Tracking Justice (Texas K-9 Unit)

by Shirlee McCoy

  Brady sat wide-eyed on the floor, his eyes shadowed, his body still. She’d never wanted to see terror on her son’s face, but she saw it now, and she wanted so much to turn the clock back, be in his room when the kidnappers tried to take him, protect him so that he never had to know the kind of fear she’d lived with as a child.

  “Who is it, Momma?”

  “I don’t know.” She looked out the peephole, saw dark hair and midnight-blue eyes.

  Austin.

  Her heart leaped for him, but she refused to admit just how pleased she was to see him.

  “Hold on!” She turned off the alarm, opened the door and let him in.

  She’d spent most of the night telling herself that Austin wasn’t anything like she remembered him to be. Not as handsome. Not as strong. Not as compelling.

  She’d been wrong.

  He was even more of all of those things.

  Justice padded along beside him, his nose to the wood floor, his long ears brushing through the dust that she hadn’t had a chance to sweep up. He lumbered across the room, sniffing Brady’s hair and his neck.

  Brady giggled, patting the fur near Justice’s neck.

  “I think my son has found a new best friend,” Eva said, closing the door and dropping onto the sofa, more relaxed than she’d been in hours. She didn’t bother thinking about what that meant, just enjoyed the feeling of not being alone and not being scared.

  “I think Justice has found a new best friend, too,” Austin responded with a smile as Justice plopped his head onto Brady’s legs and looked at him adoringly. “Want me to call him off?”

  “And devastate them both? I don’t think so.”

  “Good, because I’m beat, and I’d rather just sit here and watch them smile at each other.” He dropped onto the sofa beside her despite the fact that the old rocking chair would have been a perfectly good seat.

  Eva could have moved.

  She didn’t.

  Just sat there feeling his warmth despite the fact that they weren’t touching, inhaling winter air and spicy cologne. He smelled like the outdoors, only better, and that was something she should definitely not be noticing.

  “It sounds like Brady and I weren’t the only ones who didn’t sleep well last night.”

  “I slept well. Then I decided that since I had some time off, I’d do some work on my house. I spent the morning refinishing the hardwood floor on the first level. The old muscles aren’t used to all that work.” He stretched his arms above his head and winced, his biceps bulging against soft cotton.

  His muscles were anything but old.

  Her cheeks heated, and she turned her attention back to Brady and Justice. “Do you really think Justice is smiling, because he looks more like he’s frowning to me?”

  “Don’t let his hangdog expression fool you, Eva. Justice is almost always smiling. Aren’t you, boy?”

  Justice didn’t raise his head, but his tail thumped.

  “I suppose that he’s so well trained that he helped you finish your floors. Maybe even handled a room all by himself.”

  “I wish. He spent most of the time lying in a sunny spot on the back porch.” Austin laughed, the sound rumbling through the sofa cushions and settling somewhere in the vicinity of Eva’s heart.

  “Do you have any idea when the two of you will be back on the job?” she asked, shifting a little, trying to put more distance between them. His scent followed her, his heat still seeming to seep into her bones, warm her as nothing had in a very long time.

  “I got a call from internal affairs this morning. They’ve almost completed their investigation. As soon as they do, I’ll be back at work.”

  “I’m glad. I hate to think that you’re on leave because of me and Brady.”

  “Not because of either of you. Because of Jeb Rinehart.”

  “Who?”

  “The red-haired thug who kidnapped Brady.”

  “You were able to identify him?”

  “The medical examiner took his prints. We were able to match them through our data bank.”

  “How about his partner?” she asked.

  “Nothing yet.”

  She bit her lip. “Too bad. I was hoping this would all be over quickly.”

  “It still could be. We’re only twenty-four hours out.”

  “That’s a lifetime when your child is in danger.”

  “I know,” he said and sounded like he really did. “We’re doing everything that we can to make sure Brady stays safe until we find the person responsible for his kidnapping.”

  “I’m just...worried. He’s scared, and he’s not sleeping. He woke from nightmares so many times last night, I lost track of the number.” She sighed wearily. “It’s not just the physical injuries that I’m worried about. It’s the emotional stuff. No parent wants to see her child suffer.”

  “I know that, too.” His gaze was on Brady, his eyes shadowed and dark, his lips pressed tight as if he knew exactly how it felt to care so deeply about someone that nothing else mattered.

  “Do you have children, Austin?” she asked and regretted the question immediately. Too personal. Not her business. Something someone only asked when she cared a lot about the answer.

  “I haven’t had time for marriage or family. My job is pretty intense, and I spend a lot of time away from home. It just didn’t seem fair to bring a wife and kids into that.”

  “People do it all the time.” She really did need to stop talking.

  “So maybe the real truth is that I just haven’t met a woman I’d want to build a family with.” He studied her face, his gaze a physical touch that lingered on her eyes, her cheeks, her chin, landed briefly on her lips and then slowly moved away.

  “I’d better check on my stock.” She jumped up, her cheeks fiery, but he snagged her hand, pulled her back down.

  “There’s no need to run, Eva.”

  “I’m not,” she muttered, but she settled back into her seat, her long legs folded under her, a knee poking out from a hole in her jeans. She’d braided her hair, and it fell in a long rope over her shoulder. Neat as a pin, and Austin had the absurd desire to loosen it up.

  “Could have fooled me.” He stood, stretching the kinks from his muscles and putting a little distance between them. He hadn’t stopped by to make a play for Eva. The opposite was true. He’d stopped by to convince himself that what he’d felt when he’d looked into her eyes was nothing more than imagination brought on by exhaustion.

  He’d been wrong.

  “I wasn’t running, and I do need to check on my soup stock, but I guess you didn’t just stop by to see how Brady was doing. So why don’t you tell me why you are here.” She pulled her knees to her chest, wrapped her arms around her shins. Her knuckles were red and a little raw, the skin cracked. She worked hard and it showed, and that appealed to Austin way more than he thought it should.

  “Your parents’ case file was emailed to me this morning. I spent a little time looking through it.”

  “And?” She seemed to sink into herself, her eyes suddenly distant, the misty green faded to a muted hazel.

  “Jeb Rinehart was mentioned in it.” That had been a surprise, and Austin hadn’t been able to accept it as coincidental.

  “I’m not surprised,” she admitted.

  “No?”

  “I’m sure you’ve seen my father’s record. He dabbled in just about anything that could make him money, and most of the things he dabbled in were illegal.”

  Austin had seen it. Ernie’s rap sheet had been several pages long. Mostly petty stuff that couldn’t keep him in jail for long. A few domestic-violence charges that had been dropped by his wife before they’d ever gone to trial. “Your father did seem to have an affinity for trouble.”

  “He also had an affinity for alcohol and temper tantrums.”

  “You weren’t close?”

  “We weren’t even in the same universe.” She sighed, rubbed the back of her neck. “Look, Ernie had one goal in life—to mak
e himself happy. He did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and he didn’t care who he hurt in the process. The fact that he was somehow connected to a guy who’d be willing to kidnap and mu—” Her gaze cut to Brady. “It’s not a surprise.”

  “Do you remember your father ever mentioning Rinehart?”

  “No. Never. But I wasn’t a part of his life after Brady was born.”

  “How about your mother?”

  “We were close, but Ernie was always first with her. If she’d ever had to choose between him and me, I knew what her decision would be. I guess, in the end, that’s what happened.” She smiled, her eyes sad.

  She’d grown up hard.

  Just looking at her father’s police record proved that.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “Stirring up old memories.”

  “You’re doing your job. You don’t have to apologize for that.” She stood and stretched, offering a tired smile. “I really had better go check on my soup stock before it boils over.”

  She walked from the room, and Austin was sure that she wished she could walk away from her past easily.

  He heard her moving around, silverware clinking, water running. Domestic noises that seemed so much homier when someone else was making them.

  He didn’t follow.

  She needed space. He’d give it to her, but he had more questions he wanted to ask. About the case. About her father.

  About her.

  “Do you want to play blocks with me?” Brady asked, and Austin dropped down onto the floor beside him, worried by his paleness and the somberness in his eyes. Kids shouldn’t be scared, and he was. That wasn’t okay. Not by a long shot.

  “Sure. What are you building?”

  “A jail. I’m going to put all the bad guys in it.”

  “Good thinking. You build the jail. I’ll find the bad guys and lock them inside it.”

  “Will you throw away the jail key?”

  “Isn’t that the way it’s always done?” He pressed a block into place and Brady grinned, some of his anxiety seeming to slip away.

  “Yes!”

  “Then let’s get to work. Where do you want this one?” He handed Brady a long gray block, smiling as he snapped it into place.

  Maybe he couldn’t be on the case yet, but he could provide a little distraction for a kid who obviously needed it.

  And right at that moment, that seemed just as important as anything else he could be doing.

  TEN

  Brady’s laughter drifted into the kitchen, Austin’s warm chuckle following right behind it.

  Eva tried to ignore both.

  She couldn’t.

  Somehow, in the short amount of time he’d been alone with Brady, Austin had managed to do something that Eva hadn’t been able to do in an entire day—distract Brady from his fear.

  She frowned, staring into the stew pot, the chicken bobbing in the golden liquid. Looking at it made her stomach churn. A migraine nudged at the back of her head. She rubbed the spot, pressing her fingers into taut tense muscles.

  “Headache?” Austin’s words startled her, his silent entrance into the kitchen a surprise.

  She met his gaze, found herself lost in midnight skies and starry vistas. She’d never seen eyes like his. Ever.

  “A little.” She stood on her toes, grabbed a generic pain reliever from the cupboard above the fridge, her hands shaking for reasons she refused to acknowledge. She couldn’t pop the lid, and Austin took it.

  “Let me help.” He flipped open the cap with enough ease to make her cheeks heat.

  “Thanks. It was a long night, and I’m still exhausted.”

  “Maybe you should take a page from Brady’s book and lie down for a while.” He leaned his hip against the counter, his broad frame taking up more than its fair share of room in the tiny kitchen. She scooted past, filling a glass with water and chugging it down with the pain reliever.

  “He’s lying down?”

  “Yes. We built a block jail, and then his eyelids started drooping. I figured it was time for him to get some sleep.”

  “I better check on him.”

  “Justice is with him. He’ll alert if there’s anything to worry about.” He snagged her wrist, pulling her back when she would have walked out of the kitchen.

  “Austin—”

  “Relax, Eva. I just want to ask you a few more questions.” His hand dropped away. She was free to leave the kitchen or to stay.

  Or maybe not.

  Because her feet felt glued to the floor, her gaze stuck to his, and no matter how many times her brain said that she should go, her heart said that she should stay. “What questions?”

  “Brady mentioned a third party that Rinehart and his partner were working for. I’m wondering if your father could have been working for him, too.”

  “Ernie always worked for someone. He lacked the drive and initiative to ever make a go of things on his own.”

  “Do you remember him mentioning a particular job or name?”

  “We weren’t on speaking terms when he died,” she said flatly.

  “How about your mother? Did she—”

  “My mother had nothing to do with my father’s crimes.” Eva had said that a hundred times after the murders. Ernie might have deserved what he’d gotten, but Tonya had been an innocent bystander, killed simply because of who she had been married to.

  “I know she didn’t. Everyone on the force knows the same. Your mother was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and she died because of it. It’s a horrible thing, Eva. Everyone agrees, but it’s possible that she did know the person who killed her, and it’s possible she knew why,” Austin replied, the gentleness in his voice making her eyes burn and her throat ache.

  No way would she cry.

  Not in front of him.

  Crying is for babies, kid, and you’re not that. Keep those tears flowing, and I’ll give you something to cry about. Ernie’s voice seemed to taunt her from the past, the words ones she’d been hearing for nearly three decades.

  “Mom has been dead for over two years. Whatever she knew is gone with her. Whoever she saw in those last moments, it was my father she reached for. When I found their bodies, she was holding his hand. She’d been shot in the chest, and instead of grabbing the phone and calling for help, she reached for him, held on to him.” She shoved the memory away, dropping into a chair, suddenly so tired, she didn’t think her legs would hold her.

  “I’m sorry. Again.”

  “You don’t need to be. You just need to know that my mother was more loyal to my father than to anything else. Even if she’d known who he was working for, she’d never have told anyone.”

  “All right.” He straightened, staring into her eyes. She thought that he planned to sit in the chair next to hers, ask questions that had nothing to do with her parents or the case. Maybe tell her about his life, his day, his job.

  She wanted that.

  Wanted it so much that she knew she had to send him away.

  “I’m beat. I probably should lie down for a while.” She forced herself to stand.

  “Then I’d better get out of your hair.” Austin didn’t want to, though. He wanted to stay a while longer. Sit in the warm kitchen, inhaling the savory aroma of the stock that simmered on the stove and talking to Eva.

  He walked into the living room, grabbed his coat from the couch and slipped it on. He’d spent the past seven years working on the police force and volunteering as a search-and-rescue worker. He was used to being busy. Used to working cases, being around coworkers, spending weekends training.

  He wasn’t used to idle time. Having it obviously didn’t suit him. He dreaded taking Justice back to their quiet house. Dreaded another evening spent in front of the TV. Dreaded facing the part of himself that still longed for something to fill the downtime. Someone to fill it.

  “Are you leaving already, Austin?” Brady asked sleepily, his small frame splayed out on the couc
h. Justice was scrunched in next to him, his big tan head on Brady’s legs. They looked so comfortable and content, Austin hated to separate them.

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “Does Justice have to go with you?”

  Austin nodded. “Yes. He needs to eat dinner and spend some time running around in our backyard.”

  “Are you going to run around with him?”

  “I’ll probably throw the ball for him a couple of times. He loves to play fetch.”

  “I could throw the ball for him. I love to play fetch, too!”

  Austin chuckled. “Sorry, buddy, but I don’t think you’re up to that. Maybe another day.”

  “Okay. So after you and Justice play fetch, are you going to look for the bad guy?”

  “Not yet. I’m still on vacation, but I have some buddies who are working really hard to find the guy who kidnapped you.”

  “You’re the best, though.” Brady’s eyes were wide and blue and so filled with sincerity that Austin had to smile.

  “So are you.”

  “Can you visit me again tomorrow?”

  “He’s really busy, Brady,” Eva responded before Austin could.

  “Not so busy that I can’t stop in and see a friend. Unless you’d rather I not?” He looked into Eva’s eyes, saw his own confusion in the depth of her gaze. Almost wished that she’d tell him to stay away. Mostly wished that she wouldn’t.

  Don’t get emotionally involved. Don’t give yourself a chance to lose another piece of your heart.

  That’s what he’d been telling himself for twenty-four hours.

  The problem was, he wasn’t listening.

  “Austin...” Eva began.

  “What?”

  She glanced at her son. “Nothing. I guess we’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “See you then,” he responded as he opened the front door, walked out into cold winter air. It cooled the heat that flowed through him every time he was with Eva, reminded him of his humanity.

  He could fail Brady and Eva so easily.

  He could do everything in his power to make sure that Brady stayed safe, to track down his kidnapper, to give him back the life he’d had before Rio was stolen. He could work endless hours and devote every waking moment to it and things could still turn out badly.