Love Inspired Suspense April 2015 #2 (50 page)

So, why had Lexie reacted to the offer as though she'd been stung?

“For a while,” Lexie said, hugging her legs tight against her chest, “I thought she'd up and left because of the kind of person her heartbreak turned her into. That she left and purposefully avoided our attempts to search or contact her. I'm sure now that she simply never had a chance.”

Shaun's gut seized at the pain in Lexie's voice. He touched her arm, trying hard to separate his head and his heart, but they were fast becoming entwined for the second time in under twenty-four hours. “I'm taking this man down, and I'm taking his entire operation down with him. Understand? I'm going to do everything I can to free as many people as possible. Today, we start with Maria. Tomorrow, or whenever we get off this ferry, I promise that I will personally use the intel we gather from the Wolf to change the lives of as many people in captivity as possible. We're going to make a difference one way or another. I know that's not the same as bringing Nikki back, but God has a plan. Even if we don't understand it in the present.”

Lexie's eyebrows lifted at the mention of God's plan. “Sure He does,” she scoffed, taking another sip of coffee. “I did note, however, that you said
we
. Does that mean you're letting me back on the case I came here to do in the first place?”

He had a feeling he'd regret this, but in their few hours apart, he'd missed her constant presence and quiet fortitude. She made him want to be a better agent. A better man. “I stand by my reasons for wanting to keep you safe, but you're right. You came here to do a job, and we're the best people to help each other in this situation. Plus, it's boring out there without you.” He smiled and squeezed her elbow, and to his delight, she reached across and poked his hand.

“Too many men with opinions out there?”

Shaun grinned. “Plus, none of them are as cute as you.”

Lexie laughed and tossed one of the couch's throw cushions at him. “Well, today's your day, Shaun Lane, because I refuse to take on any case without an attractive man by my side.”

Shaun let his expression fall. “Guess this is where we say goodbye, then.”

The tension between them momentarily evaporated as Lexie's genuine laughter broke down the remainder of the wall he'd erected the night before. Her smile was as lovely as he'd imagined it would be, but even lovelier was the woman behind the smile. She'd shown him her heart by revealing the truth of their past, and knowing that Nicola's disappearance drove her to help others avoid the same pain she felt tugged at his heart in a way he'd never known before.

He couldn't deny it—he was falling in love with Lexie Reilly.

* * *

As nice as Lexie found it to forget about the reason why they were sitting together in the captain's quarters, reality came rushing back in as soon as Shaun pulled out a folded sheet of paper from his pocket. The passenger list!

Shaun updated Lexie on his time spent speaking with the snooping passenger, which had turned out to be a dead end, and the work he'd done on the list while she slept. As Lexie polished off the last bite of toast, he suggested they head back to the computer room to finish combing through passenger details on the Atlantic Voyages database, a suggestion for which she felt genuinely grateful. The moment had turned too lighthearted, especially considering the situation. He seemed to understand that, and why wouldn't he? She had to remember that he'd been working this case for years, that this sort of situation wasn't new to him. He cared, or else he wouldn't be working on it with such dedication. She could use a man like him at Lead Me Home, though she'd never be able to offer a comparable salary or benefits.

It made her grin just to think of making that offer.
Say, Shaun, I have this job opening...

“What's so funny?” he asked as they trudged down the now-busy hallways toward the computer room. “I realize they're playing terrible '70s jams over the hall speakers, but I don't find it that hilarious.”

He winked at her and she returned the gesture with a light whack to his shoulder, but the banter now seemed forced. The Wolf was still on board and still a serious threat—a man had been murdered just over twelve hours ago, only a few decks below them. And Maria remained missing.

It was a sobering thought. Lexie felt blood drain from her cheeks. Her feet froze in place. Anyone they passed could be the killer—anyone could reach out at any second, stabbing one of them in the neck—

“Lexie! Stay with me.” Shaun turned around and gripped her forearms. “We're in public. You're safe. The Wolf doesn't want his organization exposed, so he's not going to try anything while there are so many people around. We have a few hours before the public spaces start to clear out for the evening, so let's use them wisely.”

The Wolf might not be willing to try something, she thought, but he could be watching them right now. Observing everything they did and every move they made.

“Hey, Shaun?”

Shaun looked back at her and stopped, both of them stepping to the side of the hall.

“Are you sure the Wolf didn't know we were going to be in the library?”

Shaun shrugged. “I don't see how he could have. It smacks of a crime of opportunity. Remember, I went back to check later, but everything had been removed. Someone rigged it and then covered their tracks while security was distracted by evacuating us to the med center.”

“I guess that makes sense. We haven't seen anything directly pointing to anyone, yet. This guy is a professional at covering his tracks.”

Shaun rubbed a hand along his jawline, thinking. “All I can say is, we believe this guy has run his trafficking operation for at least a decade, so he's an expert at not getting caught. I don't claim to understand his psychology, but I do know he's no stranger to pulling off schemes that avoid detection.”

Lexie nodded, though she still had a nagging feeling about how the whole thing had been pulled off. “And the engine room, that's bothering me, too.”

Shaun leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “Our killer had only a few minutes between us leaving and returning.”

“He couldn't have been on the way down, done that and then left the room, correct?”

“Not in that time span.”

“What if...what if the Wolf didn't actually leave the engine deck? If he didn't have time to do all that before we got there, maybe he never left.”

“Or maybe he was in the room with us.”

Lexie took a deep breath, remembering when they'd rounded the upstairs corner to find Josh waiting with a stun gun. He'd been right outside the elevator doors, without the other men on the team. Could
he
have ridden the elevator back up and waited outside of it until they arrived? But Josh didn't have any blood on his clothes, and he wouldn't have had the time to change and wash up before beating them to the elevator. The timeline wasn't physically possible. And Parsons had saved them from the gas attack in the library, which ruled him out.

“I'm starting to wonder if we've been looking in the wrong place this whole time,” Shaun said.

“You think someone's lying to us?”

“I think it's a possibility. I know that Mr. Howard, the health and safety inspector, is legit. I looked him up and called his office. We might want to start considering a wider net, like the captain. Or someone running admin at the harbor on the island.” Shaun reached for her hand and she instinctively flinched. They might have talked out their problems, rather, her problem with him, but it would take more than a few minutes of conversation to make it all better. She'd held on to those memories of Nikki too tightly for too long to erase her subconscious perception of the man in front of her just like that. No matter how sweet he'd been thus far.

They continued their journey in silence, Shaun leading the way to the computer room. Upon reaching the room, they discovered that the terminals were all occupied by families and passengers in the midst of frantic emailing—no doubt trying to salvage travel plans or make arrangements for pets or loved ones at home.

“We're still not saved, huh?” Lexie glanced out the window at the fading sunlight. “I didn't realize how long it takes to break up ocean ice with a ship. You sure you can't use your spy creds to get one of those computers for us?”

“Spy creds?” Shaun chuckled. “You really don't know how this works, do you?”

Lexie shrugged. “Just what the movies tell me. Spies get away with everything, it seems.”

“Welcome to the real world, Miss Reilly. Spies are people trying to do their jobs. And for the record, I do have a small computer in my room that I can hook up if I need to, but I thought you'd feel safer in a public space.”

They left the computer room and headed down two decks to Shaun's cabin. As Shaun unlocked the door, an alarm sounded on his walkie-talkie, the red light on top flashing to indicate an incoming call. He paused to wait for the message, but nothing came through. “That's weird,” he said, frowning at the device. “Must have been an accidental button press.”

“Can you pocket dial a walkie-talkie?” Lexie asked, amusement in her voice.

“That's one benefit of old technology,” he replied, tapping the device. “No accidental pocket photos, either.” He pushed open the door to his room, quickly scanning to ensure no one had beaten them there. Considering that the Wolf always seemed to know where they were, a little extra caution was warranted.

Lexie remained in the doorway, standing with her hands in her pockets. He noted that she'd chosen a flattering red T-shirt and comfortable-looking brown corduroy pants after her shower, making him feel like a grubby hobo in his day-two plaid shirt and heavy jeans.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Are we taking your computer back to a public area?”

“Captain's quarters,” he said, hoisting a small bag over his shoulder. “It's the most secure room on the ship. I'll store it there when we're done with it, in case we need it again. Easier access that way.”

The alarm sounded on the walkie-talkie again, beeping twice. Shaun pulled it from his belt and pressed the call button to open the channel and reply, despite hearing nothing from the other end. “Parsons? That you?”

Several tense seconds passed, terrible scenarios playing instantly through Lexie's mind. Had something happened to the security team while Shaun had come to check up on her? If she'd been the cause of more trauma, she'd never forgive herself.

The alarm sounded for a fourth time. Seconds later, a faint voice crackled through the static, cutting in and out. “H—o? Is any-n—ere?”

Lexie's insides seized. The voice sounded female. And scared.

“Who is this?” Shaun glanced at Lexie, worry clear on his face.

Seconds ticked by like hours before the next message came through. “We're tra—d. We're—boat. Please help.”

Lexie's pulse sped up at the request for help. “Shaun?” Her voice was barely a whisper. She felt as if the world might evaporate around her if she spoke any louder, and a ringing grew in her ears. “Ask...ask her name.”

Shaun nodded, fiddling with the dials to try and clear up the static. “You're safe to speak. I'm Shaun, and my friend Lexie is here with me. Can you tell me your name?”

Static crackled through the speaker. Lexie held her breath, wishing she could jump through the radio to find the caller. The caller whom she knew, without a doubt, had to be—

“My name is Maria.”

THIRTEEN

A
s Maria identified herself, Shaun had to remind himself to keep breathing. If that was truly Maria on the other end of the line, the game had changed once again. On the other hand, if Maria had been coerced into contacting Shaun and Lexie as part of the Wolf's twisted plan to trap them all and get them out of the way, they needed to move with even greater caution.

A tiny intake of breath to his right caused Shaun to refocus on the woman in front of him. Lexie's face had drained of color, and she swayed on her feet. He reached out a hand to steady her, helping her remain centered and stable as they worked through this critical moment. To his surprise, Lexie leaned in to his touch. He placed his arm around her shoulder, feeling her tension release. As much as he wanted to pause the moment and savor the breakthrough, the next few seconds could mean the difference between bringing Maria home and losing track of her forever.

“Maria,” Shaun said, racking his brain for the right words. “We're very glad to hear from you. I understand you're not sure where you are, but there are many people searching for you. Anything you can tell us is helpful. Look around. Can you describe what you see?”

“Nothing, really,” Maria said, voice quivering and uncertain. “We were in a room with a loud rumble until a few hours ago. Sounded like some kind of engine.”

“You didn't see it?” Lexie focused on the space in front of her feet. “How'd they get you on board?”

“It's a long story, but this guy gave us something to drink. He said it'd be good for seasickness. I didn't want to drink it, but... Lexie, are my parents okay?”

“Drugged,” Shaun whispered away from the walkie-talkie. “Like your coffee.”

“Your parents are worried,” Lexie answered, nodding at Shaun. “But it's going to be all right. I'll find you.”

“You said they moved you?” Shaun closed his eyes and tried to imagine the scenario. If Maria had been in the engine room, no wonder he and Lexie had been attacked there during their search. And since there was the possibility that Shaun would go back and try to figure out what had happened, Maria had probably been moved to another isolated area.

“The guy who comes in, he wears a ski mask and brings us water that he watches us drink. We kept falling asleep, but the last time we woke up, it was a different guy. Shorter. And we'd been moved to another room.”

Shaun glanced at Lexie, checking to see if she'd noticed Maria's constant use of the plural. Lexie's mouth hung open, her breaths deepening to control the rising anxiety of the moment. Yes, they'd definitely heard that right. “Maria, did you say
we
? Who's there with you?”

Maria's voice returned after a pause. “Dana and Jamie. Jamie...they shot her in the thigh when she tried to scream for help. We cleaned the wound with water and the guy who did it promised to bring some painkillers, but it's been hours and I think she's getting a fever. I'm worried it might be infected.”

Three girls. Three. Maria's revelation changed everything. Shaun could no longer make this mission about taking down the Wolf. This news turned his focus into a full-scale retrieval op. Maria had been Lexie's initiative, but with the futures of three young women on the line, he needed to change his focus to match Lexie's—something he probably should have done from the very beginning. He'd been selfishly focused on how badly he wanted to achieve his own goal, he'd forgotten why he'd joined the CIA in the first place.

It didn't escape him that shifting priorities this late in the game might mean saving the world at the cost of losing the people around him. Looking at Lexie, her face stained with tears at the sound of Maria's voice, pulled at the deepest part of his soul. He'd give anything to walk away from this mess if it meant keeping her safe and happy, but that would be too high a price to pay. Lives were at stake, but if he chose saving others over the immediate protection of the person he cared about most, would he lose the woman most precious to him for a second time?

“We'll find them,” Lexie was saying. She'd braced against the door frame, sinking slowly to the floor. “I don't care what it takes or what it costs. We'll find them.”

And that, Shaun knew, was why he'd fallen for her so quickly and completely. He knelt in front of her so she could hear Maria. “Maria, what can you tell me about where you are right now? Sound, smell, feel?”

Broken chatter filtered through the walkie-talkie's speaker before Maria's voice came back through, clearer and more confident. “We were moved away from the engine rumble, but I can still hear it. We heard a baby crying a little while ago, but it's been quiet since. I think we're in a closet. The door is jammed. I'm sorry, I wish I knew more, but—”

“We're coming, Maria. Stay put. If you hear us calling, I want you to start making a lot of noise.”

Maria's voice was hesitant. “If they hear us first, they'll shoot us. We can't make any noise. That's why they shot Jamie.”

“Don't worry,” Shaun said, plunking down next to Lexie. “I can handle them. If I call, you answer and we'll get you out of there before anyone else gets hurt.”

When Maria replied, her words were rushed and clipped. “Hurry, Jamie needs help. Tell my family—” Her voice cut out and when the radio transmission clicked through again, the only thing that they heard was static.

Shaun stared at the walkie-talkie in his hand. The girl must have stolen a radio from her captor somehow. Clever. It could be a trap, sure, but if so, it'd have made more sense for the Wolf to coerce the girl into offering up more specific information about her whereabouts. That meant this call for help had come by the girls' own initiative, which presented additional complications. He prayed that he and Lexie would find the three young women before their captor realized that his walkie-talkie had gone missing—and made them pay the price for it.

“We have to find them,” Lexie whispered, looking up at him. “I...I knew, you know? But it wasn't real enough until now. I mean, it's one thing to have somebody try to kill
me
, but these girls... You know what Maria's mother said to me when she came to Lead Me Home for help?” Shaun remained silent, allowing Lexie to speak her mind without interruption. “She said, ‘bring my daughter home, but if you don't—if you can't—I trust God's providence. I won't blame you.' Shaun, what does that even mean? How could she possibly be okay with that? I can barely breathe, hearing Maria's voice. If we don't find them, I don't know how I'll live with myself.”

He took her hand and squeezed, wanting nothing more than to pull her into his arms and make all of her sadness and pain disappear. “I get it. I do.”

He was all too familiar with the bewilderment that came alongside realizing the truth of just how cruel humans could be to each other. Lexie's compassion ran deep, deeper than she even knew. He saw it, though...because someone else had seen it in him on the day a little girl—no more than six or seven—had gripped him around the knees and cried with gratefulness that someone had finally come to save her.

He'd been in Thailand with a team on a drug bust. What they'd found there instead, hidden in a dank room with little water and no food... Well, he'd never forget the eyes of that little girl, full of hope in a hopeless moment. That moment changed his life. He hadn't even known he could care so deeply for someone, or something, until then. Lexie was realizing it now, and it would hurt.

“I know you don't feel like rushing around, but we have to move.” Shaun gripped both her hands and helped her to her feet. “We don't have much time. Never do, it seems.”

Lexie drew her hands from his, pulled a hair tie from her wrist, and twisted her chestnut locks into a messy bun. “I know. Maria put them in grave danger by stealing a walkie-talkie and calling us. Isn't the Wolf, or whoever, going to notice? And know she called us? If he always knows where we are... Shaun, what if he's been listening in, too?”

He'd considered that time and again. Anyone who'd brought their own walkie-talkie on board could feasibly listen in if they found the right channel. “It's going to be okay. I know I shouldn't promise things I can't control, but I promise you this—I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you and those girls safe.”

The silence that followed made him doubt whether she'd heard him at all. Finally, she leaned back against the wall and folded her arms. “I know you will, Shaun, but you're right.” Her sharp gaze pierced through him, and he sat a little straighter at the tone of her voice. “You shouldn't promise what you can't control. After all, you can't deny they're after you, too—and if you keep looking out for me, who's going to keep
you
safe?”

* * *

Lexie felt numb, inside and out. The past fifteen minutes had passed like a hazy dream, morphing from hopeful exuberance to nightmarish despair and back again. Maria's father had been spot on when he'd described his daughter as feisty. Lexie only hoped that Maria's feistiness didn't get the girl and the other two with her killed.

Lexie wanted to accept the call as genuine, but Shaun's ongoing skepticism had begun to creep into her psyche. Combined with the worry over the dead air at the end of Maria's call, Lexie didn't know whether to hide herself in the nearest closet or race around opening doors until she found the girls. At the very least, her gratefulness for the anonymous tipster to Lead Me Home had increased—the only regret being that she couldn't thank him or her in person.

Shaun led the way from his room toward the security office, flying through empty stretches of hallway and sauntering by groups of passengers to minimize alarm. When they reached the office hallway, Shaun broke into a sprint as Lexie followed behind.

“Parsons!” Shaun shouted, yanking Lexie from her speculations. “We've got to move!” He came to an abrupt stop before the office door, causing Lexie to run into his back with a light thud.

Parsons's head poked out the door. Seeing them, he stepped out and locked the office in one deft motion. “You're in a mighty hurry,” he mused, reattaching his keys to a belt loop. “Aren't you supposed to be trekking through the rest of the passenger list?”

“We got a call from the girl,” Shaun said, waving his radio and sliding his computer bag from his shoulder. “I'll just be a sec, I need to drop this in the captain's room. I should have left it in my room, but I got distracted by the call. We may need to use it later anyway.”

“No need.” Parsons reached over and snatched the bag out of Shaun's hand. He plopped it inside the office and shut the door. “You can leave it here.”

Shaun frowned, glanced at Lexie and gestured at Parsons to return the bag. “No, thanks. I have my own reasons for wanting it in the other room.”

Lexie raised her eyebrows, but caught on to his subtle hint to back him up. “That way I can use it if I need to, and I won't have to bug your team to unlock the office.”

A tic pulled the corner of Parsons's mouth toward the floor. A half second later, his expression cleared and he reopened the office, pulling the computer bag back out. “I can drop it off in there if you'd like. I'm headed that way now.”

“Thanks, but I've got it.” Shaun's tone had turned flat. He took the computer from the security officer, who seemed reluctant to let it go. The two men looked at each other in silence for a moment until Parsons cleared his throat, glancing over Shaun's shoulder at Lexie.

She started, surprised by the acknowledgment. It was the first time the man had bothered to make direct eye contact with her the entire trip. Something about his look made her shift uncomfortably, and she folded her arms across her stomach.

Parsons's attention wandered off of her as quickly as it had landed. “You said a call came through on the radio? From the missing girl? Need me to call the others?”

“Please,” Shaun said, his tone shifting again as though the past thirty seconds hadn't happened. What had that been all about? Did the man resent Shaun's aptitude at the job Parsons should really be doing? Josh and Reed rounded the corner just as Parsons pulled his walkie-talkie off his belt. “Here they are. Guys, we have a major development.”

As Shaun gave the security team a bare-bones rundown of Maria's call—leaving out, Lexie noted, any specifics of where she might be located—Lexie's attention wandered. She preferred not to relive the moment the call cut out, dwelling instead on—

On the belts of the two younger security officers.

Reed's walkie-talkie was clipped in place as expected, but Josh...Josh's radio was missing. Could he really be that careless not to notice its absence? And then she noticed that he'd noticed her watching him.
Oops.

Josh's gaze hardened and Lexie swallowed the desire to let the moment pass without a word. If she didn't say something first, she'd be giving him the upper hand. “What happened to your walkie-talkie?”

Parsons and Shaun stopped talking. Silence fell over the group as surprise registered on Josh's face. He looked down at his belt and then at the staring faces around him. “It's charging in the staff room. I ran out of juice about forty minutes ago. Reed here can attest to that.”

Reed tapped his own walkie-talkie. “Tried to call him a little while ago, but no answer. We bumped into each other on the way back up.”

Shaun coughed. “Back
up
?”

Reed shrugged as Josh scowled and replied, “Figure of speech.”

“But you didn't see him put it on the charger?” Lexie heard the tremble in her voice, but hoped the others would mistake it for exhaustion. “Can we go get it? We should all have a way to communicate with each other.”

“I have a spare,” Parsons said. “I can get it from the office here.”