“I watched you on camera,” Aurora said quietly. “Did you order a crime scene tech to look for stray bullets or brass?”

  “Not yet.”

  “My kit is in your car. I can do it if you want.”

  “One thing at a time,” he said, sounding gruff.

  “I was just trying to help.”

  “Until we know whether or not you or your cousin are targets, you need to keep a low profile. Understand?”

  “Of course. I stayed out of your way while you were chasing after the bad guys, didn’t I?”

  “It’s called tracking.” Huffing, he knocked on a closed door. “It’s me. Dan.”

  The lock clicked. The door opened a crack. Aurora saw the muzzle of a gun through the narrow opening. Apparently, Catherine was well prepared to defend herself and the little one.

  Daniel’s arm swept up beneath the pistol to deflect it as he entered with Aurora close behind. Catherine slipped an arm around his waist and passed him the gun. “I didn’t like the sound of that shot.”

  “Only one.”

  “Yes.” The older woman was grinning up at him when she playfully gave his shoulder a punch. “But I didn’t have my scanner so I couldn’t tell what was going on. Couldn’t see a blasted thing out the window either.”

  “Joy asleep?”

  “Slept through everything,” Catherine said. “I stood guard.”

  “Obviously. Just don’t accidentally shoot me some day,” Daniel teased.

  Aurora’s breath caught until she heard the older woman laugh and say, “Not a chance. You trained me well. The safety was on and everything.”

  Unshed tears of relief blurred Aurora’s vision. How could these people, this odd little family, affect her this way in such a short time? She didn’t have living grandparents, and with her mother gone and her father acting so awful, she did feel abandoned. Alone. Was that why she’d been so taken with the older woman and the child, not to mention the brave agent? That conclusion didn’t seem logical or likely except for the fact she was unable to come up with any other reason for this odd emotional reaction.

  Distancing herself by easing back into the hallway, she was hit with more uncomfortable feelings of detachment and realized that was her truth. She wasn’t a part of this family or any other, and she’d be a fool to let on how much she wished for a family like the one she’d thought she’d had growing up—until her father had revealed the painful truth by trying to replace her mother almost immediately. Truth be told, any special kindness on the part of the Slaters had likely been due to her neediness as a victim.

  Daniel Slater was a good man, the kind of believer who lived his faith the same way she tried to do. His actions on her behalf were merely his way of doing his job. Yes, they might seem excessive to someone who didn’t treat people the same way, who didn’t live life with a Christian point of view, although there were also plenty of lovely, kind folks who marched to a different drummer. So if that wasn’t what set him apart in her heart and mind, what did? Given her upbringing, would she recognize a truly happy family if she saw one?

  Before she had a chance to work out an answer, Catherine joined her in the hallway and took her arm. “The alarms are all set and the grounds are clear so we’re going to let Joy sleep.”

  “Are you sure?” Aurora had unexplained misgivings.

  “Positive. This place really is a fortress and Daniel says some of his people will be here soon to stand guard. You go with him while I make more coffee and get snacks ready.” She smiled. “Knowing his team, they’ll be hungry. They always are.”

  Aurora cast a glance back at the bedroom door as Daniel quietly slipped out and closed it behind him. To her relief, Dakota lay down in front of the threshold with her jowls resting on her paws.

  “Oh, good.”

  That made him smile and warmed her heart. “I’m glad to see you appreciate my K-9 partner.”

  “I not only appreciate her, I’m pretty sure I remember promising her a steak for saving me when Maddie’s car got shot up.”

  Daniel sent her a lopsided grin. “Huh. I thought I was the one who did that.”

  Feeling a blush rising to warm her cheeks, Aurora averted her face and said, “Okay. You two can share.”

  “Maybe we will, once this operation is over and things go back to some semblance of normal,” he said. “In the meantime, we all need to be on our guard.” He patted the grip of the gun in the holster at his waist as he led the way down the quiet hallway.

  “I thought the threat was over.”

  He paused, turned and gave her a hard stare before he said, “Thinking like that can get you killed.”

  FOUR

  The team video call took place in the downstairs office. While Daniel was waiting for the last of his people to connect, he showed Aurora the prowler’s photo on his phone. “Is this the shooter you saw at the murder scene?”

  She squinted. “Looks like him. It all happened too fast.”

  “I know. But he’s close? Similar?”

  “Yes. Same evil eyes.”

  “Okay. That’ll do for now.” He turned his attention to the video call, showing the faces of his trusted team. West Cole and Kenyon Graves, both local detectives, had called in from the police station. Tech analyst Cheyenne Chen, in a white coat, was connecting from the downtown lab the team shared with the PCPD. Calling in from home, with their backgrounds blurred, were Zach Kelcey, a deputy out of Keystone; Lucy Lopez, a Fargo patrol officer; and Liam Barringer, an agent with the FBI. Jenna Morrow, with the Cold River Sheriff’s office, appeared to be in her patrol car. She was en route to South Dakota and had likely pulled over to take the call. Officer Jack Donadio appeared to be in transit.

  “As you know, we’ve had an incident at my place,” Daniel announced. “I’d appreciate it if a couple of you would assist the local PD with a night patrol over here since the guy I caught might be associated with Brandon Jones.”

  Jack Donadio was the first to respond. “Already on my way, Daniel. I have new info for you about Brandon.”

  Noticing Aurora’s interest, Daniel inched aside to make room for her in front of the camera. “You all know CSI Martin. You can speak in front of her.”

  “Roger that.” Jack kept his eyes on the road while he delivered the news. “One of my informants came to me about the murder you just investigated. Turns out, Jones got mad and killed his girlfriend, Lila Pierce, although we may have trouble proving it. But here’s the good news. My guy is so disgusted with the whole Jones/Murray fiasco since Hal died he decided to come clean about their gun trafficking.”

  “Seriously? You believe him?”

  “I do. He says another large shipment of guns is due to be moved from a warehouse in Plains City to a hiding place in Badlands National Park.”

  “When?”

  “Tomorrow night as far as he can tell. I tried to find out if they’re planning to use the same area in the Badlands where Olin and Pawners were supposed to be headed when they were taken out a few months ago, but this informant isn’t sure.”

  “Would they be that dumb?” Daniel asked, answering himself silently in the affirmative. After all, with Brandon, the hotheaded brother, now in charge, anything was possible.

  Tech analyst Cheyenne Chen piped up. “My concern is the damage to the car that Aurora borrowed from her cousin while hers is in the shop. We haven’t been able to match the slugs to anything in our database.”

  “Her cousin is Maddie Martin, our assistant district attorney,” Daniel said. “Aurora says she and her cousin look a lot alike and we wondered if that drive-by could have been a case of mistaken identity.”

  “Possibly,” Jack said, joined by several others who concurred. “Should we head over to her place to question her?”

  “No,” Daniel said. “I’d like to interview her myself and take Aurora with me, tomorrow. Local PD have the ADA under surveillance and she’s been informed about the threat. That’ll do for now.”

  “Copy that. My ETA to you is five minutes. Want me to park outside or come through the gate?”

  “Plains City units have the street covered. Radio or use the com link when you get here and I’ll buzz you in. You can drive around back where your vehicle won’t be visible. Did you bring Beau?”

  “I never go anywhere without my buddy.” Daniel could hear a smile in Jack’s voice when he referenced his K-9 partner, a chocolate brown Lab.

  “Good. I’ll meet you at the back door, upper level. There’s hot coffee and food in the kitchen if you want to grab some. Then run a foot patrol with Beau, pick out a good vantage point and chill. It almost took me too long to get there with Dakota when we nabbed the prowler a few minutes ago. I’ll be able to rest easier with you and Beau on the job.”

  “All your cameras are functional?”

  “Yup. You’ll be a movie star by morning. It’s just nicer if I don’t have to stay up all night watching the monitors or listening for alarms.”

  “Copy.” Jack cast a brief glance at the screen and teased, “You two behave yourselves, now.”

  Before Daniel had a chance to get mad, Aurora laughed. “We have two chaperones and a possessive dog the size of a pony. That should be enough.”

  Although Daniel also grinned, he was struck by the incongruity of his position. Yes, Jack had been joking but what might others think if the situation continued? Adding team members to his list of houseguests was one way to prevent rumor but they needed to be available for assignments so that wasn’t a long term solution.

  A safe house might be a better choice for Aurora, provided there was room available and he had time to convince her. Perhaps, once they’d visited her cousin, she’d be more amenable to the sensible suggestion.

  For tonight, however, with his grandmother in the house and the area teeming with law enforcement, this arrangement would do. It would have to.

  * * *

  Leaving the room with all the operations visible was hard for Aurora to convince herself to do, even when Daniel tried to send her upstairs with Catherine.

  “Go to the guest room,” he said firmly. “Nana will show you. There’s nothing more you can do down here. As soon as all my team is in position, I plan to rest too.”

  “What about Maddie? Are you sure she’ll be all right? I mean, we could bring her here.”

  Daniel looked seriously troubled when he shook his head. “I’m starting to have doubts about our safety here in spite of all the alarms. It’s possible moving you both to a safe house in secret would be smarter.”

  “There you go again,” Aurora countered. “I told you how I felt about that.” Her arms were folded across her chest in a clear demonstration of her choices.

  “I get that. I do. Think about this. You and I may be in law enforcement but that doesn’t mean we can’t also be victims. You, especially. You’re not armed or trained in self-defense.”

  “I got some training before I dropped out of police academy and changed to forensics.”

  “And you’ve been practicing?”

  She had no snappy reply for that question, nor did she miss his point. “Okay. I get it. I’m an easy target. So why are the bad guys after me? I’m only doing my job.”

  His quick glance at his grandmother before looking toward the ceiling gave her clues. He wasn’t concerned only for her welfare, he had the others to consider. One was elderly and the other was a child so neither was as capable of defending themselves as she was—and she was far from competent.

  Aurora took a few slow steps toward the door and Catherine accompanied her. “All right. I am worried about Maddie so I’ll give it some thought. Will that do?”

  “For now,” Daniel said, sounding less harsh. “I’ll do my best to look after everyone and so will Dakota.”

  “Where is she, anyway?”

  “Upstairs,” Catherine answered. “She usually sleeps in front of Joy’s door or next to her bed when she’s home.”

  “I’m sure that’s comforting for her.” And would be for me too, if the K-9 decided to keep me safe, Aurora thought. She’d felt totally abandoned since her mother’s death and her father’s withdrawal from what was left of their family. He’d made it clear even before Mama’s funeral, which he’d refused to discuss, that he was ready to put the past behind him and move on. It wasn’t fair to leave all the planning to her, yet he had. And she’d managed, of course, as she always had, only this time she hadn’t had her mother’s wise counsel to carry her through. Then, as now, she’d been left to grieve alone, seeing clearly for the first time that the family she’d once believed was truly happy had been far from it. No wonder she’d never felt right about getting into serious relationships. She didn’t really know what they were.

  Those conclusions hurt. A lot. Was finding love and honesty in romance even possible? Would she recognize it if she saw it? She’d been over and over those questions in her mind until she’d finally decided, sadly, that she was a terrible judge of such things. Her father’s reaction to being widowed and his rejection of her concerns about his dating so soon proved it.

  Following the older woman upstairs and down the hallway to the rear of the house, Aurora was so deep in her own mind she barely noticed her surroundings. Until they passed Dakota. As Catherine had said, the K-9 was stationed outside a bedroom door indicating Joy’s room. The dog stood and waited for Catherine to open the door, then, illuminated by a dim night-light, padded quietly to the child’s small bed, sniffed her for a second and laid down, as predicted.

  “I’m glad she’s on the job,” Aurora said softly. “I’m sure you’re relieved too.”

  “It does let me sleep more soundly,” Catherine replied. “I guess it’s a mother thing. We tend to listen for our children even when we’re asleep.”

  Which was a big drawback to her decision to avoid marriage, she mused. In giving that up, she would never have children, but at least she wouldn’t hurt them the way her father had hurt her—and her mother. In a way, she was glad she’d devoted so much time and energy to caring for her mother in her final years. Between that and her career, she’d had little time for outside interests and in the long run she could see that that had been a blessing in disguise.

  “Here’s your room,” Catherine said. “I put fresh towels in the bathroom and there are some sweat suits and night things in the dresser if you want to change.”

  “Thanks.” Aurora smiled. “I wasn’t looking forward to sleeping in one of those paperlike jumpsuits we use on crime scenes. My kit’s still out in Daniel’s car, anyway.”

  “Leave it to a man to forget the necessities,” Catherine said with a chuckle. “My late husband would have gone off without his head if I hadn’t reminded him to take it.”

  A throb of compassion caused Aurora to ask, “Have you been a widow a long time?”

  “Sometimes it seems like forever and other times I’ll hear a noise or smell fresh-cut grass and it’s as if he’s still just about to walk through the door after mowing the lawn. It was his favorite chore, probably because he got to ride around the yard like a little boy on a new bike.”

  Tempted to mention her father, Aurora bit her tongue. This amiable woman seemed happy and well-adjusted. There was no sense bring up unhappy thoughts or conclusions. If anything, maybe watching Catherine would help her understand what was going on in her father’s head, assuming he was even thinking rationally.

  Her hostess paused at an open door. “I’m going to turn in too. My room is just across the hall. Once I take out my hearing aids, I won’t hear much. You may have to come in and wake me in person if you need anything.”

  “I’m sure I’ll be fine,” Aurora assured her. “Thank you for everything. I know this is an imposition.”

  “Not at all. Our pleasure. Daniel wouldn’t have asked you if there wasn’t a real need. He rarely invites anyone over. If it wasn’t for Joy and me, he’d probably turn into a recluse.” Her smile faded and she clasped her hands as if in prayer. “I don’t know what I did wrong raising his father but hopefully we can both make up for it by bringing up our Joy.”

  Aurora glanced in the direction of the child’s room. “I’m glad she has the two of you. And Dakota. I had a dog when I was little and told him all my troubles.”

  “Nothing wrong with that,” Catherine said. “Pets are good listeners and never gossip.”

  That made Aurora smile again. “Right. I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

  “Breakfast is whenever you decide to get up. We don’t live by a schedule in this house thanks to Daniel’s crazy hours and a certain toddler’s whims.” Catherine’s expression softened when she mentioned Joy again. “I figure she’s doing well to get through this ordeal even though she has no idea what’s happening to her mom. Daniel and I are doing our best to cushion her from the inevitable by telling her about angels and Heaven ahead of time.”

  “You let her do as she pleases?” She frowned slightly.

  Catherine smiled. “Have you been around a lot of small children?”

  “In my early teens, I was. Mom ran a day care in our home and I helped her out after school and on weekends.” Now that she thought about it, perhaps those little ones were her mother’s substitute for the lack of affection from her husband. “Don’t children need rules?”

  “Yes, and no,” Catherine said. “Joy was raised like a wild child. Serena had a job for a while but once she got sick she lived in her car for months. When she heard about a drug trial taking place in Texas, she left Joy behind with a note for Dan. It was pretty confusing to the poor little thing so we cut her some slack. I think she’s adjusting well, considering.”

  “I know some of that background. I am sorry.”

  “It is what it is,” the older woman said. “Joy has us and Serena can be at peace about the rest of her and her child’s lives because she trusts us, and God. The only thing better would be if Serena was suddenly cured.” Backing into the hallway, Catherine kept her hand on the doorknob. “Do you want this open or closed?”

  Aurora said, “Open,” before she even thought. Access to the others and the knowledge that the faithful Great Dane was on duty just down the hall made all the difference. Isolation might be nice in some situations. Being alone tonight wasn’t one of them.