In the Shadow of the Shield (Secret Lives Series Book 2) (15 page)

She was out within minutes, dreams of Donnie screaming for help as he ran blindly through dark, smoke-filled rooms filling her sleep.

Chapter Fourteen

When she woke two hours later, the house was quiet. After a quick trip to the restroom, she padded down to the kitchen, stopping to check in Jackson’s room, but there was no sign of her son. In the kitchen she found a note. Jackson was leaving her a lot of notes lately.

Hi, Mom,

Went out with Caleb and Hunter. I’ll be home by eleven. Didn’t want to wake you.

Love, J.

At least she didn’t have to explain where she was going. She would leave a note, like he had.

Jackson,

Went out with a friend. Won’t be late. Love you too,

Mom.

After throwing together a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, she put on her shoes and jacket and waited for Carter to return. The chill outside worked its way into the house, prompting her to grab a knit hat and a pair of gloves. At eight on the dot, headlights shone through the living room window. She ran out the door to meet Carter.

“I would have come to the door,” he said as she buckled her seatbelt.

“I know. I just didn’t want to waste any time.”

“This your first stakeout?” Carter grinned at her as he backed out of the drive.

“Yes. I never did a ride along or anything with Donnie. It was better for me not to know what he did at work.”

In that moment, her words rang true. The only reason she and Jackson had stayed safe was because she stayed out of her husband’s work life. Well, she was done staying out of things now. No more Mrs. Nice Guy. Someone was going down for taking her husband away, and she would happily be the one to do it. Or, at least, help Carter make it happen.

It took ten minutes to get to Lynnhaven, and another five to find an inconspicuous place to leave the truck. Carter finally settled on a strip mall parking lot. The hibachi restaurant had a pretty steady crowd, and the truck would fit right in.

They walked the three blocks into the neighborhood where the house was and stood at the corner where they'd found Louie earlier in the day. Carter stopped and turned to face her. “If something goes wrong, or if we get separated, return to the truck. I’ll meet you there. Do you have your phone on you?”

Diana nodded and pulled it from her pocket. “Right here.”

“Put it on silent.” She did as she was told. “Let me see the time.” He took her phone and checked it against his. “Okay, we are synchronized.” Carter reached into his pocket and took out a tiny little white bit of plastic.

“What’s that?”

“A tiny microphone. Put this in your ear.” He handed it to her, and she placed it in her right ear. He reached into his other pocket and took out a small black piece. “Let me clip this inside your collar. This is the mic you can speak into.”

Diana stepped forward and pulled on the neckline of her sweatshirt. Carter reached in and attached the tiny piece. She really hoped he couldn’t hear—or worse, feel—the pounding of her heart in her chest when he was so close.

He popped his own earpiece in, snapped a mic into the collar of his shirt, and said, “Testing. Can you hear me?”

“I hear you loud and clear,” she yelled into the mic.

Carter grasped his ear, pain in his eyes. “There’s no need to yell. You can whisper and I will hear it perfectly.”

“Sorry,” she whispered this time.

“That’s better. You ready to do this?”

“Absolutely.”

They started toward the house. When they were half a block away, Carter slipped into some hedges that led them behind a house. Diana followed as he made his way to the same place they had hid behind earlier in the day.

“Do you see anything?” she whispered.

“Nope. We are early, though.”

“Do you still want to look in the house?”

“Stay here, and I will check the door. If it’s open, we will go in. I’ll let you know. Don’t move from this spot.”

“Yes, sir!” She couldn’t resist a quick salute.

Carter stepped forward and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “That’s what I like to hear.”

“Keep dreaming, buddy.” Diana laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck for one more kiss. “I like to be in charge. I am older than you, remember.”

“If you didn’t keep reminding me, I might forget. Now, seriously, stay right here. I’ll be back in a minute.”

“I won’t budge an inch.”

A few seconds later, she heard Carter’s voice in her ear. “The place is locked up tight. I’m going to swing around to the windows on the side and see what I can see.”

“All right. Be careful. I’ll be right here.”

As she stood there waiting for Carter, a slight rustle of branches caught her ear. “Carter? That you?” she whispered.

“What’s wrong, Di? I’m out front of the house.”

“Someone’s here. I’m heading your way.”

“Move slow, and stay in the shadows. I’m working my way around the house on the other side. I’ll meet you.”

“Okay,” Diana said. She started walking slowly up against the hedges, stopping every few steps to listen. A branch snapped. She turned to run, but a strong arm wrapped around her from behind, while another covered her mouth. She lashed out with her fists, but only hit tree branches. She tried biting her attacker, but he held her so tight she couldn’t even open her lips to get her teeth out.

“Stop strugglin’.” Hot, rancid breath on her ear made her want to vomit. “I’m not gonna hurt you. Just didna’ want you to scream! I’ll move my hand, but you canna’ scream. They’ll hear ya.”

She nodded, and as soon as she was free she whipped around to face her attacker. “What the hell, Louie?” she whispered harshly. “Carter told you to stay away.”

“Couldn’t do it. Ya’ll are gonna need me.”

“Diana!” Carter barked in her ear. “What the hell is that junkie doing here?”

“If you would be quiet, I’m trying to find out.”

“Who ya talkin’ to?” Louie asked.

“Why are you here?” Diana asked, ignoring Louie’s question.

“I thought you might need me, if somethin’ big went down.”

“We don’t need your help,” Carter snapped, stepping out of the shadows. “You’re supposed to be in a motel somewhere, eating pizza and watching porn on pay-per-view.”

“I will. Later.”

“Get out of here, Louie.”

“Don’t you even wanna know why I’m here?”

“No,” Carter answered.

“Yes,” Diana said.

Louie nodded at Diana. “I like her.” He turned to Carter. “But you’re kinda a dick. Don’ know what she sees in you.”

“Why are you here?” Carter asked.

“Because they are.” He nodded toward the street, where a truck had pulled up. “I saw them at the convenience store when I was makin’ a sco—buying a soda.”

“We knew they were coming. That’s why we’re here.”

“Man, I don’t know what your problem is. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t know ‘bout any of this shit.”

“Just keep telling yourself that, Louie. You’re a liability. I’m not saving your ass if you get yourself in trouble.”

“I really don’t know what ya see in that guy. He’s a real asshat,” Louie mumbled to Diana. “Fine. I’ll stay out of the way.”

They moved back into the cover of the bushes and watched as a small box truck backed its way into the driveway toward the little garage. When the back of the truck was even with the garage door, the back door opened, and someone jumped out. The driver shut off the engine, and two more people left the cab.

The old garage had a single bulb attached at the roof line that lit the small space between the truck and the structure. The passenger stepped into the dim glow, and Diana could see that his left arm was heavily bandaged.

“That man is injured,” she whispered to Carter. “That might explain the screaming Louie heard.”

“Maybe,” he whispered back.

“I told you I smelled blood!” Louie said.

“Shhhh!” Carter held a finger to his lips and shot Louie a nasty look.

The driver moved around the back of the truck holding a large pair of bolt cutters, which he used to do away with the padlock on the garage. As soon as the lock fell to the ground, the bandaged man used his good hand to pull open one of the doors. The driver placed the bolt cutter up against the garage, and swung the other door open wide. He then returned to the truck and backed it up farther, until the opening of the box was inside the garage.

“Smart move,” Carter murmured. “Now no one can see what they are moving.”

“Yeah, including us,” Louie said.

They watched for a few minutes as the men milled around. “Hey, Schmidt, how’s that hand doing?”

“Go to hell, Wilkins.”

“Feels that good, huh?”

“Go take a long walk off a short bridge.”

“Dude! What’s your problem? It’s not like I put your hand in the cutter.”

“Just start loading the truck. Less time we’re here, the better.”

“What’s the rush? No one knows we’re here.”

“Yeah, because a box truck backed up to the garage of an abandoned house isn’t raising any suspicion.”

“Hacking off your two fingers hasn’t done anything for your personality.”

“You’re an ass, Wilkins.” Schmidt grabbed his gun off his hip and pointed it at the other man’s hand. “Open your fist. Let me show you what it’s like.”

“Hey!” The guy in the garage ran out and stepped between them. “Cut the shit, you two. Schmidt, he’s an idiot, let it go!”

“He’s more than an idiot.” Schmidt stepped around the other man. “Get outta my way, Pete.”

“Holy crap,” Carter whispered. “I know who the third guy is.”

“Is he a cop?” Diana asked.

“Um, yeah.”

“An important cop?”

“That’s Assistant Chief Pete Roman.”

“Holy crap is right,” Louie said.

“You still here?” Carter snapped at the other man.

“You’re such an ass, man,” Louie said, and disappeared into the shadows.

“It’s about damned time he took off,” Carter said, turning his attention back to the standoff in the driveway. He had his phone out, and was taking video of the exchange between the two remaining men.

“I gotta take a piss,” Wilkins said, and walked away toward the house.

“You need to control yourself, Schmidt,” Chief Roman said to the other man. “Holster your weapon. I know he’s a real pain in the ass, but we gotta stick together for a few more weeks—until we dump this stuff. Then you never have to talk to him again.”

“If I shoot him, I’ll never have to talk to him again.”

“You can’t shoot him. Look at the mess we’re in now over Massey. The whole world believed it was an accident, and now we got Ryan sniffing around like there's a dog in heat around.”

Diana’s eyes widened, and she looked at Carter. He nodded, letting her know he understood what she was thinking, but he didn’t take his eyes off of the phone’s screen and the scene unfolding in front of them. The men had all but admitted they were responsible for Donnie’s death. Chief Roman and Schmidt disappeared into the garage. They could hear things being moved around, but couldn’t see the men or make out their conversation anymore.

“I’m going to sneak around the other side and see if I can get a look inside. You stay right here so I know you are safe, okay?”

“Fine,” she replied. “But don’t be gone long.”

“I won’t.”

Carter disappeared into the darkness. Diana hugged her arms around herself. It had definitely gotten colder while they were outside. She watched the driveway, but the men were inside the building, so she couldn’t see anything. A little movement on the other side of the drive caught her eye. Probably Carter moving in for the closer look. Ten minutes passed, and Carter didn’t return. She thought about moving over to the other side, but knew he wouldn’t be happy if he returned and she wasn’t there.

“Carter,” she whispered into the mic, but got no response. Gooseflesh broke out on her arms as the tiny hairs at the base of her neck bristled. Something wasn’t right.

A quiet rustle in the branches caught her attention. “Carter!” she whispered. “Is that you?”

“Nope,” a voice answered as a hand clasped over her mouth, and an iron grip wrapped around her.

How had she let this happen twice? That Louie was going to get it when she got free this time.

“Listen closely.” Hot, nasty breath on her ear made her cringe. “Your little boyfriend won’t hear you, so don’t bother trying to scream. If you call attention to the neighbors, I will shoot you where you stand, and your son becomes an orphan. Do you understand?”

She nodded as the hand was replaced by a piece of duct tape. Her captor pinned her arms behind her, and secured them with a pair of handcuffs. Diana tried to turn around, but he shoved her forward. “Don’t look at me, just walk!”