No Place to Hide (30 page)

“Of course,” he murmured.

“And she sent me pictures and videos of Lucy, posting them on Facebook and sending by email.” She drew in a shuddering breath. “I’ve watched her grow up. I know it’s not the same thing as being there and being her mom, but it was the next best thing.”

“Did you ever regret it?”

“Second-guess myself? Yes. Regret that Holly and her husband loved my child like she was their own? No. Never. They gave her much more than I ever could have.”

He pulled her down beside him. “Will you give me a chance, Jackie? I know it’s fast, I know it’s been crazy, and we probably need some time to decompress and get to know each other without worrying about looking over our shoulders because someone is trying to kill us, but I don’t want to let you go again.”

“I’ll give you a chance, Ian, if you don’t mind putting up with my crazy hours and all the traveling I do for my job.”

“I’ll put up with it. I may even go with you when I can.” He kissed her again.

She smiled and stroked his cheek. “You did a fabulous job taking down some Russian terrorists. We may recruit you to work for Operation Refuge.”

He grimaced and leaned back against the pillow. “I’ll pass, thanks. I’m going to find me a nice, safe lab job and discover a cure for cancer.”

“Or a vaccine for malaria.”

“Or that.”

“I love you, Ian.”

She watched tears gather in his eyes and it was a few seconds before he could speak. He cleared his throat. “I love you too, Jackie.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and lay her head on his good shoulder. “Let’s build a future together.”

He kissed the top of her head and gave a contented sigh. “Yeah. Let’s do that.”

SIX MONTHS LATER
SOUTH CAROLINA
SPRINGWOOD CEMETERY

Holly Marie Jacobson
Kent

Beloved wife to Brant and loving mother to Lucy

Gone too soon at thirty-two years of age.

–John 3:16–

“For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish
but have eternal life.”

Jackie swiped a tear and sniffed. “I’m amazed she hung on this long.”

Ian wrapped an arm around her shoulders and Lucy clung to her left hand. “She was finally ready and she wasn’t afraid.”

“I know. That’s why I can have peace about it.” She hugged Lucy to her side.

“You love me, don’t you, Jackie?”

Jackie looked down at Lucy, a little startled by the question. “Of course I do. I love you more than anything. I tell you that every day, don’t I?”

“Yes.” Lucy looked up and squinted against the bright sum
mer sun. “So why does God take away the people I love and who love me back?” she whispered. “Is he going to take you and Uncle Ian away from me too?”

Jackie dropped to her knees, her tears almost out of control once more. “God didn’t take her away, honey. It was just her time to go. I don’t really know why you had to lose both your dad and your mom at such a young age, but God loves you more than anything—even more than your uncle Ian and I do, even though I don’t understand how that’s possible.”

Lucy shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

Jackie sighed. “I know. I used to blame God for letting my husband get killed, but that wasn’t his fault either. It was the fault of the person who pulled the trigger.”

“But no one killed my mom, so whose fault is it that she died?”

Goodness, this child thought a lot. Every day, Jackie saw more and more of herself in her daughter. It thrilled and scared her all at the same time. She was so scared she wouldn’t have the right answers. Could she tell Lucy she just didn’t know about some things and still have the child trust her?

She looked at Ian for help. He squatted next to them. “Lucy, Holly was a spectacular mom. She loved you and she loved God, which means we’ll all see her again someday. And while sometimes God allows bad things to happen, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t love us.”

“Then what does it mean?”

“I think it means he wants us to learn from those things and trust that he loves us enough to take care of us even when bad things happen.”

“Then why doesn’t he just make the bad things not happen?”

Ian cleared his throat and met Jackie’s eyes. She shrugged and bit her lip. How did one explain free will, the fall of man, and the introduction of sin to a six-year-old in terms she would
understand? Studying Lucy’s inquisitive eyes, she knew she had to try. “You know the story of Adam and Eve from the Bible?”

“Of course. Mommy told it to me.”

“And you know what sin is?”

“Uh huh. It’s when you do something wrong and make God sad.”

Sin makes God sad. Yes, it sure did. “Well, when Adam and Eve chose to sin, all kinds of bad stuff entered the world, including the disease that your mom died from. And as awful as that is, maybe we can look for God and still find him, find something good that’s happening around us. Good that God allows in our lives in spite of the bad that sometimes happens.”

Lucy fell silent and looked away from them. Jackie wondered what the little girl was thinking now. After several moments, she looked from the headstone to Jackie then to her uncle. “I know something good that he let happen.”

“What?” Jackie asked.

A small smile played across Lucy’s lips. “He let me have people who still love me more than anything and will take care of me. My mom and dad might not be able to be here, but God let me stay with you.”

Jackie didn’t bother to stop the tears. One day they’d tell Lucy the truth of her birth, but not now, not when the pain of losing Holly was still fresh. She heard Ian sniff and blow out a long breath. Jackie pulled Lucy into a hug and felt Ian wrap his strong arms around both of them. Together, they stayed there, buffeted by a gentle breeze. Then Lucy laughed.

Jackie pulled back. “What’s so funny?”

“Mommy told me that when I felt the wind in my face, that was her way of giving me kisses from heaven. I think she just kissed me.”

Ian hoisted the little girl onto his shoulders. Thankfully, his
wounded one had healed up with no residual damage. “I think we need some ice cream. What do you two ladies think?”

“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Lucy said and patted his head. “Are you having ice cream at your reception?”

Ian’s eyes met Jackie’s and she grinned. “If you want ice cream there, we’ll have ice cream.”

Lucy threw her head back and giggled. “I want ice cream there. Lots and lots of ice cream with sprinkles and marshmallows and M&Ms and . . .”

Jackie sighed as Ian held on to Lucy’s knee with one hand and slid an arm across Jackie’s shoulders. She leaned into Ian as they strolled back to the car.
Thank you, God, for the blessings in my life. I would have worked things out
a little differently with Holly, but I’m trying to accept that you know best. Tell her I said hi,
please, and that she’s missed.

Ian helped Lucy into her booster seat and buckled the belt around her. Jackie opened the door on the passenger side and slid into the seat. She buckled up and waited for Ian to do the same. While he worked, she studied him.

He looked up and caught her watching. “What?”

“You’re a good man, Ian Lockwood. I’m blessed.”

He reached over and took her hand in his. “No, I’m the one who’s blessed.”

“No, really. I am.”

“Are you going to start that
again
?” Lucy asked, exasperation ringing through her question. “We’re
all
blessed. Now can we go get that ice cream, puleeze?”

Laughter ruptured from Jackie, and Ian leaned over to kiss her. She returned his kiss, then reached back to tickle Lucy’s ribs. The child squealed with laughter, and as Ian drove away from the cemetery, Jackie decided Lucy’s laughter was the sweetest sound God ever invented. And she was quite sure that somehow, some way, God let Holly hear it too.

A special thanks to Drucilla Wells and Wayne Smith, retired FBI agents. Thank you so much for the hours you spent reading and “fixing.” I appreciate you two very much and wouldn’t feel nearly as good about the story as I do if I didn’t have your input. Thank you for your service to law enforcement. Thank you for all you’ve done to make the world a safer place, one day at a day, one criminal at a time.

Thank you, DiAnn Mills, my friend and critique partner extraordinaire. I cherish our friendship and consider myself blessed to have you in my life. Love you, friend!

To the Ironmancers: Ronie Kendig, Becky Wade, Susan May Warren, Rachel Hauck, Dani Pettrey, and Katie Ganshert. Thank you for your prayers, your encouragement, your tweets, your Facebook posts, but most of all, your friendship. I love you all!

To Lynn Blackburn, thank you for loaning me your equally devious mind to brainstorm and plot a lot of this story. I dedicate the bubble float to you! LOL. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you and thank God for our friendship. I also look forward to watching your writing career soar!

Thanks to my awesome editor, Andrea Doering; my fearless agent, Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube agency; copy editor extraordinaire, Barb Barnes; my amazing marketing manager, Michele Misiak; and Claudia Marsh, my fabulous publicist. These are only a few of the people I need to thank. The entire Revell team is amazing and I appreciate you all!

Lynette Eason
is the award-winning, bestselling author of several romantic suspense series, including Women of Justice and Deadly Reunions. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America. Lynette graduated from the University of South Carolina and went on to earn her master’s degree in education from Converse College. She lives in South Carolina with her husband and two children.

W
OMEN
OF
J
USTICE

Too Close to Home

Don’t Look Back

A Killer Among Us

Gone in a Flash (ebook short)

D
EADLY
R
EUNIONS

When the Smoke Clears

When a Heart Stops

When a Secret Kills

Retribution (ebook short)

H
IDDEN
I
DENTITY

No One to Trust

Nowhere to Turn

No Place to Hide

www.LynetteEason.com

Website:
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com/revell/newsletters-signup

Twitter:
RevellBooks

Facebook:
Revell