Looking for Justice: Christian Contemporary Romance with Suspense (Dangerous Series Book 4)

by Linda K. Rodante

  Luke smashed the window a third time, and Leland whirled toward him.

  Alexis yelled, and the man spun back around, gun rising. She squeezed the trigger, the pistol jerked, and a loud pop echoed through the room. Leland grabbed his shoulder. His eyes widened, his face scrunching in pain. He thrust the gun in her direction. Alexis fired once more. Leland clutched his stomach, half-turned and dropped to the floor.

  Her heart hammered in her chest, deadening all other sound. She stared at the crumpled figure until Jessica’s movement caught her attention. The girl pushed to a sitting position. Luke waved from the window, pointed to the front door and disappeared.

  The scream of sirens made it through the fog of shock around her. She lowered the semi-automatic. Banging on the door startled her. She took a step toward the door and glanced across at Leland. He hadn’t moved. Her body began to shake, and the gun hung heavy in her hand. When the banging came again, she set the gun on the end table, stepped into the hall and yanked open the door.

  “Luke!” She threw herself at him.

  He caught her with one arm and held tight. “It’s okay, darling. It’s okay.” She buried her face against his neck, and his hand trembled as it touched her hair. When he pulled back, his eyes questioned her.

  “I’m okay.” She had to force the words. The sound of the sirens grew. She pushed away and dropped her gaze. “You were hit. Where—”

  “A graze. Just my arm.” He glanced at his blood soaked sleeve. “Don’t worry about it. You—”

  The sirens’ squeal filled the condo. Flashing red and blue lights strobed the walls. In a moment, the sirens stopped. Everything went quiet.

  “Pro…Professor Jergenson?” Jessica’s voice sounded strained.

  Luke frowned, dropped his arm, and pushed past her to stop abruptly at the room’s archway.

  “Jessica?” Alexis stepped beside him.

  Luke’s good arm whipped out and shoved her back into the hallway. “Stay behind me.”

  The command and the action, as well as what she’d seen, sent a rush of adrenalin through her. On the other side of the room, near the big picture window, Leland leaned against the wall. He held Jessica to his side, his gun in her midsection.

  “Let her go, Leland.” Luke’s voice held a calm authority, the professor giving instructions to be followed.

  “Not likely. She’s right where I want her.”

  Alexis’ heart seized. She started forward, but Luke’s arm rose again, stopping her.

  “The police are here.” Luke nodded toward the window. “Let her go.”

  “I’m going to kill her.”

  “You’re not killing anyone. You have nothing to gain.”

  Alexis’ gaze slid to the end table a few feet away. Her gun sat in plain view.

  “Bring the pretty girl out. I’ve got a score to settle with her. Then I might let this one live.”

  “No.”

  “Luke,” Alexis whispered. “My gun’s on the table. I can get it.”

  His head turned fractionally. “No.”

  She bit her lip. How could she stand here and do nothing? Her eyes focused on her pistol again. If she could get to it, if someone distracted Leland for a moment…

  Luke’s head moved toward the window a second time then back. “You’re bleeding all over. Your only hope is to get to a hospital. Give it up, and let her go.”

  Jessica made a whimpering sound, and Alexis watched the blood drip from Luke’s arm to the floor. Tentacles of fear twisted inside her.

  God, if you’re real, help us.

  Beating on the door broke the numbness. “This is the police! Open up!”

  “I have a gun and a hostage.” Leland’s ragged voice barely reached her.

  If she tried to let them in, no telling what he’d do to Jessica. “Luke, I don’t think they heard him.”

  Luke’s head turned. He cleared his throat and shouted, “We’ve got a hostage situation here. There are four of us inside. One has a gun.”

  Movement at the doorway ceased. Alexis eased her head past Luke’s arm. Outside, two police officers stood behind their cars with guns drawn. Others moved behind them

  Leland gripped Jessica with his good arm, his revolver clutched in his hand. He dragged her closer to the window and glanced out, leaving a track of red stickiness behind him.

  More police cruisers arrived behind the others. An officer with the bullhorn lifted it. “Okay. We understand you have hostages, but no one needs to get hurt. We can work out a solution.” He waited a moment. “Does anyone need medical attention?”

  “Tell them I’m going to kill her.”

  “He says he’s going to kill her.” Luke’s voice was a shout.

  Could they hear him? Even with the broken window… The policeman with the bullhorn lowered it and said something to another officer who walked hurriedly away. The officer turned back their way.

  “I repeat – no one needs to get hurt. What do you want?”

  Luke shifted in the doorway. “An ambulance is pulling in now. If you drop your gun and go out, they can help you.”

  Leland yanked the gun up and pointed it at Jessica’s head. “No one’s going to help.”

  Jessica’s face paled.

  “Hold on!” The officer’s voice came again, “Let the girl go, and the others; and we’ll work something out.”

  “No!”

  Alexis’ breath caught. They could see him and Jessica. Hope caused her heart to beat faster.

  “Let’s talk this out. What do you want?”

  “I don’t want anything!”

  “Okay. I can understand that. If you don’t want anything, something must have happened.”

  “Something happened all right.” But the man’s voice was low. He scowled across at Alexis and Luke.

  “You have a phone?” The megaphoned voice came again. “It will be easier to talk over a phone. What’s your number?”

  “I said no!” Leland swiveled toward the window and leveled his gun at the man.

  Alexis leapt for her pistol, grabbed it and swung toward Leland. He whipped back around, pulling Jessica in front of him. Alexis yanked her hand up, fear slicing through her. She’d almost shot Jessica. Leland grinned and lowered his gun.

  Something hit Alexis like a linebacker sacking a quarterback. She crashed to the ground, even as the shot reverberated throughout the room. A second gunshot followed, and something else thumped the floor. She lay still. Quiet settled. The weight of another body pinned her down, and the smell of cordite drifted to her nostrils.

  A loud boom came from the door then another. Convulsions ricocheted through her. A series of repeated booms followed, and the door splintered.

  “Police! Hands up! Police!”

  Her eyes focused on the arm resting against her head. Luke’s. He’d tackled her. She cleared her throat, trying to talk over the shouting and stamping of feet around them.

  Someone knelt beside her. “Who’s bleeding?”

  Alexis tried to move, but Luke’s body lay across hers. She could barely breathe. She cleared her throat again. “Luke? Let me up. Luke?”

  He didn’t move.

  Chapter 17

  Night had crept in and closed the day by the time the hospital and the police released them. Alexis left the Jag at her condo and drove Luke home in his truck. She’d followed the ambulance to the hospital. Afterward, she drove them both back to her condo to get his truck.

  “You can’t drive home with Demerol in your system. Besides your arm’s hurt, your side’s bandaged.” He tried to argue, but she put out her hand for the keys. “Your truck’s no different from John’s, and I’ve driven that. I’ll drive you home, and call John to come get me. Give me the keys.”

  Amazingly, he’d given in without further argument.

  On the way, she placed the call to John and explained what had happened. Would he come to Luke’s and take her home? She smiled at his reaction. She wouldn’t be able to keep him away. But it would take
some time for him to get from the cabin to Luke’s, and that was good. She wanted time with Luke, needed time to wind down, to sort things out.

  She made Luke sit while she brewed the coffee and put sandwiches together, pulling things from his refrigerator like she lived there. When she sat down, she studied him. He had to hurt; he’d refused more of the Demerol.

  “I don’t like the narcotics,” he told the nurse. “If I can do without, I will.”

  Alexis swallowed a second bite of ham and cheese sandwich and knew it would be useless to force a third. Every part of her body ached, and it did not want food. She lifted her coffee cup and stared across at Luke.

  The crease between his brows and the bandage on his arm testified of his discomfort, not to mention the bandage she couldn’t see under the scrubs he’d worn home from the hospital. Leland had managed to get a shot off before being killed by the police sniper. Luke had caught Leland’s shot when he’d taken Alexis down.

  She shuddered. Another flesh wound, a narrow escape. The thing that kept returning to her mind was that this God he talked about must have been with him, with them all, today.

  Her eyes met his. “I was petrified.”

  “When? Or should I say which time?”

  “When you didn’t move.”

  He gave a lopsided grin. “I was trying to man it out. Didn’t want to yell. Took a minute to move or say anything.”

  She shook her head, and her mind went back to the hospital. “Jessica did well, didn’t you think? After all she’s been through.”

  He finished the bite of sandwich in his mouth and nodded. “Yes, especially with all Leland’s done to her.”

  “Done, but won’t do anymore. When Jessica dropped to the floor, the policeman outside had a clear shot.”

  “And took it. We were blessed. A number of the officer’s were SWAT team members. They didn’t have time to suit up, but carried out their jobs, anyway.” Luke ate the rest of his sandwich. “She’s an amazing girl. I was proud of her.”

  “Jessica? Yes, she is. She really went after Leland, too, before you got there.” Alexis tilted her head. Amusement rose. “When Leland mentioned Dawn, that was his mistake. The girl got mad. Don’t mess with her mother. She jumped him, beat on him and hit him with a statue. We might both be dead if she hadn’t been so aggressive. And he laid into her, too, punching her, throwing her over his shoulder. I was afraid she might miscarry.”

  Luke’s brows rose. “Did they say anything about that?”

  “The doctor said he thinks the baby will be fine. I hope he’s right.”

  Luke reached across the table to take her hand. “When she saw her mom…”

  “I know. She almost cried.” Alexis clenched her jaw. The woman deserved to be in jail. She drew a circle on the table. Luke stayed quiet.

  Finally, she looked up again. “Dawn still says she didn’t know where Leland was, but I believe she’s lying.”

  Luke’s gaze held hers. She didn’t know whether to cry or scream. Even though Leland was dead, and Dawn in the hospital, things didn’t seem finished. The woman had lied to them. She knew it.

  Luke’s chair scraped the floor. He put his cup in the sink. “What are you thinking?”

  “That this wouldn’t have happened if Dawn had told the police where Leland was. They would have arrested him.”

  “And he would have posted bail. Leave it, Alexis. It’s not worth the aggravation.”

  She knew it was true, but…“I want to be angry at someone.”

  “You shot Leland. Twice. That sounds like angry to me.”

  She heard his amusement and frowned. “But I didn’t kill him. He grabbed Jessica.” She dropped her head in her hands. She’d shot him, but he’d almost killed Jessica. If the police sniper hadn’t taken him out…

  Luke moved, standing so close she felt his breath. “Let’s go into the living room.”

  Alexis stared at the floor. She had wanted to be here with him. That was part of the reason she’d insisted on driving. She hadn’t wanted to be alone, hadn’t wanted him to be alone. Maybe he’d let her stay the night again, on the sofa in front of the fire.

  Alexis raised her eyes to his. His look held so much emotion that it startled her.

  He touched her cheek. “Somebody had already called 911, and I did, too, before I got the jack; but I felt helpless. I’m not used to that. In the war, we knew what we were up against. We’d trained. We were prepared. But you… When he shot through the door, I guessed it was Leland. But if he was that desperate, what would he do to you?”

  “I heard you yell, but I didn’t know how bad you were hit.”

  He glanced at his arm. “More surprise than anything.”

  “Your side…”

  “I’ll live.”

  She put her head down. “I almost got you killed.”

  “Leland tried to shoot you. I got in the way. His fault. Mine. But not yours.” He drew her up from the chair and into his arms. “But you have a problem following orders. I said no about the gun.”

  She drew her head back to look at him.

  The amusement did nothing to cover the other emotions playing across his face. “I didn’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “It didn’t.”

  “Almost.”

  She put a finger to his lips. “It didn’t because you were there, because you knocked me down.”

  “Because God was there.” He caught the hand at his mouth. “Let’s sit in the other room.”

  She nodded and let him lead her into the living area. He lowered himself onto the sofa in slow motion. His face scrunched.

  “Luke?” She leaned over him. “You’re wincing.”

  He avoided eye contact for a moment, then winked at her and pulled her down next to him. The quiet enveloped them. The fireplace had no fire. She missed its warmth. Inside, her body felt cold, and she began to tremble.

  “Hey.” Luke shifted to see her better. “You’re shaking.”

  “Reaction, I guess.”

  He pulled a throw from the back of the couch and wrapped it around her. “I’ll get the fire.”

  But before he could rise, she buried her head against his chest, not wanting him to move. She was safe here. She’d always been safe with him.

  God, I’ve judged all the men on the planet because of what two did to me. I’m sorry.

  Her eyes jerked open, and she stared into his shirt. She’d just prayed again. How many times had she prayed today? What had happened? Did she believe? Had Jessica’s talk, all their talks, convinced her?

  The assurance they had could be hers if she wanted it, and she did. She wanted the new life they hinted at, wanted deliverance from her own judgmental attitudes, and wanted to leave the past in the past, even if it meant forgiving those who had mistreated her. Could she do that? Could she leave justice in the hands of this God they talked about? Jessica’s confidence had stirred her. Releasing them from her vengeance, giving it into His hands. Could she do that?

  God, I want freedom. If I could put the past behind me and move on. I’ve lived in fear and anger for so long. I want to start over. I don’t understand everything, but if you’ll take me, I’ll take you. And accept Jesus’ sacrifice for my sins like Jessica said.

  The shaking stopped. Warmth filled her body.

  “Alexis?”

  She glanced up. Luke’s eyes were inches from hers, and his mouth settled on hers, gently moving, probing. In a moment, he raised his head, searching her face.

  “I need to say something.” He waited until she nodded. “When you told me you weren’t a Christian, I was so shocked that I exploded. I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve how short I was with you that day. I didn’t listen to what you had to say, didn’t try to understand. I just blew up and left. Will you forgive me?”

  “Yes. It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not. I hesitated about becoming involved with you…well, because you’re a lot like Teresa.” He moved his hand. “No, wait. You’re not, actua
lly, but at first… You’re an attractive woman, Alexis. Teresa was, too. She couldn’t handle…me. Didn’t want the whole package.”

  “You were right that second time. I’m not like her.”

  “No, you’re not. Not in ways that count. And I know it sounds crazy, but when you said you weren’t a Christian, it was just another way for you to leave like she did.”

  “Luke, I didn’t leave. You left.”

  He winced, but she wasn’t sure if it was the pain or her words.

  “I did. I shouldn’t have expected you to understand what that meant to me since you weren’t a Christian.” His mouth twisted. “And that is what’s most important. Jesus. Will you let me tell you about Jesus?”

  “But I…”

  “He’s more important than anything that’s happened. And a relationship with Him is the best relationship you can have. He’s a man you can trust. He loves you more than I or anyone else could.”

  “Luke, wait. I—”

  “He’s real, Alexis. If you’ll just study the claims the Bible makes. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are testimonies – just like you’d get in court – eyewitness accounts. If you’ll study them like you would any case—”

  She put her fingers on his mouth again and stopped him. “I just did.”

  “You did what?”

  “Whatever you call it. Accepted Jesus. Said okay to him, to God.”

  “You did?” His voice inched up. “When?”

  “Just now. While you were holding me. Just now.”

  “Just now?”

  She laughed. “Yes, just now.”

  “But…”

  The pounding on the door stopped them. They both glanced around and said at the same time, “John.”

  ***

  Alexis sat on the edge of her bed. John had scooped her up from Luke’s place after a short discussion and taken her to her condo – reluctantly. He wanted her with him and Sharee, wanted to make sure she’d told him the truth about being okay. But she needed time alone. Only she hadn’t reckoned on the state of her condo. The management or a compassionate neighbor had boarded up her window, but blood had congealed on the floor, on the window sill and other places. John helped her clean, and both his anger at what she’d been through and his comforting presence massaged her soul.