Second Chances: A PAVAD Duet (32 page)

A few minutes later they
carried their sleeping son to their car, leaving Marianna with Ed.
He made hot chocolate, of all things, and nudged her to the sitting
room. She was tired, but knew she wouldn’t be settling down anytime
soon.

She just wanted normal
back.

He settled onto the couch
beside her, his shoulder warm against her. She sipped at the mug,
taking comfort in the warm scent of him and chocolate
mingling.

One thing was certain, her
fears and hang ups where he was concerned had disappeared in the
last few days. If someone had told her it could happen so quickly
she’d tell them they were crazy. But it had. And now…she didn’t
know what the next step would be.

She told him as much. “I
don’t know what will happen.”

“
I know. But we’ll get
him, sweetheart—”

“
No. I mean you. And me. I
know what you want.”

“
Do you?” His shoulders
tensed.

“
I’m
not…I think…I mean…” Where had this uncertainty come from? “This is
silly. Ed, I want to
try
.”

He stared at her for a
moment. “Try what?”

“
I’ve not dated in seven
years. And my ten year marriage was hell.”

“
Marianna—”

“
No. I need to say this.”
She held a hand up. “You’re the first man I’ve been attracted to
since…before Bobby.”

“
I’ll admit I’m flattered.
Listen, I read the file. I understand what happened. You don’t ever
have to mention anything else about it again, if you don’t
want.”

“
I
don’t
want. It was the
most horrific experience I’ve ever had, but it got me one of the
seven most miraculous gifts I could have ever been given. I can
never forget that.” And she would never tell her youngest son how
he was conceived. She loved him too much to ever hurt him that
way.

“
I can understand
that.”

“
But it
also took something from me. I didn’t always realize that; but I do
now. I think, that after all this time, I should at least
try
for a second chance.
Don’t you think?” She felt so raw inside, so
scared.

“
There is no right or
wrong answer. I think that whatever you choose to do is the right
decision. I’ll never push you into anything.” He faced her, his
expression earnest and sweet. Endearing, even, in a way she’d never
expected the cold and frightening Ed Dennis to be. How her opinion
of him had changed…

“
I know
that. And of every man I’ve ever encountered, I know that
you
won’t push. I think
that maybe that’s why I can do this…” Marianna leaned forward and
brushed her lips against his. She pulled back slightly. “I think
I’d eventually like to try more. If you’re
willing.”

He smiled, his hands hot on
her back. He toyed with her hair, then wrapped hot fingers around
the back of her neck. Pulled her closer for a kiss that had her
breath catching when he—they—was done. “Know that I am far
more
than just willing.
When you want. How you want. And what you want. I can promise you
that. Is that what you want?”

“
That’s
exactly what I want, but I want it to be equal. I’ve never had
equal with a man. I want
laughter,
and
fun,
and
normal
with a man,
you
. Do you think that’s possible?
Even with this job, with our families, with who we are? I just want
normal, Ed.”

“
You want normal? Let’s do
normal. Let’s do soccer games, school carnivals, fishing trips, and
candlelit dinners. I can’t make any guarantees, no one can. But I
can give you my word that we can try. Every single day, we can try.
Starting right now, if you want.” He pulled her onto his lap, his
strong arms going behind her. Marianna laughed, low and quiet so
not to wake the seven sleeping children upstairs, and snuggled into
his arms. She lay her head on his shoulder, and took the comfort he
was offering.

“
Normal. Starting
now.”

They held each other for a
long time, until Marianna felt sleep start to overtake her. He
stroked her hair, her spine, until she was nearly out.

“
Mommy?”

Marianna jerked up so hard
she nearly fell off the couch. “Jamie, baby…”

“
Mommy, I wanna go
home.”

Marianna slipped off Ed’s
lap, hoping her son hadn’t seen exactly
where
Ed’s hands had been. She picked
her son up into her arms and cuddled him close. “Did you have a bad
dream?”

“
No. But the man at the
window was scary.”

Her hands tightened around
her son. “What man, baby?” James wasn’t prone to nightmares or
fancy imaginings. Not this one, her most serious child.

“
The man with the black
clothes. He came in through our window. Woke me up. I thought he
was Mr. Ed…”

Ed jerked to his feet, hand
going for his cell. He pressed a button and barked orders into it.
He was already running down the hall. His weapon was drawn. “Get to
the boys,
now!
I’ll have four agents inside in seconds.”

Marianna held her son close
to her chest and ran. She didn’t know what she’d do to Hugh, but if
he harmed any of her children in any way, she’d rip him to shreds.
Without a second thought.

Ed ran to the room shared
by the younger boys. Matthew’s room. Had Schild gotten in to the
boys? How? His security was complex; there shouldn’t have been a
way in. Marianna was right behind him, James held tight to her
chest. “Mari, get all the boys into one room. Put them in the
closet, under the bed, whatever you have to do,
understand?”

“
Ed…you don’t
think…”

“
I don’t know. But I’m not
taking chances. Royal, Compton, and Norton should be inside by now.
If Hugh’s in here, we’ll find him.” Bobby and Timothy were still
sound asleep in Matthew’s top bunk. The room was undisturbed.
“Jamie, buddy, where did you see this man go?”

“
Down the hall by Mommy’s
new room. By the potty.”

“
Marianna, stay here.” He
pulled Bobby from the bed and put him in Matthew’s closet. Timothy
was next. “Keep the boys quiet.”

“
Ed—the older
boys…”

“
I’ll get to them. You
just have to trust me.” He hoped to hell this was a promise he
could keep.

“
I do. Keep my children
safe.”

“
I will.” He left her,
huddling in the closet with three of her children. It was one of
the hardest things he’d ever done.

The room Marianna occupied
was down the hall a bit from the one the younger three boys slept
in. The older boys were between Matthew’s room and Marianna’s. He
entered the room shared by the older twins first. They were
sleeping soundly, obviously not disturbed. He woke Bryce first,
then Collin. “Get to your mom and younger brothers. Stay in there
with them. Closet. Go. Quietly.” He used his body to shield theirs.
Once they were safe he moved to the next room.

Nate and Ted were
gone.

Ed bit back a curse. He
grabbed his cell and hit speed dial for Agent Royal. “Nate and Ted,
fifteen and eleven years old, aren’t in their room. They’re
somewhere in the house. Repeat, two minor males at large. Everyone
else is in one location, other than the suspect.”

“
Gotcha,
boss. We’ll find them.”

Ed turned toward Marianna’s
room. Had Schild taken the boys in there? To use against their
mother? Or had the boys gone somewhere else? And where was
Schild?

He pushed open the door to
the room that had once been his daughter’s. It was dark,
undisturbed. Had Schild been in there?

He could find no indication
of it.

“
Perimeter secure. And we
have Ted. Repeat, Ted is safe. Confirms the presence of an unknown
male inside, possible ID as a former colleague of his mother’s. No
sign of the older boy. We have two agents inside the building,
searching now. Nearest LEOs are already on their way. ETA two
minutes.”

Dammit, where was Nate? Had
Hugh taken him somehow? Where were they? He’d never damned his
house before, but he did now. There were so many places someone
could hide, even more places someone could hide
explosives.

Had he done the right
thing, keeping Marianna and the boys in one place? Every instinct
he possessed told him
no.
He turned around and ran as quietly back to
Matthew’s room as possible. Two minutes was just too damned
long.

Marianna had the boys
behind her, and she’d found one of Mattie’s t-ball bats to arm
herself. “Mari, come on.” He picked Bobby up and put him in his
mother’s arms, then instructed the older twins to carry the
younger. “We have people outside.”

“
Ted and Nate?”

“
Outside.
Ted’s outside. Mari, I’m not sure where Nate is. Local LEOs are on
the way. I want you all
out.
Then I’ll find Nate.”

Marianna’s heart was
frozen, terrified for her son. Where was Nate? What had happened?
She carried Bobby close. They followed Ed as he led them through
the kitchen and out through the garage.

Agent Royal met them in the
yard. He took Bobby from her, and grabbed her hand. “Boss,
McLaughlin’s team’s on your perimeter. They heard the call, and
were already at HQ. They have Ted down at the neighbor’s, 631
Brickstone Ave.”

“
That’s
two blocks away and empty. Mari,
go.
I’ll get Nate, I swear to you.
Go.”

She nodded. She just hoped
he realized just exactly what she was trusting him to
do.

She followed Royal, nearly
running as he carried her youngest son. The three youngest boys
were crying, and the sound broke her heart. How could she help her
babies now?

And Nate? Where was
Nate?

They reached the empty
house just blocks from Ed’s estate. The lights were on, people were
inside. People she recognized.

“
Ted!”

“
Mom!” Ted ran to her. She
caught him against her and held him.

“
Oh, baby! Where’s your
brother?”

“
I don’t know! We heard
something, then Nate covered my mouth and told me to get outside,
out of the room. I went out the window, but Nate didn’t have time
to follow me. I think that guy took him!”

Marianna pushed Ted toward
Ana Sorin. “Stay here!”

She turned around and ran
back toward Ed’s, back toward her son.

Ed found Nate and the man
he recognized as Hugh Schild in the basement of the house. Nate was
calm, but Ed could tell he was scared. And why wouldn’t he be? He
was only fifteen years old, his family was in danger, and Schild
had a gun.

“
Schild. I don’t believe
we’ve met; I’m the owner of this house.”

“
And Director of the FBI’s
newest and greatest team in the world.” Schild pulled Nate closer.
“I know who you are.”

Schild was calm, rational,
and cold. The handgun in his left hand remained trained on Nate. He
gripped the weapon like the experienced former ATF agent his file
had said he had been before his transfer to FBI forensics. He’d had
one promotion while at Indianapolis. He had a good career, with a
few personnel issues, but nothing to truly explain why he would do
this. Aggravated assault, criminal confinement, attempted murder,
murder, breaking and entering. What made someone like him go off
the deep end this way? And how could Ed get Nate away from him?
“You have to know I have people on their way. Two teams, at least.
And I’m armed, as well. What are you hoping to
accomplish?”

Schild remained calm,
steady, with years of training evident in his manner. “I want to
speak with Marianna.”

“
That’s not going to
happen. I’m going to keep her safe.”

“
Even with her son
here?”

“
Don’t let him hurt my
mom!”

“
I won’t,
Nate. I gave you my word and I keep that.” When Schild looked at
the boy, he seemed both hesitant
and
apathetic. Was Nate the
key?

Schild had no wife, no
children. Was he involved with someone? Ed looked straight at
Schild. “Nate loves his mother, and she adores him. Adores all of
her boys. And loves her friends. Can you tell me why you wanted to
hurt her, the others? Merrick Cody is still in the hospital; so is
Susie Jones. And Kelly Reynolds is facing a few rounds of plastic
surgery. Susie Jones has worked in St. Louis since 1978. She’s had
burns, abrasions, lacerations, a broken arm…and a heart attack. Is
that what you wanted to accomplish? She has never been a part of
the Indianapolis lab. And she has four granddaughters, all under
the age of eight. They’re terrified. And you did this. And now
you’re terrifying a fifteen-year-old boy.”