Her Unlikely Protector

by Regan Black

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Seriously, stop now.” She didn’t need him teasing her. “You misread my face.”

  They walked another block in comfortable silence. “Maybe I did,” he allowed. “Only because I want you to be happy. On duty and off.”

  “I am,” she assured him. She enjoyed her quiet off-duty hours, needing the time alone to recharge. She had friends to hang out with occasionally and until someone worthy of the scrutiny came along, she didn’t worry about dating. Her career fulfilled her. Even on days when a shift was monopolized by good people struggling with hard circumstances, like Leo Butler’s search for his sister. “I’d really hoped one of us would recognize the person who left him that note.”

  Calvin nodded as they rounded the corner and the station came into view. “At least Butler can take comfort that his sister’s alive.”

  “Would you tell him to go see Sullivan?”

  “Yes,” he replied with zero hesitation. “We’re doing all we can. If Butler wants more action, he’ll need help from Sullivan or someone like him.”

  Sullivan was one of a kind, thankfully. Everyone touted his experience and dedication to community, but Aubrey still felt he posed more of a danger than a benefit. “You think he should hire a private investigator.” That would fly in the face of Mary-Tea’s warning, as well.

  “It’s the only non-Sullivan option,” Calvin said as they entered the building. “Aubrey, you know as well as I do that if she doesn’t want to be found, if she is helping out the way the note implies, there isn’t a damn thing we or her brother can do about it.”

  “True.”

  “Maybe Sullivan helps, maybe he doesn’t, but it can’t hurt.” Calvin bent his head close, speaking low. “You shouldn’t make him wait. Go on.”

  “Right now? In uniform?” Calvin knew if she got caught actively enlisting Sullivan’s help, it opened her up to more hassles from IA.

  “Yes. The longer he’s in town, the more trouble he’s likely to raise.”

  “Fair point.”

  “I’ll cover for you through the end of the shift.”

  Her partner’s words followed her as she hurried back to Leo’s hotel. Calvin had tried to convince her more than once that Sullivan’s efforts were generally helpful. Maybe Sullivan could shake loose a better lead.

  Something about Leo’s desperation and the raw grief in his eyes grabbed her by the throat. It wasn’t pity or her soft heart. Not just that anyway. She couldn’t stomach the idea of sending him on his way with only her best professional platitudes.

  She couldn’t call the minimal effort good enough because she believed Leo’s depiction of his relationship with Lara. She also believed his take on the disappearance, despite the lack of evidence of foul play. There were dozens of ways to help the homeless without living on the street. Why wouldn’t Lara give her brother a reply, if only to keep him from interfering and worrying?

  When she reached the hotel, Leo was walking out of the main lobby. He didn’t look any different from earlier, but the attraction punched her in the gut, left her momentarily breathless.

  “The valet is bringing my rental around.”

  She managed a jerky nod. “Good.”

  “You look like you swallowed a lemon-flavored goldfish,” he said. “Did something happen?”

  The weird observation made her laugh, and the laughter seemed to restore order to her breathing. “Not in the past hour.” All of this had been happening inside her since she first saw him.

  His car arrived and she settled into the passenger seat and buckled up, adjusting the seat belt around her radio and equipment. When Leo was ready, they headed away from the streets she knew so well toward the river where Sullivan had transformed an old warehouse into one of the most popular music hotspots in the city. It wasn’t a long drive, but traffic clogged the streets at this hour. It gave her too much time to revel in the spicy-clean scent of the man next to her and the heated memories of those two near-miss kisses.

  When they reached the riverside pier, she noticed the building still wore a black scar near the roofline in the corner. Trucks and construction equipment created a loose barrier between the club and the rest of the city.

  Leo parked as close to the construction personnel as possible. He leaned forward and peered through the windshield. Leo swore. “This is the place?”

  “It is. A retired firefighter torched the place several months ago. Guess you’d say he went off the deep end during one of those situations people say Sullivan handles so well.”

  “You really don’t like the guy.”

  She didn’t care for the way Leo studied her. “He was an excellent cop,” she allowed. “Experience or not, I think law enforcement should remain the job of professionals.” Mary-Tea’s request burned in the back of her mind. What if she was letting Leo make things worse?

  “The PPD isn’t perfect.”

  “I’m aware.” She paused, collecting her thoughts. “The safe bet is Grant Sullivan isn’t perfect, either.”

  Leo sighed. “Hard to argue with that. This must have been a bad fire.”

  “It was,” Aubrey said. “Come on.” She wanted to get this over with. It wasn’t fair for her to hope Sullivan couldn’t help find Lara, but she also wanted Leo to put his faith in the system she served. The police were capable of locating his sister, assuming Lara wanted to be found.

  Despite his experience as a cop, in her opinion, Sullivan’s actions amounted to meddling at best and vigilantism at worst. It was one thing to train his team to watch for predatory or risky behavior within the confines of the club. That was responsible. Sullivan had gone well beyond those logical limits through the years, assigning his staff to act as bodyguards or even investigators. It just didn’t sit right with Aubrey. Yes, some cases slipped through the cracks of normal police work and those instances made everyone unhappy. Contrary to the urban myth, Sullivan couldn’t fix everything. The law maintained rules and procedures to protect the innocent and the guilty. If one man started doling out justice, where did that leave the community at large?

  Aubrey wanted to help Leo as much as she wanted him to respect the uniform and her role in the community. She wanted him to respect her. Her assessment, her ability and her effort.

  Well, wasn’t that a revelation? One that made her feel awkward and small. What Leo thought of her didn’t make any difference in how she proceeded to search for Lara, and it shouldn’t make any difference in any other aspect of her life.

  Somehow, it did. Why? He was a stranger in her city. A temporary fixture, whether they found his sister or not. Maybe that was the draw. Leo was attractive and enticing and he wouldn’t be around long enough for IA to pester her about him.

  Leo reached for the door and it swung open. Jason nearly knocked them down. “Excuse me,” he said. “Oh, hey, Aubrey.” His gaze raked over her uniform. “What brings you by?”

  “Leo would like to speak with your boss.” She hated the stiffness in her voice. To Leo she said, “This is Jason. He’s the manager here. Jason, Leo Butler.”

  “That title will sure feel better when we’re back in business,” Jason said. He shook Leo’s hand. “Good to see you again.”

  “Again?” Leo asked, his brow furrowed.

  “Jason was tending bar at the pub last night,” Aubrey explained. Her pulse sped up as she relived the moment outside when Leo had sheltered her from passersby and the weather.

  “I’m picking up shifts all over town until we reopen. Come on in,” Jason said. “Mind your step.”

  Inside, construction dust swirled in the air, mingling with the scents of materials and sweat.

  “I have a problem the police can’t solve,” Leo began.

  “That’s not true,” Aubrey interjected. “We only disagree on how to proceed. His sister is the missing girl whose picture I just posted.”

&
nbsp; “I figured,” Jason said. “The more eyes, the better?” he asked.

  “Always,” Aubrey allowed.

  Jason’s eyebrows arched and he turned to Leo. “And you convinced her to come here?” He whistled. “That’s no small feat.” He stretched an arm toward a wide, unfinished doorway. “This way. It’s always better to tell the story once and be done.”

  Unless you needed to verify an eyewitness account or test a suspect’s story. Then you needed to hear it more than once. But that was police work. She managed to keep those thoughts to herself as she followed Jason and Leo across what would be a nightclub again soon.

  Walking through the noisy construction zone, she was happily distracted by the work going on. Leo was curious, as well, since he stopped beside her and tipped his head to the new roof support overhead. “What are you doing about acoustics?”

  Jason, realizing they weren’t behind him, came back. “Pardon?” he shouted over the clanging of tools and tunes blaring from a radio.

  “The acoustics?” Leo pointed to the ceiling. “I read online that this club was all about the live music.”

  “We are. Grant is a drummer at heart.” Jason pointed toward the far end of the big room. “When the stage goes in, it gets all sorted out. Grant can explain it better, if you want the science behind it all. There will be a bigger dance floor and they’re reworking the bar,” he added when they were in the service hallway.

  Jason took a few swift strides, paused and turned back. “Door’s closed. Wait here until he wraps things up.” He’d opened his mouth as if to say something more, when a door at the end of the hallway opened and deep voices bounced around the unfinished space.

  Aubrey recognized both men at once. Both Grant Sullivan and his guest, Councilman Benny Keller, had big reputations in Philly. Keller was often asked for his comments on various city issues, and Grant had done his share of appearances, as well, usually promoting a music event.

  The councilman’s lean frame looked even narrower next to Grant’s stocky build. His perfect smile and gleaming white hair completed the contrast of old-money banker versus the working man.

  “Looks like I’m keeping you,” Keller said to Grant. “Thanks for your time.” He shook hands vigorously with Grant and strode toward the new arrivals. He paused, his gaze skimming Jason and Leo to fix on her.

  “Officer Rawlins.” He stuck out his hand as he read her badge. She really should have changed clothes before this meeting. The councilman’s campaign smile gave Aubrey an uncomfortable chill. Then he leaned back, murmuring her last name. “You and your partner were recently featured on the PPD website.”

  “Yes, sir.” She’d forgotten about that article on the benefits of community engagement.

  “Thank you for your service to our city, Officer.”

  “It’s an honor, sir.”

  Keller greeted Jason and introduced himself to Leo, clearly assuming he had a potential voter in his grasp. Leo didn’t have time to correct him, not that it mattered. The man had always struck her as a bit too slick, only hearing what he wanted to hear. As the councilman made his exit, Grant waved them closer, an amused twinkle in his brown eyes.

  She was happy to trade the devil she sort of knew in Keller for the devil she didn’t know as well in Sullivan.

  “Grant,” Jason began, “my friend, Aubrey Rawlins.”

  She in turn introduced Leo. “His sister has gone missing,” she said. “No signs of foul play. Although the PPD is doing all we can, Mr. Butler has heard about Alexander and the extracurricular work you’ve done through your club.”

  Grant’s salt-and-pepper eyebrows rose. Dang it, she hadn’t meant to offend him. Though she didn’t want the search for Lara getting twisted or blurred with an Escape Club assist, she didn’t want Leo accusing her of sabotaging the meeting.

  “Have a seat,” Grant said, his voice kind and friendly. He reached into a glass-fronted refrigerator behind his desk and pulled out a bottle of water for each of them. “New upgrade,” he explained. “When we decided to rebuild, it was an opportunity.” He sat down, his desk chair squealing in protest. With a slightly guilty smile, he said, “The chair is next on the upgrade list. But it was about the only thing that survived the fire. How can I help you, Mr. Butler? I assume your sister is of legal age, since I haven’t seen anything about her disappearance on the news.”

  “She is,” Leo replied. “Dropping out of touch this way isn’t like her. In fact, we’ve never gone so long without some sort of contact. Even after she moved to Philly for school, we talked or exchanged text messages daily. I haven’t heard a peep from her for ten days now.”

  “So you came to town to track her down.” Grant’s fingertips started to tap on the battered arm of the chair.

  “I’m sure I sound like an overprotective older brother,” Leo explained. “And I suppose I am, but my gut tells me something is wrong. She’s an intelligent adult and she knows me as well as I know her. If she was okay, she’d find a way to tell me so I wouldn’t worry.”

  “Take it easy,” Grant said. “I’m not judging, only gathering the background.”

  Leo sat forward in his seat. “The college told me she withdrew. I have access to her activity on her bank account and credit cards. Nothing has been touched since she came back to school.”

  Aubrey listened as Leo related all the details, right up to this morning’s note, impressed when he didn’t downplay his mistakes at the soup kitchen or his frustration earlier with the professor. She’d thought she could listen dispassionately, maybe with only half an ear, but she’d been wrong. Leo’s recitation of the events broke her heart all over again. If she could change this or fix it for him, she would without a second thought.

  “And you think she’s living on the street with the homeless community?” Grant queried when Leo subsided. “That’s quite a fall for a college student with good grades, paid-up tuition and no known drug habit.”

  “Exactly my point.” Leo bristled and reiterated his sister wasn’t using. “She walked away from everything, including me. I’m absolutely certain the people at the soup kitchen recognized her.”

  Guilt prickled across her palms as she thought of Mary-Tea’s warning. She should share the information, but the note would have to suffice while Leo was within hearing. Grant glanced at her. Was the guilt as obvious to him as it felt to her?

  “Mr. Butler,” Grant said, “I’m sure Officer Rawlins has told you the local homeless community is notoriously tight-lipped. Talking to outsiders usually brings trouble.”

  “Can you help me find her or not?” Leo tipped his head toward her. “Officer Rawlins tells me they’re doing all they can.”

  “We are,” Aubrey insisted. “Her college and the places Lara volunteered are within my precinct. We’re posting flyers and asking about her everywhere. I’m sure someone has information, but surely you remember that this kind of thing takes time.”

  “I do.” Grant pinned her with a serious, piercing gaze. His cop face. “Do you believe she’s still in Philly, Officer Rawlins?”

  Aubrey nodded. She wouldn’t reveal Mary-Tea as a source in front of Leo, but she could cooperate right up to that point. “It’s the logical assumption, based on her finances and the note Leo received. After asking around, and reviewing her social media, my partner and I have determined she’s avoiding her typical friends and hangouts. It’s hard to know where to look next but we’re not giving up.”

  Grant’s gaze narrowed on her. Aubrey’s stomach cramped with this firsthand experience of what had made him such a good cop. The unflinching assessment, the expectant silence. Aubrey struggled against the urge to fill that quiet space with information she wasn’t ready to share.

  Eventually, Grant shifted his focus to Leo. “How did you hear about me?”

  “The head of campus security gave me this.” He fished the matchbook out of his pocket and
held it up. “He said you might be able to do more than the police.”

  “Jones is a good guy,” Grant said.

  Aubrey pressed her lips together. Leo hadn’t listened to her yet. Better if the hard truth came from Grant.

  “I believe we can help you.” Grant rapped his fists lightly on the desktop for emphasis. “And I believe we should.”

  “What?” Aubrey clapped a hand over her mouth, but it was no match for the outburst. “You can’t pump him up with false hope,” she said. This wasn’t fair to Leo. She didn’t like Grant, but she’d heard he was better than this. “She’s an adult. Everyone agrees she left school on her own. No signs of coercion or foul play. Whatever she’s doing, she doesn’t want to be found.”

  “What do you think she’s doing, Officer Rawlins?”

  Aubrey surged to her feet. “Hell if I know. I’m papering the neighborhood with flyers, talking to everyone. Do you plan to muster a search party? We don’t even know where to look.”

  “I can give you more manpower, reach out in other areas of the city, and possibly dig deeper into Miss Butler’s motives.”

  “How?” Aubrey demanded.

  She was ignored by both men.

  “Yes, do that,” Leo said. “Please, all of that. I just want to know she’s safe. She doesn’t do rash things like this. I’m sure she’s in over her head.”

  Aubrey fumed at the way Grant played Leo. “How much will you charge him for the help?” It was an odd time to find her inner pessimist, but she wouldn’t sit back and watch this quietly. Having been knee-deep in Leo’s worry and grief, she wouldn’t let anyone, not even the revered Grant Sullivan, take advantage of that.

  “We don’t charge a fee,” Grant replied. “We just help out when and where we can. Sometimes that’s here in the club. Sometimes it’s out in the community. Lara—”

  “You’re raising a crew of vigilantes,” she snapped.

  “Sit down, Officer Rawlins,” Grant said in a quiet voice that didn’t hide the steel underneath. “You’re testing my patience.”