Guard Duty. Sharon Dunn

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СКАЧАТЬ passed. The sense that she was being watched had been with her since the Andrew Garry murder. Was she just imagining it now? She’d give anything to replay the tape of her life and go back to that night—to make different choices. When she’d passed that woman wearing the hooded jacket on the street, something had seemed amiss...but she had ignored her instincts. The next day, Garry’s body had been found by another K-9 unit. By then, the woman had disappeared.

      Valerie’s father, a retired detective, had always said that instinct was a cop’s best asset. She had made a stupid rookie mistake and ignored the prickling of the hairs on her neck when that woman had looked at her. Trevor Lewis had no idea that his comment about rookies making mistakes was like a dagger through her chest.

      Her life would have been different if she had followed her gut and stopped to engage the woman in conversation. The woman’s guilt might have risen to the surface, and Valerie could have detained her for questioning. She certainly would have gotten a better look at the person who later became their prime suspect.

      Another noise jerked Valerie away from her regret and back into the warehouse. The balcony creaked. Was the wind blowing through here strong enough to do that? She examined the balcony segment by segment.

      Lexi sniffed the ground and then sneezed.

      “He got away.” A voice boomed in her ear.

      Though her training kept her from dropping the gun, the voice had startled her. “Agent Lewis, do you always creep up on people like that?”

      “Sorry, you were so focused on that balcony, there was no way not to surprise you.” The arch of his eyebrow and slight upturn of his mouth suggested amusement.

      Valerie holstered her gun and squared her shoulders, hoping he hadn’t picked up on her loss of composure. She should have heard him coming no matter how closely she was watching the balcony. Tunnel vision while on duty could be deadly. Another stupid rookie mistake. She steadied her voice. “Murke got away?” She pointed to the dog who was working her way to the opposite side of the warehouse. “Lexi picked up on something in here.”

      “The dog’s right. He did run through here, but then he doubled back and went out to the street.”

      That explained why the scent had become muddled for Lexi.

      “I caught up with him on the street.” Frustration was evident in Trevor’s voice. “He got into a car and took off. No way could I catch him. But I know the make and model, and the first two letters on the plate. We’ll post notices out to the locals and the highway patrol. Murke will most likely try to leave town now that he knows we’re on to him.”

      She surveyed the warehouse one more time. She had to let go of the idea that the syndicate could be everywhere and was watching her. “Guess we better get back to the station.”

      She couldn’t read Trevor’s expression, but his voice softened. “Maybe next time we need to work on not getting separated like that,” he said.

      His tone of concern touched her, but she needed to be able to do her job. “Splitting up is standard procedure. Lexi can be a real asset in these situations.”

      “Sometimes there are things that are more important than procedure,” he said.

      The smolder in his voice made her heart flutter. Was he that worried about her well-being? He barely knew her.

      He stepped closer to her, his hand brushing her forearm. “I said I’d protect you. I don’t want to break my promise to McNeal.”

      Was that all it was about, keeping his word to an old buddy? She struggled to let go of her disappointment. And then wondered why it had even mattered to her that he had expressed concern for her that seemed to go beyond work requirements. “I have paperwork to catch up on back at the station. I still have to do my regular job.” She headed toward the door of the warehouse, yanking on Lexi’s leash. The dog was reluctant to leave the spot where she’d picked up the scent again. “Come on, Lex.”

      Once they were in his car, Valerie directed Trevor to the Sagebrush Police Station, a one-story, red-brick building. She led him around to the back where the K-9 officers had a separate entrance. She could feel his body heat and sense his proximity as he walked behind her. There was no chance of them being separated now.

      He was one of those men who seemed to live in a state of heightened alert anyway, and he was taking watching her back seriously. Asking him to hang back a little ways wouldn’t do any good. She’d just have to get used to it for the time being. “I’ve got some reports to complete, and I’ll pull Leroy Seville’s file to see if I can find out anything more. I’m sure I’ll be safe at my desk.”

      Trevor took a step back. “Great...I’ll brief the other officers in the station on Murke. Then maybe we can see if we can track down this Linda Seville lady, find out if Murke was staying at her house or just somewhere on that street.” His voice became more intense. “We need to jump on this. Murke is famous for leaving town as soon as he knows we’re closing in on him.”

      As she and Lexi passed the other K-9 officers’ desks, a black lab lay by Detective Jackson Worth’s chair while he bent over a report. Titan lifted his head when she passed by but didn’t move. The lab’s job was to stick near Jackson, to watch over him. The devotion of the dogs to their handlers filled her with gratitude. Truth was, she felt safe as long as Lexi stayed close. The dogs remained with the officers most of the time, because having the K-9 as a pet as well as a partner was the best way to ensure unwavering obedience.

      Valerie scooted her chair up to her desk and opened up a database that listed Sagebrush felons. Leroy Seville was recently out on parole after five years in jail. Linda Seville was listed as an emergency contact and identified as his great-aunt. They could catch up with Leroy later and see what he knew about Murke. She doubted Murke would go back to Linda’s home.

      In the small Sagebrush station, Trevor’s warm bass voice carried across the room as he showed Murke’s picture to the other officers. She tried to focus on her computer screen instead of the joking that seemed to be going on between Trevor and the other officers.

      She adjusted her chair for the umpteenth time and leaned closer to the monitor. Trevor hadn’t hidden his ire at getting close to Murke, yet not catching him. Did he blame her for that? It was her own insecurity that made her wonder if he was fishing around for a different officer to assist him.

      She could only pick up bits and pieces of the conversation, and yet she had assumed that that was what was going on. Why did she even care? Having to help Trevor took away time from her regular work.

      Okay, so he didn’t like rookies. McNeal had paired them up for a reason. It couldn’t just be because it was extra protection for her. Trevor wasn’t going to ditch her for a more experienced officer who didn’t have any connection to the neighborhoods where Murke was likely to be. Valerie chided herself for worrying. Fine with her if he wanted to work with a different officer.

      She picked up a pen, making lines on a legal pad so deep they nearly cut through the paper. That caring tone he had used back at the warehouse had messed with her initial impression of him—that he was one of those lawmen who was good at his job but not so good at connecting with people. Maybe there was some chink in his armor. It wasn’t her job to try to find it. The sooner they caught Murke, the sooner Trevor Lewis would be gone.

      Pushing all thoughts of the impossibly handsome agent out of her head, she focused on the monitor, opening up a report she needed СКАЧАТЬ