Page 3

THREE

W est mentally kicked himself for his impulsive offer to have Trisha and Gabriel stay at his place. It was watching her pack the food together, as if she and the baby were going on vacation for two weeks rather than a couple of days. That and he wasn’t sure how many of the hotels in the area had kitchenettes. Besides, after seeing the intruder lurking near her home, he didn’t think it would be wise to have Trisha stay alone with her son.

He’d have to get over it. This little arrangement wouldn’t last for long. He’d asked the officers who’d responded to the break-in to keep an eye on her place. Hopefully this guy would come back to finish what he’d started so they could arrest him.

He hadn’t liked how silently the perp had accessed her house. Lock picking wasn’t as easy as it looked on TV. Whoever had gone inside and managed to subdue a former cop was likely a professional.

“Could your ex-husband be involved?”

Trisha sighed and shrugged. “I don’t know why he would be. Bryan didn’t have a criminal record. He was a lousy husband and had no desire to be a father, but to resort to breaking and entering, and assault and battery? That seems a bit much.”

She would know better than anyone, yet in his mind, the guy was a loser. “Maybe he picked up his criminal habits after he left you.”

“Anything is possible.” She stared out the passenger side window, then turned in her seat, craning her neck to look at her son. Reassured he was sleeping, she settled back. “It doesn’t make sense, though. Bryan has no reason to break in to search for a key. A key to what? I don’t have any valuables that have been locked up or anything like that.”

“When did you last see him?” Talking about the break-in was easier than talking about personal stuff. He pulled into the driveway of his house and hit the garage door opener. In the rear crate, Peanut lifted her head, recognizing they were home.

He’d rather work with dogs over people any day.

“He walked out when I was barely two months pregnant. Left his house key and divorce papers on the table. If I didn’t contest the divorce, I was able to keep custody of Gabriel and the house.” She shrugged. “I signed them and that was the end of that.”

“Did he smoke?”

“Never.” She frowned. “I know he could have started the habit. But I still think someone else broke into the house. Not Bryan.”

He shut down the engine and released his seat belt. “Let’s go inside. Grab the diaper bag but leave the rest for me.”

“Thanks, that’s very nice of you.”

He let Peanut out first, giving the K-9 time to do her business, then reached for Gabriel’s car seat. He couldn’t imagine Trisha lugging it around, although obviously she was no weakling. Passing the physical for the police department required a high level of strength and fitness.

Gabriel squirmed in his car seat as he carried the boy inside. The baby lifted chubby fists, rubbing at his eyes. West had to admit, the kid was cute.

Not that being cute meant he wanted one of his own.

Trisha took Gabriel from the car seat, cradling him close. Then picked up the portable crib. “I’ll get him settled in the guest room.”

“Help yourself. It’s the first bedroom on the right.” Glancing at his watch, he realized it was going on eleven thirty at night. His stomach rumbled with hunger, and he decided to make a quick snack. Okay, maybe cooking a pizza was more than a snack, but he was hungry. And Trisha might be, too.

He had the pizza in the oven and was petting Peanut, praising her for a job well done, when Trisha returned. “I’m so glad Gabriel is a good sleeper.”

“I threw in a frozen pizza if you’re hungry.” He watched as she began unpacking the food from the box, putting everything neatly on one end of the counter.

“That sounds great.” She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Tomorrow morning, I’ll need to head to the precinct to talk to Captain Ross. I’ll have to take a couple of vacation days if Laurel can’t babysit.”

“I’m sure the captain won’t mind.” He stood at the other side of his counter, wondering why his house suddenly seemed ridiculously small. Having Trisha there knocked him off balance.

“I hope Laurel’s not hurt too badly.” She rubbed her temple. “I hate that she was hurt trying to protect my son.”

“She’s a cop at heart, remember?” He smiled reassuringly. “I get the impression she’s tough. She’ll pull through this.”

“Yeah. I know.” She lifted her gaze to meet his. “I just wish I knew what was going on.”

He nodded. “We’ll dig into this first thing tomorrow, starting with your ex. See if he’s been in the area recently.”

“We?” She smiled. “Thanks, but this is my problem. You have the gun runners to focus on.” She peeked into the oven. “Looks like the pizza is ready.”

“Great.” He was relieved to have something to do. He removed the pizza and sliced it. Trisha grabbed plates and glasses from the cupboard.

Soon they were seated at the breakfast bar. She bowed her head to pray. “Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for this food we are about to eat. We also thank You for keeping us all safe in Your care. Amen.”

There was a brief hesitation before he echoed, “Amen.” He took a bite of his pizza. “Hmm.”

They ate in silence for a few moments, Peanut curled on the floor at his feet. He wondered if the K-9 missed Kenyon. She seemed to have adapted to living with him, but there were times she stared out the window as if waiting for Kenyon to return.

“Thanks, this really hit the spot.” Trisha stood and carried her empty plate to the sink. “I should try to get some sleep. Good night.”

“Good night.” He stayed where he was, telling himself he was imagining the shimmering awareness between them.

He needed to stay focused on the threat of danger. Not on how pretty Trisha was. Relationships were not his strength, as his former girlfriend had pointed out. Besides, the last thing he wanted was a ready-made family.

He finished his pizza, then quickly cleaned up the kitchen. After letting Peanut out one more time, he led the beagle to his room. Despite his physical exhaustion, sleep did not come easily.

West’s phone chirped at the early hour of seven thirty. With a groan he rolled over to see his boss’s name on the screen. “Hey, Captain.”

“Cole. Can you be in this morning by nine thirty?” His boss got straight to the point. “The ATF will be here.”

He swallowed a groan, imagining the case flying out of his reach. Peanut lifted her head, her tail thumping in greeting. It made him smile. “Yeah. I’ll be there.” He swung into a sitting position, prying his eyes open. “By the way, there was a break-in at Trisha McCord’s home last night. Perp assaulted and tied up the babysitter to search the place.”

Ross let out a whistle. “That’s not good. You think it’s related to the gun trafficking?”

“I don’t see how.” The thought was intriguing but didn’t make sense. “Petey and his accomplice wouldn’t know where Trisha lives. And the attack was too soon after we chased them into the woods. This perp was searching for a key.”

“Okay, we’ll talk more about that later. See you in two hours.” Ross ended the call.

A quick shower made him feel slightly better. He dressed casually, feeling certain the case would be taken off his hands. “Ready to go out, Pea?” Living alone meant talking to the dog as if she could understand every word. He opened the door of his room, surprised to hear sounds from the kitchen.

“Such a good boy,” Trisha crooned. “You like your cereal and bananas, don’t you? Yes, you do.”

She was up and so was the baby. The scent of coffee was enticing. He headed down the hall toward the front door to let Peanut outside.

“Good morning,” Trisha said. “I hope we didn’t wake you.”

“You didn’t.” He gave her a nod. “Captain called, wants me to head to the precinct by nine thirty to meet with the ATF.”

“Okay. If you don’t mind, I’ll catch a ride with you. My car is at the precinct.” She filled a mug with coffee and set it on the breakfast bar. “I made scrambled eggs and toast.”

“Thanks.” He was glad she’d made herself at home, even if he wasn’t entirely comfortable with the arrangement. He let Peanut back inside, then filled her food and water dishes, his elbow brushing Trish’s at the sink.

“Bahwabubbah.” Gabriel waved his arms as he babbled nonsense.

He kept his distance, trying to stay out of the way as Trisha finished feeding her son and scooped scrambled eggs and toast onto a plate for him. Multitasking at its best.

The kitchen was crowded, but he couldn’t complain about being served breakfast. “This is great.”

She flashed a smile. “Figured it was the least I could do since we’re invading your personal space.”

“Much appreciated.” West hoped he hadn’t made her feel unwelcome, as that wasn’t his intent. He just wasn’t used to this sort of thing. He’d been alone for a long, long time.

She must have already eaten, because she wiped Gabriel’s hands and mouth, then lifted him out of the car seat. “I’ll change him, then we should be ready to go.”

They weren’t in a rush, so he finished his breakfast, then took the time to clean up the kitchen, listening as Trisha spoke to Gabriel. Much the way he spoke to Peanut, he thought with a wry smile. An hour later, they were settled in his SUV, Peanut in the back sniffing Gabriel through the grate with interest.

The drive to the precinct didn’t take long. He carried Gabriel inside, with Peanut trotting along at his side. He was a few minutes early, so he quickly wrote up his report on the break-in at Trish’s home. Trisha leaned over his shoulder, helpfully adding details. He tried not to be distracted by her alluring citrusy scent.

When that was finished, he and Trisha parted ways. He took Peanut with him to the conference room, surprised to see there were several people with K-9s, most of whom he didn’t recognize, along with ATF agent Daniel Slater and his K-9—a Great Dane called Dakota. The ATF was housed on the third floor of their police station, and he’d worked with the pair before. West nodded at Slater and Ross, wondering what was going on.

“Thanks for getting here so quickly,” Ross said. His captain swept his gaze over the room. “I’m sure you’re wondering why we’ve asked all of you to drop everything to get here. I’ll turn the meeting over to ATF Agent Slater.”

“Thanks, Captain.” Slater stood, his expression serious. “Last night, thanks to the great work of the PCPD—Detective West Cole, his K-9, Peanut, and Patrol Officer McCord, we have taken forty-eight weapons off the street. Unfortunately, the two armed perps escaped. Last night, I was granted permission to form a multiagency task force to track down these arms dealers once and for all.” Slater swept his gaze around the room. “And I’ve asked you all here because we would like each of you to play an active role in this mission.”

West hoped his jaw drop wasn’t too obvious. “That’s great news,” he managed, thrilled the case wasn’t flying out of his hands after all.

“I’d like to take a moment to introduce everyone,” Slater said. “Please know we handpicked the members of our new DGTF, Dakota Gun Task Force, based on areas of expertise, by both human and K-9 officers. I’ll be the team leader, with Ross as our captain, but I want everyone to feel as if they have input into how to accomplish this task.”

There were nods and murmurs of agreement through the room.

“Detective West Cole and his K-9, Peanut—her expertise is critical in that she alerts to gunpowder and gun oil,” Slater said gesturing toward him. “US Marshal Gracie Fitzpatrick and her K-9, Bane.” He gestured toward a woman with long brown hair sitting beside her Belgian Malinois. “Bane is an excellent tracker, and Gracie has been instrumental in finding other fugitives. Then we have Sheriff’s Deputy Zach Kelcey from Keystone, South Dakota, and his K-9, a black Lab named Amber who specializes in search and rescue.”

A tall man with thick brown hair nodded at the group.

“Lucy Lopez—” Slater gestured to a pretty woman with shoulder-length brown hair and large brown eyes “—is from Fargo, North Dakota, she and her K-9, a springer spaniel named Piper, are experts in bomb detection.” Daniel Slater frowned. “We recently lost Kenyon Graves to a bomb explosion and fear we may run into more explosive devices.”

Again, there were several nods of acknowledgment around the room.

“Liam Barringer is an FBI agent from Bismarck, North Dakota. He specializes in homicide investigations, and his K-9, a male bloodhound named Guthrie, specializes in cadaver detection.” The fed was tall and muscular with sandy brown hair. “Jenna Marrow is also from Fargo, North Dakota. Her German shepherd, Augie, is trained in scent detection and suspect apprehension,” Slater continued, gesturing to a woman with long brown hair and blue eyes.

West was impressed with the variety and talented skills of those gathered here in the conference room. For the first time in months, he was confident that by working together they’d bring Kenyon’s killers to justice.

“Last but not least, K-9 Officer Jack Donadio has a chocolate Lab named Beau who specializes in electronics detection, although they are on desk duty due to his recent injury,” the ATF agent continued. West noticed the cane propped against the table beside Donadio and remembered how he’d been shot during a drug bust. “Jack will help file paperwork for us, obtaining search warrants and the like. We also have full access to Tech Analyst Cheyenne Chen, who works out of this precinct.” Slater clicked his pen in his hand as Cheyenne nodded to the group. Dan took a moment to glance around the room. “Any questions?”

There was a long moment of silence as the group digested the information.

“When can we get started?” West asked.

Slater nodded. “I knew you’d be anxious to get to work. But I forgot to mention one thing. We’re swearing each of you in as federal officers for the duration of this task force. That way you can cross state lines to follow leads.”

West sat back in his chair, resting his hand on Peanut’s silky head, honored to be included in this new task force.

Now they just had to find the bad guys and toss them in jail where they belonged.

After setting Gabriel’s car seat down, Trisha lifted him out and rested him on her hip. Captain Ross was busy, so she’d had to wait to speak with him.

Her shift didn’t start until three o’clock that afternoon, and she considered asking her sister to watch Gabriel. Yet it wasn’t as if Raina didn’t have her hands full with Kenyon’s three-year-old twin boys, Beacon and Austin. Adding one more baby to the mix might be enough to push her sister over the edge. Especially since she had recently added a beagle puppy, Chewy, to the mix.

She bit her lip, trying to come up with another alternative. There was a day care in town, but she knew they were understaffed, much like many places in the city were. Still, she may have little choice but to give it a try.

“You’d probably like friends to play with, wouldn’t you?” She tucked a strand of Gabriel’s reddish hair off his cheek. He’d gotten her red hair, but his father’s blue eyes. Thinking of Bryan took her back to the intruder in her house last night.

Could her ex have hurt Laurel? And searched her house for a key? It was difficult to comprehend, especially after fourteen months of not hearing a peep out of him, but she was at a loss as to who else would do such a thing.

Carrying Gabriel to the closest desk, she dropped into the chair and settled her son on her lap. With one hand, she used the mouse to bring up a search engine. It would be smart to check Bryan’s criminal record. She knew for a fact he had been clean when she’d met him. Like every cautious woman, she automatically checked the backgrounds of the guys she dated.

At least, she used to. Dating was no longer an option.

The only court document that popped up under Bryan’s name was their divorce. She stared at the information there, realizing her address was listed in the court records.

A chill snaked down her spine. Anyone looking for Bryan could find her, too. Is that what the perp had done? If so, that still didn’t explain why he would search her house for a key.

She tried a general search for her ex, but nothing popped up. Even when she checked social media, it appeared Bryan had taken his profiles down.

Because he hadn’t wanted any memories of their time together? Nah, he wasn’t the sentimental type.

Yet he could be hiding something.

She told herself not to jump to conclusions. After all, she really had no evidence that Bryan was involved. Then again, she had no proof he wasn’t.

“Trish?” She turned to find Captain Ross striding toward her. She quickly rose to her feet, setting Gabriel on her hip. “I heard about the break-in at your home. I’ve taken you off the schedule for today, and you have the next two days off anyway, since you worked the weekend.” His brows were furrowed with concern. “If you need more time than that, please let me know.”

“Thanks, Captain.” She offered a lopsided smile. “I’m most upset at how the perp attacked my babysitter.”

“I can understand,” he agreed. “Will she be okay?”

“Yes. I called the hospital first thing this morning and was told her condition was stable. They’re keeping her today and overnight for observation.” Laurel had insisted she was fine and ready to go home, but Trisha was secretly relieved the docs were keeping a close eye on her friend.

He nodded. “Let me know if you need anything. Oh, and nice work last night.”

She tried not to blush when all she’d really done was perform a routine traffic stop. One that ended up being anything but routine. “Thank you, sir. Has either perp been located yet?”

“No.” Her boss frowned. “I’m sure you’ll hear through the grapevine anyway, but we’re putting a multiagency task force together to find them and the ringleaders.”

“That’s wonderful news.” And now she understood why West had been asked to come in. She told herself she would be fine on her own now that he’d be busy with task force duties.

“Yeah, hopefully we’ll get to the bottom of this very soon.” Ross sighed, then patted Gabriel on the back before returning to his office. She sat back down in the chair, wondering if she should wait for West or head off on her own. She wasn’t afraid to be alone in the daylight, and he was obviously busy.

She took another moment to search on her ex-husband to no avail. For all she knew, Bryan had found work somewhere else. His last job, at the Rocking K Ranch, had ended rather abruptly. She took a moment to look into the ranch, owned by a man named Klinger. There was one outstanding loan in which legal action had been taken, indicating Klinger was having cash flow issues. Likely he was land rich and cash poor like many ranchers.

Having no other leads, she looked up local locksmiths. There was a place called Louie’s Locksmith that offered quick services.

She called Louie’s and asked him to meet at her place. He readily agreed. Feeling better about taking action to keep her son safe, she rose to her feet. No point in sticking around here. She took a moment to bundle Gabriel in the car seat, then lifted him with both hands. “Let’s go chat with Louie’s Locksmith, shall we?”

“Trish? Where are you going?”

She turned to see West and Peanut heading toward her. “Oh, hi. I found a locksmith that’s just a few blocks from here. He’s meeting me at my place.” Over his shoulder, she noticed there were several other cops with K-9s leaving the conference room, too. They all must be a part of the newly formed task force. “Congrats on being included in the task force.”

“Thanks.” When he smiled, her stomach did a weird flip in her belly. She could honestly say she hadn’t seen West smile like that in a long time. He was generally ultra serious. “I’ll go with you to meet the locksmith.”

“Oh, uh, are you sure?” She hadn’t expected this. “Don’t you have things to do?”

“I’ve already been sworn in as a temporary federal officer.” He shrugged. “Sounds like we’re spreading out to patrol our respective areas and will be called in for specific tasks as needed. That gives me time to go along with you to meet the locksmith.”

“Okay, that works.” Who was she to argue?

“I’ll carry Gabriel.” He took the car seat from her. “You need a stroller or something easier.”

“I have a stroller in my car.” She hitched the diaper bag higher on her shoulder. “I should drive my own vehicle.”

“Hold off for now,” he suggested.

“Okay.” She figured it was easy enough to get a ride back to the precinct. Earlier that morning, West hadn’t paid much attention to Gabriel. Even her boss had patted him on the back. It was natural to interact with babies.

The lack of interest West showed Gabriel made her sad. Not that she expected her rookie crush to become anything more.

Still, she couldn’t help but believe West was missing out on something special. Her pregnancy hadn’t been planned, but having Gabriel was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

It took longer to get Gabriel into the back seat of West’s SUV, along with transferring the stroller from her car to his, than it did to head to her place. The locksmith truck was in her driveway, so West pulled over to park on the street. Gabriel chose that moment to begin to fuss.

“Will you head up to meet with the locksmith?” She instinctively sensed West wouldn’t want to take care of a crying baby. “I’ll join you in a minute.”

“Sure.” West jumped out of the car, released Peanut from the back and hurried toward the locksmith.

Cognizant of his comment about the stroller, she pulled it out and unfolded it. She placed Gabriel inside, tugging the strap tight and began to push his stroller up the sidewalk. A flash of movement caught the corner of her eye.

She turned in time to see a man with a ski mask covering his features rushing toward her in broad daylight! “No!” She couldn’t believe what was happening. She tried to step in front of her son, but the assailant ruthlessly shoved her to the ground. Her fingers grasped his sweatshirt, but he roughly jerked away. To her horror, he grabbed the stroller and ran off.

“No! Stop! Police!” She quickly scrambled to her feet, wincing with pain in her knee where it hit the concrete. Ignoring the discomfort, she hobbled after him. But thankfully, West had heard her shout and was already in hot pursuit, doing his best to close the gap.

Lord, give West the strength to save Gabriel!