The Hero (23 page)

“Not a sound,” she cautioned Mercy. “We have to hide here now, long enough for him to leave and then I can take you to your mama....” If she lasted that long. She was growing weak and a little dizzy. She shivered; the wet and night air were only making things worse. She tried to keep Mercy above the water, dry as possible, but poor Mercy shook with the cold. But little Mercy was so brave, burying her face in Laine’s neck. It seemed a long time before she heard him roar in outrage, screaming Mercy’s name. Then the SUV came to life, the headlights shining.

Laine heard a couple of gunshots, and with Jacob in the truck she wondered if they were under attack. She consoled herself that if he tried to escape out of the front of the compound, law enforcement would surely stop him before he got far. She waited tensely for the sound of that big SUV to rattle across the bridge, but it didn’t come. She heard the engine, then heard it traveling away and she took a peek and saw something unreal. He was driving right down the river.... She shook her head in confusion, standing up to peek over the bridge and yes, he was driving down the river. There must be some back road out of here, totally concealed and blocked by the forest. The right jacked-up SUV could travel down the rocky river in the shallow parts, then exit the river to a road that Laine had never been aware of and she’d poked around as much as possible.

He was going to get away.

Shaking almost too much to stand up, Laine pushed them to the shore beyond the bridge, pulling Mercy with her. “Come, little angel, we have to hurry away...” But she could barely move. She was on her knees, trying to stand. Mercy was on her feet and Laine tried to push up with her one good arm, but fell to her knees. Her only rational thought was,
Shit
,
I’m going to die from a damn bullet to the shoulder.
Mercy was crying and Laine was literally crawling. Even if she had to crawl to the break in the fence, she was going to get Mercy out of this compound and as close as possible to the police barricade.

And then she was aware of footfalls, heavy thuds, running toward her. She glanced up to see a man in a dark ball cap and dark shirt with dirt on his face running toward her. He was carrying a gun and she did what came naturally—she pulled Mercy down to the ground and covered her with her body. And there were more sounds of running coming at her.

As she was being lifted off Mercy, Laine struggled and fought, but it only caused her shoulder to scream in pain, matching the screaming that came from her throat. “No! No! Let the child be, leave her alone! No!”

“Easy there, young lady, easy—you’re hurt,” the man said.

And then a woman’s voice cried, “Mercy!”

“Mama!”

Laine looked up through blurry vision and saw Devon standing over her. And then she passed out.

* * *

“We better move out of here fast,” Rawley said. “I don’t know what threat we got in here, so best slink around the back side of that house up there. One thing is for sure—we’re gonna have us one big goddamn fire here pretty soon. We have to go out the fence and through the woods and to the road, see if we can meet up with that nice copper again.” He pulled a large handheld bolt cutter off his belt and handed it to Cooper. “Stay to the shadows, Coop. Get us the hell out of here. This here girl is hurt.”

“That’s Laine,” Devon said, holding her shivering daughter tightly against her. “She’s the one who showed me the way to get out of here. Rawley, what if there are women and children in the house?”

Rawley seemed to consider this for a moment, then he transferred his burden into Spencer’s arms. “Well, since I planned this circus, I guess I’ll check the house.” He picked up his rifle again. “Don’t wait for me. Make tracks.”

Spencer lifted the young woman in his arms, getting her solidly against him. “Devon,” he said, “follow Cooper and try to be small as a shadow, in case there are snipers in here. I’m right behind you.”

They marched off in a group toward the back of the house and before going any closer to the buildings, Cooper stopped and made fast work of the fence, pulling back the loose aluminum so they could slip through. First Devon climbed through, and then Spencer ducked and maneuvered through. The woman was light in his arms, but she was so pale she almost gleamed in the moonlight. Cooper was the last to get through. “What about Rawley?” Spencer asked.

Right then there was the unmistakable report from a rifle and everyone froze.

“I hope he didn’t shoot anyone,” Spencer muttered.

“He’s not above it,” Cooper said, pressing on. “He’ll get out, don’t worry,” Cooper said. “That crafty old devil knows what he’s doing. Follow me,” he said. And Spencer doubted Cooper was a tracker, but he was the only one without a body in his arms, so he led them through the thick growth and trees. By the time they got through the woods and met the road, they also met Rawley.

“We heard a shot,” Cooper said.

“Yeah, I blew the lock off the gate and opened it up. We need us a fire truck and ambulance,” he said. He stripped off his shirt, draped it over Mercy and partly over Devon and asked, “She doin’ okay there, Mama?”

“I think so. Scared and wet, but okay.”

Laine stirred and groaned in Spencer’s arms. He stopped walking, looked down at her. “We’ll get you some help. Is there anyone left in the compound?” he asked.

She shook her head. “He got away,” she whispered. “Mercy?”

“I’ve got her, Laine,” Devon said. “We’re getting out of here.”

“I can walk,” she said, wiggling a bit in Spencer’s arms.

“You wouldn’t make it two steps. Let’s go.”

“Stay behind me,” Rawley said, handing off his rifle to Cooper. Then he took off at a jog down the road.

They half jogged, half power walked down the road for a good half hour—it was at least a mile, maybe closer to two. Rawley was ahead by a hundred yards and he approached the police vehicles with his arms high in the air. And suddenly the place lit up and was brought to life by a SWAT team, many police vehicles, Fire and Rescue and lots of guns pointed right at him.

“We got wounded,” he yelled, and they charged him, guns drawn, securing him in handcuffs real fast.

Then they charged the rest of the party, same drill. Except, they didn’t cuff them all. They just took the weapons and brought them forward.

Things began to happen fast. Rawley told them the place seemed to be deserted but for this wounded woman and the child, but one of the warehouses was on fire and it smelled like burning green cannabis. Laine was taken to an ambulance, Mercy and Devon were taken to another while Cooper, Spencer and Rawley were held and locked into the back of police vehicles. From where they sat they could see SWAT move down the road in their armored vehicle with lots of armed men hanging on. They were followed by the fire department at a safe distance, waiting for an all-clear to go in and fight the fire. More vehicles appeared, a helicopter flew overhead and a spotlight was shone down on the area. Dogs were pulled out of police cars by their handlers and they jogged to the scene.

While there had been a couple of Trooper vehicles a couple of hours ago, now there was a small army. Floodlights were up, sirens wailed, radios chattered.

And Rawley said to Spencer and Cooper, “It’s always better when they don’t shoot back. I can’t believe we got ’em out that easy.”

Spencer and Cooper exchanged looks and said in unison, “Easy?”

He grinned, showing off his straight, white dentures. “You’re just pups. Spoiled little pups.”

* * *

Everyone in the rescue party was detained for questioning and because they were separated, Devon had no idea what had happened to Rawley, Spencer and Cooper. She was allowed to stay with Mercy and they were taken to the hospital together where Mercy was checked over by a pediatrician. It wasn’t long before she was reunited with her friends from the FBI, including Emma Haynes. She explained everything that had happened and urged them to call Deputy McCain to verify. They didn’t grill her like before—this time they asked her some questions, then let her join Mercy in a hospital room where she lay down with her.

In the morning Agent Haynes informed her that the fire had been stopped before it spread into the forest, but some buildings were destroyed. Jacob had tried to escape down a hidden back road that led out of the compound via the river, but when he reached a closed road and was met with armed police, there was an exchange of gunfire. He was killed.

And she cried. Sobbed against Emma Haynes’s shoulder.

She wasn’t sure if it was relief, that he could never threaten her or hold her captive again, or if there was something inside her that was a sense of loss.

Devon asked about the other women and children. Charlotte had rescued her son and little Liam, but Priscilla had stayed behind with Jacob. Her body was found in the house. Not even Laine could explain what had happened, but clearly Jacob shot her. Perhaps with Mercy rescued, he didn’t need her anymore. Of all the people in The Fellowship, she was the only fatality besides Jacob. She was also the only one completely loyal to him.

Hours later Devon was told that Laine had come out of a successful surgery removing a bullet from her shoulder and repairing the damage as much as possible. She had been able to give most of her story so the authorities understood that none of them were a part of any conspiracy—they had merely gone on a mission to rescue Mercy. After many hours of statements and many dire warnings about taking such measures without the police, Devon was told that everyone had been released. Devon was asked if she’d be willing to go over her statements again, add information if she could, help them to wrap up the entire investigation.

“Yes, but I think you’re going to have to come to Thunder Point with your fancy equipment and try not to disrupt my life too much. I’m the single mother of a child who has been through a lot and if I help you, you’re going to have to help me a little.”

Then Devon called Scott Grant and asked him if he’d come to pick her up and bring her and Mercy home.

Of course he wanted all the details, and he deserved them, but she was tired and almost limp with relief. She gave him the quick version and then told him that when she recovered, she’d tell him the whole story with all the little details. “Right now I just need a day of rest and some time alone with Mercy. Can I have a day off?”

He laughed and told her she could have whatever she wanted. “Spence went with you,” Scott pointed out.

“Yes, because he’s that kind of man. He’s a good friend. A good neighbor. But that doesn’t mean he’s sorted out how he feels about me. And Mercy. That’s a different story.”

There was a football game the next night and Devon didn’t go. She tried pretending she didn’t even know about the game, but she was completely aware and wondered if he looked into the stands, noticing she wasn’t there. And she wondered if it would matter to him.

She invited Rawley to come to her little duplex for Saturday night dinner. After they’d eaten and Mercy was occupied with one of her DVDs, they sat at the kitchen table over coffee and cookies and talked about their adventure. They exchanged information and filled in the blanks.

“The FBI has offered to get me some counseling,” she told Rawley. “I’m thinking about taking them up on that.”

“Might help,” he said. “Now that’s all a memory, you do what’s right for you.”

“And Mercy,” she said.

“I ain’t no expert, but if it’s right for you, it’s prolly right for her.”

“I’ll have to thank Cooper for his help.”

“Aw, I think he had fun, truth be told,” Rawley said.

“And Spencer.”

“That boy’s stronger than he looks,” was all Rawley had to say. “Carried that woman at a jog for darn near two miles.”

“He did,” she said. And right up until he decided he wasn’t ready to be serious, he had carried her a little bit, too.

Devon called Cooper to thank him for his help. It was no small thing, what he’d done. Not only could his life have been in danger, but then he had to suffer through at least twelve hours of questioning before he’d been allowed to go home. But being the kind of guy he was, he just said anyone would’ve stepped up just the same. “And if I hadn’t gone with Rawley, I’d never have heard the end of it.”

Nineteen

S
pencer had dropped by the clinic the day after their rescue mission looking for Devon, and Scott had explained that she was relieved to have Mercy home and was exhausted, begging time off from work to try to rest and get her life back. He looked for her at the football game, of course, but was not entirely surprised she wasn’t there.

He wanted to talk to her. Wanted more than talk, but he thought maybe she could use a little time. By the time Sunday rolled around, he could wait no longer. He made sure Austin was in Cooper’s care then went to her house, but she wasn’t there. He called her cell phone, but she didn’t answer. He really didn’t know what to do with himself, so like a smitten high school kid, he sat on her front step, waiting.

“Devon isn’t home,” Mrs. Bledsoe said when she saw him there.

“I know. I have to talk to her. I’ll wait.”

“Or you can walk down to the beach. The sun is out and she took that bag of beach shovels and pails that Mercy likes.”

“Thanks, I’ll do that.”

He’d been to the bar, dropping off Austin, but he hadn’t seen her on the beach. He decided to walk down the street past the marina and across the beach to find her. It was a little chilly although the sun was shining and there were only a few people on the beach. And Devon was on the part of the beach closest to the marina and farthest from the bar.

She must not have wanted him to see her from the bar. It filled him with dread.

She didn’t look up until he was standing beside her. Mercy played in the sand a short distance away and she smiled at him. “Pencer,” she said, and then went back to scooping sand.

Spencer dropped to the sand beside her.

“I’ve been meaning to call you to thank you,” she said. “What you did, it was far and away the bravest thing in the world. Thank you.”

“Devon, you were the brave one. You were ready to go alone.”

She just shrugged. “When your child is at risk, you don’t even think. You just do what you have to do.”

“It’s the same deal when it’s the woman you love,” he said. “I went to the clinic to see you. Scott said you were taking a couple of days to try to recuperate.”

“And think,” she said. “I really needed to think. It’s like a bad dream. A four-year bad dream. And it’s finally really over. I don’t have to be afraid to leave Thunder Point...don’t have to be afraid of some bogeyman just around the corner.”

“Listen,” he said. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you. To explain...”

“Spencer, it’s all right. I understand. After all you’d been through you weren’t ready to get involved with some woman with a mysterious and bizarre past, with a child, with baggage. You don’t have to explain.”

He turned toward her. “If we hadn’t been sidetracked by Mercy’s abduction, this would be coming sooner. I realized immediately, I made a mistake.”

“I know. It’s all right. At least you caught it before it was too late.”

“Devon, my mistake was that I almost lost you. I almost let you get away. The idiotic part is that I let you go
because
I was afraid of losing you. When you asked me to be responsible for Mercy, it hit me like a ton of bricks—if I let myself make a life with you and something happened, something completely unpredictable and catastrophic, like a car accident or...or cancer...” He stopped for a second. He reached for her hand. “It makes no sense at all, but I panicked. I thought—if something happens to her? How will I live? How many people can I lose before I go completely crazy? And you? Lose
you?
For just one split second I thought it would be easier not to have you at all than to face something like that. Again.”

“I understand,” she said. “I really do.”

“Not yet, you don’t. When you came to the bar to ask Rawley for a weapon so you could go after Mercy, I faced it head-on—there it was, that thing I feared the most, that your life could be in danger. And, Devon, I love you too much to let you go. I don’t know if we’ll have six weeks together or sixty years—it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I have you in my life, in my arms, for as long as we’re lucky enough to get.”

She stared at him, openmouthed.

He smiled at her. “Now is the part where you say you understand.”

She turned toward him. “Spencer, think about what you’re saying. You’re not ready, you know you’re not. This panic could rise again anytime. Don’t get ahead of yourself here, because I don’t want to love you and count on you and have you—”

He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, holding her hard against his chest while he went after her mouth like a starving man. Her eyes flew open in surprise, but a moment later she was holding him, returning the kiss. He moaned in appreciation, wishing he would never have to release her. But eventually he did because there was talking to do. “I love you, Devon. I wasn’t looking for it, I didn’t expect it, but I love you. I was so busy worrying about my own fears, my own losses, I didn’t really think about yours. You’ve been through so much, but you didn’t even blink. You never panicked. You just faced it all head-on.” He took a breath. “I don’t know what life will throw at us, but I can’t reel it back in. I’m in love with you. It’s a done deal.”

She just shook her head. “I don’t know, Spencer. I do love you, but I’m afraid to get involved again. Maybe we should just give it some time.”

“No time like the present,” he said. “If you ever feel like you’re in over your head or if you’re having second thoughts, you tell me. I’m not going to hold you captive—I’m just going to love you as well as I can for as long as I can. I don’t deserve it, but will you give me another chance? We were so good together.”

“We were,” she said, giving him a small smile.

“I want to marry you.”

“Now wait a minute. I’m not sure I’m convinced enough to take that plunge.”

“I just want to negotiate one plunge at a time—it’s all up to you. Let’s start with dinner and a game of Candy Land and after the kids are asleep...”

She couldn’t help it, she laughed at him. But then she started to cry.

“Aw, baby, don’t,” he said, pulling her into his arms again. “Don’t be afraid. I had a meltdown, that’s all. You know I’m not really that guy—that afraid-of-commitment kind of guy. That was just an overreaction. I know how I feel, I really do.”

“I’m a little too emotional to make a good decision about this.”

“I scared you, that’s all. I screwed up and made you think I’m fickle. That I don’t know what I want or how I feel. That I scare easy. But I’m not any of those things. I’ll prove it. Just let me try. Any time it doesn’t feel right, all you have to do is say so, tell me what you want and you’ll have it. I just want a chance. I can’t walk away from you again.”

“I want to,” she said. “It made me so happy, loving you, being loved by you.”

He wiped away her tears with the pad of his thumb. “Devon, I’d walk into hell for you, I love you that much. Let’s take it one day at a time. Together. Can you trust me that much?”

She put her hand against his cheek. “Do you have any idea how special I felt with you? Curled up on the couch, just watching a movie? Hanging out with the kids? Watching you train or coach your team? Making love?”

“We’ll have all that again, I promise. I’ll be there for you, I swear.”

“One day at a time? You’ll let me relearn that I can count on you?”

“Absolutely. I won’t rush you, but I’m ready.”

She sniffed back her tears. “Okay, then. I’ll give us a try.”

He grabbed her and kissed her again, deeply, passionately, holding her against him so tightly he was surprised she didn’t break.

There was a tapping on his shoulder and he broke away to stare into Mercy’s beautiful blue eyes.

“Why you always kissing?” she asked.

“Because I love your mommy,” he said.

“Oh,” she said. And she turned and went back to her bucket and pail.

He chuckled. Then he looked at Devon and said, “The first thing we’ll do is spend some quality time together. Then I’m taking you to a jewelry store so you can pick out a ring.”

“Spencer,” she said in warning.

“You don’t have to wear it until you’re ready, but I want you to have one. I want to spend my life with you. With you and Mercy and Austin.”

“You’re going to rush me,” she said.

“Go easy on me, honey. I almost lost you.”

“I almost lost you, too, Spencer,” she whispered.

* * *

Eric got a call from Ashley—Gina wondered if he’d be willing to come to the house to have a chat with her and her husband.
Here it comes,
he thought. He didn’t regret the way he played it out—giving them plenty of time to talk it over and give him an honest answer regarding his possible full-time presence in Thunder Point. It had been the right thing to do. He didn’t expect her to be happy with such a decision. After all, it brought into focus so many regrettable things from her past. Not only had she gotten pregnant by some loser who’d abandoned her, but that loser had gone to prison. What woman in her right mind wanted regular reminders?

The service station in Thunder Point had been a good piece of property, one that he could easily renovate. It wasn’t a rich town and he hadn’t expected to turn a big profit on gas and repairs, however some of his customers had come from far away for his custom restoration work and if he added space and equipment to any property, many of them would follow him. Classic car restoration was not only good business, most of his customers collected cars—it wasn’t usually a matter of one or two, but many. To that end, Eric had looked at many similar properties. He’d begun to like the idea of taking the investors’ money and putting it into something new, some little gem he could grow into something good.

When he arrived in Gina’s neighborhood at the edge of town, he felt an odd kind of happiness knowing that she’d settled herself so well. Life couldn’t have been easy for her, living with her mother and raising their daughter alone. But now, while she was still young, she had a fine husband, a good home and many nonjudgmental friends in Thunder Point. It gave him a sense of comfort, if not relief, to know he hadn’t completely destroyed her life. And she’d done an outstanding job with Ashley—she was as fine a young woman as any he’d ever met.

He had to park across the street and down the block. He walked to their house, up the walk and knocked on the door. Gina answered, smiling. “Hi, Eric. You’re right on time.”

“You said four o’clock. Listen, I hope you know I just want to be considerate of your feelings. Yours and Mac’s.”

“I know. That was thoughtful. And I want you to know, we discussed it at great length and you will have an honest response.”

“Thanks, Gina. I understand, I really do. I know I asked a lot. Ashley doesn’t really understand what it’s like to have ghosts and hard memories.”

“Oh, Eric,” she said with a laugh. “Ashley understands that better than just about anyone.”

“Right, I guess that’s right,” he said, remembering the rough spring she’d had, terrible breakup with a serious boyfriend, some cruel texting going on meant only to cause her hurt. “And I sure wouldn’t want to cause her any more...”

“We’re in the backyard, Eric. Follow me.”

She turned and walked through the house. He passed by the kitchen and saw a couple of women who seemed to be preparing food in there. Then out the sliding doors onto the deck and there, in the backyard, mingling around a couple of barbecues and sitting at picnic tables were many teenagers and children and older couples.

“I’m interrupting something,” he said.

Gina laughed. “No, Eric. You’re definitely not.”

Mac broke away from the grill, passing his spatula to a man beside him. He approached with his hand outstretched. “Welcome,” he said. “Glad you could make it.”

“What’s going on?” Eric asked, immediately uncomfortable.

Gina put a hand on his arm. “The answer was easy,” Gina said. “If you find a good business in this town and this is a place you’d like to settle, we’d be happy to welcome you to town. So we thought we’d introduce you to some of our friends.”

It was a good thing he wasn’t a crying fool, he thought. Not only was this one of the last things he ever expected, it was one of the kindest things anyone had ever done for him. “I don’t know what to say....”

“Well, say hello. I’ll make some introductions. Then you can tell me how you’d like your burger, not that I’m very great at getting it right,” Mac said. “Most of these folks have been here forever, but there are a few newcomers. They can give you some tips on settling in.”

“If you decide this is the right place for you,” Gina said. “We just thought we’d find a way to let you know—it would make us happy to have a new business and responsible citizen come to town. This seemed like a good way to demonstrate that.”

Good way to let him know? he thought. If these people had any lingering hope that he’d give up this opportunity, they were going to be disappointed.

He wanted to be a part of a community that behaved with compulsive kindness.

* * *

There were only two more football games left in the season and the Thunder Point team was going to regionals. It was an outstanding team; Spencer was very proud of them. But on this overcast late October Sunday afternoon he stood on the beach with Cooper and Devon. They were looking not at the bay but up at the hillside. Cooper’s house was framed already—no doubt because Cooper was relentless and wanted that house done enough to move into before his new baby was born.