Sharon Dunn - Courage Under Fire

Her only consolation was that Scotty seemed to pick up on her despair. The Rottweiler rested his chin on her leg and made a sympathetic noise. Now she remembered why she wanted to be a K-9 cop. She rested a hand on Scotty’s head. Someday she would be assigned her own K-9 partner.

Tonight though, she felt defeated. If a training exercise could go so far off the rails, what would happen when she worked the field?

Noah sat beside Lani, catching his breath. “Maybe they’ll nab him when he comes to shore.”

The other dogs and officers were farther inland.

“Maybe.” Lani’s voice sounded weak. She stroked behind Scotty’s ears.

Noah’s Rottweiler usually didn’t warm up to people so fast, but the dog seemed to like Lani from the moment she’d become a part of the K-9 unit. His brother Jordan had always said that dogs were a good judge of character. If he closed his eyes, he could almost hear his brother’s voice. He rubbed his chest though the pain he felt was emotional, that deep chasm inside that would never be filled. His younger brothers Zach and Carter were probably the only two people who understood about the hole Jordan’s death had left for all of them. His parents were going through a whole different kind of grief.

“I appreciate your tenacity in going after the suspect,” he said. Noah remembered that only a month before, Lani had stopped an intruder in her and Reed’s house by shooting him. Though she had handled herself well, she had been put on administrative leave to help with her emotional recovery, which had stalled her training. Remembering that and seeing firsthand how she had done tonight made Noah think that maybe he had underestimated Lani.

Lani wrapped her arms around her body. “He got away though.”

Noah took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. His pants were wet up to the knees, but he wasn’t cold. “If medical hasn’t shown up yet at the visitors’ center, let’s get you checked out in the ER.”

She drew the coat around her. “I’m fine. I just need to change into some dry clothes and get some rest.”

“You took quite a blow to the head.” Though Lani seemed like a strong woman, he was concerned about the psychological fallout from having been attacked tonight in addition to her physical well-being. Sometimes there was an accumulative effect from dealing with violence and then an officer just cracked up.

“I know about the possibility of a concussion. Reed gets off duty in a bit, he can keep an eye on me through the night. As soon as that suspect is picked up, I want to be called. I don’t care what the hour is.”

“Sure, Lani.” Always at the back of his mind, the fear of something bad happening to another of the K-9 officers plagued him. He felt a strong responsibility to the team. “At least ride home with me in my patrol car.”

He rose to his feet and held out his hand to help her up. Her fingers felt silky soft in his calloused bear paws. They stood for a moment facing each other. The rhythm of water rushing the shore and the gulls feeding in the distance seemed to be the only sounds.

“Fine, I’ll ride back with you, but I will report for duty for my regular shift tomorrow. Don’t treat me with kid gloves.” Lani turned and headed up the sandy shore toward the tall grass. “I can handle myself just fine. I’ve had first aid training as part of being a martial arts instructor...”

Lani continued to talk as they moved through the grass.

He wasn’t sure if her talking was a sign of confidence or insecurity. His estimation of her had gone up a notch. It took guts to jump in the water after a suspect, especially one that had just attacked her.

Noah’s radio glitched and Reed’s voice came across the line. “I got Lani’s bike loaded up in my patrol car.”

“Ten-four. She’s riding home with me, but you need to keep an eye on her through the night.”

“She’s not going into the ER?” Reed’s voice filled with concern.

Lani grabbed the radio. Standing on her tiptoes, she spoke into it. “Reed, quit being a big brother. When we’re working, treat me like you would any other officer.”

“Copy that, sis.”

“Do you call all the other officers, sis?”

Noah chuckled at the banter between the siblings. His brothers razzed each other and him on and off the job.

“Yes, Officer Branson.” Reed’s voice held a note of amusement.

Lani addressed Noah. “We’ll swing by the ER, but I’m sure I’m fine,” Lani said.

They hiked back up to the trail and out to the visitors’ center. Several patrol cars were parked there. More had arrived once the alert about the suspect had gone out.

“Any news on the boat?” Lani stepped toward one of the other officers, who shook his head.

Noah loaded Scotty in the back of his Tahoe SUV. Lani got into the passenger seat. They pulled out of the visitors’ center. Noah veered toward Cross Bay Boulevard, Lani doing most of the talking sharing about the kids’ class she taught at the martial arts center.

They stopped in the ER where a doctor examined Lani and gave her the okay to go back to work after a day off, but cautioned her to watch for any pain or loss of focus for the next couple of days. They got back into the Tahoe and headed home. Lani continued to talk about working with dogs at the training center.

As they drove through Queens at night, her voice trailed off. She touched her hand to her shoulder.

He’d gotten so used to the sound of her voice, the silence felt awkward. He glanced over at her. “Everything okay, Lani?”

“My radio. He yanked it off of me. I don’t have a radio anymore.” Her voice, normally very animated, had become monotone.

Noah had been braced for the emotional shock to set in. “We’ll issue you a new one when you come on shift after your day of rest. Lani?”

He was only a few blocks from her house in Rego Park. Lani and Reed lived on a quiet street. At this hour, there was no one outside. He spoke again to get her attention. “Lani?”

“I’m all right.” She stared straight ahead.

He knew she wasn’t. “It’s pretty normal to feel off-kilter after what you’ve been through.” She hadn’t been an officer very long and already she’d seen a degree of violence. “It wouldn’t hurt to make an appointment with the police psychologist. I know it was required you meet with one after you shot that guy who came into your house. It wouldn’t hurt to make another appointment.”

She lifted her chin slightly. “I just need a good night’s sleep and run in the park in the morning. That’s my therapy.”

He had a feeling the bravado she showed was because she didn’t want to appear incapable in front of the chief. Sometimes he didn’t like his title. It put a barrier between him and his fellow officers.

After circling the block, he found a parking space not too far from her house. He appreciated how tough she was acting. He’d been a cop long enough to know that denial didn’t make the trauma go away. “At least let me stay with you until Reed gets off shift.”

She lowered her head and pushed open the car door. “Okay, but only if Scotty can come in too.”

Scotty let out a low-level woof of approval.

Both of them laughed.

“Scotty seems to like the idea,” said Lani.

He had to hand it to his square-jawed partner. He could be very entertaining. Noah walked Lani to the house which had a stone facade and pillars. The flower beds were covered in straw. Though he could picture them in full bloom. Lani struck him as a plant kind of person. Who was he kidding? Lani was a people person and a dog person—warm and connecting, vivacious about all aspects of life. That’s why it bothered him to see her so quiet.