The Patriot Girl (20 page)

“What for?”

“Maybe you could use a man around here. You know, to take over Alex’s chores and stuff.”

She glanced down at the sneakers, and then his waistband. The gun was too close to his hand. She didn’t want to spook him. If she pretended to play along, she might be able to get some information from him for the police.

“How do you know Alex?”

“From the recreation center.”

“Does he know you’re watching out for me?”

The boy let go of her arm and looked around. “No. But better me than Luke.”

“Who’s Luke?”

“Some other dude, who
would
hurt you. He’s pissed he wasn’t included in the bank job, but he doesn’t have a gun and I do. I’ve let him know you’re my watch. So you don’t have to worry about him.”

She hadn’t been worried until now. What kind of kids hung out at the recreation center with a gun? What type of parents did this boy have? He couldn’t be older than sixteen.

“Where do you live?”

“Here and there.” He stared her down. “My mother dumped me at an orphanage seventeen years ago. I’ve been on my own since I was thirteen.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” He
was
homeless just as Duke had suspected.

“Whatever.” He shrugged. “I know you’re the one at the bank robbery. How’s that dude’s head doing?”

Wow.
He remembered Dustin. “Better.”

“I’m sorry about that but he pissed me off.” He put his hand on the gun. “Those other dudes gave me fifty bucks to help them rob that place. I couldn’t pass up a meal ticket, you know?”

No, she didn’t know. But she had to be sympathetic to win this kid over. She didn’t want a whack on her head if she ticked him off too. “So what do you want from me?”

He opened his arms and turned around. “This. A home, an address, a decent meal, and a bed.”

She had to find out if he’d been the one creeping around her house the night Dustin and Sam showed up. “Did you leave rose petals in my car?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

He smiled and touched her cheek. “You have eyes like Sissy’s.”

“Sissy?”

“She used to be my foster mother until she died. She had a house filled with roses. Having roses here made this place feel like home.”

This kid wasn’t out to hurt her. If he wanted to, he would have done so already. He was a lost boy who needed someone to care for him.

A car door slammed outside.

“Who’s that?” The boy stood in the bathroom doorway.

MaKayla’s body stiffened. There were still several hours to go before anyone was due to arrive for dinner. The back porch screen door opened.

The boy dashed out the front door. She took a deep breath as she saw Dustin passing the window near the sink.

She ran to the back door. “Oh, Dustin. The kid from the bank robbery just ran out the front door.”

Dustin took off down the driveway and around the wooden fence. After a couple minutes, he jogged up past her car—alone.

Damn.
She removed the phone handset from the wall and dialed Duke’s cell phone number. Jodi had mentioned he had to work Christmas morning.

****

Dustin re-entered the house and waited for MaKayla to hang up the phone. How the hell had this kid found out where she lived? And what did he want? “Are you okay?” He glanced at the swell of her breasts peering through the opening of her robe. “Did he hurt you?”

MaKayla looked down and then squeezed her robe closed. “No. He’s not dangerous.”

No way would he allow anyone to hurt her. He took her into his arms and swayed her for several minutes before there was a knock on the front door. He pushed her inside the bathroom. “Don’t move.”

“It’s probably Duke.”

He wasn’t taking any chances. He held up a finger and she stayed. She’d been right. Duke was on the other side of the door. “Hey, Duke. The kid’s gone.”

Duke came inside and opened his arms to MaKayla. “I searched the neighborhood and didn’t find anyone. Is everyone okay?”

“Yes. He said he’s been watching over me while Alex is away. Says he’s protecting me from some kid named Luke.” She rubbed her forehead.

“How does he know Alex is gone?” Duke asked.

“He hangs out at the recreation center so he must have overheard Alex talking about leaving for school. He also asked how Dustin was doing from the robbery.”

Duke flipped open a pad and clicked a pen. “What does he look like?”

“Um…blond hair, blue eyes, jeans, a black concert t-shirt, red sneakers, and he was a few inches taller than me. He still has his gun too.”

Dustin didn’t appreciate hearing the kid had a pistol. People were attracted to the energy of love MaKayla’s smile radiated, but toss in a gun—now there was trouble. Accidents happened when weapons were in the hands of a kid.

He went to her. “He could have hurt you.”

“If he wanted to hurt me he’s had every chance. He wants a home. He asked me if he could live here.”

Duke glanced up from his writing. “How’d he get in?”

She shrugged. “The back door must have been unlocked.”

Duke stepped forward and kissed MaKayla’s forehead. “Keep things locked up from now on. I’ll patrol the area. He might come back.”

“Thank you.” She walked him to the front door.

Dustin followed. He didn’t want to leave her alone for a second. Who knew what this kid would have done if she’d pissed him off.

Women.
They can’t save every unhappy soul, no matter how hard they try.
She had no idea how dangerous this punk could be. He was probably playing her—getting to her heart so her head would ignore the warning signs of danger. He’d represented many cases where the jerk fed off the goodness of women until they smartened up and caught on. Then the pricks weren’t so nice.

MaKayla faced him. “What are you doing here? And where’s your car? I don’t see it.”

“Alex dropped me off.”

“Alex?” She crossed her arms.

“He came to the club.”

“What for?”

“I think he’s trying to get us together.”

“Oh, no, Dustin. I’m sorry. He shouldn’t have bothered you.” She gripped her robe closed. “Um…you need a ride.”

He could see that now was not the time to talk about their relationship. Anyway, a two-plus-mile walk to the club might help control the anger and frustration he felt at not being able to protect her from this jackass preying on a lonely woman.

“This is a bad time. I’ll walk back to the club and you can finish getting dressed.”

“Are you sure? I can throw something on and drive you.”

He caressed her cheek and inhaled deeply. He loved the feel of her soft skin. And he suddenly got a whiff of a cooked ham. “You shouldn’t leave the house with something in the oven.”

“Christmas dinner.” She leaned into his touch. “I’m sorry for all this.”

“Stop apologizing.”

She nodded. “Would you be okay with me telling Alex we talked and we’re now friends? I can’t have him going back to school worrying about me.”

He held her hands and used his thumb to caress her wrist. “Of course not. Friends it is. I’ll be whatever you want me to be.”

“Thank you.”

Leaving her was going to be tough. How could he protect her if he were miles away? But he had to. “I’ll go now. Lock the door behind me.” He fought the urge to kiss her goodbye, and waited as she closed the door and turned the lock.

He stood on the front porch and smiled. This hadn’t been the reunion Alex had planned for Dustin and his mother, but the boy was right about one thing—this
would
be a Christmas MaKayla would never forget.

Chapter Sixteen

Dustin sat behind his office desk at No Bulls balancing his books. The phone rang. “No Bulls.”

“Hello?”

He could barely make out the soft tone of the girl’s voice.

“This is Dustin. Can I help you?”

“Can you tell Mr. Wilson I’m sorry? I would have called sooner but our phone was cut off.”

“Who is this?”

“Tiffany Reynolds. I won a meeting with Mr. Wilson on the radio. I wanted to surprise my Dad for his birthday but then he had to work. I have to go now. Bye.”

The phone went dead. The poor kid. At least now the mystery of why the radio station’s winner never showed up at the grand opening was answered. Dustin wrote down the number from the caller ID.

Maybe there was still a way he could help this little girl give her father his birthday gift. Dana could use her
FBI investigative skills to track down this young girl and MaKayla could charm the pants off Buck to agree to another meeting. Both women would love the idea of making this event happen.

After all, what good was having connections if he couldn’t pull a few strings?

****

The first three days into the New Year had been better than the end of the last one. MaKayla was glad for the calm
after
the storm.

She could handle this life-style. The quietness of her home, a job she enjoyed each day, her nights filled with working for herself, and waiting until the next school vacation for her son to return. Not the life she had envisioned ten years ago, but one she could enjoy until she ended up in a nursing home.

Dustin had begun doing a stakeout across the street from her home since Saturday after Alex left for school. Did he honestly think he was fooling her with his dark glasses, baseball cap, and
Heavenly Coffee
written on the side of a van? Even if she were blind, her body sensed his presence.

Having a cop friend had been a blessing on more than one occasion. This time there was no point in calling Duke. While Dustin’s intentions weren’t those of a typical stalker, she knew her friends wouldn’t
protect
her from him. They all adored Dustin.

Upon entering Columbus Bank she could tell by the moans and groans of her co-workers that she was the only one glad to be back. Work was her escape from daydreaming about Dustin, missing Alex, and thinking about her Christmas morning intruder.

The scent of roses flooded her office as she opened the door. Had the sender been anyone other than the man she should be putting behind her, she would have enjoyed the welcoming aroma. Now that she was talking to him again, she had hoped he would stop the flowers.

She had just settled into her chair when there was a knock on the door. “Come in.”

Jodi crossed the room and held MaKayla in a tight embrace. “I don’t want you home alone now with Alex gone. Why don’t you stay with us until they catch that kid?”

MaKayla giggled. “Thank you, but I’m fine.”

“This isn’t funny, MaKayla. You could have been killed.”

“I know. I was laughing at your ‘home alone.’ Dustin has been parked across the street all weekend.”

“Isn’t he sweet? Good.”

“It’s sweet, but he has a daughter and a business to nurture. He can’t be worrying about me. Besides, the kid’s harmless. He’s not going to hurt me.”

Jodi sat down. “How do you know?”

“Because I remind him of his foster mother. If he wanted to hurt me, he would have by now.”

A voice came over the intercom. “MaKayla, you have a visitor.”

Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes met Jodi’s. MaKayla knew by her friend’s gaped mouth, they’d had the same thought. She couldn’t worry about being stalked at work too. No way would the boy come back to the same place he’d robbed. He might have made some bad choices in his life, but she hadn’t found him to be an idiot during their encounter.

“He won’t come here, Jodi. It’s only a customer out there.”

Jodi stood. “You’re right. If he knows what’s good for him he’ll stay clear. Duke’s on the case, and they have patrolmen watching the recreation center.”

“Good. Now go, and send in whoever’s out there, please.” MaKayla stood and walked around her desk just as Dustin stepped over the threshold. “Hi. What are you doing here?”

He captured her hand and leaned forward to kiss her cheek. “How are you doing?”

There was more to his visit than wondering how she was doing. She could tell by the smirk on his face and by the way his thumb caressed the back of her hand. “Are you staking out this place too?”

“Too?”

“I saw your van across the street from my house.”

“Busted.” He chuckled and raised her hand to his lips.

Her breath caught as warm liquid rushed through her veins. He did make her feel safe. Knowing he’d been outside had made her sleep more soundly. But she also feared what Dustin would do if the young boy returned.

“Close the door and have a seat.” She sat, folding her hands on the desk and leaned forward as he sat across from her. “So what does bring you here?”

He captured her hands. “Did you tell Alex we were now friends?”

Friends.
Never before had a friend reached across her desk, placed her hand to his lips, and overwhelmed her body with passion as light kisses dropped into her palm. If only she could move past the situation’s awkwardness, she might find herself enjoying this moment a lot more.

Her arousal turned every muscle in her body to rubber. Her voice cracked as she managed to say the right thing rather than what she wanted to say.
Dustin, don’t stop.
“Dustin, please, stop.”

“I can’t. I want you. How can we be more than friends?”

There had to be a line drawn and if he couldn’t be the sensible one here, then she would have to. She reclaimed her hand and cleared her throat. “You’re not making this any easier.”

He shrugged. “Is it wrong that I just enjoyed hearing those words?”

She shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know.”

Of course she knew. His enjoyment meant he hadn’t given up hope—a man of his word. What more could a woman ask for? So what was stopping her from being content with him?

“Is there some other reason you came by?”

“Yes, I need a favor.”

She smiled. “I’m not that kind of girl.”

He laughed. “Trust me, MaKayla. If you
were
that kind of girl, you’d be making my dream come true.”