Dani stepped between them. “Kat has made her wishes known. There are four of us to work her protection detail now. Five, counting Tommy. Why don’t we focus on how we can help her out and still let her participate in this investigation?”

  “First off, we should move this discussion to the office,” Derrick suggested. “It’ll get Kat somewhere safe for now and F.E.D. will be able to do their job.”

  “Works for me,” Cole said, and looked at Mitch. “That okay with you?”

  Mitch nodded and Cole faced Derrick. “How about retrieving the vests from the car?”

  After a glance at Kat, Derrick gave a sober nod and left the house. Mitch couldn’t stand here and see Kat’s fisted hands or her stoic posture. He had to talk to her. To explain his reasoning for suggesting a safe house. He took her elbow to move her away so they could talk privately. She shook off his hand, but followed him.

  “You’re angry with me,” he said softly so the others wouldn’t hear.

  “You bet I am.” She didn’t keep her voice down at all and they turned to look at him. “It was bad enough that you called my family without asking me first, but then your comment about this afternoon? It was uncalled for and just plain mean.”

  She was right. He’d been mean when he’d only wanted to help. “That’s not how I meant it, Kat. It’s just this afternoon when I saw you there on the porch, I—” His voice broke so he stopped to get control of his emotions before going on. “I can’t let you get hurt again, Kat. I just can’t.”

  “I don’t care why you did it, you did it and I’m not sure I can ever trust you again.” Her voice was cold with anger.

  She walked away from him, and his gut twisted. He’d known she’d react badly, but the reality was far worse than he expected.

  Derrick came back inside carrying a pile of bulletproof vests and tossed them to everyone except Kat. He carried hers across the room. “I’ll help you so you don’t have to lift your injured arm.”

  “I can help her,” Mitch offered, but she wouldn’t even look at him.

  As Derrick slipped the vest over her head, Mitch stood there, waiting for a word, any word that she might forgive him. She didn’t say a thing.

  When her vest was settled, Mitch kept his tone light and smiled. “Ready to go?”

  “I’m riding with Cole.”

  “Don’t do this, Kat.”

  “Do what?” she whispered. “Go with someone else so you can’t boss me around every second of every day?”

  “I thought that was one of things that bothered you most about working with your family.”

  “They may not give me many dangerous assignments, but they don’t try to control my every move.” She walked away, her back rigid and strong.

  Cole had caught the interaction and stood watching them with his eyebrow lifted, but other than that, Mitch couldn’t read her brother’s face. He clearly hid his emotions well, like Mitch did. At least like Mitch did when Kat wasn’t around. She brought them all to the surface.

  Maybe it was a good idea for her to go with someone like Cole who could hold his feelings in check. For Mitch to stay here so no one was distracted by their personal issues. He listened as they planned the exit from the town house. The security detail sounded well thought out and obviously something they’d done many times before. Kat was safe with them.

  “You coming, Elliot?” Cole met Mitch’s gaze.

  “I’ll hang out here until F.E.D. arrives,” Mitch said, trying to sound convincing but hoping Kat would argue. She didn’t even turn to look at him so he said, “I’ll stop by the agency later.”

  “You okay with bringing her suitcase when you come?” Cole asked. “Frees up our hands.”

  Mitch nodded and watched them exit. The Justice family, strong, together and focused. All the things he’d failed to be for Kat. Despair swallowed him, just as it had earlier today when he saw Kat lying on the porch. His gut ached with emptiness, reminding him of the way he’d felt before getting to know her. The way he’d lived for so long and the way that thanks to a cute, spunky little woman, he’d never be able to go back to when this was all over. Trouble was, the fear of going forward still outweighed the sadness of the past.

  * * *

  As they moved toward Cole’s SUV, Kat knew how the filling in a sandwich felt. Derrick led the team, Cole moved close to her side and Dani brought up the rear. She’d worked this kind of transport detail before, just never as the protectee and it seemed odd.

  As they walked, routine took over and she kept her head on a swivel watching for the glint of a weapon or any movement in the trees. Despite her unease, nothing untoward happened and they settled in Cole’s car just as it started raining.

  “You okay, Kit Kat?” Cole glanced at her as he turned the ignition.

  “I’m fine,” she answered, even though the way he’d said her nickname so affectionately brought tears to her eyes.

  In less than a minute, their convoy—led by Derrick with Dani at the rear—was on the road. She looked out the window and watched the soft drizzle darken the pavement as mile after mile flew by. The gloomy afternoon was much like her mood. A few days and her life had fallen apart.

  How had everything gotten so screwed up so fast? How had she started to fall for a man so like her birth father? Mitch was so pushy and domineering that she never wanted to see him again and yet she had to concentrate hard to keep her eyes off him at the house.

  She sighed.

  “That bad, huh?” Cole gave her a quick glance.

  “Maybe worse.”

  “Want to tell me about it?”

  She swiveled toward him. “Why do some guys have to control every little thing?”

  “Some guys?” He laughed. “Don’t you mean most guys?”

  “Some are worse than others.”

  “I take it you’re talking about Elliot.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Sometimes it’s hard being a guy, Kat. We have to be tough to make it in the world. So being in charge becomes second nature. Especially for men in law enforcement. You know we’re taught to protect life at all costs. And that doesn’t usually give us a lot of time to think about the warm fuzzies of a situation. We just act.”

  “Are you lumping yourself in the same category as Mitch?”

  “Depends on what category you’re putting him in.” He cast an appraising look her way. “If you think he’s like your birth father, berating a woman and demeaning her until she does what he wants, then no, I’m not like that. But if you’re talking about doing everything within my power to protect someone I care about, then yes, I’m very much like that and you know it.”

  And that was what Mitch was like, too. Plus kind and warm, generous, and...she could go on and on, but she was beginning to sound like a woman falling in love and that didn’t sit well with her.

  “You know—” Cole gave her a long hard look “—you’re no different than Mitch. You want to control everyone around you, too.”

  “Funny, Cole.”

  “I’m not kidding. Whenever there’s the least bit of chance we could get hurt, you try to take charge. Even if it means not telling us a killer’s threatening your life.”

  “That’s different.”

  “Oh, really? Remember when you tried to warn off Jennie last year when she came back into Ethan’s life? If she would’ve listened to you, she and Ethan would never have gotten together again.”

  “Well...I...”

  “What’s the matter, Kat? Don’t like it when you see it in yourself?”

  “No... I mean...it’s just... It’s different. I do it out of love for you guys. Not just to push you around.”

  He clicked on his blinker and turned onto the tree-lined street that was home to their office. “Are you so sure Elliot’s just trying to push you around? Maybe he cares about you.”

  “He hardly knows me.”

  “Ahh, but that’s not stopping you from falling for him is it?”

  “It’s not like that.”

  “Then how is it?”

  She sighed. “I don’t know, Cole. I just don’t know anything anymore.”

  He laughed and parked in front of their office. “That, my little sister, is the first sign that you’re not really bothered by his behavior but more bothered by how you’re reacting to him.” He met her gaze again. “This is what you’ve always done in your relationships. You’re trying to push him out of your life. After seeing your father dominate your mother, you’re just too afraid to let a man have any power over you.”

  He jumped out, and Kat thought about Cole while waiting for her siblings to join them. Since coming back from Iraq, Cole could be counted on to cut to the quick of everyone’s issues but his own. He was so sullen and unhappy now, rarely cracking a smile or joking with them as he once had. He’d only been back from Iraq for a few weeks before their parents had been murdered. He could use some time by himself to sort things out and once this whole mess was over she’d talk to her siblings and stage an intervention to make sure he got that time.

  She was brought up short as she realized she was behaving just the way Cole had said—taking charge when it came to the people she wanted to protect. She pushed the thought away.

  He opened her door and they all hurried through the dropping temperature, the rain hitting her face as cold as ice pellets.

  “We’ll meet in the conference room,” Cole announced from the landing as the others tromped up the stairs.

  “You guys go ahead,” Dani said. “I’m going to place a pizza order.”

  “No black olives,” Derrick reminded his twin as if she didn’t already know all of his likes and dislikes.

  “I’ll make sure she gets the order right,” Kat said, hoping to talk with her sister. She grabbed Dani’s arm and steered her into the main office.

  Dani turned and raised a finely plucked brow. “What’s going on?”

  “Am I a control freak?” Kat asked.

  Her perfectly girly, perfectly ladylike sister snorted, then laughed, and Kat impaled her with a sharp stare.

  “Oh, wait,” Dani said, still smiling. “You’re serious.”

  “Of course I am.”

  “It’s just, I thought you knew that by now.”

  Kat put her hands on hips. “I realize I like things my way, but I’m not one of those people who takes over all the time, am I?”

  Dani’s brows rose again. “Why are you questioning this all of a sudden?”

  “I was talking to Cole about how Mitch is so bossy and decides everything for me. And Cole said I was just like Mitch.”

  Dani laid a hand on Kat’s shoulder. “I’m sorry if you don’t like hearing that, sweetie, but it’s true. At least when it comes to all of us.”

  “But that’s not a bad thing, is it?”

  “Depends, I guess. If you’re jumping in because you don’t trust God to work things out in His time and His way, then, yeah, it’s not only bad, it’s a sin.”

  “But He doesn’t want us to just sit around and do nothing. He gave us the ability to take care of ourselves.”

  “Of course, but He also doesn’t want us to step ahead of Him or worry about things that are out of our hands.” Dani paused and put her arm around Kat. “And you, my sweet sister, worry all the time.”

  She did. They were right. She tried to control things, and she did worry. Constantly. She didn’t trust God’s plans. Probably never had really trusted Him. And that was wrong. Sinful, like Dani said. She had to change.

  “Kat?”

  Maybe admitting the problem was the first step. “I really thought I was open to God’s plans for my life, but in all honesty, I try to take charge of things to protect myself from pain.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe I didn’t see how wrong it is.”

  “Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s difficult to trust that God knows what’s best when sometimes His best involves pain. We just have to take things one at a time.” She squeezed again, then let go. “And right now, our next thing is feeding the hungry horde known as our brothers. So let’s get that pizza ordered.” She logged on to the computer, and Kat perched on the desk and raised her face in prayer.

  Father, forgive me for worrying and not trusting You. Help me fully to trust You to do what is best for me. And Lord, if that means letting go and letting a man into my life, let me be open to that, too.

  She looked back at Dani. A lighthearted, trusting, accepting person. Someone Kat could use as a role model for learning how to leave her problems with God and let Him take charge. Even important life-altering things like asking God to help her be open to a relationship.

  Could she really trust that Mitch was the wonderful man he seemed to be?

  “This look okay to you?” Dani asked, pointing at the screen.

  Kat reviewed the order. “Looks good.”

  Dani clicked Send and turned. “Looks like you’re still thinking about our discussion.”

  “I am.” Kat pushed off the desk and Dani slung an arm around her shoulders again.

  “You’re not beating yourself up about it, are you?”

  “No. Just hoping I can find a way to get over this.”

  Dani smiled. “I know you can do it.”

  Not as certain she could do this, Kat still smiled up at Dani and hoped that her sister’s confidence was well placed.

  NINE

  Mitch arrived at the Justice Agency and found the door locked. He rang a buzzer and waited, shoving his hands into his pockets to keep them warm. He could be in for an interesting drive home tonight if the rain kept up and the temperature continued downward.

  He counted to thirty and when no one came to the lobby, he pounded on the glass. As soon as Kat had walked out of her town house with her family, he’d known he’d made a mistake in not accompanying her. As the officer in charge of this case, he was tasked with her protection and he never should’ve let his feelings get the best of him or let her leave without him.

  Still no answer. He dug out his cell and dialed Kat.

  “Mitch,” she answered, her voice as frosty as before.

  “I’m at the door. Can someone let me in?” It came out terse, and he didn’t blame her when she hung up on him without a word. He’d meant to apologize to her. To explain why he was behaving like a pigheaded guy. But the chilly tone in her voice set him off again.

  After a few more minutes, Cole came down the hallway and unlocked the door. “F.E.D. find anything?” he asked before Mitch could step inside.

  “They lifted shoe prints near the patio. Men’s athletic shoe, size ten.”

  “A common size. Won’t likely be a lot of help, then.” He turned the lock with a solid click.

  “Exactly.” Mitch climbed the stairs. “You have any luck with the client lists?’

  “Since Nancy worked strictly with businesses and we wanted to catch Nathan’s clients at home tonight, we started with Nathan’s list. We’ve pared it down to clients who’ve committed violent crimes and we’ve managed to locate a good number of them. We’ll head out and talk to them after we finish our pizza.”

  “You’re not planning to let Kat tag along, are you?”

  Cole stopped walking and met his gaze. “I was hoping you’d keep her company here.”

  Mitch stifled his surprise. “I’m glad to oblige, but are you sure Kat will agree to that?”

  Cole laughed. “No, she’ll fight it all the way, but I think it’d be good if the two of you had some private time to work out whatever’s causing stress between you. Stress leads to accidents and accidents lead to death.”

  Mitch eyed up Cole. “You saying it was my fault she was hit this morning?”

  “Not at all. I just don’t want it to be a problem in the future.” Cole studied Mitch. “Look, Elliot, Kat has some issues with control. As in, she has to be in charge. Whenever she gets pushed, she fights back. Remember that when you talk to her.” Cole continued down the hallway.

  Mitch expected Cole to be harder on him, but the guy seemed all right. Some of Mitch’s unease over stepping into the middle of her family again abated.

  Cole turned into a room at the end of the hallway, and Mitch followed, his stomach rumbling at the smell of food. He found the family seated at a long conference table, two nearly devoured pizzas in the middle. Conversation stopped and they looked at him as if he were an alien. Kat gave him an irritated look, and he felt as if he were an alien.

  “Help yourself to pizza,” Dani offered.

  He didn’t hesitate but took a paper plate. The only open chair other than the one at Kat’s side was across from her. He didn’t want to see her scowl at him while he ate so he sat next to her.

  “You want soda, water or coffee?” Dani asked.

  “Water’s great. Thanks.”

  She went to a small fridge on the counter lining the far wall and pulled out a bottle. Obviously, she was the hostess of the family.

  “Glad you could join us.” She handed it to him and returned to her seat.

  Cracking open the bottle, Mitch looked around the table. Other than the twins, the siblings were so different-looking—not surprising since they were all adopted—and yet there was a family unity that made Mitch jealous.

  “So Ethan called this morning,” Dani said.

  Derrick rolled his eyes. “Seriously? On his honeymoon? That guy has got to get his priorities straight.”

  “Jennie will set him straight soon enough.” Cole’s voice held no humor.

  “C’mon, Cole,” Dani said, shaking her head. “You make it sound like he’s serving a prison sentence instead of being married to the woman he loves.”

  “Sometimes being with the one you love is a prison sentence.” Kat sounded even more dour than Cole. Thinking she might mean him, Mitch waited for her to turn and glare at him, but she didn’t move.

  “I can’t believe either of you can talk like that with the way Mom and Dad raised us.” Dani was still shaking her head.

  “If you get burned by love you’ll change your tune.” Cole slid his plate away and drained his soda before standing. “Time to hit the road. Kat, you’ll stay here with Mitch and the rest of us will knock on some doors.”