Under the Marshal's Protection. Kathleen Tailer

blinked the droplets away, determined not to cry in front of the law enforcement officer. There would be time to lament later. For now, she needed to concentrate on appeasing this marshal and getting him out of her house. She paused a moment and once again gingerly touched the bump on her head, then winced. The injury seemed to be throbbing more and more with each passing minute.

      Dominic noticed. “Whoa there. Let’s check that out.” He reached for her arm and led her to sit in one of the few chairs in the home that hadn’t been destroyed and gingerly removed her cap. “There’s only a small cut, but that swollen knot on your scalp must be pretty painful. Stay right here and rest for a minute.” He looked around the room, thinking. “I might have some aspirin in my car.”

      “There’s probably a bottle in the bathroom medicine cabinet, if they didn’t ruin that, too.”

      “Sounds good. I’ll check it out.” He left her and returned a few moments later with two aspirin and a glass of water. “Here. Take this.” In his other hand he carried a plastic quart-sized bag filled with ice, covered with a damp washcloth. He watched her swallow the medicine, then gingerly placed the ice pack on her wound.

      Jessica’s eyes defiantly met his. “I’m still not going to answer your questions.”

      Dominic shrugged. “That’s not my primary objective right now.”

      “What is your primary objective?”

      “Helping you.”

      “Even if I refuse to help you?”

      Dominic nodded. “Yes. Even if you refuse to help me.”

      Jessica let that sink in. When did anyone ever do something for nothing? She wanted to believe him, even though she was rather skeptical. She looked closely at the U.S. Marshal. There was concern in his eyes, but there was no way she could trust the law enforcement officer before her. She leaned back and closed her own eyes for a moment, the ice soothing the throbbing pain.

      She had to handle this problem on her own. That was the bottom line. There was no one else to lean on, and this U.S. Marshal was certainly no knight in shining armor come to rescue her from her problems. Somehow, she would figure all this out and find a way to fix it. She had to. She had no other choice.

      The phone suddenly rang, and she started in surprise. It rang again and she jumped up, frantically looking for the cordless receiver. She had been carrying the phone around with her for days ever since Michael’s last call, but the events of the morning had thrown her out of her routine and she had to search to find where she had left the handset. She was so preoccupied that she didn’t even notice Dominic stand up and follow closely behind her.

      “Hello?”

      The voice on the other end was low and threatening, and even though she didn’t recognize it, it nonetheless sent a cold chill down her spine. “Jessica Blake?”

      “Yes, this is Jessica.”

      “How do you like your house?”

      She took a deep breath and her hands started shaking. “What do you want?”

      “We want what your brother took from us. We want our computer disk back.”

      “What disk? I don’t have your disk,” she said forcefully, her voice tight. “I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”

      “It’s very simple. We want what your brother took from us.”

      “I don’t know where my brother is, or anything about what he took from you.”

      “Find it,” the sinister voice ordered. “Find your brother, and find the disk. You have three days. If you don’t return the disk, you’ll be dead, along with your brother.” There was a click, and Jessica knew she was alone on the line. Her ears started ringing and she felt incredibly light-headed. Her knees began to tremble and if Dominic hadn’t caught her, she would have crumpled to the ground.

      He carried her back over to the chair and set her down gently. Her whole body felt cold despite the June heat, and he rubbed her hands in a soothing gesture. “So? Who was that on the phone that scared you so badly?”

      Jessica met Dominic’s gaze, her own eyes rounded in fear and her breath coming in gasps. She shook her head, not knowing what she should do or say.

      “Easy,” Dominic soothed. “Take a deep breath.” He demonstrated by exaggerating his breathing. She finally followed his lead and matched her breathing to his own. “That’s right. Take another deep breath. You’ll be okay in a minute or two. Deep breaths. That’s it.”

      Jessica concentrated on calming down, but the task seemed impossible. She was gripping Dominic’s hands without even realizing it, and a numbing fear seemed to paralyze her. They were going to kill both Michael and her in three days if they didn’t get what they wanted. She didn’t doubt the caller’s words for one minute. There had been a coldness in his voice that gave truth to his words.

      She finally looked down and noticed their entwined hands and weakly tried to push his away. She didn’t know this man, and in many ways, he seemed to be a threat to her as well. “You have to go now, Marshal. I need to be alone. I need time to think.”

      “No way,” Dominic stated forcefully, clasping her hands and stilling their frantic motion. “You need to tell me what just happened on that phone call.”

      “I can’t,” she said softly, her voice shaking. “I can’t tell you anything. Don’t you see? They’ll kill him, and they’ll kill me, too.”

      “They’ll probably try to do that now anyway.” He squeezed her hands gently, but his stormy gray eyes were like steel. “You’ve just become a liability. These people don’t leave a trail, Ms. Blake. They’ll use you and dispose of you once you no longer serve their purpose. There’s a bigger picture here that you don’t understand. I can help you. The FBI and the Marshals have been going after these guys for a long time now. We know a lot about them and how they operate, but we can’t get them to stop without your help.” Their eyes locked and Jessica felt as if the deputy could see straight into her soul. “Trust me,” he pleaded quietly. “Let me help you, Ms. Blake. Please.”

      Jessica tightened her own grip on his hands and gritted her teeth. One thing she was sure of, she couldn’t fight this threat on her own. It was too big, and she was going to need help. Men that killed on a whim were way out of her league.

      She heard a small voice in her heart. Come back to Me. Let Me help you. She sighed inwardly and resisted the voice. She wasn’t ready to let God back in her life. Not yet. The best she could do was grab hold of the hope that the marshal was offering.

      “Promise me you’ll help me save Michael,” she whispered.

      Dominic nodded. “I will do everything in my power to keep him alive.”

      Jessica shut her eyes, trying to gather the courage to trust the man before her. “I don’t even know you,” she said, more to herself than to the deputy who was kneeling by the chair.

      “I’m sorry there isn’t time for me to build your trust. I promise you, though, that I will do everything I can to keep Michael alive, and I’m a man of my word.” He shifted, still not letting go of her hands. “Tell me about the phone call. Did you recognize the voice?”

      Jessica shook her head, plunging ahead before she had time to really think and reconsider her actions. All the doubt and misgivings seemed to suddenly disappear as she opened her eyes and looked forcefully at the marshal. She was scared, and at the moment, Dominic seemed like her only option. She didn’t really have a choice; not if she wanted to stay alive. “No. It was a deep male voice, that’s about all I can tell you. He took credit for the damage to my house. Then he said that he wanted me to find some sort of computer disk. He said I had three days, and if I didn’t give the disk back, then he would kill me and Michael, too.” She swallowed convulsively. “I believe him. He’ll come after us if I can’t give him what he wants.”

      Dominic