now, he’s not asking for money.”
“Then offer it,” Griffin insisted. “And I want to talk to Luke. I have to hear my son.”
Even though her child wasn’t born yet, Danielle understood that. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Both Colin and Tom looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. And maybe she had. Unless Griffin could totally keep the fear out of his voice, the call might upset Luke. It might make things worse. But Danielle couldn’t stop herself from seeing this as a parent. If their situations were reversed, she wouldn’t take no for an answer.
She would do anything to talk to her child.
Tom led the couple away, back toward the fence. Danielle climbed into the van. Colin was right behind her and dropped down on the seat next to her. Not by choice. It was the only place for him to sit so he’d be right next to the phone.
“You shouldn’t have given the father that kind of hope,” Colin grumbled.
“Hope is about all he has right now. And us. Colin, we have to get this little boy back to his parents.”
“Us?” he repeated. “Does that mean you’re staying?”
“I’m staying.” But the real question was, could she get through this without having a total meltdown? She was already a hormonal mess.
Danielle tried to change the subject again. “Any word on how Boyd knew I was here?”
He stared at her so long she didn’t think he would drop the subject. Finally, though, he did. “Tom thinks he might have some kind of equipment that allows him to tap into the on-site communications system. Or the van might be in his line of sight after all. Griffin Vaughn insists this is a blind spot, but that doesn’t mean Boyd couldn’t have found a way around it.”
“Either of those possibilities is better than having a mole among us.”
Colin lifted his shoulder. “We can’t rule that out yet.”
The relief was obviously short-lived. “You really think someone out here could be a traitor and feeding Boyd information?”
Another shrug. “Boyd works for a powerful criminal, Nicky Wayne. Wayne has a lot of money, and money can corrupt people. Even people who wear a badge.”
She looked around and prayed he was wrong. They had enough on their plates without worrying if someone was aiding and abetting the enemy. “So, what do we do—move the van farther back?”
“Too late for that. If Boyd’s manipulated the security camera, then he knows we’re here.”
Yes. That included Tom and Callie, too, since they had stood close to the van.
“Plus, I want to stay in the immediate area so that when the eavesdropping equipment arrives we’ll have a chance of hearing what’s going on inside,” Colin added.
It was a good plan. One that would likely cause extreme stress. She didn’t know if she could hold her tongue if she heard Boyd yelling at the already frightened child.
“So, how’d you know about that video game?” Colin asked.
It took a moment to switch gears. “Part of the job. I use games sometimes in therapy, to help a child relax. If we can get Luke to concentrate on the game, he’ll be less likely to get on Boyd’s nerves. A calmer Boyd is what we all want, right?”
Colin looked at her. Full eye contact. She felt the muscles tense in his right arm, which was pressed against her left one. “Right,” he grumbled.
But he wasn’t talking about Boyd. They were back to the secret.
Danielle braced herself for more questions and was in such a high state of anticipation that she jumped when the ringing sound shot through the van. Because she was so close to Colin and therefore close to the phone, she saw it was the same number as before. Boyd’s number.
Round two was about to start.
Colin flicked on the recorder and answered the call on speaker. “Boyd, it’s me, Colin.”
“Yeah, I know who it is, Colin.” It sounded as if he were mocking the friendliness that Colin was trying to establish.
Still, Colin stayed calm. “What can I do for you, Boyd?”
“You can tell me what the hell you think you’re doing.”
“What do you mean?” Colin still sounded calm, but she felt him tense again.
“I said no badges and no parents near the fence or the gate. You didn’t listen. You didn’t obey. Now, somebody’s gonna pay for that.”
“Boyd, just calm down. I’ll get them out of here.”
“Not just the parents,” Boyd barked. “Everybody but the doc and you.”
That sent a chill through Danielle.
“I want you two nearby, just in case I need some, uh, what do you call it? Yeah, leverage,” Boyd joked. “That’s what you two can be—my leverage in case your friends are stupid enough to try to storm the place.”
Colin glanced at her. “Are you asking Dr. Connolly and me to trade places with Luke?”
“No. I’m thinking I got the best leverage of all with the kid. You and the doc will be my backup of sorts.”
Colin was shaking his head before Boyd even finished. “I’m a federal agent. You can’t get better leverage than that. Dr. Connolly doesn’t need to stay.”
“Yeah. She does. Grab your binoculars, Colin, and have a good look at the west side of the house. Not the house itself. I’m in the garden.”
Oh, God. Outside. Not where they’d expected a hostage taker to be. The usual pattern was for the perp to remain concealed.
“That’s where I am right now,” Boyd continued. “Watching you. Oh, and save your bullets because the kid is right here with me, and you wouldn’t want the little fellow to get hurt, now would you?”
Danielle heard Luke then. He was asking for his father again. Mercy. This could turn very ugly fast.
Colin did look through the binoculars and cursed under his breath. “He’s watching us,” he scribbled on the notepad. “And he has a rifle.”
“Tell them to leave,” Boyd insisted. “And no tricks, no dragging their feet. They got five minutes to clear out.”
“Evacuate now!” Colin called out to Tom. “The situation’s escalated. Boyd’s not in the house. He went onto the grounds, and he can see us.”
Tom cursed. So did Colin under his breath. And the place turned to chaos. Everyone began to scramble toward their vehicles. Except Tom. He raced to the van, took the notepad and wrote, “We’ll go to the other side of the mountain, out of his sight but not too far.”
However,
