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“Kels.” Cole’s voice was sharp, bringing her instantly out of a light sleep He seemed to be right outside her bedroom door. Oh, god, was Eddy sick? What was wrong?
She dove off the bed and whipped the door open. “What is it? Is Eddy—?”
“He’s fine,” Cole said. Sure enough, he was bouncing the baby in his arms as he spoke. “It’s your father. The GPS indicates that he’s on the move.” He had his phone in his hand and turned it so she could see the screen. The blinking light was moving, but she had no sense of where her father was or where he was going.
“What can you tell?” she asked, taking Eddy from Cole. The fight still hung between them, but they had to focus on her father and helping him.
“Edwin’s headed off the base.” His brow was furrowed with worry. Everything was so tense between them, and now this. Before she could ask what they should do, he was dialing the phone.
“Raymond,” Cole spoke into the phone. “Find David and get over here pronto.” He listened for a minute. “Yeah, you’ll need to be armed.”
She shushed Eddy who had started to cry at the sudden tension. “It’ll be all right, baby,” she whispered to him even though she wasn’t convinced of that herself.
TWENTY-FIVE
Raymond and David entered the house sooner than she’d have thought possible. They each carried a large duffel bag that she suspected contained weapons.
“What do you know?” David asked as he took Cole’s phone and studied the moving dot. Without waiting for a response, he sat on the couch and flipped open a laptop. He quickly linked the signal from the phone to the computer.
Kelsey turned her attention to what David was doing and watched the dot on the screen that represented her father. As long as it was moving, he wasn’t being questioned or tortured. And that meant he was okay. At least, that was what she told herself.
“What now?” Cole asked.
“They’re moving through Coronado, headed south from the base. It’s where they go after that that’ll matter.” The three of them leaned nearer the screen, watching the blinking light move.
“Which means?” Kelsey interjected. She’d been silent so far, but she couldn’t be any longer. This was her father’s life at stake.
“Lots of possible destinations. They could connect to the mainland and go anywhere in Southern California or Mexico,” Cole answered. “We’re just going to have to see where the trail leads. Once we have a better idea, we’ll head out after them.”
“And I’m supposed to…what?” Kelsey demanded. “Just sit here and wait?” It sounded horrible. How would she be able to stand the anxiety?
“Raymond’s going to take you to Maureen’s house,” Cole explained. “I know this is going to be stressful for you, and I thought it’d be easier if you could spend the time with a friend. I already called her and cleared it with her.”
“You did?” He’d retreated to the bedroom he used in the house after their discussion in the hall, but she’d assumed it was to arm himself, not make decisions without consulting her.
“She’s expecting you and Eddy,” Cole said. “Raymond’ll stay with you.”
“I will?” Raymond asked, seeming to be as surprised as she was by his tone.
“Yeah, you will.” Cole shot him a look.
“Yes, sir.” Raymond clearly didn’t want to be out of the action and wasn’t please at being assigned guard duty, but Kelsey was glad to have his protection. She wasn’t thrilled that Cole had managed the situation without one word to her, but he was right that she’d feel more at ease with her friend. She felt safe with Raymond, but it wasn’t like she could really open up to him—they barely knew each other.
“David and I’ll continue to track your dad,” Cole said. “We’re moving out in five.”
She rushed to the nursery for Eddy’s bag and stopped in the bedroom for hers. In four minutes, she was in Raymond’s SUV and pulling away from the curb with Eddy strapped in the backseat. She looked out the window where Cole and David were getting into his truck and wished she’d had a real goodbye with Cole. But she hadn’t. All she’d said as he gave the baby a kiss on the forehead was that he should make this right.
What kind of parting words were those? Yes, she was still upset with him, and shedidwant him to make it right, but was that the best she had for the father of her child when he was going into a potentially dangerous situation? Her conflicting emotions toward Cole were clouding everything, and she wanted to rewind those five minutes and do them over. Since that wasn’t possible, she stared straight ahead while Raymond drove.
The closer they got to Maureen’s house the more helpless Kelsey felt. She wished there was something she could do to help her father and Cole, but she knew that realistically, she would have only been in the way, slowing David and Cole down. Plus, she had to be there for her son.
She half-turned in her seat and touched the baby’s forehead. He needed to be safe, and that had been Cole’s priority for him. Exactly what a father would do, she realized. She turned back to face front again just as they pulled into the driveway at Maureen’s bungalow.
“Wait.” Raymond caught her arm when she reached for the door handle. They sat in the SUV for five minutes until he felt sure the neighborhood was safe and that no one had followed them. Maureen’s front door opened, but she waited until they came to her.
Maureen pulled her into a hug as soon as they were all inside. “So glad to see you, sweetie.”
“Thanks for taking us in like this,” Kelsey said.
