Under the Lawman's Protection

by Laura Scott

  “Great idea,” Caleb agreed. “Kaitlin would love that. Tell me where you are again?”

  Isaac gave the address and then disconnected from the call. He glanced at Leah, realizing she’d been listening to his side of the conversation. “I guess I should have run those plans by you first, huh?”

  She shrugged. “No, it’s fine. There’s a shopping mall across the street, and we can pick up some swimming gear there. Ben will be ecstatic.”

  Isaac was glad she wasn’t upset, but he could tell something was still bothering her. “Let’s walk over now, okay? I want to be ready to leave as soon as Caleb gets here.”

  Leah pulled on her coat and helped get Ben into his. She was unusually quiet as they walked over to the discount store to buy swimsuits. It didn’t take long, and within twenty minutes they were back in the hotel room.

  Isaac jotted down some notes on Wade’s last known address before shutting off the computer.

  It was located within the Fifth District, which only made him more convinced that Wade was part of the illegal gunrunning. The address also happened to be smack-dab in the middle of one of the highest crime areas of the county, a fact Isaac purposefully didn’t mention to Leah.

  No sense in making her even more worried than she already was.

  Isaac understood that she couldn’t help thinking about her father’s death on the job. It was a fate every cop on the force faced, although thankfully, deaths weren’t as common anymore. The force put more time and effort into training, and the newest version of body armor also helped.

  But he couldn’t deny the risk and logically understood Leah’s reluctance to be in that kind of position again, especially since she had Ben to worry about. After all, hadn’t Isaac’s job ruined his first marriage?

  It had.

  Too bad he couldn’t seem to pry Leah out of his mind.

  * * *

  Leah was happy to see that Caleb had brought his wife, Noelle, along with their daughter. Kaitlin was a year or so older than Ben, but they seemed to get along fine.

  Leah sat in a deck chair beside Noelle while Caleb joined the kids in the pool. She had to smile as the children splashed and tried to dunk him, which of course wasn’t happening. Thankfully, Ben had taken swimming lessons, so she was comfortable watching from the side of the pool.

  “Caleb certainly is great with kids,” Leah said.

  Noelle smiled and nodded, patting her slightly rounded stomach. “He’s a wonderful father. And we’re expecting another baby in about five months.”

  “Really? Congratulations!” Leah remembered how excited she and Elliot had been when she’d found out she was pregnant. “How is Kaitlin handling the news?”

  “She’s excited, too. I think she’ll be a great big sister.”

  “I’m sure she will be,” Leah agreed. She gave Noelle credit not just for being married to a cop—a member of the SWAT team, no less—but also having a family. “How do you handle it?” she asked. At the other woman’s confused expression, she added, “You know, living with the stress of Caleb’s job.”

  “It isn’t easy,” Noelle agreed. “But I don’t sit by the radio like some of the cops’ wives do. I teach preschool, so that tends to keep me busy.”

  “But don’t you worry about him getting hurt?” Her expression turned serious.

  “Sure, I worry about him. What cop’s wife doesn’t worry about her loved ones? But I have faith and pray every day that God will watch over Caleb.”

  Leah nodded, feeling a little ashamed that she’d even broached the subject. “Faith helps us get through all the difficult times, doesn’t it?”

  “Absolutely,” Noelle agreed. “Look, you’re in danger right now, and I’m sure that isn’t because of anything you did, right?”

  Leah let out a small laugh. “I’m a nurse—not exactly a dangerous job.”

  “Exactly my point. There are no guarantees for any of us. But I am glad that Isaac has been able to be there for you and Ben. He’s a great guy.”

  If Noelle was trying to set her up with Isaac, she was on the wrong path. “I feel bad that you had to come out here to babysit me,” Leah said, changing the subject. “I’m sure you had better things to do on a Saturday night.”

  “Are you kidding? I was thrilled at the chance of getting out of the house to bring Kaitlin to an indoor pool. And I’m sure your son is glad to have a playmate for a while.”

  “He is.” She fell silent, watching the way Ben blossomed beneath Caleb’s attention. Shane had been trying to fill the role of father figure for her son, but no matter how hard her brother tried, he couldn’t be there as often as Ben needed.

  And what would happen if her brother found someone to share his life with? Oh, Shane wouldn’t abandon Ben completely, but she couldn’t fault him for spending time with his own family.

  Avoiding relationships hadn’t been a conscious decision in the beginning, not during the first year or so after Elliot’s death. If not for Ben, Leah wasn’t sure she’d have found a way to get past her grief. There was a part of her that wanted to give up the way her mother had. Thankfully, the other part of her was just as determined not to.

  But in the past two years she’d had several men ask her out, a couple of doctors at work and a construction worker from her parish. She hadn’t been interested in going out with them, despite their so-called safe careers.

  So why was she so attracted to Isaac? A man who was absolutely wrong for her on so many levels?

  Maybe she needed to have her head examined. This was likely nothing more than a silly infatuation that would surely go away once her life went back to normal.

  And if it didn’t, she had only herself to blame.

  * * *

  Isaac avoided the freeway, taking a winding route along several side streets to get to the general area of Wade’s last known address.

  He was glad he was driving Deck’s old car, since anything nicer would have been way out of place among the graffiti-painted buildings with boarded-up windows. Several cars around him had music blaring from the speakers, loud enough to be heard several feet away.

  It would have been nice if Deck had been able to come with him, but unfortunately, he’d been out working on a suspicious device left at a shopping mall. And Isaac needed Caleb to stay with Leah and Ben.

  Isaac wasn’t foolish; he wasn’t about to recklessly confront Wade, especially if he was surrounded by his buddies. He needed to get Shark alone, using their connected past to see if Wade knew anything about Hawk.

  Finding the address wasn’t difficult, but the apartment building looked to be deserted. Based on its dilapidated appearance, he figured it might even be condemned. For all he knew, Wade had moved someplace else.

  Isaac referred to his notes, but didn’t see the black car that, according to the DMV, was registered to Wade. Then again, the plates hadn’t been renewed for the past two years, so the guy could be driving anything.

  Isaac let out a sigh of frustration. Driving down here might be nothing but a bust. What had made him think he’d actually run into Wade? Especially on a chilly March evening?

  Despite the cool temperatures, there were a few people out and about, and one particular group caught his eye. Even from a distance he could tell a drug deal was going down. But he wasn’t here to worry about that. He needed to find Wade.

  He passed a liquor store and caught a glimpse of another small group of guys inside. One of them looked familiar. He decided to park his car and continue on foot, to get closer.

  Thankfully, he’d changed into the dark clothing Leah had picked out for him, black jeans and a sweatshirt, so he blended easily into the night. Most of the streetlights were burned out or broken, and it took a minute for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. The wind was cold and he pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head befo
re making his way back to the liquor store.

  He had no intention of going inside, just needed to get close enough to the glass door to see what was going on.

  Walking slowly, Isaac tried to blend in with the rough neighborhood as he glanced into the liquor store. He caught a glimpse of a gun and a roll of cash exchanging hands. Satisfaction surged as his hunch proved correct.

  The liquor store was being used as a hub for the sale of illegal weapons.

  At that moment, the guy taking the money glanced over and locked gazes with Isaac. Not Wade, but another guy he recognized from Saint Jermaine’s, one of Wade’s sidekicks.

  Isaac tore his eyes away and hunched his shoulders as he headed on around the block, taking the long way back to where he’d left his car. Every instinct screamed to run, but he forced himself to take his time, just in case the guy from Saint Jermaine’s hadn’t recognized him. He tried not to look too guilty as he rounded the corner.

  A wave of relief hit hard when he reached his vehicle. Isaac found himself silently praying as he revved up the engine and pulled away from the curb. He had little choice but to drive past the liquor store, since there wasn’t a cross street and making a U-turn would only cause more unwanted attention.

  His brief moment of relief faded when he saw the guy he’d locked gazes with standing in the street facing him. As he approached, the man lifted his gun and pointed it directly at him.

  Isaac cranked the steering wheel and ducked to avoid being hit as the sound of gunfire echoed through the night. He stomped on the accelerator, nearly clipping a parked car as he avoided the gunman in a desperate attempt to get back to Leah and Ben.

  EIGHT

  Leah couldn’t seem to relax as the hours crept by. She put up a good front, laughing when Ben did a cannonball that managed to splash the adults sitting a good two feet from the edge of the pool and chatting with Noelle as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

  But she watched the clock, nerves stretched thin.

  When Noelle declared it was time to get out of the water, Leah didn’t protest. When Ben did another cannonball rather than getting out the way she’d told him to, she narrowed her gaze and glared at him.

  “Now, Ben.” She didn’t have to use her stern tone often, but her son was clearly trying to show off for his new friend, Kaitlin.

  But of course, Kaitlin wasn’t even paying attention to him; she was huddled up in a large towel, being dried off by Noelle. Caleb had also gotten out of the water to grab a towel, and without anyone else in the pool, Ben didn’t have a reason to stay.

  He reluctantly climbed out and came toward Leah. She wrapped him in a towel and held him close. “I hope you had fun,” she said as she helped dry him off.

  He nodded vigorously. “Lotsa fun!”

  “Good. I’m glad.” She was happy that he’d been able to relax and play for a few hours. He was the innocent victim in all this.

  She glanced at the clock again, to find it was only ten minutes past the last time she’d looked, and she tried not to worry. Whatever he was doing was taking Isaac a long time. Truthfully, she’d expected him back by now.

  “Why don’t we go back up to our suite so the kids can watch a movie?” she suggested, pasting a happy smile on her face. She felt bad that Caleb couldn’t leave until Isaac returned.

  “Which movie?” Kaitlin asked eagerly.

  Leah racked her brain to come up with the title of the latest children’s film that had recently been released on DVD. “You and Ben can pick,” she said. “There are a couple of movies on demand that are available.”

  “Sounds good,” Noelle agreed. “And I’ll make some microwave popcorn.”

  Leah led the way up to the suite, using her key card to enter before holding the door for the others. She and Noelle insisted the kids change into dry clothes, which they did in record time. Within minutes the pair had picked a movie and were settled on the sofa with a bag of microwave popcorn. Leah was impressed that Noelle had come prepared with snacks.

  Caleb had taken a seat at the table and was working on the laptop computer. Since Noelle seemed content to watch the movie, Leah crossed over to sit beside him.

  “What are you looking for?” she asked.

  “Isaac asked me to check into a couple of things,” he said without looking up.

  She leaned forward and saw that he was doing a search on Wade Sharkey. A chill snaked down her back and she hated the idea that Isaac was out there looking for him.

  After about fifteen minutes, Caleb sat back with a sigh. “There isn’t much out there on this guy. He sure knows how to fly under the radar.”

  That news was not reassuring. “We have names and addresses for owners of these three license plates,” she said, holding out the notes. “One of them was possibly involved in the attempt to kidnap me.”

  “Hmm...” Caleb drew them closer and began entering the information into the computer. She didn’t have access to police databases the way he did, and they had only the one computer, so there wasn’t much she could do except watch.

  Isaac’s teammate frowned as he stared at the screen, and her stomach tightened. “What is it? Did you find something?”

  “One of these cars belongs to a cop, but he reported it stolen,” Caleb admitted. “Cop’s name is Aaron Winslow.”

  Her pulse jumped at the news. “He must be the dirty cop that my brother mentioned.”

  Caleb grimaced and shook his head. “Hold on—we can’t jump to conclusions, Leah. First of all, I’ve already checked, and Winslow isn’t in the same district as your brother. And even then, if someone wanted to throw suspicion on a cop, the best thing to do is to steal their vehicle to use in a crime.”

  He had a good point. “Okay, but don’t you think it’s a bit of a coincidence that my brother thinks there’s a dirty cop who blew his cover, and it just so happens that a cop’s car is stolen to commit a crime? I’m not sure I buy that.”

  “Maybe, maybe not,” Caleb murmured. “But if we could find something else to link this cop to the crime, then I’d be convinced.”

  Leah wasn’t sure how on earth they’d manage to do that, but before she could ask anything more, she heard the door open. Isaac was back! She leaped from her seat, knocking it over backward in her haste.

  “Whoa, take it easy,” Caleb said with a smile, righting the chair as she crossed over to Isaac.

  “Are you all right?” she asked, raking her gaze over him, searching for blood.

  “I’m fine,” he assured her, reaching out to give her a brief hug. The gesture was so quick she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d imagined it.

  “Well?” Caleb asked. “Did you find anything?”

  Isaac stepped back and nodded. “I think I stumbled across a place where they’re doing some of their gun deals,” he admitted. “Do you have a minute, Caleb? I want to show you something.”

  “Sure,” he said easily. He crossed over and planted a kiss on the top of his wife’s head. “Be right back,” he assured her.

  Leah wasn’t about to be left behind, so she followed them out the door.

  “Uh, why don’t you wait here?” Isaac stopped in the hall, clearly not wanting her to tag along. “We’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  What was with the sudden secrecy? She suppressed a sting of hurt. She didn’t like the way Isaac was trying to put her off and had no intention of sitting around and waiting for him. She squared her shoulders and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “No way. I’m coming with you.”

  Isaac stared at her for a long moment, a flash of helplessness, or maybe it was frustration, darkening his features before he threw his hands in the air. “Fine, suit yourself.”

  “I will.” She trailed behind the two men, her stomach twisting with every step. When they walked outside, she hugged hersel
f as the wind whipped around them.

  Caleb let out a low whistle and she shoved her hair out of her eyes, trying to figure out what was wrong. Had Isaac cracked up the car?

  But then she saw it—a small hole in the center of the windshield. And she knew without being told that it had been made by a bullet.

  Someone had taken a shot at Isaac.

  And looking at the placement of the hole, she knew it was a minor miracle that he hadn’t been injured or killed.

  * * *

  Isaac watched Leah go pale and wished she would have listened to him and stayed inside. He’d wanted to spare her the fear and horror that now shadowed her eyes.

  “We’d better call a glass company in to get that repaired,” Caleb said. “Driving around with a bullet hole in your windshield is a good way to get pulled over.”

  “Yeah, no kidding. But that wasn’t why I asked you to come out here. There’s a slug in the passenger seat. We need to pry it out and see if it matches any other crimes.”

  Isaac opened the passenger door and crawled inside. The bullet had struck the outer edge of the seat, closest to the driver’s side. Six inches nearer and he would have been hit.

  Swerving had saved his life, since he wasn’t wearing body armor beneath his sweatshirt. Something he definitely should have considered, based on his plan to skulk around in the district with the highest crime rate.

  He pushed the thought aside and used his penknife to widen the opening around the slug.

  “It’s jammed in there pretty good,” he muttered.

  “Do you need help?” Caleb asked.

  “Nah, just give me a few minutes.” He widened the hole until he could see all the way down to the wooden frame. Finally, he caught a glimpse of the slug embedded inside. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to get it out using only his pocketknife, since the tweezers that came with it weren’t superstrong.

  He didn’t want to add any marks to the bullet fragment, so he stopped and backed out of the car. “We’re going to need a field kit to get that out,” he said.