Chapter 8

EIGHT

PRESENT DAY

Two hours later, back at headquarters, Kenzie pressed a hand to her head. A tension headache gnawed at her temples, and she tried to remember whether she had any ibuprofen anywhere. The shooter had managed to get away in spite of law enforcement pulling out all the stops.

Buzz and Greene were at the hospital, but both would make full recoveries. She hadn't been worried about that. Much. Not Greene anyway. His vest had done its job. But Buzz had been a concern, and she'd been glad to get the confirmation he'd be fine.

They'd both demanded to FaceTime in on the debrief, but Buzz probably wouldn't be out of surgery in time. He'd be mad, but he'd get over it. Thankfully, Cowboy had been discharged and sent home and would join them from there.

She shut the locker and twisted the combination lock, wishing she could ride the adrenaline crash in front of her television.

After the meeting, she promised herself. If she could stay awake that long.

When she arrived at the conference room, she noted the remaining team members already gathered at the back of the room, heads close together. All at once, they nodded in unison at something Cole said. Once again, the feeling of being left out stung. "What's going on?"

The men separated, turned to face her, and began clapping one by one. James, Cole, Commander Judson Hill, and Magic Man. Butler simply stood there, eyes narrowed.

Kenzie blinked and met Cole's gaze, then the others'. "Uh, what?"

James laughed. "You're a hero, Kenzie. You waltzed right into the line of fire like the dude was shooting potatoes, not bullets, grabbed Buzz like he was a toddler, and got him to safety."

Cole didn't look nearly as thrilled with that, but he did have a small smile on his face.

"Oh," she said. "Well. I mean, I couldn't just stand there while he was lying there wounded with a chance of a more deadly bullet headed his way."

"Exactly," Cole said. "Brave and heroic. Well done."

Kenzie didn't think her face could get any redder or hotter, but at Cole's praise, she was proven wrong. "Uh, thanks." She cleared her throat, desperate to stop stammering and turn the attention elsewhere.

The commander shook her hand. "I know there's been some question about your presence on this team. I hope this proves the decision to put you here was the right one. I know I have no doubts whatsoever."

"Thank you, sir, I really appreciate that." Kenzie's throat tightened briefly and she drew in a deep breath. This was not the time for emotions. "So, what else did I miss?"

Thankfully, Cole let her redirect. "I was just asking the guys what they thought about taking up a collection for Micah's family."

In the almost six months she'd been on the team, they'd done this a few times. It was always the kids who triggered it. Kids trapped in situations they had no say about. "I'm in." She had about fifty bucks in her wallet. She pulled it out and passed it to Cole, then leaned back, willing herself not to yawn.

Cole tucked the money into his wallet. "I'll go by there when we get done here. Want to go with me, King?" Butler snorted and Cole raised a brow at the man. "You want to go too?"

"Naw, just wondering why she gets the invite."

"You're all invited. I just thought it might be good for Micah's mother to have a woman present."

James rolled his eyes at Butler and shook his head. "You're an idiot, man. Zip it." The words directed at his team member were soft. The warning look was not.

Butler huffed but fell silent, leaned back, and crossed his arms.

Kenzie ignored them all. "Sure, I'd love to go."

They settled around the table, and Butler rose to set up the technology to bring Greene and Cowboy in via video. Greene's face appeared on the screen and he scowled. "I could be there, you know," he said by way of greeting.

James leaned back in his chair. "Dude, take it from someone who's been there. Go easy on yourself. You're going to be hurting for a few days." James had taken a bullet to the vest in his back just a few months ago while rescuing a young child from the father who'd taken her and her family hostage.

"Yeah, yeah," Greene said. "You get the joker behind all this?"

"No," Hill said, "not yet. The manhunt is still ongoing, but it looks like he's managed to evade everyone. The dogs picked up his scent and trailed it for a while, but he must have had a vehicle stashed somewhere not too far from the scene. We left when there was nothing else for us to do but wait. Any word on Buzz?"

"I've got a nurse keeping me informed," Greene said. "If I didn't want the every-fifteen-minute play-by-play update, I'd get out of here. At least I'll be here for Buzz when he gets out of surgery." He glanced away from the camera for a moment. "Which, according to Nurse Byron, should be soon."

"His parents there yet?" Cole asked.

"Yep. They've already checked in on me."

"Perfect. Keep us in the loop. We'll stop by to see you two in the morning."

Greene snorted. "I won't be here. Just waiting on my discharge papers."

"Glad to hear it. You need a ride home?"

"I'll give him one," Cowboy said, chiming in for the first time.

Greene rolled his eyes. "Right. No thanks. I don't like your driving on a good day." He turned serious. "My sister is on the way. Now, let's get down to business. First things first, if I may?"

Cole nodded his permission for the man to continue.

"King, that was some kind of move you pulled getting Buzz to safety." His throat worked and he cleared it. "I don't even know how he or the team will ever be able to thank you for that."

Again with the blushing. She sighed. Just when her cheeks had finally cooled off. "I'm glad everyone is going to be okay."

"All right, then, I'm done now. Just had to thank King. What's next, Garrison?"

"I've been thinking about that." Cole rubbed his chin and shook his head. "So, we've got one incident that could have been aimed at Kenzie. Then the one where the guy definitely broke into her house. I don't think those were random. Now this ambush at the warehouse? It doesn't take a genius to figure out someone is targeting one or all of us."

"Well, what are we going to do?" Butler asked. "Go into hiding?"

"No way." Commander Hill shook his head. "We couldn't even if we wanted to. We—you—have this job for a reason. And that means you keep doing it, you just do it with your guard up and have each other's backs. Stay alert and don't go anywhere alone—or to a location that seems like it could be a setup for an attack."

Kenzie rubbed her eyes. Great. They needed a plan to get this person as fast as possible. Lives were at stake whenever they had a call to a scene. If they had to look over their shoulders—more so than usual—while trying to deal with everything that went on at a call, then ... people would die.

And that was unacceptable.

They had to get this guy. ASAP.

"One other thing," Cole said. "Does anyone recognize this label? It has a small logo on it. The kid, Micah, said the guy who paid him dropped it when he pulled the money out of his pocket." He passed his phone so everyone could take a look.

When it got to Butler, he raised a brow. "Yeah, that's the farmers' market off the parkway. Not the big Lake City one, but a privately owned spread. Coleman's. Out behind Coleman Stables."

"No kidding." Cole squinted at the picture once more. "I guess I need to get out more. I didn't recognize it."

Butler shrugged. "I go there a few times a month. They have some really great produce. They also have a small grocery store at the back past some of the local booths where you can get cold stuff. One-stop shopping."

"All right, everyone," Commander Hill said. "If no one has anything else, that's it for now. Stay safe out there."

He left and the others filed out, leaving Kenzie and Cole behind. Cole looked at her. "Ready?"

"Ready."

THANKFULLY, the trip to the Martins' home was uneventful, and Cole pulled to the curb. Micah's trailer was almost all the way in the back of the mobile home park, and while the structure itself looked sad and run-down, the little yard to its right bloomed with flowers he had no name for.

They'd made a stop at the local sporting goods store to purchase a new basketball, then a trip to the grocery store for a few staples. Cole pointed to a small fenced area. "Guess that's the basketball court."

"Yikes. That looks dangerous." Trash, broken cement, glass, and drug paraphernalia littered the area that was supposed to be a fun space for kids. The bare hoop needed a new net.

Cole shook his head. "How hard is it to keep something like that clean and safe for the children who want to play on it?"

"You have to care," Kenzie said, her voice low.

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess you do."

Still dressed in full gear, he led the way up the rickety wooden steps to the small porch. Kenzie waited at the bottom. He raised a brow at her and she shook her head. "I'm not sure that wood will hold both of us."

He shifted and the porch groaned. She could be right.

"How much did you collect?" she asked him.

"Three hundred bucks." He knocked, then turned to look at her. "Everyone always puts something in." He smiled. "Even Butler."

She nodded. "I know it's not really that much, but for this family, it'll help."

"Yeah." He knocked again, even while he noted Kenzie's gaze roaming the area. She was definitely on high alert.

Good. They needed to be.

The deadbolt clicked and the door creaked open. A little girl about four years old with stringy blond hair and big blue eyes looked up at him. "Hi."

Cole set the groceries on the deck, then squatted, one knee popping and his gear creaking. "Hi. I'm Cole."

"I'm Randa." She brushed the hair out of her eyes with a gesture that looked automatic. "What you want?"

"Is Micah home?"

"Uh-huh."

"Good. What about your mama?"

"Yep." She continued to study him.

"You want to tell her we're here? We have something we want to give her."

"Okay. Be right back." She shut the door and he could hear her little footsteps on the linoleum floor.

He turned to Kenzie once more. "That's a little unnerving. Not sure it's a good idea for that baby to be opening the door around here."

"Agreed."

"She did have it locked, though."

"And we have our uniforms on, so maybe she's not been taught to be leery of the police yet."

"Good point."

Hurried steps of an adult came toward the door, and through the thin wood came a woman's voice. "Randa, how many times have I told you not to open the door? You come get me."

"Sorry, Mama."

The curtain on the dusty window to the left moved, and eyes that matched Randa's appeared for a moment, widened, then disappeared. The door opened a crack and Mrs. Martin looked out at them. "Yes?"

"Hi, Mrs. Martin," Cole said. "I'm Cole Garrison, the officer from this afternoon that talked to Micah about the situation at the warehouse. This is Kenzie King. Do you have a minute?"

"Sure. And call me Melissa, please." She bit her lip, then shrugged. "Come on in. It isn't much, sorry."

"It's a home," Kenzie said. "As long as there's love, the packaging doesn't matter much."

The woman's eyes teared and she swallowed hard, then gave them a shaky smile. "Well, there's love for sure." She waved them in, and Cole grabbed the three bags of groceries. As soon as he entered, he noted right away the place was clean. Worn and old, probably hand-me-downs and thrift store items, but clean. A hint of pine filled his nose, reminding him of his grandmother's house. A couch was against the far wall. An old recliner with a torn arm was beside it. He noted there was no furniture in front of the window. Smart woman. Everyone who lived in this area worried about stray bullets.

Micah stepped into the room from the hallway and stopped when he saw them. "Randa said two cops were here. I didn't expect it to be you guys." Fear flashed. "You coming to take me to prison?"

"No, no, not at all," Cole said. He turned back to Melissa. "Micah said you were taking care of him, his siblings, and two cousins."

"That's right. The others are at the church for a weekend activity. Randa and Micah didn't want to go so I let them stay home." She rubbed her palms down the sides of her jeans and eyed the bags he and Kenzie held. "Why?"

"Well, Micah was trying to help you out today, not realizing he was being tricked by a criminal. He said you needed money to keep the power on and for groceries."

She sighed and a single tear leaked down her cheek before she swiped it away and drew her shoulders back. "That's true, but I've always found a way before. I'll find one this time." She shrugged. "God provides. Sometimes when it's last minute and it looks like he's forgotten me."

"Well," Cole said, "then I guess God decided to use us this time." He hefted the bags of groceries. "We weren't sure what you needed, but figured we couldn't go wrong with the usual. Milk, butter, sugar, salt and pepper, bread, some pasta and sauce. Got you a few bags of chips, ten pounds of hamburger meat and chicken. And some treats for the kids. There's a basketball in there somewhere for Micah. He mentioned his was going flat."

"What?" she whispered. Her wide green eyes bounced between him and Kenzie.

"I hope you don't mind," he said. "I promise this isn't pity. We all need help every so often." Which was completely true, but some people got touchy about receiving help from others. Sometimes all a person had was their pride, and that could be good or bad, depending. Not taking the groceries she obviously needed would be bad.

"Mind?" She blinked and let out a shuddering sob before biting her lip. Her eyes shimmered with new tears. "Are you kidding? I have pride, but I also know an answer to prayer when God lands one on my doorstep." She motioned to the kitchen. "You can put them on the table if you don't mind."

"Don't mind at all."

Cole carried the bags to the nice-size kitchen and set them where she indicated. Micah and Randa hurried over to help unload their bounty, giving exclaims of delight, first at the basketball that Micah held like it was made of pure gold, then at the huge bag of M&M's Kenzie had insisted on.

"Mama," Randa squealed, "can we have some?"

"A handful each."

Randa frowned. Looked at Micah's hand, then her own. "How about we count out the same amount?"

Cole smothered a smile, heard Kenzie cover a chuckle, and even Melissa pressed her lips together while her eyes sparkled with a brief flash of humor. "Sure. That's a great idea. Twenty each."

"Twenty-five?" Randa asked.

"Nineteen."

The girl gasped her horror. "Twenty is fair."

Melissa nodded. "I thought so."

Micah ripped open the bag, and Cole and Kenzie passed his mother the rest of the groceries until they were put away. Melissa sniffed, swiped her face, and led them out of the kitchen and back into the den. She motioned to the couch. "I honestly don't even know how to thank you."

Before Cole sat, he pulled the envelope with the money from his pocket. "Our team collected this and wanted you to have it. I called the power company, and if you pay it tomorrow before they close, they won't shut it off."

She gasped and took the envelope with a shaky hand. "I ... I don't know what to say. This on top of everything else?" Tears now slipped unchecked down her cheeks. She ignored them and looked up to meet Cole's gaze, then Kenzie's and back to Cole.

He smiled. "No need to say anything. Just please call us if you need anything." He handed her a card with his contact information and Kenzie did the same. "We really do want people—especially kids—to see there are good officers in law enforcement."

Melissa clutched the envelope to her chest. "As far as I'm concerned, you're the best."