by Barb Han
“He was good about it,” she said. “We’re keeping it under wraps around here until I get the green light from my doctor. I’m sure word will spread once you start sharing the news.”
“No one I plan to tell will breathe a word of this until I give the okay,” he quickly countered. There was an edge to his voice now, and she’d be damned if he didn’t sound even sexier.
“I’m on desk duty, and I’ve been paired up with you. Fill me in on what all this is about.” She folded her arms and hugged her elbows to her chest.
“It’s probably obvious what’s going on here.” He pointed to the map.
She nodded. “I meant to ask Zach if we got anything back from forensics on the contents of the freezer bag.”
“The DNA matched Breanna’s.” He stood in respectful silence for a long moment.
It was probably just the news turning Courtney’s stomach, but she ran to the nearest garbage can and emptied what little was in there. It was strange that crime felt so much more personal in Jacobstown. In a big department like Dallas, violent crimes rarely ever hit so close to home. Maybe that was the reason the massacre a year ago hurt so badly. It had felt so personal.
More heaves racked her.
Jordan was beside her before she could tell him to stay away. His hand was on her back, making small circles, reassuring her that she’d be okay.
When she finally stopped heaving, she thanked him and then excused herself to the bathroom. In her purse, she’d tucked a toothbrush and toothpaste. She pulled them out and brushed her teeth.
And then she took a long, hard look at herself. Her identity had been tied to being in law enforcement. What if she couldn’t hack the job anymore? What was she in a different job? She’d allowed her work to consume her for the past decade. She’d even dated another cop, one who would always keep an emotional distance.
The revelation almost knocked her back a step. Decks had never comforted her when she was upset. In fact, when she’d gotten emotional during their relationship, she’d go into the bathroom to cry. Had she ever let him see the real her? The short answer to that question was a fast no. Dating someone in law enforcement gave a sense of comradery but not intimacy. The connection they felt was stronger than buddies but short of love.
Courtney knew on instinct her relationship with Jordan had been different. It had scared the hell out of her. And she’d done the thing she did best—pushed him out of her life.
She pulled out her cell phone and stared at the picture she’d taken of the counselor’s business card. Her finger hovered over the name. Why was taking that first step so hard? She’d called dozens of new numbers every month. Why did looking at this one and thinking about pulling the trigger make it suddenly hard to breathe?
After tucking her phone in her purse, she splashed cold water on her face. The call could wait.
* * *
TEN HOURS OF staring at a map, talking theories and overseeing volunteers had Courtney needing fresh air. Her nausea had subsided hours ago, and she’d been able to get a decent meal down for lunch. It had held her until the last hour, when her stomach decided to remind her she hadn’t eaten in a while. The little nugget was demanding.
She stood up and then rolled her neck around to ease the tension in her muscles.
“I’ll be back in a little while,” she said to Jordan.
“Are you going out to grab something to eat?” He didn’t look up.
“Yes.”
“You want company?” he asked.
“No, thanks. I have plans.” She didn’t see the need to tell him that she was dining with her neighbor. Most everything about her life was about to become public knowledge—or so it felt—so she’d hold on to what little privacy she had left.
“With who?” Jordan glanced up. A mix of emotion she couldn’t quite pinpoint darkened his gaze. Jealousy? She was most likely seeing what she wanted to. It was probably normal for her to want the father of her child to be a little bit jealous even though she was eating with an almost seventy-five-year-old widow. He didn’t know that, and she hadn’t expected any reaction from him at all.
“Just a friend,” she said quietly. Defensively?
She wasn’t trying to hurt his feelings.
He mumbled something about just trying to make sure she didn’t have to eat alone and refocused on the map he’d been studying.
Courtney didn’t want to be late to supper with Mrs. Farmer. She’d instantly liked her neighbor, and after last night Courtney felt a special bond with Sassy, too. A special connection was forged when put in a life-or-death situation. It was the same reason cops were so close to each other. They did life or death together every workday.
It had long since gotten dark by the time Courtney made it to her car. The winds had picked up, but the forecast called for low fifties tonight, warmer than it had been in days. That was the thing about Texas weather—even when it got freezing cold, it didn’t stay that way for long.
She braced against the frigid winds, which whipped her hair around. She climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine, flipped on her headlights, and navigated out of the parking lot.
The road leading to her house was quiet. There was hardly ever any traffic, and tonight was no exception. She wound along the country road, keeping her eyes focused and alert out the front windshield. An irrational part of her brain searched for the coyote. She half expected the wild animal to run from out of the brush and explode onto her car.
The field she’d found Sassy in last night ran along one side of the road for miles. The area led to the back of the Kent property. Memories crashed down around her, and her eyes suddenly got very leaky.
Courtney didn’t normally do emotional. She could blame it on last year’s massacre or her current hormone levels, but suddenly she’d figured out how to cry faster than she could snap her fingers. She’d become a leaky faucet.
At the bend in the twisty road, she caught sight of a pickup parked off the road. Car trouble in this weather was no treat. Her headlights skimmed left, right and back again, moving back and forth as she wound around the road.
A moment of panic struck when she realized the pickup looked familiar. Blue Trunks? With that thought, she slowed her car and dimmed her headlights. There were no streetlamps on this stretch, so she had to leave her fog lights on or risk running off the road.
The driver of the pickup may have already seen her. She slowed to a near crawl as she approached the abandoned-looking pickup. There was no sign of anyone around, and an eerie feeling crept over her. This vehicle certainly hadn’t been there this morning when Courtney drove this route to work.
She passed by a couple of times, not wanting to raise the alarm for a pickup that she wasn’t exactly certain belonged to a guy she’d seen favoring his left foot at The Mart yesterday. Besides, it didn’t look like anyone was inside.
Courtney made a U-turn and cruised by the pickup, repeating the path a couple of times to make certain there would be no surprises. She rolled her window down as she pulled beside the vehicle.
She shone her flashlight into the cab and saw a cell phone on the bench seat. If someone was stranded, wouldn’t they take their cell with them? This area got service. Sure, it could be patchy, but they had it in several places.
Courtney picked up her radio to call in a suspicious vehicle when she heard an ear-piercing shriek coming from the wooded area beyond the field. Her pulse kicked up a few notches as she relayed her location to dispatch.
She hopped out of her SUV and palmed her weapon as she raced toward the sound. Someone was in trouble, and a force inside her took over despite her logical mind telling her to play it slow. If she could save a life, she had no choice but to try, so she bolted toward the tree line.
All thoughts of the coyote came rushing back, but she had no time to hesitate. If an animal had attacked someone who’d cut
through the field, Courtney had to try to respond. She faintly heard that backup was on its way, and the closest deputy was twenty minutes to the east of her location.
Whoever made that scream might not have twenty minutes to live. Courtney was on autopilot as she pushed her legs to move faster, her flashlight in her left hand and her Glock in her right. She’d shoot any jerk who tried to charge toward her.
The flashlight did a great job of lighting the path in front of her, but she instantly realized that she was vulnerable to a side or rear attack once she reached the thicket, so she intentionally slowed her pace.
Another scream, muffled this time, sent a second shot of adrenaline coursing through her. She was on the right track, because the noise was closer.
Branches slapped Courtney’s face, and she had to stomp through the underbrush, but she kept pushing forward. She was making headway and would come upon the scene in seconds instead of minutes at this pace.
And then a blood-curdling scream stopped Courtney in her tracks.
Chapter Thirteen
Courtney mumbled a protection prayer she’d learned as a small child and made a beeline toward the noise. On the edge of her flashlight beam, she caught sight of a male figure. He disappeared into the trees in a matter of seconds.
Training kicked in, warning her not to run straight to the victim. In all honesty, she wanted to even if that would be a rookie mistake. The area had to be secured first and foremost, or the attacker could return and dispense with them both. Courtney couldn’t afford to let her guard down. But the gurgling noises coming from fifteen feet in front of her nearly stopped her heart.
Using her flashlight, she skimmed the ground, stopping on the victim. There was blood everywhere and more pumping out of her every second. Courtney had to fight against all her instincts to render aid.
If she made a wrong move, they’d both be dead and she’d be no use to the victim, Courtney reminded herself. This was the part of the job she had a hard time stomaching. Seeing someone hurt—dying?—and not being able to run to them was the worst feeling. A flashback to the massacre, the blood that ran down the street and into the gutter, assaulted her. The blank look in Decks’s eyes when she finally got to him. She’d been shot, too, but spared death. It seemed unfair to her that she should live when everyone on her team and her boyfriend didn’t.
“Help is here, so I need you to hang on,” she tried to soothe the victim, knowing that her words were empty. She couldn’t help, not yet, not in the way she wanted to.
A noise like a dying animal echoed, causing Courtney’s heart to clench. She scanned the area for the male figure as she moved around the perimeter, but there was no sign of him.
Courtney listened for any indication he was still around or any other opportunistic creature that might be lurking in the shadows waiting to get the drop on her. When she heard none and confirmed by sight there wasn’t anyone or anything around, she radioed for help.
Then, and only then, did she let herself run to the victim.
The blonde woman was splayed on the ground, her arms and legs spread out at odd angles. Courtney dropped to her knees beside her. There was blood everywhere and Courtney didn’t recognize the victim. She couldn’t be more than twenty-five years old. But where was all that blood coming from?
“Stay with me, sweetie,” Courtney said.
The blonde tried to talk but couldn’t.
“Nod your head if you knew the person who did this to you,” Courtney said. The tacky smell of blood filled the air as it gushed from the side of her head.
No response came.
The woman gasped for air as she shivered, and her gaze fixed on Courtney’s face.
“No. No. No. No.” There was no clear passageway in order to perform CPR. Blood gushed from the victim’s nose and mouth. There was nothing Courtney could do besides feel helpless and like she’d just failed in the worst way.
Where was all the blood coming from? Courtney couldn’t pinpoint all the locations. She used her flashlight to scan the victim’s body and saw gashes everywhere in the back and sides of her head. She bit back a curse.
“Please stay with me,” Courtney said as a few tears leaked. Not again. Courtney’s heart squeezed so hard she thought it might burst. This person was too young to die.
She heard static on the radio before Lopez’s voice came through.
“Where are you?” she asked Lopez.
“I don’t see a pickup truck, but I do see your vehicle,” Lopez said.
“I’m east about ten minutes into the woods. I need an ambulance.” She was doing her best to keep it together no matter how much she wanted to break down. Looking at the victim, Courtney made a vow to nail the jerk who did this.
Courtney’s next clear thought was that she wanted to see Jordan. There was something comforting about his presence. She told herself it was because she was carrying his child and he was in full-on protective daddy mode. But there was more to it than she was willing to admit.
Within minutes, the scene was flooded with personnel. Queasiness took over, and she had to step away.
In the light, Courtney recognized the blonde. Her name was Rhonda Keller, and she’d been a couple of grades below Courtney in school. Rhonda had dyed her hair blond.
“Is that the Kellers’ daughter?” Deputy Lopez asked.
“Yes,” Courtney confirmed. “Where’s Zach?”
“He was signing paperwork on Gus,” Lopez informed. “Said he’d be here as soon as he could get away.”
Courtney recounted the story of what happened.
She realized that she’d forgotten all about dinner with Mrs. Farmer. “Will you write this up? I need to make a call.”
Lopez nodded. “Of course. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do. Take a break. You look like you need a minute.”
“Lingering stomach issues” was all she said. She stepped out of earshot and called Mrs. Farmer.
“Hello.” Mrs. Farmer sounded worried.
“It’s me. Courtney.”
“Oh, I don’t have on my reading glasses, and those little screens are impossible to make out,” Mrs. Farmer said.
“I’m sorry about dinner. I ended up on a work call,” Courtney explained.
“That’s all right, dear.” It made everything worse that Mrs. Farmer made an effort to cover the disappointment in her voice. “I hope you caught him.”
“No. He got away,” Courtney admitted. “You’ll hear about this soon enough on the news, but a woman was assaulted near our homes. He got away, so I want you to be extra careful. Stay inside tonight, okay?”
“That’s terrible news, Courtney. I’m so sorry.” Those last three words threatened to break her down.
Instead of giving in to the wave of emotion building, Courtney thanked Mrs. Farmer and then got off the phone. She stared down at her cell for a long time, wishing she could bring something besides disappointment to people.
She had a moment. The kind when she knew someone was making a beeline for her and not trying to hide the fact. She glanced up...and there he came. Jordan Kent stalked toward her. She expected to see frustration on his face but saw only compassion. So she moved toward it, toward him. And the next thing she knew she was being hauled against his chest as she threw her arms around his neck, buried her face and cried.
Courtney had no idea when Zach arrived at the scene. It didn’t matter. She held on to Jordan like he was the only lifeboat in the middle of a raging storm.
“I got the picture of the pickup you sent,” Zach said to her, and she faintly registered the sound of his voice in the background. “I’m putting it out with every law enforcement official in the area and with the volunteers. Let’s get some heat on this guy and make it impossible for him to show his face or stay on the road.”
Courtney took a step back to address her boss. “Yes, sir.”
“Maybe someone will recognize it and turn him in,” Jordan’s calming voice said.
“Cases have been solved on less. We’re putting out the picture with a tip line.” There was a pause before he focused on Courtney. “What do you think about doing back to the ranch with Jordan? I’ll stop by to talk to you later. You did a great job tonight.”
Courtney didn’t agree. A victim had died in Courtney’s arms.
“The ranch sounds good.” She needed a minute to regroup anyway. The thought of going home alone sat hard on her chest. Before Courtney could put up an argument, she was being led out of the trees and away from the field. She didn’t have the energy to argue. The fight had drained from her.
Jordan deposited her in his vehicle.
“My car,” she started to protest.
“You have the keys?” he asked.
She pulled them off the clip on her belt and handed them over.
“I’ll have someone pick it up and bring it to the ranch. Is there anything you need from it while we’re here?” He took a step back, and panic engulfed her.
She grabbed on to his arm. “Don’t disappear on me. Please.”
She didn’t know where that had come from, but the feeling in her chest that if he walked away she’d never see him again was real.
“Okay.” He seemed to be trying to assess her mental fitness.
“I know that I’m acting irrationally. But, please, don’t leave me alone right now.” He glanced down at her arm, and it was clear to both of them that she was trembling.
“I’m not going anywhere but here.” He clicked the lock button on her key. “I won’t leave your sight. Okay?”
She leaned back in the passenger seat and clicked on her seat belt while nodding.