A Marshal's Promise

by Dora Hiers

  She pulled back. “It sure feels good to let go of the resentment and bitterness that I allowed to invade my heart.”

  “Are you talking about your father or Mark?”

  “Right now, Mark. After he told me that he didn’t want anything to do with raising a child.”

  If the shoe had been on Gunner’s foot, would he have made the same bad choice? Gunner hoped not.

  “My father didn’t want me to have Tessa, you know.”

  “No?” Gunner shook his head. How could the man not want her to bear his grandchild? His own flesh and blood? What was the alternative? His blood ran cold.

  “No. That’s the reason I left his firm and moved to Florida. I couldn’t deal with his constant harassment about Tessa.”

  Gunner sucked in a breath. Poor Mina had been abandoned on all sides. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you, sweetheart.” Gunner couldn’t change the past, but with God’s help, he could shape the future.

  “I think I will feel even better letting go of my negative feelings for my father.” Mina’s face took on a faraway look under the florescent lighting. Then she focused on him again. “But I need to see him. To tell him that I forgive him. To free myself so that I can move forward.”

  He took another gulp of soda. So much had happened, so fast. “I’m proud of you, Mina. That’s a huge step.”

  “Thank you, Gunner. I’ve been thinking about our conversation from the other night. If God can forgive me for everything terrible I’ve done, how can I not forgive my father for all the emotional scars he’s given me? It’s the only way those scars will heal.”

  Gunner smiled, but inside, his heart soared higher than an eagle dared, the pizza growing cold on the table. “Do you want me to go with you?”

  “Would you?” Her eyes widened.

  He felt a tinge of remorse for talking badly of her father in the past. He hadn’t set a godly example, but that was his “old man.” He would try to do better now.

  “I wouldn’t miss it.” Gunner would walk through fire for her and Tessa. And that’s probably what it would take to visit her father. For him to walk through fire. But if he wanted a future with Mina… “Do you want to take Tessa?”

  It didn’t take long for her to decide. He could see the courageous woman she was, battling for control over a decade of indecision concerning her father. “Yeah. After she demonstrated her bravery in facing her father when she did, the least I can do is show her that her mother can face her own fears after all these years.”

  Gunner laughed. “Sweetheart, I think she has seen her mother face her fears all these years. What do you think you’ve been doing for the last ten years? Raising a child by yourself, helping a young girl mature into adulthood? That’s not for the faint-hearted, from what I can see. Give yourself some credit.”

  “Thank you, Gunner. That was sweet.”

  Gunner glanced at the big clock on the wall. Nine o’clock. “Speaking of the munchkin, it’s probably time we headed back to my parents’ house.” Gunner scanned the arcade machine where he’d last seen the girls playing, but three boys had moved in on their turf. Where were the girls?

  He methodically catalogued every kid in the game area. There had to be at least a hundred of them crammed in that tight, dark space. What happened to the rule of parents not taking their kids out on school nights?

  He slid out of the booth, scanning the restaurant from a higher angle. No sign of the girls.

  Panic gripped his gut. Fear clenched his heart. The ringing in his ears escalated, a higher pitch than the noise of the rambunctious kids and their parents in the restaurant.

  Acid climbed up his throat, threatening to overwhelm him. What had he been thinking bringing them to a pizza parlor with Brugman still on the loose?

  He grabbed Mina’s hand. “Let’s go. We need to find Tessa!”

  “What?” Her gaze jerked to the game the girls had stood in front of seconds before. “They’re over—” Confusion registered on her face, then panic settled in.

  “I can’t see her, and I don’t want to leave you here by yourself.”

  Mina stumbled off the bench, scanning the entire room. “There!” She pointed in the direction of the front door. “It’s him!”

  “Mommmmm!” A scream pierced the air. A higher pitched squeal that rivaled all the other noise in the crowded restaurant.

  Gunner didn’t waste a second. “Call 9-1-1.”

  He bolted toward the front door. Knocked down chairs in his way. Gripped the gun stowed in his holster. Not yet. Not while he has the girls.

  Brugman glanced over a shoulder, caught sight of Gunner closing in on him, and hustled the girls, one under each arm, a little faster to the exit.

  Gunner couldn’t let him reach the door with the girls. No telling what the creep might do to save his sorry hide.

  Sweat dribbled down Gunner’s forehead and dripped into his eyes.

  None of the witnesses he’d protected meant as much to him as protecting that little girl under Brugman’s left arm. Those others were just a job. Mina and her daughter were his life. His future.

  He’d get Brugman. He refused to allow that scumbag to take what was most precious to him or to get away with hurting his loved ones. If it cost him everything, he’d save Mina’s little girl. To show Mina that all men weren’t deadbeats like her dad. To show her that he’d never quit loving her. To show her that his love, as strong as it was, would survive not only time, but distance as well.

  Mere seconds felt like twenty minutes in slow motion.

  Brugman took his arm away from Tessa’s little friend to open the door, and she darted away and scurried over by the cash register.

  “Tessa, run!” Gunner shouted.

  Tessa froze at Gunner’s voice, then frantically clawed at Brugman’s iron-tight grip.

  Gunner dived, tackling Malcolm, slamming him into the glass door.

  Glass shattered, spewing in all directions.

  24

  Willow raced through the crowded restaurant, gripping her phone.

  Gunner flung himself at Malcolm. Tessa managed to wriggle out of Malcolm’s grasp the exact second his body collided with the glass, Gunner’s arms wrapped around the man’s middle.

  “Tessa!” Willow screamed. She snatched Tessa’s hand and dragged her away from the scuffle.

  Oh, dear God. Help!

  “9-1-1. What is your emergency?” A female voice sounded hollow, far away.

  Oh, her phone! She lifted it to her ear, gasped at the blood staining her fingertips. Focus, Willow, focus! “We’re at Jungle Janie’s Pizza Parlor on Madison Avenue. Someone tried to kidnap my daughter and he’s trying to get away but my…my friend stopped him. We need police officers and an ambulance. Please help!”

  “Stay on the line please. I’m dispatching units as we speak.”

  Willow curled an arm around Tessa’s shoulders and shielded her from the struggle. The two men tussled and rolled around in the shards of broken glass littering the sidewalk. Bystanders gawked through the front window. Nobody rushed to help Gunner.

  Willow couldn’t bear it. She had to help. Do something. This was her fault. If Gunner or Tessa were hurt—

  She looked down. Saw red spots on Tessa’s jeans. “Tessa, are you hurt?”

  Tessa shook her head, teeth rattling, her entire body convulsing in shakes.

  “I’m sorry. My daughter needs me. Please get here quick!” Willow dropped the phone on the floor and scooted Tessa back against the wall, checking her arms and legs for any signs of injuries. She couldn’t see any, so that meant either Gunner or Malcolm had to be bleeding.

  When she looked up, she spotted Tessa’s little friend crouching next to the cash register, sobbing. Just as she decided to dart over there with Tessa, a man and woman swooped in, ducking under the counter. The lady wrapped the girl in her arms, then pulled away, fear and relief taking turns on her face. The man gestured toward the back of the restaurant, snatched the girl’s hand and, togeth
er, the family raced to the back, away from harm’s way.

  Sirens blared nearby. Willow blew out a huge sigh. Thank you, God!

  A collective gasp rose from the spectators peering out the empty shell of the window. Then, a man yelled, “A gun! He has a gun!”

  The sound of a gunshot blasted outside.

  Tessa screamed.

  25

  The pavement spun. Gunner’s vision teetered between light and dark but he refused to surrender to the pain. He’d make Brugman pay for that wallop to the eye.

  Gunner gritted his teeth and pulled out his gun, planted both feet shoulder’s length apart. “Deputy U.S. Marshal. Drop your gun and hit the pavement, Brugman!”

  It was a bluff, and they both knew it. Especially with the backdrop of innocent bystanders, eyes that refused to focus and nausea tearing at his gut.

  Brugman turned and fired off a round. The bullet chinked the brick building behind Gunner, way to the right. The man might pack a decent punch, but thank God, he didn’t shoot accurately.

  A man and woman, holding hands, rounded the corner behind Brugman. Surprise glazed their faces, then horror.

  “Get back!” Gunner gestured.

  The couple didn’t react quickly enough. Or, rather, Brugman was too quick.

  He brought the weapon down on the back of the man’s head, hard. The man dropped to the sidewalk. Brugman snaked a beefy arm around the woman’s neck and jerked her against him, thrusting the barrel of the gun just under her ear. “Put your gun down or I’ll kill her,” Brugman huffed.

  Gunner lifted his arms, trying to get a read on the unconscious man. A wild card. Was he truly unconscious or faking it? Don’t try anything fancy, buddy.

  “You don’t want her, Brugman. Take me.”

  “I don’t want you, either. Put down your gun or I. Will. Kill. This. Woman.”

  Gunner remained motionless.

  “Now!” the crazed man screamed again, jabbing the weapon further into the woman’s neck.

  The woman whimpered and closed her eyes, her head and legs quaking. When her lashes lifted, the pleading look on her face reminded Gunner that she was an innocent bystander. He didn’t want her death on his hands. Not if he could help it. And at this exact moment, he could.

  Gunner crouched and placed his gun gently on the sidewalk, his movements slow and calculated. Not exactly how he imagined he would take down this creep. “What next, Brugman? Where do you go from here? Let’s talk about this. Maybe we can work out something.”

  Brugman backed up, dragging the frightened woman along with him. “Talking isn’t exactly what I had in mind. But thanks all the same. Now why don’t you go and bring Ms. Auditor out here.”

  “What can she do for you that I can’t?” Gunner’s gut clenched. Stay inside, Mina. Do not walk out those doors.

  “She can rewrite that audit report.”

  Gunner tamped down the growl before it escaped his throat. “Come on, Brugman. We can work something out, but you need to let the lady go.” He worked on keeping his voice calm, rational.

  “You can have this lady as soon as you bring out the auditor. Might as well bring her daughter, too. For good measure. Now, go!” Malcolm barked, waving his gun.

  Sirens wailed. Nearer now. Maybe a couple of blocks away.

  The unscrupulous insurance agent cocked his head and listened. He bared his teeth, frustration and indecision warring in his expression. He cursed and shoved the woman to the pavement then swiveled and ran, thrusting people out of the way in his race to escape before the police arrived.

  “Malcolm, ole boy. You’re going to be sorry you did this.” Gunner mumbled and stooped to pick up his gun. He jogged to the woman and bent down to give her a hand up, flashing his badge in the process. “I’m a Deputy U.S. Marshal. Are you all right?”

  “Yeah.” She stood and released his hand, glancing around the sidewalk. Upon seeing her friend sprawled on the pavement, she whimpered and knelt next to him.

  “Can you help your friend here while I go after this guy?”

  She nodded, a terrified look on her face.

  Gunner glanced in the direction Brugman had gone.

  Disappeared. Out of sight.

  He groaned, frustration rippling through his gut, as he took off running, growing tired of this guy’s game. God, help me here. We need to catch this guy, get him off the streets before he hurts someone, mainly Tessa or Mina.

  26

  Willow tugged the bedroom curtain to one side and watched through the window as Gunner opened the front passenger door for his mother and then the back door for Tessa. Tessa clutched her bouquet of brightly colored balloons and slid into the sedan, while Gunner held an umbrella to shelter his niece from the murky drizzle. He pushed the balloons inside the car with one hand.

  Was it too late? Could she still go with them to the rehabilitation facility?

  Her gaze slid past her comfortable sweatshirt to the worn jeans she’d pulled on earlier that morning then all the way down to the fuzzy slippers Emily had loaned her last night.

  She wrinkled her nose. Not quite dressed for a celebration, and they were already in the car, ready to go. What was she thinking? She couldn’t go. And not just because of her clothing choice. She needed to get some work done, try to salvage her job. Besides, she didn’t have the right to celebrate Mark’s remarkable recovery. Not like Mark’s girlfriend. Willow didn’t want to complicate matters. Life was complicated enough right now.

  Tessa was a different story. Tessa needed this chance to get to know her father, and she belonged there to celebrate his recovery. A celebration of his life was way better than the alternative.

  She knew Gunner was disappointed with her decision not to go. Not only because he’d wanted her with him, but he hadn’t felt comfortable leaving her alone, either. Not with Malcolm still on the loose. Gunner had only agreed after one of his buddies from the police department offered to make rounds past the house every fifteen minutes. Oh, and the payment of one kiss. Willow felt the heat rise up her neck, thinking of that kiss. She’d accused him of taking more than one.

  Gunner looked up and caught her gawking out the second floor window. He straightened his powerful shoulders and flashed his trademark smile, complete with those cute dimples. Oh, what that smile did to her heart. He waved, still gesturing an invitation for her to join them.

  She shook her head and wrapped her arms around her middle, trying to chase away the chill from the window. It couldn’t be a defense mechanism. She wasn’t afraid.

  She just didn’t know what to do. About Gunner.

  The lack of confidence didn’t compute for Willow. All her adult life she’d known what to do. And she did it. That simple.

  Gunner glanced up one more time, kissed his fingertips, then lifted a palm in her direction.

  Aww. How sweet. Willow smiled and waved, ignoring the ache building in her chest. Gunner climbed in the back seat next to Tessa and tugged the umbrella closed. The car eased out of the driveway.

  Her sigh sounded loud in the empty house. She dropped the curtain and busied herself folding freshly laundered clothes.

  When Emily and George had insisted that she and Tessa stay with them in their house, Gunner’s childhood home, Willow hadn’t been able to refuse them, Tessa’s pleading glance or the marshal’s told-you-so grin.

  Staying at his childhood home made it easier for him to protect Tessa. Allowed Tessa an opportunity to spend time with her newfound grandparents. It gave Willow a chance to catch up on laundry. And to spend time with Gunner.

  And to second-guess herself. She’d been doing a lot of that lately.

  So Gunner had broken down her defenses, found a microscopic hole in her crusty ten-year-old unused heart, and wiggled his way right through.

  She needed time to think, time to process the last few days. Few days? Who was she kidding? She couldn’t even keep up with the last few hours.

  But all that would end tomorrow! She folded a pair of Tessa’s je
ans and set them on top of the basket, pressing the pile down with a firm hand.

  She’d cut Gunner loose from his commitment to protect Tessa. He had other issues to deal with, like helping Mark with physical therapy and adjusting to his new environment. Not to mention starting a new job and settling in his new house. Her ex-fiancé didn’t need to worry about them.

  She’d let him off the hook. And being away from him would give her time to think.

  How could she have allowed Gunner to infiltrate her defenses like that? To cuddle back in so close to her heart? What would happen to Tessa now? Willow feared she had opened up a gigantic door for pain to swallow her daughter whole.

  Willow slid the laptop from its sleeve and plunked down at the small desk near the window. While it powered on, her fingertips tapped the desktop. Once the browser opened, she ran a quick search for possible flights to Tampa. Two different airlines had flights leaving in the morning.

  Her heart stumbled. She wasn’t ready to go back, wasn’t ready to leave Gunner and the feelings blossoming like spring in her heart. Would the distance grind their relationship to a screeching halt? They couldn’t keep flying back and forth every weekend, right?

  She shook her head. She needed to get back to Florida, if only to decide if what she felt was real.

  Before she confirmed anything, she would check with Regi about picking them up from the airport.

  See. She could make a decision on this.

  She logged in to her email, and a message from her boss flashed across the screen.

  So he wanted her back to work. Yesterday. What else was new?

  Gritting her teeth, she smashed the delete button. He knew why she’d had to take more time. Her job was definitely one change she planned to make. She scrolled down and opened a message from Regi.

  Your friend is with me.

  Huh?

  Gasping, Willow leaned in closer to the laptop screen and continued reading.

  If you want to see her alive, be at your place by noon tomorrow. No cop friends. You know what I want. Involve any cops or pull any stunts and your friend is as good as dead. MB