Читать книгу Protective Custody - Lynette Eason - Страница 10

While Mason secured the house, Carly watched the interactions of Nicholas and his niece and nephew. Lindsey, twelve, stood almost as tall as Carly. The quiet girl was reed thin, with blue eyes that saw everything.

She hadn’t been nearly as welcoming as her seven-year-old brother, Christopher, who’d given her a high five and invited her to his room to see his fish. “I gotta have fish,” he explained. “I’m ’lergic to cats, and I can’t play with the dogs. I have asthma, too. The fish don’t bother my lungs.”

Asthma. She made a mental note of the fact.

“I thought you guys were watching a movie and stuffing yourselves on popcorn so you could sit down at dinner and say you’re not hungry,” Nick teased.

Christopher gave a belly laugh. Lindsey had the art of eye rolling down perfect, and she seemed to feel the need to display it at every opportunity.

Five minutes after meeting Lindsey, Carly discovered her outlook on life consisted of a combination of waiting-for-the-other-shoe-to-drop and roll-your-eyes-at-anything-an-adult-says attitude.

To make things easier on Carly and Mason, the Jeffersons had moved into the main house with their two dogs. They’d declined the hotel room. The second-floor guest room was a compromise.

Debbie moved into the room at the end of the hall. She seemed to take everything in stride. “I’ve been in this situation before with Dad.” A hand batted at the air. “It’s usually no big deal. He’s gotten threats before, and nothing happened. So I’m not leaving when the children need me. That would just be one more inconsistency in their lives. And we have protection, right?”

Carly stared at her. “Are you sure? This could be a tense few days before the trial starts.” Even the fact that a man had been murdered as a message to her boss only caused a minor hesitation in the young woman.

She bit her lip, eyes darting between Carly and Mason, then back to Nicholas. Her jaw firmed. “No, I’m staying.”

“Great, more people in this house.” Lindsey rolled her eyes.

Nick shot her a look. “Watch it, Linds.”

The girl clenched her jaw and stomped toward the stairs.

Debbie frowned and went after her.

Christopher slipped a small hand into Carly’s and looked up at her with a gap-toothed grin. “I’m glad you’re here.”

She patted his head and knelt down on his level to grin back at him. “I’m glad I’m here, too.” She stood then looked at Nicholas. “It’s my turn to check the grounds.”

“Come on, kiddo.” He motioned for his nephew to transfer his hand from Carly’s to his. “Let’s go see if dinner’s going to be ready soon. I’m starving.”

After a quiet and tense meal, Debbie retired to her room at the end of the hall. Nick saw the children off to bed, and Carly walked the perimeter of the house one more time, her nerves stretched taut. Right now, she could relate to Lindsey’s waiting-for-the-other-shoe-to-drop mentality.

It was too quiet. Yet the silence seemed loud. Filled with expectation, anticipation—waiting.

But for what?

Nothing good, that was for sure.

She shivered even as sweat broke out across her forehead.

The darkness pressed in, although the floodlights illuminated her path. The night smelled of dogwood and honeysuckle. She walked the darkened edge, not wanting to make herself a target should anyone be watching from beyond the fence.

The two dogs, she’d learned, were retired police K-9s the Jeffersons had adopted after Stella Jefferson’s departure from the force. Carly had made friends with them, then turned them loose.

Pushing the earpiece deeper into her ear, she said, “All’s clear out here.”

“We’re settled in here,” Mason’s voice came back to her. “You want first watch?”

“Sure. What about the kids? Do they seem all right?”

“Yeah. Well, Christopher and I are big buds now. The girl…um…not so much.”

“I noticed that, too. They’ve had so much upheaval in their young lives…”

“I know. Just FYI, our judge is armed.”

She stopped just on the edge of the light, her eyes scanning the darkness even as her brain processed the conversation. “Excuse me?”

“He got his gun from a safe and loaded it.”

Carly thought about that for a minute then said slowly, “Well, he’s had the training. He knows how to use it.”

“Yeah, that was my take on it.”

“Then, good. I think.”

The floodlights clicked off. Her heart kicked up a notch as she froze. “Mason, did you do that?”

A quiet beat stretched between them. Then he said in a low voice. “No. The lights went off in here, too. Call for help and get in here.”

The other shoe had just dropped—with a bang.

Nick had just pointedly told Lindsey to get ready for bed. “And could you please lose the attitude? They’re here to help us.” He wouldn’t admit he wished he could throw a temper tantrum himself about the whole situation. But that wasn’t going to help anything.

Another eye roll. “Right.”

Frustration bit at him. Ever since her mother and aunt had been killed, Lindsey’s personality had done a one-eighty. She used to be so sweet, laughing at his silly attempts to bring a smile to her face, offering hugs with guileless spontaneity.

Then her mother and aunt died, and the bottom had dropped out of her world. Her grandmother leaving hadn’t helped the situation, either. Nick understood why his mom felt she had to leave. There simply wasn’t anyone else to take care of his aunt. But tell that to Lindsey.

With a sigh, he studied his niece’s mutinous expression and supposed she was coping the only way she knew how.

Then the lights went out.

Frustration morphed into concern, then outright fear as he realized what was happening.

“Lindsey, get over here.” He pressed the button on his iPhone to illuminate the room. The glow caught her startled, fearful expression.

“Why?” she demanded.

He strode to her and grasped her wrist in a light grip. “The power just went out, and I don’t know why yet. Stay with me and head to Christopher’s room.”

“I’ve got him.” Carly’s voiced reached out to him a few moments later in the dark. “Everyone stay together while we get to the safe area.”

An area she could defend, he thought. Drawing in a calming breath, he said, “The laundry room would be best. No windows and only one way in.”

“Good job. I’d already picked that place myself. We don’t have much time. The alarm wasn’t tripped, and without power it won’t be.”

“Yes, it will. I have a generator that kicks in for the alarm system. And the laundry room is off the kitchen.”

“You and the kids get in there.”

“Get my dog, Uncle Nick,” Christopher cried suddenly. “Pepper. I don’t want the bad people to get him!”

Carly shot him a look. “Dog?”

“A stuffed animal he sleeps with.” He placed a hand on Christopher’s head. “He’s safe and sound, tucked under your bed last time I saw him, okay?” Then he looked at Carly. “What about Debbie and the Jeffersons?” No way was he going to tuck his tail and run when people he cared about were in danger.

“Mason has them.” She spoke into her radio. “Meet us in the kitchen.” To Nicholas, she said, “Follow me and stay away from the windows.”

As they descended the slightly curved staircase, the sound of barking reached his ears. “The dogs aren’t happy. Someone’s on the grounds.”

“Or somewhere around the fence. I wish you had some closer neighbors who’d check out all the racket.”

The barking escalated.

A shadow passed the bay window in the den. “They’re outside the house,” he whispered. Lindsey clutched his hand, the sullen preteen now a scared young girl. Both children remained silent, eyes wide, breaths rasping. She noted Christopher seemed to be wheezing a little. “Do you have his inhaler?”

“In my pocket.” Nicholas fumbled in the front pocket of his jeans.

His heart thudded, not so much in fear for himself as for the kids and his staff. And the marshals. Most specifically, Carly.

God, please don’t let anyone get hurt. I know she’s skilled in her job, but I can’t live with someone else I know dying…

Her right hand gripped Christopher’s; her left curled around the gun. She motioned them left at the bottom of the steps, across the den and into the kitchen. She opened the laundry-room door and said, “All right. In you go. Lock it behind you.”

Thankfully, he’d installed the lock on the laundry-room door when the kids had come to live with him. He hadn’t wanted Christopher to accidentally get into the household supplies he kept in there.

Although if someone was determined to get in, neither the door nor the lock would hold against a swift kick with a booted foot.

Nick felt the weight of his weapon pressing against his lower back and itched to pull it out. Why hadn’t the alarm gone off? Then he realized that he hadn’t heard the generator kick in.

Lips pressed into a thin line, he motioned the kids in. Mason, Debbie and the Jeffersons appeared next to him. He reached across the counter and grabbed the telephone.

Dead.

Grimly, he reported, “No power and no generator for some reason. Phone line’s been cut, too.”

“Great,” Mason muttered.

“Get in,” Nick urged. Debbie led the way. The children immediately attached themselves to her side. Nick handed the inhaler to her, and she passed it to Christopher, who stuck it in his mouth for a good puff. His eyes pleaded with Nick as he whined, “I want Pepper.”

Nick rubbed his head. “I’ll go get him in just a minute, okay?”

“Promise?”

“Promise. You just concentrate on breathing, okay?”

Christopher gave a reluctant nod. The Jeffersons entered the room, and Nicholas shut the door.

Carly looked at him. “What are you doing? Get in there.”

He narrowed his eyes on her and pulled his gun from the back of his waistband. “Not a chance.”

“This is what we’re here for, remember?” she protested.

Mason motioned toward the front of the house. “No time to argue. Judge, you stay back and out of sight if you can. Use the gun if necessary.”

“You’re not making this any easier.” Carly’s nose flared as she shot him a look mixed with anger and fear. Nicholas understood her anger, wondered at her fear.

“This is my fight,” he insisted. “I won’t deny I might need help, but I refuse to sit on the sidelines while somebody else fights it.”

Carly bit her lip and forced aside visions of him lying in a pool of blood.

Her gut clenched and a protest hovered on her lips. Then a loud crash came from just ahead. Carly stepped in front of Nicholas and pointed her gun in the direction of the sound. “Freeze!”

Running footsteps sounded. The flash of a large shadow darted around a corner. Nicholas brushed past her and took off in pursuit. Mason ran the other way, and Carly knew he was looking to cut off the intruder.

She counted one person inside the house.

But how many were outside?

Sirens sounded in the distance. Help was on the way. She hoped the approaching authorities would scare off whoever was on the property. The dogs were barking like crazy. How had the intruders gotten past them?

Carly followed Nicholas, determined to back up whatever he was doing. She’d hold on to the tongue-lashing she wanted to give him until after everyone was safe.

Rounding the corner, she pulled up short. Nicholas had his back up against the side of the house, his gun held steady, aiming into the dark. “What is it?”

“Two of them ran toward the woods.”

Carly radioed it in. A police helicopter would head their way. They’d also notify the authorities to be on the lookout for cars coming from this direction.

“Carly!”

Mason. She motioned for Nicholas to follow her back into the house. Police now swarmed the property. Mason stood in the den area talking to several officers and barking out orders.

“What is it, Mason?”

Her partner looked up as she walked in. “He—or they—got away, but one of the dogs snagged this.”

With a gloved hand, he held up a piece of fabric. Carly wrinkled her nose. “What is it?”

“A piece of a shirt, I think.” In his other latex-covered hand, he held up wire cutters. “We’ll have the lab test this for prints, but I don’t think they’ll get anything. Whoever is after Nick is smart and they’d have had gloves on. It’s a no-brainer.”

“Still, we’ve got to try. We might get pleasantly surprised and catch a break.”

Mason grunted his disagreement as he set the two pieces of evidence aside to be taken to the lab, but didn’t argue. She knew he secretly hoped she was right.

Nicholas ran his fingers through his already tousled hair and sighed. “Why didn’t the generator kick in when they cut the power? And how did they get past the dogs?”

“The dogs were maced,” Mason informed them. “They came prepared to take the dogs out. As for the generator, I checked on that. It’s been dismantled.” Mason paced from one end of the den back to them.

“How?” Nicholas snapped. “It’s in a closed area that blends in with the house. How would they know where to find it?”

Carly drew in a deep breath and shared a glance with Mason, who said, “Our intruders did their homework. They’ve probably been doing it ever since they found out you were going to be sitting on the case. These guys are good, professional killers.” He sighed and rubbed his chin. “But why strike here? Professional killers prefer to work from a distance. Why didn’t they shoot you instead of Harrison Frasier?”

Carly sighed. “Good point. Unless,” she pondered, “they don’t really care if you’re dead or not. They just want you off the case. If they can scare you off, why bother to kill you?” She threw her hands into the air. “Who knows? I do know this—we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

Nicholas shot her a ferocious frown. A hand reached up to rub the back of his neck, and Carly’s palms actually itched with the sudden impulse to massage the tension from his shoulders.

Get a grip, she ordered herself and curled her traitorous hands into fists. She stepped forward and placed a hand on Nicholas’s arm almost before she thought about what she was doing.

Footsteps sounded and Carly jumped back, but not before Nick’s frown softened and his eyes glinted with something she wasn’t able to put a label on.

Lindsey rushed into the room and wrapped her arms around her uncle’s waist. Christopher grabbed a leg and held on. His breathing seemed much better, Carly noticed.

Nicholas placed a hand on each of the children’s shoulders and reassured them with pats and hugs. “Everything’s fine, kids. Go on up and get in your beds. I know it’s going to be almost impossible to sleep, but you try for now.” He shot a pleading look at Debbie. “I know you’re not on duty at night, but do you think…”

“I’ll take care of them.” Debbie stepped forward and held out her hands. “Come on, Chris, let’s go make sure Pepper’s all right and give him a big hug.” Christopher eyes brightened, but he still gave one last lingering glance at his uncle before following Debbie to the stairs. “Can I jump on the bed, Debbie?”

The woman gave a low chuckle. “Maybe just a few bounces.”

Lindsey seemed to have found her attitude again and glared at him. “Why don’t you just drop the stupid case so we can have our lives back?”

With that parting shot, she turned on her heel, shoving past Debbie and Christopher.

“Lindsey…” Nick’s voice trailed off when he realized his niece had no intention of heeding his call. With a sigh, he shut his eyes and stood without moving for several seconds. Carly knew he was wondering if he should go after her or not, and her heart ached for him.

She offered him her unsolicited advice, keeping her voice low and trying to offer encouragement. “Give her some space. She’ll be all right.”

Although why she wanted to make him feel better was beyond her. How many hours had she lain awake thinking about her mentor, Hank, who had been cut down coming out of his granddaughter’s ballet recital? How many times had she railed at the heavens for placing a judge on the bench who didn’t care that he was releasing a monster back into the world?

And yet…she felt something for him. Her traitorous heart kept wondering if maybe she had things skewed. Maybe she didn’t know all the facts about that case.

“I know,” Nick finally said. “She’s just had it so rough for so long—and now this.”

A loud thump sounded from upstairs, and Carly started, her hand on her gun. Mason took up guard next to Nick.

“It’s just Christopher,” Nick said, holding up a hand to stop her progress.

She paused. “What do you mean?”

A guilty flush started appeared on his face. “Um…he likes to jump on the bed, and I let him…sometimes.”

“That was a pretty loud thump.”

“Yeah, he likes to put his beanbags on the floor and…” Another thump sounded, and Carly flinched.

“…jump from the bed to the beanbags,” she finished for him.

He shrugged. “Yep.”

“Okay. That’s good information to have. However—” she looked at Mason “—why don’t you go check to make sure?” He nodded and left. Carly paced to the kitchen and back then shot a glance at Nick. “That’s sweet of you to let him do something most parents would yell about.”

Another guilty flush appeared, and he looked away. Inspiration hit her. “You do it, too, don’t you?”

He raised a brow, going for the innocent look. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, no, you don’t, Nicholas Floyd, you don’t fool me.” She shook a finger at him. “Not only do you do it, too, I bet you taught him!”

Nick shoved his hands into his pockets, and Carly swore he was hiding a grin. “Well, I…”

Carly crossed her arms and put on her stern look. “Come on, Judge, how do you plead?”

He let out a sigh and the little-boy look on his face tugged at her heartstrings. “Guilty as charged, ma’am.”

Carly felt her heart thaw about ten degrees. She sobered and looked into his eyes, thought about asking him about the murderer he’d let go. No not now, she decided.

Nicholas placed a hand on her arm, and she felt the touch clear to her toes. She turned a questioning look at him, as he said, “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For everything. For not giving me a hard time about not hiding out and leaving the bad guys to you.”

Crossing her arms over her middle, Carly zeroed in on his eyes. “Yeah, about that. We’re going to have to have a little heart-to-heart about some of those rules we kind of skipped over earlier.”