The Broken Road (25 page)

I nodded. “Just make sure you get what you need quickly. I want everything to get back to normal as soon as possible.” Whatever that is, I thought.

Tommy read my mind. “There is no such thing as normal now Megs. Your life has changed for the better and the worst. And the best thing that has changed is that you’re going to be a momma. That’s an honor right there. By the time that baby is here, you’ll be home, safe and sound. Things will get back to normal then. But until then, just hang tight, okay?” he said gently, then pulled me into a tight hug. “I’ll take care of you Megs. I promise.”

I closed my eyes, taking that moment to believe him. And wishing it was Shane who was saying those words to me.

Chapter 23

As the days and weeks went on, I barely heard from Tommy. His team was following lead after lead, and he never made it back to the lake house. Despite Tommy’s claim that a single woman at the clinic would have raised flags, the appointment went perfectly fine. There wasn’t a man in the entire office, aside from the elderly doctor. After performing an ultrasound and some blood work, he concluded that I was eight weeks pregnant, with a due date of Valentine’s Day. It hit home then, the pain of the unknown. Not knowing if Shane will be able to come back to us, not knowing if he still loved me, Not knowing if he would be happy knowing that he’s going to be a father.

I pushed the unknown aside and focused on the now. At first, it was awkward living in the house. We walked on egg shells around each other and were constantly looking out the window to see if we’ve been found out. Eventually, tensions eased. We slowly started to laugh, to enjoy the lake and generally try to relax our vigilance. Mom and I hunkered down, only going out of the neighborhood with Rick and Kate escorting us. Mainly, we stayed outside on the porch. Mom passed the time by trying to teaching me new recipes and experimenting with making baby food. In exchange, my pants and shorts started to get snug. When I complained about how much weight I was putting on, she laughed at me.

“Megs. Oh shush. You’re pregnant, you’re supposed to gain weight,” she tsked, as she put a roast chicken into the oven. The open windows let in the warm breezes. It was close to dinner time and the sun was as bright as if it were noon. The peace and quiet of the lake soothed me. We were secluded from the rest of the vacationers and only encountered anyone else when we went into town. So we had the beach area behind the house all to ourselves. We spent the evenings in front of the fire pit, reminiscing and learning more about each other. She told me stories about how my father and she courted, stories of when she was younger, and stories of me and Kyle when we were children. I enjoyed it. It was mesmerizing to see her face light up as she recounted her memories. I laid my hands on my somewhat protruding stomach. I couldn’t wait to build on and add my own memories.

The stillness and the quiet did nothing to hamper my thoughts of Shane. I desperately wanted to talk to him. Kate always refused. I could write a letter to be hand-carried to Shane via a series of agents and officers. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want the first time I tell him he was going to be a Daddy to be via messengers. I wanted to be there to see his face, his expression, his reaction when I told him the news. I wanted to hold him, to make sure he was safe and sound. I wanted to make sure he knew I loved him.

With rarely any updates from Tommy, we had resorted to keeping up with things on the internet. The case was barely making the local blogs and there wasn’t a blip from the national media coverage. By this time, Kyle, Sarah, and the rest of our family and friends suspected that Mom and I had jumped ship. They weren’t stupid. Of course, knowing the possible ramifications of contacting them, we simply left well enough alone. Our sole contact was my uncle, who had been a part of this process since the beginning. He kept us updated on all the happenings with the world that we had left behind. His letters, typed on the computer, seemed sterile. That he was holding back. There was never any mention of Shane or updates about the case. Just things are coming along slowly. Perhaps he was afraid of the letter getting in the wrong hands. Kate did the best she could with the limited resources she had. Most of her information seemed secondhand and I could tell she was frustrated. She was used to being in the field, not being the babysitter. I tried not to bug her. It was nice to have her here. The more I got to know her, the less intimidating she seemed.

28

Chapter 24

Days turned into weeks, and soon, it was the fourth of July. I was twelve weeks along and definitely showing. Mom, Kate, and I headed into town to do a little shopping. We needed groceries and I need more shorts with the elastic waistbands. Rick, the ever imposing agent, acted as our personal chauffeur. I never gleaned much information about him. Aside from his formidable stance and his obsession with the Washington Redskins, I didn’t know much.

We were loading our shopping bags into the back of the SUV when Rick got a call. He rushed over, his eyes hidden behind aviator sunglasses and his lips set in a grim line.

“Just got a call from Tommy. They’ve lost Reggie and have no clue as to where he is. There was a sighting of him heading down 95, towards Virginia. But we can’t confirm it,” he said quickly, as he loaded the rest of the groceries in the back of the SUV. Kate went into high alert mode and ushered me into the backseat, all the while scanning the area.

“Tommy and a couple other agents are on their way up here just as a precaution.” Rick jumped into the driver’s seat. Mom passed me a worried look and I tried to squelch the panic that was building. Kate was in the passenger seat, scrolling through her bureau-issued Blackberry.

“When was the last sighting?” Kate asked, peering out the window.

“Six hours ago,” Rick said bitterly.

Six hours? What the hell?
Kate’s voice echoed my thoughts perfectly.

“What the hell do you mean six hours? Why didn’t we hear about this earlier? Who fucked up?” she spat out, anger rolling off her in waves. Rick gave her a knowing look and Kate just looked away, shaking her head. That look meant something, something that they weren’t telling me.

“What? What aren’t you telling us?” I demanded; however, they didn’t pay attention. We pulled up to the house. Rick got out with his gun drawn and motioned for us to stay put. Five minutes later, he returned and opened the passenger doors.

“It’s good. Let’s get you inside.” He held onto my mother’s arm and quickly ushered her into the foyer. Kate did the same with me. Penny came running and did the happy dance of joy with her woobie in her mouth. I absentmindedly threw it into the next room while I waited for Rick and Kate to bring in our purchases. Mom and I unpacked everything and set about making dinner. Rick and Kate stayed in the command center down in the basement. All the alarms were activated and we could only have the sliding glass door open. Mom stared Rick down when he tried to close it. The air was tense. I needed answers, so I headed to the basement. Kate and Rick were huddled in front of a monitor, and barely glanced at me when I entered the room.

“What is going on? Why do I feel like you‘re holding back on me?” I asked cautiously. I wanted to know the truth.

Kate turned around and sighed. “I’m sorry, Megan. We don’t want to worry you and honestly, we’re not sure ourselves.”

“But…” I led, encouraging her to finish.

She gave a funny look to Rick, then turned back to me. “We can’t figure out why we were told six hours later that Reggie had gone off the radar. That’s not standard protocol. Our counterparts in Maryland should have told us right away. But we didn’t get any sort of message or phone call. And there have been some other issues too. A witness that saw Reggie and his brother Christian on a drug deal has been murdered. And yet, we didn’t know about this until a few hours ago. We are being kept in the dark. We should be one of the first people they call. Especially when we’re supposed to be protecting you. It really limits us on who we can trust and who we can’t.”

“So what are you saying exactly?” I asked slowly, trying to wrap my mind around this wave of information. My stomach suddenly soured as I saw the coldness in her blue eyes.

“We think there is a leak. Someone is trying to cover Reggie’s ass and make sure no one talks. The bigger issue is that we don’t know who,” Rick piped in, his eyes still glued to the monitor.

My mouth dropped open and I looked at Kate in terror. “Okay. What about my mom? What about Shane? Who do we need to talk to, to get him more protection?”

“We haven’t heard from Shane’s location, but we’re not in constant contact either. I’m sure more agents were added to his detail. And more agents are coming here with Tommy. Your family is going to be okay. We just have to be more vigilant. And it could be nothing more than a miscommunication or an alert that didn’t get sent out. It could be nothing.” Kate said in a rush. It was a lackluster attempt to calm my fears. I appreciated that, but it did nothing for me. I gave her a worried look then headed upstairs. Mom was putting the finishing touches on the potato salad when I walked in.

“You missed it Megs. I added my secret ingredient. I… Wait. What’s wrong?” she said, as she hurried over to me with worry etched on her face.

I didn’t want to worry her. There would be no point in that. Kate said more agents were on their way. Tommy would be here soon and Reggie was last seen in Virginia. There was no reason to panic.

“Nothing, I just had a mild hormone attack. These flashes come on quickly.” I lied as I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. She patted my arm and gave me a small smile. She brushed away a tendril of hair out of my eyes.

“Baby cakes. You’re handling this so well. I’m proud of you. And Shane would be too,” she said softly. Mom pulled me to her in a tight hug. I buried my head in her shoulder and inhaled her perfume. Having her here kept me from falling off the brink of sanity. I wiped away the tears that threatened to spill over and smiled.

“Are the hormones always this bad?” I joked, forking a bite of her potato salad.

Mom chuckled as she pulled out the apple pie from the oven. The intoxicating smell of Americana, cinnamon, apples, and sugar, swept through the house. “It gets worse. Soon you’ll be crying over toilet paper commercials.”

“Great,” I replied dryly. I was antsy. I hated not being honest with my mom, but at the same time, it wouldn’t do any good to get her or myself all worked up. I plucked a cherry tomato out of the salad bowl and popped it in my mouth. I really wanted to take a walk, but not until Tommy arrived. It was an unspoken rule that we were to stay indoors. I made my way back to the bedroom and laid on the bed. I was on edge. I hated being in the dark and not knowing what was next.

I didn’t have to wait long. I could hear Rick bound up the stairs and run to the front door. The ringing of the alarm startled me out of bed. I hurried down the stairs to see Tommy talking with Rick. Our eyes met and he hurried over to me and took me aside.

“Tommy? What’s going on?” I demanded. He rubbed his face and paced in front of me.

“Megan. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Shane’s safe house was blown up last night,” he whispered, holding me tightly. It was a good thing that he grabbed my waist, because my legs gave out. I stopped breathing. Tommy’s face said it all.

“Oh god, Tommy. Please don’t tell me that Shane…” I couldn’t finish. I couldn’t say the very words that would destroy me.

Tommy shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know, Megs. There were some bodies found, and we haven’t identified them yet. But there is no way anyone would have gotten out of that place alive. There was an accelerant and what looks like several homemade explosives. They are going through the crime scene now. But we need to get out of here. We need to leave now.”

I stood stock still. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t fathom the very notion that Shane could be dead. My heart dropped to the bottom of my stomach as I fought back tears.

“Megan, we gotta go. Norah! We’re leaving. Grab the dogs! We’re rolling out!” he bellowed as he ran to the basement. My fight or flight instincts kicked in and I ran upstairs. I would deal with this later. I would grieve as I deserve to. But now, my child’s life is at stake. My mother’s life is at stake. My mother was already on her way up the stairs to grab her things. I followed her lead and threw some clothes and a few personal items into my duffle bag. The rest of the clothes and books could wait. I grabbed Penny’s woobie and whistled for her to follow me downstairs. I met Tommy at the bottom where he grabbed my bag and threw it to Kate who carried it outside. Rick and Tommy were speaking in code, talking of mileage, weapons, and such. Kate rushed back in and took the dogs out to the car.

“Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” my mother yelled. Her face was flushed from running around and she was missing a shoe. Tommy and Rick gazed at her with an open-mouthed stare, as if they forgot that we were standing there. Rick quickly shook his head and gestured to my mother to follow him.

“Shane’s safe house was destroyed and we just received word that Reggie is twenty miles out. We need to get you guys to safety.” Rick said, as he ushered my mother into the back of a waiting black Suburban.

“I thought there were more agents coming with you?” I questioned, as Tommy led me outside.

“They are more than thirty minutes out. We can’t wait for them. We have to leave now. They’ll catch up with us once we get on the highway.”

I quickly shook out the cobwebs that had been nesting in my head. I grabbed his arm and demanded, “What about Mom? Who’s going to protect her?”

“We’re separating you. It’s for the best. You’re his primary target, not your mom. The further we get her away from here the better,” Tommy muttered to me. I stared at him in grim horror. After what happened to Shane, I fully accepted it now. We were in incredible danger. I may not make it home. I could see the pain in his green eyes; he hated that we were in this position. A passing thought went through my head. Tommy actually thought that this would work. That we would be safe and that he could protect me. He never meant for this to happen, neither did Shane. But this will never end. Reggie will keep coming after me, whether Shane is around or not. I understood. I would face my demons and accept my fate. I took Tommy’s hand and gave it a squeeze and a nod. Then I ran over to my mom. She was fighting against Rick, who was trying to shove her into the back seat.