Love Inspired Suspense September 2015 #2 (48 page)

When he dove toward her she took the shot, but purposely recalibrated and aimed for his leg. He hit the ground yelping in pain. But likely she'd only grazed him.

Strong hands grabbed her from behind. She struggled against them.

“It's me, Syd. We've got to get out of here,” Max said.

“What about him?” she yelled.

“Leave him. East River is sending in reinforcements. We've got to get out of here right now.”

“This isn't over,” Rick yelled, adding a few nasty words as he writhed on the ground.

She jumped in the car and Max sped off. She looked down and realized her hands were shaking as she held on tightly to the gun.

“Sydney, talk to me,” Max said.

“I fought him,” she said. Hot tears rolled down her face at the enormity of what had just happened. “I stood up to him.”

“I'm so proud of you. And I'm so sorry I left you alone.”

“It wasn't your fault. He came to the car window with a gun and ordered me to get out. But he didn't see that I was armed, too.”

“Did he hurt you?”

“A little but nothing like before. I hurt him worse than he hurt me.” She blew out a breath. “Max, I had the shot. I could've killed him. But I didn't take it.”

“You did the right thing, Sydney. Taking a life is no small thing.”

“I know that. But in that millisecond when I had to choose, so many thoughts ran through my head.”

“What stopped you from doing it?”

“I didn't know if I could live with myself. I've come so very far, and I didn't want to have him win. I'm better than that.”

He reached over and grabbed her hand. “Yes, you are, Sydney.”

She silently thanked God for getting her through that. Then it hit her that she hadn't even asked about everyone else. “What happened with you? The others? Are they okay?”

“We don't have Brian. I don't even think he was with Davies. But Davies brought more East River backup than any of us expected. He isn't even trying to hide the fact that he's full on with them now.”

“What about Elena and Tom?”

“Elena was grazed by a bullet in the SUV, but she'll be fine. Tom is also okay. We're going to meet back up at the FBI safe house. Davies took another bullet, this time from Tom, but it didn't look life threatening. Seemed like Tom got him good, though, in his other shoulder. He's going to be in quite a bit of pain.”

“So what was this all about, then?”

“It was about you, Sydney. This wasn't about Brian at all. Honestly, I don't even know what's happened to him. They might be keeping him just because they see him as a bargaining tool since he's an FBI agent in the gang unit. But we really don't know if he's still alive. I hate to think about what they could be doing to him.”

“Me, too,” she said softly. “This is all my fault.”

“No. It's not your fault. It's the fault of Rick Ward and Phil Davies and everyone involved at East River. They have a two-part agenda, as I see it. Stopping you from testifying is the most important. But it appears to me that they've let Ward step in and take over where you're concerned.”

“And we know what Rick's agenda is. Revenge. Making me pay. Then killing me.”

“That's not going to happen, Sydney. I am beating myself up about leaving you in that car.”

“It was the right call. You know it and I know it. Tom and Elena could both be dead if you hadn't gone. I held my own.”

“You did a lot more than hold your own, Syd.”

She thought back to Rick's reaction when she'd drawn her weapon and when she'd fought him off. “He was surprised. Shocked, really.”

“About what?”

“That I was able to fight him. That I didn't just roll over and cry like I used to. The look on his face was something I'll never forget. He said such awful things to me, Max. Things that I don't know if I'll ever get out of my head.”

“You can't change a man like that, Sydney. There's nothing you're ever going to be able to do about how he chooses to act.”

She nodded, knowing he was right.

* * *

Back at the safe house, sitting at the big table that they'd only been at hours before, Max felt a flurry of emotions run through him. He was exhausted but nowhere near being able to think about going to sleep. The adrenaline was still pumping through his veins.

The biggest thought that played over and over again in his mind was that he'd left his witness behind. By providing backup to Tom and Elena, Sydney had been forced to fend for herself. That was not only against everything the US Marshals stood for, but it ate at him from the inside out on a deeper level. What if something had happened to her? It would've been his fault.

He was grateful for one thing—Sydney's training. It had paid off big time. She'd more than held her own with Rick. And for the first time Max wondered if God had had anything to do with it, because he was seriously starting to think God was watching over them all.

“Max, did you hear me?” Tom asked.

“Sorry, what did you say?” He watched as Elena and Sydney entered the room and took a seat at the table. Elena's arm was bandaged where the bullet had grazed it.

“I said, are you ready to talk about where we go from here?”

They'd already debriefed on what had happened earlier that evening. Now the goal was to come up with a new plan.

“We're still no closer to finding Brian or putting a stop to Davies. Or for that matter getting the evidence we need to tie Lucas Jones to Kevin Diaz.”

“What if we're thinking about this the wrong way?” Sydney asked.

“What do you mean?” Tom replied.

“What if Kevin Diaz has nothing to do with the threats against me? What if it's all coming from Rick and by extension East River with the help of Davies?”

“I still believe that Diaz and Jones are connected,” Max said. He wasn't willing to back down on that idea.

“That could be true,” Elena added. “But that doesn't mean that Diaz was behind it all. Maybe East River saw this as an opportunity. Pure and simple. Get rid of Sydney, which helps Diaz
and
settles an old score for Ward. Who now seems to be Lucas Jones's right hand man.”

Max thought about it for a minute. “I'll give it to you,” he said. “That's a viable theory. The only reason we had discounted Ward's involvement with East River was because of what Davies had told us to throw us off the trail. We now know that Ward is a key member of East River.”

“It makes you wonder why East River would be willing to go to such lengths to help Ward get revenge,” Elena said. “Maybe Jones owed Ward a favor. We should look more into why Ward went to jail. There might be some answers to explain it. Because I can't see Lucas Jones going this far for any random member of East River.” Elena thought for a moment and then voiced another question. “How did Ward elevate his status to work so closely with Jones? That's a very important piece of information we need to understand.”

“What if Ward took the fall for Jones or someone else very important in East River? That could explain it.”

“This is all well and good,” Tom said. “I get that you want to figure out the root cause and motivations. But in the meantime we need an immediate action plan.”

“I think we have to widen the net at the FBI,” Max said. “Get this manhunt off me and Sydney. Now with the four of us able to provide information about Davies's involvement, that should help. We can't operate successfully looking over our shoulders at legitimate law enforcement. We have enough threats from East River.”

Tom nodded. “But I think you're going to have to go to the upper echelon of the marshals now, too. Elena, I know you were worried about this being bigger than just Davies, but we have zero evidence to support that theory. It will make everyone's life easier if we have the power and resources of the FBI and marshals behind us instead of against us. I'm willing to go with you to talk to whoever we need to talk to at the marshals to get this all straightened out.”

“Sounds like a plan,” she said.

“Why don't we all grab a few hours of sleep? Then we'll go deal with the FBI and marshals,” Tom said.

Everyone agreed. Tom and Elena left the room talking about logistics on dealing with their respective agencies, leaving Max alone with Sydney.

“You still doing all right?” he asked.

“Yes, but now I think fatigue is starting to set in.”

He walked over to her and took her hand as she stood up. Then he placed his hands on her shoulders. “I can't tell you how glad I am that you're standing here right now, safe. Thinking otherwise makes me sick.”

“Then don't think it. I'm here and I'm okay.”

He took a step back. “You should get some rest.”

“You, too.”

She started to walk away, and he grabbed her hand again. He had a question he wanted to ask. “Syd, do you think God was watching over you out there?”

She smiled and gripped his hand tightly. “I know He was.”

Would God be willing to watch over him, too? And someone else? “I hope he's watching over Brian, too. I can't even process if...” He started to get choked up.

“Try to stay positive and not focus on the what-ifs. I'll say an extra prayer for Brian tonight.”

“Syd, it's really been on my mind since we last talked about it. What would I need to do if I wanted to go back to my faith—to being a Christian like I was as a child? Is that something I can just do?”

“It's never too late, Max. God is forgiving and will take you back if that's really what you want.”

“I know I'm not perfect, but I really want to start over. I want to put my trust in the Lord again. I've thought a lot about it, and I'm ready to embrace my faith.”

Her heart filled with joy. “That's wonderful, Max. As I told you, it wasn't until all of that craziness happened with Rick that I found faith. So it wasn't that long ago that I was right where you are. I know how you feel. I understand having questions and concerns. While our situations are different because I didn't have any foundation of faith to return to, I understand the apprehension that goes along with making big decisions like this and not knowing exactly where to start.”

He laughed. “I don't think you were ever as skeptical as me.”

“What's important is the end result. And if you're going back to your faith in God, that's what matters the most.”

“Yes, it is.” He squeezed her hand and thanked God for bringing Sydney into his life.

NINE

S
ydney awoke from an awful nightmare to the bright sun streaming into her room. She gasped when she looked at the clock on the nightstand and saw it was almost noon. She never slept that late. Granted it had been almost 3:00 a.m. before she'd practically willed her body to sleep last night.

She pushed any thoughts about Rick out of her mind and instead focused on the current man in her life—Max. Talk about a major breakthrough. Even through this awful ordeal, God was good. Max's return to faith gave her a morale boost that she desperately needed, given all the danger that surrounded them.

Max was a good man. A loyal and honest man. The experience with Rick had damaged her for what she assumed would be forever, and she'd reconciled those feelings within herself. But that didn't mean she couldn't be friends with Max.

She started to move out of the bed, and her body yelled at her. Her muscles ached, and she looked down and saw the bruises on her arm. A flash of the night before hit her hard, causing her to suck in a quick breath. Once again she felt Rick's strong hands pressing into her arms. She saw his intent to inflict as much agony on her as possible.

I'm not going back there
, she told herself. Yes, she might be sore and bruised, but she wasn't going to let that stop her from moving forward. Rick Ward no longer held any power over her.

After she went to the bathroom and took a quick shower, she headed downstairs where she heard voices getting louder.

Elena and Max were having what looked to be a heated discussion. Elena stood with her hands on her hips as she spoke to Max.

Sydney walked into the kitchen. “What's going on, you two?”

Elena immediately stopped talking and turned to her but didn't say anything.

“Come on.” She was starting to get frustrated at being locked out of the important discussions. “This all involves me. I think I have a right to know. Was there a problem with the FBI or the marshals?”

Elena shook her head. “No. Everything went smoothly. The marshals are enacting special security protocols in case Davies isn't the only one involved. They're also looking for Davies. The FBI is assisting.”

“That's all good news.” Sydney was confused. What was she missing? “If that's all true, then what's the problem between the two of you?”

Silence filled the kitchen and Elena avoided making eye contact with her.

“Max?” she asked.

He let out a breath. “It's the Diaz trial. The court has reset the trial to begin tomorrow.”

As she looked into his green eyes, her pulse quickened. “Wait. That doesn't make any sense. Why so fast?”

“Let me explain,” Elena said. “After we got done talking to the FBI and marshals first thing this morning, we had a status conference with the judge and the attorneys for both sides. Everyone in that conference agreed that since we now have a much better idea of the threat assessment the trial could proceed. Including your expert testimony against Kevin Diaz.”

Sydney turned her attention away from Elena and back to Max. “And let me guess, you are not in favor of me going to the courthouse and testifying tomorrow?”

He took a step toward her. “Of course I'm not in favor of it. It's far too risky.” He paced around the kitchen. Then he turned toward Elena. “Am I the only one who remembers what happened the last time we went into that courthouse? Sydney almost got killed! We shouldn't be taking those types of unnecessary risks. I don't care that the players involved think they have a handle on the threat. Because let me tell you, they're wrong. They don't really have any idea of how deep this could go or the power that East River could exert. The damage they could do—will do—if we attempt to restart this trial and put Sydney back up on that witness stand.”

“What about that woman who was murdered?” Elena said. “She was only in her twenties. A teacher with her entire life ahead of her. Without Sydney's testimony, Kevin Diaz will probably be found not guilty by that jury. That victim deserves justice. Are we just going to pretend like her life isn't of value, too?”

“Elena's right.” Sydney walked to Max and put her hand on his shoulder to stop him from pacing. “I'm ready to testify. I've been ready to testify and put that behind me. It's my job. I'm an expert witness. It's what I do.”

Max shook his head. “It's too dangerous.”

“This time we'll be better prepared,” Elena said. “Davies won't be able to get in there because everyone now knows about him. There will be plenty of security. Probably more security than you can imagine. The higher-ups in both the FBI and marshals want to clean up their public image, especially after what happened before. I can guarantee you that they will not be stingy with resource allocation on this. I know we can get this done. Ward's picture is being circulated to every law enforcement agency in the state. We're on the attack now. You can't even begin to compare what happened before to our current situation. We have a completely different understanding of the facts on the ground.”

“Yeah, but what about all the other East River gang members that we don't know? It's a public trial. Other gang members could easily get inside, and no one would even identify them as a possible threat. What about that?”

“I'm telling you, Max, the security will be airtight,” Elena said. Then Elena turned and looked at her. “Ultimately this is your call, Sydney. The prosecution wants you to testify. They retained you as an expert and believe that your testimony is vital to obtaining a murder conviction. But given the circumstances no one is going to go after you for breach of your expert-witness agreement if you back out. I've confirmed that fact with the prosecutor.”

Sydney pushed her shoulders back and knew her answer. “I am not backing out. No way. I'm going to testify against a murderer and help put that man away so he can't harm any other innocent women.”

“But, Sydney, I'm already worried about what could have happened to Brian,” Max said. “Now you're putting yourself right in the line of fire.”

While she was grateful for his concern, she had a job to do. “I understand that you're upset and concerned about Brian. We all are. But I'm sorry, Max. I have to testify.”

Max walked out of the room without saying another word, leaving her alone with Elena.

“He'll come around,” Elena said. “It'll just take him a little time to get his head wrapped around all of it. Then he'll want to go full in on the details and security preparation. He's just frustrated by his lack of control over everything, and especially the uncertainty looming about Brian.”

“I know he means well, but you understand that I have to do this, right?”

Elena smiled. “Yes, I do. And I still don't feel right about what I did with Davies. I know you said that you moved past it, but I can't help but think that was the biggest mistake of my career. One I won't ever be able to put behind me. I appreciate you being understanding, but it was a colossal failure on my part. A lapse in judgment that I can't even really explain.”

She grabbed Elena's hand. “I don't want you to think another thought about that. At the time you did what you thought was best. You had no idea how things would spiral out of control. Nor did you know anything about Rick. Like you said earlier, things have changed. We're operating under a different set of circumstances now.”

“That means a lot to me. My job is my life, Sydney. And to think that I put you in danger through my actions is antithetical to everything I believe in and stand for.”

“We all make mistakes. You're a solid marshal. Don't doubt that.”

“Thanks, Sydney. You have both been great in a very difficult and complex situation.” Elena smiled and so did Sydney.

Sydney thought that under different circumstances, Elena was someone she easily could call a friend. But they had more pressing matters to attend to now. As if she read her mind, Elena brought them back to the task at hand with another bit of news.

“I did some more digging on Ward's conviction.”

“And what did you find?” Sydney asked.

“He did time for robbery. He cut a deal, and it never went to trial. The interesting thing is that there were no witnesses. I think Ward definitely took the fall for someone in East River. I just don't know who or why. But that could be the reason why he and Lucas Jones are so tight now. If Jones asked him to help a fellow gang member, then that would explain why Jones is willing to help him out now with you.”

She let out a breath. “And to think this whole thing could all go back to Rick's hatred of me. It's just staggering.”

“Max told me how you handled yourself with Rick last night,” Elena said with admiration in her dark eyes. “You've proven yourself to be very tough. How long have you been training?”

“For years. I started a couple months after I ran away from him.”

Elena reached out and touched her shoulder. “You're a strong woman, Sydney. I admire how you've handled yourself in this very difficult predicament.” Elena stopped for a moment and looked away. “Honestly, I don't think I would've been that brave if I had been in your shoes.”

“Oh, you would have and then some. It took me a long time to get where I am now. But I'm thankful that I'm stronger and better equipped to take on a man like Rick.”

“We're going to catch him, Sydney. That's my promise to you. I may have failed you with regard to Davies, but I won't fail you again. I'll be there at the courthouse. Nothing is going to happen to you.”

“I know.” And the strange thing was she really believed that.

* * *

Max couldn't believe he was back yet again in the courthouse parking lot with Sydney. The last time they had gone in that building it was a near disaster. Why would this be any different?

He was apparently the only one who was concerned about something bad happening. Everyone else was totally on board with Sydney going to the trial and testifying. It was taking a lot of self-discipline to put on a professional face and be a team player when all he really wanted to do was take Sydney out of there and keep her safe from Ward and East River.

“Max?” Sydney asked. “Shouldn't we be going in now?”

Max nodded. He wasn't going to take out his frustration on Sydney. She was just doing what she thought was right. He knew that. His car was parked in the back of the courthouse, and they had a combination of marshals and FBI agents waiting outside to escort them in.

She reached over and squeezed his arm.

“You shouldn't be encouraging me, Syd. It's supposed to be the other way around.”

“The way I see it right now we're a team.”

He smiled. “Let's keep it that way.” Knowing he couldn't stall any longer, he told her, “Wait for me, and I'll come around to your door.” He got out of the car and took a deep breath. This was it. The moment he'd been dreading. He walked around to Sydney's side of the car flanked by an agent on each side.

They'd agreed that as part of the stepped up security there would be at least three agents plus Max with Sydney at all times. The last thing they wanted was a repeat of the incident with Davies. Looking back, he realized it hadn't been a smart move to have only the two of them on Sydney. They wouldn't make that mistake again. Max also had handpicked the people who would have access to Sydney—a combination of marshals and FBI agents that would provide that extra layer of security.

After opening the door, he took her arm. Agents were on each side of him plus additional an additional security perimeter.

“Are we going to the same room we were in last time?” she asked.

“No. I didn't want to put you through that. We're going to be in another conference room. Same kind of room, just not the exact one. I thought that would be better for all of us.”

“That's fine.”

Sydney looked like an expert witness today in a black pantsuit and a light blue blouse with her auburn hair pulled back in a bun. Her slightly flushed cheeks showed a bit of her nerves and excitement. Max knew how much this testimony meant to her.

He guided her to a conference room on the opposite end of the hall. One of the other agents checked the room and yelled “Clear!” before they walked in.

“This is really happening,” she said softly as she took a seat.

“Yes, it is.” He looked at his watch. “Probably in about fifteen minutes.”

She drummed her fingers on the table. Neither Max nor any of the other agents spoke. At this point, he thought, what was there to say? All he cared about was keeping Sydney safe, and so far she was. The sooner she could testify and he could get her out of the courthouse the better.

He'd been adamant that people entering the courtroom be checked a second time for weapons. He wasn't willing to take any chances and with the possibility of human error, he liked doubling up on precautionary measures.

Minutes later, feeling Sydney's tension build, he turned to her. “You ready for your testimony?”

“Yes.” She looked at him, her eyes wide, her shoulders squared. “I know you're skeptical about my abilities when it comes to pure sketch art, but I have the utmost confidence in my work.”

He held up his hand. “Sydney, my issues were based on one bad experience and shouldn't impact you at all. I don't want you thinking about that before you testify. I never should've even brought up my concerns. If I had to do it all over again, I would've kept my mouth closed on that topic.”

“But you didn't.”

“You don't have anything to prove to me. I promise you that,” he assured her.

But she didn't respond.

About twenty minutes later he was starting to get antsy when there was a knock at the door. One of the agents opened it, and Elena stood on the other side.

“We're ready for her,” Elena said.