FAMILY ON THE RUN

Criminals are trying to kidnap attorney Samantha Callahan’s adopted daughter, Lily—and she has no idea why. So when bullets start flying, Samantha and Lily speed off in her car…and crash right into help. Ex-cop Reid Palmer is shocked when former law school classmate Samantha rear-ends his car and then climbs in with her daughter and begs him to drive. Now they are on the run, and Reid will do anything to protect them and figure out why kidnappers are after Lily. As they struggle to evade capture, Reid begins to realize that Samantha is more to him than just a woman in trouble. But with the enemies closing in and their motives finally revealed, will Reid be able to make sure justice is served?

“Stop!” The strident voice echoed around the bare hallway. Lily let loose of Samantha’s hand to cover her ears.

Samantha glanced back. It was him. The man who had broken into their room and then followed them into the store.

“Run!” Reid commanded, and her feet obeyed.

“Get out.”

She and Lily dashed past Reid. In her peripheral vision, she saw him turn and follow.

Lily grunted at Samantha’s side, a step ahead.

At the door, she pushed it open and Lily ran through. As she jogged through, she turned to look back. The thug lumbered only two paces behind Reid.

Samantha moved aside as Reid stepped through the door. He swiveled around and grabbed the edge of the door, shoving it back toward the thug as he tried to step through. The heavy metal door collided with the thug’s face with a resounding crack. He fell back and hit the floor. They watched for a moment, but the man didn’t move.

By sixth grade, MEGHAN CARVER knew she wanted to write. After a degree in English from Millikin University, she detoured to law school, completing a Juris Doctorate from Indiana University. She then worked in immigration law and taught college-level composition. Now, she homeschools her six children with her husband. When she isn’t writing, homeschooling or planning another travel adventure, she is active in her church, sews and reads.

Under Duress

Meghan Carver

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

And He saved them out of their distresses.

—Psalms 107:13

To Steve, my happily-ever-after. You’ve been telling me to write a book for two decades. Here you go. May there be many more.

To my children; the Bigs for brainstorming and proofreading and nagging me to “go write,” and the Littles for their help and obedience to the Bigs so I could “go write.”

To my editor, Emily Rodmell. Thank you for your encouragement, your wisdom and your availability in The Search for a Killer Voice. I’m honored that you saw potential in me.

To Love Inspired Historical author Angel Moore. Thank you for believing I could write for Love Inspired Suspense. Your encouragement and helpfulness are invaluable. This story wouldn’t exist without you.

To my writing friend and critique partner, Jenni Brummett. Thank you for sharing with me the absolutely lovely way

you have with words. I appreciate the time and energy you’ve funneled into this story and my life.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

EPILOGUE

Dear Reader

Extract

Copyright

ONE

A scream tore through the humidity of the summer evening. Spikes of adrenaline pulsed through her veins as Samantha Callahan pressed hard on the accelerator of her little Honda to round the corner of the church building. She was late to pick up Lily, but the day camp director had agreed to look after Lily for the extra half hour.

The pickup area at the back of the church was empty save for a monster-size black SUV. On the sidewalk, a large man with a baseball cap pulled low and an open button-up shirt had his hands on her Lily. The tires on Samantha’s car squealed in protest with the speed, and Lily looked up, her mouth open from her scream, relief washing across her features. The thug seemed to tighten his hold on the girl’s skinny arm, jerking her closer to him. Red splotches radiated from beneath his grip.

Samantha stopped the Honda nose to nose with the SUV and instinctively grabbed her bag. There wasn’t time to consider her professional clothes wholly inappropriate for fighting bad guys, or her sensible but still high heels, which would make it difficult to run away. Lily pulled against the bully, but her thin frame barely allowed her to budge against his bulk.

Samantha swallowed, determined her voice would come out strong. “I don’t know who you are, but she’s not yours to take. Let her go.”

The man stared at her, his eyes cut into narrow slits. Without looking away, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph. He glanced down at the photograph then eyed her, his gaze sweeping from her hair to her shoes. Her skin crawled and itched as his attention swept over her.

Heat to match the summer afternoon rocketed up her back and neck. Whoever that man was, he wasn’t only after Lily. He wanted her, too.

The curl of his lip projected pure maliciousness.

Her mind flitted to her phone, resting just inside the outside pocket of her large leather bag. There wasn’t time to wait for an answer to a nine-one-one call. The thug would have them long gone by the time an emergency vehicle arrived.

She tossed a glance at Lily and nodded toward the car. The girl was smart. She would understand Samantha’s meaning, that she should dive for the car as soon as she was loose.

The man took a step toward Samantha. She tightened her grip on the bag. “The girl is mine. I said let her go.”

He took another step toward her, his hand still tight around Lily’s arm. A breeze ruffled his shirt, and Samantha spied a weapon tucked in a shoulder holster. Moisture slicked her palms, and she choked up on the strap of her bag. How could she get this guy to let go and then get away without harm or injury?

Her bag. Of course. If he’d wanted to kill them, he could have easily accomplished that mission by now. All she needed was to get away.

“One last time.” Her voice fairly growled. “Let her—let us—go.”

One more step, and in a split second Samantha hefted her bag and swung wildly for the thug’s head. He obviously didn’t see it coming, for the metal buckle on the front of the tote ripped open his cheek, the contents of the bag clunking around inside. A shattering sound filled the void between them.

Bright red blood gushed down his cheek. He let go of Lily, grabbing at his face with his hand. “You—”

Before he could finish, Samantha pulled Lily away from him. “Get in the car.” She kept her voice low. “Now.”

Her tennis shoes squeaking against the pavement, Lily jerked the closest back door open and dived headfirst into the backseat. With visual confirmation that Lily was crouching low, Samantha returned her attention to the thug just as he fixed his gaze back on her. She swung her bag again and hit him on the shoulder, praying that would buy her enough seconds to get in the car.

He seemed stunned that she would fight back, and she used those moments to rush to the driver’s seat. With the door still flopping open, she threw the little Honda into Drive and slammed her foot against the accelerator. She scrunched down in the seat, staying just high enough to see over the steering wheel. “Stay down,” she commanded Lily.

As she neared the curve that would lead her around the church building and to what she hoped and prayed was safety, the back windshield shattered. A bullet whizzed past the headrest and her ear.

A shriek filled the car. “Sam!”

“Lily? Are you hit?”

“No. You?”

“No.” Samantha rounded the corner and rocketed through the front parking lot toward the road. A couple of loose pebbles smattered against the side panel. An engine roared behind her, and a glance in the rearview mirror revealed the SUV barreling toward her little car. The front parking lot was empty. There was no one to offer assistance. “Can you get up front and still stay low? Get my phone?” In her haste, she’d thrown her bag onto the front passenger seat. It had fallen onto the floor and was completely out of her reach.

Lily crawled in between the front seats. Samantha edged to the outside of her seat, allowing the girl as much maneuvering space as possible. Lily slid into the seat and crouched down, then retrieved the bag from the floor. She unzipped it and pulled out the phone, revealing a shattered screen. She turned it on and the screen glowed, but it didn’t respond to her touch no matter how many times she tapped it.

“Can’t call now.” Lily dropped the phone back into the tote.

“At least it helped when I slugged that guy who grabbed you.”

The normally busy highway had a small break in the traffic approaching, and Samantha hit the accelerator. She shot the little car in between a semi and a bread delivery truck. Lily grasped the armrest, leaning into Samantha with the force of the turn.

The black SUV screeched its tires and steered onto the shoulder next to the bread truck. When the truck swerved into oncoming traffic, the SUV slowed and eased out of view of Samantha’s rearview mirror, probably behind the truck. Samantha gulped air. At least the SUV driver was smart enough to realize that an accident wouldn’t benefit anybody.

But now what? It wouldn’t be long before the SUV could catch up. What if that thug was crazy enough to drive alongside them and start shooting? Where was a policeman when she needed him? She would gladly pay a speeding ticket if a siren would just show up behind her. She catapulted another silent prayer, asking for help and safety and guidance.

Lily was still grasping the armrest, her breath ragged. “What now, Sam?”

“I’m thinking. Just hang on.” Samantha released a hand from the wheel to swipe at the perspiration on her forehead. If she couldn’t call a policeman, she would drive to one. In a tiny suburb like Heartwood Hill, the police station was only a couple of miles away, tucked in a corner of the city center and surrounded by grassy hills, playgrounds and picnic pavilions. She checked her mirrors again and allowed herself to lean back in the driver’s seat when no monster SUV appeared. Maybe she had lost him.

She dared to point her attention at Lily for a moment. The girl seemed somewhat calm despite the turn of events. She was definitely a trouper, but then she had to be after the recent traumatic death of her father. It was in that church where Samantha had first met Lily and her father. She had been so drawn to the girl that she had stepped into her life as a mother figure. It had been an honor when Lily’s father had asked if she would be Lily’s guardian, if the need should ever arise. Now she recalled that he’d had an odd look about him, almost as if he’d expected that the need would be arising very soon. Samantha blinked hard and forced her attention back to the present. “So what happened back there?”

Lily drew a ragged breath. “I knew you’d be coming soon, so I decided to wait outside for you. Karen said it would be all right since she was just inside. I’d only been out there a few moments when that big truck pulled up and the guy got out. He offered me a lollipop to take a ride with him. You know, the kind with bubble gum inside?”

Samantha gripped the wheel and thanked God that she had broached the don’t-talk-to-strangers discussion with Lily just a few days after Lily had come to live with her. “That’s your favorite.”

“Yeah, but I’m not stupid. I’m ten years old now. I know better than to get in the car of someone I don’t know.”

“And?”

“And then he grabbed me, and you drove up.”

Whoever the thug was, he wanted Lily. He even had a photo of her, possibly of them both. But why?

The winding drive that led back to the city buildings lay just up ahead. Gratitude filled Samantha’s heart, thankfulness for safety around the corner and a soon-to-be daughter who listened to her. She wiped one hand on her leg and checked her mirrors again. No sign of—

“Watch out!” Lily’s screech filled the car.

Samantha’s chest cramped as she stomped on the brake. Her seat belt bit into the soft flesh of her neck, but it was too late. A burgundy Jeep Cherokee rose up in front of her. She fell back into the seat as the car’s bumper smashed into the Jeep, a loud crumple heralding the collision.

She leaned her head against the window and swallowed, the lump in her throat crying out in protest. Who was driving the Jeep, and how could she and Lily get away now?

“Is this a problem, Sam?” Lily’s voice sounded small in the sudden silence of the stillness.

“If the car won’t drive anymore, yes. But maybe we can borrow his cell phone to call the police if we can’t get going again.” She threw the little car into Reverse and gently touched the gas, hoping to disengage her bumper from his and speed off to safety. Nothing. She surveyed the surrounding area, still a mile from the police station, but only homes dotted the edge of the grassy area, so far away that backyard barbecuers looked like ants milling around their patios. She paused, then reversed again, with a little more gas this time. Her Honda came loose with a loud grinding sound, but smoke began to trickle out from under the hood.

Once again, there was no one nearby that could be of help if needed.

No one except the guy she had just rear-ended.

Lily gawked with her face smooshed against the windshield and elbowed her. “He’s ginormous.” She paused, a frown wrinkling her forehead. “Is he safe?”

Samantha pushed her door open to see a man of giant height unfold slowly from the Jeep as he removed his sunglasses. His face was clean shaven, although adorned with a scowl, and he was wearing a dark blue knit shirt with short sleeves that strained against his biceps. “I guess we’ll find out.” Despite his almost scary size, this had to be a far better encounter than their one with the guy who had a gun peeking out from under his shirt.

What other choice did she have? She would have to trust this man with the vaguely familiar face.

* * *

His first day back in town, and some crazy driver had to mangle his bumper? Reid Palmer shook his head and whispered a prayer for patience as his shoes hit the asphalt. The Lord certainly knew how practiced that request was, and Reid tamped down the niggling worry that he would never be free of making that particular supplication. Growing up with an abusive father hadn’t helped him learn how to handle life with a calm and patient spirit. Anger had been his father’s way of life, and Reid had thought it would be his, until he had met God. Then everything had changed, but prayer remained a constant companion.

A slight breeze, definitely not enough to dry the perspiration that beaded on his forehead, ruffled the strawberry blond hair of the woman stepping out of the compact car behind him. She frowned, but he couldn’t tell if it was due to the impending storm or the damage to her car. Probably both. When their gazes collided, she narrowed her eyes at him. He wanted to step back or apologize at the force of her unspoken accusation, but he hadn’t done anything wrong. She was the one who had rear-ended him.

He scrubbed a hand through his hair. Why did she look so familiar? It had been a few years since he’d been in Heartwood Hill, but he quickly ran through his mental contact list of faces from the area.

Law school. That was it. He’d attended a few classes with her and her twin. Which one she was he had no idea, but it didn’t really matter. In the end, he would probably let her out of any responsibility for damage to his Jeep in the interest of forming amicable working relationships with the local lawyers, and they would part ways. In an hour, he’d be eating take-out Chinese and sitting on the floor of his new unfurnished apartment.

She leaned back into her car, talking to a girl in the front seat, probably retrieving her insurance card from the glove compartment and her phone to call local law enforcement. The girl clutched a large leather bag and shared a worried look with the redhead. Reid shot up another prayer, this time that the woman wouldn’t call the police to write up an accident report. There was no need to involve law enforcement, and one encounter with a person from his past was enough for this evening. He didn’t want to face that difficult reintroduction sooner than he had planned.

The redhead straightened and hurried toward him, but her attention focused everywhere but on him. She glanced over her shoulder twice as she walked the short distance. Reid’s training whispered to him that she had the manner of a person afraid someone was after her. He peered past her, but nothing suspicious presented itself.

Without a greeting, she asked, “Can I borrow your phone? Mine got damaged, and I need to call the police.”

He reached toward his pocket for the cell. “I think you need a tow truck more than—”

A scream of tires interrupted him. The redhead gasped and spun around. A moment later, she signaled to the girl in her passenger seat. The girl slid out of the car and rounded the front in a jog, a purple backpack clutched to her front. When the girl was within reach, the redhead nudged her toward Reid’s Jeep.

Whatever was going on, this woman was scared to a degree Reid hadn’t seen in a long time. He leaned around her and spied a large black SUV completing a turn, its driver gunning the engine. There were no outward indicators that the SUV was after them, but the woman and girl scrambling into his backseat were an obvious clue that something was wrong.

With her hand on the door handle, the woman whispered to him, “Get us out of here. Now.” She glanced back again, a hunted look creasing the area around her eyes. “Please.”

Was this for real? This woman rear-ends his Jeep and then jumps into his backseat and demands he drive her away from whoever is pursuing her? It was like an action movie where the hunky hero saves the girl and they drive off into the sunset together. Except he was no hunk or hero, and he could guarantee that they wouldn’t drive off into a happily-ever-after together.

He stared at her, immobile, as she pushed the girl into his backseat and then clambered in behind her. She slammed the door shut, then rolled down the tinted window a couple of inches. She poked her lips up to the opening to growl at him. “Come on!”

Apparently he was moving too slowly for her liking. He cut-timed to the driver’s door and slid into the seat. The engine roared to life, and as he pulled away, the bumper of the woman’s compact car dropped to the ground with a clamoring clunk.

From her hunched position in the back, the redhead held on to the shoulder of his seat. “I’m so sorry to impose. I don’t normally jump into other people’s vehicles and bark at them to drive. But we’re being chased by that black SUV, and we had to get away.” She threaded her free arm around the girl’s shoulders. “I will not let them take my Lily.”

In the rearview mirror, Reid saw Lily lean into the woman. He stifled the urge to wrinkle his nose. In the enclosed vehicle with the air-conditioning blowing, an odor wafted from Lily as if she had been camping and hadn’t showered for a few days.

The redhead turned to peer out the back window, drawing Reid’s gaze back to her car, abandoned in the turn lane of the busy road. The black SUV had pulled off in front of it, and a man with a blue ball cap was stalking the perimeter of the car, peering into the windows.

“That’s him. He chased us all the way from the church.” She twisted back to the front, seeming to realize where they were. “We need to get to the police station. It’ll be safe there.”

Reid gripped the wheel, an unsettling sensation seizing his middle. “Have you called nine-one-one?”

“No. I smashed my phone when I hit that guy with my purse to get him to let go of Lily.” She swiped her hand across her lips. “Can we call the police with your phone?”

“Sure.” Reid startled at how quickly he’d answered. After his multiple motorcycle crashes and resignation from the local police force a few years back, he wasn’t eager to make contact with local law enforcement, but the woman needed help. He commanded his hands to relax on the steering wheel and his voice to take a gentle tone. “In a minute. Let’s just talk about this first and see if we can figure out what’s happened.” Reid signaled to turn left, watching to see that the SUV wasn’t following. Now would be the proper time for introductions, a time to reassure her that she could trust him. But she hadn’t recognized his name earlier, and he wasn’t ready yet to remind her of his identity. “Why don’t you tell me why you’re in my backseat?”

“There’s not much to tell. I was picking Lily up from a day camp at church, and the guy in that big SUV had his hands on her when I pulled up. I jumped out of my car to stop him and ended up hitting him in the face with my bag.” She hefted the leather tote to show him. “I think the buckle hit him because there was blood on his face. That gave us time to get away, but he shot out the back window of my car. I thought we had lost him in the traffic on the way to the police station, but then I hit you, and here we are.” She paused to take a deep breath. “I have no idea who he is or why he would want us.”

Kidnapping. Pure and simple. If the man had wanted them dead, he could have done it right there in the parking lot. But the motive was a mystery. Why them, and what did he want?

“You’re safe now.”

“Thanks for letting us jump in your car. By the way, I’m Samantha Callahan, and this is Lily, my soon-to-be daughter. I’m her guardian right now, but I have the adoption in the works.”

Of course, Samantha. One of the Callahan twins and the smartest in their law class. He should have known by her assertiveness that she wasn’t the sweet and optimistic Mallory.

She scanned the passing buildings as they merged into a commercial area. “You’ve passed the police station. If you turn right up here, we can circle around.”

Reid sucked in a breath. There was no avoiding it. “You don’t need the police.”

“Why not?” Her hand clutched the back of his seat, pulling the fabric away from his shoulder. “You look familiar. Who are you?”

He turned as Lily leaned against the back of the front seat. “Are you a giant? You’re really big. I don’t think I know anyone as big as you.”

That was a new one. But then he hadn’t spent much time around kids who spoke their minds freely. Maybe this was a perfectly acceptable question.

Samantha shushed her. “You can’t go around asking a stranger if he’s a giant. Maybe we need to work on your manners.”

“What’s wrong with that? I’m making conversation. I’m trying to look him in the eye, but he’s driving. And I didn’t get a chance to try out my firm handshake since you shoved me in the car. I’m being polite.”

“Lily.” She dragged out the last syllable.

Reid held up a hand. “It’s fine.” He turned enough to meet Lily’s gaze for a nanosecond then returned his attention to the road. In his peripheral vision, he caught her smile. “No, I’m not a giant, technically. I’m only six feet four inches tall.”

He met Samantha’s gaze in the rearview mirror and forced a lopsided grin. Frustration glinted in her blue eyes. “I’m Reid Palmer,” he repeated. “We attended our first year at law school together.”

The color slid from her face, and she licked her lips before she could recover her composure. “Reid.” She drew out his name as if fighting to keep her tone steady. “Yes.”

She sat back against the seat and turned her attention to the window.

His mind blanked on what to say as he surveyed the surrounding area for the big SUV. A simple you-can-trust-me speech seemed inadequate. They hadn’t known each other well in school, but from what she probably remembered of him, her anxiety was warranted. Mere words wouldn’t matter to her now.

Samantha swiped a hand through her hair. “I still need to involve the authorities. At least file a report or something.”

It wasn’t exactly the timing he had hoped for to make amends with his buddies. But he couldn’t just drop her off. And even though he hadn’t witnessed what had happened at the church, he’d seen the black SUV that was after them.

Another thought niggled the back of his mind. This was his chance to prove to himself that he had changed since the last time he was in town. That his personal dragons had been slayed. That even though he didn’t trust himself in a romantic relationship, he was a gentleman not only capable of protecting and serving but also eager to do so.

For her own safety, he had to convince her that she could trust him. This wasn’t exactly the way he wanted to be reunited with his former brothers on the force, but it was too late to enact his original plan of bringing gifts of a case of pop and a couple buckets of chicken wings. Dark thunder-boomers dotted the sky, scudding and bumping into one large mass, as Reid turned his Jeep toward the police station. The first streak of lightning jagged across the sky.

TWO

“If you aren’t taking us to the police as I requested, then legally, we’re still kidnapped.” Samantha’s tone of accusation cut to his core, and Reid swiped his hand across his jeans to keep from digging his fingernails into the flesh of his palm.

He surveyed the side and rearview mirrors, but they appeared to be free from a tail. The storm clouds gathering out the front windshield mirrored the foreboding in his soul. There was a storm coming, and it wasn’t going to be just a gentle rain.

A growl threatened to escape from his throat, but he tamped it down. He shouldn’t be surprised at her accusation. Lawyers excelled at pointing the finger and sidestepping the blame. But neither could he let her place sole fault on him. “Fine.” He pointed out the windshield. “Notice we’re headed toward the station. But remember, you’re the one who jumped into my backseat. What was I supposed to do? Kick you out?”

“You were supposed to take us straight to safety. To the police station.” She enunciated her words carefully, as if giving instructions to a three-year-old. “And it was either you or that thug.”

“From what you tell me, there’s nothing for the police to go on. You don’t have any identifying characteristics. You don’t know the model of his black SUV. You don’t have a license plate number. Chances are excellent, if he didn’t peel out and leave tire marks in the parking lot, that he left no evidence at the church. And it sounds as though a bullet didn’t lodge anywhere in your car.” She was definitely in a predicament. A sense of foreboding settled between his shoulder blades as he turned toward the station.

“Wait.” Hope tinged her voice as she reached toward the girl. “We could tell you what he was wearing, a button-up shirt that hung open enough to reveal his holster. And a blue baseball cap with a white horseshoe on the front.”

“Yeah, he was kinda mean looking.” Lily pushed hair off her forehead. “I’m sure I’d recognize him again.”

“Of course you would, sweetie.”

Reid grimaced. They were probably fist-bumping in his backseat, feeling victorious regarding their evidence. Now was definitely not the time to mention the unreliability of eyewitness accounts.

Reid turned his head to look out his side window before he rolled his eyes. No need to rile Samantha up any more than she was already. “You mean an Indianapolis Colts hat?”

“That’s it.”

“That’s no good.” He approached the intersection where Samantha had rear-ended his Jeep moments ago. The SUV was gone, and he turned onto the road that led to the police station. “At least half the men in the greater Indianapolis area own that hat.” He turned and nodded toward the back. “Reach under the passenger seat.”

Samantha disappeared from his rearview mirror as she leaned toward the floor. A loud exhalation later, her hand appeared over the seat, grasping a blue baseball cap with a white horseshoe on the front.

“There has to be something to go on. Evidence at the crime scene, or maybe I could work with a sketch artist?”

“Was he wearing sunglasses? Did he have a mustache or beard that he could shave off?” She’d been watching too many police procedurals on TV. A cop’s life wasn’t that exciting. It included long stretches of boredom and paperwork followed by a lapse in judgment caused by too much anger and then a career change. Case closed. He corked the sigh that threatened to bubble up.

“Well, at least we’re headed in the right direction. The police will help us.”

“Sam, I’m starving. Can we stop to eat?” The quiet voice piped up from the backseat.

“How can we stop to eat when we don’t know where the bad guy is, Lily? We have to get safe first. Talk to the police. Then we eat.”

Reid hadn’t been around children much, but when he had been about that size, his appetite had been insatiable. He patted his stomach and noted that the time on the dashboard clock did indicate it was past suppertime.

He pulled the Jeep up to the front of the redbrick station and parked in the empty lot. “Don’t get out yet. Let me check around.” He surveyed the area in his mirrors, then turned and stared out the back windshield for several minutes. Dread twisted in his abdomen, but Samantha was right. She ought to at least make initial contact with the police. If she needed them later, it would be helpful that they already knew her name.

A couple of police motorcycles were parked just inside a tall gate to the side of the building. Disturbing memories riddled his brain like so many bullets. Three separate times he had disregarded police policy that condemned a reckless disregard for safety and taken a motorcycle over one hundred miles per hour. Far over that limit, in fact. The last time, he hadn’t even caught the suspect, and in his anger at his failure had raged against the bike, pushing it to the ground and kicking it, until he’d severely damaged it. His chief had not looked kindly on the destruction of property and suggested he resign his position. Reid shook his head as if that could dislodge the images.

“It looks clear. I doubt a suspected perp like that would get too close to the station anyway. Let’s go.”

The three slid out of the vehicle, and Samantha held Lily’s hand as they approached the front door.

Inside, a lone officer in uniform sat behind a tall countertop. The Friday-night shift at the front desk was usually a lonely one. The officer pushed aside his hunting magazine and first looked over Samantha and then slanted his eyes at Reid. “Well, well, well. Back in town?”

“Cody.” Reid gave him a polite nod. “How you been?”

“Better’n you, I suspect. Still got my shield and weapon.” He tapped two fingers on the badge fixed on his uniform. “Heard you got religion.”

Samantha slid him a funny look as if she wasn’t too sure of the direction of the conversation or what it had to do with her predicament. She probably doubted the religion part as well, considering what she’d known of him in law school.

Reid felt the muscle tic in his jaw but forced a polite tone. “You could say that.” In his peripheral vision, he saw Samantha’s eyes widen. That was enough catching up, though, for the visit had nothing to do with him. It was about getting help for Samantha and Lily.

It wouldn’t go over well with Cody if the old Reid reared his ugly head and reached across the counter to punch some sense into him. The new Reid shoved his hands into his pants pockets and focused on the need next to him, the red-haired beauty in the summer skirt with flowers all over it. “As glad as I am to be back in Heartwood Hill, this isn’t really about me. My friend and her daughter need your assistance. Why don’t I just wait over here in case they need me, and you can help them?” He took a step back.

This wasn’t the way he had wanted it to go. He had planned to call an old buddy he thought might receive him better, someone who would be willing to ease him back into communication. He watched Samantha step up to the counter, her arm curled around Lily’s thin shoulders. Samantha deserved better than this. She shouldn’t have to suffer because of his past impropriety as an officer with the Heartwood Hill Police Department. Cody always was a bit high-and-mighty, but Reid couldn’t change who was pulling desk duty that night. A fresh wave of regret and repentance sloshed through him. Now Samantha had to pay for his past mistakes and poor choices.

He took another step back to distance his past from the present.

* * *

Why would Reid be treated like this at the police station? What had he done to deserve being snubbed?

Samantha had thought that the police were always supposed to be helpful and friendly. The bright white walls, fluorescent lights and tall, clean counter of the reception area certainly spoke of professionalism. A tall potted plant by a window added a touch of hospitality. But officers were people, too, with their own troubles and dramas happening in their worlds. Perhaps this Cody had had a bad day, had been chewed out by his superior or was suffering the effects of a fight with his girlfriend. Whatever the history between the two, Reid at least deserved some common courtesy.

Of one thing she was relatively sure: the thug who had tried to kidnap them wouldn’t dare to enter the police station to get her.

But considering this officer’s dubious attitude, she had a sudden surge of gratitude for Reid’s calm handling of the accident and his acceptance of her jump into his backseat. That, and his ability to defend her if needed, judging by his muscular physique.

Cody leaned toward her on the desk with a pointed look at her empty ring finger. “So, miss, maybe now that we’ve got that guy out of the way, why don’t you tell me your name?”

Samantha took a deep breath. Now she was getting somewhere. “Samantha Callahan, and this is Lily—”

“And is there a Mr. Callahan?”

“My father, but what does that have to do with—”

“Are you injured?” His penetrating gaze crawled over her hair and face. “’Cause you look as if you’re in pretty good shape to me.” A crazy grin tilted across his face.

“I’m fine. No injuries.” Why wasn’t he getting out the proper forms? A large file storage unit hung on the wall at the end of the counter, filled with neat stacks of preprinted papers. “But shouldn’t something be done? That’s why I asked Mr. Palmer to drive me here.”

Cody held up his hands in a surrender gesture. “Fine. Yes. Tell me what happened.”

She repeated her story, including the Colts baseball cap and how she’d jumped in the back of Reid’s Jeep Cherokee. She finished with a plea. “Please, Officer, I don’t know if that guy is still out there. He might be waiting for us. What happens next?”

He flipped through some forms in the wall unit and selected one, then retrieved a pen from a cup on the counter and pushed both toward Samantha. “Fill out your name, address, phone number and email. Then write down here—” he jabbed at the bottom half of the paper “—what you remember about the incident. Include what happened, in detail, and who might have seen it.”

Samantha glanced back at Reid. He leaned against the wall next to the door and shrugged at her, but a telltale crease in his brow conveyed his concern for her treatment here. She turned back to the officer. She risked making the situation with Cody worse, but she had to ask. “Is there anyone else I can talk to?”

“You don’t need anyone else, ’cause they’ll all say the same. Fill out the form.” He tossed a smirk at Reid then returned his focus to Samantha. “But if you want to come back when my shift ends at eleven, I’d be happy to help you personally with whatever you need.”

She just couldn’t stop it. She rolled her eyes, so far back and at such a speed that pain shot through her skull. There was some big guy out there trying to kidnap her and Lily, and now she had to deal with a reunion with Reid Palmer, a man who would never have been voted Most Likely to Succeed in law school. The last thing she needed in her life right now was some tough guy trying to pick her up. Between her father’s betrayal and her—ahem—near indiscretion in college, she had had enough of bad boys thinking they were tough and desirable and strutting around like peacocks.

Fine. She plastered on a smile as she completed the form. No sense in burning bridges, although she wasn’t sure any bridge had even been built. “I can’t leave a phone number because my screen is shattered and the phone won’t receive any calls.”

A throat cleared behind her, and Reid stepped up to the counter. “Put down my phone number.” He scribbled on the form and passed it 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.

THREE

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.

* * *

Samantha hissed out a sigh and turned in her seat, peeking around the headrest but making sure she was hidden behind it. Reid was gone for a few moments, and then he strode back to the pump without even a glance in her direction. A scowl resided on his face. He was probably grouchy, irritated to have the two of them in his vehicle without a place to go. Whatever his plans had been, they hadn’t included Samantha and Lily.

She picked at a fingernail. She probably had come across to him as just as grouchy. She usually did to people who knew her twin. Mallory, the forever optimist, the sweet, sunshine-and-daisies twin. It didn’t matter how friendly she tried to be, Samantha was the one who everyone perceived as serious and stoic. Add on to that a past filled with men who acted like jerks, and, well, it was enough to make a girl want to leave town and start over, except that she loved her twin as much as everyone else.

Numbers ticked by on the gas pump, and Samantha scanned the station again. Reid had taken them to the police, and it had turned out exactly like he had said. The police, or at least that one officer, had thought there wasn’t much they could do.

She dug back into the recesses of her mind, trying to dredge up memories of Reid. Even by law school, she had decided she didn’t need any men in her life, so she had largely ignored those around her, choosing instead to focus on her studies and her sister and mother. Reid was a bit older than she was and had had a different career before entering law school. But that wasn’t unusual, and she couldn’t remember anything else. Whatever his history, his reason for leaving the school had been the year’s scandal.

“Sam?”

Lily’s quiet voice broke through her reverie. “Hmm?”

“Do you know Mr. Palmer?”

Samantha craned her arm around the side of the seat to rub Lily’s back in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. However much Samantha needed reassurance that all would be well, Lily needed it more. “Sort of. We went to law school together for a year, but that was a while ago.”

“Can we trust him?”

Smart kid. “For now, I guess. He’s at least better than the guy who tried to nab you at the church. And he’s been more helpful than the officer at the station.”

Lily pointed toward the busy street. “Why don’t we just get out and run to one of the fast-food places over there? Get away from Mr. Palmer and the bad guy, call someone for a ride, go home?”

“That’s an interesting plan, but we don’t want to bother any friends. We’ve already bothered Mr. Palmer, and that’s quite enough.” It wasn’t something she wanted to admit often, but her dedication to her work came before friends. There was too much good to be done in the field of family law, helping desperate would-be parents secure forever families and uniting abandoned children with loving mothers and fathers, that she couldn’t justify taking personal time to cultivate relationships. In fact, Samantha couldn’t name anybody she could bother with a situation of this magnitude, especially with her immediate family on a trip so far away. “I want you to scrunch down back there. Don’t let your head pop up from behind the seat.”

Lily slouched down, and Samantha raised the headrest a couple of inches so she could stay low behind it and still perform her surveillance. She wasn’t sure why, but she thought it was best to monitor what happened behind the vehicle rather than the front, even though Reid was in that direction at the gas pump. Surely it had nothing to do with his thick black hair and the navy polo that hugged his torso. Nothing at all to do with the protectiveness and feeling of security that emanated from him. Definitely nothing to do with his clean, soapy scent that lingered in the Jeep.

She shook her attention away from Reid just as a monster black SUV pulled into a spot two pumps away.

“Get down. More,” she whispered to Lily.

Samantha clutched the seat fabric with shaking hands as she jerked down behind the seat. Was that the same SUV from the church? Reid was still out there. Would the thug recognize him from the accident site? His Jeep?

She licked some moisture to her lips and inched up until she could see Reid through the space between the seat and the headrest. How could she just hide there and do nothing when Reid might give them away? Was he safe out there? The windows weren’t tinted enough to assure her that she and Lily were hidden, because she could still read the numbers on the pump ticking by and see Reid leaning against the Jeep, his face to the pump.

A burly man stepped out of the SUV. He had removed his Colts cap and now wore wraparound sunglasses, but he was definitely the guy from the church parking lot and the site of the accident. The only reason a guy would wear sunglasses with thunderstorm clouds colliding overhead and nighttime settling over the town would be to avoid detection. If only her phone still worked, she could snap a picture, an image for Cody to run through facial recognition or something high-tech like that.

A screech squeaked out, and Samantha clapped her hand over her own mouth.

A second man wearing similar sunglasses emerged from the passenger side of the SUV and jogged inside the station, Samantha assumed to pay in advance with cash. She sagged in the seat. There were two guys after them now? The one hadn’t got them, so he’d brought in reinforcements? A few seconds later, he tossed a thumbs-up at the first thug. He lifted the nozzle and turned toward his vehicle, pausing, nozzle in hand, as he seemed to notice Reid. Samantha couldn’t track his eye movements with such heavy sunglasses and the tint of the Jeep’s windows, but his head turned a little as if he were studying the Jeep. Then his attention appeared to return to Reid.

Her throat constricted and, gasping for air, Samantha slid over to the driver’s seat, working her skirt over the gearshift with trembling fingers. Staying low, she leaned toward the crack in the driver’s-side door and called to Reid in a stage whisper. “Reid! He’s here. That guy from the church. Are you done? I’m in the driver’s seat now.”

Samantha tilted her head to peer through the sliver of open door. Reid seemed to stay calm as he surveyed the gas station. Keeping it low, he held a hand out, palm facing her, as if to say that he’d heard her and she should stay quiet.

She twisted to dare another look at the thugs—plural now. The first, looking at the second, nodded in their direction. The first replaced the nozzle in the pump as if trying to act normal, then began a slow advance toward Reid.

The second man slammed his passenger-side door shut a moment later, the thud reverberating through the Jeep like the thunder that threatened in the clouds, and headed their way.

Reid jerked the Jeep’s backseat door open and jumped in. “Go!”

Samantha jumped at the rough sound of his command and sat upright. Her pulse quickened in her veins. “What about the nozzle?”

“Trust me. Go!”

She bit her lip, threw the Jeep into Drive and mashed the accelerator. The vehicle lunged forward. The nozzle broke free from the gas tank and clanked against the pump. At the sound, she hit the brakes.

The squeal of the tires on the pavement made her want to clutch at her ears.

“Go!” Another command from Reid, more terse this time. A glance in the rearview mirror revealed his position of surveillance. Lily crouched down in her corner of the backseat. “They know we’re here. They’re back in their SUV and following us.” Reid swiveled around and pointed out to the busy road. “Get out there. In the middle of traffic.”

Samantha pulled away from the pump and nosed onto the highway, the black SUV filling the rearview mirror. Reid wanted her to get into the middle of traffic? Fine. But she prayed that the Lord would steer for her because she didn’t trust her shaking hands to maintain a grip.

She urged the Jeep across two lanes of oncoming traffic, narrowly missing a minivan. She jerked the wheel to turn into the fast lane, and the Jeep teetered as if two wheels had left the ground.

A UPS truck shot up next to her in the right lane. Where had that come from? The steering wheel fought against her as she struggled to right the Jeep, but her slick palms slipped off the wheel.

The brown side panel of the truck filled the windshield and passenger-side window. She slammed the brakes. The Jeep screeched in a collision course with the truck.

“Lily!” It was her last utterance before she closed her eyes and braced for impact.

FOUR

That woman was going to get them all killed.

From the backseat, Reid pushed his chest against the side of the driver’s seat, shoved his cheek against the side of the headrest and stretched his arms around Samantha to grab the wheel. Yet another instance where his six-foot-four-inch height gave him an edge, not to mention the quick reflexes from the police training he had tried to leave behind. The UPS truck swerved away from the Jeep as Reid jerked the steering wheel hard to the left, almost willing the Jeep’s four tires back onto the ground out of sheer desperation.

No way was he going to die here and now. Not Samantha and Lily, either, if he had anything to do with it.

He righted the Jeep into the proper position in the left lane, his attention pulled to the rearview mirror with a screech of tires behind them. The black SUV had catapulted into traffic, as well. It was now only one car behind them.

Reid forced his focus to the road before them and calmed his breathing to short puffs. Samantha’s hair fluffed in and out with his huffs, the scent of cleanliness and sunshine that emanated from it distracting him in a way he wasn’t familiar with. Apparently, he’d lost some of his edge.

“Thanks.” Samantha’s voice wobbled. “I thought that was going to be the end of us.”

Reid swerved into the right lane. He would signal if he could reach it, but Samantha didn’t seem to be in any condition to follow orders. “He’s still behind us. We’re not done yet.” At the very least, she needed to be able to concentrate enough to manage the speed of the vehicle.

“We’re alive.” She relaxed her head against his straining biceps, probably seeking rest and comfort. But immediately she jerked upright as if realizing the intimacy, and the inappropriate timing, of the gesture. Her foot must have pressed the accelerator because the Jeep rushed forward.

“Slow! Don’t rear-end that car.”

Samantha let up and the Jeep eased up on the compact car it had almost trampled. “Sorry.”

“We’re alive, but not safe yet. Pray.” He squeezed his eyes shut for a split second and then refocused on the road. No way could he let himself get distracted now, not with a maniacal thug following them on a busy street and his life still resting in Samantha’s ability to accelerate and brake at the right times. It was Friday night in a small town and apparently everyone had decided to eat out and hit the movie theater tonight.

Hide. That was a temporary solution. Where could they pull off and sit to avoid detection and to figure out what to do next? A row of semis stretched ahead of him. He pointed without lifting his hand from the wheel. “Slower. Get in between the trucks.”

Samantha gently touched the brake, and he cut back to the left lane, now two vehicles in front of the SUV. One of them was a jacked-up monster truck. The thing was so tall it completely hid the black SUV from view. It was perfect.

“I think I can take over the steering again now.” Samantha gripped the wheel below his fists as if the force of her hands would convince Reid.

Lily scooted forward in her seat. “But he has his arms around you, Sam. His really long and muscular arms. Ooo—”

“Lily, that’s enough.” She turned her head to glare at the girl, her freckles dark and prominent in the stormy early-evening gloom, her face inches from Reid’s. A pink blush touched her cheeks, and she faced forward again. “I’ll be fine, Reid.”

“All right. Let’s pass these two semis—”

Lightning flashed to the ground nearby as a shock wave of thunder ripped through the low-hanging clouds. Samantha startled and landed their front tire in the lane of oncoming traffic. Reid jumped for the steering wheel again and swerved them back to safety. “You’re fine?” Try as he might, he couldn’t keep the critical tone from his voice.

“It surprised me. I was going to get us back in our lane.” She puffed her hair away from her face. “I’m not just a helpless female.”

“Slow down some more. We’re going to turn right soon.” That was the second time she had just about gotten them all killed, but even his limited knowledge of women dictated that he shouldn’t voice that thought.

Two semis up, he jagged back to the right lane, squeezing in between two of the long trucks. “Take it easy. Get ready for a turn.” Samantha pushed the brake, and a split second later, he steered right toward a fast-food restaurant.

He nodded toward a parking spot. “We’re headed in there. Hit the brake again.” He eased into the opening behind a large cargo van with All Righty Plumbing painted on the side. Samantha hit the brake just as the front tires bumped against the curb.

Sure now of Samantha’s hands on the wheel and her foot on the brake, he released his grip and spun to the back window. The black SUV was still trailing the last semi, caught behind a minivan driven by an elderly woman who couldn’t see over the steering wheel, tooling along below the speed limit. Without even a glance into the parking lot, the thug drove past them.

Reid turned back to the front and collapsed against the backseat, flexing his fingers to loosen the soreness out after his death grip on the steering wheel.

Lily popped up over the back of the seat and eyed the restaurant. “Are we safe? Does this mean we’re going to eat now?”

Samantha shifted into Park and leaned her head against the rest. “Let us catch our breath first, girl.”

“And give the bad guy a few minutes to get farther away.” He had the strange but undeniable urge to ruffle her hair, but would a ten-year-old girl see that as affectionate? As relief that they were all safe? Or was she at the age where her hairstyle was of the utmost importance and all touching would be an affront? Considering that she had the pungent aroma of someone who had been running and playing and fishing all day, he doubted it was the latter.

But what was he thinking anyway? She wasn’t his. He had just met her maybe an hour ago, and under rather unusual circumstances. And even though he knew her guardian a little, Samantha probably didn’t have a favorable memory of him.

Samantha ran her hand through her hair and fluffed out the ends. Reid noticed again the clean scent of shampoo that emanated from her. It was the best scent he’d had in his Jeep...well, ever. He breathed deeply, desperate to inhale peace and calm. Samantha was a smart attorney, well practiced at asking tough questions.

He was a smart attorney, too. He knew what was coming.

It was unavoidable.

Samantha turned in the driver’s seat, pulling her knee up toward the console. She pierced Reid with a classic interrogation look. “So you want to tell me what was going on back there at the police station?”

He shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant even as his stomach roiled. “I tried to tell you that they wouldn’t be helpful. But I apologize for any difficulty my presence caused. I figured it might...uh...stifle their desire to serve and protect.”

Samantha cocked her head, her brow furrowed. “Why?”

“I was a police officer.” He paused. Held his breath. “I was asked to leave the force.”

* * *

Of course. Samantha remembered now. That had been his job before law school. He was a police officer. And now his hesitancy to drive them to the police station as well as his knowledge of evidence became clear, as well. Samantha sagged against her seat. She had forced him into an uncomfortable, even awkward, situation for which he was unprepared because she hadn’t trusted his judgment.

“The force?” Lily leaned against the seat.

“Lily, he means the police force. The police department.” Samantha swiped some hair from her cheek.

“You were a police officer?” Apparently, her charge wasn’t going to let go of this easily. “Did you carry a gun?” Lily strained forward in her curiosity. “Do you have a gun now?”

Reid cleared his throat. “Since we’re all getting hungry—”

Samantha’s stomach clenched, but she couldn’t tell whether it was from hunger or fear. “Wait a minute. You just said you were asked to leave the force. Is that why your old buddy at the station was so quick to say there wasn’t much he could do?”

“No, I don’t think so. There truly isn’t much that can be done. But I was going to make contact after I’d gotten settled in. Pave the way with some buffalo wings. Your predicament just forced me there a little sooner.” He glanced out the window then back to her, a glint of irritation in his eyes. “Do you think I don’t remember anything of my training or my experience as an officer? I tried to tell you that there was nothing that could be done right now, but you didn’t want to believe me.”

“Why should I have trusted you? If I remember correctly, you were asked to leave the school. Something happened. I don’t suppose you’d care to fill me in on that story.”

Reid swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. Samantha didn’t care for asking such pointed questions, but her security, and Lily’s, was at stake.

“I used to have a bit of a problem with anger. I was mad at everyone and everything back then. When I started law school, I was still angry with the police department for what I thought they had done to me. Then at the law school it seemed, to me at least, that the professors were grossly unfair. One day near the end of the first year, our torts professor pushed me too hard during one class. I couldn’t come up with the answer to his question in the time he expected, and he started berating me in front of the class.” He paused and fingered the Jeep’s upholstery. “I lost it. I yelled at the professor. Turns out that’s a cardinal sin in graduate education. It’s not something I’m proud of and most of the time I’m pretty good at leaving it where it belongs. In the past.”

In the past. Samantha fought down the urge to touch his hand. After Reid had left the law school, rumors had floated back that he had changed somehow, that another incident had led him to a turning point, but Samantha hadn’t known him well enough to be in the circle of acquaintances who kept up with him. He’d been gone, and it just simply hadn’t concerned her. Now she prayed that those rumors had been true and he had changed for the better. She let herself reach out to touch his arm, a gesture of comfort that ended up comforting her.

“But apparently you finished school. Elsewhere?”

A shadow of something, perhaps an elusive memory from his past, flitted across his face. He slowly drew his attention back to her, as if being summoned from a distant thought. “Yes.”

Samantha waited for more, but apparently a one-word answer was all she was going to get. Either Reid was one of those strong, silent types, or he didn’t want to confess his sins, no matter how good for the soul that was supposed to be.

“What type of law do you practice? You must have a job lined up if you just drove in today. You start on Monday?”

More silence followed by a loud swallowing sound. “Uh, family law is my preference.” He shifted in his seat. “Guardianships, adoptions, maybe a little of wills and trusts. And no job. I’m thinking of starting my own practice.”

Heat crept over Samantha, but at least her inflamed cheeks would be hidden by the late twilight. So that was yet another reason for his evasion.

Invasion. Into her legal territory.

Lily’s face shone in the fast-food joint’s neon lights as thunder rumbled through the Jeep. Of course, there was nothing stopping her from getting out of the vehicle and walking Lily into the restaurant. She could call someone, anyone, from in there and ditch Reid completely. But the thugs were still out there, looking for her and Lily. Despite Reid’s reputation as a defiant rule breaker, he had protected them so far. If she left, then what would she do? Who would protect her?

She tapped her first two fingers against her lips. She would stick with Reid, if he would have her.

“Sam, I am about to keel over from hunger back here.” Lily’s whine filled the Jeep, forcing Samantha to concentrate on the more immediate problem. Hunger. “Just give me some money, and I’ll grab a burger or maybe some chicken tenders. You want anything?”

“Young lady, you are not leaving this vehicle.” Egad, the tone in her voice sounded just like her mother’s. When had that happened? She wanted to be a cool mom. A friend more than a dictator, benevolent or otherwise.

She glanced at Reid, but he only shrugged his shoulders. Thanks a lot.

“Come on, Sam. A ketchup packet? A little thingy of salt?”

“Not here.” She put the Jeep into Reverse and pulled out of the spot. Then she turned it in the opposite direction the black SUV had gone a few minutes before.

Reid didn’t say anything, so she headed up the main street another block and turned into another fast-food burger place.

“Is it safe to go through the drive-through?” She turned her gaze to the rearview mirror, fighting back the urge to rake her hand through her hair.

Reid scanned the streets surrounding the restaurant. “I think it’ll be fine. While we eat, we can figure out what to do next.”

Samantha turned toward the squawk box and ordered two adult meals and a kid’s meal plus a milk shake. The shake would be a treat for Lily, something to keep her mind off their current predicament, and maybe Samantha could get a few sips of chocolate, as well. It wouldn’t be as calming as solid dark chocolate melting on her tongue, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

A few minutes later, they sat in the back of the parking lot, hidden behind the brick Dumpster enclosure, munching burgers and savoring the hot, salty aroma of French fries. Lily rummaged through the colorful sack her meal had come in and extracted the clear plastic bag that contained the prize. She ripped it open and popped a pair of sunglasses with rectangular frames onto her nose.

With darkness encroaching, Samantha could just barely make out the storm clouds that still hovered in the sky. “Lily, it’s too dark for sunglasses. Why don’t you put those away until tomorrow?”

“These aren’t just sunglasses, Sam.” She turned away from them to look out her side window. “There’s a little mirror that lets me see what’s behind me. For spying. Cool, huh?”

Yeah, supercool. Lily would be playing spy now for the next month and a half. Reid was apparently nonplussed as he took another big bite of his hamburger.

Lily giggled. “You have a bit of mayonnaise on your chin, Mr. Palmer. I can see it in my spy mirror.”

“Since we’re getting to know each other so well, you might as well call me Reid.” Reid swiped at his face with a napkin. “And thanks for the heads-up.” He held out his fist, and Lily bumped it with her own.

“No, no. There’s no call for that.” The last thing Samantha needed was for Lily to get chummy with a hothead like Reid Palmer. But would a hothead act like that with a ten-year-old, joking and not caring about mayo on his face? She sipped her drink, the coolness averting her attention from Reid and back to the decisions at hand. “Thank you so much for your assistance, Reid. You’ve been most helpful. Can we go home now?”

FIVE

“Home? Not advisable.” Reid opened his backseat door. “And I think I better drive.”

Samantha puffed hair out of her face, but she opened the driver’s-side door and stalked around the front of the Jeep to climb into the front passenger seat. “If we can’t go home, then where?”

“Not only would it be inappropriate to invite you to my place, but I don’t even have a place. There were a couple of leads for apartments to rent from the newspaper I was going to check out this afternoon, but I arrived in town a little later than I wanted, and then an unfortunate accident took over the rest of my day. It’s too late now to go knocking on a stranger’s door.” He pointed a stare at her. “What about your family? Parents? Siblings?”

He had dodged her questions to some extent so far. After all, who wanted to lay out all their sordid past for someone else’s evaluation? He had worked with the officers at HHPD for several years, and they didn’t even know the reason he rarely saw his father or how his mother had died. But with what he remembered and what he had seen tonight of the tenacious Samantha Callahan, he could be sure that if he spent much more time with her, there would be further interrogation.

She tore at a fingernail. “Out of town. Or unavailable.”

He clicked his seat belt into place, the clacking of metal in the catch echoing throughout the silence of the Jeep. Whoever had come up with the statistic that women said twelve thousand words a day compared to men’s five thousand obviously hadn’t met Samantha. Her quietness should have been comfortable for him, yet it was oddly unnerving. He shifted in his seat, seeking a comfortable position. None was to be found.

Perhaps another tactic would elicit some helpful information. “We ought, also, to be thinking of who might be trying to kidnap you and Lily. That could help us put an end to being on the run. Does he want just Lily or both of you?”

“From what I saw at the church and the way he looked at me, I would guess he wants us both. If he wanted just Lily, couldn’t he have grabbed her and stashed her away before I got there?”

“Sounds logical. But that doesn’t necessarily make the situation any better.”

Samantha turned in her seat, a softening shadowing her eyes. “Lily, honey, how’s your arm? Where that guy grabbed you?”

Lily slurped on the shake, drawing out the last few drops. “It’s all right, I guess. No biggie. But I sure don’t want that to happen again.”

“We’re going to do our best to keep it from happening again.”

We? Did that mean Samantha was going to stick around and let him help her? “It seems clear that whoever this is doesn’t want you dead. You said he shot out your back windshield. If he’s any good with a weapon, and we should assume that he is for our own safety, he could have hit either of you. But he didn’t.”

“That was my conclusion, as well.” She paused. “Of course, now we’re here with you, and he may not care about killing you.”

“Yes.” That disturbing thought had worried its way into the forefront of his thinking, and he didn’t care to dwell on that probability.

“Kill you?” Lily asked from the backseat. “Seriously?”

Reid pivoted to meet her wide eyes. “We just need to be careful.” No sense in getting the girl more scared that she probably already was. “Careful is always good.”

“You never did tell me if you had a gun.” That girl was a smarty-pants who didn’t miss a thing.

“Well—” he aimed his attention back to Samantha “—any ideas who could be behind this? You don’t recognize the guy who tried to grab you, so it’s possible he’s a hired thug. Is there any event or relationship from your past or present that could drive someone to this kind of action?”

Samantha pinched her lips, deep in thought. Several moments later, she shook her head. “No idea whatsoever.”

“What about ransom?”

Lily poked her face in between the front seats. “What’s ransom?”

“It means that someone could want to hold you or Samantha as their captive until you or someone pays them a certain amount of money. Usually a large, almost exorbitant, amount.”

“Exorbitant? I like that word, Mr. Palmer. Does it mean an amount that’s really, really big?”

This girl just got better and better. He hadn’t gone through law school learning to question and defend and write briefs without acquiring some appreciation for word choice. “You got it.”

Samantha pointed a stare at him that nearly pushed him out the door. Okay, he got the message. Apparently he wasn’t supposed to get friendly with the kid. “As interesting as your ransom idea is, Reid—” she could have stabbed him with the force of her enunciation “—I just can’t see it. Lily has a trust from her father’s death, but it’s not a large amount by any stretch of the imagination. I have some savings, but nothing significant. There are certainly bigger and wealthier targets. In fact, I shouldn’t even use the word wealthier in that sentence. That implies that I or Lily have some wealth to begin with. It’s funny how so many people think that lawyers are rich. But not all of us are.”

Reid calculated what was in his checking and savings as well as what was in his wallet, and he had to agree. “What about family members who could be forced to pay a ransom amount?”

“My sister and I share the practice, so I know she wouldn’t have much more than me. When my father left my mother, he nearly left her destitute. She wouldn’t have anything to pay.”

Reid swiped his hand through his hair. He could almost hear the ding in his mind as long-forgotten pieces came together. “Wait a minute. What’s your father’s name?”

Samantha narrowed her gaze at him. She had probably figured out where his question was leading. “Thomas Callahan.”

“You mean the Thomas Callahan, one of the most well-known and well-paid divorce attorneys in the Indianapolis area?”

“Unfortunately, yes. It’s not a pretty thing when a prestigious divorce lawyer leaves his own wife.” She pressed her hand to her chest as if the heart palpitations caused by the betrayal were still fresh.

Her expression was so pitiful Reid wanted to slide to the edge of his seat and take her in his arms, and whisper sweet comfort to her. But there was nothing worse he could do at this juncture, for her safety or his. In fact, the sooner this whole situation was resolved and he was removed from Samantha’s presence, the better. He couldn’t risk attachment, not with his history and the statistics to prove his genetic tendencies toward anger.

Before he could respond, Samantha killed that idea. “If these bad guys have done their research, they should know that my father would most likely not pay a ransom. We haven’t spoken much over the years. When we do, it’s rather curt. And we haven’t been in contact at all in over a year.”

“What about Lily? Who in her past would have money to pay a ransom?” Reid glanced at the backseat. Lily wore her spy sunglasses and was stroking her long ponytail, pulling it off to the side as if trying to see it in the mirror in the glasses.

Samantha picked at an invisible piece of lint on her skirt. “When she was only three, her mother died. So it’s been just her and her dad for several years. I got to know her at church and became a sort of substitute mother for her. Her father was killed in a hit-and-run not long ago, but at least he had set up a will that appointed me as her guardian.” She squinted at the dark sky and the clouds hovering outside her window. “Can we talk about this on the way to my condo? Surely we can at least pick up some clothes and necessary items before the rain starts.”

Reid sagged in his seat, his ankle holster pressed into his leg. Perhaps just a few moments to run into her place would be all right. He turned the key in the ignition and checked his rearview mirror.

Lily sat in the middle of the backseat, clutching the purple backpack, a tear escaping from underneath her sunglasses.

* * *

Finally, Samantha was making some progress in her reasoning with Reid. Maybe once they got to her condo and all was well, he would see that she could stay there without problem.

Maybe she would be convinced of that, as well...especially since there was no place else to run.

At her instruction, Reid pulled out of the parking lot and turned right.

“Are you familiar with the Maple Grove Condominiums on the east side of town?”

Reid turned to smile at her. “It’s been a while since I’ve been in Heartwood Hill. Several years. I’ll need directions.”

Even in the dark, Samantha could see a shadow of whiskers beginning to cover his jaw. She swallowed down the lump growing in her throat. She had to admit that Reid was an attractive man, but she couldn’t account for her sudden desire for him to find her home pleasing. When was the last time she had dusted? Had she left dishes in the sink that morning? Did she have enough coffee to offer him a cup?

She pinched her own leg to punish herself for even thinking such thoughts. Someone with Reid’s reputation would never be interested in the coziness and pleasures of home. Nor would she want him there. She and Lily were doing just fine by themselves.

She pointed to the next stoplight. “Turn left up there.”

“So what else can you tell me about Lily’s father?”

“I told you about all I know. The driver was never found, so we don’t know who hit his car. Lily came home with me after seeing her father at the hospital, and she’s been with me ever since.”

“So he didn’t die on impact?”

“No. She got to spend a little bit of time with him. It was good to say that goodbye, but bad to have to say it. You know what I mean?”

“Yeah. I do.”

A catch in his voice touched something deep inside Samantha. Even the tall, strong and quiet Reid Palmer had some difficulty with his background. Samantha checked their location. “In here, at the subdivision sign. I’m in the third house on the left.” Whatever more it was that was bothering him, she couldn’t dwell on that now. Probably never. She had a child to protect, her first priority.

Reid drove slowly, sweeping his gaze over the other houses and down the side streets. “What did her father do? For a living?”

“He was an accountant with that big manufacturing company on the north side of Indy. Why?”

“Just searching for information that might help us figure out who’s after you and Lily.”

Samantha sniffed. “I didn’t know a lot of the details, but accountant sounded like a pretty dreary job to me. I can’t imagine that has anything to do with our present difficulty.”

He idled past the house and turned right at the next street.

“Where are we going? You passed it.”

“I’m circling and double-checking.” He leaned forward and peered past her, in between the houses that backed onto hers. “There was only one car parked on the street, and no one was in it. I think we’re okay.”

Reid pulled up in the driveway and cut the headlights. Lily fidgeted in the backseat but stilled when he held up a hand. “We’ll sit here for a moment and check it out.”

The structure was cloaked in darkness, even more so with the thunder-boomers blotting out the nighttime stars. Samantha sat in the eerie silence and let her gaze dart around the yard. Everything seemed in place. Not a single flower appeared to be trampled, although she couldn’t see all the beds in the dark. “Looks fine to me,” she whispered in Reid’s direction.

“It doesn’t seem that anyone’s around, but it’s hard to tell from the exterior. Let’s go in, but be watchful and stay behind me.” He leaned over the steering wheel and pulled up his pant leg, retrieving the weapon from the holster fastened to his lower leg. “And keep it quiet. Not even a whisper.”

Lily lunged against the back of the seat. “I knew it! You do have a gun.” Her hoarse whisper whipped through Samantha’s hair.

“Whoa.” Samantha scooted to the edge of her seat near the door. She’d never been close to a gun before. “You have a gun?”

“Yeah. What police officer, even former, wouldn’t be armed?”

“You have a permit for that thing?”

“Of course. And in Indiana it’s called a license.”

Samantha tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear with a trembling hand. “Stay back, Lily. Let Mr. Palmer handle this.” She should have figured a former police officer would carry a weapon, but she hadn’t been prepared for her innocent ward’s sudden interest in firearms.

“I’m not going to touch it, Sam. And I know better than to stand in front of it. I just want to look at it...from here.” Samantha couldn’t quite tell in the darkness, but Lily probably executed a classic eye roll as only a ten-year-old could.

Reid swung his door open and motioned for Samantha and Lily to do the same. He slowly pushed it closed without latching it, and Samantha softly closed hers as well, grabbing Lily’s before the girl could slam it shut.

As they approached the door, Samantha uttered a prayer thanking the Lord for sending such a tall, broad-shouldered protector. She hated to put him in the line of fire, but at least he could fire back.

He nudged the butt of his gun against the door, and it swung open. Someone had been there for sure. There was no way she would leave the door hanging open when she went to work. Besides, she usually left through the garage. The front door was only opened when she or her sister, with whom she shared the condo, were expecting guests.

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