Love Inspired Suspense April 2015 #1 (10 page)

The potent thought zipped through him, as he stepped back. “I'll return in the morning to take you to your appointment.”

Her expression slowly darkened. She swallowed. “I'd forgotten about that.”

“I'll be with you.”

One corner of her mouth tipped upward. “Only as far as the door.”

He chuckled. “Yes. I won't intrude on your session with the court-appointed shrink.”

“I appreciate that.” She shrugged. “Not that you don't already know my dark secrets.”

That she'd trusted him with her past hurts filled him with a heady mix of affection and protectiveness. He covered her hand with his and gently squeezed. “Good night, Lana. Sleep well.”

He certainly knew he wouldn't. Not when his heart and mind were not in agreement about Lana.

* * *

After a fitful night's sleep, Lana gathered every ounce of courage she possessed to face the day. Not only was she about to step into the court-appointed psychologist's office, but she struggled to keep from clutching Adam's arm and asking him to go in with her.

The past week she'd grown closer to him than she had to anyone in a very long time.

Because he was protecting her. She didn't understand why someone wanted her dead. And the stress of knowing that at any moment an unknown assassin could kill her put her nerves on edge.

The connection she felt to Adam went beyond the fact they'd been shot at and survived. They'd shared their pasts and their hopes for the future. Her attraction to him went beyond the physical, though his kisses lingered in her mind like the wisp of a dream.

Telling him about Mark and the abuse had been hard. After confiding in Rosa and having her lash out with such meanness, Lana had kept all the bad stuff tightly locked inside. But Adam had opened the door with his kindness and caring heart. Because of his prompting, she'd searched her Bible this morning and found peace in God's word. She'd never equated Mark's abuse to the many examples of God dealing with humanity's cruelty and depravity. Each story bolstered her faith until her soul overflowed with God's love.

Learning about Adam's ex-partner's betrayal made her heart ache. She wanted to heal him, to relieve him of the burden of guilt and shame he carried. Though she didn't know how.

It was difficult to help someone else when she couldn't even help herself. But God knew what Adam needed and she'd spent a long time praying for Adam, and herself.

“Here we are,” Adam said, halting beside the door marked with the name of the psychologist on a gold-plated plaque.

She swallowed back the trepidation clogging her throat. Squaring her shoulders, she put her hand on the doorknob. She looked up at Adam. “You'll be back in an hour?”

“I will. I promise.”

“And you never break your promises.”

“Never.” He gestured to the uniformed officer standing a few paces away. “You'll be protected.”

She believed him. On a deep breath she opened the door and walked in, knowing Juan's life hung in the balance.

* * *

“Heard you had trouble yesterday,” Captain Gavin McCord stated as Adam walked into the Capitol K-9 headquarters conference room, Ace at his side.

Adam cringed inwardly. “Yes, sir.”

Gavin didn't know the half of it. Adam knew the captain meant the shooter who'd tried to take out Lana while they'd been parked on the bridge. But that was nothing compared to kissing the pretty art curator.
Trouble
wasn't a strong enough word to describe the extent of Adam's problem.

He'd wanted the kiss to continue. If his brother and sister-in-law hadn't arrived home when they had, he might have given in to the temptation and kissed Lana again.

Foolhardy, for sure. He blamed his lack of better judgment on how nice and comfortable and right it had felt to be with her and the twins. Cooking and eating together like a family. Snuggling up on the couch as if the girls were their kids. Pretending for a few short hours that Lana's life wasn't in danger. Pretending they were a couple. A couple in love.

But they weren't.

Despite the way his heart had ached with such an intense longing for the domestic bliss they'd shared last night, he wasn't ready or willing to fall in love. No matter how sweet and generous and considerate he found Lana, he had plans that couldn't include her. Plans to leave DC to return to Colorado and start a new life there. He'd made himself a promise when his ex-girlfriend dumped him that he wouldn't allow himself to fall in love until he was ready to put down roots. Those roots were going to be at home in Colorado. Lana's roots were planted here. So even contemplating a romance with her would only end in heartbreak for them both.

“As soon as everyone is here, give us the rundown of the details,” Gavin requested from his place at the far end of the table.

Adam pulled a chair away from the oval conference table, waiting for Ace to slide underneath and lie down next to the other canines, before Adam took his seat. To his right sat Chase Zachary, a former Secret Service agent and the unit's rookie. Adam nodded a greeting.

Across from Adam, former CIA operative Isaac Black leaned back in the chair, his muscular arms crossed over his chest. Next to Isaac sat Nicholas Cole. The former navy SEAL stifled a yawn. Adam raised an eyebrow. Nicholas shrugged.

A moment later, Brooke Clark, the lone female team member, slid into her seat.

“Good, everyone who can be here is here,” Gavin said. “Adam, give us the lowdown on the shooting.”

Adam related the details. “DC police haven't found the shooter. They dredged the river and searched the banks on both sides but found nothing to help us find the perp. The guy disappeared.”

“If he'd been prepared to jump, he could have had underwater apparatus on his body and then swam for several miles before leaving the river,” Nicholas offered.

“That's the working theory,” Adam agreed.

“Miss Gomez has no idea why someone would want to kill her?” Brooke asked.

Adam shook his head. “No, she doesn't. But someone has targeted her.”

“How does the attack on Miss Gomez relate to the Michael Jeffries murder?” Isaac asked.

Adam turned his attention to the former CIA operative. “It may not. There are a lot of moving pieces here, and I haven't figured out yet how they all fit together. Or if they even do fit together. The attempts on Lana's life may have nothing to do with our investigation. ”

“What does the DC police department say about the museum break-in?” Gavin asked.

“Still an open case,” Adam said. “The arrow hasn't been found. I asked Fiona to reach out to other agencies and informants for intel, hoping for any chatter about the arrow being for sale on the black market, but so far nothing.”

Fiona Fargo was the K-9 team's resident computer whiz and go-to gal for anything they needed. She kept a pulse on the shadowy world of the internet. She provided support for the team as well when they were out in the field. She could crack any code, find any information no matter how deeply buried, and she coordinated the team's schedules.

“Okay. I want around-the-clock guards on Miss Gomez continued until this situation is resolved,” Gavin said.

Adam nodded, relieved.

As each team member reported in on their various assignments, Adam forced himself to stay present but his mind kept wandering to Lana. How was she doing? Would the psychologist help her to put the past behind her? Would Lana gain custody of her nephew? He hoped so for both her and Juan's sake. But the question that taunted him was why did he care so deeply? She was a part of the job. Nothing more. There couldn't be more.

“Knock, knock.” Fiona Fargo waltzed into the conference room.

The woman was light on her feet, no clickity-clack of heels. Her flat shoes glided silently across the tile floor as she approached the captain. Her teal-colored dress swirled and she wore her bright red hair swept up and captured in back by a claw-like clip sporting a peacock plume.

A set of bright green reading glasses sat atop her head. “This came across the wire from the FBI.” She handed Gavin a report. “Thought you'd want to know.”

“Thank you, Fiona.” Gavin scanned the page. “As always, you are right. Go ahead and fill everyone in.”

Fiona took the sheet of paper, slipped the readers onto her nose and peered at the paper before lifting her bright blue gaze. “Seems Culpeper County sheriff's department responded to a distress call from an elderly couple after two thugs broke in and roughed them up. The FBI passed the info on to us because of a possible connection to the Jeffries case.”

Adam's breath hitched.

“How so?” Chase asked, sitting straighter.

The front legs of Isaac's chair touched the ground as he leaned forward.

“Apparently the assailants wanted information about a woman the couple had recently taken in,” Fiona said.

“A woman?” Chase straightened. “Could it have been Erin?”

Empathy for the young officer constricted Adam's chest. Chase and Erin Eagleton had been involved in a relationship before Erin had started dating Michael Jefferies. Chase had seen Erin hours before her disappearance—and she'd been wearing the necklace that had been found at the crime scene. Again he wondered about her connection to the murder and Congressman Jeffries's shooting.

“That's unclear,” Fiona said. “The couple said they'd found an injured woman on their property and nursed her back to health.”

Chase jerked to his feet. “She was hurt?”

“Minor,” Fiona was quick to assure him. “The woman, going by the name of Beth Smith, left a few days later. The Appletons don't know where she went and haven't heard from her since.” She took a breath before continuing. “The thugs have reportedly been going from house to house in the area, looking for the woman. Now that the local law enforcement have been notified, they're out in force looking for these guys.”

“I should interview the couple.” Chase headed for the door.

Gavin lifted a staying hand. “No, you and Max are needed on the monument muggings.”

Gavin's firm tone undoubtedly kept Chase from arguing. Adam suspected the captain also thought Chase was too emotionally involved to be objective about Erin. He was probably right.

That thought caused a twinge of unease to pluck Adam's nerves. He was treading on precarious ground with Lana, getting so invested in her life. Kissing her. Worrying about her. Was he too emotionally involved to be objective? Was he repeating the same mistake he'd made with his old partner?

Maybe. Probably. Not good. He needed to distance himself from her.

“I'll interview them,” Adam offered. He'd promised to pick up Lana from her session and take her back to Joe's house. But once he had her at Joe's, safe and sound, Adam would leave on this assignment.

It would be just the distraction—and space—he needed.

For a moment Gavin considered, then nodded. “Good idea. Touch base with the feds and see what they know before you head out to Culpeper.” He turned to Nicholas. “Look in on Selena Barrow. See if Erin has made contact.”

Selena worked at the White House as a tour guide and was Erin's cousin. Selena had been riding the department, wanting answers about her cousin's disappearance. Nicholas had been assigned to work at the White House as extra protection. It made sense for Gavin to ask Nicholas to reach out to Selena.

The meeting broke up. Chase and his partner, a fawn-colored Belgian Malinois named Valor, waited for Adam and Ace in the hall.

“Here,” he said, handing a picture of Erin Eagleton to Adam. The photo wasn't a publicity shot like the one the news reports ran each night. Erin sat on a swing, a smile on her face and her long blond, curly hair around her shoulders. “If you find her, tell her...tell her to come in.”

Adam's heart contracted in sympathy for the guy. “I will, man,” Adam assured him, clapping him on the back.

With that Adam headed out the door. He had to hustle back to the Child and Family Counseling Clinic located inside the social services division of the DC Superior courthouse.

When he arrived Lana sat on a wooden bench. She rose with a welcoming smile that made his heart pound. The flowered dress she wore swirled about her knees. Her long dark hair was braided into one tail that trailed down her right shoulder.

A gold cross nestled in the V of the dress's neckline reflected a ray of sunlight streaming through the high windows. His breath caught. She was so lovely.

After thanking the officer standing guard, Adam stopped a few paces away from Lana and tucked his hands into his pants pockets to keep from reaching for her. Ace, however, had no qualms about stepping close for a pat. She stooped down to give the dog a good scratch behind the ears. Adam swallowed back the lump of envy at her attention directed to his partner.

She straightened. “Hi.”

“I take it from the smiles it went well,” he said.

“It did.” She tucked her arm through his, forcing him to step closer. The warmth of her body seeped through his uniform to sear his skin. He ignored the sensation as they left the building and stepped into the late-morning sunshine.

A loud bang split the air.

Acting on instinct and a rush of adrenaline, Adam wrapped an arm around Lana and dove to the ground.

NINE

T
ires screeched on the pavement as a delivery van careened out of control and slammed into a parked car. The crunch of metal bending and glass shattering vibrated through Adam. He scanned the area outside the courthouse building, searching for a threat. Two people crouched behind a garbage bin. Others lay flat on the ground. Armed guards from the courthouse next door streamed out of the building.

A moment of stillness hovered in the air. Then slowly the sounds of the crash faded.

Adam assessed the crash site, noting the flattened tire on the van. He scanned the tops of the surrounding buildings, the windows, looking for a sniper.

Another bullet slammed into the pavement close by.

Movement on the corner roof of an adjacent building caught Adam's eye. “Shooter!”

He pointed to the sniper's location. The flood of officers coming out of the courthouse, weapons drawn, hurried across the street.

The sniper moved out of sight.

Cautious, he helped Lana to her feet and tucked her against his side. The need to get her out of the open pushed him forward. Cupping her elbow, Adam rushed Lana away from the scene and the ensuing chaos of arriving emergency personnel.

She placed a hand over her heart once they were on their way driving away from the shooter. “I about had a heart attack.”

“You're safe now.”

She twisted in her seat to look back. “Are you sure he won't follow us?”

“There's no way he could get from the building to a car in time. Not with so many officers converging on the building.” To keep her focus off the incident, he asked, “Tell me how the appointment went with the doc.”

Her hands shook on her lap. She slouched down; obviously hoping to make herself less visible in case the sniper did somehow managed to trail them.

She glanced at him. There was no mistaking the anxiety in the dark depths of her eyes. She inhaled and slowly let out a breath as if trying to calm herself before speaking. “Doctor Weinzein was wonderful. So easy to talk to. She sees no reason why I can't have custody of Juan. She said she'd sign off on that immediately.”

“That's good news.”

“It is. I also received a call from the DC police that I could take possession of Rosa's town house. An officer brought me Rosa's house keys.”

“What will you do with the town house?”

“Pack Juan's things and move them into my apartment and then sell everything else.”

“The town house is larger than your apartment.” He opened the passenger door of his vehicle for her. “With a yard and play structure.”

“True.”

“You might consider living there.”

She inhaled sharply. “I don't know if I could.”

“Don't rule it out yet.” His cell vibrated in his breast pocket. “Donovan.”

“Gavin here,” said the captain. “Are you on your way to Virginia?”

“Not yet.” He brought Gavin up to speed on the courthouse shooting. “I have Miss Gomez with me,” he replied and was about to say he would be dropping her off at his brother's shortly, but suddenly the thought of leaving her alone, even though she would be completely safe, didn't sit well. His reluctance didn't make sense. What he wanted, needed, was distance from the appealing woman. “I'd like to keep her with me if possible.” The words popped out before he could stop them.

After a moment of silence, Gavin said, “Fine. She's probably safest with you.”

Adam blew out a relieved breath even as he shook his head at his own folly.

“On your way back,” Gavin continued, “stop in at the safe house where we moved the kids from the group foster home. Miss Gomez can visit with her nephew while you talk to one of the boys. Cassie reported the child seems to be troubled and is having nightmares. She thought maybe a man might be better at getting the boy to open up. I've got a meeting with General Meyer this afternoon, otherwise I'd talk to the boy myself.”

Adam glanced inside the vehicle. Ace practically sat on Lana's lap as she lavished love on the dog. Tenderness filled him at the sight. He wasn't sure Lana would agree to meet her nephew yet, but this would be a perfect time for her to do so.

Especially on the heels of the news that the psychologist would be signing off on her mental ability to be the child's custodian.

But taking her put a crimp in his plans to put some distance between them. “On second thought, I'm not sure taking her with me is a good idea.”

“Why not?” Gavin pressed. “You need to stay with her. This way you're doing triple duty. Protecting Miss Gomez, searching for Erin and hopefully finding the owner of the blue child-sized mitten found near the murder scene. I see this as a win-win situation.”

Short of admitting he was getting too close to Lana, Adam didn't have a choice. “Right. I'll take Lana with me.”

Adam hung up and climbed behind the wheel. “I have to drive out to Culpeper, Virginia, to do an interview. Are you up for coming along?”

Lana's eyes widened and a smile played at the corners of her mouth. “I would like that.”

The warmth blooming in his chest made it clear he would, too. As much as he thought he shouldn't, he was looking forward to spending the time with her.

“A drive in the country sounds lovely,” she said. “Why are we going to Virginia?”

“Erin Eagleton may have been staying on a farm there. I need to talk to the owners to see if it was her or not.”

“I hope she's okay,” Lana said. “I wonder why she's hiding. Do you think she had anything to do with Michael Jeffries's murder?”

“We won't know why she ran or has been hiding until we find her.”

“Do you have a map?”

“In the glove box. But we don't need it.” He tapped the navigation system built into the dashboard. “We've got GPS.”

She retrieved the state map. “It's more fun doing it the old-fashioned way. When I was a kid and we'd go on road trips, my parents would hand me a map. I'd spend the whole time studying the topography and keeping track of where we were and where we needed to turn. I like knowing where I am.”

Images of her as a kid surfaced and affection expanded in his heart. “Then put on your navigator hat.” He gave her the address of the farm.

For the next two hours they chatted effortlessly, finding they had many common interests like old movies and salted caramel ice cream. Following Lana's directions from the map spread across her lap, they found the Appletons' farm easily. The white two-story house was flanked on each end by brick fireplaces with tall chimneys. The beaded weatherboard siding was capped by a standing seam metal roof and two dormer windows jutted out with window boxes filled with colorful flowers.

Behind the house, acres of pastureland stretched to a wooden fence. Sheep grazed lazily in the afternoon sun and paid no heed to the vehicle as Adam parked beneath the shade of a red cedar tree.

“So pretty,” Lana said, taking in the view. “Living in the city I forget sometimes that places like this exist.” Excitement vibrated in her voice. “The house must date to the 1700s.”

Her enthusiasm was adorable. They exited the SUV. Adam let Ace out of his kennel. The dog sniffed the air, his gaze going to the sheep in the pasture.

An elderly couple came out of the house. The man was tall, lanky and had gray hair. Dark eyes studied them from an angular face. In contrast, his wife was tiny, round and had a big smile on her face. Her hair was cut short and curled in tight ringlets all over her head.

Mr. Appleton met them at the bottom of the porch stairs. “Can I help you?”

Adam identified himself and then introduced Lana. “I understand you had some trouble recently. Can you tell me about that?”

Mrs. Appleton hurried down the stairs. “Oh, my. It was horrible. These two beastly men broke in to our home demanding to know about poor Beth. Though they kept calling her by a different name. When we refused to tell them anything, they hit Ed.” She clutched her husband's hand.

“Oh, no. Did they hurt you?” Lana asked, empathy filling her voice.

“Naw, Ed's tough,” the older woman replied with obvious pride in her husband.

The older couple's fondness for each other brought an ache to Adam's chest. He wanted what the Appletons shared. Love, respect and affection. A life's worth of memories together. He glanced at Lana, then quickly away. The ache intensified.

“I'm not as strong as I once was,” Ed said with a rueful twist of his lips. “There was a time I could have taken them both. But I was afraid they'd hurt Mavis. We don't know where Beth went. The thugs left but said they'd be back if they found out we're hiding her.”

“Did you recognize either man?” Adam asked.

“We'd never seen them before.”

“Can you describe them?”

“One was over six feet and pushing two hundred and fifty pounds,” Ed said. “The other one was shorter, but bulky. Both wore ski masks.”

Lana inhaled a noisy breath. Adam met her gaze and saw the same thought reflected in her eyes—the men wore ski masks like the man who'd attacked Lana in the museum. Was one of these men also the shooter on the bridge? How did this all connect?

Adam took out the photo Chase had given him. “Is this the woman who called herself Beth?”

Mavis took the picture. “Yes. Only she cut off all that beautiful hair. I helped her dye it brown.”

Adam's heart tripped in excitement. So Erin
had
been here. Very interesting. And she'd disguised herself. A sign of guilt? It was looking worse for her all the time. Maybe she had killed Michael. A lover's quarrel turned deadly? But why shoot the congressman, too? Congressman Jeffries claimed he hadn't seen the shooter and had only seen the tail end of a car pulling away.

“Did you see the news report of Senator Eagleton's missing daughter?” Adam asked. The news media had flashed Erin's picture on the nightly news almost every night since she disappeared.

“Oh, we don't have a television,” Mavis replied.

“Too expensive,” Ed added. “We get our news the old fashion way on the AM radio. Are you saying that Beth is the senator's daughter?”

“She is. Did say where she was going?” Adam took the photo back.

“No. She stuck around for a few days and then left in the middle of the night without so much as a goodbye or thank-you,” Ed said.

“She was scared of something,” Mavis interjected. “We found her hiding in the pasture barn when we went to feed the flock of sheep. Her clothes were torn and dirty and she had a gash on her head. We gave her a change of clothes and fed her and dressed her wound.”

“Did she say why she was hiding in your barn?”

“She said the less we knew the better,” Ed said. “I had the feeling she was trying to protect us.”

“She did ask to use our computer,” Mavis said.

Adam's pulse jumped. “I'll need to take your computer and have my tech person see what she was doing. I'll make sure you get it back as soon as possible.”

Ed shrugged. “That's fine. I'm not fond of the thing. Mavis figured out how to Skype with our out of town family. That's better than a phone but I don't like the thought of anyone watching us through the little camera thingy.”

“Obviously, Beth's in trouble.” Worry furrowed Mavis's brows. “Why are those goons after her?”

“I don't know, but we need to find her before they do.” If they didn't, Adam had a feeling it wouldn't end well for Erin.

Would it end well for Lana? His gaze went to her. She could easily be dead now if he hadn't been with her for the many attempts on her life. The thought left his mouth dry.

* * *

“Where are we going?” Lana asked as Adam turned off the main highway to head down a country road instead of going back to DC. The rolling grassy hills and quaint farmhouses dotting the landscape appealed to her sense of history. Like the Appletons' farm, most of the homes in this area dated back to the 1700s.

She imagined the houses and land were rich with treasures and memories. If this trip to rural Virginia had been for pleasure, she would have asked to stop at many of the interesting places, hoping to find some antiquities to acquire for the museum.

But this trip was about finding Erin Eagleton.

Lana couldn't stop the shiver of dread chasing across her flesh. Poor Erin was being hunted, not only by the police but also by very nasty men with a penchant for violence.

Whatever Erin was involved in had put her life in danger. Lana prayed Erin would find safety. And someone to watch her back, as Lana had found. She glanced over at Adam, studying his strong profile, admiring the slope of his cheeks, the height of his forehead and the angle of his jaw.

She had to be honest with herself. She liked him. As a friend, as her protector. Anything more would be reckless. Her heart wasn't ready for more. Even if she might want more.

“We're making a stop,” he finally answered.

The cryptic reply sent a ribbon of wariness sliding through her. “Stopping where, exactly?”

He pressed his lips together as if debating his answer. “All Our Kids group foster home.”

She drew back, letting his words digest. “The place where Juan is staying?”

Adam's gaze slanted toward her and then back to the road. “Yes. And before you protest let me say this isn't all about you visiting your nephew, though you need to.”

Anger flared in her chest because he was compelling her to do something she wasn't sure she was ready for. Had Lana decided to visit Juan by herself, she would have had to go through a process at the courthouse in order to be given permission. By Adam taking her, she was skipping that step. She should be grateful, but she was irritated that he didn't ask her first.

Maybe because he knew she would have come up with some excuse not to visit?

The kernel of truth didn't sit well. Her stomach churned with anxiety. What if Juan didn't like her? Or worse yet, what if he
did
like her? What if she got her hopes up, Juan's hopes up and the judge ruled against her? The psychologist had said she should meet Juan. No one thought waiting was a good idea. She pulled in a breath to calm her temper. No reason to be angry when he was doing her a kindness. “If this isn't about Juan and me, then what?”