No Safe Haven (24 page)

Zoya grabbed Andie's limp hand. "I won't, Auntie Jenna. I've never seen her so angry. Will she be okay?"

Anesia laid her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "I'm sure it's been a traumatic few days. She'll be fine."

Two nurses prepared the bed for moving, and then whisked her child out the door.

The doctor hesitated a moment before he spoke. "Whatever it is that just happened? Let's make sure it doesn't happen again. Andie needs to heal. I haven't even begun to tell you the extent of her ankle injury. She needs to stay off of it. Completely. We'll get her stitched up and run a CT scan while we're at it, but things need to be calm by the time we get back. Understood?"

Jenna glanced around the room. Cole stood stiff as a statue. That muscle twitching in his jaw. Anesia's eyes narrowed, studying him. The doctor seemed exasperated with the whole situation.

"I understand." She forced her words out. "It's been a harrowing experience for all of us. I had no idea she would ever react that way. But she's all right?"

"I believe so. Her eyebrow is split open. A lot of blood, but head wounds always bleed profusely. I'll take a look at her medications. Maybe the dosage of steroids triggered her temper. But please remember, she needs to stay off that ankle until we can discuss the injury further and talk about her physical therapy."

"Is there someone down there to protect her?" Jenna couldn't bear the thought of Andie being in danger.

"I'll make sure a nurse stays with her until we bring her back up. The hospital is safe, Jenna. We have lots of security, twenty-four hours a day."

"Thank you, Doctor." Jenna squeezed her eyes shut as he left the room. What a nightmare. Andie had never reacted so violently to anything. Ever. Poor kid. Jenna hoped her daughter's ankle wasn't damaged permanently, but understood the doctor needed to take care of one thing at a time. How much more could they take?

A familiar hand touched hers, bringing her eyes open. She gazed into her friend's eyes. "Anesia. Thanks for coming."

"Girl, you know I would do anything for you. Now
please
tell me what's going on." The dart of her eyes to Cole showed Jenna her friend's suspicion of the man.

"Actually, I think Cole and I need to finish before they bring Andie back." Anger returned as she looked over at her handsome, one-time rescuer. Conflicting emotions surged through her. How could she care so much and yet loathe him at the same time? The temptation to hate him and his stupid accusations almost won the battle over her Christian beliefs to love her neighbor as herself.

That muscle in Cole's jaw worked into overtime. "Anesia," he held out his hand in greeting. "I'm Cole Maddox. I've heard a lot about you."

Her longtime friend shook his hand, but didn't respond.

"Don't guess there's any way I could ask you to leave?"

Anesia's shoulders were rigid, arms crossed over her chest. "Not a chance."

"Even though you understand that this will put you in danger?"

"I'm the closest person in Jenna's life, Mr. Maddox. I think I'm already in danger. So just get on with it."

"Fair enough. Do you have a laptop with you?"

Anesia nodded, her expression quizzical.

"I think it's time I clear up this mess." Cole took the chair beside Jenna's bed again and looked at Anesia. "Do you mind if I use it?"

She looked to Jenna for approval and then grabbed her laptop bag from the doorway where she'd left it. Handing it over to Cole, she turned back to Jenna. "You okay? We were so worried. What happened? The news on the radio said there was suspicion surrounding your crash and they were investigating."

"Really? Suspicion?"

"Uh huh, something about the flight plan being erased, and garbled flight transmissions."

"Oh good grief. This just won't end, will it?"

"What won't end? Are you okay?"

Jenna gave her a weak smile. "Yeah, it was horrible, but I'm okay, I think. This infection in my leg is pretty severe." Jenna darted a glance at Cole. "I'll tell you everything in a little bit, but I need to understand what I'm up against."

Her friend's expression told her she didn't agree. "Who do I need to go beat up? 'Cause you know I will."

Jenna let out a feeble laugh. Feisty Anesia. Smaller than Jenna's own petite frame, Anesia didn't look like much of a threat, but Jenna knew otherwise. They'd been through so much together. Her trusted friend would go to battle for her with bare hands if needed. "Who's watching the house? And what about your kennel?"

"Peter said he would keep an eye on your property, and Joe is taking care of the dogs."

Cole's gaze shot up from the computer. "Who's Peter? And Joe?"

"Peter's been a friend of our family for a long time. Anesia and I both hire him to do odd jobs for us. And Joe is Anesia's friend. They're both safe."

A brief nod and he was immersed again in the computer.

"I brought the twins with me." Anesia's eyes held a familiar twinkle.

"You're going to sneak them in, aren't you?"

"Well, I'm going to try to do it legally first." Anesia's eyes turned serious and she whispered, "Are you okay? Really okay?"

"I don't know. This whole thing with Marc has driven me crazy for too long. I really need to know. Before I lose every good memory I have of him."

"
Ts'akae!
Are you sure you should be worried about that right now? Your plane crashed, you almost died—"

"I need to know about my marriage first, Anesia. I really need to know." Tears were unwelcome at this point, but her eyes didn't want to cooperate. How to ask? She didn't even know where to start.

She took a deep breath. Better to just blurt it out. "Cole, I need to know if this has anything to do with some woman named Amy." Jenna bit her cheek after she choked out the words. How embarrassing to say it out loud. What would he think of her now? That she'd failed as a wife?

Anesia's hand gripped hers tighter.

Cole's focus stayed on the computer screen for several seconds. But finally, he cocked his head, furrowed his brow deeper, and lifted his eyes to meet hers. "A woman named Amy?"

She really didn't want to hear his answer. Oh, why did she ever ask that question? It'd be better not to know. Not to bear the humiliation of seeing the pity in Cole's eyes. Her own eyes stung. Stinking tears! Biting her lip, she attempted to swallow her anguish.

Cole brought the computer to her lap, and brushed her arm with the back of his hand.

Anesia stood like a sentinel on her other side, holding onto her hand with a grip that threatened to break her fingers. Her friend would stick with her. No matter what. But this man? This man she dared to believe in? Dared to open her heart to? No. He would leave. She prepared her heart for the worst.

"Jenna," those brown eyes captured hers, "this won't be easy. Read it. It'll explain. AMI isn't a woman." As if reading her thoughts, he added, "And I'm not going anywhere."

Jenna sucked air through her lips and prayed for strength. She could do this. The laptop displayed an e-mail server. And a thread of e-mail conversation. Waiting to be read.

As the words formed sentences, and those sentences came together in her mind, Jenna gasped. No. It couldn't be. Page after page she read. Scrolling down, down until she reached the end.

She stared at the computer screen. In black and white, the screen taunted her.

"Marc . . . he was a good man. But something inside him changed. He did something I never thought he'd do." Cole stroked her arm. "He sold out to the highest bidder. Yes, our group started out thinking that we could change the world. But greed and selfishness and the appeal of power took over."

"How dare you tell me what kind of man my husband was." Jenna spit through clenched teeth, breaking from his grasp. "It's all a fabrication. Marc would never do anything like that." Her heart sank. She could defend her husband all she wanted, but the facts glared at her.

Cole gripped her shoulders, hurt evident in his eyes. "Believe what you want, Jenna. But those e-mails are real. AMI is real." He turned away, the planes of his face hardening. "And you have a little girl whose life is in danger because of your husband's choices."

"Why didn't you tell me? Or are you not really who you say you are?" She knew it wasn't fair, but her heart ached. How could she have been so stupid? So blind? Cole played a part, just like Marc.

"I'm sorry, Jenna. I should've told you. But I didn't know if I could trust you."

Tears streamed down her cheeks. Marc never trusted her with the really important stuff either. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten involved with such a greedy group of men. She might've stopped it.

Anesia held the laptop, the compassion in her eyes telling Jenna she'd read the thread. Her friend knew. It was true. All of it. How could Marc do this to her? And why? Just for the money? Could her husband really have changed that much?

"Jenna?"

She couldn't bear to look at Cole.

"Jenna. Look at me." His voice softened. Not a command, but a plea.

Closing her eyes, she shook her head. No. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing—

But Cole continued on anyway. The bed creaked as he lowered the side rail. The mattress sank as he sat next to her. "Jenna. Marc
was
a good man. I'm here because of him." His warmth seeped over to her. His breath tickled her face. "I know you hate me right now. I know you're mad at Marc. But listen to me. Please." His forehead touched her cheek for a brief moment.

Then he pulled back with a jerk and walked across the room.

She dared to look at him.

"Jenna, I confronted Marc near the end. He told me the truth about what our operations were doing. And then he realized what a crazy mess he'd gotten himself into. He tried to fix it, Jenna. He wanted to set things straight. To hand over the systems to the U.S. government, and tell you the truth. I promise."

Tears streamed down her cheeks. How could Marc have done that? How could she not have known what he was involved in? Was Cole telling the truth? What if he created the e-mails to cover up for himself?

"Jenna. There's more."

Those beautiful brown eyes no longer begged her to drown herself in them. They were hard. Just like his expression.

She looked away. "I'm listening."

"Marc contacted the FBI. I don't know all the details, he didn't get a chance to tell me, but they were working with him to bring down the whole enterprise. That's what he was doing . . . when he was murdered."

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

ANDIE

April 12

ER—Providence Hospital

Anchorage, Alaska

8:55 a. m.

My head throbbed.

Pain was such a strange sensation.

Something beeped next to me. A few hushed voices whispered in the distance. Babies cried.

What's going on?
Memories flashed through my head.

Cole, Mom, Zoya, anger, fear. Broken-hearted pain.

I shuddered as the anger gripped my heart.

Where's Cole?

I was in some curtained-off little room somewhere in the hospital. And I was mad?

I was sorry for what I did, but then again, I wouldn't have minded landing a blow or two on Cole.

God, what am I thinking? What's going on?
I was sure that if God hadn't been holding my heart together, it would have ripped in two.

And then it came again. That memory I'd tried to forget . . .

———

"We have to hurry, North Korea is anxious to get the prototype . . . All right, I'll see what I can do." Dad hung up the phone and I took a step forward.

"Daddy, whatsa prototype? Where is North Korea? And why do they want it?"

Dad spun around. "Oh, boy." Rubbing his forehead, he sat down in his office chair. "Come here, Squirt." He patted his lap and I ran over. Pulling me up onto his muscular leg, he kissed my cheek. "Squirt, I need you to do me a favor."

I started messing with his buttons and smiled up at him. "I'll do anything for you, Daddy."

He smiled back and tugged my braid. "I knew you would. But, I need you to keep a secret for me."

"What kind of secret?"

"Well . . ." He frowned. "A very, very, very important secret."

"Like what you're getting Mommy for Christmas?"

"Even more important than that."

"Well, okay, Daddy. I guess if it's that important I can keep this secret." I leaned against his shoulder and smoothed out his shirt.

"I need you to . . ." He pulled me closer. "You can't tell anyone, not even Mommy, about what you just heard, okay?"

"Why not?"

"Because"—He took a deep breath—"because it's important that nobody knows. Nobody can hear about it. All right?"

"Okay, Daddy, I guess I can keep it for you . . ."

———

The memory faded.

I'd kept his secret. But what did that mean, now?
Time to figure it out.

I slid my eyes open but they fell shut. A warm hand held mine and squeezed. Again, I tried to open my stubborn eyelids.

"Hey, you're awake."

Squinting, I tried to make my eyes focus. "Zoya?"

"It's me."

"Thank God." I sighed. "Will you help me sit up?"

"I guess . . . but if you get dizzy or anything, tell me, okay?"

I nodded as the back of the bed started moving up. "I'm glad you're here. I don't think I would make it without you."

Her eyes clouded over. "Oh, Andie! I've been so worried, I didn't think we'd ever find you! When you didn't show up at the airport I didn't know what to do and—"

"Hey! Calm down, it's okay, I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere." I patted her hand and smiled.

"I'm sorry. But I couldn't help but worry, Andie. You know that. You were missing for
six days.
"

"I know." I shuddered. "But, I'm here now, so let's not worry about it, okay?"

"Okay. But what happened?"

"Brace yourself, this is going to take awhile."

Zoya nodded and leaned back in her chair. I told the whole crazy story, Zoya asking questions here and there.