[28]

“A traffic cam picked up the vehicle,” the captain said.

Steven watched the explosion detection dog sitting, alerting the bomb squad to the bomb beneath the large pile of mud and mulch.

“Our tech guy is following it from camera to camera. Looks like he took the exit for Lake Murray. After that, we’re not sure. He hasn’t been able to pick him back up.”

“Okay, at least we have something to work with. Can you have units ready to stand by once we locate her?” Please, Lord, let it happen and happen soon. He couldn’t stand the thought of something happening to her. He was just getting to know her, and for the first time in a very, very long time, he wanted the option of a relationship to continue.

“Of course.”

He hung up only to have his phone buzz again. Katie. “Hello?”

“I was talking to your buddy Hugh. Did Haley tell you that her grandfather changed his will the day after he found out she was alive?”

Steven paused. “No, she didn’t tell me that. How does Hugh know?”

“He knows everything about that family.”

“Except who killed three of them.”

“Well, yes, or so he says.”

“You don’t believe him?”

“I don’t know. I can’t read him as well as I would like. He sure comes across as sincere. But he left a little while ago and hasn’t come back.”

Steven frowned. “Where’d he go?”

“I’m not sure.”

“All right, let me know when he shows back up. What about the rest of the family?”

“They’ve kind of scattered. Said they were going to the hotel to rest. Lachlan said he needed to work, but that they would all be back as soon as they got word Ian was awake.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“There’s more.”

“Tell me.”

“My contact from Scotland Yard called me. She looked into the investigation of the murders and said that while Niall Burke was initially cleared of any wrongdoing, he was noted to have ties to the mafia.”

“What? Why are we just now learning this?”

“Because the FBI wasn’t a part of the original investigation—the local Gardaí handled it. This comes from our field office. It’s a shame. We had information to share and didn’t know we needed to.”

“Communication back then wasn’t quite what it is today.”

“I know.”

“Anyway, Niall isn’t answering any questions right now. He’s hovering at the edge of death.”

“And his family is here.” Steven drew in a breath and continued watching as pile after pile of dirt was removed by the bomb squad. Robots and humans. The humans wore their protective suits and were digging by hand, careful not to accidentally set off any explosive device. It was going to be slow going. Steven stayed well back while he talked to Katie. “It doesn’t make sense. So, Ian changed his will.”

“Yes.”

“Who is going to be the most affected by the change?”

“Kane and Lachlan. Kane is Niall’s son and Lachlan is the grandson, just to refresh your memory.”

“Right. So they’re the ones with the most to lose.”

“Hugh said they’ll lose half.”

“And Lachlan’s been in the States for the past two weeks.”

“You think he’s the one who killed Gerald Forsythe and tried to kill Haley?”

“No, I think he hired someone to do it for him. I’m going to send someone to the hotel to pick up him and his father. I have some questions for them.”

Haley stared at the woman in front of her. Maeve, Lachlan’s wife. Surprised, and yet not. “Does Lachlan know about this?”

“Of course not. He’s very much like his father and grandfather. Too weak to take the necessary steps to ensure the fortune stays in the family.”

Haley was part of the family, more so than the woman in front of her, but she didn’t think it wise to remind her at the moment. “So you took it upon yourself to do so.”

“I did.”

Hard hands shoved her into the wooden chair, and her captor snapped the cuffs around the side of it. The chair wobbled slightly and creaked when she leaned back. An old, flimsy chair. “But you were just a child twenty-five years ago, just like me,” she said. “You didn’t have anything to do with the murders.”

“True enough,” a voice to her right said, “’twas my mother-in-law, Darcy.” The second woman shut the door behind her and faced Haley full on.

Haley gaped. “Janet?” Kane’s wife. Her gaze snapped back to the younger woman. “Maeve? The two of you together are doing this?”

“That’s right.” She motioned to the man behind her. “Put your mask on and hold the gun to her head.”

He did so and Janet snapped a picture with her phone, tapped a few keys on the keyboard, and then lowered the device.

“Why?” Haley asked. “After twenty-five years?”

“Because you were found.”

“So I need to die?”

“Exactly.” The older woman stepped toward her, the gun a comfortable weight in her hand. “Only you can’t die yet. Unfortunately, I’ve only just learned that your grandfather changed his will the moment he learned you were alive, and he will have to sign a paper saying he is reverting back to the old will. Until then, you will have to keep us company.”

“Because I’m the bait.”

“He signs or you die.” She waved the phone. “I just sent him the picture. The papers have been delivered to his hospital room.”

“By whom?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

The only other person who could possibly be involved was Peter, Kane’s brother and Niall’s other son.

“You’re not going to let me live whether he signs the papers or not,” Haley said.

“True.” She pointed the weapon at Haley’s forehead. “Can’t have you talking now, can we?”

“Of course not. And then you’ll make sure my grandfather has an accidental death as well, won’t you?”

Janet gave a slight shrug.

A blinding rage swept over Haley and she drew in a deep breath, blinked, and allowed a cold calm to invade her to the depths of her soul. Did this woman really think Haley would just sit calmly by while she threatened to kill her and her grandfather? “Darcy had them killed, you said.”

“It couldn’t be helped. Niall was going to walk away from the business. He said he was tired of working for his brother.” She let out a short laugh. “Can you imagine? Walking away from all that money? The eejit. He was going to branch out, do his own thing, live off the land like paupers if they had to, he said. Darcy was livid and having none of it.”

“So your mother-in-law hired the hit men, who used Hugh’s son, and made it look like a Mafia attack?”

“She did. It didn’t hurt that Ian had just outbid a Mafia-owned company. The time was all right for everything to happen. Ian was supposed to die as well, but in the end it didn’t matter. Darcy got what she wanted.”

“Niall staying with the company while his brother grieved.” Haley didn’t bother trying to work her wrist out of the cuff. Instead, she let her mind continue to flick through escape options. Ones that would allow her enough time to reach her phone.

“Which is what she wanted,” Janet said. “With Ian dead, Niall would have taken over, but he possibly would have decided to sell out at some point to chase his silly dream.”

Haley flinched at the scorn in the woman’s voice. She felt sorry for Niall, Kane, and Lachlan. How had they been so deceived by such treacherous women?

Haley worked her hand around so that she had a good grip on the chair. The way her hand was cuffed to it, it would just look like she was trying to find a more comfortable position. She rocked back a bit and felt the wood give slightly. “So while Ian and his wife managed to survive, the death of his family had the same result. Niall in charge.” She kept her eyes on the woman, but her senses were very aware of the man just behind her to her right.

“Exactly. He couldn’t let down his precious older brother, you know. Or at least I knew that.”

“And used it to your advantage.”

“Of course. He took over the majority of the business until Kane could graduate with his degree and step into his father’s shoes. Niall was glad to hand the reins over to Kane, and eventually Lachlan, who was also happy to take them.”

“What was Ian’s part in all of this?”

She gave a ladylike huff. “He wasn’t even in the picture for a long time. He signed what was necessary for Niall to make decisions for the company without having to consult him on each and every one. By the time he was ready to come back and take over, Niall was doing so well, Ian left things as they were. He was older and ready to go into a partial retirement anyway. He kept his finger on the pulse of the company, but Niall and Ian are so much alike—and do business very much alike—that the two never really had anything to butt heads over.”

“So how did you find all that out? I mean, that’s not something that you just talk about around the dinner table.”

“My mother-in-law and I were very close. Two minds working as one, you might say. I came across some correspondence in Niall’s office one afternoon when I was . . . dusting.”

Haley laughed, a sound that was harsh to her own ears. “Sorry, but you don’t look like you’ve ever dusted anything in your life. I think you mean snooping.”

She shrugged. A lazy lifting of her shoulder. “Whatever. I asked my mother-in-law about it and she asked me what I would do if I thought the family fortune was in danger.”

“And your answer?” The longer she kept the woman talking, the longer someone had time to find her.

“I told her I would do whatever it took to ensure that it was protected.”

“Including murder?”

“Including murder.”

Haley flicked a glance at Maeve, who’d stayed silent during the entire exchange. She looked bored with the whole thing. Were none of them born with a conscience? Or did the love of money simply allow one to block it out completely? “And you, Maeve? You’re just fine with all this?”

Maeve lifted her blue eyes to connect with Haley’s. “We must do what must be done.” She sounded like she was quoting someone. Probably her mother-in-law.

“Is that what she’s convinced you of?”

“All right, enough chitchat,” Janet said. Her eyes flicked to the man still standing silent behind her. “Lyle, go pick up the papers and let me know what he says.”

Wait. He was leaving? She had to get to her phone. She still had the one cuff on her right wrist, but her left hand was free. True, the older woman looked like she knew how to use a weapon, but Haley couldn’t take a chance on her abductor leaving with her phone.

Haley flexed her fingers around the side of the chair once more to make sure she could do this one-handed. She had no choice. Before she could think twice about it, Haley tightened her grasp, spun out of the chair, and slammed it into the man’s face, making sure she connected the edge of the hard seat with his much softer nose. She heard the bones crunch, his scream of agonized pain, and Janet’s harsh yell for Haley to stop. A piece of the chair fell to the floor while the rest of it dangled at odd angles.

Haley ignored the order, prayed Janet had bad aim, and bolted for the door. She held the chair with one hand and twisted the knob with the other, then shot outside onto the porch.

No one fired at her, but she heard Janet and Maeve shouting at her captor to not let her get away.

She kept going, straight for the vehicle. Keeping it between her and the house, she opened the passenger door and snagged her cell phone from the floor.

“I’m going to kill you!”

Haley looked through the back window behind the driver’s side to see her kidnapper bearing down on her, blood streaming from his broken nose, eyes already blackening like a raccoon. Haley swung the chair against the back of the SUV and it broke the rest of the way, leaving the cuffs still around one wrist.

But at least now she could run.

Steven kept an eye on the monitor. He’d moved from his vehicle to the bomb squad’s van while Quinn consulted with Katie, Maddy, and Olivia, who’d all shown up about twenty minutes ago, then spread out to look for the vehicle Christina had described. Choppers were also in the air.

And, according to Hugh McCort, Ian Burke had just woken up at the hospital. Steven texted the man back.

He has coverage on his room. Watch who goes in and out. Don’t let anyone in the family be in there alone with him.

Why?

I’ll explain later.

Steven’s phone buzzed yet again. He looked at the screen and his heart skipped a beat. A text from Haley.

Ping my phone.

GPS is off.

Steven waited anxiously for another text from her. He spun around and waved at Quinn. His partner jogged over. “I just got a text from Haley to ping her phone. She didn’t realize her GPS was off. We need someone trying to track her down now.”

Quinn got on the phone.

Steven’s phone dinged again.

On a lake.

Name?

DK

“She’s on Lake Murray, but we don’t know which inlet,” he told Quinn. “We need a chopper if we’re going to get to her fast enough.”

“Have to know where she is first.”

“We’ll find her. Once we’re in the air, we’ll be able to get to her faster. I’m trying to cut out as much time as possible.”

“I hear you.” Quinn got on the phone while Steven paced and prayed. He turned when Quinn called his name.

“Text the others,” his partner said. “The chopper’s almost here.”

No sooner had he said the words than Steven heard the whomp whomp of the blades carrying the craft their way.

A cheer erupted from behind him and he turned to see teens streaming from the bus. Michelle brought up the rear.

“Thank you, God,” he whispered.

Now to find Haley.

Haley kept moving from tree to tree, watching the man come after her. She’d made him angry. Very angry. If she gave him a chance, he’d kill her, regardless of what his employers wanted. She’d made it personal. She dared another glance at her phone. She had to get the GPS turned on, but she didn’t have the time to go through the steps to do it.

She turned to look and froze. Where had he gone?

Haley turned and pressed her back to the nearest tree while she scanned the area. Not good. She had a signal, she could call out, but calling wouldn’t do her any good if she couldn’t tell anyone where she was. And they couldn’t track her. As quick as her shaky fingers would move, she turned on the GPS signal, glancing up and around with each tap on the screen.

And still she didn’t see him. Not in front of her. Not behind her. So where?

She went back to her phone and texted Steven again.

GPS on. Janet n Maeve r behind everything. Peter, 2, I think.

U just popped up on the screen. UR at Lake Murray. On the way.

Hurry.

So what now? Think. Think. Okay, she was somewhere on Lake Murray. She’d lost track of her captor. Her side was killing her. It was three against one. Her best option would be to lay low and wait for help.

But there was no way she was going to let Janet and Maeve get away. They’d head straight to the airport.

No, Steven had their names. He’d make sure they couldn’t catch a flight.

The faint sound of a helicopter reached her ears. Could that possibly be help?

She drew in a deep breath, looked behind her, then back toward the direction of the road. Just in time to see Lyle step out from behind a tree and raise his weapon. Haley shot for cover behind the next tree when she heard the crack. The bullet smacked into the trunk, sending bark and wood flying.

“She’s not going to pay you if you kill me!”

“I don’t care!” Another shot sounded, this time from behind her.

Janet was marching toward them, her arm extended, weapon pointed at Haley. “You can die now. He signed the papers.”

Janet behind her, Lyle in front of her. Her only hope was to swim across the lake. She darted for the water. Gunshots followed her, and she was actually shocked that none hit her. The water was cold enough to take her breath, but not frigid enough to keep her from diving under. Silence surrounded her.

She swam as far as she could underwater before her lungs screamed at her for air. She kicked out and broke the surface, dragging in deep breaths.

The sound of a hard splash behind her spun her around. Her heart thudded at the sight of Lyle swimming like a fish to catch up to her. Haley struck out for the opposite shore. If he caught her, he’d drown her. He was stronger and her wound had weakened her.

The chopper now hovered almost directly overhead, stirring the water, the spotlight on the action below.

A hand clamped down on her arm and yanked her under.