Devoted Defender (2 page)

A few minutes later, Jen came back and set his food down in front of him. “What is this?” he asked.

“That’s your BLT.” Jen smiled.

He looked down at the sandwich that didn’t look anything like his normal BLT—which was usually smashed down dark toasted bread with tomatoes oozing out the sides along with the bacon strips.

“Give it a taste and let me know what you think,” Jen said.

He was hungry so he didn’t let the fancy looking presentation deter him. He picked up the sandwich and took a big bite. There was a cheese on it that had a strong flavor, and the tomato had been fried. There was also some kind of sauce. He was a creature of habit, so he didn’t want to love it. But man, it tasted good. “Wow,” he said. “This thing is amazing. I don’t know that I’d call it a BLT, but whatever it is, it’s awesome. What kind of cheese is this? And the sauce?”

Jen patted his shoulder. “Let me bring out our new cook and you can ask her.”

He glanced down at his phone and when he looked back up he was staring into Annie’s hazel eyes.

“Ms. Thomas,” he said.

“You two know each other?” Jen asked.

Annie cocked her head to the side. “The officer pulled me over last night when I got into town.”

Jen laughed. “This isn’t just any old officer. This is our chief of police, Caleb Winters.”

A flicker of worry shot through Annie’s eyes before she smiled.

“As long as you abide by the speed limit, you won’t have any problems from me.”

“We were fortunate that Mary Ann at the Inn sent her our way first thing this morning, and we put Annie right to work.” Jen smiled and then turned around. “Gotta go do coffee refills.” Jen walked away to serve other customers, leaving the two of them alone.

“I didn’t want to say anything in front of Jen,” he said. “But are you sure you’re okay?”

She placed her hand on her right hip. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“That wasn’t really an answer. But people don’t just pop up into our small town in the middle of the night like you did. It’s unusual. So if you do need anything, I want you to know you can count on me.”

“I know it may not be the norm, and I’m not from around here, but I want to be. Isn’t that all that matters?”

Could he get through to her? “Well, if you’re in some kind of trouble, please let me help you. It’s what I do for a living.”

“You didn’t mention that you were the chief of police. What were you doing on patrol?”

“It’s a small town. We all play various roles here. We don’t have a big enough police force to pick and choose assignments. So I do what has to be done.” He paused. “But you’re still avoiding my question. Is there something wrong?”

“Don’t worry about me. I promise I’m not going to cause this town any trouble.”

He didn’t know if he was so sure about that. “If you change your mind and want to talk, just let me know.” He needed this woman to open up to him.

“Thank you. I should get back to work.” She turned and walked back toward the kitchen.

She said everything was fine, but his gut told him otherwise. What was Annie hiding? Or even worse, who was she hiding from?

After a full day of working at Pa’s Diner, Annie’s body was aching from exhaustion. But her first day on the job had actually been fun. She thought it was going to be difficult to cook diner food, but it was actually freeing to be able to mix things up and also provide tried and true favorites.

She’d gotten a kick out of the responses from the customers. Almost every single one of them was full of compliments. It felt good and had taken her mind off of her problems as she focused on fixing food for so many people. Well, as much as anything would. She still had to figure out what to do. What happened last night weighed heavily on her.

The words of the shooter were still so fresh in her mind, but she also didn’t think she could just sit back and hope that things would work themselves out. No, she knew better than that.

It didn’t help that she felt like the chief of police didn’t buy her story as to why she was in town. She didn’t like explaining herself to anyone—and especially not a police officer who might start digging into her past.

She walked down the sidewalk of the town square, noticing a small coffee shop, a bookstore, and a craft shop on her right. On the left side of the street she saw a bakery and a hardware store.

The tranquility of Maxwell was a stark contrast to the battle raging in her mind. Even though she was tired, she was still determined to move forward. Doc’s youngest son, Phil, lived right outside Atlanta in another fancy suburb. She and Phil had gotten along well from the start, as he was responsible for conducting her first interview with the family. Perhaps she should reach out to him. He wasn’t directly involved in any of the family businesses, so if there was something illegal going on, he probably didn’t know anything about it and deserved to hear what really happened to his father. Also, she had to warn him because now that she thought about it, he and the rest of his family could be in danger, too. She had no idea how widespread the threat could be. She felt some level of responsibility to act.

She hurried back to the Maxwell Inn, but didn’t even go to her room. Instead she opted to get into her car and make the drive to see Phil. Looking down at her watch, she thought it would probably take her forty-five minutes to get there.

When she reached the large three-story brick house in the luxurious suburb it struck her how different this area was from Maxwell. She’d grown up with so little and never felt like she belonged in a fancy high-income neighborhood like this.

She pulled up into Phil’s driveway. He was still a bachelor. And if she was honest with herself, she felt like Phil may have been a bit interested in her. But at the end of the day, he would never want to date the staff, and that was perfectly fine with her. She wasn’t looking for a relationship. She just wanted the safety and security that being on her own afforded her. There was no place in her life for a man. Men had only provided her mother heartache and pain—why would her life be any different?

Annie walked up the brick steps to the front door and rang the doorbell. Unlike his father, Phil didn’t have a full-time staff. And Annie was hoping that he would be alone.

Phil opened the door, and she immediately knew that things were wrong. Phil’s blond hair was disheveled and his brown eyes were red. His blue dress shirt was wrinkled and only half tucked in. This was not the totally put together man that she knew.

“Annie, I’m so glad you’re here.” He grabbed onto her arms, pulling her through the front door and into the living room. “You must have heard about father?”

“Yes.” She didn’t want to get into details just yet. She wanted to hear what Phil had to say. And she didn’t have a game plan here.

“I didn’t know if word had gotten to you, Annie. Everyone has been so tight lipped and we’ve been able to keep it out of the media, given our family connections. But that’s going to change probably within the next twenty four hours.” Phil paced back and forth and then turned to her. “How did you find out?”

“What did the police tell you about what happened?” She turned the question back on him.

“They’re saying it was a home invasion. Father must have let the guy in. But the strange thing is that absolutely nothing was stolen.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know what to think.”

“Phil, I need to tell you something very important.”

“What?”

“I need to know that I can trust you.”

He led her over to the sofa. “Have a seat and talk to me, Annie. You know you can tell me anything.”

She sat down beside him and took a deep breath.
Here goes nothing
, she thought. This was the right thing to do. He deserved to know what had happened to his father. “I was in the house the night your father was killed.”

“What?” Perry’s dark eyes widened in disbelief. “What do you mean? I thought that was your night off.”

She nodded. “It was, but I ran by the house to pick up some recipe notes I’d left in the kitchen. And when I was there I heard your father arguing with a man. Someone I didn’t recognize.” She took a breath as vivid memories flooded back to her. But she had to get through this. Phil needed to hear the truth. “Then the man shot him.”

“What? Why didn’t you go to the police, Annie?”

“The shooter saw me. He threatened me.” She fought back the fear that threatened to overwhelm her. She needed to get through this conversation. “Then as I was running away, he told me he’d kill me if I went to the cops.”

Phil shook his head. “Did you hear the conversation between my father and the shooter?”

“Part of it. And that’s one of the reasons I came to see you. I wanted to let you know that you could be in danger.”

“What did they say to make you think that?”

“Enough to know that your father was doing business with some man named Tim Silva. And, Phil, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but it sounds like your father may have been involved in some illegal activities. I’m not sure exactly what type, but it didn’t sound good. I’m sorry, I know this has to all come as a big shock to you.”

While he was looking down, Phil let out a deep breath. But then as he spoke, his eyes were filled with sadness. “No, I’m the one who is sorry, Annie. You should have never been in the house last night.”

Her heartbeat thumped loudly in her chest, and she stood up from the couch. “What are you saying, Phil?”

“I had hoped that what I was told was untrue. But now hearing it from your own lips—it’s unavoidable. You know way too much.”

The way Phil looked at her told her everything she needed to know. There was now no doubt in her mind that Phil was mixed up in all of this. And she’d just gone to him and offered herself up on a silver platter. Now what? “I think I should go.”

“I’m sorry, Annie. I can’t let you do that.”

She took a step back and he stood, grabbing onto both her arms. She sucked in a breath at his tight grip on her body and tried to break herself free. “Please, Phil. You don’t have to do this. Just let me go.”

“It’s better this way than if Silva’s men get to you.”

“I won’t say anything. I promise.” She had to keep him talking as she pulled away again. Try to figure a way out of this mess.

“You’ve already heard too much. You know more than you should. There’s no way Silva will let you live. You’ve been marked.”

“So what now? You’re going to kill me? You’re not a killer, Phil. That much I know.” She tried to appeal to his humanity. A tear fell down her cheek. Was she going to make it out alive? How long could she keep him talking—long enough to plot an escape?

His grip loosened. “All I can say is that I’m sorry, and that it’ll be fast. I like you, Annie, but you’ve crossed the wrong man. Now that I know about what you saw and heard, I can’t have that hanging over me. If I just let you go, I’d be in trouble with Silva, too. I have a drug I can give you through an injection. You’ll go to sleep and won’t feel a thing.”

Let him think that she would be compliant. Then she’d make her move.

He looked down at her. “Just know that I never wanted you to get wrapped up in this.”

She used the little amount of space he’d put between them to her advantage. With one smooth motion she brought her knee up into his stomach knocking the breath out of him. He reached out for her, and she screamed as she sidestepped him. This was it. If he was able to hold her captive and give her the injection, she’d be dead. He was tall and strong, and she didn’t really stand a chance. Her basic self–defense class would only get her so far. But she wasn’t going to give up.

He lunged toward her again, tackling her, and they crashed into the end table knocking over the lamp. She hit the ground hard and her vision blurred.

A gunshot rang out loudly. But it wasn’t from Phil. No, he was running out of the living room toward the back door. What was happening?

She was a bit disoriented from being tackled to the ground. She blinked a few times as she lay there trying to compose herself.

 “Ms. Thomas, can you hear me?”

She looked up into striking blue eyes. The ones that belonged to police chief Caleb Winters. And then her world faded into darkness.

**

Annie awoke and fear ripped through her body. Then she remembered what had happened. And now as she looked around it was clear that she was in a hospital. But was she safe?

“You’re awake.” Caleb’s voice came from the side of the bed.

She turned and saw him there. “How long have I been out?”

“Overnight. Once they ruled out a concussion they gave you something for the pain. You had some nasty bruises and cuts.”

“How…how?” she stuttered. “How did you find me?”

“I followed you.”

Her first instinct was to be upset, but then she realized that if he hadn’t followed her, she’d be dead by now. “Where are we?”

“A hospital outside Atlanta. I didn’t want to risk taking you back to Maxwell last night without knowing the extent of your injuries.”

“You saved my life. I don’t know how to thank you.” Regardless of her reservations about law enforcement, he had saved her.

“You can thank me by telling me what in the world is going on? What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into? I can help you, but I need to know the facts.”

“It’s not that easy.” How could she ever make him understand? Not just the facts, but why she reacted the way she did.

“Take your time. If you’re not up to talking to me at this time, it can wait. You’ve been through a lot.”

She knew at that moment that she had to have an ally, and this man had just saved her life. Yeah, she wouldn’t normally trust a police officer. Not after she’d been betrayed by them in Florida. But this was more a temporary move out of necessity.

She thought she might have a little time before anyone figured out that she was at the Perry’s two nights ago. But it’s possible they’d want to question her regardless given her role as an employee. And if they found out she’d skipped town, that would make her look guilty. Or at least raise some red flags. And it actually worked out to her benefit that he was the chief of police and not a low level officer. She needed someone in a position of authority.

She looked up at him. He stood well over six feet tall with short dark hair and bright blue eyes. They were the type of eyes that could be trouble. But she wasn’t looking for any more trouble right now. She had enough of her own.

“I’ll tell you what I know. Should I call you Chief?” she asked.

“Caleb is just fine.”

“I didn’t know if I needed to address you by your title. Since you’re chief and all.”

He laughed. “We’re not so formal around here.”

“Then you should call me Annie.” She paused. “I don’t even know where to begin.” And that was the truth. She wasn’t going to talk about her past. But she knew she needed to fill Caleb in on the current problem. She’d just have to do the best she could with what had just happened and leave the past out of it. She took a deep breath preparing herself to tell the story. The bigger question was whether he’d believe her.

“All right. You have my full attention.”

She nodded. Better to just get it over with and explain what happened. “I’ve been working as a personal chef for an Atlanta family for the last six months. Two nights ago was my night off, but I ran by the house to pick up some recipe notes I had left in the kitchen for a soufflé I wanted to try. While I was there, I heard an argument between a man I didn’t know and my employer Doc Perry. The argument got heated. My boss said he wanted to stop some sort of business arrangement they had. He said he didn’t want to accept a shipment. But I have no idea what type of shipment they were talking about. The man accused my boss of trying to take business away from his boss.”

“And what happened?” he asked.

She clenched her fists as her nerves really kicked in. Once she told him this, there was no turning back. Could she trust this police chief she’d just met two days ago? She feared the answer was ultimately no, but she had no choice right now.

“It’s okay, Annie. I’m here to help. But I need to understand what happened first.”

Her heartbeat kicked up and the beeping on the monitor beside her bed sped up. “Then the man took out a gun and shot my boss in the head.”