Protection Detail

by Julie Miller

  But now he realized he’d been cheating himself out of the rush of inflicting the pain himself. He’d really put the fear of death into that woman. Maybe the old man, too. They’d run straight to Thomas for help. Watson knew his family was under attack now, and the things he cared about could be taken from him. Good. The more Thomas suffered, the more elated he felt. Vindication for Mary’s murder would soon be...

  Wait. Something was happening. A light briefly flashed as a vehicle door opened and closed in the Watsons’ driveway. Duff, Thomas’s oldest son, was climbing out of his truck. Duff was keeping watch over the house through the wee hours of the morning, just like him. Only, he was content to sit and observe whereas Duff was taking action. Why? Was there a threat? For such a big, overbuilt version of his father, Duff moved with surprising stealth through the darkness. The Unhappy Man watched in his side-view mirror as the brawny detective crossed the street and jogged about half a block, pulling out his flashlight and the gun holstered beneath his arm.

  What had caught the other man’s attention?

  The Unhappy Man adjusted his rearview mirror for a better look, peering through the disorienting light cast by a streetlamp between his position and Duff’s. Now the detective was circling a small, dirty pickup truck. Once Duff seemed certain the vehicle was empty, he holstered his weapon and pulled out his phone, snapping a couple of photos of the pickup and plates before punching in a number.

  He was calling in an unfamiliar vehicle, no doubt having someone run plates to identify the owner. The Unhappy Man eased back into his seat, expecting no less from a family of experienced law enforcement officers. Fortunately, his own vehicle wouldn’t draw any undue attention.

  A glimpse of movement off to the right captured his attention. Something had shaken the neighbor’s hedge across the street from Thomas’s house. But there was barely enough breeze to stir the fading leaves, much less move an entire bush.

  And then he saw the dark figure, moving from one shadow to the next, clinging to the next house as he moved in the direction opposite of Duff’s location.

  Well, now, wasn’t that an interesting development? He wasn’t the only one staking out the Watson house.

  A motion-detector light came on over the next garage, and the man quickly ducked down behind a pair of garbage cans. But not before the Unhappy Man caught a glimpse of the lurker’s face and smiled in recognition. That man had been at the restaurant the night of the drive-by shooting. Wearing sunglasses. Like tonight. The Unhappy Man chuckled. Nothing suspicious about that, right?

  While Sunglasses Guy crawled along the base of a privacy fence, the Unhappy Man checked his rearview mirror again to see Duff Watson circling the truck. Although the big bruiser cop didn’t seem aware of anyone else moving through the neighborhood, he’d inadvertently cut Sunglasses Guy off from his transportation and escape route.

  With Duff occupied with the phone call he was making, the Unhappy Man peered through his windshield to see Sunglasses Guy pop out from behind a parked car several houses down. Flipping up the collar of his denim jacket, Sunglasses Guy skulked across the lawn to the next intersection, glancing in every direction but behind him. Poor fool seemed lost. On foot, he wouldn’t get far before some identification was made on the truck and the department tracked him down. Unless it was stolen. In which case, Duff would be calling for backup, and a full-scale search through the neighborhood would ensue.

  Inhaling a decisive breath, the Unhappy Man started the engine and pulled out of his parking space, passing a couple of houses before switching on his headlights. He turned the corner and caught up with the man in the sunglasses. He stepped on the brake and rolled down the passenger-side window. “Looks like you need a ride, my friend.”

  Sunglasses Guy stopped, his expression obviously unreadable. “You a cop?”

  The driver saw the other man open his jacket and stroke his fingers over the Taser tucked into his belt. He held up both hands, showing the other man that he meant him no harm before he reached down to hit the unlock-door button.

  “Get in. Let’s talk.”

  Chapter Nine

  Running was supposed to alleviate her stress.

  “Come on, girl.” Jane tightened her grip on Ruby’s leash and urged the chocolate Lab to pick up the pace beside her. “You need to lose some weight, and I don’t want to be out here any longer than I have to be.”

  With the dog loping along on her right, Jane swept her gaze across the asphalt path ahead of her, taking in the white rail fence and busy street to her left, and the creek and stand of trees that were starting to change from green to reds and golds beyond that on her right. Although her muscles relished the workout she’d skipped the past few days, and her lungs appreciated the deep influx of oxygen, the peace of mind she normally achieved on her morning run wasn’t happening. The beauty of Mother Nature on this cool, misty morning couldn’t pierce Jane’s anxious mood.

  “Giving the dog a pep talk, Boyle?” Conor teased her through the two-way radio clipped to her ear. “I told you I’d be happy to run with you instead of thirty yards back. Bet I’m a better conversationalist.”

  “Don’t count on it.” Jane dropped her chin toward the microphone hidden inside her jacket. “Besides, I feel better knowing you’ve got my back.”

  “Um, you do know I can barely see your back through this fog, right?”

  Thomas’s deep voice followed a crackle of static over her earbud. “Then move up so you have a clear line of sight, Wildman.”

  “Yes, sir—”

  “Not too close.” A third man’s voice buzzed in her ear. Levi Hunt and his partner were parked somewhere in the area, close enough to monitor her actions without giving their presence away. “Doesn’t do us any good to set up a sting if we scare the guy away,” he cautioned.

  Thomas’s growly voice answered before she could. “Doesn’t do us any good if something happens to Jane and you lose your one chance at catching this guy, either.”

  Bless his large-and-in-charge heart. Thomas’s vehement defense of her, reminding Levi she was a human being, not just the bait on this fishing expedition, took the chill off the foggy autumn morning.

  Jane smiled, knowing he was waiting in the parking lot across the road from the terminus of the running path that circled the woods. He’d dropped them off at the start of their run, driven his truck around the multi-acre park and bordering neighborhood where the path was located to scout for anyone or anything that seemed suspicious, and promised to be there to pick them up when they were done. She’d been connected to him, Conor and Levi over the radio this entire time. She knew that if he could have run the three miles, Thomas would have been right beside her. Instead, he’d suggested Ruby take his place.

  “Guys. I’m okay,” Jane reassured them. Well, mostly Thomas because he was starting to pick up some of her sleepless-night habits. And she already felt guilty enough about involving his family and putting their lives at risk. “Maybe he’s not even in Kansas City.”

  “He’s here.” Levi’s certainty had a fatalistic ring to it that erased her smile. “Come on, Watson. Even you have to agree. That truck abandoned near your house that your son ran the plates on was stolen. We got fingerprints off the steering wheel that match prints on that state trooper’s car. That’s Badge Man. Just because he’s not in the system doesn’t mean we can’t put two and two together and know he’s got Emily’s scent. He’s here. And I intend to apprehend him.”

  “Get her name right,” Thomas ordered. “We should maintain radio silence in case one of us spots something suspicious. Or Jane needs assistance.”

  “Agreed. Wildman out.”

  Levi was slower to respond to the order. “Hunt out.”

  Jane patted Ruby’s warm flank to encourage the dog and herself to keep moving forward, toward Thomas and the end of the path. “Boyle out.”


  All these layers of protection surrounding her should reassure her, right?

  But it was the threat she couldn’t see that worried her the most.

  Jane checked her watch and saw that her pulse rate had increased, even though she hadn’t pushed her speed in the second mile, the way she normally did. Her elevated pulse was purely an emotional reaction because she knew the killer could be watching her right now. That truck Duff had checked out meant Badge Man had already found her, and was simply biding his time for the perfect moment to strike.

  She knew his profile by heart—how he liked to scout out an area and learn his target’s schedule. Now the plan was for her to ignore common-sense survival tactics and maintain her old routine. Morning run. Work with Seamus. Run a few errands and hang out at the Watson house. Argue the risk she was taking with Thomas and, if she was really lucky, wind up in his arms for a few hours of sleep each night.

  She’d watched the news reports from Indiana and DC. The profile the FBI had given was pretty accurate, and the fact that Levi had mentioned having a witness who’d given them a lead during one of those press conferences had no doubt put the killer on her trail. Even though he hadn’t mentioned her by name, since Emily Davis was the only surviving witness, the guy didn’t need to be a brain surgeon to figure out Agent Hunt was talking about her. If Badge Man knew she’d changed her name to Jane Boyle, then tracking her down hadn’t been as hard as she’d wanted it to be. And since Thomas was convinced that someone on Oscar Broz’s team had leaked her new name to the FBI, it was reasonable to assume that the FBI, if not Levi himself, had leaked her name as well to lure Badge Man into their trap.

  But she imagined the serial killer was completely aware of the Kansas City detective, US marshal and federal agent keeping her company this morning. With his gruesome obsession for killing and carving up law enforcement, he probably saw the protection surrounding her as some kind of dare. One he would cleverly and covertly plan to circumvent, bringing him some sick pleasure at not only eliminating her, but besting the very men he despised.

  She scanned the trees to her right, seeing them as little more than distant shadows through the fog where a man could easily hide. The dangerous possibilities tightened her chest. Two days of not having anyone chasing her or shooting at her felt more nerve-racking than dealing with a direct threat. At least with an attack, she had someone to fight. The demons inside her head were a much trickier adversary to fend off, and she had a feeling her enemy knew that.

  So what if she’d been drinking enough coffee to burn a hole in her stomach, and her appetite was practically nil? What did the man who wanted her dead care if the only deep sleep she’d had recently had been the last two nights she’d spent in Thomas’s arms?

  She knew Thomas wanted something more from her. And she wanted that, too. After all, it was hard to resist a handsome man with enough mileage on him to make him interesting and sure of himself, compassionate and sexy in ways a young buck with something to prove to the world could never understand. A sharp mind, sure hands, that broad chest and the ability to kiss her senseless only added to the attraction she felt toward the veteran cop who’d become more friend than boss. She imagined his patience and experience would make him an unforgettable lover. Not since Freddie’s death had she even considered being with another man. And now she was thinking of Thomas nearly every waking moment—during some of the sleeping ones, too—and how good it would feel to really be with him. She’d be proud to claim him as her man and warn any other interested parties that the lieutenant detective was taken. She’d willingly give him her heart, and, in fact, knew that a subconscious part of her already had.

  But the overwhelming sense of security Thomas provided was the thing she needed most right now—not a lover, not a relationship. Although she wrestled with the guilt of knowing Thomas deserved a partner, not a project, she was thankful that he was willing to give her that sense of calm she craved without pressuring her for something more.

  Playing bait for Levi and the FBI was supposed to put a stop to the post-trauma fugues and the growing suspicion that every shadow was a threat and every face belonged to the man who wanted her dead. Agreeing to Levi’s plan to capture Freddie’s killer might be the only way to prevent Badge Man from eluding the FBI until he surfaced in a few months to claim another victim. And the thought of the marshals office packing her up and shipping her off to someplace far away from Thomas and Seamus and the city she’d grown to love made her heart seize up in her chest.

  They all needed her to do this. She needed to do this. Putting Badge Man behind bars was the only way she’d ever find justice for her murdered husband and seven other law enforcement officers. It was the only way to get her life back again. The only way she could ever move on to another relationship with any man, the only way she could become the woman Thomas deserved.

  Ignoring the emotions that such logic couldn’t dissuade, Jane inhaled more deeply from the damp air and dropped down a small incline to run beside the shallow water’s edge. Ruby barked and tugged at the leash, crossing in front of her to greet two cyclists who materialized out of the shroud of morning fog and pedaled toward them. “Ruby!”

  Unable to stop her forward momentum, Jane bumped into the dog, almost sending her tumbling. She tugged on the leash, pulling Ruby with her into the grass. Ruby was up on her hind legs, offering a friendly woof as the two men waved and veered around them. “Sorry!” Ruby nearly pulled her off her feet, eager to give chase as the bicycles disappeared into the fog. “Crazy dog.”

  “Jane?” She thought she detected the sound of a vehicle door opening. Thomas was getting out of his truck. “Answer me.”

  “I’m fine. We’re fine,” she reassured him, making eye contact with the excited dog and silently reminding the mutt that she was the authority Ruby needed to answer to right now. Seeming eager to trot along beside her once more, Ruby resumed their run in the proper direction. “Two cyclists startled us. I didn’t recognize them. But they had on helmets and sunglasses so I couldn’t see much. Ruby wanted to greet them.”

  She heard Thomas close the door to his truck and exhale a heavy breath. He’d had eyes on her almost 24/7 since the night of the restaurant shooting. And now it was killing him that she’d been out of his sight for almost half an hour. She suspected he was on his way to meet her at the terminus of the circular running trail across the road from where he’d parked. She knew he’d appreciate a report on exactly what she’d seen.

  “Do we know those guys?” she asked.

  “They’re not ours,” Conor answered. They ran several more strides in silence before he added. “Hunt?”

  “Negative,” Levi answered. “Bartlett and I are the only ones who came in from DC. I don’t have approval yet for an area-wide manhunt.”

  “The bikers are clear,” Conor reported. “But look out coming up behind you, Boyle. Another runner just passed me. Black shorts, gray hoodie. I’m picking up the pace to keep him in my sights.”

  “I hear him.” Jane grinned as Ruby’s gait changed to a hopping jump rather than an even jog. “So does Ruby. I think two and a half miles is the limit of her interest in running with me.”

  Conor laughed over the radio. “Too bad it’s a three-mile course.”

  “She’s ready for snacks and playtime.”

  Thomas’s voice growled in her ear. “Listen, you two...”

  “We’re almost there, boss,” Jane teased, feeling the stress lifting with every step that took her closer to Thomas. “Make sure you’ve got treats and some water waiting. Come on, Ruby girl. Just a little farther.”

  Her footsteps turned hollow as she hit the narrow wooden bridge crossing over the creek. Even more startling than the changing resonance beneath her running shoes was the second set of footsteps hurrying onto the bridge behind her.

  “On your left,” a friendly voice that went with the f
ootsteps announced.

  She politely drifted as close to the railing as she could. But Ruby zigged when she zagged and Jane accidentally stepped on one of the dog’s paws. Ruby squealed in pain and jerked to the side. Jane cringed with an instant slap of guilt and lost her grip on the leash. “Ruby!”

  She’d barely made a lunge to recapture the dog when the man bumped her shoulder and sped on past. Jane stumbled into the railing. “Watch it.”

  “My bad.” He waved with a gloved hand as he disappeared into the fog ahead of her.

  “A little help? Hey!” Jane had missed her stab at Ruby’s collar and the dog raced off into the mist after the man. “Now you want to run? Ruby!”

  “Damn it, Boyle, where are you going so fast?” Conor whined in her ear. “I don’t have eyes on her.”

  “Report,” Thomas shouted into the radio. “Somebody tell me what’s going on.”

  Jane charged up the last hill after the man in the black shorts. She didn’t want Ruby following him into the street. “Hey! Can you grab my dog? Thomas, Ruby’s following that guy. I dropped her leash. They’re running straight toward you and the street.”

  So much for stress relief. Anger and concern for Ruby fueled her steps. Screw Levi’s plan to capture Badge Man. She’d run her three miles on the treadmill at the house from here on out and pretend she didn’t feel completely trapped or that she was putting the entire Watson family in danger by being there with them. Now she’d even put poor Ruby in danger.

  As Jane neared the end of the path, she spotted a broad, shadowy form at the top of the hill. She’d know that imposing silhouette anywhere. “Thomas! Catch her!”

  A shrill whistle rang in her ear and she knew he was calling the dog to him. Thomas’s familiar form took shape and color as she got closer. His dark jeans and cream-colored shirt. The gun and badge anchored on his belt. The piercing scowl that lined his handsome face. “Some guard dog you are,” he chided, stepping on Ruby’s leash, securing her before kneeling to curl the strap around his wrist.