Guardian of Justice (17 page)

TWENTY-ONE

After they’d finished filling out paperwork, Dallas made a trip to visit Jimmie Driscoe to find out his involvement with Sorento. He found Garrett already there, waiting for them to bring Jimmie to the visitors’ area.

“Hi, I just left Nick and Kent at the sheriff’s office,” Dallas said.

Yeah, they told me you’d probably come over here.” Garrett smiled. “I hear congratulations are in order. I knew there was something going on that night at her condo.”

“Thanks, but there wasn’t anything going on. At that point, we’d just met the one time when she rode along.”

Her brother looked skeptical. “You’re serious? So have you gone out every night since, or what?”

“Just a couple attempts, but even those were interrupted by the investigation.”

“And you asked Kira to marry you? You hardly know her. She has a temper.”

Dallas laughed. He didn’t even have to question himself again. “I know that. A temper isn’t such a bad thing if it’s used appropriately. It got her through a lot these last few weeks. She has a lot of other strengths, too, Garrett. It’s amazing what you learn about a person going through something like this. I’ve never been so sure of a decision in my life.”

“I’ve never believed in that ‘love at first sight’ theory myself, but I could see she cared about you even that night as she chewed you out. Ooh-eee, she was mad.” He laughed, then the smile disappeared from his face as the interrogation-room door rattled. “It’s hard to believe she’s related to this guy.”

“Yeah,” Dallas said as he watched the wiry, thin man stumble into the chair across from him and Garrett. “You Jimmie Driscoe?”

The man looked like he’d been awakened from a deep sleep. He nodded. “Yeah, who’re you?”

“Dallas Brooks. I was with your sister when you shot at us this afternoon.”

The man backed away, fear in his eyes. “You’re the second person to tell me that woman out there was my sister. I can’t believe it. I wasn’t shooting at ya, for the record.”

“I’m Garrett Matthews, Kira’s brother. My family adopted Kira Driscoe as a little girl, and she had a brother James, whose uncle took him, but wouldn’t take Kira. That sound familiar?”

“You ain’t her brother,” the man argued. “He’s a cop.”

Garrett pulled out his badge. “I’m another brother. I’m a cop, too. You must have met Nick. He’s a detective.”

“Nah, this guy wasn’t Nick. He was older, kinda scruffy. Kelly, or Kirk?”

Dallas wanted to laugh. Wait till the poor guy found out all of them were cops.

Garrett did laugh. “Yeah, you’re close. That was Kent. He’s a cop, too. So is Kira’s dad, and now, Kira’s fiancé here, Dallas.”

Jimmie shook his head and mumbled a swear word. “Ain’t that just my lousy luck!”

“So, why were you shooting at us?” Dallas asked.

“I wasn’t shooting at neither of ya. I was told to kill anyone going after some phone that was supposed to be hidden out there. Even though I didn’t know who ya was, I wasn’t about to kill anyone and get life in the pen, so I shot out the tires, tried to scare you a bit.” He hid his face in his hands. “Probably why Chains McClennahan offered to bust me outta the pen in the first place. I’m sorry, man. I wasn’t going to kill anyone, just scare them away so I could go find that BlackBerry gizmo, and pay off my debt to Sorento so his thugs will leave me alone.”

Dallas filled him in on Sorento’s fate, finding the stash of money, and asked whether any of Sorento’s thugs would now take his place.

“No way,” he insisted. “The only other person with his clout is already in the supermax for knocking off most of his mules and dealers when they turned on him. Is Kira okay?”

“She’ll recover. You know she’s been looking for you?” Dallas asked.

He shook his head. “You mean no one ever told her where I was?”

Garrett let out a huff. “We’ve spent our whole lives trying to protect her from the kind of life you led. She already feels guilty enough for not being able to keep you with her. Even if we’d have known, I doubt we’d have made her feel any worse by telling her.”

Jimmie rubbed his wrists where the handcuffs were pinching his skin. “I probably blew my chance to see her after today.”

Garrett looked up at the guard. “The cuffs are too tight. I think we can loosen them a bit.” The guard didn’t move until Garrett and Dallas both showed their badges.

“She may chew you out, because she’s your sister, but she’ll probably come see you as soon as they let her out of the hospital.”

He looked skeptical. “It’s been more than twenty years.”

“She’s your sister, Jimmie, first and foremost. That shaped her entire life,” Dallas said.

Garrett looked at him with surprise in his eyes. “Yeah, it did, didn’t it?”

“Huh,” Jimmie said, a puzzled look on his face. “I blamed her for a long time for leaving me with my uncle. Every time I said I missed her, I got a whoopin’. He told me she didn’t want me, neither, nobody did, but I was his blood and burden.”

Dallas glanced at Garrett. There was anger in both of their expressions. Garrett finally spoke up. “She cried for you, Jimmie. I heard her many nights. It wasn’t her choice.”

“She still misses you,” Dallas added.

Garrett silently nodded.

“So she had a good life?” Jimmie asked.

“Yeah, pretty much.” A smile twitched the corner of Garrett’s mouth. “About as good as it gets for a girl with three older brothers. But she wasn’t too spoiled. She works for social services now, trying to help kids like you and herself, kids who are going through the foster-care system. If we can arrange to keep you in Colorado long enough, she wants to see you.”

Jimmie’s leathery face brightened and tears welled in his eyes. “I’d like that, before I have to go back. I wanna tell her I’m sorry. And you, too. Real sorry.”

“Time’s up,” the warden bellowed.

Jimmie stood, shuffling his feet. “You take good care of Kira, Dallas. I’m real sorry for hurting her.”

“I’ll tell her that, Jimmie,” Dallas replied, struggling with his conflicting emotions. He’d never had much of a connection with a prisoner before. Not on the personal side, anyway.

Dallas and Garrett waited while the guard and Jimmie filed out of the room. “I see why Kira’s so determined to help the kids now. You think she knew he was in prison?” Dallas asked.

“I didn’t even know she was searching for him,” Garrett said as he stood to leave. “I’ll probably see you tomorrow.”

Dallas stopped at the hospital to tell Kira what had happened. She’d fallen back to sleep, and her parents had gone home since Sorento was out of the picture now.

She had a peacefulness about her as she slept. Dallas was relieved for that.

“The doctor gave her a strong pain medication, Mr. Brooks, so she could sleep through the night. If you’d like to go home and get some rest, I’ll call you when she’s awake,” a nurse told him.

“I’d really rather stay with her, if that’s okay.” He wasn’t leaving until he’d told her about her brother and found out how soon she’d be released.

“I’ll roll in a recliner for you, then,” the nurse said with a smile.

Kira woke with pain shooting down her arm and aches from head to toe. She vaguely recalled what had happened and why she was here. She remembered Kent’s visit, telling her that Sorento had arranged for her brother, Jimmie, to break out of prison.

She felt tears start again. My own brother was sent to kill me,she thought. What a sick, sick man you were, Sorento.She blew her nose, then startled to see Dallas jump to his feet.

“What’s wrong?” he said as he searched the room. “Kira, honey, are you okay?” He grabbed another box of tissues from the sink, pulled one from the box and gently wiped the tears from her face.

“Sorento,” she sobbed, “got my brother out of prison…”

“I know. And he’s never going to hurt you again. I talked to Jimmie last night. He said he’s sorry for scaring us. He didn’t know it was you, but he never planned to hurt anyone, especially not you.” Dallas took hold of her hand. “He’d like to see you, if you’re willing and we can work it out.”

She was silent for a long time, wrestling with her tears. “This isn’t exactly how I imagined seeing my brother again.”

Dallas nodded, not rushing into platitudes just to make her feel better. She appreciated that. “It won’t be easy for either of you. This time it will be a short visit, which may be best. You’ve grown up in different worlds, and it will take time to get to know each other.”

She nodded, tears flowing. “He must have had a terrible upbringing with his uncle. He got into a lot of trouble.”

“Yeah, but he’ll have another chance. He’s up for parole in a couple of years. A lot of people turn their lives around in prison, come out with a stronger grasp on life and a purpose. God didn’t allow you two to find each other like this by coincidence. Maybe if Jimmie knows we’re all going to be here for him, maybe he can realize his past is just that. I’ve overcome PTSD and you’ve overcome a difficult start in life. We’ll get you through this, too. Together. And then Jimmie will be able to see that everyone has their hurdles in life. We just jump them one at a time. Let go of the past, and reach for what’s in front of us. Let God handle the rest.”

She raised a hand to his shirt and pulled him close. “I don’t think I’ve said I love you today.”

His eyes darted to the clock on the wall. “It’s four in the morning, so no, I don’t think you have,” he whispered as he brushed a kiss across her forehead.

“I love you, Dallas, and I can’t wait to be your wife.”

He smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. “I—” he said as he kissed her chin “—love—” he kissed her earlobe “—you—” he paused and looked dreamily into her eyes “—too.” Finally, his lips met hers. It was a kiss for her tired soul to melt into.

TWENTY-TWO

Three weeks later, Kira turned to watch Cody bringing Betsy up front for the children’s sermon during church. As she did so, an incredibly handsome police officer sitting in the back pew caught her eye. Dallas looked surprisingly awake for someone just coming off a ten-hour shift. School was out and he was back on his street patrol for the summer. She’d begged him to get off early today, but he’d said no one was able to cover for him.

But he was here. He hurried up the aisle while the kids were filing up front, and slipped into the pew next to Kira. He smiled, and Kira felt herself relax just having him next to her.

So much had changed since the night they’d met. Betsy and Cody were happily settled in with the Woods family.

She’d seen her brother Jimmie, and though he was back in prison, they were getting to know each other again through letters.

She held on to a ray of hope not only for his future, but for hers, as well.

She slid her hand over to Dallas’s and held it tight as the minister talked about God sending others to help when we need it most. He talked about helping others and learning to let others help us sometimes, too. A few minutes later his sermon got into a deeper discussion about finding unexpected blessings in our darkest hours. She felt at peace knowing that God had sent her Dallas.

Dallas focused on the minister, while his hand played with the diamond engagement ring he’d placed on Kira’s finger just a few days earlier. She smiled, feeling the light of God’s love pouring over them both.

Thank You for your bountiful blessings, Lord. For protecting us. For bringing Dallas into my life, opening my eyes to help me find the love of my life. And thank You for guiding us both as we go about our jobs. Teach us to follow your example in love, in forgiveness and in administering justice. Forgive me for thinking I can fix everything, and help me learn to turn to You first.

When the service was over, they stepped into the line of exiting parishioners next to her. “You didn’t think I would make it this morning, did you?” Dallas asked.

“To be totally honest, no, I didn’t. Did you hear them announce our engagement?” She longed to snuggle up to him, but rules were rules, after all, and he was still in uniform.

“I got here right before he announced it. I was relieved that no one objected. How many more chances does the pastor give the congregation? I thought that was just at the wedding.”

They were interrupted by the pastor’s greeting. “Hello, I don’t think we’ve formally met.”

“Dallas Brooks, Kira’s fiancé.”

“It’s nice to have you with us. I’m looking forward to getting to know you better,” Pastor Stephenson added. “Morning, Kira. Are you both ready for our meeting this afternoon?”

The line was long this morning, and Kira didn’t like to take too much time to chat. They’d have time later.

“One o’clock still work?” Dallas asked.

“That should be good,” the pastor confirmed as he took hold of Kira’s left hand, pausing to admire her engagement ring as he did. “The ring is almost as beautiful as the bride-to-be, isn’t it, Dallas?”

“Not even close,” Dallas said, his hand on Kira’s waist.

“Wise man,” the pastor said with a chuckle. “How is your shoulder doing, Kira?”

“Every day it’s a little better,” Kira said as she and Dallas walked out into the warm summer morning.

“So, you really think we can pass the pastor’s muster?” Dallas asked.

“Of course,” she said. “If you can pass my brothers’ test, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“How about if you give me a minute to change out of my uniform, and we’ll go out for brunch?”

Kira smiled. “At a real restaurant, or…”

“I know, I know. Fast food doesn’t qualify as a date. I meant to court you properly, Miss Matthews.”

“Think you can really take four more months of this?” she teased.

“Piece of cake. I’ve got my eye on the prize,” Dallas said with a smile. “Besides, who says the courtship has to end when we say ‘I do’?”

ISBN: 978-1-4268-1180-7

GUARDIAN OF JUSTICE

Copyright © 2008 by Carol Steward

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