Chapter 5
Di rose to her feet and stepped back, deeply disturbed by the fact that the gunman had gotten inside Jarek’s house.
And that he’d even found his home in the first place.
Not too smart to breach a cop’s private residence.
Look how that had turned out? Peering down at the dead man’s face, she recognized Stewey.
“Well, this proves Levine and Stewey were working together.”
“Yeah, along with who knows how many others.” Jarek patted the dead man’s pockets. He carefully pulled out a cell phone that looked exactly like the one she’d taken from Levine. “Check this out, the number is similar to the one you found.”
“I see that.” She took a moment to memorize the number as he slipped the phone back into place. Of course, Jarek wouldn’t steal evidence from a crime scene.
“I need to call this in.” He rose to his feet, wearing shorts and a T-shirt, much like she did. She frowned when she saw blood dripping down his right arm. One of Stewey’s bullets had gotten way too close.
She couldn’t blame him for calling his colleagues. There was no way they could simply disappear and leave a dead guy on the floor. “You’re hit. Let me bind that wound for you.”
He glanced at his arm and sighed. “I can do it.”
“Easier for me.” She moved past him to duck into the bathroom. Rummaging through his cupboards, she found dressings and tape. When Jarek still remained in the hallway, she shot him an exasperated glance. “Come in and sit down. This won’t take long. Then we’ll call your fellow cops.”
“Fine.” He stepped into the bathroom and sank onto the commode.
The space was small with the two of them inside, but she focused on the task at hand.
The gouge wasn’t deep, and she tried not to ignore his attractive scent as she cleaned the wound and pressed gauze over it.
Then she taped the dressing in place. “I’m not Doc, but this should do. ”
The corner of his mouth tipped up in a smile. “Would be nice to have Doc here. Thanks. You did fine.”
She nodded, then sighed and stepped back. “You’re set. But we can’t stay here. We’ll need a safe house.”
“Yeah, I know.” He stood and brushed past her.
Then he glanced at her over his shoulder.
“You’d better get dressed. I’ll call this in, but the police are likely already on the way.
Gunfire is not a common thing in my neighborhood.
I’m sure Mr. Otterson from next door has already dialed 911 to alert the authorities. ”
“Okay.” She retreated into the guest room and shut the door.
Changing didn’t take long. She was troubled at how Stewey had found Jarek’s place.
If he was the one shooting at them from the beige Chevy, she didn’t see how he could have followed them.
Unless he’d bailed from the vehicle at some point and walked back to hide somewhere close by?
He could have gotten a glimpse of Jarek’s SUV while he was on foot.
She’d never heard of gangs having the access needed to track license plates.
Unless they were working with someone who did?
A cop?
The image of Detective Andrews flashed in her mind, but she quickly dismissed it.
The guy didn’t come across as a criminal mastermind.
Or motivated enough to do anything other than skate by until he could retire.
Then again, it didn’t take much to perform a DMV search in exchange for cash.
It could be that Andrews was padding his retirement portfolio until he could walk away with his full pension.
The wail of sirens filled the air through her open windows. Ever since her time in Afghanistan and living on the streets before that, she couldn’t bear being enclosed in a small space like a bedroom. She always slept with the window open, even in the dead of winter.
Now she was forced to admit that the sounds of the traffic mingled with that of the storm outside had prevented her from hearing Stewey’s approach on the stairs. She felt bad that Jarek had been the one to take him out. That should have been her job. She didn’t have as much to lose as he did.
Although really, in her mind this was an open-and-shut case of self-defense. Yet she also knew the police had strict protocols for officer-involved shootings. She hated knowing Jarek would be put on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
When she emerged from the guest room with her duffel, she noticed Jarek was also fully dressed. He nodded at her and gestured for her to head downstairs. “Don’t touch the banister,” he said. “Stewey was wearing gloves, but there could still be trace evidence.”
“Understood.” The stairs creaked beneath their weight. Something she should have noticed earlier. She was slipping. Not good. Especially now that there had been four determined attempts to kill her.
Was this the work of Pablo Hernandez? She was starting to think they were missing something.
The hour was 4:10 in the morning. She stood in the kitchen, then gestured toward the coffeemaker. “Okay if I make coffee?”
“Help yourself.” The sirens grew louder. Jarek headed into the laundry room. She followed, noticing how the door remained ajar. “I noticed the door was open. Stewey must have come in this way. The dead bolt is still engaged on the front door. I’m surprised I didn’t hear him break in.”
“I’m sorry.” When he glanced at her in surprise, she flushed. “I feel like this is all my fault.”
“It’s not.” He waved that off, then opened the front door for the officers who’d arrived.
“Officer Brooks?” the cop asked. His name tag read Wynn. “We received a report of gunfire from your neighbors.”
“Yes, come in. Don’t worry, the intruder came in through the back door, so we’re not compromising any evidence.
” Jarek stepped to the side and glanced at the stairwell leading to the second story.
“The gunman is dead. Despite my identifying myself as a police officer he opened fire. I returned fire and killed him. He fired off at least two rounds.”
Di noticed Officer Wynn’s eyes widen with shock. “He got into your house?”
“Yes.” Jarek held out his weapon, butt first. “You’ll need this to match the slug that took Stewey down.”
“Stewey?” the second officer echoed. His name was Parker. “You know the gunman by name? Did you arrest him at some point?”
“No. He does have an arrest record on file, though. As does the other dead man, Gilbert Levine.” At the two officers’ confused looks, he grimaced. “Yeah. It’s a long story, and I’ll be happy to start at the beginning.”
“That would be helpful,” Officer Wynn said.
“That’s fine, but you should probably call Detective Andrews,” Jarek said. “He was called to the scene of Gilbert Levine’s shooting midday yesterday. This shooting is related to that as well as to the other attempted shootings that have taken place since then. He’s going to need to hear this too.”
Di suppressed a grimace as she waited for the coffeemaker to finish brewing. They were going to be there for hours. And she didn’t like knowing Jarek had been forced to hand over his weapon. Did he have a backup? If not, she did.
The two officers headed upstairs. They were careful not to touch anything as they briefly examined the dead man, then returned to the kitchen.
Di filled two cups with coffee, handing one to Jarek.
He smiled as he took it, giving her a nod of thanks.
She was annoyed at how his smile made her heart do a funny little flip in her chest.
This was not the time to notice just how attractive Jarek was.
Not just physically, but he was proving to be more personable than she’d remembered from their first deployment.
The sad truth was that he was a cop and, therefore, the last guy on the planet she would be interested in seeing again on a personal level.
Under different circumstances, maybe. But there was no point in thinking about something that could never happen.
Being arrested and tossed into jail wasn’t an option. And as much as she admired Jarek, he was the kind of cop who could never look the other way on the things she’d done. His reaction over the stolen cell phone evidence was proof of that.
When the officers returned to the kitchen area, she stepped forward.
Wynn looked more seasoned than Parker, so she addressed him.
“You need to know that one of Stewey’s bullets wounded Officer Brooks.
I saw the whole incident and can testify to the fact that Officer Brooks identified himself as a cop and that Stewey fired first, forcing Officer Brooks to return fire despite being wounded.
” She narrowed her gaze. “This is a clear case of self-defense.”
The officers looked at each other and shrugged. Wynn said, “That’s not up to us, ma’am. The brass will make that call.”
She frowned and was about to say more when Jarek reached out to gently squeeze her arm. “Thanks, Di, but it’s okay. I’m not worried. Stewey was at the top of the stairs when this went down. Not to mention being armed. It won’t be difficult to prove I fired in self-defense.”
“It shouldn’t be,” she muttered. “The guy broke into your house carrying a gun. And he opened fire on a cop. Only an idiot would think that’s acceptable.”
Jarek’s grin widened. The two cops had moved away, no doubt calling Detective Andrews to the scene. “I’m glad you’re on my side.”
“Always.” The word popped out of her mouth before she could think about it. At his arched brow, she looked away, feeling as if she’d been knocked off balance. It was far easier to ignore Jarek when they were at odds.
This plan of working together on the case was making it difficult to remember why they’d never gotten along.
And if she were being entirely honest, she could admit that her unwelcome attraction to him was part of the reason she’d kept him at bay. Starting all the way back to when they were first deployed to Afghanistan.