No One to Trust (Hidden Identity Book #1): A Novel (19 page)

Raimondi let the boa slither to the floor before he answered the phone. “You better have good news.”

“We lost them.”

Raimondi sighed.

His door opened and Georgina stepped into his office. Raimondi leaned back in surprise. She looked wonderful. He spoke into the phone. “Hold on a second.” He looked at his daughter. “Are you going out?”

“I am.”

“Do you need something?”

“I need to know the truth.”

He lifted a brow.

“Are you looking for David for me or are you looking for him to kill him?”

Her blunt question left him speechless. He stared. Then found his tongue. “What kind of question is that?”

She walked toward him and placed both hands on the desk to lean in. “I know what you are. I know what this family does. I’m not an idiot.” Her dark eyes blazed with a passion he hadn’t seen in a long time. “Now obviously David has done something and you’re tracking him, desperate to find him—and not for me to
confront.” She shrugged. “And I’ve gotten pretty good at eavesdropping.”

Raimondi felt an explosive rage building inside him. With effort he swallowed the first words that came to his tongue. He said, “That’s not a good thing, Georgina.”

“What? Are you going to kill me?” she taunted.

Raimondi stared at this girl he no longer knew. Her blatant disgust and disrespect caused his heart to pound and the blood to rush in his ears. “Surely it won’t come to that.”

The disgust and disrespect disappeared. She fell back against the chair behind her and slumped into it. “You’re serious. You would actually kill me?”

Raimondi forced a small laugh. “Of course I’m not serious. You would never give me cause to do anything so drastic.”

“Never give you—” She stared at him. “Stop looking for David. I don’t want you to find him anymore.”

“Stay out of things that aren’t your business, Georgie.” His childhood nickname seemed to deflate her. “I love you. You’re my flesh and blood. Everything I’ve worked for has been for you and this family. But you need to leave certain things alone. Am I clear?” He saw her swallow hard. And give a slow nod. He stood and picked up the boa that had made its way over to Georgina. She slid farther back in her chair and watched it with distaste.

He should have had a son. “Good. Now, where are you going?”

Georgina stood and walked toward the door. “I’m going shopping with a friend. I’ll see you later.”

The door shut behind her with a click.

Raimondi stared at it for a few more moments, wondering if she was going to be a problem. He’d have to deal with her later if she was. A trip to Europe might be in order. For now . . .

He picked up the phone. “You still there?” Hayes confirmed he was. “Where are you?”

When Hayes told him, Raimondi narrowed his eyes as he thought.
“Give me fifteen minutes and I might have something for you. In the meantime, we need some more insurance.”

“We have the sister.”

“We do. But Marlee and David have never gotten along. I don’t know that he wouldn’t sacrifice her to keep his secret.”

“How did you know about the friction between David and his sister-in-law anyway?”

“I have sources everywhere. You should know that by now.” Mike had kept in touch with Bennie, his boss, on a regular basis. Bennie had passed on bits of information that he thought Raimondi would find useful and people he thought could be used. Only it looked like Marlee had quickly outlived her usefulness. “I’m thinking of something a little more compelling.”

“What’s that? The mother and brother are out of town somewhere. They’re not due back until next week, and frankly, we don’t have the time to track them down.”

“No. There’s someone Summer cares about even more than her family, I think.”

“Who?”

“Olivia Todd and her two little girls. Summer and David risked their lives to be in court and keep those children from their father. That tells me a lot.”

“You want them?”

“I want them.”

“Then you’ll have them. I’ll start making calls while the others keep searching for Hackett.”

Summer snapped her mouth shut as David walked out into the darkness. She shivered and helped herself to another bowl of the canned vegetable soup, wishing she’d thought to ask David to grab her purse from the wreck when he’d gotten her coat. There wasn’t anything in it that she particularly cared about except her iPod. She
hadn’t had any cash on her and she could cancel the credit cards. Even the pictures could be replaced.

She finished off the soup with a sigh. Not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination, but filling. Her nausea eased with the food and she felt much better, less shaky. She threw the paper bowl and plastic spoon in the trash and paced to the window.

Moving the curtain to the side, she peered out. Darkness hid David and covered his mission.

She kept the lights off. The sliver of the moon would have helped to light the small cabin if she’d felt comfortable opening the dusty curtain a little more. Her eyes adjusted and she finally caught sight of a shadow moving several feet to her left.

She stepped outside onto the porch and shut the door behind her. “David,” she whispered.

“Over here,” he called.

She moved toward him, guided by the dim light of the moon. He dug another scoop of dirt and tossed it on the growing pile behind him. At her approach, he stopped and leaned on the shovel for a short rest. Then his movements resumed and she watched him.

She swallowed hard. The initial flutters of attraction when they’d first met no longer attacked her midsection when she looked at him. And while she thought him the best-looking guy ever, the warm fuzzies had faded to leave a deep love and a respect she had thought was mutual.

Being betrayed by the one person she’d trusted implicitly had done some huge damage to her heart. Damage that might be beyond repair.

How had she come to this place? What was she going to do when this was all over? Was divorcing this man the right thing? The thought of it made her shudder. She’d married him for life. ’Til death do us part. But was she going to honor those vows she made when she’d been deceived? How did God feel about that? Would he still hold her responsible for them? Did she even care?

Yes. She did. She sighed. As mad as she wanted to be with God about the situation, she knew she needed to trust him, to continue to pray that he would keep them safe. And Marlee. Her heart thudded an extra beat.
Please keep Marlee safe, Lord.
Then she felt guilty for asking God for anything when she blamed him for letting everything happen.

But
not
praying for Marlee wasn’t an option. She tried not to imagine her sister in the hands of men who didn’t have any problem cutting off body parts or killing. Worry pounded inside her. But first, they had to do this, and she had to trust God would take care of Marlee. She
had
to. “Did you get it?”

“Not yet.” He paused, glanced at his watch, and looked out into the distance.

“What are you looking for?”

“Reinforcements.” He frowned. “You need to get back inside, okay?”

Summer sighed. “Look—”

A gunshot shattered the window behind her. Then the next window popped.

Summer gasped. David grabbed her arm and propelled her to the ground even as he reached for his weapon. He rolled close and whispered, “Don’t move.” And then he tensed.

She twisted beneath him to see Corbin Hayes standing above them, gun pressed to David’s ear, black eyes glittering. “Well, well, Mr. Hackett. We finally meet again.”

David froze. Summer did likewise.

“Get up,” Hayes ordered. David helped Summer roll to her feet.

David stood, keeping Summer behind him. He could feel her trembling. His eyes scanned the area and his nerves twitched. “What now?” He kept his hands where Hayes could see them.

“Now, we get what I came for.” He gestured to the ground. “Don’t let me stop you from finishing what you started.”

“How did you know we were here?”

“Raimondi usually finds out what he wants to know. You haven’t figured that out yet?”

“But no one knew about this place.” David never would have brought Summer here if he’d thought someone could connect him to it.

Hayes laughed. “Sam’s always been a bit of a snoop—one of the reasons he’s in such trouble. However, it seems he remembers seeing some papers in your office one afternoon. He said he thought it was interesting you were buying such an out-of-the-way place, because he never figured you for a mountain man.”

David clenched his fist, desperate to plant it on Hayes’s nose. He resisted and stepped back, keeping Summer with him. Hayes was joined by two more men dressed in black. Again Hayes motioned
for David to continue digging. David picked up the shovel. Hayes lifted the gun higher. “Try anything stupid with that shovel and I’ll shoot her.”

David glanced again at the area across the creek. He could smell the smoke from the fire he’d started in the other cabin. The night air chilled his face and dried the sweat that had popped out onto his forehead as he’d dug the hole. He settled the shovel back into the ground and lifted a mound of dirt that he added to the growing pile. Summer stayed near him. One of Hayes’s goons kept his weapon on her while he held a flashlight with his other hand. But David knew one wrong move and Summer was dead. His stomach clenched and he kept digging, the flashlight’s beam making it easier to see.

Finally, he heard a loud clank.

Hayes drew in a satisfied breath. “Well, looks like we’ve hit pay dirt.”

David didn’t respond. He simply continued to remove the dirt. Finally, he said, “I’ll need some help with this. The laptop’s not the only thing in there and it’s heavy.”

Hayes studied him for a moment, then motioned one of his men forward.

David said, “You grab that end, I’ll get this one.” He looked at Summer. “Stay out of the way, will you?”

She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. However, she took several steps back. David reached in and wrapped his fingers around the handle. The other man did the same. Together they pulled the waterproof trunk from the ground.

Hayes grunted. “What do you have in there?”

“Nothing for you to be concerned about. The laptop is all you need.”

Hayes shot him an annoyed look, and David set the trunk at Hayes’s feet. “Just so you know, while the laptop is in there, you won’t be able to access it without me.”

Hayes smirked. “We have our guys for that kind of thing.”

David kept his face expressionless. “And I know that. Which is why I programmed the security the way I did.”

The smirk slid off Hayes’s face. David figured he was remembering exactly what David did with the Rangers. And the fact that David would have the skills to make a computer practically hack proof.

“Move,” Hayes snarled.

David slipped his gloved fingers around Summer’s and gave her a tug. She glanced at him, her silent questions surfacing through her fear. He winked at her. She lifted a brow.

He took another subtle step back. Summer moved with him.

But Raimondi’s men were well trained. The one to their left simply lifted his weapon. David stood still. Summer did the same.

“Diego, keep an eye on them. Don’t kill them yet.”

Diego’s weapon stayed steady as Hayes leaned over the trunk. David leaned against the tree and gave a slight tug on Summer’s hand. She shot him a questioning frown, but moved closer. He tucked her up under his shoulder and she stiffened, then leaned into him.

Hayes pulled at the lock, then turned to shoot David an impatient look. “The combination?”

David told him. Hayes spun the lock.

David tensed and whispered in her ear, “Get ready.”

She glanced up at him again, but thankfully didn’t say anything, just nodded.

Hayes and the unnamed assailant opened the trunk and leaned in to look. “What is this? Just a bunch of—”

David pulled Summer behind the large tree. Diego moved as the explosion rocked the air.

Summer swallowed the scream as the left side of her face mashed into the trunk of the tree. David covered her with his body for a brief moment, then he was gone. She whirled, ignoring the pain in her cheek.

Hayes and the other man who’d been helping him, lay on the ground, unconscious or dead, she wasn’t sure which. David had his arms wrapped around Diego, wrestling the gun from him. Diego put up a good fight, but he was no match for her husband, who had him on the ground, weapon ripped from his grasp. Three good punches left the man unconscious.

Movement to her left caught her attention. Four black-clad figures came from behind the last cabin. Terror shot through her. David had managed to take out three of Raimondi’s hired killers, but how would he be able to overpower these guys? “David?”

He looked up, saw the men coming.

And grinned.

Summer released the breath she’d been holding. She asked, “Your reinforcements?”

David wiped the grin from his face and the sweat from his upper lip. “Yeah.” He waited until the men stepped into the middle of the calm, then snorted. “Papa Bear. Nice timing. Late as usual, but at least you showed up for the party.”

The tallest man, dressed in dark cargo pants and a black sweatshirt grinned through the black paint on his face. “Fashionably late is still in.” David rolled his eyes and Papa Bear asked, “What was the hurry? Looks like you have it all under control. What do you need us for?”

David stood. “You can help me get these guys in the cabin and make sure they’re tied tighter than your grandma’s Thanksgiving turkey. I’ve got rope and duct tape. We’ll use them both.”

“So we’re here for cleanup?”

“For now.”

Papa Bear shrugged. “That works. Come on, guys.”

The men moved, easily getting the three assailants into the cabin.

Summer stared. “Who are they?”

“My old unit. Fortunately, they weren’t deployed somewhere and were able to make us their ‘official’ business for the next few hours.” He gave her a grim smile. “Now just pray they don’t get called up to leave anytime soon.” David shoved his weapon back into his holster and headed for the cabin. “I’ll introduce you, then we’ll go get Marlee.”

“You said you knew where she is.”

“Yes.”

“How?”

He stepped into the cabin, then looked back. “I recognized the place in the video. Raimondi’s got her at his house.”

Summer followed him inside to find Hayes groggy, but awake. The left side of his face was charred and bleeding. He had to be in horrible pain, yet he stayed quiet. Still. Just watching.

Even in his injured state, he glared at them with a hate that made her shudder. Summer read the expression in his eyes with no trouble. If he got loose, they were dead, no matter what Raimondi’s orders were.

The one who’d been helping Hayes with the trunk still had his eyes closed. Blood trickled from his nose and his left ear. Diego
also lay unconscious. Hayes finally shut his eyes and leaned his head back with a hard swallow.

“He needs medical attention,” she said. “He probably has a concussion.”

David lifted a brow. “You want to take him to the hospital?”

She flushed. “I know it sounds ridiculous when he was trying to kill us, but,” she bit her lip, “I don’t want him to die. I want him to stand trial and go to jail.”

David shook his head. “He’d be a lot less trouble if he were dead.”

She looked at the man. “True, but . . .”

“Yeah.” He looked at the other men who were now waiting for him to tell them what he wanted. “Guys, meet Summer.” They nodded to her. David pointed to each one. “This is Brown Bagger or Doc B for short. He’s our medic.” To Doc B, he said, “Why don’t you take a look at Hayes and see if he’s going to die anytime soon or if he can wait a little for medical attention.”

Doc B knelt by Hayes. Summer felt slightly better. David pointed to the next man. He wasn’t as tall as the others, probably only around five feet eleven, but he was wiry with sharp green eyes. “This is Papa Bear, our combat engineer.”

Summer shot him a smile and he nodded.

David motioned to the next man, who stood head and shoulders above the rest. Summer put him at around six feet five inches. “This is Little Lou, our weapons specialist.” She noticed how he included himself in the unit. She wondered why he’d left. “And this is Blue, the communications specialist.”

“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” Blue said. “David left some big shoes to fill.”

So, this was the man who’d taken David’s place on the team.

“Let’s take a minute to come up with a plan to get Marlee away from Raimondi without any of us ending up dead,” David said.

Summer sat on the couch while the men huddled around, drew
on sheets of paper David produced from somewhere, and worked on a plan.

“What’s my job?” she asked.

They went silent and turned to stare at her. Then looked at David.

He pursed his lips, then opened his mouth.

“And before you say ‘nothing,’” Summer said, “I’m telling you now, I’m not sitting here doing nothing. I’ll be safer going on a raid with you guys than sitting somewhere waiting for Raimondi to dig into his apparent never-ending supply of assassins to track me down and kill me.” She crossed her arms. “No thank you. I’m going.” She paused. “And besides, I’m probably the only one who can keep Marlee from wigging out. She doesn’t even like David and might not cooperate with him.” She eyed her husband. “You want to deal with her?”

He shuddered. His lips firmed. “I could deal with her, but neither of you would like it very much, I’m sure.” He handed her one of the guns from the box he’d pulled from the kitchen floor. “Stay with me and do exactly what I tell you, understand?”

“Yes.” Relief filled her. She was probably insane for insisting she be allowed to go, but Marlee was her sister. She’d protected the girl all her life. She wasn’t about to stop now.

A thought hit her. She asked David, “Did you just blow up the laptop?”

He laughed, a low chuckle that meant he was very pleased with himself. “Of course not.”

“Then where is it?”

“I have it. I’ve had it all along.”

Summer whirled to find Ron standing in the doorway.