Vow to Protect (5 page)

Cord couldn't believe what he was hearing. Even after the cops screwed up, the blame came
down on
his
head, same as ever. At least for once he didn't deserve it.

He focused on McCaskey. “I have to talk to you.”

McCaskey arched a dark brow. He gestured to the door with a nod.

“No, here.” If the cop responsible for protecting Mel and Ethan was the one who'd leaked their location to the press, or worse to Kane, Cord wanted him to know he was on to him. He wanted to see the expression on the guy's face.

He could guess what Perreth's motive might be. The tension between him and McCaskey was palpable. Perreth would probably do a lot of things in order to undermine McCaskey. But Officer Herns wasn't so easy to read.

Perreth's grumble drifted from the bed, something about a punk-ass convict. The guy was a regular laugh a minute.

McCaskey focused on Cord. “Go on.”

“Someone told the media that Ethan's my son. They also released his location. Someone in the police department.”

Silence hung heavy in the room. Neither Officer Herns nor Detective Perreth made a move.

Unfortunately, neither looked overly guilt-ridden, either.

McCaskey nodded, as if this wasn't a surprise, as if he'd expected it. “Got a name?”

“No.”

“You're sure it's a cop?” McCaskey asked.

“Sure enough to worry that this might not be a one-time thing. Melanie and Ethan aren't safe. And neither is Diana or her sister.” Cord waited, sizing up McCaskey's reaction to the mention of his wife.

A muscle flexed along McCaskey's jaw. “Ideas?”

Nikki Valducci pushed her pretty face into the circle of men. “We use the leak to set a trap for Kane.”

A bad feeling crept up Cord's spine and lodged like an ache in his shoulder muscles. “In order to set a trap, you need bait.”

Nikki nodded. “But that doesn't mean anyone would be in danger. Not really. The key is to be proactive instead of reactive. We plan as carefully as Kane. First we get everyone in place ahead of time.”

“Nikki…” Reed's voice growled low in warning.

Valducci pushed on. “When their whereabouts leak and Kane shows up, this time we'll be ready for him.”

“Forget it, Nikki,” McCaskey said.

“It could work.”

“It's too dangerous.”

Cord had to agree with McCaskey there. After what had happened tonight, he wasn't going to let anyone put Mel and Ethan in danger again, no matter how brilliant the plan or well-meaning the planner.

“We could talk to Diana. She likes taking risks. And she just might like another visit with Daddy.” Perreth gnawed on the filter end of his cig and shot McCaskey a challenging look that was clearly less about the plan to catch Kane and more about the sharp edge of tension stretching between the men.

McCaskey eyed Cord and nodded in the direction of the door that led into the adjoining room. “Come with me.”

Cord hesitated. Something about his tone made Cord uneasy.

The detective's look grew impatient. “I have an idea. But I want to run it by you first.”

Him? The bad feeling sunk its roots a little deeper, hitting bone. He forced himself to take a few steps in McCaskey's direction, winding around Perreth and past the suddenly quiet Officer Herns.

McCaskey rapped his knuckles on the door to the adjoining room, then glanced back at the cops in the room. “Nikki? You too.”

A smile graced the cover-girl lips. McCaskey clearly didn't like her plan. But even Cord had to admit that among all the cops in the room, she appeared to have some smarts to go along with her eagerness. And with Mel and Ethan's safety on the line, he was starting to like the idea of an attack dog on the case.

As long as McCaskey was holding her leash.

The door to the other room opened. Melanie stared at them with bloodshot but relieved eyes, tracks of tears still visible on her cheeks.

Cord could still see her face when he'd delivered Ethan into her arms. He'd forgotten how powerful coming through for her had made him feel. How invincible. As if his entire life was justified in that split second. Standing at the elevator doors watching her hold Ethan tight against her heart had brought the feeling back. A feeling more addictive than any drug.

“We were just deciding what to do next,” McCaskey said. “I thought you should be part of the discussion.”

“I appreciate that.” Leaving the door open, she retreated to a spot beside the bed and gathered Ethan into her arms.

Ethan's cheeks were as tear streaked as Mel's. But as the three of them filed into the room, he raised his chin, as if to show he was bowed but not broken. That he'd live to fight again.

Cord shifted his weight from foot to foot, trying to dislodge the feeling of pressure in his chest.

McCaskey focused on Mel. “We're going to need to talk about this alone. Do you mind if your son steps into the other room with Nikki?”

Nikki Valducci took a step backward. Judging
from the look on her face, she'd assumed McCaskey had called her into the room to hear more about her proactive theories for catching Kane, not because he needed a babysitter.

She let out a deep sigh. “You want to come with me? You should see my new hand-held. I just downloaded some awesome games for it. Ever play Texas hold 'em?”

Ethan looked up at his mother.

Melanie gave him a hug and met his eyes. “If you don't want to go right now, the police will wait. They won't mind.”

Judging from the muscle still working along McCaskey's jaw, he did mind. But the fact that Melanie didn't really care brought a smile to Cord's lips.

Ethan stepped out of Melanie's embrace. “I'll go.”

Mel glanced at McCaskey. “It won't be too long, will it, Detective?”

“It won't be too long.”

Nikki ushered Ethan into the adjoining room to corrupt him with the ways of poker and shut the door.

As soon as they were alone, McCaskey clasped his hands behind his back like a military officer at ease and studied Mel and then Cord. “I've taken Diana and Sylvie out of police protection. Sylvie's
husband, Bryce Walker, will be taking them to a location only they and I know about. No one else.”

Cord nodded. “So it's true. There
is
a leak in the police department.”

Melanie's gaze flew to McCaskey. “A leak? Is that how Kane found us?”

“The leak was to the news media. Kane likely heard about it through them.”

“How do you know?”

“We don't. We're still investigating. In the meantime, the important thing is to make sure it doesn't happen again. That's why I'm taking everyone in the police department out of the loop until we can get some answers. Everyone but me.”

It sounded like a good idea. But there was one detail McCaskey hadn't covered. One detail that made Cord very nervous. “If Bryce Walker is watching Diana and Sylvie, who will be protecting Melanie and Ethan?”

McCaskey's dark eyes drilled into him. “You.”

“Me?” Cord waved his hands in front of him, trying to wipe McCaskey's suggestion from the air. It was impossible. Him? Protect Mel and Ethan? Stay with them day and night? “No. Not me.”

Melanie stepped toward McCaskey. Eyes that looked relieved a moment ago flashed with fire. With worry. “He's right. It's not going to work.”

McCaskey let out an impatient breath. “I know it's not ideal. And I have no idea what has happened between the two of you. But until we make sure that leak is not coming from the police department, until we can nail it down, we're going to have to improvise.”

“How about you, Detective?” Melanie splayed her hands in front of her, palms up. “Why can't you protect us?”

“I'll be working on finding the leak. And finding Kane. I barely have time to eat these days.
I'm not going to be able to be with you 24/7. And that's what you need.”

Cord gave a reluctant nod. McCaskey was right. Even with a cop protecting Mel and Ethan, Kane had found a way to get to them. But while McCaskey couldn't watch over them every moment, neither could Cord. “How about your partner?” He still hadn't forgiven the attack dog for her trap idea. But from what he'd seen, she might have just what it took to beat Kane.

“Nikki has her hands full. She has special training through the FBI that makes her very valuable in this case. We need her on the search for Kane.”

Mel paced across the floor, her arms crossed over her chest. She looked as if she wanted to scream. As if she'd do just about anything before agreeing to rely on Cord. Or have her son near him.

Cord shook his head. “It's not going to work, McCaskey. Period. You'd better think of another way.”

The detective arched a black brow. “You and I might have a lot of differences, but I thought I'd figured out at least a little bit about you after seeing you take on Kane. Apparently I was wrong. Ethan is your son, man. How can you just walk away when he needs you?”

“I'm not walking away.”

“What do you call it then?”

Melanie halted in her tracks. “You don't understand, detective. It's not what Cord wants or doesn't want. This is far more complicated than that. It isn't going to work. Plain and simple.”

“Even if it is the difference between keeping your son safe and losing him?”

Mel took a step back, as if McCaskey's harsh words were a physical blow.

Cord balled his hands into fists by his sides. “I'm no cop. I'm no bodyguard. I'm not qualified to do this.”

“You're plenty qualified.” McCaskey's dark gaze skimmed Cord's shoulders and moved over the prison tats. “Police officers go through regular training to overcome their natural hesitation to killing another human being. From what I know about you, you don't have that hesitation.”

“You want me to kill Kane?”

“If you need to act, you'll act.”

“And you know this how? Because I've killed before?”

“Among other things.”

The acidic bite of bile tinged Cord's mouth. He was qualified because of who he was. What he was. McCaskey wanted him to protect Mel and Ethan for the exact reason he
couldn't
be around his son. The exact reason he needed to stay as far away as possible.

Numbness seeped into muscle, into bone.

McCaskey offered a slow nod, as if trying to reassure him. “You've lived in a world of predators most of your life. You understand the rule of kill or be killed. You understand it without thinking. Without hesitating. Without regulation and procedure getting in the way.”

Melanie bristled. “What are you saying, Detective? That you want to throw the law away, and you're enlisting Cord to help you do it?”

“Where Dryden Kane is concerned, yes.”

Her elegant brows dipped over narrowed eyes. “You can't mean that.”

“Your son was very lucky today. Next time he might not be. Or you might not be. I don't want there to be a next time.”

“Obviously neither do I.”

“But you don't like the idea of killing Dryden Kane?”

“I'd kill him with my bare hands if he threatened Ethan. But that's not what you're suggesting. You might not be saying it out loud, but you're suggesting Cord disregard the law. You're suggesting he commit murder.”

“No, I'm suggesting that if Kane shows up, Cord makes sure he takes the monster out.”

She shook her head, her dark hair lashing her cheeks. “I don't have a problem with that idea. But
what you said before about Cord not having to let regulation and procedure get in the way. What did you mean by that?”

Reed raked a hand through his hair and blew out a long breath. He suddenly looked tired. Or maybe it wasn't fatigue drawing his face down, maybe it was regret.

“What happened?” Cord asked.

“I had the chance to kill Kane. In the prison when he was holding Diana. I wanted to kill him. I didn't have my weapon, but that wasn't what stopped me. Once I was in control, I pulled back. I went for the arrest instead of the kill. I could have ended it right then, but I didn't.”

“You did the right thing,” Melanie said.

“Did I?”

“It would have been murder if you'd killed him when you didn't have to. Right?”

“It would have been worth it.”

Mel shook her head.

Cord knew what she was thinking. Mel believed in the rules. She believed that when you did the right thing, you were rewarded. It had worked for her. By following the rules, she'd been able to lift herself out of the life she'd known as a kid. The life he'd known, too. But she didn't understand that things didn't always work out that way.

Cord did. He'd seen it over and over. He'd lived
through enough of it himself. Times when he'd tried to do the right thing. Times when he'd been kicked in the teeth all the same. He agreed with McCaskey. And if it came down to a choice between Ethan's life and Kane's, Mel would agree, too.

“Enforcing the law is my life,” McCaskey continued. “But I have to tell you that for the last two months, I haven't been able to get my decision out of my mind. I thought about it when I heard about the corrections officers killed in Kane's escape. I thought about it when I moved my wife into protective custody. And I thought about it tonight when I heard Kane had abducted your son. Every time I wished I hadn't hesitated. Every one of those times my hesitation either cost lives or came damn close. And with Kane still out there…”

Cord dragged a breath into tight lungs. He wished McCaskey hadn't hesitated, either. He wished Kane was dead. But as much as any of them wished, it didn't change a thing. Kane was still out there. And although Cord was still what he was—an ex convict, a murderer, a man who should never be a role model for a boy—maybe he could still help. Maybe he could protect his son. “I won't hesitate.”

McCaskey nodded. “Good.”

Melanie's gaze bobbled, then dropped to the floor.

Cord focused on McCaskey. He had an idea, but
he needed the detective to make it happen. “I'll need a weapon, and I'll need it kept on the down low.”

“I can get one for Melanie.”

Cord nodded. As a felon on parole, he couldn't possess a gun. But Mel could. “Whatever works.”

Melanie threw her hands in the air. “I don't want a gun. I don't want any part of this.”

Cord kept his focus on McCaskey. Melanie might not want anything to do with him, but it couldn't be helped. “Also three cots, three sleeping bags, food and supplies.”

“What do you have in mind? Camping?” Mel looked at him as if she thought he was crazy.

Maybe he was. But crazy or not, he wasn't going to let her down this time. He couldn't live with himself if he did. “Camping with a state-of-the-art security system.”

 

M
ELANIE SHIFTED
on the bench seat of Cord's small pickup, trying to negotiate around the stick shift without crowding Ethan's legs too much.

Or worse, brushing against Cord's.

Exhausted after all that had happened, Ethan leaned heavily against her. He lowered his head to her shoulder, then jerked awake, only to nod off again seconds later.

She couldn't believe this was happening. That
after cutting all ties with Cord ten years ago for Ethan's sake, he was now back in their lives. Fulltime.

She trapped her hands between her knees, taking up as little room as possible in the cramped middle of the seat. Keeping still, she tried not to jostle Ethan out of his latest nod.

Whether she liked it or not, she had to admit McCaskey had a point. After watching the ferocity with which Cord went after Dryden Kane at the hotel, she knew he would do whatever needed to be done if Kane threatened them again. He'd protect them from any physical threat, that was certain. But it was the emotional threat he posed that worried her. The emotional threat to Ethan.

And to her.

She didn't think it possible after all that had happened between them, but when he'd emerged from that elevator with Ethan, she'd wanted to fling herself into his arms. She knew the feeling was caused by gratitude. How could it not be? He'd saved her baby, the most important part of her life. But there had been something more there, too. Old feelings. Feelings she'd tried so hard to kill. Feelings she thought she had.

Cord glanced at her as he shifted into third, blending with the speed of traffic. Shadow cupped his jaw, the dim green glow of dashboard
gauges and the rhythmic pass of streetlights highlighting sharp cheekbones and strong nose. “What are you thinking?”

The cold shiver that had started at the hotel rippled through her once again. “Nothing.”

“This is going to be a long few days if that's all you're willing to say.”

She didn't want to pour out her thoughts to him. She doubted he wanted it, either. Still she owed him something. He'd rescued Ethan, after all. “I don't know. I guess I was thinking about the hotel. About how you saved Ethan.”

“I guess I was lucky they didn't mistake me for Kane in that elevator.” His tone was light, but she could sense a touch of bitterness below the surface. Whether it was directed at Kane or the police, she couldn't tell.

She let her gaze move over his face. The resemblance was amazing. If she'd paid more attention to the news, she probably would have seen it before this. Or maybe not. Cord's features might be like Kane's, but the spark in his face, the warmth in his eyes made them come alive in a way Dryden Kane's never did. “How can you take that? Having someone mistake you for Kane?”

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “For the past two months, every morning when I shave, I look at
Dryden Kane in the mirror. It's either take it or quit shaving.” He gave her a quick glance and a smile.

She didn't smile back. She couldn't manage to lift the corners of her lips if it meant her life. She focused out the window, on the street ahead. “I don't think you look anything like him. Not really.”

Quiet hung heavy in the truck in the wake of her comment. No sound but the hum of tires on pavement broke the stillness. Cord stopped at a red light. She could feel him turn to her. “Are you sure you're comfortable? You look wedged in.”

Comfortable? Not exactly. But her discomfort had little to do with the seating. “I'm fine.”

“Maybe Ethan should sit in the middle.”

“He's sleeping. Besides I told you, I'm fine.” Even if he was awake, she didn't want Ethan to sit in the middle of the seat. The thought of him anywhere near Cord made her stomach seize.

It didn't make sense. She knew that. It wasn't that she thought Cord would hurt him. Far from it. He'd saved their son. But she just couldn't think of the two of them together, as if Cord's path in life would rub off on Ethan if they brushed each other in the truck seat. It was risky enough to sit next to him herself. “Where is this place we're going?”

“Along Lake Mendota.”

“Where exactly?”

“We'll be there in just a minute, if that's what
you're asking.” His gaze crowded her. His body heat filled the truck's cab.

She glanced through the back window at the pile of equipment and towels crowding the truck bed and piling up the sides of the topper. She'd probably be more comfortable in the midst of that pile of junk than sitting so close to Cord.

She shifted again on the bench seat. “Is there plenty of room at this place? I mean, Ethan and I are used to living alone. We like our privacy.”

Cord's lips settled in a resigned line. Turning his attention back to the light as it turned green, he accelerated across the intersection. “You'll have plenty of privacy. Believe me, you'll hardly know I'm there.”

She doubted that. Her body seemed to be in tune with his every glance, his every move. She'd felt that way since she'd first walked past him at the high school entrance, the quintessential bad boy leaning against a post with a cigarette dangling from his lips. Her obsession with him had only grown from there, until she was convinced she could change him, help him escape his desperate life. Until she really believed he wanted to get out of that neighborhood as much as she did.

Cord took the next left. The truck crested a hill and the lake opened before them, waves sparked
by the moon and city lights. Against the dark gleam loomed the flat hulks of buildings.

Cord nodded to the shoreline. “Here's the place.”

She scanned the structures ranging from three to six stories, jutting up from the shoreline. “It's a building?”

“I promised a security system, remember?” He drove down the dead-end street until he reached the parking lot at the very end. Solid brick reached six stories into the sky. Black windows stared down at them like dead eyes.

“It looks vacant.”

“It is.” He brushed past her legs and opened the glove compartment. Withdrawing a remote, he pressed the button and the door to the building's underground garage began to lift.