Nowhere to Turn (23 page)

Simon walked up the front porch steps to his uncle’s front door, took a deep breath, and rapped his knuckles against the wood. His heart thundered in his chest and he thought even he could hear it. His hands shook and he hoped Mitchell thought it was because he was cold.

In actuality, he was sweating bullets beneath the hoodie and sweatshirt. And the pain in his gut was still there. He pressed his hand against his belly and fought off a wave of nausea. He briefly wondered if food would help, but was shocked to realize he wasn’t hungry. Weird.

Snowflakes drifted down, and for the first time in his life, he prayed they didn’t stick.

He felt the weight of the backpack pulling on his shoulders. He’d had to ditch the gun when he got on the bus. How could he have forgotten about security? He’d put it in a safe spot, so hopefully they could get it later. When all of this was over.

He rubbed his palms down his sweatpants and looked at Mitchell. “What if he’s not home?” he signed. “What’s today anyway?”

Mitchell looked at his phone. “It’s Friday morning. You think he’s at work?”

“Of course he is. I should have thought of that first,” he signed and grumbled at the same time.

“So call him and get him here.”

“I would think he would know I was here with the way he’s been following us all around the United States.” Simon sat on the porch step and stared at Mitchell and his phone. He jumped to his feet, then doubled over, grasping his belly. He sank back onto the step.

A hand landed on his shoulder and he looked up to find Mitchell staring at him with concern. “You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” He bit his lip and sucked in a deep breath. “Forget that. I just realized that they’re not tracking me, they’re tracking you.”

“What?”

“Just like the game. They’re probably tracking your phone. Turn it off.”

Mitchell did and Simon ran his hands through his short hair that still felt weird to him. “Okay, so he’s not here. Can you take me to his office?”

Mitchell’s brows rose. “His office? Where is it?”

“Downtown.”

“That’s a pretty long way. Dude, are you sure?”

“I’m sure. How much gas you got?”

Mitchell shrugged. “Enough to get us downtown and back.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill. “Plus money if I need more. Hop on.”

“We lost him, but the phone says they went to Stuart’s house,” his source said.

“Stuart’s? I didn’t think Simon even knew where he lived,” Joe said.

“Guess he knows how to work a GPS.”

“Guess so.”

“So what now?”

“Head over to Stuart’s and see what’s going on. Stuart’s here at the office, not at home.”

“Maybe we should watch the office and see if he shows up.”

“I can take care of that part. You head over to Stuart’s.”

“On the way.”

Joe hung up the phone and glanced at his watch. After he’d read Kurt’s letter, he’d made contact with a buyer for the counterfeit plates Kurt had stolen from one of the Bloods’ gang members. Only the Bloods weren’t aware of who stole them, so they wouldn’t be in on the action. Only Joe knew who had them—or at least had access to them. Access to the plates and everything else Kurt had left behind. A new will that had been notarized and signed by three different lawyers. Bank account numbers in the Cayman Islands, a Swiss account. More money than Joe had ever seen in his life.

All he had to do to get it was to kill Dani Harding.

Adam kept an arm around Dani’s shoulders and decided he liked the way she felt snuggled up against him. He looked over to catch Tabitha’s eye. And raised brows. Adam refused to acknowledge the flush he felt climbing up his neck.

He cleared his throat and led the way to the room. Ralph had sent him the room number about thirty minutes ago. In front of the door, they found Ralph standing guard. “You?”

Ralph shrugged. “I volunteered.”

“Is he awake?”

“Yes. But he’s on some serious pain meds.” He looked at Dani. “Hello again.”

Dani stepped forward and gave the man a hug. “Hi.”

Ralph looked surprised. Then pleased. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Me too. But Simon’s not and I really need to talk to Ryan and find out if he knows anything.”

Ralph nodded and shared a glance with Adam. “Help yourself.”

Adam pressed the door open and stepped inside to find the man with his eyes closed and his head bandaged. An IV trailed from the inside of his arm to a bag hanging on the pole next to him.

“Mr. Blanchard?”

Nothing.

Dani moved past him to the bed. “Look at his face.”

Bright pink patches, blistered and peeling skin. “Looks like he’s been burned by something.”

“Like boiling water?” She placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him. Hard.

Special Agent Ryan Blanchard blinked, then his eyes fluttered closed again.

“Wake up,” Dani demanded. She gave him another rough shake.

“Wha—?” He sniffed and drew in a breath. Adam watched the man work hard to force his eyes open. “What?”

“Who hired you? Stuart Harding?”

“I want a lawyer.” His eyelids fluttered shut.

Dani gave his shoulder a viciously hard shove and Blanchard gasped. But he looked at her, eyes narrowed in pain and anger. His gaze shuttled to Adam. “Get her away from me.”

Adam shrugged. “Sorry. I don’t tell her what to do, trust me on that one. You might as well tell us where Simon is.”

“Simon,” he mumbled. “Kurt’s kid.”

“And mine,” Dani said, leaning in. “Where is he?”

“I don’t have a clue.”

“You tried to kill me at Jenny’s house. I threw hot water on you. That’s why your face is burned.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Did Stuart hire you to kill us?” Dani demanded.

The man gave a low, pained laugh. “Wasn’t going to kill you. Stuart talked about all you were going through. I was just there to make sure you were okay.”

Dani snorted. “Right. Dressed in a black drysuit, a mask, and carrying a gun with a suppressor.”

“It’s cold outside. The ski mask and drysuit kept me warm. Found the gun on the deck. Wondered who it belonged to.”

Adam sighed. “Come on, Dani, you’re not getting anything from him.”

She pursed her lips and he could see the desperation in her. He knew she was wildly worried about Simon. He was too, but Blanchard wasn’t going to talk. Adam grabbed her hand. “Come on.”

She whirled away from him and charged at the man in the bed. “Where’s my son? Where’s Simon?” When Blanchard simply closed his eyes, Dani grabbed him by the collar of his hospital gown and shook him. “Where is he? Tell me!”

Blanchard howled with pain, his eyes rolling back in his head as his hands lifted to press his palms against his bandaged head.

Adam grabbed her arm and pulled her. “Dani, stop.”

“I can’t until he tells me,” she sobbed.

She jerked from his grasp and made another lunge for the writhing man. Adam finally snagged her around the waist and hauled her away and out the door.

“Dani, you’ve got to stop.”

She leaned against him and he held her while she took deep breaths and stopped fighting him.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. I’m just so scared, Adam. So scared . . .”

“I know.”

“I’ve got to trust that God is taking care of him, but it’s so hard.”

“I know,” he said again.

Ralph caught his attention. “Nurses are coming. Better get going.”

Adam pulled her down the hallway in the opposite direction of the approaching medical staff. In the stairwell, he led her down and stopped on the first landing. She leaned against the wall and stared at the ceiling.

“How can they do this?” she whispered. “How can they hurt a little boy?”

He couldn’t help it. He pulled her against him once again and stroked her short-cropped hair. “He’s going to be okay. We’re going to find him.”

“You can’t promise me that!”

Adam sighed. “No. I can’t. I’m sorry.”

“No. I’m sorry.” She sniffed and palmed her eyes. A thought seemed to hit her. “Is your mother in this hospital?”

Pain shot through him. “Yes.”

“Then you need to go see her.”

“Not right now. I will later. Once you and Simon are safe.”

Dani bit her lip. “Adam, you need to go to her.”

“I can’t. If someone sees me going in her room and connects us, they might hurt her to get me to give you up.”

She gasped. “Oh. I didn’t even think about that.”

“I know. I’ll make it up to her. She’ll understand, I promise.”

“What about your sister?”

He sighed, but his heart twisted at the concern on her face. Concern for him and his family. “I appreciate that you want to help me, but let’s worry about you and Simon for now, okay?”

She nodded. “Okay, so where are we going? What do we do next?”

“Call your friend Jenny, and see if Simon’s shown up at her house.” He handed her his phone.

Isaac stepped into the stairwell. “There you are.”

“What’s going on?” Adam asked.

“Tabitha just radioed me. Two guys just walked into the hospital and are on their way up.”

“What makes them stand out?”

“They’re in a government-issued vehicle.”

“FBI?”

“Looks like. Tabitha spotted weapons in shoulder holsters. And one of them is Stuart.”

Adam took Dani by the elbow. “Find out who the other one is. Time to go.”

She hung up the phone and handed it to him. “Jenny hasn’t seen him.”

“He and Mitchell are together,” Isaac said. “We’ve got someone tracking Mitchell’s phone.”

Adam started to lead them down the stairs, then paused.

Isaac stopped. “What?”

“Go up.”

“Why?” Dani asked.

“They’ll expect us to go down. Let’s go up. We can take the crosswalk over and then down to the parking garage. Tell Tabitha to meet us there.” He pulled his weapon from his holster. “Stay close.”

“How did they find us now?” Dani asked.

“I don’t know. We’re not exactly laying low and hiding out at this point. It could be that they had someone watching Blanchard’s room and called when we showed up. Who knows?”

“You don’t sound too concerned.”

“Oh, I’m concerned. I’m concerned we’re going to be dodging bullets. I’m concerned Simon hasn’t shown up and I’m concerned
no one has contacted us about him.” He pulled her up the stairs. She kept up.

“If someone has Simon and wants to contact us, how will they know how?”

He paused and opened the door to the floor that would lead them to the crosswalk. He looked at her. “Simon knows my number. And he has Isaac’s phone. If someone wants to talk, he’ll be able to find us.”

She nodded. Then looked around. “Now what?”

“That way.”

He kept a good grip on her hand. Isaac brought up the rear. “Tabitha’s waiting with the car.”

“Good. Let’s try to get there without anything newsworthy happening.”

The three of them dodged hospital workers and patients as they raced across the plastic-covered walkway. At the end, they stepped into the next building and Adam led them to the next set of stairs.

Joe Duncan flashed his badge to the hospital security officer. “I need to look at your monitors if you don’t mind.”