Duty to Defend

by Jill Elizabeth Nelson

  “You don’t trust people much, do you?”

  “Why should I?” Serena crossed her arms over her chest. “All my life, people have done nothing but mess with me.”

  A troubled expression flitted across Daci’s face, and she laid a hand on the shorter woman’s shoulder. “I get that sentiment totally, but it really is against the rules to bring a sick child to day care.”

  “Ja-ax.” Serena gazed into his eyes and smoothed the lapels of his suit jacket with her palms. “Would you please check on my baby for me?”

  He took a half step backward. “I can do that.”

  Poor Serena. Her life experiences so full of certain types of men had her thinking that any request made to a man had to be based on sex appeal in order to get his agreement. No doubt, her counselors were working with her in this area, but it took a while to overcome deeply ingrained mind-sets.

  “Oh, thank you!” Serena folded her hands together. “Like, as long as I tell myself his foster parents are making stuff up, I can be mad, but if my little boy really is sick, then I’m going to be sad. I need to know. You know?”

  “I think Mr....er, Jax gets it,” Daci said, sticking out her hand toward him. “Daci Marlowe, teacher’s assistant.”

  Jax didn’t miss a beat in shaking her hand. If Daci were to have a chance at gaining Serena’s trust, it was important the young mother not be aware that Daci and he were previously acquainted. Serena Farnam had a highly developed sense of paranoia that would wreak instant havoc if she thought people were conspiring behind her back, even if it was for her own good.

  “Jaxton Williams, juvenile rights attorney.”

  “You must represent young Chase,” Daci said. “Serena’s been telling me about her situation.” She sent a kind smile toward the younger woman. “It’s got to be tough.”

  Serena’s intense expression lightened. “Yeaaaah.” She breathed out long and low, as if such simple understanding meant the world to her.

  An infant in a nearby crib began fussing, and Serena turned toward the sound. “I’ll get him. These babies are so cu-u-ute!” She practically skipped away.

  Daci’s gaze followed the younger woman, a small frown on her lips. Jax cleared his throat, and she met his look.

  “Since Chase isn’t here, I’d like to see little Annie Brown and speak to her caregiver.”

  Daci smiled. “That would be me today. Follow me to the changing room, and I’ll talk with you while I change her diaper. She crawled past me a few minutes ago, while I was finishing up with another child, and I thought she smelled a bit ripe.”

  At Jax’s low groan, her smile morphed into a smirk as she scooped Annie up.

  “Do you provide nose plugs?” Jax followed her toward a side room.

  “Wimp,” she said under her breath.

  “I heard that.”

  Daci’s answering chuckle warmed Jax from the ground up. She laid the child on the changing table and tickled the little girl’s plump belly. Annie giggled and kicked.

  “Hold still, sweet stuff.” Daci began the changing process.

  Jax stood rooted, staring, his heart shredding into tiny pieces. He’d visited this day care before, watched other babies being changed—though maybe not from this close up—but this moment was starkly different. Daci didn’t look a thing like Regan, and if their daughter had been born, she would have been much older than Annie, almost ready for kindergarten, but something about the way Daci moved, the expression on her face, the tone of her voice as she spoke to the little one hit him like brass knuckles with fresh realization of what he had lost. A deep groan wrenched his gut.

  Daci’s head turned sharply. “Are you all right, Jax? You look like the Red Cross took the last pint of your blood.”

  He blinked down hard against the wet sting behind his eyes. “Yeah, I’m fine. Or I will be.” He opened his eyes to find her holding the little girl, who had gone limp and was sucking her thumb.

  “Did you really have some questions about Annie, or did you need an excuse to talk to me?”

  “Both.” Get a grip, Williams. “When you changed her, did you notice any bruises?”

  “No, just healthy baby bottom.”

  “Good.” Jax smiled. “That’s what I expected to hear. Annie had a rough start in a toxic environment, but the dad has custody now, and she’s been thriving. This was basically a final follow-up visit.”

  “Aren’t these kinds of visits more social services territory?”

  “Sure, but that department is spread so thin they’re more than happy to enlist the help of a nonprofit like ours to pick up the slack. I’ll write up my report, and they’ll put it in their file. At the next court date, Annie will likely be released from the system into the mainstream. We call that a success story.”

  “Glad to hear it.”

  Daci held the child toward him, and he received the warm bundle. The girl stared at him for a few blinks, then laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

  “She likes you and trusts you.”

  “I like her, too.” He gazed down at the head of wispy brown hair.

  “You’re a natural. Any little Williamses at home?”

  “No, not married anymore.” Jax grimaced. “That’s a story for another time. I need to get going and stop at Chase’s foster home. How are you doing with Serena?”

  “You saw.” Daci rippled her shoulders. “She may be sober, but she’s still a hot mess. I’ve stuck close to her all day and have begun to believe she genuinely wants to be a good mother to her son, but she’s so pathetically clueless about what that entails.”

  “Contrary to her airhead demeanor, which I suspect is an ingrained facade to make her seem no threat to the predators in her environment, testing has shown she’s bright. She’s also motivated. She’ll learn. No sign of our target?”

  “Nary a one. Though I don’t suppose he’s going to announce his presence beforehand.”

  “He might call or text Serena.”

  “Workers here can’t use cell phones except on break. Following her to the break room when I’m supposed to be on duty would be irresponsible in regard to the children, and it would look suspicious to Serena, but I’ve kept close watch to see if she exhibits any nervousness when she comes back on duty. I don’t think she’d be able to hide her reaction if he reached out to her. Even if she believes he doesn’t know she betrayed him, anyone would get the willies if contacted by an escaped felon. Besides, the Marshals Service is monitoring her cell communications.”

  “Do you have a plan to get into her circle of friends?”

  Daci’s expression clouded. “I’m going to express interest in attending an addiction-recovery meeting. If she accepts me as one who understands her issues, I should be a shoo-in.”

  “Sounds like a great plan to me, but you don’t look happy about it.”

  “This is a world I thought I escaped. I’m not eager to revisit it.”

  “Understood. Hopefully, Naylor will be in custody again soon, and you can move on to a new assignment.”

  “One more thing, I want to apologize for leaving you abruptly yesterday. I’m not usually so touchy.”

  “No problem. It was an unsettling day.”

  Daci smiled up at him. “I appreciate your patience.”

  He made himself turn away before he blurted out an invitation to revisit their canceled meal plan. Dating Daci was out of the question.

  A few minutes later, little Annie had been tucked into a crib with her favorite blankie, and Jax was on the road. The visit at Chase’s foster home was brief, but it confirmed the little guy was recovering from a cold. His foster parents thought he would be able to return to day care in the morning. Jax called Naomi at Little Blessings with the update and asked that the message be passed along to Serena. Then he headed downtown to his office and worked a few hours on court filings
and briefs.

  When the clock had finally crept past the time for Daci and Serena’s shift to end, he called Daci’s cell. She answered after two rings.

  “Where are you?” he asked.

  “At the office, updating DC Reynolds on our activities today. He told me the woman I knocked over in the crosswalk yesterday was treated and released. No bones broken.”

  “I’m thankful for that. Just wondering if you wanted to join me for a drive-by of Serena’s apartment building. Maybe do a little recon of the area, too.”

  A brief chuckle answered him. “Been there, done that. Plus, I’m picking Serena up at her place at six thirty. We’re attending a recovery meeting together tonight.”

  Jax let out a low whistle. “Fast work, rookie!”

  She snorted. Odd how even that gruff sound was attractive coming from her.

  “Not hard,” she said, “with someone so needy for human companionship and approval.”

  “What’s the address of the meeting? I’d like to hang around outside and watch for either our mutual friend or a go-between who might want to contact Serena outside of her workplace or residence.”

  “Good idea.” Daci rattled off the address.

  “What do you drive, so I’ll know which vehicle is yours?”

  “I’ve got a blue Volkswagen GTI. Blurs the line between sporty and utilitarian. Just the way I like it.” She laughed.

  Jax grinned as they ended the call. He’d expected at least a Lexus, if not a Mercedes, but a VW? She’d certainly pulled off the balance between maintaining her average-income profile with the flair of something slightly off the beaten path.

  Two hours later, Jax parked up the block from Bethany Church in south Springfield, where the recovery meeting was being held. He had arrived early to monitor Daci and Serena’s approach. If anyone was following them, he would spot the tail. He popped open the door on the glove compartment of his Malibu, took out his Glock 19 and checked the load.

  Lying beneath the gun, his temporary marshal’s badge caught his eye. Slowly, he hefted it in one palm, testing the familiar weight. Running the pad of his thumb across the gold star and embossed eagle, memories rushed through him. Hissing in a breath, he flung the badge back into the glove compartment and slammed it shut.

  He lifted his gaze to find a shiny blue GTI turning the corner and approaching the church. The vehicle drove toward him, then entered the parking lot that was already filling up with those attending the meeting. Jax scanned the area for vehicles slowing down in surveillance mode or parked cars with occupants that seemed to be watching the church like he was. Nada.

  He settled back in his seat for a bit of a wait. When the meeting was over, he was going to follow them back to Serena’s apartment. Her part of town wasn’t a good area to be in after dark. Not a good place to raise a child, either, but a rough neighborhood wouldn’t be sufficient reason to deny Serena her son if she met the court-ordered criteria for custody. And at the moment, it was the best she could afford. Sometimes a person had to pick his battles.

  The two hours until the meeting let out reminded Jax of how much he’d hated stakeout duty. At last, people began emerging from the church, Daci and Serena in the mix. Jax started his car, but let the VW get on up the road before he pulled out to follow. A few other vehicles from the meeting stayed with them for a while, but eventually, they all turned elsewhere.

  Within twenty minutes, Daci pulled over near a corner lamppost in front of Serena’s complex. Jax stopped at the curb on the opposite side of the street and watched as Daci got out with her charge. Had she already wangled an invitation up to Serena’s apartment?

  No, Serena stopped at the curb and seemed to be saying good-night. Daci lifted a hand in farewell and turned away as Serena went into her apartment building. Jax reached to put the Malibu in gear, then froze as a rust-bucket van cruised up the street and stopped in the middle of the road parallel with the VW. Jax’s hair stood on end, every instinct screaming that Daci was in danger. He lunged for the gun in his glove compartment as the heavy rat-a-tat-tat of automatic weapon fire shredded the night.

  Three

  A bullet buzzed past Daci’s right ear as she dived behind the cover of her car. Heart pounding like a trip-hammer, she grabbed for the small pistol she’d strapped to her ankle for tonight’s meeting. What good the little peashooter might do against an automatic was anybody’s guess, but carrying her bulky service pistol hadn’t been an option when she was undercover like this.

  Abruptly, the staccato burst of gunfire ceased, and Daci popped her head up above the hood of her car for a quick look. With a screech of tires, the van raced away down the street. Daci got off a pair of shots, not expecting to hit anything more than the body of the van.

  Other gunfire blended with hers, and her breath caught as she searched for the shooter. There! Jax was rushing up the middle of the road, pistol raised and blasting, but the van didn’t slow down as it disappeared into the night.

  Jax suddenly broke off chasing the fleeing vehicle, whirled and raced toward the bullet-riddled VW, calling her name. Panic edged his tone.

  Daci jumped to her feet. “I’m here. I’m okay.”

  Jax trotted up her. “No, you’re not. You’re bleeding.” He gestured toward her arm.

  She glanced down. Sure enough. Warm blood trickled down her bare arm below the cap sleeve of her blouse. Now that the crisis was past, a hot burn in her biceps suddenly registered.

  “Just a graze. Nothing serious.”

  “Nothing serious? Are you kidding? Someone tried to kill you.”

  “Maybe they were gunning for Serena.” Even as the words left her lips they felt false. The shooter had waited to spring until Serena went into the building. Daci had to be the target, but why...and who was after her?

  “We have to call this in.”

  The wail of sirens began closing in on their location.

  Daci turned her head toward the shrill sound. “I think someone’s already done that.”

  A half hour later, Daci wore a bandage over the scratch on her arm, and for the second day in a row, she and Jax were answering the questions of a police detective. The people who lived in the surrounding apartment buildings remained noticeably absent, including Serena, though she must have heard the gunfire. Unfortunately, in this neighborhood shooting wasn’t uncommon, and other than maybe anonymously calling the cops, the residents had learned to keep out of the way.

  As Daci and Jax stepped away from the center of law-enforcement activity, Jax kept casting glances toward Serena’s building. “Should we check on her?”

  “The uniforms are casing the building for witnesses who may have been looking out their windows at the time of the shooting. That process will make a good cover for them to get eyes on her and leave us out of it. Especially you. She doesn’t need to know you were here. I’ve asked the PD to call and advise me of her status as soon as they know it. I’ll need a lift back to headquarters. My VW is now evidence at a crime scene.”

  “No problem. We both need to talk to Rey about the implications of you being the shooter’s target.”

  “Couldn’t it have been a random drive-by shooting?”

  “Possible, I suppose.”

  By the tone of his voice, Jax didn’t seem to find the suggestion probable.

  “Could that mean I was also the intended victim of yesterday’s attempted hit-and-run?” Letting the words out of her mouth brought a rank taste to Daci’s tongue.

  A grim mask settled over Jax’s face. “A possibility we’ll have to discuss.”

  Daci stared mutely out the window during the drive, and Jax seemed to get the hint that she didn’t want to chat. If someone was trying to kill her, what impact might that circumstance have on her ability to do her job? Would she be pulled off her current case? While she’d been reluctant to take on this case from the start, whe
n such a possibility loomed, she passionately wanted to finish the assignment, day care and all. It was her first assignment—she wanted to see it through. Wanted to prove herself. Would that chance be taken away from her?

  Could she even be suspended from the service, pending apprehension of the culprit? Her gut curdled like the spoiled milk in the baby bottle she’d received in the mystery basket yesterday morning. She would have to tell her boss about that incident, also. A deep sigh left her throat.

  “Hang in there.” Jax reached over and squeezed her hand. “We’re going to figure this out.”

  “Yes, we are.”

  Daci squared her shoulders. The determination in Jax’s voice and the comfort of his touch shot fresh confidence through her veins. She’d fought through too much in her thirty-two years to allow this threat to derail her life just when she was getting it onto the track she wanted. She had to convince DC Reynolds that she could look after herself and Serena at the same time. Even better, either catch Liggett Naylor and jump-start her career, or expose the joker who was trying to put a final period on it. Best yet, do both!

  Daci’s ringtone sounded, and, following a brief chat with the officer on the other end, her heart lightened marginally.

  She keyed off and smiled at Jax. “Serena’s fine. Just rattled that she narrowly missed being out on the street when the shooting started.”

  He shot her a thumbs-up.

  They found DC Reynolds in his office. He’d been called in immediately upon notification that a shooting incident involved one of his deputies. As they walked through his door, a double-deep scowl greeted them. Daci’s gut churned.

  “Sit!” he barked. They complied. “You okay, Marlowe?” he queried in a slightly less aggressive tone.

  “I’m fine, sir.” If only her nerves were as steady as the tone she’d managed.

  “She’s a trouper, Rey,” Jax inserted.

  Reynolds glared at him. “She’s not a trooper. She’s a deputy marshal, and I won’t have some scum of the earth taking potshots at one of mine. So, what happened?” He switched his gaze to Daci.