by Lenora Worth
“I had a plan, a solid commitment to not get involved with you. But here I am, Belle. I’m not like Percy.”
“No, you’re not,” she said, slapping at his arm. “But I have to be absolutely sure.”
He was about to kiss her again to reassure her when they heard voices echoing throughout the hallway.
Belle sighed and laid her head against his chest. “That would be my relatives coming to check on me and just in time. I’m sure the neighbors called my dad since he alerted them that no one would be here tonight. News spreads like a flash flood around here.”
“You have a lot of people who love you,” he said. Then he thought about that. Could he be one of those people?
SEVENTEEN
They were all talking at once.
Emmett tried to absorb Belle’s family moving through the house and up and down the stairs while he also worked to keep up with the two members of her unit who’d shown up to search her yard, coming and going while they talked into their radios. He had sensory overload since his parents had been stoic, quiet and stern most of the time. That had taught him to savor quiet and solitary moments. He felt in the way and out of place here amid so much action, but he also knew the procedure. Emmett had to get back out there, and he might have to do it on his own.
If he could find a way through this crowd.
“You’re going to get yourself killed,” Belle’s mother kept saying, her hands waving more and more with each repetition. “This is too much, Belle.” Then she lapsed into Spanish, explaining why Belle needed to get married and settle down.
Emmett didn’t think that would happen anytime soon. She would have stopped him from kissing her back there even if her folks hadn’t shown up. And all because he’d told her the truth—falling for a woman as bold and brave as her could be the most dangerous thing he’d ever done.
Belle looked as if she wanted to scream.
“Belle, we need you outside,” K-9 Detective Tyler Walker, who’d brought his golden retriever, Dusty, to help track the intruders, called out. Her friend Noelle had also arrived on the scene with her K-9, Liberty, but Gavin assigned her to crowd control in the house. Others were canvassing the yard and streets and knocking on doors to see if anyone had seen two suspicious men lurching about.
Looking relieved, Belle started toward the back door.
“Belle, why did you stay here like some lamb to be sacrificed?” her father asked, his salt-and-pepper hair standing straight up in a jagged ruffle on his head.
Her twin sisters sat on the stairs, leaning on each other, tired and worried. Every now and then, they’d both shot a look at Emmett, their dark eyes pleading for answers.
“I’m fine,” Belle said to her parents. “I have to get to work.”
“Work. Work to do. That is her way.” Mrs. Montera threw up her hands one last time and stalked toward the stairs. “I’ll go up and make everyone something to eat.”
Belle kissed her father and then turned to head back out.
Emmett stood staring after Belle, wishing they hadn’t been interrupted earlier. But neither of them was ready to admit anything. Plus, they had to gather evidence and track footprints and try to find these aggressors.
He knew that better than anyone. So he turned and started out the back door, determined to work his own grid like he’d done a hundred times with criminals.
“Hey.” A voice called out behind him. Emmett turned to find Joaquin standing in the hallway, his hands in the pockets of his jeans.
“What’s wrong?” Emmett asked, wondering if the boy was still keeping secrets. He looked dejected and...guilty.
“I might know something,” Joaquin said, lowering his head.
“Something like what?” Emmett asked.
“I heard them talking once, arguing, when they were trying to beat me to a pulp.”
Emmett saw the black eye and cuts still healing on the boy’s face. “What did you hear?”
“Percy said something about a house over near the park. I think it’s abandoned but he’s been sneaking Lance Johnson in and out. He said something about getting the stuff they needed and hiding it there.” Brushing at his hair, Joaquin finally looked up at Emmett. “They planned to dump me there, you know, after they’d killed me.”
Emmett heard the fear in the boy’s words. “Have you told anyone else this?”
“I didn’t remember at first. Things keep coming to me now, though. I know the address.”
After he memorized the address Joaquin gave him, Emmett stepped closer and moved the teenager out onto the porch. “Listen, I know you’re scared but you can’t live in fear. You have to tell the truth, or this could get worse.”
“How can I do that now?” Joaquin said. “I almost died over trying to make easy money.”
“You learned a hard lesson,” Emmett said. “Take that and make something out of it. Walk inside the light—no more trying to make easy money.”
“What can I do?”
“You keep remembering things that might help us and we’ll keep fighting them. They’ll mess up sooner or later and we’ll end this.”
Joaquin’s shoulders lifted. “I’ll do my best. I love my sister.”
“I know you do. You just watch your back,” Emmett told him. Then he handed Joaquin his card. “And you call this number if you ever need me, understand?”
The boy nodded and put the card in his pocket.
“Joaquin?” His sister Anita’s voice lifted out over the night.
“Coming.” He gave Emmett a shy glance and hurried inside.
Emmett glanced around and remembered the front fence where one of the intruders had been trying to break in. He headed over to examine it, using his flashlight to see what he could find.
Footprints on the ground all around the gate, but then he’d stepped in this same spot so his would be there, too. Holding the light up to the worn wood, he noticed a strip of fabric dangling from a crooked nail.
Emmett held the light close and noticed the print on the material. Tugging in his pocket for some latex gloves, he put his light down long enough to put them on. Then he gently lifted the torn material off the fence.
Part of an emblem or patch clung to the torn material. A uniform maybe. Then a memory came to him. A uniform from a certain storage unit located across town? He squinted in the sharply focused light. It just might be a match.
He’d give this to the crime scene techs. Maybe they could find some DNA on this and match it to Percy Carolo.
That would be another win for the growing pile of possible evidence linking Belle’s ex to her attacker.
The fence had held and thankfully, when he’d shown up, they’d both run away like the cowards they were. They thought they could take Belle, but she’d proven them wrong.
That thought scared him enough to make him see that he did care about her and with more than just a feeling of friendship. That also meant he had to keep her safe, whether she or these intruders liked that.
* * *
Belle stood at attention the next morning when Gavin entered his office. Her colleagues and friends Lani Jameson and Jackson Davison stood with her. They’d been called in for an assignment.
Belle liked having Lani and her partner, Snapper, with her, and Jackson worked with Belle in Emergency Services. He looked fresh and clean, his dark hair crisp and his green eyes always flashing in that guarded way she’d come to know. His chocolate Lab, Smokey—one of Stella’s famous pups and now trained in cadaver detection—sat on his haunches by Jackson’s side.
Were they going to search for bodies?
Lani shot Belle a questioning glance while Gavin came around his desk, her blue eyes bright with questions.
“Sit,” Gavin said as he eased into his chair. Then he looked directly at Belle. “I called you three in this morning because we’ve gained new eviden
ce regarding the roving harassment team of Johnson and Carolo.”
Belle leaned in. “Did the techs find something last night, sir?”
“Your friend the marshal found something,” Gavin said, his tone firm while his eyes softened. “He gave a scrap of material to one of the crime scene techs. Turns out it’s from a uniform. That, added to your brother’s testimony and all the information you’ve gathered, should be enough for a warrant to enter Percy Carolo’s home.”
Belle took in his words and wondered why Emmett hadn’t come to her about this. But then, he’d gone off on his own last night and she’d been busy with the techs and keeping her family calm. Had her family drama scared him away?
Or had their kisses scared him in the same way they’d scared her?
“What did the material show?” she managed to ask.
“A lot, all things considered. It’s from a uniform that Percy Carolo obviously still had on. From the City Wide Storage unit.”
“Bingo,” Jackson said. “That’s the one right, Belle? Where you and the marshal were ambushed?”
“Yes.” She couldn’t believe Percy would go to such lengths to get even with her. “So Johnson had on the protective suit and Percy planned to come through the front and probably take me down while Justice was distracted.”
“That’s what we believe,” Gavin said. “After your brother gave him a location near the park he’d heard the two men talking about, Emmett came up with his own plan of attack. He wants to bring these men in so he can get back to finding his cousin.”
“Emmett?” Belle shook her head. No way Emmett would take over this case. He had no right. “This is my case, sir. I can handle this. He shouldn’t have come to you since he’s off the cold case, per your request.”
“He wants you to be safe,” Gavin said, keeping his voice neutral but controlled. “He gave me the evidence and suggested a plan to put a surveillance team on the abandoned house they’ve been using. The man does know how to capture criminals, Belle. I never doubted he’d keep searching for his cousin, but on his own time.”
Belle tried to digest this, her heart screaming right along with the thoughts shouting inside her head. Emmett wanted this over so he could get back to finding his cousin? But he wanted her safe. Did he care about her? Their kisses indicated he did, but was he just doing his duty since he’d been involved from the beginning? He was the kind of man who’d do the right thing, even when he wanted to be elsewhere.
“He can’t keep me out of this,” she finally said. “Whatever he’s planned without me, I want in.”
Gavin let out a sigh and lifted his eyebrows. “That’s why you’re here, Officer.”
Belle settled back. “So what’s the plan?”
Gavin glanced up and nodded. “I’ll let him tell you himself. Come in, Marshal Gage.”
Belle whirled to find Emmett standing there. She’d get to him later. “Why don’t you go ahead, sir,” she said to the chief.
Emmett stepped farther into the room and spoke instead. “After I checked out the house and found it empty, the plan was to have Lani and Jackson patrol the park and the house where these two miscreants hang out, hoping to nab them. But—”
“But I’m the one who needs to do that, sir,” Belle said, turning from Gavin to glare at Emmett. “And I don’t care what Marshal Gage thinks about that. I want in on this. Lance Johnson came after me and then he hooked up with the worst person possible—a man who’s had it in for me since I walked out of his life a few years ago. He finally found a way to get back at me.”
Then she stood and dared anyone to argue with her. “But I’m going to take them both down and I hope you’ll allow me to do that.” Her gaze centering on Emmett, she added, “To do my job.”
Gavin stood and they all followed suit. “You heard my officer, Marshal Gage. She’s in. No discussion. I’d like to believe I’m still in charge of this unit, after all.”
Emmett looked at Belle and then nodded at Gavin. “Sorry I overstepped. Of course, Officer Montera would want in on this. After all, she’s the target.”
He said that in a way that expressed concern and acceptance. He wanted to protect her, but Belle had to do this herself. Had he planned this whole thing so he could be in on capturing these men with her? To show her how much he cared? Or to make a point that he knew better than her?
She wanted to believe he cared and she also wanted to believe he understood she was perfectly capable of handling this. Right now, her brain couldn’t deal with all the emotions roiling over in her stomach. She had an assignment. She would follow through.
“Yes, I’m the target,” Belle said, whirling away from her coworkers to confront Emmett. “And I’m going to be the bait this time.”
She saw the flare of concern in his beautiful silvery-blue eyes, but she ignored it. He wanted to protect her, and she wanted to do the same for him. How could they ever compromise and have a relationship when they lived with danger each and every day? Maybe this was more proof that they didn’t belong together.
Emmett gave her a resigned appraisal. “Then let’s come up with a plan.” He briefed them on the location of the house and went over the plans for the park.
Belle felt both relief and dread wash over her. This had to end so her family would feel safe again. And so she could finally explore her conflicting feelings for Marshal Emmett Gage.
EIGHTEEN
“Remember, you’re patrolling the park, nothing more,” Jackson reminded Belle later that day. “We’ve put out the word that we’re cracking down on illegal activities in this particular park and we have people watching the abandoned house. A kid was attacked here, and the NYPD wants to put an end to that kind of violence.”
Her brother—the kid who was attacked. But they hadn’t put out his name, thankfully.
“Got it,” Belle said as they pulled up and parked off-site, both their partners waiting in the back of the SUV. “You’ll patrol with me, but I’ll be on the other side of the block where I can see you at all times.” Belle took a deep, calming breath.
“Yes, and Emmett and Lani will be dressed in plain clothes, a couple out walking their dog.”
“Except their dog is Snapper, and the highly trained German shepherd is good at his job,” Belle added with a streak of vengeance.
“It’s going to be over soon, Belle,” Jackson said. “We’ll all make sure of that.”
Her phone buzzed. Emmett.
“Belle Montera,” she said in her most professional voice.
“I know you’re mad at me but—”
“That is correct, and I can’t talk right now.”
“Belle, I want you safe.”
“Because you want to move on to the bigger concern. I get it.”
“No, you don’t get it, but you will,” he said. “When this is over, I’ll show you what I mean.”
“I’m not planning on that.”
“Stay safe, Belle. For me, okay?”
She had to admit the plea in his words got to her.
“I’m going to do my level best.”
She ended the call and glanced over at Jackson.
“You okay?” he asked, a slight smile on his face.
“Never better. Let’s get this over with.”
They got out of the vehicle, and Jackson hit the key fob to let their partners out. This was a sign to both dogs that it was showtime. Smokey danced in excitement and Justice stood staring up at Belle, his dark eyes curious and full of anticipation.
“You two are the best,” she said to the smart animals. “We’re going to do our jobs, and I want you to stay safe.”
Jackson nodded to her. “You do the same, Belle.”
They parted and Belle started along with Justice, allowing him a loose leash in case he spotted someone. He’d pick up on the familiar scents of the men who’d tried to break into
her family’s property and she had to remember Justice was trained to do his work, too. Since he’d been hit with that tranquilizer dart the night she met Emmett, she’d feared for her partner. Thankful that her attacker hadn’t killed Justice last night, she prayed for strength and courage.
And protection.
Your unit members are listening in, she reminded herself. Justice will be safe. I have to trust in God’s protection, too.
She had a whole community praying for her since her mother had a very long prayer chain.
They’d purposely waited until an hour before dusk since that was prime time for park gatherings around here. Belle walked along at a casual pace, glancing here and there to see if she was being followed.
When a group of teenagers appeared near the old basketball court, Belle took notice. Justice sniffed and deemed them not what he was searching for, so she did a crisscross through the park and stopped here and there so the kids would know she was official. They scattered, mumbling to themselves. Belle recognized a couple of boys who hung out with Joaquin now and then.
Thinking her brother had been very brave by telling her the truth and giving Emmett more information, she prayed for him, too. It was tough being a teen in this neighborhood, but she’d survived. She wanted her only brother and the twins to do the same.
After an hour, the sun began descending through the trees to the west. Belle was about to give up.
“I got nothing,” she said into her mic, pretending she was talking to Justice.
“We’re still here but no word from the house.” Emmett. He’d been trying to talk to her, but she wasn’t in the mood. Belle had watched Emmett and Lani, laughing and talking as they sat on a bench across from where she patrolled, Snapper calm by Lani’s side. Then they’d walked around the perimeters of the park and ignored her as she’d done the same. Yet, she felt his eyes on her, knew he was watching through his sunshades. She’d have to forgive him. His intentions were good, after all. And truth be told, she did feel safe with him nearby.
She had to admit, she was falling for the man and she’d fought it every step of the way.