Silent Pursuit (5 page)

A
whimper escaped Gina and she bit her lip. Heart pounding, adrenaline rushing, she prayed as she shoved the letter into her pocket with a trembling hand.
God, what's going on?

More gunshots sounded from outside, and she flinched at each report. Raising her head above the desk, she saw Ian crouched in front of the broken window, his gun pointed toward the darkness. He clipped off two more rounds. “Jase! Are you all right?”

Gina grabbed the phone from the desk and punched in 911.

Then realized she had no dial tone.

Throwing the thing down, she scrambled across the floor and saw Jason on his back, blood flowing from a wound to his head.

“Oh, no,” she whispered and worked her way to his side. She felt for a pulse. Strong enough to reassure her. “Okay, okay, Jase, you're going to be all right.”

Ian fired another shot through the window, then turned to her. “We've got to get out of here.”

“We can't just leave him!”

“Wouldn't think of it.” He held up his cell. “I've already called for backup and an ambulance.”

“What do we do until they get here?”

“Hold these guys off. Did Mario keep any guns around here?”

“I don't know. If he did, he never told me where they were.”

A groan brought her attention back to the man on the floor. “Jase, Jase, can you get up?”

“My head,” he moaned. “What happened?”

Another bullet pinged against the old fireplace. Gina ducked, although the bullet wasn't anywhere near her.

“You were shot, but I think it's just a graze,” Gina whispered.

“Hey, buddy, you okay?” Ian asked as he kept his eyes on the action outside.

“Yeah. Yeah.” He blinked and Gina watched his eyes slowly focus, although they stayed narrowed against the pain. “Where's my gun?”

Gina scanned the floor. “Over there.”

With a wince, he shifted his weight and rolled to go into a position where he could reach the weapon. Then he weaved his way over to the window.

“You got a concussion?” Ian asked.

“Probably.”

“I've got help up on the way, but I don't want to have to take the time to answer the questions I know they'll have. I hate to leave you but need to get Gina out of here.”

“I'm all right. I've been hurt worse. Get Gina somewhere safe and let me know you're okay.” He swiped at the blood trickling down the side of his face and turned back to the window.

Ian grabbed Gina's hand and pulled. She dug her feet in and repeated herself. “We can't just leave him!”

“Jase is a Ranger. He can take care of himself. It's up to me to take care of you. Plus, the cops will be here any minute. Once whoever's shooting at us hears those sirens,
they'll disappear and Jase will have some help. He can hang on that long.” A quick glance at his friend resulted in a nod of confirmation. “Now, please, let's move.”

Gina caved and hurried after him with one last glance over her shoulder at Jase, who motioned for them to get out. Sirens sounded in the distance and relief flooded her. Hopefully the sound would scare off the attackers and Jase could get some help. “Go, go!”

Ian kept a tight grip on her hand as he led her toward the back of the house.

“What are we doing?” she gasped.

“Jase will handle the police. You and I are going to find someplace safe.”

 

With a steady hand, Ian cracked the door leading to the outside and peered around it. The gunshots had ceased with the sound of the approaching sirens, but that didn't mean the bad guys were gone—it just meant they weren't shooting right now.

He scanned the area. All looked quiet. The car sat right where he'd left it. Untouched? Or a trap?

They'd have to chance it. Staying here meant talking to the police and having this take forever, trying to answer questions no one had the answers for and not knowing if they could be trusted anyway.

Hauling in a deep breath, he said, “Get in on this side. Duck low so you can't be seen from the other side of the car.” He'd deliberately parked with the driver's side two feet from the bottom step of the small porch. On the opposite side of the car, at the end of the pier, the sounds of the ocean registered on a subconscious level.

Gina obeyed, crouching low, moving fast. Ian crawled in
right after her. Finally behind the wheel, he cranked the car and backed up the way he came in. “Stay down, Gina.”

“I'm down. Won't the police stop us?”

“Nope.”

Five seconds later, he was in front of the house. No gunshots split the air. A police car wheeled past him, then did a one-eighty to give chase.

“He's following us, Ian.”

Her voice held a breathless, fearful quality that gripped his emotions. “I'll either lose him or Jase will radio the guy when he gets a chance and tell him to back off.”

For ten minutes, the red and blue lights followed his every move; then they backed off and disappeared from view.

Ian relaxed a fraction and drove without a specific destination in mind. Gina straightened in her seat, groaning at protesting muscles.

“I have an idea,” Ian offered.

“What?”

“I think I know a place we can hole up for a few hours to rest.” He glanced at the clock.

“Where? I'm almost afraid wherever we go, they'll find us. How did they know to come back to the beach house?”

“Common sense. You didn't find what you were looking for the first time you were there, so it figures that you'd be back.”

“So they were just waiting for us to show up? But why didn't Jase spot them?”

He shrugged. “Maybe they got there after Jase, spotted him and laid low to see how things would go down. Who knows?”

“Or maybe Jase called them,” she whispered.

Indignation for the man welled up in him, and yet he couldn't deny a little niggling of doubt tickled his mind. “Jase wouldn't do that.”

“Mario…”

“Mario should have let someone know what was going on and that he needed help.”

“Maybe he did.” She reached into her back pocket and pulled out the letter she'd found in the Bible.

 

Gina stared at the single sheet of paper containing Mario's slanting scrawl. She read aloud, “Dear Gina, if you're reading this, I've failed. It wasn't my plan to die on you, darling, but as you well know, some plans are doomed from the get-go. I guess this was one of them.'”

“What plan?” Ian interrupted.

“Who knows?” She went back to reading. “‘I've got some people after me. Really nasty guys. I've got something they want. If they haven't come after you yet, get ready. I'm sorry, Gina, I didn't want to do it this way but don't have time to come up with something better. Something that doesn't involve you. If I'm dead, they'll be looking for the next person who might know something, and whoever it is probably knows about you. I promise I did my best to hide your identity, but these guys are good; they'll find you, simply because I don't know who's involved. So, if they're going to come after you, I'm going to do my best to give you a fighting chance. I don't want to say what I've hidden, because if you know, you have no protection. If they catch you and you tell them, they'll kill you immediately. If you don't know, you can't tell them. That might buy you some time. I hope you've called Ian. If you haven't, do it. You're going to need him. I love you, Gina….” Her throat clogged on the last part, and she stopped to take in a shuddering breath.

Ian clasped her hand, the warmth of his palm searing her,
giving her strength to finish the letter. “I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to show you how much. Ian's a good man. He'll know what to do. Grandmother thought the world of you. You're the only woman in her life who didn't disappoint her. Thank you for honoring her and keeping her memory close to your heart. All my love, Mario.”

Silence filled the small rental. Tears dripped down Gina's chin as she scanned the letter through one more time.

Ian cleared his throat. Gina sighed.

“You…um…didn't have to read that out loud.”

“I know, but if there's anything in there that can help us, you need to have the information.”

“You were close to his grandmother. Did he have any other family?”

“No, just the sister who died. I suppose his mother is still out there somewhere, but…” She trailed off with a shrug and stared out the window. Time for a change of subject. “So, are you going to check on Jase?”

“Yeah.” He dialed the number. Jase answered on the second ring. Ian asked, “Are you all right? What's the situation?”

“I've got it under control. I've also got a slight concussion but was lucky. I'm still alive.”

Relieved, Ian said, “Good. Stay that way, will you? Listen, I'm going to take Gina someplace safe. I'll be in touch.”

“Right. Let me know if you need anything. I'll keep digging into what Mario was doing before he died.”

“Yeah, I'm going to do the same. Hey, what is it you wanted to tell me, but…couldn't earlier?” He let the question hang, hoping Jase would pick up on what he meant.

A pause. Then a sigh. “I think Mario was cheating on Gina.”

Shock and anger punched him, but Ian kept his voice
steady. After all, he'd seen the possibility with his own eyes. He'd just wanted to chalk it up to the alcohol fogging Mario's brain at the time. “Why do you think that?”

“After a mission in Colombia, I saw him with a woman. They were looking pretty cozy.”

“Probably just some undercover thing,” he said, trying to justify it.

“No, we were done with the mission, coming down off the high that follows success.”

“Huh. Then maybe…” He couldn't think of another excuse for Mario.

“I took some pictures of them.”

That sparked some interest. “Why?”

“I don't know. Gina was such a great girl and it really bugged me that he would do something like that to her. I've been looking for a girl like her all my—” he cut himself off, but Ian felt a pang of sympathy for the man. “Anyway, I walked up and confronted him.”

“In front of—”

“Yeah, in front of the girl.”

Ian winced. “How'd that work out?”

“She got up and left. If her words had been a sword, Mario's head would have been rolling at her feet.”

“Ouch.”

“Aw, he deserved it. Anyway, I told him I had the pictures and if he ever did anything like that again, I'd give them to Gina.”

“Whoa, Jase. Man, that was kind of…”

“I know, I know. Anyway, as you can imagine, Mario was furious. Threatened to kill me if I did anything to jeopardize his relationship with Gina. Told me to get rid of the pictures.”

“Did you?”

Another pause. “No.”

“See if you can figure out who the woman was.”

“Will do.”

“Great. Talk to you later.” Ian hung up.

“So, what was that all about? Is Jase all right? And where are we going?” Gina's voice jerked his attention back to her.

He turned left, then a quick right. Ignoring the first question, he pointed. “There.” Then he pulled to a stop in front of a gated home. “Jase is fine and handling the authorities beautifully. If he needs any more help, he'll call Mac.” Then he nodded toward the house. “The guy that lives here is one of the best friends a guy could have, but best of all—he's got a top-notch security system.”

I
an pulled up to the gated entrance and buzzed the house.

“Who lives here?” Gina asked.

“Nicholas Floyd. I can't believe he's actually home. He's a family court judge who made quite a bit of money in college when he designed a video game that shot to the bestseller chart and stayed there for years.”

“A judge who designs video games?”

“Game. One.”

“Seriously?”

“His passion is the law and helping others. He just happened to have an idea and the skills to implement it. Now he lives like this—and has an awesome security system.”

“And he's your friend. Must be a God thing.”

He smiled at her. “Must be.” She was still as strong in her faith as she'd ever been. It was only one of the things he admired about her. “He had a death threat about a year and a half ago. Carly was the U.S. Marshal assigned to Nicholas and his family. Surprisingly enough they never met when Nick and I were roommates. Carly went to school out of state and Nick had his own family issues going on.”

“Oh, wow. And he doesn't mind us just crashing his place?”

“Not at all. You'll understand once you meet him.”

The twin gates separated at the middle and swung inward. Ian pressed the gas and drove through. The gates closed silently behind him. As he followed the winding drive up to the main house, he told Gina, “Nicholas and I roomed together in college for a couple of years. He's always loved the beach and swore he'd have an oceanfront home one day.”

Gina gasped as the house came into view. It sprawled over the sloping hill, the picturesque ocean beating against the sand beyond. “It's beautiful.”

Ian nodded. “He designed the house himself.” The two-story brick structure sported white columned posts on the welcoming front porch. Four rockers surrounded a wrought-iron table, and a two-seater swing hung from the ceiling. Christmas lights were strung in massive amounts.

“I bet it's gorgeous at night, all lit up and just glowing.”

A drawbridge began its smooth slow-motion descent until it gently touched the ground in front of the car.

Ian drove across. A quick glance behind her showed nothing there. No cars bearing men with guns, no popping sound of bullets connecting with metal and glass…

He parked in a small area to the right that had been designed to accommodate three cars. The other two slots sat empty.

Once out of the vehicle, Ian took her hand. “Nicholas is a great guy, but he's had a rather tragic life. I'll warn you, he's pretty much an extrovert personality, but he can be intense.”

 

Okay, she could deal with intense. Intense had been her middle name lately.

But even Ian's warning didn't prepare her for the sight of the huge man who burst from the arched, double wooden front doors. At least six feet five inches tall, he was pure
muscle, a tower of rock-solid strength. Before Gina could blink, he ran to Ian to embrace him in a bear hug, lifting Ian's feet off the ground. “Ian, my friend! How are you?”

Ian grunted, laughed and pulled out of the man's massive arms, protesting, “Nicholas, I told you not to do that. I'm fragile, man.”

Nicholas punched Ian on the arm and turned to Gina. He'd turned so fast he hadn't seen Ian wince. But Gina did and she prepared to run should this mammoth decide to offer her the same type of embrace. Golden-green eyes stared down at her, studying her.

Then he gave a small bow and held out his hand.

Gina grinned at the knowing glint in his eyes and willingly shook his hand. Her fingers disappeared within his paw, and she felt like a toddler trying to play grown-up, shaking hands with the adult she'd just been introduced to.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Floyd.”

Shaking his head, he groaned. “I'm not that much older than you. Please, I'm Nicholas.”

“Right. I'm Gina.”

Those cat-green eyes narrowed, “And you're in trouble.”

She immediately sobered. “Yes, but I don't want our coming here to place you in any danger.”

For a brief moment a hard look flashed across his face. “Don't worry about it. I won't say this place is impenetrable, but no one will get in here without me knowing about it well beforehand. Long enough for us to either get out or get help. Okay?”

Ian stepped forward. “Don't worry, Gina. I wouldn't have brought you here if I thought it would endanger Nicholas or his family.”

“Family?” she arched a brow.

“My mother, a niece and a nephew. And we don't have to worry about them. They're in Switzerland right now. I have a live-in cook and housekeeper, and they're specially trained in taking care of themselves, so…” An emotion glinted in his eyes but Gina couldn't put a name to it. Then he looked away from her and over at Ian. “How's that sister of yours?”

“Carly's great. I saw her just this morning. She offered to come stay with Gina last night to make sure the goons that are after her didn't get anywhere close. Thankfully, it was a peaceful night.”

“Well, come on inside. Let's get you two settled. Do you have any luggage?”

Ian opened the trunk of his car and pulled out a small carry-on-size suitcase. “I have this, but Gina doesn't have a thing. Maybe your housekeeper could run out to the store to grab some things for us.”

Those golden eyes tinged with green flecks turned back to her. “She's about Miriam's size. There's probably something inside she can use.”

The three passed through the door and stepped into a large foyer. Antiques adorned the area and Gina sucked in an appreciative breath. “Your home is beautiful.”

Nicholas swung his gaze back to her. “Thanks. I built it for my wife.”

“Miriam?”

“Yes.”

“Is she here?”

Ian cleared his throat and Gina looked at him. “Um, Miriam died about a year ago, Gina.”

Sorrow coated her. “Oh, I'm so sorry.”

Nicholas's gaze now held shutters. “I am, too. Thank you for your sympathy.” Then he blinked and the grief was gone
from him. “Now, let's see if we can get you comfortable. Stella! Where are you?”

Gina looked at Ian and mouthed behind Nicholas's back, “Stella?”

He shrugged.

Soon she had her answer. A tall, thin woman seemed to float into the foyer. She gave a quick glance to the visitors, then looked at Nicholas. “You bellowed?”

“Yes. I told you we'd be having visitors. Are the rooms ready?”

“Indeed. Follow me.”

Nicholas spoke up. “After you get settled, you can use the conference room to work on whatever it is you need to work on. There's a computer with Internet access, a fax machine, the works. Help yourselves. I'm going back to study a difficult case I'm trying next week. Then we'll meet back up again for lunch. Is that all right with everyone?”

Ian nodded. “Do you have to be in court anytime soon?”

Those shutters descended over his eyes again. “No, I've taken some time off of other cases so I can work on this one right now. It's pretty intense.” With an abrupt nod, he turned and exited the room.

Gina breathed a sigh of relief. As much as she appreciated this man's hospitality and safe haven, she wanted to get back to the whole reason she was here.

Finding out what it was someone wanted and who it was that wanted it.

Thirty minutes later, after a shower and a change of clothing, she emerged from her room and managed to locate the conference room, making only one wrong turn in the process.

She entered the room and took in the sight. It was very taste
fully decorated. A cherry table dominated the center of the floor. Surrounding it were twelve comfortable office chairs.

Ian sat at one end, his nose buried in a file.

He looked up at her approach.

“What are you looking at?” she asked.

“I snitched a few things from the supply closet.” He held up a notepad and pen. “I'm making notes on who to call, what we know, what we have questions about and where I think we might find the answers.”

“An organization freak.”

He grinned. “Some things never change.”

“And some things do.” She slid into the chair next to Ian.

He sobered. “Yeah, they do.”

“What happened to Miriam?”

“She was killed in a car wreck.”

“Ouch.”

“Nicholas's sister, Janice, was with her. They were killed instantly.”

“Oh, my. Is that why his niece and nephew live with him?”

“Yeah. They were staying with Nicholas's mother when the crash happened. A drunk driver.”

“What about their father?”

“Janice was divorced. He left one day about five years ago and never came back, never called, nothing. It's like he disappeared from the face of the earth. I even tried finding him and had no luck. He has one other sister who has three children of her own and just couldn't take in more. Nick never hesitated in accepting the responsibility.”

“Poor Nicholas.”

“I know. But he's working through it, I think. It's hard to tell with him. Anyway, let's go over that note Mario left you. I feel like we're missing something here.”

“Sure.” She slid it from her pocket and took a deep breath. If they were missing something, she couldn't fathom what it might be.

 

Mario meant something by that note—Ian was sure of it. The man didn't do anything without a purpose, and if he'd taken the time to write a letter to Gina, he'd have made it mean more than what it looked like on the surface.

She spread the letter out before her and he watched a dark curl slip down to cover her left eye. He wanted to give it a tug so he could watch it spring back into place.

But he couldn't. He had to focus, find out who meant her harm. And what had Mario been doing the last few weeks of his life.

So, the first step. “Gina, the only way I'm going to be able to figure out what was going on with Mario is to do a full investigation, talk to the guys in the unit and our commanding officer, Mac Gold.”

A frown furrowed her forehead. “But Mario thought one of them was a traitor. If you talk to them, how will you know that what they're telling you is the truth? I mean, if one of them had anything to do with Mario's death, he's not going to just come out and say so just because you're asking.”

Ian rubbed a hand across his mouth and blew out a sigh. “I've got to be honest. I can't see any of those guys being a traitor.”

Her gaze pierced him. “How long has it been since you've talked to them?”

Ouch. Okay, she had a point. “It's been a while. But—” he held up a finger “—I've talked to Mac on a regular basis since I left the unit. He and I have always been close, and
he was the only one who didn't give me a hard time when I…” he murmured.

Gina looked away. “Yeah.”

“Anyway, I'll give Mac a call and see if he has anything he can add to Mario's activities just before his death.”

Worry had her fingering the gold locket. He watched her tug and twist on the fragile chain until he couldn't take it anymore. He reached over and covered her hand with his. “Relax, Gina. I'm going to take care of you.”

Her eyes locked on his as her hand dropped from her throat. “Mario trusted you for some reason, in spite of the fact that he felt your leaving was a desertion of the unit. And I trust Mario…. At least I did.” She stood and paced to the door. Hand on the knob, she turned back. “So, I guess that means I have to trust you by default. Please don't make me regret it.”