Protective Measures

by Maggie K. Black

  Leo stood up, Josh did, too, and for a moment they watched Zoe and the girls. Then Josh slid his hand over his watch, and Leo realized he was covering his microphone.

  “Zoe’s incredible,” Josh said quietly, as if answering a question Leo hadn’t asked. “She’s battled more criminals and saved more lives than I can begin to count. Alex and I have owed her our lives more than once. I’m guessing you’ve read the online gossip and know her story?”

  “No, I don’t,” Leo said. He’d come close to it, though. Last night, sitting on his porch in the muggy night air and feeling the memory of her pressing up against the edges of his mind, he’d entered her name in his laptop search engine. But he barely glanced at the first sentence that popped on his screen before shutting it down. He didn’t believe in gossip. He didn’t want his past to be internet fodder. So why should he treat her the way he wouldn’t want to be treated? “I know that she and Alex are stepsiblings. I know that she competed nationally in gymnastics and martial arts. But that’s all I know. I prefer to get to know people in person, not through gossip.”

  “I’m sure she’ll appreciate that,” Josh said. “I’ll let her tell you her story if and when she’s ready. All that really matters to your mission is that she’s a bit camera shy and not a fan of media attention. So we’re not planning on using her as the inside person for any events right now, let alone by your side. There’s too large a risk she’d be identified and the fact the gossip media is determined to find out who the woman in your arms was when you leaped from the burning castle hasn’t exactly brought up the best memories for her.”

  Maybe that was another reason for the distance she’d been keeping and the doubt he’d seen in her eyes. It was probably wise for both of them. She didn’t want her name flashed across the tabloids as some damsel in distress he’d plucked from the flames. He wasn’t sure he could handle the distraction of having the beautiful bodyguard on his arm, even if they both knew she was only there professionally.

  “Hi, Daddy,” Eve yelled. “See me?”

  “I do.” He frowned. His baby girl was now at least six feet off the ground and holding on to the branch with one hand while she waved enthusiastically with the other. While he could usually count on Ivy to be the overprotective older sister, his eldest was now lying contentedly on her stomach watching the small puppy from earlier as it trundled down the path on the other side of the canal.

  A black van pulled up on the street. Alex waved out the window. Josh walked up the hill to greet him. Leo started across the grass toward his girls, feeling his brow furrow as he looked at Zoe. The bodyguard met his glance head-on and didn’t even flinch.

  “Eve, honey.” Zoe looked up at the child. “I think your daddy would prefer that you come down and we go find a smaller tree.”

  His footsteps froze. Zoe had read that in a glance? There’d been something in Zoe’s tone—caring, yet firm—that rattled something inside him. There was a spark in Zoe’s eyes as she looked up at his daughter, and trust in Eve’s eyes as she looked back down at her. Even Ivy was smiling. Whatever this odd pull he’d felt toward Zoe the moment he’d met her, it was almost like his daughters felt a version of it, too.

  Help me, Lord, I can’t let my mind even begin to think this way. During a particularly rough patch in his marriage to Marisa five years ago, after her first brush with cancer, she’d asked him to promise that when she died he wouldn’t bring another woman into their daughters’ lives until they were adults. He didn’t know why it had mattered so much to her, but it had. That had been around the time her overprotective nature had really kicked into high gear. She’d needed to know he would protect the girls, even if it cost him his heart. He’d promised her that and that pledge to protect their daughters had given them the strength they needed to keep the family together.

  He’d never once imagined wanting to break it. Until now.

  “But, Zoe—” Eve’s lower lip pouted.

  “No arguments.” Zoe reached her hands up toward the girl. “Come on. We’ll find something fun to do down on the ground. Now just turn around on your stomach, slide your legs down to the branch below you and I’ll help you down from there.”

  “It’s okay. I’m a lot taller than you are. I’ll get her down.” He was at least a foot taller than Zoe. He could pluck her out of the tree like a kitten. “Eve! Just stay there and wait for me.”

  Eve glanced from one adult to the other. Her forehead wrinkled in worry and frustration. “But, I’m almost there.”

  “Just wait.” His voice rose.

  Her little voice rose, too. “I want to do it myself!”

  Then in one sickening moment everything happened at once. Eve’s foothold snapped. Her wail of complaint rose to a scream as she fell. Leo’s heart pounded. His little girl tumbled through the air. Lord, save my baby girl!

  In one fluid moment, Zoe bent her knees, stretched out her arms, and caught the falling child in her arms. Eve hit Zoe in the chest like a tiny, blond cannonball. Zoe absorbed the blow, letting it knock her over as they fell backward into the grass. Zoe lay there in the grass for a moment, her head bent low over Eve’s, as she cradled the small girl to her chest.

  “You okay, honey?” Zoe asked. Her cheek leaned against Eve’s head. Emotion choked in her throat. “That was a very impressive fall.”

  “The tree broke!” Eve said. His little girl sounded more amazed, even thrilled, than scared or hurt.

  The sound that slipped through Zoe’s lips was a laugh and a cry in one. Yes, as a parent, he knew that feeling well.

  “Yeah, it did,” Zoe said softly. “And you were very, very brave. I’ve fallen lots and lots of times. You didn’t even land on your head like I have!”

  The little girl started giggling. Zoe started laughing, too. Then Eve sat up and reached for Leo.

  “Daddy, I broke the tree! Zoe caught me.” Eve was still giggling.

  “I saw that.” He knelt down and reached for her.

  Zoe half pushed and half lifted Eve up toward her father’s waiting arms. “I think your daddy needs a hug right now, too.” Zoe’s dark eyes searched his face. “My daddy always said it can be a bit scary for a daddy to see their children fall.”

  Eve’s arms slipped around Leo’s neck. He lifted her up into a hug, prayers of thanksgiving filling his chest.

  “Leo, I’m sorry,” Zoe said softly. “My coach used to say that when kids fall it can help them realize just how strong they are.”

  “A coach isn’t a parent.” He could tell his voice was sharper than he’d intended. Out of the corner of his eye he was vaguely aware of Ivy moving farther away down the hill, as if she needed distance from his volume. He set Eve down and ran his hand over the back of his neck. “Neither is a bodyguard. If you were a parent, maybe you’d understand that you can’t just let kids take risks just because they want to—”

  A scream cut off his words, loud and primal, full of fear and indignation.

  It was Ivy. “No! Stop! Don’t!”

  “Ivy! What’s wrong?” Leo turned back to where his eldest had been just moments earlier. She was gone. “Where are you?”

  Then he saw her pelting toward the water. He ran after her. His arms stretched out toward his eldest, shouting for her to stop. But it was too late. Her small body slipped under the barrier separating the pathway from the quickly flowing canal. She leaned forward, her young form reached out as if she was calling to someone.

  Then she plunged into the water.

  * * *

  Agonizing fear pierced Zoe’s heart as Ivy’s small body was tossed by the current.

  “Ivy! Come back!” Leo shouted. His long strides pelted toward the water. Then he vaulted the barrier, plunging into the water after her. Instinctively, Zoe kicked off her own shoes, as well. Then she felt Eve’s tiny hand clench hers.

  “Daddy wo
n’t let Ivy drown, right?” Eve’s worried eyes looked up into hers.

  Zoe squeezed her hand. “Right.”

  They held each other tightly, prayers slipping from Zoe’s lips as Leo swam for his daughter.

  “What happened?” Alex called. She turned. Her brother and Josh were running down the hill toward them.

  “I don’t know.” Tears filled Zoe’s eyes. “One moment Leo and I were talking about Eve. The next, Ivy was making a beeline for the water. I think she’s trying to swim across the canal.”

  “Why?” Josh asked.

  “I don’t know! I looked away for one moment and...”

  Her words disappeared into a sob. She was supposed to watch the girls. She’d positioned herself between the girls and the road. It had never even crossed her mind that either girl would suddenly dash toward the water.

  “Alex, get downstream and be prepared to help haul them in,” Josh said. “Zoe, stay here with Eve and keep her safe. I’m going to call 9-1-1.”

  Josh ran back to the van. Zoe scooped Eve off the ground and cradled her in her arms. Ivy was still fighting, battling against the current, as she tried to swim across the canal to the opposite shore. Why? Where was she going? What had she seen? Youthful courage and determination filled Ivy’s small form, making Zoe’s heart ache. She knew that kind of girl. She’d been that kind of girl.

  Save her, Lord. Help Leo reach her in time. There’s no way she’ll be able to make it.

  “We can throw the tree branch!” Eve’s trusting eyes locked on her face. “It will float. Then Daddy and Ivy can grab it!”

  Compassion flooded Zoe’s heart. The branch was barely a few inches thick and no help to anyone. Lord, what do I say?

  “Please, Zoe.” Eve’s tiny hands grabbed her paracord bracelet. “You told Ivy your bracelet was a rope.”

  For a fraction of a second all the reasons Eve’s idea wouldn’t actually work flitted through Zoe’s mind, from length, to tensile strength, to range. Then she felt Eve shudder against her shoulder. Eve needed to help. She needed to do something to help get her loved ones out of danger. That was all that mattered.

  Ivy went under. For a moment, they lost sight of her. Then she surfaced again.

  “Eve, look at me.” Zoe turned the small girl’s face away from the water. She pulled her bracelet off and slipped it into the girl’s hands. “See that van just up the hill? It’s got all our supplies in it. We’re going to run there as fast as we can and find something to help your daddy and Ivy. You’re going to help by unraveling my bracelet for me, okay?”

  Eve nodded, tears shining on her pale face. Zoe ran for the van, clutching Eve to her chest. Even from yards down the hill, she could see Josh standing by its open door, the phone to his ear, talking to emergency services.

  Lord, what do I have? We don’t have life jackets or life preservers. I don’t even know what we have that floats besides the storage containers.

  “Josh!” Zoe shouted. “Toss me a round storage lid!”

  He didn’t even pause. Shoving the phone into the crook of his neck, Josh reached into the van, yanked the thick, plastic lid off the closest storage container and threw it at her like a Frisbee. The plastic lid soared down the hill. Zoe shifted Eve to one arm, reached up and plucked it from the air.

  “Okay, Eve, we’ve got something we can throw,” Zoe said. The thought of taking Eve up the hill to Josh’s care filled her mind, but Eve clutched Zoe so tightly around the neck she could barely breathe. She didn’t have time to climb up the hill to the van. She didn’t have time to argue with Eve. Eve was coming with her. She swung the small child around onto her back until she was piggyback. “You hold on very tight, okay?”

  “Okay.” Eve’s small arms wrapped around her.

  Zoe sprinted down that path to where Alex stood, anxious and ashen, watching Leo battle the current to reach his child. Ivy had given up trying to cross and was now trying to swim back, but the current kept pushing her farther downstream.

  Panic washed over Ivy’s face. Her limbs churned desperately in the water.

  “Daddy! Help me!” Ivy screamed.

  The water swept over her head. Leo’s daughter went under.

  FIVE

  Zoe watched as Leo’s eyes locked firm on his drowning child. He swam for Ivy, forcing his body through the water toward her.

  “Ivy!” he shouted. “Hang on!”

  She struggled back to the surface, gulping for breath. “Daddy!”

  “Don’t worry. I’m coming!” Leo’s face shone with a determination and protective love that made something knock inside Zoe’s chest. Ivy went under again. Leo dove for her. His arms locked around Ivy. She looped her frail arms around his neck, looking small against her father’s broad chest. He held her with one arm and kicked toward shore. Water streamed down his face. Prayers of relief poured from his lips. Pulling the cord from Eve’s hands, Zoe tied it quickly around the lid handle.

  “Alex!” she shouted.

  Her brother looked up. She sent the lid flying down the path toward him. Alex leaped for it and caught it, the lid barely seeming to touch his hand before he sent it flying out over the water. Leo grabbed it and pushed it under Ivy like a flutter board. The cord went tight in Alex’s hands and for a moment she thought it was about to snap. Then Alex looped it around his hand and leaned back, pulling Leo and Ivy in.

  “See, Eve?” Zoe said. “They’re going to be okay. I’m going to help Ivy get back over the railing, okay? But I need to set you down first.”

  Eve slithered from her back. Zoe ran for the railing. Ivy was babbling incoherently, trying to talk, even as she gasped for breath. Zoe reached through the railing, grabbed Ivy’s hand and helped her through. Ivy’s feet hit dry land. Zoe dropped to her knees and let the frightened, waterlogged girl tumble into her arms. Zoe held her tightly, tears filling her eyes as she felt Ivy shudder against her. Then she felt the weight of Eve’s body slamming against her, too, and she pulled the smaller girl into the hug as well, wrapping her arms around both sisters as the girls cried, hugged each other.

  “Thank you,” Leo said.

  She looked up over the girls’ heads and watched as Leo dragged his body over the railing and collapsed on the pavement, looking both so strong and so weak she felt something wrench inside her heart. Then Leo reached out his arms, whispered his daughters’ names, and Zoe let the girls go as they flew into their father’s arms.

  “Well done,” Alex said softly. Her brother reached down for her hand. She let him pull her to her feet. It had been moments, barely minutes, since Ivy’s body had hit the water yet the time had seemed to stretch to hours.

  Leo was still kneeling down on the path, his arms around his daughters.

  “I’m sorry... I didn’t know... I was trying to help the dog...but the water...” Ivy babbled, struggling to get words out as they choked and caught in her throat.

  “It’s okay.” Leo shushed her. His hand ran over the back of her head. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is you’re okay.”

  “It does matter!” Ivy’s voice rose. She pressed her hands against Leo’s chest and shoved him back. “Listen! Please! I was trying to save him! A bad man tried to kill the puppy!”

  Ivy continued to push back against him until he let her go. Her shaking arm stretched out pointing desperately farther down the canal toward the small rock outcropping under the bridge. “The fluffy white one we patted. The man tried to drown him. I was watching. When you were all paying attention to Eve, he looked right at me, lifted the dog and dropped him in the water.” Tears of panic and fear coursed from her eyes. “On purpose! When he knew I was watching him! He threw him in the water on purpose.”

  Leo was still shaking his head, like he wasn’t sure what to think or what to believe. “You jumped in the river and nearly drowned trying to s
ave a dog?”

  Ivy nodded. Her eyes filled with the desperate, panicked tears of someone still so young, yet so close to the cusp between childhood and adolescence. “He threw him in.”

  “And you tried to save it yourself without calling to me for help?” Leo asked.

  Ivy looked down at the pavement. Sirens roared in the distance.

  “Ivy, I believe you.” Zoe knelt down in front of the small family. “But right now you need to take your dad and your sister up to the van, and get dried off, and talk to the police when they get here. Josh has some nice, big towels in the van. I’m going to try and find the puppy.”

  “Promise?” Ivy and Eve seemed to speak at once. Two sets of children’s eyes were locked on her face.

  “I promise to try.” Zoe stood up. “But you have to go up to the van right now, and listen to your dad, and do what he says.”

  She turned and started down the path in the direction Ivy had pointed. She heard Leo and his daughters heading up the hill behind her. Then she felt her brother’s hand brush her shoulder.

  “Zoe,” Alex said.

  “Don’t start,” she said. Her eyes searched the water for any glimpse of life. “Those two little girls have been traumatized enough for one day. I’m going to find the dog.”

  “You can’t—”

  “Don’t you dare tell me I can’t find it!” Zoe said. “Someone cruel and evil tried to drown a dog to scare two little girls. He did it after making sure the girls had bonded with it, which means he’s trying to send a message. Which means, he dropped the dog somewhere it can be found.”

  “I know,” Alex said softly. His steps paced hers as they searched the water. “I was going to say, you can’t blame yourself for this. This isn’t your fault. Her father was right there with you, too. Neither of you had any reason to believe she’d leap in the water. The exact same thing could’ve happened to either me or Josh—”