Protection Detail

by Julie Miller

  “I thought maybe he’d lost someone he loved to a shooting and this was payback.”

  Another possibility. “The point is he knows a lot about cops and how they behave. He may even have a uniform. But he’s not going to be interacting with other law enforcement unless he’s ready to strike. We look for that kind of activity around Jane—a stranger who’s armed and alert, probably hanging back and observing, maybe following in a car at a distance. He may be wearing sunglasses or a hat of some kind to mask his face.” An inkling of something flashed through his brain, but it was such a ghost of a memory that the notion disappeared as quickly as it had tried to show itself. Not unlike the serial killer they were discussing. “If there are crowds, he’ll blend in. If you’re alone, check the shadows. This guy knows how to run a stakeout. If he comes to Kansas City, that’s what he’ll be doing.”

  The young man straightened. “I already advised Jane to vary her schedule and location so that if he is watching, it’ll be hard to pin down an opportunity to get close to her.”

  “With his last kill only a few days out, he’s not going to know the area.” Levi Hunt strolled out of the hallway, his jacket slung over his shoulder and his sleeves rolled up. How intense had that interrogation gotten? “Since all his other victims were localized in the DC area, I doubt he’s native to this part of the country.” When he saw Thomas’s questioning glance, he shrugged. “Emily, uh, Jane is taking a minute to freshen up.”

  Thomas balled his hands into fists. This meeting wasn’t about old friends reconnecting and going over an eyewitness account. And Oscar Broz’s foul mood had nothing to do with his health or administrative concerns, but with that hands-tied frustration that he wasn’t being allowed to do his job the way he wanted. Thomas’s knee twinged as he pushed to his feet a shade too quickly. “You’re using her as bait, aren’t you? You want him to come to KC.”

  “There haven’t been indications that Badge Man knows she’s still alive. Emily Davis’s gravestone is right next to her husband’s.” The concerned agent looking out for a friend’s widow disappeared as he rolled down his sleeves and buttoned his cuffs. This guy was all about getting the collar. “We’re here because he’s surfaced again. That pushes our investigation to the top of the list. And the fact that he’s moving west probably means he’s hunting for someone in particular.” He glanced back down the hallway. “I can’t think of who else it would be. The possibility that he’s tracking her is too important to ignore.”

  Funny how Hunt didn’t claim they were getting so close to catching Badge Man in DC that he’d fled his comfort zone to get away from the heat of the Bureau closing in on him. This guy had no shot at catching this killer without Jane’s help. “And the attempts against her life?”

  Marshal Broz pocketed his phone and rejoined the conversation. “We’ve done our research, Lieutenant. We know about your father’s shooting and the dustup at your daughter’s wedding last February. You or your father could very well have been the target, not Ms. Boyle. We feel that moving her now would only draw attention to her. A woman suddenly disappears, and people start asking questions.”

  “And this has nothing to do with conserving your resources?” Thomas challenged. Several of Broz’s many phone calls to the mysterious Jackson had to do with allocating funds for various projects. “You’re saving money by not putting more protection on Jane?”

  “Secrecy protects as much as manpower.” The older marshal defended his decision. “We don’t want to spotlight her and bring this guy to Kansas City.”

  “What if he’s already here?”

  Conor stood, siding with Thomas on the stupidity of this plan. “For what it’s worth, I recommended moving her.” He glared at Broz and Hunt. “But I got outranked and outvoted.”

  A toilet flushed down the hallway, and water ran in a sink. Thomas felt a weight squeezing around his heart at what Agent Hunt was suggesting. Did Jane fully understand what the FBI was asking of her? “You’re herding him straight to her—the one person who could look a killer in his face and put him away for good.”

  Agent Hunt didn’t miss a beat. “I can’t put him away if I can’t catch him. I don’t want any more blue blood on my hands.”

  If everyone’s decision was made here, so was Thomas’s. “Just so you know, I’m stepping up her protection level. I don’t know how you run things in the marshals office, but at KCPD, we put the victim’s well-being first.”

  Levi slipped his jacket on over his shoulders. “We appreciate the assistance from another agency in safeguarding our witness.” Reasoning with this guy wouldn’t make any difference. “But don’t get in the way of my investigation. If I can arrest the man who murdered Fred Davis, I will. If I can save the lives of other cops, including you, Lieutenant, that’s my goal. Giving Badge Man a name and putting him in prison on death row is the best thing I can do to ensure Emily’s, er, Jane’s safety. My partner and I will be actively pursuing the investigation in Indiana, but if we get any indication that our killer is headed to Kansas City—”

  “Or is already here,” Thomas repeated what his gut was telling him. “It wouldn’t surprise me if you leaked her location.”

  “—we’ll give you a heads-up, ASAP.”

  At least Oscar Broz was an equal opportunity sharer of his bad mood. “You’ll call us first, Hunt. We’re better equipped to move Ms. Boyle out of harm’s way on short notice.”

  Levi nodded. “Obviously. Our star witness’s safety is our top priority.”

  Jane reentered the living room before Thomas could give his doubtful opinion of Agent Hunt’s plan. “I’ll be fine here, with Conor and Thomas watching over me.”

  “You agreed to this?” Thomas prodded.

  He knew Jane wasn’t a stupid woman, so either she was so worn down by fear and flashbacks that she was willing to do this crazy stunt, in an attempt to make the nightmare stop—or she was a lot braver than even he’d given her credit for. The reproachful look she gave her late husband’s friend as she moved past him to Thomas’s side told him it was the latter. “Just do your job, Levi, and find him before he kills again.”

  “Or finds you,” Conor pointed out.

  Thomas slipped his hand around Jane’s. “He won’t.”

  Chapter Seven

  “We have company.” The sun was setting as Thomas drove past the car with rental plates parked in front of the house and pulled into the driveway. There were a lot of homes in this neighborhood, but he knew most of his neighbors and what they drove. Strange cars made him uneasy.

  “Who is it? Another one of your offspring stopping by to babysit me?” Jane asked.

  “I don’t recognize the vehicle.” He nodded to the black pickup parked in front of the second garage door. “That’s Duff’s truck. If he thought there was any kind of threat, he would have called. Still...” He’d called in favors from his sons and daughter and his former partner, Al, to keep another set of eyes on the place 24/7. He’d call in every damn favor anyone owed him if it meant keeping his family and Jane safe. With Badge Man’s taste for killing men with badges, he wouldn’t hesitate to take out any one of them to get to her. That’s why he didn’t intend to let anyone get close enough to Jane to even try. Thomas pulled his truck into the garage and closed the door behind them. “I want you to stay behind me when we walk into the house.”

  Laughter and the smells of Millie’s home-cooked tomato sauce and garlic bread greeted them when Thomas pushed open the back door. But the kitchen was empty. Ruby’s claws clicked on the hardwood floor as she charged down the front hallway to greet them. “Hey, girl.” The big dog propped her paws on Thomas’s chest and pushed her head into his hand for a welcome-home scratch around her muzzle and ears. “Glad someone’s keeping an eye on things.”

  Ruby dropped to all fours and switched her attention to Jane for another round of petting. “Where is every
one?”

  The laughter abruptly stopped and Duff strode into the kitchen from the front hallway. “Dad. I saw you drive up. I’ll put Ruby out in the backyard and do a walk-around while you enjoy this blast from the past.”

  Thomas frowned at the cryptic teaser. “What?”

  “Hey, Jane.” Duff squeezed her arm before heading out into the garage. “Watch out. Grandpa’s right in the middle of this party. You’ll have a hard time getting him to do his physical therapy now.”

  “Party?” She seemed as bamboozled as Thomas was.

  “Don’t worry. We’re taking the threat to you seriously. Watsons have each other’s backs.” Duff unhooked the strap over his Glock on his shoulder holster and palmed the weapon before scooting the dog out and closing the door behind him.

  Thomas heard a trample of footsteps coming down the hall into the kitchen and instinctively moved between Jane and the approaching guests. “What the...?”

  Whistles and catcalls led the way as two men, a tall one with blond hair silvering at the temples and a shorter one still wearing his brown hair military-short like their first day together at Whiteman Air Force Base, came in with their arms outstretched.

  “There’s the man we came to see,” the short one cheered, crossing the kitchen to pull Thomas into a back-slapping hug. Murray “Mutt” Larkin stepped back for the taller man to trade hugs.

  “What are you two yahoos doing here?” Thomas asked, pulling away from Jeff Fraser and letting the wary tension ease out of him. He pulled Jane forward to introduce her and let her know his old friends posed no threat. “Jane Boyle, I’d like you to meet some faces from my past. Jeff Fraser and Mutt Larkin. We served together in the air force over in England a few years back.”

  Jane shook each of their hands. “Mr. Larkin.”

  “Mutt,” he corrected, flashing her the same goofy smile he’d always had. “On account of this handsome bulldog face.” He thumbed over his shoulder to the taller man. “And because I always hung out with this guy.”

  “Mutt and Jeff?” Jane smiled and shook her head at the joke that was still pretty lame after all these years. “Nice to meet you both.”

  “Ma’am.” Jeff took her hand as if he intended to kiss it, but nodded his head instead. He pointed to Thomas and then back to her. “Are you and Thomas an item?”

  The yes on the tip of Thomas’s tongue was drowned out by Jane’s, “I work for him. I mean, we’re friends, but I take care of Seamus.”

  Inside, Thomas’s ego took a small hit. Yeah, it had to be the paternal thing that made her feel safe with him. They really needed to talk about that kiss that had happened at precinct headquarters if she intended to keep things at friend status between them. He really needed to put a tourniquet on his desire and those far-too-personal emotions that had been flowing through him from the first moment she’d turned into his arms, seeking his comfort and strength.

  “Friends?” Jeff’s follow-up comment seemed to confirm that there was no relationship happening here, despite the dangerous circumstances that had forced the two of them together. “I wondered if you’d ever be able to love anyone else after Mary. I remember the day I first saw her in the office at Lakenheath. That was the RAF base where we were stationed in England,” he explained to Jane.

  Thomas remembered the first day he’d met Mary Kilcannon, too. He wasn’t sure if he believed in love at first sight, but he certainly believed in love at first conversation, because it had happened that fast for him and Mary over her secretarial desk that day. He’d been drawn to her Irish lilt and had stayed for her clever wit and kindness. Jeff went on, “When I saw that sable hair and heard that accent, I was lost.” He clapped Thomas on the shoulder. “It’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for. I didn’t realize how fast a worker you were, Watson. You stole Mary right out from under my nose.”

  Mutt laughed and butted shoulders with Jeff. “You can’t lose what you never had, my friend. You and I were in that office a whole month before Thomas transferred in. We all had a crush on Mary. But you went out with her one time. So did I. You had your chance.”

  Jeff held up one hand, conceding the point before he grinned. “I remember Mary’s big brother, Ian, wasn’t too happy his sister was dating any of us Americans.”

  Marrying her within a month and taking her away to the US hadn’t been popular with the Kilcannons, either. The last time Thomas had seen Ian Kilcannon had been at Mary’s funeral. Ian and Mary’s parents still exchanged Christmas cards during the holidays, and sent birthday mementos to Duff, Niall, Keir and Olivia. But Thomas knew there would probably always be some blame on him for taking their daughter away, never to return.

  Remembering that his promise to Jane was more important than his hormones, disappointments or a trip down memory lane, Thomas ushered his buddies back toward the living room and the front door. “It’s not the best time for a surprise visit right now. I’m working a case.”

  “I can see you’re still being the tough guy.” Jeff nodded toward the gauze bandage on Thomas’s forearm, exposed by the edge of his rolled-up sleeve. “That hurt much?”

  The bullet graze from the drive-by shooting was healing to the point that it was more itchy than achy. But he really didn’t want to get into what the injury was and how it had happened. He, Mutt and Jeff had once solved a lot of cases together in the OSI. He had a feeling if they heard he was working on a more personal investigation that they’d want to jump in and help for old times’ sake. And didn’t he already have plenty of people he needed to look out for right now? “Are you two in town early for the reunion?”

  “I flew in today from Seattle. Jeff picked me up at the airport. I thought maybe we could go get some drinks,” Mutt suggested. “The three of us, like we did back at Whiteman and Lakenheath.”

  Millie and Seamus had joined them at the kitchen island by the time they reached it. “I asked them to stay for dinner instead,” Millie announced. “Now that you and Jane are home, I’ll dish it up.” She pulled her apron off one of the stools at the island and tied it around her waist. She stopped beside Thomas and whispered, “I thought that’d be safer than you or Jane going out in public someplace?”

  It seemed everyone was in on Jane’s protection detail. Thomas leaned over to press a kiss to her round cheek. “Thanks, Millie.”

  The older woman raised her voice to quiet the rowdies in the room. “Everybody get cleaned up and find a spot at the table.”

  After the delicious meal with almost constant talking as Mutt and Jeff caught Thomas up on their families and jobs, Jane pushed her chair away from the table. She offered Seamus a wry smile. “It’s late. It’s been a long day. And I know an exhausted patient when I see one. Let’s get you to bed.”

  Seamus had grown quiet over the course of the meal. Not any quieter than Jane had been throughout the whole course of lasagna, ice-cream sundaes and coffee. At least she hadn’t spent the meal reading texts that stamped a look of anxiety on her face. Of course, now that he was in the loop on what she was dealing with as a witness in the US Marshals program, Thomas was a lot less put off by the alerts and updates she received from Conor Wildman. Now he’d worry if she got a text, although Wildman had promised to copy him on any developments in Levi Hunt’s investigation or any sightings of a man fitting Badge Man’s description.

  Still, his father was a social animal by nature, and being reminded that his stamina wasn’t what it had been before the stroke made him sit up straight and joke. “I gwown man. I only go to bed when pwetty lady involved.”

  Mutt, Jeff and Duff laughed. Millie blushed and bustled away to get the coffeepot to refill their cups. Jane propped her hands on her hips. “I’m not pretty enough for you? I’m taking you to bed now, old man, so move it.”

  Her teasing threat was met with a chorus of oohs and whistles. Seamus grinned, happy to have the last word. “Now doesn�
��t dat tound interesting.”

  “Need any help?” Thomas offered as Jane fetched Seamus’s walker and braced a hand under his elbow to help him stand.

  Jane’s gaze snapped to the head of the table where Thomas sat. “I’ve got this.”

  She’d had it since day one when she’d moved into the house and taken point on Seamus’s recovery. She’d made it clear that she was the boss of Seamus’s care, and that she was perfectly capable of handling whatever needed to be done—physically, mentally or emotionally. She looked as surprised to hear the words come out of Thomas’s mouth as he’d been to say them. So why had he made the offer? Buying himself a few seconds to think, he reached down to scratch the soft fur on Ruby’s warm head as the dog sat beside his chair, patiently hoping for an ice-cream dish to lick. Probably because, as much as he enjoyed Mutt and Jeff’s company, and enjoyed catching up with his air force buddies, he’d rather be spending time alone with Jane. He’d rather be coming up with a plan for her protection detail that would allow her to lead as normal a life as possible without risking her safety, or anyone else’s, more than necessary.

  Or maybe he wanted that time alone with her so he could clarify this relationship that was happening between them. If he had an option, he wasn’t voting for father figure when too many of his thoughts lately had dealt with kissing Jane again. Kissing a lot of different places on her body, learning her curves and sensitive places as well as he knew his own randy urges to possess her in every way a man could. But if that authority figure was what she needed from him, then he’d rein in his inner young man’s desire to bury himself inside her and be that paternal safety net she craved. But if she didn’t—if there was a chance she could look at him and see a man, a mate, a regular, eligible guy who was falling in love with her—then he wanted to give that relationship a chance.