He turned to make eye contact with Lucy. “Did you get a plate number.”

  “No. Did you?”

  Disgusted with himself, he shook his head. “No. I was busy.”

  “Yes. Thanks. For everything,” the older woman said. “If I hadn’t seen it I wouldn’t believe it. How in the world did that car miss the dog?”

  “It had to be by a hair,” Rafe said soberly. “If Hannah had been able to hold on he would have been hit for sure.”

  Teary-eyed, she looked up at him. “I was trying to pull him back.” She choked back a sob. “If I had, he’d have been killed.” Again, she buried her face in Thor’s ruff and hugged him.

  To his embarrassment, Rafe found his own eyes growing moist with empathy. Was there a lesson in this? Were his best efforts not being rewarded because there was a better way to proceed? If there was, he sure wasn’t seeing it. The would-be assassins escaping in that SUV were undoubtedly on their way to inform Deuce which side of the law he was on, thanks to his casual conversation with Andy. All that effort, all those days spent in prison, all the background created to support his story had been for nothing. Except for a few crooked guards he’d managed to ID while incarcerated, his undercover mission had been a washout.

  Bending to take Hannah’s arm and urge her to stand he spoke kindly yet firmly. “I hear sirens. We should go.”

  Lucy agreed. “You two stay here. I’ll bring the car.”

  “No, Gram,” Hannah said. “I’m okay and so is Thor. It’ll be faster if we go with you.”

  If Rafe hadn’t been in full cop mode he would have told her how proud he was of her bravery and rapid recovery. For a civilian, Hannah Lassiter was behaving with amazing courage under fire, so to speak. Her only flaw, that he’d seen so far, was being too tenderhearted.

  Rafe joined Lucy and spoke aside. “She’s really something, isn’t she?”

  The older woman smiled. “You’re just now figuring that out?”

  “Guess I’m a little slow.”

  Lucy chuckled. “I’d say so.” She took a few more steps before she asked, “How do you think they located your partner?”

  “I don’t know, but if we hadn’t shown up when we did he’d probably be a goner.”

  “Yeah. That’s what I think. So, there’s a leak inside your department, too? I mean, you said there was trouble at the prison. I suppose it’s logical to assume others outside are involved.”

  “I don’t like to believe it but you’re probably right.”

  “Thought that’s what you’d say.” Lucy put out an arm to block him and called to Hannah. “Stop. Now.”

  “Why?”

  “My car,” Lucy said, pointing. “The trunk is open. And look at the tires.”

  Rafe immediately went into a defensive posture and turned with his back to the others. No threats were evident. However, considering the state of their getaway car they were in deep trouble. All four tires had been flattened. There was no way they were going anywhere in that vehicle.

  Scowling, Lucy looked at him. “Well, that’s not good.”

  “You have a gift for understatement,” he said. “Give me your phone and I’ll call my superintendent for backup.”

  “How long will that take?”

  “I don’t have a clue,” Rafe admitted, “but we can’t just stand here in the open waiting for the police to shut down the whole hospital.”

  “True,” Hannah said, starting away. “Follow us.”

  His line of sight took him to her solution and he almost laughed in spite of the seriousness of their plight. The clever dog trainer was on her way to one of the volunteer-run trams the hospital provided to assist patients or visitors who had trouble walking back to their cars.

  By the time he and Lucy joined Hannah she had already loaded Thor into the second seat and was waiting for them. An elderly driver wearing a bright yellow vest with the hospital logo was smiling. “Where to, folks?”

  While Lucy joined her granddaughter, Rafe sighed and briefly displayed his gun. “Sorry, man. I’m afraid I have to insist that you get out and let me drive.”

  The man paled and waved his hands in the air as he stepped aside. “Don’t shoot. Don’t shoot.”

  “I’ll take your vest, too.”

  “Sure, sure.” He shed it quickly.

  Rather than reassure him, Rafe chose to simply don the vest over his jacket, slide behind the wheel and press the accelerator. The tram was electric and its top speed was probably ten or fifteen miles an hour. Still, it was better than standing in the midst of the parking lot waiting to be spotted.

  “Is this as fast as it goes?” Lucy asked, sounding miffed.

  “Yup. Sit back and enjoy the ride.”

  Hearing Hannah giggle, even a tiny bit, lifted Rafe’s spirits. Not much had changed to lessen the danger they faced, yet she had begun to return to her normal self. Once again he was favorably impressed. Someone who had been orphaned and raised by grandparents, regardless of the elders’ hidden occupations, should have been less self-assured, less brave, less able to think clearly during stressful periods. Come to think of it, most people would fall apart under constant threat no matter what their backgrounds.

  Unfamiliar with the parking lot, Rafe made a turn that took him back toward the door where several patients waited in wheel chairs pushed by more volunteers.

  Bypassing them he waved. “Sorry. Full. Catch you next time.”

  Behind him he heard Hannah laugh again. “You are a chameleon. If I didn’t know better I’d have insisted you were the real driver.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind if I ever need to change jobs.” Proceeding to a secluded spot at the rear of the sprawling hospital, Rafe stopped the tram and turned to Lucy with his hand out. “Phone.”

  “Not until I’ve had a chance to call in a few favors,” she said. “Now that Hannah here knows the truth about our family, I figure I may as well take advantage of my connections.”

  “I thought you were retired,” Rafe said.

  Lucy paused to pat Hannah’s hand and smile before she said, “Some jobs end at retirement, some don’t. I like to keep communication open.” With that, she stepped spryly out of the tram and walked away, phone pressed to her ear.

  When Rafe looked at Hannah’s face he glimpsed the concern he’d expected to see before. Yes, she was brave and, yes, she could handle herself well in difficult situations, the same as her beloved grandmother could. Part of that was likely good acting. Hannah was smart enough to realize how desperate their predicament was, yet strong enough to cope with it calmly.

  He finally decided to compliment her. “You’re doing very well, considering our circumstances.”

  “Hah!” Shaking her head she grinned at him. “The fun just keeps coming, doesn’t it?”

  If he hadn’t seen the slight trembling of her lower lip he might have been fooled into thinking she was carefree. Of course she was scared. Anyone would be. Even Lucy was probably worried despite her secret agent persona. After all, Hannah was her only close relative and she obviously loved her immensely.

  Without pausing to think first, he reached over the back of the driver’s seat and touched her hand.

  To his surprise she not only didn’t pull away, she turned her hand over and laced her fingers through his.

  That level of trust and acceptance floored him. Instead of breaking contact he closed his grip and gave her hand a squeeze, unsure whether he was doing it for her or for his own benefit.

  Truth to tell, Rafe thought, he’d prefer to enjoy the moment of contact instead of trying to analyze it. Giving comfort had been his intent. Receiving it back in equal proportion was totally unexpected. And nice. Very nice. Then he looked into her eyes and their shared touch became far more personal.

  * * *

  Hannah didn’t want to release Rafe’s hand. Ever. Something about the way he was holding her hand was making her feel strangely comforted in spite of their short history. Only the return of her grandmother was enough to make her let go.

  Lucy waved her cell phone. “Everybody out of this race car,” she quipped. “They’ll be looking for it by now and we have real wheels on the way.”

  Relief flooded Hannah. Keeping her cool and behaving rationally under the present circumstances had taken a lot of effort and she was looking forward to truly relaxing, assuming they would ever be through running.

  She’d realized earlier that the only way to survive and prosper again was to eliminate the Fleming gang. As a bonus, when they did that, they would be in position to rescue not only Andy’s daughter but hopefully many other victims of human trafficking. Recent news reports and even TV documentaries and movies had made the public aware of the worldwide problem. It was going to feel very good to take part in thwarting the horrible crime. She just wished she could save every child who had been taken.

  Looking to Lucy, she asked, “Can they tell you anything about where Kristy might be?”

  When Gram shook her head, Hannah looked to Rafe. “What about you? Didn’t you say there was some kind of task force involved?”

  “They’re how I managed to get sent to Lyell,” he said, shedding the vest and leaving it in the tram. “We know Fleming was running the operation from prison. Now that he’s out and can do it in person, it’s going to be much harder to break up the ring.”

  That reality had been lurking in the recesses of Hannah’s mind. Hearing it voiced caused her actual physical pain. She sighed. “I am so, so sorry. I tried to reach the new warden ahead of time, but I never managed to get through to him. Somebody always put me off.”

  “That’s interesting to hear,” Rafe said. “Did you happen to get a name?”

  “No. I assumed it was his secretary. It was a woman.”

  “I’ll pass that on to my superintendent.” Once again he reached a hand toward Lucy. “Your phone, please?”

  Although she hesitated, she did finally hand it over. “You need—we need—a couple of burner phones. Pay as you go can’t be easily traced, if at all, particularly if we destroy them after one or two uses.”

  “Agreed,” Rafe said. “Is this one encrypted?”

  “How did you guess?”

  In the background, Hannah huffed. “Because you’re a spy, silly. You’re probably loaded with secret weapons.”

  “Don’t I wish,” Lucy said wryly. “I’m afraid I’m all out of exploding pens and cyanide capsules.”

  “Well, that’s a relief.”

  Leaving the others, Rafe stepped away to make private contact with his superintendent. The call went directly to voice mail. Two subsequent tries had the same result so he gave the phone back to its owner. “No answer. Thanks anyway.”

  “So, now what?” Hannah asked, looking from one of her companions to the other. “You guys are the pros. Thor and I are just along for the ride.” Shaking her head she made a sound of derision. “I must admit it’s not nearly as much fun as it looks like on TV or sounds like in books.”

  “Reality can be unpleasant,” Rafe replied. “It can also be awesome when the good guys win.”

  “Are we?” she asked. “Are we really the good guys when we’ve had to break the law over and over. I have real trouble rationalizing what we’ve—what I’ve—been doing.”

  “I get it,” he said. “I do. The thing is, sometimes it’s necessary to step over a line because that’s where evil is hiding. Keep thinking about Kristy and all the scared, suffering kids like her and you won’t have nearly as much trouble doing whatever is necessary. Fleming and his gang need to be taken down and for some reason we’re in a position to do that.”

  “Are we really?” Hannah was far from convinced. “You’ve lost your in with Deuce and Gram and I are apparently on a hit list. How is that a good thing?”

  “A connection is a connection,” Rafe said. “The more they come after us, the greater our chances of catching one or more who will cave under pressure and tell us what we need to know.”

  “You mean about where Kristy is?”

  “Her, and others.” He paused. “The more time that passes, the greater the probability she will be flown out of the country. She’s a pretty girl and Fleming has bragged that he intends to break up the task force, one way or another.”

  “Doesn’t he realize that the more he hurts people, the greater their desire will be to stop him?”

  “He’s a sadist. He gets thrills from causing pain in others. At this point I wish I could say he’s merely defending his illicit businesses, but I think this has turned into a personal vendetta.”

  “Against us?”

  “Us and the whole task force,” Rafe told her. “We have guards on our families and some have even been moved to secret locations.”

  “What about you?” Hannah asked. “Do you have a family?”

  “No,” he said, sounding sad.

  “Parents? Siblings?”

  As he shook his head and made eye contact with her, Hannah realized that he was even more alone in the world than she was. At least she had Gram. Poor Rafe had no one.

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “I’m not. Especially in situations like this,” he said. “If there is nobody special in my life, they can’t hurt me as badly.”

  “You care about Andy and Kristy, though.”

  “Yes, I do. I’ve known her since she was little. That’s another reason why we have to rescue her. It’s personal for me, too.”

  TWELVE

  If Rafe had had his way, they would have stayed together. Instead, Lucy insisted that she and Hannah separate from him. He might not like the idea but he did see the older woman’s logic.

  Thor was the giveaway to any observer. Even an untrained eye could tell the big German shepherd was special and his presence painted a bulls-eye on Hannah’s back. That was undoubtedly why Lucy had led her off and found them a hidey hole in shrubbery several hundred yards away while he took up a position behind a trash collection array to wait for backup.

  He would have been a lot happier if he’d had his own cell phone so he could keep trying the superintendent’s private line. There had to be information of some kind filtering into the station. The more he knew, the better his chances of success—and survival—would be.

  A golf cart with two uniformed security guards in it rounded the corner and approached. Rafe ducked back out of sight and peeked between large trash containers.

  The driver stopped the cart. He and his partner got out, drew their guns and approached the abandoned tram. They were so intent on repossessing the stolen transport they only briefly scanned their surroundings then ignored them to inspect the tram. He expected them to leave it parked there and call a forensics team but they didn’t. One of the guards slid behind the wheel while the other returned to the golf cart and they drove off together.

  Luck? No. He didn’t believe in luck. He did, however, give credit where it was due so he sent a quick glance into the clouds and smiled. “Thanks.”

  If he had been running an investigation into the gunshot on the third floor he would have sent someone back to canvas the area surrounding the recovered tram ASAP. With all the police officers now inside the hospital he figured it was only a matter of time before they did just that. Besides, he wanted, needed, to be near Hannah and her grandmother when their replacement car arrived. They weren’t going to get rid of him. Not now. Not yet. And certainly not after they had been observed in Andy’s room. Fleming already knew who Hannah was and where she and Lucy lived. Deuce was far from stupid. He’d see the connection to law enforcement, put two and two together and find even more incentive to come after them.

  Ducking into the shrubbery where he’d last seen the women he expected one of them to answer when he called. “Hannah? Lucy?”

  Nothing. Nobody. The old growth was brittle and small pieces had been broken off the hedge. Rafe tried to follow without leaving more signs of passage. Once he was inside the clump of vegetation he could see that it wasn’t as dense as it had looked.

  He emerged onto a side street, dusted himself off and checked the nearby area. A small strip mall sat across the street while other medical offices filled in the rest of the space. If he was choosing where to go with Hannah and Thor there would be no question.

  Checking for oncoming traffic he stepped off the curb.

  * * *

  Rather than call attention to themselves, Hannah had waited outside while Lucy entered the drugstore to buy supplies. There was no hope of replacing everything they’d lost when the car had been robbed, but at least she’d be able to get the extra phones they needed and perhaps energy bars and something to drink. Hannah’s mouth was dry and she imagined Thor was thirsty, too.

  It seemed kind of silly to be worrying about food when their lives were in danger. Then again, there was nothing like eating a little chocolate to make a person feel better.

  Thor had been sitting at her side while she stood behind an array of spring flowers displayed on a tall rack. Suddenly she felt him tense, then stand, bristling.

  “What is it, boy? What’s wrong?”

  The dog took a step in slow motion, as if creeping up on an enemy.

  Hannah held him back. Away from Gram and Rafe, with only Thor to defend her, she was very vulnerable.

  “This is why wild animals freeze in place when they sense danger,” she muttered, letting her own voice soothe her while she watched the K-9 closely for signs of what their next move should be.

  Standing hackles on the shepherd’s neck and shoulders made him look even larger than he was, and he was plenty big. She glanced between the door to the store and open space on the other side of the flower display. Cars were passing slowly, each one bringing a possible enemy closer. Prior encounters with Fleming’s gang led her to believe they would be driving black cars or SUVs. Logic insisted otherwise. Every encounter could be deadly. Every passing car could hold evil personified.