Sworn To Protect

To Katie, those had not been real dates. They had been opportunities to get to know a nice guy in her new church community. Martin had been charming. He had also been a Sunday school teacher, a deacon, a man who quoted Scripture and lived a seemingly upright life. Katie hadn’t seen any harm in saying yes to his invitations.

If she could go back, she would have known the truth about what lurked beneath Martin’s charming exterior. She wouldn’t have spoken to him. She wouldn’t have gone out with him. She wouldn’t have unwittingly sparked the obsession that had cost Jordan his life.

She swallowed a hard lump of grief.

Her clothes were folded neatly and set on a chair near the door. Her purse had been retrieved from Dr. Ritter’s office and was sitting on top of them. She grabbed the purse and her clothes and ducked into the bathroom to dress. She wanted to be quick, but pregnancy made her once-athletic body cumbersome and clumsy. By the time she managed to get out of the hospital gown and back into her clothes, a nurse was knocking on the bathroom door.

“Katie? Is everything okay?”

“Fine.” She opened the door and smiled as she sidled past the nurse and slid her feet into her shoes.

“We were worried when the fetal monitor stopped reading your baby’s heartbeat.” There was an unmistakable note of censure in the nurse’s tone.

“I haven’t had a contraction in a couple of hours. The doctor said the baby’s heart rate is great, so I thought I’d go see how my mother-in-law is doing.”

And, then, she was going to ask one of her brothers-in-law to arrange for an escort home. She would call Tony on the way there and make sure he and Rusty were all right. She hoped they were. The last thing she wanted or needed was more blood on her hands.

She frowned, hiking her purse up on her shoulder and trying to shove the thought and the guilt away.

Maybe one day she would stop feeling as if she were responsible for the horrible things Martin had done.

Today was apparently not that day.

“We need to clear that with the doctor and with...” The nurse’s voice trailed off, her gaze darting to the now-open door.

“The police?” Katie offered. “I know they’re standing guard, but I’m not a criminal and I can go where I want.”

“We still need to clear things with the doctor,” the nurse argued. “You had quite a scare this morning, and Dr. Ritter wants to be certain you and the baby are healthy.”

“I’m as concerned as he is, but he has already assured me the baby looks great,” Katie responded, anxious to get back to the quiet home she and Jordan had shared. Sometimes, if she allowed herself, she could still hear him walking up the steps and sliding his key into the lock.

Despite the long hours he’d spent on the job and the weekends she had often spent alone, she had always run into his arms when he returned home.

She missed that.

She missed him.

“Is everything okay in here?” A uniformed officer peered into the room.

“Everything is fine, but I would like to visit my mother-in-law. If you wouldn’t mind escorting me there, I would appreciate it.”

“I’ll have to check with the chief,” he responded. She recognized most of the men and women in the NYC K-9 Command Unit. He wasn’t one of them.

“Noah Jameson is my brother-in-law,” she said. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

“Currently the chief is out in the field.” Another officer stepped into the room, a yellow Lab on a lead beside her. Katie recognized her immediately. Brianne Hayes was new to the K-9 team. One of the few female officers in the unit, she had proved herself to be a top-notch handler when she had helped apprehend a bombing suspect a few months back.

“Can you contact him? I’m anxious to see Ivy.”

“I can try, but...” Brianne hesitated, the look in her eyes reminding Katie of the one she had seen in the faces of the officers who had informed her of Jordan’s death.

“What’s going on?” she asked. “Did something else happen to Ivy? Is she...worse than they originally thought?”

“She’s fine,” Brianne answered hurriedly.

“Did something happen to Tony?” Katie asked, her mind rushing in a direction she had been trying not to allow it to go.

She had been married to a police officer.

She knew the risks.

Every time Jordan had left the house, she had known there was a possibility he wouldn’t be coming home. Over the past few months, that nagging worry had transferred to the other men in Katie’s life—her brothers-in-law and Tony.

Brianne hesitated, her gaze jumping to the other officer. “He’s fine.”

Her answer was about as reassuring as the concerned look on her face.

“Then, why do you look like he’s not?”

“You need to relax and not worry, okay?” Brianne responded.

“I would worry less if someone would tell me what’s going on.”

“There isn’t much to tell. Martin Fisher hasn’t been apprehended. The chief is out searching for him with other members of the team. Until I hear something different, I’d rather you just sit tight and wait here.”

“The NYPD have been hunting for Martin since he escaped the mental hospital. There’s no guarantee he’ll be found tonight or tomorrow, and I can’t remain in the hospital indefinitely. Besides, I’m not asking to leave. I’m just asking to visit Ivy.” She wanted to leave, though, and if she could talk one of her brothers-in-law into bringing her home, that’s exactly what she planned to do.

“I have to check with the chief, but if I can get in touch with him, I’ll see if I can clear it. Just give me a few minutes, okay?”

“Sure,” Katie conceded. She was too tired to argue. Even if she weren’t, she would have allowed Brianne to do her job. She had too much respect for law enforcement to make trouble for any of the officers.

“Thanks.” Brianne smiled, her eyes shadowed with fatigue, her auburn hair tucked behind her ears. Like everyone on the K-9 team, she had been burning the candle at both ends, trying to locate and apprehend Martin.

“I’ll contact Dr. Ritter,” the nurse added, walking out of the room as the officers left.

Katie waited until they closed the door, then dug through her purse until she found her phone. She scrolled through text messages from friends who had heard about the attempted kidnapping on the news and were worried about her. Former colleagues had called, and she had gotten a call from her pastor. She didn’t listen to the voice mails. She’d do that later. For now, she had the information she wanted. Tony had not tried to contact her. That wasn’t surprising, if he was still out searching for Martin.

But, she couldn’t forget Brianne’s hesitation.

Something was wrong.

She was sure of it.

She swung open the door, determined to get the truth.

Tony was there, hand raised as if he’d been getting ready to knock. His jacket and uniform shirt were off, and a thick bandage was showing beneath the short sleeve of his T-shirt. There were specks of blood on his forearm and a smear of it on his cheek.

But, he was on his feet and alive, Rusty standing beside him.