Shirlee McCoy - Safe by the Marshal's Side

She almost followed him. Hunter was a paradox. By the book and cold as ice, but there was something warm in him. She hadn’t noticed it before, but now that she had, she couldn’t seem to stop thinking about it.

Maybe that was what happened to young widows. They inevitably started noticing the men in their lives. Eventually, noticing led to falling for someone and they married again. That was what Annie’s mother had said a few days after Joe’s funeral.

“One day, the pain will fade. You’ll find someone else. You’ll fall in love again. You’ll get married and have a dozen children,” Sandy had murmured as she’d hugged Annie.

Annie hadn’t believed her then, and she didn’t want to believe her now. She’d learned too much about the lie her first marriage had been.

“Sorry, Mom. No marriage. No dozen children,” she muttered. “Ever.”

The door next to hers opened, and Serena Summers peered out, her hair pulled back into a ponytail, a few strands escaping and falling across her cheeks. “Everything okay out here?”

“Yes. Fine. I was just going back to bed.”

“At...” Serena glanced at her watch. “Four in the morning? Shouldn’t you already be in bed?”

“I was. I couldn’t sleep. I probably still won’t be able to, but I’m going to give it a try.”

“I’ve been trying for three hours and haven’t had any luck. Maybe we should both give in to the inevitable, drink some coffee and play a game of checkers.”

“Checkers?”

Annie wasn’t really in the mood for a rousing game of checkers. She wasn’t really in the mood for coffee, but she couldn’t not notice the sadness in Serena’s eyes.

She saw it in her own eyes every time she looked in the mirror.

“Sounds like fun,” she said and couldn’t quite hide the note of sarcasm in her voice.

Serena smiled and shook her head. “Honestly, it’s not my idea of fun, either. I’d rather be out on the gun range, but we’re stuck here for the time being so we may as well make the best of it. Come on. I’ll make the coffee.”

Annie followed Serena into the small living room. Hunter was in the kitchen, so she didn’t follow Serena there. Instead, she sat on the couch and waited. She wanted to ignore Hunter’s presence, pretend that she hadn’t noticed just how masculine he was, just how handsome. Now that she’d noticed, though, she couldn’t not notice. She glanced his way, saw that he was watching her.

She should probably say something, but her mouth was dry, her throat tight.

“You want cream in your coffee?” Serena called, her question breaking the spell that held Annie’s tongue.

“Sure. Thanks.”

“Great, because that’s the way I made it.” Serena walked into the living room, two coffee cups balanced on a boxed checkers set. She set it on the coffee table. “Ready?”

“Sure,” Annie responded, settling onto the floor with her back to Hunter.

Hunter watched as Annie and Serena started their game. They both looked relaxed and at ease, but he didn’t think either was. Annie had spoken of nightmares. Serena had struggled during the past year, too. Losing her brother had been difficult; knowing that he’d been murdered in the line of duty and that his murderer was still on the loose was even harder.

He frowned, pouring himself a cup of coffee. His third of the night. Caffeine overload, but he had a long day to get through. A meeting at headquarters at nine, and then a trip to Steven Antonio’s office in the afternoon. The prosecuting attorney was determined to win his case against Saunders and Fiske. He’d been asking for weekly meetings with Annie since her return to St. Louis. Hunter might have to curtail the frequency. She was as prepared for trial as a witness could be, and her safety was paramount.

Hunter glanced at the computer monitor that had been set up on the kitchen counter. The split screen offered views from six security cameras. No sign of trouble outside the apartment building and no sign of it inside. He hadn’t expected that there would be. The safe house had been used dozens of times, and it had never been compromised. There was no reason to believe it would be now.

Then again, the little house that they’d been using had never been compromised before, either.

He sipped lukewarm coffee and tried to think of a way that could have happened without someone from the unit being involved. He trusted the men and women he worked with. He depended on them to do their jobs. He’d have trusted any one of them with his life. But someone had leaked Annie’s location.

He had to find out who, and he had to do it quickly.

Since Daniel Summers’s death, there’d been some tension within the unit. Daniel’s murder had left a hole in the team. Josh McCall and Serena felt the loss the most. Serena because Daniel was her brother. Josh because they’d been partners and best friends. There hadn’t been much Hunter could do but encourage the team to keep working, keep seeking justice and keep doing exactly what Daniel had always loved. But the newest development in the Delacorte case wasn’t going to sit well with anyone. Accusations could be tossed around. That could cause more tension.

No one needed that.

Hunter clenched his fists and walked out of the kitchen. He wasn’t used to feeling helpless, but he’d felt helpless when he’d heard about Daniel’s murder. He’d promised Serena and himself that he’d find the person responsible, and that he’d make sure that person paid. Over a year later, he still had no leads, no suspects, no clues.

He felt as if he was failing himself and his team.

He would fail them even more if he didn’t find the leak and stop it.

Serena and Annie looked up as he entered the room.

“She’s beating my socks off,” Serena said with a dramatic sigh. “How about you take the next round, Hunter?”

Not likely. Playing games while he was on duty wasn’t something he’d ever done, and he didn’t plan to start now. “You’re the checker champ, Serena. I’m sure you can take her down if you put your mind to it. I’ve got to make a couple of calls.”

“Are you checking in with the evidence team?” Serena asked.

“Josh was going to do that. I’m going to call him and see if there have been any updates.”

Her expression hardened the way it seemed to every time Josh was mentioned. She’d obviously had a problem with him since her brother’s murder, and Hunter suspected that she blamed him for Daniel’s death.

“Right. I’m sure Josh will know what’s going on. Your move, Annie.” She turned her attention back to the game.

He could have asked her if she had a problem working with Josh. He didn’t because she did her job well. Whatever she might be feeling, she never let it affect her work. That was what mattered.

He walked down the hall and pulled out his cell phone. Joshua’s phone rang twice before it jumped to voice mail. He left a brief message asking for information and reminding Josh of their meeting. Hopefully, there would be more information by then.

A quiet sound drifted from Annie’s room. Sophia? She was one of the most well-behaved kids he’d ever met. Quiet and cute, she spent her days toddling around the house and smiling. If he’d had time to be a parent, getting to know Sophia would have convinced him that it was a good idea.

He didn’t have time. Not for a wife. Not for kids. Unless he did, he’d never take that step. His siblings had said the same until they’d fallen in love. Now they insisted that he’d change his mind when the right woman came along.

He wasn’t sure that would ever happen, because love was never enough to hold a relationship together. There needed to be time, attention, companionship. There needed to be more than a half-hour dinner once a month or a quick phone call between cases.