Protect and Serve: Soldiers, SEALs and Cops: Contemporary Heroes from NY Times and USA Today and other bestselling authors

by J. M. Madden

  “Connor? He and I had a falling out some time back, but all is well now. He’s recently signed a new client who’s taking up a lot of his time.”

  Jack reached for the tablet he’d taken from his coat pocket and wrote the manager’s name on the right side of the page. “What’s his last name?”

  “Hill. Why are you writing his name down?”

  “What you told me raised a red flag. Until further notice, he’s a suspect in my book.”

  SIX

  A few minutes later they finished their coffee and left the kitchen. Lilah immediately fell in love with the nineteen fifties, single story ranch house. Typical of the style, the rooms rambled from the kitchen on one end to the bedrooms on the other. As soon as she saw ladders, drop cloths and paint cans in the den, she was reminded of how much Jack had liked to work as a contractor. The current changes would update the room and be pleasing to the eye.

  When they came to Callie's room, she entered ahead of Jack and giggled.

  “Oh my goodness.”

  “What's wrong?” He stuck his head in and quickly perused the contents. “Oh, good it’s just a mess. I never know what she’s brought in from outside.”

  “No, it's perfect for an eight year old girl.” Lilah grinned as she took in the decorating scheme from the linens, to the dresser, to the open closet. It looked like a bottle of pink Pepto Bismol had exploded over a zebra. There were Barbies and baby dolls along one wall, DVD's and CD's stacked next to a player, and a guitar lying on the bed.

  She thought of her own room as a child filled with her records, cassette tapes, pictures on the walls of Shelly West, Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks and Reba McEntire. Her guitar. It all seemed so long ago.

  “Uh-oh.” Jack sifted through the stack of CD's on the dresser. “I don't see yours.”

  “I wonder where she had it last?” Lilah picked up t-shirts, jeans, and socks strewn throughout the room, but came up empty as well.

  Cupping her elbow, he said, “Come on, I’ll check in the den but, if it’s not there she’s out of luck. We have to get on the road soon if we're going to make it back to town before dark.”

  Lilah pulled out of his grasp quickly. The frisson of heat generated by his touch sent a shock down to her fingertips, up past her shoulder and across to her heart so intense she expected to see sparks. When he stopped abruptly and turned to face her, she knew she hadn't imagined it. He'd felt it, too.

  Leaning in close to kiss her, he stopped just before their lips touched. “Lilah?”

  She ducked around him and escaped into the hallway. There were so many reasons not to kiss Jack McCommas. First off, they stood in the middle of his daughter’s bedroom. Second, he was still obviously in love with his dead wife. And third, the odds she’d completely screw this up were huge. She had zero relationship skills. Her past history was proof of that.

  He turned off the light in Callie’s room and joined her.

  Fighting hard to gain control over her ragged breathing, she said, “Show me the rest of the house?”

  “It’s probably best.”

  He hesitated a fraction of a second and Lilah knew, if he’d tried to kiss her again, she’d be powerless to stop him.

  He didn’t, though. Instead, he moved past her into the third bedroom and a bathroom that connected with Callie’s room. His clothes scattered about plus the unmade bed told her this was where he’d been sleeping.

  The last stop on the tour was the master bedroom and bath. He opened the door only wide enough for her to get a glimpse of the interior. Clean and untouched, she surmised this room probably hadn’t been used since Nessa’s death. After he pulled the door closed, he remained in place effectively blocking her escape a second time. He learned fast.

  Backing up until her shoulders met the wall, she looked into his bottomless blue eyes and said, “You have a lovely home, Jack. Thanks for showing it to me.”

  “You’re welcome, I . . .” Arms bracketing her on either side, hands braced against the wall, he closed his eyes. Finally, looking at her, he sighed. “Lilah, I . . . aww, hell.”

  Her arms encircled his neck as she went willingly into his embrace and his kiss. His mouth covered hers, stealing her breath and her control. His tongue plunged deeply, ravenously.

  Lilah welcomed him, joining him in that dance they’d done so long ago, but yet seemed so familiar, it was as if it just happened yesterday. She wanted to lose herself in him completely and knew he wanted the same. His arousal, evident through their clothing, pressed hard against her belly.

  He helped her shed her coat and then slid his hands down her back, over her hips, cupped her bottom and lifted her swiftly. She wrapped her legs around his hips, where she sat pinned between the wall and his erection. His mouth eagerly sought her breasts, suckling first one then the other through the thin fabric of her cotton shirt.

  Everything he did, everywhere he touched her fed the flames of her desire. The thought occurred to her, if they didn't end this soon, they'd end up in a pile of cinders right where they stood. Suddenly, a vibration buzzed against the inside of her thigh. After a few seconds reason penetrated her fog.

  “Jack, your phone.”

  “What?”

  “Your phone’s buzzing.”

  “Crap.” He took a deep breath, looked at the caller ID and said, “Sorry, I should answer this.”

  “I know.” Slowly she unwrapped from his body. Feet back on the floor, she stood there supported by the wall and his rock-hard frame.

  He gave her a quick kiss and then answered the call. “Yeah, it’s McCommas.”

  She told herself, while he talked, to mind her own business but, when he clicked off the phone, she forgot her resolve. “Is everything okay?”

  “Riley said it is, but he’s on his way. Should be here in a few minutes.”

  “Do you have reason to doubt him?”

  “He’s been known to overreact, so it’s probably nothing.”

  “Good.” Since he hadn’t moved, she rested her hands on his chest. “Jack, what're we doing?”

  “Acting like a couple of teenagers.” He had the grace to appear chagrined. “Sorry, babe, but I've wanted you ever since I saw you yesterday morning on all fours in the bedroom of the coach.”

  “Wow, you are a sweet talker. If that isn't just what a girl wants to hear.” She punched at his midsection and grinned at him in spite of herself. “You always did have a way with words.”

  * * *

  Jack stood there staring at her like a hungry man whose throat had been cut. He was starving yet couldn’t get enough of her. He’d never had any rationale where Lilah Canfield was concerned and it seemed that was still true today. He leaned forward, fisted his hands gently in her lush light brown hair, and slow kissed her one more time. He wanted one last taste in his memory bank in case she ran away again.

  She looked up at him with her black-brown eyes. “Whoa, cowboy, we’re going to have to finish this later.”

  “Yeah, it's getting late.”

  She pointed over his shoulder. “Later than you think. Riley’s here.”

  Straightening, he caressed her cheek. “While I talk Riley off the ledge, why don’t you go ahead and check for the CD on that corner shelf in the den.”

  “Sure, I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

  He squeezed her hand and took off down the hallway to meet Riley.

  When Lilah reached the swinging doors and pushed them open, Jack and Riley were staring each other down.

  “Riley, just tell me what the hell happened,” Jack shouted.

  “The power went off at the station so I put Tara and Callie in the car and drove over to Meg's café. Callie told Meg how she'd met Lilah and that Lilah was going to autograph her CD. Suddenly, she remembered the CD wasn't where she told you.”

  “And?”

  “And she tried to call several times, but she couldn’t reach you.”

  “Because there's no signal out there. She knows that.” He pushed his hands thro
ugh his hair. “You didn't tell her she could come out here did you?”

  “Hell, no, I didn't tell her that.” Riley shifted from one foot to the other, but stood up to Jack and his questions. “She took off when I went out for firewood.”

  “She—”

  “Now, don't go all crazy on me, give me a little credit. I checked out back and Sadie's gone.”

  “My little girl is out in this weather alone on horseback?”

  “Sheriff Farley has three deputies out looking for her and we know she's headed your way.”

  “Why didn’t Farley notify me?” Jack pulled out his phone and checked for a missed call or message.

  “She took off on my watch, I’m letting you know. I’m sorry, Jack.”

  “I can’t disagree with you on that point, right now.” He ducked into the laundry room and returned carrying a dry pair of insulated overalls and his boots, wondering how in hell he was going to find his baby with only an hour of daylight left. “I don't even know how she's dressed. She could freeze to death.”

  Lilah spoke up, “Jack, short of locking them in a closet, there's very little you can do to keep kids from doing something once they've made up their mind to do it, no matter what it is.” She smiled from Riley to Jack. “You two should know that better than anyone.”

  Jack fought to hold back tears of worry and panic. He knew she was right. He'd run off more times than he could count while growing up. But Callie was his baby. His and Nessa’s. He’d never forgive himself if something happened.

  He shook himself mentally, stopping his run away thoughts long enough to acknowledge his best friend. He took several deep breaths and said, “Look, Riley, I know you wouldn't do anything to intentionally harm Callie. I had no business putting you in this position anyway. You have more than enough on your plate worrying about Tara and the baby.”

  Riley stood, with his hands in his pockets, looking like he’d lost his best friend. “Some parent I’ll be. I let your little girl go out in the worst snow storm in a century all by herself on her grandmother's horse. I’m not ready for one of my own.”

  Jack tied the laces on his boots. “It’s a steep learning curve that most of the time feels like a slippery slope. You’ll learn quick.”

  “I still should've watched her closer. I'm sorry.”

  “Let’s just find her.” He looked to the woman he’d practically made love to mere minutes ago in the hallway. “Lilah?”

  “Go. Find Callie. I'll wait here in case she shows up.”

  “Thanks, I—”

  “Daddy?”

  Jack swiveled toward the sweetest sound he thought he'd ever heard. “Callie, baby, you're here!” He rushed to her, grabbed her into his arms and squeezed hard. She appeared fine, her nose and cheeks were chapped and red from the cold wind, and her blond curls slightly damp around her face, but otherwise, she didn’t look any worse for wear. “Are you okay?”

  “Sure, Sadie brought me.”

  “But how’d you keep from getting lost?”

  “I just told her I had to get home and here we are.” She wiggled out of his arms, kicked off her boots, and shucked out of her coat. “I did promise her some oats when we got here since it's pretty cold. Can we give her some now?”

  Riley headed to the back door. “I'll put her in the barn and take care of that, right now, Muffin.”

  “Thanks, Uncle Riley.” After he left and closed the back door, she went into the den. It wasn’t long before she called out, “Here it is on top of the player.”

  Lilah smiled at her when she came into the kitchen carrying the plastic case. “Oh, good, you found your CD.”

  “Yes, after I thought about it, I remembered where I left it.”

  “You gave all of us quite a scare, you know.”

  “But I heard you say you were leaving and I had to come get it.” Carefully, she placed the CD case on the table. “Will you sign it for me now, Lilah?”

  “Of course I will.”

  Callie retrieved a marker from a cup in the center of the table and handed it to her. “You can write, to Callie McCommas, from Lilah Canfield.”

  Lilah smiled and wrote the desired sentiment.

  Jack found himself frozen in place. Callie acted as if everything that had happened was just a matter of course while his insides still shook from the ordeal. He needed her to understand the seriousness of what she’d done.

  “Come here, Callie.” He pulled out a chair at the round farm table and sat.

  Reluctantly, she came to stand beside him and asked, “Daddy, are you mad?”

  “Yes, I am just a little bit. Mostly, though, you had me worried sick. I don't ever want anything to happen to you.” Taking her hand, he said, “You should've stayed at Grandma Meg's.”

  “But you didn’t answer your phone.”

  “Callie?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “And you're grounded.”

  “But I want to play in the snow.” She cast a glance over toward Lilah, her eyes issuing a silent appeal.

  Jack hid a smile. “Well, tomorrow's a new day, we'll see how it goes.”

  Before they packed up and headed for town, they lost power as well. He alerted Sheriff Farley that Callie had turned up at the house safe and sound.

  “That’s good news, Jack,” Sheriff Farley said. “Me and the others will head back as well. I hear the power outage now covers the entire town and most of the surrounding area so, after you get ‘em all settled in at the gym with the new generator, meet me at the office. I have updates on your inquiries.”

  “Will do”

  SEVEN

  Back in town, Jack dropped Callie and Lilah off at the high school gym, making sure they met up with Tara and Meg before he went to see the Sheriff. When he walked into the office, Jack left his coat on. There was little difference between the outside and inside temps since they only had a small generator for emergencies.

  Hal Farley waved him to his office when he walked through the door.

  “Is everybody settled in?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Have a seat, Jack. I have some information on the people you’re looking for.”

  “Lilah’ll be pleased. What’ve you got?”

  “Highway Patrol spotted the van this afternoon just north of Childress at a gas station alongside Highway 287. There’s a motel nearby.”

  “Yeah, I know it. Must be where they landed when the roads closed.”

  “The Officer said he approached a man filling the tank to talk him up. Guy said he and a friend were holed up for the duration. Except for the fact he was further down the road, his story jived with your information.”

  “Wonder why they haven’t let Lilah know? She’s been blowing up their phones since yesterday.”

  “Could be a number of reasons, I suppose. Maybe she’s gotten a call by now. The officer said he’d be there a while eating supper and to let him know how we want to proceed.”

  Jack looked at his watch. “It’s too dark to travel safely on the roads tonight. Since all I have are suspicions, we’ll wait until the morning. Want me to call him back?”

  “Naw, I’ll fill him in. Go on, get some rest and be with Callie. I’m manning the phones tonight.”

  “I don’t think I can sit there staring at the walls all night. I’ll be back to spell you for a while.”

  Jack left the station and drove the short distance to the high school. When he entered through the gym doors, the sight before him was nothing short of miraculous considering the weather.

  The deputies and volunteers had gathered a large number of the town’s population. At least a hundred people had taken up residence in the single room. The contingency plan had been on the books for several years, but this was the first time they’d needed to implement it. He finally spotted his daughter and the rest of his crew along a back wall near the bleachers.

  Callie ran to him and jumped into his arms. “Daddy isn’t this awesome?”

  Jack rolled his eyes.
“Sweetie, I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun.”

  “Grandma Meg said Tawny and me could have a sleep over tonight.” She stretched to plant a kiss on his cheek and wiggled away from him. “Bye, Daddy, I gotta go.”

  Jack watched her run to where her friend sat playing games on her electronic tablet. When their heads met over the device, he knew they were good to go for a while. Joining Lilah, he asked, “Everything okay? Do y’all need anything?”

  “No, whatever Tara might’ve forgotten, Meg remembered. That woman is nothing if not amazing.”

  “She is that,” he agreed.

  She glanced toward the front half of the basketball court that had been set up as a buffet. “For the last half hour, she and a couple of others have set out meat, fixings, and drinks on the tables brought in from the cafeteria. Before too much longer, we can probably fix a plate and sit down to eat. I don’t know about you, but breakfast was a long time ago. I’m hungry.”

  “Me, too.”

  But food was the farthest thing from his mind. Ever since their encounter in his hallway earlier this afternoon, Lilah Canfield had taken up residence in his head, sending his senses into overdrive. He could still taste her kiss and his fingers itched to touch her again. Short of taking her on the buffet table, he had no idea what he was supposed to do about that.

  * * *

  “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you,” Lilah said. “After you left, I finally heard from Chase, my lead guitarist.”

  “Where are they and why’d it take so long to get in touch with you?”

  “They made it to the next town before the roads closed and apparently, when their phones died, they didn’t have one working charger among them.”

  “Your guy lied to you.”

  A look crossed his face that Lilah decided she didn’t like. It meant he was going into cop mode. “Look, Jack, I told you these people are my family.”

  “You’re too trusting.” He shifted his stance, resting his hand on the butt of his gun on his hip. “We heard back from the Highway Patrol this afternoon. The van was seen at a gas station on the service road.”