Always Watching Read online

  “Please think about this, Cameron.”

  Cameron shoved him with the weapon and Wade lost his balance. Without his hands to help break his fall, he crashed onto the dock and slammed his shoulder against the wood. He rolled and managed to sit up and glare at Cameron. “Was that necessary?”

  “Yeah.”

  “At least let me see Amy. Hold her while she’s scared.”

  “You can hold each other for eternity.” Keeping the gun steady on Wade’s head with one hand, he pulled the small dart gun from the waistband of his khakis. He even dressed well to commit murder. “Goodbye, Wade, it was good while it lasted.”

  Hope shriveled. His attempt to lead help to him and Amy had failed. He’d known it was a long shot when he’d done it, and even if someone had noticed, there was no reassurance that they would understand what he meant by it—or that anyone would even connect it to him. And there was no way Cameron was going to let him or Amy live.

  Olivia glanced at her watch. The whole conversation had taken less than five minutes. She shot a text to Quinn, Haley, and Katie confirming that she’d located Wade.

  She didn’t know where Amy was yet, but apparently she was there somewhere. She saw that Cameron had the dart gun aimed at Wade’s center mass. “Need some backup, now,” she whispered to Haley and Katie.

  She pushed open the door and stepped inside. Cameron’s profile came into view. Wade had his back to her. Slowly, ever so slowly, she centered her weapon on the only spot she could safely hit without the possibility of shooting Wade. Cameron’s head.

  “No! You leave my dad alone!” Amy’s cry came from above Cameron. He looked up as Amy dropped from the vent onto Cameron’s head. He howled, dropped the dart gun, and pulled the trigger on the much deadlier weapon. The shot went wild, slamming into the ceiling above Olivia’s head.

  Wade dove headfirst into the man’s stomach. Cameron went down with Amy still attached to his back. Cameron and Amy hit the deck near the edge of the water. Amy gave a pained cry and rolled away. Haley and Katie burst through the door, weapons ready.

  “Stop! Let her go!” Olivia bolted over to the chaos and aimed her weapon at Cameron, but Amy was still in the way. She lay on her back and kicked out with both feet, slamming them into whatever flesh she could reach. Then she rolled to her feet and kicked out again, one lucky swipe catching Cameron in the knee.

  He howled again and brought the butt of his gun around. It connected with a solid thud across Amy’s forehead. She dropped to the deck, eyes shut. Wade gave Cameron a vicious shove with his shoulder and the two men went down, Wade on top of Cameron. Hands still tied together, he wrestled for the gun, but Cameron managed to keep his grip. Wade was at a distinct disadvantage with his hands still duct-taped together. And if Olivia didn’t do something fast, he might die.

  But Olivia still couldn’t chance a shot. In the background she heard Haley and Katie yelling orders, requesting backup, but she couldn’t take her attention from the trio in front of her. Amy had fallen near the edge of the dock and lay still.

  Cameron’s weapon went off again. Wade yelled and went to his knees, hands on his left shoulder, blood streaming through his fingers. Olivia aimed and squeezed. Caught Cameron in the right side. He dropped to his knees, scrambled back to his feet. She got him again in the chest. He jerked, but stayed on his feet. He met her gaze, then gave Amy a vicious kick that rolled her over the side of the dock and into the water.

  “Amy!” Wade’s terrified shout spurred her. Cameron had dropped to the deck. Haley and Katie rushed to Cameron and Olivia pressed her weapon into Wade’s hand. She didn’t have time to find a way to release his bonds. Amy only had a few seconds if she didn’t regain consciousness when she hit the water and fight her way back to the surface.

  Not knowing how deep it was, she slid off the edge of the dock, panic in every pore, but her focus on Amy. She tried to stand and couldn’t. So it was pretty deep. She dove, hands out, eyes open, but unable to see anything in the murky water. She moved left in a pattern, then back right, trying to stay just above where she saw Amy fall in.

  She kept moving, feeling, praying. Her lungs protested, strained, bright colors flashed behind her lids. She had to breathe or drown. She found the bottom of the lake and pushed off. She broke the surface and sucked in air, saw Haley and Katie had Wade’s hands undone and paramedics were working on both men, patching the bullet holes she’d put in Cameron and trying to keep Wade sitting down.

  Law enforcement had descended.

  She went back down as Wade hit the water beside her, with Katie, then Haley behind him.

  She moved a few feet to the left and dove deep, hands out in front of her. Her mind kept going to the day her foster brother had placed his hands on her head and held her under. She remembered her lungs feeling as though they’d burst. And she remembered she’d prayed. Please, God, don’t let me die.

  Her fingers snagged something silky, felt the strands wind around her hand, her wrist.

  Hair.

  She closed her fingers around the hunk of hair and pulled. Kept her eyes open. Amy’s face came into view, eyes closed, face pale and still. Like death. Lungs reaching the end of their capacity, Olivia slipped her arms around the girl’s body and heaved her upward. She kicked and pushed and finally broke the surface, gasping in lungfuls of air even as she aimed herself to the dock.

  “Liv!” Haley cried. She pulled herself out of the water and turned to wait for Olivia.

  Another hard kick brought Olivia to the edge of the dock, Amy’s limp body held next to hers. “I don’t think she’s breathing.”

  Haley hauled her up out of the water and onto the dock. Olivia held on to the side and gasped. Then looked around. Where was Wade? He’d been shot, but that hadn’t stopped him from going after his child. “I’m going back down for Wade.”

  Just as she was about to dive, he broke the surface, panic and terror on his chalky white face. “I can’t find her, Olivia. I can’t—”

  “She’s here. Haley’s got her.”

  He gasped and swam to the edge of the dock and pulled himself out of the water with a pained grimace. Olivia gathered her strength, but couldn’t seem to find the power. Then Wade’s good hand wrapped around her wrist and she let him pull her out. She collapsed onto the wood but rolled to see Haley still breathing into Amy’s mouth. Katie had her fingers on the girl’s wrist. She glanced up at Wade. “Her pulse is strong. She just needs to breathe.”

  Olivia finally prayed. “Please, Jesus, let her live.”

  Wade watched them work, his face stony, right palm pressed against the wound in his shoulder, lips moving, but no sound coming out. Olivia moved to stand beside him, curled her fingers around his elbow, and added her prayers to his.

  Amy jerked, coughed. Water dribbled from the corners of her lips. Haley flipped her on her side and thumped firmly on her back. “Good girl, cough it up.”

  Amy sucked in air, coughed, and spit up until she finally wheezed and started breathing on her own. Wade dropped beside her and wrapped his good arm around her. The wound in his shoulder started bleeding again, but he didn’t seem to care.

  Amy reached a hand up toward the goose egg on her head. “What happened?” she whispered. Then her eyes went wide. “Dad!”

  “I’m here, baby girl, I’m here.”

  “You came.”

  “Yeah. But you saved us.” He cupped her chin and looked into her eyes. “You were so brave and I’m so proud of you.”

  Her eyes widened as she spotted the blood. “You’re hurt!”

  “I’ll be okay. It’s just a scratch.”

  She gave him a big smile, then burst into tears. Olivia thought she might join her.

  Quinn stepped up from wherever he’d been watching everything play out. She’d just noticed Cameron had been removed from the boathouse. Under lock and key and the watchful eye of attentive officers.

  “How did you manage to get into the air vent, kiddo?” Quinn asked.

 
; She swiped the tears from her face and blinked up at him. “The room where she had a desk and a chair just like the ones in my room at home. I managed to get the desk on top of the bed, then put the chair on top of that and . . .” She shrugged.

  “You picked the desk up?” Wade asked.

  “Sort of. I scraped it across the floor up against the bed, then lifted one end until it was like standing up longwise.” She indicated with her hands how she managed to maneuver the desk. “Then I grabbed the bottom legs and used the bed as a whatcha callit to get the desk on the bed.”

  “A fulcrum?” Wade asked.

  “Yes. That. And I got the desk on the bed upside down. Then I just had to flip it over. It wasn’t super heavy.”

  And her adrenaline had been flowing at warp speed. That had probably given her some added strength, Olivia mused.

  “Anyway, I put the chair on top of the desk, climbed up, and heard your voices. I followed them and saw Mr. Cameron holding the gun on you. I pushed on the grate thingy and it was loose. I yelled at him to leave you alone and pushed harder and fell. I didn’t actually mean to fall through it, but I’m glad I did.”

  Wade closed his eyes and Olivia knew he was thinking about all his child had been through. He hugged her tight against him again.

  Quinn shook his head. “You need to get to a hospital and get that looked at.”

  “It’s fine.” His white face worried Olivia. He might say it was fine, but she agreed with Quinn. She waved at one of the paramedics and he nodded he’d be there in a second.

  Quinn shrugged and tapped Amy on her shoulder. “You’re a smart kid, you know that?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  Quinn gave a little laugh. “Well, good. We need kids like you to grow up to be detectives.”

  Amy’s eyes widened. “You really think I could do that?”

  “I really do. You’re clever, you think on your feet, and you didn’t panic when you were in trouble. All great qualities in a good detective.” He held out a fist and Amy fist-bumped him.

  She looked at her dad. “I didn’t panic, Dad,” she said softly.

  “Nope, and that’s one time I wouldn’t have blamed you if you had.” Amy gave him a weary smile and leaned into him. “And you know what?”

  “What?”

  “I think God let you like small spaces because he knew you were going to have to crawl through one to save me.”

  Her eyes widened. “You think God did that?”

  “I think he did.”

  “Cool.” She snuggled back against him and Wade held her tight.

  Quinn walked over to Olivia and leaned over next to her ear. “They’re keepers,” he murmured.

  She felt the flush start at the base of her neck and cleared her throat. “Right. Thanks for offering your opinion.”

  He patted her on the back. “You know I’m right.”

  Yes. She did. “I can’t believe Cameron would do such a thing. Not after all Wade’s family did for him and his wife.”

  Quinn shook his head. “He sure wasn’t at the top of my suspect list. But I just learned a valuable lesson.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Don’t make the mistake of assuming that just because you do something nice for someone that that person won’t turn around and stab you in the back. For some people, greed always trumps loyalty.”

  “That’s sad, Quinn.”

  “Yes, yes it is.” He nodded to Amy and Wade. “But don’t let them get away. That’s one mistake you don’t want to make.”

  “Get real. I don’t want to make any mistakes.”

  He snorted and rolled his eyes.

  She watched him walk away and shook her head even as a small smile twitched her lips. Until realization slapped her. Family didn’t have to share common blood as long as they shared a love. A love that bound them tighter than any liquid flowing through her veins. She had that in Quinn, Haley, Katie, and Maddy. And her family.

  Stunned, she stared at Wade. Why hadn’t she figured that out before now? Oh sure, she’d had people tell her that, but she truly hadn’t gotten it until just now.

  Just. This. Very. Minute.

  She pulled out her phone and sent a text to her brother. Yes. Her brother.

  Olivia

  I love you, Charlie. Tell Mom and Dad I love them too.

  His instant response came through.

  Charlie

  Are you dying????

  She gave a choked laugh through the tears she held back. Just barely.

  Olivia

  No, just coming to my senses. Thanks for being a great brother.

  Charlie

  You’re dying. Stop lying to me. I knew I should have stayed. Now you’ve got me seriously worried.

  I’ll call you in a little while. Tell Mom I’m coming to dinner Sunday night.

  What hospital are you in?

  Shut up.

  OK, now I know you’re OK. I’ll tell Mom. See you soon. Oh, love you too, Turkey.

  She spun to face the man and girl who’d woven their way into her heart . . .

  . . . and found her lips captured in a long, sweet kiss. Wade’s hand came up to keep her head in place while he poured out his feelings in a way that made her heart thud faster than chasing bad guys or protecting clients ever had.

  Amy’s giggles finally penetrated and Olivia pulled back. Okay, so in spite of all of her internal angst, she was willing to admit she’d been wanting him to do that for a long time.

  “We need to talk,” he said.

  “Yes, I guess we do.”

  The paramedic cleared her throat. “You can do that after we get this guy to the hospital. He looks like he might pass out before you get your talking done.”

  Wade swayed and Olivia wrapped her arms around his waist.

  “Okay,” he said. “I’m not going to argue.”

  [38]

  TWO DAYS LATER

  Olivia sat on the swing she’d just helped him install on his back porch overlooking the lake. With him having only one good arm, it had taken them a lot longer to get it done. But with laughter and a bit of clever maneuvering, they’d managed. Martha had come over and offered her help and they’d taken her up on it.

  She’d disappeared about ten minutes ago.

  Together Olivia and Wade sat side by side, Wade’s foot keeping the swing going in a gentle swaying motion. It had been so crazy over the last two days that this was the first chance they’d had to talk. “You think Martha’s going to be okay?”

  “She will be. In time. Learning Joanna killed Pamela was a harsh blow. Martha and Pamela had been close. Cameron’s betrayal nearly did her in as well.” He drew in a deep breath. “But she’ll heal. We all will.” He leaned his head against hers. “You jumped in the water for my child,” he said quietly. He’d never forget seeing Cameron knock Amy out and into the water, with him helpless and unable to save her. Then Olivia had simply rolled herself in after Amy.

  Olivia nodded. “I had to.”

  “You didn’t even hesitate.”

  “I couldn’t. If I’d hesitated, I might have chickened out.”

  He pulled her to him and she let her cheek rest against his heart. He kissed the top of her head, then pulled back. “I know we’ve both got our issues, but I want a chance with you, Olivia.”

  “Issues? What issues?”

  He heard the quiet mocking in her tone and laughed. “Yeah. What issues?”

  She turned serious and looked at him. “Wade, I’ve had my heart closed off for so long that I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to open it up completely. Shana’s death nearly killed me. I don’t want to ever hurt like that again. But—” she blinked the tears forming in her eyes—“but I don’t want to miss out on life anymore either. I want to live it to the fullest, experience the joy that I know can come with it.”

  “If you open yourself up to joy, you might experience some pain along the way.”

  “Yeah, I know. But when you have someone by your side
walking with you through the pain, then maybe it doesn’t hurt so bad.”

  He hugged her. “I want to be there for you.”

  “I know. I feel the same way about you.”

  He dropped his arm and threaded his fingers through hers. “So. I have a question for you.”

  She stiffened, her gaze wary. “What kind of question?”

  He sat up and took her hand. “Olivia Edwards, would you do me the honor of—”

  She stared at him, eyes wide, looking ready to bolt.

  “—going out on a date with me?”

  Her breath whooshed out and she punched his good arm. He laughed.

  “Not funny, Savage.”

  “You should have seen your face. It was pretty funny.”

  “Ha-ha.” She kissed his cheek. “Yes, I’ll go out on a date with you.”

  Her phone rang and she glanced at it. “It’s Quinn.” She answered it and put it on speakerphone. “Hi, Quinn. Wade’s listening in, so be nice. How’s Maddy?”

  “Awake!” He sounded jubilant.

  Olivia sat up. “She is?”

  “Yep. She can’t talk right now, of course. Her vocal cords still have some healing to do, but she’s alert and able to type messages on her phone.”

  “Wonderful. I’ll be sure to go by and see her in a little while.”

  “She was asking about you and the others.”

  “Will you let them know?”

  “Of course.”

  She hung up and turned to hug Wade. He held her and she let a few tears escape. “I guess God does answer some prayers the way we want, doesn’t he?”

  “When the prayer matches up to what he wants.” He smiled.

  “It’s good to be on the same page with him again. I didn’t realize how much I missed him until I made the decision to make him a part of my life again. The most important part. It’s so crazy how God uses bad to bring good, isn’t it?”

  “There’s a verse about that very thing.”

  “What is it?”

  He pulled his phone out and tapped the screen a few times. “‘As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.’”