To Honor and To Protect (2 page)

“I’m a boy,” he whispered as if she might’ve forgotten.

“Road rules, remember? We stick together.”

“Mom.” He scowled at her and folded his arms across his chest. “I’m too old to go in there.”

She bent close to his ear. “I understand. I even almost agree.”

“Almost?” He tilted his head, wary.

She nodded, smothering the smile for the sake of his pride. “But today it’s a safety issue. We stay together.”

“It’s been nothin’ but safety since we left home.”

“I know. And it has to be safety for a little longer.” She silently vowed to make it up to him. Somehow. “Soon you’ll have all kinds of new places and things to discover on our adventure.”

“Promise?”

“Yes.”

He looked back at her with the big, soft brown eyes that reminded her more and more of his father. His small hand patted her cheek. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll stay with you.”

“Thank you.”

“But I want to make a new deal for when I turn eight.”

“That’s certainly up for discussion.” Right now she had to be sure they lived that long.

With bladders relieved and hands washed thoroughly to the tune of the alphabet song, they cut through the store to get back on the road.

“Can I have a Coke?”

“It’s ‘may I,’” she corrected automatically. “And no. We have water in the car.”

“Can I have a peanut butter cup?”

So much for her efforts to avoid the candy and junk food. “When we stop for dinner tonight, you can have a Coke and a peanut butter cup.”

“Both?” His eyes went wide with hope.

She nodded.

“How long to dinner?”

She laughed and checked her watch. “A few hours.” She wanted more distance between her and the man who had the resources to chase her off the edge of the world. Addison refused to think of him as her fiancé anymore. Although she’d done her best to blur any trail, to escape somewhere he didn’t even know to search, she couldn’t be sure it would work.

The idea of being so completely duped by Craig Everett infuriated her. Worse, her relationship with him was now an embarrassment in both the professional and personal context. When she thought of how much she’d shared with that worthless excuse for a man, she wanted to shoot something. Preferably Craig. They’d shared lovely romantic evenings, family-type outings with Andy and lazy sleep-late weekend mornings. All of it made her feel dirty now.

Assuming she could evade Craig until she got word the authorities had him locked down, assuming she could eventually return to her life in San Francisco, she wasn’t quite sure how she’d find the courage to look her friends or her boss in the eye again.

It was hopeless to think his arrest and illegal dealings wouldn’t make news up and down the West Coast. More likely, it would be national news for a short time. Which meant she and Andy would be dragged into Craig’s horrendous mess by association. Their lives would be picked apart and exposed for everyone in the world to judge. It was possible even her secluded destination in the uncharted depths of a Louisiana swamp wouldn’t be shelter enough.

Because she’d been the idiot who nearly married an American traitor.

She buckled Andy into the booster seat and closed the door, stifling the violent words that wanted to pour out of her whenever she thought about what Craig had done. Telling herself she’d broken up his system and stopped him didn’t help as much as it should. Maybe that would change with time. So many things did.

The facts crawled like a line of ants between her shoulder blades. The sensation grew worse when she considered the likelihood that Craig’s slimy dealings had cost other women—other families—the grief she’d felt when Andy’s father had been killed in action on the other side of the world.

If Drew Bryant, her favorite soldier, were alive he’d...

Biting her lip, she pulled herself together. If Drew were alive, all of this would be irrelevant. Unnecessary. She, Drew and Andy would be a family, settled in some happy suburb or on farmland far from California. A road trip like this really would be a grand summer adventure. Complete with two drivers and possibly a brother or sister in the backseat with Andy. Even when she and Drew were children themselves, they’d dreamed of having a big family.

If Drew were alive, she wouldn’t have been with Craig at all. It would’ve been up to someone else to catch that traitorous, double-talking jerk trading secrets and sensitive military information with who knew how many unsavory people.

If, if, if.
Exasperated with herself, Addison slid into the driver’s seat and moved the car to the gas pump. Might as well top it off while she was here. Hopefully it would save her a stop later.

No matter how she coached herself, she wasn’t sure catching Craig qualified as a blessing in disguise, not when she knew it could cost her everything she held dear. But turning over the information she’d found had been automatic, a reflex she couldn’t suppress any more than breathing. No one should profit from the pain and suffering of others.

Craig had made a fortune for himself and others through legal means. Discovering the fortune he’d amassed through illegal negotiations had shocked her. She couldn’t fathom how he’d made that leap into predatory dealings. She’d only scraped the tip of the iceberg, but she knew without any doubt what would happen if Craig or his nasty colleagues caught up with her and Andy before the authorities took action.

She smiled at her son through the window as she pumped gas. Being the whistle-blower was difficult for anyone, but a single mom? Although she couldn’t abide letting Craig go unpunished, she kept wondering if there’d been a better way to take him down. She’d completely altered two lives when she’d sent the files as an anonymous tip to the local FBI office. All she could do now was hide and pray for the best.

A few more miles down the road Andy piped up again. “Are we going to SeaWorld?”

She’d noticed the billboard, too, and the question wasn’t unreasonable, but she found herself wishing for nightfall. “Not this trip, honey.” Thinking of the crowds and security cameras raised goose bumps along her arms. An attraction like that could prove more risk than entertainment.

“Will Craig have part of our summer adventure with us?”

Only in my nightmares,
she thought. “Not this trip,” she repeated, glancing at the elaborate engagement ring that remained on her hand. Taking it off would have Andy asking still more questions she wasn’t ready to answer. Once they reached the bayou she’d throw the damn thing to the nearest alligator. Imagining Craig’s outrage over that move made her smile.

The diamond caught the waning sunlight and she wondered—again—which part of Craig’s income had paid for it. Knowing wouldn’t change how she felt about wearing it, but the aching, wounded part of her heart wanted the answer. She shut that down. There was no sense in being sentimental over a man who’d not only played her for a fool, but also traded lives for money with dangerous people. People who’d want to punish her for blowing up their system. People who were probably searching for her right now. Maybe it would be smart to sell the gaudy thing. She could invest the proceeds for Andy’s college fund. That seemed like a fair enough solution.

“I miss him already,” Andy murmured from the backseat.

“I know.” Craig was the closest thing Andy had had to a father figure because his father had died before he was born. It made her cringe now, in light of his treacherous side business, but it would be another point of grief for her son when he learned that relationship was over. Forever.

Of all the challenges ahead of her, she dreaded navigating that particular tightrope. How could she ever adequately explain her choices to a seven-year-old who’d been so eager for a dad? In Andy’s eyes, Craig had reached near-hero status. Now, thanks to her, in Craig’s eyes she and her son were no more than risks to eliminate. That was more truth than Andy needed weighing on his young shoulders.

“Will the whole adventure be in this old car?”

“No.” She’d hesitated to tell him where they were going, fearful that someone would overhear his chatter during a stop. “Do you think you’d like SeaWorld?”

“Yes! They have whales and dolphins and sharks and turtles and you can swim with them.”

“That does sound like fun.”

“Please can we go, Mom?”

“I can’t make promises, but if it’s possible, yes, we’ll go to SeaWorld.” Eventually.

“Cool! Jeff and Caleb will be jealous. We’ll take lots of pictures, right?”

“Of course.” As long as those pictures wouldn’t jeopardize their secrets.

“I want to pet a shark.”

You’ve already been too close,
she thought, checking her rearview mirror.
We just didn’t see his teeth
. Yet.

“We’ll see.”

“That means no.”

“Not in our house,” she said with more bite than she’d intended. “We’ve talked about that. I need to concentrate right now, okay?”

“Okay.”

“We’ll stop for dinner in two hours.” She smiled, determined to regain her composure. “Can you set an alarm, please?”

“Sure!”

“Thank you.” She checked her mirrors and stared at the long ribbon of highway cluttered with traffic. Once she saw Andy was focused on his handheld game, she turned on the radio, hoping to catch some announcement of Craig’s situation. She wouldn’t feel safe until he was in custody, and she wouldn’t come out of hiding until she was sure his connections had been found. But she heard no updates.

Hours later, when Addison and Andy stopped for dinner, she ducked into a post office for one last precaution. An insurance policy of sorts, in case Craig found a loophole. Letting Andy push the buttons on the automated kiosk machine in the lobby, she breathed a little better when he sent the envelope into the chute.

Whatever happened next, now she could be sure someone else knew the truth about Craig and his involvement in her life.

“Are you mad?” Andy asked, taking her hand as they returned to the car.

“Not with you.” She was definitely mad, but more than the anger, she felt a consuming, unfamiliar terror. All her life she’d known what to do and when to do it. There had been nerves and mistakes, sadness and joy along the way, but overall, she’d had a dream, created a plan and worked tirelessly to make it all a reality for her and her son.

“Then who’re you mad at?”

She considered her answer as he boosted himself back up into the car. “Myself,” she replied honestly. “I made a big mistake.”

“Is that why we’re on this summer adventure?”

Occasionally her son was too perceptive for her comfort. “Partly,” she said with a smile. “But summer is the perfect time for a big adventure.”

“We won’t be in the car the whole time, will we?”

“Already asked and answered, young man,” she said with a laugh. “I promise the real adventure will begin soon.” She thought of the frogs and birds, the still, reflective black water and tall cypress trees where they were headed. He would love it all, so different from any camp or field trip he’d experienced. “You’re going to have all kinds of fun.”

“Promise?”

“Have I ever let you down?”

He actually gave it some thought before he replied, “No.”

“Well, I don’t plan to start now.”

His grin, full of eagerness and love, was too reminiscent of his father. It had her heart aching for what might have been as they got back on the road. Since losing Drew before Andy’s birth, she’d made a practice of focusing on the present. Of course she’d told her son bits and pieces about his real dad as he’d been able to understand them, but with no living relatives in the Bryant family, it seemed best for both of them not to dwell on what couldn’t be changed.

Long after the dinner stop, as she crossed the state line into Louisiana, the news hit the radio. Federal authorities had arrested Craig at his posh home in San Francisco. Addison didn’t breathe easy until the reporter finished the explanation with no mention of her name.

Understanding what he’d done, the scope of his crimes and that the FBI probably already knew she’d turned him in, she knew her anonymity wouldn’t last long, but she intended to make the most of her temporary advantage.

Chapter Two

Washington, DC
Wednesday, July 2, 9:15 a.m.

Andrew “Drew” Bryant remained in his seat, his back straight, palms relaxed on his thighs, gaze straight ahead. Maintaining a calm facade in all circumstances had been emphasized during his time with the Special Forces, but he’d mastered the skill as a prisoner of war. He’d memorized and evaluated every detail of his surroundings. The sleek, understated decor of the lobby, the expensive black leather seating and the polished chrome and glass accents might be found in any number of office buildings around the world, but the distinct lack of nameplates and office logos on the doors told him more than anyone behind those doors wanted him to know. At one time in his life he might’ve paced the marble-floored lobby impatiently, but not anymore. These days, he let the world come to him.

He was more than a little relieved the men in dark suits who’d picked him up twelve hours ago hadn’t put a bag over his head. It could still happen, and if it did, it would test his fitful control. He took a deep breath. Calm was key. In every situation. No sense proving the army docs right about his uncertain mental state.

They’d left him alone and unrestrained, but he’d seen the escort lock the elevator. If they wanted him to sit here, here was where he’d sit. He was in a high-rent office building, but the view from the window wasn’t helpful, with no visible skyline beyond tall trees. The artwork on the walls and in the elevator was most likely original. In his assessment, that meant this place didn’t get a lot of foot traffic.

Drew felt his heart rate tick up as another minute passed. He couldn’t help recalling the last time he’d been snatched away from a normal day. Except that day hadn’t been normal at all. It had been his wedding day.

On that occasion he’d been ordered to duty in the middle of the night and it had required half a pot of coffee to burn away the fuzzy aftertaste of his bachelor party. He’d left a note—unauthorized but nonnegotiable—for his bride. The woman who’d eventually given up on him. Not that he blamed her.