Sharon Dunn - Guard Duty

The sooner he had Murke in custody, the sooner he would feel like Cory’s death hadn’t been for nothing.

“I see introductions have already been made.” He recognized Slade McNeal’s voice behind him.

“Slade and I have done some joint drug task force work together,” Trevor explained to Valerie.

McNeal placed his hands on his hips and looked at Valerie. “I thought maybe you could work with Agent Lewis to stir up some leads. He could tag along with you on your patrol, see if you can get any information for him. And in return, you get a little extra protection while you’re on duty.”

A shadow fell across Valerie’s face. “I suppose I could use that.”

McNeal excused himself to go talk to the officer hauling away one of the suspects.

Trevor watched him cross the street and then turned back to Valerie. “McNeal explained to me about the death threats against you.” News about the crime syndicate Sagebrush was battling had reached other parts of the state. Now as he watched the tall redhead’s demeanor change from confident to fearful, all the news stories and police reports seemed a lot more personal. “I’m glad to help out.”

The black and white disappeared around the corner. McNeal walked back toward them.

“I’m on the morning shift tomorrow.” She still seemed guarded. “I assume you have some sort of file on this guy Murke? Maybe there is something in there that will give me an idea of where to look for him.”

She wasn’t exactly warming to the idea of an FBI agent tagging along. “I won’t waste your on-duty time if I don’t have to. I can bring it by before you go on shift. If nothing in the file helps, maybe McNeal has some other ideas.”

“That would be fine.” Valerie wrote down her home address. As she was handing him the card, her gaze shifted from his face to over his shoulder. Her eyes grew wide as a look of apprehension clouded her features.

Trevor turned, following the line of her gaze. Across the street, a black car with tinted windows slowed to a crawl before speeding up and disappearing around a corner. Alerting on something, Lexi rose from her haunches.

He turned back toward Valerie. Her lips were drawn into a hard, straight line. Something about that black car had upset her.

“Is everything okay?”

She took a step back, shaking her head. “It’s...it’s nothing.” She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin, but her effort at bravado fell short. He could see the fear in her eyes.

Valerie Salgado was living with a death threat hanging over her head. Maybe the car had just slowed down to look for an address, but it had bothered her. Anger flooded through him over the syndicate’s stronghold on her life.

If they did end up working together, she wasn’t going to die on his watch.

TWO

Valerie peered out the front window of her house. In the early-morning light, she could make out the outline of the police car parked outside. She drew her eighteen-month-old niece, Bethany, closer.

Would she ever get used to that sight? Would there ever be a time when her life wasn’t shrouded in danger?

Knowing that the car with the dark windows had been following her last night drove the point home. The syndicate wasn’t going to go away. They were just waiting for the right moment to get at her. Sagebrush police knew that one of the middle managers was a woman. That woman, whose street name was Serpent, was most likely the woman Valerie had seen. The Serpent had no way of knowing Valerie couldn’t identify her yet. She probably thought it was just a matter of time before she was picked up.

A chill skittered over Valerie’s skin when she thought of the woman’s eyes meeting hers on the street. Seemingly yellow in the lamplight, they bore right through Valerie. The memory still invaded her thoughts and sent a current of fear through her.

Bethany shifted in Valerie’s arms. She jerked her head back and blinked several times. She was all blue eyes and soft downy hair, just like her mother. Kathleen’s funeral had been more than a month ago, but it still felt so raw. While the cancer had slowly drained the vitality out of Valerie’s older sister, it had given her time to express that she wanted Valerie to take care of Bethany. The child’s father had never been in the picture and had signed away rights even before Bethany was born. Though she felt ill equipped for the job, Valerie intended to keep her promise to her beloved sister.

Valerie held Bethany close, absorbing her softness and that sweet baby smell. Over the months, Valerie had slowly been taking over mothering duties as Kathleen grew weaker. But since Kathleen’s death, Bethany had not slept through the night. Though the little girl couldn’t articulate it, Valerie knew she was mourning.

Even now, Bethany clung to the stuffed pink rabbit Kathleen had given her. She hardly ever let go of the toy. Valerie swayed back and forth. “I know, you miss your mama.” A lump formed in her throat. “I miss her, too.”

Bethany melted against Valerie. After a few minutes, the little girl relaxed and her breathing steadied, asleep at last. Valerie padded on stocking feet toward the stairs that led to the bedroom, careful not to jostle the sleeping baby. She glanced at the living room clock.

She stopped so suddenly that Bethany wiggled in her arms. Where had the time gone? She should have been ready for work by now. The sitter would be here any minute. It was easy enough to lose track of time when you got up four or five times in the night to deal with a fussy toddler.

A knock came at her door, loud and intense. Lexi sauntered out of her crate positioned by the sliding glass door. She raised her head and looked toward Valerie, expecting instructions.

Valerie turned toward the door. “Who is it?”

“Trevor Lewis.”

And she was still in her bathrobe. What had she been thinking when she had agreed to him swinging by before work? Now that she had Bethany, it took her twice as long to get ready in the morning. Valerie gave the Rottweiler a reassuring look. “Go back to sleep, Lexi. It’s okay.”

“Just a second.” After placing Bethany in her playpen, Valerie took a breath to calm her nerves. She hoped she hadn’t seemed too standoffish to Agent Lewis last night. McNeal had been looking out for her when he suggested she work with Trevor, and maybe she’d be able to help him. She probably needed the extra protection, but the partnership was a bitter reminder of how hard the syndicate was making it for her to do her job.

She swung open the door. Trevor looked fresh in a crisp, French blue button-down shirt. His dark curly hair was clipped close to his head and his brown eyes had an intensity she hadn’t noticed last night.

His gaze fell to her bathrobe, and heat rushed up her face. “My little one has me running behind schedule.” She turned slightly away from the door so Trevor had a view of Bethany shaking the sides of her playpen.

Barely acknowledging the child, Trevor lifted the computer tablet he had in his hand. “I’ve got Murke’s file.”

“Come in. I need just a minute to get ready,” she said.

Trevor glanced around the room. “Where’s the dog?”

“She’s resting in her crate.” Valerie sighed as she looked at the crate and then at the playpen not too far from it. Lexi had never shown any aggression toward Bethany, but the dog was keeping her distance. Though Lexi was protective of Valerie, it would be a shame if she didn’t bond with Bethany. The trainer at the K-9 facility had assured her that dogs were just like people—it took time for them to adjust to new situations.

“Take a seat, Mr. Lewis.”

“You can call me Trevor.”

Bethany babbled and held her hands up. Valerie gathered her into her arms and grabbed her bottle off the counter. When Valerie offered it to her, Bethany shook her head. She hadn’t eaten anything yet this morning. Valerie tried not to give in to worry. She bounced Bethany in her arms. “We don’t want you losing weight.”