few feet from the corner, Michelle halted and tugged her hand free. “What’s going on? You’re scaring me.” She looked over her shoulder at Cade. “Who are you?”
He pulled his jacket open. “I’m Cade Morgan and you two are in danger. I’m here to take you to your house for Chief Drake.” He wanted to say so much more. But there was no time for that right now.
Michelle’s eyes widened. “Mom, is that true?”
Tory flashed him a penetrating look, meant to stop him from saying anything else. “Yes. We had a break-in at the house.”
But Cade would say or do whatever was needed to keep them safe. He stepped around the pair and peered around the corner. “It’s clear. My SUV is on this side of the parking lot. We’ll head for it.”
The exit door they used opened. Cade ushered the two around to the side of the building before anyone saw them. He peeked at whoever was coming outside. Three teenage boys, dressed in sweats, left the rear of the gym. They didn’t appear to be members of the biker gang.
He quickly covered the short distance between himself and Michelle and Tory.
“Why can’t we drive home in our car?” Tory asked as she halted at the front side.
“Because it’s been sitting out in the parking lot for the whole town to see and have access to.”
“So is yours.”
“But I’m not the one they’re after.”
The color drained from Tory’s face.
“Who are they?” Michelle plastered herself against the brick building, distress taking over her expression. “Mom?” She glanced between him and Tory.
“I’ll tell you later. We need to do what Cade says. He was your dad’s best friend in high school. He has our best interest at heart.”
“But why would—”
The sound of motorcycles roared through the air, coming nearer as riders entered the school parking lot, all wearing the skull and crossbones emblem on their jackets.
Trapped.
Cade poked his head around the corner. There were three bikers. The motorcycles went up and down the rows of vehicles. His SUV was fifty feet away. Too far to run to undetected.
Cade withdrew his cell phone and placed a call to the police station. “I need at least one squad car if not two to come to the parking lot at the high school gym. There are three members of Mederos’s gang patrolling the cars. Have the officers put their sirens on.”
“Are they looking for us?” The pitch of Michelle’s voice rose.
He pulled back while Tory tried to comfort Michelle. Her hands trembled, and she balled them.
“Maybe. Hard to tell. I’m being cautious.” Cade didn’t want to alarm his daughter so much that she shut down, but she needed to know the severity of the situation.
“Mom, is this about the trial you’re prosecuting?”
“I think so,” Tory answered.
In the distance the sound of sirens blared. “When I say move, run for the black SUV five cars in. I’ll be right behind you two.” Cade slid his weapon out of his holster and pointed it at the ground.
As the police grew closer, coming in from two different directions, first one biker left the parking lot, then a second one did, followed by the third gang member when one of the patrol cars came barreling down the street toward the gym. That police officer went after the last biker.
“Go. Now.” Cade hurried after Tory and Michelle, keeping his gaze trained on his surroundings. Although all three motorcycles had vanished down several side streets, the sense of being watched plagued him each step closer to his SUV. “Get down when you’re inside.”
He pushed his key fob to open his doors. Michelle scrambled into the backseat with Tory right behind her. He started to climb into his SUV when one of the patrol officers pulled up. He’d met Officer Sims the other day at the station.
Cade walked over to him. “I need you to check out the DA’s car for anything suspicious. I noticed one biker stop for half a minute by her red Chevy Malibu two rows over. Call me and let me know if anything was planted.” Cade handed him his card with his cell phone number on it, then returned to the driver’s side door and climbed inside.
Tory said something to Michelle, but when he sat behind the steering wheel, Tory pressed her lips together and stared out the window. His daughter lowered her chin and twisted her hands together in her lap.
As he drove toward Tory’s house, tension pulsed in the silence of the car. He glanced at the backseat several times en route to her place. With her arms crossed over her chest, Tory caught him looking and narrowed her gaze. Her stiff posture spoke volumes of what she was feeling—no doubt all of it directed at him. At one point they had talked about getting married, then September 11 had occurred and everything had changed.
Cade pulled into her driveway. He wished that Tory and he could talk about their past. That wasn’t possible right now, but they would have to eventually, because he intended to discover who had invaded her home, which meant they would have to spend time together.
Michelle jumped out of Tory’s car and charged toward the porch, her arms stiff at her sides.
Tory scrambled from the passenger’s seat. “Wait, Michelle. Don’t go inside yet.”
Exiting his SUV, Cade strode toward the house as Paul came out onto the porch. Tory spoke to Michelle on the sidewalk then climbed the stairs to talk to the police chief. Cade hurried toward the pair.
Michelle blocked his path. “What’s going on with Mom? Why is the police chief here too? How bad is it?”
For a few seconds, Cade didn’t know what to say. “You’ll need to ask your mother. I haven’t been inside yet.”
“Cade, would you join us?” Paul glanced at the teenager. “We need to make some plans—alone.”
“Then I’ll go inside to my room.” Michelle stomped up the stairs to the porch.
“No!” Tory said, reaching for her daughter.
The police chief moved in front of Michelle. “In a moment you can go into the house. Give me a few minutes to talk with your mom.”
Michelle looked at each of them, then trudged to the porch swing and plopped down on it, crossing her arms and frowning. “I’m not a baby, you know.”
“I know, honey. Just give us a minute.” Then she whispered to Paul, “You’d better hurry. She isn’t the most patient girl, and pulling her out of the game when she was shooting so well isn’t sitting well with her.”
Paul planted himself in front of the door. “Before you go inside, I need to tell you what Detective Alexander also found on your pillow
