Call of Duty 02 - Sworn to Protect

by DiAnn Mills

So Ed believed Jacob had betrayed the Border Patrol. If Alex could be with Danika every minute of the day, he would. How noble he sounded. If the truth were laid bare, she possessed the skills to defend herself. But that didn’t stop the fear embedded in his heart.

  Chapter 24

  For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.

  Ecclesiastes 3:1

  Saturday morning, Danika stumbled into the kitchen after a restless night and made a strong pot of coffee. Alex had called after she’d talked to Chief Jimenez, but she chose not to answer her phone. He didn’t need to be involved with the threats. If he and Jimenez were as close as Alex indicated, he may have already learned about the new problem.

  “Amiga querida. Dear friend, did you not sleep last night?” Sandra opened a cabinet door and reached for two cups. Her hand trembled. Maybe she hadn’t slept well either.

  Danika forced a smile. She must really look bad for Sandra to comment. “I had a lot on my mind.”

  Sandra frowned. “Worries add wrinkles to your pretty face.”

  “I may look seventy by the time I’m forty.”

  “Not funny. Anything I can do to help?”

  Danika leaned against the kitchen counter. “Pray for wisdom and guidance.” She hesitated, choosing her words carefully. “Let’s sit at the table for a few minutes. I need to discuss an important matter.”

  Sandra added cream and sugar to her coffee and sat opposite Danika.

  “I’ve been threatened,” Danika began. “It’s happened before, but this time the caller had access to information that . . . well, he couldn’t have gained easily.”

  Sandra’s face paled, and she reached across the table, taking Danika’s hand into hers. “I will take Tiana with me to Mass this afternoon and light candles for you.”

  “My sweet friend. You are so dear to me.” With a sigh, she continued. “Be very careful when you are out with Tiana. Don’t let her out of your sight for a moment.”

  Sandra squeezed Danika’s hand. “I never do. Someone might know you are a Border Patrol agent.”

  Danika allowed her friend’s touch to soothe her weary spirit. “Don’t open the door to any strangers. I understand these are precautions you take every day; just be more careful. And if someone calls and starts asking questions, hang up. If a situation alarms you, call 911.”

  “I love Tiana like she is my own. I would protect her with my life.”

  Danika’s eyes moistened. “I know you do. God blessed me when you entered my and Tiana’s life. I wish you could have known Toby.”

  “If he was anything like you, I’d have loved him like a brother.”

  “One more thing.” Danika glanced out of the window facing the backyard in bloom with yellow lantanas, orange marigolds, and deep pink pentas. A pair of hummingbirds darted about the feeder on the patio. “Do not answer the door to Jacob.”

  Sandra’s eyes widened. “Has the problem gotten worse between Jacob and Barbara?”

  “Nadine has not been found, and Jacob is not acting like himself.”

  “I’ll pray for them too.”

  “Good. I knew I could depend on you.” Danika pulled her hand back to her coffee. “I have an errand to run before going to work.”

  “I’d planned to take Tiana to the park after Mass. Is that okay?”

  How Danika wished she had the answers. “I’d say make sure there are lots of people around. If anyone looks suspicious, snatch up our little girl and leave. In fact, go straight to the police station.”

  Tiana still slept when Danika readied to leave for the day. Planting a kiss on her child’s forehead and brushing a lock of dark hair from her face, she tiptoed from the bedroom and regretted all the hours spent away from home. Danika grabbed her uniform and drove to the McAllen Medical Center.

  When Alex had left his message on her cell phone last night, he indicated he had an early morning and asked for her to call. The conversation she planned to have with him needed to be conducted in person, and she counted on the hospital’s being quiet this morning.

  The receptionist summoned him, and she waited. Too nervous to sit, Danika paced the ER waiting room. She must have been crazy to think she could establish a friendship with Alex. Too many problems stalked her life, and putting a good doctor in harm’s way was a mistake. She’d been selfish, and regret had sunk in deep.

  Then she saw him walking down the hospital corridor, smiling and waving. What a difficult conversation to have with such a great guy.

  “Good morning,” he said. He looked far too appealing for what she needed to convey to him. “Sorry I called so late last night.”

  “No problem. I did get your message.”

  “I’m one lucky man to have you pay a personal visit.”

  She failed to stop her smile. A relationship with him might be in the future, but not until life settled down. “Got a minute? I need to talk.”

  “Sure.” His gaze swept the ER waiting room. An elderly couple and a young woman with a baby were the only occupants. “Is the left-hand corner okay?”

  She led the way, just like she needed to lead the conversation. Once they were seated, she found herself momentarily lost in his blue eyes. Not a good start. “Some things have come up, and I have to end our friendship before we continue.”

  Alex peered into her face. No emotion, and she wished she could read his thoughts. “Why? I thought we both agreed to give a relationship a try.”

  “Things have changed.”

  “Job related?”

  “Yes.”

  “Not another man?”

  Her stomach did a flip. “Not at all.”

  “The dangers of your job?”

  How truthful could she be? “As a matter of fact, you’re right. There are serious problems at work, and it’s not fair to you.”

  Alex crossed his legs and rested his hand on his knee. “That excuse won’t work. What’s the real reason?”

  She contemplated feigning anger and leaving him, but honesty had always played a vital role in everything she did. “What if my job came between us? What if I were in a perilous position and you were thrown in the middle?”

  “Do you want to guess the number of times I’ve been threatened? Do I need to remind you of McAllen Medical Center’s policy of treating all those who need care, without question? innocent people who want care for their children as well as tattooed gang members filled with bullet holes?”

  She moistened her lips. Her situation was not the same. “I don’t want you hurt . . . physically . . . for befriending a border agent.”

  He leaned closer. “I’ll deal with it.”

  “You’re not taking no for an answer, are you?”

  “And you don’t really want to stop seeing me. Nor do I want to end our friendship when it’s barely begun.”

  Could he read her thoughts? “Do you understand some people play for keeps?”

  His brows narrowed. “Precisely my point.”

  His loyalty endeared him to her. “But—”

  Alex’s pager buzzed like a bell during a prizefight. “I’m being summoned.” He patted her arm. “And you have places to go too.”

  She’d accomplished nothing. Or had she?

  Chapter 25

  Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism will suddenly be destroyed beyond recovery.

  Proverbs 29:1

  Jacob hadn’t rested well in days. Even when his stomach retched from the flu, he had been able to sleep for an hour or so at a time. But lost sleep was nothing compared to an evil more perverse than anything he’d ever dreamed lurking at his family’s door.

  He studied the forms on his desk from last night’s processing. Nameless faces. They meant nothing to him unless he’d been riding the line and apprehended them himself or participated in the talk generated during and after a shift. He’d been isolated from the one thing that had given him purpose.

  His mind fixed on the same problem attacking his family for days. He’d chosen
not to tell Barbara about the ringed finger. Why upset her until more facts were uncovered? He wrestled with the hope that Nadine was alive. Then he struggled with how someone managed to steal her ring. Or had she willingly given it up? The thought of his daughter collaborating with criminals warred against what he believed about her. The other devastating side of the dilemma was Nadine could have been abducted. No one had seen or heard from her.

  Jacob’s insides burned. He wanted to reach out and touch his Naddie, hear her laughter, and watch her grow into a beautiful woman. Their petty differences meant nothing. Barbara accused him of running her off, claimed he’d been too hard on her. Jacob still denied any wrongdoing. Nadine’s life was school and church, not friends who had the potential of leading her astray. He swallowed the horror threatening to overtake his mind. Nadine’s friends, ones Barbara sanctioned, may have already led her down a path of briars.

  Jimenez stuck his head inside Jacob’s office. “Any new developments with your daughter?”

  “No, sir. Nothing’s changed.” When Jacob considered the number of years he’d been with the Border Patrol, he should have Jimenez’s job. The chief patrol agent should be calling Jacob “sir.”

  “Did you tell your wife about the incident this week?”

  That is none of your business. “No, sir.”

  “How’s the counseling going?”

  Jacob sensed fury raging through him. “I’ve gone once.”

  Jimenez slammed the door shut behind him. He leaned over the desk, his face the color of ripe tomatoes. “Do you want to be dismissed? Because if that is what your refusal for help is all about, I can take care of it right now.”

  Fury sped through Jacob’s veins like a fire raging out of control. “I don’t know what I want or need or should be doing.”

  “Then why aren’t you in counseling?” Jimenez’s voice bounced off the walls of the office. “If you aren’t strong for your family, who’s going to be there for them?” He picked up the desk phone. “Call now and get another appointment scheduled today, or you definitely won’t have a job by the end of your shift.”

  Chapter 26

  The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know about God.

  J. I. Packer

  Sandra signed for Tiana to put away her toys before lunch. The little girl glowered, and Sandra raised a brow.

  Tiana sighed. Her little shoulders slumped, and Sandra stifled a smile. “Yes, ma’am,” she signed.

  Sandra kissed her cheek and made her way to the kitchen. The little girl loved chicken salad and apples, certainly a treat for her obedience. Not that she believed in bribing children, but she did believe in reward.

  As she reached for an apple from the bowl of fruit on the kitchen table, she heard a light rap on the door. It was Jose. She hadn’t told Danika about him to obtain permission for him to visit. With her own sigh, she answered the door.

  “I can’t come in,” he said and gave her a dimpled grin. “You’re working, and I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

  Thank you. “How are you?”

  “Great. I made arrangements with Lucy to work out the cost of the documentation papers, and I’ll start doing the yard here on Wednesday. If I can get a few yards more, I can soon pay her back.”

  Her heart raced, but not for Jose’s benefit. “Be careful. Lucy can be difficult.”

  “Oh, I will. Gotta go and get to my next job. Aren’t you going to say congratulations? I’ll get to see you every week. Maybe more if Mrs. Morales has extra work for me.”

  She’d have to light a candle for him at church, just as she did for Danika and Tiana. “Oh, I’m excited for you—for us.”

  He disappeared to his dented and paint-scraped truck, and she closed the door. How did she really feel about Jose working for Lucy? What if she treated him unfairly as she did Sandra?

  Lies and more lies. Tears streamed down her face, and she didn’t wipe them away. Sometimes the thought occurred to her of running away rather than continuing to deceive Danika. It would be the loving thing to do, and she did love her. Instead she’d assisted Jose in misleading Danika even more.

  Life had become a merry-go-round. Sandra wanted off, but it was spinning out of control.

  * * *

  For Danika, Monday had been an exceptionally long day. She second-guessed every vehicle behind her, as though an assailant tailed her. A little action and excitement would have kept her mind off the junk in her life. Phoning Barbara on the way to work this morning was like peeling a scab off a wound. Her sister-in-law stood on the brink of a mental breakdown. When Jacob was at home, he alienated himself from her and the other children by brooding and sleeping in his office. Where was he spending his off-hours? Too many options poised on the forefront of Danika’s thoughts: hiding from his family, another woman, illegal activities. All seemed possible.

  Her cell phone rang. The caller ID read Felipe. She could use a friendly voice.

  “What are you up to?” she said.

  He was laughing so hard that he couldn’t answer.

  “Let me in on the joke. I could use a good laugh.”

  “You would not believe what just happened at the Progresso Bridge.”

  “You’re right. I have no clue.”

  “Get this. A woman crossing into the U.S. was arrested for smuggling chorizo.”

  Danika must have been totally out of it. “That’s stupid, not funny.”

  “She had it stashed in her kid’s diaper.”

  Danika laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks. “So what causes an agent to investigate a diaper?”

  “Beats me. The smell, I guess.”

  She laughed about the sausage-stuffed diaper all morning. After her shift, she changed clothes and headed home, then pulled into a convenience store near the McAllen station for a Diet Coke. Although she was in jeans and a T-shirt, she lived and breathed her job. It was her habit to scan every face and interpret body language wherever she ventured.

  She opened the refrigerator compartment inside the store and wrapped her hand around the drink. She chuckled at the huge stock of Red Bull, guaranteed to keep the buyer wired for hours. A sure sign of illegal activity was a trail of empty Red Bull cans and the familiar beeps of Nextel phones, which had service on both sides of the border.

  A Hispanic woman with a small boy caught her attention at the register. Danika held her breath, afraid to breathe for fear the woman would run. It was her. The woman Danika had been trying to find for two years. She had to talk to her, ask her how she knew Toby.

  “Perdón,” Danika said once she’d made her way to the checkout. She trembled, not her usual style when on the job. But this was different. “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

  The woman whipped her attention in Danika’s direction. Recognition settled in her eyes, then panic. She swung the little boy into her arms and left her purchases at the register.

  Danika hurried after her. “Wait, please. I only want to talk.”

  Too late. The woman snatched open the passenger-side door of an old dusty Toyota, and the driver, an elderly man, sped away, kicking up dirt and stones. Danika saw the Mexican license plates. A lot of good that did. The old suspicions and doubts about Toby’s possible infidelity crept into her mind.

  At Toby’s funeral, this woman had sat in the back of the church. When the crowd was dismissed, she lagged behind, weeping and holding a baby. Danika remembered the intense grief. She attempted to talk to her, but the woman had rushed from the church, rooting the fears of Toby’s possible unfaithfulness.

  Days later the doubts still bedeviled her, and she confided in Becca one evening while her friend visited. “Did you see the woman at the funeral who was so upset—the one with the baby?”

  Becca hesitated, and Danika realized the woman had caught her friend’s interest too. “Are you referring to the woman who left in a hurry?”

  “The same.” Danika tried to
hide the misery over what she feared. “Did you see the baby?”

  “Yes. Cute little guy.” Becca rose from the sofa with an empty glass in her hand.

  Danika touched her arm. “Sit down, please. Do you think Toby could have been unfaithful?”

  “I . . . I have no idea.”

  “Which tells me you’re thinking the same thing.”

  Becca eased onto the sofa. “What are you saying? The baby did not look like Toby, if that’s what you’re asking. . . . I looked.”

  Danika realized she needed to know why the woman had attended the funeral. None of his family recognized her either. Toby obviously led a second life with his pro-immigration activities. Could he have deceived her in other ways too?

  Her cell phone rang, jarring her to the present. There were times she’d like to pitch that thing out a window. Alex’s name and number popped up on the caller ID. She toyed with not responding, but maybe a break from all the garbage running through her head was a good thing.

  “Hi, Alex.”

  “What wears a mask, wields a knife, and smells like oregano?”

  Was he talking about Zorro in the kitchen? “I have no idea.”

  “A doctor standing at your door with an extra-large pizza. The problem is Sandra won’t let me in, says she has orders from you not to open the door to strangers.”

  Danika laughed until her sides ached. “You poor, helpless delivery boy. I’ll call her right now. How very nice of you to bring dinner, especially when I’m starved. I suppose you’d like to stay?”

  “Oh, can I? That sounds better than a tip.”

  * * *

  Alex, Danika, and Tiana ate pizza and played board games on the living room floor. He pushed a red checker into Tiana’s path.

  The little girl wriggled her nose and jumped it. “You’re too easy,” she signed.