Under Duress. Meghan Carver
to Cody. “I’ll make sure she gets any information if you call me.”
Cody hesitated but reached into a drawer and withdrew a business card. He handed it to Samantha. “You can call this number to check for updates, but if you find yourself in an emergency, of course call nine-one-one.” He skimmed the paper. “We’ll send an officer to the church, but there isn’t much we can do at this point.”
“Thank you for your help.” She turned away from the desk and toward the door, pulling on Lily’s hand. She stared at the rectangular shape, a portal into a world that was now dark with storm clouds and filled with foreboding. Where would she and Lily be sleeping tonight if that thug found them? Would they be sleeping at all? Nothing had changed, though, in his intentions. He had had the chance to kill them, and he hadn’t. If the bad guy was smart at all, he would know where they lived. And once he got whatever he was after, then what would he do?
Reid pushed away from the wall and opened the door, a look of disappointment etched across his face. At least he wasn’t saying, “I told you so.”
Cody’s last jeer propelled her toward the exit. “Let your boyfriend take you home.”
Boyfriend?
She pushed outside, Lily in tow. Reid’s voice filtered over the couple of cars driving past on the street as he said a cordial “see you later” to the officer. She stopped abruptly on the bottom step and scanned the parking lot. Lily rested her head against Samantha’s arm. The poor girl was probably tired, hungry and scared. Samantha would have to be strong for her. Tears threatened, stinging the backs of her eyelids. The only thing she could do now was call a cab and go home. The problems with that plan were that she had no phone to call with, and Heartwood Hill didn’t have a cab service. The suburb was so small there wasn’t even a bus system. She could call a cab from Indianapolis, but how long would she have to wait, and how much would she have to pay? She refused to wait inside the police station with Cody.
She jabbed a tear from her cheek. She probably shouldn’t go home, though. Surely that man with the gun would find her eventually.
A gentle hand touched her shoulder. Reid stepped in front of her. “Can I give you a ride?”
An answer stalled in her throat. If she accepted his offer of a ride, she didn’t need a phone or a cab. Problem solved. Then why was she having trouble answering? She swiped a hair off her cheek as the truth stabbed at her heart. She worked too much, bringing forever families together through adoption. As wonderful as that was, it didn’t allow for much of a social life or the formation of friendships with girlfriends she could call for help at a moment’s notice. She was estranged from her father. Hadn’t spoken to him in more than a year. And her most reliable relationships, with her mother and her twin sister, wouldn’t help her now since they were on the other side of the country at a church conference.
For a reason she couldn’t fathom, she didn’t want to share that information with Reid.
She wanted to tell him that she didn’t need the help of any man. That her father’s betrayal and desertion when she was just a teenager had torn a hole in her heart. That the guy in college who had turned out to be such a manipulator had ripped that gap wide-open.
She must have been scowling because a confused, even sad, expression shadowed Reid’s face. Was he hurt by her silence? She had been treated so callously over the years that there was no way she would bring her wall down now.
But neither did she want to be rude. She took a deep breath and forced herself to look into Reid’s vivid blue eyes. “I would appreciate that.” His strong presence was comforting, even though she didn’t want to admit it.
She slid into the front seat of the Jeep as Lily climbed into the back. This time it was a bit more willingly, but then why were her palms slicked with perspiration? As her seat belt clicked into place, she shot up a prayer that Reid would be more helpful than the officer at the station.
And that he’d left his bad-boy persona in his past.
Reid scrubbed a hand over his face and down his neck. Since they had left the station a scant ten minutes ago, that girl, Lily, had talked of half a dozen things including her favorite book, her new shoes and how hard it was to remember the multiplication tables. He should probably be grateful that she felt safe and comfortable in his ride. Perhaps those feelings would transfer over to her guardian, who even now refused to relax against the back of the seat and kept darting her gaze to the left and to the right.
The low-fuel bell dinged. Reid slumped his shoulders. Now? He turned toward his passengers but kept his view on the road. “We have to get gas first, and then we’ll figure this out. But you should be thinking of who you can stay with tonight.”
“Stay with?” Samantha sounded doubtful of anything other than going home.
“Like a sleepover? The late, late movie with popcorn and snacks.” Lily wiggled in her seat.
“We’ll see.” But Samantha sounded just like his own mother when she really meant “no way.”
Reid meticulously obeyed the speed limit for a couple of miles from the station, out toward the interstate and a long array of commercial offerings. He pulled into the least expensive gas station and hit the brake next to the pump on the end, closest to the exit. His original plan had been to drive straight to his new digs and eat something cheap, like chow mein. His cash had to last him until he could secure a family law client base or an actual position, and he certainly hadn’t planned on chauffeuring an old school acquaintance around this evening, not even one with strawberry blond hair and an adorable smattering of freckles across her nose.
Before he put the Jeep into Park, he surveyed the street and surrounding businesses. Samantha was right to be cautious, but there was no sign of a large black SUV. In fact, there weren’t any black vehicles at all. He cut the engine and left the keys in the ignition. “I’d rather not have to get gas right now, but better this than being stranded on the side of the road. You two stay in the Jeep. Leave the windows up and stay low.”
Before he had the door half-open, the girl whined again from the backseat. “I’m hungry, Sam. Can’t I run inside and get a bag of chips and a pop? Maybe some of those little chocolate cupcakes or a candy bar? You know, something to tide me over until we get wherever we’re going.” Her voice took on a wheedling tenor. “I can get something for you, too.”
Reid shook his head. What a study in the art of cajoling. He turned to see Samantha shaking her head no and reaching through the front seats to pat Lily’s hand. “We’ll get something soon, I promise. But Mr. Palmer is right. We don’t want to take any chances. We don’t know that we’re out of danger.”
Irritation at the predicament of an innocent woman and her ward bubbled up from a place deep within that he kept buried. A burial ground that concealed a childhood at the hands of an angry father, the very reason he had pursued a career in law enforcement so many years ago. There was no way he would allow himself to call that emotion what it truly was, even if he was fighting the urge to slam his fist into the dashboard. And what about that salvation that had swept over him just in time to save him from the dire consequences of himself? A verse bubbled up as he prayed, again, for peace and calm. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
He glanced around the pumps one more time and slammed his door shut. What was this ride, though, if it wasn’t a favor? A rescue, even? Samantha probably thought he deserved that callous treatment. People with flawless pasts and perfect lives often looked down their noses at those who had had to fight for every inch of progress. And so far as he could tell, Samantha Callahan had lived a perfect life.
A few long strides carried him across the stretch of gas station asphalt as he pinched the front of his shirt to fan away the summer heat. Inside the convenience store, he prepaid twenty bucks. It would have to do for now, at least until he figured out what to do with his ride-along.
*