“I—I think so.”

  “Why did you get out of the car?” He knew he sounded cross but seeing Aurora in such imminent danger had thrown his usually calm emotions into chaos.

  “What did you expect me to do? Stay there like a sitting duck?”

  “In a safe, bulletproof car, yes,” he said firmly. Uniformed officers had handcuffed their prisoner and were escorting him away. “Can I trust you to stay here with Dakota while I go find out more?”

  She didn’t want him to go, even angry, but she forced herself to nod. “Go ahead. Now that the guy who thought I was Maddie is caught, I’m beginning to think I’ll be much safer if I ditch you anyway and go back to driving my own car. The garage says the repairs are finished.”

  “Don’t even think about it,” he warned.

  “Just make sure Maddie’s okay.”

  “Will do.”

  Watching him walk toward the cadre of patrol cars, she was struck by how masterful he looked, how in charge of the situation even though he was only one of many participants. That was one trait she really admired about the man. He never wavered when doing the right thing, upholding the law and fearlessly facing criminals.

  He flashed a thumbs-up almost immediately and was on his way back to her in less than two minutes. The smile on his face was enough to lift her spirits before he said a word.

  He slid behind the wheel while one of the officers snapped pictures of the minor damage to his SUV. “Good news all around. Your cousin is fine and this guy we stopped is the one who put the bullet holes in her car while we were standing there.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Positive. The bullets from the courthouse match. His name is Tucker Williams. He’s one of the guys Maddie prosecuted and sent to prison. He’s out on probation and wanted to get even. He’d tracked her car and when he saw you, he figured you were her.”

  “I tried to tell him who I was. Does this mean I’m in the clear? Nobody wants me dead?”

  “That’s how it’s starting to look.”

  “What do you mean, starting? Am I safe or not?”

  Daniel eased the SUV backward to disengage from the wrecked suspect vehicle and steered clear before answering. “There’s just one little glitch.”

  “Well?”

  “We suspect that Williams’s gun is one of the ghost guns from the trafficking ring we’re after.”

  “Meaning it has no serial numbers? That doesn’t prove he’s directly connected to the illegal guns. Almost anybody can buy parts and cobble something together now that there are instructions all over the internet.”

  Daniel shrugged. “Time will tell. In the meantime, you need to stay in protective custody, just in case.”

  “Phooey.”

  Chuckling, he turned back the way they’d come and continued toward the courthouse. “That’s hardly a lucid argument.”

  “Since when have you taken anything I say seriously?” To her chagrin, Daniel’s smile faded so she added, “I’m sorry. I’m just uptight and worried about Maddie and taking it out on you. I didn’t mean it. Much.”

  “Not much, huh?”

  “Well, maybe a little.” Casting him a sidelong glance, she noted a quirk at the corner of his mouth. He might be slightly miffed but he wasn’t really mad at her. Besides, he had a lot on his mind besides just her. Between his responsibility for running the task force and his terminally ill sister, he had to be on edge. Anybody would be, especially a person who took everything as seriously as Daniel did.

  “After we see Maddie, I’ll consider rethinking my conclusions,” Aurora said. As far as she was concerned, that was a big concession. Her erstwhile guardian apparently disagreed.

  “Let me put it this way, CSI Martin, you work for the Plains City Police Department and whatever your chief says, goes. The last time I talked to him, he agreed that you should be protected. If I have to protect you from yourself, I will. Period.”

  “Pulling my boss into this is unfair.”

  “Oh, really? You’re acting as if you are just an ordinary citizen. Well, you’re not. You’re an active member of the justice system in Pennington County. Part of a group of organizations that take care of their own. That’s not going to change just because you want to get rid of me. Are we clear?”

  She managed to answer, “Yes,” before the tears started to gather. He was absolutely right. She’d been behaving like a spoiled brat and she knew it. What in the world was wrong with her? Where had her camaraderie and team spirit gone?

  Worse and more importantly, why had the sense of love and acceptance she treasured disappeared? This wasn’t like her. She loved her job, her place in the police department, her fellow employees and the cops they supported.

  Staring out the side window to keep Daniel from seeing how guilty she felt, she sniffled and swiped away silent tears. The truth behind her adverse reactions to his efforts to look after her was not simple. On one hand, she saw herself as totally independent and self-sufficient. On the other hand, she sometimes felt as if she was responsible for finding definitive clues to every crime and also holding her fractured family together in spite of everything that had happened to the contrary. Logic said those burdens were imagined, yet such thoughts threatened to crush her when she allowed herself to dwell on them.

  The plain truth? She was accomplished and proud of her CSI skills, was well thought of at the PD and for the most part was satisfied with the way her personal life was playing out. She had friends and of course her cousin to rely on. The people she worked with could be counted on in emergencies too, just as Daniel was currently proving. All in all, she should be happy. And she was, most of the time.

  Only one thing truly bothered her. Like it or not, when the door to her apartment closed every evening and she had quiet time in which to reflect, she could not escape the fact that she was lonely.

  THIRTEEN

  Maddie was already in the courtroom participating in the Derek Carlson trial by the time Daniel and Aurora arrived back at the courthouse. Jury selection was proceeding nicely.

  Speaking aside to one of the armed guards at the door and displaying his badge, Daniel managed to convince the man to let Aurora peek in at her beloved cousin.

  Sighing, satisfied, she stepped back and looked up at him. “Thanks. I needed to see for myself.”

  “I know.” He didn’t have to work to project tenderness. He felt it all the way to his core. Less than a year ago, he’d been unencumbered by any close family and here he was, actually feeling drawn to a young woman whose presence had softened his outlook almost as much as the prospect of becoming the adoptive father of a toddler.

  In retrospect, Daniel could see that all the changes in his world had worked together. First Joy, then Serena and of course the beloved grandmother he had to call on for help with his new daughter. Catherine, Nana, had needed to express her love as much as Joy had needed to receive it. He could see that now. And Serena? Well, she’d needed all of them and still did. When it came time to bid her a final goodbye, he knew he was going to be deeply moved. It wasn’t just what they had shared since she’d left her child with him; it was all the opportunities they had lost because of one man’s selfishness.

  Daniel gritted his teeth. Aurora had said she was disappointed in her own father. Well, he had plenty of animosity against his too.

  Cupping her elbow, he escorted Aurora out of the courthouse and back to his SUV. Once they were seated comfortably inside and moving, he asked, “Do you mind going back to the station? I need to make arrangements to have this window repaired and see if I can borrow another car in the meantime.”

  She wrapped her arms around herself against the cold seeping through the fractured safety glass. “Sounds good to me. It’s bound to either rain or snow soon. I can feel it.”

  Daniel had to smile. “Nana says she can predict changes in the weather better than the pros on TV. Aches and pains tell her.”

  “With me, it’s mostly headaches,” Aurora said, glancing over at him.

  He met her gaze. “Do you have one now?”

  “Not a bad one but enough to let me know barometric pressure is changing. It’s a blessing and a curse.”

  “Lots of things are,” Daniel said soberly. “It’s good that we were able to ID and apprehend the shooter from the courthouse but that doesn’t solve all our mysteries.”

  “Matching the ballistics to other incidents may help. We’ll see. It would be helpful if we found a direct tie to your gun trafficking gang.

  “True.” Pausing while he negotiated the turn into the PCPD lot, Daniel continued, “However, considering all the choices of illegal firearms the gun traffickers have, I’m afraid it will be tough to match anything.”

  “True.” Aurora sighed. “Does it ever seem to you as though we’re beating our heads against a brick wall and it’s not budging no matter how hard we hit it?”

  “An interesting analogy given your headache. Yes. It does feel like that sometimes. The thing is, if we can find the tiniest crack in that wall we can exploit it and bring the whole structure crashing down.”

  “What would you say is going to make that crack?”

  “It’s hard to say. Maybe one of the minor players we already have in jail. Or maybe Brandon Jones—sorry, Murray—will make a mistake. He’s not the sharpest pencil in the box.”

  Pensive, she nodded. “That’s one of the details that’s been bothering me. Hal was supposed to be the brains, yet their organization seems to be functioning just as well without him. What do you attribute that to?”

  “Maybe a solid structure that Hal built while he was alive? I don’t know. We really haven’t heard reports of anyone else helping him plan, so I assume Brandon is following his brother’s previous instructions.”

  “Which may mean that he’ll eventually run out of wise moves and have to start thinking on his own. That’s probably a good thing.”

  “Right.” Parking, Daniel went to release Dakota while Aurora got out to wait for them. Although he was still wary and kept an eye on nearby activity, he was thankful to see his K-9 acting relaxed and calm. The dog’s instincts were a lot sharper than those of a human, no matter how vigilant he was, and it gave him a good feeling to be able to rely on his canine partner.

  Nevertheless, he motioned Aurora to start toward the rear entrance of the station and followed her. Other officers were coming and going. Patrol cars were moving slowly by. And there was enough activity to deter almost any would-be assassin. That was part of the problem with believing Brandon Jones/Murray was calling the shots now. He was a hothead. The kind of man who acted first and didn’t consider the possible consequences until later. That made him dangerous. Unpredictable.

  Waiting for him to enter the code to unlock the exterior door, Aurora stood aside. “I still don’t know why you keep insisting we have to stay together.”

  “Are you tired of my company? Dakota will be disappointed.”

  Preceding him inside, she spoke quietly. “It’s not you. I’m just feeling a little claustrophobic with all the attention you’re paying me. That Williams guy admitted to shooting Maddie’s car and then trying to hit her again at the courthouse. He told me he thought I was her. I’m in the clear.”

  She had a point. Daniel nodded. “Okay. Let’s agree you’re out of danger from him. What about the guy who grabbed you outside your apartment? We never caught him or the ones that shot up Maddie’s apartment.”

  “If the men you did arrest are sharing a lawyer, doesn’t it stand to reason that they also share a connection to this Brandon guy?”

  “Them, probably. Tucker Williams just admitted he was after Maddie so that’s one down. We don’t know enough about the rest.”

  “Meaning you still think I could have been their target? Isn’t that stretching a bit?”

  Logic told him she had a valid point. “Okay, let’s say you’re right.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  “I’ll rephrase that. I admit you have a good chance of being correct about the origins of our enemies. In some ways, that conclusion should help defer further attacks on you. There’s only one problem that I can see.”

  Watching her hands fist and her jaw clench, he chose his words carefully. “It’s your connection to me.”

  “What? We have no connection other than working out of the same building. We’re not even on the same floor.”

  “Not at work. Here. Now. As the agent in charge, I have a target on my back too. Like I’ve said, the gang has targeted me and my team. We’ve all taken precautions. That won’t end until we’ve captured the people at the top, namely Brandon and whoever he’s using to replace Hal.”

  “Terrific. So, in other words, they think you and I are an item and that puts me right back in the fight.”

  “In a manner of speaking, I guess so.”

  “Then we’re breaking up as of this minute,” Aurora said. “If I have to stand in the town square and pretend to have an argument with you, I will. I’m tired of feeling like a prisoner without being behind bars.”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “Nothing ever is,” she said with a grimace. “Seriously, what can we do?”

  “Catch the bad guys, especially Brandon Jones/Murray, and dismantle the trafficking ring. We’re putting plans in place to take down the whole organization. These other threats to you and Maddie have been a distraction and I can’t help wondering if that’s exactly what they were meant to do.”

  “Humph. Getting shot at is hardly a minor distraction.”

  “Compared to wiping out a criminal organization the size of the Murray operation, it is. Not to the victims, of course. I don’t mean to minimize anyone’s tragedy. I just mean we will save a lot of innocent lives if and when we get those hundreds of guns off the streets.”

  “The outlying areas especially are full of legally armed people. They always have been. They’re not evil.”

  “I don’t mean them. I’m talking about criminals getting their hands on illegal firearms and using them in the commission of lethal crimes. What the Jones/Murray gang is selling is death, period. Not personal protection. Death. There’s a big difference.”

  Seeing Aurora nodding a response was comforting. Thankfully, she got it. She might not like the current circumstances but she definitely saw his point. That would suffice, for now. And, when he and his team did finally end the trafficking in the Dakotas it would be one more step in the war against the tools of crime and those who got rich by supplying them.

  The way Daniel saw it, all he had to do was protect Aurora, his team and their families, as well as his own, until the last detail of the final raid was in place, then act. He smiled slightly as his mind added, And pray for success.

  * * *

  Aurora had been back at her own desk in the lab for less than an hour when Daniel burst through the door. The first thing she noticed was his expression of deep concern. The second thing was the absence of Dakota.

  Pushing her chair back, she stood. “What’s wrong?”

  “Serena,” he said. “The hospice called.”

  “Is she…?”

  Daniel shook his head. “No. But they want us all to come ASAP. She’s looking and sounding better and singing modern Christian songs.”

  Puzzled, Aurora asked, “Is that bad?”

  “Yes. They think it’s a final rally before she lets go.” He swallowed hard. “Will you come too?”

  Even if he had not asked, Aurora would have volunteered to accompany him. She could see how much emotional stress he was under and her heart ached for him. And for the little girl whose mother was failing fast. “Of course. Anything I can do to help.”

  This time his reply was wordless but the glistening of his eyes and shaky breath revealed how deeply moved he was.

  “What about Catherine and Joy? Are they on their way too?”

  “Not yet. The Marshals left Nana without wheels so we’ll go pick them up.”

  “In a car with a back seat, I hope,” Aurora said, remembering having to cram into the agent’s SUV with Maddie.

  “Yes. I’m borrowing an unmarked patrol car while my broken window is being repaired. There’ll be room for everyone.”

  Snatching up her jacket and shoving her phone into an inside pocket, Aurora started for the lab door. “Then come on. We don’t want to be too late.”

  She’d had a brief experience with hospice when her mother passed and knew how accurately those nurses could predict someone’s end. It was uncanny unless you actually asked about the signs. They weren’t always the same of course, but they did follow a set of common patterns. Some of those were the steady stare at someone or something that was only visible to the patient. Another was a sudden sense of well-being as if a cure was in the offing, the way it had been with her own mother at the end. Although Aurora had never heard of a terminal patient actually singing, it made sense. After all, hymns were a form of worship so why not express those tender feelings during times of duress?

  A dark blue sedan was waiting at the side door when she and Daniel left the station. An officer handed him the keys and wished him well. He slid behind the wheel while Aurora took the front passenger seat. She glanced back. “Won’t we need a child seat for Joy?”

  “Nana has one with her at the safe house that I’ll install in this car. I just hope Serena is acting as happy as they said she was when we get there.”

  “My mother kept that last smile even after her heart stopped,” Aurora said quietly. “It’s one of the memories I cherish.”

  The look he shot her was so emotionally charged she chose to elaborate. “It’s hard to explain. It seemed like a final gift, in a way. As if Mom was blessing me one last time.”

  “Then I hope Joy gets the same from Serena,” Daniel said. “I don’t think she understands what’s going to happen.”

  “Not fully, no, but she’s had enough time with you and Catherine to know she’s loved and has a home. I don’t think she’ll be nearly as sad as the rest of us.”

  “Us?”

  Aurora blinked back tears and nodded. “Yes. Us. I don’t know your sister well but I like to think we hit it off when we met. It’s sometimes that way with believers. We have Jesus in common and He connects us. The Spirit connects us.”