Shield of Refuge (15 page)

He stared at her. “Apparently I don't see it that way, or I wouldn't want to talk to you about it.”

“You probably know more about me than I do. It wasn't a time of my life I like to remember.”

“That's a convenient excuse,” he said, trying to understand what she was trying
not
to say. “I don't want to assume that the charges against you tell the entire story. Trust me, I write these reports, so I know I don't often look at crime from the same view as the criminal.”

Tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

“I want to know what happened, Amber. It doesn't have to mean it's over…unless that's what you want.”

She shook her head. “It's not what I want, but I think it might be best.”

“Let's talk,” he said. “Then we'll decide together.”

Amber closed her eyes, almost as if she was praying, before she said anything. “I had been pretty rebellious in high school, but I think the joy ride and vandalism charges were dropped when I turned eighteen, weren't they?”

“I didn't see them listed, but what were those about?”

“I borrowed my neighbor's car one night. Their son and I had been dating, and the parents didn't approve. So they filed charges. The vandalism charge was when my friends and I tee-peed the football players' houses before homecoming. One kid's dad was a lawyer with no sense of humor.”

“And the judge let the charges stick?”

“Someone fell through the roof of his convertible when they jumped out of the tree. Only one person knew who was responsible, and no one confessed, so we were all charged. I didn't do it, but I also didn't stop pushing the limits.

“What you probably read was what happened while I was at school. Mom and Dad wouldn't let me go to the same college as any of my friends, and I was determined to prove I didn't belong there,” she said, starting out painfully. “The week before I left for school, I found out that my parents were separating, so off to college I went. By Thanksgiving, I found out from my little sister and brother that it was bitter, and Mom and Dad were in a custody battle. I figured out exactly how to get their attention. I started drinking and missing classes….”

Garrett's legs twitched with the need to move close to her and comfort her, but he forced himself to stay in the straight chair across the coffee table.

“I bought a fake ID so I could…go out and party more.” She stopped working and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Then one night I was at a frat party, and the campus cops broke it up. I ran….” Her voice disappeared.

“And they pursued….”

She nodded silently. “You would have thought I was a three-hundred-pound linebacker the way he tackled and cuffed me.”

“Was that when you resisted the arrest?”

She shook her head. “That was the second time. It was the same cop, a week later. I hadn't even had a drink yet, but because I was underage and had a cup of beer in my hand, with another fake ID, he was determined to scare some sense into me. He told me stories about girls who were raped, showed me horrible pictures of crimes, and threw me in a freezing-cold jail cell and waited until the end of his shift hours later to let me make a call.”

Garrett shook his head. “There's a bad apple in every walk of life, and I'm sorry….”

“You don't have to apologize, Garrett. I know he was out of line, even if his intentions were to protect me. I learned a valuable lesson. A lot of them, actually. I was in with drunk prostitutes all night because Mom and Dad were too busy fighting to answer their phone, bail me out and knock some sense into me like they should have.”

“Where'd you go to school again?”

She smiled. “Wyoming, and they probably weren't literally ladies-of-the-evening, but it was about as scary to a nineteen-year-old as if they had been.”

“Sounds like you've had some counseling since this all happened.”

She shrugged. “Mainly my friend's father, a minister, who agreed to bail me out if I would straighten up and come to services. He's the one who saved me from self-destruction, and I know how blessed I am that he got through to me. Until I ran into you, I was doing pretty well, staying on the right side of the law,” she said, the tensing of her jaw betrayed her unrest with the situation.

“Are you still on good terms with your parents?”

She shook her head. “Only as much as I have to be to see my sister and brother. I'm trying to convince my sister how important a college degree really is. I have a skill that hopefully will get me through, but I sometimes regret not going back to school.”

“It's never too late.”

“One day, maybe, but for now, I'm sure this is where God wants me.”

Garrett nodded. “I couldn't agree more.” He steepled his hands in front of him and smiled. “Amber, thank you for telling me. Like I said, it sounds nothing like the charges on the report when you explain it.”

“I wasn't trying to keep it from you, I just assumed you'd seen it, or maybe I hoped it didn't follow me into Colorado.” She glanced at him, then quickly let her gaze drop. “I've heard that you're applying at the FBI, and I'm sure that they wouldn't look favorably on your association with me.”

“That's the other issue I wanted to talk to you about. I received letters from two federal agencies that would like me to come for testing next week.”

“Congratulations.” She forced the word out of her mouth and picked up her decorating bag again.

“Only problem is, I'm not sure it's what God has in mind for me now. And I'm not sure it's what I want anymore.”

“You wouldn't have applied if you weren't sure you wanted this opportunity, though.”

He leaned forward and drew Amber's attention. “Amber…”

Her eyes flashed with azure fire.

“Things have changed since I sent out the applications three months ago,” he said. “If I were offered a job, I would have to go to their academy, and then I probably wouldn't be assigned near here. Three months ago there was no one in my life to keep me from going wherever they needed to send me. Now I have you to think about.”

She glanced up, then quickly looked away without a word.

“Would you ever consider relocating?”

Amber dropped the decorating bag and her mouth fell open. Their gazes met and she teared up again. “Ever is a long time. Most jobs won't leave the offer on the table that long. And I've already told you, my business is here in Fossil Creek…and I think you'd be crazy not to follow through with your dreams. Just like you told me, you can't let anyone else steal them. That includes me.”

Garrett pulled Amber close and gazed into her eyes. “What if I told you that you
are
my dream?”

Tears welled in her eyes and she pressed her lips against his.
I'd say I love you, but I can't let you drop out now.
“You've planned all of your life to do this, Garrett. You have to give it your best shot. Maybe we are meant to be together. Maybe that's here, or somewhere else, but…”

“I don't want to walk away from something here, either, and with the way things are changing…”

“I can take care of myself, and you don't need to feel like you have to stay here so I can have my dream. I don't want that, and neither do you. You wouldn't be the same man I love if you gave that up for me.”

“Am I wrong to want my cake and eat it, too?”

She laughed. “That's an interesting question from a man who doesn't even like cake.”

“As is encouraging me to keep doing a job that you struggle to accept.”

G
arrett and Amber arrived at the shop bright and early the next morning to fill a small order that Amber had missed when she was making calls after she'd been attacked. She had remembered it at four in the morning, and knocked on his door to let him know she was going to the shop because she had all the ingredients there. The chief agreed to let them work at the shop for a few hours as long as Garrett was there, too.

“You're not going alone,” he'd said groggily. “Give me a minute, and I'll be ready to go.”

Ten minutes later they were still arguing over her sudden impression that she was safe.

She'd awakened with the determination to show Garrett that she could still fend for herself. It was as if he'd made the decision to move out of state without even informing her. He was quickly learning that arguing with her would only make her more tenacious, and that could be a dangerous thing with a killer on the loose.

Her employees would be joining them fairly early, as they had the bows to finish, cakes to bake and buckets of frosting to mix to take to the resort. Amber was busy making her list and checking it twice, afraid she was going to leave something behind, or worse, totally space out on something she'd agreed to and kill her business. Nervous energy kept her buzzing from one place to the next.

They'd been there only a couple of hours when CiCi called Amber in tears. In addition to the six inches of snow that had fallen overnight, CiCi explained that she'd be late getting to the shop because someone had bashed in the windshield of her car. Garrett called to get the details from the officer on the call, learning that CiCi had left the magnetic signs on the car after she'd finished deliveries a few days ago. “I know it's good advertising under normal circumstances,” Garrett said, hoping not to stress anyone out. “But since the shop is closed for a few days, why don't we leave them out of commission for the time being.”

While they worked, Garrett called Detective Wang to check on the investigation of Amber's attack. According to him, Melendez had vanished. Garrett struggled to leave the investigation to his fellow officers, but this drive to be involved was getting old. Melendez hadn't left any clues to his whereabouts since he'd attacked Amber.

He still hadn't figured out why Melendez claimed to be after Garrett, yet had run when he'd had the chance to fight. They all supposed it was mainly because Melendez had been surprised to see Garrett. Maybe his hand had slipped off the knife and he knew he couldn't regain his control over Amber, let alone take out Garrett, too. Which meant he probably didn't have a gun.

Nick, Kent and even Dallas had helped get the word out to gun dealers in the region, warning them about Melendez. Being a narcotics officer, Kent also had some of the seedier eyes watching out for Melendez.

All was fair in love and war. And if he wanted to win the battle of love, he had to lock up the man who'd been building his battle plan for years.

Sean showed up to discuss ideas for the grand reopening, giving Garrett the opportunity to see if the security company had upgraded the system to include her apartment, as well. “What do you want those flowers for the cake in? I'll start packaging them up.”

“Use a couple of sheet-cake boxes, and be sure to use some of the foam in the bottom as a cushion. They're under the display cabinets here,” she said, kneeling to pull a couple out. While she told him where to find some foam, Amber folded the boxes and put them together. “Thanks,” she said with a kiss on his cheek.

He hurried up to her apartment and started packaging the flowers, mixing the colors on each layer, just as she'd requested. His mind drifted to her apartment, and how he could ease his mind that she would be safe here alone. He knew she was trying to make him believe she could take care of herself. She was a strong woman, but he still didn't want her here alone.

There was no way he could even go for the interviews if they hadn't caught Melendez yet. Unless he could talk Amber into delaying the reopening of the shop until he returned, he needed to reconsider whether this was really what he wanted. Even if they caught the creep, what would he do if they offered him a position?

Half of the flowers were boxed up, and he took a break, going to inspect the handiwork of the security experts. He looked outside, surprised to see Amber slap the magnetic signs to the doors of the rental car and drive off.

He hurried down the stairs. “Where's Amber going?”

Andrea pulled her order book out. “To the student center at the university to deliver…”

Garrett ordered her employees to lock up and not let anyone in, then bolted out the door and into his own car. He called the surveillance team to let them know that while he and Amber were out, there were still three employees in the shop to watch out for.

He drove, but didn't see her anywhere between the shop and the student center building. He was so focused on looking for the red compact with the brightly colored magnetic signs on them that he didn't see the white sedan pull out—causing a domino effect of collisions ahead of him—until it was too late. He screeched to a halt, swerving to miss the other cars, and hit the horn. Two cars going the other direction slid on the ice and collided when they swerved to avoid the white car. He jumped out of the car and wrote down the license number of the car that had caused the collision, then dialed 911.

All four lanes of traffic were blocked. Garrett went into work mode and headed for the damaged vehicle, spotting Amber as she pulled out of the bank parking lot. She hurried off, and suddenly Garrett understood why—the white car that had caused the accident looked like the “patrol” car at the kidnapping.

 

Amber had dropped off the order for brownies and pastries to the campus women's conference, then had gone by the bank to make a deposit. When she pulled out of the drive-through teller, she heard a horn blaring.

“What'd I do?” she said as she slammed on the brakes and waited for a crash. No one was near her. Down the street, she noticed that a car had pulled out of a parking spot, right in front of another car that was already in the flow of traffic. It was heading in her direction, but far enough away that she had plenty of time to pull out and get out of their way. As it got closer, Amber noticed the car that had nearly caused the crash move to the lane next to her, then drop back behind her again.

It looked a lot like the car that the kidnapper drove. She turned off University Drive and slowed down to see if he would follow.

When she saw him turn, as well, her heart raced. She tried to get a better look at the driver, to see if it was the same guy she'd seen the week before. She couldn't tell for sure. With the icy roads, she was hesitant to speed up, so she slowly headed toward the police station, fishing through her purse for her cell phone. After several blocks he turned.

She wasn't even certain this was Melendez, or simply a coincidence. She dropped her phone back into her purse and decided to head directly back to the shop. Amber realized how stupid it had been to take off without Garrett.

Amber couldn't shake this uneasy feeling. The roads were icy, snow was still coming down and it was getting harder to tell if the car she'd seen was really white, or if her imagination was running rampant. She reconsidered the phone and got it back out of her purse.

The traffic light turned red, and Amber decided it would be wise to call Garrett.
And what do I tell him?
she wondered. She really had no clearer information for him than she'd had before. A white car had followed her for a few blocks—so what?

She had nothing new to help the police catch him, even if it
was
Melendez. Her heart raced, wondering where the car had gone. She was in a quiet residential area, near the college—just like the night of the kidnapping. Amber turned at the next corner to get back on a busy street and away from the solitude. She'd driven several blocks when she noticed an accident ahead of her. “Two pileups within miles of each other. I have got to get back to the shop.”

She didn't want to get caught in traffic in the middle of an ice storm where she had no control. Though she felt more comfortable with people around, she didn't like that traffic building up behind her.
Too late now.
She slowed down and looked for a way out. Finally she cleared Garrett's number and entered 911. She put the car in Park, turned it off and pressed the send button to report the traffic accident. Suddenly her car door flew open.

Melendez grabbed her arm and tugged. With his other hand, he pulled a knife out of his pocket, flipped the blade out and held it to her throat. “Get out peacefully, or this time it won't be just a scratch.”

Amber prayed that he hadn't seen her cell phone, and while she pretended to be reaching for the seat belt, she dropped her phone into her coat pocket and grabbed the steering wheel. “What makes you think I'd go with you, Melendez?”

He paused, then tightened his grip.

“Yeah, Garrett knows it's you. All of the cops know you. Now you have all the Matthews men after you.” She held on tight, hoping to buy enough time that someone in the crowd would notice and do something.

“Shut up,” he growled, switching the knife to his right hand and pulling a small taser from his belt with the other. He cut the seat belt in one swipe and wrestled her out of the car with such force that she felt as if he'd dislocated her wrists.

She struggled to get her feet under her, but the ground was too slick, and he was moving too quickly. She watched her rental car and her purse get farther away, and onlookers simply stared.

She twisted, hoping he'd drop her. “You're a bully. No one wants you, so you force yourself…”

He repeated his order and kept dragging her into the alley, ignoring the police officer who ordered him to stop from some fifty yards away.

“Let her go.”

He walked backward to keep her between the gun and himself.

“Where are you going? Same place you took Jenna Miller? You didn't know her name when you kidnapped her, did you? She has a name. Jenna. And a boyfriend.” There was no way to get her grip on this ice to try to pull loose. Plus, if she fought too hard, he might just use the knife now.

She wanted to live.
God, please don't let him kill me. Give me strength.

Sirens whistled, and he hurried to open the door of the police car. A real one this time. He slammed her against the car, jabbed her with the taser and she felt the electric current jolt her, just as it had Jenna. She tried to be strong. Tried to fight back, and waited for it to stop long enough for her to run, or kick him.

She had to try something. It kept going, and felt her legs weakening.

The electric current stopped and he grabbed her wrist, slapping a handcuff on her. She couldn't fight back.

“Where'd you get this police car?” she said, hoping her phone was still connected to 911, hoping they could hear her.

“You have a death wish…” he said, right before calling her another vulgar name and tasing her again. “When are you going to get it? Your boyfriend took my life—I'm taking his. His life, his car, his girl.” He made another disgusting promise, and she hoped she died before having to live through it.

She tried to move, but he held her tight. Then she felt herself sliding across the hard plastic seat in the back of a cop car. She didn't care how dirty it was or how she was locked back there, she just wanted him to leave her alone.

She thanked God that the guy and the taser were on the other side of the metal cage. Finally she'd have a chance to catch her breath.
If Sarah, as petite as she is, can survive this, so can I,
she thought.

Her mind wandered to the night before, when she and Garrett had visited for several hours. It was enough to make her realize how much she cared about him and wanted him in her life. She knew she should be happier that he was getting the opportunity of a lifetime to be a federal agent, but in her heart, she hoped that he would stay in Fossil Creek.

She still felt blue from telling Garrett that she wouldn't relocate with him—now she thought it sounded wonderful. But how was she supposed to respond to something like that? Wasn't it far too early in their relationship to make any promises?

 

Garrett had just pulled away from the accident as the police arrived. He paused next to the officer and said that he'd be able to explain later—he had to look for the car that had caused this accident.

He called the chief and explained what had happened, and he was looking for Amber. He paused at each intersection, hoping he'd see some sign that she had been there. He'd seen her turn off the main drag a mile or so down the road, and guessed at the exact street she had taken.

“She's strong willed, I'll give her that,” the chief said. “Keep me informed.”

Garrett could only imagine what the chief had wanted to say. He put his phone away and made a few more rounds of the area before giving up. He was almost at the shop when his phone rang again. He didn't even get to answer before the chief interrupted him.

“We just had a police car stolen, Garrett. A block away, the white vehicle with the stolen plates that you called in was found, empty. So it's likely that he's in one of our cars, where we can track him with the GPS system.”