Hudson licked his cracked lips and swallowed. His parched throat longed for water. He opened his eyes and blinked several times to clear the fogginess in his throbbing head and get accustomed to the bright lights. He touched the bump on his forehead and moaned. Where was he? Why did his entire body feel like a cement truck had hit him?
Wait. The blast.
Where was Kaylin?
He bolted upright, but immediately regretted it as a wave of nausea slammed him. He eased back down and took big breaths until the feeling subsided.
The smell of rubbing alcohol filled the small room. Beeping noises sounded from outside his door. He was in a hospital. Windsor Regional.
He looked around the room and found Kaylin asleep in a chair beside him. How long had he been here?
Who blew up his cruiser?
Questions raced through his mind, but he was only concerned about the beautiful woman sitting next to him. Relieved she was okay, he took her hand.
She startled. “You’re awake.”
“Were you worried about me, Officer Poirier?” He winked.
She smiled mischievously. “What do you think?”
“How long have I been out?” He eased himself up. He had to get out of here and back on the case. It wouldn’t solve itself. If he didn’t, he’d never hear the end of it from his boss.
“Five hours.”
“Tell me what happened.”
She rubbed her hand over the armrest. “The blast threw us both. Thankfully you stopped to pick up your keys. I think that saved our lives.”
“It was all God.”
She shifted in her chair, her unbelief evident on her contorted face. “Not sure I believe that.”
“It’s the only answer, Kaylin. He made me fumble with my keys and drop them. That’s not something I normally do.” Why did she have such a hard time believing?
She shrugged. “Well, I’m not so sure. Why did He allow it to happen in the first place?”
How could he make her understand? “Listen, I don’t have all the answers. I just know He loves me. You, too.”
She bit her lip and looked away.
Clearly something had happened in the past to steer her from a loving God. Would she ever tell him what it was?
I want to know more about you, Kaylin.
He cleared his throat. Time to change the subject. “What have the authorities said about the bombing?”
“They questioned me here at the hospital and I gave them my statement, which wasn’t much to go on.” She leaned in, resting her elbows on the bed. “How did they know where we were to get access to your car?”
He raised the bed and eased himself up. “I don’t know, but we’ve obviously struck a nerve with someone.” His head pounded. He needed some of his migraine medication to stop it from getting worse.
Kaylin suddenly sat back and crossed her arms over her middle.
He studied her tight expression. Was it anxiousness or fear showing on her pretty face? “What are you thinking?”
She twirled a ring around her finger. “This is all my fault. They’re targeting me. Maybe Dad is right. I should remove myself from this task force.”
“You can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re getting closer and we need you. You’re determined and capable.” He lowered the railings and swung his legs over the side. “I need my phone.” It was time to get moving. He couldn’t lie around all day.
She jumped up and stood in front of him. “Get back into bed. You’re in no condition to be leaving this hospital.”
Their eyes locked for a moment. Why did he have the sudden urge to take her in his arms and tell her everything would be okay? He shook his head to clear the image rolling through his brain. Where did that come from? She was messing with his head. Hudson, focus. You don’t need to fall for another woman. He would not surrender to those chocolate brown eyes.
He looked away to break his concentration. “I need to call my sergeant to get you protection. Twenty-four/seven.”
She pushed him back into the narrow hospital bed. “You’re not going anywhere, and I can take care of myself.” She handed him his cell phone. “But you can have this back. Your fiancée called.”
The disdain in her voice revealed the reason for her sudden mood change.
He blinked. “My who?”
“You know, Rebecca.” Her lips flattened.
“She’s not—”
“I gotta run and get a new cell phone since mine was destroyed. Talk to you later, okay?” She rushed from the room before he had a chance to explain.
His cell phone buzzed. His boss. “Hey, Sarge.”
“How are you feeling? I heard about the bombing.”
“My head throbs.”
“Just wanted to let you know they found the trigger. Looks like remote detonation. They were watching you.”
Chills danced along his skin, forming goose bumps. Someone had indeed targeted them.
Now they were in more danger.
He needed to call Kaylin.
But how? She didn’t have a cell phone.
Kaylin spotted a man wearing a baseball cap low over his eyes. He stood behind a column in the cellular store, watching her. She felt a chill at the back of her neck. Was he following her? She stepped away from the counter and circled around him. He moved to a kiosk and fingered the phones, keeping his head dipped. Seconds later he exited the store.
She let out the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding and stepped to the counter and pointed to a cell phone to purchase, giving the clerk her information.
An hour later, she arrived back at her apartment and looked right, then left before inserting her key into the lock. She couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching her, but there hadn’t been a tail on her drive home. She circled her subdivision just in case. And an officer was camped outside her building. Again.
Get a grip.
She walked inside her two-bedroom apartment, placed her keys on the foyer table and removed her gun before locking it in her hidden safe. She had received special permission to bring her weapon home and she couldn’t be too careful.
Sassme greeted her by rubbing around her legs. Kaylin scooped the cat up and snuggled into her soft fur. It tickled Kaylin’s nose. “Hey, girl. You hungry?”
The cat meowed as if in agreement.
“Okay.” She carried her pet into the kitchen and set her on the floor before filling the dish with food.
Her mind raced back to Hudson. They’d had a moment in his hospital room. She struggled with feelings she never thought she’d have for someone again.
Stop it. He’d never go for you.
She had too much baggage and she’d have to share more than she wanted to.
And besides, he had Rebecca.
Kaylin needed to get her mind off him. Perhaps a call to her friend was in order. She turned her cell phone back on and selected her best bud’s number. Hannah Morgan now lived in Whitehorse, Yukon, patrolling the border along Yukon and Alaska.
Hannah answered on the third ring.
“Hey, friend. It’s me. Good to hear your voice. I miss you.” Kaylin had met Hannah on the streets of Windsor and they’d both ended up living with Diane. Hannah was the sister Kaylin never had. They’d been inseparable during her high school years and had also gone to CBSA college together.
“How’s it going at the Windsor-Detroit border?”
“Interesting. Dad has ordered me to work on a doda drug smuggling ring with police officer Hudson Steeves.” Kaylin moved into her bedroom and plunked herself on the bed.
“Him again? Didn’t you have issues with him on Jake’s case?”
“Yes. He seems different this time, though. Kinder.”
Hannah whistled. “Do I hear admiration in your voice?”
Kaylin removed the radio from her shoulder. “Maybe.” She grabbed her pajamas from a drawer and headed to the bathroom. “Doesn’t matter, though. He has a fiancée.” The contempt in her voice surprised even herself. Had she developed a crush on the constable in only two days?
“You sound bitter.”
“Just tired.” Tired of being targeted. She pulled a towel and washcloth out of her linen closet, dropping them on the bathroom vanity. “What are you working on?”
“We’re having issues of children being kidnapped and smuggled across different border crossings between Yukon and Alaska. I guess they’re putting together a task force to deal with it.”
“Will you be on it?”
“I hope so. It breaks my heart. All those kids torn from their families. For what? To work in sweatshops?”
“Sad.”
“How’s your dad?”
She walked back into the living room and flipped on her TV. The newscast replayed her father’s attempted abduction. Sassme jumped on her lap, circled a few times and then lay down. Kaylin buried her fingers in the cat’s fur. Its softness soothed her. “The same.”
“You need to forgive, my friend. It’s what God wants.”
Kaylin huffed. “You sound like Diane.”
“It’s true. God is calling to you. Surrender your life to Him.”
“Oh. Guess what? Hudson is a Christian, too. I’m surrounded.”
Hannah laughed. “Good, maybe he can knock some sense into you.”
Kaylin kicked her feet up on the coffee table, disturbing Sassme, who scurried out of the room. “I doubt it.”
“Kaylin, the bitterness is holding you back from a life of freedom. You need peace and the only way you’ll get it is through forgiveness.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to ward off a tension headache. “How can you say that after knowing what my father did to me?”
“I know it’s hard, but living the way you are is eating you up. He’s trying to make amends.”
Kaylin couldn’t listen to her friend anymore. She didn’t understand. It wasn’t that easy to forget the past. “Listen, I gotta run. Good chatting with you. Talk again next week?”
Hannah sighed. “Sure. Sorry if I overstepped my bounds. I only want the best for you.”
“I know. Love you.”
“You, too, my friend. Bye.”
Kaylin hung up and snapped off the TV. She texted Hudson and let him know her new number.
Within moments, her cell phone buzzed with a message from Hudson.
Tks 4 ur new #.
NP. How r u feeling?
Better. Sarge says bomb set off by remote. Be careful.
Will do. Nite.
C u 2moro.
Kaylin walked to her bathroom, tossed her cell phone on the vanity table and grabbed her hairbrush. She pulled the elastic from her ponytail and massaged her head. The blast had thrown her and now she was feeling it. She rubbed her arms where the glass had sliced her skin. Was that just a few hours ago? The long day had taken its toll and she needed sleep.
Sassme trotted into the room and jumped up on the vanity, watching her with wide eyes.
Kaylin rubbed the cat’s head before squirting toothpaste onto her toothbrush. She turned on the faucet.
Creak.
She paused. What was that?
Creak.
She snapped the faucet off and listened.
Drawers opened and closed in her bedroom.
She clamped her hand over her mouth and grabbed Sassme, squeezing her tight. Someone was in her apartment.
And her gun was locked away in another room.