Author: Valerie Hansen
Category: Nonfiction
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“Because he told me,” Nancy said flatly. “The idiot told me he was going to ask his father to bail out him and Chase. Just like that. They’d gotten involved in drug smuggling and thought they could walk away scot-free, with no consequences.”
“I’m confused. What part did you play?”
“Are you kidding? I’d set up Chase to marry me. All that money. Plus, he was kind of cute if you like them immature.”
Unbelievable. “So, let me get this straight,” Janie said, “you were convinced that getting rid of Wesley would fix things for you and Chase? What did he have to say about it?”
“That wimp? I never told him until it was over. When I did, he skipped out and left me here to wait and wait. Until you showed up, I wondered how long it was going to take him to come home.”
“His parents didn’t suspect you? I mean, they must have known you and Chase were having a fling.”
Nancy erupted angrily. “A fling? Is that what you think it was? He loved me. Loves me. Just wait. You’ll see. As soon as you and your boyfriend and his cop boss back off, everything will be back to normal and I’ll have my way.”
“Don’t you see?” Janie argued. “It won’t be that easy. Harold and Meg are bound to figure things out eventually.”
That brought such raucous laughter from the young woman Janie was taken aback. As soon as the noise died down she asked, “Why is that so funny?”
Nancy was shaking her head and looking to the assembled thugs. “I told you they didn’t have a clue. See?”
There was only one conclusion Janie could reach without more concrete information. She straightened and stood tall, facing what she now felt was her ultimate fate. “The drug lord we’ve been looking for is Harold Armbruster, isn’t it?”
“You win first prize.”
“So, now you’re going to kill me?” The words Janie spoke seemed as if they were coming from a stranger, as if she were standing apart and watching a scary movie.
“Not quite yet,” Nancy said. She motioned with the gun barrel. “Put her over there until we get them all. We may need her later.”
Stumbling, Janie was bound with rough cord and shoved down into a corner next to a drum of oil or gas. Fumes definitely tagged it as a petroleum product. She’d lost one of her shoes in the process so she slipped off the remaining one and slid it behind her as she sat on the floor. The spike heel wasn’t a particularly efficient weapon but it beat trying to fight back with her wrists tied together.
She watched one of the men pull out a cell phone and dial. When he said, “We have her, sir. Send the others,” Janie’s heart fell.
The trap was set for Brad and Wes, and she was the bait.
TWENTY-THREE
Brad had scoured the familiar areas around the estate to no avail, so he returned to Wes. “Can’t find her. We need to search the whole house.”
“In a minute,” Wes managed. “Chase may be able to tell us where she is.” Beside him, the blond youth was in tears, gasping out details of his unwilling part in his best friend’s murder. The chief was silently shedding tears, too.
Brad interrupted, “How did you get so deep in the first place? I can understand why you and Wesley Jr. were pulled into the drug scene. You didn’t watch who you associated with. But what brought you so far that you killed him?”
“Not—not me,” Chase stammered. “I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t. Not till it was already too late.”
“Then why leave the country if you were innocent?”
Face flushed, eyes red and puffy, Chase cast a glance at the mansion behind them. “Because I couldn’t stay here. Not anymore. Not knowing...”
“What?” Brad demanded. “What did you know that you’re not saying?”
That brought soul-racking sobs instead of a verbal answer. If Chase was trying to tell them what Brad suspected he was, this part of the case was going to be almost as rough on the police chief as anything so far, with the exception of losing his only son.
“It’s your father, isn’t it?” Brad asked. He saw Wes start to object, then stop, stunned.
Chase was nodding. “That’s why he invited you here. At least I think it is. Nancy was brought in on it, too, after Dad learned there was going to be a woman with you.”
“Janie? You targeted Janie?” Brad felt as if he’d burst from overwhelming sorrow.
“Not me!” Chase grabbed Brad’s forearm through the sleeve of his tuxedo jacket. “Please believe me. I’m not behind all this.”
Brad shook him off and grabbed both his shoulders. An adult’s muscles trembled beneath his hands while a child’s heart shed tears of remorse. “All right. What else? Do you know how we were supposed to be targeted?”
Chase nodded, speechless, until Brad gave him a hard shake. “How? Talk!”
“I—I’m not sure. Nancy was supposed to get her to leave the party, I think.”
“And then what? Where were they taking her?”
“I don’t know. Dad figured out I wasn’t going to help him so he kept me in the dark. I was trying to find out more from his guards when you pulled me away.”
“Can Janie be in the house?” Wes asked. All he got was a shrug.
“I’ve searched the yard,” Brad told him. “There’s no way one man can cover this whole estate by himself.”
“You’re right. I’ll call the state police for backup. In the meantime, I’ll take the house and start by searching her room. Which one is it?”
“I’ll show you. Follow me!”
He pushed startled people out of his way. The stairs flew by beneath his feet. The hallway was a blur. Brad burst into the room where his beloved Janie had been staying. It was empty except for her little dog.
In all the excitement he’d forgotten about Pixie. Instead of attacking and sinking those needlelike teeth into his ankle again, she took one look at him and ran to the window, paws on the sill, whining at the darkness outside.
Brad joined her. Slid open the lower section. Tried to listen despite her yips. “Is that where she is, girl? Do you know for sure?”
The little dog wiggled all over and jumped at him. Brad scooped her up, turning to Wes. “Keep searching the house. I’m going back out. We’re going back out.”
“She’s not a tracking dog. She’s hardly a dog at all,” Wes said with undisguised disgust. “Don’t kid yourself.”
“I prayed for help. Maybe this is it. I’m not about to discount any leads I get.”
His chief waved him off. “Fine. Go. As soon as I’ve completed a quick sweep of the upstairs I’m going to pin down my good buddy, Harold.” Wes patted the holster beneath his jacket. “He and I are about to have a chat.”
“But please, do all you can to find Janie,” Brad pleaded. “I can’t explain how much she means to me.”
“Figured as much.” Wes seemed to soften. “Go on, then. You have my prayers, too. Find her.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Leaving his only sure human ally, Brad carried his canine one down the stairs, across the living room and out the French door nearest his last glimpse of Janie.
Several women attending the gala grinned and reached out to pet Pixie as they passed. Brad skillfully avoided them. He didn’t release the dog until they were outside, away from the revelry. Then he placed the little white dog on the grass, prepared to wait and see what she did.
In milliseconds he was sorry he’d neglected a leash. Yipping, short legs churning up grass, Pixie took off as if electrified. Brad was able to keep her in sight only because she was stark white against the dark background.
He began to follow at a dead run. The dog’s target was clearly one of the hangars by the private airstrip. He could tell that neither of them was going to slow down until they got there.
Brad watched Pixie disappear into the light emanating from an open hangar door.
He heard the echo of a gunshot. Drew his pistol. And, for the first time in his life, prayed for a dog.
* * *
Janie wasn’t the only occupant of the hangar to hear Pixie coming. She saw Nancy aim for the doorway. Heart and mind screaming, her voice shouted, “No!”
She pivoted to search for the discarded shoe, fumbled it for an instant, then held it overhead and threw. It wasn’t enough to cause damage but it did make Nancy flinch. The shot went wild. Pixie charged in and made straight for her bound companion.
Janie had never been so glad—or so sad—to see her tiny friend. Nancy must have abandoned poor Pixie when she’d left the house and here she was, smack-dab in the middle of a terrible situation neither of them were likely to survive.
Miracles were for Biblical times, people said, so Janie chose to call her pleas for rescue mere intervention. She didn’t really care about semantics as long as somebody came to save her. To save them.
Holding Pixie close she let her little pet lick tears from her cheeks and cuddle close. She’d relied on the dog for comfort before and needed her even more right now.
That isn’t all I need, Janie admitted without regret. I need Brad.
But not all by himself, she added. Not against all these evil guys and the traitorous young woman. Not even if Wes happened to be with him. There was no way two men could match the firepower already braced to shoot them on sight.
Nancy kept her pistol trained on the open door, waiting. Janie could tell that the guards were waiting, as well. What she wasn’t sensing was a unity of purpose among them. A few had fallen back as if unwilling to go along with Nancy’s stated plans. Others had drawn guns when she’d fired at Pixie and now held them at their sides as if unsure what to do. Assuming Harold had hired them was no guarantee they’d do the bidding of the maid, even if she really was engaged to Chase.
Minutes ticked by so slowly Janie wanted to scream. Instead, she held her dog close and kept quiet. The less attention she drew, the better, she reasoned. And the longer it took for Brad to realize she was missing and come looking for her, the more chance he’d have of getting local law enforcement backup. Whatever he did, she hoped he didn’t try storming the place by himself. That would be akin to suicide.
“Please, Lord, take care of him,” Janie prayed in a whisper. “Even if he’s not in time to rescue me.”
Did she mean that? she wondered. Oh, yes. She loved him that much. The only sad element of her confession was that she might never have the chance to tell him.
One of the guards raised his pistol and aimed at the doorway. “I hear something.”
Agreeing because Pixie had also alerted, Janie kept silent.
“Well, go see,” Nancy ordered.
A brief glance at his cohorts and he was on his way toward the bay door. He stopped at the edge with his shoulder to the metal frame, then whipped around the corner, ready to fire.
Janie held her breath. Nothing happened. No shots, no shouts, no sounds of any kind.
Nancy called out to him, “What do you see?”
There was no reply.
Without waiting for further orders, the rest of the men fanned out. Some approached the open bay door while others headed for the walk-through exit to the side. Hunkering down with her dog, Janie made herself as small a target as possible. If and when the shooting started, she didn’t want to be an accidental casualty.
A deep male voice resounded from outside. “Stand down! That’s an order.”
Harold? How could it be? He was the drug kingpin, so what was he doing calling off his goons? And what about Brad and Wes? Had they already been eliminated?
That thought resounded in Janie’s brain, making bile rise in her throat and her stomach clench with a fist of iron.
“Please, Jesus,” was all she could think. The prayer wasn’t polished or eloquent but she believed her frantic, intense pleas would be heard, regardless. They had to be. They just had to be.
The guards began to look at each other. One by the door peeked out, then signaled with a wave of his arm.
Janie felt as if a flood of peace and calm was washing over her. She looked up. Harold Armbruster and his son stepped into view.
Behind them, using the father’s broad body as a shield, was Wes. Then came Brad, accompanied by the copilot who had frightened her. There was a badge hanging around his neck on a cord and he was wearing a vest that read DEA. He was one of the good guys!
Janie was overcome. Tears filled her eyes and began to streak her cheeks. Brad was there. He was alive.
And he had come for her.
* * *
Brad spotted her immediately. Not only had Armbruster surrendered, his guards were doing likewise. The only holdout was the young maid, and Chase was about to disarm her, as well.
Signaling the chief, Brad left him and ran to Janie. Her beautiful dress was tangled and torn, her hair mussed, yet she had never looked more beautiful to him.
She held up her bound wrists. Brad freed her, then took her hands and pulled her to her feet while Pixie circled and barked excitedly as if to ask him what had taken him so long.
Without those towering heels Janie was shorter standing next to him. Perfect in his arms. Perfect in his life, if she’d have him. Conventional dating would be the wisest approach, he’d told himself over and over, but seeing her, holding her close, he couldn’t stop himself.
A tender, loving kiss came first. Then he asked, “Are you all right?”
She snuggled against him. “I am now.”
“You’re sure? Because I wouldn’t want you to think I’m taking advantage of your fears.”
“The only thing I’m scared of is having to leave you now that your case is solved.”
“I have the solution for that.” Brad could hear a quaver of pent-up emotion in his voice, could sense the new kind of fear he was experiencing. Well, he figured it was better to know than to keep wondering so he blurted it out. “Marry me.”
Janie leaned back slightly, lifted her tear-streaked face to his and nodded. “I thought you’d never ask.”
EPILOGUE
A special task force had been formed to debrief everyone involved. By combining the confessions of some of the guards as well as those of Harold Armbruster and Nancy, Brad and Janie were able to piece together enough to figure out the key players in the sad drama. It took months to break up the drug ring as well as exonerate Chase but thankfully the case was almost ready to go to trial.
Poor Meg Armbruster had been kept in the dark throughout the entire operation and had taken her son home to work toward mutual healing. To everyone’s relief, the young man had not touched drugs since his best friend’s murder. At least something good had come out of all this, Janie mused.
Clad in a white wedding dress that Meg had insisted on gifting her, Janie stood in the rear of the small chapel just outside Jefferson City, gazed down the center aisle at her husband-to-be and smiled wistfully. Her heart was so full of love, so committed to this man, she could hardly contain the joy.
Beautiful music surrounded her. If Brad had not insisted they get to know each other better in a normal way, she would have married him that past fall. But he’d been adamant. And now it was time. Finally.
Her pink-clad maid of honor, a nurse from the hospital where she’d worked when Brad had first come into her life, handed Janie her bridal bouquet, then started down the aisle. The young woman carried two things. In one hand was a beribboned bunch of roses. In the other arm she bore a sparkling-clean little white dog with matching bows in her hair.
“I love you,” Janie mouthed to her waiting groom.
Grinning from ear to ear he returned a simple, “I love you, too.”
Janie blinked back tears of joy, reached out and took the arm of Chief Winterhaven, who was standing in for her absent father. As far as she was concern
ed, her new extended family was almost as perfect as Brad was.
A tear escaped behind her veil. So happy and blessed she was floating on air, she went forward to meet her future.
* * *
If you loved this story, pick up the previous books in the Emergency Responders series from bestselling author Valerie Hansen:
Fatal Threat
Marked for Revenge
Available now from Love Inspired Suspense!
Find more great reads at www.LoveInspired.com.
Keep reading for an excerpt from Seeking Amish Shelter by Alison Stone.
Dear Reader,
By the time you read this, we will all be changed, hopefully for the better. The threat of danger may be new to many of us but it’s a daily challenge to emergency responders, especially in the health and law enforcement professions. They may not always acknowledge this sense of jeopardy or be able to name it the way my characters in this story can, but it lurks in the background just the same. Those like Janie and Brad who choose to stand firm and battle evil are to be thanked and praised, and above all supported with our cooperation and prayers.
The search for peace is universal. Reach out to God, trust Jesus and it will be yours.
I love hearing from readers. You can email me at [email protected], check out my website at ValerieHansen.com, or find me on Facebook or Instagram.
Blessings,
Valerie Hansen
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Seeking Amish Shelter
by Alison Stone
ONE
The transit bus door whooshed open and dumped Bridget Miller off four stops short of home. The hum of traffic and pedestrians newly released from their downtown office jobs had become a familiar pulse these past five years that had generally energized her. Made her excited for the vast opportunity that lay ahead, especially on a Friday afternoon.