Nowhere to Turn (3 page)

As though in slow motion, the phone clicked back on the cradle. Dani looked at her as the woman smiled. “He’s on his way to the office.”

Now her knees felt weak. Wanted to buckle beneath her. Somehow she stayed on her feet and managed a nod. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“I hope everything will be all right.”

“I do too.” Grim, she stared at the door her son would enter, willing him to hurry.

Simon raced down the hall, his backpack slapping against his hips as he weaved in and out of the students scrambling to go home. He’d read Mrs. Brown’s lips when she spoke into the phone. She’d looked straight at him and frowned. “Family emergency? I’ll send him right down.” Simon had gathered his things and was out the door before she hung up.

Worry gnawed at him. Family emergency? Had his dad finally hurt his mother bad enough to send her to the hospital or had he even kil—

No. Tears clogged his throat. He burst into the front office and felt the air leave his lungs.

His mother stood there. Whole. Healthy. Alive. His eyes caught
hers. She must have seen something in his expression because she reached for him and gave him a brief hug before turning to say something to the secretary. Simon didn’t bother trying to understand her, he just let the relief flow through him.

Within seconds, she ushered him from the building. He could feel the tension vibrating through her body. His relief at finding her physically intact fled and the fear returned. What was wrong? When they stopped at the Navigator, she motioned for him to get in. He turned and stared at her. Signed, “You drove?”

“Yes,” she signed back. “Get in and hurry.”

“What’s wrong?”

“In,” she signed. “Please.”

Her tight, drawn features drove his fear and confusion to new heights. Without another question, he climbed in and slammed the door while she did the same. Movement in the side mirror caught his attention.

“Why is Uncle Stuart here too?” he asked her, using his voice. He didn’t like speaking in front of the other kids or adults, but with his mother he didn’t care.

She jerked and slapped the locks, jammed the keys into the ignition and cranked the vehicle. Simon checked the mirror again and saw his uncle running toward them. But the car pulled from the curb and his mother drove with careful deliberation until they were free of the school zone.

She tapped his arm and signed, “Watch for him. Tell me when you don’t see him anymore.”

Realization dawned on Simon.

They were running.

Running for their lives.

3:15 P.M.

“Birthday parties are a bore,” Special Agent Joseph Duncan said as he slipped up beside Kurt.

“I agree.” Kurt took a sip of Coke and watched the proceedings with interest. Kurt hated conferences and thought they were a waste of his time when he should be working a case, eagerly pursuing the next notch on his belt.

However, this conference wasn’t as distasteful as others. At least here, he was going to have a little fun and do a little business on the side that would rake in a nice chunk of cash.

They were off duty as of thirty minutes ago and were at the bar. “Whose idea was this anyway?”

“Jack Fletcher’s.” Joe leaned against the wall and checked his phone. “You get Faraday a present?”

“Yeah. I did.” Something in his tone must have caught Joe’s attention.

His fellow agent eyed him warily. “What’d you do?”

Kurt lifted a brow—all innocence and light. “What do you mean?”

Joe snorted. “You know what I mean. You’ve got one of your famous practical jokes up your sleeve, don’t you?”

“Why, Joseph, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Joe laughed. “Don’t even try for the innocent look, you don’t have one.”

Kurt simply smiled. He loved practical jokes. The kind that people tried to laugh off, but underneath were seething because he’d “gotten” them. Practical jokes were even good for payback.

Gordon Faraday, the fifty-six-year-old birthday boy who was one year shy of retirement, grinned as he opened the packages and cards. Kurt couldn’t stand the man. He was such a suck-up even when the situation didn’t call for it. Kurt only sucked up when it benefited him.

Word had filtered down that Gordon had gone to the SAC about him to say he didn’t feel like Kurt should have gotten his latest promotion. Kurt hadn’t told Dani that they would be moving to Houston, Texas, that he was getting ready to be promoted to a squad supervisor. They would move in one month when the current one retired. Gordon’s meeting with the SAC had been two months ago and Kurt had been waiting for a time to initiate some payback.

“What are we waiting on?” Joe glanced at his watch. “We’ve got stuff to discuss.”

“Patience, my friend. Just a little bit longer.”

Finally, Gordon reached for the blue-and-white-striped box that measured about two feet by three. He ripped the paper off.

Kurt tensed in anticipation.

The box opened, triggering the spring that released three hundred rubber snakes in all shapes and sizes. Time slowed for Kurt. He savored each second as the snakes flew in the air and then fell one by one to land on the now screaming Special Agent.

The man screamed again and ripped at them, flung them from his shoulders, his neck, his face. He danced to the side and screamed when he stepped on them. And then he froze for a brief second.

His eyes went wide and he grabbed his left arm.

His eyes fluttered closed and he slumped to the floor.

Kurt smiled. “Gotcha,” he whispered.

Chaos ensued. Kurt listened to the voices. “Call 911!”

“Gordy! Hang in there, buddy, help’s on the way!”

“Who did that? Who would do such a thing?”

Joe stared, then turned to look at Kurt, disbelief stamped on his square-faced features. “That was pretty intense. You know Gordon’s deathly afraid of snakes.”

“Yeah. Getting bit by one will do that to a person. His reaction was priceless, wasn’t it?”

Joe blew out a slow breath and looked back to where Gordon lay.

Kurt nudged him. “Come on, I told you what he did. You know he deserved it.”

Joe chuckled, but Kurt thought it sounded forced. “What if he dies?”

Kurt snorted. “Then he dies.”

Wimp.

Joe watched the chaos, a slight frown on his features. Kurt followed his gaze and saw Ralph Thorn doing CPR. The next time Ralph lifted his head, his gaze locked on Kurt’s, then his eyes slid to Joe. Then he bent back over his friend and continued to try to save the man’s life.

Joe’s phone rang. No one else noticed it in the chaos. Joe grabbed it and listened.

Kurt watched the color drain from Joe’s face. When the man did an about-face and stomped from the room, Kurt followed. By the time they stepped into the hall, Joe had hung up.

“What is it?”

“We lost the guns.”

Kurt stilled, sure he’d heard wrong. “What?”

“You heard me.”

Kurt held in his rage with a rarely exhibited control. “What do you mean you lost them?”

“They had people waiting for us. We had to get out or be caught. I thought they were going to be able to get them back, but that was Liam. They didn’t get them.”

“Do you know how much those weapons are worth?”

“Yes, I know,” Joe snapped back. He paced forward four steps, then back three. “We can get them back.”

“How?”

“I have a contact. I’ll get in the evidence room and get them.”

Kurt scoffed. “You could probably find a way to remove money, drugs, whatever, from the room, but that many guns? No way.”

“Then we’ll just have to get more from somewhere else.”

“I’ve already paid the supplier. I’m out fifteen grand, you moron!” He curled his fingers into a fist. “No, I’m out thirty grand because I was going to double my money. Then I need to pay for—” He broke off and lowered his voice. “I can’t afford that kind of loss.” He sighed. “Well, at least tell me you got rid of the witness.”

“Yeah. She’s taken care of.”

“Then Kabakov will be sending payment for that.”

Joe swore. “And I need it too.”

A slight noise to the left had Kurt swiveling and dropping his voice, looking at the door. “You hear that?”

“Yeah.”

Kurt gestured for Joe to follow him. He moved toward the door and, in one smooth move, swung it open. Alan James leaned against the wall, checking his phone. He looked up with narrowed eyes. “What’s up?”

Kurt reached out, grabbed the man by the collar, and yanked him into the room. Surprise was on Kurt’s side for a split second before Alan could try to bluff his way out of this one.

Kurt slammed him up against the wall. “Like to eavesdrop, do you?”

“Like to pull pranks that kill people, do you?” Alan snarled. He brought his foot up and rammed it into Kurt’s knee.

Kurt screamed and dropped back. Alan lunged at a recovering Kurt and his punch caught him on the jaw. Kurt rocked back and lost his grip. He snagged his gun from his holster and spun to see Alan pull his weapon in response. Joe came from the left and tackled Alan to the floor. Alan rolled and a shot sounded. Joe cried out, grabbing his left ear. Kurt stood and swayed.

Alan bolted to his feet and Kurt went after him. He jammed a fist in the man’s gut. Air whooshed from his lungs, but Alan still held tight to his gun.

Kurt swung his weapon up and aimed it at Alan. “You should have minded your own business.”

Alan raised his weapon and fired. Kurt jerked. He pulled the trigger and saw the bullet hit Alan between the eyes. Kurt’s vision blurred and he blinked. His blood pumped and he felt a sticky wetness under his shirt. The warm wetness moved down, soaking the waistband of his pants. He wondered why he noticed that. Yells reached his ears. Voices coming closer. They’d heard the shots.

Darkness pressed into him. He resisted. He felt his phone vibrating. Couldn’t lift his arm to get it. Joe kept yelling at him, but Kurt couldn’t process the words.

The door burst in as Kurt lost his balance and dropped over on his side. Darkness beckoned him.

It occurred to him that Dani would be glad to hear of his death. She would finally be free of him. The thought made him vaguely sad. He wanted to see her beauty just one more time.

Then he couldn’t seem to think as heavy hands pressed on the wound in his chest.

Hot, so hot. Suffocating. Terror sliced through him at the smell of . . . sulfur?
No! I don’t want to die! I’m not
ready! God—

Breathing became a memory and the world faded to black.

Stuart growled his frustration and watched the Navigator disappear, merged with the flow of the school traffic. He raced back to his white Lexus and gunned the motor. He’d finally checked under the hood and found the loose wires, which caused him to lose precious minutes as he reconnected them. He couldn’t believe Dani had done this. For what? All he wanted to do was protect her from Kurt, because as soon as Kurt found the empty safe and his family gone, he’d kill them.

And Stuart couldn’t let that happen.

Dani was running from Kurt and he had to stop her.

He’d figured she would go after Simon, he’d just been about two minutes too late. All eyes in the carpool line were on him now, including the school resource officer. He flashed his badge at the man, who nodded, but gestured for him to keep it slow in the school zone. Stuart gritted his teeth and nodded back.

He kept his speed right at the maximum allowed, gripping the wheel and steering into the traffic. He went as fast as he dared, having no desire to be pulled over and waste precious time showing his ID. However, he was determined not to lose her. It was time they had a serious conversation about her and Kurt.

His phone rang. “Hello?”

“Stuart? It’s Peter Hastings.”

“Yeah?” He knew he sounded distracted. He was. But he had to fight to keep Dani in his sights. His gut said she was running from Kurt. From him. “What is it? I’m busy.”

“Kurt’s dead.”

Stuart slammed on the brakes and pulled into the nearest parking lot. He let Dani go. She wouldn’t get far and he could always find her later. And she would have no reason to run once she learned Kurt was dead. She’d be back. “What happened?”

“He was shot at the hotel where the conference is. He died at the scene.” Peter blew out a breath. “Man, I’m sorry.”

Surprisingly, Stuart felt a huge hole in the vicinity of his chest. Then the feeling fled. He still had one more thing to accomplish.

He still had to make Dani his.

Completely and in every way. If he didn’t, then Kurt would win. “I’ve got to go.”

“You going to be all right?”

“Yes. Thanks for letting me know.” A deep sigh overtook him. “I guess I’ll need to let my parents know. Or has someone already called them?”

“I think the ASAC called them.”

Patrick Kline, the Assistant Special Agent in Charge. “Good. Good. I’ll, uh, head over there.”

“Let me know if I can do anything.”

“Yeah.” He hung up, his mind still on Dani.

One thing bothered him. She’d cleaned out the safe. Why? What was in the box Kurt had sent him over there to get?

Stuart punched through the red light, a small smile curling his lips. Now he really needed to find Dani.

To tell her Kurt was dead and that she belonged to him now. That he was ready to step in and take care of her from now on.
The thought made him smile. “I won, Kurt. I beat you. She’s mine.” Now he just had to find her and tell her.

Dani had checked and rechecked her rearview mirror all the way to the hotel. At the library, where she’d spent as much time as possible when Kurt was gone and Simon was at school, she’d googled and mapped and planned her route. They’d made it to the first stop.

Inside the hotel room, Simon questioned her nonstop, his hands flying at warp speed. “Where are we going?”

“A long way from here.”

“Across country?”

“Yes.”

“To see your mother?”

A pang hit her. “No, that’s the first place your father will look.”

His shoulders drooped. “I want to meet my grandmother.”

“I know, hon. And maybe one day that’ll be possible. I know she’d like to meet you too.” Dani kept her contact with her mother to a minimum. She was too afraid of what Kurt would do if he found out she was in touch with the woman.

Simon flipped on the television and picked up the remote. “I hope they have closed captions here.”

“I’m sure they do.” She didn’t offer to see if she could get them working. Simon knew better than she did how to do that.

The room was nice. Nothing fancy, but it wasn’t a dump either. The money from the safe would carry them for a while as long as she wasn’t extravagant. But she refused to stay in a dangerous area. She’d had enough of danger for the past twelve years. It was time to find out what it felt like to feel safe again.

“Mom?”

She turned to find Simon’s gaze fixed on the television screen.

And she saw why.

“Two FBI agents have been declared dead at the scene of the Crown Vista hotel. We don’t have any more details at the moment . . .”

“That’s where Dad is, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” She sank onto the bed beside him.

Simon looked at her. “You think it could be him?”

Dani signed that she didn’t know. “Let’s watch.”

As time passed, she and Simon stayed glued to the screen, pausing only to order supper. Finally, a reporter came on the screen. “Alan James has been identified as one of the dead agents. The other agent’s name has not been released yet because his family hasn’t been notified. We’ll be back with more news after this break.”

Simon signed. “We need to find out.”

Dani nodded. “Yes, you’re right.”

“Who can you call?”

“Your dad’s boss.”