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  “Ma’am.” One of the agents stepped forward. She was so upset, she couldn’t remember the man’s name. “It would be safer for you if you came with us.”

  “I’m not going into hiding. I can go on vacation for a bit with Bethany. Leave the area. Then when this all blows over, I can come back.”

  “I don’t think—” the man began.

  But she was done. “I don’t care what you think. Tyler and I haven’t lived together for three years. He hasn’t been to see us, including his daughter, in over two. If anyone was searching for him, we wouldn’t be the people to go to. I am not disrupting my life again for him. We’ll go to my mother’s house. She lives in Southern Illinois, five hours from where I live. My brother is a cop. He lives a little over ten minutes from her. He can protect us.”

  The marshals tried to convince her to change her mind. She wouldn’t budge. Tyler tried to talk with her, too. Every time he moved toward her, she glared at him. Finally, he seemed to get the message. He wasn’t happy about it, but she didn’t care. He’d made his choice when he’d let them go. She quickly squelched any pity she might have felt for him.

  They couldn’t hold her against her will. She knew it, and they did, too. Nor could they force her to go into the witness protection program. That didn’t stop them from giving her disapproving frowns. She ignored them all.

  Strangely, while their frowns didn’t bother her, Tyler’s silence did. The way his eyes followed Bethany around. He stuck close to his daughter.

  Annabelle couldn’t take it. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he really was concerned. A sliver of guilt tried to wedge itself into her mind. Guilt that she was going to be separating a father from his daughter. Maybe forever. She shoved aside the guilt. She didn’t have time for this.

  She walked into the kitchen to demand that they either put her and Bethany in a taxi, or take them home.

  She never got the words out.

  Marshal Mast, who’d insisted she call him Jonathan, leaped to his feet as his phone went off. Not the phone he’d been talking on throughout the day. Annabelle figured that was his work phone. This one had to have been his personal phone. Especially since it was playing a popular song for the ringtone.

  “Celeste?” he blurted into the phone.

  She watched, amazed, as the calm US marshal paled. Her brow furrowed. Hopefully it wasn’t too serious. Instinctively, she glanced at Tyler to see his reaction. His eyes were narrowed as he watched the marshal. Obviously, he had no clue what was going on, either.

  That could have described their whole situation. It was surreal.

  “Okay, honey, relax. Do what the paramedics tell you. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Jonathan’s finger trembled as he disconnected the call. “Karl, you’re in charge. My wife just went into labor at the shopping mall. They are taking her to the hospital in an ambulance.”

  “She’ll be okay, Jonathan.” The female marshal she’d met earlier, Stacy, stepped forward. “We know what to do here.”

  He nodded, then rushed to the back of the house. Within minutes, he ran past them and out the front door. She heard his car start up and pull down the lane.

  “Remember when Bethany was born?”

  Annabelle jumped. When had Tyler moved up beside her? She had been so fascinated by the escaping marshal that she hadn’t seen Tyler moving.

  Memories of happier times flooded her brain. She smiled. “I thought I was going to have her in the car.”

  “Me, too! I was terrified. I’m still shocked I didn’t get a speeding ticket.”

  She turned to face him. As she did so, she noticed for the first time the corner of a gauze bandage peeking out from the sleeve of his T-shirt. “What happened to your arm?”

  He hesitated. “Wilson Barco shot me. While I was running from him.”

  Her blood ran cold. No way. She needed to get her daughter away from him. Even as she cringed at being so coldhearted, she hardened her resolve. She had to put Bethany first. There were some things her daughter shouldn’t be exposed to. Bullets were one of them.

  Something of what she was feeling must have shown on her face. Tyler hastened to explain. “It’s not a bad wound. Seriously. I need to keep it clean for a few days, but it should heal fine.”

  She shook her head. “Tyler, I know what you’re trying to do. And I’m not changing my mind. If someone doesn’t drive me home, I’ll call a cab. I’m sorry you’re in this mess. I truly am. But it’s your mess. And I don’t want any part of it.”

  She turned her head away so she didn’t see his reaction.

  Karl Adams wasn’t happy. “Look, Annabelle, if you won’t go into the witness protection program, will you at least let us drive you to your mother’s house? It would be safer than driving you to your own house.”

  Annabelle thought about it. What did she really need to get from her house? It would be nice to have her own car, but it wasn’t worth their lives. Nor did they desperately need anything from inside the house. She already had some bags packed from when Karl and Stacy had picked them up.

  “I will agree to that. A marshal may drive us to my mom’s house.”

  Karl visibly relaxed at that. It was a safer and smarter decision, and she knew it.

  In a remarkably short time, Annabelle and Bethany were in a car with a younger marshal, heading to her mother’s house. Talk was scarce on the drive. Although the marshal, Rick, seemed like a nice man, Annabelle’s stomach was in knots. What if she was making a mistake? She clenched her teeth, refusing to second-guess her resolve.

  A couple of times, Rick tried to engage her in small talk. She did her best to answer but found herself distracted.

  After an hour or so, she allowed herself to lean against the door and close her eyes. Every time she would begin to drift off, though, a noise or the motion of the car would jerk her awake, her pulse racing.

  The third time it happened, Rick glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

  “Ma’am, it’s not too late to turn back. We would keep you safe.”

  Shaking her head, she sat up.

  “Thank you, Rick. I mean it. But I really think we’ll be fine at my mother’s house.”

  Even as she said it, Annabelle suppressed a shudder.

  Recalling the events of the past two days, she wondered if she would forever be looking over her shoulder.

  THREE

  Exhausted was too weak a word to describe how Annabelle felt as Rick finally pulled into her mother’s driveway Thursday evening.

  Nerves had her continuously checking her side mirror to make sure that no one was following them. A couple of times, she got spooked by a car driving too close. Rick took no chances, to her relief. If he thought a car was suspicious, he would turn off the road, or see if it would pass them. Every time, the cars would pass them or keep going straight. It didn’t help her relax. The danger was still very real.

  When they were an hour away from her mother’s house, Rick allowed her to call her mother on a burner phone.

  “If they are tracking you, using your cell would be too dangerous.”

  Her mother didn’t pick up. The answering machine kicked on. “Mom, are you there? Mom?”

  “Annabelle? I didn’t recognize the number.”

  “I know. Listen, I’m going to be at your house in an hour. A friend is driving me.”

  The last hour of the trip dragged on and on.

  Her mother was up waiting for them. Annabelle had told her as much as she dared on the phone. She didn’t mention Tyler. Even if she wasn’t going into witness protection, he was. It wasn’t a good idea to broadcast that information, even to her mother. Instead, she told her that someone had been bothering them at home and she needed a safe spot for a few days, so that she could figure out her next move.

  Rick waited until she was inside before he left.

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nbsp; “Thanks, Mom.” Annabelle leaned into her mother’s arms as she stepped through the door. Bethany hovered at her side, blue eyes bleary with sleep.

  Nancy Schmidt kissed her daughter’s cheek. “You know you’re always welcome, sweetheart.” She turned to her granddaughter. “Bethany, do you have a hug for your grammy?”

  Bethany lifted her arms to her grandmother, yawning as the woman pulled her close. “Tired, Grammy.”

  “You should have invited your friend in for a few minutes.” Curiosity burned in Nancy’s eyes.

  “He couldn’t stay,” Annabelle replied, not meeting her mother’s eyes. Thankfully, the older woman allowed the subject to drop.

  “Have you eaten?”

  Annabelle and Bethany both shook their heads.

  Nancy bustled them toward the kitchen. “I heated up some mac-’n’-cheese. Eat, then you can go to bed. We can talk in the morning.”

  A gentle sigh slid from Annabelle. She should have known that her mother would have something ready for them to eat, no matter what time they showed up.

  Forty-five minutes later, Annabelle was in her old bedroom, staring into the darkness. Her mind wouldn’t settle down. Had she made the right decision? At the time, she’d been so angry, so scared. Now? Now she was worried that she might have brought danger to her mother’s doorstep.

  Maybe the people after Tyler would leave her alone once he disappeared.

  Or maybe they’d become more aggressive.

  Lord, grant me wisdom. Help me to do the right thing and protect my little girl.

  Around midnight, she finally dropped off into a fitful sleep. Her rest was interrupted by nightmares. Nightmares of a stranger taking Bethany. She ran after him, but he kept running. Just when she thought she’d catch him, he’d vanish right in front of her. Bethany was crying out for her to save her, but she was always too far away.

  Bolting straight up into a sitting position, Annabelle panted like she’d been running, sweat clinging to her skin. The sun was just starting to peek through the windows. It was early. No other sounds stirred in the house. She slipped out of the bed, welcoming the familiar comfort of the shag carpet under her bare feet. She could do with more sleep, but the thought of returning to bed made her shudder. Instead, she headed toward the shower.

  When she emerged, she followed the aroma of fresh coffee and cinnamon rolls to the kitchen. Her mother was awake, but Bethany was still in bed. Poor thing, she had to be wiped out after all they’d been through in the past couple of days.

  “Hey, Mom.” Annabelle helped herself to a cup of coffee, added some mocha creamer, then slid into a chair at the table.

  “Annabelle.” Nancy scooped a warm cinnamon roll onto a plate and placed it in front of her daughter with a fork. “I would ask if you slept well, but I can see you didn’t.”

  Annabelle sighed. While she considered what to say, she forked a bite of the pastry into her mouth, closing her eyes to savor the sticky-sweet flavor. “Mmm. Delicious. I had trouble sleeping. Too many things happening.” She raised her eyes to her mother’s concerned face. “I keep worrying if I should have come here. I hate to think I put you in any kind of jam.”

  Her mother clucked her tongue. “Now, don’t you be worrying about me. You and my granddaughter are my priority. Always have been.”

  “I know, Mom. I just—” She broke off as her cell phone rang. Tensing, she looked down at the number. “Hold on, Mom. It’s Danielle, a woman on my block. Bethy was supposed to go swimming with her daughters yesterday.”

  She didn’t comment on the obvious reasons why they hadn’t.

  She tapped the screen to answer and took a deep breath. “Danielle? What’s up?”

  “Annabelle, are you and Bethany okay?” Danielle’s normally peppy voice was nervous.

  How to answer that? Oh, yeah. Just being followed. Oh, and my estranged husband is going into hiding after seeing his boss get killed. Not.

  Trying to be upbeat, she said, “We’re fine. On a little trip, that’s all. Why? Is something wrong?”

  A slight pause. When Danielle’s voice came again, it was softer, like she didn’t want anyone to hear her. “Listen. I don’t want the girls to worry, but something weird is going on. Mike said there was a car parked across the street from your house yesterday morning. And someone was sitting inside it. There’s no house across the street from you, so why was he there? Mike was walking the dog at lunch and they went right past the car. Mike thought he had surprised the guy. He wasn’t positive, but it looked like the man was looking at your house through binoculars.”

  A shiver worked its way up Annabelle’s spine. Danielle might not have been sure, but she had no doubt Mike was right. They were waiting for her.

  What would have happened if she had gone home first, the way she had planned?

  “Thanks, Danielle. I will call the police. I appreciate your letting me know.”

  “There’s more.” Of course there was. “Yesterday afternoon, someone was going around the block with a picture of you and Bethany. He was insisting that he was your cousin and trying to reach you on urgent business.”

  Her stomach turning, Annabelle closed her eyes.

  She didn’t have any cousins. Where did the man get the pictures?

  Annabelle couldn’t get off the phone fast enough. As soon as she hung up, she dialed Tyler’s number.

  “The number you have reached is no longer in service.” She wanted to cry at the automated message. Tyler’s phone must have been disconnected so he could disappear. Now what?

  Wait a minute. Karl Adams had given her his card.

  Jumping to her feet, she ran back to her bedroom to grab her purse. This was not a conversation she wanted her mother to hear. Shutting the door, she began rifling around her purse frantically. After a few seconds, she found the item she was looking for.

  Her fingers shook as she tapped his number into her smartphone. When Karl answered, she breathlessly repeated her conversation with Danielle Johnson.

  “Hold on, Annabelle. I will call you back as soon as I know something.”

  He hung up quickly. Sinking down on the edge of her bed, Annabelle fought to control her emotions. The urge to cry battled with the urge to throw something. She did neither. Instead, she sat tensely, clasping her phone between her hands like a lifeline. Please, Lord, she repeated over and over and over in her mind.

  She checked on Bethany. She wasn’t awake yet, which gave her a little more time. Returning to her bedroom, Annabelle paced as she waited. Every minute or so, she looked at the screen on her phone to see the time.

  When her phone rang forty minutes later, she nearly dropped it.

  “Y-yes?” she gasped.

  “Annabelle? You were right to call. I sent someone to your house. It’s been ransacked. I have the feeling that the pictures that man was showing your neighbors were from your wall. There were several empty picture frames on the floor, and it was obvious pictures had been taken from the walls. No doubt someone was trying to find something that would lead them to you. The problem is, there are bound to be many people after you because of the bounty put on your head. Who knows how many people are watching your house. Whatever you do, don’t leave your mother’s house. And stay inside. The last thing we want is for you to be recognized.”

  “I won’t! Oh, I’m just so scared right now. What if my mom’s in danger because of me?” She shouldn’t have come. Oh, why had she been so stubborn?

  “I understand your concerns. We’re coming to get you. What?” the marshal said to someone on his end. “Here.”

  A moment later, Tyler came on the phone. “Annabelle, can you convince your mom to go stay with your brother for a while?”

  She nodded. Oh, wait. He couldn’t see her. “Yeah, I think I can do that. I’ll see if she can stay at Ethan’s place.”

  “Do it. She’ll
be safer at Ethan’s house.”

  “Tyler—”

  He was no longer on the phone. “Karl Adams again, ma’am. Someone’s on the way. I agree with Tyler. Your mom needs to get out of the house. We’ll see that she’s safe. But you and your daughter need to go into hiding. They won’t stop coming for you.”

  Six hours later, she and Bethany were led into a house in Iowa. She’d never been to Iowa before. Now that she was here, though, she had zero interest in looking around at the scenery. Guilt over the disruption to her mother’s life weighed heavy on her. Inside the house, Karl was there. And so was Tyler.

  “Daddy!” Bethany ran to her father, throwing herself into his arms as if she hadn’t just seen him for the first time in years a little over a day ago. Her sweet daughter apparently harbored no bitterness toward the man who’d always chosen business over family.

  She couldn’t be so blasé. The bitterness she’d shoved deep down inside, for her little girl’s sake, erupted.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Tyler blinked. “What do you mean? I’m going into witness protection, just like you.”

  A familiar tall woman stood up from the table. For a brief moment, Annabelle paused, trying to recall the woman’s name. Ah. Stacy Preston. That was it. Stacy smiled at her and intervened in what promised to be a heated reunion. “Why don’t I take Bethany to see if we can find something fun to play.” She gave Karl a meaningful look.

  “Excellent idea, Stacy.”

  She wasn’t sure, but Annabelle thought she saw the man wink at his colleague. As she watched, the very efficient female marshal blushed and ducked her head.

  Annabelle waited until Stacy left the room with Bethany chattering beside her, then turned to her husband again. “You and I are both going into witness protection. But we are not going together. It’s your fault we’re even in this mess.”

  Tyler felt as if he’d been punched in the stomach. Her words knocked the wind right out of him. Not that he could deny her accusations. He couldn’t. It was all his fault. While he might not have asked for any of it to happen, he had once again brought danger to his family.