When her four year old daughter informs her a sick man is in their yard, Honor Gillette rushes out to help him. But that "sick" man turns out to be Lee Coburn, the man accused of murdering seven people the night before. Dangerous, desperate, and armed, he promises Honor that she and her daughter won't be hurt as long as she does everything he asks. She has no choice but to accept him at his word.But Honor soon discovers that even those close to her can't be trusted. Coburn claims that her beloved late husband possessed something extremely valuable that places Honor and her daughter in grave danger. Coburn is there to retrieve it – at any cost. From FBI offices in Washington, D.C., to a rundown shrimp boat in coastal Louisiana, Coburn and Honor run for their lives from the very people sworn to protect them, and unravel a web of corruption and depravity that threatens not only them, but the fabric of our society
© 2011
Mommy?”
“Hmm?”
“Mommy?”
“Hmm?”
“There’s a man in the yard.”
“What’s that?”
The four-year-old came to stand at the corner of the kitchen table and gazed yearningly at the frosting her mother was applying to the top of the cupcake. “Can I have some, Mommy?”
“
“You made chocolate.”
“Because chocolate is your favorite, and you’re my favorite girl,” she said, giving the child a wink. “And,” she added, drawing out the word, “I’ve got sprinkles to add as soon as I’m finished with the icing.”
Emily beamed, then her face puckered with concern. “He’s sick.”
“Who’s sick?”
“The man.”
“What man?”
“In the yard.”
Emily’s statements finally penetrated that innate mom-screen that filtered out unimportant chatter. “There’s really a man outside?” Honor placed the iced cupcake on the platter, returned the spatula to the bowl of frosting, and absently wiped her hands on a dishtowel as she stepped around the child.
“He’s lying down because he’s sick.”
Emily trailed her mother as she made her way from kitchen to living room. Honor looked through the front window, turning her head from one side to the other, but all she saw was the lawn of St. Augustine grass sloping gradually down to the dock.
Beyond the dock’s weathered wood planks the waters of the bayou moved indolently, a dragonfly skimming the surface and causing an occasional ripple. The stray cat, who refused to take Honor seriously when she told him that this was
“Em, there’s not-”
“By the bush with the white flowers,” Emily said stubbornly. “I saw him through the window in my room.”
Honor went to the door, unlocked it, slid the bolt, stepped out onto the porch, and looked in the direction of the rose of Sharon shrub.
And there he was, lying facedown, partially on his left side, his face turned away from her, his left arm outstretched above his head. He lay motionless. Honor didn’t even detect movement of his rib cage to indicate that he was breathing.
Quickly she turned and gently pushed Emily back through the door. “Sweetie, go into Mommy’s bedroom. My phone is on the nightstand. Bring it to me, please.” Not wanting to frighten her daughter, she kept her voice as calm as possible, but hurriedly took the steps down off the porch and ran across the dewy grass toward the prone figure.
When she got closer, she saw that his clothing was filthy, torn in places, and bloodstained. There were smears of blood on the exposed skin of his outstretched arm and hand. A clot of it had matted a whorl of dark hair on the crown of his head.
Honor knelt down and touched his shoulder. When he moaned, she exhaled with relief. “Sir? Can you hear me? You’re hurt. I’ll call for help.”
He sprang up so quickly she didn’t even have time to recoil, much less to defend herself. He struck with lightning speed and precision. His left hand shot out and closed around the back of her neck, while with his right hand he jammed the short, blunt barrel of a handgun into the slight depression where her ribs met. He aimed it upward and to the left, directly in line with her heart, which had ballooned with fright.
“Who else is here?”
Her vocal cords were frozen with fear; she couldn’t speak.
He squeezed the back of her neck and repeated with sinister emphasis, “
It took several tries before she was able to stammer, “My… my dau-”
“Anybody besides the kid?”
She shook her head. Or tried. He had a death grip on the back of her neck. She could feel the pressure of each individual finger.
His blue eyes cut like lasers. “If you’re lying to me…”
He didn’t even have to complete the threat to coax a whimper from her. “I’m not lying. I swear. We’re alone. Don’t hurt us. My daughter… she’s only four years old. Don’t hurt her. I’ll do whatever you say, just don’t-”
“Mommy?”
Honor’s heart clenched, and she made a feeble squeaking sound, like that of a helplessly trapped animal. Because she still couldn’t turn her head, she shifted only her eyes toward Emily. She was several yards away, standing in her endearingly duck-kneed stance, blonde curls wreathing her sweet face, chubby toes peeking out from beneath the pink silk flower petals that decorated her sandals. She was clutching the cell phone, her expression apprehensive.
Honor was engulfed with love. She wondered if this would be the last time she would see Emily healthy and whole and untouched. The thought was so horrible, it brought tears to her eyes, which, for her child’s sake, she rapidly blinked away.
She didn’t realize her teeth were chattering until she tried to speak. She managed to say, “It’s okay, sweetheart.” Her eyes shifted back to the face of the man who was only a trigger pull away from blowing her heart to smithereens. Emily would be left alone, and terrified, and at his mercy.
