Guardian of Justice (6 page)

“Yeah,” Nick said, with a glare.

Dallas followed as they went inside. “This doesn’t look good. Why’d she dump out her purse and leave it here?”

Garrett looked in the closet off the front door. Nick went to check the bedrooms, and Garrett went to the attached garage, while Dallas and the street cop searched the kitchen and living room.

“No sign of her in the bedroom,” Nick yelled down the stairs, “but it looks like she went somewhere in a hurry. Her dresser drawers are hanging open.”

“Is her suitcase gone?” Officer Richards asked.

“She doesn’t have one. She borrows Mom’s,” Garrett answered as he came out of the garage with a puzzled look on his face. “Her car’s still here. Maybe she’s out on a date.”

Dallas opened the microwave, surprised to find an overcooked and dried-out chicken pasta dinner. “With a broken window and a cooked, uneaten dinner in the microwave?” He couldn’t imagine the woman he’d met the other night living in a mess like this. Jackets and shoes were scattered about.

“This isn’t like Kira at all,” Nick stated as he examined the other windows and the back door. “I’m going to call Mom, see if she knows anything.”

“Who was this guy? The one that attacked her?” Garrett asked while Nick talked into his phone.

“Attacked the car. He didn’t touch her. Drug dealer, goes by Mickey Zelanski. He had a stash of coke as big as Kira’s kitchen.”

Garrett started with the attitude again. “So he attacks the car she’s in and you let him go? Nice work.”

Dallas felt the hair on his neck tingle. “She sounded the siren and scared him away. He was gone by the time I got out there. Crazy me, I wanted to make sure your sister was okay.”

“Why didn’t she call you on the radio?”

“She did, but it didn’t sound anything like your sister, trust me.” Dallas didn’t need this. “You want answers, Garrett, get Kira to come fill out a statement. Then we’ll both know what she went through out there.”

That wasn’t good enough, apparently. Though the attitude mellowed, Garrett kept pressing for information. “And why didn’t she fill it out that night?”

“Knock it off, I can’t hear Mom,” Nick yelled.

“What about Kira?” Garrett asked.

Nick gave a thumbs-up. A couple of minutes later, he joined them. “Kira’s okay. She’s been at Mom and Dad’s the last few days.”

Dallas let out a deep breath, along with her brothers. These two might not be Kira’s blood, but there was no doubt how they felt about her.

“Mom said she seems okay, but it doesn’t sound like Kira told them anything, either. Dad’s bringing her over to confirm whether someone else has been in here, or what in the world got hold of our neat-freak sister.”

Dallas appreciated that his first impression of her was accurate, but that didn’t sound good for her emotional state of mind right now. Her sarcasm echoed through his head: I’m fine, they’re fine, everyone is fine. That’s what you want, right?He had hoped she was strong enough that the incident wouldn’t have bothered her. Looks like he was wrong. He should have followed Shaline’s suggestion and come to see her right away.

While the brothers talked to the officer, Dallas wandered the room, trying to understand Kira a little better. She had a lot of family pictures mixed in with simple decorations. Candles, bowls with dried flowers and leaves in them. Very few trinkets, he noted.

“Look at this,” the street officer said. “What was this burglar looking for?” In the hallway, books had been knocked off the shelf, videos tossed into the trash. The pictures on the wall were crooked, but nothing of any value appeared to be missing. The television and computer hadn’t been bothered.

Dallas kept quiet, allowing the brothers to determine what was out of place.

If it was Zelanski, what had he been looking for? Why would he bother Kira? Unless he thought she had taken something besides the kids’ belongings…

As Dallas walked back into the living room, her computer monitor flashed on. “Someone has definitely been here recently,” he stated. “I bumped the desk, and the computer came right up.” He leaned down to read the error message. “Someone was trying to get into her computer, but didn’t have a password.”

The detective joined him. “Good work, Officer.”

“Dallas,” he corrected.

“Am I going to find your prints on this?” the man challenged, pulling a pen from his pocket to point to the mouse.

“I know how to handle a crime investigation, Detective.”

“What about the rest of the apartment? Your fingerprints anywhere else?” Garrett Matthews asked.

Dallas glared at the young street officer. His response was cut off by yet another voice, this one even deeper than her brothers’. “Kira Danae. What happened here?” An older version of the well-dressed detective walked into the room. Their dad.

Dallas waited anxiously to see Kira again, his thoughts flashing back to the night they’d met. For a moment, he wanted the impossible—to start all over again.

Kira covered her mouth and choked back a cry when she saw her house. Then she came face-to-face with Dallas. A flash of fury had the color returning to her cheeks. Her brown eyes were wide and round, a sure sign that she was about to let him have it.

That’s what the bulletproof vest was for—to protect his heart from a lethal shot. And this woman certainly had the ammunition to do the job. Heart. Spunk. And blind faith. That was the problem with social workers, he realized as she lit into him. They thought they could heal everyone. And unfortunately, he was one that just couldn’t be healed.

She stared point-blank at Dallas and spoke through gritted teeth. “Next time I want my family to know about my life, I’d appreciate it if you’d let metell them.”

He stared into her eyes, analyzing her reaction. “You’d better start talking, then, because I don’t think your brothers like my version.”

NINE

“What are you doing here?” Kira narrowed her eyes.

“You know why I’m here.” Dallas’s gaze came to rest on her, and she felt the same warmth she had that night. “I needed to talk to you about the case.” How did Dallas expect to look at her that way without giving the impression he was interested?

“You put out a BOLO on me!” Kira bit out the accusation while her two brothers and her father stood guard. Maybe that meant Dallas did care.

“No, don’t—” Before he could respond, her oldest brother stormed through the door.

“Kira, I was at the jail and heard your name. What’s going on?” He looked around, apparently surprised to see most of the family. “Are you okay?” Kent asked, wrapping one arm around her. He was looking even scruffier than usual, even for an undercover job in narcotics.

“I’m fi—” she began, stealing a glance at Dallas’s clenched jaw. Then she changed her answer, “No, I’m not. I’ve been better, but I’m not hurt.” She closed her eyes, steadying herself in her brother’s embrace. She couldn’t believe they had all showed up.

This was not going to be easy to explain.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. “We should move outside, let investigators do what they can to get prints,” her dad suggested. “You’re going to need to answer some questions about your apartment, too.” He glanced at Dallas. “The rest of you boys may as well get back to work. I’ll take care of Kira.”

Kira paused at the doorway for another look. She couldn’t believe someone had actually broken into her house. Had that lunatic been watching her all week? Maybe she hadn’t been hearing things, after all. She gazed at Dallas as he introduced himself to her oldest brother.

She should feel guilty for snapping at Dallas, she told herself, but she didn’t. She wasn’t ready to talk to him, because that meant it was time to review everything that had happened. For two days, she’d been able to block all of that from her mind.

Her dad and brothers were pacing outside the condo with the local officer, making sure nothing was missed. She heard them ticking off things that were out of place, wondering how they could know her so well. She wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her skin to warm herself up.

Dallas walked into her condo and emerged with a jacket barely a minute later. “You look a little cold, and since my jacket is in the car outside the gate…” He waved his arms.

“It’s thatway,” Kira corrected. “Just so you don’t get lost when you go to leave.”

“How thoughtful of you,” he said with a wry smile. “Anyway, I talked them into clearing one of your jackets for you.”

“Thanks,” she said. You can’t be so nice and then walk away, leaving me miserable again, Dallas. Keep your guard up, Kira.

Dallas glanced around, then tucked his thumbs into his pockets. “So, do you have any more brothers?”

She felt a sinking feeling as she remembered a little boy as he was torn away from her. She nodded. “Yes, but he’s not a cop, and he won’t be showing up here, that I can assure you.”

Dallas smiled, “If I’d known you were related to half the force over here…well, it would have simplified things.”

“You call this simple?” Her brothers were stalling, studying her and Dallas. Probably waiting for the full scoop.

Dallas turned his back to the men and squinted at her critically. “I was worried when you didn’t return my calls. It’s been nearly a week. One message and we could’ve avoided this scene.”

Kira wrapped her arms around her body once more, trying to escape the chill that was taking over again. “I can’t explain.”

“You’d better try,” Dallas retorted.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, time out here.” Kent said as he approached, holding his hands in a T in front of him. “All of this is about a date gone bad?”

Suddenly everyone was back in the driveway, looking at them.

“What?” Kira and Dallas said in unison.

Kira’s face flushed. “No, this isn’t about—”

Dallas interrupted her. “It’s a small misunderstanding about a statement for an incident report. But it seems that the incident has led to more problems.” He moved the focus back to her condo, and her brothers took over the conversation again. Kira was bombarded with questions about who would have done this to her, why, when….

“Wait just a minute,” she finally blurted out, clearly overwhelmed by all the attention. “What makes you think someone targeted me? I’ve been gone for two days. Maybe they just—”

“This wasn’t a crime of opportunity, Kira. They didn’t take anything of value. They were looking for something specific,” Nick interrupted. “This officer came a long way out of his jurisdiction to make sure you’re okay. So if your not calling him back has nothing to do with a bad date, why don’t you start by telling us what didhappen.”

“Could we talk alone for a minute?” Dallas suggested quietly as he turned to Kira.

She nodded. Anything to avoid the inevitable.

He took hold of her arm with gentle authority, leading her to the end of the driveway. He released her immediately when she began to pull away.

Dallas’s eyes seemed deeper set, and concern etched his face. “I know what you’re going through. You don’t want to think about it any more than necessary, especially not when it means telling your family. Fact remains, they’re not going to let it go now, and I need to get your statement.”

She tucked her arms into her jacket and noticed her brothers working hard to listen to her conversation with Dallas. She turned her back on her family and whispered, “Let’s take a walk around the block.”

Though his eyebrows furrowed, Dallas told her brothers, “We’ll be right back.”

Garrett jumped forward instantly. “You’re not—”

Kira glared him, letting Dallas stand between them. “Knock it off, Garrett, he’s a cop. Nothing’s going to happen to me.”

Dallas touched her arm and they headed down the street. “You don’t really believe they’re going to let you off the hook, do you?”

“No, but maybe Dad’ll send them back to work. I need more time to decide what I want to tell them.” Kira looked over her shoulder to make sure none of them had followed. “I know I have to tell them something, but I don’t know how much they need to know. Isn’t it confidential or something?”

“Not if it happened to you. You can tell who you want. You don’t have to, but you can. Kira, you can’t make all of this go away by ignoring it. What happened was not your fault. I’ll make sure they know that.”

“You keep saying you know what I’m going through,” she said. “You can’t know. You can’t know how it felt to be trapped with a lunatic after me,” she insisted, fighting her inclination to raise her voice. She expected Dallas to interrupt, but he remained silent, probably waiting for her to calm down again. “I could have been the one going into that house alone, without a gun, without a radio to call for backup.” She pointed to herself.

He didn’t argue.

“I thought I was fine, but when I got home…” Her voice gave out. She couldn’t explain how difficult this week had been for her.

“The shadows start talking, don’t they?”

She was afraid to look at him and let him know he was right. “I can’t tell them what happened, Officer Brooks.”

“Call me Dallas. You seem to forget that you’re the victim here, not the guilty party.” His voice was calm and quiet. “I blame myself every bit as much as you do for leaving you in harm’s way. And you’re probably going to be even madder at me, because I told your brothers some of what happened in order to get them to understand my concern that your condo looked suspicious. I wanted them to stop acting like this was some lover’s spat. Before you, your dad and the narcotics officer arrived, the detective and the hothead thought I broke your heart. Right about now, I wish it wasjust a personal fight between us.”

“What?” Had this guy lost his mind, too?

He took hold of her hand and she spun to a stop in front of him. “I do, because then you wouldn’t be hearing shadows talking. Because then we wouldn’t have so much in common. Because then I wouldn’t be afraid for your safety.” He let go of her hand and stared at her. Kira backed away, stopped by the granite sign of the subdivision. “I know you don’t want anyone to know how afraid you are, Kira. You want to be the same strong woman you were before that night. I’m going to tell you that isn’t going to happen. Especially not in a matter of a week or two.”

“That’s really comforting.” She looked at him in disbelief as he stood with his arms crossed over his broad chest. He looked every bit as sturdy as the granite rock she leaned against.

“No, it’s not. Neither is ignoring it. Or denial. I’m not sure yet where you’re at with what happened, but it’s not going to get any better until you face it. I should have followed my sergeant’s advice that night. He told me to go get you and bring you back, but I was being selfish. I wasn’t about to have to admit to anyone that I’m not a tough ex-cop from Phoenix. It’s taken me over three years to get here tonight, to admit that I live with post-traumatic stress disorder. You’re the first and only person besides my supervisor that I’ve ever told. So you’re wrong, I know exactly what you’re going through.”

She didn’t know what to say. “What happened?”

“Too much to go into right now, but I want to tell you about it sometime so you can realize I do know what you’re going through. You can hide, but the shadows keep coming back. The sooner you deal with it and let your loved ones help you through it, the sooner you’ll get better.” Dallas pointed behind him. “You have brothers down the block who dropped everything to make sure you’re okay. They want you to be okay, just as much as you do—just as much as I do.”

Kira started walking again, not wanting to face any of this. Surely if she went far enough, it wouldn’t find her. Unfortunately, Dallas wasn’t going to let it go. “Things like this don’t happen to my brothers. They won’t understand, especially when they find out what a pansy I am.” Kira picked up the pace until she rounded the bend and once again saw her brothers and dad pacing in front of her condo. She slowed down, torn between facing them and listening to Dallas’s soft, firm voice like a shadow behind her, making her face reality.

“A pansy wouldn’t have kept fighting for survival, searching for a way to save herself. She wouldn’t have jumped right back into her job to protect two victimized children from that man,” Dallas argued. “None of us knows how we’ll handle a situation until we’re thrown into it.”

She was weary from thinking of this, running over it night and day for a week. “I thought I knew, though. I should have been prepared. I’ve lived on both sides of this incident, and I was still caught off guard.”

“Every day God opens our eyes to learning something new. No matter how much training we go through, something is going to catch us off guard eventually. I ran away from law enforcement, didn’t believe I’d ever be able to wear a uniform again. I’m a much better officer than I was before my incident. Maybe seeing how a victim’s life is affected will help you and your brothers in some way, too.”

She couldn’t stop the tears. “I’ve always been a nuisance to them, from day one. They brought me home right before Garrett’s birthday, and instead of getting a puppy, he got a little sister. You can imagine how thrilled he was with that.”

Dallas laughed, a soft, unassuming chuckle that warmed her through. “I wouldn’t worry about Garrett. It didn’t seem to warp him too much. He seems to have some pretty protective genes in him.”

Kira groaned, wiping the tears away. “They all do. I’ll never live alone again after this.”

“For a while, that may be a good thing. Which reminds me, you have a statement to give.” He paused. “How do you want to deal with that? Ignoring it is not an option.”

She shook her head.

“Just one warning. I’m not leaving tonight without it. I could make you come to the station with me, write it all out. I take the official copy, and you live with them hounding you forever about what really happened.”

She winced. That was the coward’s way out, and if she didn’t tell her brothers now, they’d think it was much worse than it really was. “No, I’ll tell them.” She looked down the block at her family. “See, I’m fine.”

“Good. Let me get my recorder, if you don’t mind. It’ll save you having to write it all out.”

She nodded.

“The other thing we’ll need to do is talk to the police here, work with them on who could have broken into your place. We both have a pretty good idea who did it, and I think you need to talk to your supervisor, maybe pair up with someone for a while, at least until we catch Mickey.”

When Dallas returned, Kira had everyone gathered on the back porch, away from curious neighbors. She took that difficult journey into the shadows, comforted by the occasional question from Dallas that kept her going. Only once did Garrett try to interrupt. Dallas held his hand out, silencing him instantly.

Dallas asked her a few questions to fill in the gaps in his report. Then Kira faced the questions from the local police about her town house.

The officer handling the investigation asked for the name of the man who had attacked the car. “Mickey Zelanski,” Dallas responded.

“Why would he want anything in my house?” Kira still didn’t understand.

“You’re the only person who can identify him. His girlfriend is in jail, the DEA has taken his supply, and maybe he wants re—” Dallas stopped himself. “Who else would break in, but not take anything of value?”