Love Inspired Suspense December 2015, Box Set 2 of 2 (40 page)

CHAPTER SIX

“I
know you're around here! You might as well come out, missy. You can't hide. I will find you,” Lacey's chaser called out through the swamp. She dared not moan from the pain in her wounded arm, or even breathe from her hiding place in fear of alerting him to the fact that she was much closer than he realized.

Like right above him.

From her perch on a thick branch, Lacey leaned closer to the trunk of the cypress she'd crawled up into. Promise stayed low and silent beside her. The man who called out was the same man from the train station. He trembled from cold where he stood in the knee-deep water, and from her bird's-eye view, he didn't look so scary now.

She knew that wasn't the truth, though. He had a duty, and it wasn't to be her friend.

His duty was to make her disappear.

This brute didn't get to where he was in his life by making friends. How many people had he killed with his stout hands? Hands she knew so up close and personal. The memory of his sweaty palms on her lips made her cringe.

He tunneled one of those killing hands through his greasy black hair, a nervous gesture that made her think perhaps the trembling was from more than cold water.

Perhaps the man was afraid of failing at his duty.

That only told Lacey she had more to fear than
this
guy. If he caught her, she would be facing his boss next, and that made a tremor zip straight up her own spine.

A wet paw covered her hand on the branch.

Promise stared up at her with nervous, droopy eyes. She looked petrified in the darkness, but Lacey didn't know what to do to change that. They'd run for a while before she realized they were running in circles and would be safer up here. The guy's voice had died down for a little while, enough time to allow them to climb higher and higher before he came back around.

Lacey wished Promise had gone back to Wade. Instead, the dog had jumped up on the low webs of tangled cypress branches to stay by Lacey's side. With the sun gone and the lurking shadows to hide in, she felt safe, for now. She feared Promise would whine and give them away, but the control this dog had over her emotions so far said otherwise. It reminded Lacey of Wade's statement.
She's trained to provide a service.

Just like the man below.

But Promise's duty was for something so much more heroic.

Lacey leaned over and saw the burly man had moved on in another direction. She buried her numb fingers into Promise's thick wet fur and whispered, “Why didn't you stay behind? You didn't need to jump out after me, you silly dog. I'm not your handler. I'm not the one you love and protect. And I know you love him. I see it, even if he doesn't.”

Promise hedged in closer, pushing her head into Lacey's thigh. Her collar brushed against Lacey's hand when she petted her neck. Her red service vest attached to the collar was soaked and cold. Lacey thought of removing it, but before she could, water swished off in the distance, silencing all movements by them in the tree.

The guy was circling back again. Would he find her this time? Would he shoot her out of the tree? She plastered her back to the trunk, hoping her silhouette from below looked like any of the other distorted trees.

Even though Promise knew whining wasn't allowed, shivering couldn't be controlled—by either of them. The cold swamp water that drenched them seeped into their bones, chilling them more and more with the evening chill. Lacey did her best to control her teeth chattering.

The swishing of water grew louder. At any second she could be found. Did they just want her dead? Or were they after something more?

The guy said he wanted whatever was in the locker. Lacey felt her soaked jeans where the folded envelope was stuffed. It would be ruined by now. Would the words on the paper even be legible anymore? The message was useless to them when it was dry, and now it would be more so. Did that mean they would just kill her? Or would they take her to their leader? What would they do when they learned
she
was useless, as well?

The water below swashed louder and Lacey covered her mouth to stifle her breathing that sounded so loud in her ears. It wouldn't be long before all her questions had answers, unfortunately.

Her pursuer was so close now. The tinkling of water settled where he stopped on the other side of the tree below. She dared not move to look. Instead, Lacey braced herself to make a jump for it. She hoped she wouldn't have to, that the guy would think no one was in the area and turn around and leave again. And for good this time.

Please, God, cover us with Your protection. Let no one hear us, so they move away from here and leave us alone. But if I have to go, I know You'll go with me, Lord. I'm ready.

Lacey nodded in agreement with her prayer at the same time her fingers gripped into the bark of the tree. She was poised and ready to take the leap as soon as she caught one glimpse of the man.

But before Lacey made a move, Promise jumped up from her spot on the branch and dived down into the water with a splash, their location now revealed.

Lacey pushed herself harder back into the tree, panic setting in with the coming of faster breaths. She might as well give up, too. The race was finished.
Why, Promise? Why?

Then she heard a familiar voice.

“Lacey, it's me, Wade. Come down quietly.”

In less than a second, Lacey followed Promise's splashing leap.

So much for quiet.

* * *

Lacey plowed into the water at full force. Her legs barely hit bottom before his arms secured her and pulled her into his chest. She came down so hard they nearly fell back into the water. He stepped to a gnarled, silhouetted tree trunk for support.

“Lacey, you're safe, but you have to be still, or they'll hear you and come back.”

As he hoped, she froze in his arms. But only for a second. She reached her arms up around his neck and pushed her face into its curve to stifle a soft whimper. He couldn't fault her for being afraid. His own fear matched hers.

Wade pushed his face into her matted hair as he felt his heartbeat pulse through his skull. He squeezed tighter when his hands shook. Promise whined beside him. She sensed his tension, but Wade wasn't ready to let Lacey go.

And she wasn't ready, either.

“I shouldn't have left you,” he said. “I should have—”

“No, you shouldn't have.” Lacey clung on even though her words were accusative. “But you made the best decision you could have in the moment. There was no time to sit down and discuss things, draw up plans and delegate. A moment like that calls for action. It's fight or flight. But you should know, I don't run from anything and you don't have to leave me behind.”

“Well, I can't leave you behind in these swamps, that's for sure, but we do need to fly. Those guys will be back. Why on earth did you choose to come in here? The police were on their way.”

“I thought I could beat them on my turf. The swamps were my playground. Besides, the only reason you found me is because Promise gave us away.”

Wade smirked in the darkness. She was right, but he wasn't about to admit it. He tipped her chin up to glean her emotions, exemplified through her shadowed eyes. “No fear of snakes, huh?”

“Just the pudgy kind.”

Wade sobered and searched the perimeter around them for Pudgy and his friend. “We can't go back to the train. They'll block our path and catch us.”

“Don't ask me for the way out of here. I'm directionally challenged. I've been going in circles for hours.”

“You race cars. That's all you know how to do.”

“Not the time for jokes, Wade. Now's the time for you to start all that planning you like to do.”

Wade lifted his arm to show her his watch. “Judging by our current coordinates, I say we go left.”

“Go left,” Lacey repeated quietly.

“You don't agree?”

“It's not that. Go left was a command Jeffrey instructed me to do often. When you said it, it just reminded me of him.”

Wade pulled Lacey's head down to his chest with a sigh. “I'm going to get you out of here, okay?”

She nodded, trembling.

Wade grabbed Lacey's upper arms and realized she only wore Cora's flowered blouse, now drenched.

“I lost your uncle's suit coat somewhere in the jump, I think,” she answered as though she read his mind.

Wade took off his combat jacket and wrapped her up in it. He should have done that first thing, but all he could focus on was holding Lacey to make sure she was real, and he wasn't having one of his hallucinations.

Lacey pulled it closed on a sigh. “You should give this to Promise. She's been so wonderful.”

“Don't worry, I'll take good care of her. That's my part in the deal. She guides and protects, I keep her happy and healthy.” Wade hefted Promise up to situate her across his shoulders and back. She was drenched and frigid. He couldn't have her trouncing through the water anymore. He meant what he said. He didn't shirk on his duties to Promise. He couldn't. Without her, he'd be a puddle bigger than these swamps.

They took their first steps in the decided-upon direction. Water quietly splashed around their moving feet, taking them slowly away from the train and the dangerous men waiting for them to return to it.

After a good distance of silence, Wade spoke again. “I've never seen Promise protect anyone but me. She was trained, starting at three days old, to recognize human emotion, but she was only allowed to bond with me. Not that I'm not happy she stayed by your side—I am—but I am surprised.”

“Maybe she was trained to sense danger in general. Not just danger for you, but for anyone.”

“She was trained to be a guide dog for her handler—me.”

Lacey shrugged as she followed beside him a couple steps. He noticed she became increasingly quieter as they moved through the swamp. In the darkness, he reached for her hand. Her fingers felt like frozen brittle sticks.

“Is everything all right?” he asked. “Besides being lost out in the swamps and chased by strangers who want to kill you, that is?”

She shrugged again. “I was thinking. I may have had something to do with us being separated back there, as well.”

“How so?”

“You told me to stay down and I didn't. The thing is, I really do try to make the best choices in the moment. I guess this one wasn't that great.”

Wade sighed. Could he really let her go on thinking she caused all this? No. He couldn't. “Actually, you getting out of that train car probably saved your life. The guys entered on your car and would have gotten to you before I did.”

“Really?” Hope rushed into her voice. “See? What did I tell you? I'm quick-witted.”

Wade felt a slow smile grow on his face. He was glad it was dark. He didn't need to encourage her further.

Wade lifted his watch to check their location, then pointed a finger for her to go right. “I think that's enough gloating for tonight. We're still lost in the swamps, if you didn't notice where your second choice led us.”

“Figures you'd bring that up.” She took the turn he signaled, but it seemed extra water sprayed him when she did. Had Lacey just splashed him? He watched her turn her back on him, and this time he felt his smile grow even bigger. Bigger than any smile he ever remembered feeling on his face. He almost reached up to touch the new feeling.

Almost.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“I
think they want the letter,” Lacey said, her boots squishing with each step. They'd been on dry land for almost an hour, but still in the middle of nowhere in the pitch dark and cold. She shivered in her wet clothes. “There's got to be something in Jeff's message that we're not seeing.” Lacey stopped when Wade made no reply. She walked alone. “Wade? Wade, where are you?”

“I'm over here,” he called from her right. Lacey spun and faced more darkness. “I just wanted to make sure we weren't being followed.”

“And?” She targeted her search in the direction his voice came until he stepped back into her vision and by her side again. Her fingers itched to reach for him.

“I think we're in the clear. For now. I see a cabin through the trees we can bunk in, but we better be gone by morning.”

“Where?” All the mangled silhouettes of trees looked the same to her.

With a light touch of his palm on her cheek Wade directed her gaze straight ahead. His voice lowered as he spoke so close to her. “Even if those guys are lying low tonight because of the influx of police in the area due to the train, they'll be back out looking for us tomorrow.”

His words should have heightened her fear, but his hand on her face, offering the same comfort as Promise's paw, calmed her instead. He had her frozen nerve endings thawing instantly and waking up. The heat he'd managed to hold on to through the swamps invited her to lean in and share. Lacey closed her eyes to relish the way her body stirred under his touch and forgot about the cold and evil for one blissful minute. She forgot about her defenses, as well. Weaknesses could be exploited by those closest to you, and Wade was getting mighty close.

“It looks as if it's unoccupied. I think it's all ours,” he said, breaking the connection by dropping his arm.

Lacey covered where the cold night air stole away the warmth of Wade's touch, glad for the shroud of darkness that kept her vulnerability a secret.

“Come on, I'll race you,” Wade said, oblivious to the way he'd just softened her.

Race?
It took a second for Lacey to engage in the challenge, but she quickly ran ahead of him. Or maybe she ran from him.

Her hard shell was back in place when Promise came up alongside her, passing her like a pro. Lacey picked up her pace, but her frozen feet rendered her the loser in this one. Promise reached the wooden deck first and began a romping winner's-circle dance, her tongue hanging out in excitement.

Lacey dropped to her knees to pet the beautiful creature. “You're a good dog, Promise.” Tears sprang to Lacey's eyes as she realized how faithful this dog had been to her today. “I wish I had a dog like you. I would love you so much.”

“I never said I didn't love her.” Wade stepped up behind them.

Lacey gained her feet. “No, I suppose you didn't. But rejecting her love is just as hurtful.”

“Do you speak from experience?”

“I speak from witnessing relationships fall apart. Two of my friends who promised to love and cherish are already divorced. At least now they're not hurting each other anymore.”

“Who says divorce is painless? There are some hurts that last a lifetime. I, too, have friends in the army who thought the pain would stop after divorce. It didn't.” Wade and Promise left a silenced Lacey standing there as the two of them stepped up the deck steps, handler and companion, together again. Within minutes, Wade had the front door open and a lantern inside lit. “Are you coming?” he called out from somewhere in the house. “I know I said we should be safe, but you don't need to put my words to the test.”

Lacey snapped to and set her legs in motion as she peered into the inky blackness of the forest around her. Anyone could be staring back at her and she wouldn't know it.

The cabin was cold, but the fireplace had to remain unlit. Too risky if the guys were close by. Lacey left the bedroom that would be hers for the night to find man and dog on the floor in the open area.

Wade finger-combed Promise's matted fur by lantern light and looked more relaxed than she'd seen him yet. Much more than when she met him in New Hampshire. “Does Roni know going home stresses you out?”

Wade shot a surprised look her way, then smirked. “Just what else did my uncle tell you?”

Lacey parked it on the braided rug beside him. “Sorry, your uncle might have mentioned something about your need for space. Not in a mean, gossipy way, though.”

Wade looked to the flame. “Clay's like a father to me. He also understands me better than my sister does.”

“Roni wants you to leave the military, doesn't she? So you can take on more responsibilities with the business?”

Wade nodded. “She also thinks I need to go home to heal.”

“What's stopping you?”

He turned to look at her. “Back to Fifty Questions? Why do you want to know?”

Lacey shrugged and took up her turn to look into the light, away from his piercing eyes. “I guess I understand your sister's request. I asked Jeff to do the same, but for me it was...different.”

“How so?”

She sighed and reached to pet Promise. “For me, it was purely selfish. You have to understand. I want to race cars, but with Jeff gone, I'm stuck in the shop. Don't get me wrong. I love working on the cars. But that's only because I know what's coming up on the weekend. The fruits of my labor. Except, without Jeffrey, I'm not working on my car. I'm working on somebody else's.”

Promise moved in close to Wade with half her furry limbs over Wade's legs. She rested her head on his thigh.

Lacey gave a soft laugh at the sight. “She's so cute. And yet she's so strong and brave. You should have seen her today. I felt so protected with her by my side. She has the biggest heart I've ever seen. And she is so unselfish with it. She puts me to shame. I want to be Promise when I grow up.”

“Oh, good, you plan on growing up. There's hope for you after all.”

“Ha-ha, very funny. I'm laying my soul bare, and you're cracking jokes.”

“Who's laughing?” He made a straight face, but his dimple deepened. He was holding back a smile, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

“Not you, that's for sure. I don't think you know how to laugh.”

His face darkened at her remark; his dimple turned rigid. He leaned in and reached for her wrist. He snatched it before she could pull away. With a quick flick of his fingers, he had the cuff of Cora's flowered blouse undone. He folded the sleeve up once, then twice. His stern gaze leveled on her while he worked. “FYI, Lacey. When one is used to putting bandages on people, they find it hard to laugh.”

He made the last fold at her elbow and pushed the rest of the fabric up a little farther. There, her wet, mangled bandage barely stayed on. He undid the tape stuck to her skin. The bandage was soaked and useless, and honestly, she hadn't even thought to change it. Not that she had the means to do so.

Lacey watched him inspect her wound. He hovered close to her arm. Her forehead nearly bumped his cheek when she bent to try to see, as well.

He turned her arm toward the lantern light, cradling her elbow so gently in one of his hands. His gaze was as attentive as Promise's always was on him.

She cleared her throat, remembering Roni's scars, and who knew how many comrades he'd bandaged in war? “I guess I didn't think my remark through.”

His blue eyes flashed up at her. “Can you repeat that?”

“Repeat what?”

“What you just said. About not thinking through something.”

“Thinking through my remark. It was callous. I'm sorry. Who are you, my mother?”

He dropped her arm and pushed to his feet to stand over her. Lacey raised her head to study his serious face. He turned away and walked to the kitchen to start opening cabinets and drawers.

The cabin was sparsely furnished with a few essentials. The standard place setting filled the cabinets. The place looked to be a rental. Wade bent over to look through a cabinet below, popping his head up when he slammed the door shut and walked back to her. He carried a white plastic box with a red cross stamped on the front cover.

“Another bandage?” she asked as he neared.

“Your wound needs to be cleaned or it'll be infected by tomorrow. The swamps didn't help it much.”

“I can do it myself.”

“With one hand? I'd like to see that.”

Lacey had to concede. The next second he was back on the floor in front of her. His closeness felt stifling now. It had to be because of the way he saw her. She felt his judgment. She was tired of that feeling. She didn't measure up with her mother. She didn't measure up on the track. And apparently, she didn't measure up with Wade.

Why did she always feel as if she had to prove herself to people?

And why should she care when this was the man responsible for Jeff's death? She latched on to this fact. It was her strongest wall where this guy was concerned.

“This doesn't make up for your part in Jeff's death, you know.”

Wade paused his ministrations to eye her again. “You're right. Nothing I can ever do will.” He went back to swabbing. He placed a clean bandage over her wound again and broke the tape with his teeth. He rolled her sleeve back down, and the cold dampness of the fabric touched her where his warm hands had been. Lacey bit down to not let it bother her.

Wade went back to the kitchen, and the cabinets and drawers started sliding and banging again.

“Beef stew or chili?” he called over the island separating them. He placed two MREs on the counter. “Take your pick.”

“Where'd you get those?”

“I keep them in my combat jacket.”

“Of course you do. Always the planner.”

“It's a good thing for you. Now, take your pick.”

“Whatever you don't want,” she answered, not really caring as long as it was food. Wade put two pots on the stovetop and within minutes the stew began to heat up.

He had his back to her while he divided their dinner into bowls; the scrape of the spoon against glass was the only sound in the cabin. Promise sat back on her haunches and watched Wade with her typical brown, liquid eyes, so full of attention just for him. A few minutes later, Wade turned back with three bowls. He handed over a beef stew to Lacey and another to Promise, before taking his seat by the lantern again.

Lacey picked up her spoon but her throat closed. She knew what she had to do before she could eat. She cleared her throat and pushed out a weak “Thank You, God, and...thank you, Wade.”

“I know it's not a very fancy Christmas dinner. I wish it could be more.”

Lacey lifted her head from her bowl to search for a clock. The one over the round kitchenette table said eleven forty-five. “It's still Christmas? I can't believe it. That feels like days ago.”

“If you had known all this would transpire, would you have stayed home?”

Lacey brought the bowl to her lap and looked down into it. “No.” She lifted her head to Wade. “My brother's dead. And I won't stop until I know why.”

“You already know why. Because of me. I got him involved in trying to figure out who I am. It was my problem, not his.”

Lacey sat back as a clearer picture formed. “This is more than finding out if your mother was a spy, isn't it? When you found
her
aliases at eighteen, you lost
your
identity.”

Lacey's question lingered in the room as they ate. She thought of her own roots: Frank and Adelaide's daughter, born and raised in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Her parents' genealogy went beyond the Deep South to across the big pond. But these facts were all her heritage, not her identity.

Wade pushed to his feet and took the three finished bowls to the counter, his lips still sealed tight.

“Talk to me, Wade. We could be killed any second. Honesty is all we have left. Is your identity what you're looking for?”

With his back to her, he turned his head and said, “I've learned talking only gets people killed.”

His leg bounced. He reached for his thigh with one hand. Promise moved into action and was at his side in the blink of an eye, looking for that hand to pet her. Lacey could only imagine how bad things would get without her attentiveness and skill.

Wade pet his dog for a few minutes. “You don't need to worry,” he said.

“Worry?” She looked up from his petting hand and saw he watched her watching him.

“I see you looking at me. You're wondering if I'm going to fall apart right here. Don't lie. You said honesty was all we had left.”

Lacey gave a short nod. “All right, I did wonder what would happen without Promise here.”

“I'd be on the floor curled up in a ball. My head would feel like it was about to explode, and I would be praying that it would. Then it would finally be over. All the images would be gone and couldn't remind me of what I've done.”

Lacey went to the island where he stood. She took the tall stool. “What have you done?”

“I talked and got people killed.” A sick laugh escaped his lips. He looked down at his dog. “Do you know why the army gave her to me?”

Lacey shrugged. “To help you deal with your injury.”

“Sure. By
talking
. They want me to talk to her. They don't get it. I talk and people die. I talked when I was...eight.” He swallowed and looked to the windows. With a shake of his hand he pushed Promise away and went to the door. Lacey thought he was about to leave and she jumped off the stool to stop him. But he stopped at the window, facing the door.

“What did you say? Who did you talk to?”

“Some guy at the track. You grew up climbing swamp trees. I grew up climbing the rungs of the grandstand at the track. It would drive my mother crazy. She was always telling me it wasn't a jungle gym, but every day I would try for a little higher before she caught me. Then one day I found something stashed between two of the joists. It was a black tube. A case of some kind. I brought it to my mom. She flipped out and told me not to tell anyone. Her response scared me, but not as much as when some guy grabbed me soon after and started shaking me, demanding to know where the spike went.”