Love Inspired Suspense March 2015 - Box Set 1 of 2: Protection DetailHidden AgendaBroken Silence Read online

  “And less than I wanted.” Gavin tossed the cup into a trash can.

  “At least the guy who wanted Cassie dead is out of the picture.”

  “He wasn’t Michael’s murderer, though. Neither was his accomplice.” The blue-eyed man had been five-eleven. His partner had been over six-foot.

  “I know. I read the state police report. Neither man matched Harland’s description,” Brooke agreed.

  “Find anything of use in that report?” Adam asked.

  “Nothing worth mentioning.” She stood and stretched. “The van they used was reported stolen this morning. The keys were in the ignition. No prints on them. Nothing useable on the van, either. They were careful.”

  “Makes me think it wasn’t their first walk around the block,” Adam responded.

  “It also makes me think they’re part of something bigger.” Gavin walked to the waiting room doorway. Cassie should be out of surgery. “They were too good at what they did. Too confident, and they made sure to leave nothing behind. Neither had IDs. No prints in the van. They wore gloves the entire time.”

  “Professional hit men?” Brook suggested.

  “That’s what I was thinking,” Gavin said. “I’m thinking that the guy Cassie saw at All Our Kids was hired to take out whichever child was at Harland’s house.”

  “But Cassie saw him, and he had to get rid of her?” Brooke set the magazine down.

  “Exactly.”

  “It’s an interesting theory. Of course, the guy is dead, so we can’t ask him to confirm it.” Adam poured coffee, sipped it and frowned.

  “The coroner will identify him eventually.” Gavin was counting on that, praying for it. “When he does, I think we’ll find that he had a sudden windfall of cash.”

  “What we need to find, is Erin Eagleton. I want to hear what she has to say. She was at Harland’s place the night Michael was killed. I want to know what she saw.”

  “We all do.” A person didn’t disappear without a good reason. Gavin was anxious to find out what Erin’s was. Had she seen something?

  Or had she pulled the trigger and run from her crime?

  “You think she was involved in the murder? MVA records have her as height as five-foot-seven. That’s pretty close to the five-eight Harland described.”

  “I don’t want to speculate. I want to bring her in for questioning.”

  “That would be a lot easier if she hadn’t disappeared off the face of the earth,” Adam said, taking another sip of coffee.

  “I don’t think she’s gone quite that far,” Gavin responded. She’d disappeared. That was for sure, but they’d find her. Eventually. And, they’d find Michael’s killer.

  He glanced out the waiting room door. He wanted to hear from the surgeons, wanted to know for sure that Cassie was going to be okay. He’d been assured she would be, that the gunshot had torn through flesh and muscle and nicked an artery, but that it would heal well once it was cleaned out and closed.

  “A watched pot never boils,” Adam said cryptically.

  Gavin would have smiled, if he hadn’t been so scared for Cassie.

  “And a surgeon waited on never arrives?” he asked.

  “Something like that. Now, sit down. You’re making Ace nervous.”

  He was making himself nervous, so he dropped into a chair. If Glory had been with him, she’d have nudged his hand, whined for a little of his attention. He’d sent her back to the safe house with Isaac. After nearly losing Cassie, he wanted double guards and dogs on the house and the kids.

  “I’m thinking Cassie isn’t going to be up to that meeting with Rosa Gomez’s sister tomorrow,” Brooke said. “Should we reschedule?”

  “I think Margaret is already on top of that,” Adam replied. “She put in a call to Harland, and he’s contacting CPS. They’re going to try to arrange for Lana to come here.”

  “Good. Juan is a cute kid, and I think he’ll do a lot better if his aunt knows the things he likes.”

  “Cassie will meet with Rosa’s sister if she’s up to it. If she’s not, it’s going to have to wait,” Gavin responded. Right at that moment, he wasn’t all that worried about the meeting with Rosa’s sister. He wasn’t worried about anything but finding out that Cassie was okay.

  Footsteps sounded in the hall, and Gavin jumped up; he was halfway to the door when Cassie’s surgeon appeared. Tall and thin with a long face and dark eyes, she wore green scrubs and a kind smile.

  “Good news,” she said. “Cassie is doing great. I was able to clean and close the wound, repair a couple of ligaments. She’ll have limited use of that arm for a while, but in time, she’ll be nearly back to normal.”

  “Can I see her?” Gavin asked, already in the hall and moving down it. He knew where surgery was, could guess where the recovery rooms were.

  “Captain McCord,” the surgeon said, and touched his arm. “You’re welcome to see her, but you’re going to have to wait to interview her. She’s just coming out of the anesthesia. Nothing she says will be admissible in a court of law.”

  “I understand.” And he didn’t care. He wasn’t planning an interview, had no intention of questioning Cassie about what she’d seen or heard. Not while she was lying in a hospital bed recovering from surgery.

  There’d be time for that.

  He’d make sure of it.

  But, right now, all he wanted to do was see Cassie, make sure that she really was okay.

  “Come this way, then.” The surgeon headed down the long corridor, turned right and kept walking. Cassie’s room was at the end of the hall, the door closed.

  “She’s going to need to take it easy for a couple of days, but we’ll probably only keep her for twenty-four hours. Is there someone who can help her at home? She won’t be able to lift things, might need some help with daily activities. Physical therapy will start working with her once the stitches are out, but until then, she’s going to have to be careful.”

  “There will be people to help,” Gavin said, pushing open the door and walking into the quiet hospital room.

  Cassie lay still, her hair pulled back with a black headband, the silky red strands spread out on the pillow. She’d lost all color, her skin so pale it was almost translucent.

  His heart lurched, guilt weighing him down.

  He’d failed her.

  He touched her hand, his fingers skimming across her knuckles. He thought she’d be unaware, but she turned her hand, wove her fingers through his.

  “Gavin,” she said without opening her eyes.

  “Maybe,” he replied, some of his worry easing as she smiled.

  “For sure. I’d know you if I were blindfolded and standing in a dark room.”

  “Would you?” He ran his thumb across her wrist, felt her pulse fluttering beneath her skin.

  “Yes. You smell like the outdoors, like fall, like cool evenings on the front porch.”

  If he’d been a blushing man, his cheeks would have gone a few shades of red. He wasn’t, so he lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “Thanks. I think.”

  “Oh, it’s a compliment.” She finally opened her eyes, her gaze hazy and a little unfocused. “I don’t normally notice those kinds of things, but with you—”

  “Cassie,” he cut in. “You might want to wait to pour your heart out until after the anesthesia wears off.”

  “I had anesthesia?” She frowned and tried to sit up, her hospital gown sliding off her shoulder and revealing the thick bandages around her upper arm. “Why?”

  “You were shot, remember?”

  “Shot?” She looked at her bandaged arm. “Wow. Who knew?”

  “Me and everyone who was there when it happened.”

  “The kids are going to love hearing about it. Once I can remember.” Her eyes drifted closed, and he thought she’d fallen asleep.

  He wanted to call Virginia, let her know that Cassie was out of surgery. The woman had been in hysterics when he’d called the first time. He’d had to dispatch extra off
icers to calm her down and help with the kids.

  He tried to pull his hand from Cassie’s but she held on tight, her grip firmer than he would have expected.

  “Don’t go, Gavin,” she whispered.

  “Are you afraid? Because the guy who was after you, he’s dead. You’re safe.”

  “He is? That’s good and, maybe, a little sad. But I wasn’t afraid.” She opened her eyes, looked straight at him. No haziness now. No lack of focus. She was there, asking him for something he’d thought he could never give. “I just don’t want to wake up alone. Promise me I won’t.”

  He had things to do, phone calls to make, a case that needed solving. With Cassie, though, he couldn’t deny the request.

  “I promise,” he said, and he meant it for that day and for tomorrow and for every day as long as Cassie needed him.

  Maybe she knew that. Maybe she understood.

  She squeezed his fingers, pulled his hand in and pressed a kiss to his knuckles.

  He thought she was sealing his promise, thought that she was offering one of her own.

  He didn’t pull away when her hand dropped back to the bed, didn’t move as the clock ticked by the minutes and then the hours.

  His phone rang, but he didn’t answer it, because right at that moment, he knew why men got married, why work became only part of their lives. He understood why passion for justice could be weighed by compassion for someone, and he knew that he was about to find balance in his life, space in it for something other than his work. Space in it for Cassie, for her crew of kids, for the home she loved and the job she did.

  That made him smile.

  Cassie shifted, turning her head, her eyes open again.

  “I’m glad,” she said, her words distinct, her eyes clear. “To see that you’re a man of your word.”

  “Did you expect anything else?” he asked.

  “I expected that I’d never find someone like you, but I guess it’s happened. That being the case, I guess I’m going to have to get used to having one more person in my life.”

  “And a dog?” he asked, tucking the covers around her shoulders.

  “A dog, too.”

  He laughed, and she smiled. “Now, you’d better go do your job, Gavin.”

  “I told you I’d stay.”

  “Until I woke up.” She sat up, frowned. “And, I remember getting shot, so I guess I’m in my right mind. That means you are free to go.”

  “I’d rather stay.”

  “I’d rather know that you’re out there protecting the world, Gavin, and that when you’re done, you’ll be back protecting me.” She said it quietly, said it with so much sincerity, he knew it was true.

  “Count on it,” he responded, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips.

  “Wow!” she breathed. “Destiny is going to die when I tell her about this.”

  “Do you plan to?”

  “Years from now. Maybe right before you walk her down the aisle.”

  He liked the idea of that. He liked it a lot.

  So, he kissed Cassie again.

  To give her a little more to tell Destiny.

  Then he said goodbye and headed out into the hall, leaving Cassie so that he could go to work, and so that he could return to her.

  FOURTEEN

  He chased her through the woods, sprinting after Cassie with so much speed, so much energy, she knew she’d never outrun him. Up ahead, an old house stood stark and lonely against the steel-gray sky. She ran toward it, footsteps pounding behind her.

  Almost there!

  She reached the rickety porch steps, tried to run up them, but the steps were quicksand, and all she could do was fall forward, catch herself with her arm.

  Pain shot through her, and she screamed. Or tried to. Nothing emerged but a quiet moan.

  And he was still coming.

  She didn’t want to look back, didn’t want to see him bounding toward her, his eyes dead, his expression blank. She didn’t want to see the gun or the knife or whatever it was that he planned to use to finish what he’d started.

  She grabbed the stair railing, tried to pull herself up, but her fingers refused to grip the old wood, and she moaned again, tried again.

  “Cassie!” the man whispered, his voice sending shivers up her spine.

  She had to get up. Had to keep going.

  “Cassie,” he said again, his hand on her cheek.

  She screamed, jerked upright so fast, she nearly smacked into the man who was standing over her.

  Not the icy-eyed killer who’d died.

  Harland.

  In her bedroom.

  She glanced around. Realized she wasn’t at All Our Kids. Wasn’t at the safe house. She was in a hospital room, the television muted, the bluish light from the screen flickering.

  “Everyone okay in here?” A uniformed police officer walked in, his gaze jumping from Harland to Cassie. “Are you okay, ma’am?”

  “I’m in the hospital.” She glanced at her arm, at the IV line that snaked out of it. She remembered waking up, remembered Gavin being with her. Remembered a kiss, a conversation, remembered him leaving. She’d fallen asleep after that. She didn’t know how long she’d been out, but it must have been a while. “With an IV line stuck in my arm. I don’t think that counts as okay.”

  Someone chuckled.

  Not someone.

  Gavin. She’d know his laughter anywhere. Recognize his voice, his scent, his smile. She turned her head, saw him sitting in a chair, a laptop on a small table in front of him.

  “You’re back.”

  “I just had to file a report. I checked on the kids while I was at it. They’re all fine.”

  “Is Virginia?”

  He hesitated. “She will be. Once the sedative wears off.”

  “They had to sedate her?” Poor Virginia. She really did need to learn how to handle emergencies and drama better.

  “It was a mild sedative,” Gavin responded. As if that made it better.

  “Enough about Virginia. How are you, my dear?” Harland asked, his face haggard, his eyes deeply shadowed. “That’s what we’re all wondering.”

  “I’m alive, so I’d say I’m excellent. And, that I’m ready to go home.” She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

  “You really don’t think you’re going to get up, do you?” Gavin asked.

  “Do you really think I’m not? I’ve got eight kids waiting for me. I can’t be lying around in a hospital bed.”

  “You were shot,” Harland said. “I think that is more than reason to be away from the kids.”

  “To you, maybe, but not to the kids. Where are my clothes?”

  “Soaked with blood,” Gavin responded.

  “I guess I’ll have to go in this.” She plucked at the cotton hospital gown.

  “Cassie.” Harland put a hand on her arm. “Be reasonable.”

  “I am being reasonable. The kids have been through a lot. The last thing they need is to have me suddenly disappear.”

  “You didn’t disappear. You needed medical treatment. Every one of those kids can understand that.” Harland ran a hand over his hair, shook his head. “I had no idea you were this stubborn when I hired you.”

  “Sure you did. You liked my spunk, remember? You thought that my determination would give me an upper hand with the kids.”

  “And now you’re throwing my words back in my face.” He glanced at his watch, frowned. “Margaret and I arranged to have Rose’s sister come here to speak with you. I know you’re as anxious to make Juan’s transition smooth as everyone else. You really should stay so that the two of you can talk.”

  “I’ll stick around to talk to her, but I’m not going to stay the night.”

  “You’re being unreasonable.” He scowled.

  “I’m being a mother. Isn’t that what you hired me to do? And a mother’s heart is always for her kids. They need me. Now more than ever.” She stood on shaky legs and tried to tell her body that she was as fine as she
wanted to be. Too bad her head was swimming. Too bad she felt a little sick. She wanted to march out the door, march down the hall, get in Gavin’s SUV and return to the kids, but she wasn’t sure she could take one step, let alone a few hundred.

  “Right. Okay. You do what you think is best, but don’t expect me to be happy about it. I’m going to see if Lana has arrived yet.” He walked out of the room, muttering something about stubborn females as he went.

  “He’s not happy,” Gavin pointed out.

  “That’s pretty obvious.” She took a step, thought she might be able to take another. She didn’t know where she was going. Gavin was her ride back to the kids, and he was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest.

  “I’m not happy, either.”

  “But you’re going to take me to the safe house, anyway, right?”

  “If I don’t, will I still get to walk Destiny down the aisle one day?”

  She blushed, remembering her words, his kiss, the way she’d felt when she’d woken and seen him beside her bed. “I was under the influence when I said that.”

  “So you didn’t mean it?”

  “I—” She couldn’t lie. Not to Gavin. Not ever. “I did. And, you can still walk her down the aisle. If she ever gets married. She might not. The girl is very prickly.”

  “We’ll work on that. After I get you back to the safe house.”

  “You’re going to take me?”

  “Cassie, I couldn’t deny you anything.” He pushed the call button to summon the nurse.

  Ten minutes later, she was in a wheelchair being pushed through the corridor, Gavin to her left, Adam to her right, all of them heading to a small meeting room where Lana and Harland were waiting. Cassie had told Gavin she was up to the meeting, but she wasn’t so sure she was. She felt a little dizzy and a little sick, but she wanted to see the woman who was going to be Juan’s mother. She wanted to tell her that he liked Cheerios and animal crackers and that he loved being sung to while he fell asleep.

  She’d only had Juan for a few days, but she felt as though she’d known him his entire life. Thinking about saying goodbye to the little boy made her throat hot and her eyes burn. She wouldn’t cry. She never cried when one of her foster kids left. She wanted them to know she was happy for them, that she believed that wherever they were going was going to be the best place for them.