The Reckoning (24 page)

Elizabeth
reached over, took her father’s hand, and gave it a squeeze. “I just want you to understand how important all of them are to me. How important they were to saving my life, and how important they are going to be to my future. If anyone hurts any one of them, I’d never forgive myself if there were a way I could’ve stopped it. You understand don’t you daddy?”

The General threw his head back and laughed. His laughter reverberated off her kitchen walls. The laughter caught
Elizabeth
off guard. She hadn’t said anything funny. Maybe the old man was losing his mind. “What’s so funny, General?”

The General gave a slight squeeze to her hand. “I get it now, Lizzy. You’re in love with Bennett. “

Elizabeth
pulled her hand away from her father’s and pushed back from the table. Leaning forward, placing her palms on the table, she gazed directly into her father’s eyes. “No, you don’t get it, Daddy. I know why you’re here, and I’m not going to stand by and pretend it’s okay because it’s not. I don’t care what orders you’re here to carry out. Just know that if it’s about any one of the Bennett’s, I won’t stand to see them hurt.”

Elizabeth
stomped from the room and plopped down on her couch. Her blood pressure was through the roof. She wanted to hit something. There had to be something she could do to make her father see that this wasn’t just another tactical maneuver. His actions were going to bring consequences, not only to her, but to all of their lives. Mike and his sisters would never get to know
Lydia
, and vice versa, if she left on the run again.
Elizabeth
leaned her head back on the couch, closed her eyes, and pulled in a long breath. She needed to calm down before she said or did something she’d regret the rest of her life. Regardless of her father’s actions, she loved him. He’d always been there for her and didn’t deserve the treatment she was giving him.

Elizabeth
was surprised when she opened her eyes. Her father stood in the archway of the kitchen, leaning against the wall. “Are you done? I haven’t seen this size of a tantrum since you were six.”

Elizabeth
smiled, remembering the teddy bear she’d just had to have. “It was worth it then, and it’s worth it now. Are you ready to talk?”

The General pushed off from the wall and took a seat in her recliner. He laced his fingers behind his head. “I know all about Lydia Stevens. I know some of the things that she’s capable of, and I’m afraid I’m not the only one.”

Elizabeth
lifted her feet to the couch and sat on her ankles. “What does the government know?”

The General cleared his throat. “She’s capable of knocking out two bad guys with guns without lifting a finger. We’ve been tailing her for some time. My mission is to bring her in.”

Elizabeth
nodded. She’d heard the story directly from
Lydia
.

“Elizabeth, the man she saved is the son of one of my friends. I don’t want to see her get hurt any more than you do, but we can help her.”

Elizabeth
nodded.

The General pulled his hands out from beneath his head and pushed the lounger in an upright position. “I promise I won’t let any harm come to her. I need to convince her that coming with me is the only way to keep her safe.”

Elizabeth
leaned against the arm of the couch. Exhaustion had set in. “Who are you keeping her safe from?”

The General pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and covered
Elizabeth
. “There are bad men after her, that want to exploit her for what she’s capable of. I can help keep her safe and get her the help she needs.”

Elizabeth
pushed the blanket off of her and walked to where her father was seated. She held up her right pinky. “Swear it.”

The General raised his brow. “
Elizabeth
you aren’t five anymore.”

She shook her pinky. “You’ve never broken a pinky promise and they’re as good as gold, so swear it.”

The General wrapped his pinky around her, locking the two of them together. “I pinky promise that I am only here to help
Lydia
.”

Elizabeth
shook their pinky’s and released his. She smiled. “It’s as good as written in stone.”

She walked toward her bedroom. The man had never broke a promise, if he started now she was going to kill him.

****

Elizabeth
blinked her eyes open, snuggled under the comforter on her bed. The conversation she’d had with her father confirmed Mike’s assessment that her father was here for
Lydia
.
Elizabeth
yawned, rolled over, and looked toward her closed bedroom door. She figured she had two choices, and no matter which way she chose, it was possible that at least one man in her life was going to get a little mad.

Elizabeth
pushed herself up, leaned over to the dresser, and grabbed her cell phone. She opened it. She knew the one thing to do, the one thing that made more sense than any other. She was calling Mike’s sisters. Her dad and Mike would just have to work through it.

Elizabeth
needed to warn them of the reason her father was here. She didn’t doubt his promise not to hurt
Lydia
, but she wasn’t going to chance anyone else getting her first.

Elizabeth
sent a text.

Claire, please meet me at Emma’s café in an hour. It’s about
Lydia
.
Elizabeth
.

Elizabeth
waited for her answer and flipped her phone off. Determination to keep
Lydia
safe drove her through a quick shower. When she emerged from her room, she stopped in the living room. No sign of the General was anywhere to be seen. She walked to the kitchen. Even the dishes that had been in the sink were put up.

“Crap, I might be too late,”
Elizabeth
whispered to herself.

She spun on her heels, grabbed her purse and keys, and left in a hurry to meet Claire.

At that time of the morning, there were only a few people lingering at tables with their coffee cups.
Elizabeth
glanced around; no sign of Claire. She ordered her coffee and took a seat at the booth with her back to the wall away from the few patrons. The chime above the door rang, and
Elizabeth
glanced up. Walking in wasn’t the sister she expected to meet.
Lydia
.

Lydia
smiled and nodded before walking to the counter and ordering her own coffee. She tilted her head and winked at
Elizabeth
as she strolled over.

How was she going to tell her what she’d found out?
Elizabeth
set her cup on the table picked up a packet of sugar and played with it between her fingers.

“Hey,
Elizabeth
. Fancy meeting you here.”

Elizabeth
narrowed her eyes. This wasn’t coincidence. The gifts that
Lydia
had must have given her a glimpse of the meeting.

“I’m sure you were expecting to see me.”
Elizabeth
glanced out the window. “I’m kind of surprised you didn’t wait for Claire.”

Lydia
slid into the booth. “I know what you’re going to tell her.”
Lydia
took a sip of her coffee. “You can’t stop what’s going to happen.”
Lydia
tilted her head. “You know, sometimes things have a way of working themselves out. What might appear as a catastrophe might just end up as a salvation of sorts.”

Elizabeth
raised her brow. She’d heard about Momma Mae giving advice to Emma in riddles, but this must top the cake. The redhead knew more than she was telling. If only Claire had been there to read her mind, it would have saved all of them a lot of trouble.

“
Lydia
, cut the crap. There are people after you, and not just good men like my father.”
Elizabeth
put her elbows on the table. The need to get her to see the dire consequences of her situation weren’t going as planned.
Elizabeth
expected to see a little bit of fear in the woman’s eyes, but
Lydia
only held a somber gaze in her eyes. Eyes that told of knowledge beyond her years. “You’ve got to run and find someplace safe to stay until we can figure this out. Until now, we just assumed it was some photographer following you around. Now there the government wants you along with bad men.”

Elizabeth
reached over and squeezed
Lydia
’s hand, only to pull it back from the electric shock she received. She rubbed her hands together. “We’ll do everything we can to help you.”

Lydia
scrunched her eyebrows and bit her bottom lip. “I can’t leave yet. I have another vision and there’s too much at stake.”
Lydia
leaned back in her seat. “I appreciate your concern. God knows it’s been a long time since anyone cared, and I promise I’ll be careful, but I have to see this through. Not just for myself but for my sisters, not to mention for Mike’s and your future. We’re stronger together than we’d ever be apart. I know that now.”

Elizabeth
was ready to beat her head against the table. This stubborn woman didn’t know what was best for her own safety. She wasn’t going to be able to hold the military off from taking
Lydia
. The only thing
Elizabeth
could do was plead with her father or tell the girls what her father had told her. Maybe they could talk some sense into their very stubborn sister.
Must run in their blood.

Elizabeth
had been so lost in thought she hadn’t seen or heard Claire walk in until she’d walked up to their table. She made a shooing  gesture with her hands, and
Lydia
scooted over, making room.
Elizabeth
threw her hands in the air. “Thank god you’re here. Talk some sense into her. She was ready to run last night, now that she needs to, she won’t.”

Claire glanced from
Elizabeth
to
Lydia
and back. “What are you talking about?”

Elizabeth
leaned back against the plastic seat cushion. “Mike was right; my dad is here for
Lydia
. He said he wouldn’t hurt her, but there are other men who are after her too… bad men.

Claire raised her brow at
Lydia
. “Maybe you staying right now isn’t such a good idea.” Claire pulled the phone from her clip and flipped it open. “I can have you out of here in half an hour.”

Lydia
gently flipped Claire’s phone closed. “You don’t understand. I can’t go yet, but I promise at the first moment I can leave, I will.”

The lines of Claire’s lips softened. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

Claire stood and picked up her coffee. “Come on, ladies; grab your coffees. We need to get you ready for tonight.”

Claire hit a button on her phone. “Hey, Abby, it’s me. I need you to make two more getups like you did for me. I’m going to need it all, the holsters, the guns.

Claire pulled in a breath and glanced between
Lydia
and
Elizabeth
. “And can you ask Jake to see if he has another watch for
Lydia
and tell him that
Elizabeth
is going to need hers back.”

Claire turned toward
Elizabeth
and winked. “And she won’t be taking it off this time.”

CHAPTER 21

Mike had called
Elizabeth
’s cell phone a dozen times with no answer. He’d gone to her house and practically beat down the door. No sign of
Elizabeth
anywhere. She wouldn’t have run. There was no longer a threat against her, but where the hell was the stubborn woman? He had hoped he’d have time before the party to convince her that going wasn’t a good idea. He looked down at his monkey suit and pulled some slack in the tie that threatened to choke him. Mike had every intention of keeping her safe away from the party. The fact that the FBI believed Winters worked at her hospital set his nerves on edge.

Mike got back in his SUV and slammed the door closed. The need keep Elizabeth away from Winters put behind bars had Mike clutching the steering wheel as he drove toward Claire’s house. Everything had to be perfect tonight. Everything had to go off without a hitch to protect his sisters from the killer that was going to be at the party. Failing wasn’t an option.

Mike pulled into Claire’s drive and stopped in front of the house. Caterers and event people scurried around, trying to get everything ready.  He was early enough that no party-goers had shown up yet. Claire’s parties attracted trouble. It was something he should have been used to by now, but he knew he’d never be able to stop her from arranging charity events.  Every doctor that worked at the hospital was going to be here tonight. The perfect trap relied on solely being able to find the right man. He’d had a stroke of genius the night before as he lay in his bed thinking of how it was going to play out. Ted hadn’t called yet with a possible identity, and there was only one person still alive who knew what the man looked like.