Heath
My heart started to slow when I saw Danae’s car in front of me.
I kept up the chatter to help distract her and remain calm.
The last thing I wanted was for her to get into an accident because she was too upset.
My gut churned at the knowledge that someone had come at her with a gun.
Until I took her through the whole ordeal, which could wait until we were safely at home, I had no clue what to think about it.
I pulled into the garage right behind her.
I got out before the door was fully closed.
She stayed inside when I shook my head. However, the moment it touched the ground, she was out like a shot.
I caught her as she flung herself into my arms. I held her as tightly as was acceptable for her condition.
I inhaled her scent with my eyelids closed.
She was crying. Without wasting time, I swung her up in my arms.
It took a little jiggling, but I unlocked the door between the condo and the garage, opened it, and bypassed the alarm. I took her to the living room couch. I held her on my lap, comforting us both until she finished crying. She sniffed as she lifted her head.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall apart on you like that.”
“Danae, you don’t ever have to apologize to me for crying. I know it was scary. Hell, I was scared, and I’m not crying because I’m trying to act all cool and manly,” I teased, winking.
She giggled then shook her head as she muttered, “You’re crazy. Thank you. I feel better.”
“I’m glad. I need to ask you some questions. Do you feel like you can answer? Can I get you something to drink?”
“Let me use the bathroom first, then some water would be good. I feel parched.”
Nodding, I let her up. I held onto her until I was confident she was steady, then I let her go to the half bath off the living room. While she was there, I got her water and had it waiting for her when she returned. I took her back down on my lap. I held her at an angle so our faces were visible.
“Start at the beginning. Tell me everything you recall from the time you left work until you called me. Take your time. And even if you don’t think it’s important, tell me anyway,” I instructed.
She took me from the moment she walked out of the door at the clinic.
I worked not to show any expression or tension when she got to the part about sitting at the traffic light and the man snagging her attention.
Even though I knew he did it, hearing her say a gun was pointed at her made me want to shout.
I was relieved she had her gun accessible.
I was doubly relieved when she told me she’d picked it up after noticing the man.
When she was finished, I let the silence stand for several seconds.
“You did good. You had your gun out and picked it up. You were paying attention in the first place, clocking him coming your way. And calling me the moment you could was key. Now, let me ask you some questions about the man.”
“Alright.”
“You said you knew it was a guy based on the size. Give me an idea of how tall he is and how much he weighs.”
She thought before answering. “He was shorter than you, I believe, but he was sort of hunched, so it’s hard to say by how much. As for weight, he was thinner than you by at least thirty pounds.”
“Do you remember the color of his hoodie and what else he was wearing?”
“The hoodie was a dark navy blue. It was faded. He had on stained, worn jeans. His clothes seemed to be baggy, too.”
“Good. Did you see any identifying marks: tattoos, scars, or emblems on his clothing?” I was jotting down the details in a notebook I’d grabbed when I got her water.
“No, nothing on the clothes. I couldn’t see his face. As for tats or scars, he kept his hands in his pockets until he drew out the gun. When he did that, it was all I saw.”
“One last thing. Do you recall which street intersection you were on when you stopped at that light? It’s okay if you don’t,” I assured her.
She paused, then nodded. “It was the corner of Moore and Oak. I glanced at the GPS to see how far away I was from home.”
I smiled. “You did great. Now, if you remember anything else, let me know. Right now, I want you to rest. I’ve got dinner in the oven. It should be done soon. In the meantime, I need to make a couple of calls.”
“Who are you calling?” she asked.
“I want to see if Ben is available. And I’m calling headquarters.
I want to see if one of the techs can pull up CCTV coverage from that intersection or nearby around the time you were there.
Maybe they’ll see something, such as a face that we can run facial recognition on.
Or him getting into a vehicle. You’d be shocked at how many times something like that helps us find people. ”
“I need to move. I’ll check on dinner and set the table. Is there anything else you need me to do for dinner?”
I knew she was trying to distract herself, so I didn’t protest. “No, other than setting the table, pouring our drinks, and getting the casserole out when the timer goes off, we’re good. Thank you.”
She gave me a kiss, which I returned with fervor. I stayed on the couch after she went into the kitchen. I wasn’t hiding what I would say. I called Ben first.
“Heath, miss me already?” Ben asked as he answered.
“Hey, buddy, I love you, but not that much. I’m calling because there has been an incident,” I told him.
“Hit me,” was all he said back. I ran through the details quickly. When I was done, he swore.
“Fuck, that’s fucked up. Is Danae okay?”
“She’s shaken but hanging in there. She’s finishing dinner.”
“Good. Have you called headquarters and gotten anyone to work on checking for CCTV coverage?”
I chuckled. “No, that’s next.”
“Tell you what. You two relax and eat dinner. I’ll handle that, and then later on, I’ll get back to you. Maybe we’ll get lucky, and they’ll find something before you go to bed.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I protested.
“I know I don’t have to, I want to. You take care of her. I’ll handle the rest. Talk to you in a while.”
“Thanks, Ben.”
“Welcome.”
With that in Ben’s hands, I got up. I went to the car and brought in her purse, gun, and her briefcase.
She’d left them in it. Next, I helped her finish the preparations, then we sat down to eat.
I kept a close watch on her to ensure she ate.
And as we talked about our work, I kept asking myself. Who was the guy?
???
An hour and a half after I spoke to Ben, he called me back. Danae and I were sitting on the couch, trying to watch a show, but neither of us was paying much attention.
“Hey, Ben, anything?” I asked as I answered.
“We’ll be there in three,” was all he said before he hung up. I lowered my phone after pushing the end button.
“What is it?” Danae asked.
“Ben said he’ll be here in three minutes. And it doesn’t sound like he’s alone.”
“I bet he brought Kensy and the baby with him. I doubt he’d leave her home alone,” she said.
“You’re right. I didn’t think of that.”
It was barely two minutes before I heard a knock at the door.
I went to answer it. Out of habit, I checked first. I jerked back.
It was more than Ben on our doorstep, but not who we thought would be with him.
Opening the door wide, I moved back and gestured for them to enter.
When they did, I watched Danae’s expression startle—in addition to Ben, we had Beau, Gabe, and Undertaker enter.
My stomach sank. Shit, it wasn’t good. They nodded or gave chin lifts. It was Gabe who spoke.
“Sorry for barging in like this, but we wanted to come. Ben told us what happened. Danae, honey, are you feeling better?”
Gabe went to her with the rest trailing behind. She stood and was enveloped in his arms. From there, each of them hugged her, murmuring to her. Even Undertaker did it. They slapped my shoulder.
“Have a seat. Can we get you guys anything?” she asked.
“No thanks. I’m good. We won’t stay long, but we felt this couldn’t wait until tomorrow,” Ben said. The other three shook their heads at the offer of the drink. All of us sat.
“You’re always welcome. So, tell us. What did you find? I thought it would take hours for the techs to find anything on the camera,” Danae told them.
“The camera check wasn’t hard. Since you had the estimated time and knew the streets, it was pretty easy and fast. They saw the guy and your car. We reviewed the video of him approaching the car and pulling his gun. You did a helluva job keeping your cool,” Gabe praised.
“Thank you, but it didn’t feel that way to me.”
“Believe me, you were great. Most people would’ve frozen and not had a weapon in sight,” Gabe replied.
“So you found the guy. Any luck on being able to identify him?” I asked, trying not to sound impatient.
“Tech is running his face through facial recognition software, but that takes time. No scars or tats noted that could help. When you sped off, he wasn’t happy.
He took out a phone and placed a call. He argued with whoever was on the other end.
After a few minutes, he hung up and disappeared around the corner.
Unfortunately, there were no cameras there to see where he went or if he got into a vehicle,” Beau explained.
“Alriiight, then why the escort here? Not that we don’t appreciate the support, but it wasn’t necessary to drag you away from your families for this,” I stated.
“You’re right, it’s not. We could’ve called. But it was what else was discovered today that we want to speak to you about. After this incident, we felt it wasn’t advisable to wait until morning,” Gabe countered. He wasn’t smiling. None of them were.
The low-level unease I’d felt since before Danae’s call intensified. A glance at her showed she was pale but focused. I reached over and took her hand. I squeezed it. A faint flicker of a smile was all I got.
“Please tell us. I know it’s bad, but the suspense is killing me,” Danae said quietly.