Thanksgiving Protector, page 7
Even hinting at how precarious this situation was had upset her. Why didn’t she see that protective custody for the baby would be the best thing for both of them?
They found the church nursery and settled in. Austin checked all around the church as a precaution and to familiarize himself with the layout in case they were attacked.
They were far enough away from the subdivisions that he could hear if anyone pulled into the lot.
He returned to the nursery where Kylie had settled on the couch and was feeding Mercedes a bottle. “If I can get her to sleep, I’d like to rest a little myself.”
“That sounds good. I’ll keep watch and wake you after you’ve had a decent amount of sleep.” Austin paced and examined the windows and walked through the church yet again, checking to make sure all the doors were secured. When he came back to the nursery, Kylie was rocking Mercedes, singing to her and looking into the little girl’s eyes.
The scene tugged at his heart in a way he didn’t understand. His mother must have taken care of him when he was a baby, but he had no memories of it. He wasn’t sure how to respond to such tenderness between a mother and child.
The baby nodded off and Kylie laid her on her stomach in the crib. Kylie settled on the couch with her back to Austin.
“I’ll take watch in a little while,” she said in a sleepy voice.
Austin found a couple of baby blankets and placed them on Kylie.
Austin sat in the rocking chair as the sky grew dark outside. He watched mother and baby sleeping. Kylie was going to have to face reality sooner or later. Mercedes needed more protection than she could give.
Mercedes rolled over in her crib. Her eyes shot open and landed on Austin. She studied him. He was relieved to note that she didn’t cry out. It was too soon for Kylie to be awakened. She needed sleep after all she’d been through.
Mercedes pulled herself up in the crib and continued to watch Austin. If the kid cried out, it would wake Kylie for sure. He stepped over to the crib and gingerly gathered Mercedes in his arms. He held her loosely. She seemed so fragile.
Her soft, dark hair brushed under his chin. She smelled like fresh-cut flowers and early mornings all rolled together. Gripping Austin’s collar, the little girl drew back and continued to stare at the creature holding her.
Maybe if he walked with her, she’d stay quiet long enough to give Kylie a chance to sleep. Austin paced through the church until he came to the sanctuary. There was a banner behind the pulpit that said Give Thanks framed with gold and orange leaves. There were boxes with canned goods in them that were labeled Thanksgiving Food Drive.
Austin walked up and down the aisle, bouncing Mercedes like he’d seen Kylie doing. That bouncing thing must be something women instinctually knew to do. It felt awkward to him.
Mercedes reached up and put her fingers on his ear. The touch was how he imagined it would feel to have butterfly wings brush over his skin—so soft he barely felt it.
He turned to look at her. “What are you doin’?” His voice was just above a whisper.
She made a sound and grinned at him, revealing two tiny teeth.
Her smile took his breath away.
“Mercedes,” he said as his throat went tight. “Aren’t you the charmer?”
He walked with her through the sanctuary and into a little side room that was used for storage. Speaking in a low soft voice, he named the things he saw. “Those are hymnals, that’s a broken Christmas decoration, and that looks like a lost and found.” It didn’t seem to matter what he talked about just as long as he kept talking. She stared at him, fascinated. He grabbed what looked like a baby toy from the lost-and-found shelf, a plastic ring that rattled when he shook it.
He stepped back into the sanctuary. Mercedes glommed onto the toy and shook it. Then she threw it to the floor and laughed.
“What are you doing?” He chuckled and shook his head. Her laughter was infectious.
She laughed again.
He put her down, then picked up the toy and held it out toward her. She scooted toward him half crawling and half dragging herself toward where he perched on his knees. She plopped down beside him, shaking and twisting the toy and then throwing it again.
Fine, if this kept her entertained. He crawled across the carpet and grabbed the toy again. The game continued for at least fifteen minutes before the repetition of it became hard to take. Mercedes didn’t seem to tire of it though.
He shook the toy hard and fast and then handed it to her. He sat at the edge of a pew and watched her put the toy down and crawl away. She glanced back at him. Then turned around and came back to where he sat. She held her arms up to him, a gesture that made him feel warm straight down to the marrow of his bones.
She trusted him.
He gathered her into his arms. She rested close to his chest and fingered the buttons on his shirt. As he sat there in the quiet church, he supposed there was no feeling as wonderful in the world as that moment.
Kylie rushed into the sanctuary. The look of concern on her face softened. “There you two are. I was afraid something had happened.”
“Do you want to hold Mercedes?”
Kylie shook her head, her features glowing. “The two of you look very comfortable.”
Austin alerted to the sound of a car rolling into the lot. He jumped to his feet and handed Mercedes over to Kylie. “Sounds like we’ve got company.”
“Maybe it’s someone coming to see the pastor.” Agitation colored Kylie’s words.
“Maybe.” He hurried toward the foyer where he would have a better view of the parking lot. He crouched low. Kylie remained in the shadows with Mercedes.
The orange glow of headlights cut through the darkness, then were turned off. Three men got out of the car. They headed straight toward the church.
This wasn’t a friendly call. He needed to get Kylie and the baby out of there and fast.
“This way.” He ushered Kylie toward a room off to the side of the sanctuary that opened up to the back of the church. “Get in there. The door locks from the inside and the outside door is still locked. I’m going to sneak out and bring my car around to the back. I’ll gun the engine. When you hear that sound, run out and jump in the car.”
He heard the men shaking the locked front door. It was just a matter of moments before they broke a window or shot open the door. There was no time to call the police.
Kylie slipped into the room. He heard the dead bolt click into place. He waited until the men gave up on the front door and stepped away to look for another entrance before he slipped out the front, easing the door shut behind him.
He saw the men in the shadows, heard them cursing and ordering each other around as they tried to find access inside. The guns in their hands glinted in the moonlight. The men disappeared around the corner of the church. Austin made a run for his car.
He climbed inside. Just before he turned the key in the ignition, he heard the sound of shattering glass. The men had broken into the church.
He had only minutes to get Kylie and Mercedes out of danger.
* * *
Heart pounding, Kylie held Mercedes and listened. She heard glass shattering. She drew her little girl closer.
How quickly things changed from safe to dangerous. Seeing Austin holding Mercedes had made her heart leap. His attitude toward Mercedes seemed softer. Austin had called Mercedes by her name. But then everything had gone wrong.
She heard crashing sounds. Doors slamming. The men were searching the church.
Mercedes fussed and wiggled.
Fear shot through Kylie. “You have to be quiet, little one.”
The door rattled.
Kylie placed her hand gently over Mercedes’s mouth, praying she wouldn’t make a noise. She swayed back and forth, trying to soothe the baby.
The door shook some more. She heard shouting in Spanish. One man telling the other to come and see.
Kylie moved closer to the outside door, listening intently. She dared not step outside until she heard the signal. What if men had been positioned by all the exit doors? She and Mercedes would be easy targets. She prayed Austin would make it to his car unharmed.
The rattling of the door stopped.
Kylie took in a breath.
Mercedes cried out.
All Kylie’s muscles went rigid. She said a prayer that the intruders hadn’t heard Mercedes.
Something thudded against the door and then crashed against it a second time.
Kylie winced. Mercedes cried out again, and Kylie didn’t bother to hush her. It was too late now. They’d been found.
The sound of a revving engine had her flinging the outside door open just as the men broke through.
Kylie bolted toward the car, holding Mercedes close. Austin had gotten out of the car and was reaching for Mercedes. Kylie handed off the baby just as a man grabbed her from behind.
She wheeled around and landed a punch to the man’s throat that made him gasp for air. Another man came at her. “Get in,” Austin yelled as he raced toward the driver’s side door. The back door was open and Mercedes rested on the seat.
Kylie dove into the back seat of the car, gathering Mercedes into her arms and slamming the door shut as the second man came at them, pounding on Kylie’s window and then hanging on to the car as Austin hit the gas.
Despite her fear, Kylie spoke to Mercedes in a soothing voice as she secured the baby in her car seat. “It’s going to be all right. Everything will be okay.” She stroked Mercedes’s cheek. “That’s my little girl.”
Mercedes cried.
Austin pulled out onto the road, turning sharply.
Kylie slid on her seat. She positioned herself so she could get belted in as Austin gained speed. She saw no cars up ahead on the dark road. When she looked behind her, two glowing orange headlights told her the men who had attacked them at the church were pursuing them.
This was a lonely stretch of road. It would be too easy to run them off. Help could not get there fast enough.
Though her heart pounded away in her chest, Kylie smoothed Mercedes’s hair and continued to try to reassure her. Whatever danger surrounded them, her most important job was to keep Mercedes safe and unafraid. Mercedes’s crying subsided.
“I just realized what road we’re on. Where it leads. I’m looking for a place to turn.” Austin kept his eyes fixed on the road. “We’ve got to get back to civilization.”
“I know this part of the desert.” Kylie studied the landscape that appeared mostly in silhouette and shadow. If they turned around, they’d be headed straight back toward their pursuers. “There’s nothing up ahead.” Only places where people die and nobody finds them for years. The thought chilled her to the bone.
Austin passed her his phone. “Phone my supervisor, Thomas Vance. Let him know what’s happening. See if we can get some help out here.”
Her fingers trembled as she pressed numbers on Austin’s phone. Thomas picked up on the first ring. She explained their position and what had happened.
“I’ll get men out there as quickly as possible.” Thomas paused for a moment as though taking in a breath. “But, Kylie, it won’t be fast enough. I’m confident Austin can get you out of this.”
Kylie clicked off the phone, trying to take in a deep breath. The pursuers’ car had gained on them.
“Hold on,” said Austin. He cranked the wheel. They lumbered over the bumpy terrain and then spun the car around. The other car sped past them.
Austin accelerated, kicking up gravel.
Kylie stroked Mercedes’s arm and started to sing a lullaby, hoping her voice would not give away how afraid she was.
She glanced out the window. The other car changed directions but took a moment to start moving again.
Austin increased his speed. “If the little one wasn’t with us, I’d try to find a way to catch these guys.”
It warmed her heart that he expressed such a protective attitude toward Mercedes.
They sped past the church. Kylie vowed she would help the kind pastor pay to repair the damage caused by the intruders.
The car remained behind them, drawing closer, the glowing lights like the eyes of a monster. Kylie took in a breath that felt like it had nails in it. The car drew close enough that she could see the shadowed silhouettes of two heads in the front seat. Her pulse drummed in her ears as her hand curled into a fist at the thought of her baby being taken by those men.
She remembered Valentina saying the baby’s father had wanted nothing to do with her once he found out she was pregnant. If Miguel Ibarra wanted Mercedes back it wasn’t out of love, it was the result of wounded pride, and perhaps the desire for revenge.
Mercedes kicked her legs and uttered a noise to get Kylie’s attention.
The other car was within arm’s length of their car as the dark road stretched before them. Austin gripped the wheel, giving only a quick glance in the rearview mirror.
The lights of the subdivisions came into view. The pursuers’ car fell back several yards.
A car whizzed past them going in the opposite direction. A moment later, Austin’s phone rang.
Kylie answered the phone. “Hey, it’s Colt Blackthorn,” the man on the other end of the call said. “Did I just pass you?”
“We’re headed back toward the city.” She craned her neck. “The car with our attackers is still on our tail.”
“Let me get turned around. I’ll see if I can catch them or at least scare them off.” He hung up abruptly.
“That was Colt,” Kylie said.
Austin nodded as though he had totally expected his fellow ranger to show up.
The other car seemed to be hanging back more and more the closer they got to the residential area. Kylie saw a second set of headlights behind her and then the pursuers’ car veered off the road altogether with Colt right behind them.
Austin slowed as they entered the subdivision. He drove without speaking until they were on a street that had several restaurants and gas stations. “I think we lost them for now.” He pulled into the lot of an all-night café. “I don’t know about you, but all the running and fighting makes me pretty hungry.”
Austin was as cool as a cucumber. Just another day at the office for him.
“Yeah, guess I could use a bite too.” When she stared down at Mercedes, the baby was fast asleep. At least she’d been able to calm Mercedes.
Austin hurried around to her side of the car. After she got out, he reached in and unclicked Mercedes’s car seat. He lifted the seat with the sleeping baby very carefully. Though the light streaming from the café was dim, she thought she saw Austin smile at the sleeping Mercedes.
Austin went ahead of her, holding the car seat. Before she stepped into the restaurant, she glanced out at the cars streaming by on the road past businesses and flashing neon.
She didn’t like putting Mercedes in so much danger. Maybe Austin was right about protective custody. Maybe she never should have thought she could be a mom in the first place. Despair settled in her chest like a rock.
She knew the time in the restaurant was only a short reprieve. The men would come after her and Mercedes again, maybe before the night was over.
EIGHT
Austin chose a table positioned so he could watch through the windows for any cars that pulled into the lot. At the very least, Colt had managed to chase the thugs away, but those three men had been able to find them at the church. They must have followed them from Kylie’s place. He wasn’t about to let his guard down.
He took a seat opposite Kylie, rested his face in his hands for a moment, and then stared out the window, taking note of each car in the parking lot.
Though he’d never let on, the last couple of hours had rattled Austin more than anything that had happened in his career. Keeping Mercedes and Kylie safe was starting to feel very personal.
Kylie glanced around at the Thanksgiving decorations. Each table had a ceramic turkey and a small cornucopia. “I keep forgetting that holiday is coming up.”
Kylie picked up a menu from the side of the table close to the window.
He smiled at the sleeping baby as her lips moved in a sucking motion.
A glance at Kylie revealed a look of admiration or maybe astonishment. He could never read women very well, unless they were criminals about to jump him—that, he was good at. But the little nuances of emotion were always hard for him to figure out.
“Mercedes is cute when she sleeps.” He ran his fingers through his blond hair.
“Thank you for using her name.” Her voice did sound different, and she kept staring at him, her face all glowing. Just ’cause he said something nice about her kid?
He shrugged. Kylie better not be getting notions of them being anything more than friends. This baby needed a father, and he had zero qualifications for that job.
The waitress, a plump older woman with hair a shade of red that occurred nowhere in the natural world, came over holding a pad and pen. “What a cute baby. You two must be so proud.”
“Yes, we are,” Austin said, not seeing the need to explain to a stranger that they weren’t a family.
A playful smile graced Kylie’s face as she stared at the menu.
“Can I get you two anything to drink while you decide what you want to eat?”
“I’d like a cup of hot tea,” said Kylie.
“Glass of milk,” Austin said.
His phone rang. His supervisor.
“Rivers here.”
“Glad you’re breathing.”
“Colt catch up with those guys?”
“No, but he scared them off.” Thomas cleared his throat. “Listen, Austin, I can appreciate you wanting to help a fellow officer out. But it’s clear Garcia’s men are gunning for Kylie. She’s a good agent. She can take care of herself, but let’s think about protective custody for the kid until she’s not a target anymore so you two can focus on the Garcia mission.”
