No Control

Then again, so many things already had.



Caleb came out of the bathroom a minute later. He was smiling. “It’s over. She’s in custody.”



Lana crumpled to the floor in a boneless pile. Coffee sloshed over the rim, staining the carpet, but she didn’t care. It was over. Her nightmare was over.



Caleb’s arms wrapped around her and he puled her into his lap. She leaned into him and saw her tears make dark spots on his shirt. “Are you sure?”



“Do you want to see it for yourself? I can arrange for you to make a positive ID.”



The thought of facing Kara again sickened her. “No. I trust you.”



Caleb kissed the top of her head. “Thanks.”



“So, what now?”



“Now we get over to the youth center and pretend like nothing’s happened.”



“I’m good at that.”



He gave her a solemn look. “You need to know that Monroe told me I have to leave tomorrow. I’ve got another assignment waiting for me.”



Lana’s throat tightened, but she managed a nod. “You’ve done your job here. Of course you have to move on.”



He was watching her carefuly. “I’m going to tel Monroe you’re not ready for me to leave. I’l take some personal time.”



She wasn’t sure how she was going to be able to watch him walk away, but she knew she had to. “No, Caleb. You have a job to do. People need you.”



“So do you.”



Lana couldn’t deny it. She was done lying to him. “I’l be fine.” Which was the truth. She was always fine.



“Wil you?” He tilted her chin up so she was looking into his eyes. “What about your nightmares?”



“I’l go back to counseling. Maybe it wil work this time now that I know for sure Kara isn’t out there anymore.”



“You may stil have to face her. Testify against her.”



Oh, God. She wasn’t sure she could do that. She wasn’t sure she could be in the same room with that woman ever again. Not even to put her behind bars. “I wil?”



“It’s possible. There are only two of us who know you are a witness—me and Monroe—and for now, I’d like to keep it that way. You’l be safer if you’re not listed as an official witness.”



Safer, but not safe. Even with Kara in custody, she wasn’t safe.



But maybe her family would be.



“I could stay,” offered Caleb, “but if you don’t want me to stay, then you should go into protective custody or the witness relocation program.”



She wanted to beg him to stay with her, but she couldn’t do that to him. She knew it would hurt his career. She wasn’t wiling to let him make that sacrifice. “I don’t like either of those options, but I promise I’l think about it. For now, I just want to get through today, okay?”



A disappointed look darkened his face, but he nodded. “Okay, but once the carnival is over, we’re going to talk about your options. Deal?”



Lana nodded. “Deal.”



CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE



Lana couldn’t believe the turnout at the fundraiser. Hundreds of families showed up, and she wondered how they al fit. The basebal field outside the youth center was packed with kids playing carnival games, trying to knock over bottles or shoot rubber ducks with water guns, but the biggest attraction by far was the dunk tank, where kids and adults alike lined up for a shot to soak one of Caleb’s friends.



She hadn’t seen much of Caleb al morning, but every once in a while, she’d catch a glimpse of his head towering over the crowd and her heart would speed. She forced herself to focus on the fact that Kara was behind bars and not think about how she’d feel when he left.



Lana ducked into the next tent and stopped short in shock. Grant was on one side of the tent, alowing six young girls to play dress-up with him. A local theater had loaned them bits of old costumes, and right now Grant was wearing donkey ears and a tutu over his jeans. In his right hand was a stuffed carrot, and his left held a magic wand coated in glitter. Another volunteer snapped Polaroids for the girls who had dressed them.



Standing on the other side of the tent was Caleb, surrounded by a flock of giggling girls. Each one had some sort of garish makeup in hand—lipstick, eye shadow, blush



—and they each took turns painting Caleb’s face. She expected him to wear the same long-suffering look Grant wore, but instead he was smiling into a mirror. “You missed a spot,” he told a girl who couldn’t have been more than six.



She giggled, and he leaned down so she could add a bright blue splash of glittery eye shadow to Caleb’s face. It realy brought out the purple in the bruise under his eye.



Lana watched as the girls finished with Caleb and went after Grant with their cosmetics. She walked up to Caleb and puled his head down to her for a hard, quick kiss.



Caleb gave her a warm smile as he wiped lipstick from her mouth with his thumb. “There’s something wrong with this picture,” he said. “You’re supposed to be the one leaving lipstick on me.”



Lana’s smile widened. “Having fun?”



“To be honest, I would have preferred dunk-tank duty, but I wouldn’t be much of a leader if I ordered my men into situations where I wouldn’t go myself.”



“Cover Girl country is dangerous territory,” she agreed.



Caleb grabbed a box of wet wipes and went to work removing the makeup. “It’s for a good cause.”



Lana had to kiss him again. She couldn’t stop herself. “Thank you for this,” she told him.



He discarded the now rainbow-colored wet wipe and puled her against his body. He was just leaning down to take a serious kiss when a new group of girls filed into the tent, announcing themselves with a series of gagging noises and high-pitched screeches. “Eeew!” shouted one of the younger girls, and the others broke into uncontrolable giggles.



Caleb sighed and let her go with a wink instead of a kiss. “Back to work. I’l come find you before the auction starts. We’re closing most of the tents so you’l have more people attend the auction.”



Lana left him to the girls, unable to quit smiling. The auction was scheduled to start in an hour and would be held inside the gymnasium. If only half the people attending showed up, she was sure they’d do wel.



Lana entered the youth center, letting the cold rush of air-conditioning wash over her. Sweat cooled on her skin and she lifted her dark hair off her neck to help the process along. She could smel popcorn and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. People lined the cafeteria tables, having snacks or just taking a few minutes to cool off. Most of the gym was partitioned off and set up with chairs for the auction. Al of the paintings were hung on display above the height of sticky little fingers, and dozens of people stroled around, looking at them.



“Lana!”



She turned at the sound of her name and saw Stacie sitting at the registration table. Her long graying hair was in a loose bun and her crisp white shirt was perfectly pressed.



Her cheeks were pink with excitement, and she gave Lana a warm, happy smile.



It hit Lana then that Stacie realy was going to be okay. Intelectualy, Lana had known it, but until now, she hadn’t felt it. Now that she did, the weight on Lana’s shoulders seemed to lighten.



Lana took the opportunity to give Stacie a gentle hug. “What are you doing here?” she asked Stacie.



“I couldn’t stay away today. I had to come help.”



“You shouldn’t be pushing yourself.”



“I’m not. I’m supposed to be getting exercise, not that sitting here counts as that. I want to start back to work next week.”



“What does your doctor say?”



“That I should decide what I can and can’t handle for myself. I’m a big girl.” That last was delivered with the maternal frown Stacie was so good at.



Lana shook her head, grinning. “Point taken. You know I’d love to have you back as soon as you’re able.”



“I could come back now, but my sister isn’t leaving for another couple days and I want to spend that time with her.”



“Take al the time you need.”



Stacie looked at her watch. “Speaking of time, have you seen Kara today? She was supposed to be taking my place about an hour ago.”



Lana’s face was a carefuly neutral mask. “No. I haven’t seen her.”



“That’s odd. She’s usualy very punctual.”



Kara wasn’t sure where the authorities were taking her, but she doubted she was going to like it. She eyed the armed guard in the back of the van with her. He was young, or maybe she was just getting old. Either way, her time was nearly over, and somehow, that was okay.



She’d stayed loyal to Marcus and protected his identity even when they’d offered her her freedom if she gave him up. Thankfuly, she’d seen the men coming for her in time to drop the thumb drive containing the video out her car window. She didn’t think they’d seen her do it, but even if they had, it would probably be a useless mess of crushed plastic, thanks to the heavy traffic on I-70. She could die proud of herself knowing she’d saved the man she loved from harm. And she was going to die. After they finished using her, they’d get rid of her. No records. No paperwork. No trace she’d ever existed.



At least Marcus would remember her. She took comfort in that.



The van lurched hard to the right. Tires squealed. The van tilted and finaly tipped onto its side. Kara’s head slammed into the metal wal several times, and she shook it to clear her vision. The guard caught himself before he could fal into her. The chains shackling her to the van rattled, and outside, she could hear short, sharp bursts of gunfire.



The van slowed to a screaming halt as the side slid over asphalt.



The guard recovered and drew his weapon just as the back doors of the van opened. Another armed guard was there. “We gotta get her into one of the cars. I’l cover you.”



The too-young guard fumbled for the key. Gunfire slowed but didn’t stop. It seemed to take forever, but he finaly managed to unlock her cuffs.



Kara scurried out of the van. The guard covering them staggered backward, taking a hit.



She was momentarily stunned and looked up in shock to where the shot came from. Marcus was there, crouched behind a thick tree not thirty feet from the isolated road.



He’d come to rescue her! He was going to take her home.



A broad smile stretched her face. Marcus smiled back and raised his weapon, pointing it right at her.



Disbelief froze her in place. Marcus wasn’t here to save her or bring her back home. He was here to silence her. To kil her.



“I didn’t tel them anything,” she yeled, betrayal making her voice weak and holow.



“I know,” he said. “And you never wil.”



Kara saw the tendons in his arm shift, saw his finger move on the trigger.



The too-young guard saw it, too. He shoved her hard, pushing her to the side.



A gun went off, then another. Two more shots.



Kara expected to feel a bulet slice through her, but the pain never came. She didn’t wait around to see what happened. She raced for the closest car—one of her armed escorts’ cars. The keys were in the ignition and the motor was stil running. She slid into the driver’s seat and gunned the engine. The tires shrieked, but she didn’t relent.

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