Landon (The Love Family Series Book 5) (4 page)

Chapter 7

Edward Best leaned against the hospital wall holding the flowers. From the corner of his eye, he watched and waited as the doc and her bodyguard approached. His heart hammered against his ribs. She was so close, and yet, still untouchable.

“I need to call Emily tonight,” Alice announced as she passed by Edward. “She needs to know the DNA results.”

“You know Emily loves you. She’s your sister, and no report will change that. Family doesn’t always have to share DNA.”

“I know, but it still sucks what our parents…” Her words trailed off as they made their way farther down the corridor toward the elevator.

Emily Page, the sister the doctor had grown up with, even if not blood-related, was another reminder of the dirty deeds plaguing him. What he’d found out was that the two were as different as night and day, yet they were close, a bond he’d hoped might sever. Emily had gone to extreme lengths to find Alice, and save her life, when she turned up missing after he’d sent her the baby snatching details.  A twinge of anger ripped through Edward’s chest, settling in the pit of his stomach. Alice Page had a lot to learn about herself, about her family, and about him. Edward’s lips twisted at the corner as he turned and headed toward the exit sign hanging above the stairwell. He pulled a single bloom from the vase, dumped the remaining flowers into the nearest trash can, and began whistling as he left. Time was of the essence. Like a game of chess, each choreographed move was taking him closer to his goal. Soon she’d know everything, and only then would the real fireworks begin.

Alice stepped onto the elevator and turned while Landon pressed the button. Her gaze remained fixed on the man with the bouquet of exquisite lavender roses. She met the man’s gaze and held it. He was familiar. She’d seen him before. She was sure of it. She tilted her head as the doors slid closed, cutting off her view. When had she turned so paranoid? She disregarded the thought as exhaustion seeped into her bones and the food in her belly settled. He was probably just a new father, which would explain where she’d seen him. Her lack of sleep, from the alarm to the unexpected delivery, was playing with her mind.

She followed behind Landon, letting him check the SUV before he opened the passenger door for her to slide inside. Within minutes, they were on their way to the safe house, using the longer of the two varied routes as to not follow the same path back to the house. The numerous ways back to the safe house were a precaution that under normal circumstances, she would appreciate, but not today when her eyes were heavy and every bone in her body was tired.

“I’m tired, Landon. Can’t we take the other way?” she asked, and her head lolled toward him. Landon’s gaze darted from the road to the rearview mirror and back. This wasn’t the first time she’d watched as he noticed their surroundings, though this time was different. His jaw was set in a hard line. His eyes narrowed, and he turned down the road that led tourists toward the scenic route, leaving their scheduled route behind.

“We’ve got company.”

Alice had turned to look out the back window before Landon caught her arm and shook his head. He used the Bluetooth attached in the car system and called Avery. She answered on the first ring. Her voice filled the SUV.

“What’s up?”

“We’ve got a potential tail.”

“Where are you?”

“On Sunset, heading toward the pier.”

“Reed, I need the feed from the street cams on Sunset.” Avery’s voice was muffled.

“He’s pulling up the cams at the pier. Drive slowly or park so we can get a clean shot.”

Landon pulled into the pier parking lot and then pulled into an empty parking spot that granted them a fast escape. Adrenaline shot through Alice; she was now wide-awake and had sat up straighter in her seat. Her gaze darted back and forth as she tried to figure out which vehicle Landon was talking about.

“Did he follow? We’re not seeing him in the feed.”

Landon’s gaze shot around them and settled on the dark sports car that slowly rolled by on Sunset. “False alarm. He didn’t turn in.”

Alice turned her direction toward the slow-moving car. The man from the hospital corridor was behind the wheel. Maybe she wasn’t as paranoid as she thought. “That’s the guy from the hospital.”

“You’ve seen him?” he asked.

“Where in the hospital?” Avery asked over the speaker.

“I noticed him when we were leaving. He was in the hallway when we got on the elevator. He was holding purple roses.”

Before Landon could begin barking orders, Avery answered. “I’m on it. I’ll call you back when I have an ID.”

The phone went dead.  

Fifteen minutes later, Landon turned off the main road onto the dirt road that led to the house. A ringing filled the car, alerting them that Avery had an answer to the question that had all of them on edge.

“Edward Best,” she announced without preamble after the first hello. She continued. “No priors, Yale graduate, works in his father’s company. The family is in good standing. Mother is deceased. There isn’t much more to tell. Reed has his face so he’s doing his….thing.”

“Thing?” Alice asked.

“Any ties to the baby case or the families?” Landon interrupted.

“No ties that I’ve found yet. Edward is an only child. His parents were married twenty-five years before his mom died. Prominent people. Dad is a judge and his mom was on the board of every charity event I’ve ever heard of, and some I haven’t.”

“Thanks for your help. We’re just pulling up to the house. Thanks for checking.”

“It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“Copy that.” He disconnected the call and killed the ignition.

Ten minutes later, Alice’s head hit the pillow and she was settling in for a quick nap when her cell phone rang.

She answered without checking the caller ID. The only people who had access to the number were the staff at the hospital, Landon, Reed, Avery, and her sister.

“Hello.”

“Alice Page?” a deep voice questioned in a voice that sounded oddly strange like a computer.

“Who is this?”

“Let me talk to Landon Love.”

Alice slid out of the bed. “Not until you tell me who you are.”

Alice jogged down the stairs, finding Landon in the kitchen. He turned, his gaze questioning. She pointed to the phone, and Landon flew into action, firing off a text.

“Tell me who you are and I’ll let you speak to him,” she demanded as Landon took her phone and hit the Speaker button

“Who is this?” Landon demanded.

“Impressive alarm.” The male voice was computerized, as if trying to disguise his voice.

Every fiber in Alice’s body shot to attention as she met Landon’s startled gaze. His brows dipped as he turned his stare to the phone and his grip tightened. “Who is this?”

“Who I am isn’t important. Not yet.”

“Listen, asshole—”

“I’m the asshole that sent her the drive. I’m the asshole that breached your precious security. And I’m the asshole that knows exactly who she is.”

Unease shivered down her spine.

“I’m listening. If you sent her the thumb drive, then you already have all the answers. What do you want?”

Alice raised her hand to her chest and held her breath, afraid the sound of blood rushing through her ears, combined with the sound of her breathing, would make her miss his answer. Whoever he was.

“I do have all the answers.” The man paused. “A price has been put on Alice’s head. Do I have your attention now?”

“Yes.”

Landon’s phone beeped and he glanced down at the screen before showing it to Alice.
Keep him on the phone; we’re closing in on his location
.

“The men who ran the baby ring are much bigger than you could ever imagine.”

“Bigger than the mafia, or the politicians that were involved?”

“They are small potatoes compared to the men running the show, and unlucky for you, they’ve targeted Alice. I’ll be in touch, Mr. Love.”

“Wait—”

The phone clicked, leaving Landon with a blank screen. He handed the phone back to Alice and dialed Avery, leaving her on speaker. “Tell me Reed traced this son of a bitch.”

“We got his GPS and phone number. Reed is tracking him down as we speak.”

“Thank God.” Landon ran his hand over his face.

Alice released the breath she’d been holding, and the tension in her shoulders eased, if only by a margin.

“Wait….he’s on the island.” Avery’s voice hardened. “Holy crap, honey, where did the blinking red dot just go? I need to go find this asshole so I can kick his ass.”

“Baby, I can’t make this guy turn his phone back on,” Reed answered.

“We need to double the team on her,” Landon barked while pacing the floor, tension thick in his voice.

She should be scared. After all, someone not only knew who she was, but also knew where she was. This guy had sent her information that had put a hit on her, but it didn’t explain how he knew her past, or how he knew about a potential hit, or how he knew where she was hiding. What was his agenda? What did he want? Those were the questions she wanted answered. It was inevitable someone was coming for her. There was no changing that. The breakfast in her stomach sat like an unmoving brick. There was no way out of her situation, no quick fixes, and no amount of hideouts that could keep her safe.

“We need answers.” Her voice came out a whisper while Landon and Avery discussed the additional security and their possible removal from the island. “We need answers,” she said with more resolve, finding her voice.

Landon and Avery’s plotting stopped. Landon was staring at her as if she’d grown a second head. “I promised you that we’d get answers.”

She shook her head. He didn’t understand, not like she did. “This is never going to stop, even if all of the families are found. They’ll still come after me.” She turned her gaze to the window and the lake beyond. “They won’t stop,” she whispered, not caring if they heard her. “They’ll never stop.”

“Avery, tell Reed to get me a location. I’ll call you back.”

Alice tuned the conversation out, drowning it with the thoughts running wild in her mind. No amount of time would make any of this go away…ever.

“Alice.” Landon turned her, and she looked up into his eyes, hoping she was masking the anger and despair; both were useless, unproductive feelings. “We’ll deal with this. This isn’t anything more than a speed bump, and I’m a damn good driver.”

His words were foreign as a cold dread settled in her spine and spread throughout her body like a virus. It was too bad she wasn’t contagious and near the people causing all this pain. She’d gladly sneeze and risk life and limb to infect the bastards.

“We play offense instead of defense. That’s the only way we’re going to win this. We find ground zero and annihilate them.”

“Alice.” Landon rubbed his palms up and down her arms. The comfort he was trying to give her was admirable, even if it did nothing to ease her chill. “We don’t even know the players yet. First things first. We move you. Get you as far off the island as we can, and then we’ll make a plan.”