Under the Lawman's Protection

She hesitated, but then nodded. The adrenaline rush had faded, leaving her feeling shaky and weak. Her muscles felt sore, as if she’d run some sort of marathon rather than a short sprint to a grove of trees. She climbed out her side of the vehicle while Isaac opened the other back door.

He gently lifted Ben out of his car seat and carried him toward their room. Leah pulled the plastic key card out and unlocked the door. After flipping on the light, she stood back so that Isaac could set Ben on one of the two double beds, choosing the one closest to the bathroom.

The room was clean, but smelled a bit musty, as if it hadn’t been used in a few days. Still, she was grateful to be here.

“The clerk at the desk provided a few toiletries for us.” Isaac fished the items out of his coat pocket and set toothbrushes, toothpaste and a comb on the dresser. Then he crossed over to the connecting door. “I need you to leave this unlocked, okay? I’ll open my side, as well.”

She nodded wearily. “I understand. Thanks again, for everything.”

Isaac stared at her for a long moment, his dark eyes intense. The strange awareness between them unnerved her and she took a step backward, as if more distance would help. He looked as if he wanted to say something more, but then he turned and strode toward the door. “If you need anything at all, let me know.”

“I will.”

When the door closed behind him, she felt a momentary flash of panic. Ridiculous, since he was only going right next door. She crossed over and opened the connecting door, listening for sounds from the other room. It didn’t take long for Isaac to unlock and open his door.

“Are you okay?” he asked when he saw her standing there, obviously waiting.

She forced a smile, hoping he wouldn’t notice her blush. “Yes, of course. Good night.”

“Good night.”

She left a one-inch gap in the door before making her way over to Ben. Carefully, so as to not wake him up, she removed his winter coat, hat and shoes. She left his long-sleeved T-shirt and jeans on in lieu of pajamas. Setting the outer clothing aside, she bent over and pressed a kiss to the top of his head, thanking God once again for keeping her son safe.

Ben wiggled around, muttering something incomprehensible before burrowing into the pillow. She pulled the covers up over him and then made her way to the bathroom. She washed her hands and face, then dabbed at the mud splatters on her jeans with a soapy washcloth. She used the toothbrush and toothpaste, but didn’t bother with the comb, since her naturally curly hair would be better served with a brush. She went back into the room and sat on the edge of her bed, cradling her head in her hands.

She needed to get some sleep, but couldn’t make herself crawl in between the sheets. Instead, her mind whirled with questions. Where was Shane? What had he stumbled into? Was he hiding? Hurt? Or worse?

After a brief internal debate, she stood up and went back over to the connecting doors, tapping lightly to get Isaac’s attention.

“What’s wrong?” He leaped to his feet, instantly on alert.

“Nothing,” she quickly assured him. “I can’t sleep.”

Isaac nodded and sank back down on his seat. “I know. I tried calling Hawk again, but there’s no answer.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” she said with a frown.

“He knows how to reach me,” Isaac pointed out. “I’m sure he’ll get in touch soon.”

She stared at him for a long moment, trying to gauge his mood. “I feel like we need to do something to help him. Something more than sitting here.”

Isaac gestured to the chair across from him and then rubbed his hand across the shadow of his beard. “Do you have any idea what your brother is investigating?”

She sank into the chair, trying to remember anything Shane had said. “Not really. He doesn’t talk about his job very much. I know he was assigned a new partner about four months ago, some guy by the name of Trey.”

Isaac’s eyes lit up. “Do you know his last name?”

She pressed her fingers against her temples, trying to remember. “Something like a tree,” she murmured, thinking back to the conversation she’d had with Shane. “Birchwood. Trey Birchwood.”

Isaac leaned forward. “What else did he say? Did he get along with Birchwood?”

“Shane mentioned Trey was from another district and that the guy was okay.” She shrugged and grimaced. “You have to understand that Shane didn’t ever say anything negative about his job. He kept all the dangerous details to himself.”

“Understandable that he wouldn’t want you to worry,” Isaac said. “But surely he would have said something if he had real concerns about his new partner.”

“Not necessarily,” she argued. “Shane glosses over everything bad because he knows I really don’t like the fact that he’s in constant danger.” Admitting her fears out loud wasn’t easy, but if it helped her brother, the embarrassment was well worth it. “When he mentioned his new partner, his tone was rather offhand. I wish I knew if there was some sort of rift between them, but I don’t because I never asked.” She was angry with herself now, although she certainly hadn’t known that she’d end up in danger.

Isaac held her gaze for a long minute and she tried not to squirm in her seat. “I take it you don’t approve of your brother’s career choice?”

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Did Shane happen to mention that our dad died in the line of duty?”

Isaac nodded. “Yes, he told me back when we were at Saint Jermaine’s.”

“Well, then you know that Shane went a little crazy after our dad died. That’s when he started getting into trouble. I’m pretty sure he got caught up in drugs for a bit, although he never admitted that to me. I know he was arrested, and thankfully, the judge sentenced him to Saint Jermaine’s rather than sending him to jail.”

“Yeah, I was grateful for the chance to go there, as well.”

She was a little surprised to know that Isaac and Shane had both been at Saint Jermaine’s, but then realized she shouldn’t be. Shane was three years older than her and she had been only fourteen when he was sent to the boys’ school. And much of that time, the year or two after her father’s death, was nothing more than a blur, especially once their mother started hitting the bottle. Her mom had died while Leah was in college, and from that point on, she and Shane had depended on each other.

Glancing at Isaac, she was glad to know he’d been given the same opportunity to turn his life around as her brother had. And it was interesting that they both had chosen law enforcement.

She gave herself a mental shake. Why was she concerned about Isaac’s life? She’d married Elliot right out of nursing school and lost him barely two years later. She had no intention of opening herself up to that kind of hurt again.

“Well, thanks, Leah,” Isaac said, breaking into her thoughts. “I’ll see what I can find out about your brother’s new partner. Now, do me a favor and try to get some sleep.”

He was right—there was nothing else she could do tonight. And he obviously wanted her to leave, so she rose to her feet and walked toward the connecting door. She glanced back at Isaac over her shoulder and was disconcerted to find him watching her intently. “Good night,” she murmured before slipping through the opening to her own room.

As she crawled into bed, she told herself that she’d imagined the disappointment reflected on Isaac’s face when she’d mentioned not liking her brother’s career choice. And if she hadn’t imagined it, she was still glad he understood exactly where she was coming from.

They might have been thrown together by circumstances outside their control, but she knew very well that as soon as they found her brother, they’d go their separate ways.

And truthfully, she couldn’t help hoping that happened sooner than later. Because she wasn’t ready to even consider getting romantically involved again.

Not now and maybe not ever.

* * *

Isaac watched Leah walk away, telling himself that it was a good thing there couldn’t be anything more between them than friendship. So what if she was so beautiful it made his gut ache? It wasn’t as if he intended to get married again, not after his first wife had left him, taking their son with her. And when his ex-wife’s new boyfriend went crazy, killing her and then Jeremy and then himself, the hole in Isaac’s heart had gotten wider and deeper.

Two years had passed but he still missed his son every single day. And deep down, he hadn’t found a way to forgive himself for his wife’s leaving him. He should have known she wasn’t happy. She’d always told him he worked too many hours, but he hadn’t listened.

And now it was too late to right the wrong.

Maybe his teammates Caleb and Declan had managed to find a way to make their relationships work, even with their crazy schedules, but Isaac had failed and wasn’t interested in trying again.

So why was he disappointed to find out Leah wasn’t interested in someone like him?

He shook off the bizarre feeling and made a call to the Fifth District asking for Trey Birchwood. He was told the cop was off duty for the weekend, so that wasn’t much help. It was Friday night, so it could be that Trey was actually off work. Or it could be that he’d specifically requested time off for some unknown reason.