“Thank you, sir,” Lacey replied and stepped away from the podium. Her bodyguards appeared on either side of her and one went to the door while the other handed her her purse.

  “Let Joe check the parking area and have Tom bring the car around before we go out. That nutjob might be out there,” Rick said as he stood with Lacey.

  “Of course,” Lacey said and pulled out her phone to call Red. She smiled when she saw his face on her screen. “Did you watch?”

  “I did. Are the guys making sure you’re safe?” Red replied.

  “They are. Rick is here with me, Joe is checking the parking area and Tom’s bringing the car around.” She took a breath and let it out slow. “You said he was a sociopath. I didn’t realize just how unstable he truly was. I hope people see this tonight and decide he’s in no way fit for public office.”

  “They might see that, or they might see someone with their same beliefs and frustrations,” Red reminded her.

  “I have to believe they want something other than that,” Lacey replied. “Joe’s back, I’ll be home soon.”

  “Come here tonight. I’d sleep better knowing you were beside me,” Red asked and Lacey smiled.

  “I’ll sleep better knowing you’re beside me, too – while he’s still out there.” She blew him a kiss and disconnected the call.

  Joe sat up front with Tom while Rick got into the back with Lacey. They locked it down and pulled out of the lot while Lacey leaned back and closed her eyes. The reinforced vehicle made her feel safe since she knew neither a bomb, missile, or pulse weapon could penetrate the exterior.

  They hadn’t taken into consideration a sociopath with the ability to interfere with the signal between the vehicle’s computer and the satellite link they all used for location and security systems.

  “Something’s wrong,” Tom said as he tried to keep the car on the road. “It keeps trying to turn on me.”

  “Is something interfering with the signal?” Joe asked as he tried to shut down the external link. “I can’t shut down the tracking system.”

  Rick turned to Lacey. “Call Red, then hold on tight.” He pulled down another control panel and tried to help Joe break the connection. “It’s being controlled from outside the car.”

  Red answered the call, but Lacey didn’t give him a chance to speak. “First off, I love you. Second, the car is being controlled from outside. The men are trying to break the connection and Tom’s trying to keep us on the road, but it’s not working. Triangulate my phone so you can find us.”

  “The car is able to withstand a drop off a cliff, Lacey. You might get some bruises, but the inflation system will protect all of you. Just don’t open any of the doors until I get there with a team.”

  “I hear you, Boss,” Joe said from the front. “Don’t leave us out here too long, okay?”

  “I’m on my way, everyone. Do your best and stay calm,” Red said loudly enough for all four to hear. “Now, Lacey. Tuck your phone under your leg and cross your arms to hold each strap handle on your buckles. That’ll keep you from smacking yourself in the face when the inflation system goes off. I love you, baby. See you soon.”

  Rick leaned back and tucked the control panel back into place, then crossed his arms and gripped the strap handles. “Let’s ride this bitch down, everyone. Tom? Let it go. If we go here, the drop isn’t as far as it is further on and we’ll be in an easier place for rescue to get to us. Hold on and close your eyes.”

  Lacey watched Joe grip the handles, then Tom as the car jerked to the side and scraped over the guardrail before it sailed into the air and landed about a hundred yards down the cliff. The inflation system filled the car and held each person in place as the vehicle rolled several times before it finally came to a stop on its side, then shuddered and slammed back onto the wheels.

  Once it stopped moving, the inflation system deflated and they all took a breath.

  “Everyone okay?” Tom asked, his voice shaky.

  “I’m good,” Lacey said. “But I’m never going on a roller coaster again.”

  They all laughed in relief and Joe glanced out through the windshield. “There’s someone out there, on the cliff. I’ll let them know we’re okay.” He started to open the door and everyone shouted at him to stay inside and shut the door.

  He shut it pretty fast when a long-range pulse blast hit the top of the door frame and sent sparks flying. “Not a friendly,” Joe muttered as he held the door shut.

  Lacey pulled out her phone and noticed Red was still connected. “We’re all okay, at the bottom of the cliff about five miles north of the studio. Someone’s up on the road with a pulse weapon and they just took a shot at us.”

  “I’ve got a team almost there. Stay in the car,” Red said. He was in his heli, and knowing someone was shooting meant he couldn’t land nearby. He called in the shooter to his team and they split up with one group coming on from either side.

  It was the longest fifteen minutes of his life while he hovered out of range of the weapon and watched the flashes of light as the shooter took pot shots at the car.

  The team arrived and took down the shooter with little fanfare, then Red landed the heli on a patch of ground about twenty yards from the car. He was out before the motor quieted and ran to the car to pull the back door open. Once Lacey was in his arms, he felt like he could finally take a deep breath.

  “We’re all okay, Red. We are. I could just use a shot of whiskey and a soak in the hot tub. What do you say?” Lacey said with a smile, one hand on his cheek.

  “I say that sounds like heaven,” Red replied.

  Chapter twenty-five

  Milos read the news files as they scrolled across his screen. Bentley’s performance at the debate had the public in an uproar. His ranking dropped to three percent and Owens wanted to kick something. Instead, he added a shot of whiskey to his morning coffee, then brought up his message screen and hit send. The files on Bentley were now being sent to the FBIS agents handling the investigation into the bodies dropped in the forest – and they were all now laid at Bentley’s feet. He had also added a bit about his parents and grandparents, and some information about how many young women had disappeared after being sent to Bentley’s place for a private party.

  Milos hoped Bentley survived in prison long enough to really suffer. Now he had to figure out who he could buy that would be in Lacey Foster’s administration. He had people that were good at research -they’d come up with something.

  Chase read the report from the night before that Red had shared with him, then pulled up the files and wrote up what information he had on the shooter to send back to Red.

  “What are you working on?” Cassidy asked as she slid a sandwich on a plate next to his tablet.

  “Red sent me the report on the shooter from last night, and the FBIS is going in to pick up Bentley – if they can find him. He’s not at his place right now. Didn’t come home last night.”

  “Who’s the shooter?”

  “Remember that officer, Gordy Reed? A cousin of the Halsteads, I think. He left on his own after the Halsteads were picked up, and got a job in security somewhere. Well, apparently Bentley paid him to try and kill anyone who got out of the car once he’d wrecked it.”

  “I remember Reed. He was a few slices short of a sandwich,” Cassidy said. “The only reason he was on the force was his relations.”

  “Do you have a private file on him I can add to the official report for Red?” Chase asked.

  Cassidy pulled out her tablet. “I think I do. I kept files on behavior issues and criminal activity, and kept it on my private cloud server.” She tapped a few times, then sent the file over to Chase. “Here you go.”

  Chase worked for a moment, then sent the file and leaned back to eat his sandwich. “You ready to go get Nissa?”

  “I’m all set. Her room is ready and all I need to do is put my shoes on,” Cassidy said. “How’s she getting here again?”

  “Red’s got an agent flying in to help with the Bentley case, so they picked up Nissa at her grandparent’s place and will land on Red’s pad. We just have to walk down and meet her.”

  “Then let’s go,” Cassidy laughed and tugged his arm. “I don’t want her to be standing there, waiting on us.”

  “No, you’d rather we stood around and waited on her,” Chase grumped, then grabbed Cassidy and spun her around. “I’m eager to see her, too. Let’s go.”

  They got to the landing pad on top of Red’s barn just as the heli came in to land. Agent Ophelia Winslow got out of the craft, then turned to open the back cargo area and started to haul out luggage.

  On the other side, a tall, slender girl with long dark braids and sable-hued skin got out in a rush and raced to Chase. She launched herself and Chase caught her in his arms and hugged her tight. “I’ve missed you, Nugget.”

  “Oh, Papa, I’ve missed you too. And I’m not nugget-sized anymore, you should just call me Nissa,” Janissa chided him with a grin. She turned to look at Cassidy and asked. “Hugger or not?”

  “Hugs are great,” Cassidy replied with a chuckle and Janissa wrapped her arms around her and gave her a solid hug.

  “I’ve got to help Fee with my stuff. She said I had too much and we’d need to do it in two trips,” Nissa said, then paused to look back at Chase. “She was teasing, but I did bring a lot.”

  They all went over to sort out the luggage and Chase shook Fee’s hand. “Thank you, Agent Winslow. I appreciate you delivering all of the baggage – and my daughter – to us safely.”

  Fee laughed and tugged on one of Nissa’s braids. “It was my pleasure. No, really it was. You all enjoy your time together. I’ve got to head down and get to work. See you later.”

  Chase took one look at the pile of luggage, then grabbed a few cases then went down the stairs. “We’re borrowing the cart to get this all up to the house.”

  Nissa took in her surroundings with an attention to detail Cassidy admired in one so young. “Look, a cat on the balcony,” she pointed to Quinn who was perched on the upper level of Ellery’s screen porch.

  “That’s Quinn, Ellery Adler’s cat. He’s a sweetheart,” Cassidy said.

  “Why are there so many recorders around?” Nissa asked. “Is this place that high security?”

  “It is. It’s not just home to people that work in law enforcement, but it’s also where some of them do their jobs,” Chase explained. “Equipment and gear are also stored here, so security is necessary.”

  A firm nod of her head and Nissa smiled. “I’m glad. I feel safer here, already.”

  “Wait, do you not feel safe at your grandparents’ place or at school?” Chase asked as he pulled the cart up to the house.

  “Not so much,” Nissa said as she grabbed a couple of her bags. “I can tell you more about it over a cold soda?” Nissa asked as she followed Chase inside.

  Cassidy grabbed the last two bags and shook her head. That girl was going to keep Chase – and herself – on their toes. In a good way.

  Chapter twenty-six

  Janissa had her own agenda and she was well on her way to making it happen. She loved her new room and the thoughtful theme and color scheme. Some of the stuff she’d brought was to decorate the room, so she went about doing that while she put her clothes away. She’d popped in her earbuds and had music playing that made her want to dance while she worked, so she didn’t notice Cassidy in the doorway until she caught the wave of the woman’s hand.

  A tap on the buds and she quieted the music with a laugh. “Sorry,” Nissa said. “I had my music up. Did you need something?”

  Cassidy watched the girl dance and felt a warmth settle in her chest. “I just wanted to check in and see if there was anything you needed that we’d missed. I had almost forgot closet stuff and it just came in this morning, so I made sure to tuck it in there.”

  “Everything’s great so far,” Nissa replied. “I’m used to a smaller space at school, so I’m enjoying having room to spread out.”

  She’d caught the hesitation in Nissa’s voice, so Cassidy stepped further in and shut the door. “Sounds like something’s not so great about school,” she said. “Want to talk about it?”

  Nissa gave a half-hearted shrug as she folded a pair of jeans and put them in a cubby in the closet. She thought about what she could say or how to explain it, then turned and sat on the bed and patted the spot beside her for Cassidy to sit.

  “I’m not sure how to say all of it, but I’m hoping you can help me explain it to Papa,” Nissa said. “School is school and I’m still top of the class, but I don’t like being away from my family so much, and while Memaw and Pops are great, they’re older and slowing down and can’t do the things I’d like them to do, like take me to events and stuff. A kid needs parents for that.”

  “What would you like, then? How do you want to change it?” Cassidy asked.

  With those words, Janissa realized Cassidy was going to be a fantastic mother. She let out a soft breath and smiled. “I want to stay here, with you and Papa. I can still attend classes at the Academy online, or go to school around here, but I’m tired of feeling lonely, or like I don’t matter.”

  Cassidy’s heart broke for the girl and she put an arm around her to hug her against her side. “That’s a big decision, but I think if you tell your Papa what you’re thinking and what you’re feeling, he’ll listen to reason. If it were just up to me, I’d say sure, stay here with us, but it’s not my decision alone.” She could feel the tension leave the girl’s shoulders under her embrace. “What about your grandparents? Would they be okay with this?”

  “I think so,” Janissa replied. “I overheard Memaw saying she couldn’t wait until I went back to school so she could rest. She didn’t mean it in a bad way, but I know it’s hard for them.”

  “Let’s go talk to Chase now, shall we?” Cassidy asked.

  “What if he says no?” Janissa bit her lip and looked down at her lap. She didn’t want to show her suddenly watery eyes.

  “Then we’ll figure out a compromise of some kind. Come on, let’s go catch him while he’s relaxing.”

  Chase knew he was in it when he saw the two most important women in his life walk into the room holding hands. “Ladies?” he rumbled with a faint smile on his lips. “What do I need to fix now?”

  Janissa let go of Cassidy’s hand and ran to him to give him a hug where he sat on the couch. “Papa, it’s time. I want to stay here with you and Cassidy. Memaw and Pops are getting old and I feel lonely a lot when I’m at school.”

  Chase kept an arm around her as she settled beside him, then looked up at Cassidy as she took a seat on the coffee table across from him. “What’s your take on this?”

  “Nissa and I had a chat and she let me know how she’s been feeling and her worries about her grandparents – and I told her we had to ask you. That it wasn’t a decision I could make for her.” She paused and looked at the hopeful expression on Nissa’s face, then looked back at Chase. “However, I’m all for her staying here, attending her current school online or looking at local schools if that’s preferred. We’re building a family, you and I – and she’s part of it. I think we should all build it together.”

  Chase turned to Janissa and lifted her chin with his fingers to meet her gaze. “This is a big step, Nissa. It’s a lot of adjustment for all of us. I’ll need you to really put in the work to make this a good thing, yeah?”

  “I want to make it a good thing,” Janissa told him, as her body quivered with excitement. “I’ve wanted to be a family again for a long time.”

  “Is that why you brought so much stuff?” Chase asked her with a grin.

  “I brought stuff to decorate my room, like you said,” Nissa sniffed. “And I’ve already put most of my things at home in boxes. I don’t have any stuff at school because they’re working on the dorms so I had to bring it all home anyway. That’s why I thought about the online classes because we’re all online for a few weeks while they fix the buildings.”

  “You had a lot of hope that your plan would work,” Cassidy told the girl as she reached for your hand. “Sometimes, that’s all we can do. Put in the work and hope it pays off.”

  Then Janissa showed a wisdom beyond her years as she looked at Cassidy. “Are you going to be okay with being my mom? I had a mama, and she’s been gone a long time. You’re not replacing her, you’re being something else. A mom, not a mama. Does that even make sense?” she mused after a moment.

  Cassidy had to swallow a sudden lump in her throat. She’d wanted a family of her own all of her life, but had given up hope that it would ever happen after Everett. She’d decided to put her energy into her career and her community and put the rest behind her. “Yes, that makes a lot of sense. I’d love to be your mom, Janissa. But you’re going to have to be patient with me. I’ve never been a mom before and I’ll have to figure it out as I go.”

  “It’s been a long time since I had a mother, so I’ll probably need your patience, too,” Janissa replied, then gave Cassidy a hug. “Thank you,” she whispered near Cassidy’s ear. “Thank you so much.”

  Chase watched the two of them and felt his heart burst with love. “I’m the luckiest man alive right now,” he rumbled. “And I’ve got some work to do. Janissa, I’ll call your grandparents and discuss things with them, and get the school information updated. Do you have your tablet and monitor with you, or do we need to get them sent right away?”

  “I’ve got them with me. I’m working on an extra credit report with Monique over the break, so I had to bring it,” Nissa said. “And you already got me a cool desk, so I’ll just set it all up there.”

  “Why don’t you go finish settling in? Cassidy and I need to work out how to get everything handled,” Chase told her.

  “Okay, Papa,” Nissa replied as she bounced to her feet. “Thank you, Mom,” she told Cassidy and raced down the hall to her room.

  Cassidy held it together until the bedroom door shut, then she slid into Chase’s lap and wound her arms around him. “I’m a mom.”

 

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