Under the Lawman's Protection. Laura Scott

Ben said in a small voice. Her eyes welled up with tears at her son’s sentiment. At that moment she was grateful she’d taken him to church every week.

      “See, Ben? We’re safe now.”

      “But, Mommy, I’m cold,” he whined.

      “I know, sweetie.” She brushed her lips over Ben’s forehead. “Mr. Isaac’s friends will be here soon and then we’ll be able to get into a warm car, okay?”

      “We’re hiding in a cluster of trees at your three o’clock,” Isaac murmured into the radio.

      “Ten-four.”

      “They’re not going to search the trees across the street, are they?” Leah asked, trying not to be too blunt, for Ben’s sake.

      “No, getting you two to safety is our main priority.”

      Once again she was glad she wasn’t out here alone. So far, Isaac had proved to be dedicated in his mission to protect her and Ben.

      Maybe her brother had chosen wisely after all. Even though she never wanted to be married to a cop, especially seeing what her mother had gone through after losing her father, being helped by one who was determined to protect you wasn’t all bad.

      The red lights grew brighter and soon she saw two sheriff’s-department vehicles park behind Isaac’s ditched Jeep. First one dark figure climbed out of the car, dressed in full SWAT gear, and then a second figure joined him. Within minutes, they made their way over to their hiding spot amid the trees.

      “Hey, Isaac, what’s the deal? Haven’t you had enough adventure for one day?” the shorter of the two asked in a low voice.

      “Knock it off,” he growled, not looking the least bit amused. “Listen, I need you and Caleb to create a wall of armor so that we can get Leah and Ben down to your vehicle. I’m fairly certain the shooter was on the other side of the road.”

      “No problem. We’re ready.”

      “Okay, Leah, I want you to slowly stand up, while keeping your head down,” Isaac instructed.

      “Okay.” Rising to her feet was easier said than done, since her legs had gone numb. Plus Isaac hadn’t moved back very far, so there wasn’t a lot of room to maneuver.

      But then Caleb, or was it Declan, reached down and helped her up. Isaac stayed behind her, while the other officer took Ben. Clustered together as one, they slowly moved across the muddy terrain, heading in the direction of the vehicles. When they reached the nearest one, Leah set Ben on the rear seat and climbed in beside him. One of Isaac’s friends brought over the booster seat and soon Ben was securely fastened inside.

      “Stay here,” Isaac said in a low voice. “The windows are bulletproof, so there’s no reason to be afraid. We’ll be out of here soon enough.”

      “Okay.” She couldn’t deny being relieved to know the windows were reinforced. But that didn’t stop her from searching the trees across the street, looking for any sign of the masked man.

      Isaac spoke to the other two officers outside for a few minutes before he slid in behind the wheel. He cranked the key and blasted the heat. “We’ll be leaving in a few minutes.”

      “Wh-what about y-your J-Jeep?” she asked, her teeth chattering as her entire body began to shake. Reaction from the night’s events had finally hit her, and she couldn’t seem to get her body under control.

      “The guys will make sure it gets back to the station. We want the crime-scene techs to take a look at my rear tire. Not that there’s much left to examine.”

      Leah gave a jerky nod, unable to trust her voice not to betray her. Isaac turned in his seat and pinned her with a direct gaze.

      “I’m going to make sure you and Ben get someplace safe for the rest of the night,” he said in a serious tone. “Okay?”

      “S-sure.” She could tell he was feeling bad about everything that had just happened, but none of this was his fault.

      Of course, it wasn’t exactly her fault, either.

      She suppressed another shiver, wishing she knew where her brother was. And couldn’t help wondering if she’d ever feel safe again.

      * * *

      Isaac inwardly winced when Leah wrapped her arms around her abdomen as if trying to keep herself from shaking.

      He scrubbed his hands over his face, telling himself it was not a good idea to scoot in beside her to offer comfort. He’d managed to keep his distance from any romantic entanglements over the past few years, and this was hardly the time or the place to change his mind. Especially with his friend’s sister, no matter how beautiful she was.

      Still, he wished there was a way to ease Leah’s fears. To let her know that she was handling this better than anyone could expect.

      He shook his head at his foolishness and peered through the windshield. Having Caleb and Declan outside, trying to put the puzzle pieces together for him, didn’t sit well. He wanted to be out there in the middle of the action.

      But Hawk was his friend and Leah was his responsibility, not theirs, though they’d both offered to help in any way they could.

      As soon as he had his charges in a safe place, Isaac would need to find a way to get in touch with Hawk. Someone wanted Leah and Ben, and the only thing that made sense to him was that they needed some leverage to draw his friend out of hiding.

      Hawk had mentioned that his cover was blown, and Leah and Ben were in danger. But from whom? What in the world was Hawk involved in?

      “Isaac?” Caleb rapped on the window. “You need to come out here and see this.”

      He lifted his hand to show he’d heard. He turned back toward Leah. “I’ll only be a minute, okay?”

      She nodded, but didn’t meet his gaze. She looked so weary, as if she might keel over at any moment.

      Guilt weighed heavily on his shoulders as he turned back and pushed open the driver’s-side door. He followed Caleb over to his Jeep, where Deck was standing with a flashlight trained on the rear fender.

      “What is it?” he asked.

      “Check this out.” Deck aimed his beam of light at the lower edge of the wheel well. “What do you think? Looks like a bullet hole to me.”

      Isaac stared in shock as the implication of the small round hole sank deep. “The shooter took two shots at the tire,” he murmured slowly. “He must have missed the first time.”

      “Yeah, but not by much,” Caleb pointed out. “And you both know how difficult it is to hit a tire on a moving vehicle. The average citizen could never pull this off. Our perp is a sharpshooter of some kind, maybe a sniper from the armed forces.”

      “Yeah,” Isaac agreed grimly, turning to look up at his two closest friends. “Or maybe a cop, like us.”

      Caleb and Deck exchanged grim glances and then nodded. “You could be right,” Caleb acknowledged. “It wouldn’t be the first time we encountered a dirty cop on the force.”

      No, it wouldn’t. Isaac stared at the small round hole in the fender. Keeping Leah and Ben safe wouldn’t be nearly as easy if they had a cop or some other guy with military training on his tail.

      But failure was not an option.

THREE

      Leah was relieved when Isaac returned to the sheriff’s-deputy SUV after just a few short minutes. “C-can we leave now?” she asked.

      “Yes,” he responded shortly, as if he wasn’t happy about something. He put the SUV in gear and pulled out onto the highway. The silence stretched between them as Isaac drove, taking a series of turns that