In the Shadow of the Shield (Secret Lives Series Book 2) (17 page)

Finally, when there was barely an inch of airspace left, the key slipped into the lock and the handcuffs binding her to the door slipped off. Grabbing one last deep breath of air, Diana scrambled away from Schmidt and toward the driver’s side door. Gripping the key in one hand, she tugged at the door handle with the other, but the force of the water against the door kept it from opening.

Her lungs burning, Diana flipped around so her feet were facing the window. Summoning up whatever strength she had left, she slammed the heels of her boots against the window over and over again. On the last kick, the window gave way. Diana pushed it out of the opening and swam through, her muscles screaming from the cold.

Gasping for air at the surface, Diana flailed through the water to reach dry land. Desperate not to lose the handcuff key, she kicked for all she was worth against the bone-chilling cold. When she finally reached the edge of the pond, she threw herself on the ground, panting and heaving against the frigid air.

“Wh—why do—does th—this ha—have to b—be th—the coldest w—w—winter ever?” Her teeth chattered so hard, she feared they would crumble in her mouth as she tried to control her shivering body enough to unlock the other pair of cuffs.

The key fell from her frozen fingers. “No!” She cried, running her hands through the dead grasses in search of it. Finally, her fingertips brushed across cold steel. “Thank you, God!” After several attempts, she managed to get the key in the opening, and after hours of being bound, her hands were finally free.

“Carter!” The second the cuffs were off, all she could think about was finding the man who she had already thought was dead once. An image of his blood-soaked clothing in her mind brought on a sob but Diana trampled it down. Carter had defied death once that night—he could do it again. Pulling herself to her feet, Diana stumbled and tripped her way through the gnarled branches and grasses that surrounded the retention pond. There was no way she was losing another man she loved without a fight.

Chapter Sixteen

Diana was shaking violently by the time she made it back to where the truck had driven into the pond. Roman and Wilkins were gone, and the storage locker was closed up tight with a large padlock on it. Dragging herself up the bank to the last place she had seen Carter, Diana searched frantically for his body. Her clothes had turned into ice cubes, and the phone she had tried so hard to reach earlier was soaked through. Now she had no way to call for help, even if she did find Carter. Her muscles screamed in agony, and her breath came in short, painful gasps. Diana collapsed on the frozen ground, resigned to the fact that her life was over. She would die of hypothermia before morning. Probably before the hour was up.

A low moan filtered its way through the dark. “Carter! Is that you?” Her words came out in a croak, indecipherable even to her own ears.

Another moan followed by a long, low groan. The grass rustled about four feet from where she lay. Summoning up whatever was left of her willpower, Diana pulled herself through the grasses until she found him. Carter, covered in blood and soot, was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Scrambling the rest of the way between them, Diana grabbed his face with both of her ice cold hands, turning it towards her. “Carter? It’s me, Diana. Can you hear me?”

“Mmm…” He moaned and tried to turn away. “Cold. So cold.”

“I know, baby. I know.” Her teeth were slamming together, and her body was wracked with spasms. She collapsed next to him, wrapping her body around his. Her wet clothes weren’t doing her much good, but maybe if they combined body heat, she would get more of the wetsuit effect from them. Carter groaned and moved his hand so that it covered hers.

“I’m here, Carter.”

“Phone,” Carter managed to say between blue lips.

“My ph—phone is d—dead. It got w—wet when I w—went in the p—pond.”

He reached up and touched her cheek. Diana tried to control the chattering so her teeth wouldn’t bite his fingers off. “Diana. I fou—found y—you.”

“Yes, baby, y—you did. I—I don’t know h—how b—but you did. I am so sorry.”

“L—love y—you.” His hand dropped back to his chest. Diana grabbed it and held it tight in her own. She could feel the beat of Carter’s heart in his chest. It seemed to be slowing down.

“I l—love y—you too.” She lay her head on his chest, listening to the sounds of his lungs expanding and contracting. His breathing was so shallow, his body as cold as her own.

Eyelids heavy, Diana fought the urge to fall asleep. If she did, it would be the end for both of them. Somewhere in the distance, she heard sirens. The flash of blue lights bounced off the trees around the pond. Her eyes closed, and her breathing slowed as footsteps sounded on the pavement above them.

“Whoa! Look at the two of you! I found them! Over here!” The familiar voice drew her out the darkness.

“L—Lookie L—Louie,” she whispered. “How—how did you f—find us?”

“I still don’t get what you see in that guy, but he sure does have a thing for you.”

Red, flashing lights washed over her. “Th—thank y—you for r—rescuing us.”

“I told y’all I could be useful.”

“W—why do th—they c—call you Lo—Lookie Lou—Louie?

“Because I’m always lookin’ to score.” He smiled down at her, and turned toward the red lights. “Down here! There’s two of them, and one of ‘em’s been shot!”

Darkness won out, and Diana slipped away.

***

Heat. It felt
so
good. Her eyes refused to open, but her body reveled in the warmth that surrounded her.

“Mom?”

Jackson.

Jackson
! She forced her eyes open, and looked into the frightened face of her son. “You have to stop doing this to me, Mom.”

Memories came flooding back. Ice cold water. Thinking Carter was dead. Tears filled her eyes, but she held them back. Jackson didn’t need to see her cry.

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.”

“Where did you go? I found your note when I got home. The next thing I knew, the hospital was calling me.
Again
. They must have me on speed dial by now!”

“I know. I shouldn’t have gone. I just—I just needed to know what happened to your father.”

“We already know. He was poisoned.”

She reached for her son’s hand and squeezed it. “Yes. But it wasn’t the accident we thought it was, honey.”

“What are you saying, Mom?”

“He was set up, Jackson. By some of the guys he worked with.”

“That’s ridiculous! Dad was a cop! Why would other cops want to kill him?”

“Not all cops are like your dad. Sometimes they make bad choices, and good men like your dad get caught up in it.”

Jackson started pacing back and forth by her bed. “I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it. He trusted those guys! Son of a
bitch
!”

“Jackson!”

He stopped pacing, and dropped into the vinyl chair by her bed. “They killed him?”

“I’m so sorry you had to find out. I was trying to keep it from you, so we could avoid all this.”

“Avoid what? You nearly dying for the second time in as many weeks?”

She shifted so she could see her son. “I’m sorry to put you through this, but I owed it to your father to find out the truth.”

“Did you find it?”

She nodded. “Yes, I did.”

Jackson sat forward in his chair. “And?”

“And I am not going to talk about it until I have had the chance to talk to Carter.”

Her heart dropped into her stomach when she said his name. She didn’t even know if he was still alive.
Oh, crap! Is Carter—?
She couldn’t even complete the thought. Diana bolted upright on the hospital bed, ignoring the searing pain in all of her muscles.

“It’s okay, Mom,” Jackson said. “He’s alive. The cold air slowed the bleeding of his wounds. He hardly lost any blood.”

She fell back against the mattress again, exhaling heavily. “Oh, thank God.”

“I’m sure the nurse will take you to see him as soon as the doctor says it’s okay.”

“Why are you being so nice about this, son?”

Jackson shrugged. “I don’t know. Some guy named Lookie Louie was here when I got here last night. Said Carter saved your life.”

“He did. I am not sure how he even found me, but if not for him the ending wouldn’t have been the same.”

“Who’s Lookie Louie?”

Good question. How was she supposed to explain a drug-addicted confidential informant to her son?

“Just some guy we met when we were staking out the place.”

“What place, Mom?”

“The place that made your dad sick.”

“You
went
there?”

She nodded.

“
Why
?”

“To find out what happened!”

“Well, you almost made me into an orphan.”

“I’m sorry, Jackson. I really am.”

He relaxed a little. “I know you are, Mom. I’m sorry too.”

“What day is this?” She realized she had no idea how long she had been asleep.

“It’s Monday.” Oh, good, she hadn’t lost weeks of her life.

“You should go home. You have school tomorrow.”

Jackson yawned. “I’m not going. I am staying the night with you.”

“Now, honey, you don’t need to do that. You already missed today. I’ll be fine. Really.”

“It’s done, Mom.” He nodded toward a bag in the corner of her room. “The doctor said you should be able to go home tomorrow. It’s only one more day, and I never miss school.”

She sighed and offered her only son a smile. “Okay. If you want to stay, you can.”

A knock on the door sounded. Jackson got up and opened it. A uniformed officer and the chief of the Virginia Beach Police Department entered her room.

“Good evening, Mrs, Massey.” The chief of police stepped to the side of her bed and extended his hand.

“Chief. What brings you here?” She hadn’t seen the chief since Donnie’s funeral.

He pulled the chair Jackson had vacated close to her bed and sat down. “I’ve come to apologize, ma’am.”

“Apologize?” Jackson asked as he stood behind the chief, looking as confused as she felt.

“It seems the department has done you and your son a great disservice after the death of your husband.”

“Oh?”

“Two of our officers, patrolman Luke Wilkins and Assistant Chief Pete Roman, were arrested late last night trying to board planes for the Cayman Islands. It was brought to our attention that they may have been involved in a crime that led to Detective Massey’s death.”

“
May have been
? They tried to kill me and Officer Ryan!”

“Yes, ma’am. We have an eyewitness who has confirmed all of the events of last night. They will be charged accordingly.”

“Did you find the drugs?”

“Drugs?” The chief and his officer both looked at her questioningly.

“In the storage locker. At the place where they found me and Carter last night. That’s how I ended up there. They threw me in the back of the truck with all the drugs they planned to sell. The whole reason Donnie is dead.”

“Lewis, call the station. Get some guys out there to check it out.”

“Yes, sir.” Officer Lewis pulled a phone from his pocket and stepped into the hallway.

“Did anyone find the truck?”

“What truck?”

“The one in the retention pond? There’s a body in it. Another cop who was in on Donnie’s death. He handcuffed me to the door frame, and I nearly drowned trying to get out when the truck sunk to the bottom.”

“I had no idea how big this was.” The chief sounded really aggravated. “You can bet I’ll be cleaning house as soon as I get back to headquarters. I am so sorry you had to go through so much.”

“I only wanted Donnie’s name to be cleared. Ever since his death, we haven’t heard a word from anyone in the department. I know people think he made a mistake, that his death was his own fault. But he was set up, and everyone needs to know that.”

The chief rose and pushed the chair back to where it had been. “Please believe me when I say that the city of Virginia Beach thanks you for the service of your husband. I will get to the bottom of all of this. The officers involved are an embarrassment to the department.”

He was gone before she could think of a reply.

“Wow, Mom. You’ve really started something here.”

“That wasn’t my intention. I did it for your father.”

“I know that. But you have singlehandedly turned the police department upside down. Good job!”

She couldn’t help but laugh at her son’s exuberance. What had started out as a stealthy investigation to find Donnie’s killer had turned into a major, department-wide witch hunt.

She shrugged. “Go big or go home. Isn’t that what your dad always said?”

“It sure is.” Jackson laughed and picked something up from inside his overnight bag that he handed to her. “I brought your computer. The hospital has Wi-fi. I thought you might want to talk to your girlfriends or something. They couldn’t find your cell phone when they brought you in.”

She accepted the computer. “Thank you for thinking of this. I lost my phone after I got out of the water.”

“We’ll pick you up a new one when you get out of here. In the meantime, I’m starved. I’m going to go check out the cafeteria.”

“All right. But remember the hospital food isn’t so great.”

“It’ll do.” Jackson leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I love you, Mom. Thank you for not making me an orphan.”

When he was gone, she turned on her computer and logged into the Internet.

Diana: Hello, ladies! Anyone out there tonight?

Cyndi: Oh, thank goodness! I’ve been trying to call you.

Diana: My cell phone is dead. I’ll get a new one later this week.

Jessy: Diana! How are you? Are you okay?

Diana: I’m fine, I promise.

Angela: It’s all over the news!

Diana: What is?

Angela: How you saved Carter Ryan’s life!

Diana: I didn’t save him. He sort of saved me, actually.

Jessy: ?

Diana: I was kidnapped by three drug traffickers, and Carter found me. He was shot trying to rescue me.