Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

hacked away.
    For a moment Joseph had worn that look, there in the alley. But for a while he’d believed . He must have . He still breathed .
    The car stopped moving. ‘We’re here, Daphne,’ Hector said.
    The terror abruptly returned in a wave, smashing through all that lovely, completely pretend positive energy. Please don’t let them be hurting my son .
    Coppola reached over the seat, gently shaking her shoulder. ‘You’re home.’
    ‘I know,’ she whispered, lifting her eyes to her house, the elegant Victorian she’d fallen in love with at first sight. It looked impossibly the same. But it didn’t feel like her house. Arduously, she reconstructed the mental picture. Opening the door, seeing Ford standing on the front porch. Smiling at me . I believe . If it kills me, I believe .
    ‘Wait.’ Hector engaged the door locks when she reached for the door handle. ‘Until this is over, you don’t go anywhere unprotected. If you’re walking out in the open, we’re flanking you. We’ll go in and out through the garage. You stay inside until the garage door is back down. Got it?’
    She nodded. ‘Got it.’
    Hector’s expression softened. ‘I know you’re worried about your son, but you were a target this morning. My priority is to keep you safe. That allows Agent Carter to focus on finding your son.’ He dialed his cell. ‘We’re here. You can open the garage.’
    The door slid up and he glided them in, then turned the car off as the door started back down. Daphne stayed put as she was told – until she heard a familiar voice.
    ‘Daphne! Daphne! Wait!’
    Before Daphne could blink, Coppola was out of the car, then out of the garage through a side door, her rifle on her shoulder.
    Hector reached over the seat to push Daphne’s head down, twisting to aim his gun out the back window, all in one motion. Reluctantly impressed, Daphne struggled against his hold.
    ‘Hector. Hector, let me up. I know that guy. He’s okay.’
    He loosened his hold. ‘Who is it?’
    ‘His name is Hal Lynch. He’s a friend.’
    ‘Your boyfriend?’ Hector asked.
    ‘Oh, no. No. Just an old friend. He used to be my ex-husband’s head of security. Hal was my bodyguard during most of my marriage. He’s retired now.’ She winced when she heard a loud thump against the closed garage door.
    ‘ Let me go .’ Hal’s voice was muted, but his fury came through. ‘ Daphne! ’
    ‘He needs to know I’m okay. Old bodyguards’ habits die hard.’
    Hector exited through the same door to the outside that Coppola had used. A minute later, Hal appeared, his hands cuffed behind him. Hector and Coppola followed him inside and shut the door.
    Of average height, Hal had a stocky build and a slightly crooked nose – like he’d boxed one too many rounds with the champ in his youth. At the moment, he looked ready to go a round with the FBI agents, his normally calm disposition anything but, and his usually charming smile replaced with a fearsome scowl.
    Daphne got out of the car and saw the scowl fade. ‘Can we lose the cuffs?’
    Coppola unlocked the handcuffs.
    Hal rubbed his wrists. ‘Your protection detail, I assume?’ he asked, eyeing the two agents appraisingly. He gave a single nod of approval. ‘They’ll do.’
    ‘I’m sorry, Hal,’ she said, her voice unexpectedly cracking. ‘It’s been a bad day.’
    He wrapped his arms around her in a hard hug, then let her go, tipping her chin up so that he could search her face. The scent of lemon oil was strong on his hands. He must have come straight from his boat . Or what might eventually become a boat. Someday. He’d been working on it for years, long before her divorce. Whenever she smelled lemon oil, she thought of Hal.
    ‘I needed to know you were okay,’ he said gruffly. ‘I saw the attack on TV. Live. Scared the shit out of me.’
    ‘I’m okay,’ she assured him, grasping his hands and holding on tight. He was her oldest friend – the first smiling face she’d seen when she’d been absorbed into the Elkharts’ strange and rarefied world. He’d been one of the first people to hold Ford when her son was just minutes old. He’d been a part of so many of the milestones of their lives, both hers and Ford’s. She hated to break the news to him now.
    She drew a breath. ‘Hal . . . Ford is missing. He’s been kidnapped.’
    Hal swallowed hard. ‘I know. Your mother called. What can I do to help?’
    ‘Right now, nothing. The FBI is on it.’
    ‘Do