Secret Agent Father

Shelby slowly nodded, following him outside down the path she’d taken a few minutes ago.

When a low hanging branch tangled in her hair, she tried to yank free, muttering under her breath.

“Here, let me help.” Alex came up behind her and deftly unhooked the naturally curly lock of hair from the branch. His nearness made her shiver and not necessarily with fear. She stepped away. She shouldn’t be tempted to lean on Alex, not when she’d fought so hard to remain independent.

“Thanks.” Her breath shortened and she hunched her shoulders, careful to duck far below the trees. His calm presence managed to distract her from her fear of the dark.

Alex must be a cop. That would explain why Trina sent them to him for protection. Her preoccupation with her sister caused her to stumble over a fallen branch, half-hidden beneath the snow. Alex caught her by the arm.

“Watch your step.” Alex frowned when she instinctively pulled away from his touch. He glanced down at her sodden feet. “We need to get you a pair of boots. Kayla’s already loaned Cody a pair of Brianna’s.”

“We left Green Bay in a hurry.” Shelby grit her teeth together to stop them from chattering. Alex’s domineering personality put her on the defensive. She wasn’t used to anyone questioning her parenting skills. “Besides, we didn’t have as much snow there as you do here.”

“I’m sure Kayla has a pair that’ll fit.” Alex kept his hand under her elbow as they climbed up the few steps to the house.

Shelby refrained from answering. Safe inside the well-lit house, she breathed a sigh of relief. She’d conquered the darkness, at least for a few minutes. Feeling foolish for her rush of panic, she removed her coat and her sodden tennis shoes. Her jeans and socks were damp, but she ignored the discomfort, simply walking toward the sound of voices coming from the kitchen had died down in their absence.

When they entered, Cody ran up to her. She caught him close in a quick hug, which he tolerated for a half a second before squirming away. She reluctantly released him.

“Aunt Shelby, were you practicing shooting with my other dad outside? When I get older, he said he’s gonna teach me how to shoot a real BB gun.”

“Oh, really?” Calmer now, Shelby sent Alex a narrow look. Just who did he think he was making a promise like that, without even asking her? No matter what biology said, he was not Cody’s only parent, and he had no right to make decisions like that without consulting her. She didn’t approve of guns and she especially didn’t approve of teaching children how to shoot them. Shelby held on to her temper with an effort, turning her attention to Cody. “Who’s your new friend?” she asked, gesturing to the girl standing near the stove with Kayla.

“That’s Brianna. She’s five. Clyde’s her puppy, but he likes me better.”

Shelby rolled her eyes at the rivalry in his tone. “I’m sure Clyde likes you both the same. Are you hungry, or did you eat dinner without me?”

“No, of course not,” Kayla said. “Brianna, you and Cody need to set the table.”

“Okay,” Brianna agreed as she dashed toward the cabinets on the other side of the kitchen, dragging Cody with her.

“I’m sorry,” Kayla murmured, her gaze apologetic. “I didn’t realize you’d heard the gunshots until I saw you running for the door. I wanted to come after you, but I couldn’t go outside like this.” She pointed down to her feet, covered only in thick socks.

Shelby tried to smile. Cody was safe and that was the important thing. “It’s okay. I’m just not keen on guns.”

“Guns are only a problem when they’re misused.” Alex spoke testily. “Don’t worry, I keep trigger locks on all my weapons.”

All his weapons? How many did he have? Shelby wasn’t about to stand around, debating the pros and cons of gun legislation with him. Not on the same day when she’d watched someone shoot her sister. In fact, she was glad Cody was doing all right in here, and hadn’t reacted to the noise of the gunshot with the heart-wrenching fear she’d felt. Maybe he hadn’t seen as much during their frantic dash to the parking lot as she’d thought. Gathering every ounce of patience, she steered the conversation toward a safe topic. “So, what’s for dinner?”

“Venison stew,” Kayla replied.

“Venison?” Shelby tried to hide her dismay.

Kayla chuckled. “That was my reaction too, at first. But trust me, you’ll like it.”

“Don’t tell me it tastes like chicken.”

Kayla laughed. “Why don’t you two go have a seat in the great room?” she suggested. “I’ll call you when everything’s ready.”

Back in the great room, Shelby noticed that the fire had died down. She reached for a log, intent on adding to the dying embers, but a masculine arm snatched it from her grasp.

“Here, let me. You need to change into some dry clothes.”

Annoyed, Shelby wondered if all men liked to pretend they were in charge of the world, or if this was a characteristic unique to Alex McCade. She might be afraid of the shadows, but years of living alone had taught her to fend for herself in her own way. She valued her independence and preferred to keep it that way. Dire circumstances had brought her here. She needed Alex to keep Cody safe. She did not need him to boss her around.

She sat on the edge of the sofa, propping her feet on the stone hearth of the fireplace. “I don’t have anything else with me. Besides, I’m fine.”

“I’m sure Kayla will lend you a few things.”

“I’m fine,” she repeated stubbornly. She didn’t want to put her hostess out any more than she already had.

“I know you’re upset with me,” Alex murmured in a low tone. “I promise I’ll try to answer your questions. But I don’t want to talk in front of the kids.” Alex waved in the general direction of the kitchen, where Cody and Brianna were still helping Kayla by setting the table.

Shelby lifted her gaze to his. He wasn’t looking at her, though, but stared thoughtfully into the fire. When he wasn’t ordering her around, he was very attractive, not that she had any business noticing. He wasn’t at all her type, even if she wasn’t interested in men, which she wasn’t. Considering her past experiences, she didn’t trust men on a personal level and that included Alex. “They won’t hear us if we’re quiet. Be honest with me. Are you in law enforcement?”

“Sort of.” He shrugged and glanced at her. “I work for the government.”

Her eyes widened. “FBI?”

He shook his head. “DEA. Shelby, you’ll need to keep everything I tell you confidential. Your life and Cody’s depends upon it.”

She swallowed hard at the seriousness of his tone. “Okay.”

Alex took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “How much do you know about your father’s shipping business and the marina?”

“Not a lot. Most of my time is spent running my day care center.” Shelby wrinkled her forehead, realizing she’d have to call her assistant soon to let Debbi know she wouldn’t be there on Monday. “Trina and Stephan manage the marina.”

“I know. Trina was helping us, providing inside information.”

Shelby frowned. “Like what?”

“Details that may be pertinent to us finding the drugs being smuggled into the U.S. from Canada through the Great Lakes. Names of ships, routes, etcetera. We’re trying to find the identity of the mastermind behind the drug smuggling operation. We knew there were several insiders, including one in customs, but we needed to find the guy in charge.”

“Drugs? On my father’s ships?” She stared at him in shock. “You can’t be serious.”

“Shelby, I saw the shipments firsthand. I was working undercover as a longshoreman, reporting to Bobby Drake, the warehouse foreman and your father’s right-hand man. During the time I spent on the docks, I discovered drugs coming in on your father’s ships over and over again. That much is fact. What we don’t know is who’s responsible.”

She sucked in a harsh breath. She’d had no idea. “You think my father is involved, don’t you?”

“I saw him on the docks a fair amount. He kept his hand in every aspect of his business. Russ Jacobson was especially interested in the cargo on the ships that traveled from Sault Saint Marie to Green Bay, with the final destination being Chicago. The same ships where we found drugs.”

“No!” Shelby jumped to her feet, her hands fisted at her sides. “I’m telling you, Alex, my father isn’t involved in drug smuggling.”

“Shh.” He frowned at her, and then glanced over his shoulder toward the kitchen where the kids were playing with Clyde. “Calm down. Trina felt the same way you do. Yet we have no choice but to treat everyone as a suspect, until proven otherwise. You wanted to know the source of the danger, well this is it. Whoever hurt Trina must have figured out she was feeding us information.”

“Dinner’s on,” Kayla called.

Alex glanced toward the kitchen. “We’ll discuss this more later.”