Best Served Cold

by Rebecca Deel

  Deke pulled the door closed behind him. “My girls can be challenging. I miss the little imps.”

  Nate clasped Stella’s hand. “When we return from the hospital, we’ll contact Zane.” And set him on the trail of Kayla Manetti’s birth father.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Stella and Nate walked the corridor to Will’s hospital room. When they drew near the uniformed officer guarding the door, his hand moved to rest on the grip of his weapon. Seeing his tension made Stella wish she had her badge.

  Deke passed them, badge in hand. “U.S. Marshal Deke Creed. This is Stella Grayson, also a marshal, and her boyfriend, Nate Armstrong. We need to talk to Riley.”

  “Wait here.” The officer stepped into the room and pushed the door almost closed. A minute later, the officer returned to his post and Nadine stepped into the hall, a smile on her tired face.

  “I’m glad you stopped by. Will’s been asking if there were any new developments.”

  “Can he handle a short visit, Nadine?” Stella asked. “We promise not to stay long. If he becomes tired, we’ll come back later.”

  “He’s not deaf,” came a grumpy male voice from inside the room.

  “Will isn’t a very good patient.”

  “I heard that, too. Get in here, Grayson.”

  “Better do as he says. I’m going to find some coffee.”

  “Enjoy the break, Nadine.” Deke leaned down and kissed her cheek. “We’ll stay with him until you return.”

  “I won’t be long.” She walked fast down the corridor toward the elevator.

  Inside the hospital room, Riley sat with the bed slightly elevated, an IV dripping fluid into his hand. He waved at two seats with his unencumbered hand. “Tell me what’s happening.”

  “I contacted Jordan,” Nate said.

  “And?”

  “He plans to visit Joseph Manetti’s compound.”

  “I thought he was going to Redding. Why Manetti’s place?”

  “We found Rick Ashworth,” Deke said. “He’s Manetti’s number two man.”

  “Rich Morris. Well, that’s a development I didn’t see coming. How soon is he going in?”

  “He didn’t say,” Nate said.

  “Wish I could go with him. I’d love to hear what Ashworth has to say.”

  A knock on the door frame and the guard slipped into the room. “Sir, Marshal Gage Yates to see you.”

  Will motioned for him to let the other man in.

  The young marshal strode through the doorway. “How are you, Will?”

  “Grumpy.”

  Gage nodded at Nate. “Armstrong. Stella, feeling better?”

  “Some.”

  “You look better. I’m glad you weren’t hurt worse.”

  Yeah, she was, too. She glanced at the man she planned to marry in the near future. She had a lot to live for.

  “What’s the doctor say, Will?” Gage asked.

  “I’ll return to active duty, but it’s going to be a while between recovery and rehab.” He grimaced. “Trust me, I’m not looking forward to the next four months.”

  “Four months?” His face blanched. “The injury was that serious?”

  “I’m lucky to still have a career. Another few centimeters and I’d be hunting for another line of work.”

  “This shouldn’t have happened.”

  “You’re right. It shouldn’t have happened and that’s a point I plan to make with the leak.”

  “Do you know who it is?”

  “Not yet,” Deke said. “We will.”

  “How many innocents will die before we uncover the traitor?” Stella asked, frustrated and afraid for the safety of her co-workers. Will could have died the night before. Worse, she almost lost Nate.

  “You don’t know there’s a leak,” Gage protested. “We might have been hacked. It’s happening all over the place. Nothing is secure online anymore.”

  “Did you check the office computers yet?”

  “Yeah, but I’m not a tech wizard. Just because I didn’t see evidence of a breach in security doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”

  She exchanged glances with Nate. Her fellow marshal sounded defensive. He was the new man in the office, after all, and wouldn’t want to be seen as incompetent. Stella remembered the pressure of being the newest team member and was grateful she’d been paired with Deke.

  “I’ll have the computers checked,” Riley said.

  “I’ll arrange it,” Gage said. “Concentrate on recuperating.”

  Nadine returned. Her eyes widened at the crowd in her husband’s room. “Gage, how nice of you to drop by.”

  He gave her a one-armed hug. “How are you, Nadine?”

  “Grateful to still have the love of my life.”

  “And the boys?”

  “Now they know Will is fine, the boys are okay. My mother is staying with them while I’m here.” She smiled. “Someone has to keep Will from snarling at the nursing staff.”

  Stella watched the deputy director while his wife talked to Gage. Fighting to stay awake. Time to go. She nudged Nate’s arm and inclined her head toward the bed.

  At the first lull in the conversation, Nate said, “Nadine, we should go. Do you need anything before we leave?”

  “Thank you for offering, Nate, but I’m fine. We have a steady stream of law enforcement personnel coming for short visits, giving me breaks. Stella, Deke, Gage, go find the person who almost made me a widow. I want him or her behind bars.”

  “Nadine,” Will murmured.

  “Don’t bother telling me not to badger them, honey. They’re cops. They can take it.”

  “You have our word,” Deke said. “No one will back off until he’s been captured.”

  Or killed, Stella added silently. She squeezed Will’s hand. “We’ll see you later.”

  “I want regular updates.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I’d better go, too,” Gage said. “I’ll stop again tomorrow.”

  Will didn’t respond, his eyes closed and his breathing deep and even. Pain meds did it to you every time.

  In the hallway, Nate nodded to the cop on duty and laid his hand on the small of Stella’s back as they walked to the elevator.

  “Where are you going now?” Gage asked.

  “Brunch,” Nate said. “Care to join us?”

  Stella slid a glance his direction. What was he up to? They ate breakfast an hour earlier. Was he hungry or did she miss a cue from Gage which Nate caught?

  The marshal checked his watch. “Where did you have in mind?”

  “Panera’s on 21st Avenue?”

  “I’ll meet you there.” Off the elevator, Gage turned in the opposite direction.

  “What was that about?” Deke asked, his voice low. “You fed us well. I can’t eat another meal.”

  “Eat a snack. People relax over food.”

  “You think he’s involved in the murders and Stel’s attack?”

  “Someone in your office is complicit in these crimes. I know you and Stella aren’t involved. That leaves Gage, Eric, and Mike. Riley didn’t shoot himself.”

  “Doesn’t mean he’s cleared of passing on classified information,” Deke said. “Maybe the shooter has bad aim.”

  “I don’t see him for this.”

  “No one should be eliminated yet.”

  “Then he stays on the list.” Nate’s eyes twinkled. “At the bottom.”

  At Panera’s, Stella studied the menu, looking for something light. Perfect. Yogurt parfait and iced green tea. She placed her order and sat Gage’s table, the marshal already eating his breakfast sandwich.

  “Looks good.”

  “You should try one. My mom made something similar when I was a kid and reminds me of her.”

  “Where are you from, Gage?”

  “Here and there. We moved around a lot.”

  “Military?”

  “Nah, nothing so noble. My old man was into gambling.” He stopped. “Well, more accurately, he was int
o losing. When he lost too much, we moved in the middle of the night to a new city.”

  Oh, man. His growing up years must have been rough. “How did you finish school with the moves?”

  “Wasn’t easy. I learned to make friends fast the first couple weeks in a new place.”

  Nate and Deke arrived at the table with two trays of food. Stella’s eyes widened. So much for her partner and boyfriend not being hungry. Her yogurt looked insubstantial compared to their orders.

  “What brought you into law enforcement?” Stella asked.

  “The moves in the middle of the night didn’t always come fast enough. Sometimes the leg breakers caught us before we left town. When that happened, the cops got involved, especially if Dad’s injuries landed him in the hospital. The local cops were good men and went out of their way to show kindness to me and my mom.” He shrugged. “I wanted to be like them instead of my old man.”

  “Every kid should have a good influence in his life,” Nate said. “My father and uncles were my heroes.”

  “You were lucky.”

  “Believe me, I know.” He reached for his sandwich and took a bite.

  “What’s your take on our situation?” Deke asked.

  His face darkened. “It shouldn’t be happening. Good cops shouldn’t be dying.”

  “And the attack on Stella?”

  Gage polished off his sandwich and sipped his soft drink before replying. “Only a coward attacks a defenseless woman.”

  Stella scowled. “This defenseless woman is just as trained as you are.” She never expected Gage to fall in with the good-old-boy system. He’d treated her as his equal.

  “I didn’t mean it that way. It wasn’t necessary to hurt you.”

  Deke snorted. “You worked with Stella over a year. Do you think she’d back off an investigation if someone threatened her or someone she was protecting?”

  Gage’s face reddened. “He could have made a point without hurting her. I need to go,” he said, gathering his trash. “Is there a number to contact you directly? With the leaks plaguing our office, I’m afraid to leave a message with any law enforcement agency. I don’t want anyone else hurt.”

  Stella glanced at Nate who nodded. Hmm. She wondered if there was something on the phone which prevented someone from tracking the cell signal. Maybe a scrambler of some sort? Very futuristic if it were true. Law enforcement would love to have access to that if Fortress had come up with such a thing. She gave him her cell phone number.

  “I’ll be in touch.” He stood to leave.

  “Gage.” She laid her hand on his arm. “Be careful, okay? I don’t want to lose another friend.”

  With a nod, he left.

  “What did you think?” Nate asked.

  “Seems sincere enough.” Deke grabbed his tray. “He makes me feel old.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s been in the marshals for ten years and he looks young enough to be in high school.”

  “What about you, sweetheart?”

  “I’m worried about him. Gage is upset enough that I’m afraid he’ll take risks. We’ve already seen what this guy is capable of. I don’t want to lose him, too.”

  He cleared the rest of their table. “Might be time to have another talk with Eric Green.”

  She grimaced. Yeah, it was necessary, but the conversation wouldn’t be fun.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Nate parked in front Eric Green’s house. Since it was Saturday, the newlywed agreed to see them at his home, though not graciously. He didn’t blame the marshal. If he’d been in Green’s shoes, he wouldn’t have trusted them, either. An abundance of circumstantial evidence made it hard to believe Stella and Deke’s story. Nate was an unknown and that made him more dangerous.

  Before Nate rang the bell, Green yanked the door open. He motioned them inside. “You have thirty minutes before my wife returns from the grocery store. I want you gone before she arrives.”

  “Don’t trust us, huh?” Deke asked.

  “Have a seat and get to the point.” His tone made it clear no matter what they said, he’d hear it with skepticism.

  All right, if he wanted to play rough, Nate could do that. “Where were you last night at nine o’clock?”

  Green stared at him. “Are you kidding me? You want to know where I was when Will was shot? I have no reason to hurt him. I like the guy.”

  “I didn’t ask if you wanted to hurt him.”

  “I don’t understand. That’s when Will was shot, right? Get this through your thick skull, Armstrong. I have no motive for shooting my boss. My wife and Nadine are friends. I would never hurt him.”

  “Will wasn’t the intended target.”

  He frowned as his gaze shifted to Stella. “You?”

  “Nate.”

  “That doesn’t make sense. Why kill your boyfriend?”

  “He wants Stella vulnerable to attack,” Nate said. “As long as we’re together, he has to go through me to get to her.” No one would hurt Stella on his watch.

  Green gave a bark of laughter. “How do you know she wasn’t the one who hired the shooter to take you out and he hit Will by accident?”

  Fire roiled in Nate’s gut. “If she wanted me dead, she’d do the wet work herself.”

  “And maybe you’re a trusting fool, Armstrong. Hard to believe you were Special Forces.”

  Yep, the guy was an idiot. “Where were you when Riley was shot, Green?”

  “I don’t have to answer questions. You aren’t a cop and I’m not guilty of a crime.”

  “Wish you and your law enforcement cronies believed Stella and Deke were innocent until proved guilty. How about giving them the benefit of the doubt?”

  “What is your problem?” Deke glared at the other marshal. “You know how this works. We want to find the shooter as much as you do. The situation is worse than you think.”

  “Yeah?” He leaned back in his chair, arms folded across his chest.

  “A hit man, Lance Cannon, came after Stella the night she was released from the hospital. He’s dead, killed by a car bomb. Ty’s gone. Pete’s gone. Will’s injured. Are you telling me you believe Stella put a hit on herself, then bombed his car, killed two marshals and wounded a third?”

  “It’s possible.”

  “Now who’s the idiot? We have documented proof that Stella, Nate, and I were nowhere near Pete’s place or Cannon’s car when the incidents occurred. We were all standing on the porch when Will was shot. And incidentally, the laser was on Nate, not Will, when the deputy director was hit.”

  “You could have hired someone to kill Super Soldier.”

  “Motive?”

  “Maybe you discovered he was knocking her around. Maybe he’s the one who ambushed and beat her. Ty stopped Armstrong and died for his trouble.”

  Nate’s hands clenched and his face burned. He surged to his feet. One thought ran through his mind. Knock him flat. One good punch and he’d be down.

  “No!” Stella wrapped her arms around him. “Don’t. Look at me, love, not Eric.”

  His focused gaze dropped from the belligerent marshal to the woman holding him tight. He drew in a deep breath and forced his rage aside, shoved the insult and bitterness into a deep, dark well to deal with at a later time. Took longer than he wanted to admit to harness that fury. So much for the Army discipline drummed into him. Who knew all it took for him to lose his legendary cool was a smear against his integrity? Green knew exactly what to say to rile him. Nate unclenched his fists and cupped Stella’s face between his palms. Her petal-soft skin soothed the ragged edges inside him.

  He leaned down, kissed her with a butterfly touch, trusting Deke to watch Green’s every move. “Thanks,” he whispered against her lips. The last thing Stella needed was him behind bars.

  “Nate?” Deke said, voice quiet.

  He glanced over and gave a short nod before shifting his attention once more to Green. “First, two witnesses saw me in Otter Creek at the time Stella was attacked
, one of them a cop. Second, I would never lay a hand on a woman in anger, especially not the woman I love. Third, that was your only free pass from me.”

  Something in his soft tone or focused intensity impacted the marshal because color leached from his face.

  “Again, where were you when Riley was shot?”

  “At my parents’ fiftieth anniversary party. I have about two hundred witnesses.”

  “I want a guest list to verify your alibi.”

  Green looked as if he wanted to protest, then, with another glance at Nate’s expression, thought better of it. “Andrea has it on her computer. I’ll print a copy.” With a wary glance in Nate’s direction, he strode to the back of the house.

  Nate hugged Stella. “Did I scare you, baby?” He never wanted her to be afraid of him. He used his strength and skills to protect those he cared about. She topped that list.

  “Of course not. I love you, Nate. More important, I trust you. Even if I hadn’t intervened, you would have maintained control. It’s who you are.”

  He’d thought so until now. Green proved him wrong. When it came to Stella, his control was like smoke, gone with a puff of wind.

  “He’s a good guy, Nate.” Deke drifted to the living room window and eased the curtain aside. “He doesn’t know who to trust. The easiest culprits to blame are me and Stel. You’re the next obvious choice.”

  “I have zero motive to kill your co-workers and even less to go after Stella.”

  “We always look at the spouse or significant other first.”

  “I have an iron-clad alibi for all the murders.”

  “Consider the circumstances.”

  “Not good enough.”

  Green returned, a sheaf of papers in his hand. “The list. If none of you are killing marshals, who is?”

  “We uncovered a connection between the witness murders and Ty and Pete,” Stella said.

  His gaze sharpened. “What connection?”

  “Ever heard of Joseph Manetti?”

  “Who hasn’t? Scumbag of the earth. Fingers in every money-making pie around, legal and illegal. Ruthless. His enemies don’t last long.”

  “What about Rich Morris?”

  “Manetti’s right hand man. What do they have to do with the murders?”