Love Inspired Suspense December 2015, Box Set 2 of 2 (42 page)

Wade just smiled as he took in the pristine blue leather interior. Lacey reached down to the floorboard beside him, her smooth, pale neck brushed the top of his hand where he held the wheel. For a few seconds his breathing halted as his hands gripped tighter. The gorgeous car he sat in paled against the gorgeous girl beside him. The idea of reaching for her, kissing her, blindsided him.

The sound of the hood popping open jarred him back to reality. Lacey left his side and went around the front to lift the hood wide, latching it. One second she was there in front of him, the next, the hood blocked his view of her.

Wade climbed from the car, needing to be near her in these last moments together. At the same time he knew he was playing with fire. This was his friend's sister. He'd already gotten Jeff killed. Letting Lacey believe there was something between them would only hurt her, too. He was leaving. Kissing her had no point. Wade couldn't go there. It would be totally selfish of him. What was wrong with him? He had nothing to offer her.

But as he came around the front and saw her hovering over the engine, the need to take the hand she used to point something out in the engine overpowered him. The image of saying goodbye to her in his arms was one image he wanted in his mind.

The visual was absurd, but also felt like a must, a final chance at being whole. When in reality it was a dangerous course that went nowhere.

And hadn't she wanted him to keep it real?

Wade looked away from her lips. They were moving as she explained about some part she had a hard time getting. Wade nodded to show he was listening, and he was trying to. He even followed her hand when she touched the battery.

It was a strong hand, he noticed. And pretty. Quickly, he stopped that train of thought and forced his eyes to move off to her hand's right side.

Something black protruded off the battery's side. He couldn't fathom what purpose it would have on there and automatically reached down into the engine for it.

“What's this?” He cut her off as his hand pulled a piece of plastic adhered to the battery by Velcro.

Wade shot a look at Lacey's widening eyes when he realized what he held.

A USB flash drive.

She grabbed it from him and raced to the closest computer at the front desk, Wade right on her heels.

Jeff may have been smart enough not to leave info for them on his computer, but he did leave it for them somewhere. What had Jeff found out? Was Wade's life about to finally make sense?

* * *

“It's password protected,” Lacey said, tapping the keys with possible ideas. “Think. Think. What would Jeffrey use?”

“Birth date, maybe?” Wade suggested. “Not that I'm expecting that to work.”

Which it didn't.

Lacey punched in another idea. “Maybe the date of the accident. What was it again? July 26, right?”

“Affirmative,” Wade replied as Lacey input every possible way to write a date, even backward.

“We're going down the wrong path. He wouldn't make it this hard by making me guess. That'd be too risky. What if I never got it? He would give it to me somehow, leave it somewhere.”

“In the file you found the envelope and key in? Was there anything else in there? Something that didn't look like it belonged?”

“No. Just your name and the key.”

“The key, and of course the letter that the key unlocked.”

Lacey jumped to her feet and reached into her jeans pocket. “The letter!” She withdrew a crumpled, soggy wad of paper. “What's left of it after the swamps anyway.” She dropped to her seat and tried to unfold it.

“Easy with it,” Wade instructed. “You might be able to salvage it if you're careful. We have a saying in the army. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.”

Lacey smirked. “Your idea of fast is not mine,” she replied, but did slow her fingers down to attempt to keep the paper together.

Still, the message was a smeared mess.

Wade took the paper. “Don't look so upset. Something tells me you memorized most of it anyway.”

She closed her eyes and started at the top from memory. “‘Dear Lacey, if you're reading this then I'm d-dead.'” Her throat closed instantly. She shot a startled look up at him as if he could stop the onslaught of tears she could feel mounting rapidly. “I can't... I'm sorry. Reading it is so much different than saying it out loud.”

Wade dropped to his knees. “No, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking.” He cupped the sides of her face and brought her forehead to his. She felt his thumbs rubbing the tears spilling onto her cheeks in an influx she didn't see coming and couldn't hold back. It was a culmination of the whole traumatic situation, starting with the doorbell ringing on the day she was notified of Jeffrey's death and ending in these farewell moments with Wade. In a few minutes he would walk out of her life forever. The thought brought a fresh wave of tears she wouldn't have believed existed.

Why? Why did the idea of Wade leaving her hurt so much? Was it more than the fact that he was her last link to Jeffrey? Was it because Jeff cared about his friend, and so should she? Or because she did care about him, regardless of Jeff?

“Don't worry, Lacey. I think I can remember it all. You don't have to put yourself through this.”

“I'm not the one putting myself through anything. I didn't ask for any of this. But I know, someday, I'm going to have to face what I haven't wanted to if I'm ever going to make it.” Lacey sniffed and stared into his intense blues. Did she dare say more? Her mother would chide her for not minding her own business, but since when did she listen to Adelaide's words of wisdom?

Lacey lifted her face to his. She pushed the tears from her cheeks and sniffed. “That goes for you, too, Wade. You can't hold your pain in forever. You'll have to talk about what you haven't wanted to face so you can move on, too.”

Wade shrunk back, his face hardening against her advice.

She pointed to the letter. “If you won't listen to me, then listen to Jeff. He had a message for you, too, in there. He reminded you that words were powerful. He wanted you to find healing by talking.”

“Not a chance. There are things you don't share with another human being. It would be cruel.” He grabbed the paper and seemed to be using it as a means to shut her out. “Type in
wordsarepowerful
.”

Lacey let him change the subject back to their task and pressed the keys.

But the code was another no-go.

They tried more of the letter's messages, including
gohome
, but nothing worked.

“All we have left are the GPS coordinates,” Wade said. “But they're smeared.”

“Were they saved in your watch from when you typed them in?”

Wade searched to find out, and after a minute brought them up so she could quickly type them in.

“Bingo! We're in,” she announced on a gasp of excitement. “Thank you, Jeff. This letter wasn't useless after all.”

Wade took the seat beside her while she pulled the files on the USB drive up on the screen. The first file was some sort of legal document. She quickly realized what she was looking at after watching her friends receive forms just like this one. She shot a glance at Wade, dread filtering in as he read it, too.

With full attention, his eyes roved over the first paragraph. The horror on his face said he'd already comprehended, but he had yet to speak.

She stated the obvious. “They're divorce papers.”

Wade's lips curled. “My mom filed for divorce?”

Lacey pointed at the screen. “Your dad. A month before the accident, it looks like.”

“So he knew his wife was doing something illegal.”

“It doesn't say why.”

“It doesn't have to.” Wade's angry edge spiked back into his voice.

As he came to grips with this puzzle piece, Lacey opened the next file. A slew of newspaper clippings scrolled down the screen. One after another spoke about the town of Norcastle and the economic decline of the area and loss of jobs. Lacey arrowed down through them until she came to an article with a photo. The headline read, Racetrack to Save Town!

“Is that your mom?” Lacey asked.

Wade squinted at the screen with a stiff nod. “It's grainy, but it looks like the ribbon-cutting ceremony of Spencer Speedway. That's my dad on one side of her, and Clay on the other.”

“He still looks the same. Just as kind looking as when I met him.”

“He's a good guy.” Wade shook his head with a disgusted look. “I wish Roni would see that and stop fighting him on every little detail. He stepped in for our parents, and he's stepped in for me more times than I can count. Always said my job at the track would be there when I'm ready.
If
I'm ready. And he's okay if it never happens. He's done a better job running the place than I ever would have.” Wade grew quiet. “I wonder if he knew about the divorce.”

“Maybe. Looks as if your parents involved him in the start-up of the business. They had to be close. But who's the other guy in the picture?”

Wade leaned in. “What other guy?”

“The one standing on the platform in the background. He's wearing some sort of pin.” Lacey squinted. “Vote for Jobs, it says. A political campaign?”

“Can't tell. Some politician, I suppose. Norcastle went through some troubling times economically. The racetrack was the beginning of the town's restoration. People were excited to have it come and bring jobs, but it did need to be approved at the town and state levels.”

Lacey closed the file and opened the next. A picture of a racetrack came up first. “The date stamped on these is from August of this year. Jeff must have taken them.”

Wade leaned in. “They're of my family's track. Jeff was at the speedway? He never told me he went there.”

“Well, you asked him for his help. He was being thorough, I'm sure. Nothing wrong with that.” Lacey couldn't hold back the edge in her voice. She didn't like the implication that Jeff had been secretive with Wade. She scrolled down the pictures, not really seeing anything out of the ordinary. A bunch of cars. A grandstand. An office hut. An old dairy truck. A bunch of letters written on the side of the truck.

“He was supposed to send me everything he found. That's why we set up the dead drop. That was the system. He's had these files for months. Why didn't he send them to me?”

“Maybe because they're a bunch of pictures from your track. Pictures you can go out and take anytime.
If
you ever went home.”

Wade shot her a warning glare. She'd gone too far...again.
Sorry, Mama.

Lacey reined it in. “All I'm saying is why would Jeff bother sending you photos of your own property? Kind of a waste of a trip to your locker in Virginia if you could go take the pics yourself, don't you think?” Lacey calmed her voice but still didn't like Wade insinuating that Jeffrey had betrayed him. Her brother wasn't here to defend himself. She would do it for him.

“What about the divorce papers? Why hadn't he shared those?”

“Simple. He didn't see a point yet in sharing the divorce with you. He wouldn't have caused you unnecessary hurt.”

“It was the system we set up to follow. It was the plan.”

Lacey looked to the ceiling in exasperation. “You and your plans. That's not how life works, Wade.”

“Neither does winging it.” Wade grabbed the mouse from her hand and clicked to open the last file. In the next second, Wade shot back. His face paled before her, and his dimple disappeared in a shocked, speechless face.

Lacey faced the screen and read the heading of some sort of document aloud. “‘
A Russian Spy at an American Racetrack
, by US Army Warrant Officer Jeffrey Phillips.'”

Lacey felt as though she'd just rammed her car into a wall. Her sweet, kind brother, whom she had just been defending, had been writing a book
at Wade's expense?

A click from behind broke their stunned silence, followed by a lethal growl from Promise that Lacey wouldn't have ever thought she had in her. In the next second, Promise jumped on Lacey and pushed her down to the floor. Like a team, Wade maneuvered in front of Lacey to block her from the intruder who had just cocked a gun.

CHAPTER NINE

“P
ut your hands up where I can see them,” the gun holder said.

Wade went for his own gun, forgetting again that he didn't have it on him anymore. More than a little miffed, he followed orders and raised his hands.

“Daddy! Don't shoot! It's me,” Lacey shouted from the floor behind Wade. Promise had her pinned down, covering her with her seventy-pound body.

Lacey's words hit him before he could fathom again Promise's response to protect her.

This guy was Lacey's father?

Wade dropped his arms and offered one for a handshake. “Mr. Phillips, I'm Wade Spencer.”

“I don't care who you are. Get away from my daughter. Did you take her?”

“Take her?”

“No, Daddy, he didn't.” Lacey spit dog hair out of her mouth. “Wade, can you get your dog off me so I can clear this up?”

Wade gave a whistle and Promise hopped off Lacey, but the dog stayed tense and at the ready. She gave another growl, baring her teeth.

Lacey pushed to her feet. “I'm fine, Dad. I would have called, but these guys—”

“But we lost our phones,” Wade cut in before she went too far. The less information they offered, the safer everyone would be.

“No, Wade—” Lacey touched his arm “—my dad can be trusted. Wade, meet my dad, Frank. Daddy, Wade.”

Frank Phillips kept his gun on him. Not that Wade faulted the man. The guy's daughter had been missing since Christmas Eve. Take that into account with the fact that he'd just lost his son, and security would be beefed up around here with all barrels pointed at the new guy.

“Wade's not one of the bad guys, Daddy. He was Jeffrey's friend. He's helping me figure out what happened to Jeff.” Lacey stepped up to her father. Within five seconds the gun was lowered and the man had his other arm securely wrapped around his daughter. He pressed his cheek into her mangled hair.

“I didn't know what to think when you didn't come home for Christmas. I had a bear of a time placating your mother.”

“I can only imagine,” Lacey said with her voice muffled in his gray mechanic shirt. “She only takes out the fine china on every day that ends in
y
.”

“I'm being serious. She wanted me to call the police, and if I didn't hear from you by noon today, I was going to.” The man glanced over her head at Wade. Doubt still filled his eyes. “Who are these guys? And I want the truth.”

“Sir, I'll give you the truth, but for your safety it's best if you don't know all of it.”

A resigned sigh escaped him. “That bad?”

Wade looked at Lacey, and her father got the gist of the danger. He tightened his hold for a few minutes as he decided what he would do next.

“Your mother has been a wreck since I told her why you left. She just knew this new adventure of yours had
bad news
written all over it.”

Lacey pulled away from her father. “Dad, we talked about this when I showed you the envelope. You know I had no choice but to go. It's what Jeff wanted me to do.” She looked over at the computer screen with the manuscript still open. “Even though I'm not sure if I trust any of Jeff's directions for me right now. I'm a little disappointed in him at the moment.”

Mr. Phillips's eyebrow's lifted at his daughter. “Why would you say such a thing about your brother?”

She dropped her attention to fiddle with a button on Cora's shirt. Wade knew exactly why she hesitated. “Jeff was a trait—”

“Trainer,” Wade cut her off again. “He was always pretty tough on her, pushing her, training her to beat anyone she came up against. He told me all about it. He wanted her to be the best. Not just the best girl, but the best, overall. Lacey doesn't think she'll ever measure up. That she'll always have something to prove.”

Mr. Phillips frowned down at Lacey. “I warned Jeff. I told him he expected too much from you. That he would make you feel inadequate if you couldn't reach that place of honor he set so high for you. But, honey, don't hold it against him. He loved you. More than anything in this world.”

Lacey looked over at Wade, gratitude filled her tear-sheened eyes. “I know he did.”

Wade offered her a quick nod. He might feel Jeff's knife twisting in his back, but he wasn't about to ruin a father's memory of his dead son. No matter if that son had tried to exploit Wade's family.

“Lacey!” A screech echoed to the rafters of the shop. Before Wade could turn around to see who made that high-pitched noise, he watched Lacey's shining eyes scrunch closed.

Then she opened them and swung around to greet the petite woman who resembled Lacey to a T, except for the perfectly styled rich brown hair, bright pink feminine dress and three-inch heels that stomped across the smooth concrete with a vengeance.

“Hey, Mama,” Lacey said. “I'm home.”

* * *

Adelaide Phillips reached her arms out for Lacey for a quick, hard hug, then brought them back to cross them at her front in a “mama ain't happy” fashion. “When your father told me that you weren't coming to Christmas because you took off to New Hampshire, and that you hadn't checked in, I just knew this was another one of your dangerous escapades. You're making me gray with all this worrying for your safety.”

“There's no need to worry,” Lacey said. The words were useless. Lacey knew her mother would always worry about anything she did. “I've had Wade here keeping an eye on everything.” Adelaide took notice of Wade for the first time since she entered. “I just couldn't call because we're without a phone right now.” Lacey continued speaking, but her mother's attention was diverted for the moment.

“Is he your boyfriend?” Adelaide asked, still looking at Wade.

Lacey sputtered, “No way. You know that's not my style.”

Adelaide shot her attention back to Lacey. She dropped her gaze to Cora's blouse. “Neither are flowers.”

“It's not my shirt. I had to borrow it when I was shot.” Lacey cringed, knowing she went too far...again.

Adelaide's mouth dropped. “You were
what
? Did you say you were shot? As in with a
gun
?” Tears filled her mother's eyes; her hand covered her mouth. “Oh, Frank, did you hear her? She could have been killed.”

Frank stepped up behind his wife. Lacey expected her dad to be on her side like he always was when she sparred with her mother. But this time the anger on his face said otherwise. “You didn't tell me you'd taken a bullet.”

“First, I didn't get a chance to before Mama came in. Second, I didn't
take
a bullet. It grazed my arm. I'm fine. And third, these are the same musclemen who killed Jeff. I'm going to get them, Daddy. I won't stop until I do.”

“Death will stop you,” Adelaide said, debate over. Once again, Adelaide won with her wisdom. “Did you even think that if you died, we would have to bury our second child within a month of our first?” Adelaide swallowed, tears rimmed her eyes and her dainty hand covered her quivering mouth. Lacey thought her mother even cried pretty. Adelaide swiped a trail from her cheek so delicately.

They were so different, the two of them. Night and day. Lacey remembered when her brother died and what her reflection in the mirror looked like, all puffy and red. She was nothing like her mother in the looks department. And apparently in the brains, either.

Lacey dropped her gaze to the floor. “No, I wasn't thinking about that possibility. I guess I failed you again.”

Adelaide sobered. “Failed me? What is that supposed to mean? You haven't failed me.”

“I'm your disappointment. I'll never be like you. I'll never be the debutante daughter you always wanted who sits on the porch swing for afternoon sweet tea. I'll always sport perpetual helmet hair and choose a fire-retardant suit over dresses.”

Adelaide gave a small laugh and reached to lift Lacey's chin. “Honey, I accepted a long time ago that gowns and updos were out of the picture. I saw our blaring differences early on, but that doesn't mean I thought less of you or was disappointed in you. You were still my little girl, and I just wanted you to be safe, to make good choices in your life.”

“As in stop racing. That's what you mean, isn't it? I know you hate it every time I get behind the wheel. That's never going to change, Mama. This is who I am.”

“Do my dresses make you love me less?”

“Of course not.”

“Well, your fire-retardant suit doesn't make me love you less, either. Nothing you could ever do, or not do, or wear, or say, will change the way I feel about you. I will always love you.” Adelaide laid her hand on Lacey's chest. “I love you for the woman you are in here.”

“Then, trust me that I can do this. I'm going to prove Jeff was murdered and bring his killers to justice. We just found a clue and were about to go follow it.”

Wade cleared his throat beside her. “No, you're not. Your mom might not stop you, but I will. You're not coming with me. It's not safe.”

Adelaide turned her attention to Wade. “Wade, is it? Son, I've made that argument till I was blue in the face. You see where it got me, right? Sometimes you have to trust God and let go.” Adelaide turned to the key holder and grabbed a key with a bluebird key ring. “Now, you're going to need a car.”

Lacey inhaled. “No, Mama! I can't take Jeff's car.”

“Oh, yes, you can. Muscle thugs call for the snarl of a souped-up muscle car. Besides, that baby is like a tank. If you're going to drive out of here into danger, then I want you to have the safest car in the shop.” She held the keys out to Wade, but Lacey threw an arm out to grab them before he could.

“I'll take those. He can ride shotgun. The man owns a racetrack, but his pedal never hits the floor. Daddy, we need a gun. Can we take yours?”

Frank passed his gun over to her. She checked the barrel and passed it over to Wade.

“I really don't like this idea,” Wade said. “Lacey, you should stay here. Call the police and let them protect you.”

Adelaide smiled at Wade. “I like you, Wade. Lacey, listen to him. He knows what he's talking about.”

“I think it's too late for that,” Frank said from the front of the garage. She hadn't even noticed her dad walk to the front to peer out the small square bay windows. “We've got company. A black SUV is cruising by as slow as snail snot. Friends of yours?”

Lacey looked back at Wade. “You were saying? It's not safe for me here, either. They found us. Grab the USB and get in the car.”

“They're trolling. They've got to be.” Wade pocketed the drive and raced to the window to peer out from the edge. “They can't know we're here. How could they?”

“Doesn't matter. Let's go.” Lacey grabbed Wade's coat off the chair and reached the car. She jumped into the driver's seat.

“Wait! If we come tearing out of here, they'll be on us from the word
go
. There's no way we'll lose them. We need to think about this.”

“No time for a conference call, Wade! And we can't stay in here waiting for them to break down the door, either. Get in the car!”

Wade made his way to the Trans Am's passenger side. Promise jumped in over the steel cage and parked it on the floor of the passenger seat.

“Daddy!” Lacey called from her open door. “As soon as I start the engine, open the bay. Mama, call the police.”

Adelaide held the phone up to show she was already one step ahead...as usual.

Lacey slammed the door. “Wade, crack the window and get that gun ready. You have some tires to shoot out, but try to wait until we get to the bridge. Let's get them as far away from my parents as possible.”

He nodded and brought the window down enough to fit the barrel out. “Ready.”

Lacey turned the engine over. The Firebird Trans Am roared to life like an angry lion being woken up in the middle of his sleep. The deep rumble echoed off the concrete garage walls.

Wade shook his head. “Great. They'll hear us coming from miles away.”

“Yes, but there's no way they'll catch us, so who cares?”

And with that, she floored it out of the bay just as the door lifted enough to clear it. At the end of the parking lot, Lacey took a right, her tires squealing on the pavement. The view in her rearview mirror was clear. She looked again to be sure.

Empty.

“Where'd they go?” she yelled. “Did we get away before they saw us?”

As if on cue, the SUV shot out from a side street directly behind her. She'd spoken too soon, and this time she wouldn't be getting a three-tap warning.