Lenora Worth - Classified K-9 Unit Christmas

And she didn’t need anyone. She had enough trouble trying to prove herself as an agent.

“This year was rough for all of you,” Thomas said, bringing her back to reality. “I’m glad everyone is safe and sound.” They’d reached the doors to the parking garage. “Speaking of that, I’m walking you to your vehicle.”

Nina blinked and stared up at him. “I’m parked near you, anyway, and I have Sam.”

Thomas shook his head. “Look, let’s get this part over with. I know you’re strong and capable and tough or you wouldn’t be here, but...a killer saw you tonight. You’re a witness to an attempted murder by a very dangerous man. You’re gonna need someone to watch your back.”

She turned when they were almost to her vehicle. “Have you appointed yourself for that job?”

Before he could respond, a shot rang out and the windshield of the car next to them shattered. Thomas threw his body over Nina and pushed her to the ground. Another shot rang out, blasting a nearby wall.

Nina’s heart pressed beats against her lungs. She couldn’t breathe. And she couldn’t get past the sure knowledge that Thomas had probably just saved her life.

* * *

An hour later, Nina and Thomas were back inside headquarters filing yet another report, and Thomas was now a partner in this investigation. He didn’t mind that, since he needed to be a part of it if Russo was involved.

But that hadn’t been established. This pattern didn’t match Russo’s way of taking care of business.

The shooter was nowhere to be found, and surveillance cameras didn’t show anyone sneaking into the garage. So the shooter must have had a good view of where they were parked from an off-site spot. They’d canvassed the whole place and the surrounding buildings, and they’d put out more alerts on Russo. The techs were still trying to establish where he’d been hidden. But the destruction from the shots indicated a shotgun. Which meant he’d been close. Too close.

“He’s after you,” Thomas said to Nina, when they were alone. “You can’t go back to your place tonight.”

“I’ll bunk here,” Nina retorted, obviously not in the mood to be told what to do. “I’ve done it before. And I intend to keep digging. Dylan O’Leary is our best tech and he’ll be back on this tomorrow. He’ll do research based on what you’ve told us. Thanks for your help.”

Thomas put his hands on his hips. “Are you dismissing me, Agent Atkins?”

She gave him a tired glare. “It’s almost two in the morning. Don’t you ever sleep?”

“Do you?”

She stood and paced, her green sweater long and droopy, her jeans old and worn. Locker clothes. But she looked cute in them. “Have you considered that he might have been aiming at you, Thomas?”

He rubbed his jaw. “Always a possibility, and yes, he could have taken both of us out and called it a day. But he missed, which is kind of surprising.”

“Do you think he blinked, got the shakes?”

Thomas figured this man knew how to use any kind of weapon. “He could have been interrupted or startled, but why a shotgun? Maybe the darkness and seeing both of us together shook him. He sure wasn’t expecting to see me here.”

“Now he knows you’re in town,” she said, her fingers twisting in the cuffs of her sweater. “You might need to bunk here tonight, too.”

Thomas hadn’t planned on that. “I could hang around.”

“That’s not what I said.”

“And I’m saying I can hang around.” Seeing the objection on her heart-shaped face, he held up his hands in defense. “Hey, neither of us is gonna get much sleep. We can get a head start on the facts and get our ducks in a row.”

She stared at him, her eyes changing so swiftly he felt as if he was chasing glints of pure copper. “Are you hungry?” she finally asked.

Did this mean she would listen to reason and let him do his job?

“Starving. That snack cake I found in the machine went stale in my stomach a couple hours ago.”

“I think we have leftover hamburgers in the fridge. Somebody brought in a whole dozen or so from our favorite downtown eatery.”

“Sounds good. Lead me to the kitchen.”

Nina shot him another mixed-message glance. “We’re in this together now, Deputy Marshal. And I have orders from my SAC to cooperate with you whether I like it or not.”

“Won’t be the first time a woman has tried to resist my charms,” he quipped, hoping to lighten the mood.

“I’m an agent first,” she retorted. “And a woman second.”

Okey-dokey. “Whatever you say, ma’am.”

Thomas followed her through the maze of offices and cubicles, thinking at least he had someone interesting to work with. This one would try her best to keep him on his toes.

And he’d try his best to keep her alive.

THREE

“The girl’s awake.”

Nina rose from her chair, boots hitting the floor, and followed Dylan O’Leary, the agency’s tech expert, down the hallway. “Is she talking?”

Thomas saw them and came out of the chair he’d found in a corner of the big cubicle-filled room. “Identity?”

Dylan kept right on going, his glasses stuck to his nose as always. “Kelly Denton. Twenty-four years old. College student who grew up in Helena and worked for former State Senator Richard Slaton. She’d moved away from Helena this year but went home to visit her parents for Christmas. They’ve verified that and said she had left a message that she was spending the night with a friend. That was night before last. They’re on their way here.” Dylan hurried off and then turned back around. “Oh, and don’t mention the other girls to her yet. We’re still trying to establish if they’re connected. She could voluntarily fill in the blanks.”

“Got it. We’re on our way to investigate.” Nina turned to Thomas. “Ready to question our witness?”

“Been ready,” he said, grabbing his coat.

Soon, they were in Nina’s SUV headed east to the Billings Medical Center.

“How’d you sleep?” Nina asked, recalling how she’d tossed and turned and had nightmares the entire three hours she’d tried to sleep.

“Like a baby,” he quipped with a wry smile. “I was exhausted after that long drive from Texas.”

“Why’d you drive across the country in the dead of winter?”

“I like long drives. Helps me think. Plus I was trying to track Russo’s every step so I could establish that he drove here, too. Found some rental cars he’d used here and there, but nothing concrete. So you didn’t see or hear him leaving in a vehicle last night?”

Nina shook her head and merged into traffic. “Nope. He ran away, headed into the woods. I still don’t get it. He could have shot me, too.”

“Maybe Sam distracted him. Sam would have gone after him, don’t you think?”

“Possibly. I’m sure he’d have brought down the man. But I was worried that he’d shoot Sam and return to finish the job. Why do you think he ran like that?”

“He panicked. He wasn’t expecting anyone to stumble on the scene.”

“Yes. Sam and I did surprise him. I know the woods beyond that spot and across the stream are on private property. Someone owns a hunting lodge up there. He could have hidden in it, possibly, but until we find out who owns that place, we can’t get a warrant to look.”

“But he shot at you—shot at us—last night,” Thomas reminded her. “And missed. Russo’s trained never to miss. Something’s not right about this whole thing.”

“I’m kind of glad he missed,” Nina replied, wondering what was bugging Thomas. “So...we both think something’s off here, right?”

“He’s after Kelly. We’ll have to watch the hospital. He might be trying to distract us while he moves in on her.”