Guardian of Justice

by Carol Steward

  Kira felt hiss muscles twitch with each word. “Oh, Dallas,” she cried softly. She offered her hand, and he quietly took hold of it. “Wh-who?” she stammered. “Who was shot, and how bad was he hurt?”

  “Alek,” Dallas whispered, with a shake of his head. “He didn’t make it through the night.”

  Kira sat in stunned silence. Instinctively, she cocooned his hand in both of hers. How could she have ever let her experience with Mickey become so over-blown? She waited for Dallas to continue the story, but he didn’t. “What about his friend? And the principal? Are they okay?”

  “The friend had an athletic scholarship, before the shooting. After the injury he just wasn’t the same. He took a break, but he did go to college and is going to earn his degree. The principal wasn’t injured.”

  Kira shook her head. “I feel ridiculous for overreacting to the incident with Mickey. I’m so sorry, Dallas.”

  He looked her in the eye, sadness replaced with peace. He had pulled out of the past and was back in the room with her again. “You weren’t overreacting, Kira. You still aren’t. Mickey is a serious threat to your safety. Don’t ever ignore your gut instincts.”

  “I’m not, but I can’t just check out of living and my responsibility, either.”

  “Fear is sometimes a protective mechanism. Both of us reacted more to the realization of what could have happened. While taking a young boy’s life was horrible, what haunts me is that it could have been worse. He’d been in trouble several times. We cut him a little slack, and I worked with him, probably more than I should have…” His voice faded away.

  She let out a heavy sigh. “Don’t doubt your good intentions, Dallas. You tried to help. There’s no way it could have been too much. God knows that.”

  He shrugged. “I kept trying to make up for something he’d missed along the way.” Dallas’s grip tightened on Kira’s hand. “Maybe it wasn’t too much for him, but it was for me.” He clenched his jaw and twisted his mouth. “You’re probably thinking of what Mickey may have done to hurt these kids. Maybe you’re angry that someone didn’t stop him earlier, knowing that the DEA was watching him.”

  Kira shook her head. “Not only that, I found out my brother’s team has been watching Mickey for weeks. They hoped he would lead them to his supplier.” She let out a soft growl. “Kent claims Mickey had a residence that he was using as a decoy. This one was a total surprise.”

  “I’d like to believe him,” Dallas stated.

  “I’m beginning to think it’s more comforting to believe him than the truth.” She shook her head. She couldn’t help that she was an idealist living among pessimistic realists. She knew from experience that cops saw more reality than most individuals. Kira just couldn’t let go of the hope that she could somehow make things better. “By the way, I moved Betsy and Cody, so Mickey won’t be able to find them.”

  “You moved them? Already?”

  She nodded. “Today, with my parent’s help. I don’t know what evidence Mickey thinks they have, but if he found me, he would have found them. We’ve never had anything like this happen before. They’re out of the country for now, and it’s undocumented. Only my supervisor knows where they really are, besides me.”

  Dallas smiled, a puzzling expression on his face.

  “What’s that odd look for?” she asked, pulling her hand from his. She felt her heart beat faster when Dallas leaned close and touched his lips to her cheek.

  “You’re amazing,” he said. “You just keep surprising me.” He pulled her into his arms. For a long time, they held each other as if they’d known one another for years.

  His shirt smelled like it had just come out of the laundry. The clean smell mingled with a slightly spicy aroma that was both soothing and invigorating. “Thank you for sharing that with me, Dallas. It does help to know that the feelings won’t paralyze me forever.”

  “You have to make that choice,” he said quietly. “It only has as much control as you give it.”

  Kira paused a moment, then let go of Dallas, easing away. “I have all of Cody and Betsy’s records here. I’ve looked and looked, but I don’t see anything that would be of interest to a drug dealer. Would you help me search through them and see if we can figure out what he’s hunting for?”

  “Sure, I’ll clean off the table while you get the file,” he said, standing. “Is it okay that you brought it home?”

  “All’s fair in love and war, and besides, I did it for Cody and Betsy’s safety.”

  Dallas paused, glancing at her speculatively. “Kira…” He walked toward the kitchen and turned to her.

  She cut him off before he could finish. “It’s temporary, and my supervisor knows everything involved in my decision. She gave her stamp of approval on my idea. In the children’s file at the office, the paperwork looks perfectly normal, except the house listed doesn’t exist. Nor does the street it’s on. I’ve totally removed the home they were in from the mock file. I don’t want to endanger a good family.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest and furrowed his brow. “How many rules have you broken?”

  “I stopped counting. Cody and Betsy have been through enough in their short lives,” she said defensively, trying to ignore how strong and yet sympathetic Dallas was despite his attempts to sound tough. “I’m all they have now.”

  “You’re—”

  She held up a hand to silence him. The emotion of all of this was getting to her. “I’ll be right back with the file. Let’s focus on that.” She raced upstairs to her room, where she’d hidden it.

  Kira took a deep breath, collapsed against the closet door and closed her eyes. “God, please help Dallas and me to find Mickey and figure out what he wants, and soon. And if you have a chance, help Dallas see through his pain to let others in, especially someone who could love him the way he needs to be. I see how hard he’s trying to make me believe he’s a tough, cynical cop, but all I see is the compassionate man who would walk on broken glass to protect others. And if that someone isn’t supposed to be me, would you take my rose-colored glasses off?”

  Dallas had finished cleaning the kitchen in a matter of minutes, leaving him too much time to wonder what was taking Kira so long. He studied the framed collage of snapshots of her and her brothers. What was it she said about the other brother who wouldn’t be showing up?Though some of the photos were from when they were young, he didn’t see a fourth boy in any of them. Had one of them died? Or was it a brother from her birth family?

  The Matthews’ looked like a happy family, despite the fact that their father was a cop and they had an adopted sister. Other than the different skin color, one would never guess they weren’t full siblings. Finger “bunny ears” and goofy smiles hadn’t missed this family. While most brothers picked on sisters, the Matthews boys seemed protective of Kira, more than if she had been their natural sister.

  He wondered if she planned on having a family. While she’d ended up in a happy home, she’d also mentioned running away from foster homes and having a mysterious brother that she apparently hadn’t forgotten. Dallas’s focus landed on a picture of Ted and Kira when she was very young. She had the biggest smile and a tight grip on her dad’s neck.

  “I see you found Mom’s wall of memories,” Kira said from behind him. She had an oversize manila envelope in her arms and motioned toward the sofa.

  “It’s a cool idea. I think I’ll look for those frames for my mom’s birthday. She’d love it, too.” He didn’t want to tell Kim how much it revealed about her family.

  Dallas followed her to the table, where she was spreading out the contents of the envelope. Photos and phone messages spilled across the surface. “All this is from that night?” he said, as he pulled out a chair for Kira, then scooted one close to her for himself.

  “Nope, their mom has been through this several times before. Which is why I’m going to proceed with a permanent placement for Betsy and Cody as soon as things settle down. Their mother’s had several chances and c
an’t stay clean for more than a few months. We didn’t realize it until we entered her name in the state registry. We immediately heard from Denver County Child Services, and they sent several more documents to help our cause.”

  Dallas looked at the photos of the night they’d taken the children from their Antelope Springs home, and even older pictures, when Betsy was in an infant carrier. “Don’t get me wrong, they seem like okay kids, but surely you can’t devote yourself this much to every child you work with. Why do these two mean so much to you?”

  She was silent for a while. “Because…” She faltered, “Wow, I haven’t consciously thought about it since that night, but remember when Cody told you he could take care of his sister?”

  Kira looked into his eyes and waited.

  Dallas tried to remember, but couldn’t. “I’m sorry, I don’t recall that. What happened?”

  “You were carrying Betsy to the car for me. She was upset, and Cody took her from you and said he’d take care of her.” Kira’s voice was so soft, her gaze so distant, that Dallas had no doubt she was reliving every moment of that night. “Ever since then, I knew I had to keep them together at all costs. They remind me of my brother, who was taken away from me.”

  Dallas set the pictures on the pile and turned to face Kira, resting his elbow on the back of their chair.

  “When my parents died, my stepdad’s family took my brother, because he was a blood relative and they felt obligated.”

  Dallas nodded, fearing he knew the rest.

  “They didn’t want me because I’m not their family. Ted—Dad, I mean—was the officer who met with the social worker after the accident, and who had come to tell us we had to go into foster care. He watched them turn me away.” Tears welled up in her eyes.

  “Oh man, that’s cruel.” Dallas extended his arm and touched her shoulder. Immediately she snuggled against him, and he rested his cheek against her head.

  “Dad promised he’d find a good home for me, and he did, but it took a long time to get through all of the paperwork and find all the loopholes. Cody and Betsy need each other. I can’t let anything happen to them.”

  “I understand.” Dallas loosened his arms and looked at her, thinking how blessed the two children were to have Kira in their corner.

  A few minutes later, Dallas felt his phone vibrate, but he ignored it. He could call whoever it was back. Seconds later the doorbell rang, and Kira jumped.

  Dallas pulled his phone off his belt. “Wait…” He looked at the phone, punching buttons. “My cell just rang.” They both stood, and Dallas checked to see who was calling. “It’s your brother, uh, Kent? Is he the narc?”

  “Yeah,” she said, glancing toward the foyer as she heard keys jangling against the door. “It must be Mom and Dad home already. Why is my brother—?”

  Before Dallas could get past Kira, the door, swung open to reveal Kent standing there, a phone to his ear. “Hey, I was just calling you.” He looked at Kira, then Dallas, and grinned sheepishly.

  Dallas closed his phone and clipped it back to his belt. “Yeah, I recognized the number. What’s up?”

  “Where are Mom and Dad? Do they know you have company?” Kent asked with a suspicious look in his eyes.

  Kira put her hand on her hip. “Don’t even start with me, Kent. Why are you here? And why are you calling Dallas?”

  “I figured you’d miss Mutt and Jeff grilling Dallas.” Her shaggy-haired brother laughed. “I need you both to come with me. Mickey’s in Denver.”

  “They have him in custody?” Kira felt the mood brighten.

  Kent shook his head. “Well, sort of. He’s dead.”

  Chapter Twelve

  TWELVE

  Kira stacked all the papers into the file and put it back in the envelope. Before they left town, she ran up to her room and put it away. She might be a skeptic, but until she saw for herself, she wasn’t going to believe that Mickey Zelanski was no longer a threat.

  When she returned to the foyer, Kent was waiting for her. Dallas was nowhere in sight. “You really like him, don’t you?” her brother asked.

  “Shh!” Kira said, covering his mouth with her hand. “Where is he?”

  Kent brushed her hand away. “He went out to his car. He offered to drive.” Her brother was staring at her. “Man, you have it bad!”

  “I do not!” she insisted, looking for her purse. “Did you call Dad?”

  “He didn’t answer, so I left him a message.” Kent lifted her purse from behind the coat rack. “Here, is this what you’re looking for?”

  She groaned. “How do you do that?”

  He shrugged. “I’ve been married for ten years, so I know how women think.”

  “Renee might argue with you about that,” Kira said with a laugh.

  “I beg to differ. Care to test me?”

  She thought a minute about how to stump him. “Fine, go ahead.”

  He smiled. “You sure you want to go there, sis?”

  “Sure. I’m in a good mood,” Kira declared.

  “Okay, but remember who asked for it.” He touched his fingers to his forehead and closed his eyes. “You’re thinking ‘I like Dallas, and I don’t care if my brothers don’t.’”

  She tried to hide her shock. “Not even close.”

  Kent laughed out loud. “Close enough, though. For the record, you’ve got good taste this time.”

  “Why, because he’s a cop?”

  “It definitely gives us something to talk about with this guy. Better than that astrophysicist. And it’s clear Mutt and Jeff must approve, or they wouldn’t razz Dallas. You know, it’s a brother’s duty to chase off the riffraff. But I think Dallas could be good for you.”

  “I don’t think I asked for your approval,” she said as she headed out the door. “And I don’t need Mutt and Jeff’s help chasing guys off, either. Too bad you weren’t this concerned for the people involved with Mickey.”

  Kent let out a groan. “Oh come on, I know you don’t want to face reality, Kira, but Zelanski’s only one of several dozen drug dealers that we’re watching.”

  “Well, someone wasn’t watching very closely. Those kids aren’t easily missed.”

  “We didn’t know that kids were connected in any way. You know me better than that. Whether you like it or not, Kira, sometimes the bad guys stay one step out of our reach.”

  She stopped, then turned to face him. “I’m sorry,” she said as she hugged him. “It’s just that I think you leap tall buildings in a single bound. So it’s not easy finding out you’re human. Not to mention it’s been a lousy week.” She held on tight before letting him go. “And as far as the other subject, cool it. Even if I am interested, he’s not.”

  Kent closed and locked the door behind them. He chuckled. “We’ll have to fix that.”

  “Oh no, you don’t. If I want your help, I’ll ask for it,” she insisted. She’d been through a lot of emotional upheaval lately, and Dallas had been there for her. Despite telling her brothers that he wasn’t interested in a relationship, she had a gut feeling that he was changing his mind about the matter. In the meantime, she was content getting to know more about him before they dated. She wanted a forever friend. A permanent relationship. That couldn’t be found in a few weeks. Or could it? She had a lot to pray about tonight.

  Two hours later, Kira, Dallas and her brother had finally made it through Denver traffic and police red tape and were staring at a sheet covering the suspected body of Mickey Zelanski, wondering who had killed him, and why.

  “Let us know if this is the man you saw, Kira.”

  Her heart beat faster as the coroner started to pull back the sheet. She closed her eyes, remembering the face of the man trying to break into the cruiser. Surely it wouldn’t be the same one. She felt a strong arm embrace her.

  “Kira, it’s okay. Your brother and I are here with you. Just take a quick look and it’ll be over,” Dallas said in a deep, comforting tone.

  It was hard to breathe as she ope
ned her eyes. She inhaled quickly, then instinctively held her breath, shock hitting her in the stomach. She nodded. “That’s him.”

  Kent discussed the specifics with the local homicide detective as Kira tried not to embarrass herself by losing her dinner.

  “You don’t have to stay in here,” Dallas told her, passing his palm to her back to help her out of the morgue.

  “Any personal belongings on him?” she heard her brother ask as she rushed out the door, with Dallas on her heels, determined to keep up with her. Kira inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with the nonpungent oxygen. She paced the hallway, willing her brother to hurry.

  “Nothing on his person,” she heard the investigator say. “Death seems to be—”

  Kira plugged her ears. Her stomach couldn’t take much more tonight. She dragged in another deep breath.

  Dallas patted her shoulder as she made another lap past him. “You need a soda or something?”

  “No, thanks,” she muttered, ignoring his attempt to comfort her. She didn’t dare stop pacing, for fear she might collapse into his arms and never let go. Kira wanted tonight over with. She wanted to be alone. She wanted privacy so she could fall apart. She wanted to let go and cry. “I’m fine, if you need to go back in there,” she said to Dallas, hoping he would take the hint. She didn’t need a witness to her continued struggle.

  “I can hear okay from here.” He stayed next to the door, but kept an eye out for her. She felt like a child. She couldn’t deny that it was nice to have his attention, even if it was getting old being the damsel in distress.

  As she watched Dallas strain to keep up on the investigation, she wondered what he was like when he wasn’t in police officer mode. What had brought him from Phoenix to rural Colorado? Antelope Springs wasn’t exactly the center of the universe, but she’d grown up in the area, and called it home.

  She glanced at Dallas, hoping he wasn’t a mind reader. Feeling horribly guilty that her thoughts were nowhere near the case involving the dead man in the next room, she looked down the hall, in the opposite direction of Officer Dallas Brooks.