Dana Mentink - Act Of Valor

Through her shuddering breaths, she heard another bark. It was Eddie, had to be, and Zach. Would they be gunned down as they sprinted toward the break room? Frantically, she tried to scramble to her feet, but her body systems were offline, legs trembling, lungs gasping for breath, terror charging every nerve and sinew. The best she could do was sit up, head whirling.

Zach slammed through the door with Eddie, gun in hand. Relief made her whimper. Brown must have gotten away without a shoot-out.

When he saw her, his blue eyes went wide and he dropped to a knee at her side. Eddie whined and poked his nose at her shin.

“Vi...how bad is it?”

“I...” she stammered. He was reaching for the radio clipped to his shoulder.

“Don’t move. I’m calling an ambulance. Backup is already rolling, and Carter will be here in two minutes.”

“No,” she finally managed. He stopped as if he’d gotten an electric shock.

“I’m okay.” She finally got the words out.

“No, you’re not. I’m calling.”

She forced her teeth to stop chattering. “Go after him, Zach. He goes by Joe Brown. He had drugs in his suitcase. I saw. He’s wearing a brown leather jacket.”

“Not leaving you.”

Zach reached for the radio again, but she snatched for his wrist, pressing her fingers there and taking comfort in the steady rhythm of his pulse.

“I’m okay. Not hurt.”

He raised a doubtful eyebrow. “You’d say that if you’d been sawed in half.”

She shoved the hair from her face. “New York tough.”

He touched her cheek with a tentative finger. “Griffin tough. You have a red mark. Here.”

The touch made something ache inside, but she brushed him off. “Go do your job,” she said in a voice with only the tiniest break in it, which she hoped he would not notice. “There was another guy. I don’t know if they were together. He had a long braid. My boss, Bill, he escorted him to security and the TSA let him through without scanning his bags.”

“Vi...” He huffed out a breath, broad chest still heaving from his run along the corridor. “Let me help you, wouldja? You could be hurt more than you think.”

She flashed him a cocky smile. “Griffin tough, remember?”

She knew what he was thinking. Jordan, his hero of an older brother, had been tough, too, and now he was dead. Zach’s expression said it all.

With surprising tenderness, he pressed his cheek to her palm. Warmth spread from their point of contact, up her arm, reviving and restoring. She wanted to keep him there, strong jaw, warm skin, the gesture so vulnerable. She yearned to reach out and stroke his thatch of close-cut chestnut hair and block out what had just happened.

“I’m not losing any more family. Not on my watch,” he mumbled into her cupped palm.

Family . You’re like a sister to him , her mind prodded. That’s all. She sucked in a breath and tried to get hold of her glitching emotions. It took all her effort to detach herself from him. “I’m fine. Like I said. Stop babying me.”

Another officer barreled in. Zach brought him up to speed and the officer relayed the info on the radio.

Zach shifted his attention from his colleague to her and back again.

“Go,” she said, tone all business, tipping her chin up and daring him with her glance to disobey.

He gave her one more look, filled with emotions that a tough K-9 cop would never put into words. Concern for a longtime family friend, no doubt. Eagerness to do his job. Guilt at how he’d failed his brother. His gaze wandered her face, lips twitching for a moment with some unspoken thought. Her heart ached to see something else in his countenance, something beyond duty and childhood affection, but he turned away, in pursuit of his quarry.

Part of her prayed he would catch up to Joe Brown.

This won’t be done until you’re dead.

The other part prayed he wouldn’t.

* * *

Fifteen frustrating minutes later Zach met his brother Carter by the ticket counter. The suspect had bolted. Zach noted the disgruntled white shepherd, Frosty, panting at Carter’s side. Fortuitous that Carter, a transit K-9 cop, was at LaGuardia for some training with the TSA employees. The command unit had dogs assigned to various departments throughout the NYPD so most of the time they were not serving in the same spot at the same time. They each had their specific unit duties, which could be preempted if a situation required a particular canine’s abilities. The duties were ever changing, and it was part of the reason Zach loved his job. Even before Carter’s report, Zach could tell by the dog’s dejected demeanor that there had been no suspect taken into custody. Zach felt exactly the same way as the dog. He ground his teeth as his brother spun out the details.

“Witnesses saw a guy matching the description exit the airport heading west. We’re on it. Still trying to work out what happened to the other guy. He didn’t get on a plane, so he must have seen the cop activity and taken off, too.” He cocked his head. “Vi?”

“She says she’s okay. Refused an ambulance.”

Carter quirked a wry smile. “Yeah. Big surprise. I’ll gather Violet’s boss and any other witnesses we can round up. You and Eddie gonna do a sweep?”

“Yeah. Listen, can you pull someone else to start on the statements and go sit with Violet? She’s shaken up, and I want one of us with her.”

His brother nodded. “Ten-four. On my way.”

It made Zach feel infinitely better to know that Carter would be with Violet. For all her brave talk, there was a shadow of something in her eyes that made him wonder if she was as okay as she proclaimed to be. Not that she’d admit anything else under pain of death.

Considering the lowlife who put his hands on her made Zach’s blood heat to near boiling. He forced himself to calm down. Tension was transmitted right down the leash, through the harness to Eddie, and there was no need for that. Eddie had had a difficult start in life, tied to a streetlamp as a puppy one bitter February evening and left to die. Sent to a busy shelter, he’d been rescued by a group that evaluated dogs for potential police service. Eddie’s nose, even as an untrained pup, was stellar. He’d been given his name in honor of fallen NYPD officer Ed Owens. Best of all, Eddie worked for two things: affection and treats. Zach made those treats from scratch. Nothing was too good for Eddie.

Zach bent down and fondled Eddie’s ears, capturing the dog’s muzzle and looking at his sad brown eyes. “You’re my good baby, aren’t you?” he whispered in a singsong voice that he’d never allow anyone else to hear. Then, louder, “Work time.”

Eddie sprang to his feet, twenty-five pounds of get-up-and-go, primed for the search. If Violet was right, maybe her attacker had ditched the drugs somewhere when he heard the cavalry arrive. If there were drugs in the vicinity, Eddie would know it, thanks to his 220 million scent receptors and a ferocious drive to do his job. All that dog talent wrapped in an adorable package. Eddie was a rock star, in Zach’s view, even if he had a two-mile-wide stubborn streak. Just like his handler , Jordy had often said.

“Find the drugs, Eddie.”

The dog put his nose to the floor as they worked their way along the corridor. There was nothing of interest immediately outside the break room. Eddie snuffled along the corridor with that signature beagle trot and tail wag. They headed to the terminal, which the cops had temporarily closed. Irate passengers huffed and complained. He ignored them, easing Eddie through the throng. Another beautiful thing about beagles: they didn’t scare people like some other breeds of police dogs. Eddie was a goodwill ambassador when he wasn’t taking down drug smugglers.