Page 8 of Night Moves
Natalie’s hands were still shaking, and she couldn’t quit checking her rearview mirror. She’d gotten on the road before Kirk stepped through the door, but she’d passed a cab with a backseat passenger heading into the subdivision.
Could it have been Kirk? Did he know his children were gone?
So what? Even if it had been him, it would take time to pay the cabbie. Discover they weren’t there. Jump in his minivan. By the time he accomplished all of that, she would be long gone. And Malone could have a police officer there by now too, though Natalie figured it might take longer as she would want to get someone on scene who wouldn’t put the police brotherhood ahead of doing their job the right way.
Even if she didn’t think Kirk was coming after her, she looked in the mirror. Plus, she wanted to check on the children.
Thankfully, Willow was the only one who’d woken up. Natalie had tucked two-year-old Sadie and four-year-old Logan into seats she’d checked out from her department for her earlier pickup, and they snoozed away. And when Natalie had gotten on the highway and headed into the city, Willow dropped off in her booster seat, George clutched in her arms. Until that point, she was full of questions, but Natalie told her she had an errand to run.
A lie, but what could Natalie say?I’m abducting you from your serial-killer father.
Man, oh, man. She could imagine it—the day the children learned about him. Only Willow would really understand now, but they would live their lives with this horror as part of it. And without parents.
Natalie looked in the mirror again at the three precious children in the back seat. Asleep. Innocent. Smelling of baby shampoo and sweet dreams.
A defensive instinct raced through Natalie. She was going to do everything she could to protect those children right now, even giving of her life if needed. In the future, she was going to make sure they found good homes and got the counseling they needed. No matter what she had to do, these children would not only survive, they would thrive.
Drake polished off the pizza slices he’d grabbed on the way out of the office and opened the windows in the company SUV. Wouldn’t do to pick up a client and have the smell of pepperoni oozing from the leather upholstery. But he’d had to eat something or he might’ve gotten testy with this social worker. That would be even worse.
His vehicle’s infotainment center alerted him to a text from Clay, and he told it to read the text.
Eyes on suspect.At home. Pacing his office.
Good.Right where they wanted him to be. Not in the basement destroying evidence and not coming for his kids.
Drake replied,Keep me updated.
He turned onto the street in the warehouse district, streetlights so sparse the area was cloaked in darkness, and thought ahead to the rendezvous. He’d worked with plenty of social workers in his prior job with the U.S. Marshals and could just imagine the woman waiting for him. Middle-aged. Ill-fitting pant suit. Serviceable shoes. Harried and exhausted.
Okay, so he was stereotyping, but based on his past experiences, he had a good chance of being right on target. One thing this particular social worker had going for her before they even met was her willingness to break the rules to protect these children. He suspected if it turned out that this father wasn’t a killer, this little stunt was going to cost her job.
He spotted her car ahead, sitting under one of the few streetlights. A large family kind of car, just the kind his social worker stereotype would drive. Except it was a sporty red color that glinted in the light. Didn’t fit his preconceived notions, so maybe she wasn’t quite what he expected.
He parked behind the vehicle and put on his red armband. Erik drove up in his pickup. He would remain in his vehicle and act as cover.
Drake checked the clip on his gun, left the headlights shining on the car, and got out, leaving the SUV running for a potential fast getaway should Clay report Gentry was on the move.
Hand on his sidearm, a flashlight in the other, Drake approached the driver’s side door, a sharp May wind making it feel colder than the fifty degree temps. The same hint of unease that made him cautious when he’d served as a deputy crawled up his back now. This woman was supposedly on the up-and-up, but he could never be too careful on the job.
Ever.
Not if he wanted to stay alive. Taking risks was reserved for off-duty time.
He was about to knock on the window when it whirred down. He shined his light inside and did a double take. The matronly social worker he expected was a gorgeous blond with flawless skin and brown eyes that held a world-weary fatigue.
“Ms. Dunn?” he asked, sure he’d gotten the wrong car.
“You have the red armband,” she said. “Means Malone sent you, right?”
He nodded and took a second to stop all the crazy thoughts and questions just looking at this woman was raising. He shined the light into the back seat, revealing three young children strapped into safety seats.
Yeah, he had the right person, all right, and his boring night had just gotten very interesting.
“Shouldn’t we get going?” she asked. “Kirk could be right behind me.”
“He’s at home. The police haven’t arrived yet, but my brother Clay has eyes on Gentry.”
“Good. Good. I…” She let out a long breath and sagged in her seat. “Good for us, I mean. But I don’t like the fact that the police haven’t gotten there yet. Hopefully Malone isn’t running into any problems.”
