Under the Lawman's Protection

by Laura Scott

  “I might have one in my car,” Caleb stated, heading off to where he’d parked.

  Isaac turned toward Leah, searching for something to say, but she was already walking away, heading back inside the hotel.

  Somehow, he didn’t think she’d gone in just because she was cold.

  He knew that seeing the hole in the windshield and knowing there was a bullet fragment in the seat cushion had only proved to her just how dangerous his job was.

  A sense of loss hit hard and he tried not to rub the ache in his chest. Stupid to feel bad about this, since he’d known all along that a relationship between them was out of the question.

  Besides, he wasn’t ready to have another family. What if he messed up again? And even if he was interested, Leah would never date a cop.

  Better for his brain to get the message sooner rather than later.

  “Here, let me try,” Caleb said after he’d returned with the kit. He nudged Isaac aside and climbed into the passenger seat. It didn’t take long with the proper equipment, and soon Caleb had the bullet fragment tucked into a small evidence bag.

  “Not sure we’ll get much off this,” he said doubtfully. “It’s pretty smashed up.”

  “Yeah, the shot came from close range. I was hoping the seat cushion may have protected it some.”

  Caleb shrugged. “It’s still worth a try. I’ll get this and the shell casing in tomorrow morning.”

  Isaac forced a smile. “Thanks. I appreciate your help. Especially coming over here tonight to stay with Leah and Ben.”

  Caleb waved him off. “It’s nothing. Trust me, Kaitlin had a great time, and Noelle didn’t mind getting out of the house for a while. But we’d better head home.” His buddy cocked his head to the side. “Are you going to be all right here with Leah?”

  “Why wouldn’t I be? She’s upset, but she’ll get over it eventually.” He almost winced at his own offhand comment. As if he didn’t care about what Leah was going through.

  Caleb snorted and shook his head. “You can’t fool me, bro. I’ve been there and I know when a man is getting emotionally tangled with a woman. And you are definitely getting twisted up with that one.”

  “I don’t plan on getting married again. One failure was enough for me. Besides, I get the feeling that Leah doesn’t date cops. So whatever you think you’re seeing is nothing more than your overactive imagination.” Isaac slammed the car door with more force than was necessary. “Let’s go get the rest of your family. And if you could call a glass company to come fix the hole, I’d appreciate it. I’d phone them myself but they’d ask for a credit card.”

  “I’ll cover it, no problem.”

  Isaac led the way inside, surprised to find Leah chatting with Noelle as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

  Why he was bothered by that, he had no idea. He pulled out his phone, intending to call Leah’s brother, when he remembered the photos he’d taken.

  “Caleb, wait. Before you leave, take a look at these pictures.” Isaac plugged his phone into the computer and downloaded the few he’d taken of the men standing on the street corner. “What do you think? Do any of these guys look familiar?”

  His buddy squinted at the grainy pictures before shaking his head. “Not really.”

  “What about this one here?” Isaac had managed to get a decent profile shot of a guy standing inside the liquor store, the same one he’d recognized from Saint Jermaine’s.

  The one who’d shot at him without so much as blinking an eye.

  “Sorry, man, he doesn’t look familiar at all.”

  Isaac nodded. “Okay, just thought I’d check.” He knew Hawk would remember him. Would likely even remember his name. This guy wasn’t on the list he’d dredged up from his memory earlier.

  But the shooter must be working with Wade. Isaac couldn’t believe the tie back to Saint Jermaine’s was nothing more than a coincidence.

  “Okay. Thanks anyway.” Isaac knew he needed to set up a meeting with Hawk. But that was easier said than done. His buddy didn’t answer his phone or call very often.

  “Movie’s over,” Leah announced. “Time to get ready for bed.”

  “No! I don’t wanna go to bed.” Ben thrust his lower lip out stubbornly. “Me and Kaitlin want to have a sleepover.”

  Isaac hid a smile as Leah stared at her son with exasperation.

  “No sleepovers,” Noelle said firmly. “Kaitlin, say thank you to Mrs. Nichols and Ben for inviting us to come and swim in the pool.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Nichols and Ben,” Kaitlin parroted. “I had lots of fun.”

  “Me, too,” Ben declared, unwilling to be left out. “Mom, can Kaitlin come back tomorrow?”

  “We’ll see,” Leah said, and he groaned, the same way Jeremy used to, knowing that “we’ll see” really meant no. For a moment guilt over losing his son stabbed deep.

  Leah gave Noelle a quick hug and smiled at Caleb as they gathered their things together. But as soon as the door was closed behind their guests, Leah avoided Isaac’s gaze and hustled Ben into their room to get ready for bed.

  Isaac scrubbed his hands over his face, wishing she’d come back out so they could talk, but after five minutes stretched to ten and then to fifteen, he knew it wasn’t happening.

  His heart squeezed, but he tried to shake it off. He pulled out the disposable phone and called Hawk. To his utter surprise, his buddy answered.

  “Yeah?”

  There was so much to tell him that Isaac took a minute to formulate his thoughts. “Your partner, Trey Birchwood, was murdered by the same guy who tried to grab Leah and Ben. I managed to take a shell casing from the scene of the crime and plan to run it through the system. While I was out looking for Wade Sharkey, I stumbled across Stan’s Liquor Store, which appears to be a common place to do gun-sale business. I recognized one of the guys as going to Saint Jermaine’s, but I can’t think of his name, other than he went by the nickname Steel. He recognized me, too, and tried to kill me.”

  “You’ve been busy,” Hawk said, in a tone so quiet Isaac could barely hear him. Hawk had to be hiding somewhere, and Isaac wished his friend would trust him enough to tell him where. “I thought I told you to stay out of this. Your only job is to watch over Leah and Ben.”

  Isaac reined in his temper with an effort. “Look, knock it off, okay? You can’t do this alone. Besides, you don’t know your sister very well if you think she’s content with sitting here doing nothing while you’re out there fighting for your life. I’m going to text you this photo, and I need you to tell me this guy’s name.”

  “Okay, I’ll call you back.”

  He disconnected from the line and Isaac blew out a heavy breath as he sent the photo of the guy who’d shot at him to Hawk’s phone. It didn’t take long for his friend to call him back.

  “His name is Joey Stainwhite, but everyone called him Steel because he had nerves of iron when it came to doing anything dangerous. And he’s definitely in this with Wade.”

  “That’s what I thought. Okay, where are you? I think we’d be better off working as a team.”

  “Not yet. I’m...in the middle of something.”

  Hawk’s evasiveness was really starting to make Isaac mad. “Don’t you care about your sister at all? Don’t you understand how worried sick she is about you? What could be more important than coming in to work with us?”

  Hawk didn’t answer right away, and Isaac hoped that he’d knocked some sense into his buddy’s thick skull. “Soon, I promise,” he finally said.

  “What about your ATF contact? Have you tried him?”

  “I have, but no answer yet.”

  “Okay, I’ll give you until morning, and then we’re coming to get you whether you like it or not.”

  “I hear you. Gotta go.” And just that quickly the conn
ection between them was broken.

  Isaac ground his teeth in frustration and just barely managed not to throw the disposable phone across the room. He spun around, intending to head to the kitchen table, but stopped abruptly when he saw Leah hovering just outside the doorway to her room. From the shocked expression on her face, she’d obviously heard his side of the call with her brother.

  He mentally kicked himself for being so stupid, but how was he to know she’d come out? Unless she’d overheard him and had come to find out what was going on? No, he didn’t think he’d been talking that loudly.

  Well, at least not until the end of the conversation. He knew he’d lost his temper then.

  Leah was watching him, her dark hair curling around her shoulders, her eyes clinging to his, and he had to swallow hard to stop himself from going over there to pull her into his arms.

  Bad idea, he reminded himself. Really, really bad idea.

  “I’m sorry for losing my temper like that,” he said helplessly, thinking he hadn’t apologized this much since his wife had filed for divorce and left, taking Jeremy when she’d moved in with her new boyfriend. The one she’d had an affair with while he’d been working so many extra hours.

  The one who’d eventually killed her and Isaac’s son.

  “None of this is your fault, Isaac,” Leah said softly. “You’re in the middle of this mess because my brother dragged you into it.”

  She was mostly right, but he shook his head anyway. “This is what cops do, Leah. We fight the bad guys and try to put them behind bars. If I wasn’t working on this case, I’d be working on something else.”

  A flash of pain darkened her eyes and he mentally kicked himself again, harder. Why in the world had he reminded her about his dangerous career?

  “What did Shane say?” she asked, stepping closer.

  Isaac curled his fingers into fists to keep from reaching for her. “He knew the name of the guy who shot at me, which is good news. Now I can put a warrant out for his arrest.”

  “I heard you trying to convince him to meet with us,” she said, coming closer still. So close her cinnamon-and-spice scent teased his nostrils. “Thank you for doing that.”

  He shrugged, since his attempt had fallen on deaf ears. “I don’t like him being out there alone.”

  “He’s stubborn, isn’t he?” Leah said with a wry smile. “Guess that’s another trait he gets from our father.”

  Isaac lifted a brow. “A trait you share,” he pointed out drily.

  When she took another step toward him, he needed every ounce of willpower he had not to take a step back. Didn’t she realize the effect she had on him?

  Obviously not.

  “Isaac...” Her voice trailed off as she reached out to touch his arm, the heat of her small hand burning through the fleece of his sweatshirt. “I’m so glad you weren’t hurt,” she whispered.

  His thoughts scattered, but there was one thing he knew he needed to tell her. “I prayed and immediately felt calm. And I owe that to you.”

  A smile bloomed on her face and suddenly he couldn’t help himself.

  He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, ignoring the tiny voice in his head that warned he might be making a mistake.

  Because having Leah in his arms felt exactly right.

  NINE

  After a momentary shock of surprise, Leah melted against Isaac, savoring his kiss. It had been so long since she’d kissed a man, she’d completely forgotten how wonderful it was to share this intimacy. To be held protectively, as if she was something precious.

  To be wanted.

  And cared for.

  She couldn’t say how long the kiss lasted, but when Isaac lifted his head to breathe, she clung to his broad shoulders for a long, heartbreaking moment. He was so tall, so different from her husband.

  Wait a minute. What was she doing? She’d vowed not to love another man after Elliot died. She shouldn’t be doing this. Kissing Isaac was not smart.

  Regretfully, she pulled away and stepped back, drawing a deep, cleansing breath even though she knew she wouldn’t forget the impact of Isaac’s kiss.

  Ever.

  “Leah,” he began, but she quickly shook her head.

  “Don’t,” she begged. “Don’t apologize or say anything else, either. Let’s just enjoy the moment we shared and move on.”

  Isaac’s eyebrows levered up and then pulled together into a frown as he stared at her for a long moment, his mouth drawn into a thin, tense line. His dark eyes were difficult to read, and she told herself she didn’t want to know what he was thinking, because she was already hanging on to her control by a thin thread.

  “Good night, Isaac,” she said, forcing herself to turn and head into the bedroom she shared with Ben.

  As she was closing the door behind her, she heard his husky voice. “Good night, Leah.”

  She needed every ounce of willpower flowing through her bloodstream to close the door. Even then, she leaned weakly against it. No matter how much she was attracted to Isaac, entering into a relationship with him or with any man wasn’t what she wanted. She couldn’t imagine losing another husband. Maybe Noelle found a way to deal with Caleb’s dangerous job, but then again, Noelle likely hadn’t lost her father to the perils of being a cop.

  And certainly Noelle hadn’t watched her mother drink herself to death as a result of that loss.

  Feeling stronger in her resolve, Leah washed her face and brushed her teeth in the bathroom, then crawled into bed. But sleep wouldn’t come. She stared blindly up at the ceiling, rehashing everything that had just happened. She’d been so happy to hear that Isaac had prayed when he was in danger. There wasn’t a greater honor than helping people find their way to the Lord.

  And what she needed now was the power of prayer to deal with her own rioting emotions.

  She closed her eyes and cleared her mind, opening her heart and her soul to God.

  As Your willing servant, I ask You to show me the way, Lord. Provide me the wisdom I need to guide Isaac and the strength to face whatever the future holds. And please, Lord, keep my son and my brother safe in Your care. Amen.

  * * *

  Isaac dropped onto the edge of the sofa and cradled his head in his hands. Nice move, kissing her senseless. What in the world were you thinking?

  Yeah, that was the problem, all right. Thinking hadn’t really entered into the equation at all. And he was mad at himself for getting emotionally involved with Leah in the first place, especially since she’d made her position on not dating cops loud and clear.

  Marriage and cops didn’t go well together. He’d learned that when Becky had left him. So why was he even entertaining the idea of trying again?

  For a moment he considered what he might do if he gave up being a cop. But the instant the idea entered his mind, he shoved it aside.

  No way was he giving up his entire career for a woman. Besides, being an officer was who he was. His team meant a lot to him. Being a part of something good, putting the bad guys behind bars, was important to him, as well.

  Anyone who truly cared about him wouldn’t ask him to give it up.

  So why didn’t that make him feel any better?

  Maybe the problem was really his. He couldn’t give enough to a relationship because he gave everything to his career. It wouldn’t be fair to drag any woman into marriage. And especially not Leah.

  From now on, he needed to keep his distance from her.

  He stood and crossed over to the window, which overlooked the back parking lot. He’d tucked his car beneath a tree, hoping to make the bullet hole in the windshield less obvious. The mud over the license plate was still intact, and he’d made sure he hadn’t been followed.

  But then he remembered the canister of tear gas breaking through the window o
f their first hotel room. That wouldn’t happen here, since they were up on the second floor, but the fact that a dirty cop was involved bothered him.

  Cops had way more resources available to them than the average layperson did.

  He dropped the curtain and crossed over to the kitchen table, where the laptop was sitting. Hawk had given him the name Joey Stainwhite, so Isaac made the call to the department dispatcher to put a warrant out for Joey’s arrest.

  Once that task was completed, he tried to do a search on the guy, but of course he didn’t find much. Other than the fact that Joey had a very similar police record as Wade.

  Had they served time together? Isaac checked the records and wasn’t surprised to find they had in fact done so. How had they gone from petty crime to dealing illegal weapons?

  He stared at the computer screen, realizing that Wade and Joey had to be lower-level operatives. There had to be someone higher up who was the brains behind the operation.

  And based on what Hawk had told him, the head honcho was very possibly a dirty cop.

  A flashing red light coming through the crack in the curtains caught his eye. He scowled and leaped up to cross over to the window. When he looked outside, he could see a cop had someone pulled over.

  Nothing to worry about—the officer likely was handing out a speeding ticket or DUI. But Isaac stayed by the window anyway, watching to make sure the policeman didn’t stumble upon his car.

  It seemed to take forever for the cop to finish, and even then he didn’t leave right away. He had turned off the red flashing lights on the squad car, but what in the world was he doing out there?

  Isaac was getting more and more nervous until finally the officer pulled away, making a wide U-turn before heading back out onto the highway.

  For a moment Isaac debated waking Leah and Ben to head to a new hotel, chiding himself for not moving earlier.

  No, he couldn’t do it. There was no evidence of real danger, and after swimming all evening, Ben no doubt needed a good night’s sleep.