Courage Under Fire

by Sharon Dunn

  Lani took a sip of the water allowing the cool liquid to soothe her throat. She glanced up at Noah, finding strength in his gaze. There was no need to share with this woman everything that was going on. “I think we just need to get home. Do you have a plastic bag we could use?”

  The woman disappeared again and returned with one. Lani appreciated that she didn’t ask any questions.

  Lani held her purse up. “Thank you for your trouble.”

  “I’ll walk you two out,” said the woman.

  Noah placed a protective hand on Lani’s back as they headed out to the hallway and down the stairs where the woman said goodbye to them.

  “So what do you think that guy was planning?”

  The question did not upset Lani. It had been reeling through her mind as well. “I think he saw that I was alone. He made noise on purpose to lure me into that room. He probably wanted to scare me by showing me the photo.”

  “But he panicked and ran,” said Noah.

  When they entered the wide hallway, a man in a waiter’s uniform was moving from room to room shutting off the lights.

  “Yeah, maybe he heard you coming up the stairs,” Lani said. “You got to me pretty fast.” She turned to face him for a moment to look into his green eyes. What did she see there? Affection? Admiration?

  “I was worried about you.” His voice filled with warmth. She liked the way his mouth curled up in the faintest smile. She hadn’t noticed before that his eyes had gold flecks in them.

  There was a lot she hadn’t noticed about Noah before all this happened. He was the quiet, serious Jameson brother. Noah had an integrity and a depth of character that she admired. As she stared into his eyes, she had to be honest with herself. She was falling for him. Feelings that she had locked away in a box a year ago were coming alive.

  “Last call, folks, we got to shut this place down.” The man in the waiter’s uniform turned off the hallway lights.

  The waiter’s interruption killed the power of the moment between them. Lifting her skirt, she turned. “I just need to get cleaned up a little bit.”

  Noah looked down at his torn pants. “Me too.”

  She turned back to face him. “If he wants me to say I love him, why doesn’t he tell me how and when?” Her voice tinged with pain. “He said he would give Oscar back if I did.” She couldn’t bear the thought of anything bad happening to that dog.

  “I think he gets some sort of sick thrill out of toying with you. It’s about power and control,” said Noah.

  After both of them retreated to respective bathrooms to get cleaned up, they stepped outside into the darkness and headed toward the parking lot.

  It had been a long night for both of them. Yet, there was something about going through it all with Noah that she could get used to.

  There was a small cluster of people still visiting in the parking lot. One of the men broke away from the group and headed toward them.

  Noah spoke under his breath. “It’s the deputy commissioner. I’m going to have to make nice.” He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “Help me out.”

  His touch lit a fire inside her. And she liked that he sought out her support.

  The deputy commissioner was a tall African American man with a bright smile. “Noah, talk about running into you at the last minute.” He held out his hand.

  “Good to run into you, John.” Noah shook John’s hand and then turned toward Lani. “This is officer Lani Branson. She’s with the NYC K-9 Command Unit and a close friend.”

  John offered Lani a nod and then turned his attention back to Noah. “I was actually hoping I’d see you tonight.”

  “Oh?” Noah drew his shoulders back ever so slightly, body language that to anyone else would have been unnoticeable. But Lani knew it meant he was nervous. They’d been spending so much time together she was starting to pick up on things like that.

  The deputy commissioner continued. “Yes, I wanted to tell you what a great job you have been doing as chief. I know when we lost your brother, you stepped up as acting chief. The commissioner agrees that we want to offer you the position on a permanent basis.”

  “Noah, that’s wonderful.” Though her voice gave nothing away, Lani felt like she’d been knocked in the stomach. “What a great opportunity.” She wanted to be happy for Noah, but if he took the job it truly meant they would only ever be friends.

  “Thank you. I’ll have to think about it,” said Noah.

  A woman in a pastel orange colored gown broke away from the group and came toward them. She touched John’s arm in a way that indicated they were a couple. “Do we know how to close a party down or what? We should get going, John, we already owe the sitter a small fortune.”

  “Get back to me with your answer as soon as possible, Noah,” the deputy commissioner said before he wrapped his arms around his wife’s shoulder and walked toward one of the remaining cars.

  Noah turned to face Lani. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

  Noah escorted her back to his car where he held the door for her. She sat in the passenger seat feeling numb. Of course, Noah should take the job as chief. Why was he even thinking about it?

  For a moment, she’d let herself entertain the idea that maybe they could be more than friends if Noah went back to working patrol. She wasn’t going to deny the feelings. She just didn’t need to act on them and stand in the way of Noah getting ahead in his career.

  “It’s a great opportunity for you...to be the chief permanently.” It felt like she was pulling the words up from the bottom of her toes.

  “Sure,” he said. He seemed very far away, lost in thoughts of his own.

  They drove through the city. She watched the honey-colored headlights of other cars bleep by on the expressway as the hole inside her grew. The reality was that as much as she liked Noah, there could not be anything romantic between the two of them.

  Noah slowed down as he turned onto the residential street that led to her house. He double-parked in front of her house. The glow of the lights inside indicated that Reed was home.

  “I’ll wait until you’re inside,” he said.

  She pushed open the door.

  “Thanks for helping me out tonight,” said Noah. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “No problem. I had fun even with everything that happened.” She slipped out of the car and turned back to face him. “It’s what one friend does for another, right?”

  He hesitated in answering. She could not read his expression in the dim light. “Yeah, sure,” he said. His voice sounded a million miles away.

  “You have a good night, what’s left of it. Get some sleep.” She shut the car door and headed up the walkway to her house feeling like she had been hollowed out on the inside. She could see Reed through the window watching television. Jessie lay on the couch resting her head on Reed’s thigh. A welcome sight. Reed waved at her from inside the house.

  She peered over her shoulder at Noah, who hadn’t pulled away from the curb yet. She swung open the door and stepped inside, feeling as though something in her life had died.

  ELEVEN

  Noah watched as the last of Lani’s martial arts students shuffled out of the dojo and headed toward the locker rooms. A few parents waited in chairs in the viewing area along with Noah and Scotty while others must have run errands and would pick up their ten-year-olds in a few minutes.

  “Great class. See you next week,” said Lani as she stood at the front of the room with her hands on her hips. She even looked great in a martial arts uniform. Her long blond ponytail set high on her head.

  In the days since their night at the castle, things between them had seemed a little frosty. Lani had been pushing to be back out in the field, arguing that the stalker was going to get to her no matter what. Why did her training have to be stalled? The logic of the argument wasn’t lost on
him. She even wanted to know why she had to be stuck at a desk with him. Her saying that hurt. Didn’t she like being around him? Or was it just the inactivity that was hard for her? Lani was a woman of action. Maybe her coldness had nothing to do with him and was just because she was so frustrated by the confinement and the need for protection.

  Still, anytime Reed or one of the other officers was available, she’d chosen them over Noah to be her protection. That did feel personal. Tonight, none of the other officers were free, so he got to see her in action teaching her class. Lani was a natural teaching the kids using humor while still maintaining control.

  Noah rose to help Lani put away some of the equipment. She handed him a spray bottle and a cloth. “You can sanitize the mats. I’ll put this equipment away and then I got some paperwork I have to do in the office on the third floor.”

  “Take Scotty with you,” he said.

  “Sure, no problem.” She offered him the faintest of smiles. She commanded Scotty to follow her and disappeared through a door which he assumed led to an office.

  It wasn’t that she was abrupt or even dismissive toward him, it was just that he could feel distance between them. He sprayed down the mats as the last of the parents drifted away and noise from the locker room died out.

  He enjoyed the time he spent with her so much. And yes, he was attracted to her. He admired her compassion and her integrity. When he wasn’t around her, he missed her easy laugh and animated storytelling.

  He heard a door slam somewhere. His heart squeezed tight as concern for Lani’s safety rose up in him. He dropped the spray bottle and hurried in the direction Lani had gone. The door led to a narrow set of stairs which Noah took two at a time. The building must have been a residence at one time, these narrow stairs for servants to travel up and down the floors without being intrusive.

  The stairs led him to a door on the third floor that was slightly ajar. He pushed it open. Lani sat at a desk behind a computer. The room was the size of a broom closet. Uniforms and belts of various colors still in their packaging and a file cabinet took up most of the remaining space.

  Lani looked up from her computer. Though Noah couldn’t see him, Scotty must be on the other side of the desk in the tight quarters.

  “Everything okay?” She glanced back at her screen.

  The panic that had made his chest tight released its hold on him. “Yeah, I just thought I heard a door slam. Is anybody else in this building?”

  “I wouldn’t think so at this hour. There are two other tenants on the second floor. I think a bookkeeper and a guy who sells real estate. One of them might be working late.”

  “Maybe, I’ll just have a look around,” he said.

  “I’ll be done here in a few minutes. I’ve just got to get this letter about the tournament written and sent off,” Lani said. She leaned over to pet Scotty. “We’ll be fine here.”

  Noah stepped away from the threshold. “I’ll let you know if anyone else is around.” He headed down the hallway, opening doors. The office for the martial arts school and several rooms used for storage appeared to be the only thing on this top floor. He knew that the dojo and locker rooms took up all of the basement. But the building was laid out oddly and it wasn’t obvious how to access the second floor. The narrow stairs that led to Lani’s office had no other doors or exits. He returned to the dojo and found a second more substantial stairway on the other side of the building that led to the other offices.

  Both the offices had signs on their doors indicating their respective businesses. He stood for a moment on the silent floor staring out the window at the city at night. Could the noise he’d heard just be a parent returning to grab some forgotten item? In and out so quickly he hadn’t seen them?

  He hurried back down the large stairway to the dojo. He peered in the now empty locker room and turned to head back up to where Lani and Scotty were.

  An object hit the back of his head. Black dots filled his field of vision. He could feel his body falling forward in space as he crumpled face-first to the floor.

  The last thought he had before the sensation that lights were being turned out and he was in total darkness was that maybe he should get up and make sure Lani was okay.

  * * *

  Lani finished the letter to the parents and hit the send button. She glanced down at Scotty. “Almost done here, buddy.”

  The dog looked at her and made a noise only Rottweilers made, somewhere between a groan and a whine. She rubbed the top of his head. “I miss you too, when I can’t see you.”

  Scotty and Noah were sort of a package deal. If being around Noah was just too painful, it meant she didn’t get to see the sweet Rottweiler either. She cared for Noah. Maybe it was just because of the danger they had faced together, but her connection to him was so deep. Knowing that they could never be anything more than friends made her feel like the heartache might overwhelm her when she was around him. Maybe that would change with time.

  Having to work so closely with him in the confined space of his office put her over the top. She’d been pushing to get back out in the field for more reasons than just to continue her training.

  Lani closed down the computer and bent over to get her purse. She rose to her feet and squeezed through the tiny space between the desk and the file cabinet pushing a chair out of the way to get through and then putting it back in place. Her back was to the door when she reached for her coat.

  A hand went over her mouth as lips pressed close to her ears. “Now I have you all to myself.”

  She pulled his hand away from her mouth, but the man’s grip around her waist was like iron. “I love you. Are you happy?” She spoke through gritted teeth. “Where is Oscar?”

  Her attacker squeezed her even tighter making it hard to breath. “You sound so sincere.” He wrapped the arm that had been over her mouth around her, so her neck was in the crook of his elbow.

  Scotty jumped up putting his front paws on the desk, going ballistic with his barking. The desk was not one he could slip under to have access to her attacker. Lani had had to move a chair to even let him in behind the desk. Now that chair blocked him.

  The man’s anaconda-like grip weakened for just a moment. He probably hadn’t counted on Scotty being here. Scotty’s intense barking filled the tiny space. In the second that the attacker was distracted, Lani tore away from him and turned to face the man who had made her a prisoner.

  She saw his face clearly for just a moment before he whirled to run. The arched eyebrows and gaunt features stood in sharp contrast to his muscular body. Now that face would be etched in her memory. Scotty had worked his way around the desk through the same tight space Lani had squeezed through. His paws tapped out an intense rhythm and scratched the linoleum as he made a beeline for the attacker who stepped toward the door and the narrow stairway.

  Lani hurried after the dog. The attacker reached the bottom of the stairs in the basement and ran through the dojo. The dog continued the chase, but Lani stopped when she saw Noah lying facedown on the floor just outside the locker room. Her panic ratcheted up a notch at the sight of him not moving.

  Knowing that Scotty would go after the attacker, she kneeled to check on Noah. He was unresponsive when she shook his shoulder. Fear washed through her as she rolled him over. His chest moved up and down. She let out a sharp breath. He was alive, but unconscious.

  Above her on the second floor, Scotty’s bark intensified and then she heard a yipping sound. A door slammed. Had the man been able to get away? She raced up the stairs on the other side of the dojo that led to the second floor and out to the street.

  She found Scotty hurling himself at a shut door.

  Noah called to her from the bottom of the stairs as he came around the corner. “Did he get away?”

  She glanced down at him. He appeared a little wobbly on his feet. His hair was disheveled. His unfocused gaze suggeste
d he hadn’t fully recovered.

  “Not yet.” She swung open the door. Scotty burst through it giving chase. “He hasn’t gotten away. Not if we can help it.” She hurried after the dog who had stopped to sniff the ground and then took off running up an alley.

  Scotty turned a corner. She couldn’t see the dog anymore, but she could hear him.

  Rain drizzled out of the dark sky. From the look of the shine on the street, it had been raining for some time. She slowed a little in her step, fearing an ambush from her attacker hiding behind something.

  Noah came up behind her and touched her shoulder.

  She pointed. “He went that way.” With Scotty and Noah close by, she didn’t fear being kidnapped or worse.

  They sprinted up the alley and turned the corner. The street led to an open area. She could just make out Scotty as he raced toward a dark street. Noah lagged behind, probably still recovering from his injury. The attacker must have knocked Noah out so nothing would stop him from getting to Lani. But the stalker hadn’t counted on Scotty.

  The Rottweiler reached the street just as a single headlight came on. A motorcycle pulled away from the curb. Scotty chased after it, running for several blocks before the attacker gained enough speed to escape. His taillight faded in the distance.

  Noah caught up with her and then ran out to get Scotty.

  Feeling a sense of defeat, Lani shivered from being cold and wet. There hadn’t been time to grab her coat. Noah returned with Scotty heeling beside him.

  She reached out to stroke the dog’s head. “You did good, boy.” She gazed toward Noah, unable to read his expression in the darkness. He probably felt the same level of frustration she was experiencing. “Come on back inside, let’s get dried off and warmed up.”

  The three of them trailed back toward the dark building. Once inside, Lani gathered up some clean towels from the locker room. They toweled off Scotty before drying their own hair and clothes. Her shirt was still damp from the rain, but she wasn’t shivering.