Читать книгу The Military K-9 Unit Collection - Valerie Hansen - Страница 64

SEVENTEEN

By the time Linc had completed his survey and cut the list down to the likely suspects, Zoe’s neck was in knots and her head throbbed. She knew why. Spending all this time with him was very trying. If he hadn’t been on duty, it might have been different, although she doubted it.

Standing, she stretched. “I should go get Freddy soon.”

“Right. We will. The boy comes first. We don’t want him to be worried about you.”

We? Zoe wondered if noticing every little nuance of Linc’s behavior was something new or if she had been doing it all along and had overlooked her own interest. Until now. Moreover, did he realize he had begun referring to them as a couple? Whatever. She certainly wasn’t going to be the one to point it out.

One concern she was going to mention however, was the safety of her beloved child. “Do you think, considering everything that’s happened, that I should send Freddy away?”

Linc whirled, scowling. “What brought that on?”

“Reality,” she said flatly. “He’s all I have. I love him so much it hurts. There must be some way to protect him.”

“Better than I can, you mean.” It wasn’t a question.

“I didn’t say that.” She was adamant. “But you can’t be around all the time. And at night, when he’s home with me, you’re not there at all. Somebody else is.”

“With a K-9 partner.”

“I know, I know. And that is a plus. But those guards keep changing. I never know who’s going to show up. When I see you, it’s very reassuring.”

“Thanks, I think.” He drew his fingers and thumb down the sides of his jaw, meeting at the point of his chin. “I suppose it’s possible I could convince Sergeant James to switch my assignment to the overnight shift, but that may be a bad idea.”

“Why? If you’re still worried about rumors about being in my apartment, I assure you, I trust you completely. Besides, Freddy’s there. I can let him bunk with me and you can have his room.”

Linc held up both hands, palms out. “Whoa. Is that where your other night watchmen sleep?”

“Well, no. I’ve offered something more comfortable, but they’ve all turned me down.”

“As they should have,” Linc said forcefully.

“You don’t have to raise your voice. I’m the victim here, remember? I’m just worried about protecting my son the best way possible. As I said, maybe I should send him away.”

“Where? Where would you send him? You’ve already told me your family is unfit. What about the Flints, John’s parents? Would they take him in? He is their grandson.”

“Not one they choose to claim. They disowned me and mine long ago after I reported John’s crimes. They never did believe he could be guilty of espionage and insisted I had framed him.” She sighed. “I think they suspect me of being behind the accident that killed him, too.”

“Sad. They’re missing out on meeting a great kid.”

Linc’s praise restored Zoe’s smile and lifted her spirits until he added, “You can’t leave him with Maisy overnight. Not with her father being one of the RRK’s victims.”

Zoe knew he was right. Maisy’s father, Chief Master Sergeant Clint Lockwood, had been one of her brother’s first victims on CAFB.

She made a face. “Him again.” She began to pace. “You have no idea how much I wish I had been an only child.”

He chuckled wryly. “I used to, too, until my sister, Georgia, became an adult. Now we just fight over which branch of the service is the best, hers or mine.”

“She’s an army major, right?”

“You have a good memory. Yes. A career officer.”

“What does she do? I mean, what’s her specialty?” Zoe hoped Linc didn’t think she was just making conversation. She truly wanted to know.

“Diplomacy, if you can believe it.” He laughed lightly. “We are definitely not alike.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve seen you handle lots of touchy situations since you’ve been assigned to me. You’re an impressive negotiator, too.”

“Yeah, well. I’ve made some mistakes.”

Like kissing me? she wondered. Rather than ask and chance confirmation, Zoe let it pass. “We all make mistakes,” she said. “Some more than others. Take my—take the Red Rose Killer. He had every opportunity to turn his life around and refused.”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” Linc said. “The same goes for lots of criminals, including my own father. They seem oblivious to the harm they’re leaving in their wake and the people they’re disappointing.”

“I suspect they just don’t care, for the most part,” Zoe suggested. “I mean, look at the two of us. We could be offered any reward on earth and it wouldn’t be enough to turn us against our country.”

“You’re right.”

“Of course, I am, as I’ve proved before. I’ve come to another conclusion, too. In spite of the possibility that the RRK has likely been on the base, I don’t think my problems can be pinned on him no matter how we twist the clues. It just isn’t his MO.”

“Listen to you,” Linc said with a low chuckle, “sounding like a professional cop.”

“I get bored and watch a lot of TV after Freddy’s in bed. Well? Do you agree or are you still including you-know-who among your suspects?”

“No. I’m convinced it’s somebody else who has it in for you.”

“What about the blood?”

“The blood that wasn’t real? The shooting that didn’t happen? Missing babysitting money? A car with a useless bomb?”

Zoe gasped. “What bomb?”

“I guess I forgot to tell you.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Arms folded across her chest, she struck a formidable looking pose. “Talk.”

“Nick Donovan’s bomb sniffer didn’t react and the ordnance people didn’t see anything under the chassis. But when they looked in the gas tank, they found a cell phone wired to what looked like a really thin pipe bomb. According to them, there was no way the thing would have detonated after soaking in gasoline for so long.”

“Hold on.” Her eyebrows knit together. “What about sooner? Suppose I had ignored your warning and driven?”

“That’s unknown.” Linc held up a hand. “Don’t get excited. Whoever put the device in your tank was a doofus when it comes to ordnance. Believe me, I’ve dealt with serious bomb makers, and they don’t fool around with untried methods.”

The darkness in his gaze and the hurt in his tone were enough to stop her from giving voice to the questions that rose in her mind. Just what kind of experience with bombs had he had? She changed the subject. “Never mind that now. What are we going to do about taking care of Freddy?”

“I thought I’d request permission to crash in my car outside your apartment building while the regular guard takes inside duty as usual.”

“Oh.” That solution, while logical, did not include her personal preferences. How could she express them without making Linc think she was pursuing him? Why, oh, why, had she let herself get carried away making jokes and bringing up the subject of marriage, particularly after he’d told her how he felt regarding a lifelong commitment?

Zoe’s mind provided no ready answer. There was no way to go back in time and retract her faux pas. Therefore, she reasoned, the best plan for going forward was to agree with Linc’s ideas and bend her will to his. His being parked outside was more sensible and far less stressful—for both of them. Zoe didn’t know about Linc, but her heart beat faster the instant she dared relive even the most innocent moments of their embrace. And that fantastic kiss!

Thousands of romance novels had been written about such things. Until then, she had assumed a reaction like the one she’d had while in his arms was a figment of an author’s creative imagination. Well, no more. She and Linc had ignited a forest fire, and he was trying to put it out with the equivalent of a teaspoon of water, when what they should have been doing was turning from each other and running in opposite directions as fast as they could.

Only he would never abandon his duty, would he? And there was nowhere she could go, no way she could hope to safely escape both her antagonist and the dedicated Security Forces man who was trying to protect her. She was in the air force. She went where she was told.

Besides, she admitted with a dose of self-criticism, she was not going to purposely flee from the only person who had made her feel totally secure in more years than she could count.

Forcing a smile, she slipped her thumbs into the front pockets of her jeans, struck a casual pose and said, “Whatever you decide is fine with me. C’mon. Let’s go get Freddy.”

* * *

In Linc’s mind, he had wandered empty-handed into a swamp filled with hungry alligators. Or perhaps barefoot into a cave of venomous snakes. Whatever the inane analogy, he was up to his neck in trouble with a capital Z for Zoe.

I can’t possibly have fallen for her, he told himself. That would be disastrous. Despite her joking manner, he suspected she’d been serious when she’d vowed to never remarry. That was fine with him. Wasn’t it? If so, then why was his gut tying in knots every time he saw her threatened or remembered the times she’d been inches from injury?

Because I’m an idiot, he replied. What good was it to plan his career, his life, if he let a pretty face distract him from reaching his goals?

What he could do was request he be relieved of duty regarding Sergeant Sullivan altogether. The thought had briefly crossed his mind in the past but certainly not lately. No. He was going to stick it out and prove to himself that he could rise above emotion and that he was in total control, mind and body. Thankfully, rigid self-discipline would keep his actions in line. His errant thoughts were a very different story.

He’d been to church often enough to recall Scripture insisting that a wrong thought was the same as the deed. They sure didn’t feel the same to Linc. And there lay the conundrum. His feelings had taken control and were running rampant, urging him to do or say something he knew would bring pain to himself and to Zoe. Linc clenched his jaw. Not to mention Freddy.

The little guy deserved a better father than he could ever hope to be. If Zoe didn’t realize that, maybe it was time to remind her.

Linc led the way to his car, put Star into the rear and held a front door for Zoe. As she passed close by to slip into the SUV, he caught a whiff of her shampoo. She smelled like flowers. Her hair was down again, brushing against her shoulders in silky light brown waves. And those expressive eyes. He knew better than to dwell on her hazel gaze because every time he did, it became more difficult to look away.

He climbed behind the wheel and gripped it hard. Out of the corner of his right eye, he could see her peering over at him, so he said the first thing that came to mind. “Do you have all the groceries and housekeeping supplies you need? If not, we should stop at the BX before we pick up Freddy.”

“I’m good. I try to stock extras so I don’t have to shop too often. I hate wasting time.”

“A woman who doesn’t like to shop? Now, that is something for the newspapers.”

“Well, you could contact Heidi Jenks.”

“Not likely. There’s a strong suspicion she may be our mysterious blogger. I sure don’t want to feed her any more information, even accidentally, and see it turn up on everybody’s computers.”

“You mean like the time that blog listed the RRK’s supposed romantic interests? It wasn’t only the women who had already got a red rose and a warning note. There were others, too.”

“I know. I visited Jolie Potter, the scientist who works in our biomedical lab. All she recalled was a few dates and Boyd dumping her because he claimed she was too smart. I also spoke to Munitions Specialist Lara Dennie. She admitted to having had a crush on him but said she’d dodged a bullet when he’d ignored her. Those women were both on a classified list that only authorized personnel should have had access to.”

“Then how would Lieutenant Jenks...?”

“Unknown. Just like so many other facets of what’s been going on around here.” He made the turn onto the side road leading to the preschool. Not only did Zoe perk up when the building came in sight, so did Star.

Linc gave a low chuckle. “I think my K-9 is glad we’re picking up her little buddy. Look at her.”

“I see.” Zoe’s laugh carried tones of fondness for the dog that would have surprised Linc coming from anyone else. “It’s a pleasure to have her around, particularly when her favorite person is Freddy.”

“Whoa.” Linc had to grin. “I am supposed to be the one and only person Star is interested in. I told you not to spoil her by making her too social.”

“Phooey. I didn’t make her anything. You and I both know she had a soft side all along. Just because she wags that stubby tail more when Freddy and I are around is no reason to blame us.”

“Oh, no?”

“No.” Zoe pointed to the curb. “Just pull over right here and I’ll run in to get him.”

“We’ll come with you.”

She didn’t say it, but he saw the objection in her eyes and body language. She obviously did not want an escort, although why was puzzling. She had just told him she wanted him close, yet she was acting as if he’d insulted her. “What?” he asked.

Zoe was shaking her head the way a trainer did when a particularly dense canine didn’t pick up instruction quickly enough. “It’s perfectly safe here. You’ll be in the car and your dog will alert if anything’s wrong.” She pushed open the passenger door and hopped out. “Stand by, Sergeant. I’ll be right back.”

Because he had scanned the approach and the yard already, Linc felt reasonably certain Zoe would be fine. After all, he hadn’t been assigned to become her Siamese twin, he’d merely been told to keep watch and try to convince her to trust him.

Well, mission accomplished, he thought cynically. Sergeant Sullivan trusted him implicitly. Remembering that kiss, he wondered if that was more of a problem than if she had held him at arm’s length.

Linc saw her climb the front steps and knock. It took several seconds for the door to open and Zoe to be admitted. Then it shut tight. Good. The women inside were properly protecting their charges. It was a shame they had to worry so much but that was better than being too lax.

Moving back and forth in the seat behind him, Star was acting anxious. “Settle down, girl. She’ll be back soon.”

The dog continued to fidget. When she let out one of her impressive rottweiler barks, Linc took her seriously. Just because he hadn’t seen or sensed a problem didn’t mean Star was wrong.

He stepped out of the SUV, fastened a lead on his K-9 partner and gave her the command to jump down. She took off so fast and pulled so hard that Linc almost lost his footing. Her nose was to the ground now, the hackles on the back of her neck and shoulders bristling. He might not know what she was after but as long as Star did, Linc was going to let her search.

They crossed a sparse lawn, rounded the preschool and made the corner, then slowed. Star froze as if she were a hunting dog, signaling a hidden pheasant. She sniffed the air. Then the bare dirt. A fenced play area stopped them from continuing right next to the building, so Linc urged his dog to backtrack. She didn’t refuse, but he could tell she wasn’t happy about the redirection.

A child’s laughter reached them both. Star began to strain. Linc kept her controlled so she wouldn’t race around to the front and flatten some poor kid with her enthusiasm, probably Freddy. “Easy, Star. Heel.”

The look the K-9 gave him was so full of frustration and angst it was almost comical. She’d probably led him to the play area because she knew children had recently been out there and was disappointed when he’d pulled her away.

A female voice called, “Linc? Sergeant Colson?”

Zoe. He was about to answer when her words morphed into a scream.

With every nerve firing and every muscle taut, Linc raced back toward his vehicle. Zoe! Someone wearing a jumpsuit and a baseball cap had hold of her and was grappling for control while brave little Freddy pounded tiny fists against the man’s legs.

Linc drew his gun and shouted, “Security! Hands up.”