Falling For The Enemy

“Your son’s going to be fine, though. I’ll ensure you get him back safely. I just can’t do it until Billy. gives the okay. And that won’t be until he gets what he wants.”

“Oh, God,” she murmured, choking back a sob.

“Hayley, all you have to do is help him out. And as long as he can count on your silence, no harm will come to either you or Max.”

She ordered herself to calm down. As frantic as she felt, it was essential she think straight.

All she had to do was help Billy out. Enter into a conspiracy to help a convicted felon escape from prison. Betray the trust the State of Louisiana had placed in her. Knowing that if anyone ever learned what she’d done, the career that meant so much to her would be over.

Her career would be over? How about she’d end up in prison herself if she got caught? After all, she’d be breaking a hundred different laws.

But what would happen to her didn’t matter. All that mattered was what would happen to Max. And if by agreeing to go along with this...

“No one will ever know you played any part,” Sloan said. “I guarantee that. However it gets set up, Billy will arrange things so it doesn’t look like an insider was involved.”

She took a slow, deep breath. Helping with a prison break wasn’t something she’d ever in a million years have thought she’d consider. But right this minute that was exactly what she was doing. Because if she didn’t agree...

“Just help him out and you’ll get Max back safe and sound,” Sloan was saying. “That’s the deal he’s offering you, and even his enemies admit he’s a man of his word.”

Was that true? Was it something she could believe, something to give herself a ray of hope? If she did conspire with the devil, would it really save her son? Or would they simply kill both Max and her in the end anyway?

Was William Fitzgerald actually a man of his word or not? Think. What was the likelihood?

Most psychopaths were consummate liars, yet that didn’t mean they were compulsive liars. And she’d run across a few who’d actually taken pride in keeping their word. They’d just been careful not to give it very often.

Staring down at her desk, telling herself she wasn’t going to cry, she tried to stop her fears from tumbling all over one another. She simply couldn’t fall apart.

“Hayley,” Sloan said, “I tried my damedest to convince Billy that taking Max was a bad idea. But when I couldn’t, I volunteered to act as go-between. You’ll be better off dealing with me than with some of the others he might have chosen.”

“I see.” She took a deep breath, still not looking up. Before she met Sloan’s gaze again, she had to recover enough control to keep from telling him that she’d like to see him hung by his thumbs and flayed. If he was the go-between, angering him would be a very bad move.

What would be a good move, though? Calling the police the minute he left? Or the FBI?

No. How could she do that when Max’s life was at stake? How could she do anything other than what Fitzgerald wanted?

For the moment, at least until she pulled herself back from the edge of hysteria, the only smart thing to. do was say she’d try to help. Then, when she was thinking more rationally, she could figure out if there was any other realistic course of action. One that wouldn’t end up with her and Max dead. In the meantime, she had to see if she could make what was happening less traumatic for him.

Desperately wishing she had more bargaining power than she did, she focused on her visitor once more.

When Hayley finally looked at Sloan again, her eyes were filled with foreboding. And pure, unadulterated hatred.

Even though it was exactly what he’d been expecting, it made him feel hollow inside. There were aspects of his job he downright loathed.

“All right,” she murmured. “I’ll do what I can.”

“Good.” He breathed a sigh of relief, even though he’d been certain she’d agree. “The men who have Max, who’ll be looking after him, have kids of their own,” he offered. “He’ll be just fine with them. But would you like to talk to him? Assure yourself that he really is all right?”

“Of course I would!”

“Then we’ll call him. I want you to phone your sitter first, though. So she doesn’t start worrying. And before you do, we’ve got to agree on a story. One that’ll explains why Max will be gone from home for a while.”

“A while,” she repeated. “How long is a while? How long is this going to take?”

“That’ll depend. The sooner Billy’s out, the sooner—”

“But there’s no guarantee he will get out, no guarantee I’ll be able to help him.”

Her voice was shaky, as if she were hanging on to her self-control by nothing more than her fingernails. Sloan tried to ignore the pang of sympathy he felt.

“Even if it turns out I can help, it won’t happen overnight. And I can’t go indefinitely without seeing Max. At the very least, I want to spend a couple of hours with him every evening.”

“Billy’d never agree to that.”

“Dammit, the man’s sitting in a prison cell and he wants me to help get him out of it. He wants me to risk my job. Maybe risk my life, depending on what happens. And I might do that. But I don’t want Max suffering any more trauma than he has to. And being separated from his mother for any length of time... Sloan, you just have to make Fitzgerald understand I won’t try to help him unless I get to see my son. That simply isn’t negotiable.”

He knew she was bluffing. Now that she’d said she’d go along with them, she’d do whatever she had to. And if that included not seeing Max for the duration, she’d accept it.

She was right about nothing happening overnight, though. It could be weeks, possibly months, before they managed to spring Billy. And hell, it wasn’t hard to imagine how tough having no contact would be on both her and the boy.

He tried telling himself that was just the way kidnappings worked, but it didn’t do any good. He might have to help Billy but he didn’t have to like what the man was doing. And if he could make this nightmare easier for Hayley and her son to get through, why shouldn’t he?

If he couldn’t, at least he’d feel better knowing that he’d tried. “All right,” he said at last. “I’ll speak to Billy and see what I can do.”

CHAPTER THREE

STILL SHAKEN TO THE CORE, Hayley dialed Anne Kelly’s number, not at all sure she’d get through the conversation without breaking down.

But she had to. If Anne realized something terrible had happened to Max, she might call the cops. And if that happened, Lord only knew what would become of him.

As Anne’s phone began to ring, Hayley looked across her desk at Sloan, thinking she’d never despised a man more. And that included every single murderer and rapist she’d encountered in the course of her work.

Almost without exception, they’d had everything going against them from birth, whereas Sloan Reeves had everything anyone could ask for—brains, looks, an easy manner and a good education. So how could he be warped enough to be part of Billy Fitzgerald’s sordid scheme?

“Hello?” Anne answered.

She took a deep breath, then said, “Hi, it’s Hayley.”

“Oh, hi.”

“Anne, I did something so absentminded I just can’t believe it. I forgot to tell you I asked a couple of friends to pick up Max from your place this afternoon.”

“Well, that’s all right, you’re telling me now. He’s out riding his bike but—”

“No, what I mean is my friends already got him. They saw him down the block so they didn’t bother going to your house. Max is here with me now, and it wasn’t until they walked into my office that I realized I’d forgotten to call you.

“I guess things have just been in such a turmoil that I wasn’t thinking straight. You see, my custody agreement gives Max’s father the right to have him for part of the summer. And...well, it’s a long involved story, but the bottom line is that his father phoned late last night and I’m putting Max on a plane to Pittsburgh at four o’clock. So he’ll be away for a while. Exactly how long’s still kind of up in the air. But as soon as we decide when he’ll be coming home I’ll let you know.”

“Hayley? Your ex isn’t trying to get custody, is he?” Anne asked, her voice filled with concern.