“Maybe we should hear what Cole has to say first.” Ethan jerked his head at the walkway, where Cole strode toward them. He’d fisted his hands, and a stormy look darkened his face.
Derrick’s gut clamped down hard. He’d have to be blind not to see Cole had bad news to share. Derrick would rather spare Gina, but he needed to respect her wish to be included. “Gina has a right to hear everything, even if it’s bad news.”
Ethan gestured at the door. “Then let’s take this inside.”
“Mitch,” Kat called. “We’re headed inside for Cole’s update. Want to join us?”
He nodded and, after excusing himself, crossed the deck. He circled his arm around Kat’s shoulders and tugged her close. “I’m glad you’re all right.”
“Hey,” she said, laughing, “I can’t let anything happen to me now that I have you to keep in line.”
He wrapped both of his arms around her, his actions testament to how badly the incident had shaken him. Mitch was a private person and a consummate professional—except for when he was worried about his wife.
Derrick could understand. He was equally shaken. Maybe more so. Gina and Sophia were his responsibility, and he needed to step up his game.
As everyone filed inside, he took a moment to thank God for keeping them safe and ask for additional protection.
A bit of peace easing the ache in his stomach, he joined the family and found Gina seated on the sofa, her fingers clenched.
Her gaze ping-ponged around the family. “You all look like the end of the world is near.”
Dani sat next to Gina. “We’re waiting for an update on Cole’s recon.”
“So does his sour expression mean it won’t be good news, or is this just another one of his usual looks?” A smile tried to form, but Gina’s lips trembled.
“He doesn’t scowl as much since he married Alyssa,” Dani responded. “We like the new-and-improved Cole so much better.”
“If you two are done analyzing me,” he said dourly, “I’ll get started on my update.”
“What’d you find?” Ethan asked.
“One shell casing.”
“You left the evidence where you found it, right?” Mitch’s stare was piercingly direct.
“Of course,” Cole answered. “I stuck a pen in the ground as a marker so you can locate it. Or...” He let his words fall off and a smirk claim his mouth. “Since we all know feds are better trained, if you need help finding it, I’ll be glad to show it to you.”
Though Derrick had been a cop for years, he couldn’t help but smile at Cole’s reference to his former training as a U.S. marshal being superior. This kind of teasing meant Cole and the others had truly accepted Mitch as part of the family.
“Funny,” Mitch mumbled. “I might be a local yokel, but I’m sure I can find it.”
Everyone except Gina laughed at the good-natured bantering. “I don’t get why finding a bullet casing is worth an update. I mean, we all know someone took a shot at me, so that’s to be expected, right?”
“It’s not that I found one. It’s the type of casing that makes it important.” Cole shoved a hand in his hair. “If I’m right in my preliminary look, I believe our shooter used military-issue ammo, which means we could have a trained sniper on our hands. We’ll have to wait for a ballistics expert to view it.”
“Doesn’t compute,” Dani said quickly. “A sniper isn’t likely to leave a casing behind.”
“Not normally,” Cole explained. “But this one catapulted over a ledge and lodged in a bed of mulch. He had to know we’d be coming for him and he couldn’t spend time looking for it without getting caught.”
Mitch stepped forward. “If we think our shooter is military, this could help us focus our search.”
Derrick shook his head. “I’m not sure how much this will narrow it down. If this is related to Jon’s Coast Guard work, it’s not surprising that military ammo was used.”
“If it helps,” Gina said, “all the men on Jon’s team had intensive training in marksmanship. They disabled boats all the time by shooting out their engines. The guys used to brag about the skill it takes to hit one when flying over choppy waves.”
“Is Quentin one of these guys?” Derrick asked.
“He’s their best shooter.”
“Even more of a reason to go to San Diego. We need to talk to him as soon as possible.”
“I’ll rebook the tickets,” Kat offered.
Derrick met her gaze. “Change airlines to throw off our shooter.”
“You think he’ll try this again?” Gina asked, her eyes wide again.
“Yes,” Derrick answered honestly.
“And if he’s a trained sniper,” Dani added, “he won’t stop until he’s completed his mission.”
SIX
Danger lurked everywhere. Danger presented by a foe Derrick had seen only in shadows and wouldn’t recognize. It could be the man in the aisle three rows ahead. Or the one giving off bad vibes as they’d waited to board the plane. That meant Derrick couldn’t let his guard down. Ever. Even while winging their way to San Diego.
It also meant he had way too much nervous energy in need of an outlet. Bouncing his leg was the only option while buckled in his seat. He’d feel a little more relaxed if he was carrying, but the law didn’t allow them to bring weapons on board. They’d also chosen to pack their Kevlar vests to prevent an overly zealous security guard from detaining them. His armed siblings couldn’t travel through security, and that left Gina even more exposed and vulnerable after they parted ways from the other Justices.
He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She sat in the window seat next to him, Sophia on her lap, contentedly playing with a plastic giraffe. She seemed calmer since they’d boarded, but maybe it was just an outward show. Once upon a time, he could’ve read her better, but now he didn’t have a clue about the emotional turmoil going on inside.
Kat reached across the aisle and clamped a hand on his knee. “If you don’t calm down, you’re going to scare the other passengers. They’ll think you’re up to no good.”
“I’ll relax when we’re in the air.”
“Ha! I’m not buying it, baby brother. You’re thinking the shooter could already be on board and you’re not armed.”
“Well, he could be,” Derrick replied while wishing his family members couldn’t read each other so well.
“We took every precaution, and no one followed us to the airport.”
To keep from worrying Gina, he leaned closer to Kat. “I thought the same thing last night, and look what happened this morning.”
“Ah, but this situation is totally different. It was foggy last night and you didn’t have any help. It’s broad daylight now with the entire family on the lookout.” Her focus moved to his shoulder, and she chuckled. “Don’t look now, but you’re being stalked by a very aggressive seven-month-old.”
Derrick swiveled to find Sophia trying to squirm out of Gina’s hold to get to him. He might as well put all of his nervous energy to good use and bounce her on his knee. He held out his hands. “C’mon, Bug. Let’s you and me get comfortable.”
Kat snorted, but Derrick ignored her and took Sophia. Gina watched him for a moment, her cute little mouth turned down in a deep frown.
She didn’t want him to touch her, but did that include Sophia? “Don’t you want me holding her?”
“It’s not that,” she said without meeting his gaze. “I just don’t want her to get used to having you around when—”
“When I can’t be counted on to be around.” He finished the sentence for her.
“I don’t know what you can be counted on to do now. I only know what happened in the past.”
He looked at her long and hard. “Rest assured that I’ll be by your side until this man
is apprehended.”
“I know that. I just...” She shook her head. “It really doesn’t matter, does it? This is purely a business relationship between us. We’re not going to get romantically involved again.”
“Exactly,” he said earnestly, but his heart constricted.
She leaned closer to him. “Before we erect that professional wall, I want to make sure you know how sorry I am for the way I treated you in college. I had to leave, but I could’ve done it in a better way.”
“Who knows? If you hadn’t ended things, I’d likely have broken up with you at some point.”
She considered his comment for a moment. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”
Sophia climbed to her feet, so he looked around her. “What say we put our past behind us? Once and for all, forget about it and move on.”
“You forgive me, then?”
“You don’t need my forgiveness, but if it’ll make you feel better, yes. I forgive you and I’m letting it go.”
“Thank you, Derrick. Sincerely, thank you.” She squeezed his forearm. “I’m so glad we got this out in the open. Now we can focus on finding Jon’s killer then go our separate ways.”
Right. Just what I want, he thought, but his gut constricted into a hard knot again.
Didn’t matter how tight his stomach got. They’d made the right decision in agreeing to keep things professional between them.
Sophia grabbed his nose again. “Is my nose overly fascinating, or is she in a phase where she grabs anything in sight?”
“Not that you don’t have a perfectly fine nose,” Gina said with a laugh, “but she grabs anything in sight.”
Sophia babbled something then grinned at him. Despite his heavy heart, he smiled back and felt himself relax. A bit. He lifted her in the air, and she squealed. “How can you resist spoiling her rotten?”
“It’s hard,” Gina said. “But when I’m tempted, I remember that’s what grandparents are for, and my mom and dad are taking their job to heart.”
He jerked his head to face her. “You reconciled with your parents?”
“Yes. Just this year.”
His mouth dropped open. “Wow. I mean, wow! I never thought that would happen.”
“Neither did I,” she said, listening to the flight attendant’s announcement that they were cleared for departure, then taking Sophia back and holding her on her lap for takeoff. “With how far apart my dad and I were on everything, I thought it was hopeless.”
He looked over her shoulder at the disappearing runway and felt the plane lift off. “You’ve come a long way. You wouldn’t even talk to him in college. What changed?”
“It started when Jon’s wife died. With him deployed for such long stretches, I got a firsthand look at life as a single parent.” She sighed and Derrick could feel her pain. “Don’t get me wrong. I love Sophia and I’m glad to care for her, but Becki’s death was so sudden. With Jon away, I had little support.”
“So you decided to talk to your parents.”
She shook her head. “No, I decided to go back to church.”
Another jaw-dropping statement. She’d blamed her father’s dedication to his congregation for his neglect, and when Derrick had known her, she hadn’t set foot in a church since high school.
“Explain, please,” he said.
“I have to admit it was a selfish act on my part.” She raised her voice above the rumbling engines. “Besides Becki wanting Sophia to be raised in the church, I hoped to find a community of people who could be there for us if we needed them.” She chuckled softly. “No one was more shocked than me when I discovered our pastor was very successful at balancing both his family and his responsibilities.”
“I don’t get it. How would that help you get over your dad’s treatment? Didn’t it make it worse?”
“Sort of. At first. But as I watched our pastor, it made me realize that my dad was just a man like any other man who had choices to make. I could finally let God off the hook and quit blaming Him for Dad’s neglect. Despite my father’s example, I saw that faith and family didn’t have to be either/or in my life. I could have both—which meant that I could turn to God for help instead.”
“And this somehow led to reconnecting with your parents?”
She nodded. “When I quit blaming God, all that was left was my anger for my dad. I decided if I wanted to heal, I was going to have to put that anger behind me and let it go. But first I had to tell him how I felt, so I went to see him.”
“And what happened?”
“I didn’t have to do a thing. Before I could say anything, he apologized for using his job as an excuse to avoid his family responsibilities. I guess losing Jon made him reconsider his priorities.” Sophia started fussing, and Gina lifted her to her shoulder and patted her back. “He promised that he’d changed, and he asked for a second chance.”
Crazy. “So you gave him one. Just like that. Despite how badly he hurt you.”
“No. Not right away, but I did some soul-searching and prayed. After a few weeks, I realized that in addition to blaming God, I also blamed myself for Dad’s lack of attention. Why wasn’t I good enough? Special enough? That sort of thing. Taking some of the blame made it easier to accept the fact that Dad wasn’t going to put our family first in his life. Embracing it allowed me to go on when I felt unloved.”
“Wow,” he said, wondering how many times she would surprise him today. “I had no idea all of that was buried inside you.”
She laughed. “Me either. But once I realized it, it also hit me that I couldn’t control how Dad chose to live his life. The only thing I could control was how I responded. Him asking for my forgiveness gave me the freedom to let go of his rejection and the anger I felt for him.”
“And now?”
“We’ve come to an understanding. He really is trying to do better, especially with Sophia. Who knows, maybe over time we’ll develop a strong bond. I hope so.” She planted a big kiss on Sophia’s chubby cheek. “For this little one’s sake.” She smiled serenely.
An ache settled in Derrick’s chest. He wished he’d been the one to be there for her. To be the one who could make her smile this way. Actually, to be there for any woman long-term.
Could he take a lesson from her father? Could he change? Be the person she’d hoped he was?
She’d wanted them to get engaged, but as much as he’d loved her, he hadn’t been able to follow through on it and ask for her hand in marriage. Just thinking about it at the time had felt like a noose around his neck. If he’d known why, he’d have done something about it so she wouldn’t have left.
Here he was years later, with her back in his life, and he still didn’t know what kept him from making that lifetime commitment.
Did it really matter? If he managed to figure out his problem, would it make any difference with her, or would she always consider him the man who couldn’t commit?
* * *
As the flight attendants gathered trash before their descent into San Diego, Gina glanced at Derrick. His head rested on the seatback, and his eyes were closed. And most notably, he’d quit shaking his leg and looking at his watch. He’d always had a thing about being on time. Kind of an obsession, as if he feared something bad would happen if he was late. When they were together, he’d refused to talk about it. She was still curious about the reason behind it.
He shifted and his leg settled against hers. A spark of electricity shot through her, but she wouldn’t ask him to move. She was too glad to see him relaxed to want to interrupt his peace. He’d been so tense and wary, which she supposed a killer stalking them would bring out.
The pilot announced their initial descent, and Derrick instantly became alert. His gaze met hers for a moment then he pulled his focus away, just as he had several times since she’d shared about her dad.
She wanted to ask if she’d breached that professional line so soon after they’d agreed on it, but she didn’t want to get into another personal discussion.
The plane sharply descended, waking Sophia. She started whimpering and tugging on her ears. As she started wailing in earnest, Gina reached for the diaper bag.
“Can I help?” Derrick asked.
“Can you get out her bottle?”
He searched under the seat and came out holding the bottle. Gina settled Sophia in her arms and Derrick plugged it in. Sophia thrashed for a few moments then latched on, and the crying soon ceased.
Derrick looked shocked. “Does she always scream like that when she’s hungry?”
Gina chuckled at his expression. “Young children don’t know how to clear their ears, so the sudden change in air pressure often causes pain. Sucking on a bottle helps equalize the pressure.”
“I’m thankful for bottles, then.”
She laughed again.
“What’s so funny?”
“The look on your face. You seem more afraid of a crying baby than of the man who’s after me.”
“I thought I was good with this baby thing, but after that episode...” He paused and shook his head. “Maybe I should stick to my single life.”
Gina nodded sagely, while her heart ached. Few men wanted an instant family—her former fiancé was a perfect example. It wasn’t hard to believe Derrick felt the same way. Hiding her disappointment, Gina watched out the window until the plane touched down and taxied to the gate. When the seat belt sign dinged, she unclipped her belt and slid forward.
Derrick held up his hand. “We’ll wait for all of the other passengers to deplane.”
“Why?”
“You never know who tailed us onto this plane.”
“That’s a little overkill, isn’t it?” she asked.
He scowled at her, so she looked to Kat for an answer. “Do you think we need to stay here until everyone else is gone, too?”
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