Temporary Family Page 15

  And then she considered Nick. “You think the cop who tried to take Rico from the hospital is the one who killed his mother? Rico did say something about him having hurt his mother.”

  “Him or someone working with him.”

  “What about you? You saw him, too. So you’re in as much danger as Rico or me.”

  He didn’t even blink, didn’t hesitate, didn’t seem surprised or at all upset by what she’d said. Then he added, “I guess the three of us are in this together.”

  In this together...

  Nick had already come to that conclusion on his own. Even if he hadn’t seen the cop that day, there was no way he would bail out on Laura and Rico. They weren’t going anywhere without him until this whole mess was over.

  Rico had lost his mother; that was difficult enough. If he had indeed seen her body after the murder, then he would need even more help. If he could identify the man who did this to his mother, if that man knew Rico could identify him and had threatened Rico, and if Rico might at some point be called to testify against that man in court... the list went on and on. The boy would need all the help he could get. Nick was the only one around right now to help him.

  Nick was scared, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him. He’d never been scared before. He’d never been so unsure of himself or had so little confidence in his abilities. But one very important thing had come back to him—me desire to help. That was stronger than ever before.

  He had Rico and the woman now asleep beside him to thank for that. How did you say thank-you for something like that? How could he ever explain to her how much this meant to him? His work had been his life, and now he wanted the work back. He wanted his life back.

  He wanted the woman sitting beside him. Nick shifted against her to get one of his hands free. He took her hands in his, threaded his fingers through hers, then pressed their palms together.

  She was an incredible woman. She had more faith in her little finger than he had left in his whole body before she’d come along and shown him what faith was all about. Curled up against him like this, her body so familiar, her smell, her touch, he couldn’t believe how much she had changed his life so quickly.

  He had a purpose again in life, a reason to get out of bed, to get out of this apartment. He had a need to use the skills and the knowledge he carried, knowledge he’d abandoned in the past year. He’d been too afraid to do that before, afraid that the best he might have to offer a little boy like Rico wouldn’t be good enough.

  This time would be different, he told himself. He would not let Rico down. He wouldn’t let Laura down, either.

  Maybe he could find a way to thank her properly, if she wanted anything to do with him once this was over.

  Nick tried not to think about the possibility that she might not. His life was in a shambles, his career in the toilet, his reputation shot. He didn’t even have a job, and he couldn’t live off his savings and a few investments forever.

  What did he have to offer a woman like Laura?

  She deserved a man without any of the emotional baggage he carried, someone who looked at a family as a source of joy and of pride, not someone who’d seen family after family torn apart in every way imaginable. Nick dealt with the ugliness of broken families every day. And then there was his own stellar family background to add to the equation. He thought being a father or a mother had to be the riskiest job of all.

  Laura was eager to take on those risks. He doubted she even saw having a family as a risk. Nick could see her with a big house in the suburbs and her and her six kids in a minivan headed for the Little League ball field. He could see her as some very lucky man’s reason to come home every night.

  And even though he couldn’t see himself as a father, he scowled at the thought of some other man rushing home to get to her and her children. He wanted to be that man, but a father to Rico...he broke out in a cold sweat thinking about it.

  Then Rico let out his first scream.

  Nick ran for the bedroom. Laura wasn’t far behind him. He turned on the light, blinding the three of them at first. When he could see again, he knew no one had broken into the apartment. Rico was alone, sitting up screaming in the middle of the double bed.

  “It’s just a nightmare,” Nick said to Laura.

  She made her way around him and climbed onto the bed, sitting directly in front of Rico. “Hey, little man, it’s all right. Miss Laura is here.”

  She was right before him, but Rico seemed to stare straight through her. And he was still screaming. Laura took his hand at first, holding it, stroking it, then pulled him into her arms. Rico resisted for a minute, then finally seemed to break free of the nightmare’s grip.

  “That man. . .” he said tearfully, “he hurt my mother.”

  “I know, Rico. But you’re with me and Nick now, and we’re going to keep that man away from you, okay?”

  He gave her a glassy-eyed look, his chin dipping a little lower. He backhanded the tears on one cheek, then the other, and sniffled. “He hurt my mother.”

  “I know,” Laura said, then turned to Nick for guidance. “What do I do now?”

  Nick watched her with the boy. Comforting him seemed to come so easily to her. At one time it had come easily to Nick, as well.

  “You do exactly what you’re doing right now,” he whispered back to her, all the while wondering if she even needed him.

  Nick left the two of them there on the bed and wandered into the hallway. More than anything right now, Rico needed to feel safe and secure. He needed to know someone was going to take care of him, and that someone was Laura.

  Hopefully, soon, he’d be ready to talk to Nick about what had happened. Nick wasn’t going to push him on that, not now that he had an idea of how much trauma the child had suffered.

  He walked into the living room and stared out the window into the darkness. He had felt safe having the two of them here, but now that he knew there was a murderer on the loose, he wasn’t so sure. Above all, he wanted them to be safe until this crazy cop was caught.

  Because if anything happened to the two of them, he didn’t think he’d survive the aftermath.

  Sometime later, the phone rang. Nick looked at his watch; it was shortly before eight. He walked to the answering machine and waited for Drew’s voice. When it came, he lifted the receiver and turned off the recorder. “I’m here. What’s up?”

  “Not much,” Drew said. “We’re still waiting for the dental-records check. I still have more questions than answers, but I don’t like the way this feels. Everybody is pulling ranks on me and clamming up. It shouldn’t be this hard to get some information on a dirty cop.”

  “Which means?” Nick prompted.

  “There must be more to this than one dirty cop.”

  “Great.”

  “I’d say there’s one hell of a big mess somewhere within the police department, and the kid and his mother just happened to get in the middle of it.”

  Nick couldn’t fault the logic in that. He believed in gut feeling, in instinct, and he trusted Drew, which prompted him to add, “Rico is starting to talk again.”

  “Good. What did he see?”

  “I think he saw the guy who slit his mother’s throat, although we haven’t gotten that far yet.”

  “What did he say?”

  “Just that the man hurt his mother. But the rest of the story is going to come out, I’m sure. He just needs some time.”

  “So do I. And I think it’s time for the three of you to get out of town. How do you all feel about taking a little trip?”

  “Point the way,” Nick said.

  “I don’t have any particular direction in mind just yet. I’m not even working on this officially.”

  “Okay.”

  “Give me a few hours to arrange it. I’ve been up all night trying to cut through this mountain of a bureaucracy surrounding this mess. But I have friends in lots of out-of-the-way places. I’ll find you a spot. Pack your things and be ready to move this
morning. Let’s say ten o’clock, all right?”

  “That’s fine.”

  “Don’t open the door for anyone but me.”

  “I won’t. And, Drew, I appreciate it.”

  “Anytime, my friend. By the way, Carolyn wants to know if you’re coming out of retirement. She’s ready to put you back to work at the shelter.”

  “Which means she needs someone who works cheap.”

  “That’s part of it,” he admitted. “But she’s been worried about you.”

  “So have I. Tell her we’ll talk when this mess is all over.”

  Nick found Laura asleep on the bed, with Rico’s head on her shoulder. He let the two of them sleep until nine, so they had time to get ready before Drew arrived.

  Rico was silent again. Laura was quiet, as well. Nick wondered whether she was uncomfortable around him because they had made love the night before, or whether she was frightened because Drew thought they needed to leave town.

  A part of him ached to take her in his arms and hold her dose, to tell her that he was here and that he would do everything in his power to keep her safe. And another part of him wondered what she would do if he tried to pull her close.

  Now that morning had come, did she regret what had happened between them? Nick was sure sex was something she didn’t take lightly.

  He wanted to tell her that the night meant a great deal to him, that she meant a great deal to him, too. But he wasn’t sure he could put into words the feelings he didn’t understand that well himself yet.

  He wanted her again. He wanted to make her smile, to be the kind of man with whom she’d want to be involved. He had a ways to go on that score, and he didn’t think he was in a position to make her any promises, because he wouldn’t make promises right now.

  Laura deserved much better than him. Maybe that was the real problem—he didn’t think he deserved a woman like her. So he kept his distance that morning.

  The three of them moved around the apartment like polite strangers. Rico ate a little. Laura didn’t have anything. They both showered and dressed, then waited for Drew to knock on the door.

  At three minutes to ten, Laura thought she heard something out front.

  “What kind of a sound?” Nick headed for the window, motioning for her to stay back.

  “I’m not sure.”

  And there it was again, a popping that reverberated off the walls. Nick pushed the shades aside and saw a lot of people running in different directions on the sidewalk below. They were yelling and gesturing back toward the front of the building. He backtracked, then picked out a man in a dark suit with a gun in his hand.

  FBI, he thought. He doubted many crooks wore dark suits on the job.

  Nick’s gaze swept over the area again, and he still didn’t see Drew. But Drew was down there. Nick was certain that if Drew Delaney said he’d be here at ten, he would. So who knew Drew was going to be here and who was waiting for him when he arrived?

  Nick was certain they also knew Rico was up here. He didn’t have time right now to figure out how someone could know that, because he intended to make sure the men downstairs shooting didn’t find Rico up here.

  “It’s gunfire, isn’t it?” Laura asked softly.

  Nick turned and looked down into her frightened eyes, wishing it were anything but the sound of a gun, then nodded gravely.

  “What are we going to do?”

  He hesitated for one second, maybe two. Someone was likely going to come to his apartment at any minute. Nick didn’t want to be in here wondering who was on the other side of the door when that happened. “We’re going to get out of here. How do you feel about heights?”

  She paled.

  “We’re only on the fourth floor.”

  “Only?”

  “The fire escape is this way. We’ll end up in the alley in back.” He knew because he’d worried that one day when his case finally came to trial the reporters would find him and hold him captive in his own apartment, so he’d checked out the fire escape. He’d never thought he would end up leaving that way because of some crazy man with a gun.

  Laura still looked skeptical.

  “We’re sure not going out the front door,” he said.

  “I know, but...” She glanced back at Rico, who looked as frightened as she did.

  “Laura, I don’t want to wait until someone shows up at the door to see whether they blast through it or knock and flash an FBI ID. Either way, we wouldn’t know whether we could trust them unless it was Drew himself.”

  “I know, but...” She closed her eyes and made a desperate grab for air.

  Nick didn’t think they had the time to waste, but he couldn’t bear the expression in her eyes. He took a few precious minutes to pull her into his arms and hold her tight.

  “Listen to me,” he insisted. “Whoever is down there is going to have to go through me to get to Rico or to you.”

  That part was nonnegotiable. Maybe this whole relationship wasn’t as complicated as he thought. He’d found his bottom line fast when the shooting started.

  “I’m not going to lose you now, Laura. So get moving. Grab that tote bag you packed and follow me.”

  They battled with the window, the frame either, swollen or painted shut, then made it onto the rusty railings and ladders of the fire escape. The structure creaked ominously as it took the weight of the three of them. The wind howled through the tall buildings. Rico clung to Nick as if he’d never let go. The boy hardly weighed anything, and his arms were so skinny the strength in them amazed Nick. He hoped he was doing the right thing to deserve such faith from the trembling little boy.

  From the front of the building, they heard shouts and nervous screams, but no more gunfire. A quick check of the alley showed nothing but frightened people still running past on the main road in front. In the distance, the sirens howled. Behind Nick, Laura lost her footing and gave a muffled scream. Nick took a second to steady her on her feet, then give her a fast, hard kiss on the mouth.

  “I’m not going to lose you now,” he repeated.

  Then he headed down the last flight. He pried Rico’s hands from around his neck, then waited for the boy to grab onto the ladder. Laura worked her way down beside Rico and started reassuring him. Nick jumped to the ground—a drop of about six feet—then glanced around again. As far as he could tell, the alley was still empty. Maybe their luck would hold.

  “Okay, Laura, he’s going to have to jump.”

  Rico shook his head. Nick heard him sobbing now. Laura said something to him. Rico finally looked down. Nick held up his arms, and the boy leaped into them.

  Once again, skinny little arms clamped around his neck with surprising strength. A head covered with dark, tight curls came down against his chest. Nick closed his eyes and started to pray as he hadn’t in years, then looked up at Laura.

  He tried not to think about how frightened she appeared at this moment or how vulnerable she’d been the night before. There’d be time to reassure her later. Somehow he’d make time for them. For now, they had to move.

  “Jump,” he told her. And she did, landing hard beside him. Then the three of them took off running.

  They didn’t look back until they stopped at an ATM at a busy street corner three blocks down. If they were going to get out of town, they needed cash. Nick didn’t want to wait too long to get it, in case someone had the power to track transactions in his bank accounts. So they stopped while they were still in the middle of town, then bypassed two train stations before taking the third.

  Once they were on the train, they just rode as far as it would take them toward the north side of town, where they rented a car from a place that didn’t care if Nick claimed he had no credit card. And then they tried their best simply to disappear.

  Chapter 12

  They drove half the day and into the night, stopping only long enough to grab something to eat and find pay phones from which to call Drew Delaney.

  Nick was starting to get worried by ear
ly evening when he hadn’t been able to reach Drew. The people in Drew’s office gave him all sorts of excuses about why he couldn’t speak to Drew, and Nick didn’t believe any of them.

  A lot of shots were fired that morning in front of the building, and he was starting to fear the worst. If one of those bullets got Drew, Nick didn’t know what he’d do next. He liked Drew; he knew his wife, knew they had an older son and a brand-new baby. And Drew was a good agent. No one deserved to be gunned down on the job, but especially not a man like Drew.

  Nick had to think of Rico and Laura now, too. If Drew wasn’t able to guide them through this mess, Nick wasn’t sure who he could turn to for help, especially if there were a bunch of dirty cops and FBI agents in town.

  Finally, around nine that night, he managed to get through to Drew at the agent’s office. The news wasn’t good. Not good at all. After about fifteen minutes on the phone with Drew, Nick hung up and started driving again.

  They stopped at a big discount store around ten and Laura drove around the parking lot in circles while Nick went in to buy toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, necessities like that. Wherever they were going, they needed to be prepared to stay an indefinite period of time.

  Around eleven, they found a run-down motel on the lake with some cabins in the woods farther from the shore. Nick chose it because he thought he could rent one without using a credit card or pulling out some ID. He made Rico stay in the car, out of sight, letting the woman who rented him the cabin think he and Laura were alone.

  Rico didn’t even wake up when Nick carried him into the back bedroom. The little boy had been silent most of the day, once he calmed down after they escaped from the apartment. The gunfire had scared him. The man who hurt his mother had a gun, he told them. Laura wondered if the man also had a knife, one he’d used to cut Renata Leone’s throat.

  She tucked Rico into the half bed in the back room, kissed his cheek and made him a half-dozen promises she hoped to be able to keep.

  He would ask soon about his mother, and Laura still had to figure out what she was going to tell him. She understood Nick’s reasoning in wanting to wait until they knew for certain the dead woman was Renata Leone, but Nick also believed Rico had seen the murderer, possibly even the murder. So Laura had to be prepared for anything he might ask.