Valerie Hansen - Detecting Danger

She sank into the closest chair and cradled her head in her hands. Although she would have welcomed the release brought by tears, there were none. Numbness and disbelief filled her to overflowing, leaving room for nothing else.

Her first change of identity, when she’d fled Florida as a teen, had been easy compared with what she was facing now. She had often tried to imagine what it would be like to have to abandon nursing and relocate again, but nothing had prepared her for the chilling reality she now acknowledged.

Her murderous father had tracked her down. Life as she’d known it was over. Period.

* * *

Isaac was driving himself toward headquarters when his captain radioed Daniella’s home address.

“That’s right on my way,” he replied. “Okay if Abby and I make a stop there, first?”

“Officially?”

“Not exactly. Our mysterious woman may be more willing to fill in some information gaps if I approach her casually.”

“It’s worth a try. I’ve already checked with the hospital. She stayed on duty all night so she should be at home now. Just keep us posted. I don’t want you going off the grid.”

“Who? Me?”

McCord laughed. “Yes, you. Remember that case last fall when you forgot to radio your position and almost got yourself killed before backup could reach you?”

“That was an exception. Getting hurt at the scene last night was not my fault, either,” Isaac insisted, noting the dull throbbing in his injured calf. “I followed all the rules precisely. Somebody obviously breached the police security lines after Abby and I checked. If she hadn’t acted funny we might have ended up with a lot more casualties.”

“You’ll get no argument from me on that score,” his captain said.

“Good. Listen. I’m almost to the nurse’s. I’ll have my cell and Abby with me but I’m leaving the rest of my gear in the unit.”

“You sure that’s wise?”

“Hey, you didn’t find any connection between her and terrorists, did you?”

“Not in the last ten years, no.”

“Then I’m not taking much of a chance.” Besides, I kind of like her , he added silently. If there had been anything nefarious about her he figured he would have sensed it—and if he hadn’t, Abby would have. Of all the partners he’d ever had, human or otherwise, it was the little beagle he trusted the most. People could be swayed by appearances. Dogs looked beyond the obvious and into a person’s true heart.

Slowing as his GPS led him to the address, Isaac pulled into the driveway of an apartment complex. McCord had told him Daniella Dunne lived on the first floor. A mailbox check showed names posted for the other occupants but not for her. That, alone, would have struck him as strange. Coupled with the information he’d gotten from headquarters, it stood out like a red flag.

Her apartment sat at the end of a long interior corridor, next to the rear exit door. Isaac called Abby to heel and limped toward it, mentally preparing an opening line to relax the nurse.

He’d paused at her door when he heard a voice inside. Good. The woman was home. If she failed to respond to his knock he’d have further proof that there was something odd about her.

Isaac raised his fist.

At his side, Abby edged backward.

He was frowning and looking down at his dog when the door was yanked open and Daniella barreled into him so hard he almost lost his balance.

His arms flew out to steady them both. All he managed to say was “Hey...” when she let out a screech that could have made her the star of a horror movie!

“Whoa,” Isaac said, grabbing hold of her upper arms while Abby’s leash went flying. “Take it easy. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

The emerald eyes that were staring into his dark gaze reflected so much raw fear he was taken aback. Her scream had become a whimper and tears were beginning to slide down her flushed cheeks.

As unexpectedly as she’d crashed into him, she flung both arms around his neck and held on as if he were her only lifeline from a sinking ship.

Astounded, he nevertheless embraced her gently. “Easy. I’ve got you. What’s wrong?”

All the answer he got was the sound of her gasping for breath, so he turned to place himself between her and the open apartment door. “Is there somebody else inside?”

Daniella shook her head emphatically, then seemed to come to her senses. “I—I have to get out of here.”

“What’s the hurry?” he asked, holding her away by cupping her shoulders.

She blinked rapidly and swiveled her head to look up and down the hallway before she said, “Because he’s coming.”

“Who is?”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“Whoa. Slow down and start from the beginning. Why are you so scared?”

“He—he threatened to kill me.”

“When? Why?”

“A long time ago. I put him in jail.”

That was enough information for Isaac to make a sensible decision. He slipped an arm around her shoulders and held her protectively. “Okay. Where do you want to go?”

“Away. Anywhere he can’t find me.”

“I’ll drive.”

Daniella twisted out of his grip. “No. I need my own transportation, at least until I can get something untraceable.”

“Then Abby and I will follow you,” he insisted. “Where are you parked?”

“In the back. The blue car right there.” She pointed through the heavy glass of the outside door.

Isaac scooped up the dog’s leash. “All right. We’ll go first and make sure there’s nobody lying in wait. You stay here until I give the okay.”

Surveying the parking area until he was satisfied it was deserted, he pulled his smaller holdout gun from the ankle holster he always wore and started toward the parked cars. If Daniella was telling the truth, it was his duty to protect her. If she was making up stories in order to evade law enforcement, his job was to keep track of her. Either way, she was not getting out of his sight.

Isaac cautiously drew closer to Daniella’s vehicle.

He felt a tug on Abby’s leash.

When he looked back and saw the determined little dog firmly planted in a sitting position and staring straight at the blue sedan, he realized his canine partner had just saved at least two lives: his and the frightened woman’s.

Abby was never wrong. There was no doubt. Someone had planted an explosive device in the nurse’s car.

* * *

Waiting at the door, Daniella saw the officer returning rapidly and interpreted his closed, somber expression as either anger or angst. In a smooth motion, he encircled her with one arm and had her back inside her apartment without time for discussion, let alone argument.

“I want you to stay put for right now, understand?”

“No. I told you. I have to leave.”

“Not in that car, you don’t.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder to indicate her sedan. “I’ve notified local police. I’m going back outside with my dog to guard the scene until the regular officers relieve me. After that, we can go wherever you want.”

“Police? What are they for? I already told you...”

“I don’t care what you did or who’s after you, lady. Pull yourself together and listen to me. My dog sensed a problem in or around your car, and nobody is going to touch it until the bomb squad has had a chance to look it over. Am I clear?”

She wanted to answer verbally but her body refused to cooperate. There was no breathable air in the apartment. The walls were closing in on her.

She staggered back until she felt her legs contact the front edge of the sofa cushions, then plopped down on them with a whoosh. Her jaw hung slack. Her eyes refused to focus properly. This was even worse than she’d imagined. If Isaac Black had not arrived at just the right moment, she’d have gotten into her car, just as her mother had, and then...