Dead End. Lisa Phillips
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She shook her head. “No, it really isn’t. You’re right. But to be honest, it’s just been one of those days. This is pretty much the perfect end.”
“It’s not even lunchtime.”
“I’m still ready to go home and crawl back into bed. Maybe tomorrow will go better, because today does not seem to be my day.”
The ambulance pulled up, a police car parking right behind it. He knew the sergeant who climbed out. Sergeant Zane sauntered over, apparently relaxed, having decided the emergency had passed and Wyatt had whatever this was covered.
The law enforcement community in their town was pretty tight-knit. Zane probably knew Nina through her connection to Sienna and Parker. Being retired CIA agents in this town was enough to make them famous.
Wyatt got up and stepped back as the EMTs started to work on Nina. Zane might think the former CIA agent could handle herself, even in a situation like this, but he hadn’t seen the raw fear on her face like Wyatt had. There was a lot of wincing now as the EMT doused her road rash, but she kept it together. All that raw skin had to hurt something fierce, but she held her own. As usual. Did the woman ever break?
Sergeant Zane stopped in front of him. “Parker called in an attempted vehicular homicide. I’ve got units on the lookout for the car he described, but it seems like it worked out.”
Vehicular homicide? Wyatt glanced back at Nina. His head hadn’t caught up with his reflexes yet so it took a minute. The car. Nina on the sidewalk. “Why would someone try to kill you?”
It couldn’t be easy to have a past full of covert missions—especially when a recent leak made her past career public knowledge. Had someone she’d angered as a CIA agent just tried to retaliate?
Nina looked up, one eyebrow raised. “You’re seriously asking me that question?”
Sergeant Zane snorted. When Wyatt glanced at the man, his eyes were on the blue sky. He looked back at Nina. He’d been more concerned about the fact that she was hurt. He hadn’t even wondered who was driving the car and why they had done this.
“Who wants you dead?”
Nina cocked her head to the side. “I would write you a list, but...” She lifted her right arm, now being wrapped in a bandage.
Sergeant Zane erupted in chuckles. Wyatt shot him a look that shut him up. Wyatt had been a cop before transferring to the Marshals Service, but couldn’t ever remember acting the way Zane did. Now that he was on a fugitive apprehension task force, Wyatt didn’t have to suffer the sleepless nights of being a homicide detective. He didn’t have to see the tear-filled eyes of loved ones as they faced the gruesome details of death. The long-drawn-out investigations. Awful hours that had taken a toll on every relationship he’d had.
As a homicide detective, he’d had only questions and then had to go out and find the answers. As a marshal he knew the answers—the case was closed—and he only needed to track down the fugitive and dispense justice. When the cell doors shut, his job was done.
The one gray cloud in his life right now was Nina. Or, more specifically, his unwanted feelings for her. Wyatt might have been attracted to her since they met, but Nina wasn’t like any other woman. Not exactly a bad thing, but her best friend had just married his partner. She’d have the bug, and if they started dating she’d be thinking about him and “long term.”
Not exactly Wyatt’s thing, at least when he considered the fact that his track record at relationships wasn’t good. It was why he kept everything light. First he had to figure out why he’d never been able to hold on to a relationship. Then he’d open himself up to dating again.
He glanced back at the courthouse, where Parker made his way down the steps toward them. Wyatt looked back at Nina. “What were you doing here?”
Nina opened her mouth to answer, but Parker spoke first. “She was trying to find out who killed her mother.”
She shot him a dirty look. “Sienna was not supposed to have shared that with you. That was private.”
Parker’s brows lifted. “You want my wife to keep secrets from me?”
Wyatt glanced between them. They seemed to have this rapport as friends that he didn’t have with Nina. And why did that bother him? He moved so the EMT could get by him and head back toward his bus. He heard a low “She’s good.”
Wyatt nodded to the EMT, then looked back at Nina. “Your mother was killed?” He could see the sadness in her eyes. He’d never seen that undercurrent of grief in her before. Apparently she was as good as he was at keeping things light. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
Nina glanced at Parker for a second. “It was a very long time ago. I came here trying to find out what happened. To say I’m getting the runaround is an understatement.”
Parker took a step closer to them. “Sienna and I said we’d help.”
“Sienna said she’d help. I wasn’t even aware you knew.” Nina sighed. “And I might have to take you up on your offer since I’m not getting anywhere. I wanted to do it myself, but I might have to face the fact that I’m in over my head with this.”
Nina glanced around, still sitting on the sidewalk. Wyatt moved to help her up, but Parker beat him to it. Held out his hand and hauled Nina to her feet while Wyatt just stood there looking inconsiderate.
She gifted Parker a small smile. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” His eyes were dark, but he had that undercurrent of a happily married man that had for a long time been absent in his partner. “Wyatt is going to take you home, okay? Watch your six.”
Finally Parker said something right. Wyatt nodded to his partner, since Nina couldn’t see him. She snapped a salute with her good hand. “Yes, sir.”
Wyatt shook his head. “Where’s your car?”
She turned from Parker as he walked away and said, “I walked here.”
“You did?”
She shrugged. “I only live around the corner.”
Parker, already ten feet away, spun back. “I’m headed to the office. When you see her home, make sure she eats some lunch.”
Nina rolled her eyes.
“My car is this way.”
He held out his hand, but she didn’t take it. She walked gingerly, and he wished he’d parked closer. She’d hit the sidewalk pretty hard, and she was leaning toward the opposite side. Wyatt put his hand on the small of her back like he was leading her, when the reality was he needed to give her support and comfort even if it was in that small measure.
He’d done the same a million times with witnesses, or women he’d dated, but he’d never felt like this. It was as though a spark of electricity had arced from her to his hand. She probably wasn’t even aware of the action, whereas all of his senses had lit up. The lingering rush of adrenaline at watching her almost die wasn’t helping. She’d nearly been flattened on the concrete by that car.
She needed support and protection, but from what? The police could track the car, but it was likely stolen. Maybe they would never find out who had been driving. Nina would live the rest of her life under a cloud of impending danger.
Nina’s cell phone chimed from inside her purse. She pulled it out and looked at the screen, but he couldn’t read the tiny text. What he could read was her reaction.
The flinch.
The quick intake of breath that meant the danger was far from over.
Maybe it was just beginning.
“Everything okay?”