Justice Undercover Page 2

  He walked over to the Jeep. “I changed my mind. I want the kids in my truck. You’re welcome to ride back to the house with me if you’re nervous, and I can send someone to drop off your vehicle shortly.”

  “I’m perfectly capable of...” Kylie stopped short. “I’ll take the Jeep, but I’d feel better if you’d follow me.”

  * * *

  Kylie pulled out of the zoo with Luke Dryden following close behind. She racked her brain trying to figure out why the attacker would want the kids. Kidnapping? Even though there were reports of kidnapping rings, she’d never heard of any in this area. But why? Did today’s attack tie to Megan’s death?

  It was Hal Alcott himself who’d killed Lori Coffey and her two children early the morning the woman was to testify. Kylie knew because she had seen Alcott as he looked over the deadly scene. It hadn’t been him today, but it could’ve been one of his men.

  Was it possible Kylie was the target? But how? No one knew she was in Rocky Creek. She hadn’t told anyone. Not even her beloved boisterous family in Wichita Falls. They all believed she was dead. Killed in the line of duty. Even her sister, Tina, her best friend, didn’t know she had survived.

  Even though the explosion hadn’t killed her, it had left her alone, with no remnants of her former life. In everything that mattered, Melody Garner had died three years ago at twenty-nine. Her Kylie-Stone self was thirty-two, with no family. Until Hal Alcott was safely behind bars, her future didn’t hold much hope of changing.

  Today’s attacker had looked determined, so she doubted it was a case of mistaken identity. If neither she nor the children were the target, that only left Luke Dryden.

  Pressing the brake, she came to a stop at a red light, a dark emotional cloud settling over her. If someone had learned her whereabouts, did she need to move on? Again? Four times in the last eighteen months. Would she be forced to abandon her investigation into the death of Dryden’s sister?

  Kylie scanned the road and nearby parking lots, but didn’t see any signs of the silver SUV. Just Luke’s truck behind her. She noted his intense gaze even through the tinted window. They had only had a couple of conversations that lasted more than five minutes since she’d met him. The Ranger had that professional, reserved approach that left a person wondering what was going through his mind. What would she find if she was able to peel back that stoic mask of his? Today, as he’d held Braden and Zoe after the attack, had been the first sign of affection she’d seen in the man toward the twins. But was she being fair? He had suffered with the loss of his sister, and now this. She couldn’t imagine the weight he carried.

  The light turned green, and she took off.

  An image of Zoe and Braden helping her make chocolate-chip cookies this morning flitted through her mind. They stood on a couple of wooden chairs placed against the counter as Kylie helped them put in the ingredients. Then, like her mama used to do for Kylie and her siblings, she got three spoons and gave everyone their own sampling of dough. The twins had devoured it. A smile tugged at her mouth.

  She straightened, pushing the memory away. Getting attached was not an option.

  Ahead of her, traffic on the two-lane highway picked up. A school bus braked and signaled a turn. There was no turning lane, and Kylie came to a stop while the bus waited for oncoming cars to pass. When they took off once again, she glanced toward the five-and-dime store.

  A silver vehicle sat in the side lot behind the trash dumpster. She couldn’t tell if it was the same SUV, but since the kids were safe with the Ranger, she intended to check it out.

  Using a hands-free device, she called Luke. “I’m going to stop at the store to get some milk. I’ll meet you at the house. Do you need anything else while I’m there?”

  As soon as he said no, she hung up and turned the Jeep around. She headed back to the store and pulled into the second drive—the one farthest away from the silver vehicle. The dumpster blocked her view, and she couldn’t tell if the driver was still in the SUV or not. The license number was all she needed.

  Kylie pulled around the opposite side of the building. The drive didn’t circle around the store, so she eased down the lane and parked behind a bread truck. A couple of tall hedges provided a barrier between the back of the store and a row of houses. She planned to stay only long enough to get the license-plate number.

  Kylie retrieved her Glock from the locked console and stepped out of her Jeep. Staying close to the brick building, she inched along the back wall until she got to the corner. She lifted her gun and peeked around the edge.

  The man in the red ball cap sat inside the silver Tahoe, staring at his phone. There were no other vehicles between her and the SUV, which meant there was no way to get close enough to read the plate without being spotted.

  Panic stripped her breath away. She’d found him. Now what? Call the Ranger? He had the kids with him. Maybe she should go back to her Jeep and wait until the Tahoe went to leave, get the license-plate number and then call Luke. Where she had parked offered a great view of the exit.

  Kylie started to turn away when a maroon sedan sped into the parking lot. The driver’s-side window zipped down, revealing a person wearing a red ski mask. The barrel of an assault rifle stuck out the window as he took aim.

  “No!” she yelled.

  The man in the silver Tahoe jerked, confusion etched on his face. He looked around before he spotted the masked man. He threw the SUV into gear and peeled out in Reverse.

  Pop. Pop. Pop.

  Her attacker slumped forward, and his Tahoe crashed into a utility pole.

  For a split second, shock held Kylie’s feet in place. Her pistol was no match for the killer’s powerful weapon. Through the ski mask, his eyes landed on her, their gazes locking for one fleeting moment.

  Somewhere, a lady screamed.

  The masked man gave her one more glance before the sedan screeched out of the parking lot.

  Adrenaline surging, Kylie shoved her gun into her waistband, spun around and face-planted into a solid chest.

  Luke Dryden.

  TWO

  “The milk is inside the store.” Glancing around the edge of the building, he spotted the Tahoe. The man inside sagged against the steering wheel behind the shattered windshield. “What happened?”

  Kylie cleared her throat. “He was shot.”

  Luke protectively stepped in front of his nanny, fear increasing his anger. “That’s the same truck from the zoo, isn’t it?”

  She nodded. “The shooter sped off.”

  “I need you to go sit with the kids while I check this out.” He didn’t wait for her to answer and quickly called Sergeant Jamison. “This is Luke Dryden again. Shots fired. Shooter is gone. I need backup at the dollar store off Highway Thirteen. The victim may be fatally wounded. He’s the suspect from the zoo. Checking it out now.”

  Luke approached the vehicle, gun ready, but the man showed no signs of life. A few people huddled on the sidewalk near the corner of the store and watched him. “Step back.” He flashed his badge. “Texas Ranger.”

  No movement from the SUV. He glanced in the back of the vehicle to make certain no other persons were inside, then returned to the driver’s side. He opened the door and felt for the man’s pulse. Nothing. The man was dead.

  A Rocky Creek police cruiser pulled into the parking lot, followed by an ambulance. Sergeant Jamison’s black Ford Explorer trailed behind them and came to a stop. Jamison, short and muscular, put on his hat and strode toward him.

  “I’m afraid it’s too late for this one.”

  Jamison eyed Luke. “Dryden, care to tell me what’s going on?”

  “I’m not certain.” Luke again described what occurred at the zoo, and how Kylie’s attacker had now been found dead.

  The sergeant looked at one of the younger officers. “White, get those plates called in ASAP and then find out if any of those
people witnessed the shooting. Have Thompson tape off the crime scene until the technician gets here.”

  The officer nodded and went to do as he was told.

  “I’ll need to get a statement from your nanny,” Jamison said.

  “She’s on the other side of the store with the twins.” They went around the building and found Kylie standing outside his truck with the back door open, the kids sound asleep. She had donned a pink-and-brown Farm Girl cap, and from the corner of her eye, she glanced from him to Jamison while keeping her head downward. Luke supposed she was upset, which was understandable. He was surprised she wasn’t crying, but everyone handled traumatic situations differently.

  “I’d like to ask you a few questions.” Jamison held a pen and pad. “Name?”

  “Kylie Stone.”

  Luke listened as Jamison asked what happened, and she explained that she’d just walked around the side of the building and saw the man in the SUV when a car pulled into the parking lot and opened fire.

  Jamison asked the question that Luke wanted the answer to. “Why were you at the back of the building, ma’am?”

  She shrugged. “I saw the Tahoe and wondered if it could be the same man from the zoo.”

  “Don’t you know better than to approach someone like that?”

  “Oh, yes, sir. I understand. I had no plans to confront the man.”

  “Did you see the shooting?”

  “I did.”

  A news van pulled in. Kylie turned to Luke, scratched the back of her neck and asked quietly, “May I take the kids home if you’re through with me?”

  “You need to finish giving Sergeant Jamison your statement.”

  “I ran around the back side of the building and saw the man in the Tahoe on the phone when a maroon sedan pulled into the parking lot.” Kylie talked fast. “Couldn’t see the license plate or the make and model, but the driver wore a red ski mask and pointed a rifle out the window and shot the guy from the zoo. Then he sped away.”

  A reporter headed their way with a cameraman in tow.

  Her eyes met Luke’s. “Sleeping in car seats just isn’t the same as a bed. The kids will be cranky if they don’t get a good nap. May I take them home now? I’m tired.”

  Was that desperation he saw? But why? Being a small department, sometimes officers were willing to give some latitude. He turned to Jamison.

  “Go,” the sergeant said. “We’ll finish processing the scene. I can come by the house later if we have more questions.”

  “That’ll work,” Luke said.

  “Thanks.” Kylie hurried back into her Jeep.

  As Luke followed her to his house, his stomach churned at the day’s events as he was unsure of what they meant. Just like when Megan was in trouble, he’d seen danger coming but couldn’t do anything to stop it. He’d tried to get Megan to open up, to tell him what was going on in her life, because he had sensed her pulling away from family and friends. No matter how hard he tried to help, he couldn’t figure out what was wrong. He’d finally written off the situation as his sister simply struggling in her marriage to Tommy, and she was either too embarrassed or too absorbed with her problems to take the hand he’d offered.

  Now, only three months after her death, danger was closing in again. This time, he was determined to stop it. It wasn’t just that Braden and Zoe needed him to be competent, but Kylie did, too. Luke didn’t know what to think about his nanny. She was like no one he’d ever met before. Cute and great with the kids. Patient. Seemed to really care about them and wanted to have fun. A natural caregiver. He shook his head. He still couldn’t get the image of her fighting off the big guy with a brush out of his head. It wasn’t uncommon for women to take self-defense classes, or maybe she had been the only girl in a houseful of brothers. He realized he didn’t know much about the twins’ nanny outside the background check performed by the agency, because he’d never asked.

  So many lives depending on his ability to do his job. Was it coincidence on the heels of his sister’s death that there was a child abduction attempt involving the twins? Megan’s murder and this attack had to be connected. One thing was for certain—these people weren’t kidding around. Hopefully something would come back on the license plates.

  This time, he’d ask for help. He picked up his phone and called the one person he could depend on.

  “O’Neill.”

  “I need your help.”

  After explaining to his coworker what had happened, O’Neill agreed to drive up and assist him in the investigation. And if there were more attacks, there was no one he would rather have by his side. Luke pulled into the long drive of his small ranch-style house feeling a tad better. Not only was Jax O’Neill one of the best Texas Rangers in the field, but he also knew the details of Megan’s case.

  Kylie parked under the carport while he hit the garage-door opener and waited for the door to open. He held a finger in the air to tell her he’d be right back, and then he went inside and performed a quick sweep of the house.

  He came back. “Clear. Come on in.”

  They brought in the kids and put them in their beds. After Kylie stepped out, he stared down at the twins, their vulnerability really striking home. Zoe sucked on her thumb and snuggled her favorite pink blanket, which her grandmother had quilted. Braden sprawled out beside his Texas Ranger teddy bear. So young to have lost their mama. Their daddy, Tommy, was nowhere to be found. And now someone had tried to abduct them.

  Where was Tommy? Megan had never filed a missing-person report. What kind of father left his wife and kids? Luke’s dad—No, not his real dad, but even so, Sam Dryden, his stepdad, would’ve never abandoned his family. A lump formed in his throat, making it impossible to swallow. Maybe Luke should call his parents and let them know what was going on. Of course he should. They had the right to know.

  He punched in his mom’s number while still in the privacy of the bedroom.

  She picked up on the first ring. “Luke. Is something wrong?”

  A stab of guilt hit him in the chest. If those were the first words out of his mom’s mouth, then he really should feel ashamed. “Zoe and Braden are fine, but it appears someone tried to take them from the zoo.”

  “Oh, no. Are they all right?”

  “They’re safe. I just called because I thought you deserved to know.”

  His dad’s voice boomed in the background. “What’s going on, Dottie?”

  “Luke, we’re coming over.”

  Maybe he shouldn’t have called. Now his parents would worry, but there was nothing they could do. “Please don’t. Kylie, my nanny, is here and the kids are safe with me.”

  “Are you certain? We don’t mind.”

  Her voice tugged at his heart. He didn’t like the tension that had built between them. “I’ve got this. I need to go.”

  “Please call us if we can help.”

  “I will.” He clicked off. Megan had left Luke as the guardian of his children. He still wasn’t sure why she’d chosen him. Probably because she believed she would live forever and would never need anyone to care for them.

  As he walked back into the kitchen, the thought occurred to Luke that maybe Tommy hadn’t left of his own free will. Or maybe, like Megan, he was dead.

  Kylie shoved a plate of chocolate-chip cookies toward him. With her soft blond hair and sweet smile, something about her brought on a calming, the-universe-is-not-such-a-bad-place effect on him.

  “No, thanks.”

  “The kids helped me make them.”

  “Kylie,” he sighed. “I really appreciate all you do for the kids. I realize I haven’t been around much.” She didn’t interrupt him with condolences or reassurances. No, he had already gotten the feeling his nanny believed he spent too much time at work. “My sister was a caring mom. I’ve been trying to figure out why she was killed. I don’t believe it was a
n accident that Megan hit her head and was found in a lake.”

  She sat on one of the wooden bar stools and grabbed a cookie. “You’ve mentioned that you were looking into her case before. Do you think what happened today is connected to her death?”

  “Unless that man was your enemy, it has to be. But why try to abduct the kids?”

  “I don’t know.” Kylie flinched and popped the cookie in her mouth. “Did your sister know Hal Alcott?”

  “Hal? As in Alcott Real Estate? Megan’s husband worked for the company.” At her nod, he tried to read her face, but he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. “Everyone around here knows of Hal Alcott. He was at one of the fund-raising events we had for my cousin’s cancer benefit, but I don’t think Megan knew him personally or hauled two babies into a quiet real-estate office on a regular basis. Why?”

  “Just curious. I’m sorry I brought him up.”

  He narrowed his gaze. “Are you implying Hal had something to do with Megan’s death?”

  “I wasn’t implying anything.” She sighed. “I remember he’d been brought up on... Never mind.”

  “What? Brought up on racketeering and money laundering?” At her nod, he said, “Then you should know all charges were dropped.”

  She opened her mouth, then clamped it shut and shook her head.

  “Hal is good man. Yes, Tommy worked for him, and Alcott made the news with the charges, but that doesn’t mean he had anything to do with Megan’s death.” Luke managed to control his voice because he knew what it must look like to an outsider. Even though Hal had been an acquaintance of his father’s for years, Luke had personally conducted a general search into Tommy’s work connections, including Alcott, after his sister’s murder. Kylie was a nanny and he didn’t expect to her to understand. She was just trying to help.

  He decided to change the subject. “The kids are taken with you. They’re too much for my parents right now.” Luke hadn’t spoken to his folks in several weeks. He had no intention of sharing how, after forty-two years, he’d learned Sam Dryden wasn’t his father. Luke had idolized and loved the man, but his parents had deceived him his whole life.