Love Inspired Suspense July 2015 #1 (7 page)

Which is totally unfair
, she chided herself, realizing she was being unreasonable—and not liking the picture of herself as a petulant, spoiled child.

Finally she said, “All right, Officer Black. You win. We'll do it your way. Just take me back to find my cat. Please?”

“Of course. As long as you promise to behave reasonably from now on.”

Daniella raised her right hand as if taking a solemn oath. “I hereby promise to be reasonable about the rescue of my pet, Puddy.” She grinned slyly with a telltale twitch of mirth at the corners of her mouth.

Any vow she took was meant to be kept and there was no way she'd ever agree to promise to do things the officer's way forever. Just getting through the following few days was going to be hard enough without placing further restrictions on her thoughts and actions.

She was her own woman. She'd already given up just about everything that mattered to her. She was
not
going to walk away from her dearest furry friend. Not if she could help it.

SEVEN

I
saac kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Daniella was behaving so well during their outing back into DC she worried him. Knowing her the way he thought he did, he kept wondering what kind of stunt she was planning to pull before she eventually escaped from Virginia. And from his protective custody.

He wasn't kidding himself. The pretty nurse was not foolish, nor was she fearless. Somewhere between those two extremes was the real Daniella Dunne.

“I've contacted the patrol that was watching your building,” Isaac told her. “They haven't seen any suspicious activity.”

“Watching it how?”

“Drive-bys and a few closer inspections. They couldn't afford to put men on it 24/7 since no one was actually hurt there.”

“I could have been!”

“Yes, but you weren't. Now, settle down. There's no use getting mad at me. I'm not in charge.”

“If I'd been a congressman like Jeffries they'd have guarded my apartment.”

“That bomb at his press conference was detonated,” Isaac reminded her. One glance told him she was beginning to adjust to hearing discussions of explosives and such. When he'd first met her she'd blanched and looked unsteady every time the subject had come up. Now she was actually chatting about the subject. Sort of.

“True. I don't suppose there's a snowball's chance in July of the two bombs being made by the same person.”

His head snapped around. “Why do you ask? Do you think they were?”

“How should I know?” She was studying him intently. “Wait a minute.
You
think they were, don't you? You've suspected him ever since you found out he wasn't in prison anymore.”

“I never said that.”

“You didn't have to.” Daniella's voice rose. “I can see it in your face. What did the lab reports say?”

“I couldn't tell you if I knew.”

She slumped back on the passenger seat of the SUV and folded her arms across her chest. “Fine. Don't admit anything. I'll make educated guesses.”

“Okay. And while you're at it, maybe you can figure out why your father might have anything to do with wanting to harm a congressman.”

Isaac saw her begin to frown before she said, “He wouldn't. Our family came from Florida, as you probably already learned when you checked out my father's arrest record. The only politicians I heard anything about when I was a kid were local, and those changed regularly because they were voted in and out of office.”

“I suppose it's possible he taught others how to assemble the devices while he was in prison.”

Daniella huffed. “Or they learned from the internet. There's nothing that can't be found on there if you search long enough.”

“Unfortunately, you're right.” He slowed as they approached her apartment and inclined his head toward it. “Looks peaceful.”

“Looks can be deceiving.”

“You an expert?”

“Yes. I've learned the hard way that it's best to trust no one.”

“You're exaggerating.”

Her eyebrows arched. “Am I?”

Pulling parallel with the curb, Isaac stopped the SUV. “Here's what we'll do. You wait while I check the hallway and parking areas with Abby. Then we'll go inside together and let her get a whiff of your place from the doorway.”

“And then what?”

Isaac could tell his companion was getting testy but it couldn't be helped. He was there to keep her safe and that's precisely what he intended to do.

“Then we talk it over and decide what our next step will be.”

“Meaning, you intend to go first and scare my poor cat again. I can't say I'm thrilled about that.”

He'd opened the driver's door and placed one foot on the ground when he heard Abby whine and looked around to see why.

His jaw dropped. “Hey! Where do you think you're going?”

Daniella waved to him over her shoulder. She paused on the sparse lawn. “Hurry up and maybe I won't go in without you.”

If he hadn't been hurt he could have easily overtaken her, even if she'd tried to get away. As things stood, however, he figured he'd better comply.

What he wanted was to shout at her for taking even one little step ahead, which, of course, was the direct opposite of the smart thing to do. The more he railed at her, the more likely she was to rebel.

Muttering to himself, Isaac grabbed the end of Abby's leash and joined Daniella, letting the dog lead them both down the hallway.

Abby began to bark before they'd gone all the way. Little wonder. The entrance to the apartment had been smashed in! The wooden jamb was splintered and the door hung half off its hinges.

Someone, somehow, had broken in despite the patrols. And they hadn't been particularly subtle about it.

* * *

Daniella gasped. “What? How?”

“Doesn't matter. Just stay back.”

She progressed from fear to righteous anger in mere moments. “How
dare
he!”

When she tried to push Isaac aside, she found him immovable. “Get out of my way! I have to go find my cat. He must be terrified.”

“That's not our biggest problem.” Isaac held on to her forearm and used a tilt of his chin to point to his dog before easing the broken door farther open.

Abby had not only stopped barking, she now sat very still with only her nose twitching, staring directly at the partially obstructed entrance.

“She—she thinks there's a bomb in there?” Daniella knew better than to question the well-trained canine's instincts, yet was having trouble wrapping her mind around reality.

“That would be my conclusion,” Isaac said. “I'm not happy she alerted, but I sure am happy you didn't go charging into the place ahead of us and blow yourself up. That would leave a terrible black mark on Abby's spotless record.”

Daniella rolled her eyes. “Sarcasm? Now?”

“May as well make fun of a narrow escape instead of letting it paralyze you. You're familiar with that kind of gallows humor in our professions. We've discussed it before.”

“Yeah. It's all that keeps us sane sometimes.” She gestured at the damaged door. “Well, go get it over with. I want my cat and I'm not leaving here this time until I find him.”

Daniella realized that Puddy could have escaped at any time after the break-in but chose to believe that the loud noise, plus whoever may have entered the apartment, would have sent him scampering for cover.

And now? Now it was possible that Isaac and Abby might be seriously hurt—or worse—merely doing their jobs. That thought spurred her to call after them, “Be careful. Both of you.”

It was bad enough to believe she'd inadvertently caused her mother's death. She didn't want the responsibility for others on her conscience, too.

She liked Isaac Black. Really liked him. Not only was he amusing and attractive, he loved animals, had a nice family and got along with just about everybody.

Picturing his life brought envy and she immediately quashed it. The man chased down bombs for a living. No matter how much he seemed to have going for him at present, his life was always on the line. Each new day would bring more dangers, more threats, more opportunities for one tiny error to steal all his blessings.

A world without him in it was unthinkable, yet there she stood, imagining that very thing and feeling... Feeling what? Loss? Loneliness? Hopelessness? All those and more. An overwhelming sense of bereavement cloaked her, heart and soul, making her shiver and causing actual physical pain.

Hugging herself, she began rocking and moaning inside, a silent warning trapped behind her closed lips.

It wasn't until Isaac was again standing beside her that she was able to marshal more self-control.

He holstered his weapon and gently touched her arm while the friendly beagle nudged her knees and begged to be petted.

“Are you all right?” he asked, leaning close to speak softly.

“I am if you are.”

Intent on hiding her worry and undue personal concern, Daniella figured she'd succeeded. However, the moment she let her gaze meet his and saw the same tender emotional connection reflected there, her confidence began to collapse like a lobbyist's backroom deal.

The final step in the destruction of her will was Isaac's sweet smile. There was something so special, so wonderful about it she could no longer keep her distance.

Without further thought she slid her arms around his neck and stepped into his embrace.

He steadied them both. “Whoa. What's all this?”

“You risked your life for me.”

As she felt his arms encircling her and pulling her closer, she heard him say, “In that case, lady, you're way behind. This is the second or third time I've rescued you. You owe me at least one more hug.”

That glib comment helped snap her out of her disconcerting tailspin. Leaning away, she gave him a playful smack on the shoulder and grinned. “Oh, yeah? Does everybody you protect reward you like this?”

Isaac's broad grin matched hers when he replied, “Nope. Only the damsels in distress.”

* * *

“Believe it or not, there was no real bomb. All Abby found was a crumpled paper bag that must have contained explosives at one time. It's empty now.”

“You're crazy! Why didn't you call the bomb squad?”

“Because a cat was batting the bag around your bedroom like it was a toy and chewing on it while he shredded it with his back feet. I figured, since it hadn't blown up the kitty, it was not dangerous.”

“Puddy? You saw him?”

Chuckling, he released her and followed with Abby, thoroughly enjoying the afternoon now that there was no impending danger. “Fine thing. You cancel my reward hug to go looking for a mangy old cat.”

“He's not mangy and he's only middle-aged in cat years.”

“Look in the bedroom,” Isaac said. “And try to get the bag away from him without touching it too much. I don't expect there to be many clues left but you never know. The lab techs might be able to get traces of something besides cat spit from it.”

Daniella dropped to her knees by the bed and lifted the side of the bedspread to peer beneath the box spring. Although she didn't indicate she'd even heard his instructions, she straightened with a big, furry, green-eyed black cat tucked under one arm and the remnants of the crumpled paper bag in the other.

“Is this what you wanted?” She held a ragged edge of the soggy paper between thumb and forefinger.

“That's it. Do you have a new plastic bag I can put it in? Otherwise we'll have to wait for our CSIs—crime scene investigators.”

“I know what CSI means. I watch TV.”

Isaac had to laugh. Daniella looked as proud as a cat presenting a dead mouse, and the real cat looked and sounded ready to pounce on poor Abby and tear her to shreds at the first opportunity.

“In the kitchen,” she said. “The cabinet to the right of the fridge.”

“Gotcha. Be right back.” He hesitated and eyed the hissing, growling animal in her arms. “Are you sure you can handle that monster?”

“We'll be fine. Just take the dog with you.”

“Gladly.”

In less than a minute he had located the correct cupboard and returned to hold out a large storage bag. “Drop it in here and it won't get damaged any more than it already is.”

“Sorry about what Puddy did. Are you positive there's nothing else in here that might be dangerous? I mean, suppose they brought a bomb in that bag? It could be anywhere.”

“We checked the entire apartment,” Isaac assured her, shaking his head for emphasis. “There is no danger, at least not in here. It would probably be a good idea to let Abs go over your car again if you intend to pick it up from the police impound yard.”

“Should I? Could I? I hadn't even considered it.”

“If that's what you want. However, I think you'll stay safer if you let me continue to chauffeur you for the present. We can't be sure nobody is watching for your car or maybe planted a bug on it, intending to track you down that way. Then again, I had it towed to the storage yard to convince them you'd moved away.”

“Good idea. Didn't you say I should stay at your house for the same reason?”

“Maybe. I don't recall.”

“You don't recall? Give me a break. You know exactly what you're doing every second of every day. If you didn't you'd have been killed long ago.”

“I think you're giving me too much credit.”

“And you're giving me too little! Aargh!”

Her guttural groan of anger and frustration made Isaac jump and startled the anxious cat enough that it wiggled out of her arms. To his surprise, Daniella allowed it to wander off, though she did keep an eye on it.

Giving voice to her emotions must have felt good because she continued making unintelligible grumbling sounds before she finally said, “That's it. I've had it. I'm done.”

“Done with what?”

“Being a victim,” she said flatly, blowing a noisy sigh. “It's over. I was a scared kid when all this started but I'm not a child anymore. I've built a career and made a comfortable place for myself. No despicable man, father or not, is going to drive me away from the roots I've put down. If Terence Fagan thinks he can scare me off, he has another think coming.”

“Whoa. Hold on,” Isaac interjected. “It's all well and good to stand up to evil, but you have to be sensible about it. Until we can put him back behind bars, you still need to be careful.”

“Fine. I'll report to the marshals and let them help me, but I'm going to make it clear that any relocation they arrange will only be temporary. I love my job here and, believe it or not, I love this city, even if it is full of politicians.”

Isaac arched his eyebrows and smiled at her. “Wow. I've never seen this side of you. You really are determined, aren't you?”