Emergency Response (4 page)

The dedication in his voice surprised her, and she didn't know how to respond so she simply stared at him. As if embarrassed at the emotions he'd displayed, he suddenly spun and pushed open Pilar's door.

At the sound of Isabel's voice, Darcie grabbed Noah's arm. “Wait.”

He turned, his hand resting on the slightly open door. “What is it?”

“Since you've been helping with Isabel you should know that Isabel and Pilar will be staying with me in my condo.”

His eyes narrowed. “Are you sure that's a good idea?”

“The condo is small and we'll be a little cramped, but with the gunshot wound Pilar can't care for Isabel so I'll be taking over.”

“I'm not talking about the accommodations.” He made strong eye contact. “Since we know nothing about the shooter, this incident could be related to your relationship with Pilar and Isabel.”

“Pilar and Isabel? How?”

“Mayte may be in rehab, but she still has deep connections with the drug world.” He scrubbed a hand over his face as if the thought made him weary. “Based on the clothing the suspect wore, I wouldn't be surprised if he was a gangster, and you know that means drugs. They could be trying to send a warning to Mayte.”

Darcie swiveled to look through the open doorway at Isabel. If this incident was related to her mother's past, it was an even more compelling reason to put Isabel under the protection of the FRS at the restored firehouse where they all lived together. No matter what Noah said or thought.

Darcie widened her stance and planted her feet as she often did with unruly patients to let them know she was in charge. “Pilar has to spend the night here, but Isabel
will
be coming home with me today and I
will
pick up Pilar tomorrow.”

Noah released the door and stepped close enough that she could see slivers of black mixing with the gray in his eyes. “Let me be clear about this, Darcie, so you know the risk. If we're dealing with gangbangers, they won't care who gets in the way. Bringing Isabel and Pilar home with you could put you and the whole FRS team in danger.”

He spoke the truth, but what else could she do? She didn't want to put her coworkers—her friends—in danger, but if she presented her case to them, she knew they'd all agree with her decision.

She reaffirmed her stance. “You know as well as I do that everyone on the team puts the lives and safety of others first. They'll risk a little danger to protect an innocent child and her grandmother and none of them will even bat a lash.”

THREE

N
oah paced the communal living area on the first floor of the team's remodeled firehouse. Upper floors of the historic building held individual condos for the team members, while the kitchen, dining room and game room were available to them on the main level. Kerr Development once owned the historic building and had it slated to be sold until Darcie saved Winnie Kerr's life on a callout. Winnie was so grateful for Darcie's care and ensuing friendship that she remodeled the firehouse as a home for the entire FRS. She donated the building to the county, along with an endowment that allowed the team to live there rent-free. A sweet deal for all of them.

Tonight all of the team members and their significant others had gathered for a group dinner, but Darcie's attack changed everything. They'd put dinner on hold and waited for Darcie to provide details of the assault after she took Isabel upstairs for a nap.

Noah had to give the team credit. They'd restrained their natural instinct to take charge and go barreling out the door to find Darcie's attacker right away. Any one of them, from team leader Jake Marsh, to sniper Brady Owens, bomb expert Cash Dixon, or negotiators Skyler Hunter and Archer Reed, were capable of mounting a hunt for Darcie's attacker. Instead, they'd patiently sat in wait. Maybe it had to do with the addition of Skyler's husband, or Brady's and Cash's fiancées to the group. Maybe they served as a calming influence on the high-strung team.

Brady suddenly shot to his feet. He never sat still for long and had been whittling away on a chunk of wood, the shavings piling up near his feet. “How long does it take to get a kid to sleep?”

“Cut her some slack, honey.” His fiancée, Morgan, looked up from where she perched on the arm of the chair he'd occupied. “After Isabel's scare, Darcie likely wants to be sure she's sound asleep before leaving her alone.”

“I know, but—” He dropped back into the chair.

Morgan pressed a finger against his lips and surprisingly, he smiled up at her and didn't argue, but fell silent.

Looked like Noah's take on the significant others was on target.

Footsteps sounded above, then Noah heard the click of shoes coming down the stairway. He crossed the room to see Darcie slowly descend. She was long and lean, with legs that didn't seem to quit. She'd changed out of her work uniform of black pants and polo shirt into jeans and a bright blue sweater with a high collar. The color highlighted the generous red tint to her hair, something he'd often thought was related to her fiery personality. And the neckline covered the bruises on her throat—a choice that he figured was probably deliberate.

“You poor thing.” Cash's fiancée, Krista, rushed over to Darcie and led her toward an open chair as if she was a fragile teacup. “I can't imagine having a guy try to choke me. And bullets? I'd faint.”

Morgan joined them, her blond hair standing out in contrast to the dark-headed pair. She patted Darcie's shoulder, then squatted next to her. “It's terrible. Just terrible. What can we do to help?”

Darcie shrank back from their enthusiastic concern. She started turning a small silver ring around and around on her pinkie finger. The ring had belonged to her daughter, Haley, and Noah knew she played with it when she was nervous. She hated being the center of attention like this and rarely let people focus on her. She usually sidestepped questions about her life and her past, but the attack seemed to have rattled her more than she was letting on, as she simply stared into the distance.

“This is crazy,” Noah said, purposefully pulling the attention from her.

“What is?” Krista pushed her hair from her face to look up at him.

Noah forced a lighthearted tone to his voice. “For the first time ever, someone is mothering Darcie instead of her taking them under her wing.”

“Noah's right.” Jake Marsh smiled down on Darcie from where he stood by the blazing fireplace, his stance wide and ready for action, as usual. Jake was tough and in charge, but Noah also knew how much he cared and that he would put his own life on the line for his team members.

“Guess it's a side benefit of having more women around.” Cash smiled up at Krista, and Noah couldn't help but gape. The former Army Ranger and bomb tech seemed to have mellowed out, too.

“What does that say about me, then?” Skyler got up and stared at Cash. Petite, with curly red hair, she was a lot tougher than her pint-sized stature made her seem. And she was one of the finest negotiators and detectives Noah had ever met.

“Don't take offense, sweetheart.” Logan claimed his wife's hand. “You have a heart of gold, but most of the time you're more in a round up criminals and take names' kind of mode.”

Noah expected Skyler to get mad, and he waited for her response.

She wrinkled her nose. “I kind of am, aren't I?”

Logan smiled fondly at Skyler. “As an FBI agent, I appreciate that, as do your teammates. Krista and Morgan, on the other hand...?”

“Hey.” Morgan snapped her head up. “Don't put words in our mouths. We like Skyler just fine, don't we, Krista?”

“Well.” Krista's face suddenly lit with mischief. “Maybe she could shrink an inch so I'm not the shortest person in the group, but yeah, otherwise she's great.”

Skyler scowled in mock offense and the teammates broke out in laughter. Even Darcie smiled, once again proving to Noah that this team acted more like family than coworkers. Darcie was blessed to be a part of the group. He wished he had the same thing on the job, but most of the guys he hung with were married and focused on their own families, and he was like a fifth wheel.

And his real family? They hadn't spoken much since they'd learned about Ashley. About his son, Evan. Her parents had raised the baby and they wouldn't let his parents anywhere near their only grandson. Noah deserved their reproach, but it stung. And to make matters worse, they'd recently learned that Evan wasn't brought up in the Christian faith. It weighed heavy on Noah's mind, night and day. And put a boatload of guilt in his heart, too.

“I may not be the soft and squishy type,” Skyler said, transferring her focus to Darcie, “but I can make a mean cup of tea. I'll get you one.” She went straight to the adjoining kitchen.

Jake dropped into a recliner and pushed it back, his focus locked on Darcie. “Noah gave us the basics of your attack, but I'd like to hear about it in your own words.”

Her face blanched. Noah grabbed onto the fireplace mantel to keep from crossing over to her to offer comfort. Not only wasn't it a good idea, but she'd also hate the extra attention.

Krista took Darcie's hand. “Take your time, sweetie. I understand. I'll never forget the creep who tried to kill me, but it gets easier to deal with as time passes. I promise.”

Noah had heard something about Krista's abduction six months ago when Cash had saved her life, but Noah didn't know more than that.

Darcie extracted her hand, leaned back in her chair and started in on the details of her attack. She described the suspect and her breathing intensified as tears started to form. She was a strong woman, but even strong women cried after a harrowing attack, and it was going to take Darcie time to get over the experience.

Her voice faltered and she blinked hard. “I don't know this creep, but Noah wonders if it's related to someone from a callout who didn't like the way I treated him.”

Brady scoffed. “I expect you'd nearly have to kill someone to cause this extreme reaction. Anyone whose care you botched lately?”

“Brady,” Morgan scolded. “I'm sure there's a more delicate way to ask.”

Brady smiled at her. It wasn't hard to see he was head over heels in love with the woman. “Never claimed there was anything delicate about me, honey.”

“Subtlety was never Brady's strong suit.” Archer grinned at Morgan. “And you're the one who chose to get engaged to the guy. We inherited him.”

“Thanks a lot.” Brady fake slugged Archer's arm.

Archer laughed. “No problem, man. What are friends for?”

“Focus, people,” Jake interrupted, to keep the team on task. “Darcie, can you think of anyone who might want to retaliate—not because you did anything wrong in their care, but because they just weren't happy with the results? Someone who was left permanently disabled, maybe?”

She shook her head. “I've been thinking about it since Noah mentioned it, and I'm coming up blank.”

“I've already got my team pulling the callout records from dispatch,” Noah offered. “But I'm also wondering if this is gang-related.”

“Gang.” Jake sat forward, slamming down his leg rest and fixing his gaze on Noah. “How so?”

“This is just a hunch, mind you. I didn't get a close look at the shooter, but he wore Nuevo gang colors. And we all know about the gang problems in that neighborhood.”

“Never heard of the Nuevo gang,” Cash said.

“They're a recently formed offshoot of another faction. Nuevo means new. Hence the name.”

Darcie frowned. “But I'm not involved with or connected to a gang.”

“Regardless,” Noah replied, “I'll talk to our detective on the metro gang task force to see if he has any thoughts on the attack.”

“I don't like this uncertainty.” Morgan twisted her hands. “There's got to be a connection to narrow this down. Or how else will we know whether or not everyone here is in danger?”

“This isn't related to the team, is it?” Krista shot a questioning look at Noah.

“Maybe,” he said. “But I think it's less likely than some of the other options.”

Jake narrowed his gaze. “Could be related to the Vargas family.”

“The Vargas family?” Krista asked.

“He's talking about Isabel, Mayte and Pilar.” Skyler came back into the room carrying a mug of steaming tea. She handed it to Darcie and grinned. “Is this where I should give you a hug or something?”

Darcie returned the smile, and Noah liked seeing the change in her attitude even if it was just for the moment. “I'm good for now.”

“Morgan's right, you know,” Brady said. “If this is related to the squad we need to know.”

Noah opened his mouth to speak, but the team started tossing out thoughts on possible suspects. No point in fighting to be heard. He leaned back and listened, but he kept his eye on Darcie, who sipped her tea and said very little.

“Back to the Vargas family,” Jake said. “Could this have something to do with Mayte's drug habit?”

“I wondered the same thing,” Noah admitted. “I'll start looking in to that, too.”

“You're heading up this investigation, then?” Archer asked.

Noah nodded and waited for one of them to ask about his credentials and if PPB had a more qualified detective.

“So there's no clear reason for the attack.” Logan weighed in for the first time. “Did you ever consider it's just a random attack? Maybe a robbery?”

“I thought of that,” Darcie said. “But if all he wanted was my money, why didn't he pull his gun and demand my purse instead of trying to choke me to death?”

“Good point. It does sound more like someone wanted you dead.” Logan frowned. “Odd that he'd attempt it out in broad daylight like that with witnesses around.”

“If he
is
a gangster,” Noah said, “the locals are so afraid of the gangs, they'd never testify against them, so the gangsters don't bother trying to hide. And, honestly, the attack in broad daylight is right in line with a gangster's behavior.”

Archer nodded. “They aren't known for their subtlety.”

Jake was still frowning. “Until we can prove a connection to a gang, we'll need to explore all other possibilities.”

Brady leveled his gaze at Darcie. “You've never really talked about your ex. Could he be behind this?”

Darcie's mouth fell open for a second, before she snapped it closed and took a deep breath. “Tom doesn't have any gang ties.”

Brady leaned forward. “He could have hired someone.”

“He's right, Darcie,” Skyler said. “I know Tom came to see you a few weeks ago. He seemed pretty angry when he left. Could it be related to that?”

Darcie opened her mouth, then closed it again and looked down at her hands. “We own a house together from when we were married. He wants to sell it. Says he needs the money. I'm not ready to let it go.”

“I know you don't want to think he could harm you, but money or the lack thereof, is a powerful motivator,” Archer said.

“I should probably look in to him.” Noah tried to sound like it would be an unpleasant thing to do, when truth was, he hoped to learn more about Darcie in the process since she shared little about her personal life.

“Do what you have to do,” she said, but didn't look up.

Archer shifted in his chair. “Has anyone thought about Winnie Kerr's sons?”

“The woman who donated this place?” Morgan asked.

Archer nodded. “She recently changed her will, cutting out her sons and leaving Darcie a sizable inheritance. Her sons didn't like it and they're trying to prove Winnie's not of sound mind.”

Darcie lifted her head, sorrow lingering in her expression. “I'm scheduled to testify on Winnie's behalf.”

“Sounds like a good motive for murder.” Archer swung his gaze to Noah. “Since this is a financial lead and I have an MBA, mind if I do a bit of checking on it for you? Would help relieve some of your workload.”

“I'm glad for the help.” Noah handed a business card to Archer. “Keep me updated on your progress.”

“And you'll do the same thing,” Jake demanded, his focus fixed squarely on Noah's face.

Noah didn't like sharing confidential information outside of his department, but there was no point in arguing with Jake. He'd get the information somehow, so Noah might as well provide it. He nodded his agreement.