When a Secret Kills (23 page)

Jillian thought her heart might just break in two. In fact, she was quite sure it already had, because she’d never felt a pain like this before. This kind of pain stemmed from being the cause of
another’s
pain and it hurt to even breathe.

When Colton’s phone rang, she jumped.

He looked at her. “It’s Dominic again.”

“Put him on speakerphone? Please?”

Colton did. “Yeah?”

“We’ve been doing background stuff on your uncle and those close to him. Those especially involved in his campaign. We keep coming back to one name.”

“Who’s that?”

“Elliott Darwin.”

“Elliott?” Colton rocked back. “He and my uncle have been friends forever. Elliott’s like another uncle to me.”

“Elliott was also in the same unit with Nicholas Tremaine. They were in the Navy together.”

Colton went still and Jillian stared at him. “The man who tried to kill me at the airport?” she whispered.

“Yeah.” He told Dominic, “We’ll be at the gate in a few minutes. As soon as I know she’s safe, I’ll call you back. But text me updates if you have any.”

Jillian heard Dominic say, “They’re looking for Darwin now.”

“Try my uncle’s hospital room.” Then Colton pulled into the parking lot at the airport.

Jillian shook her head. “I can’t believe Blake’s buddy brought her here.”

“Too late to worry about that now,” Colton said.

She sighed. “I know. Let’s just get her and keep her safe.”

8:16 AM

Jillian followed Colton into the airport. His phone rang as they walked into the building. He snatched it. While he talked, Jillian’s eyes searched the boards for her daughter’s flight. Relief coated her nerves as she found the
ON
TIME
status at 8:22. Then her breath hitched as it changed to
DELAYED
. She rushed to the counter. “Why is flight 2327 delayed? Is something wrong? Did something happen on the plane?”

The attendant peered at Jillian over the top of her glasses. “No, ma’am, everything is fine.” She clicked a few keys on the computer. “We just have several flights arriving at the same time. Some are having to circle for a few minutes until we can get everyone on the ground.”

Jillian sagged. “Okay, thanks.” She looked at the board again and saw the time now said 8:31. She could handle that short delay.

Blake hung back and she knew he was watching for anyone and anything suspicious. Colton hung up, spoke to security, and flashed his badge to everyone who got in his way. Jillian stayed right behind him, her goal to get to the gate and gather her child in her arms.

She finally made it to the gate and could go no farther. Her eyes darted, her nerves tingled.

Please, God, let her be fine.

Her arms ached with a physical pain that only the feel of Meg would soothe. Jillian’s heart thumped and her adrenaline flowed.
She glanced around, her eyes bouncing from one person to the next. The man in the hoodie. Was he waiting for Meg? Waiting to snatch her and hold her as leverage against her mother? Or was it the innocent-looking blond with the Coach purse and high heels?

Get a grip, Jillian.
She took a deep breath and felt Colton’s gaze on her. He’d hung up the phone, but his tight lips and narrowed eyes said the news wasn’t good. Either that or his response was due to the fact that he was going to meet his daughter for the first time. Her stomach dipped and swirled and she thought she might be sick from the nerves and fear alone.

But the senator was in the hospital. There’d been no more attempts to kill her since the day before.

Colton’s hand squeezed her shoulder. “She’ll have security all around her. Blake’s buddy is with her. She’ll be fine.” Even after what she’d done to him, he still offered her comfort. Emotion swept over her, tears rising to the surface. She loved him. She’d never stopped.

What a relief to admit it.

“I don’t know what she looks like,” Colton said as he looked at passengers. The raw pain in his voice nearly shattered her.

When she could speak again, she whispered, “She looks like you.”

Jillian felt the fine tremor that shook him.

Time passed at a snail’s pace. She glanced at the clock on the wall, then at the door Meg would come from. Colton paced, and while Jillian knew he should be distracted by the thought of meeting Meg in just a few minutes, she noticed he never stopped scanning the area, never let his guard down just because they were in an airport with extra security. And neither did Blake.

The flow of people picked up. The plane had landed and was now unloading.

Jillian tensed as she watched each person. She examined the face of every child.

Where was Meg?

“There!” Jillian gasped and pointed as she grabbed Colton’s arm. “There she is.”

Colton honed in on a slender young girl with reddish gold hair and long skinny legs extending from her green shorts. He felt frozen, unable to move.

“Mom!”

The child’s high-pitched cry reached his ears as Meg hurled herself down the rest of the steps. Blake’s friend, a tall man in his late twenties with a shiny bald head, hurried after her. Colton’s eyes darted from one face to the next, looking for anything that represented danger to her. Only when Meg flung herself into Jillian’s arms did the tension in Colton’s shoulders relax a fraction.

“Oh Meg, I missed you, baby.” Jillian buried her face in Meg’s neck.

“I missed you too, Mom. Now can you let me go? You’re smashing my nose.”

She looked like a young Liliana Mumy. He waited.

“Uncle Blake!” Meg flew from her mother’s arms into Blake’s waiting ones. He lifted her easily from her feet by her biceps and brought her eye to eye with him. “Hey, Spunky.”

She kissed his nose. “Let me down.”

Blake put her on the floor and reached out to shake Meg’s escort’s hand. “Tony.”

“Blake.”

“Thanks for keeping her safe.”

“No problem. She kept me on my toes.” He shook his head and said, “Give me a tour in Iraq any day, it’s easier.”

Colton also shook the man’s hand. “You need a place to stay?”

“Naw, I got a buddy here who’s been asking me to come visit. He’s waiting on me now unless you need anything else.”

“I think we can take it from here.”

Meg and Tony said their goodbyes, the little girl giving him a neck-crushing hug. Colton saw the man smile. Not such a hard heart after all.

Colton continued to assess the area as did Blake now that Meg was safe and Tony was gone.

And then the little girl was standing in front of him, eyes wide, mouth open. He offered her a smile. “Hello, Meg.”

She reached out and touched his hand. It felt like she’d singed him with a match. “You’re real.”

Confused, he squatted so he was eye level with her. “Of course I am.” With his forefinger, he tapped her on the forehead. “Just like you are.”

“No, I mean you’re . . . you.”

Colton’s eyes sought Jillian’s. Tears stood there, trembling on her lashes, fingers pressed to her lips. Meg had recognized him. His heart thudded. “Who do you think I am, Meg?”

A grin spread across her lips, exposing a deep dimple in her left cheek. “My dad.” She pulled a locket from beneath her shirt and opened it. Then she turned it around so he could see it. His high school senior picture. “Mom gave it to me and said I needed to know what you looked like when I met you one day. I been waiting a lo-o-ong time.”

Colton felt the air in his lungs simply leave. The knot in his throat made it hard to swallow. It was a good thing Blake was there to watch for any trouble because Colton was simply unable to function at the moment. Somehow he found his voice. “She told you about me, huh?”

“Sure. She told me all kinds of stuff about you. She said you were the best thing that ever happened to her, next to me of course, and that you loved me even though you never met me.” Another grin and a flash of her dimple and Colton was lost.

“Well, she was right about that.”

“Good. Cuz that makes it easier to love you even though I never met you.” She giggled, then stepped forward to wrap her slender arms around his neck. Colton hugged her back and tried to get a grip on his roller-coastering emotions. The transparency of a child. What you saw was what you got. If only everyone could be that way, unfettered by appearances and what people thought of them.

Holding his daughter next to his heart, there was one thing he did recognize. Now that he knew about Meg, there was no way he wasn’t going to be a part of the rest of her life. He lasered a look toward Jillian. She had her lips pressed together to keep them from trembling. A few stray tears streaked her cheeks.

She nodded. “I know, Colton.”

Colton looked at Blake and the security surrounding them. One man had tears in his eyes. Colton stood and cleared his throat, a tad embarrassed at the display. “Okay, let’s get out of here.” He thanked those who’d acted as his daughter’s bodyguards. “Appreciate the extra measure.”

“No problem . . . Sure thing,” came the replies.

Colton’s phone rang. A glance at the screen told him he wanted to take this one. “Hey, Dominic, can you give me ten minutes?”

“Yeah.”

Colton, with Blake’s help, ushered Jillian and Meg toward the waiting vehicle. They’d parked in police parking just outside.

He looked at Blake. “Keep your eyes open for anything. I doubt we’ve anything to worry about until we get on the highway, but just in case . . .”

Blake nodded and moved closer to Jillian. Colton had moved in front, keeping Meg between him and Jillian.

The airport was active, but not terribly busy. He glanced to the right, then left. Then right again.

“Clear.”

He opened the rear door and helped Meg into the car. Jillian slid in next, her hand already reaching for the seatbelt to help Meg fasten it. Colton rounded the car toward the driver’s side.

Blake pulled open the front passenger door and leaned in. “I’ll follow you—” He stiffened and swiveled his head to the left.

Then Colton heard it.

A roaring engine, growing louder under the cover of the waiting area.

He hollered, “Get in!” as he jumped into the driver’s seat.

Blake dove into the front seat and slammed the door. “Get down, Jillian! Cover Meg!”

In the rearview mirror, Colton saw Jillian act. He pressed the gas pedal and shot from the parking space. Already security was in action.

“It’s a motorcycle, Blake.”

The bike blasted past and came to a stop at the curb. Security followed. The driver of the bike pulled his helmet off and grinned at the woman beelining toward him.

“Idiot,” Colton muttered under his breath but some of the tension left him as he pulled the car over to let Blake get out.

“What was that all about?” Jillian asked.

“Just a guy showing off for his girlfriend. Security’s blasting him.”

His phone buzzed in answer to the next question on his mind. Dominic said, “Just got off the phone with the team going through Darwin’s home. Nothing yet, but I’ll keep you posted. You have Jillian and Meg?”

“I’ve got them.” He could still feel Meg’s sweet arms around his neck.

“Stay safe, Colton.”

“Yeah.” He knew he sounded short; he was just too full of emotions to talk right now and he needed to keep his wits about him in order to obey Dominic’s order to keep Meg and Jillian safe.

“Right.”

“Hey, sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me.”

“How’s your dad?”

“We’ve said our goodbyes.”

Colton winced. “Stay in touch.”

“You know it.”

Jillian held on to Meg as they pulled into the hotel parking lot. The child had been quiet, as though sensing the tension running through the car. She’d only had a small backpack with her and Jillian knew Blake’s mother had acted quickly. She just prayed the woman would stay in hiding for a little while longer. At least until she received word from Blake that this was all over.

Oh please let it be over soon,
she prayed.

Blake and Colton ushered them into the hotel while Jillian hovered over Meg, determined that if someone was going to take a shot at them, Meg wouldn’t be the target.

She noticed Colton covering
her
back.

Inside the lobby, she breathed a sigh of relief. Meg kept her hand snug inside Jillian’s, no doubt still feeling some of the tension. Colton didn’t say much on the short ride up to the room, but Jillian caught him shooting glances at Meg.

Blake opened the door and Meg stepped inside. “Wow, nice place you got here.”

Jillian smiled. “Thanks.” She pointed to her bedroom. “You’re in there with me.” She looked up in time to see Blake nod at Colton and slip out the door.

Meg bounced across to the room and pushed open the bedroom door. She tossed her backpack onto the bed, then spun around. “I’m hungry. What’s a girl got to do to get some food around here?” She grinned and planted her hands on her hips.

“I’ll call room service,” Colton said. “What do you like?” Jillian noticed his jaw tighten as he waited for Meg’s answer. He didn’t like that he had to ask that last question.

Meg said, “I like anything. Eggs and bacon mostly. With toast. And orange juice. And those little hash brown potato things if they have them. And a hot chocolate. And—”

“Okay,” Jillian broke in. “I think we can stop at the hash browns.”

Meg gave a small pout, then grinned. “Never hurts to try.” She spun back into the room and attacked her backpack with that energy Jillian always envied. Meg pulled out a blue-and-black one-piece swimsuit. “So, when are we going swimming?”

Colton couldn’t seem to take his eyes from the girl. Jillian figured she’d give him some room to process everything. “We’ll be right back, okay?”

He nodded. “Sure. Yeah.”

She crossed into the bedroom and shut the door. “Meg, honey, why did you bring your swimsuit?”

Her daughter shrugged. “Grandma Jo said we were staying in a hotel, so I figured, why not?”

Jillian rushed over to gather the girl in a tight squeeze. “I’ve missed you.”

Meg tightened her arms. “Not as much as I’ve missed you.”

Jillian ignored the knot in her throat. “Well, we can’t go swimming yet, I’m afraid.”

Meg pouted. “Why not?”

How much should she tell her? Jillian didn’t want to scare the
child to death, but she wanted her to be on guard nevertheless. “Because there are some really bad people after me and I have to be very careful where I go right now.”

Meg frowned. “Why is someone after you?”

“Because I saw something and these people don’t like that I saw it.”

“So they want to take you out so you can’t testify?”

Jillian rocked back. “What? Where on earth did you learn that kind of talk?”

She shrugged. “Grandma Jo likes
NCIS
, you know that.”

She did know that. She just didn’t know Grandma Jo, Blake’s mother, was allowing her impressionable daughter to watch it. “I’m going to have to talk to Grandma Jo. In the meantime, I need you to keep your head down and stay with an adult at all times.”

“Can one of those other adults take me swimming? Like my dad?” She chewed on her lip. “He’s really my dad, isn’t he? For real?”

Jillian’s heart thudded. “Yes. For real.”

Meg cocked her head and studied Jillian. “I’m glad.” She picked up the swimsuit and shook it at her mother. “I still want to go swimming.”

Colton backed from the door where he’d been shamelessly eavesdropping. It sounded like Jillian was a good mother. Not that he really had any doubts. She and Meg shared a strong bond in spite of the circumstances of her birth.

He glanced at his watch and wondered how his uncle was doing. He hated being out of the loop, but for now his priority was keeping his girls safe.

His girls. A tremor raced through him. He liked the sound of that.

Colton pulled his phone from his pocket as he headed back to the couch. He dialed Hunter’s number.

“Hey,” Hunter answered.

“Hey. You got anything newsworthy?”

“I’ve been meaning to call you, just haven’t had a chance. I’ve been working this other case that dropped in my lap earlier this morning and it’s taken up a lot of my time.”

Colton winced. He had managed to delegate most of the cases sitting on his desk, but not all of them. His captain was a good one, not a micromanager as long as he was kept in the loop. But even Captain Murdoch had his limit and would have to tell Colton to get busy on his other cases. Colton was running out of time. “So what is it?”

“We got a search warrant for Darwin’s home. So far he hasn’t turned up. Wasn’t in your uncle’s hospital room either. We’ve got someone on the house. We’ll get him if he comes home.”

“Good.”

“One interesting thing. We did find a shirt in the neighbor’s trash that looked like it had the same pattern as the scrap of material found at Serena’s. Be glad trash pickup isn’t until Monday.”