“What? Don’t look at me as if I just called you a bad name. You’re young. How much experience can you have had?”

  “I’m twenty-seven.”

  “Really?” He’d have guessed early twenties at most. He hesitated long enough to sigh. “I guess everybody looks young at my age.” Feeling old was new to him and he blamed the unexpected changes to his personal life for the change in perspective. Now that it looked as if he was going to be raising his half sister’s little girl, he was suddenly seeing himself as belonging to an older generation, as if being a parent had aged him.

  To his chagrin, Aurora chuckled. “I happen to know you’re thirty-four. That’s hardly old.”

  A slight smile twitched at the corners of his mouth and he let it blossom. “Maybe it’s becoming an instant father the way I did that’s made me feel so ancient.”

  “Life can be strange.” Aurora’s low voice cut through his thoughts. “Mine certainly has been.” Judging by the way her smile faded and she averted her gaze, Daniel got the idea that he wasn’t the only one dealing with personal problems.

  He shrugged. “I guess the whole police station knows my story. It’s hardly a secret what’s been happening with my extended family.” Having the thought felt bad but voicing it was worse.

  “Believe me, I understand about family troubles. Been there, doing that,” Aurora said, starting to walk away. There was so much pathos in her voice that Daniel decided then and there to find out exactly why. Granted, it was none of his business, yet there was something about this woman that made him want to help her and that began with trying to understand what made her tick.

  He opened the rear of his SUV and gave Dakota the command to jump in. She sat patiently while he examined her paws for clumps of ice and dried them before joining Aurora, who had picked up her kit and made herself comfortable in the front passenger seat.

  Daniel slid behind the wheel and turned the key. Aurora was holding her hands in front of the vents and rubbing them together, clearly waiting for warmth to come through.

  “Sorry,” he said. “I would have started the car earlier if I’d realized you were cold.”

  He heard her sigh despite the purr of the engine. “I didn’t realize how chilled I was until just now.” She began to smile slightly. “I must have been a bit preoccupied.”

  Daniel grinned back at her. “Yeah. I’d say so. We’ll want to get you set up with a forensic artist unless you think you can ID the shooter from mug shots.”

  “I’m less concerned about whether I can actually identify him than I am that he figures out who I am and thinks I can. Whether those bullets were meant for you or not, I may be a target now.”

  “Unfortunately, I agree.” Checking his side mirror, he pulled away from the curb. “Where do you live?”

  “I have an apartment on the west side.”

  “I wouldn’t advise you to go anywhere near there.” He paused, thinking. “We need to warn your cousin too, just in case you were mistaken for her.”

  “Whoa! Where did that idea come from?”

  “I’m just considering all the possibilities. We can’t count on the drive-by shooter just having bad aim. He may actually have been aiming at your cousin’s car, intending to send her a warning.”

  “Why? Because she’s a prosecutor for the DA?”

  “She’s what?”

  “A prosecutor. I thought you knew.”

  “I do now. That’s even more reason to think that her car may have been targeted. She has undoubtedly made enemies in her profession.”

  “Do you actually believe someone is trying to hurt her?” Aurora asked.

  Daniel shook his head. “Anything is possible. Either way, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to stay with her—or any of your friends tonight.”

  “Not a problem,” Aurora answered. “I can bunk at the station in the women’s locker room. I’ve done it before when I was too tired to drive home.”

  What about a safe house?”

  “No way. Those are for endangered citizens and witnesses. I’m not going to take up space someone else might need.”

  Falling silent, he stopped himself from offering her a room at his house. Yes, it was big enough, and, yes, it was well defended and secure. Nevertheless, there was a line he didn’t want to cross; an undefined distancing he felt his job required.

  He cast a quick glance at the young woman riding beside him. There was a vulnerability to her that touched him despite his determination to remain aloof. She had just put others first while he was in a position to help her and was holding back. That didn’t speak very well for his character, job description or no job description. He should at least offer… She’d probably refuse anyway.

  “Listen, my place is fenced and gated with alarms and cameras,” he said. “There’s plenty of room for you in a separate wing.”

  “A wing?” Her brows arched as she looked back at him.

  “It’s the home I lived in growing up. For all his faults, Dad managed his finances well.” He swallowed the lump in his throat that formed upon mentioning his father.

  “Then, yes,” Aurora said.

  Daniel stifled his surprise. “Yes?”

  “Yes,” she repeated. “It might be fun to see how the rich folks live.”

  “I’m far from rich,” he said. “It’s just a house. Okay?”

  When she said, “Okay,” and gave him a slight smile, he was sure he detected underlying worry that she was trying to hide. Despite her smile, he could tell the shooting had shaken her up much more than she’d admitted, which was probably why she’d agreed to stay at his house in the first place. Still, his place was the safest sanctuary he could think of and it was his duty to share it with someone in need. Never mind that Aurora Martin was personally more appealing than he was ready to admit to anyone, particularly himself.

  Members of his team might be falling in love right and left but that didn’t mean he’d ever consider marriage. As he saw it, his primary job was law enforcement and although his personal commitments now included raising his twenty-two-month-old niece, Joy, he saw no reason to complicate that relationship with a woman. His grandmother, Catherine, was already used to stepping in when he was away on assignment and that arrangement suited him just fine. Lots of kids were successfully raised by single parents and their extended families.

  Thinking back to his own youth, Daniel clenched his teeth. Everyone would have been happier, in his opinion, if his father had not been in the picture, particularly given that man’s philandering nature and unloving behavior when he did come home.

  Picturing little Joy made him start to smile until he added his ailing half sister, Serena, to the remembrance. He could never make up for the way their father had deserted her but he’d promised to raise his niece with love and that was exactly what he intended to do. A natural extension of that vow was his determination to guard his own life so he could keep dedicating it to the innocent little girl. She deserved that, and more.

  Which brought his thoughts full circle, back to the need to safeguard himself as well as those around him. As long as there was a definite threat from the gun trafficking gang, no one was safe. Not even a K-9 officer wearing a Kevlar vest. Not even a man who had vowed to become a better father than his own had been and raise little Joy with the love that had been denied him.

  Daniel clenched his jaw. He’d always known the inherent dangers of a career in law enforcement and had accepted them as part of the package. Now, however, his mindset was changing to include self-preservation and given the chances of an encounter with the ruthless criminals he was pursuing, that ambivalence could prove more dangerous than an assassin’s bullet.

  TWO

  Coming to a stop in front of heavy ornamental wrought iron gates, Daniel pushed a button and the gates slowly swung back.

  Aurora didn’t try to hide how impressed she was. “Wow.”

  “That’s one way to put it. I told you the place was fortified.”

  “All it needs is a moat and a drawbridge and you’d have a castle,” she drawled, leaning forward to peer at the imposing structure they were approaching. The front wall of the first floor was faced with rock while the rear had to be covered with soil because the house looked as if it had been tucked into the side of a hill. Columns supporting a wide porch marched in a line all the way across between that level and the second floor, which featured a peaked center and a bank of large windows.

  “Those big windows up there don’t look very private,” Aurora said.

  “It’s deceiving. The upper floor makes the place look vulnerable. The ground floor windows are more like slits. See?” He pointed. “We can close them off and lock down that level like a safe room.”

  “The whole floor?”

  Daniel nodded. “Yup. Who needs a moat, right?”

  “I suppose.” Thoughtful, she decided to ask a question. “I can understand why an ATF agent like you might want a secure home but you said your late father built this. Was he in law enforcement too?” Judging by the way Daniel huffed and the wry face he made, she’d guessed wrong.

  “Dad was an investment counselor who later went into politics. I didn’t know much about how he conducted business, but given the way he lied and cheated the rest of the time, I have to assume he was always expecting retribution of some kind.”

  “Sorry I asked,” Aurora said with tenderness. “I didn’t mean to remind you of past problems.”

  He huffed. “Since I’m probably going to be raising my niece here, I’ll be facing the reminders of my dad’s sins for the rest of my life. I’ve already come to terms with the past. It’s certainly not the fault of Joy or her mother, Serena, who’s gravely ill. It’s too late to do much for her but I plan to do everything in my power to redeem Joy’s future and provide the family her mom never had.”

  Aurora shrugged and offered a look of understanding. “I’m really not qualified to judge anyone’s family. My own dad has been driving me crazy ever since my mom passed.”

  He sobered. “I’m sorry. I had no idea you’d recently lost your mother.”

  “Six months sometimes seems like ages ago. Other times, it’s like yesterday.” A sorrowful, tearful, painful yesterday.

  “It’s perfectly natural for your father to have a hard time adjusting,” Daniel said.

  Because he had stopped the SUV and was opening the driver’s door, Aurora was able to turn away and keep him from reading the pain in her expression. Her dad had not only gotten over his loss, he’d started dating practically every woman in his life under seventy. As far as she was concerned, he was shoveling dirt on her mama’s grave every time he wined and dined another woman. Not only were his actions embarrassing, it cut Aurora’s heart to see him so keen on finding a replacement. As if Mama could ever be replaced.

  Pausing beside the SUV while Daniel removed Dakota’s working vest and gave her the command to jump down, she saw the front door of the house fly open. A spry-looking older woman hurried toward them with a toddler in her arms. A plaid blanket wrapped around the child flapped in the breeze.

  Calling, “Dan!” the woman enfolded him in an embrace that included the little girl and he reciprocated. Aurora felt like an intruder. The obvious love between them brought unshed tears that she quickly blinked away.

  “I was so worried after I heard about the shooting,” the older woman said.

  Aurora could tell the agent was both flattered and a little embarrassed. “I told you to stop listening to police calls on that scanner all the time, Nana. I bought it so you could keep from worrying, not so you’d take on all the problems in the county.” He stepped to one side. “I’d like you to meet Aurora Martin, one of the Plain City PD’s crime scene techs. Aurora, this is my grandmother, Catherine, and Joy, the niece I’ve told you about.”

  Smiling and nodding, Aurora exchanged pleasantries while Joy waved pudgy arms toward Dakota as if she expected affection.

  “Doh-dah,” she babbled, “Doh-dah!”

  “She’s already calling you daddy?”

  Laughing, Daniel took the child from his grandmother and cuddled her. “Nope. That’s her interpretation of Dakota. She wants me to put her down so she can pretend to ride the dog.” He focused on Joy. “It’s too cold out here for you, honey. Come on, everybody, let’s go inside and I’ll explain what’s going on.”

  Feeling a touch left out, Aurora fell into step behind the group. She had rarely sensed this much unconditional love, especially not in her own upbringing. Little Joy had faced difficulties already and was going to lose her mother to cancer any day now, yet these extraordinary adults were there for her, regardless.

  The urge to phone her father arose. She refused to heed it. Until he began to act like the bereaved widower he was, she just couldn’t bear to speak with him. Not when he sounded so happy about being alone and free to flit from woman to woman like a hungry bee visiting a flower garden.

  Shivering, she wrapped her arms around herself. The temperature wasn’t the only cold thing she was battling and she knew it. God had not answered her prayer to heal her mother and on that terrible day she’d felt as if she’d lost her father too. He was certainly different than the daddy who had raised her.

  Closing her eyes for an instant she pictured the man, old, bereft, sharing her grief as she’d expected. But now? Now he looked and acted younger and much happier, as if he was celebrating being free from a marriage Aurora had always thought was good for both her parents. How could she have been so wrong?

  Daniel was waiting by the sliding door on the lower level when she joined him. “Welcome to my humble home.”

  Two steps took her inside. Determined to keep from sounding like a kid at an amazing amusement park, she simply said, “Nice.”

  He laughed. “That’s one way to put it.” He gestured toward an interior staircase. “They’ve gone upstairs. It’s more comfortable up there and Joy can play with Dakota while we talk.”

  “I need to take my boots off,” Aurora said. “They’re wet from the slush and they’ll ruin your carpet.”

  “Whatever makes you comfortable,” Daniel said pleasantly. “I can hang your coat up for you.”

  As he circled to help her, Aurora was suddenly aware of his presence in a way that left her a little unsettled. It wasn’t merely because of being in his home; it was the man himself. His personal effect on her. The atmosphere and trappings of the lavish home might affect some people but she considered herself above that kind of influence. So, was it an aftereffect of the shooting? Was she recalling the feel of his strong arms bearing her to safety?

  Daniel had taken her coat. She found a chair near the stone-paved entrance and sat down, preparing to remove her wet boots. Instead, he returned and knelt at her feet, gently easing the heel of one boot loose, removing it, then grasping the other.

  “I can do that,” Aurora began.

  “You’ve had a rough day. Let me help,” was all he said, yet it touched her to the core. It had been a long, long time since anyone had tended to her. The act was a simple thing, mundane really, so why did it bring tears to her eyes? Perhaps it was the contrasts she was glimpsing in the usually taciturn agent. Seeing his tenderness with the toddler was one thing. Having a taste of that same kindness toward herself was decidedly another. Too bad their situation was so fraught with danger and uneasiness. Under other circumstances, she could have relaxed and actually enjoyed the pleasant company.

  Aurora shivered, recalling the shooting and the fright it had brought. Even amid the familial atmosphere, it was impossible to forget how close she had come to injury. Or worse.

  * * *

  The kitchen upstairs was brightly lit and his grandmother was busying herself preparing a light meal as coffee brewed. Daniel offered his guest a seat on one of the sofas. It didn’t surprise him when she followed him into the kitchen instead and offered to help.

  “I’ve got this,” Catherine replied with a smile. “Have a seat. Do you take cream and sugar in your coffee?”

  “Yes, please. Both,” Aurora said.

  Daniel carried two steaming mugs to the table, held a chair for Aurora, then joined her. He passed sugar and cream before using it himself. “Sorry, no artificial sweeteners. Nana’s a stickler for healthy food.”

  “Works for me,” Aurora said, pausing to take a cautious sip. “Good coffee.”

  “Low acid, no pesticides,” Catherine announced as she approached with a tray of meats, cheeses and assorted crackers. “If you’re like Dan, here, you miss half your meals. Let me know if you want anything else.”

  He scooted his chair closer. “I need to fill Aurora in on a few things.”

  Catherine glanced toward the toddler happily placing a line of blocks along the rib cage of the reclining Great Dane, giggling every time Dakota twitched and some slid off.

  “It’s somebody’s bedtime so if you two will excuse me, I’ll give our little one a bath and put her to bed,” the older woman said.

  Relieved, he started to relax. Wrapping both hands around the warm mug, he stared into the steam for a few seconds to gather his thoughts before asking, “How much do you know about the situation with my niece?”

  “Only that she’s the child of your half sister who is very ill and you’re looking after her.”

  “Yes. Serena’s terminal, I’m afraid.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  The light touch of Aurora’s hand on his gave unexpected comfort and he managed a slight smile. “It is what it is. She had a hard life even before she got sick. I’m thankful I can be there for her but I do wish we’d known each other as children. It might have helped now.”

  “Or made it worse,” Aurora offered softly.

  “How so?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe the lack of memories will end up being for the best. When I think of my late mother and all the lovely times we had, it hurts my heart.

  “On the other hand,” he said, “Serena and I had no chance to make good memories together and that can be even sadder.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry.” She withdrew her touch and leaned back. “Go on with your story.”