Under the Lawman's Protection Read online

  But even though, logically, he knew they were safe, Isaac stretched out on the sofa rather than going into the bedroom. He planned to be ready, just in case.

  Leah and Ben were his top priority. Anyone daring to come in would have to go through him to get to them.

  * * *

  Leah woke up the next morning to the sound of Ben’s laughter coming from the living room. For a moment she was reminded of Saturday mornings when Elliot would get their son up so that she could sleep in.

  The old, familiar pang of grief didn’t follow on the heels of that thought, a fact that surprised her. There were times she had trouble remembering her husband’s face, although she had pictures.

  None with her now, though.

  Leah had tried to keep Elliot’s memory alive for Ben, but he’d been only a year old when his father died, far too young to retain any real memories.

  And for some reason, that thought didn’t make her sad this morning.

  She leaped out of bed, more eager to see Isaac again than she should be. After hurrying through her shower and blow-drying her hair, she pulled on her jeans and sweater before following the enticing smell of breakfast.

  “Good morning.” Isaac greeted her cheerfully, despite looking rumpled and exhausted.

  “Good morning,” she responded lightly, unwilling to broach the subject of his sleepless night. After all, it had taken her far longer than it should have to fall asleep, thanks to his toe-curling kiss.

  “Breakfast just arrived, so help yourself.” Isaac gestured to the food waiting on the table. “And I found another place for us to stay tonight, one I’d like to run past you.”

  She frowned and took a seat at the kitchen table. “Another place? Why can’t we stay here?”

  Isaac shrugged and glanced at Ben. “I’ll explain later. First, let’s eat.”

  Leah waited for Isaac to sit down and was surprised when he folded his hands together, looking at her expectantly. She drew in a deep breath and bowed her head. “Dear Lord, we thank You for this wonderful food You’ve provided for us. We also thank You for keeping all of us safe from harm. We ask for Your grace and mercy as we begin our day. Amen.”

  “Amen,” both Isaac and Ben echoed.

  The food was delicious. She glanced around the suite, wishing they didn’t have to leave. Had something happened last night? Something that had caused Isaac a restless night?

  Ridiculous to assume he’d been kept awake by their kiss.

  She really needed to get a grip already. They were dependent on each other for now, but as soon as Shane met up with them, they wouldn’t need Isaac’s help anymore. They’d go their separate ways.

  She stared at her scrambled eggs, refusing to be depressed by the thought of Isaac leaving. Based on the hero worship in her son’s eyes, she wasn’t the only one who would miss him.

  Her stomach twisted painfully and her previously ravenous appetite evaporated away. She pushed her food around for a few minutes before giving up the pretense.

  “That was delicious. Thank you,” she said, sliding away her half-eaten breakfast.

  “You’re welcome,” Isaac said, frowning when he saw the amount of food she hadn’t eaten. Thankfully, he didn’t say anything more as she busied herself with cleaning up.

  As soon as Ben and he were finished eating, she turned toward Isaac. “Today is Sunday, right? I’d really like to attend church services.”

  He looked surprised at her request, but then slowly nodded. “All right, we can go back to that church from the other night if you’d like.”

  “Great—thanks.” That was one issue solved. “I also need to call in to work. I had the weekend off but I’m scheduled to work tomorrow morning. I need to give them time to find my replacement.”

  “Uh, sure. No problem. I’ve already taken a few personal days myself, but you might want to take the whole week off, since we have no idea when this will be over.”

  “I can’t call in sick for a whole week,” she said, horrified that he’d even suggest such a thing.

  “I understand, but I don’t want anyone at work to know where you are or what’s going on. We wouldn’t want to inadvertently put anyone at the hospital in danger.”

  She nodded and took the disposable phone into the bedroom to make the call. What could she say that wouldn’t be an outright lie? With a grimace she told the charge nurse on duty that she had some personal problems and couldn’t come in to work. And when the woman tried to pry more information out of her, Leah quickly disconnected the call.

  Good thing they were attending church, because she desperately needed the spiritual support right now.

  She gathered their clothing and personal items together, packing everything into the duffel bag they’d purchased yesterday, which seemed like weeks ago. Then she hauled the duffel out to the living area.

  “Here, I’d like to show you what I found,” Isaac said, motioning her over. She dropped the bag on the floor near the door and crossed to the computer. “Check this place out. They have small two-bedroom cabins for rent, fairly cheap, since it’s the off-season. And there’s a playground for Ben, which I thought would be nice.”

  “Looks good,” she agreed. “But it’s pretty far away, isn’t it?”

  Isaac nodded. “Yeah, but I can’t help thinking that being farther outside of town is better for us.”

  “What happened last night?” she asked.

  “Nothing really, just a cop hanging out after he pulled someone over. Made me nervous, that’s all.” Isaac shut down the computer. “Are you ready to go?”

  She nodded, and it didn’t take long to check out of the hotel. What was surprising was that the bullet hole in the windshield was already repaired. “How did you get that done so fast?”

  “Caleb made the call for first thing this morning. There’s a company that drives out to where your car is located to fix broken or cracked windshields.”

  “Amazing,” she muttered as Isaac stored their things in the trunk.

  The ride to the church didn’t take long, and just seeing the brick building with its stained-glass windows and steeple gave Leah a sense of coming home.

  She wasn’t sure what Isaac thought about attending church, since this wasn’t a wedding or a funeral, but she was touched that he’d agreed regardless. With Ben sitting between them, she couldn’t shake the idea that everyone around them likely thought they were a family.

  She tried to concentrate on the service and the pastor’s theme of forgiveness, but it wasn’t easy. She kept glancing over at Isaac, amazed that he seemed to be intently following the sermon.

  Did he need to forgive someone for something? And if so, why did she care?

  It had taken time for her to fully forgive the drunk driver who’d hit Elliot head-on in a crash that cost her husband his life. Since it was the man’s third DUI offense, he’d gotten sentenced to seven years in prison for vehicular homicide. She prayed he’d see the error of his ways and would turn his life around once he was released from jail.

  She silently prayed for Isaac to find peace in forgiveness. And when he took her hand in his during the Lord’s Prayer, she couldn’t prevent the tiny thrill of awareness that shimmered through her.

  The service was over much too quickly, but she was glad for the opportunity to attend. They made their way outside into the bright sunlight. The spring temperatures were finally warming up, and she couldn’t help smiling when Ben let out a whoop and ran up and down the rows of cars.

  “Over here, Ben,” Isaac called, gesturing at their vehicle.

  Her son had a lot of pent-up energy, because he continued running around with his arms spread wide, pretending to be an airplane.

  Isaac took off after him, and she stood by the car, watching the two of them together. Isaac didn’t yell at the boy, but
lifted him up and flew him around and around like a plane.

  “Do it again, Mr. Isaac, do it again,” he begged.

  “Once more and then we have to leave, all right?” Isaac waited until he nodded before swinging him in a circle again.

  Ben was giggling madly as they finally returned to the car. Leah wanted to thank Isaac for being so kind to her son, but her throat felt too tight and she found herself blinking back the sting of tears.

  “All set?” Isaac asked, glancing over at her.

  “Yes,” she managed to answer, avoiding his gaze by buckling her seat belt.

  The drive along the country highway was nice and quiet on a Sunday afternoon. Isaac seemed to know where he was going, so she tried to sit back and enjoy the fact that they weren’t running for their lives for once.

  “We’re almost there,” Isaac said before Ben could ask for the fifth time. “The road leading to the log-cabin rentals is just up ahead.”

  The area around the cabins looked sparsely populated, and Leah couldn’t help wondering if that was part of the reason Isaac had chosen the place. She smiled when Ben let out a whoop as he caught sight of the playground.

  “Can I go play, Mom? Can I?” he asked anxiously.

  She glanced over at Isaac and nodded. “Yes, but you have to wait until we get checked in, okay?”

  Her son didn’t appreciate the wait, but soon Isaac returned with the keys to their cabin. He handed one to her. “We’re in number seven. I’ll haul our stuff inside if you want to take Ben to the playground.”

  “Sure, that would be great.” She slid out of the passenger seat and then opened the back door to help Ben out. He’d already unlatched the booster-seat strap by himself.

  He ran ahead, teeming with exuberance. She followed more slowly, enjoying watching him. She was so fortunate to have him as a part of her life.

  Despite the sun, the wind still held a chill, so after about forty-five minutes, she called him over. “It’s time to go in.”

  “Okay.” Her son had her dark hair and fair skin, and his cheeks were rosy from the cold. They walked down the path, finding cabin seven without difficulty.

  Isaac was on the phone when they arrived, so she tried to keep Ben quiet so they wouldn’t disturb him. She took off Ben’s coat and glanced around their latest home away from home. The cabin was a tad smaller than the suite had been, but the two bedrooms flanking the living area were almost the same. Leah hung up their coats on a wooden rack behind the door and went to stand next to the blaze that Isaac had going in the fireplace.

  He was scribbling notes on the stationery he must have taken from their previous hotel. “What else?” he asked when he’d finished.

  There was another long pause as he listened to whoever was talking on the other end of the line, probably Caleb or Declan.

  “Okay, call me as soon as you find something else,” he said before disconnecting from the call.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  Isaac glanced at Ben and then shrugged. “New details from the crime-scene techs.”

  She appreciated that he didn’t want to say too much in front of her son, but she had a stake in this investigation, too. “Ben, why don’t you get your cars out so you can play for a while?”

  “Okay,” he agreed.

  “The room closest to the fireplace is yours,” Isaac said when Ben headed in the wrong direction. “Be careful—it’s hot.”

  Leah waited until her son was well out of earshot. “Tell me what they found.”

  “The shell casing is the same type found at the scene of an unsolved murder,” he admitted. “Young man by the name of Enrique Morales.”

  She stared at Isaac blankly, thinking there had to be more to the story than this. “So, what does that mean?”

  “Enrique also spent time at Saint Jermaine’s school for delinquent teens,” Isaac admitted. “And he was murdered exactly one week ago today.”

  She shivered, not liking the strong link to the place. “You think he was part of this whole illegal gun scheme?”

  “Can’t say for sure, but I do think it’s possible. And if that is the case, then I can’t help but wonder how many more people will die before we figure out who the top guy is,” Isaac said grimly.

  Leah swallowed hard, thinking about Shane. It was creepy the way everything seemed to revolve around Saint Jermaine’s, a place where both Isaac and Shane had been sentenced to over twelve years ago. It wasn’t as if they’d spent years there, either; the time frame was better measured in months. But clearly, whatever criminal activity had started back then had resurrected in the here and now.

  Two deaths associated with this mess so far: Trey Birchwood and now Enrique Morales.

  She had to convince her brother to meet with Isaac and her soon. Before he became the next victim.

  TEN

  Isaac pushed away from the table feeling restless. The puzzle pieces were beginning to fall into place, but there were still way too many missing holes. And worse, he wasn’t sure what steps he could take next to fill in the blanks.

  “I want to talk to Shane,” Leah said abruptly. “He has to let us come and pick him up.”

  Isaac nodded, agreeing with her concern. “I told him the same thing last night. So far he hasn’t been willing to accept our help.” He didn’t add that the main reason Hawk was keeping his distance was because he didn’t want to put Leah and Ben in any danger.

  Hawk would rather die in the line of duty than risk the innocent lives of the people he loved.

  And frankly, Isaac couldn’t blame him. He’d do the same thing if the situation was reversed.

  “Give me his number,” Leah insisted. “Maybe I can convince him.”

  Isaac hesitated, but reached for his phone. Why not have Leah talk to him? Maybe hearing from his sister would help change Hawk’s mind about coming in. “Here, use mine—he might not recognize your number.” He watched Leah make the call, thinking he’d been more than ready to pick up Hawk last night. In fact, he’d pushed him as hard as he could, but to no avail.

  Of course, Hawk didn’t answer. Isaac knew by the brevity of the call that his buddy must have his phone off.

  Leah let out a heavy sigh of frustration. “He’s ignoring us,” she muttered.

  “Or he’s in a place where he can’t talk,” Isaac pointed out.

  “So now what?” she asked, throwing up her hands. “We can’t just sit here and wait. We need to do something.”

  He didn’t want to remind her about what had happened the last time he’d tried to do something. The bullet hole in his windshield had been repaired, but the seat cushion where he’d dug out the bullet was still a mess.

  “Here, program the number into your phone, so that you have it, just in case.”

  She did as he suggested. “I still don’t like the fact that there is nothing we can do to help him.”

  “I know,” Isaac admitted. “Listen, why don’t you and Ben enjoy some downtime?”

  Leah rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything more. He understood she was chafing at being holed up in a small log cabin as much as he was. But he didn’t have another option for her.

  Belatedly, he remembered the gun they’d recovered from the mall shooting incident. So much had happened that he hadn’t had time to ask someone to check for the weapon in the evidence room. “There might be one thing I can do,” he said slowly. He called Declan’s number, but his friend didn’t answer. The thought of calling Caleb after his buddy had gone above and beyond to help him out last evening didn’t sit well with him, either. Isaac didn’t want to keep dragging his buddies away from their families.

  The newest member of their team, Jenna Reed, had been with him during that mall incident. Maybe she’d be willing to check out the evidence room and see if there had
been any headway on the ballistics evidence, as well.

  Despite being blonde and petite, Jenna had surprised them all with her incredible sharpshooting skills. She might have placed second behind Caleb, but not by much. Yes, she had a bit of a chip on her shoulder, always determined to carry her own weight, sometimes to the point of being ridiculous. But she tolerated the general ribbing from the rest of the guys without getting too bent out of shape.

  He called the dispatch center for her number, and once he phoned her, she surprised him by picking up on the second ring. “Reed,” she said curtly.

  “Hey, Jenna, it’s Isaac. I need a favor if you have a few minutes.”

  “Sure. What’s up?” There was a hint of surprise in her tone, as if she hadn’t expected him to call her for help.

  He quickly explained what he wanted and she readily agreed. “I’ll check out the evidence room and search on the ballistics report. Is this the number you want me to use to call you back when I have something?”

  “Yeah. And, Jenna? Thanks.”

  “No problem.”

  He disconnected, once again thinking how great it was to have a team of people he trusted. Too bad Hawk didn’t have the same level of teamwork within his district.

  “Jenna?” Leah echoed. “Is she one of the dispatchers?”

  Was Leah jealous of Jenna? No, had to be his imagination. “She’s a sharpshooter for the SWAT team.”

  A tiny frown puckered Leah’s brow. “And you trust her? The same way you trust Caleb and Declan?”

  “Caleb and Declan are my best friends, so no, I don’t trust Jenna in the exact same way. But she’s a good cop and I’ve been in a few tactical situations with her. She can hold her own.”

  Leah flashed a lopsided smile. “Sorry to be on edge. I just don’t want to risk anything happening to my brother. I know I’m driving you crazy, but I just can’t imagine what Shane must be going through.”

  “I care about your brother, too, Leah,” he reminded her. “I don’t want to see anything happen to him, either.”

  She nodded, her expression thoughtful. “He and I have always been close, but even more so in the past few years since our parents died. Shane helped support me through nursing school, after Mom passed away. I’m not sure if I would have finished without him.”