Terri Reed - Protect And Serve

Sensing something painful behind the other woman’s words, Gina put a hand on Ellen’s arm to offer what comfort she could. “But you have her and you two love each other.” Gina would give anything to have her mother back. Even for just a moment.

Ellen nodded, but doubts lingered in her blue eyes. “Yes. You’re right. But I’m looking forward to being assigned far from Desert Valley. You know that old saying, absence makes the heart grow fonder. I’m hoping that will prove to be true.”

Gina hurt for the apparent rift between Ellen and Marian.

“Ladies?” Shane called from the bottom of the stairs. “Do you need some help?”

Gina rolled her eyes. “Impatient much?” she muttered.

Ellen smiled. “It’s a guy thing.”

“Or just a Shane thing,” Gina quipped as she zipped the suitcase. She’d noticed during training that he wanted things to progress at a swifter pace. She’d had to remind him training was a process that couldn’t be rushed. She supposed he was anxious to get back to the city. Apparently country life wasn’t to his liking.

Gina picked up her suitcase and followed Ellen and Carly down the stairs. She retrieved her cell phone from the charger sitting on the hall table. The one she hadn’t had time to grab before running for her life.

Once they were out of the house, Gina thanked Ellen for her help. She climbed into James’s truck along with Shane. The two dogs hopped into the canopied truck bed and lay down. James latched the tailgate in place but left the windows open for airflow.

Sandwiched between the two men, Gina could hardly believe her life had taken such a drastic turn in such a short amount of time. Her brother had attacked her, her boss had been murdered, and now she’d been displaced from her home and put under the protection of two handsome men. One who made her heart flutter despite how much she tried to quell her attraction.

Could her life get any more complicated?

A loud thunk echoed inside the cab of the truck, sending a jolt of fear through Gina. “What was that?”

FOUR

James brought the truck to an abrupt halt and jumped out, leaving the driver’s-side door open.

Shane’s heart hammered in his chest. He gripped Gina’s hand. His gaze raked over her. “Are you hurt?” He had to yell over the frantic barking of the two dogs in the truck bed.

Her hazel eyes were wide and her pretty face pale, but otherwise she appeared unharmed. “No. I don’t think so.”

Ellen’s vehicle pulled up behind them, her headlights shining through the window.

James jumped back in the cab of the truck. “An arrow,” he said as he hit the gas. The truck shot forward.

The two words sent a shiver down Shane’s spine.

James drove quickly to the police station, with Ellen close behind, and parked in front of the doors. Shane jumped out and hustled Gina inside. Bucks was manning the desk.

“Keep an eye on her,” Shane told the officer before running back outside just as James dropped the tailgate and both dogs jumped out. Bella ran to Shane’s side.

Shane moved closer to see what had struck the truck. Protruding from the front of the truck bed, just below the rear window, was indeed an arrow. But not the kind found in archery. This was steel, a long bolt with yellow fetching. The kind meant for killing.

The blood drained from Shane’s head. He gripped the edge of the truck bed. A couple of inches higher and the bolt would have gone through the window, right into Gina’s skull.

Or the projectile could have easily hit one of the dogs. But thankfully, both were uninjured.

Was this the work of Gina’s brother? Why would he change weapons from a gun to a crossbow? Hadn’t Gina said he’d had a knife, too? They had a well-armed fugitive in their town.

James hooked Hawk to his lead. The bloodhound lifted his nose to the air and howled. “We’re going hunting. The keys are in the ignition if you need to move the truck. Hawk and I will meet you at the condo.”

“Be careful,” Shane advised.

“Roger that.” James and Hawk took off, trailing a scent, and disappeared from view.

Ellen approached from where she’d parked her vehicle. “Did you see the shooter?” Shane asked.

“Shooter?” Her blues eyes darted to the arrow then back to him. “Is Gina okay?”

“Yes, she’s inside.” Shane moved back to the cab and ran a hand over the back of the seat. Applying a little pressure on the backrest, he could feel the sharp tip of the arrow where it had gone through the metal of the truck. So close. He breathed out a prayer of thanksgiving.

Another inch and the arrow absolutely would have skewered Gina in the back.

Clearly someone wanted her dead. It seemed her story about her brother was true.

Gina came out of the police station with Bucks hot on her heels. “Someone tell me what’s happening.”

Shane glared at Bucks.

He raised his hands. “Hey, I couldn’t stop her.”

Gina spotted the arrow sticking out of the back of the cab and gasped. The moon’s glow shone on her face, creating shadows in the contours of her cheekbones. “Do you think... Did Tim do this?”

He wouldn’t sugarcoat the truth. “Unless there’s someone with a vendetta against the trainers, which I doubt, I can’t think of anyone else who wants you dead. Can you?”

She wrapped her arms around her middle. “No. And I didn’t kill Veronica. Tim must have. Don’t you see that?”

“Come on, let’s get you back inside.” Shane placed his hand to the small of her back. He didn’t like her standing outside, making herself an easy target if her brother had followed them to the station. “I’m sorry I jumped to a hasty conclusion.”

Gina’s glance lanced across his face like a laser. “So you believe me now?”

Innocent until proven guilty. The evidence to suggest she was the culprit was circumstantial at best. It was more likely that her brother had killed Veronica. “Yes.”

Some of her tension visibly released.

Once they were all in the lobby of the station, Ellen logged in the evidence bag filled with Gina’s clothes and then said good-night before heading home. Keeping Gina close, Shane asked Bucks to dust the arrow for prints.

“Hey, I don’t work for you,” the older officer grumbled.

The chief stepped out of his office. “What’s the trouble?”

Bucks shot Shane a venomous look. “He’ll explain.” He marched off.

“On our way here from Gina’s house a bolt from a crossbow pierced the cab,” Shane explained. “I asked Officer Bucks if he’d dust the arrow for prints.”

Chief Jones’s jaw hardened. “Seems your brother is determined.”

“Yes, sir,” Gina murmured as she sank onto a bench.

Bella went to her and put her chin on Gina’s knees.

“Thank the Lord above none of you were hurt,” Earl said. He’d seemed to age in the past few hours. The lines around his mouth and eyes were deeper, adding to his haggard look. Undoubtedly, Veronica’s murder was hitting the man hard. “This has been a horrific night for our town. We’ve seen more crime in the past six hours than we’ve had in five years...since Melanie Hayes’s unsolved murder.”

Ryder Hayes’s wife, Melanie, had been gunned down on a wooded path near the couple’s house on the eve of the big annual Canyon County Police Dance and Fundraiser. Robbery was the suspected motive, since Melanie’s purse had gone missing.

Shane had also heard about two other mysterious deaths. Each on the night of the annual dance and fundraiser event, and each a year apart. But both fatalities had been deemed accidents.

The chief rubbed his chin. “Tonight makes retirement that much more enticing.”

Back home in Flagstaff, this night would have seemed tame to Shane’s dad and brothers. “Did the canvass around the training center yield anything useful in determining who killed Veronica?”