Page 11

When Danny reached the end of the hall, he gripped the doorframe as he turned the corner to propel himself forward without slowing. The back door across the kitchen slammed shut, and he raced toward it, ripping it open and jumping down the porch steps in time to see a sneaker disappear inside a cubby house.

“A kid,” he said, slowing as he tucked the gun back into place before he walked furtively across the backyard through the tall grass.

He’d registered the fugitive was small but hadn’t gotten a good enough look.

When he reached the cubby, he held his hands up to show they were empty. “I’m not here to hurt you,” he said, ducking a little to get a better look inside. He caught sight of blue jeans, but the leg was quickly retracted.

The cubby was big enough that pulling the kid out would be a problem. He got down on his knees and looked through the door. The girl, about eight years old, had her back pressed against the rough wood and was hugging her knees to her chest.

“Sorry about that in there.” He jerked his head back to the house. “My frie—” His lips clamped shut for a moment. He had no interest in connecting himself in that way to Christopher. “My colleague was trying to scare Burger, that’s all. No one’s going to get hurt.”

The girl wiped at a tear on her face, smearing a trail of dirt.

“My name’s Danny.” He shifted so he was sitting on the dirt patch outside the rough-sawn door. “Do you think you could tell me your name?”

She shook her head and squeezed her knees tighter.

“Okay. That’s okay.” Danny mimicked her actions to put her at ease. “I don’t blame you. A couple of guys break into your house—you did the right thing to run. Smart. Burger must have taught you well.”

“Hey!” Christopher yelled from the door. “You find ’em?”

Danny turned. “It’s a kid.”

“I know. Bring her in.”

“She’s scared.”

“That’s the idea.”

“What if I left her here?”

Christopher’s features hardened. “I thought you said you’ve done this before.”

Christopher was right. Ten years ago, Danny never would have thought to leave the girl where she was. She needed to be brought inside so they could keep an eye on her until they were finished. He could find a closet or room to lock her in and make sure she covered her ears until he came to let her out.

“I’ll be a minute,” Danny said. “I’m not going to drag her out.”

“Why not? I need you in here. Let’s go.”

“Give me a second.”

Christopher shook his head, then added an eye roll. “It had better not take more than a second.” He added a second eye roll before disappearing back inside.

Danny looked back at the girl, realizing how far he’d come in some areas. God had done a big work in him since those days. But he was at a loss about how to handle this situation without causing any damage to the girl or himself.

God, I could use some help here. I’ll protect her with my life if you give me an idea about how to get her out.

She wiped at her nose and sniffed hard, reminding him of someone he didn’t want to remember. He closed his eyes for a second, but it didn’t dislodge the image from his mind. Danny hadn’t asked God to open old wounds, but that’s what He’d done.

“My little sister used to do that,” he said. “Sniff real hard. Especially after I told her to get a tissue. Her name was Lilly, but I used to call her Lolly because she liked candy so much. Do you like candy?”

The girl’s mouth twitched before her lips separated. “Does she still like candy?”

“I have no idea. I haven’t seen her in a long time.”

“Why not?”

“We were in foster care. She was adopted, I wasn’t. I tried to find her, but I haven’t been able to. It’s probably for the best.”

“Do you miss her?”

“Very much.”

The girl chewed on her bottom lip, then said, “Some people came to put me in foster care once.”

“Oh yeah? So…is Burger your dad?”

She nodded slowly.

“Do you know your mom?”

The girl’s eyes dropped to the ground. “She didn’t want me.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I know how that feels. But at least your dad does.”

She shrugged. “He makes me stay in my room a lot.”

“He doesn’t hurt you, does he?”

The girl shook her head, not noticing his concern.

“Good. Do you feel like telling me your name now?”

“Eva.”

“Eva. Really? That’s a very pretty name. Eva, I won’t let anything happen to you. Okay? That guy back there? I won’t let him touch you.”

“I don’t like him.”

“I don’t like him much either.”

“Then why are you here with him?”

“That is a good question. I think I’m here to make sure you’re safe.”

“Is he gonna kill my dad?”

“No.”

“You promise?”

“I do. But in order to protect you, I’m going to need you to come into the house with me. Do you think you can do that? Is there a room in your house where I can lock a door to make sure you stay safe? Like your dad does?”

“My room has a lock. It’s on the second floor, so it’s too high to climb out.”

“Your dad locks you in your room?”

“No. He doesn’t have to. I like it in my room. But my mom used to.”

“I see.” He reached for her but left room for her to reciprocate. “I’ll let you stay in your room, but I’ll have to lock the door to protect you.”

Eva looked at his hand and frowned. “That man won’t hurt me?”

“No. He won’t even touch you. All he wants to do is make sure you don’t run away. That would make your dad sad, wouldn’t it? If he lost you?”

“I guess.”

“We won’t stay too long. We just need to ask your dad a few questions, then we’ll go, okay?”

He leaned in, and this time, she reached back and awkwardly climbed out, squeezing his fingers tightly. When she reached the door of the cubby, she scooted out.

Then she stood with him, her round, dark eyes fixed on his.

“You ready?” he said.

She nodded, and he walked her back into the house, keeping her behind him as they neared the living room. He pulled her closer when he saw what he’d expected. Burger’s arms were tied behind the chair he was sitting on. His head was hanging and bleeding. He looked unconscious.

“There you are,” Christopher said, shaking out his hand and taking a deep breath. He was winded. “Put the girl on the couch where I can keep an eye on her.”

Eva’s nails dug into Danny’s hand.

“I was going to lock her in her room.”

“Why?” Christopher paced in front of Burger.

“Because she doesn’t need to see this.”

“She’ll be fine.”

“She’ll scream, and then someone will call the police.”

“You think I haven’t handled a kid before?” Christopher said. “You’re a lot softer than Gregory made you out to be, you know that?”

“I like to work effectively. Involving the girl makes things messy.”

“I disagree. I think she’ll make this process much more efficient.”

“And if she screams?”

“Slap her. Then she’ll know not to scream.”

“I’m putting her in her room. I can lock the door.”

Christopher’s shoulders sagged before his arm reached for his gun and he dragged it out, pointing it at Danny. “Explain to her that if she makes a sound, I will shoot her. Otherwise, I’ll shoot you.”

Eva squeaked and buried her face in Danny’s back.

“You’re not going to shoot me,” he said.

“My dad chose you for this job for multiple reasons. One of them was that you’re disposable. Now. Give me your gun, and put her on the couch.”

Danny took a moment to stare down Christopher, but he saw a hungry look in the other man’s eyes and knew he would get pleasure out of killing Danny and the girl if that’s what it took to get the job done.

He gave Christopher his gun before crouching down in front of Eva. He held her shoulders in place, using his bulk to keep her from seeing past him to the living room. When her eyes fluttered up to where Christopher stood, he angled his head to block her view.

“Keep your eyes on me, okay?”

She did.

“Eva, I need you to be really brave for me right now.”

She shook her head lightly, her body trembling under the weight of his hands. “You said—” she whispered. “You said I could go to my room.”

“Is this really necessary?” Christopher said.

Danny held his anger in check. “Yes.” He turned his head enough so he could see Christopher in his peripheral vision. “I’ll handle it, just give me a second.” He waited to see if Christopher would offer any more objections. When he didn’t, Danny focused back on Eva. “You remember what I said in the cubby?”

She nodded.

“Nothing has changed except where you have to wait, okay?”

Another small nod.

“I want you to close your eyes.”

She hesitated for a second, then mashed them closed so her whole face was pinched.

“Good. That’s perfect. Don’t open them unless I say so. Do you understand?”

She nodded, and he took her hand, using his other to cover her face while he led her to the couch. He lifted her and set her down, watching her face for a couple seconds.

“Is everyone comfortable now?” Christopher said.

Danny took a pillow off the other end of the couch and pressed it into her lap. “Eva, if you feel like you have to open your eyes, you put that pillow over your face first, okay? And if you have to yell out, you do it into the pillow.”

Her head jerked in agreement as tears made a path down her dirty face.

Danny sat on the edge of the couch and looked at Christopher. “Is it okay if I sit here?” He wasn’t asking permission.

“For now,” Christopher said.

When Danny took her hand, she pressed her face into his arm.

“Man,” Christopher said, dropping his head in disgust. “I gotta say, Danny, you are a disappointment. What prison did you say you went to? Because it has made you soft as a marshmallow.”

Danny kept his voice quiet. “She’s a little girl who has nothing to do with this.”

“You know nothing.” Christopher said this more to himself than to Danny.

“I know you’re using her as leverage.”

“And? You want a medal? If we did things your way, this job would take all day.”

“Speed isn’t everything.”

“In this case, it is.”