Baby Love (40 page)

"Why you slowin' down?"

Maggie gulped to steady her voice. "I have to go to the rest room."

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"Bullshit. You can squat alongside the road. We ain't stoppin' around a bunch of people."

Maggie forced herself to laugh. "God, Lonnie, you're something else. You want me to stop alongside a busy highway? Forget it. Besides, I have to
go.
You get my drift? It's not going to be a quick process."

"Pick up speed!" he yelled. "We ain't stoppin', I said. Don't screw around with me, girl. That kid don't mean nothin' to me. I'd as soon shoot him as look at him."

Maggie continued to slow down. "That
kid
better rise in your estimation, Mr. Boyle. He's your only ace in the hole." She shot her stepfather a glare. "Go ahead, Lonnie. Shoot him! With him gone, I've got nothing to lose.
Nothing.
Are you reading me, loud and clear? You want me on my knees, asshole? Well, here's a news bulletin. Kill my child, and you can kiss that plan goodbye! I'll fight you with my last breath, and the minute you turn your back on me, you're a dead man. Got it?"

Rafe sat forward in his seat, his father's voice replaying inside his mind.
Maggie and the baby are gone.

Becca's been shot. I think the son of a bitch was hiding in the house.

Glancing at Ryan, Rafe snarled out, "Hurry, damn it! Is this as fast as you can fly this thing?"

Ryan sighed. "I'm circling to land, Rafe. You want them picking up our pieces after a crash? Calm down, for God's sake. You'll be no use to Maggie or anyone else in this state."

Rafe propped his elbows on his knees and rested his face in his hands. "Oh, sweet Jesus. Oh, sweet Jesus.

I should never have left her. I smelled a rat. Why didn't I listen to my instinct and stay with her? The
bastard.
God, Ryan, he's a lunatic. He shot Becca! And he's got Maggie and the baby!"

Ryan's voice sounded thin when he said, "They'll be

390 CATHERINE ANDERSON

okay, Rafe. They'll be okay." He reached out to squeeze Rafe's shoulder. "Hey, bro, get a grip."

"I can't lose them," Rafe cried raggedly. "I'll put a gun to my head and pull the trigger this time, I swear to God. I can't go through that again. Oh, Jesus.
Maggie.
I promised her he'd never lay a hand on her again. I promised her."

"They're probably traveling right now. He won't mess with her until they get where they're going. Dad's called the cops. The state boys will have an APB out in nothing flat. They'll find them, Rafe. Have a little faith, huh? You already lost one family. Lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place."

Magic can vanish in a puff of smoke.
Rafe could remember Maggie saying that to him. He'd pooh-poohed the notion. Christ! Why did he always do that? Looking back, he knew now that Susan had sensed she didn't have long to live when she'd pleaded with him that night down by the lake.
Promise me, Rafe. If
something happens to me, promise that you'll find someone else to love. I don't want you to be all alone.

He'd laughed it off. Not taken her seriously. Only a short while later, she'd been dead. And now Maggie, his sweet angel face, the one touch of magic in his life, vanishing in a puff of smoke. She'd sensed that their happiness couldn't last, and instead of heeding the warning, he'd patted her on the head and ignored it.

"You know the worst part?" Rafe said to his brother.

"No, what?"

"When we first got together, I told her men like Lon-nie are turned on by fear. That he was a bully. What if she listened to me?"

"Well, it's true. He is a bully."

"Yeah, but—" Rafe broke off and swallowed. "Dear God, I hope she doesn't do anything stupid. When I told her that, I thought she was safe from him. I never dreamed she might be around him again without me there to shove his teeth down his throat. What if she

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does something crazy, Rye? It'll be my fault."

"She won't. The lady's not dumb."

Dumb, no. But with Jaimie's life on the line, she would be desperate.

Maggie drew the rental car to a stop in one of the rest area parking places, shoved the shift into park, and cut the engine. Staring at the steady trickle of women who were entering and exiting the ladies' rest room, she said a quick prayer. Then she shifted her gaze to Lonnie. Inside, she was shaking with terror, but somehow she managed to keep her hands steady and meet his incredulous gaze without flinching. He still had the gun trained on Jaimie.

"Start the car back up," he said in a dangerously silken voice. "Now. Or I swear to God, I'll splatter his brains all over the seat."

' 'And lose your only leverage, all because I have to use the toilet? Brilliant thinking, Lonnie." She tossed the car keys in his lap. "There's only one way in. Those rest rooms never have back windows. Where am I going to go, down the sewer? You'll see me if I come back out. It's not like I can get away."

"I'm warning you!"

Maggie opened her door. "Yeah, I hear you. And you know what, Lonnie? I think you're bluffing."

"Get out of this car, and find out!"

"Yeah, yeah. The bottom line is, with Jaimie out of the picture, you'll lose your advantage." She smiled at him. God only knew how she managed to do it, but she actually smiled at him. From somewhere inside her, a reckless but calculating hard core sprang to life. A hard core that gave her just enough courage to put on a front of bravado. "No Heidi to threaten me with, no mother, and no baby. Just you and me. That thought frightens you, doesn't it? That's why you came to get me, because you knew you were about to lose custody of Heidi, that even if you fought him, tooth and nail, Rafe had more
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money, better lawyers, and the ability to hold out until he got what he wanted."

The gun began to shake. Maggie's heart caught, for if he accidentally pulled the trigger in his agitation, Jaimie would pay for it with his life. She swallowed, determined to keep talking. She'd taken the other route for seven endless years, letting this man bully her into submission. That path led to hell, and this time, she'd be taking her son along with her. Maggie couldn't let that happen. She had little hope of escaping from Lonnie herself, but there was a chance for Jaimie.

"If you didn't regain custody of Heidi and get her back in your clutches, you knew you'd have no way to coerce
me
into going back to you, and that was your plan all along, wasn't it? To take Rafe's money and bide your time for a bit. Then threaten me with Heidi's life if I didn't get my tail back home."

He said nothing.

"That's what it's all about. Isn't it, Lonnie? Your sick obsession with me. Your last hold on me would slip away if you permanently lost custody of Heidi. So you pretended to be interested in Rafe's offer and then you walked out on Mama, knowing she'd fall apart. Then you headed for Oregon to get me, knowing all the while that Rafe would have no choice but to go to Idaho."

"Shut your mouth."

"You knew Rafe wouldn't allow me to step foot over the Idaho state line, didn't you? That he'd feel duty-bound to go get my mother, but that he'd go without me. Very smart, Lonnie. I'm impressed. Don't ruin it by threatening to shoot Jaimie. We both know how dumb that would be."

"Shut
up!"
He pointed the gun at Maggie's forehead. "You shut up, you little bitch! I'm the one with the gun."

"Yeah, and with all the witnesses." She gestured at the cars around them. "I'll gladly shut up if you stop threatening to kill my child."

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"I'll threaten whatever I want."

She heaved a weary sigh. "And that's all it is, a threat. Kill him, and you lose your power over me. I'll be a good girl to keep him safe. No question. We both know it. So stop aiming the gun at him and running the threat into the ground. After a while, it gets repetitive."

Maggie slipped from the car, sending up feverish, disjointed pleas to God. She slammed the driver's door closed and then opened the rear passenger door to scoop Jaimie off the seat. Thank God the door had been unlocked.

"What're you doing?" Lonnie cried.

Maggie grabbed the diaper bag. "What's it look like I'm doing? While I'm in there, I may as well kill two birds with one stone and change him. Or would you rather waste even more time by stopping again a few miles up the road?"

"You're not taking him in there with you. Do you think I'm stupid?" He threw open his door and jumped from the car. As he hurried around to Maggie's side, he shoved the gun in the pocket of his jacket but kept it aimed at her. "Put him back. Now."

"Don't be silly." Maggie started walking. "Do you think I can go through concrete walls? If you're so damned worried, come stand outside and guard the door. I'm going to use the bathroom and change my son's diaper."

With every step she took, Maggie cringed, half-expecting to get a bullet in the back. Nothing happened.

"I'll be watchin' that door," he called softly. "Don't think I won't. Try to pull a fast one, and I'll open fire. I swear to God. And I'll be right outside. No askin' for help. Do it, and I'll kill everyone in there." She heard a jangling sound. "Hear that? It's bullets. I've got plenty in my pockets."

Thank you, God. Thank you.
Maggie nearly wept with relief. He was going to let her go in. "I'm not stupid, Lonnie," she called back. "And guess what, no lipstick
394 CATHERINE ANDERSON

to write a message on the mirror! You're safe. Stand outside. Keep an ear cocked and your eyes peeled.

I'll only be a few minutes."

Rafe didn't wait for Ryan's pickup to come to a stop before he jumped from the vehicle. His riding boots slipped on the packed snow at the edge of the driveway as he raced toward the house. Police cars everywhere. The bubble lights flashed, throwing a rotating blur of blue over the house and outbuildings.

He found his father and mother sitting on the bench by the atrium fountain, their arms locked around Heidi, who huddled between them. Ann Kendrick's shoulders were hunched around the child. Keefe had an arm around both his wife and the girl, his expression grim. There was a gray cast to his skin, and his eyes looked haunted when he met Rafe's gaze.

"They just took Becca away in the ambulance."

Rafe struggled to collect his thoughts. To his shame, as deeply as he loved the housekeeper, he could focus only on his fear for Maggie and Jaimie. "How is Becca, Dad? Will she live?"

"It's a shoulder wound, so there's hope. It's serious, though, son."

Rafe closed his eyes for a moment, his heart catching at the sound of his mother's soft weeping and Heidi's ragged sobs. He crouched before the child and touched a hand to her head. "Hey, sweetheart.

How's my girl?"

Heidi flung her arms around Rafe's neck. "He took Maggie and Jaimie!" she cried.

"I know, honey." Oh, God. It was all Rafe could do not to break down and sob himself. "They're going to be all right, Heidi. We just have to pray really hard and think good thoughts. God will watch over them and bring them safely home." Stroking the little girl's hair, Rafe met his father's gaze. "Get her out of here, Dad. Take her to your place and—" Completing the message with his eyes, Rafe drew Heidi's arms from around his

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neck, wiped away her tears, and returned her to his mother's embrace. "You go with Mom and Dad, Heidi.

All right? I'll keep in touch with you by phone and let you know the minute Maggie gets back."

The little girl nodded and then turned to cling to Ann again. Rafe straightened, clasped his dad's shoulder in farewell, and then crossed the atrium to the sliding glass door. As he entered the kitchen, he scanned the room. Two police officers stood talking in the hallway that led to the rest of the house. Rafe walked toward them, his gaze drawn like a magnet to the smears of blood on the wall behind them.

"Oh, Jesus," Ryan whispered.

Until that moment, Rafe hadn't realized that his brother had caught up with him. They approached the policemen together. Rafe heard the younger officer say something about the Dallas Cowboys. Then he spotted Rafe and Ryan and broke off in mid-sentence.

"I'm Sergeant Hall," the older officer said. Hooking a thumb toward his companion, he added, "This is Officer Townsend. I take it you must be the younger Mr. Kendrick?"

"Yeah," Rafe bit out, "I'm Rafe Kendrick. This is my residence. It's my wife and baby who've been abducted. What's been done so far to find them? Any word at all of their whereabouts?"

Instead of answering his question, the two officers began expressing their condolences.

Rafe held up a hand. "I realize you sympathize. All right? But right now, all I want to know is what you're doing to find my wife and baby."

Sergeant Hall, a gray-haired, grandfatherly type with a paunch, nodded in understanding. "We immediately ran a trace to get the make and plate number of Boyle's automobile. Then we put out an APB, hoping another officer might spot the car."

Rafe could tell by the expression in the man's blue eyes that the news wasn't good. "And?"

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The sergeant sighed. "We located the vehicle almost immediately. The Idaho police found it abandoned at the edge of Prior about ten minutes ago." He cleared his throat. "We, um, believe Boyle rented a car before he left town, and that he must have done so under an assumed name, using fake ID."

"Can't you have the clerk that was on duty do a photo identification?"

"Of course," the policeman assured Rafe, "but first we have to get our hands on a photo. The local police went to his residence. No one was there. Right now, the Idaho State Police are running a computer search for his driver's license photograph. As soon as they pull it up, they'll have something to show the rental-car clerk. These things take time."

"We don't have time," Rafe bit out. "Lonnie Boyle is a frigging lunatic. He's got my wife and baby! He could kill them."

"We're doing everything humanly possible, Mr. Kendrick. I know it's hard to be patient, but all of this takes time. We haven't been dragging our heels."