Colton 911: Family Under Fire. Jane Godman
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took less than fifteen minutes. Alyssa spent most of it alternating between looking over her shoulder to check on Kennedy and studying Everett’s hometown. Cactus Creek was gearing up for the holidays. All along their route, the stores were lit up with stars and bells; palm trees were decorated with red, green and gold lights. When they swung right onto Main Street, she saw the saguaro cactus plants flanking the entrance to Hoyles’ Department Store had been turned into candy canes. A wide pedestrian area ran down the center of the street, from which Santa waved from the carriage of a rickety wooden train.
Everett pulled up in the parking lot of a modern block. The apartment building looked like it had been added as an afterthought at the end of a traditional row that included Pizza Paradise and the Sports Bar.
“I see you didn’t stray too far from the essentials.”
Pretending to be hurt, he placed a hand over his heart. “You know I can’t cook. Am I supposed to starve while I’m in town?”
“Let’s get this baby inside.” She shook her head. “That’s a sentence I didn’t picture myself saying when I left home this morning.”
Located on the second floor, Everett’s apartment was reached by a set of stairs that led directly from the parking lot. It was one of four apartments with front doors leading off a single walkway. His was closest to the outside staircase.
Although he hadn’t left her with high hopes about his rental, once Alyssa was inside, she was relieved to see that it was clean, and the furniture appeared comfortable. He was right about one thing, though. It was small.
From the front door, she could see a square lounge area with two small sofas and a TV, a round dining table with four chairs and a narrow kitchen that looked just about large enough for one person.
A sudden thought occurred to her. “How many bedrooms are there?”
“Two.” The slight curve of his lips told her he was reading her mind. “Although one of them is more like a closet.”
She thought of her comfortable apartment in Phoenix. The one she’d spent so long decorating and furnishing with carefully chosen pieces. The one from which she would need to get her clothes and other essential belongings. Then she smoothed down the sparse curls of the little girl who had no one else to care for her.
“I guess we should talk about how we’re going to make this work.”
Everett didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed when, before he and Alyssa could sit down to talk, they were disturbed by the security buzzer.
“The Department of Child Safety sure moves fast around here.” He headed toward the front door while Alyssa took Kennedy to explore the bedrooms. “Although, when you think about it, that’s a good thing. We don’t even have a crib or a high chair.”
Although the apartment had a speaker system, it was low-tech and didn’t have the luxury of cameras. Everett could talk to the person at the front door, but he couldn’t see them.
“Delivery for Miss K. Dodd.”
It seemed like an unnecessarily formal way of confirming the arrival of Kennedy’s belongings.
“Do you need help to carry anything up the stairs?”
“Uh. I’m good.”
Shrugging, he held open the door. A few moments later, a guy in uniform with a badge that had a sprig of holly above his name tag appeared. Accustomed to checking people out, Everett registered the name first.
Joe Meyer.
Then he noticed that Joe was carrying a large, gift-wrapped box topped with a giant bow.
“That’s it?” Everett peered around him. “I was expecting more.”
“I just get a list of jobs each day, then I go where they send me. This time it was to pick this up from Hoyles’ toy department and bring it here.”
Everett had always considered himself to be reasonably intelligent. His excellent grades throughout school and college meant others had shared that opinion. Prior to joining the FBI, he’d even been headhunted into a high-flying career in corporate law. He had certainly never thought of himself as slow-witted. Even so, he was having trouble processing what was going on.
“Hoyles’? Toy department?”
“Yeah. This time of year, they’re one of our best customers.” Joe held out a pad and pen. “If you’ll just sign here…?”
“Not until I know what I’m signing for.” Everett held out his hands for the brightly packaged box. There was a gift tag attached and he turned it over to read the message:
Happy holidays, sweet girl. I’m coming for you.
A cold, bony finger of fear jabbed at his spine. He’d recently returned to Cactus Creek and had been working on a murder investigation when he’d gotten news of the Dodds’ deaths. The suicide story had never felt right to him. He knew Sean. The guy was an adventurer, always looking for the next opportunity. He’d seen his arrest as the next challenge. And he had genuinely loved Delilah. Even if he’d taken his own life, Everett couldn’t picture him killing his wife. Add in the fact that the suicide note wasn’t in either Sean’s or Delilah’s handwriting and things got even more suspicious.
This message heightened Everett’s distrust. Even attached to a holiday package, it felt wrong, even threatening. Who was coming for Kennedy? And what was in that box? It could be anything. Explosives? Acid? Poison?
“You said you just got this from the store? Was it already wrapped when you collected it?”
“Hey, I just—”
Everett reached into his pocket and withdrew his badge. “I need you to wait here.”
The authority in his voice was enough to secure obedience. As Everett stepped back inside the apartment and closed the door behind him, Joe Meyer and his suspicious delivery were pushed to the back of his mind. How was he supposed to explain this to Alyssa?
Four years ago, his job had been the reason she’d walked away from him. Now, within hours of being reunited, she would be forced to face the reality of what he did all over again. And this time they weren’t even involved.
Except…we are. Not the way they had been in the past, but if being the new mom and dad to a six-month-old baby girl wasn’t involved, he sure as hell didn’t know what was.
For some reason, Sean had left Kennedy in their care. Everett might not be able to understand his former friend’s motive, and he might not know anything about being a dad, but he knew what was expected of him. He would protect his new family. No matter what.
Alyssa stepped out of the bedroom. “This little lady is sleepy. I think we should set her crib up first. Oh.” She regarded him steadily, her gaze going to the closed front door and his empty hands. “Is something wrong?”
She had always been able to read him like a book. Which was why there was no point in trying to hide anything from her.
“You trust me, don’t you?”
“You know I do.” That, at least, had never been in question.
“I don’t have time to explain right now, but I have to go out. I want you to stay inside with the door locked until I get back.”
“But—” Although she didn’t question what he was saying, her brow furrowed. Her hand moved to the back of the baby’s head, cradling the little girl closer. “I really need to get Kennedy settled. If I can’t open the door, how will I get to her stuff when it arrives?”
Resisting the urge to curse, Everett drew his cell phone out of the