HeatedMatch (28 page)

When he made it to the flagpole, he leaned against the
sun-warmed metal and scanned the campus for Loren. There.

She was coming up the path heading toward her own loaner
cottage. “Loren,” he called, but she didn’t respond. The light summer breeze
carried his voice away from her hearing range. He watched her for a few minutes
to ensure she was entering her cottage and not heading elsewhere, and then he
started down the path to meet her.

He reached her front door just as it slammed shut behind
her. He waited a second to enter so he wouldn’t open the door and slam Loren in
the back. She whirled to see who followed her into the house and visibly
relaxed when she saw it was him, but then tensed as something in his expression
must have given his tumultuous thoughts away.

“Adam,” she said, “you startled me. What’s going on?”

He stepped toward her then stopped, knowing he couldn’t
touch her until he’d said his piece. “I’m an idiot.”

She cocked her head and narrowed her eyes.

“I was at the range. With Rowan. We were shooting.” God, he
was rambling, like he always seemed to when he had something really emotional
to say. Give him a twenty-step operation to detail, and he’d be fine. Ask him
to say a few simple words about love, and he started blathering. “I’m trying to
say, I was wrong.”

“About what?” Loren asked gently.

“About love, about kids. About having kids with you. Rowan’s
not handicapped. I mean, he’s missing his arm, but it doesn’t stop me from
loving him or him having a full life.”

A blinding smile spread across Loren’s face and her eyes got
shiny with tears.

“Don’t cry.”

She sniffed. “I can’t help it.” Then her smile faded. “How
do I know this is real? A few hours ago you were convinced you couldn’t be a
husband or father. It was too risky. What changed?”

“Rowan and my mother helped me.”

“Your mother?” Loren looked concerned that he was really
losing it, and Adam swallowed a hysterical laugh, because when one’s world
shifted on its axis, it did feel as if one were going bonkers.

“I know it seems crazy, but my mom wrote me a bunch of
letters. That’s what was in the box Rowan gave me. She wrote how much she loved
my father and how I shouldn’t be scared of love. She meant it, Loren. She
really meant it. And then I thought about having a child and I tried to imagine
her without a limb. And I didn’t care. I still loved her.”

The smile was back on Loren’s gorgeous face. “Her?” she
asked.

He nodded. “With blonde curls like yours.”

A sob crossed with laughter burst out of her and she stepped
into his arms that he opened to latch on to her, the best thing that had ever
happened to him. He murmured love words into her hair as she buried her face
against his chest. Then she surprised them both with a huge yawn. It was
contagious and his mouth also split in a yawn.

“I’m running on fumes,” she said. “I haven’t slept properly
since you left for London.”

“I’m about dead on my feet also,” he admitted.

Arm in arm they walked to the bedroom, toed off their shoes
and collapsed under the covers. Within minutes they were both sound asleep,
curled tightly against each other.

Three days later

“Mom. We’re here.” Loren pulled the key out of the front
door and looked around the familiar home she’d grown up in. “I’m sure she’ll be
right out since she’s expecting us.” She smiled at Jonathan Keel who’d
practically begged to come with her to see her mom. She’d wanted to bring Adam
to introduce her mom to her man, but he’d been forced to work.

The past few days had been beyond blissful, despite the
piles of work they were doing to unearth Paulson from the hole he’d crawled
into. She’d given notice at her apartment, and in three weeks, she’d officially
move onto the Program compound. She’d deal with her job at
The Post
tomorrow.

It took ten steps to make it from the front door to the
airy, open kitchen where she dropped the bags onto the kitchen counter with a
thunk
.
Haagen Dazs mint-chocolate-chip and vanilla yogurt made it into the freezer
while she continued talking loudly to her absent mother. “They were out of your
favorite sesame noodles, so I brought cabbage salad. Hope that’s okay.”

She smiled as her mom suddenly entered the kitchen to greet
them. She glanced at her mother’s face and was reminded of all the past
history. Her mom had to be nervous and a bit rattled at seeing this significant
visitor from her past.

“Mr. Keel,” Loren said. “You remember my mother. Mom, I
don’t think you need an introduction, do you?”

Keel strolled to the bar-height counter connecting the
living room with the kitchen. “I’m thrilled to see you again, Julia.” He
brushed her cheek with his lips.

Her mom gave a small smile to Keel then came over to wrap
her up in her arms. Despite being taller now, her mom had always seemed larger
than life, like a protective wall against all the bad life dealt out.

“This was such a surprise, hearing you wanted to see me
again,” Mom said to Keel. “After I married Robert, I worried we’d parted on
poor terms.”

Keel said, “I’ll admit I was hurt, but enough years have
passed that the wound is gone.”

Mom nodded, but Loren could tell she was rattled.

“I’m glad. Shall we eat?” Mom gestured to the table set with
thick earthenware pottery and colorful glass tumblers.

* * * * *

“Adam.”

He looked up as Gavin entered the gym with an
uncharacteristically sober expression. “I’m here. What’s up?”

“Got a second?”

He practically tossed his hand weight onto the rack and
followed Gavin out into the bright sunshine. “Did you get a lock on something?”

Gavin nodded and held out a printout of a column of cities
and phone numbers along with usage time.

“Is this what I think it is?” Adam asked, hoping it was a
clue about who on the compound was their mole.

“Yeah.” He huddled over the paper and pointed out one call
highlighted in neon yellow. “This call was made to a London number. It took a
bit of digging to find it but this is our best clue.”

He met Gavin’s direct gaze. “How does one phone call give
proof?”

“Anyone with half a brain would get a prepaid phone with no
contract and no damn way for me to track it. I’m guessing this one phone call
is the result of panic. Look at the date.”

Adam squinted then let out a breath as he saw the date was
the same day he’d been tied up in Paulson’s fertility clinic. “Shit.”

“It’s our best lead. And look at this. There are several
calls to here. Nice place to retire, huh?”

His stomach took a figurative fist to the gut. “What are you
getting at? Who set me up?”

Gavin swallowed before answering. “Keel. These calls are
from Keel’s cell.”

The churning in his gut increased to the point of pain.
Without a plan, he sprinted out of the building and toward his apartment to
grab his car keys. Gavin ran about half a foot behind.

“Where the hell are you going?”

“Keel. Loren. He drove her to have lunch at her mom’s
house.”

“Shit.” Gavin summed it up. “Go to Loren’s. I’ll man the
operations center. Loren’s fine, Adam. We’ll bring her back safely.”

He didn’t answer, only picked up his speed to his apartment.
Within seven minutes, he was on the road heading toward Virginia. Thank God
Loren had left the address in case he got off work early and could join them.

The farther out of the city Adam drove, the more verdant his
surroundings became, but he barely noticed. All his concentration was on
getting to Loren’s. He repeatedly dialed the number of her cell phone they’d
finally returned to her, but she didn’t answer. Why the hell hadn’t he insisted
she leave her mom’s phone number with him?

Gavin was having no luck tracking Mrs. Stanton’s number
down.

“Totally unlisted. Remember, her husband was one of us,
living off campus.”

“Shit.” He banged a palm against the steering wheel and
pressed harder on the accelerator. A quick glance at his GPS told him he was
less than a quarter mile from the house. Assuming she was there, of course. She
could be anywhere if their suspicions about Keel were true. He tried to calm
himself by pointing out that Keel had no reason to harm Loren. But something
about the situation was off. He should’ve suspected when Keel had invited
himself along to Loren’s lunch with her mom. Sure, the older man and her mom
used to date, but that had been thirty years ago. Why contact her now, unless
he had other motivations.

Adam had never been particularly religious, but he found
something close to a prayer winding its way around his head. Please let her be
there and be safe.

He let the car decelerate as he neared the turn-off for
Loren’s mother’s home and glared at the cozy picture the ramshackle,
ranch-style house made, a world away from his generic government-issued
housing. Hand-painted birdhouses swung merrily from low tree limbs and a lawn
that needed a serious mow surrounded a gravel and dirt driveway. He even
thought he’d spotted a glimpse of a wooden tree house perched among the
branches of a distant tree.

Adam parked and leaped out of the car to the front door. One
knock. Then another before a voice acknowledged him from the inside.

“Hello?”

Apparently Mrs. Stanton didn’t receive much in the way of
company, and she’d learned a thing or two about caution from her militant
husband.

“I’m Adam Blacker, ma’am. Is Loren here?”

The door swung open and an older version of Loren smiled at
him from the doorway. “I’m glad you could come for lunch. I hate to be the
bearer of bad news, but lunch ended a few minutes ago. Loren and Jonathan
already left.”

A fear like he’d never known gripped Adam right in his gut.
This was almost worse than seeing Loren strapped to Paulson’s gurney. He wanted
to enter the home and demand answers, but things would go a lot easier if he
gained Mrs. Stanton’s trust first.

He strived for a calm tone when he spoke. “Mrs. Stanton. Do
you know where they went? Certain suspicions have come to light regarding
Jonathan Keel and I’m scared witless he means to harm her.”

The older woman’s smile sagged into shock and she stepped
back to allow the door to swing wide open. He wasted no time and entered the
home, scanning the entry for any clues. Worry was plastered on the older
woman’s face. “Jonathan was a special friend of mine before I met Robert. Do
you really suspect him of harming Loren?”

He had no choice but to nod then reach for Mrs. Stanton when
she collapsed, covering her eyes with two hands to catch streaming tears. “Oh
God, I should’ve known. Why else would he have contacted me after all this
time? I sent my baby into danger.”

Time was of the essence, but he had to spare a moment to
calm her and learn everything that had happened since he’d last seen Loren. He
crouched down beside her. “Mrs. Stanton…Julia. I need your help. Please stop
crying and tell me exactly what happened…everything Keel said.”

Her tear-streaked face, so similar to Loren’s, looked up and
her hand grabbed his forearm. “You’re going to find her. Right?”

He nodded. “I love your daughter and will do anything and
everything in my power to get her back safely.”

It took all his willpower not to pound his fist into the
wall, and he steadied his voice. “I’m going to make some calls to loop in my
team. There’s a chance our suspicions are wrong, since we don’t know yet why
Keel wants Loren. It’s possible they’re pulling safely into the campus and he
came for lunch simply because he missed you.”

“I hope so,” Julia said. “Lunch was pleasant, I wouldn’t
have suspected anything.”

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Gavin.

“Gavin. It’s me. I’m at Julia Stanton’s home.” He paused and
listened as Gavin reported that Keel was not answering his cell phone. “Shit.
Time is critical. Start tracking his car or cell phone.”

“Already on it,” Gavin replied. “You’re not going to like
this.”

He didn’t respond. There was much about the situation he
didn’t like.

“Keel’s car is on the Dulles Access Road.” All Program cars
came equipped with special equipment similar to LoJack.

His knees actually wobbled a bit. Shit had become more
critical. If Keel made it to the airport and out of the country with Loren,
then getting her back would be that much harder. “I’m twenty minutes away from
Dulles and heading out now.”

“A team is on its way.”

“I want my brother on the team.” He could hear Shep shouting
out orders in the background, most of them dealing with getting someone to
Keel’s house to search it. He agreed with that decision completely. Something
dangerous was going on, and at this point in the game, he had little to no
information. It made no sense that Keel would abduct Loren. Unless…unless Keel
was in contact with Paulson and they still wanted her.

“Gavin, call me with any updates, and can Shep call in
favors? Have him try to stop any outgoing private planes leaving from Dulles.”
He hung up and started to leave to get in his car and go after Keel and Loren.

“I’m going with you.” Mrs. Stanton took a step toward the
door, arms folded across her chest. Adam reminded himself to never rouse a
feisty mother by threatening her cub.

He nodded and warned, “It could be dangerous, and I’m sadly
under-armed right now. I want a goddamn arsenal and I only have one gun.”

She disappeared for a quick minute and returned holding an
old rifle, maybe her husband’s old one, judging by the age of the weapon. “Take
mine.”

He hefted the weapon, checked it and approved. “Let’s go.”

As soon as both he and Mrs. Stanton were buckled into his
car, his cell rang.

Gavin again. “Shep put in a call. They’ve agreed to delay
private jets and look for a man fitting Keel’s description.” He hung up.