by Karen Rose
Kate shook the child’s offered hand. ‘It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.’
‘I heard you’re a crack shot,’ Hope said guilelessly, and Kate wondered if she herself had ever been quite so innocent.
Probably not. But it didn’t really matter, because who Kate was had brought her here, to this backyard in this town, standing beside a very good man.
‘I’m pretty good,’ she allowed. ‘When you’re older, if your parents agree, I’ll teach you.’
Hope’s eyes sparkled. ‘My dad will say it’s okay. He wants you to teach him too.’
‘Well then, I guess it’ll work out nicely. Where are the ladies?’
‘Inside, getting away from the heat. We’re playing horseshoes. Do you want to play?’
‘I do,’ Decker said. ‘I used to be pretty good at it, years ago. You coming, Miss Kate?’
‘In a bit. I want to find Deacon.’
‘Mr Deacon’s inside,’ Hope confided. ‘Said the light was hurting his eyes. He said he’d come out when it got dark and we could catch fireflies. We won’t keep them, of course, because that’s mean.’ She pointed at the bag Kate held. ‘What’s that?’
‘A present for Mr Deacon. You two have fun.’ Kate watched as Decker made his way across the backyard, wondering if he knew that the small girl had her hands out, planning to catch him if he fell. Better not fall, Davenport. He’d squish that kid like a bug.
She found the house abuzz with voices, mostly the women she’d seen in the ER two days before as they’d waited for word about Dani’s surgery. They were grouped around a banged-up table, a young brunette she’d never met at the head. Faith sat on one side of the woman, Wendi Cullen on the other. Meredith, Scarlett, Bailey, and Kendra all had their heads together, talking animatedly while pointing at the paper the brunette was furiously filling with notes.
They appeared to be planning something.
Deacon came up behind Kate with a cold bottle of water. ‘Drink. You look parched.’
‘I am. It’s hotter than hell out there. What’s going on here?’
‘Ah. The fund-raising planning committee, led by Audrey O’Bannion.’ Deacon pointed at the brunette sitting between Faith and Wendi. ‘Audrey is Jeremy’s daughter. Wendi’s halfway house needs a new home, so Faith has donated the old house she inherited from her grandmother. They’re doing a fund-raiser for the repairs that need to be made.’ He smiled slyly. ‘Those men out there have no idea that they’re being volunteered to do all kinds of work.’
Kate chuckled. ‘I think this is wonderful. Just what we need after the last week.’
‘I agree. Too much sadness. And worry. We needed a little bit of hope, you know?’
‘Yeah, I know. Especially since it’s not over yet.’
‘I know.’ He sighed heavily. ‘Adam and I went over Bob Seifert’s phone logs. He never called Edwards the night of the McCord raid.’
‘Damn,’ she said softly. ‘So we have another dirty cop somewhere.’
‘Yeah. And we still don’t know anything about the traffickers’ network – who they bought from, who they sold to. Whether any of the victims they sold are still alive . . .’
‘That’s going to be Decker’s job. He’ll keep reproducing the ledgers he can remember, and eventually I’ll be able to help him unwind all the transactions. Following the money is still our fallback plan.’
Deacon was quiet for a long moment. ‘I talked to Troy. He told me about the graveyard they found behind Edwards’s house. That’s going to be a rough assignment: identifying bodies, informing the victims’ families. I offered him my help.’
Which was a huge gesture, because Deacon knew exactly how hard a task that was. He’d done it before, back when they were in Baltimore, and Kate remembered what the experience had cost him. She’d helped him back then, brought him coffee on mornings when the bags under his eyes announced his nightmares.
But we all have our nightmares. Kate’s new one would be seeing Edwards aiming for Decker’s head while Decker protected an innocent child. A child who wasn’t going to end up in that graveyard. Kate kept telling herself that, and the thought gave her the strength to square her shoulders.
‘That was really nice of you to offer, Deacon, and I know Troy appreciated it. He told me so this afternoon when we discussed the work that has to be done to identify those victims.’
‘So that’ll be your assignment?’ Deacon asked, looking distressed.
‘He’s my partner, just like you were. I helped you through it. Troy and I will figure it out. But if it gets to be too much, I’ll come and find you. Just like you and me in the old days.’
His lips curved in a ghost of a smile. ‘When we’d do a Marvel DVD marathon and then eat shawarma like the Avengers at the end of the movie. Remember?’
She smiled back at him. ‘When they were so tired after saving the planet. Yeah, I remember.’
‘Damn, that’s how I feel right now, you know? I’m so damn tired. I feel like we just saved the planet. Again.’
‘Or the city at the very least. You and Scarlett and Marcus and Decker and me. Adam and Meredith. And Troy and Quincy Taylor and Diesel, too. We should celebrate somehow.’
‘Definitely Diesel too. Dani wouldn’t be breathing if it weren’t for him. Damn, I’ve got to find a shawarma restaurant around here. Faith wants Cincinnati chili all the time, and that’s fine. That’s her comfort food. But sometimes,’ he said wistfully, ‘sometimes you gotta eat shawarma with the guys you shared the trenches with, y’know?’
‘I know.’ Kate held up the bag she’d brought in from the car. ‘So I found one. A shawarma restaurant, I mean. It’s not too far from here and it’s pretty damn good.’
His eyes brightened with excited amusement. ‘You got hangry in the car again and ate some of it, didn’t you?’
‘And I have knitting needles in my bag that I’m not afraid to use,’ she returned without heat. ‘Wanna just sit and chill and enjoy the fact that we saved a bunch of lives?’
‘I think that’s an amazing idea. Trouble is, we’ve got a lot more people who pitched in.’
‘I brought enough for everyone. We all get to be tired superheroes today.’
Deacon drew a deep breath, his eyes going abruptly shiny. He slid his shades on, hiding his emotion from the others, but Kate had seen and that was more than good enough.
‘Then let’s do it,’ he said. ‘Scar? Meredith? Ladies? Come with us,’ he said. When they got outside, he shouted for the men. ‘Even you, Davenport,’ he called out, earning Decker’s slow grin as he ambled back from the horseshoe pit, holding Hope’s hand.
‘So you like him now?’ Kate asked as she and Deacon unloaded the bag onto a picnic table.
‘Maybe. If he hasn’t hurt you in ten or twenty years, maybe.’
Kate met Decker halfway, leaving Deacon to explain to the others what they were eating and why. ‘He liked the idea?’ Decker asked.
She slid her arm around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. ‘He did. Thanks for finding the place for me.’ Decker had done the legwork, searching the Internet for the restaurant while she’d been in the yarn store.
‘You’re welcome. It’s a team thing, right?’
Kate looked at the team, at the big smiles on their faces. ‘Definitely a team thing.’
Decker kissed the top of her head. ‘Them too. But I was talking about us. You and me.’
‘You and me. I like the way that sounds in your Mississippi drawl. Yeah. You and me. Let’s go have some celebration shawarma.’
‘And then later . . . well, later we can celebrate some more. With our team of two. Okay?’
She had to laugh. ‘That’s a plan.’
incinnati Series Book 3)
