Innocent Target Read online

  “So, you think she has reflux?” Mercy asked.

  The EMT nodded. “That would be my diagnosis, but you should see your Pediatrician to be sure.”

  “We will. Thank you.”

  James looked up at Nick as two officers approached them, catching the warning in his friend’s eyes.

  “Sir, Ma’am.” The older officer nodded at them, a knowledgeable look in his face.

  “Officer,” James said, sliding his arm around Mercy who was now holding Abbie to give him a break.

  The officer nodded to the two men; one being loaded into a stretcher, the black body bag covering him, the other man into the second ambulance. “You know those two?”

  “No sir, we were driving on 95 when they came up beside us. Seemed like they were racing or some such so we got off the highway and they followed. Then they drove almost into us, and my girlfriend swerved in a panic.”

  The officer pushed his hat back from his head and rubbed at the sweat as the sun began to warm the sky.

  James almost blanched as Mercy burst into tears. “I never meant to hit that man, but I panicked and with Abbie in the car, my nerves were shot.”

  The cop looked horrified by her tears. “Ah, don’t you be worrying, young lady. These bikers are nothing but a menace, been having reports of other incidents like this these last few months. Ask me, they had it coming.”

  James didn’t say it, but his hand tightened on her back as she buried her head in his chest and wept. James didn’t necessarily agree that death was what these men deserved unless they were targeting Abbie, and then what had happened was way less than he would’ve done to them.

  “Officer, if that’s all, I’d like to get my girlfriend home.” He felt Mercy pinch him in the ribs and coughed to hide the grunt of pain.

  “Make sure to leave your details with Officer Cohn and then get yourselves away.”

  James smiled. “Thanks, officer.”

  As he and Mercy slipped into the car Nick had been driving, placing the baby seat between them in the back, he felt the hairs at the back of his neck prickle in a warning. He glanced around, scanning the area as Nick eased the car away.

  “You okay?”

  Mercy laid a hand on his forearm, and he sighed. “Yes. Just had the oddest feeling someone was watching us.”

  Nick found his eyes in the rearview mirror. “They were.”

  James tipped his head. “Who?”

  Nick shrugged. “Not sure. I didn’t see them either, but I felt it.” The two men exchanged an in-depth look full of worry, which had James’s gut seizing.

  “We have a leak. How else could someone know we were headed to the lab.”

  Mercy’s head whipped to him. “No way. I don’t believe that.”

  James held her troubled gaze, not wanting to believe it either. “You got a better explanation?” He saw the truth in her eyes before she dropped her head, hiding her thoughts from him as she retreated again.

  “I’m not saying it was intentional, but somehow information that only the agency has access to got out. There’s no way those Henchmen were there by accident, and they couldn’t have followed us from the cabin, or they would’ve attacked when we were more vulnerable.”

  “So, what’s the plan now?” Nick checked the mirror to make sure the only vehicle behind them was Knight.

  “Now we get someplace safe and re-evaluate.”

  “I know a place.” Mercy offered and James cocked his head, hearing the sadness in her words he didn’t understand.

  “It is secure?” Nick asked.

  “Of course. As if I’d risk Abbie like that.” Now she sounded pissed.

  “Cool your jets, Merc. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

  She leaned her head back on the headrest, rubbing her eyes as she sighed. “Sorry. I’m tired.”

  That she’d even admitted it told him just how tired she was. Reaching out, he took her hand in his and gave it a light squeeze, causing her to look up. She gave him a wan smile but held on to his hand, giving him a warm feeling in his chest. Something about this strong, proud woman made him want to protect her, to take the weight she insisted on carrying alone, and show her he could help ease whatever burden she had weighing her down.

  “Why don’t you give Nick the address and get some sleep while you can?”

  Mercy sat up straight as if she remembered Nick was there, snatching her hand away as she did. “I need to call ahead and make sure my friend is home and can help us.”

  Apprehension lit her eyes as she glanced at him. She didn’t want to do this. The call she was about to make hurt her in ways he didn’t understand but wanted to.

  Why was it always one step forward ten back with this stubborn woman who buried into his heart deeper with every second he spent with her? She’d risked her life to keep him and Abbie safe and much as it had hurt him to get out of that car and let her drive away from him—he had because he trusted her, dammit.

  When would she trust him? It was a question he wouldn’t be getting the answer to any time soon.

  Yet as he half-listened to the call she made to a man he had no idea about he had the feeling he was about to get an insight into Mercy that she’d never intended on giving any of them—ever.

  Chapter Ten

  Her chest felt so tight Mercy found it challenging to draw a full breath, let alone relax.

  Abbie had been fussy until she’d finally settled in her car seat. As soon as calm had returned, James had been on the phone with Shane and Emme, relaying the latest information and their destination, while planning to get everything necessary for Abbie ready by tonight with everything shipped to Jacksonville Beach, and Ian Guthrie’s home.

  It had been forever since she’d last spoken to Ian, let alone seen him. After the shootout, tragedy had struck again, but this time at the hospital where they discovered that a bullet had severed Ian’s spinal cord and his chances of recovering were slim. Seeing him in his wheelchair, surrounded by his family, had almost been too much to bear. Mercy was still awaiting another round of surgery when Ian had transferred to a specialized center where he could get more treatment and therapy.

  Ian had been the one who’d kept in contact with her when she was choked with guilt. Her former partner’s morale had been unbreakable. His wife Marnie had been his rock, and together with his two teenaged kids, they formed a fierce family unit.

  They’d all relocated to Jacksonville Beach, where some of Ian’s siblings were still living. Several times he’d told her she was welcome at his place, that he really wanted to see her, but she’d always found good reasons to delay or deflect. Good reasons were plenty as she’d quit the force at the same time.

  Ian had been surprised by her call but understood the situation immediately and told her to come. Now, they were minutes from arriving, and Mercy was working hard at just surviving the flood of emotions threatening to drown her.

  “Shane is planning to have security increased around your friend’s house, discreetly, as we don’t know who in the chain of command leaked our location. Oh, and Nick will bring us clothing and baby stuff tonight. He wanted to go to the rental house and retrieve our stuff, but Emme thought someone might be watching the roads to it. So, instead, they plan to stalk our stalkers. If we can figure out where their base is, we might be able to check who’s going in and out and plug our leak at the source.”

  “Wise move. We don’t even know if a tail has followed us here too.”

  “You took enough turns to make anyone following us dizzy. To be honest, I’m more worried about you. You’ve been awfully quiet since we left Daytona. I know I was on the phone most of the way, but I have eyes. Spit it out, Broussard, what’s bothering you?”

  Mercy turned onto a quaint neighborhood street and parked at the very end of it with a sigh. Ian’s home was to her right, and she couldn’t even look at it, and to her utter horror, tears welled up.

  “Hey, hey! Mercy, what’s going on?” James’s deep voice was filled with worry
as he unfastened his seatbelt to inch closer to her. “And if you say nothing, I swear you’re going to regret it.”

  A half-laugh made its way through the tears. “Must be putting two stupid bikers down that’s getting to me.”

  When she lifted her head, the expression on James’s face was closed off, his eyes glacial. “Mercy, you know I care about you, even more than you think, but I’m done having you shutting me out. We all have scars and nightmares that haunt us, it’s part of who we are. I have plenty of my own, and that’s exactly what partners are for, to support one another with them.”

  Stunned, Mercy watched him get out of the car and get Abbie. “Don’t worry, I’ll call Shane and ask that Nick takes over when he brings our stuff.”

  Getting out of the car, Mercy couldn’t say a thing as Abbie started crying and she saw movement from the house.

  James was marching toward the house as Ian wheeled himself down the ramp toward the driveway. James offered him his hand and smiled, exchanging a few words with Ian before he gestured toward the house, probably asking where he could take care of Abbie.

  Without a backward glance, James disappeared inside, and before she could process anything he’d said, Mercy was face to face with Ian for the first time in years.

  Words stuck in her mouth. Mercy’s last image of him had been his drawn, pale face, filled in pain on his hospital bed, and soon after, he’d left for the rehabilitation center. Now, he was in a high-tech black wheelchair, arms crossed, all fire and muscles, just as she remembered him, especially his smile.

  When he cocked his head, she noticed the car was holding her up and that she and Ian had been staring at each other for much longer than it was polite.

  “Never thought I’d see the day where you were scared, kid.”

  Only with one sentence, the man brought her back when they were patrolling the dark alleys of New Orleans. “I’ve only been scared of one thing in my life, and you were never it, old man.”

  “Well, I feel the old Mercy coming back, but she’s not quite there yet. Why don’t you come into the backyard? I have a cooler with some beers calling our names. Get your stuff and follow me in.”

  And once more she was following his orders. Making sure to lock the car, Mercy grabbed what was left and followed him inside the house. James had Abbie gurgling on his chest as he heated her formula.

  “Do you need help with her? I can take care of the bottle if you want?”

  James didn’t even look at her. “No need. It’s all under control.”

  He may as well dropped a bucket of ice water over her head with his tone. “I’m leaving everything else on the kitchen table if you need anything before Nick arrives.”

  Dismissed with his lack of a reply, Mercy went to join Ian.

  The deck was vast, adapted for Ian’s wheelchair and overlooked a beautiful backyard. The flower beds were definitely Marnie’s work.

  “Welcome to my new haven. Since the kids are at college, Marnie decided the yard was ours again and gave it a makeover. What do you think?”

  Accepting the beer with a smile, Mercy sat by Ian. “Your yard is amazing, as is your house. By the way, where is your lovely wife and kids?”

  “Gone to see her mother in upstate New York. The kids went with her, so your call was perfect timing. Too bad you waited for an emergency to come pay me and my backyard a visit, kid.”

  That stopped her mid-sip, closing her throat. What could she say?

  “That’s another first, you speechless. I swear each time I caught you on the phone, you filled every single second of it, barely allowed me to speak, and now we’re face to face at last, I thought you’d talk my ear off.”

  Unable to swallow her drink, she put it down. “I’m sorry, Ian.”

  With her tears about to flow again, Mercy had never felt so unsteady in her life, especially in the middle of such a dangerous mission. She felt as if she were constantly under fire.

  Ian rolled closer and surprised her when he took her hand. Something inside her cracked at the gesture. “I’m so sorry, Ian. I don’t know why you’re even talking to me, let alone welcoming us here. Not after I destroyed your life.”

  She tried to pull her hand from his, but Ian was a strong man. “I suspected as much, and I’d hoped to have this conversation years ago. Mercy, you’re going to be quiet and listen to me.”

  Last time she’d heard Ian using that tone of voice was when she was a rookie and had taken down a drug dealer by herself without telling him. “There’s nothing you can say, Ian.”

  “Mercy Broussard, close your mouth and listen! I always knew you were a brilliant woman, but if you think you had anything to do with what happened, you’re a fool!”

  “Weren’t we in the same shootout by the pier? Where I was shot, and you almost bled to death? Because I remember it damn well, Ian.”

  Her former partner shook his head, his frown set. “I’d been taken by a mad man who was about to kill me. If not for you, I’d be six feet under.”

  “If I’d been faster, you wouldn’t be trapped in that chair! If I’d been more accurate, I’d have killed that fucker before he shot you!” Unable to stay still, tears streaming down her face, she stood. “I cursed the heavens for not taking that bullet through the heart! How could I face you when I’d failed you?”

  Wiping her wet cheeks with the back of her hands, Mercy almost stumbled when Ian placed himself in the way.

  “Now, Officer Broussard, sit down, shut up, and listen to me. I swear you’ll hear me out if it’s the last thing I do!”

  If anything, she owed him that much, even if it wrecked her soul forever.

  Once she was seated, Ian placed himself in front of her. She suspected it was to stop her escaping. “Mercy Broussard, get it through that thick skull of yours that I owe you my life. Without you, my wife would’ve been a widow, and my children would’ve lost their father. I was there. I know what I saw. Did you ever read the final report on the operation?”

  Mercy shook her head. “I was in enough trouble after barging in on the rescue. They blamed me and stripped all my commendations.”

  “That’s why you left the force?”

  “I left because I couldn’t bear not seeing you around, or remaining there, even as part of SWAT. I went back to my family, but it only took a month to remind me why I’d left in the first place. So I traveled for a bit. It seemed the right thing to do.”

  “And that’s when you ended up on the West Coast and got that stunt job?”

  For the first time, she felt like smiling at the memory. “Your extensive driving techniques paid off for sure. Still helps today. That job was fun while it lasted.”

  Ian grinned. “No wonder. Why did you leave?”

  “The constant adrenaline was great, but it lacked purpose. I wandered for a while after that until I met Shane Rhodes. We worked together on an unorthodox mission, and I must’ve impressed him because when he founded his security agency, he rang me. I found what had been missing, at least part of it, since NOLA.”

  “So, you’re in charge of protecting that young man and his baby?”

  “James is part of the team. Abbie is his niece, and we’re trying to work out why his sister vanished, leaving her baby behind. We know an MC is involved, but we’re still digging.”

  Ian leaned back, nodding. “It clarifies a few things, most particularly the tension between you and that young man.”

  Mercy opened her mouth and closed it. “Tension? Of course there’s tension, with everything that is going on, and the constant threats…”

  Ian swiped his hand to cut her off. “Kid, I know you better than you know yourself. If the man didn’t reach that place deep in your heart, you’d have smashed his head on Marnie’s new marble countertop. What is he to you? And don’t tell me your usual bullshit, Broussard.”

  Not knowing what to say, Mercy grabbed her bottle and took a swig. “I know I’ve never been easy, Ian. But after the shootout, everything got more complicated.”r />
  With an awkward tap on her knee, Ian leaned forward. “Kid, life is complicated. I know that firsthand. When I understood that my life would never be the same, I pushed everyone aside and did everything to push Marnie away. Hell, I made her life a misery at the beginning, but you know my Marnie, she’s not one to cower down. She remained sweet and supportive in the beginning, but she soon gave me some hard truths, some I badly needed to hear.”

  His voice changed a little, becoming grittier. “We both had to mourn the past, who we were and accept the reality of our situation. That could’ve broken us, our marriage, our family, but somehow, it shone a brighter light on the love we share, and how much stronger we are together. The biggest work has been me opening my eyes. If she wanted me as an absentee cop father and a crippled husband searching for a purpose, how could I not believe in us too? I don’t know your story with that man, Merc. But if he means something to you, and I suspect you mean something to him, it may be worth stepping over your hurt, fear, and pride. Just be honest, honey. And I know you can’t lie. Your big mouth is a great asset. You just lack courage when it comes to matters of the heart.”

  Clutching her beer, Mercy looked at her former colleague and friend, unable to say a word. Maybe because what he’d said rang true, and most probably because, deep down, she’d known it all along.

  With one last pat on her knee, Ian rolled away. “I’ll go and make sure everything is in order before I turn in. I’ll show you the alarm system too. It will be a novelty to have a baby in the house.” Just as he put his hand on the knob, Ian stopped and turned his head. “I almost forgot about the report. I’m sorry you didn’t read it. It was long and dreary, but there’s one point you need to know, besides the fact that you saved my life. The bullet that put me in this chair didn’t come from the kidnapper, but the SWAT Team. Friendly fire. You didn’t come too late, kid. And none of what happened is your fault.”

  Chapter Eleven

  James felt it the second she walked into the room. He’d avoided her, going to the room he’d shared with Abbie while she spoke with Ian. The obvious affection and history between the two of them almost made him jealous. Why could Ian get through that impenetrable shell and he couldn’t? He instantly felt like a stupid kid pining over a girl who didn’t like him back.