Without Warning

by Lynette Eason

  So as long as her back was covered and she could see what was in front of her, she could wait in her position for a very long time.

  Just as she was ready to believe the intruder had left and she was going to head back inside, she thought she heard the soft crunch of footsteps to her right. He was coming from the back. Her blood pounded faster and she stayed still, breathing shallow breaths through her nose.

  Then the footsteps stopped.

  Did he know she was there? Could he sense her presence like she did his? Had he seen her come out of the house? There was a bit of light from the moon, so it was possible he’d seen her movement. But she’d been almost certain he’d been at the back of the house and hadn’t seen her slip out the front. She waited longer, wondering if she reached for her phone to call for some backup if he would hear her. Sense her motion.

  Then the footsteps receded, so quiet she barely heard them. He headed for the cover of the trees that lined the land between her house and her neighbor’s. She started after him when headlights coming up her drive caught her attention.

  She paused, unsure whether to go after the person to her left or confront the person coming up her drive this late at night. Was he friend or foe?

  Daniel pulled the vehicle to a stop and cut the engine when he saw the figure standing in the middle of her drive. Katie? He climbed out of the truck. Her body language shouted she was in hunter mode.

  “Daniel?” she whispered. “What are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to talk.” He took the cue from her and kept his voice low. “What are you doing outside?”

  “Someone was snooping around. He headed toward my neighbor’s house when you pulled in.” She took off toward the edge of the woods, gun held ready for use. Daniel followed her. She broke through the tree line into her neighbor’s yard. She glanced right, then left. Then lowered her weapon.

  “Snooping? You’re sure?” he asked. She shot him an annoyed look. He held up a hand. “Sorry. Looks like he managed to get away.”

  “Yes, I think your headlights scared him off.”

  “Or the fact that you were going after him.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Whatever the reason, he’s not here now.” He blew out a breath and watched it fog in the night air.

  “That we know of. Let’s get inside,” she said. “No sense standing here inviting someone to use us for target practice.” The distant sound of a car engine starting made her pause.

  “You think that’s him?”

  “Could be. No way to know, is there? Where’s Haley?” She led the way to the front door and opened it. She punched the alarm code on the keypad, then rearmed it after she shut the door behind them.

  “I left her with Riley,” he said.

  “Well, if you were any other client, I’d fuss at you for taking the risk.” She led the way into the den. “It’s not much yet, but at least I have a couch.”

  He sat on it. “I didn’t feel like it was much of a risk to ride over.”

  “It’s late. What were you going to do if I was asleep?”

  “Wake you up.”

  She lifted a brow. “Really? This must be important.”

  He sighed. “Probably not.”

  “Hmm. I guess we’ll find out. But before we talk, I want to walk through my backyard and see if I can find anything to indicate who was out there.”

  “Aren’t you going to call it in?”

  “I’ll let Bree know. But there’s no point in having officers come out here tonight. The guy’s gone. For now.”

  “Exactly. But what if he comes back?”

  “Then I’ll worry about it at that point. For now, I’m just going to watch my back and hope I scared him off tonight.” She motioned him to follow her. “I’m going to go out into the backyard and the woods beyond where he could have been waiting and watching. Upstairs in the bonus room, there’s a perfect view of my yard. Will you go up there and watch the woods behind my house?”

  “How are you going to see? There’s no way you should use a light.”

  “Give me more credit than that,” she chided gently. “I’ve got night vision goggles. I’m going to check the area first, then if it’s all clear, I’m going to let you turn on the floodlights so I can check the yard area.”

  “Which will make you an easy target. Let the officers come out here and do it.”

  She drew in a deep breath. “He’s not after me. He’s after you. I’ll be fine. As long as you’ll watch my back from up above.”

  “You must have some doubts if you want me up there watching. Either that, or you’re trying to be clever about keeping me in the house.”

  “Not trying to be clever. I want your eyes on the woods. This guy was at the back of my house. He came around the front and then disappeared into my neighborhood. I heard a car drive off. It might have been him, it might not have. He could very easily double back and hide out in the trees.”

  He hesitated, then nodded. “I’ll watch.”

  “Thanks. I have an earpiece you can use so we can at least communicate with each other.” She led him back to the spare bedroom and got him fitted with the earpiece. She pushed hers in her left ear. “Stay here and we’ll test them.”

  Katie walked out of the room and down the hall. “Can you hear me?” she whispered.

  “Loud and clear.” His deep voice rumbled through the wireless listening device and she had to admit she really liked the sound of it. She really liked him.

  She cleared her throat. “Great.” She went back to the spare room. “That’ll work. Now come this way.” She took him upstairs and he followed her into the dark bonus room, but she didn’t turn on the light. She led him to the window where he planted himself, then withdrew his weapon from his shoulder holster. She didn’t ask questions, just raised the window slightly. She handed him a pair of night vision goggles. Then kept a pair for herself.

  “Be careful,” he said. “If I see anything, I’ll yell.”

  “And I’ll duck.”

  “Perfect.”

  She left him and made her way back down the stairs, taking a moment to stop back by her spare bedroom and don a Kevlar vest and grab her mag light. She added an extra gun to her defense, then headed for the back door.

  Her nerves twitched. She felt antsy, like she was waiting for something to happen. It was like when Paul used to sneak her into the horror movies and she’d scream her lungs out when the monster jumped right at the camera—and Paul would laugh his head off. She felt like she was waiting for the monster in the dark to leap out at her. She shuddered. Only this monster was far more deadly than the on-screen one. She patted the vest.

  Might as well not take any chances. While Daniel appeared to be the target, she couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation for who might have been snooping around her home.

  Daniel stood at his post, weapon ready, eyes scanning. He had his phone dialed to 911 and ready to simply press send if he needed to. He did wonder about her motives in sending him to the window, but had to admit she was right in the fact he had an excellent view of the backyard. Her very dark backyard. He pulled the goggles over his eyes, adjusted them one eye at a time to his eyesight, and then took a good look at the green-hued landscape.

  “I can’t see you, Katie. Where are you?”

  “I’m turning the alarm off and exiting the back door.”

  “The backyard is clear and I don’t see any movement in the woods beyond.”

  “Good. I’m coming out.”

  And then there she was. She made her way across the short expanse of the yard and to the back where she merged into the tree line. The goggles were good. He could see her form clearly. If anyone tried to sneak up behind her, Daniel would know. Or if anyone came from either yard to her right or left, he’d know. He could hear her slow, even breathing. “Anything?”

  “Not yet.” Her voice was low.

  If it were his home, he’d be doing the same thing, but he chafed at being confined to the w
indow. Did he dare insist on joining her? No. She was right. He was more helpful where he was. From his position, he could see what she couldn’t. She walked to the edge of her yard, her head bent. He knew she was scanning the ground. She stayed right at the edge, and he figured she knew that if someone was watching her house, he’d want to be far enough back to keep from being seen, but close enough to the edge to have a good view. About midway, she knelt. “You found something,” he said.

  “Yes.”

  “What is it?”

  “From where I’m positioned, I can see straight through the trees and into my sunporch. It’s a good place to sit and watch. He’s gone, but he was definitely here.”

  Daniel’s gut tightened. He hated to think of her being in danger. Because she was looking out for him, she’d attracted the attention of a murderer. “The backyard is still clear. Did he leave anything to use as evidence?”

  “No, just what I think is a knee impression. No shoeprints, no cigarette butts, no fast-food wrappers or receipts. Nothing.”

  “Couldn’t get that lucky.”

  “Nope. But I know he was here.” A sigh reached him. “I’m heading back for the house. Meet you in the den?”

  “Sure thing.”

  He’d meet her in the den, but he’d watch her back until she entered the house.

  When he heard the back door shut and the alarm rearmed, he pulled the goggles from his head, closed the window, and made his way downstairs. He found her in the den, shedding her vest. “You’ve got some serious equipment.”

  She smiled. “Compliments of the mayor.” She settled herself on the sofa, leaned forward, and clasped her hands in front of her. “So, what’s on your mind?”

  “You.”

  [19]

  She blinked. “Me.”

  He gave her a slow smile. “Yes. I can’t get that kiss off my mind. Therefore, you’re right there, front and center all the time.”

  Katie felt the heat leak into her cheeks and she had to look away for a moment. Not because she was embarrassed but because she understood. She gathered her thoughts and looked back at him, his intense green eyes bored into hers. “How long have we known each other?” she asked him.

  “A little over a year?”

  “Hmm. We’ve known about each other that long. I wouldn’t say we’ve known each other that long.”

  “True. We’ve known each other in passing, I would say.”

  She studied him. “And I probably know more about you than you do me, thanks to Riley. So. What do you want to know, Daniel?”

  “Everything. But start with what happened three years ago.”

  “That’s what you came over for? It couldn’t wait?”

  “No. It couldn’t.” He closed his eyes and raked a hand through his hair.

  “The nightmares. You’re avoiding them.”

  “Yeah. So talk to me. So I don’t have to think—or sleep and dream.”

  Katie took a deep breath. She didn’t talk about that time. Ever. The only people she’d talked to about the incident were those in law enforcement who needed to know the details right after it happened and then her three best friends. The ladies she worked with at Elite Guardians. She hadn’t even had to testify in court because the man who’d set the bombs had killed himself.

  “Three years ago, there was an explosion at an apartment building. A tenant was evicted and he was bitter about it. Downstairs in the basement where the laundry room was, he set off a bomb. It was a simple, homemade thing that he probably got the recipe for off the internet. It went off right under Paulo and Maria Lopez’s apartment. It happened about eleven o’clock at night. Paulo and Maria and their three children, ages two months, three, and eight, were killed.”

  He closed his eyes. “It’s the children that get me.”

  “Yes. I was working with ATF at the time as a CFI.”

  “Certified Fire Investigator.”

  “Right. I had a dual role there. I was also a Certified Explosive Specialist. And so was my brother, Paul.”

  “Your brother?”

  She nodded. “He was five years older than me, and I thought he was perfect. I wanted to do everything he did.” She grimaced. “Only I wanted to do it better, to prove to him that I had what it takes to be worthy of his respect.”

  “Why did you feel compelled to earn his respect?”

  “I don’t know. My parents were gone a lot. They both traveled with their jobs. Paul was there for me and my younger sister. He was the one I wanted to please, the one I wanted to make proud.”

  “And was he? Proud of you?”

  She felt her lips tug upward. “Oh yeah. I was bragging rights in the department. He took full credit for having taught me anything I did that was worthy of recognition.” The smile slid off. “But that day, I wasn’t there as the bomb investigator, I was there as the CFI. Usually, the explosives investigator goes in first to clear the building, but because of my training in that area, I went ahead and went in with Paul.” She closed her eyes and saw those last moments with him. “I was so proud of myself. Too proud really. Cocky. Arrogant in some ways.”

  “You?”

  “Oh yes. Guys aren’t the only ones who can be that way, you know. Paul and I scoured the building, but it was a mess. The bomb in the basement had done its job. Paul had a dog, Jojo. She was an amazing animal.”

  “A bomb detection dog?”

  “Yes. Or Accelerant and Explosives Detection Canine if you want to get technical. Anyway, at the top of the set of stairs that hadn’t been destroyed from the first bomb, the dog alerted us to another bomb. It had five seconds left on the timer. The man had set the bombs to go off exactly one hour apart.” Her throat wanted to close. “Paul shoved me down the stairs and threw himself on the bomb. It went off as I hit bottom. I continued to roll down the next set of steps while the debris rained down on me. I don’t know how I wasn’t buried, but somehow I managed to crawl out. Paul and Jojo didn’t.”

  Daniel stared at her, horror written in his eyes. “He had on a suit, I’m sure, but . . . ”

  She shook her head. “He had on some protective wear, but he couldn’t wear a full-body blast suit, not in that building. And neither could I.”

  “Too hot.”

  “Too hot, too cumbersome. And it wouldn’t have kept him from dying that day anyway.”

  “No, not even the suit would have protected him. That’s—wow.” He looked away as though absorbing a blow. She knew how he felt.

  “Yes.”

  He looked back at her and locked his gaze on hers. “He sacrificed his life for yours.”

  Tears gathered. She forced them back. “Yes. And now every time I see a fire or try to investigate one or whatever, I hear him. He’s crying out to me to help him . . . and I can’t.” The last two words slipped through gritted teeth. She rose. “Excuse me a second. I want to check on . . . things.” She checked the windows, the front door, the back door, the sunporch. There was no indication that anyone was on her property. In the kitchen, she drew in a steadying breath and let it out slowly through her pursed lips.

  His hands landed on her shoulders with a gentle grip. “It wasn’t your fault.”

  She let out a hiccupping laugh. “Well, tell that to my family.”

  “They blame you?”

  “They do.”

  “Why?”

  She shrugged, but his hands remained. “Because they didn’t want me to be a cop in the first place. And they felt like if I hadn’t been there, Paul could have gotten out. Or at least not been killed. He surely wouldn’t have thrown himself on the bomb.”

  A sigh slipped from him. “Man.”

  “Yeah. But I . . . can’t imagine doing anything else. I may not be with ATF any longer. I may not walk into danger every day and defuse bombs, but my heart is law enforcement, helping people, catching the bad guys. It’s my calling. If I’m not doing that, then . . . I’m nothing,” she whispered.

  He spun her to face him and her breath hitched. She t
hought he might kiss her again, but he didn’t. Instead he drew her to him, pressed her head against his chest, and simply held her. “You’re not nothing, Katie. You’re amazing. And I understand exactly what you mean about law enforcement being a calling. I really do.”

  She swallowed and thought about pulling away. But she couldn’t. It felt good to be held, to know that he didn’t blame her for what had happened. It was bad enough that she blamed herself.

  She closed her eyes and sighed and let the comfort of his presence wash over her.

  When she finally got herself somewhat together emotionally, she pulled away and ran a hand down her face. She glanced out the window over the sink into the darkness beyond. As much as she couldn’t help it, she wondered if her intruder had returned. If he sat outside and watched even now. “You’d better go.”

  “I know. I don’t want to, but I will.”

  She gave him a light shove toward the door. “Yes, you will.” She frowned. “But not until we check your car.”

  “I’ll check it.”

  “Well, I’ll help.”

  He nodded. “Fine.”

  “Stay here while I get my mirror.”

  She walked to the spare bedroom once more, grabbed the item, and then followed him out the door.

  Daniel didn’t waste time. He took the mirror from her and she held the light while he checked his vehicle. He started at the front and worked his way down the passenger’s side, then along the back bumper. “All clear here.” He moved up the driver’s side and paused. “Shine that a little closer, will you?”

  She did. “What have you got?”

  “I think while we were so focused on the backyard, your visitor was in the front creating some havoc.”

  “Like?”

  “Take a look at the chassis under the driver’s seat.” He handed her the mirror and she gave him the light. He heard her indrawn breath when she saw what he was talking about.

  “Yeah.” She backed up and motioned for him to do the same.