Читать книгу The Cradle Conspiracy - Christy Barritt - Страница 16

Devin felt the tension pulling across his shoulders as he drove into the night with Sienna beside him and Colby sleeping in a car seat in the back of his SUV.

They’d left the warm lights of suburbia and headed west, deeper into the Rocky Mountains. Homes and businesses were sparser out here, making it ideal as a hiding spot. Yet these mountains within themselves were a beautiful danger, one that needed to be appreciated and respected.

Devin had grown up in Colorado, almost five hours away from this area, but had moved here when the FBI stationed him in Denver. His little town of Woodard’s Mill was on the outskirts of the city and felt like the perfect place to relax after a stressful day at work—whenever he finally went back to work. Things like this didn’t happen in neighborhoods like his.

Except this had happened. Right next door.

He couldn’t stop reviewing tonight’s events. Why things had played out as they had. What this story could possibly be. Those questions were what motivated him to solve every case he’d been handed while working in the criminal investigative division: answers that would ultimately lead to justice.

He glanced over at Sienna, at her heavy eyelids as she stared out the window, and his heart panged with compassion.

Truth was, he hadn’t exactly been friendly to the woman. She’d seemed nice enough. And maybe that was part of the reason he’d chosen not to speak and had only nodded curt greetings in passing.

Getting close to people—and then losing them—was so hard. It was beyond hard.

It was heartbreaking.

Images of Grace and Willow filled his thoughts again, and a radiating pain began in his chest. What he wouldn’t give to have them beside him again. If he could go back and change time...

But that was just wishful thinking that would get him nowhere.

“Thanks for doing this,” Sienna murmured. She pulled her sweater tighter and glanced away from the window a moment.

The somberness in her gaze spoke volumes. Tonight had shaken her to the core, yet she’d still remained graceful and kind. His respect for the woman grew.

“It’s not a problem.” Devin stole another glance at her and saw her exhaustion. “I know you’ve been through this with the police, but could you tell me what you know about Anita?”

Detective Jenson had told them that Anita Gwinn didn’t exist until four months ago. That had just been a preliminary finding, of course. The police would contact the school system and find her records there. They’d track down her Social Security number. There was still a good chance that the woman was real and did exist. It was too early to say.

Sienna let out a heavy breath, as if carrying the burdens of the world. And, in a way, she was. She was carrying the burdens of Colby’s world, at least.

“I wish I knew more,” she started, her voice soft and almost fragile. “I really do. But I only worked with Anita for a few months. She’d just moved here from Arizona. I had the impression she was leaving a bad situation. Maybe an abusive husband or boyfriend? She didn’t like to talk about it.”

“You said there’s no father in the picture?” He glanced in his rearview mirror and saw the headlights behind him.

Was it someone following them? Or was it just another traveler headed the same way? Devin hoped it was the latter. Prayed it was.

“By all indications, there is no father,” Sienna said, clueless about the potential danger on their heels.

Devin would keep it that way for as long as he could. The woman had already been through a lot. And there was no need to alarm her for no reason.

He drew his gaze away from the rearview mirror as they climbed higher and the road became narrower. “Where did her mom live? You said her mother was having surgery?”

“Anita told me her mom was out in Kansas. I didn’t ask questions. Figured Anita didn’t have a reason to lie to me. And maybe she didn’t lie. Maybe she’s a victim here or she was in a car accident or... I really don’t know what to think.” Sienna swung her head back and forth, her features pinched with anxiety. “Maybe all of this is a misunderstanding.”

She didn’t sound like she believed that any more than Devin did.

Devin had the urge to reach over and offer his neighbor some kind of comfort. But he didn’t. It...didn’t seem appropriate and, though this wasn’t an official assignment, he wanted to keep things on the up-and-up. Still, his heart hurt for the woman and her distress.

A stranger had turned her life upside down.

Silence fell between them, and the sweet sound of Colby snoozing filled the car.

Devin glanced in the mirror again. The lights were still there behind him on the road. No one else followed, just the one lone car. Most people weren’t out on the road at 3:00 a.m.

He needed to figure out if he was being followed once and for all.

As he came up on a street, he veered to the left.

“What...?” Sienna muttered, her eyes widening.

Devin kept his grip tight on the steering wheel. Keeping a cool head means keeping everyone alive. That’s what one of his instructors at Quantico had always said. That was what Devin needed to adhere to now as well.

“Sorry,” he muttered. “I’m taking a little detour.”

Sienna craned her neck behind her as the truth seemed to click in her mind. “Are we being followed?”

“I didn’t say that.”

Her gaze was sharp as she turned to him. “You didn’t deny it, either.”

“I’m just being cautious.” And the woman was no dummy. That was good, because they’d need to keep their wits about them to get through this situation.

The way Sienna squeezed the armrest didn’t go unnoticed, nor did the way she rubbed her forehead with her other hand. “I just don’t understand.”

“I don’t think any of us do.” He kept his eyes on the narrow road as the asphalt edged closer to the mountain’s edge.

“Is this about me? Colby? Anita?”

“Until we have more information, we won’t know.” Another glance in the rearview mirror showed that the car had turned also. They were definitely being followed.

The driver didn’t appear to be aggressive. That was the good news. The bad news was that he—or she—wasn’t backing off, either. Devin tried to get a better look at the vehicle, to see if it was the same one he’d seen earlier—the one the intruder had jumped into. It was too dark to tell, but that was his suspicion.

“What are we going to do?” Sienna asked, glancing over her shoulder again.

“We’re going to have to lose them.”

She sucked in a quick breath. “But...these are back roads. Mountainous. There aren’t a lot of places to go.”

So she was familiar was this area. And she was correct. These were winding, narrow streets where one wrong move could mean crashing into a mountain or going off a cliff.

Neither of those things were options. Devin was going to have to do his best in the situation. The one thing he wouldn’t be doing was leading the guy straight to his cabin.

* * *

Sienna couldn’t shake the bad feeling—and rightfully so. Her instincts screamed that danger was on their tail. But it was like she’d just asked Devin: Why? It just didn’t make sense. How could the simple task of watching a coworker’s son have turned into this nightmare? This fight for survival?

And now someone was following them. How far was this person going to take it?

Sienna glanced in the back seat at little Colby. He was such a cute kid with his spiky, fine blond hair and cherublike features. He had incredibly long eyelashes that made his blue eyes look even bigger than they already were. His favorite word was more, and he could entertain himself for hours just playing with pots and pans.

He snoozed in his car seat, unaware of anything going on around him. What Sienna wouldn’t give to have that kind of peace and serenity in the midst of a storm like this.

Her life hadn’t worked out according to plan.

She wasn’t supposed to be here in Colorado. She wasn’t supposed to be single without children.

But she was. And on most days, she made the best of it.

But right now, all Sienna felt was resentment. And fear. A lot of fear.

“Hold on.” Devin turned the wheel sharply again.

Sienna held her breath as they pulled onto another mountain road—this one smaller, tighter, possibly more winding. As the SUV turned, she reached for the armrest, grabbing Devin’s hand instead. She quickly pulled away as she felt a jolt of electricity rush through her.

Electricity? No, that couldn’t be right. When—and if—she decided to fall for another man, it would not be someone like Devin. She needed someone warm and friendly.

Then again, her ex, Jackson, had been Mr. Personality, and look where that had gotten her. Humiliated at the altar.

She glanced over at Devin quickly, noting his strong jaw and determined gaze. There was no question the man was attractive and fit. Sienna’s friend Viviana used to joke, asking Sienna to call her next time Devin was outside cutting his grass in the heat. The man had light brown hair that was pushed back from his face and a barely-there beard. He towered at least a foot taller than her own five foot three inches.

She closed her eyes, hoping Devin knew what he was doing. Why had she entrusted her life and Colby’s to him? What had she been thinking? That hotel room was looking better and better all the time. Yet Devin seemed so confident and protective. Maybe in a subconscious way she’d been drawn to that.

Being alone out here in Colorado—being single—it wasn’t easy. Most of the time she prided herself on being independent. But deep inside, it would be nice to have someone watching out for her. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought it would be Devin.

Sienna had only said yes because she knew Devin was FBI. She’d seen him talking with the officers on the scene. He’d seemed respected and professional. He’d also been surprisingly kind.

She gripped the armrest as she glanced out the window and saw the steep cliff beside her. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to breathe until they reached the end of this. Until the car was no longer behind them.

This whole thing was a bad idea. She should have gotten that hotel room and begged the police to station a guard outside it.

Why hadn’t she thought of that an hour ago?

Instead, she was in the middle of the wild, rugged mountains with a man who was virtually a stranger. If this car hit them, they’d have no help. There would be nowhere to go.

This was all a bad, bad idea.

“It’s going to be okay,” Devin said.

Sienna wished she felt as certain as he sounded. Because nothing felt okay right now.

She could hardly move, much less turn her head. “Is he still there?”

Devin’s eyes flickered into the rearview mirror. “I don’t see him yet.”

“Do you know where this road goes?”

“It goes to the top of the mountain.”

“To your cabin?”

“No.”

“Then where?

“It ends.”

Sienna sucked in a breath. “That doesn’t sound like a great plan.”

“Trust me.”

“I hardly know you.”

“I realize that. And I know this is difficult. But I do have a plan.” With that, Devin turned the wheel again—turned it hard again—until they barreled toward some tall pine trees on the edge of the road.

Sienna sucked in a breath when she spotted the blackness just beyond the trees. It was dark there because there was nothing. Nothing but a cliff.

Just what was Devin thinking? He was going to kill them all.

Sienna’s racing heart agreed.

As the edge of the cliff got closer and closer, a small voice came from the back seat. “Mama? Mama?”

Colby was awake. And he began to wail in fear.

The sound echoed in the car, matching exactly what Sienna was feeling.

Especially when, in the next instant, the SUV lurched forward.