Love Inspired Suspense December 2015, Box Set 2 of 2 (47 page)

Wade's eyes glistened in the laptop light reflecting on his face; his dimple deepened and twitched. But he didn't look away from her. “It doesn't change the fact that I will always see them dead in my mind. Broken necks, missing parts, hollow eyes. It doesn't matter whose fault it was. Like this guy.” He nodded to the man on the ground. “He took his own life, Lacey. Right in front of me, so I will have to remember him dead forever.”

“He took his own life?” The shock at this fact was nothing compared to the shock Wade must have had watching it. “Oh, Wade.” She ran straight at him. He had to quickly pass the laptop off to one of the men so his arms were ready for her. She pushed hard into him, pressed her arms around his back, her head into his neck. Soon dampness covered her face from her tears. She offered him compassion for his pain. She wished she could offer him so much more. She held on tight and refused to let go. She didn't care if he rejected it all, she would keep dishing it out.

But something happened she least expected.

Wade hugged her back.

At first it was the slow rise of his arms around her, but soon he pressed into her and held on, too.

A long time went by before they lifted wet faces and stared at each other. The detectives had stepped away, giving them privacy, but no words came from Wade's and Lacey's lips. Their gazes spoke for them. No judgment, just gratitude, but there were also a few questions on trust.

Both of them had their blinders off and knew the other person could hurt them more than anyone in this world.

But they also knew which one of them would cause the other the most pain, however unintentional. Slowly, Wade dropped his arms and stepped back. “I don't want to hurt you,” he whispered.

Lacey looked beyond his shoulder, feeling what his rejection would be like already. “I don't want you to hurt me, either.”

“I can't promise you that it would never happen. In fact, I can promise you that it will. I can't be the person you deserve and who deserves your love. I'd never live up to it.”

Lacey nodded, but inside she screamed at herself. She'd thought she would be strong enough to handle his rejection. To prove to him she was strong enough. But instead, he'd proved to her that she wasn't.

Heavy moments passed and her blurred gaze fell to the laptop screen the detectives were studying. The letters from the soda-pop delivery truck were enlarged, and when she blinked they came into focus from her spot.

With her eyes on the screen, she noticed not all the letters from the truck were photographed; only certain letters were captured.

D—P—R—O—A—E—D—D

Lacey's mind started to sound out the word it made, only it wasn't anything intelligible. It was just a collection of random letters. Or was it?

Quickly, she swapped letters around and came up with the word
dead
something.

She nodded to the screen. “Wade, look. I'm not positive, but I think the letters Jeff took pictures of are supposed to say something.”

Wade turned to give his attention to the screen. “Like what?”

“I don't know. He took a lot of pictures of this truck, though. It was important, I think. I see the word
dead
. Maybe something dead?”

Wade reached the detectives and grabbed the laptop from their hands. He studied it, then slammed the cover shut. “I need a ride to the track. Can either one of you take me?” he asked the detectives. At their agreement of which one would go, they headed to an unmarked car.

“What about me?” Lacey followed on his heels.

“You're to stay with my uncle, where it's safe.”

“Safe? I don't live like that. Don't you know that by now? I take risks, Wade, even when I'm afraid.” Her words meant much more than going in the car with him now. They really meant,
Take a chance on me in your life
.

“Stay, Lacey.”

“I'm not your dog, Wade. You can't command me like you do Promise.”

Promise followed along, her ears perked up at her name. Wade opened the back door of the car and she leaped in before him.

With one of Wade's legs inside, Lacey stopped him and said, “Let me help you. That's all I want from you.”

“And then you'll go home?” His eyes pierced her as sharp as his request.

Lacey frowned. She dropped her shoulders in defeat and nodded. “If that's what you want from me.”

Wade stepped out of the car. “Get in.” He waved a hand for her to climb in first.

Lacey slid over to the far side to allow space for Wade. Promise put her paws on Lacey's lap and licked her face, excited about the car ride. Only this ride, with Wade's decision about their future made, felt far from a joyride.

“Back to the track,” Wade told the detective driving them. “Lacey's right. The letters are a message. They say,
dead drop
. My mother must have been using the truck as her means to pass intelligence, and Jeff figured it out.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

S
ilence mixed with the low whistle of the wind blowing over the track. Snow swirled along the ground and their feet as they trekked toward the old truck. Wade split his attention between the truck and his surroundings, tuning in for any sounds or movement that told him they weren't alone.

The detective went to the broken-in office to assess that scene and determine its correlation to the events of the evening.

“Wade, I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I'm beginning to think my brother didn't betray you.”

“He was writing a book, Lacey.”

“Or making it look like he was, in case someone found the USB drive.”

“We had a plan. He was supposed to put everything in the locker. He didn't. End of story.”

“Maybe everything happened so fast he didn't have time to get it there. Or maybe he knew how you felt about digressing from the plan, so he made his own on the side just in case.”

“Why are you doing this now, Lacey?”

“Because I feel as if we're being guided right now. I feel as if I've got my earbud in my ear and my spotter standing above taking the whole course in. I feel every step I take is protected and sure.”

“And you think it's Jeff?”

“Jeff and God.”

“Well, let's get looking and find out, but stay by my side.” Wade grabbed Lacey's hand and pulled her around the back of the truck. A flimsy rusted lock secured the doors. It took one whack with the butt of his gun to break the metal in two. He worked the handle until it turned and opened the two doors on a loud echoing creak.

The interior of the delivery truck stood empty but for some hanging cobwebs. Lacey climbed in to feel the cold, dark corners for anything.

Nothing but an empty truck.

“I'm going through to the front driver's seat,” Lacey told him, and disappeared through the small opening to the front of the truck. “Come around to the passenger side. I'll unlock it from the inside and let you in.”

Before Wade moved, he heard a crunch very similar to a car tire in hardened snow. Thinking it came from the track, he moved around the side of the truck toward it. The front driver's-side door opened and Lacey poked her head out.

“I don't see anything up here, either. The truck's empty. Nothing under the seats, nothing in the glove box. I guess I was wrong. We weren't being guided here by Jeff or God. Hey, earth to Wade, are you listening to me?”

He put his fingers to his lips, and Lacey took the hint.

He reached the driver's door, an ear still tuned for any more sounds. A search for the detective through the truck's windows came up empty. The view to the office was blocked. “If only this truck worked,” Wade thought aloud. “We could drive it out of here.”

“How do you know it doesn't? Maybe I can hotwire it.” She got down on the truck's floor.

“No time, Lacey. And I doubt there's any gas left in it, if the engine even worked. Let's get out of here.”

Only when he reached for her, Lacey's eyes were so wide, he halted.

“What is it? What's wrong?”

She brought her hand out from under the dash, and in her palm was a black capsule. The surprise on her face had to match his own. “Does this look familiar?”

Wade couldn't breathe. It was the thing that had set everything in motion that long-ago day when he'd found it stashed in the grandstand. The whole world ceased to turn in his mind as he stared at the container that had begun it all. All the secrets and all the deaths.

“Put it back.” The words spilled from his mouth. When she didn't move, he shouted, “I said, put it back! Whatever that is, it's deadly, and I don't want it anywhere near you.”

The passenger door behind Lacey swung wide. A man in a black suit reached in and pulled Lacey out from her waist. He had a gun to her head before Wade could engage. Wade pulled his own gun from the back of his waistband, but immediately felt a hand from behind, snatching it away. Wade whipped around to meet a gun pointed at his chest. He looked up at the face that the gun belonged to.

No recognition at all. Just another man in a high-end suit. This one clean-cut like...military.

From the other side of the truck, Promise barked more ferociously than Wade had ever heard her bark before. For her to bark like that, things had to be going down fast over there. Lacey yelled, “Put me down!” She continued to scream into the night. Then her voice muffled as though someone had covered her mouth.

Wade could spit nails. “Tell your man to leave her alone. This doesn't involve her.”

“We'll decide that. And it's men. You're outnumbered, eight to three. Four, if I give you the dog.” The guy pointed his gun at the center of Wade's chest and invited him to look and see.

One glance and Wade saw the red dot locked on him.

“The cop and your girlfriend are wearing one, too. What's your decision?”

An image of Lacey and the detective lying in a pool of their own blood, staining the white snow, filled Wade's mind. He didn't even have to see the deaths and they were already imprinted on his brain. More deaths to live with. But Lacey's? No, not Lacey's.

Wade's breathing picked up. He gnashed his teeth in frustration. Hearing her cries just added to the sour sickness in his stomach. What were they doing to her? What could he do for her? Nothing. “Who are you and what do you want?”

“Walk slowly around the truck and get in the car.”

“We're not going anywhere with you.”

The gun clicked, but Wade held every eyelash in place. He could disarm the guy. He knew how.

But the risk was too great. Wade sneered at the man and skirted the truck, his choices limited...for now.

The sight around the truck nearly undid him. Two men held Lacey by the arms while another one held a gun on her. The detective was apprehended facedown in the snow, disarmed by two men. Promise growled and bit into the pant leg of one of the men holding Lacey.

The gun in Wade's back rammed deeper. “Tell her to be quiet, or I shoot the dog.”

“No, don't hurt her!” Lacey immediately stopped twisting. “I'll go wherever you want to take me. Just don't hurt Promise.”

“Don't get in that vehicle!” Wade rushed for her. If he could get the men off her and shield her from being shot, she could make a run for it.

A bullet sprayed the snow between them, halting Wade. The message was clear. There would be no running for either of them.

The men dragged Lacey to a black SUV in the shadows of the concession stand. The back door stood open and waiting. Promise refused to relinquish her hold on the man's pant leg. Lacey shouted, “Stay, Promise, stay with Wade,” before being pushed inside the vehicle.

“Not to worry, Miss Phillips.” The man stepped up behind Wade, the gun back in place. “You're both coming. Boss's orders.”

* * *

Lacey's hands trembled on her lap where she'd sat for over an hour facing the rear window of the kidnappers' SUV. Promise nudged her, but she pushed the dog toward Wade to help him instead.

Except when Lacey glanced his way to her left, she noticed he was calm and collected and didn't need his service animal at the moment.

But then, why would he? His hypervigilance that plagued him during everyday peace times was warranted at the moment. It kept him in the right state of mind for the task at hand.

Operation Rescue.

He sat on one side of her while another man sat on her right. Two of the other gunmen sat across the seats facing them, weapons drawn. The man to her right had the dreaded capsule.

Wade folded his arms and bumped her wound. She inhaled sharply, even though it was healing well. It did still pain her when touched, especially after these men had manhandled her.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you.” Wade looked at the men across from him. “She was shot, but I guess you already know that.”

No reply came, but Wade's attention never wavered from the kidnappers across from them. He also kept his hand on her arm with a gentle rub she could feel through the fabric of his army combat coat she still wore. His calmness made her think he'd been prepared for something of this nature. Knowing him, he'd probably even planned for it. He'd mentioned to her his duties included rescues, but did those ever include his own?

Wade continued to brush against her arm. Slowly, she relaxed and leaned a little closer in toward him, accepting the comfort he offered her. She trusted he would get them out of this before another hour of driving went by.

She could only wonder when Wade planned to make his move and what he would need her to do when he did.

“I'm surprised you haven't blindfolded us.” Wade broke the void of the heavy silence. “That could only mean one thing.”

No reply.

The car slowed and came to a stop. The driver's window lowered, and Lacey could hear the murmur of voices from the front. The driver was talking to someone outside, being very friendly.

Was it a police officer? Had they been pulled over? She hadn't seen any lights out the rear window, but someone was definitely out there. If so, this could be her only chance to be free.

“Don't even think about it.” The guy to her left pressed his gun into the side of her rib cage.

The scream in her mouth escaped on a squeak. She glanced at Wade, expecting him to make his move now.

Instead, he winked.

He actually winked.

Lacey merely stared, wishing she could ask him how he could be so casual about this, especially when the SUV picked up speed again. That was when she saw out the rear window that they had just entered some sort of gated area. A small check-in station had been what the car had stopped off at.

Wade huffed. “You're military. I knew it.”

Military? They were on a military base? Lacey studied the stolid faces across from her, so like Wade's full ops face on so many occasions. Men with a mission and a plan to carry it out.

But if she and Wade were in danger at the hands of the United States military, then that meant her brother had been, too.

Lacey's blood pressure skyrocketed in an instant. “Jeffrey was killed by his own men?” She shook her head, unable to fathom it. “He gave you his life. How could you?”

Wade's hand covered hers, but she didn't just feel his hand. She felt something hard in it.

Wade had managed to obtain some kind of weapon? But what?

The knife from his coat!

That was why he had been touching her arm. He was lifting it off her, out of the pocket in his uniform. He wasn't offering her comfort at all.

But he was trying to save her.

She would take it.

* * *

The car came to a stop in front of airplane hangar number 256, according to the numbers painted on the outside of the gray exterior walls. A plane flew overhead. By the sound, Wade determined it to be a tanker. The base was used for refueling, and now, apparently, kidnapping.

The man beside Lacey pulled her from the vehicle first, but Promise jumped out to take up her place beside Lacey immediately. Wade followed behind and silently promised there would be lots of treats for his dog later.

And there would be a later. Wade had every intention of putting an end to this charade tonight. For some reason, some superior up in ranks had deemed seizure as the best method of getting them here. They didn't know all it would have taken was an invite. Wade was ready to put this whole investigation to bed and would have RSVP'd promptly had he been given the opportunity. Of course, his gun would have been by his side in that scenario. Now he was walking in with nothing but the small knife he'd swiped from his combat jacket on Lacey. It was hardly enough against all the lead aimed at them, but it was something to help free her.

None of the men had any idea he'd taken it while he sat beside her in the SUV. At first he'd thought she knew he was up to something when she'd leaned into him, but at her tiny sigh, he'd seen she was only depending on him. That idea scared him more than this last mile they walked together.

The fool woman had no idea of the pain depending on him would bring to her life. There were whole days he lost during one of his bouts. What if she needed him and he let her down? What if he indirectly hurt her—the one person he would never want to cause pain? By allowing her into his life, it was bound to happen. She'd said she never wanted to get married because it was the people closest to her who could hurt her the most. And
she
was talking about people who didn't have PTSD.

No. There could never be anything between them. He wouldn't do that to her. He would get her out of here tonight and tell her to go live her life. He'd told her that before. He'd said it would be what Jeff would want for her. It was also what he wanted for her. A long, safe and happy life.

The first man in the line opened the side door and held it back for them all to pass through. They entered the open hangar, empty of any planes. Nothing but an eight-foot-long table and some chairs propped open. Two men stood behind the table as they were ushered in.

“Welcome,” the eldest of the two spoke, his voice booming and influential. His tailor-made suit accentuated a strong physique. His bright white hair was the only thing that gave his age away. Wade estimated him to be pushing eighty, but he could pass for seventy. “Take her to the other room,” the man instructed.

Wade took a step to grab Lacey's arm. “She stays with me.”

“Nothing will happen to her. I just want to talk to you alone first.” The man nodded to the guy who had pilfered Wade's gun back at the track. The guy gave Wade a smirk as he came up behind Lacey, his gun pointed at her.

Wade held tight to her, conflicted. “She takes the dog, then. I don't want her without protection.”

The old man gave the nod.

Wade let go of her arm and pushed his dog forward. “Stay with Lacey, Promise. On her side. Don't leave her.” Wade looked into Lacey's frightened eyes. “Keep that smart head of yours focused. And be ready to go.”