Protective Custody (7 page)

Please, God.

Carly's phone rang, and she snatched it then fumbled with it, juggling it like a hot potato until she finally had it under control. “Hello?”

Nick studied her, wondering who it was. Then her face went pale; the sick look she shot him made his heart thud. “What?” he demanded. “What is it? The kids?”

She handed her phone to Mason and grabbed his from the cup holder. “Talk to Maria while I call for help.” She shot Nick a compassionate look and dialed another number. “I need assistance at Old Gap Road and Silver Street. Officers down. Take a left up here, Mason.”

Nick felt his heart freeze.

Mason shot her a look in the rearview mirror. “What is it, Carly?”

Nick grabbed her hand and demanded. “Tell me.”

She swallowed once. Twice. “That was Maria. They've had a wreck. She's been shot, and Grady's… She thinks Grady's dead.”

He forced the words past lips paralyzed with fear. “Christopher? Lindsey?”

“They're gone.”

N
ick sat in stone-faced silence the entire four minutes it took to get to the scene of the accident. Carly tried to order him to a secure area, but he'd stated he was going with or without her. She figured it would be safer for him to be there with her and Mason than to go off on his own.

Once they arrived, Carly took in the sight. One police cruiser had slammed into a tree. The officer in front lay unmoving across the steering wheel. The second cruiser had left skid marks, an obvious attempt to escape the bullets that had peppered the side.

Where was that officer? She couldn't see an outline through the window.

The marshals' vehicle didn't look good. The car lay on its side, the rear window completely shattered.

Cold chills swept through her. Someone had come prepared to take out bullet-resistant glass.
Oh, God, please
.

The prayer slipped through her mind, and, whether she wanted to admit it or not, it felt good, familiar, like talking to an old friend. Something to think about later.

They'd beaten backup there. Carly cased the area as Mason drove up to the edge, behind the marshal's battered car. Nick had his right hand on the door handle, ready to fling it open. She grabbed his left wrist, felt his pulse
hammering under her fingertips. “Stay in the car, Nick. Please.”

“I'm going to check on my kids.”

“It may be a trap. Stay put.” She could just picture him stepping out of the car and a sniper planting a bullet between his eyes. This was the perfect spot for it.

Trees lined the street on one side and buildings on the other. Plenty of hiding places all around.

“Mason, is Maria still on the line?”

“No, I lost her about a minute ago.”

“She hung up?”

“I think she passed out.”

Carly couldn't see anything through the tinted glass in the other car. Trees lined the edge of the road, and the woods beyond looked still, silent. Like they held secrets never to be revealed. She shook her head at herself. She knew better than to let her imagination take over.

The sound of a helicopter whirred above. She looked at Nick, who still had his hand on the handle. “Help's coming. I'll go check for the kids. You stay put.”

His brow shot up. “I thought you said it might be a trap.”

“A trap for
you
. They have no reason to shoot me.”

The skepticism on his face said he didn't believe her. Well, that was all right. She wasn't sure she believed it herself.

Mason spoke from the driver's seat. “Carly, you know the drill. Don't do anything until the situation's been assessed and cleared.”

“I've assessed it. I'm going to look for those children.”

She was scared to death about the kids, and it sounded like Maria and Grady needed help, too.

Now.

She opened the door and slid out, her eyes probing every possible sniper hiding place.

“Carly…” The warning note in Mason's voice stopped her, and she looked back.

“Just keep your eyes open for me, will you?” she pleaded.

Steel fingers wrapped around her wrist and jerked her back into the car. Nick's hard eyes stared down at her. “Don't you dare. You follow protocol.”

Speechless, she froze. What was that in his eyes? Fury? Fear? Yes, definitely fear. But something else, too. Disbelief at his nerve hammered her. “What are you doing?” she sputtered. “The kids…Maria…”

“He's right, Carly.” Mason's hard voice and Nick's ironclad hold on her made her shudder. The helicopter thumped louder. She knew it was doing a thermal scan of the woods. Soon, she would get the okay—if the shooter was gone.

But she was so mad, her hands shook. She needed to get to the car. Desperately. “Let me go,” she ordered in a low voice. “The kids…I promised…”

Again, she tried to pull away, but Nick held fast. A noise in her ear distracted her, and she shoved her earpiece in, willing the pilot in the helicopter to give her the all-clear and to say he spotted two small figures.

The feel of Nick's strong fingers still wrapped around her wrist made her hesitate. She stopped, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Why was she reacting this way? She'd had tough assignments before. Even ones involving children. Why was this case different? It shouldn't be. But it was. She'd been blindsided by her feelings. She realized she had come to care for this little family far more than she probably should.

Swallowing hard, she ordered herself to remain objective.

Right. She looked Nick in the eye and nodded. His fingers slid from her wrist as though in slow motion, his eyes never leaving her face.

Just as she registered the words in her ear, Mason shoved open his door. “I got the all clear,” he said. “Two bodies that could be children spotted close by—one moving, one still, near the edge of the woods. No one carrying a weapon. We're good.”

No one needed any more encouragement. Carly shot out of the vehicle quicker than any sniper's bullet. She made her way over to the damaged car with Nick right on her heels. Knowing it was useless to try to convince him to stay out of the open, she didn't bother. Instead, she focused on the backseat.

Empty.

Please, no, no, no…

Breaths came in quick spurts, fueled by her rising panic. She couldn't lose the children; she'd promised. Maria lay to the rear of the vehicle. Grady was slumped against the driver's door, pinned against the ground.

Mason hurried for Grady while Carly checked on Maria. Maria's pulse beat against her fingers in a steady rhythm, but the gash on her head didn't look good.

“Christopher! Lindsey!” Nick called their names, his voice hoarse, trembling with suppressed emotion. Her heart ached for him, pounded with adrenaline as she refused to think they wouldn't find them.

She looked at Mason as the ambulance pulled up along with several police cars. “Grady?”

Grimly, he shook his head. “He's alive, but it doesn't look good. He's trapped under the steering wheel. I'm not sure where all the blood is coming from. Looks like he's in shock, though.”

Sorrow hit her. “Maria managed to climb out of the
vehicle as though she was going after the kids.” Carly looked around and came to a decision. “Okay, you handle Grady and Maria. I'm going with Nick to look for the children.”

“They're probably long gone from here, Carly.”

She knew that. Didn't want to acknowledge it. Rescue workers surrounded the car while officers combed the wooded area. Maria and Grady were in good hands.

“Christopher!” She whirled at the shout and saw Nick grab the seven-year-old into his arms. Relief nearly brought her to her knees.

Carly raced over to the pair. “Where's Lindsey?”

Christopher had a stranglehold on his uncle, and she could hear the boy's wheezing. He also had several superficial cuts on his forehead and one on his cheek.

“Where's his inhaler?” she asked.

Christopher lifted his head. “Car. Backpack.” He pointed. Carly sprinted back to the car and climbed through the rear window, shoving the shattered glass out of the way. She spotted the backpack and snatched it.

Up front, she saw that one of the paramedics had his fingers on Grady's neck while Mason looked on. She shot him a frantic look. The grim shake of his head didn't encourage her. But she didn't have time to think about that now.

Once out of the car, she rummaged in the side pocket of the backpack until her fingers closed over the device that would ease Christopher's asthma. Then she had to find the boy's sister.

Quickly, she made her way back to Christopher and pushed the inhaler into his hand. He placed it between his lips and pulled in two quick puffs. Almost immediately, color started seeping back into his cheeks.

“Where's Lindsey?” Nick repeated Carly's question.

“Back there,” her brother said. “She's scared.”

Nick planted a kiss on the boy's head, and Carly sprinted in the direction Christopher had indicated. The area he'd come from looked trampled, so she followed the path and almost stumbled over the body that lay in front of her.

Getting on her radio, she called for a paramedic, but knew it wouldn't do any good. The man had a bullet hole in his chest and one in his stomach. And that was just what she could see.

“Lindsey?” she called. “Where are you, honey? It's all right. You're safe now.”

Nick's voice joined hers. “Lindsey?”

A whimper behind the bushes to the right of her pulled Carly in that direction. Nick shifted Christopher and tromped right after her. “Stay back,” she told him in a hushed voice. “No way.”

“Look, Lindsey hasn't come out. Maybe there's a reason for that.”

She wouldn't have thought it possible, but his face paled even more. “You think…”

“That someone has her and is keeping her from coming out? I don't know. Just let me check it out, will you? Keep Christopher at a safe distance.”

Torn, indecision twisting his features, he finally nodded and backed up a few steps to shelter Christopher behind one of the other bushes.

But he kept his eyes trained on her.

Carly kept her gun ready, not knowing what lay beyond the bush in front of her. She just prayed no one on the other side sent a bullet through it. She had no protection. But she didn't have a choice: she had to get to Lindsey.

She could hear movement behind her and turned to see two other officers ready to come to her defense. She gave
them a thumbs-up and they nodded their willingness to let her continue to take the lead.

With one hand clutching her weapon, she reached with the other to shift the bushes so she could see behind them.

What she saw made her gasp. She scanned the area and, seeing no immediate threat, holstered her gun. Turning to the officers behind her, she motioned for them to search the area. “Nick, come here.”

Lindsey sat on the ground, knees pulled to her chest, forehead resting on them. She had her arms wrapped around her legs and was rocking back and forth, crying without making a sound.

“Oh, Lindsey.” Carly dropped beside the girl, her throat swelling with unshed tears. “It's okay, darling. Can I put my arms around you?”

Still Lindsey didn't answer, just stayed in her tight little ball, rocking. Carly heard Nick come around the bush, Christopher still gripped in his arms. His breath left his lungs in a
whoosh
. He went to set the boy on the ground, but Christopher wouldn't let go of his neck. “Chris, I need to check on your sister.”

“No.” The child buried his face in Nick's neck.

Carly rested a hand on Lindsey's arm, and when the girl didn't shrug her off, she slid her hand along the back of her shoulders until she had an arm around her. Then, in one smooth move, Lindsey released her legs to wrap her arms around Carly's waist. Her sobs broke free, and Carly let her cry.

Heart breaking for the girl, she looked up at Nick. The furious expression on his face stunned her. Pure rage glittered down at her. In her heart she knew he was regretting his decision to place his children's safety in her hands.

She couldn't blame him. Guilt hammered at her.
She should have done something. Stopped all this from happening…somehow.

But how? Her mind raced. How?

She couldn't come up with an answer. And right now, they needed to get to the car and get somewhere safe. She pulled the girl to her feet just as Mason arrived, diverting her attention from Lindsey. She didn't release the girl, just motioned for everyone to walk toward the car.

Carly shot a look at Mason, who had his gun drawn and his eyes roaming their surroundings. “Maria? Grady?”

“Both are still alive. No one can tell us what happened here yet, though.”

“I know what happened.”

Christopher's outraged little voice made Carly blink. Mason looked at Nick then said, “Tell us when we get in the car, little guy.”

But Christopher talked anyway. “The bad man shot the car bunches of times. Mr. Grady said a bad word, and then Ms. Maria told us to get down on the floor and pull our backpacks on top of our heads.”

Lindsey's sobs had stopped. Now the girl shuddered, hiccupped and sniffed. Carly finally got a good look at her face. She, too, had some superficial wounds. A few looked like they may have come from tree branches. A bruise on her right cheek was already forming.

Christopher said, “Then the car rolled and hit something hard. I was really scared.”

“I know you were, Chris, but you're doing great,” Nick encouraged him. Reaching the car, Mason continued his surveillance as Nick, Carly and the kids slid inside.

“Then the bad man came up to the car, and Ms. Maria shot him and he fell down. Then me and Lindsey climbed out of the broken window in the back and ran into the woods to hide.”

“Is that all?”

“No.” His eyes teared up, and he balled up his little fists. “The bad man followed us even though he was bleeding a whole lot. He grabbed Lindsey, and she screamed. Then he put a gun near her head and said something to her, but he whispered it and I couldn't hear what he said. Then he coughed and walked funny. He even ran into a tree. But then he disappeared. Then you called my name, and I came to find you.” He glared in the direction that the man he'd just described had gone. “I wish I had a gun. I'd a shot him for scaring Lindsey like that.”

Carly watched Nick blink several times then swallow before he could speak. “You're a good brother, Chris. Thanks for telling us what happened. Now, let's get the paramedics to check you out, okay?”

 

Nick wanted to kill someone. With his bare hands. Then he felt guilty for the feeling.
God, I need You. I need Your calming presence, Your wisdom and the strength to do whatever it is You would have me do.

He paced the floor of the safe house where they'd finally arrived two hours ago. The paramedics had declared the children relatively unharmed, other than a few bumps and bruises from being tossed around inside the car. But neither had hit their heads or claimed to have any pain. He'd watch them closely over the next few hours, and if anything developed, he'd get them to the nearest hospital. So far, other than being traumatized by the incident, they seemed fine physically.