid observed. In a body bag was a likelier outcome
.
“You know that, right?”

“Thanks to you. I came to get my kid. That's all.” The pistol pointed at Reid never wavered.

Reid looked him in the eye. “Bullshit.”

Haveman pulled the trigger. The bullet slammed into a log inches from Reid. There was a sharp sting of splinters on Reid's arm, bare below the sleeve of the T-shirt. Isaac lurched in panic, Paula screamed and Roger swore. Reid couldn't help flinching, but with an effort of will he kept his expression implacable.
That's it,
he thought.
Make noise. Lots of noise.

His eyebrows climbed. “Shooting when you didn't mean it wasn't smart. You're lucky an assault team didn't crash through the door. You know they're itching to.” He'd raised his voice in case the team was now in hearing distance. They'd talked about wiring him, but decided not to take the time. What was said in here didn't count; taking Randal Haveman out before he could kill anyone was the goal.

Hatred burned in Haveman's eyes. “By the time they get in here, you'll all be dead.” Suddenly, he yelled, “Hear that? I'll kill him if anyone makes a move. I'll kill them all!”

“Just here to pick up your son, were you?”

Roger was looking at Reid incredulously, and Reid sympathized. Taunting a madman wasn't usually recommended. But Reid wanted to keep him talking, focus his attention right where it was so he didn't have a chance to pace and listen for other sounds—or decide to get a start on his killing spree. Reid wanted to shake him up.

Roger no longer had his arms around Paula and Isaac. His body was tense, coiled for action. Reid couldn't do anything as obvious as shake his head, but he tried with a glance to communicate a message.

Wait.

“That's why you ran my brother down,” he said coldly. “Or was he just collateral damage? Because you never intended to take TJ home, did you? Your little terror campaign was designed to punish him for rejecting you, wasn't it?”

“All he's ever done is defy me!” Spittle flew, and a vein in Haveman's forehead throbbed. He leaned forward, lips drawn back from his teeth. “For the last time,
is he coming?
”

* * *

W
HEN
A
SINGLE
gunshot rang out, Anna's whole body jerked. She grabbed on to the tree beside her, her fingers digging into the rough bark. The tree was all that held her upright.

Oh, dear God.
He could be dead, just like that.

Consternation spread through the watchers. Taut, urgent voices rose in what might be an argument. Her gaze swung between the unrevealing front of the old lodge with its blank, curtained windows, and the group of commanders who didn't look happy, but weren't doing anything except talking.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and she took it out with a shaking hand. The number was the same one Caleb had called from earlier. She desperately didn't want to answer, but knew how scared he must be.

Nowhere near as scared as I am.

On the fourth ring, she closed her eyes and answered. “Caleb?”

“Is he...?” His voice faltered. “Did you talk to him?”

“Yes.” She wanted to lie, to say,
He can't talk right now, but he's okay.
Only...Caleb would find out. Especially if Reid
wasn't
okay. “Reid's the only person Mr. Haveman will talk to,” she said. “He... A few minutes ago, he insisted that Reid go in.”

“I knew it! I knew he was going to do that.” Tears thickened Caleb's voice.

“He...” Her throat tried to close. “He traded himself for one of the boys. Um, I think someone said Truong.”

“Truong came out? He's safe?”

“Yes. Reid talked Mr. Haveman into letting Damon go, too. Damon was injured, I don't know how, but he's been taken to the hospital. I think there's only one boy left in there, along with the Hales.”

“And Reid,” he whispered.

“Yes.”

“Are they planning an assault?”

“I think so,” Anna said. “I've seen guys in SWAT gear sneaking around back, but then nothing has happened.” Except a gunshot. She couldn't make herself say that.

“Will you call me?”

“Of course I will.”

“I'm scared.”

“Me, too,” she admitted.

She heard a distinct sniff, then, “Okay.” And he was gone.

* * *

“T
HE
DECISION
TO
bring TJ out here or not isn't mine,” Reid said, trying for a reasonable, let's-keep-talking-about-this tone. “We're outside the city limits here.”

Haveman's eyes narrowed. “Then why am I wasting my time with you?”

“You asked for me, not the other way around.”

“Because you took your brother from his father.” His voice lowered, became guttural, then rose to a roar. “You helped my son hide!”

The flicker of movement in the kitchen doorway came at a really good moment. Haveman was losing it. Reid hadn't had to say,
No, you'll never set eyes on your son again.
The guy knew. As the knowledge sank in, his rage escalated. There was no longer any reason for him to delay taking the revenge he'd planned from the beginning.

God damn,
Reid thought. If Haveman turned his head an inch, he'd see the first man sliding through the doorway, followed by a second.

But they couldn't see the intention forming in this crazy son of a bitch's eyes. As he stared at Reid, his pupils shrank, then suddenly dilated.

Now,
Reid thought, and yelled, “Down!”

As he threw himself sideways, he saw Roger shoving the others forward off the coach. Time seemed to slow into microseconds, snapshots taking less than the blink of an eye. The terror on Isaac's face. Roger's mouth open in a bellow as he threw himself forward. A black-garbed figure with gun held in firing position. A chaos of yelling voices.

Reid's ears rang with the crack of shots. Something slammed into his chest. As he crashed against a chair and to the floor, he lost sight of Haveman. His nostrils filled with the acrid odor of gunpowder. And God damn, did he hurt.

* * *

B
ANG
,
BANG
,
BANG
.

Inside, a gun battle had erupted. Or—please, no—Randal Haveman was executing all his hostages.

Her breath shuddering in and out, Anna felt as if an electrical current ran through her body.

A window shattered.

Cops charged toward the lodge, converging on the porch. A silence fell, as terrifying in its own way as the barrage that had preceded it. Within seconds, they yanked the door open and lunged inside with weapons in firing position. A key, she realized; they hadn't had to break down the door.

Being able to do nothing but wait was terrible. Becoming light-headed, she thought,
Breathe.
Then, as her eyes burned,
Blink.
Automatic functions had ceased.

Please, please, please, let him be safe.
She wouldn't ask for anything else. Even if he could never love her, let him be safe.

The first figures appeared in the doorway. She recognized Sergeant Renner half supporting a tall, skinny boy. Renner was turning his head, looking for someone. She was moving before she had consciously known she intended to. Before his eye lighted on her and he nodded.

This is what I do.

She met them at the same time as a pair of EMTs, one of whom said, “Come on, son, let us check you over.”

A couple was walking out now, too. The bearded man Anna recognized. The woman had a long braid, mostly gray. She was leaning heavily, shock robbing her face of normal expression. The Hales.

If Reid was
able
to love, it was because of these two people. The teenage boy seemed to be in good hands, so Anna veered to meet the Hales. The whole time, her attention was riveted on the door. Cops were coming out, some in SWAT black, some who'd just gone in the front. None were Reid. They hadn't called for a paramedic, which meant he didn't need one.

He either wasn't hurt...or he was dead.

No, don't even think it.

She reached the Hales. “Let me walk you to an aid car.”

Roger shook his head. “We're not hurt. Maybe some bruises.”

“Someone should look at your wife,” Anna said gently.