Under the Lawman's Protection

“I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

The sincere note in her rescuer’s voice made her eyes fill with tears, which she rapidly blinked away. She had to be strong, for Shane’s sake as well as Ben’s. She tried to recall every detail of her brief encounter. “The garage door wouldn’t open and the light I left on above the kitchen sink was out, too. Do you think he cut the electricity?”

“Very possibly, but unfortunately, I didn’t see him do anything like that. I only saw him hiding behind your big oak tree. Is it possible you were followed? I can’t help wondering if he might have cut the power earlier.”

The thought that she might have been followed to the birthday party at Fun Zone only put her more on edge. How could she not have noticed?

Although why would she even look for someone following her? Being an E.R. nurse was hardly dangerous. And suddenly Leah was overwhelmed by a wave of helplessness. She closed her eyes again and prayed.

Please, Lord, thank You for saving me and Ben from the gunman. I ask that You keep Shane, Isaac, me and Ben safe in Your care. Amen.

Her emotions calmed down after her prayer, and for the first time since pulling into her driveway, she felt as if she was on the right path.

If her brother had sent Isaac to keep her and Ben safe, then Leah needed to trust his judgment. And to trust in God. She couldn’t do this on her own.

“The place I’m taking you and Ben is called the Forty Winks Hotel.” He captured her gaze in the rearview mirror. “It’s a cute establishment. We’ve used it before. You and Ben will be safe there.”

Safe. She liked the sound of that. Oddly enough, she was glad Isaac was here, protecting her and Ben.

But abruptly, the Jeep jerked sharply to the right, causing her to cry out in alarm. Isaac wrestled with the steering wheel in a vain attempt to stay on the road, but it was no use.

What was going on? Leah swallowed a scream and grabbed her son’s hand, praying for God to watch over them and ignoring the way her seat belt bit sharply into her shoulder as the vehicle plunged into a ditch.

TWO (#ulink_9f2617f9-5f28-5196-9610-682826fcf0ba)

“Leah? Ben?” Isaac fought to get free of his seat belt so he could make sure his passengers were safe. “Are you both all right?”

Ben was crying and Leah was trying to console him. “Shh, Ben, we’re okay. Everything’s fine. Don’t cry, sweetie. Please don’t cry.”

Hearing Ben sob ripped at his heart. Yet there wasn’t time to waste. “We need to get out of here.”

“What? Why?”

He didn’t want to scare Leah more than she already was, but he believed someone had taken a shot at them. “Try to keep your head down and don’t get out of the car yet, okay? I don’t think this was an accident.” He quickly called the dispatch center, giving the code for officer needing assistance. “We’re not far from Highway 22,” he informed them.

“Ten-four.”

He hung up and then called Caleb’s number. Thankfully, his teammate answered on the second ring. “You interrupted our family time,” Caleb mumbled. “This better be important.”

“I’m sorry, but I need backup,” Isaac said. “I’m fairly certain someone caused me to crash my Jeep.”

“All right, I’ll grab Deck, too.” Caleb didn’t hesitate to come to his aid, and Isaac knew he was lucky to have friends like them. “Where are you?”

Isaac gave his location and then disconnected from the call, feeling better knowing the two men he trusted the most would be there soon. Of course, the dispatcher would send someone out as well, but Isaac needed members of the SWAT team to help him figure out exactly what they were dealing with.

“So you think someone made us crash?” Leah asked fearfully.

He glanced back at her, trying to figure out how much to say in front of Ben. “It’s just a hunch, but yeah. The tires on this Jeep are brand-new and I didn’t see anything on the road that could have caused this. Just stay down. I’m going to go out and make sure there isn’t someone out there.”

“Wait!” she cried as he was about to open his car door. “Don’t go. Stay here with us.”

He was torn between two impossible choices. If someone had shot out the tires on purpose, he couldn’t just wait for that person to come and finish them off. Nor did he want to leave Leah and Ben here alone.

So far he wasn’t doing the greatest job of keeping Hawk’s sister and her son safe. If he’d been wearing his bulletproof gear he would be in better shape to go out to investigate.

Isaac peered out the window, trying to see if anyone was out there. Sitting here was making him crazy, so he decided doing something was better than nothing.

“I’m armed, Leah, so don’t worry about me. I promise I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you and Ben safe.”

He could tell she wanted to protest, but she bit her lip and nodded. She pulled her son out of his booster seat and tucked him next to her, so that he was protected on either side. Then she curled her body around him. The fact that she would risk herself to protect Ben gave Isaac a funny feeling in the center of his chest.

Leah’s actions were humbling. He hadn’t been attracted to a woman in a long time, not since his wife had left him for a guy who turned out to be mentally unstable. A man who’d shot Becky, Jeremy and then himself in a fit of depressed anger.

But this wasn’t the time to ruminate over the past. Isaac’s ex-wife and son were gone and nothing in the world would bring them back. So Isaac would do the next best thing—protect Leah and Ben with his life if necessary.

Isaac hadn’t replaced the bulb in the dome light, so he wasn’t too worried about broadcasting his movements. He pushed open the driver’s-side door and used it as a shield as he swept his gaze around, searching for any sign of danger. The country road he’d taken was deserted, which wasn’t at all reassuring. He had to assume that someone had hidden in the trees along the opposite side of the road, waiting for his Jeep to show up so they could take a shot at him. The last thing he wanted to do was sit here and wait for yet another gunman to show up.

He was positive he hadn’t been followed, which left only one option. The masked man must have known he was a sheriff’s deputy, maybe by recognizing the uniform, and he’d come this way hoping to ambush him, since this was the main road leading to the sheriff’s-department headquarters.

How much time did they have before there was another attempt to take Leah and Ben? Probably not much.

Isaac had to decide right now if they’d be safer outside or waiting in the Jeep. Normally he didn’t have trouble making decisions.

But for some reason, he couldn’t seem to get the image of the gunman holding Leah hostage out of his mind. The personal responsibility gnawed at him.

Outside the Jeep, he abruptly decided. For sure, they needed to get outside to hide, so they weren’t sitting ducks.

He climbed back in and closed the door. “We’re going to get out on the passenger side, okay? I’ll go first and then you and Ben will follow.”

Leah lifted her tearstained face and nodded. Her silent tears made him feel bad for her, but he forced himself to concentrate. Awkwardly, he climbed over the gearshift and then pushed open the passenger door. Staying behind the protection of the car, he opened the door to the back, taking the booster seat out first, to give Leah and Ben room to maneuver.

“Come on out,” he said in a low voice.

Leah lifted Ben and handed him over. Isaac moved to the side, keeping the boy in front of him so that Ben was sandwiched between him and the car. Leah climbed out, too, and immediately reached for her son.

“Stay down,” Isaac said, moving so that he was directly behind her.

“Where are we going?” she asked in a whisper.

Good question. There weren’t streetlights, but the scant amount of lingering snow on the ground reflected the moonlight, making it brighter than he was comfortable with. “See that small cluster of trees?” He indicated an area directly behind him. “We’re going to hide there.”

Fear shimmered in her eyes, but she gave a jerky nod of agreement.

“You and Ben first. I’ll protect you from behind. Ready? Let’s go.”

Leah clutched her son close and ran up the slippery embankment toward the trees, moving faster than he’d anticipated. Then again, adrenaline had a way of giving the body a boost when needed the most. He held his weapon ready and kept pace behind her.

When Leah and Ben were safe in the grove, Isaac gave a little sigh of relief. He was about to join them when his foot slipped on a patch of melting snow. He fell to his knees and felt something whiz past his head.