Lynette Eason - Protective Custody

Nick raised a brow. “Let me check on the kids, and then we can talk.” He didn’t really need to check on them. He knew Debbie would take good care of them; however, their frightened faces wouldn’t leave his mind, and he needed to spend a little time reassuring them.

Carly nodded, and he headed upstairs to find Debbie sitting on the bed with Christopher in her lap. “I’ll take it from here.”

Debbie smiled and kissed the top of the boy’s head then scooted out from under him. “’Night, Chris.”

“’Night, Debbie.”

Nick placed a hand on her arm and said, “I appreciate your help. But I think it might be best if you went home until all of this is resolved.”

“But Nick…”

“I mean it, Debbie. I don’t want you in danger. Tonight just proved that these guys don’t care who’s around when they come after me. It’s not safe.”

She chewed her bottom lip, and her brows dipped in a hesitant frown. She glanced at Christopher then back at Nick. “All right, maybe you’re right. I guess—”

“No! No, she can’t leave!”

The cry came from the bed as Christopher shot straight up in protest.

Running feet sounded on the steps from outside the room. Nick stepped out of the bedroom and saw Carly at the landing, gun drawn. He waved her down and turned back to Christopher.

Grabbing the little boy up in his arms, he hugged him. Christopher snagged him around the neck and squeezed. “Please don’t make her leave, Uncle Nick, please.”

Nick’s heart nearly ruptured with a love so intense he had to close his eyes to gain control of his voice. Finally he said, “It’s okay, Christopher. I’ve got you.”

Still keeping his arms looped around his uncle’s neck, Christopher pulled back to look into Nick’s eyes. “I want Miss Debbie to stay. I need her. She makes me not be so scared.”

“Nick…” Debbie laid a hand on his shoulder, and he glanced up into her beseeching eyes. She licked her lips and said, “Let me stay. The kids have had enough.” She looked at Carly standing in the door and taking in the scene. “We’ve got protection. The kids need me….”

Nick pulled in a deep breath and shot a glance at Carly. She lifted a brow and gave a shrug as though to say it was up to him.

Debbie said, “And anyway, if they knew enough to find the generator, they probably know that I’m the nanny. They probably know a lot more than we think. What if they’ve been watching…” She paused and drew in a deep breath, her eyes cutting to the children. “If I leave, will they come after me even though I wouldn’t technically be employed here anymore?”

Carly rubbed her nose and looked at Nick. He blinked. “That’s a good question. What do you think, Carly?”

“I think she’s probably right. Her safest place might just be right here.”

Christopher relaxed against him. “Then she’s staying, right?”

Nick kissed the freckled cheek. “Yeah, little man, it looks like she’s staying.”

“Good. I can go to sleep now.”

Nicholas tucked the child in and escorted the two ladies from the room. Once back downstairs, he looked at Carly and said, “The only way to stop these people is not to give in to them. If I hand this case over to Debbie’s father, I’m just going to be passing the danger on to him. Or anyone else who takes it.”

“But it would take the danger off the kids, Nick. My dad isn’t afraid. He’d do it for your kids.” Debbie’s soft voice penetrated his muddled thoughts.

“They’re not after the kids. They’re after me.”

“What if the kids get caught in the crossfire?” Debbie persisted. Carly stayed quiet, and he couldn’t tell what she thought.

Maybe Debbie was right. Even though the children hadn’t been openly threatened, who knew if that would change?

“What if I sent them away? Somewhere safe?”

Carly frowned at him. “Where would you send them?”

Before he could answer, a low voice said, “No. I don’t want to be sent anywhere.”

Nick closed his eyes then opened them and turned to see Lindsey standing on the top stair, staring down at them. Her attitude was gone. In its place was a scared little girl. Lower lip trembling, she begged, “Don’t send us away, Uncle Nick. We’ll be safe with you.”

Nick bit back a groan and resisted the urge to grab his hair in both fists. What to do? Usually, decisions came easily to him. But this…the safety of the kids, the integrity of the case…

What should he do?

“I don’t think it would help to send them away,” Carly said. “There’s no guarantee they wouldn’t be followed or tracked down.” She shook her head. “No, it’s best they stay here where we can keep an eye on them. Besides—” she lowered her voice “—you and Debbie are their security right now. I don’t think it would be a good idea to take that away. Like you said, you’re the target, not them.”

Nick breathed a sigh of relief, and Lindsey shot Carly a grateful look.

He hated to admit he hadn’t wanted to be the one to make the decision. Uproot them and send them away and disrupt their young lives once more—even more so than having two U.S. Marshals move in—and have danger track them down. Or keep them here where danger might be just around the corner.

No, not a decision he was comfortable with either way.

He said, “If you can keep them safe, I’d prefer they stay here.”

She looked him in the eye. “Whoever is after you will have to go through me to get to them.”

Nicholas wasn’t surprised at Carly’s calm declaration. No, he was startled by his own reaction—that if it came down to her being in the line of fire, he’d make sure he was around to get her out of the way.

That settled, Carly swept past everyone and into the nearest bathroom off the kitchen. She fought the swirl of nausea in the pit of her stomach and gripped the sides of the sink.

She’d just promised to keep Lindsey and Christopher safe, and she had no idea who had just breached their defenses. Who? How? And what was she going to do about it?

She wanted to pray, ask for guidance, strength and protection, and yet she no longer felt that God was a resource for her. After Hank, her partner, mentor and friend, had been killed so senselessly, she’d thrown her hands up and told God she was done with Him because He never seemed to intervene when it was most needed. So why bother with Him?

“Why bother?” she whispered.

Turning on the cold water, she cupped her hands and splashed her face. Using the lightly scented hand towel, she dried off and stared at herself in the mirror. “You can do this,” she whispered. “You don’t need God or anyone else. This is your job. You’re good at it. So do it.” She narrowed her eyes. “And no romantic feelings for the judge, got it?”

Unfortunately, she didn’t think her heart was listening.

The knock on the door startled her, and she called, “Be right there.”

With one more look in the mirror, she decided she was presentable. She opened the door to find her partner on the phone. He hung up and asked, “Are you all right?”

“Yeah.”

Curiosity lit his eyes, and for a moment she thought he was going to ask more questions, but he didn’t, just shrugged and motioned her out of the bathroom.

“Is everything okay?” Nick asked from the doorway of the kitchen.

Carly forced a smile. “Everything’s fine. Are you ready to go over some of those rules?”

“Sure.” He gestured to one of the chairs at the kitchen table.

Mason said, “While you two do that, I’m going to patrol the grounds one more time.”

He left, and Carly sat on the cushioned seat. She leaned back into the wood slats that made up the back of the chair. “First of all, are the kids asleep?”