Against the Edge (The Raines of Wind Can - By Kat Martin Page 0,112
the voice but it wasn’t Ben—it was Mrs. McKenzie, the babysitter. “Emma?” She held up her hand when Carol started to say something about the ribbon-wrapped package she held in her hand. “What is it? Has something happened to Sam?”
Carol set the package down on the corner of Claire’s desk and walked back out of the room.
“I’m sorry to call you at work,” Emma said, “but I am just sick as a dog. I don’t know if I ate something or what, but I had to go home. I tried Ben at his office, but the call went straight to his voice mail. Same with his cell phone. I figure he must be out on a job. I don’t know what to do about Sam, Claire, but I won’t be there when he gets off the school bus.”
Claire looked at her watch. It was almost time for the bus to arrive. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve put in a lot of overtime since I started.” Trying to keep my mind off Ben. “I can leave a few hours early. I’ll be there when Sam gets home.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. Take care of yourself and I hope you’re feeling better soon.” Claire ended the call and walked out into the reception area. “Is John here?” One of her colleagues at the center. “I’ve got to go home early. I’m hoping he can give me a ride.”
Ben wouldn’t like it, but at least John was a man, and once she got to the house, she could set the alarm, and she had Ben’s revolver if she needed it. Maybe it was good he had taught her to use it.
John appeared a few minutes later, car keys in hand. Claire grabbed the package off her desk, wondering if it was something Ben had sent, hoping it was, and headed out the door.
It didn’t take long to reach the house. John dropped her off in front and she waved as she walked up on the porch. Once she got inside, she reset the alarm, gave Pepper a couple of pats, then went into Ben’s bedroom to unlock the gun safe in the drawer next to his bed.
Ben had had lengthy discussions with Sam about weapons. He had told the boy how dangerous guns could be and promised to teach him how to handle a pistol as soon as he was old enough.
Of course Sam knew about the shooting in El Paso, and Ben had even shown him the bullet hole in his side to make the point.
Still, they kept the weapons locked up unless there was a reason to have one of them out. Just to soothe a little of Ben’s ire, she made sure the pistol was in easy reach.
Claire checked the time. Sam was due home any minute. Glancing out the window, she saw the big orange school bus pull up at the corner. Hurrying across the living room, she turned off the alarm and opened the door.
Sam waved and ran toward her. Pepper barked and wagged his tail as Claire walked out on the porch to greet him. She didn’t noticed the white van parked on the street until the door slid open and a lean, dark-haired man jumped out.
Her heart jerked as she recognized Troy Bragg, and fear tore through her. “Sam!” Claire had taken only two steps before a man came up behind her, wrapped an arm around her waist and dragged her back against his hard body. He pressed a pistol against the side of her head.
“You want the boy unharmed, keep quiet and keep walking.”
She didn’t know the voice, but she figured Duke Hutchins. She was shaking all over as she watched Troy manhandle Sam, binding his wrists, slapping a piece of tape over his mouth. Troy hoisted him up and tossed him into the van.
“Keep walking.”
From the corner of her eyes, she recognized Hutchins’s face. She considered screaming, but Duke had shot Ben without the slightest qualm, and Sam needed her. One thing she believed with all her heart—Ben would find them. He wouldn’t give up until he did.
All she had to do was keep Sam safe until Ben could get there.
Claire climbed into the van. Troy jerked her wrists behind her and used a plastic zip tie to bind them. Tearing off a strip of duct tape, he pressed it over her mouth and shoved her down on the floor behind the seats.
Sam lay next to her, his face pale as glass, his small body