“Trina caught chatter about a hit.”
“Another attempt on the route?”
“No.” Micky sighed. “This is personal.”
“They want Lorine?”
“Not exactly. They want the boy alive.”
Kristoff’s death had not killed off his organization. Assuming Kristoff’s associates were behind the hit order on Lorine, Jim couldn’t see a benefit to taking the boy alive. He gingerly set his coffee mug aside before he smashed it. “Can’t you just tell her it’s not safe to move?”
“I could do that.”
“You can’t mean to use her as bait?” The idea turned Jim’s blood cold.
“Believe me, I’m not a fan of the tactic,” Micky grumbled. “Trina and I have talked the issue to death.
Lorine has a plan for her life. For her son’s life.”
“She’s a good mom.”
“Agreed. But the boy doesn’t stand a chance if she finds herself constantly on the run.”
“So she stays here. We can keep them both safe,” Jim insisted.
“No. I don’t think we can.”
Shocked speechless, Jim studied the monitors until each camera feed had cycled through once more.
How could she not be safe here? He’d made this warehouse the safest place in the city, if not the country, through technology and anonymity. This wasn’t about his security skills or systems.
“I’m not feeling a specific threat aimed right here at us.”
“That’s my point. They don’t know – can’t know – to come here.” Micky reached over and hit the key that enlarged the day-care view. Lorine’s son slept soundly, a floppy rabbit cuddled under his chin.
“She’s on third shift?”
“She wanted the extra pay.”
Jim shot Micky a dark look. “I should be so lucky. If someone’s gunning for her to get to the kid, why are you letting her work the route?” But he already knew the answer. Changing the routine only put the enemy on alert.
Resigned, Jim returned the monitors to his preferred configuration. The emotional pressure of watching Lorine’s son, Zach, wasn’t going to make any difference. If Micky wanted him to handle this, he’d handle it.
“Who’s keeping the wolves at bay now?” Lorine was one of his favorites because of her rare combination of book smarts and street savvy. She probably already knew someone was tailing her.
“Trina’s on her.”
Well, that was something. No one else could blend in like Trina. “What do you want me to do?”
“Help them move, and handle whatever develops.”
“Any backup?”
“Intel, a few gadgets.”
“Weapons?”
Micky raised an eyebrow as he sipped his coffee. “Like you don’t already have an armory in your apartment.”
True enough. “Vehicles?”
“One of the vans is being modified now. She doesn’t have too much in the way of furniture. Mostly books.”
“Books? The heavy, dead-tree kind?”
“Both a hobby and a necessity, she told me.” Micky shook his head. “Scientists. You’d think they’d embrace technology in all things.”
Jim didn’t bother to comment. How did a bodyguard serve up protection while toting an armload of books? “Then what? I just invite myself to stay a few days after the heavy lifting’s done, and wait for the attack?”
“I don’t think it will take that long.” Micky’s intent gaze told Jim more than the words. “If the rumors are true, someone has a line on the boy that will pop as soon as he’s out in the open.”
“Good lord.” Genetic tracking devices were supposedly impossible, but Jim had seen too much in both the Army and civilian worlds. He no longer believed in impossible. He’d designed the security net here, adding layers of signal jammers along with the other protocols. The suggestion that the boy was invisible as long as he was within the security net of the warehouse made complete sense.
“And Lorine doesn’t know about a potential genetic trace?”
“Not yet.” Micky shook his head. “But she’ll never outrun this.” He clapped a hand to Jim’s shoulder and stood.
“She’s due to leave day after tomorrow. I’ve changed the duty roster so you’re done after this shift.
Check in with her when you’re both awake tomorrow afternoon.”
Jim tried to sound happy about it. “Sure thing, boss.”
Lorine Sheraton felt the tail on her. From the second el station, she’d known someone was close. Third shift played with her head sometimes, but blowing it off as too little sleep and overactive nerves didn’t make it better.
Paranoia happened, but sometimes it happened for a reason. Still, she kept to her schedule, made her drops of contraband sugar and coffee, and dealt with her legitimate job at the dairy.
It was her last night with all of the above. She’d be floating on air if the tail wasn’t hovering back there. Knowing her son was safe, and instructions were filed in case something did happen to her, kept her calm in the midst of what her experience as a mule suggested was serious danger.
Another subtle glance over her shoulder revealed nothing. She checked the reflection as she passed a window and gave points for skill to whoever the tail was.
She was too close to the future she’d painstakingly planned to lose it to a street thug.
Or worse. The thought came with a shiver of dread as she settled at her station.
No, there wasn’t a “worse” here. Lorine deliberately reviewed the facts. Her warped uncle had been discredited and recently killed by his own greedy power play. He’d never seen her while she was pregnant, nor had access during her delivery or recovery. Zach was a normal, healthy toddler. And he’d stay that way. Soon they’d be settled on a small slice of farmland south of the city. A quiet rural area in an excellent school district, with green spaces full of children. Her own definition of utopia, where the air didn’t need to be filtered and the views weren’t pockmarked with urban decay.
The daydreams got her through the boredom of her shift and eased the tension in her shoulders while she waited for someone from Slick Micky’s security detail to walk her back.
Chicago had been good to her, and she’d enjoyed more than a little satisfaction hiding here and actively undermining her uncle’s ridiculous regulations about sugar and caffeine.
She smiled when she caught sight of her escort back to the warehouse.
“You look like the cat who ate the canary,” Trina said.
They hadn’t known each other long, but Lorine considered the woman a good friend already. “Pretty much,” Lorine confessed. She waited to add more until they were alone on the street. “I was just basking in the pride of a job well done.”
“All your jobs, I take it.”
Lorine appreciated Trina’s quick understanding. “Of course. I’m glad they sent you to meet me.”
“I volunteered,” the redhead said with a wink.
Lorine frowned. “Is everything okay?”
“Sure. Sometimes I just have trouble sleeping.”
“Mm-hmm.” Lorine didn’t believe it but she let it slide. “I’ll miss you when I move.”
“That’s mutual. Though I feel obligated to add we’ll probably miss Zach more,” Trina teased.
“He is the most adorable child ever, in my completely unbiased opinion.”
Trina’s light laughter faded too quickly. “So why did you call for security?” The dark edge in her voice worried Lorine.