When I Find You: A Trust No One Novel (28 page)

Where was Walker? He was supposed to meet them here. He was probably in his car following them, but that didn’t keep her from worrying. Cooper was wired and anxious, which made her nervous. Besides that, he bordered on obnoxious, and the fact he thought it necessary to hold her phone until they were on the bus was over the top. He’d been a strange man from day one, but he was doing all of this so she’d have a chance to say good-bye to Nick and Eddy. She could put up with him for a little while longer.

He led her to the back of the bus, found two empty seats, and motioned her to the one by the window. Then he folded his tall, lean frame into the seat next to her. She didn’t relish the claustrophobic experience of being trapped in a two-by-two space, even if it did have a view.

A young woman with a newborn baby occupied the seat across the aisle from them. The girl, who couldn’t have been more than eighteen, made eye contact and smiled at Darcy as she slid into her seat. Darcy returned her smile. She was pretty with long blond hair.
So young to be a mother.
Where was the father? His family probably needed him here with them . . . just like she needed Walker. Where was he? Didn’t he know she was lost without him?

Cooper pulled her phone from his pocket and handed it to her. “Call Johnny. Hopefully he’s still there.”

Darcy found Johnny’s number in the log and placed the call. It went straight to voice mail. “Johnny, it’s Darcy. I’m on the bus heading south. Please call me when you get this message.” She ended the call and punched in her code to retrieve her messages.

“Hold on.” Cooper covered her phone with his hand. “You might miss Johnny’s call. Wait until you hear from him. Then you can get your messages.”

His condescending tone annoyed her, but there was logic in what he said, so she reclined against the headrest and tried to relax as she waited for Johnny to call back. It was only a few minutes before the phone vibrated. She shot an irritated glance at Cooper when he grabbed her hand and checked the caller ID before allowing her to answer. A shudder of revulsion went through her as he leaned close to listen.

“Johnny?”

“Darcy, I was beginning to think you weren’t coming.”

“It was a hard decision.”

“But you’ve made it now?” Something in his voice unsettled her.

“Yes, I’ve made my decision.” She should tell him what that decision was, but would he still let her come and say good-bye to Nick and Eddy once he knew?

“Okay. Listen carefully. Stay on the bus until you get to Harris Beach State Park. There’s a rest area there and the driver will stop if you ask him. Don’t get back on the bus. Wait at the campground for fifteen minutes and then follow the trail south. Once I see you haven’t been followed, I’ll find you. Got that?”

“Yes, Johnny. I have someone . . .” The line went dead before she could tell him she wasn’t alone.

Darcy groaned. The bus driver hated her. Would he stop if she asked him? Of course he would, as soon as Cooper flashed his badge again. If Johnny saw her with Cooper, he’d leave without making contact. Cooper watched her with an odd grin as she punched in her password to retrieve her messages.

She tensed as soon as she heard Walker’s anxious voice. Her gaze flew to Cooper’s face just as his hand closed over her thigh.

“Don’t cause a scene.”

“Who are you?”

“Someone with a job to do.”

“What job?”

He smiled coldly. “Ridding the world of the likes of Johnny Fontana.”

“You used me to bring him out where you can kill him?”

“Yep. It was a brilliant plan. That idiot, Walker, nearly ruined it for me though. He won’t get in the way again. There’s a helicopter crash in his future . . . might be any minute.” He glanced at his watch. “Too bad, since I owed him one for taking Reggie out of the picture.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not a very good judge of character, are you, Darcy? You thought I was a deputy marshal . . . turns out I’m not. You thought Reggie Allen killed Johnny . . . they staged the whole thing. He shows up yesterday to rescue you, and you and Walker nearly kill him. Now that’s poetic justice.” Cooper laughed.

“Rescue me? What kind of a rescue involves shooting Walker and trying to kill me?”

“Well, I wondered that myself. The only thing I can figure is he finally wised up. Decided eliminating all the witnesses was the only smart thing to do. He probably knew if he didn’t kill you, I’d eventually get the information from you about where Johnny is hiding . . . and look—he was right. Who knows what the poor guy was thinking—but that’s my take. If he dies, I guess we’ll never know.”

Darcy had to concentrate and figure a way out of this. Walker. She had to warn him. She stood suddenly and tried to push past Cooper. He wrapped his hand around her wrist and jerked her down in her seat, took her phone, and shoved it in his pocket.

“I like you, Darcy. I don’t want to hurt you, but I can’t let you interfere with what I have to do. So, you see this young girl on my left? If you do anything I don’t like, I’m going to stick a knife between her ribs and into her heart, nice and quiet like.”

She had to struggle to keep from throwing up for a minute. He spoke so matter-of-factly about murdering the girl. When she met his gaze, there was nothing there . . . no compassion . . . no feeling . . . no soul. He meant it. She drew in a raspy breath. “You son of a—”

“Now, now—be nice.” A humorless smile twisted his features.

She clamped her mouth shut and sneaked a glance at the girl across the aisle. A blanket covered her as she nursed the baby, oblivious to the danger. Darcy clenched her fists until her fingernails dug into the palms of her hands. Was he telling the truth about Walker? Was he dead? Her eyes prickled with a hint of tears that she couldn’t possibly give in to, and she shook her head angrily. She had to keep her wits about her and stay calm. Crying wouldn’t help anything. One thing she knew—she wasn’t going to let Johnny walk into a trap. Somehow she had to warn him.

Chapter Nineteen

W
HEN
W
ALKER’S PHONE
rang, he pushed himself away from the side of the chopper, stared at the number flashing on the screen, and raised his gaze to meet Joe’s in silent confirmation.

He lifted the phone to his ear and took a deep breath. “It’s about time, Fontana.”

“You’ve got thirty seconds to tell me why I should believe anything you say.” Johnny’s sarcastic tone grated on Walker’s already jagged nerves.

“If you care anything at all about Darcy, you’ll listen. Personally, I don’t think you give a damn about her, but she still trusts you for some reason. You put her in danger when you disappeared. She’d be dead now if it wasn’t for me. In spite of that, she’s willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. She got on the damn bus this morning. She’s on her way to meet you, and she’s not alone. The man she’s with is masquerading as a U.S. deputy marshal. He killed the real deputy and he’ll kill her, too, as soon as she leads him to you.” Walker paused and swallowed hard against the rage that threatened to explode from him. “Just so we’re clear, I don’t give a damn about you. I’m not as forgiving as she is. She wouldn’t be in this mess if it wasn’t for you. If you don’t step up and help me save her life, I don’t care what hole you crawl into, I’ll hunt you down.”

“Nice speech, Walker, but how do I know I can trust you? What if you’re the one who’s using Darcy to get to me?”

“You could ask some of your buddies in the Justice Department, but we don’t have time for that. She called you, didn’t she?”

“What if she did?”

Walker breathed out slowly and his voice took on a deadly edge. “You’ve got a chance to make this right . . . if you care about her, you’ll take it.”

Absolute silence was the only response for several seconds, and Walker half-expected Johnny to hang up on him.

Finally, Johnny released his breath and swore quietly. “What do you want from me?”

“I want you to man up—be someone your sons can be proud of. The information I just gave you isn’t free. Help me save her life and maybe you can save yours at the same time. Where’s she supposed to meet you?”

“Goddammit. She wasn’t supposed to be there when Reggie showed up.” Johnny’s words were almost a groan. “When the marshals moved everything up twenty-four hours, they promised to get Darcy out with me and make sure she was safe. She must have bolted with the first gunshot. When Reggie went to get her, she was gone. I’ve been on him ever since to find her.”

“He found her all right. He tried to kill her.”

“What kind of bullshit story are you trying to feed me? Reggie was getting her out of there so Montgomery wouldn’t find her.”

“Reggie mentioned Montgomery. Seemed to think he was somewhere close, but the only one I saw waving a gun around was Reggie.”

“A hundred bucks says Montgomery is your masquerading deputy marshal.”

“It doesn’t matter who he is. We don’t have time for this now. Are you going to help me or not?” Walker clenched his teeth, afraid he’d already pushed too hard. His control was slipping away and it wouldn’t be a good idea to go ballistic on Johnny if there was any chance he would agree.

Johnny hesitated. “I owe her at least that much.”

“Where are you meeting her?” Walker expelled the breath he’d been holding and gave a thumbs-up to Joe and Cara.

“Harris Beach State Park . . . in about thirty minutes. Can you be there by then?”

“I’ll be there.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“No . . . but I will.”

Joe cranked up the chopper as soon as Walker hung up, and Cara spread a map of the Oregon coast out on the side of the aircraft. Walker traced the winding course of Highway 101 until he found what he was looking for. He tapped his finger on Harris Beach State Park, nodded at Joe, and pointed skyward. Cara climbed in the back, still folding the map, and Walker hoisted in a large duffel bag full of items he’d borrowed from Joe’s armory while they were waiting for Johnny to call. As soon as he settled in the front seat, the chopper lifted off.

D
ARCY RECEIVED A
stormy look from the driver and a cursory shake of his head when she asked him to drop them off at the state park. Cooper seemed happy to use his authority as a deputy U.S. marshal to get the man to pull the bus off the road.

The driver scowled as three other people stood and moved toward the front, obviously mistaking the stop for a restroom break. “This bus leaves in exactly five minutes.” The driver growled as he opened the door.

Cooper clasped Darcy’s arm in a painful grip as they climbed down the steps and onto the blacktop. The girl with the baby followed them out.

“I really needed to stretch my legs. Do you mind if I walk with you?” The girl smiled as she calmly patted the baby’s back.

No. That was definitely not a good idea. Darcy started to object, but Cooper pinched her arm even tighter and answered for her.

“Of course not, Miss. Darcy can even help you with the baby. You’d like that, wouldn’t you, honey?” He put his arm around Darcy’s shoulders and flashed a fake smile at Emma. “What’s her name? It’s a girl, isn’t it? Those long eyelashes would be wasted on a boy.”

The girl smiled appreciatively as she handed the baby to Darcy. “Her name is Shiloh.”

Darcy accepted the bundle and gazed down at the sleeping newborn, unable to dislodge the panic that grew more insistent with each second. Cooper was up to something and it couldn’t be good.

“Shiloh is a beautiful name.” He craned over her shoulder to gaze at the baby. “Oh honey, I forgot you need to use the restroom too. Here . . . let me take little Shiloh and you go with Emma.” He glanced at Emma, whose uncertain expression bordered on suspicion. “Don’t you worry . . . I can handle her for a few minutes.”

Darcy thought Emma would object and take back her baby. The look she flashed Cooper clearly said he’d overstepped his bounds, but as Darcy watched, Emma blinked a couple of times and pasted a smile on her lips. “I . . . I really appreciate this. I didn’t trust anyone else to take care of Shiloh for me, but when I saw you and your husband—a police officer—well, no one could be more trustworthy than that. Right?”

Darcy bit her tongue to keep from denying he was her husband—or trustworthy. The less she explained the better.

The girl started toward the restrooms, and Cooper stared at Darcy, a warning in his eyes, until she turned and followed her. The monster would hurt that innocent baby if she tried to warn its mother. She didn’t intend to say anything to the girl. Darcy just wanted to get her and her baby back on the bus so she would have one less thing to worry about.

She forced a friendly smile as she held the bathroom door for the girl and followed her in. “I’m Darcy. What’s your name?”

“Emma. It’s nice to meet you. I hate traveling alone—don’t you? We’re on our way to San Francisco to meet up with Shiloh’s father. We’re getting married.” Her cheeks took on a tinge of pink.

“Congratulations.” Darcy tapped her foot impatiently while Emma stepped into one of the stalls, came out adjusting her clothes, and washed her hands. When she finally moved toward the door, it was all Darcy could do to keep from rushing her. “Come on. Let’s get you back on that bus before that mean bus driver leaves without you.”

Cooper was nowhere in sight when they walked out of the restroom. Darcy tensed as foreboding gripped her.

Emma instantly panicked. “Shiloh? Oh my God. Where is she? Where’s my baby?” She twirled around, peering one way and then another. Relief flooded her face when Cooper appeared, walking toward them from the beach, but then she gasped when she realized he no longer held the baby.

Darcy reached him first. “Where is she? Just give her back the baby and let her get on the bus. I’ll do whatever you want.”

“I know. They’re going to be my little insurance policy.”

“Where is she?” Tears cascaded down Emma’s face as she came up behind Darcy.

“Don’t panic. What’s your name, sweetheart?”

“Emma.”

“Well, Emma, your baby’s going to be just fine as long as you do exactly what I tell you. Okay?” Cooper grabbed her by the arm as her knees gave out.