When I Find You: A Trust No One Novel (32 page)

“Walker, don’t . . .” Tugging on the back of his vest, she tried to get his attention without getting close to the man whose lips were now turning blue.

Walker looked down, took a deep breath, and a second later, let go of Cooper, who slid to the floor gasping for air. “Joe, would you keep an eye on this scum for a minute?”

“Happy to,” Joe drawled, walking forward until he stood directly in front of Cooper.

Walker looked over his shoulder, grinned at Joe, then took Darcy by the arm and propelled her out of the safe room to the foot of the stairs leading to the study.

“You found me.” Tears formed in her eyes as she looked at him.

“Don’t I always?” With a hand on either side of her face, he pulled her against him and held her tightly, almost desperately, as he kissed her forehead.

Darcy lifted her chin and his lips came down on hers, urgent yet gentle, and he coaxed a response from her until her lips opened for him. Her arms went around his neck and she pressed herself into his warmth and safety.

He was here. She loved him. She had to tell him. When she opened her mouth to say the words, he kissed her once quickly and then pushed her away.

“We don’t have much time. You’ve got to trust me—now more than ever. Will you?” The sadness in his voice puzzled her and sent tingles up her spine. Of course she trusted him. Surely he knew that.

“How many times do you have to save my life before you know I’m going to trust you?” She gave a short laugh then twined her arms around his waist again and laid her head on his chest, breathing in his woodsy scent. This time, he held himself aloof and almost rigid. Confused, she drew back a step. If everything was all right, why did she need to trust him?

“Walker, what . . .”

He laid a finger on her lips. “Just trust me, okay?” Then he took her hand and pulled her back into the safe room.

Cooper was on his feet, pacing and fuming. Joe leaned against the wall, an amused smile tugging at his lips as he watched the man rant and circle like a caged tiger. As soon as Walker reentered the room, Cooper went on the offensive. “How the hell did you get here? Well, I guess it doesn’t matter how you got here. Did you come prepared to hold up your end of the bargain, or are you going to kill me?”

“Not that I wouldn’t like to kill you, but that won’t serve my purpose at the moment. So, hopefully that bullet you’re already packing doesn’t do the job.”

“I’ll live.”

“Let’s make sure we understand each other. You agreed to tell DeLuca that Darcy is out of this. She’s no threat to him because the only thing she witnessed was a botched job of staging Johnny’s death. As for you kidnapping her—that was simply a misunderstanding. If you didn’t hurt her, we’re willing to forget it.” Walker hesitated to let his words sink in. “Right, Darcy?” He squeezed her hand reassuringly.

Darcy remained silent, dreading what she knew he would say next . . . what Walker’s part of the deal was.

“And in return, I shoot Johnny for you.”

Walker’s words dropped like stones into her heart.

“No!” Darcy gasped and tried to pull her hand from his, but he held her securely. “Walker, no. You can’t. It’s murder. Johnny hasn’t done anything to hurt you. Nick and Eddy need their father. Please don’t do this.”

Tears streamed down her face as she pleaded with him and tried to pry her hand away. Instead of releasing her, he gathered her under his arm and took both of her hands in one of his. She squirmed against his restraint and kicked his shin, but he only tightened his grip, staring into her eyes with steely determination.

“If you do this . . .”

“You’ll what? Hate me? That’s the best thing that could happen to you.” He looked over her head and nodded. “Get her out of here.”

She swung around to see Joe coming toward her. Darcy’s heart skipped a beat when Johnny stepped from an opening in the back wall that hadn’t been there before, his hands bound in front of him.

“Johnny, I’m so sorry.” Fresh tears rolled down her face as Joe grabbed her arm and thrust her past him.

“This isn’t your fault, Darcy. You’ve been a good friend to me and my family. I won’t be less than that to you.” Johnny regarded her with serene eyes as though he’d accepted his fate, which made the anger roil up within her.

Damned if she was going to go quietly. With all the strength she could muster, she wrenched free of Joe and started back toward Walker. Halfway there, Joe caught her arms.

“I wish I
could
hate you, Walker.” She ground the words out. “It would be better than loving you and having you betray me like this. I’ll never forgive you.”

Anguish filled Walker’s eyes for a moment before scorn took its place. “Get her out of here, Joe.” He turned toward Johnny.

Chapter Twenty-Three

T
HE TEARS FLOWING
down her face tore Walker apart as she stopped and turned back to look at him. He willed her to trust him one last time but instead the despair in her eyes silently accused him of all kinds of wrong. A sob escaped her before she dropped her gaze and disappeared through the underground entrance. The emptiness she left behind coiled around him and squeezed mercilessly. What he’d told her was true. Hating him would be the best thing for her . . . but it might just be the end of him. He shrugged his personal feelings aside. She’d be safe and that was all that mattered. The plan the three of them had hatched, after they left Cara in the car at the bottom of the hill and started hiking, would guarantee that—as long as nothing went wrong.

When Joe showed him the tunnel that led below ground and gave them a way into the safe room without being seen, Walker planned to use the monitors to locate Cooper and draw him away from Darcy. Johnny pointed out that if Cooper didn’t finish his job, DeLuca would send someone else, and they’d be back in the same position they were in now. Johnny’s death was the only thing that would change the equation enough to keep Darcy safe. In the end, it was he who presented an alternate plan. Too bad it wasn’t a foolproof plan.

Walker’s gaze searched Johnny’s face, noting the tick of a muscle in his jaw and the resignation in his eyes. Grudging respect for the man, in spite of all he’d done to put Darcy’s life in jeopardy, left Walker straddling the fence. Johnny was a brave man, and it was obvious he cared about Darcy. Either way this went, Walker was probably screwed.

“You’re Montgomery—right?” Johnny stared at the man they only knew as Cooper.

Montgomery spread his arms wide. “You’ve got me . . . but you figured it out just a little too late. The hit on you was mine until that slimy Reggie Allen got in front of me. Didn’t take long to figure out it wasn’t your body they found in Chicago, but Reggie workin’ with the feds? I didn’t think he had the guts. The moron gave it away when he tried to kill the nanny.”

Montgomery glanced at Walker and then smirked at Johnny. “He thought she knew what really happened in your house that night and was afraid I’d get it out of her. I know one thing—I was next on his list, so thanks for shooting the bastard, Walker.” His mocking salute was cut short as he grimaced in pain and reached for his side. “Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?”

Montgomery stepped away before Walker raised his gun and aimed at Johnny’s chest. “If I find out you reneged on your end of the bargain, there won’t be a hole deep enough for you to hide in.”

Montgomery scowled. “Once you take care of Johnny, I don’t have any use for you or your girlfriend. I’ll be happy to tell DeLuca the nanny wasn’t even there. You’ll have enough to worry about, staying out of jail, when the marshals find out you killed Johnny and tried to kill Reggie Allen. You might want to find a hole of your own to crawl in.”

“Let me worry about that.”

“What are you waiting for? Do it.”

Sirens wailed from somewhere down the hill. Walker cocked his head, but Montgomery didn’t seem to notice. Shit. This was harder than he thought it would be. He held the gun steady as he stared into Johnny’s eyes. Everything depended on the marshals now. Johnny glanced at Montgomery, his gaze slid back to Walker, and he nodded.

Walker squeezed the trigger. The impact threw Johnny back against the wall, and he dropped to the floor. Blood spurted from the wound and soaked down the front of his shirt.

“What the . . .?” Montgomery looked toward the stairs as the sound of tires crunching gravel and sirens screaming finally caught his attention. He started toward Johnny. “I’ll make sure he’s dead.”

“No time.” Walker stepped in front of him. “You think I’m an amateur at this? He’s dead.” The sirens stopped abruptly, and the crunching and breaking of wood sounded as the marshals kicked in the front door. “You can stick around and check if you want to, but I’m getting out of here. We’ve got about five seconds before U.S. marshals are swarming down those stairs.” Walker crossed to the back entrance. “Come on. I’ll show you the way out.”

Indecision flickered in Montgomery’s eyes as he glanced at Johnny’s body, then back at Walker. Heavy footsteps pounded on the floor above. He swore again and bent to pick up his weapon before he crossed to Walker and preceded him through the door. As Walker turned to look one more time toward the stairs, Montgomery brought the butt of his gun down on the back of Walker’s head.

He saw the blow coming a half second before it connected. It was enough time to shrug and duck, taking most of the impact on his shoulder and back, but it took him to his knees and stars danced before his eyes. When he pulled himself back to his feet, the escape door was closed and Montgomery had jammed it from the other side.

Not exactly the way Walker had planned it. He leaned against the wall for a second, letting the dizziness wash over him. Then he looked for Johnny, crumpled near the wall where he’d fallen. Damn. There was a lot of blood—too much blood.

“Johnny, are you still with me?” Walker hurried to him, knelt beside his still form, and felt for a pulse.

Johnny’s eyelids cracked open and a weak grin appeared. “Whose shitty idea was this? Don’t you special forces types believe in Kevlar?”

Walker whipped the knife from the scabbard on his hip and slit the ropes that bound Johnny’s hands. “We didn’t have a vest. I seem to remember you were the one who said shoot straight enough and we won’t need Kevlar.”

Johnny laughed but then coughed and grimaced in pain. “And you listened to me. How am I doing?”

Walker grabbed a pillow from the bed, placed it under Johnny’s head, and ripped open his shirt. He retrieved a towel and applied pressure to the wound. “Looks like I missed all the major organs, but I’m not going to lie to you. You’ve lost a lot of blood and you’re going to hurt like hell in a couple minutes.” Walker took a deep breath. “You’ll live, though, and the cavalry will be here any second.”

“Never thought I’d be thanking someone for shooting me, but good shot, Walker.” Johnny offered his hand.

Walker took it and then frowned. “Your marshal friends cut it damn close. Montgomery had time to verify your death if he’d wanted to.”

“Your honest face must have convinced him you were telling the truth.”

The two men eyed each other until Walker turned away and began gathering his gear.

“I didn’t think you were going to take that shot for a minute. She’ll forgive you, you know, as soon as you explain what happened.”

“I won’t tell her. Her safety depends on you staying dead this time.” He cast a meaningful glance at Johnny.

“She cares about you. I know damn well you have feelings for her too.”

Walker waited for the tightening in his stomach to ease up. “She’s better off without me.”

“That’s bullshit—and anyway, who gave you the final say?”

Walker didn’t answer, just hollered, “Down here,” when shouts heralded the marshals’ entrance into the study. The next instant, footsteps descended the stairs. Six of the Justice Department’s finest swarmed the room, and bedlam broke out when they saw their witness broken and bleeding.

Walker allowed them to push him aside as they took over trying to staunch the flow of blood. One of the marshals asked him a few questions, but it was obvious he’d been briefed on everything about their plan except the part where Johnny got shot. When Johnny and Walker both swore up and down it was an accident, there wasn’t too much he could do. The remainder of the interview was merely a formality. Someone called for a chopper and, within minutes, the aircraft landed and medics burst into the room. They loaded Johnny on a stretcher.

Walker stepped up beside Johnny and placed a hand on his arm. “I owe you an apology.”

“I owe you a hell of a lot more than that. She deserves to know, Walker.” Johnny held his gaze until he disappeared up the stairs, flanked by the contingent of marshals.

Gradually, the house grew quiet as cars pulled away down the mountain. Walker waited until they were gone and went in search of the liquor cabinet.

“W
HEN ARE YOU
coming back to Kalispell?”

Joe had called every day for a week and asked him that same question. Walker still didn’t know the answer.

“I thought I’d stick around here for a few more days if that’s all right. I’ve got a little more work to do on the house.” He’d thrown himself into the repairs needed in order to keep from thinking about Darcy.

“You can stay as long as you want, but I can get a contractor in to do what needs to be done.”

“What do you hear about Johnny?” Walker dropped the hammer he’d been using to fix the broken front door and sat on the porch steps.

“He’s recovering at an undisclosed location. The marshals are still being tight-lipped on the subject.” Joe laughed.

“I heard DeLuca was indicted. A man like him won’t fare so bad in prison, as long as he hasn’t made too many powerful enemies. Just one thing left to do—find Montgomery.” Walker’s voice became deathly quiet. If it was his last act on earth, he’d have his revenge against that bastard for what he did to Darcy.

“Way ahead of you, Walker. I’m afraid Montgomery has disappeared.”

“No kidding. You have anything to do with that?” Walker already knew the answer.

“Seems Montgomery ran afoul of the Russian mob in Atlanta and they really wanted him back. I merely gave out the information I had . . . but I’m fairly certain we don’t have to worry about Montgomery anymore.”