Page 64 of Not Our Daughter

Cole held his breath when he suddenly heard shoes sliding on the concrete floor several cars down the ramp. He leaned over and peered out from under the Jeep. The stocky guy. The man had slowed down and was now taking quick glances in between cars as he made his wayforward. Cole would have to perfectly time his maneuvering around the front of the Jeep if he didn’t want to be spotted. He scooted on his butt toward the very front of the vehicle. The Jeep’s large tires were helping block him. But was it enough?

The man with the gun was now directly behind the Jeep. Cole stayed perfectly still. It sounded like the guy had stopped walking. Why? Had he been found? Everything inside him wanted to panic, to jump out from the front of the Jeep, and take off sprinting again. It took all his will to remain patient and be still. It felt like he sat there in silence forever, even though it was only seconds. And then he heard shoes again start sliding forward up the ramp. Two cars away. Three cars. Cole started to breathe again. How far up would the guy travel before turning back around again? He needed to bolt before that happened.

Cole inched his way back around to the side of the Jeep and slowly peeked out. The stocky guy was now ten cars up the ramp with his back to him. Cole returned to the front of the Jeep and, while crouched low, began shifting his way in front of other parked cars down the ramp. He froze in front of a BMW sedan when he heard new footsteps approaching up the ramp. Someone was returning to their vehicle. He scooted back down as to not be seen. But his cover got busted when the BMW’s headlights blinked and a man in jeans and a T-shirt slipped in beside the vehicle. At first, the guy didn’t see him. But when he opened his driver door, he glanced forward, and they locked eyes.

“What the hell?” the guy immediately blurted out.

Cole was certain it was loud enough to be heard up the ramp. He bolted upright, peered up the row, and cursed out loud. The stocky guy was already racing back in his direction.

“What’re you doing by my car, man?” the BMW driver said.

But Cole ignored him, slipped around the passenger side, and took off running down the ramp again. He could hear the killer’s shoes slapping hard on the concrete not too far behind him. The guy was relentless. He just never stopped coming. Cole reached the main level and began to make the turn when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.Another man stood directly in front of him inside the garage. It was Burns, the FBI agent. Burns raised a gun and pointed it directly at him. Cole felt his heart drop and every part of his body tremble. After all this, he wasn’t going to be killed by the stocky guy. He was going to be shot dead by the FBI. He instantly thought of Jade. She would not have a father at her college graduation. He wouldn’t be there to walk her down the aisle when she got married or hold her child when she began her family. He would never hold Lisa in his arms again and tell her how much he loved her.

But then the agent’s gun shifted away from him, and he started firing off his weapon. Several shots. They were loud—unlike the stocky guy’s gun with the sound suppressor. Cole turned to look back. He saw the stocky guy stumble to his knees, drop his gun, and then collapse face-first onto the concrete.

A younger and taller FBI agent appeared from around the corner. With his gun also drawn, he rushed forward, past Cole, until he finally reached the stocky guy. The agent kicked the guy fully over with his foot. Looking satisfied that the guy was probably dead, the agent holstered his weapon and pulled out his cell phone. Cole turned back around and noticed Agent Burns had also holstered his weapon. Cole felt his chest violently pumping. He dropped to his knees, his heart racing so fast he thought he might have a heart attack. He started taking deep breaths and letting them out slowly to try to calm down. This was a surreal moment, and his body almost couldn’t handle it. It took a moment, but he started to breathe again. He had survived. And he was exactly where he wanted to be right now. With the FBI. With the special agent who had been hunting him down for thirteen long years.

This part of their journey was finally over.

Their next journey would be determined shortly.

Burns stepped up to him. “You all right?”

Cole nodded. Burns offered a hand and helped him up.

“That was a close one,” Burns said.

“Yeah. Way too close. Thank you.”

“Well, I owed you one.”

“Am I under arrest?”

“Not at this very moment.”

“Good. I need to go find my family.”

“We already have them. They’re both okay.”

“Thank God.” He exhaled heavily. “So what now?”

“We go somewhere safe to talk.”

Fifty

Cole hugged both of his girls tightly, as they all collectively let out a big sigh of relief. Then they were put in the back of a car and taken to a hotel suite nearby. No handcuffs. But no discussion, either. More FBI agents arrived. Four of them waited in the hotel lobby. Two of them stood right outside the hotel suite door. Agent Burns had been on his phone from the moment they’d entered the hotel together twenty minutes ago. Agent Davis got them all bottles of water and then offered to order them room service while they waited—anything they wanted, he said. The FBI’s treat. Cole declined. His stomach was still in knots. Lisa asked for a cup of French onion soup. Jade ordered half the menu.

Lisa had explained to him in the car on the way over to the hotel what had happened back on Sixth Street when he couldn’t get in touch with them. They had run from the police. And while trying to get lost in the crowd, they’d spotted him and recognized the stocky guy behind him. Lisa said she had reacted on instinct, found the closest weapon available, and swung as hard as she could. Cole was not surprised at his wife’s bravery.

He walked over to a window that overlooked Sixth Street. He could see a block of red and blue blinking lights below. Police cars. Ambulances. Fire trucks. They were all surrounding the same parking garage where the stocky guy had met his demise. Cole had felt a massiveweight lifted from his shoulders. Having a cold-blooded killer constantly on their tail had been both terrifying and exhausting.

But were there still others? What would happen next?

Lisa stepped up beside him, wrapped her arm around his, and also watched the scene below. “I’m confused. Are they arresting us?”

“Doesn’t seem that way, does it?”

“No. So what do you think is going on?”

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