Cold Pursuit (Cold Justice) (Volume 2) (20 page)

He was wearing the dark wool suit he’d changed into at the office before the noon briefing. It didn’t fit into the Northwoods lifestyle but it didn’t mean this land hadn’t forged the bones of the man he’d become.

“Yeah, I did. Never thought I’d leave and then 9/11 happened and I ended up joining the Army after I graduated college. I guess that day changed the course of many American lives.” For good or bad? Sometimes he wondered. It was good to want to protect your country but he thought of his eldest brother Max who he hadn’t seen in almost a year, doing God knew what, God knew where. And he thought of Bobby… and his throat grew tight.

A snowshoe hare bobbed along beside them and three white-tailed deer watched them cautiously from between spindly branches in the forest. He’d gone to war to protect this vision of America, but the terrorists were still out there, multiplying like the damn rabbits and killing people way too close to home. That wasn’t winning the war on terror. He didn’t know what the hell that was.

“I think I might love to live in a place like this.”

He blinked, surprised. From the sophisticated way she dressed and carried herself he’d never have guessed she would have embraced country life, although, hell, she lived in Fargo where they had a wood chipper as a major tourist attraction.

He had to drag his gaze back to the road again because not only was she beautiful, she seemed to draw comfort from this world to which he’d transported her. A world that he loved. Many would find even the idea of this kind of isolation overwhelming, but after what she’d been through maybe isolation was exactly what she and Michael needed.

They went over a rise and started to skid on the other side. She grabbed the door.

“It’s fine. Roads out this way are also difficult and flawed. I’m hoping it keeps the bad guys away.” He turned the wheel into the skid and they straightened. “Nearly there.”

Up ahead the road forked. Left would take him down to his parents’ house. He turned right, slowing to a crawl. A fox in winter garb stood illuminated by the headlights for a split second before it ran into the forest.

He’d missed the wildlife. He’d grown up surrounded by things that lived in parallel to humans. It had made him see the world as an ecosystem, whereas his condo in Virginia made him view the world as a bubble of humanity—a cruel, vicious bubble of humanity.

He really did need time to unscrew his head. As long as no one found them here this was a win-win situation.

Snow crunched under the tires as he followed the gentle dips and curves of the track before rumbling over the narrow bridge. He spotted footprints in the snow and unclipped his holster. Then they turned the last corner and the headlights lit up a large log cabin.

On the front porch stood a man with his feet firmly planted apart, shotgun in hand.

“A friend of yours?” Vivi asked with remarkable self-restraint under the circumstances.

“Not exactly.” Jed left the engine running, got out and walked over to the older man, wrapped him in a bear hug and lifted him off his feet. The man hugged him back. Even though they were the same height, the other man seemed smaller somehow. Still fit and strong, but noticeably thinner. No longer the giant from childhood that Jed still held in his mind.

It had been way too long since he’d been home. “Good to see you, Pop.”

His father stood back with a twinkle in his eye. “Had an inkling you’d turn up tonight.”

“An inkling or a phone call?”

The older man twisted his lips. “Your boss thought you might be upset on account of losing two witnesses.” His dad’s down jacket rustled in the almost silent forest. “Looks like you picked up a couple of strays.” He squinted at Vivi through the windshield. “And I think you’ve got some explainin’ to do, son…”

If it had been anyone else he’d have told them to butt out, but this was his father. “Didn’t feel like I had a lot of choice, Pop.”

“Worth losing your job over?”

His dad knew how important his career was to him—how important catching killers and putting them behind bars was. It didn’t bring back the people you loved, but it helped. Jed covered his discomfort with a grin. “They’d never fire me. The FBI would be lost without me.”

His dad snorted. “Pretty sure they’d cope.”

Better to lose his job than Vivi or Michael losing their lives. “Think you can find me a few chores to keep me busy if they do fire me?”

His old man laughed. “I’ll get Liam to hire you on as his deputy.”

His brother for a boss?
Shoot me now.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Mom wouldn’t want to attend his funeral.”

His father grinned. “You two have been scrapping since you were in the womb. One of these days you’re gonna figure out there are other ways of expressing brotherly love.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

Vivi climbed out of her side of the vehicle and stood there watching them, her breath freezing into a cloud of vapor. His father raised one wiry brow. “Pretty thing, fragile looking though. Hope you know what you’re doing, son.”

“So do I, Pop. So do I.”

***

It was warm inside the log cabin. Jed’s dad had turned up the central heating and started a fire in the wood stove so a tinge of smoke tainted the air. Vivi followed Jed into a bedroom on the ground floor level and watched him lay Michael on a fresh sheet that his father had just stretched over the mattress. She went to grab the top sheet but the two men beat her to it in what looked like a well-rehearsed routine. She comforted herself by dragging a fresh pillowcase over a puffy, down pillow.

Jed held out his hand and she passed across the pillow which he placed gently beneath Michael’s head.

Then the two men left without a word.

Michael was fast asleep so she didn’t bother undressing him. His boots and coat had been removed at the door; the sweatpants and t-shirt loose enough for him to sleep in comfortably. The dark circles under his eyes were pronounced against his pale skin and his forehead crinkled as if in pain. She placed a kiss on his brow. “Sleep well, baby.”

She followed Jed and his father out into the main room knowing they needed to talk about what was going on and the implications for their safety.

The cabin was stunning, she realized, looking around for the first time. No rustic hidey-hole but a comfy, luxurious getaway. The front of the cabin was a two-story open-plan area containing the kitchen, dining, living area, divided up by a long wide granite island. A huge stone chimney covered one entire wall. Lots of windows looked out over the lake—a great spot to watch the snow fall, bringing with it a sense of seclusion and safety. A shiver rippled over her skin. The peace was an illusion but she appreciated it anyway. Jed was closing all the blinds although she doubted there was anyone out there for miles. The idea that the bad guys could find them so fast seemed ludicrous. There were stairs against the wall behind her, presumably to more bedrooms. A couple of lamps bathed the cabin in a warm amber glow that begged her to sink to the nearest flat surface and pass out from sheer exhaustion, but she had to keep going.

Jed’s father turned to face her. The expression in his eyes was kind but contained a
spare-the-bullshit
gleam. “Want to tell me exactly what’s going on?”

“Mr. Brennan, my name is Vivi Vincent and you just met the sleeping version of my son, Michael.”

“I saw a picture of you guys on the news. There’s a full-scale manhunt out there searching for you—led by the US Marshal Service and the FBI.” His eyes cut back to his son.

They looked remarkably alike, father and son, except the older man’s hair was silver-white which made the dark brown of his eyes and tanned skin stand out in contrast.

“Your boss thinks you came up here to drown your sorrows over these two being killed, but you really came to hide them, didn’t you?”

“The bad guys found the safe house, Dad.” Jed’s voice reflected the full gravity of the situation. She’d forgotten for a little while exactly why they were here. “And I don’t know if they followed the shrink who’d come to treat Michael, or if someone on the inside let the information leak.”

Keen brown eyes swept back to her and nailed her in place. “How did you escape the gunmen who attacked the safe house?”

A sudden flashback to seeing Dr. Hinkle shot dead made her stomach twist. She sank down to the sofa and wished she could turn back the clock. Wished she’d chosen a different day to visit Minneapolis, wished she hadn’t gone to the mall, or hadn’t taped that stupid TV interview.

But she had to deal with the here and now and sticking her head in the sand would get them nowhere. She cleared her throat. “After Dr. Hinkle examined my son, Michael ran away and hid. I found him in the trunk of R-Roger’s car,” she stumbled over the name of the man who’d saved her life while bleeding to death from a gunshot wound. She’d done nothing to help him and the guilt ate at her. If she’d tried to save him she’d be dead too and Michael would be alone, but it didn’t matter. She hadn’t tried to save him.
God
. She breathed heavily through her mouth, wishing she was brave and calm and able to deal with this craziness without feeling so utterly useless. “Small dark places are my son’s comfort zone. It’s where he goes when he’s stressed and trying to escape the world. I couldn’t stand to move him, but didn’t want to leave him alone either. So I got in the trunk and just held him tight, praying they wouldn’t find us.” It sounded nuts. She was nuts. Not exactly a newsflash.

Jed flicked on a lamp, then put water on the stove to boil. She watched the way he moved, so calm and confident even though he’d just broken about a million rules that could cost him his job. Why would he take that risk for them?

Finished with his preparations, Jed leaned against the kitchen island and took over the story. “When I got to the scene, I assumed the cops had cleared the place. Then I heard something in the garage, found them hiding in the trunk.”

“I was too scared to move.” Vivi confessed. “I didn’t know if the bad guys were still in the house or not. I just stayed where I was, in shock.” How could so many bad things happen to them and yet they still lived?

Jed nodded. “I managed to sneak them into my car without anyone seeing.” He stood in the middle of the room, filling the large space with his presence. Everything about him screamed safety and promise. “The marshals and feds are going to bust my balls when they find out, but if I had to do it again?” His eyes said he would.

“News says the child is autistic?” Jed’s dad asked her.

“Honestly?” The weight of a thousand uncertainties beat at her. “No one knows for sure.” She explained Michael’s condition. It was complicated and she was tired. She didn’t know if she was making any sense.

Jed stepped in. Saving her again when she’d always prided herself on her strength and ability to save herself.

“The way I figure it the bad guys attacked and shot their way inside. But Vivi and Michael weren’t where they expected them to be and the remaining attacker took off when they heard the sirens going off.”

The sofa beside her gave as someone sat down. She opened her eyes expecting to see Jed but it was his father.

His eyes searched her face. “Forgive me for asking, son, but how do you know Vivi didn’t kill all those people and then hide in the trunk of that car?”

CHAPTER TWELVE

V
ivi flinched and pulled away from the older man. She felt like he’d just punched her in the stomach. How could he think like that?

“Well the fact that there were three dead terrorists on the ground when we got there, and one of the marshals reported being attacked by four armed men prior to him being shot dead.” Jed sat on the arm of the couch beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder in reassurance. “I forgot to mention my family are conspiracy theorists and don’t take anything at face value. It’s made my time in the FBI…interesting.”

Jed’s dad’s eyes softened. “Just need to be sure you are what you say you are before I leave you alone with my son.”

“Pretty sure I can handle it, Pop.” Jed touched the gold shield on his belt. “Federal agent, remember?”

Vivi’s laugh came out like a sob. “I admire your paternal instincts, Mr. Brennan, I really do.” She looked up and caught Jed’s gaze. “Without your son I don’t know where we’d be—dead probably. I’m not a danger to him, but the people after my son could be and I don’t want to put any of you in danger.” The idea made her start to shake. “I should probably leave. Go to a hotel.”

The old man’s expression softened. “Drag that poor little boy from pillar to post? It’s safe here. I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable but Jed’s right, I don’t take things at face value. But I do trust my son, and despite what I might think of the FBI in general, he’s damned good at his job.” He held out his hand to her. “Jeremiah Brennan at your service, ma’am.”

Bemused, she shook his hand. Either she was frozen or he had lava in his veins.

“You feel like ice.” He rubbed her hand between his. “Get the lady a hot drink, son.”

“On it. Want something for yourself?” Jed filled a mug with steaming water and stirred in sugar. She didn’t bother telling him she didn’t take anything in hers. She could do with the energy boost even though Jed was the one who hadn’t slept in a couple of days.

“So what’s the plan?” Jed’s father asked, suddenly onboard with everything.

It knocked Vivi off kilter again—as if she hadn’t been totally out of her depth enough over the last few days.

Jed handed her a cup of steaming tea, and went to stand in front of the fireplace. He looked as solid and immovable as the rock behind him. “We’re going to hole up here for a few days—hopefully give the feds enough time to chase down and lock up the remaining terrorists. Vivi is going to dye her hair brown and avoid as many people as possible. If anyone asks you can tell them I’m visiting with a girlfriend and don’t want to be disturbed.”

Vivi’s cheeks heated. Oh, the joys of a pale complexion. She hid behind her mug and inhaled the steam.