Lenora Worth - Lone Star Protector

Kaitlin went to her knees on the floor and tugged Warrior close, giving him a gentle hug. “Good boy. What a hero. Your barks warned me.”

The captain looked really tall from this angle. “Yep. And what did you do? You walked right into a trap.”

She stood so he wouldn’t seem so intimidating. “I went around the building to see why Warrior was barking. I saw the van and thought someone might be lost or hurt. That’s when the attacker came up behind me.”

Slade didn’t move a muscle, but she could see the throbbing pulse in his clenched jawline. “You could have called me.”

“I really didn’t have time to call anyone. Besides, I thought you were gone.” She shrugged, tossing her ponytail. “You know what...I didn’t even think, okay? I just acted on impulse, and I wasn’t expecting any kind of danger.”

He stepped back, his cold, blue gaze freezing its way around her tiny house. “Well, you need to think about it now. Whoever that was will probably be back. I don’t think this was a random kidnapping attempt. They waited for the right moment and managed to get through a controlled gate to get to you.”

Seeing the concern etched on his face, she said, “You’re not making me feel very safe.”

“You’re not safe.” He walked to the bay window in her living room. “Your attacker fit the same description of the man who’s been harassing my whole team for months now. I’m pretty sure he or someone working with him is behind the recent string of attempted kidnappings we’ve had. And the string of murders we’ve racked up since the first of the year.”

Shocked, she pushed at her hair. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. You said he had strange eyes, right?”

“Yes. They were all blacked out. Honestly, they didn’t look real.”

Slade seemed to go on alert after that comment. “They probably aren’t real. He’s using a mask and other methods to disguise himself.”

“Why?” she asked, worried now that the crime syndicate might be targeting her. “Why would he come after me?”

He didn’t answer her questions. “You might need protection 24/7.”

Kaitlin almost laughed out loud. “Are you willing to do that?”

“I have to work on this case.” He kept right on staring out the window. “But it might be a good idea to keep Warrior by your side at all times. And maybe you have a friend who can come and stay with you?”

“I won’t endanger any of my friends,” she said, shaking her head. “Warrior will do his job. That’s what he’s trained for.”

“But is he ready?” Slade asked, staring down at the resting dog.

“He seemed ready today. We’ll have to hope so,” Kaitlin replied. “I’m not the type to live in fear, Captain McNeal.”

He came close then, his face inches from hers. “And I’m not the type to let a woman think she’s safe when it’s obvious she’s not, Miss Mathers.” He stepped back. “Get your stuff. You and Warrior are coming to my house tonight.”

Kaitlin couldn’t believe the man. “No, we’re not.”

His tone brooked no argument. “Yes, you are.” Then he held up his hand. “Look, I have a young son and my recovering father there. And two shifts of around-the-clock nurses. You won’t be alone. We won’t be alone.”

Kaitlin thought it over, still reeling. “I don’t want to impose on you.”

“You won’t be imposing. Caleb will be glad to see you. He’s been asking about you...since the last time you babysat him. And it’s just for tonight. Just until I can figure out the next piece of this puzzle.”

Five-year-old Caleb had been traumatized when his mother had been killed in the car bomb. The quiet little boy suffered from nightmares and other issues. Kaitlin had worked a lot with Caleb, using her dogs to bring the boy out of his shell. But it had been a while since she’d seen him.

Wanting to understand what she’d be up against, she asked, “What do you know, Captain? About that man’s creepy eyes?”

He hesitated, almost shut down. But she saw a flare of trust shifting through his expression. “I don’t think they’re his real eyes.”

She let out a gasp. “Contacts? That’s what I thought, too.”

His nod was curt and quick. “I think so.” His gaze moved over her, then he looked toward the big windows. “Call it a hunch, but I’d just feel a whole lot better if you’d come home with me.”

“Isn’t that highly unusual? I mean, do you always invite people in danger home with you?”

“No.”

“Why start now?”

He took a step forward then stopped. “Because this case has me by the throat and...I’m almost certain your attempted kidnapping has something to do with this crime syndicate. I couldn’t live with myself if...something happened to you.” He inhaled, rubbed a hand down his face. “And...because you mean a lot to my son. He feels comfortable with you since you’ve babysat him a few times and allowed the trainee dogs to befriend him. Truth is, he’s been through too much tragedy already...and he’d be devastated if something happened to you.”

Kaitlin couldn’t catch her next breath after that comment. “I can’t stay at your house forever...”

“No, but I can keep you alive if you’ll listen to me.”

She couldn’t argue with that. He’d scared her with his bold words and all this talk of a crime syndicate and a masked criminal. He’d scared her with that tormented need she’d seen hooding his eyes, too. He didn’t want his little boy to suffer anymore.

However, going with Slade would be like stepping across that forbidden line she’d put up between them. She didn’t like mixing emotions and business together. Things could get really messy.

But when she thought about that man’s eyes, she got the shivers. And given the choice of staying here alone or being with Slade and his family...well, there wasn’t a choice.

“I’ll pack a bag,” she said finally. Then she turned and hurried out of the room before she changed her mind.

* * *

Well, now he could add stupid to the list of traits he needed to refine. He had a feeling he’d regret bringing a woman home, kind of like sailors used to avoid having a female on their ship. Nothing good could come of it.

Slade looked around the big living room of the house he shared with his father and his son and a retired K-9 named Chief. The rambling craftsman home had plenty of room for one or two more. But it had been a long time since a woman, other than his father’s team of home health care nurses and Caleb’s after-school nanny, had stayed in this house for more than a few uncomfortable minutes—for what his daddy called a “casserole” visit. Single women and widows loved to bring them casseroles. The women all expected something in return, of course. A couple of them had even asked Slade to the monthly church social.

Slade couldn’t oblige them. It made for awkward visits.

But hey, the food was good.

“She’s pretty and nice,” Patrick McNeal said. “Kind of different from most of the casserole girls.”

Old Chief, retired and getting fat and sassy, lifted his head and sniffed the perfume in the air. Even the dog had noticed this feminine intrusion.

Slade turned from where he was making sandwiches and nodded at his father. “Pretty, nice and now...on some thug’s hit list.” He slapped ham between two slices of white bread. “Why would anyone go after Kaitlin Mathers?”

Papa, as Caleb liked to call him, ran a hand down his white-whiskered face. Still recovering from the injuries that had left him in a coma, he said, “Maybe they need a dog trainer.”

Slade stopped the knife he’d aimed at the mayo jar. “Good point.”

“You think this attack is connected to all the others? Whoever took Rio might need a qualified trainer, too.”