Under the Lawman's Protection

by Laura Scott

  He was tempted to call Jenna right now, but it was late enough that he decided to go with a simple text message. Call me when you have time, Isaac.

  Drumming his fingers on the table, his previous exhaustion having vanished, he tried to think of another angle to work. Finding out if Hawk’s contact within the ATF, Cam Walker, had the same theory would help, but he wasn’t willing to call the guy, not after the way things had gone down at the abandoned shed.

  Would Hawk know what Cam’s theory was? Maybe. Isaac pushed away from the computer and headed into the bedroom he’d given up for Hawk. He stopped in the doorway when he saw Leah sitting in a chair beside her brother’s bed, her head cradled in her arms, apparently sound asleep. Hawk looked to be sleeping, too, and for a moment Isaac considered waking him up to discuss his theory. But his buddy’s pale skin and the fresh bandage on his shoulder convinced him to wait until morning.

  But he couldn’t bear to leave Leah sitting there in such an awkward position. She’d wake up with a backache for sure. He crossed over and gently squeezed her shoulder. “Leah,” he whispered. “Come on. You need to get some sleep.”

  “What?” She blinked groggily at him and then sat up with a wince. “What time is it?”

  “Almost one in the morning,” he whispered. “Get to bed. I’ll wake you up in a few hours so you can administer the antibiotic.”

  “Okay.” It was a testament to how tired she was that she didn’t argue. He supported her with a hand under her arm as she staggered to her feet. She leaned heavily against him as they made their way into the second bedroom, the one she shared with Ben.

  “Isaac?” She stood there, clutching his arm, and all he could remember was how sweet she’d tasted when he’d kissed her. How much he wanted to kiss her again.

  Not now, Morrison, he told himself sternly.

  “What? Do you need something?” he asked.

  “I— Nothing. Thank you, for everything.”

  He sensed that wasn’t really what she had been about to say, but since her eyes were half-closed, he didn’t push it.

  “You’re welcome. Get some sleep.” He helped her sit on the edge of the mattress, moving back to give her room.

  “G’night,” she mumbled as she crawled into bed fully dressed. She closed her eyes and didn’t move, so he backed out of the room and softly closed the door behind him.

  He blew out a heavy breath, wishing he’d asked her how to give the IV antibiotic so he wouldn’t have to wake her at all, but it was too late now. He didn’t want to make things worse by trying to figure it out on his own.

  Isaac headed back to the kitchen table and tried to think of a good way to pass the next two hours. Unfortunately, he was limited as to what he could do from here.

  Just as his eyes started to drift closed, his cell phone rang. He jerked awake. “Morrison,” he said, covering up a wide yawn.

  “I just got your text message. What’s up?” Jenna asked.

  He was surprised she’d called him so late, but he was glad to have something concrete to do. “Remember that gun from the mall shooting?”

  “Yeah. What about it?”

  “How far back did you go as far as testing the ballistics reports?”

  “Just a couple of months—why? What’s going on?” She sounded eager to help, which eased his guilt for contacting her so late.

  “I have a hunch but need proof. I’d like you to go back further, say a year or maybe even two. I think this gun has been used in another crime.” He didn’t want to give her too much information, because he wanted to see what she came up with. If he told her to just look in the Fifth District, she might miss something important.

  For all he knew, other districts could be involved.

  “All right, but you’d better fill me in and soon,” Jenna said, sounding testy. “I’m capable of doing more than your menial labor.”

  “I know you are, and trust me, this isn’t menial labor.” He didn’t know why Jenna was always determined to prove herself, but right now he was too tired to care. “Look, I would do the check from here if I could. I need your help, Jenna. If you want me to call someone else, I will.”

  “I’ll do it,” she muttered. “I’ll let you know when I have something.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate it.” Isaac disconnected from the call and sighed.

  Ninety minutes and he could wake up Leah to administer the antibiotic, and then he’d get some sleep.

  He had a feeling that by the morning he’d have a lot more information to work with. And maybe he could talk to Hawk, too, come up with some sort of plan.

  Because Leah and Ben weren’t safe yet. Not by a long shot. And they wouldn’t be safe until he found and arrested the dirty cop responsible for murdering Trey Birchwood and attempting to murder Hawk.

  Isaac knew Leah was relieved to have found her brother, and so was he. But right now, the moment of peace felt too much like the calm before the storm.

  And he was determined that Leah and Ben would survive, unscathed.

  * * *

  Leah woke up the next morning and bolted upright in bed. Had she overslept? Shane needed another dose of antibiotic at nine o’clock.

  She dragged a hand through her hair, attempting to restore some order to her unruly curls, and climbed out of bed, mortified to realize she’d slept in her clothes. As much as she desperately wanted to shower and change, she went to check on Shane.

  Following the enticing aroma of coffee, she headed to the main room. She was surprised to see Isaac was up, since he’d gone to bed well after she had. She only vaguely remembered him waking her to give Shane his three o’clock medication.

  “Hey, how are you feeling?” Isaac asked when he saw her.

  “Good. I’m just going to check on Shane.”

  “He’s doing okay,” Isaac said, rising to his feet and crossing to meet her by Shane’s doorway. “I gave him more soup about thirty minutes ago.”

  “Really? How much did he drink?”

  “All of it,” Isaac said with a grin. “He’s been asking for more than broth, but I told him we had to check with you first.”

  “I’m sure he can have something more,” she agreed.

  She entered Shane’s bedroom, relieved to note that her brother looked much better. She placed a hand on his forehead, satisfied when he didn’t feel too warm.

  Thankfully, the fluids and antibiotics were doing their job.

  “I hear you’re hungry,” she said.

  “I am. I honestly can’t tell you the last time I’ve eaten,” Shane confessed. “At least two days ago.”

  Her heart squeezed in her chest, but she kept a smile on her face. “Okay, how about some scrambled eggs and toast?” She glanced at Isaac. “Maybe we could get a take-out order from the diner?”

  “Good plan,” he agreed. “Tell me what you want, too, and I’ll get enough for all of us.”

  “How about four servings of scrambled eggs, toast, bacon and juice?” she suggested. “Leftovers wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. And Ben might be hungry when he gets here.”

  “Caleb promised to drop him off in about an hour, and I’m pretty sure he’ll feed Ben breakfast beforehand,” Isaac said. “But I’ll get more than enough, just in case.”

  She nodded and turned back to Shane. “I’m so glad you’re doing better,” she said in a low tone. “You have no idea how worried I’ve been.”

  “Hey, I’ve been worried about you, too,” he said, grimacing when he shifted in the bed. “I’m glad Ice has been here to look after you.”

  “It’s almost time for your next dose of antibiotic, but after that we can see about letting you get cleaned up a bit. No shower, though. We can’t let your shoulder wound get wet.”

  Shane frowned but didn’t argue. She actually coul
dn’t blame him for wanting a shower.

  “How much has Ice told you?” he inquired, changing the subject as she prepared the antibiotic infusion.

  “What do you mean?” she asked, perplexed. “I know everything that’s been going on.”

  “Really?” Her brother looked surprised.

  “Why wouldn’t I know? Isaac has been with me ever since the masked man tried to kidnap me and Ben.”

  “I guess I assumed you wouldn’t want to know any of the details,” Shane admitted. “You never wanted to know anything about the dangerous aspects of my job before.”

  Since he was right, she couldn’t very well argue. She concentrated on hanging the IV medication and then turned to sit beside his bed.

  “I’m sorry about that,” she said in a low tone. “I realize now how foolish I’ve been. Refusing to listen to the details of your job certainly didn’t make it less dangerous. And as a trauma nurse I see gunshot and stab victims being brought in all the time. I guess it was a stupid way to try and cope.”

  “Not stupid,” he corrected, reaching out to take her hand. “I understand how hard it must be for you to know that I’m out on the streets doing the same job our father did.”

  She gripped his hand tightly and nodded. “It was hard, but that doesn’t mean I don’t owe you a huge apology. It was selfish of me to think only about myself. I should have realized how much support you needed, too. I’m embarrassed to admit that it took hearing you got hurt to make me realize what I was doing.”

  “Hey, you don’t have to apologize to me,” Shane protested. “I hated knowing how afraid you were for me. But this is the job I’m meant to do, Leah. I thought about changing careers for you, but I couldn’t do it. Well,” he amended, “I could, but I wouldn’t be happy.”

  It struck her at that moment how much Isaac was the same way. He was obviously a great cop and valued being a part of the SWAT team. How could she ever expect him to do anything else?

  Very simply, she couldn’t. And he shouldn’t have to change who he was or what he did for anyone.

  Least of all for her.

  Truthfully, she didn’t want to change who he was. Over these past few days she’d needed him to keep her and Ben safe, which included taking advantage of all his cop skills.

  And why was she even thinking about being with Isaac once this was all done? Other than that amazing kiss, he’d never given her any indication that he wanted to see her on a personal level.

  So why couldn’t she get the idea out of her mind?

  “Mommy!” Ben came rushing into the bedroom and she turned and scooped him up in a huge hug.

  “Oh, I missed you,” she murmured against his neck. He smelled like baby shampoo, and she was so glad that he’d missed last night’s events.

  “Uncle Shane! You’re here!” Ben wiggled to indicate he wanted to get down.

  “Easy now—Uncle Shane has a big ouchie in his shoulder,” she cautioned as she set her son on his feet.

  “What happened?” Ben nimbly climbed onto the bed and crawled up beside Shane. “Did someone stab you?”

  Oh, boy, since when did Ben get so bloodthirsty? “No, he wasn’t stabbed,” she corrected. “But his ouchie is infected, so we have to be very careful.”

  “I missed you,” Ben said, resting his head against Shane’s right side.

  Her brother hugged him close and smiled. “I know, buddy. I missed you, too.”

  Leah had to look away, blinking the tears from her eyes. She should be happy. The outcome could have been so much worse.

  “Hey, Ben, why don’t you show your mom your new toy?” Isaac suggested from the doorway. “I need to talk to Uncle Shane for a few minutes.”

  “Okay. Come on, Mom—look at what Mr. Caleb bought for me.” Ben scrambled off the bed as fast as he’d climbed on and dashed into the other room.

  Leah hovered in the doorway. “Why do I feel like you’re trying to get rid of me?”

  Isaac ducked his head for a moment and then nodded. “You’re right. I want to talk about our next steps with your brother. But you don’t have to worry about anything, because no matter what, I’m going to make sure you and Ben are safe.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “I know you will, but I’d still like to hear the plan.”

  Isaac exchanged a long look with Shane, who merely shrugged. “You might as well let her stay.”

  “Okay, fine. But keep in mind this isn’t a democracy here. You don’t get a vote on whether we go ahead with the plan or not.”

  She bit her lower lip and nodded. “Okay, but you have to admit that it was a good thing I was there last night, otherwise you might not have known that Lieutenant Nash was there instead of Cameron Walker.”

  Isaac inclined his head. “You’re right about that. I just know how much you don’t like hearing about the dangerous aspects of a cop’s job.”

  “I’m over that,” she said with a wave of her hand. “After everything we’ve been through, I think I understand what we’re facing better than most.”

  “All right, then.” Isaac stepped farther into the room and took the chair she’d used earlier. “I think we have to get in touch with Walker again,” he said bluntly. “We need to set up another meeting, this time in the bright light of day.”

  “What if he’s part of this?” Shane asked.

  “We’ll use a place that allows us to make sure he comes alone,” Isaac said grimly. “I heard from my teammate Jenna, and she’s confirmed that the gun used in the mall shooting a few weeks ago is the same one that was used to kill a gang member eighteen months ago. A gang shooting that was right in the middle of the Fifth District.”

  Shane grimaced. “Yeah, I’ve suspected that someone inside the police department is stealing guns from the evidence room and giving them to Shark and his gang to sell on the streets. For a cut of the profits, of course.”

  This was the first Leah had heard of it, but then again, she’d been too busy last night working with Gabriella to save Shane’s life to keep up-to-date on the investigation.

  “Did Cam know your theory, too?” Isaac asked.

  “Yeah, and so did my boss.”

  Leah shivered, remembering how she’d recognized Lieutenant Nash out in the woods looking for Shane.

  And she wished she knew if he was a friend or foe.

  FIFTEEN

  Isaac glanced curiously at Leah. She was taking all this in far better than he’d anticipated. And what exactly did “I’m over that” mean? That she’d accepted the dangers of Shane’s job?

  Of his job?

  Or just that she’d given up trying to shield herself from the truth? He suspected the way she’d avoided talking to her brother about his job had just been a coping mechanism, especially since she worked in the trauma room. All this time, she’d known exactly what Hawk had faced. But maybe she figured it was easier to ignore the gory details if she didn’t talk about them.

  The real problem was that she’d already lost someone she loved and wasn’t ready to open herself up to that kind of hurt again. And frankly, Isaac didn’t blame her. After all, he understood exactly what she was going through. He hadn’t loved Becky enough, hadn’t made time to nurture his marriage, and those careless actions had cost him his son. Sure, he could blame Becky’s new boyfriend, but deep down, he knew it was still his fault.

  He could almost hear Leah’s voice in the back of his mind, urging him to forgive himself, the way God taught them to. And he was trying.

  Sitting so close to her that he could smell the cinnamon-and-spice scent that clung to her skin, he wished they had time to be alone, to talk about the growing feelings he had for her. But they didn’t.

  He forced himself to tear his gaze away from her and concentrate on the matter at hand. “So I’ll call Cameron W
alker and request a meeting. But I want a good place to meet, somewhere I can have plenty of protection and backup.”

  Shane grimaced and nodded. “The shed wasn’t a bad place for a meeting, but I doubt he’ll want to go there again.”

  “Maybe, maybe not.” Isaac turned the idea over in his mind. Could he make it work? He was familiar with the layout, and it would be easy to see in the daylight.

  Of course, daylight made it harder to hide backup, especially since it was March and the trees were still mostly bare from the lingering winter.

  “Do you really think Cam Walker will agree to meet?” Leah asked doubtfully. “I still don’t understand why he didn’t show up last night. Why would he have sent Lieutenant Nash instead?”

  “I’ve been thinking about that,” Shane murmured. “Maybe Cam confided in the lieutenant about the proposed meeting and my boss decided to tag along. It’s possible Walker was there but you didn’t see him.”

  Isaac shook his head. “Between Leah and myself, I don’t know how we could have missed him. I was inside the shed, saw the blanket you’d used and the blood from your wound. Your boss was outside, looking around the area, presumably for any sign of you. Where would Walker have been?”

  Hawk shrugged and then winced and put a hand up to his injured shoulder. “Maybe he was deeper in the woods, looking for me. Did you see a vehicle of some sort?”

  “No, but I didn’t get a chance to do a full sweep of the area.” Isaac wished he knew more, but there was no time to waste. He rubbed his hands on his jeans and stood. “I think I’ll head back over to the shed now. See if I can figure out what really happened last night.”

  “Let me know if you find my weapon,” Shane muttered.