Searching for Eden, page 26
“Twenty-four hours.”
“Are they safe?”
Her heart lurched. So many things could go wrong. “Yes. RJ is a ruthless son-of-a-bitch, but he won’t touch them, for now. They’re worth more alive.”
Liam pulled the phone from his front pocket and punched in a number. After the person picked up, he said, “Are you still in town? I need your help. Now. And you can’t say anything to anyone.” There was a short pause. “Yeah. It’s like that.”
“The sheriff can’t go in there guns blazing,” she said when he hung up.
“I didn’t call the sheriff.” He rose and crossed the room. At the doorway, he stopped but didn’t turn around. “Don’t even think about leaving. I will track you down. And trust me, any pain you think you’ve experienced up until now will be nothing compared to what I’ll do to you.” Then he stormed upstairs.
With a heart too heavy to beat a regular rhythm, she picked the bag of carrots from the floor and headed to the couch. She eased onto the soft cushions and stretched her legs out. Her ribs screamed in protest.
Horrible images paraded across her mind. When Smoke had opened the door, and Noah and Zoe scrambled across the room to wrap shaking arms around her waist, it had nearly killed her. When their tears soaked into her shirt, she’d snapped.
The brain had shut down, and her body flew into action. A swift right to Smoke’s face knocked him off guard. Another well-placed kick to his knee took him down and gave her just enough time to herd both kids out of the room.
RJ’s men stopped her before they’d gotten ten steps. The kids were carted kicking and screaming back to their cell. In that ten-seconds, Noah tried to use one of the defensive moves she’d taught them before a bloodied Smoke dragged her back to RJ. With two strategic punches, one to the face, one to the ribs, he reminded her, she was powerless.
An hour later, a knock on the kitchen door brought Liam rushing down the stairs. She mustered the last bit of energy and pushed to sitting. No need to let the world see weakness.
“Took you long enough,” Liam snapped.
“I was on my way to Minneapolis.” Max? The rest was undistinguishable, but it was definitely Max and Liam talking.
“Eden.” Expression grim, Max gave a quick nod and took a seat next to her. “You’re becoming one of our best patients.” He smoothed the hair off her face and inspected the bruise. “Please?” He pointed to her shirt and had her lift it to examine the ribs. “Probably bruised. May I suggest you give up your role as human punching bag?” He pulled out gauze and began to wrap her midsection. “As you know from the last time, there isn’t much we can do, but this will stabilize you through the next few hours.”
“We don’t have time for this. We’ll drop her at the clinic. But we need to go. I need to get to my kids. Now.” Liam stood in the space between the kitchen and the family room, keys in one hand, gun holster dangling from the other.
Max stood and gave the other man his full attention. “While I like what you’ve done to the place, I think you might want to dial it back a notch or you won’t be of any use to anyone. Least of all your kids.”
“I called you because I can’t do this alone. Not to be my conscience”
“I know you’re upset. But, think. You’ve had too many years on the force and in the military to go off half-cocked. You know what happens when you make it personal.”
Hesitation, fear flashed across Liam’s face.
“I know you want to bolt for the door. But let’s come up with a plan.”
Liam gave the hint of a nod and left the room.
After Max finished patching her up, the two men spent the next thirty minutes on a plan that involved duping RJ with a bag of cash, sans the drugs.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this isn’t going to work. You don’t think he’ll count the cash before he lets them go or notice the drugs are missing?” She offered as a voice of reason.
“You have a better idea?” Liam snapped.
“Yes. You do what the crazy madman wants. Give him the drugs, the cash...” She leaned back and stared at them both. “And me. Then you get the hell out of there.”
Liam unfolded his arms. “Two flaws. No cash. No drugs.”
Max cleared his throat. “Remember I told you I knew people?” He looked from Liam to Eden but when neither answered he continued. “This is their kind of party. I have no doubt they would love an invite. They have certain, shall we say skills, that would allow them to retrieve the bag of goodies from the police impound before they meet us.”
“Do you trust them?”
“I did. With my life.”
“Do it.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Eden was right. As plans go, it not only sucked, it was dangerous to boot.
First, they had to steal the drugs and the money from the evidence locker in Two Harbors. Felony number one. Then, they were taking on kidnappers without police involvement. Felony number two. They were using a civilian as bait. Felony number three. And, possible felony number four, their only backup was a group of mercenaries who manipulated the legal line.
The cop in him shrieked in protest. But, none of that mattered. He would do whatever it took to get his kids back safe.
He hadn’t been able to take a deep breath since Eden told him RJ had his kids. His brain must be oxygen-deprived. That was the only explanation for why their entire plan hinged on a woman who’d proven to be unworthy of his trust.
Not to mention, it left her vulnerable to the scumbag that had treated her like a walking, talking, piñata.
Don’t feel sorry for her. She was a big girl, made her choices. Lived the life that gave the RJ Sorells of the world control over her. Noah and Zoe weren’t given a choice.
That was his focus.
Eden would distract RJ and his men while Liam and Max got the kids out of the building. Then they would get her out. Once they were all safe, he would alert the authorities to RJ’s presence.
It was the only plan that he could control. The only way his kids would come out of this alive.
He launched from the chair, swiped the rumpled blanket from the floor, and pressed it into a messy fold then tossed it on the hearth. The need to do something pounded through him.
All the talk, the waiting, made him nuts. He crossed to the sliding glass door, hands clasped behind his back, spine stiff. The serene lake view was the same as it always was, but its magic was lost on him this time.
Echoes from the night his wife died tormented him. Hideous images mocked him.
Once again, the world still lived and breathed. Once again, his universe shattered. Once again, he failed to heed the warnings and see the wolf in sheep’s clothing before it was too late. “What made you pick this town?”
“What?” Eden asked from her spot on the couch.
“Did you pick us off the map? Did you drive by and think it looked welcoming? What was it that said let me destroy this town?”
“Liam, I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
Electric currents zinged through his body, the short hairs along his skin shot to attention. He spun on his heel, grabbed the blanket from the hearth and refolded it before tossing it back down.
Eden cleared her throat. “I... I was running scared. Get to Canada. Find my father and wait for Jared. That’s all I thought about.”
“You expect me to believe you stole the car with no idea what was in it?”
“I’m not proud of my life, but I did what I had to do to stay alive. I found the first car and ran. That’s it.”
He attacked the blanket again.
She sighed. “If you fold that blanket anymore, you’ll wear a hole in it.”
“I can’t just sit around and do nothing. God knows what’s happening to them.”
“There’s nothing you can do. We need to wait for Max’s friends.”
He rolled the blanket into a ball and then fluffed it out.
Eden pushed from the couch and approached him but stopped short of touching him. Instead, she took the blanket from his hands and dropped it onto the couch. “I’m so sorry about all of this. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have stayed. I know you don’t believe me, but I love them, Liam. I don’t want them hurt.”
Tears turned her eyes to pools of amber and navy as she silently pleaded with him.
Tiny seeds of guilt tried to take root in his soul. She hadn’t had it easy— Damnit! I’m doing it again. Letting her under my skin.
Why was that so hard for him to remember? He didn’t care about her, her past, or her future.
The lie burned in his gut.
He summoned the rage from earlier. Wrapped it around his chest like a bulletproof vest. The only protection he could find. “That’s what happens when you live in the gutter.”
“You self-righteous... I won’t apologize for the choices I made in the past. I left that life.” A sob choked over the words.
“Too bad you didn’t leave it sooner.”
Max came into the room. “I gave the guys the address of the impound lot and the warehouse. They can meet us by ten a.m.”
Liam jabbed a finger in Eden’s direction. “Don’t let her out of your sight. I gotta get out of here.”
EDEN sat crossed-legged in the middle of the bed, dressed in comfy jeans, insulated shirt, and her puffy vest. She stared at the crack beneath the door, counting to a hundred in slow, steady beats. The hall had gone dark thirty minutes earlier with the soft click of Liam’s door closing. She’d gnawed her cuticles to a bloody mess waiting for him to finally go to bed.
She glanced at her watch. Five o’clock. Dammit. Sunrise was only a couple of hours away.
Stepping into the hall, she checked to be sure no light shown from his room. The urge to run in and comfort him so strong she found herself in front of his door, fingertips resting against the smooth wood. She closed her eyes, imagined him lying next to her. His spicy scent surrounding her. He’d given her something no one else ever would. For a glorious time, she belonged.
She’d been part of a family.
She’d loved. And been loved.
It wasn’t enough to last forever. Then again, if her plan failed, forever wouldn’t last past sunrise.
A silent goodbye echoed in her head.
At the bottom of the stairs, Max’s rhythmic breathing came from the family room, where his bear-sized body overflowed the couch.
Eden took a duffle bag from the floor by the entrance and filled it with sugar, plastic wrap and a box of baggies from the pantry.
She reflexively reached for the key hooks. Her fingers found only air. All the keys were gone.
Damn him.
She jerked the kitchen drawer open and froze as the silverware shuffled against the sides. When Max’s breathing remained constant, she sagged in relief, hand closing around a paring knife. If Liam thought lack of keys would stop her, he was sorely mistaken.
Max’s car sat just outside the door, the truck angled behind. She’d parked the Jeep farther from the house. She prayed it was far enough away the engine wouldn’t wake the men.
She tossed the bag on the passenger seat, reached beneath the steering column, and yanked out the panel. Functional memory kicked in, and nimble fingers sliced and spliced the wires until the engine roared to life.
The drive to Whitekeep normally took an hour with traffic. Given the early morning, she hoped to shave some time off that.
Her plan was simple. Divide the sugar into the baggies, wrap them in the cling wrap, and add them to the duffle. It wasn’t ideal, but the weight might buy her time. Hopefully, she wouldn’t even need it. If she could get the kids out quietly, they may all get away with no contact.
This was all her fault. Her mess to clean up.
If something happened to Liam, there’d be a permanent seat in hell with her name etched in stone. If there wasn’t one already. What would happen to the kids without their father? Too much risk. She stood a better chance going in alone, under cover of darkness.
They wouldn’t expect her.
Flutters rippled her belly. A slimy worm of fear gnawed at her spine. It would be good to have Liam at her back right about now. She slammed the brake on that thought. No, it wouldn’t.
She’d always been alone. Fought her own battles. Jared had been in and out of juvie so many times, she’d had to learn to stand on her own two feet. Besides, Liam wasn’t a knight. Certainly not her knight anymore. He was a man that wanted to keep his world safe from people like her.
Positive thoughts. That’s all she needed. Positive thoughts. And a hell of a lot of good luck.
She arrived in good time and slid the Jeep into the same park she’d used the day before to case the place. Plenty of trees to give them cover as they made their escape. If they got separated, the kids should still be able to find it.
Her fingers trembled so much, a snowfall of sugar dusted her shoes as she prepared the bags before trotting off in the direction of the warehouse.
The cold morning turned her breath to fog. Crystalized air burned her lungs. Mind blessedly clear and focused, she stopped at an old oak directly across the street and waited. Watched. No movement anywhere outside, no lights inside, but then RJ and his men were squatters, they wouldn’t advertise their presence.
Crouching, she crossed the parking lot to the side of the building with the broken window. Damn. It was higher than she remembered. Just above her fingertips. She stashed the bag under a pile of trash and went in search of something to climb.
Precious minutes of darkness ticked by as she searched for anything strong enough to hold her weight. About to give up, her gaze stopped on some broken cinderblocks on the East side of the warehouse.
She stacked the blocks side-by-side and four tall. Once on top, she pulled the few pieces of jagged glass loose from the frame, threw the bag in, then pulled herself through.
The big, abandoned space held a quiet hush that echoed with a tangible vibration in her ears. A shiver raced along spine, hand frozen halfway to the bracelet.
No more fear. She jerked her hand to her side.
They needed a hero, not a heaping pile of useless flesh fighting for each breath.
With renewed energy, she hid the sugar behind a stack of old crates and surveyed the area. RJ was arrogant enough to assume no one would come after him. Which made this easy for her.
Convinced they all slept, she scurried in a half crouch from metal pillar to discarded boxes, to a set of stairs, until she reached the room where the kids were jailed. With slow wiggles, she pulled the chair from under the knob.
Her heart swelled. Noah and Zoe curled on the hard, concrete floor, arms wrapped around each other for warmth and safety. She’d miss them. Assuming she made it out alive.
Their eyes flew wide the instant she covered their mouths. Lifting her hand from Noah’s first, she put a finger to her lips before releasing Zoe. “Not one sound. Follow me.” The hushed whisper sounded calm and in charge. She only prayed she could keep it together long enough to get them all out. Noah took the phone she pressed into his palm along with a crumpled piece of paper with directions to the car. Her lips settled against his ear. “No matter what happens, get your sister to the Jeep, lock the door, and stay on the floor. Call your dad. I’ll be right behind you.”
She waited for them to shake their heads in acknowledgement. “Let’s go.” She mouthed.
Time crawled as they made slow progress across the same path Eden had maneuvered moments before.
Any minute, the pink and violet-blue of sunrise would crack the horizon, casting its sunny glow through the dingy windows, killing their cover.
Dainty, pinpoints of light floated in her vision. The walls closed in, and bloated tendrils of panic shackled her ankles, threatening to hold her frozen in place. The palm of her hand convulsed with the need to rub the bracelet. No. They need me more. Her new mantra repeated itself with every step.
She climbed to the top of the bins, pulled Zoe up behind her then lowered her out the window. So far, so good.
Next, she motioned Noah to hurry when footsteps from around the corner caught her attention. Damn. Their luck ran out.
“Hurry,” she hissed between gritted teeth.
“Hey, what are you doing?” A sleepy-faced brute came into view below them. “Aw, shit, RJ, she’s got the kids,” he yelled at the same time he placed one foot on the teetering stack of boxes.
Noah slid through the window just as a spray of bullets showered the wall where he’d been. One tore through her shoulder, and Noah slipped from her grip. “Go! Don’t look back.”
She had a second to register the thunk and groan when he hit the ground outside the building.
“Don’t just stand there,” RJ bellowed from behind her. “Get them.”
The boxes swayed with the force of RJ’s foot against them. A scream ripped from Eden’s throat when cement slab met skull at his feet. Pain blackened her vision, and for a moment, consciousness flitted in and out.
Feet pounded around her, but one thought managed to play through her mind. They were out... They were out. The family she loved would be safe. It didn’t matter what happened to her.
Somewhere, buried deep within her, a reserve of strength pushed her to wobbly knees, useless arm hanging like a limp rope at her side. Blood seeping into her eye from the open wound at her temple gave her a strange sense of courage. “RJ, stop. Leave them alone.” It was more croak than command.
What more could he do to her?
Everything that mattered was already beyond his reach. “You have what you want. You have me. I have your supplies from the car. Leave them out of this.” She couldn’t think about what he would do once he realized she didn’t have his stuff.
“You don’t need them, RJ. It’s a distraction.” Smoke’s voice penetrated from somewhere behind her. “We have Eden and the money. You can go back to your dad as the one who fixed everything, not Hutch.”
RJ paused, his eyes darting around the room. “Let the brats go. Bring her.”
Two men pulled her from the ground. One grabbed the wounded arm and pain swallowed rational thought. She held back the urge to throw up at their feet, but the image of a pile of vomit on their shiny shoes forced a psychotic giggle past her dry lips.
