Hidden in Shadows

“What, then?”

“We got a tip that the leader of the drug cartel sent men to Michigan to tie up some loose ends with a church group. The tip came shortly after your group left Mexicali.”

“So, you think someone in the mission group was smuggling drugs?”

“It’s a possibility, yes,” McIntyre said.

“No. It’s not. I know you’re used to dealing with criminals, Agent McIntyre, but people like us don’t break the law.”

“Luke.”

“Excuse me?”

“My name is Luke. You don’t have to call me Agent McIntyre.”

“Oh, okay.” But it wasn’t okay. She didn’t want to call him by his first name, didn’t like the fact he was accusing someone in her church of smuggling and she didn’t like that he was still here at nearly one in the morning.

“Is that all?” she said.

“You didn’t recognize anything about the assailant?”

“The man in the garage? No. He could have been some teenager fooling around for all I know.”

“Krista, I want you to stay with me and Jane tonight,” Chief Cunningham said.

“Thank you, chief, but I’m fine here.”

“You’re really not,” Luke interjected.

“You don’t know that for sure.”

“Why risk it?” he said.

“What about staying with your friend, Natalie, or the Sass family?” the chief suggested.

“Look, I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in nearly two weeks. I need to sleep in my own bed!” she shouted, then slapped her hand to her mouth. She didn’t mean to lose it like that. “Sorry, I get cranky when I’m tired.”

“I’ll stay with her,” Luke said to the chief.

“No, really, that’s okay.” She wasn’t sure what scared her more: the stranger jumping out of her garage or the handsome agent offering to sleep under the same roof.

“Krista, you either stay at our house or with the Sasses, or let Agent McIntyre bunk on your couch. You pick.”

No one had spent the night since Mom came back for Gran’s funeral two years ago. Mom had moved to Florida with Lenny, and since Gran’s death Krista had been in the family house alone.

And tonight they were asking her to share it with a stranger.

“I won’t let a strange man stay in my house,” she said.

“I’m a federal agent and I’m here to protect you. What’s the problem?”

“It doesn’t look right,” she said.

Agent McIntyre glanced at the chief.

“Small town, people talk,” the chief explained. He glanced at Krista. “We’ll tell them Agent McIntyre is my nephew from upstate New York.”

“I don’t like lying,” Krista said.

“Undercover work isn’t the same as lying,” Luke said. “It’ll help me figure out who’s behind all this.”

“I understand, but—”

“How about I stay in the loft above your garage? I noticed a room up there.”

“Great idea,” Chief Cunningham offered. “It’s well insulated and heated since the previous owner ran his mechanics business out of the garage.”

“It’s pretty gross up there,” Krista said, feeling bad that she couldn’t offer better accommodations.

“I’m sure I’ve slept in worse.”

She wondered what could be worse than a cold, damp garage.

“It’s a good compromise,” the chief offered. “He can keep an eye on the house from the garage.”

True, he could see her bedroom window from the garage. A thought that was both comforting and unsettling.

“It’s either your garage or my car,” Luke said. “And I don’t want your neighbors to think I’m stalking you from the street.”

“Okay, fine. There’s a cot up there, although we haven’t used it in years.”

“I wasn’t planning on sleeping much anyway.”

Of course not. He’d be watching the house. Watching her.

“I’ll have patrol swing by every hour.” The chief shook Agent McIntyre’s hand. “You’ll check in tomorrow?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good night, Krista.”

“Good night. Thanks, chief.”

The chief walked out to his cruiser and Luke hesitated at the back door.

“You should have better security. Anyone could pop one of these windows and—”

“This is not New York City,” she argued.