Covert Cover-Up, page 15
Beck steered them down the rough mountain road in silence, which was fine with Katelyn. She prayed silently as she thought of how to tell Tori that she had to miss the wedding. How to tell her brother. What could she possibly say that would make any sense?
Maybe she was losing it, really losing it. She now understood how Beck felt when people thought he was being paranoid. But she had lived through several attempts on her life. Maybe that could make a person lose their grip with reality.
She had been a cop once. She’d been strong enough to take on that role, despite her failure at the end.
Beck steered them into Rainey and Katelyn sat up. “Where are we going? I thought we were driving across the country?”
He said nothing, then finally parked in front of Ryan’s home.
“Are you kidding me?” Anger boiled in her gut. “Beck, what are you doing?”
He shifted in his seat. “I’m firing you.”
Her mouth opened but no words came out.
“I can’t protect you but your family can. You’re better off with them. I have to do this alone.”
“No fair. I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to draw the danger to yourself. To lead them away. You’re making my decisions for me, too, and I don’t appreciate it.”
He got out of his vehicle and came around to open the door for her, then gestured for her to get out.
“Please,” he said. “I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you. You talked about failing on your job. Well, I failed before, too. I failed to protect my wife and she’s dead now. I can’t risk not protecting you. I can’t risk failure. Don’t make this harder than it already is.”
“Beck, you need me.” The fury that burned inside was quickly overcome with the ache of failure. She couldn’t protect Beck, either. “We worked well together. Didn’t I have your back out there? Don’t do this.”
Regret and fear fought in his gray eyes. She dropped from the seat and stood much too close to him. I don’t want to leave you... Could he read that in her eyes? Would it make a difference?
“Why do you want to stick around so badly?” His voice sounded husky.
She leaned into him, feeling the draw of everything about him. “I don’t know when it happened, but I haven’t been in this with you because you hired me, or because we’re both running from danger and trying to find answers. I’m here because I care about you...as a friend.” Oh, lame. So lame. What a liar.
He acted as if he would reach for her hand but he didn’t follow through. “And I care about you, too, Katelyn. That’s why you have to stay. I’ve already contacted your brother to tell him I’m dropping you off.”
Katelyn risked a glance at the house and spotted Reece standing at the door.
“Yes, I know this is the day before Ryan’s wedding, but no one is more invested in you than your brothers, your family. I have to go now, so I can lead the killer away.”
He tugged her forward and she thought he would kiss her, but he stopped short and instead kissed her on the forehead. When he released her, he gripped her shoulders and leveled his gaze on her. “Stay safe, Katelyn. Go live a happy productive life in a career you love. Get married and have kids. Make your dreams come true.”
Beck released her and stepped away.
Reece had made his way to the vehicle and he grabbed Katelyn into a big protective brotherly hug. Beck climbed into his vehicle, and without another look at her, drove away.
* * *
Excruciating pain throbbed through his chest. But he’d done the right thing. He had no choice. He couldn’t be selfish anymore. Beck forced himself to stare at the road ahead of him and not look back at Katelyn. Metaphorically speaking, the road ahead he must travel alone.
He didn’t think he meant that much to her, more than that he was a client, but there’d been a brokenness in her features, a sadness in her eyes. Beck had put that there and it crushed him. For not the first time he second-guessed his decision to leave her behind. Earlier, he’d had no choice because of her threat to continue to investigate. But now she had a wedding to attend and three brothers to contend with.
Still, he questioned himself.
Am I doing the right thing? Will she really be safer with them?
Beck had the contents of the safe—the incriminating information from the safe. So someone had to be following him, and not Katelyn. Surrounded by law enforcement, she wouldn’t be an easy target.
Beck would be easier. This had to be the right thing to do.
He wanted to see Ollie before he left, but he feared that would only lead Cooley to his son and his camping location. No matter which way he looked at it, there was no good answer. He had a long journey ahead of him, and he wasn’t entirely sure how he was going to make it.
Maybe he should convince his family to leave and use the fake IDs, after all.
He swerved and turned onto the street where he lived before his house had been obliterated. One last time he would hike through the ashes, through the memories of the life he’d lived and loved. Remember what he’d once had with Mia. The good and the bad.
He parked next to the curb. Clara’s car was in her driveway so he assumed she hadn’t left for Spokane like Katelyn had suggested. He prayed just this once that Clara wouldn’t look out her window and see him. Even if she did, he hoped she kept to herself. He was in no mood to have a friendly conversation or be patient. Besides, anyone who got near him was either in danger or ended up dead.
That’s why he’d had to leave Katelyn behind.
The wind picked up. Clouds built in the distance, easily seen when lightning brightened inside them. What was with this sudden onslaught of storms in a usually dry climate? The thoughts morphed into much darker questions.
Would Mia still be alive if he hadn’t pressured her to tell him the truth? If he hadn’t been so suspicious? Was the domino effect Hunley had mentioned truly due to Beck’s continued search and ultimate discovery of the safe?
Thunder rumbled, the sound getting louder as the storms moved closer.
As he walked through the rubble and stood in the middle of the burned-out home, he kicked a few pieces of unrecognizable lumps he guessed used to be furniture, and let dry sobs build in his chest. He should let the tears fall if they came. No one could see him except God, who saw everything, even the hidden tears in his heart.
“What should I do?” he whispered.
Did he actually believe he could make it to Langley? And with incriminating evidence and a CIA operative on his heels? Unfortunately, he didn’t. But how did he get the truth into the right person’s hands, if Mia and Barr had both been killed over this? How was Beck, with no real operative training, to survive when they couldn’t?
That was it then, he would need to go undercover and on the run—with his family—while he made his way to hand over the information.
He would go as Travis Hinckley, the ID that Mia had supplied.
I’m sorry, Katelyn. He thought she might have held an ounce of hope that he would come back to town and all would be well. They could be “friends.”
Beck hung his head. He plodded over to Ollie’s room. How did he tell his son about his room? Ollie wasn’t so shallow that his material things would matter that much to him, but still, he was just a kid. This would be so hard.
Then he spotted a Pokémon tin. Really? That had survived? He smiled. He had at least one item he could return to his son... It was something.
His cell rang with a number he didn’t recognize. Sweat bloomed on his palms—instinctively he knew this call wasn’t a wrong number. Dread coiled around his spine.
“Beck speaking.”
“You have something I want.”
“Who is this?”
“You know who it is.”
Cooley. “I’m afraid I don’t. I’m going to hang up—”
“Not if you want to see your son again.”
TWENTY
All the blood drained out of him and his heart stopped. Had he understood the man correctly? Was Beck’s unimaginable nightmare happening? He squeezed the phone in his hands, might have been crushing it, but he caught himself.
“What do you want?”
“You know what I want. But so there won’t be any mistake, everything that was in the safe you took.”
“Look, I don’t have everything. Some junk I threw away. So tell me what you’re really after.”
A few heartbeats thumped by and for a moment, Beck thought he’d lost the signal. But he wouldn’t be the first to speak. Somehow, for Ollie’s sake, he had to get the upper hand.
Right. The guy had him, and he knew it.
Beck wanted to ask about his parents, too. He hadn’t heard from them, so they could be bound or...
No. He wouldn’t think the worst about them. He would crumple if he did and he had to be strong for Ollie.
“Bring what you have. If what I’m looking for isn’t there, you can say goodbye to your son.”
“How do I know Ollie is with you?”
He heard a shuffling, then... “Dad?” Fear quaked in Ollie’s voice.
“Ollie!”
“Now you know.”
“Don’t hurt him, do you hear me? Don’t hurt him or I’ll—”
“Or you’ll what?”
“I’ll hunt you down and make you wish you were dead.”
Silence was all he heard in response. His hands sweated profusely until he thought he would drop the phone. He swiped each palm on his pants, as he stood in the middle of his razed home, the scent of wet ash filling his nostrils. Eyes squeezed shut, he pressed the cell against his ears and fisted his free hand.
Hold it together. For Ollie, just hold it together.
“Tell me where you want to meet so I can get my son back. I don’t care about anything else. You can have it all.” I just want Ollie back safe and sound. I’m so sorry, son. So, so sorry. If only he had left well enough alone!
“If you tell anyone—call the police or share with your girlfriend at any point now or later—your son’s life will be snatched from him. You know we can do this. You’ve seen it with your own eyes.”
Mia...
“Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“I hear in your voice that you do, in fact, understand. You saw how quickly your wife died when she tried to share what she knew. Remember her.”
“I understand.” He fisted his free hand, imagining that hand around this man’s throat and squeezing, squeezing, squeezing. He could hardly bark out the next question. “Where do we meet?”
“The place you know best.”
Beck scratched his head. “My house is gone.”
“Your work.”
“What? You mean—”
“Castle Crags. Head that way. I’ll call you with more information in half an hour. I can see a long distance from where I’m standing. Don’t believe you can bring anyone with you. Come alone.”
The call ended.
Beck fought the anguish, the mad rushing tears. Once again he resisted crushing the phone he held in his hand. His knees buckled, and he dropped.
“I’m here with you, Beck. I’m going with you.”
Katelyn.
* * *
A fist squeezed Katelyn’s heart. Seeing him like this crushed her. She rushed to where he’d dropped to his knees in the ashes of his burned home.
He looked up at her and she saw the shimmering moisture in his eyes.
Oh, Beck. She couldn’t bear seeing him like this. This ordeal had broken this strong resilient man into a thousand pieces. And yet, she knew he wouldn’t break under this pressure, but would only be made stronger. He would pull himself together for his son’s sake. If Katelyn knew anything, she knew that about this man.
“What. Are. You. Doing here?” He scrambled to his feet. Gripped her shoulders and shook her. “What are you doing? I don’t want to have to worry about you, too.”
“Okay. You’re angry. I get that. But you have to worry about Ollie. Friends don’t leave friends.”
“Did you come to your house and spot me here? Did Clara see me and call you?”
“Nothing so covert. I—I thought you might come here first, looking for answers. Or to say goodbye.”
His expression softened. “You know me that well? I didn’t even know I was coming here.”
She gave a one-shoulder shrug. “I wasn’t sure I’d find you here. But I did, and I overheard your conversation. At least your side of it and it’s enough for me to know that he took Ollie. Cooley took Ollie. It has to be him. He’s the one who took out Hunley and the other assassin.”
“I’m supposed to come alone.”
“As far as he knows, you will be. I’ll be in the truck with you. I’ll hide. Now let’s not waste time arguing about it. I can make my own choices, Beck. I know where you’re going. I overheard that part, too.”
“If I bring someone I could risk Ollie’s life, Katelyn!”
She grabbed his hands and spoke gently, hoping he would listen to reason. “If you go alone you risk both your lives.”
Beck dipped his chin, contemplated for several moments, and then finally said, “Let’s go then.”
They rushed to his truck and got in. He started the ignition and raced down the street. “So you have to tell me just how did you get away from your family? I thought you’d never escape your three law-enforcement brothers.”
No doubt about it—her brothers would be furious. Tori would be worried. But they wouldn’t find out until it was too late.
“I wasn’t a prisoner, Beck.”
“So you snuck out like a teenager.”
“Nope. Instead of a bachelor or bachelorette party, Tori and Ryan were attending a small party given by close friends. I was invited, but they knew I was exhausted and heartbroken.” She couldn’t help the grin. “I stayed behind when they left, and then I simply slipped away. I’ll text Tori later that I went home to go to bed. She’ll understand.”
He shook his head. “I don’t get you. I gave you an out. I don’t understand why you came back.”
“I told you. Friends don’t leave friends.” And with the words, she knew what she’d tried to ignore since getting into this. What she felt for Beck was so much more than platonic.
None of that mattered when Ollie’s life was in danger.
“What about your parents?” Katelyn asked.
“I didn’t ask about them. I was afraid to bring them up. But I should call them now. It’s just that... I don’t think I’m going to get an answer.” He steered with one hand and tugged his cell out of his pocket with the other. Made the call. The longer he went without getting an answer, the deeper his frown grew. Finally, he said, “It’s Beck. Call me immediately.”
He focused on the road and glanced at his cell. “Calling Mom this time.”
Again, he waited, then, “Mom, this is Beck. Please call me as soon as you get this message.”
He ended the call and gripped the steering wheel with both hands. He didn’t have to say anything for Katelyn to know he was in anguish.
“I’m so sorry.”
“I can only worry about one person at a time.”
She understood. He worried about his parents but his focus was on Ollie. “You don’t need to worry about me or expend energy. I’m here to help. I’m not your hired PI, but I am a former cop. I’ll help you get Ollie back.”
He was taking the corners at crazy speeds.
“You should watch out so you don’t get pulled over and delayed.”
“Right. You’re right.” He slowed down the vehicle. “So let’s think about this. He’s going to call me and redirect. We can’t know where the end will be. Somehow you need to slip out without him knowing and get into position so you can grab Ollie.”
“Let’s agree on something up front,” she said. “And that is that you’re not going to do anything stupid and get yourself killed.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it. And what I want to agree on up front is your one job is to grab Ollie. Nothing else matters. That’s your only task. I’ll distract Cooley with the contents of the safe, and you protect my son. I’m trusting you to do this one thing, so I’m begging you.”
He was asking her to do the one thing she’d failed at before—save someone being used as a hostage.
TWENTY-ONE
Beck tried to focus as he drove toward Castle Crags, but all he could think about was poor Ollie. His little boy hadn’t asked for any of this. Didn’t deserve it—as if anyone deserved this to happen. But Ollie deserved better than this. Beck owed his little boy safety and security. That he and Mia had had lived their lives in an illusion for almost the entire time they were married shattered Beck.
Oh, Mia...
Why did she have to fall in love with Beck? Why couldn’t she gain her freedom? Beck wished he had never searched for that safe and didn’t know that Mia had left incriminating secrets against her old boss. Now the man would kill Beck and his son. He harbored no hope that he—or Katelyn—would be kept alive if Cooley somehow got the upper hand.
So together, they had to make their way out of this. Their release would not depend on Cooley, especially after what he’d done to Mia. There was no way the man could be trusted.
Beck hadn’t had time to argue with Katelyn about coming with him, but she was fully aware that she could be sacrificing her own life now. She was going to help him get Ollie back.
She was right. She’d been right all along. He needed her. But so help him, he hadn’t wanted to need her.
She’d said she’d come to him as a friend. Friends don’t leave friends... But what he felt for her went beyond friendship, and she knew that.
But they had both drawn their own invisible lines they each refused to cross—both of them suffering with severe trust issues. Even though they danced around those lines, he knew that when this was over, if they survived, he would have to break both their hearts.
