Courage Under Fire. Sharon Dunn
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Название: Courage Under Fire
Автор: Sharon Dunn
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Короткие любовные романы
Серия: Mills & Boon Love Inspired Suspense
isbn: 9781474097567
isbn:
She wasn’t about to let him get away.
The boat had just eased away from the shore when she jumped into the water. In the distance, she could see the flashing lights of other boats.
This boat wouldn’t be able to get up speed until it was in open water out of the bay and the tangle of peninsulas and islands that made up the refuge.
Her arms cut through the surging waves. Her head bobbed above the surface. She was within feet of the boat. She willed herself to move faster. Her hand reached for the edge of the boat. She held on.
She could see the back of the man as he steered. The bike occupied two of the backseats. She pulled herself up. Water cascaded off her body. The noise was enough to alert her assailant. He shifted the boat into Neutral and whirled around.
Before she could get her bearings, he had punched her and pushed her back off the side of the boat. She splashed into the water, plunging beneath the surface like a weighted rag doll. She bobbed back up just in time to see the boat speeding out into open water.
She could hear the dogs on the shore going ballistic.
Feeling defeated, she turned and swam back toward the beach. Noah rushed out into the water up to his knees. She gasped for air.
“You all right?” He wrapped his arm around her and helped her to the beach.
The suspect had gotten away. Noah eased her down to the beach where Scotty waited to give her moral support and doggie kisses. The cold water had masked the pain of her attack. Now she could feel where there was probably going to be some soreness and bruising.
She stared out where the flashing light of the assailant’s boat merged with other flashing lights. Not many boats out at this hour. “Maybe the coast guard can catch up with him.” She didn’t hold out much hope for that happening.
Noah spoke on his radio, giving a description of the boat and the direction it was headed.
Noah sat down beside her. “That was something else, jumping in the water like that.”
That Noah was impressed with her was only a small victory. The suspect had gotten away. She was exhausted, beat and wondering if she had made the right choice following in her brother’s footsteps.
Her only consolation was that Scotty seemed to pick up on her despair. The Rottweiler rested his chin on her leg and made a sympathetic noise. Now she remembered why she wanted to be a K-9 cop. She rested a hand on Scotty’s head. Someday she would be assigned her own K-9 partner.
Tonight though, she felt defeated. If a training exercise could go so far off the rails, what would happen when she worked the field?
Noah sat beside Lani, catching his breath. “Maybe they’ll nab him when he comes to shore.”
The other dogs and officers were farther inland.
“Maybe.” Lani’s voice sounded weak. She stroked behind Scotty’s ears.
Noah’s Rottweiler usually didn’t warm up to people so fast, but the dog seemed to like Lani from the moment she’d become a part of the K-9 unit. His brother Jordan had always said that dogs were a good judge of character. If he closed his eyes, he could almost hear his brother’s voice. He rubbed his chest though the pain he felt was emotional, that deep chasm inside that would never be filled. His younger brothers Zach and Carter were probably the only two people who understood about the hole Jordan’s death had left for all of them. His parents were going through a whole different kind of grief.
“I appreciate your tenacity in going after the suspect,” he said. Noah remembered that only a month before, Lani had stopped an intruder in her and Reed’s house by shooting him. Though she had handled herself well, she had been put on administrative leave to help with her emotional recovery, which had stalled her training. Remembering that and seeing firsthand how she had done tonight made Noah think that maybe he had underestimated Lani.
Lani wrapped her arms around her body. “He got away though.”
Noah took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. His pants were wet up to the knees, but he wasn’t cold. “If medical hasn’t shown up yet at the visitors’ center, let’s get you checked out in the ER.”
She drew the coat around her. “I’m fine. I just need to change into some dry clothes and get some rest.”
“You took quite a blow to the head.” Though Lani seemed like a strong woman, he was concerned about the psychological fallout from having been attacked tonight in addition to her physical well-being. Sometimes there was an accumulative effect from dealing with violence and then an officer just cracked up.
“I know about the possibility of a concussion. Reed gets off duty in a bit, he can keep an eye on me through the night. As soon as that suspect is picked up, I want to be called. I don’t care what the hour is.”
“Sure, Lani.” Always at the back of his mind, the fear of something bad happening to another of the K-9 officers plagued him. He felt a strong responsibility to the team. “At least ride home with me in my patrol car.”
He rose to his feet and held out his hand to help her up. Her fingers felt silky soft in his calloused bear paws. They stood for a moment facing each other. The rhythm of water rushing the shore and the gulls feeding in the distance seemed to be the only sounds.
“Fine, I’ll ride back with you, but I will report for duty for my regular shift tomorrow. Don’t treat me with kid gloves.” Lani turned and headed up the sandy shore toward the tall grass. “I can handle myself just fine. I’ve had first aid training as part of being a martial arts instructor...”
Lani continued to talk as they moved through the grass.
He wasn’t sure if her talking was a sign of confidence or insecurity. His estimation of her had gone up a notch. It took guts to jump in the water after a suspect, especially one that had just attacked her.
Noah’s radio glitched and Reed’s voice came across the line. “I got Lani’s bike loaded up in my patrol car.”
“Ten-four. She’s riding home with me, but you need to keep an eye on her through the night.”
“She’s not going into the ER?” Reed’s voice filled with concern.
Lani grabbed the radio. Standing on her tiptoes, she spoke into it. “Reed, quit being a big brother. When we’re working, treat me like you would any other officer.”
“Copy that, sis.”
“Do you call all the other officers, sis?”
Noah chuckled at the banter between the siblings. His brothers razzed each other and him on and off the job.
“Yes, Officer Branson.” Reed’s voice held a note of amusement.
Lani addressed Noah. “We’ll swing by the ER, but I’m sure I’m fine,” Lani said.
They hiked back up to the trail and out to the visitors’ СКАЧАТЬ