Читать книгу The Only Witness - Laura Scott - Страница 13

FOUR

With her heart pounding frantically, Paige clutched Abby to her chest, shielding her daughter as best she could as she hid behind the evergreen trees. Miles pushed her behind him, then squatted in front of her and returned fire.

The gunshots were excruciatingly loud, making her ears ring, and she knew they frightened Abby, too, by the way her daughter’s tears dampened her shirt. Paige had no idea why these guys were shooting at them and prayed the waitress had, indeed, called the police.

The sharp scent of cordite hung in the air. Miles fired twice more, and she caught a glimpse of two men lying on the ground in front of the door. She couldn’t tell if they were alive or dead. Then Miles was hauling her up to her feet. “Come on, we have to get out of here.”

She wasn’t about to argue. She wanted to get as far away from this place as possible.

“Head for my car.” Miles urged her forward, indicating she should go first. She darted around the Dumpster, then sprinted as fast as she could across the parking lot to his car. Just like the night before, she yanked open the passenger door and quickly crawled into the back, unwilling to let Abby go.

Miles shut the passenger door behind her, then ran around to the driver’s seat. Before getting into the car, though, he went down to where the black sedan was parked to peer at the license plate. It only took a few seconds, but she found herself holding her breath until he joined them.

He slid behind the wheel, then floored the gas pedal, tires squealing as he drove away from the restaurant. The sound of sirens sounded faintly, as if the police were still far away.

“Who were those men?” She forced the words past the lump in the back of her throat. “Are they the same ones who shot at my house? And if so, how did they find us?”

“I don’t know.” His expression was grim as he met her gaze in the rearview mirror. “They had handguns, not a twenty-two rifle, so I can’t say for certain they’re the same ones who shot at your house. But one thing is for sure, the guy I watched obviously recognized my car. We need to get a new set of wheels, ASAP.”

Paige tried to rein in her scattered thoughts. “How would they recognize your car?”

Miles shook his head, keeping his gaze focused on the road. “Maybe from last night, when I drove away from your house. It’s possible they caught my license plate number. One of the gunmen pointed to the bullet hole in the rear fender.”

She couldn’t wrap her mind around it. “So now they’ll kill you, too? Just to get to me and Abby?”

Miles didn’t say anything and she couldn’t blame him.

He was in grave danger now, too, because of her.

* * *

Miles mentally repeated the license plate number until it was embedded in his memory. The wailing sirens grew louder so he made a sharp left, hoping he was heading in the opposite direction. He didn’t want to stop long enough to talk to cops in a different jurisdiction, not when he knew that whoever was behind the attempts to kill Paige and Abby knew what car he was driving.

Did Sci-Tech have access to the DMV database? Maybe. He quickly called his brother, Mitch. “Yeah?” his brother sounded groggy, as if Miles had woken him up. Granted it was only seven thirty in the morning, but still.

“We were ambushed not far from the motel. I need your help getting a spare set of wheels.”

“Are you okay?” After Miles quickly filled him in, he went into typical Callahan problem-solving mode. “You want to borrow my buddy, Garrett’s, truck?” Mitch asked. “He’s still in Afghanistan.”

Miles hesitated, wondering if the connection was too close. A few months ago, his older brother, Marc, had borrowed Garrett’s truck, and the bad guys had still found him.

Then again, in Marc’s case the bad guy had been in law enforcement with easy access to information about Marc and the Callahan family, not part of some high-tech corporation.

“Yeah, that would work, at least for now,” he agreed. “But I also want new phones and another safe place to stay.”

“Where are you now?” Mitch asked. “I’ll come and meet you wherever you want.”

Miles squinted at the road sign. “Looks like I’m about fifteen minutes outside of Brookland. Why don’t we meet at the park-and-ride right off the interstate?”

“Sounds good. I’ll be there.” Mitch disconnected from the call.

“Who is Mitch?” Paige asked.

“One of my brothers.” He met her questioning gaze in the rearview mirror. “Mitch is an arson investigator, so he understands what it’s like to be in danger and why we need a different set of wheels.”

“How many brothers do you have?”

He sensed she was making small talk in an effort to calm her daughter. “Four brothers and a sister, there’s six of us altogether. Don’t worry, we can trust them.”

She nodded, her lips curving in a slight smile as she pressed a kiss against Abby’s head. “Having a large family sounds nice.”

He thought about the fighting and bickering they’d done as they were growing up, wondering how their parents had put up with them. Yet Paige was right. Looking back, he realized he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We’re safe now, Abby,” she said in a low, husky tone. “We’re going to get a different car and find a new place to stay.”

As usual, Abby didn’t respond, at least not verbally. Miles wished he could get the little girl to open up so he could find out what she had seen over the ChatTime link. Something about her father, but what? Had he called to talk to Paige, but been interrupted? Miles couldn’t imagine her father had attempted to give important information to a child.

He saw the glossy red truck waiting for them in the commuter parking lot and headed in that direction. Mitch eased out from behind the wheel when Miles approached.

“Hey,” his brother greeted him. “The disposable phones are in the passenger seat.”

“Thanks.” Miles pushed open the driver’s side door, then opened the passenger door for Paige and Abby. “Paige, this is my brother, Mitch Callahan. Mitch, this is Paige Olson and her daughter, Abby.”

“Nice to meet you.” Paige shifted Abby in her arms so that she could offer her hand.

“Same goes,” Mitch replied. He smiled at Abby. “Hi, Abby. How old are you?”

Abby hid her face against Paige’s neck and Miles scrubbed his hands over his face, knowing that exchanging gunfire with the two thugs behind the restaurant had no doubt shaken the little girl’s faith in his ability to keep them safe.

“It’s been a rough twenty-four hours for her,” Paige said softly.

“For you, too,” Miles added. “We barely managed to get away from the last pair of gunmen. I’m hoping that using the truck will cover our trail.”

Mitch nodded. “Yeah, no kidding. I went to your place last night. The damage wasn’t as bad as I originally thought. Whoever searched the place didn’t break stuff, but they sure looked in every nook and cranny. What do you think they were after?”

“I have no idea,” Miles replied, scrubbing a hand wearily over his face. He had been trying to figure that out for himself, too. The timing being so close to Jason’s death and the gunfire at Paige’s place made him think that everything was related, especially since he’d been working his father’s case for months and hadn’t even gotten any clues to go on.

“Work stuff?” Mitch asked.

“No. I don’t bring much of that home, and thankfully I had my computer.”

“Do you want us to clean the place up for you?” Mitch asked.

“No need to bother. I’ll take care of it, later.” He opened the passenger-side door for Paige, assuming that carrying Abby around must be exhausting. Her citrusy scent clouded his mind, making him want things he’d planned to avoid, like home and family. “Why don’t you sit down? We’ll leave in a minute or so.”

When Paige couldn’t seem to get up, he put his hands around her waist and lifted her, setting her on the seat. Then he went around to the trunk to grab the duffel bag and computer.

“There’s a hotel about five miles away, called the American Lodge. The owner is related to a firefighter I trained with and I already smoothed the way for you. They’ll take cash, no questions asked.”

“Great, thanks.” Miles slapped his brother on the back. “I owe you.”

“Nah, this is what family is for, right?”

Miles nodded, then tossed his brother the keys to his car. “Don’t use it for long, leave it at my place.”

“I will. Mike is going to pick me up there, after we take another look through, make sure there isn’t anything that was missed.”

Miles highly doubted that the people who’d searched his home left anything behind, but he understood his brother’s desire to help out. “Thanks, bro. I’ll be in touch.”

The ride to the American Lodge didn’t take long, and he was surprised to see there was a church located nearby. For the first time since Dawn’s death he found he was interested in actually attending a service.

But not until he knew for certain they’d be safe.

* * *

The motel room seemed larger to Paige than the one they’d stayed in the previous night, although having additional space didn’t matter much, not when Abby still clung to her, as if afraid to let go.

She eased down on the edge of the bed. “Look around, sweetie, isn’t it nice here?”

Abby didn’t answer, not even by shaking her head.

She lifted her troubled gaze to Miles. “She’s been through so much.”

“I know.” Regret shimmered in his blue eyes and she liked the way he seemed to care about her daughter’s well-being.

“I’d like to take her to a child psychologist, but it doesn’t seem like an option at the moment.”

“I’m sorry, but we can’t do that. Not yet.”

Although she hated it, she understood. “Would you like to watch a movie?” Paige nodded toward the television and Miles brought the remote over for her. But when she turned on the television and found the kid’s channel, Abby didn’t even look at the screen.

Paige swallowed hard, trying to figure out what to do to get through to her daughter. After turning off the television, she gently rubbed her hand down Abby’s back.

“Let’s pray, okay, Abby?”

“Good idea.” To her surprise, Miles came over and sat down beside her. He placed one hand at her waist and the other hand on Abby’s back. “Dear Lord, we thank You for protecting us today,” he said.

It took her a minute to pick up the thread of the prayer. “We ask You, Lord, to continue looking after us, keeping us safe from harm.”

“We ask this in Your name, Christ the Lord, Amen.”

“Amen,” Paige echoed, humbled by how willing Miles was to pray with her, even if only for Abby’s sake. Something Travis had refused to do.

When Abby turned her head and looked toward Miles, Paige hoped that she was finally ready to talk, but instead her daughter reached out and patted Miles on the arm, as if thanking him for being there.

Tears burned her eyes, and she quickly tried to blink them away before Miles could see them.

He picked up Abby’s hand and gave it a brief kiss. “I promise to protect you and your mom, okay?”

This time Abby nodded.

“Will you watch a movie with your mom?”

Abby nodded again, and Paige let out a little sigh of relief. Her daughter still wasn’t talking, but at least she was responding.

To Miles.

She turned the television back on and Abby finally relaxed her grip. Paige plumped up the pillows and eased Abby against them, making sure that Ellie was nearby.

Amazing that Ellie had made it this far, considering everything they’d been through.

“Do you want to make a list of things you need from your house?” Miles asked in a hushed voice. “As I mentioned before, I’ll ask one of my brothers to head over there to pick up whatever you need.”

While she wasn’t thrilled with the thought of some strange man going through her personal things, she desperately wanted a change of clothes and more toys for Abby. Keeping a child occupied in a hotel room wasn’t easy. “That would be nice, thanks.”

“It’s the least I can do,” Miles said with a frown. “I feel terrible that those guys managed to trace my car.”

“It’s not your fault,” she protested. Taking the paper and pen from the desk, she quickly wrote out a list of items that she’d love to have. “Here you go.”

Miles took the list. “As soon as the disposable phones are charged and ready to go, I’ll call my brother, Mike. He’s a private investigator, and I’m sure he’ll be able to get in and out of your place without anyone detecting him.”

“Speaking of phones, I’d like to call my boss,” Paige said. “I normally work from home, and he’ll wonder why I’m not logged in to my email.”

Miles lifted a brow. “What type of work?”

She straightened her glasses and suppressed a sigh. There was no getting around the fact that her job was dull and boring. “I’m an accountant.”

“Nice, I’m impressed,” Miles said, admiration clear in his tone. His smile of approval warmed her heart. “Numbers aren’t my strength.”

“Numbers make sense, at least most of the time.”

“What company? It’s nice that your boss lets you work from home.”

“I work for Larson and Avery, they’re a group that supports several small businesses.” She dragged her fingers through her hair, thinking about what to say to convince her boss to give her a few unplanned vacation days. “I like it a lot better there than Sci-Tech.”

“What?” Miles snapped his head around to stare at her in shock. “You used to work at Sci-Tech as an accountant?”

“Yes. Why?” she replied, confused by his reaction. “It was several years ago. I left shortly before my divorce, knowing I needed a more flexible schedule, and Sci-Tech made it clear that working from home wasn’t an option.”

“Did you have access to sensitive information while you were employed there?” Miles pressed. “Something that would cause them to come after you?”

It took a minute for her to figure out what he meant. “Not at all. I handled their purchasing and accounts receivables, nothing related to payroll or anything like that.” She couldn’t believe Miles would think that the gunmen had come after her because of her old job.

“What sort of supplies did they purchase?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Nothing exciting, trust me. Lots of computer parts, mostly, some robotics. I only handled the smaller accounts...my boss handled the bigger clients.”

“Do you know if Sci-Tech had any government contracts?”

“If they did, my old boss, Steve Kane, would have been the one who worked on them, not me.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“This,” she waved her hand in the air, “isn’t related to my work at Sci-Tech. Why would it be? I’ve been gone for a long time. There’s no reason for anyone there to worry about what I might have stumbled across, especially now.”

“You’re probably right,” Miles agreed. “I was just surprised to find out you once worked there.” He was silent for a moment before asking, “You’re sure you didn’t know Jason Whitfield?”

She slowly shook her head, thinking back to the time when she’d been employed at Sci-Tech. “I’m sure. I didn’t associate with the tech team who worked for Travis. Our marriage was rocky even back then, so I avoided contacting him at work. I’m sorry. I wish I could help.”

“It’s okay. I just needed to be sure.”

She nodded, wondering again about Travis. She wanted to ask Miles about her ex but hated to bring up the subject in front of Abby. Especially since her daughter was finally relaxed enough to watch a movie.

Was Travis still missing? Or was he simply off somewhere with his latest girlfriend? She hoped the latter, because Abby had been through enough and losing her father might send her over the edge.