Love Inspired Suspense March 2015 - Box Set 1 of 2: Protection Detail\Hidden Agenda\Broken Silence (4 page)

She took a deep breath, tried to smile. “I appreciate that, Officer Anderson. Once Harland recovers, I'll ask what he thinks. I usually run things by him before I make any changes to the house.”

“The way I hear it, the congressman is doing well, but he might not be out the hospital for a couple of days. I'm not sure you want to wait that long.”

“I—”

“Cassie.” David appeared in the kitchen doorway. “My coat isn't in the closet.”

“You're sure?” She'd hung it there after their trip to the doctor's office. She was certain of it. With eight kids to take care of, she couldn't afford to waste time searching for things like coats or shoes.

“I looked about sixteen times,” he responded.

She wasn't sure he'd looked that many, but he was young and it was easy to miss things. “Destiny, would you mind—”

She never finished.

The window exploded, glass flying across the kitchen, kids screaming. Officer Anderson dropped to the ground, blood spurting from his shoulder or his chest. Cassie didn't know which, didn't have time to think about it. She yelled for the kids to run, then darted forward to grab Officer Anderson by the arms. Another shot, this one whizzing past Cassie's head.

She dragged Officer Anderson out of the kitchen and into the hall, the kids' screams ringing in her ears.

“Everyone up the stairs,” she shouted, her heart thundering as she dragged Officer Anderson further away from the kitchen.

He groaned but didn't open his eyes.

Something slammed into the back door.

Once. Twice. Again.

Please, God, let the kids be hiding. Please keep them safe.

“I called the police. They're on the way!” Virginia pressed in beside her, grabbing at Officer Anderson, frantic sobs coming from her throat as she helped drag him back.

The banging continued, the sound reverberating through the house. They made it to the stairs before the back door crashed open with so much force the entire house seemed to shake. Or maybe it was Cassie who was shaking, fear stealing her breath and making her heart skip frantically. She met Virginia's eyes.

“Go get the kids. Hide them until the police arrive,” Cassie whispered as she pressed the hem of her sweater to a wound in Officer Anderson's right shoulder. His eyes were still closed, his body slack.

“I can't leave you here,” Virginia cried, tears streaming down her face.

“You can't stay!” Cassie hissed. “Someone has got to protect the kids.”

“But—”

“Go!” she mouthed.

Virginia took off running, up the stairs, out of sight.

And it was just Cassie and Officer Anderson.

And whoever had broken through the back door.

FOUR

G
avin crept around the side of the house, Glory moving silently beside him. Chase was close. Maybe a quarter mile back in the woods, running toward the house and the gunshots they'd heard. There wasn't time to wait for him.

The back door of the house had been kicked in and hung listlessly from the top hinge. He motioned for Glory to heel, then eased into the room. Glass on the floor near the sink. Pool of blood nearby. More blood in a swath that led from the sink into the hallway. His jacket lying near the table.

Glory stood facing the hall, her scruff standing on end, every muscle in her body taut. She didn't make a sound, though, and Gavin listened. No movement in the hallway. No sounds from upstairs.

Gavin unhooked Glory's lead and gave her the hand signal. She took off, nearly flying through the open doorway and into the hallway. Gavin followed, gun drawn, adrenaline pumping. A man stood near the front door. Tall. Broad. Strong. Those were Gavin's first impressions. A dark ski mask covered the guy's face, and he glared out from it, eyes icy blue as he held Cassie with one arm locked around her arms and chest, a handgun pressed to the underside of her chin. A few feet away, Paul lay on the ground, blood spreading in a crimson stain under his back. If he lost much more, he'd die.

“You come any closer, cop,” the perp said, “and I'll kill her.” He jabbed the gun against Cassie's jaw to emphasize the point. She didn't flinch. Didn't panic. There were no tears, no wide-eyed pleas for help. In all the years he'd worked as a DC cop and all the years he'd been part of the Capitol K-9 team, Gavin had never seen her kind of calmness in a civilian.

“Put the gun down,” Gavin responded, not moving closer, but not stepping back. He'd had training with hostage negotiation teams. Not enough to be an expert, but enough to know that he needed to make himself as unthreatening as possible.

“I don't think so,” the man snarled, jabbing Cassie with the gun again. “Call off your attack dog.”

Glory wasn't
on
the attack.

If she had been, the gun would have already been out of his hand. Gavin could have signaled for Glory to take the guy down, but the gun was too close to Cassie, the risk was too high.

“Let the woman go,” he said instead. “Walk out the door. Leave now before things get worse for you.”

“I'm not the one who needs to worry about things getting worse,” the guy mocked. He was confident, and that was going to play in Gavin's favor. He'd make a mistake. Overestimated his chance at success. Gavin was ready to take advantage of that. Glory was ready, too, a constant low-level growl emanating from deep in her throat.

“You wait much longer to leave, and you'll be trapped. I've got backup coming.”

The guy shrugged, but he was edging closer to the door, his gaze on Glory. “They're not going to do any more than you are. No cop wants a civilian killed.” He jabbed Cassie again.

She didn't flinch.

Didn't meet Gavin's eyes.

Was she in shock?

“And no criminal wants to die. You kill her, and that's what's going to happen.”

“Right,” the guy said, but the words had gotten to him. Gavin could tell by his tension, the quick darting of his gaze from Glory to the hallway beyond.

“Just let her go and—”

“Shut up and let me think! I'm the one in charge!” the man shouted. “I have her life in my hands, and you're too much of an idiot to know it!”

Glory snarled, the sound low and deep and meant to intimidate.

“
Call off your dog!
You don't, and the woman gets it first, then the mutt.”

“Cease!” Gavin commanded, not because he was afraid of the threat. Glory could take the guy down in seconds. He was afraid of how much damage could be done to Cassie in those heartbeats of time it took his partner to lunge.

Glory settled onto her haunches, her dark gaze glued to the perp. She was ready. Gavin was ready.

Was Cassie?

He met her eyes. Not even a hint of terror in her dark green gaze.

“That's better,” the perp muttered. “That's what I like to see. Now, you just stay here, and I'll take our friend for a little walk. I get a little away from you and that dog, and I'll let her go. Simple and easy. Everyone will be safe. Everyone will be fine.”

Except for Anderson who groaned quietly, his skin ashen.

The perp shifted, the gun pressed so deeply into Cassie's flesh, her skin bulged around the barrel. “Open the door!” he commanded.

Cassie reached for the knob, eased the door open. A screen door lay beyond, still closed, the black night pulsing behind it. There were officers out there, moving in. Gavin was certain of it. If the perp suspected anything, he didn't show it.

He kicked the storm door. “This one, too! Quick!”

Cassie moved, something in her face, something in the complete and utter stillness of her expression warning Gavin that she had no intention of walking outside.

“Cass—” he started to say, but she was already dropping, her weight breaking the perp's hold. The gun went off, the bullet barely missing her head as she fell to the floor.

“Protect!” Gavin commanded, and Glory leaped forward, teeth bared as she crashed into the perp. He fell against the storm door, and it flew open, the gun dropping from his hand and clattering onto the porch.

Glory snarled, teeth sinking into the guy's arm.

The guy let out a string of curses that would have made a sailor blush, his feet kicking at the shepherd as he tried to yank his arm out of the dog's mouth.

“The more you struggle, the harder she's going to bite,” Gavin said.

“Then maybe I'll just have to make sure she can't bite anymore,” the perp growled, pulling something from his pocket and jabbing it into Glory's side.

She collapsed, and Gavin's heart nearly stopped. Glory wasn't just a dog. She was family. He wanted to run to her, but protocol dictated he take down the perp before he helped his injured partner.

Gavin aimed his gun.

“Freeze!” he shouted, issuing the warning because training demanded it.

The perp yanked something from his jacket pocket tossed it onto the floor. There was a flash of light, the harsh scent of smoke. Flames licked at floor and the door frame, and Gavin fired a shot, knew he'd missed his mark.

The flames ate at the hardwood, and he stomped them out, Cassie right beside him, her breathing frantic and uneven.

It only took seconds to put out the small fire, seconds to run out onto the porch. The perp had disappeared around the side of the house or into the tree line. Gavin flashed his light into the shadows, searching for movement, some clue as to which direction the perp had gone.

“Gavin!” Chase called as he sprinted around the corner of the house, Valor loping beside him. “I heard another gunshot. Everyone okay?”

“Glory's down. One DC officer down. Call for an ambulance and the vet,” he responded as he flashed his light into the darkness, praying that he'd catch a glimpse of the intruder.

Nothing. Not even a whisper of movement in the trees. The guy was close, though. He had to be. Gavin took off across the yard, running toward the trees, his gut telling him that the perp had headed there.

Sirens screamed and two police cruisers raced into view. Both DC police. One of them a K-9 unit. Good. They needed more officers and dogs on the ground. And Gavin needed Glory. They were a team. Tracking a suspect without her felt odd and a little disorienting. He'd do it, though. He'd put everything, every fear for his partner, every worry aside to get the job done.

“You have any idea which way the perp headed?” Chase asked, jogging up beside him, Valor sniffing at the ground and then the air, his ears perked, his tail still.

“I'd guess he went into the woods. No way would he head toward the road. Not with police everywhere. If he'd gone toward the back of the house, Valor would have heard him.”

Chase nodded. “You want me to take Valor in to look for him while you fill the DC guys in?”

What Gavin really wanted to do was go into the woods himself, hunt the guy down. But he'd been at the scene, spoken to the perp, looked in the guy's eyes.

“Yes,” he responded reluctantly. “Radio in if you find anything.”

“Will do!” Chase raced away, Valor loping along beside him.

Gavin jogged back to the house. Three officers were inside, two hovering over Cassie as she pressed what looked like a dish towel to Paul's shoulder.

The third was beside Glory, murmuring something to the dog that Gavin couldn't hear. Glory's tail thumped, and she managed to get onto her feet, her gait a little stiff as she walked to Gavin's side. No blood that he could see. No evidence of a knife wound.

He frowned, touching what looked like singed hair on her flank.

“Looks like a Taser,” one of the officers said. Young with gaunt face and a narrow frame, he looked like a high school kid. He was right, though. It seemed as though Glory had been Tased.

If that was the case, she'd recover well.

Relief coursed through him, and he scratched behind her ears, looked into her eyes. “Good job, Glory,” he said, offering the praise she craved.

In their three years working together, Glory had never been injured, never been ill, never missed a day of work. She loved her job, and even now, she seemed excited, her tail wagging, her eyes bright.

Paul, on the other hand, had lost every bit of his color. Gavin knelt beside him, nudging in close to Cassie, feeling the corded muscles of her shoulder and arm as he set his hand over hers, added more pressure to the wound.

“How far out is the ambulance?” he asked, glancing at one of the officers, wondering if he could apply enough pressure to staunch the blood. Wondering if it was too late for that to do any good.

“Should be coming up the driveway now.”

“Someone needs to bring them in. We're on limited time.”

“Not that limited,” Paul murmured, his eyes still closed. “I got a fifteenth wedding anniversary coming up. I die, and my wife will kill me.”

If the situation hadn't been so dire, Gavin would have laughed. “You've got big plans for your anniversary?” he asked. He needed to keep Anderson conscious and talking.

“Cruising to the Bahamas. Wife's been planning this trip for years. If I don't make it, she'll kill me.” He opened his eyes, offered a smile that was more a grimace. “Also, I got a score to settle with someone, and I'm not going anywhere until I settle it.”

“You're not going anywhere, period,” Cassie cut in, her tone brusque and matter-of-fact. Her hand was steady beneath Gavin's, her expression calm. “Except the hospital. Where they'll fix you up and get you ready for that big anniversary trip.”

“Right,” Paul rasped. Gavin wasn't sure he believed Cassie's words, but he was putting on a good show, making an effort to stay conscious.

Gavin had seen people live through worse injuries. He'd seen them die with lesser ones. God was in control of the outcome. Not willpower. Not medical intervention. It had taken a long time for Gavin to believe that, to accept it.

An ambulance crew hurried in, and Gavin put a hand on Cassie's elbow, helping her to her feet as the medical team moved in and began to stabilize Paul.

A living room opened out to the left of the foyer, and he brought her there, waiting as the crew stabilized Paul and lifted him onto the gurney.

“I'll ride along with them,” one of the DC police officers offered.

Good. Gavin didn't want Paul to be alone, but he wasn't willing to leave Cassie and the kids. The perp hadn't been playing games, and he hadn't intended for Cassie to survive.

Gavin met her eyes, saw the fear she'd been keeping at bay.

“You okay?” he asked, and she nodded, her gaze skittering away.

“Fine.” She shrugged away from his hold, marched through the living room and into the kitchen. The place looked like a war zone—broken window, blood, shards of glass and bits of wood.

“This is a crime scene, Cassie. You need to stay out until we can process it,” Gavin said because it was true, and because he didn't want Cassie anywhere near the broken window or door

“Can I wash my hands?” She held them up. They were covered in blood and shaking. A lot.

“How about you do it in the bathroom upstairs?” He took her arm, felt her muscles trembling as he turned her around and guided her back into the hall. It wasn't much better in there. Blood on the floor, door open, soot staining the walls and floor.

Officers were there, processing the scene and collecting evidence, but he kept himself between Cassie and the door as they walked to the stairs. The perp was bold, and he had plenty to lose. No way was Gavin going to give him another shot at Cassie.

She didn't look at him and didn't speak.

He let her have her silence.

They'd have to talk eventually, but he'd give her time to clean up, get her thoughts and emotions together. It was obvious she needed to do both. She was visibly shaking, her teeth chattering as she walked up the first three steps. She reached the fourth and swayed, grabbing the railing with blood-stained hands.

He touched her back, steadying her. “Want to sit down for a minute?”

“I'm fine.”

“You look a little shaky.”

“I am, but I'm not going to fall on my face or tumble down the stairs and break my neck. The kids need me.”

“It's okay to be upset, Cassie,” he said.

“I didn't think I needed permission, but thanks.”

“Your sarcasm is charming,” he responded. The best thing he could offer her was something to focus on besides the blood on her hands and on her shirt, the bruise on her cheek, the memory of whatever she'd been through before he'd arrived.

“Thanks for trying,” she said, glancing over her shoulder and offering a wan smile. “But a sparring match isn't going to distract me. Not when I can smell the blood on my hands. Not when I can still hear the glass shattering, see Officer Anderson falling.”