Pregnant Protector. Anne Duquette Marie

nodded.

      “I’ve got to feed the cat.”

      He set his two bags by the door and walked to the kitchen visible from the living area. The feline immediately jumped off the counter to rub against his legs, purring all the while. Lara watched from the living room.

      Quietly she asked, “Tell me about your partner.”

      Nick opened a cabinet and removed a can of tuna. He opened the can, then set it on the floor. It wasn’t until he threw away the lid and leaned against the counter that he replied, “What’s to say?” Nick’s expression was as sterile as the home he lived in. “We were close. Now he’s dead. I haven’t talked to the family yet. His wife may or may not kick me out of their home. I don’t know.”

      “I meant professionally—regarding this case,” Lara explained. “Like enemies, money problems… I’m sorry, I should have specified.”

      “It’s been a wild morning,” he said, his law-enforcement manner back to normal.

      Lara did the same. Obviously Nick wasn’t the one incapacitated by emotions now. He’d assumed control, as she had earlier in the day. It was time for her to get her own emotions back in control. But if she hadn’t owned an armored Mercedes…

      “Hell, yes. I wish we could find a motive for two attacks. Any ideas?” she asked in a brisk voice, moving to stand at the breakfast bar separating the rooms.

      “No. Julio and I worked the day shift. Our last case involved some small-time drug hustlers—no major players—until one of them shot another over money.”

      “Seems pretty cut and dried. Was it?”

      “Yes. Julio and I had enemies, but there are only two or three I’d consider dangerous, and at present they’re behind bars. Julio was a good cop, a faithful husband and a great father. He didn’t touch dirty money, nor did I. I was positive either he or I was the target until you were shot at. Now I don’t know what to think.”

      They were both silent. Nick waited a few more minutes until the cat had finished eating, then rinsed out the can—San Diego was home to ants, as well as coyotes and sunshine—and tossed the empty tin in the recycle bin. He retrieved the suit carrier and bag, then let Lara and the cat out of the apartment.

      “What will happen to the cat when you’re away?”

      “The bathroom window’s open for him and I took out the screen,” he said, gesturing toward the high, hinged pane of glass. “He can come and go as he pleases. The cleaning lady feeds him if I’m not home. She has a key.”

      Lara exhaled a slow sigh at the sight of the old, battered animal. For a moment—just a moment—she felt like hell over the unfairness of the cat’s life—of a cop’s life. Then she shook it off. The cat was a survivor. She’d do better to use her energies for those who weren’t, like Julio Valdez.

      She followed Nick to the squad car. The backup officers took off first, to check out her home premises, leaving the two of them to follow.

      “Keys, please. This is my squad car,” she reminded him.

      “True. But where do we go now?”

      “My place. I need to get some clothes, too.”

      “I won’t stay at any safe house out of the area,” Nick warned. “I want to stay local. And you should think of yourself. You’re a target as long as you’re with me.”

      “We’re not going to a safe house.”

      “But Girard said—”

      “Girard said I was in charge of your safety. We’re going to my parents’ home—Nelson Kennels. It’s in a good neighborhood, the food’s free and the beds are clean. We have to sleep sometime. And it’s pretty damn safe.”

      “You sure?” Nick asked.

      Lara grinned with satisfaction at the security measures and the many trained dogs on the compound. “Oh, yeah. I don’t even need to ask.”

      “I do,” Nick insisted. “Better sound out your parents. I don’t want to drag them into this.”

      “I know what they’ll say. Now give me the keys to my unit. I’m driving.”

      CHAPTER FOUR

      Monday evening, east of Escondido

      “WE TAKE A RIGHT at the stop sign, then we’re just five minutes from Nelson Kennels,” Lara said to Nick. Then, “Sadie, calm down!” Sadie was standing in back, ears perked and tail thumping against the window. “Yes, we’re going to my parents’.”

      Sadie’s tail thumped even harder and she whined with excitement.

      “She’s certainly excited,” Nick said, flicking the dog a glance as Lara concentrated again on her driving. The city of Escondido wasn’t beach, but rather a transition area of inland valleys and foothills. Next came the mountains and after that, the desert, but even these foot hills were full of hairpin curves and sharp inclines.

      “She knows the way. Hard to mistake this route, even for a dog.”

      He nodded. The rugged driving took them around another sharp turn on the narrow two-way road. Pin oaks hung determinedly onto the sides of rocky inclines, while olive trees flourished in the heat and sandy soil. “Nice country, though.”

      “It is beautiful, isn’t it? Great place to raise kids and dogs. Too bad it’s getting so settled,” Lara said.

      “The casinos?” Nick guessed. Ever since the Native American gaming laws had passed, they’d been popping up all over California. San Diego County was no exception, with a dozen operating and even more planned.

      “Yeah. Harrah’s, Valley View, Pala—you name ’em. They’re smack dab in the middle of what used to be livestock dairy and poultry country. All this land is a seller’s market.” Lara sighed. Always an animal fan, she hated that the thousands of Jersey cows from her youth were gone. Others, like fruit farmers, horse ranchers and vineyard owners, couldn’t resist swapping hard labor for the money they’d get for the land, which developers would turn into spas and golf courses.

      “Your parents aren’t selling?”

      “No way. It’s home. Besides, where would they go? There’s no beachfront property left—and even if there was, it’s wall-to-wall people and not zoned for animals. The mountains are too far away from where we do business, and as for the deserts—” Lara shrugged “—too hot for working dogs.”

      “There’s plenty of open space left, especially the citrus groves,” Nick observed. They’d finished climbing and were now descending into a valley area. “Looks like some people have kept their land.”

      “True. The tourmaline mine’s remained. And the chicken, llama and horse ranches are still operating—the thoroughbred ranches, especially. But so many of the flower growers have moved on—especially with the drought.”

      “Progress is a mixed blessing.”

      “Tell me about it. Still, if it wasn’t for the booming population, trained security dogs wouldn’t be needed, and my parents wouldn’t be in business. Okay, there’s our sign. We follow this road to the end and we’re there in ten minutes.”

      As soon as Lara flicked on her blinker and turned, Sadie, already excited, went into overdrive, squeaking, whining, then full-fledged barking.

      “Sorry about that,” Lara sang out. “In case you haven’t guessed, Sadie was born here. Just roll down your window for the noise. That’s what I do.”

      Nick rolled down his window, his ears ringing. “Don’t you have a command for quiet?”

      “Sure, but let her bark. It’s good for the lungs, and she’ll calm down when we get there.”

      Sadie