Sworn to Protect, page 9
“Okay. Thanks,” she said, glancing at the ceiling as the floor joists above her head creaked.
Carter was awake. Noah and Zach were at work.
Ivy and Alexander were away for the weekend, spending a few days with friends before the baby arrived, so Carter would stay with his daughter, Ellie, while his brothers went to hunt for Martin.
Please keep them safe, she prayed silently.
She didn’t know what she would do if another Jameson brother was killed by Martin.
Someone knocked on the door, and she hurried to answer it.
Or, tried to hurry.
She was moving more slowly than ever, the pregnancy heavy and cumbersome, her belly huge. Rather than running, she waddled, reaching the door breathless and tired, a stitch in her side making her pause before she peered through the peephole.
She expected to see Noah or Zach, returning from work and coming to check on her before they retired for the night.
Tony was there. Dark hair gleaming in the hallway light, jaw dark with five-o’clock shadow.
She unlocked the door and stepped back. Something in her chest went soft as he walked inside, Rusty padding along beside him.
“You look tired,” she said without thinking.
“Three twelve-hour shifts in a row will do that to you,” he responded, closing the door and sliding the bolt into place. “I was on my way home and decided to bring coffee for the guys pulling guard duty and to check on you. I heard the call go over the radio while I was talking to them. Martin called again.”
It wasn’t a question, but she nodded. “He knew you were here. He told me to tell you to leave.”
“He’s going to be disappointed to discover that I haven’t.”
“You should, Tony,” she said, the cramp in her side worsening.
“Because you want me to go?”
“Because I don’t want you hurt. Martin said—”
“Let me guess—you’re his. He won’t let anyone get in the way of the two of you being together. He already murdered Jordan, and he will murder again if anyone tries to take you away from him.”
“Something like that,” she replied, bending over as another, sharper cramp shot through her abdomen.
“You okay?” he asked, taking her arm and leading her to the couch.
“I tried to run to answer the door. The baby didn’t like it,” she responded, easing onto the cushions, the jacket billowing out as she sat.
She suddenly felt self-conscious for wearing it, as if it were tangible proof that she wasn’t healing and moving on.
“Jordan wore this the night he proposed,” she said, smoothing her hand down one of the too-long sleeves.
“I know. I was there—remember?”
“How could I forget? You wore a tux and a frilly pink apron while you served dinner from the gigantic picnic basket you somehow carried into Central Park.” She smiled at the memory, because it was a good one. The way the fading sunlight had washed the grass and trees in a golden haze and the late-summer air had wrapped around her as she had walked hand in hand with Jordan. Her surprise when he had taken her to a small clearing where a blanket had been spread on the soft summer grass. Her laughter when Tony had appeared wearing a well-fitted tux and a pink apron.
“I rented the tux, and I didn’t want to get anything on it. When I mentioned that to Ivy, she offered the apron. I wasn’t going to wear it, but Jordan was a nervous wreck and I thought it might lighten the mood.” He smiled, his gaze soft with the memory.
“Jordan nervous? That’s hard to believe,” she replied, her breath catching as another cramp made her stomach spasm.
“You two hadn’t been dating that long when he proposed. He was worried you might say no.”
“That definitely doesn’t sound like the Jordan I knew.”
“No? What was he like? The Jordan you knew, I mean.” Tony’s attention was focused on her rather than on his phone or the television or one of the dozen other things Jordan had spent his time looking at when she had tried to talk to him. He had always been tired from long days on the job, and she had always made excuses for him, because they had been newly married and she had not wanted to think that the pattern of behavior was one that would follow them throughout their marriage.
She hadn’t been happy, though. Not with that part of their relationship.
The thought made her feel disloyal, and she shoved it away.
“Too confident to be worried about being turned down by one of the dozens of women he had dated in his life.” She kept her tone light, not wanting Tony to think she was criticizing the man they had both loved.
“He loved you, Katie. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with you. The proposal and your answer meant everything to him,” he said quietly. “I hope you know that.”
“Of course, I do,” she lied, pushing up from the couch and walking into the kitchen. “Are you hungry? Do you want me to make you something before you leave?”
“You’re changing the subject,” he pointed out.
“Because there is nothing more to say.”
“I have a feeling there is. Was there trouble between you and Jordan before he died?” he asked bluntly.
She shouldn’t have been surprised.
As caring and compassionate as Tony was, he had always been a straight shooter. From what she had seen, he didn’t play games, didn’t beat around the bush and didn’t mince words.
“No. Of course not.”
“But, something was bothering you.”
“What if something was? Jordan wasn’t perfect, and neither was I. We both did things the other didn’t like.”
“Such as?” he asked, refusing to let the subject drop.
A dog with a bone was how Jordan had described Tony. And the perfect cop because of it.
“I worried too much about what his family thought of me, and he... He was more focused on work than on building our relationship. At least, that’s how it felt to me.” She shrugged, and the nagging ache in her side swelled with pain again.
She rubbed the area but refused to look away from Tony’s searching gaze.
“I can see how you might have thought that,” he finally said. “Jordan was devoted to his job, and he had a difficult time breaking away from it. My father was a police officer, and he was the same way.”
“Your mother didn’t mind?”
“She hated it. By the time she died of cancer, I’m pretty sure she hated him, too. But, my father was also mean. He didn’t care that Mother was lonely. He didn’t care that he never saw me. All he cared about was looking good to his buddies on the police force.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, touching his arm, feeling firm muscle beneath his jacket and knowing she should let her hand drop away.
Instead, it rested there as he tugged her a step closer, her belly bumping his abdomen as he continued to look into her eyes. Something sparked between them, a hint of attraction that could have meant nothing or everything.
“I can’t tell you that Jordan wouldn’t have stayed committed to his job, but I can tell you this—he was also committed to you. You would have made it, Katie. The two of you would have raised a bunch of kids and grown old together, and I would have been the sidekick, looking on and wondering why I hadn’t ever had the guts to give love a go.” His gaze dropped to her lips, and his jaw tightened.
He stepped back, putting space between them that she should have wanted but didn’t.
“Is there a reason why you haven’t?” she asked, hoping he didn’t notice the huskiness of her voice or the reluctance with which she moved away.
“I don’t ever want to be to another person what my father was to me and my mother,” he replied, the honesty of his answer making her want to reach out to him again.
And, that scared her.
Her stomach cramped again, and she grabbed the counter.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, taking a step toward her.
“Fine. It’s just been a long week, and I need some rest. Drive carefully on your way home,” she responded.
“I told Noah I would stick around until he and Zach returned. Go ahead and lie down. I’ll be here if you need anything.”
She nodded, grateful he’d be here—at a distance, while she rested in her bedroom. There was a lot about Tony Knight she hadn’t known. Sides to him. His past. Including the promise he’d made to Jordan to watch over her. He was doing just that. Making good on the promise to his late best friend. Following orders from his chief. Maybe the awareness she kept feeling between them was all in her mind.
But, she didn’t think so.
“All right. Thanks.” She would have hurried away, but she had learned her lesson. She moved slowly instead, making her way down the hall and closing herself in her room.
She sat on the bed, waiting for the cramp to ease.
She had been in false labor the previous week. She knew what contractions felt like. These weren’t them, so she lay down, still fully clothed and wearing Jordan’s suit jacket, closed her eyes and tried to sleep.
* * *
Tony knew he needed to be careful.
Katie was a beautiful and intelligent woman, and he wasn’t going to pretend he hadn’t noticed. But, she was also his best friend’s pregnant widow. That made her off-limits.
The truth was she would have been off-limits anyway. He never dated “forever” kind of women. He dated women who were as interested as he was in keeping things light. No expectations. No commitment. Just nice evenings out and pleasant conversations. That had always been enough for him.
Although, lately...
Lately, he had been wondering if his hard-core opposition to marriage had been built on faulty reasoning. As he had watched one member of the K-9 unit after another find love, he couldn’t help thinking that he had as good a chance as anyone of making a lifetime commitment work.
He wasn’t his father.
He had always known that.
As committed as he was to his job, he made time and space for the people he cared about.
The fact was he was getting older. His friends were married or getting there, having children or planning to. And, he was still living a bachelor’s life, sitting down for meals alone or with families that weren’t his.
He frowned, lifting a framed photo from one of the end tables. Jordan smiled out at him, arm around Katie, blue eyes alive with happiness. Jordan had never believed that Tony would remain single forever.
You’ll meet your happily-ever-after, he had said a few weeks before his murder. And, when you do, I’ll be the first one to say I told you so.
“I wish you could,” he murmured, setting the photo back in place, grief a hard knot in the middle of his chest.
He walked over to the living room window and looked out, hating that Martin was skulking in the bushes somewhere, watching. Probably right now. The guy was likely getting more furious that Tony hadn’t heeded the warning to stay away from Katie. Furious and delusional were not a good combination. Tony always watched his back, but he’d be vigilant now. Both for Katie’s sake and his own.
Martin’s last call had come in three hours ago. Tony had received no updates on the team’s search, which meant there had been no changes. No sightings and no capture. He wanted to be out there, searching with Rusty, but Katie’s well-being was everyone’s top priority. Leaving her alone—even when she had two officers stationed outside—was not an option.
Her bedroom door opened, the soft creak of the old hinges warning him seconds before she appeared at the end of the hallway. She still wore Jordan’s suit jacket, but her hair had come out of its ponytail and was spilling over her shoulders.
“Everything okay?” he asked, moving toward her.
“I’m not sure,” she replied, her eyes dark blue against pale skin.
“Did Martin call again?” He hadn’t heard a phone, but she might have had her cell phone’s volume turned down.
“I think I’m in labor,” she responded, the words so surprising it took a few seconds for them to register.
“Labor?” he asked. “As in the baby is coming?”
She grinned, some of the tension easing from her face. “You’ve known this baby was coming for a while. Why are you acting so surprised?”
“It’s early.”
“Only a couple of weeks.”
“And, you have three brothers-in-law and two very concerned parents-in-law who were supposed to be on scene when the big day arrived,” he responded.
She laughed. “Don’t sound so horrified, Tony. I can have one of the officers—”
“No.” He grabbed her coat from the closet.
“You didn’t let me finish.”
“Because you don’t need to have them do anything except follow us to the hospital. I’m driving you there, and I’ll be there with you until you tell me to leave or until one of your family members shows up and boots me out.” He dropped the coat around her shoulders and grabbed his jacket.
“Carter is upstairs. I can call him. Ivy and Alex are out of town, visiting friends, but Carter can probably find someone to sit with Ellie,” she said, and he stopped frantically searching for his phone just long enough to meet her eyes. Despite her smile and laughter, she looked scared.
“If that’s what you want, I’ll be happy to sit with Ellie.”
“What I want is for Jordan to be here,” she replied.
“I wish I could make that happen for you.” He tugged the edges of her coat closed and pulled silky hair from beneath its collar. “Do you want me to call Carter?”
She shook her head. “Ellie keeps him busy, and he needs his sleep. We can call him when I’m further along.”
She reached for the small bag that sat near the door, and he took it from her hand.
“I’ll leave Rusty here. He’s good at the hospital, but he already worked a full shift today and I’d rather let him rest. Do you need anything else?”
“Courage?” she responded.
“I can be that for you,” he said, dropping his arm around her shoulders and ushering her out of the apartment.
EIGHT
The baby arrived three hours after Katie checked into the hospital, the labor so quick, there was barely enough time to breathe let alone think about how nervous she was. True to his word, Tony had stayed with her, sitting beside the bed and holding her hand as things progressed. When it was time to push, he had asked if she wanted him to leave, but she had been gripping his hand too tightly to let him go.
She was glad for that.
Her daughter had not been born into the world with an audience that consisted only of medical staff. She had been born into a room that contained two of the people who had loved her father most.
Even now, an hour after Jordyn Rose Jameson had arrived, Katie’s eyes filled with tears when she thought of that.
She blinked them away, not wanting Tony to ask questions.
He was still beside her, talking quietly to one of her brothers-in-law, his voice a soothing rumble that made her want to close her eyes and sleep.
She shifted Jordyn in her arms and ran her hand over the baby’s soft brown hair. “You’re beautiful, Jordyn Rose. Your daddy would be so happy if he were here.”
“Yes, he would,” Tony agreed, leaning closer so that he could look at Jordyn’s face. “Noah is asking for a picture to show people at work. I said I would ask you.”
“That’s fine, but I’m a hot mess. Just take a picture of Jordyn.” Even though she wouldn’t be in the shot, she still smoothed her hair and straightened the collar of the cotton nightgown she had changed into after Jordyn was born.
“He would love that.”
“Who?”
“Jordan. He would love that you gave your daughter his name. And, you aren’t a hot mess. You two are the most beautiful mother and daughter I have ever seen.” He lifted his cell phone and snapped three quick pictures.
“I’m pretty sure I told you not to take a picture of me.” But, she didn’t care that he had. Not really. Her daughter had been born alive and healthy. Ten fingers. Ten toes. Chubby cheeks and a rosebud mouth. Fine brown hair and a tiny button nose. Katie could not have asked for anything more than that.
“One day Jordyn Rose is going to be very happy that you have these photos, but if you would rather me not send the one with you in it to Noah, I won’t.” He smiled, and she felt that thing in her chest melt again, the solid mass of anxiety and grief that she had been carrying for so long seeping away.
“Go ahead and send them. I know everyone in the K-9 unit has been praying for a healthy and safe delivery. I’m happy for them to see that their prayers were answered.”
Please, God, keep answering, she prayed silently. Keep protecting my daughter.
“You look nervous,” he commented as he sent the photo. “Worried about being a new mom?”
“Worried about Martin doing what he threatened and kidnapping Jordyn Rose,” she admitted, kissing the baby’s downy cheek.
“I’m not going to let that happen. The team isn’t going to let it happen.”
“I know.” But, she was still afraid. “I just wish he had been apprehended.”
“Me, too. Unfortunately, the dogs lost his scent at a bus stop. We’re obtaining surveillance footage from the one we think he boarded, and we’re hoping to discover where he got off. For right now, dogs and handlers have returned to the precinct.”
“I know how much work everyone is putting into finding Martin. I wouldn’t want anyone to think I’m not aware of it and grateful. It’s just hard knowing that the man who murdered Jordan is still out there.”
“I know.” His fingers skimmed her shoulder, and his hand rested on her upper arm. She could feel the warmth of his palm through the thick cotton of her nightgown, and it felt so right and so comfortable that her eyes drifted closed.
