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“Who are you? What is this?”
He reached into his back pocket and flipped open a wallet-size case. Inside were a gleaming gold badge and official-looking cards on both sides. “After I left here I drifted awhile, then finished a degree in criminal justice and became a Special Agent for the DEA.”
She stared back at the man she thought she knew. The man who worked as a sales rep for a computer company. A man she’d...loved. And all of it had been based on lies. “So...”
“I do a lot of undercover work, Dana. Over the years I’ve been involved in too many cases to count. High profile, often dangerous...dealing with people you’d never want to meet.”
“And you led one to Fossil Hill?” she asked in disbelief. “To my children?”
“Not intentionally. You once said that when you finished college you would move far, far away. I figured you’d done just that, and I needed a safe place for Katie while I was on medical leave. I erased every possible way I could be identified. I figured no one could track us. And I planned to move again soon.”
She could see his pain. Understood that he’d never meant to bring harm to anyone by coming here. But it didn’t matter. “You lied to me when you came back here, Zach. I don’t care if you’re a Special Agent or the man in the moon, I can’t ever forgive you for this. Because of you, my son is terrified and maybe injured.” Her voice caught. “Or worse, I could lose him.”
“I regret this more than I could ever say.” He picked up a shoulder holster from the desk and slipped it into place. “I’ll get him back for you. I promise.”
“Forgive me if I feel some doubt, Forrester. Your credibility rating is pretty low in my book.”
Someone knocked and the door opened. The other two men in the hallway looked at her, then at Zach.
“Time to go,” Zach said. “I don’t want to be late.”
“Got the wire?” Haley asked.
Zach nodded. “Pull into the pasture west of the house and hide your vehicle. Don’t move any closer than you need to for reception. I don’t want any mistakes out there.”
“You’re sending him alone? Without any help?” Dana looked frantically between the two other men. “What if something goes wrong?”
“He has to go out to his house to wait for the next phone call,” Haley said. “If that guy sees either of us, there’s no telling what he might do.”
“But what happens after the call? Won’t Zach need a ransom or something?” Uneasiness washed through her at the abrupt silence. When she saw Zach pick up a Kevlar vest, her heart fell. “What happens then?”
“The message said El Cazador will call my house at midnight to set up a meeting. Just with me. I’ll put a bug on my phone when I get out there, and these guys will hear all the details about the location. I’m also wearing a wire. The only important thing is getting the kids back safely, Dana. No matter what it takes, I’ll make sure that happens.”
As he walked through to the front door of the building, her panic rose. “Let me go with you.”
He stopped but didn’t turn around. “No.”
“It wouldn’t look strange if I went along, at least that far. The guy already knows you and I are friends. If something goes wrong, if anyone is hurt, I can help.”
“And have you killed in the process? No.”
“Please.”
He turned around, then, and gave Haley a pointed look. The agent stepped forward and took her arm. “Let him go, ma’am. He’s real experienced at this. If anyone can get those kids back, it’s Zach.”
She watched him stride out the door, then jerked her arm away from Haley’s grip and went to the front window. Moments later the taillights of the SUV disappeared down the street.
A premonition of danger swamped her—images of blood and death and crying children. Maybe Zach thought he could handle this alone, but he was wrong.
Her own vehicle was back at the ranch, so now she just needed to find a way to join him.
