“In the office on her computer.” He sat on the sofa and settled Sophia on his lap. Gina couldn’t believe he wasn’t eager to hand her over and get ready to depart for San Diego.
She glanced at the wall clock then reached out for Sophia. “It’s almost time to leave. I need to grab a shower, pack our things and get Sophia ready to go.”
“I can watch her while you do all of that.”
“I don’t want to impose.”
“We’ve got a good thing going here, and I’m glad to do it.” He smiled in the lopsided way that always made Gina’s heart flutter. “If she needs a diaper change or her mood takes a turn for the worse, I’ll come find you.”
“Okay, if you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.” He held Sophia in the air again. “We’ll have a good time, won’t we, Bug?”
She giggled.
“I’ll hurry and be back as soon as I can.”
“Relax,” he said. “Enjoy having someone around to watch her for a change so you can get things done.”
As Gina jogged up the stairs, his last comment kept running through her head. She’d love to get used to someone helping with Sophia. While she was with the Justices, that’s exactly what she had to guard against. If she didn’t, she might find herself too close to the wrong man with her heart shattered again.
* * *
On his upper deck, Derrick peered through top-of-the-line binoculars. He scanned the river, the water clear and smooth this morning, and circled around to the dock. He didn’t think Gina’s attacker could have learned her location, but his gut told him to take extra precautions in her transport.
He checked his watch to confirm his departure alarm was set to keep them on schedule. A schedule he intended to keep. No matter what. He knew only too well from his parents’ accident that bad things happened when people strayed from their agenda. If he’d understood that when he was eleven and hadn’t wasted time explaining away his bad grades as they were on their way out the door to see his teacher, they’d still be alive.
Cole stepped outside, drawing Derrick’s focus from his watch.
“I see you’re planning this thing to the millisecond as usual,” Cole said as he stopped next to Derrick.
“You have a problem with that?”
Cole held up his hands. “Not me, little brother. You’re the one with the problem.”
“So I like to be punctual. So what?”
Cole shook his head. “Liking to be punctual is one thing, but never straying from your timetable? That’s another thing altogether.”
Derrick wasn’t about to get into a discussion over this when his focus needed to be on safely transporting Gina and Sophia to the airport. A job he planned to execute in the next five minutes. Assuming he didn’t spot trouble with his binoculars. He lifted them to scan a final time.
“We clear?” Cole asked.
“As far as I can tell, but something just feels wrong to me.”
“Only way someone is going to get to Gina is with a rifle and a steady hand.”
“If Jon’s killer is Coast Guard trained, he could possess sniper skills.” Derrick held out the binoculars. “I’d appreciate your taking a look, too.”
Cole’s brows arched. “Asking for a second opinion isn’t like you at all, little bro.”
“Your military experience makes you a pro at this kind of recon,” Derrick quickly explained.
Cole’s eyebrows rose higher. “And you want someone to confirm your observations so this thing doesn’t go south.”
“Exactly.” Derrick shoved his hands in his pockets to warm them.
Cole lifted the binoculars to his eyes and slowly scanned the area. “Never seen you this jumpy before, bro.”
That’s because he’d never been this jumpy. Ever.
Cole looked over the binoculars at Derrick. “She still special to you?”
Was she? He’d let go of any residual anger he’d had over her bailing on him, but the hurt wasn’t as easy to push away. Did that mean she still mattered to him? He didn’t know, but he had to do everything he could not to let her stake a claim to his heart again.
He’d embraced Sophia this morning, hoping if he’d lavished her with affection, he’d forget all about Gina. Problem was, it just made him wonder what it would be like to have both of them in his life. But he barely wanted to admit it to himself, much less Cole, so he shrugged off the question.
“If you’re not sure, maybe you’re too close to the situation and should leave this case to the rest of us.” Cole panned the other side of the house as if he didn’t care, but this was just Cole’s way of letting him make the right decision without any pressure.
Not that Derrick needed to come to any decision. Point-blank, Gina would stay under his care.
“I’m good,” he said, but his voice lacked confidence.
“No, you’re not.” Cole chuckled. “But I get it. Just don’t let your emotions get the best of you.”
Easier said than done.
Cole finished his sweep and handed the binoculars back to Derrick. “We’re clear. Time to move.”
Derrick offered a silent prayer for everyone’s safety as they traveled through his bedroom and down to the family room. Wearing Kevlar vests, his siblings milled around, a palpable excitement that preceded a mission filling the air.
Gina sat on the sofa in a similar vest, Sophia on her lap. They’d taken every precaution, including planning to wrap Sophia in a bulletproof vest of her own. They all looked ready, but Derrick wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page.
“Quick review,” he announced, gaining their attention. “Cole will keep watch on the vehicle in the parking lot. Ethan and Dani in front of Gina. Kat and I’ll take the rear. We move quickly and straight to the car.” He looked at Gina. “No stopping for anything. Got that?”
“Got it,” she said, her voice trembling.
“Keep Sophia close to you. Don’t stray from any of us.” His watch sounded their departure alarm. “Let’s head out.”
“Maybe I should put you in charge of Bobby’s schedule so I’d get more sleep,” Ethan said, his tone laced with humor.
Refusing to let any of them become sidetracked when Gina and Sophia’s life depended on them, Derrick ignored Ethan’s jab and faced Cole. “You’re out the door first.”
“If you don’t relax, you’re going to burn out.” Cole clapped Derrick on the back on the way out.
“He’s right, you know.” Dani went to the door to wait for Cole’s signal that he’d moved into position.
Derrick ignored both of them and picked up the extra vest. He met Gina in the middle of the room. She lifted Sophia from her shoulder, and Derrick slipped the vest behind the baby then wrapped and fastened it around her with a Velcro strap.
He stood back to assess his work. “That should keep her safe.”
Gina settled Sophia back on her shoulder. “Sounds like you’re expecting something to happen.”
“Expecting?” He thought about it for a moment before answering. “Expecting is too strong of a word. More like thinking something could happen, and it’s better to be prepared.”
She shivered, and he shoved his hands in his pockets so he wouldn’t reach out to her.
Dani poked her head inside. “We’re good to go.”
Ethan headed out first, joining Dani just outside the door. They stood parallel to the entrance, waiting for Gina to step behind them.
Derrick nodded at the door. “You’re up.”
Gina marched ahead with a sigh of resignation. Kat and Derrick moved into position behind her.
“Let’s roll,” Derrick said.
They inched forward, pivoting like a precision drill team. Derrick was hyperaware of everything around them. The water softly lapping ag
ainst his boat. Birds chirping from trees on shore. The sting of the cold on his cheeks. But he saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Ethan and Dani stepped onto the gangway—and a flash of metal from the shoreline caught Derrick’s eye.
“Sniper!” he yelled and grabbed Gina. He hugged her and Sophia to his chest and tumbled toward the deck. He took the brunt of the fall on his shoulder, pain slicing up his arm just as a bullet whizzed overhead and lodged in the siding of his home.
He heard his siblings draw their weapons. He rolled to his side, putting his back to the sniper and covering Gina and Sophia with his body. Sophia startled awake and blinked her big eyes at him. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, but he forced out a smile to comfort her. Gina trembled beneath him, and he slipped his free arm around her, hoping she’d take comfort knowing he had her back.
“Everyone okay?” he called out to his family.
Dani and Ethan’s affirmative answers came from the far side of the walkway where Derrick assumed they’d found cover.
Kat duckwalked over to him. “I’ll cover you while you move them behind the planter.”
As gently as he could, he turned Gina to face him to assess her stability and to see if she’d be able to move as directed. She seemed alert. “Give Sophia to me, and on the count of three, make a break for the wooden planter at the edge of the deck.”
“I can’t let go of Sophia,” she said.
“Her best chance is with me. I know how to move under sniper fire, you don’t. You with me?”
She released her tight grip on Sophia, and Derrick drew the infant close. He expected her to cry, but she smiled up at him as if they were playing the same rough-and-tumble game they’d enjoyed earlier.
“One. Two. Three.” Derrick didn’t wait for Gina to get to her feet but lurched to his. He kept his back to the sniper and made sure to move behind Gina so he could protect her with his body. He tensed, waiting for a bullet to slam into his body armor, but none came. Together, they dropped behind the planter and rested their backs against the wood.
“Okay?” he asked Gina.
She nodded, but her eyes were still wide with fear.
Kat settled next to Derrick. “You take watch, and I’ll get a unit dispatched then call Mitch.”
Derrick transferred Sophia to Gina then pulled his weapon and came to a squatting position. He rested the gun’s barrel on the planter and risked a quick look between the dormant rosebushes. All was quiet around them, but he kept his watch vigilant as he listened to Kat’s phone conversation with the Portland Police Bureau then with her husband.
“I’m fine,” she said to him. “Units are on the way, and this will all be over by the time you get here.”
Derrick heard Mitch say something then Kat replied, “I love you, too.”
Normally Derrick would tease her about her mushy behavior in the face of danger, and she’d offer some smart retort, but right now, he was simply glad she was alive to act all love struck, so he let it go.
His phone chimed in Cole’s ringtone, making Gina jump.
“It’s Cole,” Derrick said to her and answered.
“I saw the sun catch on the shooter’s rifle so I know his location.” Cole’s breath came in short bursts. “I’m headed up the hill to check on it now.”
“Be careful,” Derrick said as he hung up.
“Cole has eyes on the shooter’s location,” Derrick called out to his siblings. “He’s checking it out now.”
“Want to wait here or try to make it back inside?” Ethan asked.
“Everyone in a secure spot?”
“Yes,” Dani said.
“Then we sit tight until we get the all clear from Cole or the police arrive.”
Sophia started fussing and tugging at her vest.
“It’s okay, Bug,” he said to her in a soothing voice.
Kat’s brows rose in question. “Bug?”
“I’ll tell you later,” Derrick replied. “Right now our time is better served figuring out how Gina’s attacker found us.”
“Any chance he followed you last night?” Kat asked as police sirens wound through the air.
Could he have let the killer track them? “I didn’t think so, but with the thick fog, I suppose it’s possible.”
She turned to Gina. “Did you use your phone?”
“No.” Gina looked as if she wanted to say something else, but she clamped her mouth closed.
Knowing how feisty she’d always been, Derrick thought she wanted to tell Kat that she knew how to follow directions and Kat didn’t need to check up on her. Her indignation was a good sign that meant the shock was starting to recede.
The sirens moved closer, startling Sophia. Derrick tried making a face to calm her, still her cry ramped up, and she wailed in rhythm with the sirens. Gina cuddled her close, but tears continued to pour down the baby’s cheeks, sending an ache into Derrick’s heart.
Her tears were his fault. He’d let the attacker get close to her again. He had to do something to make those tears stop. He worked hard to draw her attention and made a goofy face. Her crying slowed a bit, so he exaggerated the face more. Soon she was smiling as she hiccupped away her tears and ended with a big yawn.
Kat’s gaze was more watchful than usual. “Looks like you’ve made a friend.”
No one was more surprised than him at how he felt about Bug and how she seemed to feel about him. “We have an understanding,” he said to play it down.
Kat kept watching him for a moment then shook her head and came to her knees. “With the officers here, we should be good to go.”
Gina started to rise, and Derrick shot out a hand to stop her. “Not just yet. Let Kat check it out first.”
Gina cast a questioning look at Kat.
Great. Gina didn’t trust him anymore and needed to confirm his decision.
“He’s right. You should stay down.” Kat rose. “I’ll go meet the officers.”
Derrick watched her leave then turned to Gina, who was staring off into the distance. Sophia had settled her head on Gina’s shoulder and plugged her thumb in her mouth while Gina cuddled the little girl close. A tender scene. One that made him smile until he imagined what would’ve happened if he hadn’t seen the shooter’s weapon. His smile disappeared.
He’d failed, plain and simple, and he needed to apologize. “I’m sorry that I let your attacker get this close. I won’t let that happen again.”
“I’m not blaming you for this,” she said but didn’t look at him. “You did the best you could, and I trust you completely.”
Really? “Then why the questioning look for Kat a moment ago?”
She shrugged but didn’t answer. They’d been together for less than a day, and he was already tired of the way they were dancing around each other when they’d once been so comfortable together.
With a finger under her chin, he gently turned her head. “If we’re going to spend time together, we need to talk about what happened between us in college and get it out in the open. Otherwise the distraction could put all of us in danger.”
“I agree.” She rested her cheek on Sophia’s curls, her love for the child spilling from her eyes.
A love that she’d once had for him. The thought seared his heart. Right there in the middle of his siblings, a shooter in the wind and police lights twisting into the sky, all he could think of was how it once felt to be so connected to another person that he’d wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
But you couldn’t, he reminded himself. And you still can’t.
The thoughts didn’t ease the ache. He dragged his mind to fly-fishing but couldn’t begin to picture a salmon or his favorite bait. Not surprising. After such a life-threatening event, he could no longer distract himself from their past. It was time to talk about
it. But not here. Not now. Not with officers pounding up the gangway and his family surrounding them.
“Why don’t we talk on the plane,” he said, hoping when the time came that she’d still think it wise to air their differences.
“We’re still going to San Diego after this?”
“The shooting gives us even more reason to move forward on the case.”
She shivered. “You mean before he kills me, too?”
“I won’t let that happen. I promise,” he said, hoping he could keep his word. “So we’re good to talk on the plane?”
She nodded, but her blank stare said she was a thousand miles away and may not know what she’d agreed to.
He got to his feet to wait for the three uniformed officers and Kat to reach the deck. Ethan and Dani climbed from their locations and stowed their weapons as the officers approached. Derrick needed to join them, but even if the sniper was long gone, he wouldn’t leave Gina and Sophia outside.
“Let’s get you two inside, where Sophia can sleep until this is resolved.” Derrick held out his hand to help Gina and the now-sleeping Sophia up.
Derrick motioned to his siblings that he’d be right back and escorted Gina inside.
“Will the police need to question me?” she asked the moment she stepped across the threshold.
“Mitch will handle everything when he arrives. With all of us as witnesses, we should be able to provide all he needs, so you can stay in here with Sophia.”
She shook her head. “Keeping me out of the loop is not an option. I need to know what’s going on with the case. If you don’t mind, I’ll put Sophia down for a nap and join you.”
Another sign that she didn’t trust him? Maybe.
“It’s risky to leave you out in the open.”
“Can the others come inside?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you.” She headed upstairs, where they’d left the portable crib from Ethan. Derrick waited until she disappeared from sight then joined his siblings. Mitch had arrived and was talking with the responding officers, but his gaze kept traveling to Kat as if needing to reaffirm that she was okay.
“Can we move this little powwow inside?” Derrick asked his siblings. “Gina wants to be part of the discussion, and it’s not safe for her out here.”
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