Fatal Exchange (16 page)

E
mily watched Mason leave through the front door of the safe house. Somehow, he’d become the anchor in today’s storm. But while she couldn’t dismiss the attraction brewing between them, at the moment there was something far more serious to consider. Her niece’s life was still in danger, and her sitting here in the house while the rest of them tracked down her abductor wasn’t going to help.

“Mason . . . wait.” She followed him out onto the front porch, her insides brimming with frustration. She needed to do something or she was going to go crazy.

He turned to face her at the top of the porch stairs while she paused, suddenly unsure of what she wanted to say. She resisted the urge to reach out and smooth his unruly lock of hair back into place, wishing he could stay with her.

She pressed her lips together and tried to shake off the distraction of his nearness. “I need to be out there doing something to find Tess, not cooped up here in this house being babysat by some government official.”

He shot her a smile. “You sound like your sister. It must run in the family. That stubborn streak, and always needing to be in the middle of things.”

“I’m serious, Mason. Let me come to the precinct with you. I’ll do anything.”

His smile faded. “I need you to stay. Please. Primarily because it’s my job to make sure you’re safe. I promised your father I would look after you, and I can’t do that if you’re not somewhere safe.”

“But—”

He took a step forward and pressed his index finger lightly against her lips. “Second of all, Rafael knows you. He’s scared and needs someone familiar with him. You can be that for him.”

Emily tried to ignore what his touch was doing to her, while feeling a stab of disappointment at his reasoning.

There had to be something more. “It’s not that I don’t believe what you’re saying is true, but I’m not buying that this is all about Rafael. He doesn’t really need me here. What haven’t you told me?”

He looked away as if he had something to hide.

“Mason, what is it?”

“I’ve already told you that the captain and your father are afraid that Tess’s abduction has something to do with your family. That it wasn’t just a random abduction, but that they’re targeting your family specifically.”

“You don’t really think that’s true, do you?”

“There’s no way to know at this point, but until we know what’s going on, it makes sense to take extra precautions. Your father made me promise that I would have you stay here, just in case.”

“What about my mother?”

“She’s safe. She’s at the hospital with your sister where there are two uniforms right outside the door. Your minister’s wife is there as well.”

Emily closed her eyes for a moment, trying to sort through her feelings. She knew her father wanted what was best for her . . .
that both he and Mason wanted what was best for her, but all this did was make it more important that she help find her niece. “So I sit here and do nothing, while you’re out trying to find Tess.”

“Trust me. You won’t be doing nothing. I still believe there’s a chance that Rafael knows something about whoever took Tess—even if it isn’t something he’s consciously aware of. If you can, help him remember something. Anything. Sometimes even the smallest details are all we need to close a case.”

“And if you don’t find her in time?”

“We’re not going to go there. Not now. Not ever.” He took her hands and rubbed his thumbs across the back of them. “Listen, I know you’re scared. This entire situation has been extremely personal for you, from Rafael’s involvement this morning to everything that’s happened since then. But I really do need you to trust me on this one. Your father’s right. Stay here, see if you can help Rafael remember something, and stay safe.”

“What about you?”

“Are you worried about me?” He shot her a broad smile that shouldn’t make her stomach dive, but it did.

“From what I know about you, you can take care of yourself, but . . . yeah. I’m worried about you.”

He drew her against him and wrapped his arms around her. The gesture was surprising and unexpected. Just like her reaction. She melted into his embrace. He made her feel secure. Protected.

He pulled back and caught her gaze. “I want to make sure you’re safe as well.”

“I understand, but just because I’m not a cop doesn’t mean that I can’t do something. I really do want to be out there looking for Tess.”

“And I truly believe that one of the keys for ending this lies with Rafael. He was set up by whoever is behind all of this. Anything you discover could help us find Tess.”

“I still think you’re trying to placate me.”

He let his hands rest on her shoulders, then pushed her hair back. “No . . . well . . . maybe a little. I really do want to make sure you’re okay. Since we don’t know who is behind this, I’m simply not willing to take any chances. Just promise you’ll stay here.”

“Fine.” She shot him a half smile. “But note that I’m a conscientious objector.”

“Your complaints are duly noted, Miss Hunt.”

She laughed softly, wishing he didn’t make her heart race so quickly. There were a million reasons why she couldn’t fall for him. It was too much like a rebound. She was too emotional after everything that had happened today. And then there was her “no cops” rule . . .

“Emily?”

Despite her shaky resolve, she couldn’t help but smile up at him, wondering if he was feeling the same, crazy, jumbled, and unexpected feelings she was.

She swallowed hard. “I’ll be fine as soon as we find Tess and all of this is over.”

What would happen then? The only thing she knew at this moment was that she didn’t want him to simply walk out of her life.

He tilted her chin up and looked into her eyes. Intense . . . safe . . . mesmerizing. He wasn’t playing fair. And the fact that he was a cop wasn’t helping either. That thought alone terrified her. Her fears were based on reality. Avery had lost her husband. They’d both lost Michael. Taking a chance on an adrenaline junkie wasn’t something she intended to sign up for. Even Charlie had made her realize that. She might not have lost him, but the demands of his job had always come before her and her needs. It hadn’t taken too long to figure that out. But Mason wasn’t Charlie.

Mason’s face hovered above hers.

Her chest heaved as she breathed in the combination of tangy citrus and sandalwood. “Is this how you treat all the females in your protective custody?”

“Only ones with bright eyes who manage to make my heart race.”

She felt her cheeks blush. She shouldn’t be standing here, lingering with him. There was too much to do. But her heart had gone from pure terror to somehow feeling safe. Today had changed her in ways she wasn’t even sure of at this point. And Mason Taylor was the one person helping her hold it all together.

Until she was certain he was going to kiss her.

She tried not to panic. She wasn’t ready for this. Not today. Not when her heart was about to explode with pent-up emotions. Distraction or not, she needed to protect her heart. She’d been down this road before with Charlie, the irresistible charmer who’d swept her off her feet until she’d realized she was about to make a mistake. She wasn’t going to do that again.

She took a step back. “I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry.” Mason cleared his throat and fished his car keys out of his jacket pocket. “You’re right. I’m taking advantage of the situation. We’re both barely hanging on to our emotions after today.”

Which meant what? That tomorrow morning when she woke up with Tess safe and her sister home from the hospital, she was going to forget Mason Taylor and how he’d managed to break down the walls around her heart.

Except she wasn’t sure that was true.

“What happens when this is over and our emotions are back to normal?” She asked the question before she had time to think about the consequences. Didn’t she already know the answer? When all of this was over and things were back to normal, she’d go back to lectures on early modern Europe and American
history, and he’d go back to chasing down the bad guys. They lived in two different worlds and there was no reason they ever had to cross again. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I asked that.”

His smile was back. “I’m not opposed to waiting and finding out.”

She looked up at him, regretting for a moment she hadn’t given in to his kiss.

He smiled, then took the steps two at a time as he headed toward his car in the driveway.

“Mason?”

He turned around and looked back at her.

“Be careful, and find Tess for me.”

E
mily watched Mason pull away from the curb and head toward the precinct. The neighborhood was quiet other than the wind blowing through the tree-lined street. She hated the fact that she’d panicked. Hated that she’d let fear overwhelm her. Because a part of her—a very big part of her—wanted him to kiss her. It was a vulnerable part of her that needed to run as far away as she could from everything that had happened today. And that included Mason Taylor. Which made no sense.

This morning, she’d confessed to Grace she was embracing the fact that she was single. Until Mason walked back into her life. He’d managed to step into her life, dig up a bunch of old emotions, and revive them like a breath of fresh air blowing across a dying fire. But even she wasn’t sure what had happened between those moments when she’d first caught him looking into her eyes, realized he wanted to kiss her, felt herself respond . . .

She’d already made one exception to not getting involved with a police officer when she’d started dating Charlie. And everyone knew how that one had ended. On the other hand, when it came to Mason there was definitely that unqualified spark between them.

Either way, she’d been right about one thing. The one thing that had stopped her from kissing him. That fragile string of emotions she was feeling was close to pushing her over the edge.
Fear over Tess’s disappearance. Fear over the fact that Avery had been shot. Even fear over the fact that her life could still be in danger.

She stepped back into the safe house, locked the door behind her, and started digging up every memory verse she could remember about trusting and not being afraid. But even that didn’t slow down the rapid beating of her heart. It was easy to trust when things were going okay. Today, she felt as if she were walking on a tightrope with no safety net to catch her.

Emily pressed her fingernails into her palms and let her gaze wander. There were no homey touches in this room. A couch, two chairs, and a couple of end tables. A framed print of a cluster of dogwood flowers probably picked up at a garage sale hung crooked on the wall. A stack of outdated magazines on the coffee table. A set of “Made in Atlanta” coasters lay beside them.

Emily glanced up at Rafael, who stood in the living room, pacing like a caged animal. Whatever feelings she needed to figure out would have to be dealt with later. Mason was right. Rafael looked lost. Confused.

The two FBI agents behind him in the living room reminded her of a scene out of prime-time television. This wasn’t her world. But like it or not it was a reality she was going to have to face head-on today.

She stepped in front of Rafael. “This is all going to be over soon. Eduardo’s been found. Your mother’s safe. And they will find Tess.”

“You’re wrong.” Rafael shook his head, his hands fisted beside him. “This will never be over. If my brother lives, he’s going to prison. Which means my mother’s lost another child . . . And as for me? Tell me how I’m supposed to walk back into that school after holding a class at gunpoint . . . And that’s assuming that I don’t end up in prison with my brother.”

Emily’s shoulders drooped. That feeling of vulnerability was
back. He was right, and she had no idea what to say. No idea how to fix things. No idea how to fit what had happened today into her normally orderly world where rote facts didn’t change and two plus two always equaled four.

“You’re right. I don’t have all the answers, and I’m just as scared as you are right now. My sister is in the hospital, and they can’t find my niece . . . But Mason was right. We need to talk. To see if you can remember something that will help them find Tess, and the man who is behind this.”

He pressed his lips together, his hands shaking at his sides. “I’ve gone over everything again and again. Whoever they are, they’re smart.”

His chest heaved with a raspy breath. He needed a distraction.

“Let’s forget all of this for a while and go get some hot chocolate. I think I saw some packets with tiny marshmallows in the kitchen. I don’t know about you, but I love those.”

Agent Pierce looked up from his computer. “There’s also some sandwich fixings in the fridge if you’re hungry.”

“Can I fix something for either of you?”

Both agents shook their heads. “We ate before coming here, but thanks.”

“What do you say?” Emily turned back to Rafael. “We need to keep up our strength. And I don’t know about you, but breakfast was a long, long time ago.”

Rafael’s eyes narrowed, then he nodded.

Inside the kitchen, Emily set her cell phone on the counter, dug into the fridge, pulling out a package of ham, cheese slices, and a small, unopened jar of mayonnaise. She found a loaf of white bread on the counter. Ingredients were sparse, but they’d do. At least until she was able to sit down for a meal of Mama’s homemade stew and biscuits.

“Why don’t you heat up some water for the cocoa, while I make the sandwiches. Ham on white with mayo okay?”

“Sure.” Rafael stared at matching yellow coffee mugs she’d placed in front of him. “I don’t think I’ll ever get past the thought that all of this is my fault.”

“The way I look at it, if it wasn’t for you, this situation could have ended a whole lot worse.” She started covering the bread slices with mayonnaise. “You found a way to let me know what was going on, enabling us to get you out alive. Your brother and mother are alive, not to mention every student in that classroom . . . You’re a hero, Rafael.”

“A hero?” He knocked the mug he was holding under the faucet against the sink, cracking its side. “I’m sorry.”

“Forget it.” She dropped the mug into the trash can and let the lid swish closed.

“A hero would have known what was going on in the life of his brother. Gone to Mason and let him handle things. A hero wouldn’t have given in to fear and walked into that classroom with a gun.”

Emily ripped open the package of ham, praying for the right words. “I can’t say what I would have done if I was in your place, which means I can’t even begin to judge what you did. It’s easy to think I would have simply gone to the police and let them handle everything, but with my family’s lives on the line . . . I don’t know. You weren’t left with an easy choice. They had the leverage they needed and used it.”

“Do they know yet who’s behind this?” he asked.

She pressed her palms against the counter. “Mason believes it’s tied to a case my sister’s working on. Ransom kidnappings, just like your brother’s, except at least four of the victims have been found murdered. We know that the men arrested at the funeral home were part of a local gang, and there is a good chance that not only is the cartel involved but also a possible mole within the police department. Specifically who’s behind it, though, I don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows at this point.”

“So there’s no doubt anymore?” Rafael looked up and caught her gaze. “No doubt that Eduardo was selling.”

“No.”

“I just can’t believe he could deceive me like that, and I believed him. I wanted to believe him.”

“Mason and his team will find out who was behind this.”

Rafael grabbed another mug from the cupboard, filled them up with water, then set them in the microwave. “But I should have known what Eduardo was involved in. Should have found a way to stop him.”

“Rafael.” Emily turned to him, hands on her hips, and softened her expression. “We can go through this all day, wondering a multitude of what-ifs, but going there won’t change anything. Let’s focus instead on finding the men behind this.”

He pulled two paper plates from the package while the microwave timer continued counting down for the hot chocolate. “Okay.”

“Think about everything that has happened since the night Eduardo was abducted. Anything that stands out, from your apartment that night, what you might have seen in the park.”

He shook his head. “Reliving things over and over isn’t working. I don’t know who was behind this.”

Emily dropped pieces of cheese onto the sandwiches, then put the tops on them. “This is no different than taking a test. Think about the test-taking skills we’ve worked on together. The information is there, in your mind, Rafael. When you’re stressed, the information is harder to recall. But you’re safe now.”

His jaw tensed as he shook his head. “I can’t see it.”

“I want you to close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Remember how we’ve talked about making mental pictures about what you’ve read or heard?”

Rafael nodded.

“I want you to think of why this is important. For you . . . your mother . . . your brother. You can do this.”

Rafael nodded.

Emily leaned back against the counter, the sandwiches forgotten for the moment. “I want you to picture the friends your brother hangs out with. Do any of them stand out? Strike you as someone who could be involved with one of the local gangs?”

“No.”

“Okay. Good.”

She continued going slowly through the past two days with him. What he might have seen when the masked men broke into the house. Their mannerisms, voices, anything that would set them apart.

“Tell me what you saw at the park when you went to pick up the backpack.”

Rafael squeezed his eyes shut. “A couple cars passed on the side street. There was a runner coming toward me. A woman. I . . . I picked up the pack, shaking . . .”

“Did the runner follow you?”

He shook his head. “She ran past. I don’t think she really looked at me.”

“Was anyone else there?”

“No . . . Wait.” He looked up at her. “There was this man. He was leaning against a car across the street. I remember feeling like he was watching me, but I thought I was just being paranoid.”

Emily felt her heart pound. Maybe it was nothing, but it fit. There was a department mole. Weapons had been stolen. Avery’s office and house bugged. If he—or she—were involved, they might have been at that park making sure Rafael picked up the pack.

“Could you recognize him?”

Rafael shrugged a shoulder. “I could try.”

“It might not be anything more than a coincidence that he
was there, but we need to let the agents know.” She turned and picked up the knife to cut the sandwiches.

A crash sounded from the front of the house. Wood splintered. The knife slipped from her fingers and onto the tile as fear ripped through her. A shot rang out. Someone shouted. Two . . . three shots.

It took Emily a second to react. Mason had been right. Someone had come after them and found them. Heart pounding, she shoved Rafael toward the back door.

Emily fumbled with the lock. Where were the FBI agents? If they were alive, they would have been in here already. If they were dead, she and Rafael were on their own. She was still trying to open the door when a man walked into the kitchen, wearing a hoodie, baggy jeans, and a ski mask.

The back door finally swung open.

“Run, Rafael!”

He was right behind them. Limping. Had the agents shot him? She pulled the door shut, praying that the extra seconds would be enough.

They ran past a pile of firewood and a shovel, through the side gate into the front yard. She glanced down the street. It was quiet . . . cold without her coat. The row of driveways in either direction sat empty, which meant she had no idea where to go. All she knew was that they couldn’t stop running.

A light snow was falling. She slipped on the grass, then struggled to catch her balance. He was gaining on them. She could hear him behind them. Rafael yelled at him to stop. Fingers gripped her shoulder as he slammed her into the ground. Warm, moist breath tickled her skin. She could feel the gun pressed against her temple.

He was going to kill her.

His voice was raspy as he whispered into her ear. “Good night, sunshine.”