Guardian

by Terri Reed

  Everyone deserved a champion in their life. And the fact that it was her father pleased him for her sake. He didn’t have any good memories of his own father.

  Leo put his hand to the small of her back and urged her up the steps. “Come on. Let’s get you two inside.”

  True’s nails clicked on the wooden porch planks. They crossed the threshold and entered the house. The savory aroma of beef coming from a pot simmering on the stove made Leo’s mouth water. He hadn’t eaten anything since before his run that morning. The toast with almond butter and coffee had sustained him until now.

  True sniffed the air and licked his chops. “Lie down,” Leo commanded. He’d retrieve True’s food supply after he settled everyone in the house.

  The canine lay down across the threshold of the door, but his gaze remained alert.

  A warm blaze in the brick fireplace at the far end of the room chased away the evening chill. Plush leather chairs faced a wide-screen television. Harmon sat in one chair watching a baseball game, the sound turned way down. Leo was thankful the shotgun was nowhere to be seen. Hopefully the weapon was locked safely away. Leo would have a chat with the older man about it later.

  The living room was decorated with Western paraphernalia. A large wagon wheel with small flickering votive candles on the horizontal beams dangled at the end of a thick rope from the tall ceiling. Several woven Native American blankets in bright colors hung on the large walls, giving the space a homey feel.

  Stairs led to a loft area filled with toys and where Leo assumed the bedrooms were located. To the left was a nicely appointed kitchen with blond cabinetry and a dining table with four lattice-back chairs.

  “I’ll take Charlie upstairs for a short nap before dinner,” Alicia said in a soft voice.

  “I don’t want a nap,” Charlie groaned, sounding eerily similar to his grandfather, though his yawn belied his words.

  So cute. Leo melted a little inside.

  Before Alicia could move away, Charlie reached out his arms for Leo, snagging him around the neck and making a deft maneuver from his mother’s embrace to Leo’s arms. Charlie nestled his head against Leo’s chest. Emotion constricted Leo’s breath. The slight weight of the boy barely registered, but the warmth spreading through his chest made him ache. He attempted to pry Charlie away but the child hung on.

  “Charlie, honey, let go of Agent Gallagher,” Alicia said gently.

  “Did you know that you grow when you sleep?” Leo asked the boy.

  Charlie lifted his head and peered at Leo with doubt. “Really?”

  “Yep. So every time you nap or sleep at night, you’re getting bigger.”

  “I’m a big boy,” Charlie said, his little face serious.

  Leo smiled as a tenderness he hadn’t experienced in a long time gripped him. “Yes, you are. But you want to keep getting bigger, right?”

  With a solemn nod, Charlie extended his arms toward his mother.

  Alicia took Charlie and set him on her hip. Her blue gaze held Leo’s. “Thank you.”

  He winked. “You’re welcome.”

  More pink heightened the contours of her high cheekbones. So pretty. He liked how natural she was as a mom and as a woman. She hurried upstairs with her son. Her long, lean legs moved with athletic grace, and her unbound, long dark hair bounced with each step. Leo watched them disappear from sight with a strange yearning that he didn’t quite know what to do about, then turned his attention to the man in the chair. “Mr. Howard.”

  Alicia’s father swiveled his recliner toward Leo and eyed him with overt suspicion. “You didn’t answer my other question. What are you doing with my daughter and grandson?”

  Leo braced his feet apart. These innocent people were in danger. He would do whatever it took to keep them safe. He couldn’t let history repeat itself. “Alicia and Charlie are in danger.”

  Harmon jerked upright in his chair. “What have you gotten my family into?”

  Holding up a hand, Leo said, “Alicia witnessed a crime.”

  The man blanched. “What crime?”

  There was no reason to keep the truth hidden. “A homicide.”

  The older man sucked in a sharp breath. “Whose?”

  “We don’t have an identity on the victim yet. I’m sure we will soon.”

  Fear clouded Harmon’s eyes. “But the killer knows Alicia and Charlie saw what happened?”

  Anxiety thudded in Leo’s gut. “Only Alicia witnessed the crime. The perp has already made two attempts on her life. He shot at her but she managed to get to the police station unharmed. And the other attempt was on the way out here. He tried to T-bone her car, but I blocked him with my SUV.”

  Harmon ran a vein-lined hand over his bristled jaw. He was visibly shaken. “This isn’t good.” His scowl darkened. “What are you doing to protect them?”

  Everything he could. He prayed it would be sufficient. “I’m here and will stay until the perpetrator is caught. You have my word.”

  Harmon made a noise in his throat. “Why should we trust you? The last man who told me I could trust him with my daughter was a scoundrel of the worst kind.” He rose and stared down at Leo.

  Leo imagined in his younger days Harmon Howard was a man to contend with, though now his shoulders were slightly stooped. Age was taking its toll on the man. Leo held Harmon’s gaze even as his mind grappled with that revealing statement about Alicia’s deceased husband. Again curiosity bubbled but he tamped it down. None of his business.

  True scrambled to his feet, sensing the mounting pressure in the room. Leo gestured with his hand for True to stay put.

  Lips thinning, Harmon growled, “I can protect my family. You and your dog can leave.”

  “Not happening.” He couldn’t let anything happen to these people on his watch. “We can work together to keep your family safe or you can stay out of my way.”

  Harmon narrowed his gaze. “Like to be in control, do you?”

  Leo had heard that comment before. He couldn’t deny it. To be good at his job, he had to maintain control. The acrid burn of failure twisted in his stomach, reminding him he hadn’t been able to control the situation that resulted in Jake’s abduction.

  Or in Leo’s sister’s death.

  Harmon snorted. “You’ve got gumption, I’ll give you that. Better than that louse she married.”

  Leo wasn’t sure how to respond to the older man’s pronouncement. Thanking him didn’t seem right. Whatever the man’s problem with Alicia’s late husband had nothing to do with Leo or why he was here. He would not get involved in the personal lives of his charges. “Do you have a problem with me staying here until we apprehend the suspect?” Though he’d have to clear this with his boss. Leo was sure Max would want him to keep these people from harm.

  Seeming to consider, Harmon finally shook his head. “No. We’ve got a spare room you can use.”

  Taking that as an invitation, some of the tension drained from Leo’s shoulders. He’d rather work with Harmon than work against him. True must have sensed the shift in Leo’s mood because he lay back down. “Good. You wouldn’t happen to have a map showing the ranch’s access points, would you?”

  Harmon glanced toward the stairs then back at Leo with a gleam in his eyes. “Come with me.” He led the way toward a room beneath the stairs.

  The small space was a den of sorts that apparently also served as a bedroom. A twin bed was pushed up against the wall, beside it a chest of drawers with bits of plaid flannel sticking out.

  Leo was glad to see a tall gun safe in the corner. The conversation about gun safety and children in the house wouldn’t be necessary after all. There was a desk and a credenza loaded down with binders taking up the rest of the space. A braided rug softened their steps on the hardwood floor.

  Harmon grabbed a roll of paper f
rom a stack leaning against the safe. He unrolled it across the top of the desk and revealed a survey map of the ranch and the surrounding property. Leo studied it, noting the rendering was fairly recent, which was good. In the corner was the logo for a local realty company. “You planning to sell?”

  Harmon’s expression turned cagey. “Eventually.”

  Leo wondered how Alicia felt about that, then dismissed the musing. It wasn’t any of his business. He turned his attention back to the drawing of the ranch.

  The only road leading to the ranch house was the one they’d come in on. If the killer drove in, he’d be easy to spot. If he hiked in, True would sound an alarm.

  “What’s the total acreage?” Leo asked.

  “Three hundred and two. We’re smack-dab in the middle and it’s all flat land.”

  Leo’s cell phone rang. The caller ID showed it was his boss. “Excuse me. I have to take this.”

  He left the den and walked out of the house with True at his heels. The fading sun streaked the sky with fingers of gold and pink. The Howard ranch stretched in all directions. Horses grazed in a fenced paddock. Off in the distance, the Blackthorn Mountain range created a stunning silhouette against the evening sky.

  He answered the call. “Gallagher.”

  “Christy said you found what you were looking for,” Max West said.

  “Yes, sir.” Leo kept his gaze on the driveway that led to the main road. True sniffed around the small yard. “The witness led us to the body dump site. The diver pulled a woman out of the river. She’s with the county coroner now. It wasn’t Esme Dupree. But she could have been her doppelgänger.”

  “That corroborates what the US Marshals have told me. They confirmed Esme has been in hiding in the state of Wyoming.”

  His gut clenched. “That makes sense. A note was pinned to the victim’s clothes. ‘It’s not sisterly to snitch, Esme.’”

  Max growled. “A sick way of sending a message.”

  “Angus is trying to scare Esme out of testifying by killing a woman who looks like her,” Leo said as he watched True disappear around the corner of the house.

  “Someone called the marshals service, impersonating me, and tricked the marshals into revealing Esme was in Wyoming. The marshals are moving her from her current location.”

  He didn’t envy them the task. “Is she safe?”

  “As long as she stays in WITSEC she’ll be safe.”

  “The killer knows about my witness and has already made two attempts at silencing her. I should stay here until the guy is caught.”

  Silence met his statement. “All right,” Max finally said. “Keep me apprised and stay safe.”

  “Yes, sir.” Leo hung up, grateful his boss had accepted Leo’s need to stay and protect Alicia and her family. Getting into a contest of wills with Max wouldn’t be a good idea for Leo, not if he hoped to advance in the Bureau.

  “Who is Esme?”

  Leo whipped around to find Alicia standing behind him. She’d left the door cracked open behind her. He hadn’t heard her step out of the house. Not good. He needed to stay alert, keep his senses sharp.

  He inhaled, catching a whiff of her scent, slightly floral and citrusy, that made him think of tropical islands, warm sandy beaches and crystal-blue oceans. His mouth dried. She’d changed from her fishing clothes into soft-looking lounge pants and a matching zipped-up jacket in a rich emerald that deepened the color of her ice-blue eyes.

  Her dark hair was captured in the back by a shiny barrette, the long ends streaming over her shoulders. Her peaches-and-cream skin looked dewy as if she’d recently washed her face. One of her dark eyebrows rose as she waited for an answer. He’d been caught staring like a hormonal teenager.

  He cleared his throat and turned his gaze to the horizon. “No one to concern yourself with.”

  She moved to stand next to him and folded her arms over her chest. “Don’t patronize me. You thought the woman in the river would be this Esme person. But she wasn’t. Who is Esme and why is someone trying to kill her?”

  Exhaling roughly, Leo ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t reveal the details of an ongoing investigation.”

  “I’m a part of this investigation now.” Soft pink lips pressed together. “My late husband kept me in the dark about a lot of things. I won’t let that happen again. I deserve to know what’s going on since the killer now has me in his sights.”

  Interesting tidbit about her husband. But once again, he pushed his curiosity aside. He didn’t want to know. Though she was right—she was now in the assassin’s crosshairs.

  Leo had to be careful not to compromise the case by revealing too much, but Alicia did deserve to know as much as he could tell her. He scanned the landscape, looking for any telltale signs of an intruder. “Esme Dupree is a key witness in an investigation and is set to testify against a criminal mastermind in a murder trial. He wants her stopped.”

  “You mean dead.” Her voice shook slightly, drawing his gaze. A breeze lifted the ends of her hair as she looked off into the distance as if imagining the horrors yet to be faced. “If you catch this guy who dumped the woman in the river, I’ll have to testify, won’t I?”

  He wouldn’t sugarcoat what needed to be done. “Yes, you will. And when I capture this thug, he will lead me to the mastermind.” And ultimately Jake.

  Please, Lord, let him still be alive.

  She pinned him with her gaze. “How do you know this guy is just a thug and not the ringleader?”

  “Because the man wouldn’t do his own dirty work.”

  “Will I be in danger from the criminal mastermind?” Her tone rose an octave.

  “No. There’d be no reason for anyone else to come after you.” He picked apart the growing shadows created by the fading evening light. “Once we bring the victim’s murderer to justice, your part will be done.”

  She let out a breath. “If he doesn’t succeed in silencing me first, you mean.”

  He put a hand on her shoulder, noticing the slender angles and planes of her physique. She was a tall woman, nearly matching his height. And fit. He liked that about her. But there was a vulnerability to her that made him want to protect her. “That’s not going to happen, Alicia. I won’t let it.”

  She shifted back slightly only to freeze, as if she was initially going to move away from his touch but something stopped her. “I know how this works, Agent Gallagher,” she said. “You can’t guarantee our safety.”

  Dropping his hand to his side, he assured her, “I can do everything in my power to keep you safe.”

  “But you’re leaving. You have a job to do out there.” She swept her hand toward the horizon.

  “I’m staying put until we catch this guy.”

  She frowned, confusion clouding her gaze. “You mean you’re staying in town, right?”

  Leo had the feeling she wasn’t going to be amenable to him bunking in the house. He widened his stance, prepared to convince her. “No. I’ll be staying here. Your father has already offered the spare room.”

  Her pretty eyes widened. She drew herself up and regarded him with a mix of curiosity and speculation. “Did he, now? He’s not usually so accommodating.”

  “I heard that,” Harmon bellowed from inside the house. “Dinner’s ready.”

  Alicia’s lips twisted in a rueful smile. “Hungry?”

  “Starved.” And grateful she hadn’t argued with him. She was smart enough to know he was her best defense against the thug wanting her dead. At least he hoped he was.

  “Good.” She stepped back inside. Leo whistled and True came bounding around the side of the house. They entered and Leo motioned for True to settle by the door.

  “Do you have a bowl for water?” Leo asked Alicia.

  “Of course.” She went to the kitchen and opened a
cupboard to pull out a metal mixing bowl. She filled it with water from the tap and set it down in front of the dog. True eagerly lapped at the water. “I don’t have dog food but I do have some leftover roasted chicken. Would he eat that?”

  Grateful for her thoughtfulness, Leo smiled. “I have supplies in my truck but he’d happily have a snack.”

  Alicia opened the refrigerator and took out a plastic container of cooked chicken breasts. Handing it to him, she said, “Take out however much you think would be good for him.”

  He took out one large breast. Alicia pulled out a cutting board and handed him a knife. He chopped the breast up into bite-size pieces.

  “Here.” She offered him a paper plate to put the food on.

  “Thank you.” He set down the food next to the water. True stared at him, waiting for permission. “Eat.” The dog sniffed the chicken before gently taking a piece in his mouth and chewing.

  Alicia laughed. “He’s so polite.”

  “He’s well trained,” he countered. “We have two excellent dog trainers at our headquarters in Billings.”

  “Is that where you’re from?” she asked.

  “Not originally.”

  “Where, then?” She handed him plates to take to the table.

  “Kansas.” Uncomfortable talking about himself, he set the plates on the table and took a seat across from Harmon. “What about Charlie?”

  “He’ll eat when he wakes up,” Alicia replied as she went to the stove. She carried over the pot of stew and set it on a pot holder in the middle of the table. “Help yourself.”

  He couldn’t help but watch her as she retrieved a loaf of garlic bread from the oven and cut the loaf into slices. She moved with efficient grace. A stray tendril of midnight-black hair escaped her barrette and fell over her cheek. She pushed it back with her forearm.

  Aware of Harmon’s sharp gaze, Leo turned his attention to the black cast-iron pot and used the steel ladle to dish out a bowl of stew. The appetizing scent wafting from the bowl made his stomach growl.

  Harmon filled his bowl and then filled Alicia’s. She brought over a basket filled with the bread slices and offered it to Leo. He took a couple of pieces.