Heidi had found sleep difficult to come by last night, but when nothing had happened by one o’clock, and she could see the MP was still parked outside, she’d been able to fall into a restless doze. By the time her alarm buzzed, she was already up and getting ready.
And questioning her sanity as she slicked pink gloss across her lips. “We go to the same church here on base. So...come to church with me tomorrow and let’s grab lunch after.”
She rolled her eyes at her reflection and decided she would do. She’d left her hair down and it rested against her shoulders, the strands straightened with the help of her flat iron. Light makeup enhanced her blue eyes and the lip gloss added a subtle sheen to her mouth.
In her day-to-day work life, she looked professional and neat, not made-up. It suited her. So why was she making more of an effort today?
She knew exactly why and his name was Nick Donovan. She might as well admit it.
With a grimace, she turned from the sink and headed for the kitchen for a bagel and a cup of coffee. Her nose reminded her she still needed to take the trash out, but she wasn’t about to risk dirtying her nice clothes. She put that at the top of her after-church to-do list. A glance out the window revealed the Security Forces vehicle still parked on her street. She frowned. The man she’d seen running from the training center hadn’t liked that she’d seen his face. In fact, he’d been so desperate to get away he’d pulled a gun on her and Nick. Then he’d managed to escape the base perimeter. Would he come back or was his work done? Or had he decided the smart thing to do was disappear? She hoped it was the latter.
While she was on her second cup, her phone rang, and she snagged it. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hey, stranger.”
Heidi grimaced. “Sorry, it’s been crazy around here.”
“I know. I’ve been keeping up with what’s happening on the base. They haven’t caught that serial killer yet. Boyd Sullivan.”
“No, they haven’t, but they don’t think he’s on the base anymore. He was last seen in central Texas.”
“And what about the explosion at the training center?” her mother asked.
“Oh. You heard about that, huh?”
“Like I said, I keep up.”
What could she say that would be the truth, but not send her mother running to the base?
“We’re not sure, Mom. OSI is investigating so we hope we hear something soon. Until then, security is super tight.”
“I would hope so. Do you need to take a leave of absence and come here?”
“No, ma’am. I need to stay here and do my job.”
“In spite of the fact that it might get you killed?”
“I’m not planning on putting myself in any danger.”
“Your father—”
“Dad knew exactly what he was walking into when he started working that story. Now that I’m older, I understand his thought processes. He didn’t want to die, but he was doing what he believed in.” She paused. “I’m not Dad, but I’m a lot like him. I don’t plan to do anything that may put me in danger, but I believe in ferreting out the truth.”
For a moment her mother didn’t respond and Heidi wondered if she would hang up on her. Then a watery sigh reached her. “On the contrary, my dear, you are just like your father.”
“Well...okay.”
“And I’m very proud of you.”
Heidi snapped her mouth shut. Then let out a low sigh. “Thanks, Mom. I needed to hear that.”
“Please let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
“I will.”
“And someone needs to tell that blogger to quit posting. Whoever is writing that stuff is revealing things probably better kept under wraps.”
A choked laugh escaped her. “I agree, Mom. They’re working on silencing that person.”
“Which means they don’t know who it is.”
“You’re very astute.”
Heidi could almost hear the smile her mother no doubt wore. “I love you, hon.”
A knock on the door made her jump. “I love you, too, Mom. We’ll talk later, okay? Give Kurt my best.” She really did like her stepfather. Mostly because he adored her mother.
“Of course.”
“Bye.” Heidi hung up as another knock echoed through her small home. She rose and placed the cup in the sink, then grabbed her purse.
When she opened the door, she blinked. Nick in his military fatigues was one thing, but dressed in civilian clothing, he plain looked good. Amazing. She’d seen him at church before in his civvies, of course, but to have him standing on her doorstep put a whole different kind of beat in her heart.
“Hi,” she said. “Good morning.”
“Morning.” He blinked as his gaze swept over her. “Wow. You look different.”
“Thanks?”
He shook his head and laughed. “Sorry. I mean different as in good.”
Did a little makeup make that much of a difference? Apparently, it did, judging by how his eyes were focused on her. “Thank you. You look different, too. As in good.”
She thought his cheeks might have gone a little pink. He cleared his throat. “I think I need to work on my manners. Let’s start over.” He turned his back to her, walked down the steps, then back up. When he stood in front of her once more, he offered her a slight bow. “Heidi, you look lovely this morning.”
And there went her heart. “Thank you.” She was sure her cheek color now matched his. And where did that breathlessness come from? She cleared her throat. “Is it okay if I don’t say ‘you do, too’?”
He laughed. “I’m more than fine with not being called lovely. Are you ready?”
“I am.” She locked the door, then shut it behind her. Then she smiled up at him. “But you are handsome.”
“Ah, thank you.” More throat clearing. “I hope you don’t mind that we have some company.”
“Not at all. Who? Annie?”
“And my grandfather. Colonel Truman Hicks, retired. He lives with me and decided to come to church this morning.”
“Sounds wonderful.” She hoped it would be, anyway. “So, how does he feel about reporters after what happened to your mother? His daughter, I presume?”
His eyes narrowed. “Yes, he’s my mother’s father. Let’s just say he’s reserving judgment on any reporters, present company included.”
“Uh-huh.”
At the car, he introduced her to the man who sat in the back seat. He looked familiar, like she’d seen him in the church before, but she wouldn’t have placed him if Nick hadn’t introduced them. “Very nice to meet you, sir, but I’m happy to take the back.”
“I’ve got better manners than that, young lady. Climb in.”
“Yes, sir.” She raised a brow at Nick and he shrugged and opened the door for her. Oh, boy, this might just get interesting.
Annie rode in the very back. The colonel stayed quiet the entire ride while Nick did an excellent job with small talk. She figured the colonel was listening and observing, because while he didn’t seem to resent her presence, she wasn’t sure he approved of it.
So, Heidi focused on Nick and thought she managed to sound halfway intelligent. The sight of a handler walking his dog brought the missing animals to mind. “Any word on the dogs still missing from the kennel?” she asked.
“No.”
“What about the four German shepherds? Felicity said Westley was especially concerned about them.”
“They’re definitely the more trained and special dogs, for sure, but there’s been no word or sightings on them. It’s frustrating.”
“I’m sure.”
They fell silent and she couldn’t hold back the sigh of relief when the church came into view.
The jaunt from her home to the church had taken all of three minutes. It had felt like at least thirty.
Nick parked and everyone climbed out into the heat that was already starting to steal the oxygen from the air. She was definitely ready for cooler weather.
The colonel went on ahead, his steps confident and sure, his back straight and strong.
“Why’d he retire?” Heidi asked as Nick released Annie from her area. “He seems a little on the young side.”
“He is. He’ll only be sixty-eight on his next birthday, but a couple of years ago, my grandmother got sick,” he said, “and he wanted to give her his full attention so he requested a leave and was granted it. She passed away. Losing my mom and then grandmother was hard for him. Grief knocked him for a loop. He had his forty-five years—and then some—in, so he was able to retire. Since it was just the two of us left in the family, I decided to ask him to move in with me. He didn’t argue about it too much. I think he was lonely.”
“I see.” She walked with him up the steps and into the sanctuary. “You’ve had a lot of pain in your life.”
“Hmm No more than anyone else, probably. Life comes with a guarantee of pain. It’s how you deal with it that matters.”
“Maybe.” He was right, of course. She just didn’t want to think about how she’d dealt with the pain life had served her. Avoiding it wasn’t exactly dealing with it.
They found their seats. The colonel sat in the front row. Now she knew why he’d looked familiar. She saw the back of him most Sundays. Nick led her to a pew in the middle and slid in. She sat next to him, ignoring the suddenly speculative looks of some of the others around them. “You don’t sit with your grandfather?”
“No. Sometimes I have to slip out and I prefer not to do that in front of the whole congregation. He’s sat in that seat since he’s been on base so he’s not about to move. And see that empty space next to him?”
“Yes.”
“He puts Gramma’s Bible there in her place.”
“He likes tradition.”
“Thrives on it.”
“And no one says anything? What if a new person sits there without knowing the history?”
He smiled. “Then Gramps finds another place to sit. But the nice thing is, most newcomers don’t sit in the front row so it’s not an issue.”
“Cool.” Nick came from a long line of love and an impressive family—at least on his mother’s side.
Westley and Felicity slid in beside Nick, then looked around Nick to greet her. “How are you doing? Recovering from the blast, I hope?” Westley asked her.
“I still have sore knees, but other than that, I’m doing fine, thanks.”
He nodded and started to say something else, then snapped his lips shut as John Robinson approached. Heidi’s stomach turned sour, but she kept her face blank, not wanting the reporter to see her reaction.
“Good morning, all,” John said. “Thought I’d catch you here. Master Sergeant James, can you give us an update on the Red Rose Killer?”
“I cannot. Have a nice day, Robinson.”
The reporter flinched and narrowed his eyes at Heidi. “Lou isn’t going to be happy to hear about this. This is my story.”
Heidi crossed her arms and raised her chin. “Did I say it wasn’t?”
“No, but everywhere I go, you’re there.” His gaze flicked to Nick. “With someone working the investigation. If you’re hoping to scoop me on this—” The music started and he was forced to end his bickering. “We’ll talk later.”
“Not if I can help it,” she muttered as John walked across the aisle and Nick placed a comforting hand at the small of her back. She shot him a tight smile and drew in a deep breath that was supposed to help lower her blood pressure.
It helped. A little.
Security Forces Captain Justin Blackwood and his sixteen-year-old daughter, Portia, entered and quickly found a seat. Portia carried her ever-present iPad and looked about as happy to be in church as she would being stuck in after-school detention. Not for the first time, Heidi wondered what her story was or what went through her head—the daughter of a high-ranking military official. But also the daughter of a single dad. From what Heidi had learned just from keeping her ears open around the base, Portia was the result of a high school romance. She’d lived with her mother until the woman had died about a year ago and then Justin had gotten custody. She’d been living with her father ever since and didn’t seem at all happy about that fact.
Heidi couldn’t remember seeing a smile on the girl’s face and that made her sad.
She let her mind flip from the girl to what she needed to do on the Red Rose Killer. While she’d been honest about not working the story, it didn’t mean she just had to ignore it, right? Of course, she had her priorities straight. First and foremost, she needed to figure out what was going on with the missing medals, but if she happened to come across something that could lead them to Boyd Sullivan, then so be it. John would stroke out if that happened, but there wasn’t anything she could do about that. That was his problem.
When the second song ended and it was time to sit, she realized she hadn’t even been aware of standing. However, she was very aware of Nick’s hand still at the small of her back. Which made her wish they’d sing at least one more song.
But it wasn’t to be.
She sat and continued her musing even as she tried to focus on the sermon and not on the man next to her. And then it hit home what Pastor Harmon was talking about. Something about loving one’s enemies. She slid a glance at John Robinson across the aisle and clamped her lips together. Lord, don’t ask me to love him, please. That’s going above and beyond, isn’t it? Then her gaze moved to the man on her right. But Nick Donovan might be another thing altogether. However, Nick wasn’t her enemy, so she was pretty sure that wouldn’t be the correct application of the sermon. Still...
“Are you all right?” Nick whispered.
She started. “Yes, why?”
“You’re squirmy and distracted. Like a little kid.”
Heat suffused her cheeks. “Sorry.” For the rest of the service, she sat still as a rock and forced her mind to stay on the sermon.
Once the service ended, they made their way to the back of the church and stood in line to greet the pastor and exit. Annie stayed obediently beside Nick. “She’s really an amazing dog, isn’t she?” Heidi said.
Nick leaned down to scratch the hound’s ears. “Truly amazing. Not very pretty and the slobber sometimes gets to me, but she’s all heart and give. I couldn’t ask for a better partner.”
“I hate that the other dogs are still missing. I hope someone’s taking care of them.”
He frowned. “I do, too.”
“It’s been five months since Sullivan released them. Do you think there’s still hope?”
“Of course there’s hope, Heidi.” But it wasn’t Nick who answered. It was Pastor Harmon who’d no doubt heard her remark as they approached him. He reached for her hand and gave it a friendly squeeze. “There’s always hope—even when the situation looks hopeless.”
Heidi smiled at the friendly and wise man she’d come to enjoy speaking with on Sunday afternoons. “Hello, Pastor Harmon. I know God can use even this situation. Sometimes it’s hard to focus on that, though.”
“I know. I’m praying those dogs come home soon.”
“Thank you,” Nick said. “We appreciate that.” They moved on and stepped out into the heat. “Lunch?” he asked.
“That sounds fabulous.”
They found his grandfather talking to three officers and making a golf date. When Heidi and Nick approached, his brown eyes turned speculative. “I’m going to skip out on lunch with you two if that’s all right. These three need a fourth.”
“Of course, Gramps, just call me if you need a ride home.”
“One of these guys can drop me off. Y’all mind?”
“No, sir, happy to do it,” one of the officers said. Heidi tried to pull his name from the recesses of her memory, but couldn’t find it.
Then Nick’s hand was under her elbow and he was leading her to his car. “Is the Winged Java okay with you?”
“Sure. I love their potato soup and Caesar salad.”
“Perfect.”
They were stopped by Pastor Harmon, who called out Nick’s name. He stood at the top of the steps, waving him over.
“Go on, I’ll meet you at the car,” she said.
The parking lot was almost empty. The car was twenty yards away.
He nodded and jogged over to the steps while she headed for the vehicle. The sound of an engine caught her attention and she turned to see a vehicle heading toward her. Black-tinted windows blocked her view of the driver. As he rode toward her, his window rolled down, his right arm lifted...
...and she saw the semiautomatic in his grasp aimed right at her.
* * *
Nick turned at the sound of the first crack from the gun, followed by a rat-a-tat-tat that spit up the asphalt near his SUV. “Heidi!” He ran toward her, pulling his weapon. She’d darted behind the vehicle as the weapon fired, but had she been fast enough? “Heidi! Are you hit?”
The silver sedan roared to the edge of the parking lot, then out into the street without stopping. Within seconds, it had sped around the corner.
He turned to see his grandfather on the phone, yelling orders. The MPs would be here soon, but there was no one here to follow the guy. No matter, someone would catch him soon enough. He was on a closed base and wouldn’t get far. Nick rounded the side of the vehicle to find Heidi crouching behind a tire. When she saw him, she launched herself into his arms. He held her, his heart thudding with the knowledge that she didn’t appear to be harmed.
He pushed her back to look her over. No blood in sight.
“He didn’t hit me,” she said. “Came close, but I think trying to shoot me from a moving car threw off his aim.”
The colonel hurried over, phone still pressed to his ear. “Do we need an ambulance?”
“No, sir,” Heidi said, although Nick knew they’d send one anyway. “Let me sit for a minute, please,” she said. “My knees are shaking.”
He lowered her to the asphalt and knelt beside her. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
“Just shaken.”
“Understandable.”
Sirens were already screaming closer, racing down Canyon Drive. Nick tucked his weapon back into his holster as the first Security Forces vehicles turned into the church parking lot. “You’ll need to give a statement,” he told her.
“I know. I’m just trying to get it together. It’s a story, right? I can do this. I can write this from my perspective.”
Already she sounded stronger, but Nick was floored. “A story? You were almost killed!”
Her eyes met his as she stood. “I’m aware of that, thanks.”
“Apparently not. It’s not a story. It’s your life!”
“Stop shouting, Nick, and let me handle this my way.”
Belatedly, he realized what she was doing. Compartmentalizing. “You know you completely exasperate me, right?”
“Can’t say I’m surprised. I think I have that effect on most people I meet.”
At least she was responding with a bit of morbid humor. He got it. Most people in law enforcement used sarcasm or bad humor in order to deal with what they had to live with on a daily basis. Heidi had been around long enough to adopt the technique.
He groaned. “Fine.”
A hand on his arm pulled his attention from her to his grandfather. “Gramps?”
“More trouble for the pretty reporter, huh?” While the older man looked steady as a rock, his brows were drawn tight and a muscle in his jaw pulsed, revealing his tight hold on his anger and fear.
“No kidding,” Nick told him.
From the corner of his eye, Nick spotted John Robinson heading straight for Heidi. Knowing she was in no condition to deal with her colleague, he nudged his grandfather. “Can you head that guy off at the pass? He and Heidi don’t get along, and she may deck him if he says something snarky.”
With a gleam in his eyes, his grandfather nodded. “My pleasure.”
Turning, Nick found Heidi staring at him. She blinked. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Now, let’s give your statement and get some food. I have a feeling we’re going to need it.”