Dead Center

by Susan Sleeman

  “Okay, then,” he stated, more for himself than for her, but he still couldn’t make his feet move.

  Zander cocked an eyebrow. “Need me to walk you out?”

  Grady ground his teeth and spun toward the door. He got his feet moving, one foot in front of the other. One step. Two. Each one feeling like he was betraying Ainslie. How pathetic was that? She wanted him to leave—fairly ordered him to go—and he still couldn’t shake the feeling that he was letting her down.

  Outside, he shook his head in the nippy air. Clearly, he had more than a physical thing for her. Sure, he’d avoided being alone with her. She did the same thing. But it didn’t matter. Not one bit. Over the past few months he’d somehow come to care for her.

  Question now was—what was he going to do about it?

  2

  Ainslie couldn’t believe Grady showed up tonight of all nights. She watched him walk away. Watched his powerful but hesitant stride, his hand sliding through his warm red hair, a sure sign he was angry, maybe frustrated. At the door, he glanced back and scratched his close-cut beard. He made eye contact. Held it for a long moment before disappearing into the dark of night.

  She wanted to call out to him. To beg him to come back and help her through this interview with Zander, who was watching her carefully, but she clamped down on her lips. Encouraging Grady to return would give him the wrong impression. Maybe encourage his interest in her.

  With her brother’s issues, she was in no position to start a relationship. And even if she was, Grady was all kinds of wrong for her. She’d grown up in Texas, where football ruled. With a brother, her life had been all about football, something she had zero interest in, and Grady was a huge watch-sports-every-chance-he-got kind of guy. Not something she would want in her life. Ever.

  “Ms. Duncan,” Zander’s insistent tone broke through her thoughts.

  He stood, feet planted wide and towering over her. She didn’t like the way he was pinning her with a skeptical look. She shifted her focus to Drake. He didn’t look anything like Sierra, but then she’d recently learned they didn’t share the same birth father. His gaze held the same intensity as Zander’s, but there was a kindness mixed in. Maybe, even if he’d held her at gunpoint for some time, he could be an ally.

  “When you’re ready, tell us about your brother,” he said.

  She didn’t want to talk about Ethan with anyone, but they weren’t exactly asking. She kept her focus on Drake because Zander scared her. She took a long breath. “One of Ethan’s middle school friends—Wade Eggen—was shot outside Ethan’s house. Ethan came home and found Wade clinging to life. He’d been beaten up and shot in the head. The neighbor saw my brother standing over the body and called 911 before Ethan had a chance to make the call. He was detained by the police. Forensics revealed his blood on Wade’s body. Plus Ethan owns a gun of the same caliber as the one used to shoot Wade. As a result, Ethan was charged with the crime.”

  “And your brother’s explanation for his blood on the body?” Zander demanded.

  “He’s been going through a rough time lately. I don’t know what, but something’s bugging him, and he’s been getting drunk and picking fights in bars. He was at a going-away party for a co-worker on Friday night and had an altercation, so he was bloody and bruised when he got home. The fight took place in the parking lot with no witnesses. Forensics proved Ethan had blood from an unknown person, but he doesn’t know the name of the guy he fought with, so he can’t prove anything.”

  “All sounds suspicious to me,” Zander said.

  “I’m confused,” Drake said. “Why didn’t they do a ballistics test on Ethan’s gun to compare to the recovered slug?”

  “The bullet is lodged behind Wade’s right eye and extremely close to the brain—so close that removing it could endanger his life. The doctors left it in, and experts reviewed a CT scan of the bullet. They concluded it’s a 9mm. Ethan’s gun is a 9mm Beretta.” She shrugged and let them draw their own conclusions.

  “Sounds like they got their guy then,” Zander said.

  Drake shot a tight look at his fellow marshal. “I don’t know about that. It’s not proof positive.”

  “My point exactly,” Ainslie said.

  Drake shifted to face her. “You work at Veritas, and Grady seems like a friend. Can’t you get him involved in reviewing the documentation?”

  “No,” she said and left it at that. She’d considered asking Grady to give it a look, but as one of the top ballistic experts in the country, his services would come with a steep price tag, and she couldn’t afford his fee.

  “You should get him on it,” Drake said. “No one more knowledgeable about weapons and ammo than Grady.”

  Zander shifted his stance. “We’ll be getting a warrant to review your recent phone calls. Tell us now if there’s anything that might be a surprise, or it will go badly for you.”

  “What? Like I talked to Bittner?” She rolled her eyes. “Go ahead and look at my records. I have nothing to hide. And also, I have a security camera, so you can look at that, too, and see that Bittner didn’t show up here at any point.”

  Zander shook his head. “You could’ve deleted the video. He could have come to the back door. You have a camera there, too?”

  “No.” She raised her chin. “But the camera would still have caught the motion of anyone walking to the backyard. And the videos are uploaded to my provider’s server first, so even if I deleted one, you should be able to get a warrant for the file on their server.”

  Drake met her gaze, his expression tighter now. “Do you have any reason to think your brother might’ve been in on Bittner’s escape plan?”

  She shook her head. “He’s innocent, and he’s convinced we’re going to prove it, so why would he do anything to stop that from happening?”

  Drake pinned her with his gaze for a long, uncomfortable moment, and she almost squirmed under his intensity but somehow managed to resist.

  “Let’s pray it all works out for him,” he finally said.

  Zander snorted. “You’re both forgetting something. Bittner could’ve threatened your brother or your family if Ethan didn’t help.”

  Ainslie met his gaze. “Until this call, did you have any reason to suspect Ethan’s involvement with Bittner?”

  “No,” Zander said. “But you can be sure we’ll go back and review everything the minute we leave here.”

  “There must be something more you can tell me about the call that brought you here,” she said.

  Zander folded his arms over his chest. “Call came into the 800 number we set up to report any sightings of Bittner.”

  “Did the caller give his name?”

  “No,” he said. “Our detectives are working on tracking the call back to its source.”

  “Then it seems to me you don’t have any facts at this point to think it’s legitimate.” She returned his stare with a tense one of her own. “I would think you would’ve tracked down the source before breaking down my door.”

  Zander grimaced and, for the first time, she managed to put a chink in his tough exterior. “Was a judgment call, and we had to act fast.”

  She wanted to snap at him for not being more thorough, but it would only serve to make him angry, and what good would that do? She had to move forward not look backward. “And what about me? Am I now under suspicion for being an accomplice, too?”

  Zander took a long breath and let it out slowly, his gaze fixed on hers.

  “I think the best thing we can do is put a deputy on protection detail for you,” Drake said.

  Zander shot a look at Drake. “Protection detail? I was thinking more like putting a tail on her.”

  Drake faced Zander. “I’m inclined to think Ms. Duncan is a victim here and could be in danger. But in either event, a deputy with her at all times solves both issues.”

  Zander rolled his eyes. “And who’s going to babysit? You?”

  “Glad to take the first shift.” Drake changed his focus to Ain
slie. “If there’s something else we need to know about Bittner, now’s the time to tell us. He’s a killer without remorse, and he’ll gladly eliminate anyone who gets in his way.”

  Grady watched the last deputy’s car pull away from Ainslie’s house. Zander still believed Bittner had been there, so he’d called in a forensic team to lift prints. It had taken them hours to complete the job. Grady believed Ainslie, but if Bittner threatened her brother, he could see someone lying in that situation. He didn’t think Ainslie would lie, but he knew from past experience a person didn’t know what they were capable of concealing until they were put in a difficult situation.

  Right. Like that was something he needed to be thinking about tonight.

  He shoved the memory back into the folder he’d worked hard to keep closed for years and stared across the street to where Drake sat in his SUV. He appeared to be settled in for the night. Why, Grady had no idea, but he was going to find out what was going on.

  He crossed the road in the spitting drizzle so common in Portland in March, and by the time he reached Drake’s SUV, he’d lowered his window.

  “You staying?” Grady asked, bending his head against the soft rain.

  Drake gave a clipped nod. “Protective detail.”

  Interesting. “So, what? You all believe Ainslie now?”

  Drake rested his hands on the wheel and took a long breath. “I’m inclined to believe her. Zander, not so much. We’ll have someone on her until we bring Bittner in.”

  Grady wasn’t sure if he should be glad about this or question it. “I don’t want anyone harassing her.”

  Drake shifted on the seat and eyed Grady. “Just what is your relationship with her?”

  Grady wished he knew the answer to that, but even if he had, he wouldn’t share it with Drake. “We work together. That’s all.”

  “Right.” Drake rolled his eyes.

  Time to move on.

  “I’ll be putting our team on tracing the call.”

  “I expected as much. With all the contacts you guys have in law enforcement, you’ll have no trouble getting the information you need. Let me know if I can help.”

  Glad for the cooperation, Grady nodded and started to walk away, but then an idea popped into his head, and he turned back. “About the protection detail. Ainslie will be staying at the Veritas Center until Bittner is captured.”

  A cocky smile crossed Drake’s face. “I knew there was something going on with you two, and her staying at your condo proves me right.”

  “She won’t be staying with me. I’m sure Sierra will agree to let her bunk with her.” Each of the Veritas Center partners had a condo in the west tower of the building.

  “Good luck with that.” He smirked. “If you can get her head out of the clouds.”

  “Clouds?”

  Drake grunted. “Oh, c’mon, you have to have noticed that she’s obsessed with the upcoming wedding.”

  “Oh, that.” Grady thought about Sierra’s actions since she’d gotten engaged to FBI agent Reed Rice. “She seems able to focus just fine at work, but otherwise, yeah, you’re right. She does have her head in the clouds.”

  Drake scratched his jaw with a hint of five o’clock shadow. “I’ve always thought about her as one of the guys. She had to be with five brothers, you know? So I never expected her to go all girly on us. Not in a million years.”

  Grady had to agree, but then, he didn’t know a thing about what planning to get married might feel like because it wasn’t in the cards for him. To make a lifetime commitment, he’d have to tell his potential spouse about his past, and he wouldn’t reveal the secret he’d carried since he was nine to anyone for any reason. Even for the life he’d often thought he wanted. One he was watching his fellow partners at Veritas, one by one, claim for themselves. Claim a happiness he didn’t have in his own life.

  “Hey, you guys aren’t looking for another investigator on your staff, are you?” Drake asked.

  Grady was thankful for the question to get him out of his own head. “You want to leave the marshals?”

  Drake gave a sure shake of his head. “I’m asking for Aiden. Since he donated his kidney to Dad, we’re all worried he’ll get hurt on the job and figure he should start looking into something a bit tamer than his ATF gig.”

  Aiden loved his job, and Grady couldn’t believe he’d be thinking about leaving it. “He know you’re asking around for him?”

  “Nah. Just thought I’d check.”

  “We don’t have plans to hire anyone else right now, but you should talk to Sierra about it. I’m sure she wants to see Aiden in a less risky job, too.”

  “Yeah. Once she comes down from the wedding high.”

  “But then there’ll be the honeymoon high and wedded bliss high. Then kids.”

  Drake laughed and held up his hands. “Okay, got it. I won’t wait.”

  “I’ll just go tell Ainslie that she’s staying with us.”

  Drake’s mouth dropped open. “Um, dude, I’m no expert on the ladies, but maybe asking would be better.”

  He was right. Grady wanted to blast through the damaged door, grab Ainslie up, and haul her to his truck for safekeeping. That wouldn’t go over well with any woman, and he’d never do it, especially not with someone who didn’t want to have anything to do with him. But the thought proved how much he actually cared about her, and he needed to be mindful of that so he didn’t fall even more for her. Not unless he wanted to be in a world of hurt. Which he didn’t.

  “Catch you later.” Grady tapped the truck then dug out his phone. He stopped on the sidewalk leading up to the small bungalow hunkered down in the dark shadows of tall pines and waited for Sierra to answer.

  “Grady?” One word, but he heard the fatigue in it.

  He brought her up to speed on Ainslie’s situation, including sharing Drake’s role in the raid. “I’d like it if you’d call Ainslie and invite her to stay with you.”

  “Poor thing,” Sierra said. “Of course I will. As soon as we hang up.”

  “I’ll give her a ride or follow her over to the center. And you should know, Drake will be tailing her, too.” He explained about the protection detail.

  Sierra sighed. “I hope he didn’t give Ainslie too much trouble.”

  “He was tough but fair,” Grady was happy to report. “Now, Zander was another matter.”

  “She must be a mess. I’ll call her and get the spare bedroom ready.”

  “Thanks again.”

  “No worries. I think I’m turning into Bridezilla, and I need a distraction from wedding planning.” She laughed, and the call ended before he could agree with her.

  Feeling more optimistic for Ainslie, Grady headed up the walkway. His first job was to find a way to secure the front door. He could do that while Ainslie packed. Near the open door, he heard her phone ring, so he assessed the damage while she held a conversation with Sierra.

  Ainslie protested several times, but then Sierra must have found the right enticement, as Ainslie sighed out a long breath and agreed to stay with her.

  As soon as Ainslie ended the call, Grady knocked on the doorjamb. “Ainslie?” he called to keep her from worrying about who’d come to her door now. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

  She pivoted in a graceful turn. She was five-six and moved with the elegance of a dancer. He’d always liked watching her, especially the curve of her neck when she had her hair up. Long, slender, delicate. He was almost afraid she might break if he ever held her in his arms the way he wanted to.

  “Why are you still here?” she asked tersely.

  Okay, fine. Burst that holding-her bubble. “I thought you might need help securing the door.”

  She turned her attention to the doorframe and tsked. “I’ve been so focused on trying to figure out who might’ve made this swat call, I forgot about the door.”

  “Would you like me to take care of it for you?”

  She looked at him then. Really looked at him, her gaze connecting
and holding. What she was looking for, he had no idea, but he remained still under her study.

  She let out a slow breath between pursed lips. “That would be nice.”

  He’d expected to have to argue with her, but this ready acceptance worried him even more. He’d have to keep an eye out to see if she was feeling defeated and if he could help with that. But for now…the door. “I don’t suppose you have any wood in the garage.”

  “I don’t use the garage, so I don’t know what’s in there, but feel free to look.”

  He nodded. “If there’s nothing there, I’ll run to the Depot for some plywood. They should still be open.”

  “That would be nice,” she said again. It was as if, in agreeing to the help, she was trying it on for size. “You should know I’m going to be staying with Sierra until Bittner is caught. Drake must’ve called her, and she insisted.”

  He didn’t know if he should play dumb or say something. If he admitted he was the one who suggested she stay at the condos, she might change her mind. Better to keep the information to himself. “I’ll just check the garage while you pack, and I can follow you over to the lab.”

  “Sounds good.” She looked over his shoulder. “I’m assuming my tail will come along, too.”

  “He’s got your back and your best interest at heart.”

  “Yeah, I picked up on that.” A tight smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “Seems like a great guy who’d be fun to know, assuming I can get past him holding a gun on me.”

  “There is that.” Grady tried to ignore her comment about Drake. He might not be free to pursue her, but he didn’t like hearing she wanted to get to know Drake.

  Grady took off for the garage, her comment lingering. What did she need to get past with him so she could get to know him? Tonight told him that he badly wanted that, and it also reminded him he would never have it. He was no more ready to reveal his secret now than he had been on that life-changing day.

  3

  Ainslie turned onto the Veritas Center’s driveway and took a moment to enjoy the unusual architecture highlighted with soft moonlight before pulling into the parking structure. Two six-story towers were connected with a skybridge at the top and a single-story building on the first floor that served as the main entrance. She still couldn’t believe she’d gotten the job here. The place was world-renowned for cutting edge forensics and DNA. Her dream job for sure.