Watch Your Back

by Karen Rose

  Clay closed his eyes, his face grown pale under his winter tan. ‘You would have been alert to any danger to yourself by that point. But if you came out to meet Cordelia when she arrived home, you’d be vulnerable.’

  ‘But I ran outside because you were with her,’ Stevie said, not caring that JD and Hyatt looked on. Clay looked absolutely ill and she needed to understand what he was thinking. ‘How could he have known I’d do that?’

  Clay opened his eyes, held hers. She couldn’t have looked away if she’d wanted to. ‘He didn’t have to know, Stevie. Not if he intended to force you to run outside.’

  And then she understood. Oh my God. Oh my God. A shaky breath rattled from her lungs as she tried to breathe. Tried to keep from passing out. ‘He would have shot her in the yard and I would have run to her. He was going to use my baby as bait.’

  Saturday, March 15, 6.50 P.M.

  She finally understands. Still, Clay wished he hadn’t put that look of terror on her face.

  You didn’t terrify her. The bastard who tried to kill her and her daughter did. But logic was worth less than shit when the woman he’d never stopped wanting looked like she’d been slapped.

  But her eyes never left his. Not even when her lieutenant covered her hand with his own.

  ‘We won’t let anything happen to Cordelia,’ Hyatt said. ‘But you have to promise to stop investigating. You’re on disability. You’re supposed to be recovering. Do I have your word?’

  She nodded dully, her gaze still pinned to Clay’s face. ‘Yes. Of course.’

  On the other side of her, JD sighed wearily. ‘You’ll go to the safe house now?’

  Her nod was robotic. ‘Yes, of course. I’ll just pack a few of our things.’

  ‘You sit here. I’ll have one of the female uniforms do it for you.’ Hyatt rose to give the order, then paused in the doorway. ‘Thank you, Mr Maynard. I’m glad you always seem to be around at uniquely stressful times. Have you considered returning to the police department?’

  Clay glanced at him, mostly out of respect, before returning his gaze to Stevie. ‘You’re welcome, Lieutenant. And no, sir. Not even once.’

  Hyatt’s smile was rueful. ‘Didn’t think so. JD, you’ll accompany Stevie to the safe house?’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ JD said. When Hyatt was gone, JD leaned closer. ‘Where are you going, really?’

  ‘To a safe place. But not a safe house,’ she murmured, so softly that Clay barely heard her.

  ‘Why?’ JD whispered.

  ‘Because I haven’t found them all,’ she said in that same soundless tone.

  Clay took the chair Hyatt had vacated. With a tilt of his head he sent Alec to stand watch over Cordelia, who’d curled around Emma like a vine. ‘Find all of what?’ Clay asked.

  ‘Silas’s victims. I’ve been investigating his old cases and found four new instances where he framed innocent men for crimes they didn’t commit. Four arrests were made this week.’

  Clay frowned. ‘Why are you investigating his old cases? I thought you all had a list, left by that lawyer he was working for. Lippman. I thought BPD knew all the cases Lippman fixed and all the cops involved.’

  ‘No, not all. The list wasn’t complete. When I started to dig into Silas’s old cases, I found inconsistencies. Cases that Lippman paid him to fix, but that he couldn’t have fixed alone because he was with me at the time. On some of them he could have been assisted by known dirty cops, but not all. I think there are a few dirty cops who didn’t make Lippman’s list.’

  She looked away and Clay realized she’d answered all his questions but one – why the hell she was re-investigating her old partner’s cases to begin with. He’d find out. Later.

  JD looked worn out. ‘Did you tell IA?’

  ‘Yes, I did. I told Hyatt as soon as I’d figured out what I was seeing. That was on Monday and he and I went to see IA yesterday morning. The attacks started on Tuesday. It’s not hard to connect the dots. There’s a leak somewhere in the department. JD, I know I can trust you. Hyatt, too. But I’m not sure I trust the cops you two would have to trust to keep a safe house safe.’

  ‘So, one more time,’ JD said, ‘where are you going?’

  ‘I don’t know. But I’m not hiding in your house, JD.’ She looked at her partner resolutely. ‘I’m not putting Lucy and the baby in danger, too. And don’t tell me you weren’t just worrying about that. Whoever wants me –’ she looked over her shoulder at Cordelia in the living room, then mouthed the next word ‘– dead, obviously isn’t concerned with the safety of bystanders.’ She pressed her fingertips to lips that suddenly trembled. ‘Those two women in the restaurant died today and Cordelia might have, too. I don’t want anyone else’s blood on my hands.’

  Clay remembered the blood on Emma’s blouse. ‘What happened at the restaurant?’

  JD’s brows went up. ‘You haven’t heard it on the news?’

  ‘No. I kept the radio off in the truck. Cordelia was asleep in the backseat. What happened?’

  ‘Sniper,’ JD said. ‘Positioned on the roof of the building across the street. He shot through the window wounding Stevie and killing a woman. He shot again, killing a second woman.’

  Clay’s heart began to pound again, not so fast this time, but hard. So hard it hurt. She’d come so close to dying today. How many bullets had she dodged? He’d held her back in December, watched her blood spill on the pavement. He couldn’t handle it a second time.

  He’d come so close to losing her, again. Except she’s not yours to lose.

  The realization hit him like a bat upside the head. The hell she’s not. He’d been put in her path too many times at ‘uniquely tense moments’. Call it Fate, the universe, elves . . . Maybe even God? Although it didn’t really matter who or why. Or even how.

  Because she is mine and I will fight to keep her. But how he’d keep her was the real question. Definitely he’d keep her alive. As for keeping her by his side? Yeah. That, too.

  ‘Their blood isn’t on your hands, Stevie,’ JD was saying soberly. ‘You didn’t kill them.’

  ‘I know. But now that I know he’s out there and how determined he is, the blame for anyone he hurts because of their proximity to me – emotional or physical – will be on me. Don’t worry, JD. I’ll find a place to go that doesn’t put anyone I care about in danger. That includes you.’

  JD opened his mouth to argue and she held up her hand to stop him. ‘Do you think I’d let Lucy go through what I went through eight years ago?’ she demanded quietly. ‘Your son will have a father. You . . .’ Her voice broke and she swallowed hard. ‘You will have a son.’

  ‘You can’t just disappear,’ JD murmured. ‘I need to know you’re safe. If I don’t know where you are, I at least need to know who you’re with so I can contact you if I need to.’

  The pounding Clay had heard in his head most of this day suddenly quieted. ‘With me,’ he said. ‘She’s coming with me. I can keep her and Cordelia safe while we find out who’s shooting at them.’

  Eyes wide, JD looked at Clay, then at Stevie, whose eyes were even wider. The cop pushed away from the table. ‘I think that’s my cue to leave. You got a gym bag in your truck, Clay? I can get you a change of clothes. If not, I’ve got a spare T-shirt you can borrow.’

  ‘Yeah, I have a gym bag with some clothes in the backseat. Thanks, JD.’

  And then he and Stevie were alone. He waited for her to speak. He didn’t have to wait long.

  ‘I appreciate the offer, Clay, but I can’t accept.’

  ‘Why?’

  She closed her eyes. ‘I can’t do this today.’

  ‘You don’t have a choice,’ he said sharply, making her eyes jerk up to meet his. ‘You and your daughter almost died today. You say you don’t want to endanger anyone you care about, so where would you go? To your parents? To Grayson and Paige? Would you put them in danger?’

  Her lips thinned mutinously. ‘Grayson’s house has an alarm system. And a big dog.’

  C
lay nearly smiled. Stevie hated dogs, but she wasn’t above using Paige’s Rottweiler to win a point. Except this wasn’t a game. ‘So you plan to keep your daughter a prisoner in Grayson’s house until you catch this guy? What’s to stop him from targeting anyone coming into and out of Grayson’s place to draw you out? It’s been done before today.’

  She flinched and he knew he’d struck an exposed nerve. ‘That was a low blow, Clay.’

  Because it had been her old partner Silas who had done that very thing the year before when Grayson and Paige had been his targets. Silas had shot JD in Grayson’s front yard in order to draw Grayson outside. Stevie had chased the shooter – and come face to face with Silas.

  She’d figured out earlier that same morning that the man she’d trusted had been dirty, but Clay didn’t think she’d believed it until Silas pointed a gun at her as he made his getaway.

  Clay had followed Stevie that day, to cover her back, arriving as Silas drove away. He’d watched as she called in the description and license plate on the car Silas had been driving, her voice steady and clear even though tears ran down her face.

  It had broken Clay’s heart to see. He’d almost taken her into his arms. He’d had the feeling she wouldn’t have minded. Then. But later she would have cut him off. Just as she had from her hospital bed three months ago.

  He’d accepted her rejection. He’d been the nice guy. Which didn’t seem to have worked all that well for him. So dealing her a low blow? He hated doing it, but . . . hell. Whatever it takes.

  ‘That it’s a low blow doesn’t make it less relevant. It’s a well-worn tactic because it works.’

  She crossed her arms over her chest, desperation in the gesture. ‘I can take care of my daughter.’

  ‘I know you can.’ But who will take care of you? he wanted to ask. Wisely he refrained. ‘But what about when you go out to investigate? Who will watch your daughter then? And don’t even consider telling me you’re backing away from this just because your boss asked you to. You may not like me, Stevie, but please don’t insult my intelligence.’

  Her eyes flickered wildly for a few seconds. ‘I’d never do that,’ she whispered.

  ‘At least you give me that much,’ he muttered. ‘You don’t want to endanger anyone you care about, right? Then I should be the perfect choice. I have no kids to protect, no wife, no one.’

  Her eyes closed, sending a tear sliding down her cheek. It was all he could do not to wipe it away, to take her in his arms and tell her everything would be all right.

  ‘Why?’ she whispered hoarsely. ‘Why are you so damned determined to save me?’

  He bit back the answer that burned his tongue. He’d told her once. He didn’t plan to tell her again until he was sure her response would be the one he wanted to hear. I’m a patient man, he told himself. I can wait.

  ‘Because your daughter dreams at night,’ he said instead. ‘She’s terrified to sleep.’

  ‘She dreams of Silas,’ Stevie said, her eyes still closed. ‘He held her at gunpoint.’

  ‘And for that alone I’d kill him if he weren’t already dead. But that’s not what she’s been dreaming about lately. She dreams about you, Stevie. Getting shot on the courthouse steps. She saw it. On TV. She saw you fall down. In her dreams you never get back up.’

  Her eyes flew open, filled with new horror. And tears. ‘She saw that? Oh my God. I didn’t know. I thought we’d kept her from it.’

  ‘Hard to do. It was all over the TV. Cordelia said that since Izzy found out she’d seen it, she’s only let her watch DVDs.’ He let her cry for a minute that seemed like a lifetime. ‘Stevie, listen to me. Today, your daughter’s nightmares almost came true again. I don’t intend to let that happen. I know you don’t want her to get attached to me. Izzy told me so. She told me that’s why you didn’t want her out at Daphne’s. That’s why I brought Cordelia home.’

  ‘To tell me how wrong I was?’ she asked bitterly. ‘Because it looks like I’ve pretty much fucked up everything and nearly got my daughter killed in the process.’

  ‘No, I was going to tell you that Cordelia needs Daphne’s program. That she’s hurting but doesn’t want to hurt you, so she won’t let you see it. I was going to tell you that I respect your desire to keep her from getting attached to me, that I’d stay away from Daphne’s on Saturdays.’

  ‘I just heard a lot of “was going to”. What about now?’

  ‘I can’t stand idly by and let her be hurt. If she gets attached to me in the process, so be it.’

  ‘So be it? You’d let her get attached and then just walk away? You could do that?’

  He couldn’t control his flinch. ‘I won’t “just walk away”. But if you decide that I can’t see her afterward, then I won’t have a choice. You’re her mother. I’m just . . .’ He shrugged, made himself say the words that he didn’t want to believe. ‘I’m little more than a stranger. I wouldn’t want to let her get attached, only to have me disappear. I know how that feels. But I’d rather see her alive to hate me later, so my answer is yes. I could do that if it meant keeping her safe.’

  Stevie looked away. Was quiet a long, long moment. Finally she exhaled, her shoulders slumping. ‘Where would we go?’

  Yes. ‘I have a few ideas. Let’s talk about it on the way.’

  She still didn’t look at him. ‘This doesn’t change what I said before. When I was in the hospital. I need you to know that. And to believe it.’

  He nodded soberly. ‘I understand.’ And he did.

  She met his eyes and he knew she’d seen right through him. ‘I’m doing this for Cordelia.’

  ‘So am I.’ He started to rise, but she put her hand on his arm, so briefly he might have thought he imagined it but for the way his skin burned at the contact. And for the way she jerked her hand back, cradling it with her other hand as if she’d felt it, too.

  ‘Wait,’ she said. ‘I want a promise from you.’

  His brows lifted meaningfully. ‘You want me to promise not to try to change your mind?’

  Her cheeks flamed. ‘No. I mean, yes, I want that, too, but . . .’ She blew out a breath that sent her bangs dancing on her forehead. ‘I want you to help me find out who’s doing this.’

  ‘I’d already planned on that.’

  ‘I don’t know which cops I can trust. Helping me could mean doing things that aren’t entirely . . . aboveboard.’

  He grinned. ‘That’s supposed to scare me away?’

  Her lips twitched minutely. ‘Somehow I thought that’s what you’d say.’

  He sobered. ‘If we don’t catch whoever’s after you, you’ll be hiding forever.’

  Her eyes became sad. ‘And if I walk away and take Cordelia with me when it’s over?’

  He found he had to swallow hard before he spoke. ‘I’ll survive. Until then, I’ve got your back.’ He started to stand again and this time she didn’t stop him. ‘I’ll go make the arrangements with JD.’ He nudged a bag of peas, no longer frozen but still cold. ‘You should put those on your face if you don’t want Cordelia to know you’ve been crying.’

  Chapter Six

  Baltimore, Maryland, Saturday, March 15, 7.00 P.M.

  ‘He’s got it bad for her,’ Alec said softly.

  Emma glanced away from her study of Clay and Stevie at the kitchen table to the young man sitting next to her on the sofa. ‘I can see that.’ She adjusted her hold on Cordelia, now asleep. ‘You worry about him.’

  ‘She broke his heart. And there he is, lining up to get it broken again.’

  ‘He’s an adult, Alec. I’m not sure there is much you’d be able to do to change his mind.’

  ‘He does have a pretty hard head.’

  ‘Then this should be interesting, because Stevie’s head is made of solid cast iron.’

  Alec’s lips curved. ‘You’ve known her a long time, then.’

  ‘Eight years.’

  He nodded. ‘Since her husband died. Do you normally befriend your readers?’

&n
bsp; She blinked at him. ‘How did you know . . . ?’

  ‘I Googled you. Your husband died in a robbery, just like Stevie’s.’

  ‘It’s true. Her brother, Sorin, had emailed me about her, asking if I’d meet her. You know how you meet someone and feel like you’ve known them for years? It was like that for Stevie and me. She’s hardheaded, but she’s also one of the most genuine people I’ve ever known.’

  In the kitchen, Clay stood up, his face an expressionless mask. But it hadn’t been. Throughout his and Stevie’s conversation, a whole range of emotions had flashed across his face, from grief to anger. Intense yearning to sad resignation.

  Emma looked up at Clay when he stopped in front of her. ‘What’s the plan?’ she asked.

  ‘Where are the cops?’

  ‘Outside, processing the crime scene,’ Alec answered. ‘We’ve got uniforms at the front and back doors. One policewoman upstairs, packing bags for Stevie and Cordelia.’

  Crouching, Clay looked up at them. ‘They’re coming with me,’ he said quietly.

  ‘Where?’ Emma asked in the same conspiratorial tone.

  ‘Don’t want to say until we’re gone.’

  ‘Well then, make sure your vehicle’s big enough for one more, because I’m going.’

  He shook his head. ‘You should be home, with your own kids.’

  ‘My own kids are frolicking with their grandparents at the “Happiest Place on Earth”. I’d just be in the way of their annual spoilage. I’m sticking, for a few days at least.’

  Clay frowned at the sleeping Cordelia. ‘I need to talk to you, out of her earshot.’

  ‘She’s asleep.’

  ‘Maybe,’ he said, scooping Cordelia into his arms with a gentleness that tugged at Emma’s heart. There was something about a rugged, shirtless man holding a sleeping child to make a woman all fluttery. Why had Stevie sent this man away when she so clearly felt something for him? It had been all over her face at the restaurant in the moments before the window shattered.