Resolute Aim, page 1
“You’re one hell of a man, Noah Reed.”
“And you’re one fascinating woman, Brianna Delgado.”
She studied his mouth, the way the very corners curled up, even when he wasn’t smiling. She’d thought about kissing that mouth more times than she’d admit, even to herself. But taking that first step, the one that could lead to so many others or to no more at all, was complicated.
Noah lifted a hand to her temple, his fingers brushing her curls in a way that was almost erotic. She closed her eyes and luxuriated in the sensation, trying to stay with it instead of wondering where his fingers would touch her next.
His other hand went to her waist, paused a moment, then slid to the small of her back. It remained there, holding her with just the smallest amount of pressure, as if to keep her from floating away from him.
RESOLUTE AIM
Leslie Marshman
Multi-award-winning author Leslie Marshman writes novels featuring strong heroines, the heroes who love them and the bad guys who fear them. She called Denver home until she married a Texan without reading the fine print. Now she lives halfway between Houston and Galveston and embraces the humidity. When Leslie’s not writing, you might find her camping at a lake, fishing pole in one hand and a book in the other. Visit her at www.lesliemarshman.com, www.Facebook.com/lesliemarshmanauthor, www.Instagram.com/leslie_marshman or @lesliemarshman on Twitter.
Books by Leslie Marshman
Harlequin Intrigue
The Protectors of Boone County, Texas
Resolute Justice
Resolute Aim
Scent Detection
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Noah Reed—Noah became a deputy when his father was still Boone County sheriff, and he’s determined to be taken seriously. But the occasional lapse in rule-following and his offbeat sense of humor in stressful situations are holding him back. Instead of taking lead on their latest big case, he’s stuck partnering with the new deputy.
Bree Delgado—She resigned as a San Antonio cop to accept a slower-paced deputy position in Boone County. But Resolute isn’t the quiet, sleepy town she’d been hoping for. Can she keep her real reason for quitting the big-city force a secret?
Cassie Reed—A stickler for following protocol, she’s been sheriff since her father died in the line of duty. She barely has time to welcome Bree before leaving town for a trial. Will having Noah partner with the new deputy prove he can lead an investigation?
Adam Reed—Oldest of the Reed brothers, he’s Cassie’s chief deputy and in charge while the sheriff is out of town.
Rachel Miller—A waitress at the Busy B Diner, which the Reeds frequent. She befriends Bree, helps her find a place to rent and tries to play matchmaker for her.
For my brother, Scott
Here’s to laughing at private jokes until we cry,
crying over shared grief until the tears stop falling,
loving with an unbreakable bond until forever.
From M&DFC to M&DOC with love.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
Excerpt from Set Up in the City by B.J. Daniels
Chapter One
Boone County Deputy Noah Reed sat parked just north of town, sighing with pleasure at the first bite of his breakfast sandwich. County patrol, his least-favorite activity, always seemed twice as boring on Mondays.
After leaving a note in the office that he was skipping the morning briefing, he’d grabbed breakfast at the Busy B Café and headed out to enjoy it while it was hot.
He set the cheesy egg-and-bacon delight on the dash and picked up his travel mug of steaming hot, extra-double-strength coffee. It was halfway to his mouth when a deafening explosion caused the mug to slip through his fingers.
Sending up a quick prayer of thanks that the lid was closed and his boys weren’t scalded, he fumbled the mug into his cupholder and peered through the windshield. Like the fires of Armageddon, towering plumes of orange and yellow flames surged above the tree line. Black smoke billowed into the cold January sky, bruising the azure dawn. As Noah stomped on the gas pedal, he flipped on his lights and siren, then keyed his mic.
“Helen, this is Noah. We’ve got an explosion northwest of town in the Rosemont neighborhood.” He careened around a corner and followed the smoke to a house engulfed in flames. How many people were trapped inside that inferno?
Powering down his window, he choked on acrid fumes moving in the strong breeze. A cross between the sweet scent of ether and the stench of rotten eggs made his gut churn.
“The 3000 block of Boxwood Lane,” he continued, “just west of Barton Road. Requesting backup, along with fire, ambulance and hazmat. Inform everyone that ventilator masks are required. Smells like a meth house. Over.”
“Copy. Dispatching fire, ambulance and hazmat to your location.” Helen Gibson—the Boone County sheriff’s administrative assistant, department dispatcher and de facto mother to all the Reeds—remained as calm and in control as she expected Noah to be. “Sheriff’s on her way with backup and masks.”
“Copy.”
“Noah, you stay sharp.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Like a scorching rain, embers showered down on the closest homes, and flaming debris landed in the front yards, igniting small fires in the dry, winter-dead grass. Noah parked several houses away and leaped from his vehicle, his sole mission to make sure everyone was okay. He ran toward the burning home but stopped short as a wall of heat smacked into him. If anyone was in that house, they were beyond his help now.
He turned and took a quick survey of the area. At least a dozen residents, torn from their homes by the explosion, stood across the street like a horde of stunned zombies and watched the conflagration. Noah raced over to them.
“Y’all need to get inside. These fumes you’re smelling are dangerous.” When they didn’t move, he raised his voice and yelled, “Everybody, inside your homes now—windows closed! And keep your pets in there with you!”
An older couple started across the street to a house next door to the destroyed one. Noah ran after them. “You need to stay over there—” he nodded his head toward the direction they’d come and herded them back “—until the fire department says it’s safe.” He eyed the group who still loitered outside. “Are you friends with anyone out here? Someone you can stay with until the all clear is given?”
A gaunt woman wearing a coat over her nightgown shuffled over to the couple. “Y’all can wait in my house. I’ll put on some coffee.” She motioned for them to go on in, then turned back to Noah. “Lord have mercy.” Her birdlike eyes darted from the destruction across the street to Noah, then to what looked like a decapitated porcelain angel she clutched against her chest. “What is this world coming to?”
After confirming all the residents had retreated inside, Noah turned to her. “Did you see anything happen this morning before the explosion, ma’am?”
“Their comings and goings don’t usually start this early.” The woman shook her head. “But I’ll tell you one thing, don’t go getting yourself hurt over the likes of them. Nothin’ but druggies in there.”
“You know that for a fact?” Noah’s gaze swung from the woman to the house and back.
She gave a sharp nod, eyes on the fire. “Everyone on the street knows it. Shady-looking people going in and out at all hours of the night. You learn the signs. It was never like this when the Smiths owned that place, I can tell you that.” Finally looking away from the old Smith house, she inclined her head toward Noah, her voice low as if conspiring with him. “At bingo the other night, I heard there’s more of them drug houses poppin’ up all over the county.”
The wind shifted, and Noah grew more concerned about the old woman. “I appreciate your insights, ma’am, but probably best if you head inside now.”
She nodded as she shuffled back to her front door, mumbling. “Half my collectibles fell off the shelves while those fools was busy blowin’ themselves up. Hmph.”
Jogging across the street to where another group of spectators from down the block gathered, he gave them the same warning. “Shelter in place, and do what you can to avoid breathing in that stench. Give the firemen time to put out the flames and contain the chemicals.”
They dispersed in a hurry when a new blaze broke out on the roof of the house next door to the main fire. Noah ran to the front door and banged on it. If the owners were inside, they might not realize their home was starting to burn in earnest. When no one answered, he went to the back of the house. There, a wooden shed crackled and sparked, already in flames. He couldn’t let anyone inside die on his watch. He banged on the back door, then tried the knob. Again, no answer.
The fire truck sirens, faint a few minutes earlier, now blasted their arrival on Boxwood Lane. As Noah dashed t
“It’s a meth house, based on the odor. I managed to get all the neighbors to shelter in place inside their homes.” Pointing to the adjacent homes, Noah said, “But the roof’s burning on that blue house next door.” Seized by a sudden coughing fit, he bent over, hands on knees. He straightened, still wheezing. “And a shed in the backyard is starting to flame. I banged on the doors but no response. There might be someone in there.”
The chief nodded and signaled for two of his men to make entry and check for occupants. “If you know this is a meth house, why aren’t you wearing your ventilator mask?”
At a loss for words, Noah froze, staring at Cummings. He’d screwed up. In his rush to make sure everyone else was okay, he hadn’t put his own mask on.
“Well, don’t just stand there, son,” the chief said, raising his voice through his own ventilator. “Go get it, put it on. Then come back and set up a perimeter, okay?”
Giving him a thumbs-up, Noah sprinted toward his SUV, already getting short of breath. He opened the back and sorted through an equipment box. Blinking against the sting of chemicals, he wiped sweat from his forehead before pulling on the military-grade mask. He made sure it sealed tightly against his skin all the way around. It took him a minute to get used to viewing things through the plastic, but it was a heck of a lot better than going blind. Everyone in the sheriff’s department had one and always carried it with them. But it would help if he just remembered to put it on before running into toxic fumes.
Grabbing a roll of barricade tape from the box, he headed back to the damaged properties. Though Noah didn’t wish a fiery death on anyone, not even bad guys, his blood boiled with excitement. He wanted to be lead on this case. Wanted it so much, it burned in his gut like five-alarm chili. It was only fair—he’d been first on the scene. Besides, he was long overdue to be assigned an investigation to run. He hadn’t been a rookie for a few years now, but between his penchant for joking around and being the youngest deputy, he was more often than not treated as one. This was the perfect case for him to show the department that he was more than just a funny guy. That they should be taking him seriously. Especially Sheriff Cassie Reed, his sister.
Speak of the devil. The sheriff’s vehicle rolled down the street toward him, Cassie behind the wheel. Both the sheriff and her passenger already had their ventilators on. Noah approached the lowered passenger window, leaned down and looked into the crystal-blue eyes of a cute brunette with a mess of curls on her head. Granted, the mask hid most of her face, but even so...
She must be the new deputy from San Antonio. The newbie looked past his mask-covered face, casing the scene like a well-honed professional. Impressed on all counts, Noah figured he just might have to reread the HR manual’s section on dating coworkers.
“Got everything under control?” Cassie’s ventilator muffled her voice.
He nodded. “I’m just about to cordon off the properties involved in the fire for Cummings. I’ll meet up with you after you park.”
Cassie nodded and continued down the street, followed by another SUV carrying his older brother, Chief Deputy Adam Reed, along with Deputies Sean Cavanaugh and Peter Grant. They must have left Dave Saunders in the office as the on-call deputy, which was fine with Noah. Dave had been a pain to work with since the day he was hired. Cassie thought she’d gotten Dave and his attitude straightened out last year. Cassie thought wrong.
Noah strung the barricade tape, then approached Cummings for an update. “Any sign of victims?”
“Not yet. Still too hot to get in there. But if we find any, they aren’t going to be alive.”
Scanning the street, Noah asked, “Will the people who live in the neighborhood be all right to stay here, or do they need to be evacuated?”
“They just need to stay inside until we get the fire out.” Sweat ran down Cummings’s face inside his mask. “We’ll monitor the air quality, but they should be fine as long as they don’t stand out here and breathe in fumes. If any of them have health conditions, they’ll want to take extra measures to avoid inhaling this stuff.” He ran through some safety basics and gave Noah an estimation on when it might be safe to enter the building.
Noah gave him another thumbs-up and went off to find Cassie. She stood across the street, talking to Adam and the newbie. They huddled upwind of the fumes, the other deputies in a group close by.
“...second one in less than four months,” Cassie said as he approached.
“In my experience, there’s never just one or two.” Even with her respirator on, the newbie’s confident tone came through loud and clear. “Once we have a starting point to investigate, I think we’re going to find more of them. Hopefully, in less-populated areas.”
Cassie looked at Noah. “What have we got?”
“Everyone needs to avoid contact with these chemicals because they’ll burn the skin. Hazmat suits are recommended for anyone staying on the scene.” Noah took a deep breath of mask air, regretting the extra onions he’d had on his breakfast sandwich. “No sign of any victims yet. Chief Cummings estimates it may be tomorrow before it’s safe enough to send in the hazmat team.”
He widened his stance. He’d read somewhere that power poses increased self-confidence.
“As to your point,” he said, addressing the new deputy, “you’re probably right. One of the residents on the street said she’d heard rumors of meth houses popping up in other parts of the county.”
She gave him a slight nod but said nothing.
“Have you started interviewing neighbors yet?” Cassie asked Noah.
Refusing to get defensive, he shook his head. “My main focus was on the safety of everyone in the immediate area. I’d planned to start knocking on doors once that was accomplished.” No matter how well he performed on the job, Cassie always managed to find something that made him feel lacking.
Cassie turned to Adam. “Have Sean and Peter stay here with you to control the scene. If any of you go near the house, change into protective hazmat suits.” She pointed for emphasis. “And keep your respirators on.”
While Cassie issued orders, Noah took a moment to size up the new deputy. A few inches shorter than Cassie’s five-nine, she appeared fit and capable. Fingernails short and unpolished. No rings; the only jewelry she wore was a pair of small stud earrings. Her white shirt was pressed, but he was pleased that her black jeans—the pants portion of the department’s uniform—didn’t hold ironed creases like Cassie’s did. Resting her hands on her duty belt with an easy confidence, she kept her head on a constant swivel.
Seeing her next to Cassie, Noah couldn’t help but notice the same authoritative ready-for-anything attitude. And he’d bet a six-pack of Lone Star longnecks that she was another by-the-booker, like his sister. That’s about all he could tell about the newest member of their department, except for—beyond any doubt—she was definitely no rookie.
When Cassie’s conversation with Adam ended, she approached Noah and the newbie. Between her directions to Adam and her somber expression now, he started to doubt her faith in him running this case. He took the bull by the horns.
“Can I speak with you?” Noah asked his sister.
“Wait here,” she told the new deputy, then followed him several yards away to a patch of privacy. “What is it?”
“I was first on the scene. Established a perimeter, got the neighbors out of harm’s way.” Noah’s respirator rattled as he inhaled a deep breath. “I want to take lead on this.”
Cassie looked him square in the eye, and Noah’s hope sank like a stone. Cassie had raised Adam, Noah and his twin brother, Nate, after their free-spirited mother disappeared without a word. He doubted she had an expression he couldn’t identify the second it crossed her face, even while wearing a mask. Her brows drew together in a combination of sternness and sympathy. A look he resented.
“I’m tasking Adam with this case. I’ve got another assignment for you.” She glanced over her shoulder, then met his eyes again. “I want you to partner with Deputy Delgado for a while. She knows law enforcement, has plenty of experience—but the way things are done in San Antonio may not be the way we do them around here. Show her the ropes. Get her used to dealing with the folks of Resolute, people who aren’t just civilians we protect and serve but are also neighbors and friends.”
