Chapter 2
Creating mental priority lists, I hurried back to my office. First, call Nichele and warn her about James Helmand. I dropped into my desk chair and hesitated, hand hovering over the phone.
No, maybe calling Nichele should be the second thing.
I picked up the phone and dialled, then sat jiggling my knee up and down while the ringtone sounded over and over. At last a clipped but welcome voice came over the line.
“Dave’s Trucking, Dave here.”
“Hi, Dave, it’s Aydan,” I began.
“Hi!” The shortness in his tone vanished and I could hear his smile when he spoke again. “Good to hear your voice! How the heck are you?”
“I’m fine, but there’s a bit of a situation…”
The phone made a hollow sound as though he’d cupped his hand over the mouthpiece, and he dropped his voice. “Where are you? Do you need help?”
Thankful as always for his unhesitating loyalty, I replied, “No, thanks, I’m okay. Where are you?”
“Moncton, New Brunswick. What’s wrong?”
“Shit, you’re days away…”
I hadn’t meant to speak that thought aloud, and a crackle from Dave’s end sounded as though he’d clenched the phone in his fist.
“What the hel… heck’s going on?” he demanded, tension vibrating in his voice.
“Sorry, Dave, I didn’t mean to scare you. It might be nothing to worry about, but James Helmand has been released on parole and even though he’s not supposed to contact Nichele I wanted to make sure she was being careful. I was hoping you were in town with her.”
“Shit!” I knew how upset he was when he didn’t censor his language. His voice rose. “I’m hauling in the Maritimes this week and even if I start home right now it’ll still take me four days! You gotta protect her! Promise me you’ll…”
He bit off the words and the sound of his deep breath hissed on the line.
“Sorry,” he said tightly. “I know your duty’s gotta come first, but…”
“No, this time it doesn’t,” I interrupted. “I’m going to call her as soon as I get off the phone with you, and then I’m going to drive down to Calgary right away. I’ll make sure she’s okay.”
“But… you’re still in Silverside?”
At my ‘uh-huh’, he muttered, “Two hours away…” He hesitated. When he spoke again, I understood why he had wrestled with the decision. “Can you get Hellhound to go over and stay with her ‘til you get there? I still think he’s a jerk, but… you trust him, don’t you? And he knows how to handle himself…”
“I’ll call him right away. Don’t worry. Arnie won’t let anyone get to Nichele. He hates James as much as we do, probably more. And James’s parole conditions prevent him from contacting either of them, so he won’t risk getting sent back to jail.”
“Yeah, right.”
On that dubious note, I offered one last feeble attempt at reassurance before disconnecting to dial Hellhound’s cell phone.
He picked up on the first ring with a brusque, “Helmand.”
“Hi, Arnie, it’s Aydan,” I said cautiously.
His tone changed to a warm and cheerful greeting. “Hey, darlin’! How ya doin’?”
“Hey, yourself,” I said, smiling in spite of my worry. “Why are you all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed? It’s only nine-thirty. Usually I get nothing but a groan if I call you before noon.”
“Had an early job.”
He didn’t elaborate as to whether the job involved killing people, and I didn’t ask. Instead, I got to the point. “Can I hire you?”
His gravelly chuckle tickled my eardrum. “Hell, darlin’, ya know how easy I am. Gimme a kiss an’ I’m yours.” He added hurriedly, “I mean, s‘long’s ya ain’t askin’ for a commitment.”
“Bite your tongue,” I chided, grinning at our long-standing joke. My smile slipped away as anxiety overcame me again. “No; I just found out that James is out on parole, and I’m worried about Nichele. She’ll be at work by now, so could you please go over to her office and stay with her until I get there in a couple of hours?”
“Fuck, I can’t.” His chagrin came through loud and clear. “I’m outta town an’ I ain’t gonna be back ‘til late today even if everythin’ goes slicker’n shit through a tin horn. If anythin’ fucks up, well…”
He trailed off and I shivered. He hadn’t specified location or details, so I knew exactly what kind of ‘job’ he was doing. If anything fucked up, he might not come back at all.
Dammit, now I was worried about him, too.
“But I thought you’d know Jim was gettin’ out,” Helhound added. “Didn’t ya get your call from the Parole Board?”
“No…” Memory dawned and I smacked my forehead. “Shit! I remember you telling me to register with them for notifications, but I got tied up on a mission right then and didn’t get a chance. And by the time the mission was over I’d forgotten. So, no, I didn’t find out until this morning. And Nichele doesn’t know either, or she would have called me.”
“Well, try not to worry about it,” he comforted. “Jim’s smart, an’ he ain’t gonna take a chance on goin’ back to jail. Nichele ain’t got anythin’ he wants. I’m more worried about you. If Jim thinks there’s still a price on your head…”
I let out an unladylike grunt in an attempt to clear the large hairy lump of fear clogging my throat. “That’s the least of my worries. Intel says James thinks I got him sent to prison. Never mind profit; he’ll be out for revenge.”
“Fuck.” Before Hellhound could speak again, I heard a crackle that sounded like a radio command at his end of the line. “We’re buggin’ out; gotta go,” he said rapidly. “Watch your six. I’ll call ya soon’s I can. Be safe. Love ya. ‘Bye.” The connection went dead.
“Shit,” I muttered into the silent receiver before slapping it back onto the cradle.
My nerves twitched with the need to run to my car and drive as fast as possible to Calgary, but I forced myself to draw a deep breath.
Kane was living in Calgary. If anybody could protect Nichele, he could. But was it fair to ask him to put himself in danger after he’d quit the Department?
I drew another deep breath. Let him decide for himself.
I dialled.
The phone rang a couple of times at the other end before the connection clicked open and a deep but wary voice said, “Kane.”
“Hi, it’s Aydan,” I said, attempting a light tone.
“Oh… Hi. How are you? It’s been a while.” He still sounded cautious. “I didn’t expect you to be calling from the office.”
“Um. Yeah, sorry about that…”
Guilt squirmed in my belly. This was just sleazy, asking him to risk his safety when I hadn’t even had the grace to call and say hi for weeks.
I couldn’t do it. Resolve squared my shoulders and I kept my tone warm and casual. “I just realized I hadn’t talked to you for ages, and I had a few minutes so I thought I’d call. How’s everything down there?”
“Oh.” His voice warmed and deepened, smoothing into his usual velvet baritone. “It’s nice to hear from you. Everything’s… fine.”
His tiny hesitation set off my alarm bells. “That’s not the word I expected you to use,” I probed gently.
“Well, no, I meant… it’s good. Really good. Great.”
“What’s wrong?”
The sound of his exhalation carried clearly over the line. “Nothing. I’m still adjusting. So are Daniel and Alicia. It’ll just take time.” His voice firmed. “Now, are you going to tell me what’s wrong at your end?”
“Nothi-”
“What’s wrong, Aydan?” he demanded.
I blew out a breath of my own. “You’re ‘way too good at reading me. Sorry, it’s just that… I just found out James Helmand is out on parole and I’m worried about Nichele even though he’s not supposed to contact her. I’m leaving in a few minutes to drive down but-”
“I’ll stay with her until you get here. Will she be at work today?”
Gratitude swamped me, putting a catch in my voice. “Th- Thank you. But… I don’t want you to put yourself at risk. You promised Daniel you’d always be there for him, and it’s not fair to-”
“It’s all right, Aydan, I want to,” he interrupted. “And it’s not going to be dangerous. If James shows up, I’ll just call the police like any other citizen. Tell Nichele I’m coming, and then call me back with her location.”
I drew a breath of relief. “Thanks. I’ll call you right back.”
When Nichele answered the phone a few moments later with a crisp, “Nichele Brown, how may I help you?” I slumped with relief. She was still okay. Thank God.
“Hi, Nichele.”
“Aydan!” Her business voice vanished, replaced by her usual squeal of delight. “How are you, girl? Long time, no talk!”
“Um, yeah, sorry about that…” I mumbled. “Look, Nichele…”
Her voice went flat except for a faint vibration like an electrical current. “What’s wrong? Is it… ohmigod, Dave…?”
“No, no, Dave’s fine, I just talked to him,” I reassured her with slightly too much heartiness.
“What is it, then? I can tell it’s bad by the sound of your voice. Spill it.”
“Um…” I couldn’t think of any good way to say it. “James Helmand is out on parole.”
If not for the tiny squeak at the other end of the line, I would have thought we’d been disconnected.
“But he’s not allowed to come near you,” I added hurriedly. “If he even thinks about it, they’ll throw him right back in jail. I’m coming down to stay with you, I’m leaving right now, and John will stay with you until I get there…”
“Aydan…” Her voice was breathy with terror. “Ohmigod… what… what… how could he be out? So soon?”
“I’ll explain when I get there,” I said firmly. “I’m leaving now. Tell your secretary to cancel your meetings for the day. Tell her you’re working on an important investment plan. Close your door and don’t open it until you hear the secret knock.”
A puff of air that might have been a sob or a giggle floated over the line. “Girl, we made up the secret knock when we were five years old. Everybody knows shave-and-a-haircut. And you can’t do anything to stop him if he comes for me.” Her voice firmed into the determined Nichele that I knew. “Don’t come. You’ll be safer if you stay away from me. There’s no point in giving him two targets for the price of one.”
“I’m coming,” I snapped. “I’m not going to leave you to face him alone. John will be there as soon as he can, and I’ll be there in two hours. Wait for the secret knock.” I hung up on her protests, wishing I could tell her about Kane’s deadly martial arts skills and the Glock strapped to my ankle. But I couldn’t blow my cover, not even for my best friend since childhood.
I sighed and called Kane before jogging out to the parking lot.
Fifteen minutes later I was scurrying around my bedroom, stuffing overnight essentials into my small backpack while fearsome images of James’s grinning face flashed in my mind’s eye. His fists balled and dripping with Arnie’s blood. Nichele’s small body blackened with bruises from those same brutal fists.
What if he was stalking her right now? What if he was armed and I’d just sent Kane into the path of his bullets? Dammit, I shouldn’t have involved Kane…
Muttering worried obscenities, I locked my front door, raking my usual glance over the farmyard and fields beyond in case of snipers or spies. Hurrying into my garage, I almost skipped checking the car for tracking devices. After all, I’d checked it before I left Sirius only half an hour ago…
I hissed out a breath between my teeth and did it anyway.
Check everything, every time. My new mantra. I would get good at this spy stuff, dammit.
The reassuring green light glowed on my detection device, and I slid into my car and headed for the highway.