“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Hah! Maybe you can fool her, and even yourself, but your grandmother and I have seen the truth and we agree. There are sparks every time you two meet.”

  Daniel gritted his teeth. Was it that obvious? Moreover, had he been kidding himself about his feelings? Perhaps, although nothing had happened that was powerful enough to cause him to rethink his sensible plans for the future. He already had the necessary elements of a core family. Joy had him and Catherine. She didn’t need Aurora to be happy, nor did he.

  That conclusion didn’t sit quietly in his mind. Thoughts that eliminated Aurora’s presence were unsettling to the point of excess nervousness. Pacing, he drove a fist into his opposite palm. This was not the time or the place to let his mind wander. The operation against the Jones/Murray gang called for a clear head. Something he had prided himself on in the past.

  This was what happened when people let emotions lead them, Daniel reminded himself. He was above that. Or at least he always had been—until now.

  The earbud that kept the task force’s radio connections quiet sounded off and made him jump. He looked to Jack to make sure he too had received and understood the communication. A convoy of three trucks had just pulled out of the bay doors of the targeted warehouse. The guns were on the move.

  This was where his opinion differed from that of local law enforcement. They wanted to stop the trucks, confiscate the guns and arrest everyone on scene. ATF felt that they’d accomplish more if they allowed the shipment to proceed to its destination where another contingent of the gang waited to receive them. His agency had prevailed, with caveats. There would be unmarked vehicles waiting to join a covert pursuit depending on road traffic and where the convoy was at dawn. Night would aid the police. Daylight would pose more problems.

  With a nod to his partner, Daniel put Dakota into the rear of his repaired SUV and got behind the wheel. Jack was driving separately, giving them more of a variety of pursuit vehicles. One car would appear to drop out as another took its place, a version of police leapfrog. With enough cars in reserve, they’d be able to stay unseen as long as necessary. At least that was plan A.

  Motor running but headlights off, Daniel was about to pull out from behind the bushes where he’d parked when he heard someone shout over his earpiece. “Car approaching from the east.”

  Daniel quickly keyed his mic. “All units, hold your positions.”

  Clicks of confirmation were his unspoken answers. Nothing moved except the strange black sedan that had appeared next to the lead truck in the procession. A slight figure clad all in black was getting out, waving both arms and walking toward the warehouse door. Whoever it was, they weren’t part of his plans.

  Seconds ticked by. There was clearly an argument going on next to the loaded trucks. He could even hear echoes of distant shouts although it was impossible to make out what was being said.

  Finally, the original driver plodded back to the sedan and got in. Daniel trained binoculars on its windows. Backlit by the bright overheads mounted on the warehouse, he could make out shadows. Moving shadows. People? There were others in the car besides the driver? Brandon Murray, maybe?

  “If that car separates from the convoy, keep it in sight,” Daniel ordered. His cell phone buzzed. Recognizing the number, he was flooded with intense relief. “Nana.”

  The person who laughed wryly wasn’t Catherine. “Good guess, cop. She’s right here.”

  Gripping his phone tightly, Daniel was at a loss. The caller sounded female but unlike anyone he could recall. “Who are you? Where’s my grandmother?”

  “Like I said, right here with me. We had a nice ride, didn’t we folks?”

  “Ride?”

  A laugh cackled. “You’re even denser than I thought. I know you’re out there, watching us. That’s exactly where I want you. I got to see Hal die and I’m going to return the favor.” More unhinged laughter sounded. “Before I leave town, I’m going to let you watch your family disappear, one at a time, starting with…”

  There was a pause and Daniel could hear weeping in the background. Then he heard a high-pitched wail and his resolve fractured into a thousand pieces. It was Joy.

  EIGHTEEN

  Listening to the horrid conversation and seeing the barrel of a gun swinging toward them, Aurora threw her body across the frightened child and shouted, “No!”

  Catherine made a lunge for the hand holding the pistol and it went off with a bang that rattled the car windows and left Aurora’s ears ringing. Thankfully, the bullet had gone wild and left a hole in the car windshield, not in one of them.

  She didn’t know where Daniel and his team were in relation to the car but judging by the way their captor was talking to him, this must be the warehouse his team had been looking for. Moreover, since the bitter gray-haired woman had threatened to make him watch what was happening, he had to be close by. That conclusion did help calm her a little. Being held at gunpoint however did not. Part of her wanted to mimic Catherine and leap on the kidnapper while another part was barely able to think, let alone act.

  Joy was sobbing. Aurora held her tightly and prayed almost incoherently, hoping God would listen to her heart, not her jumbled words. Some of her most powerful prayers had been like that. Tears rather than eloquence.

  Clearly, plans had to change, Aurora decided. Daniel had told her that they intended to let the gun shipment continue so they could arrest all the criminals at the arrival site. Given the current circumstances, that wasn’t likely.

  Concerned only for their survival, she refused to worry about anyone’s clever plans. All Aurora cared about was getting out of this mess alive and seeing her innocent companions saved as well. Later, if Daniel wanted to berate her for fouling up his operation, she’d be more than willing to listen and accept whatever blame he chose to assign.

  Right after I tell him I love him, she added silently. If anybody could get them out of this, Daniel Slater could. With the help of God? Yes, she didn’t have to know how; she simply trusted him. Them. Faith was funny like that. Knowing a rescue was possible and believing there would be a heroic attempt to affect it, she was able to imagine a happy ending to this terrible dilemma. Some people might accuse her of being foolish, as some had in the past. But she had seen amazing, impossible things happen before and there was no reason to doubt they could happen again.

  Aurora’s musings took her to Serena’s passing. That had been an answer too, in a way, although it was hard to accept that earthly healing didn’t take place whenever it was asked for. As she had told Joy, Serena was out of pain and healed in another way, a way that humans dreaded.

  “I don’t want to be done yet,” she whispered.

  Catherine overheard and leaned close to reply very quietly. “Me either, kiddo. Trust my grandson. He’ll get us out of this.”

  “He’d better,” Aurora said, managing a slight smile. “I have something important to tell him.”

  A maniacal cackle from the driver’s seat sent shivers down her back. When their captor said, “Lots of luck living that long,” an icy cloak of terror wrapped around Aurora, causing her to pull Joy even closer and tuck her inside her coat as if that would help protect her.

  * * *

  “Shots fired!” Daniel had bailed out of his car, leashed his K-9 and joined Jack in a crouch next to their vehicles. Both Beau and Dakota were wearing bullet-resistant vests, as were the human members of the team.

  “They have to be over there,” Daniel said, pointing. “I heard the gunshot over the phone at the same time it blasted through that car.”

  “Agreed. How do you want to proceed?”

  For the first time in memory, Daniel regretted being in charge. It was his duty to stop the gun trafficking, yes, but he also had a duty to protect human life. Knowing that his loved ones were in danger changed the dynamics of the situation in ways he didn’t like to think about. Ideally, he’d be able to stop the trucks as well as rescue the kidnapped victims. How he was going to do that was the big question. He had no idea.

  There was no time for serious prayer so he merely glanced at the night sky and mouthed, Please. That would have to suffice, and he knew in his heart that it would. If he’d learned anything lately, it was that God could be trusted even when a person didn’t understand divine decisions. He also believed that there was nothing wrong with asking for deliverance, one way or another. Just because he might not see a way out of this current trap, didn’t mean there wasn’t one.

  Before broadcasting again, he gave the code signal to change transmission frequencies, then waited for his team to adjust their radios to ensure privacy. If their conversations were being monitored, this move would cut that off and let them communicate without being overheard by the Jones/Murray gang.

  Daniel keyed his mic. “All DGTF, be advised we are now dealing with a hostage situation and a shot has been fired. Perpetrator and victims, plural, are in the black sedan stopped next to the trucks in front of the warehouse.”

  Putting it into words made his gut twist like he’d literally been punched in the stomach. Nevertheless, he stayed focused, gesturing at the officer beside him to emphasize the order. “Jack Donadio is going to contact the other department heads and get a consensus. Hopefully they will agree. Our original plans to wait to make arrests have to change. We can’t let these vehicles leave the scene. I want all exit roads blocked by whatever patrol cars are in position. Move. Now.”

  As Daniel finished speaking, he looked to Jack and saw his thumbs-up sign. So far, so good. “Stay on this frequency for the present,” Daniel continued to broadcast. “If we need to change again, go to our second alternative channel.”

  Once he was certain the task force had been fully notified, he turned his attention to the scene. Apparently, someone had given an order to go dark after the single gunshot because the transport trucks had turned off their headlights and the lights in and around the warehouse blinked off leaving only the waxing moon to provide illumination. The siege was on.

  “Units to the east and south, spotlights and flares please. DGTF, be advised I will be approaching the kidnap car on foot. Hold your fire.”

  “Copy” and “affirmative” answers came. Daniel paused to speak with Jack. “You hold your position unless I need you. Your discretion.”

  Jack gaped. “You’re really going to just walk up to them?”

  “What else do you suggest?”

  “Maybe wait for a hostage negotiator?”

  “How long will that take in the middle of the night? Someone could already be injured.”

  “At least call them back and try to find out what happened when we heard that shot.”

  He palmed his cell phone and pressed the preset for his grandmother’s number. It rang three times before it was answered. No one spoke.

  “This is Special Agent Daniel Slater, ATF,” he began. “You’re surrounded. Come out with your hands up.”

  The hysterical sounding female laugh over the phone gave him chills. “That’s what you need to do, Agent.”

  “Is someone injured?”

  “The gunshot? No, your granny just got uppity. But I have plenty more bullets where that one came from.”

  Despite it being a taunt, the reply pleased Daniel. Assuming the kidnapper was telling the truth, his loved ones were unhurt. Heaving a sigh, he raised a thumbs-up sign to Jack.

  “Let me speak with her.”

  “No way. Tell you what, I’ll put the other one on and you can talk to her.”

  Other one? A chill skittered up Daniel’s spine and raised the short hair at the nape of his neck. What he had suspected and feared was apparently true. Whoever had taken Catherine and Joy had also taken Aurora. His entire life was in the balance.

  A surprisingly strong, “Hello,” confirmed his fears.

  “Aurora. What happened? Is everybody really okay?”

  “So far. There’s an older gray-haired woman here. I don’t recognize her but she says her name is Ingrid and she knows you.”

  In the background, he heard a string of shouted cursing followed by Aurora’s gasp. “It’s… She’s… She says she’s Brandon and Hal Murray’s mother.”

  His blood turned to ice. “She can’t be. Ingrid Murray is dead.”

  “Uh-uh. That’s who she just said she was,” Aurora told him. “Couldn’t you hear her?”

  Unfortunately, he had. “All right. What does she want?” The sound of a scuffle came to him rather than a spoken answer.

  Ingrid had the phone again. “I want you, Agent Slater. I’m in charge now. You’re going to pay for killing my Hal.”

  Daniel’s heart sank. Hal Murray was a casualty of a prior shootout and also Brandon’s older brother. It sounded plausible that this actually was Ingrid, even though she’d been reported as deceased for years. This turn of events explained a lot. Hotheaded Brandon had not been following his late brother’s premade plans as they’d surmised. The brains behind the gun trafficking ring was Ingrid. Perhaps it had been under her leadership all along. That explained a lot. Brandon might not have the brains to keep running the operation successfully but his mother clearly did.

  “We’re always sorry when there is loss of life,” Daniel said soberly. “The incident concerning Hal’s death was fully investigated and the agents who were involved were cleared of any wrongdoing.”

  “In your eyes, maybe. Not in mine,” Ingrid rasped.

  Daniel held the phone away from his ear and could still hear her clearly. When she stopped screaming epithets at him, he calmly resumed their conversation despite the rocks in the pit of his stomach and the slight tremor in his hands. It was one thing to be afraid for his own life and quite another to consider the lives of loved ones.

  That special group included Aurora Martin, he realized. His feelings were undeniable. Like it or not, he loved her as much as he loved Catherine and Joy. Knowing the three were together in that car was the most devastating scenario he’d ever faced.

  “If I agree to come over there, will you promise to release the others?”

  Jack grabbed his free arm and shook his head. “No way.”

  Adamant, Daniel pulled free. Nobody was going to stop him from doing everything he could to rescue his family. He didn’t intend to die in the process. Taking risks was sometimes necessary even for the most seasoned veteran, the difference being he was positive he had to. There was no other option.

  Solemn and determined, he handed Dakota’s leash to Jack. “Keep her safe, will you. I don’t want to have to worry about getting her shot too.”

  “Okay, but if this plan falls apart and I see a need, I’m sending her in.”

  “Fair enough. I just want to get close enough to disarm Ingrid. I don’t think she’ll start shooting until she’s made me suffer more.”

  “Such as?”

  Daniel’s mouth was so dry he could hardly swallow. He coughed. “I think she’s going to try to kill the people I love and make me watch.”

  * * *

  Holding her breath, Aurora waited for an opportunity to fight back. If she had been the only one in the car with Brandon’s unhinged mother, she’d have felt better about taking chances. With Joy and Catherine as companions, that wasn’t an easy option. Still, perhaps she could trick their captor somehow.

  Spotting the lone figure of a man emerging from the near darkness, she caught her breath. There was no need to wait to see his face. The commanding way he walked told her it was Daniel Slater. In the many hours they’d spent together, she had learned to recognize every little detail about him and had come to hold each of them close to her heart.

  Mindful of Ingrid, Aurora kept her prayers for him silent and simply thought, Please, Jesus. The rest didn’t need to be voiced. God knew exactly how she felt about this extraordinary man and his present actions reaffirmed those conclusions.

  Her hand closed on the door handle. Unless she’d been imagining a click because she’d expected to hear one, the car doors had all unlocked when Ingrid first stepped out. Surprise escape was worth a try, particularly if her actions drew the vindictive woman’s attention away from Daniel. It would have been comforting to discuss the plan with him, yes, but since that was impossible, she could only hope and pray she wasn’t about to make things worse.

  Afraid to move too quickly, Aurora caught Catherine’s attention with her eyes and realized the clever woman was anticipating what she was going to do because she’d pulled Joy into her lap and was transferring her to the side opposite Aurora. That was as far away as she could put her and hopefully the safest place in the back seat.

  Ingrid was reacting to Daniel’s approach too. Gun at the ready, she started to open the driver’s door again.

  That was the opportunity Aurora had been waiting for. The overhead light flashed on. She pulled the door handle, listening for the latch.

  Ingrid yelled at Daniel.

  Aurora pushed open her door. Saw Ingrid start to turn back toward her. Let herself fall to the ground where she would be hidden. A bullet whooshed past her and imbedded itself in the metal wall of the warehouse.

  Success? In a warped sense of the word, it was, Aurora decided. Part of her goal had been to draw attention away from Daniel and the others. The second part, which she was now living, was to escape being killed. Accomplishing that promised to be a lot harder.

  Scrambling on all fours, she cleared the rear of the sedan, then rose to run.

  Ingrid’s “Stop or I shoot the kid” sent a jolt through Aurora that brought her to an immediate halt. She put a hand to the corrugated metal wall next to her to keep her balance, then slowly raised both hands before starting to turn around.

  Ingrid had circled the car containing Catherine and Joy and was currently standing a mere twenty feet away from Aurora with the gun pointing straight at her.

  Breathless, Aurora nodded. “Okay, okay. You win.”

  “That’s better. Now get back over here.”

  As Aurora prepared to move, she noticed a blur of action on the opposite side of the kidnap car and had to bow her head to keep from staring. From cheering.