that was exactly what was happening.
Directly behind her car, he could see a dark pickup truck had pulled off and parked on the side of the road. And not to help. The driver, a large man with a fierce scowl on his bearded face, had opened his door. He had started to step out of the vehicle, a rifle in his bare hands. This man meant to harm Irene.
The moment Paul appeared, though, he halted. The bright lights and the loud wail of the siren made the bearded man jerk back into his truck before speeding off in the opposite direction. Paul wanted to chase him, needed to stop the maniac. But he needed to check on Irene more. Quickly, he called in a description of the truck and the driver, and called for an ambulance.
Parking his cruiser on the side of the road, he kept his lights on to warn any oncoming traffic to slow down. Then he strode to the driver’s-side door. She was watching him, her face bloodless. From fear, or was she in shock? Either way, he sent up a silent prayer of thanks at the sight of her alive and alert. He rapped on the window. It wasn’t necessary. She was already rolling it down.
“Irene? Are you okay?”
“Paul!” She choked out his name. For the first time in years, her gaze wasn’t cool when she met his eyes. Fear and gratitude took precedence over wounded pride. “I thought he was going to kill me!” Her voice wobbled slightly, but she wasn’t crying. Anymore. The streaks left by earlier tears were evident.
He needed to calm her down, see if she was injured. “Easy, Irene. He’s gone. Are you hurt anywhere? Anything broken?” He scanned her carefully.
She shook her head, then winced. His gaze narrowed in on her forehead. She wasn’t bleeding. There was a dark shadow on her temple that concerned him. It could have been nothing, or a bruise forming. Hard to tell without proper lighting.
“Did you hit your head? It looks bruised. Any dizziness, or blurry vision?”
“I did bang it against the steering wheel when I went into the ditch. But I don’t think I’m really hurt.”
Hmm. He’d have her checked out when the ambulance arrived, just the same.
“What happened?” He kept his voice calm, even though he was feeling anything but.
“You know I started working at the Early Intervention program a couple of months ago?” He nodded. He remembered Jace saying something about that. “I was finishing a home visit. It was my last one of the day. When I first arrived, I accidentally went to the wrong house. That man answered the door and he was very angry to see me there. It was downright creepy. Then, when I was leaving his neighbors after my visit, he came out of the house and started looking around. Not at me, but like he was searching for something. I started driving and he started running after me. I didn’t wait, just took off. Then next thing I knew, I was waiting at the stop sign, and he came up behind me and boom—” she slapped a hand on her steering wheel “—he’d shot out my back window and was coming after me. He rammed his truck into me, twice. The road was icy, and I lost control. I really think he would have killed me if you hadn’t arrived. How did you know I was in danger?”
He had to draw in three deep breaths before he could speak around the red haze threatening to overcome him. His normally calm demeanor was failing him as he tried to keep from thinking of what would have happened if he had been farther away. Thank You, Lord, for placing me here in time to help. Paul was a firm believer that the Lord was in charge.
“The family you’d visited with called nine-one-one. They were able to give the operator the address of the neighbor who attacked you. I was on my way there when I came across your vehicle. I need to check in and make sure an officer is on the scene. Then we can go from there.”
She nodded, relaxing briefly in her seat. Only for a moment, though. Her eyes widened slightly and she sat ramrod straight in her seat, grimacing. Maybe she was more bruised than she’d let on. “There was a woman inside the house when I arrived. Young, nineteen, maybe twenty or twenty-one. I don’t know what was going on in there, but she looked scared, Paul. Really scared.”
“I’ll get it checked out, Irene. I promise.” Paul moved to the front of the car and thumbed the radio on his shoulder to get an update. When he was told that several officers were en route to the scene, he gave the order that they inform him immediately of any findings. He took one step back toward Irene, then stopped. Jace’s shift would be ending soon. He’d want to know what had happened. Paul was his chief, but he was also his best friend. Jace should hear about it from him. Before he could change his mind, he reached back, pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed the familiar number.
“’Lo, Chief.”
Paul winced, even though he’d expected him to answer. He loved Jace like a brother, and this would not be an easy conversation. Jace was used to dealing with violence, but telling him that the shooting target had been his sister this time was not going to go over well.
“Lieutenant Tucker.” Paul hesitated. He always tried to keep things professional when they were at the station. They weren’t at the station, however, and this was an unusual situation.
“Jace...” He addressed the man as a friend. “She’s okay, but the woman shot at was Irene.”
Silence. Then Jace’s deep voice exploded over the phone.
“What? What happened? You’re positive she’s okay? Where are you?”
Paul gave him his location. “He rear-ended her, and her car went into a ditch. Her forehead looks bruised, but she seems lucid and aware. I’m sure she’s fine, but I have an ambulance coming, just to be safe.”
“She’s not going to want to ride in an ambulance.”
Didn’t he know that? If he knew Irene, her first priority would be to get back to her kids as quickly as possible. Plus, she had never liked hospitals.
“Did you get the guy?” Jace’s voice was calmer now.
“No. He ran off when he heard my siren. And I wasn’t about to leave Irene on the side of the road, especially not knowing if she was injured or not.”
“Appreciate that.”
Paul moved back to the side of the car.
A distant siren rent the air. The ambulance. Finally. It was starting to snow harder, which would make the roads more treacherous. Before this night was done, there would be more than one accident for the crew to work on. He would feel much better knowing that Irene was taken care of.
“The ambulance is here now,” Paul said to Jace. “Why don’t you call your mom and let her know what’s going on so she doesn’t worry.”
“How bad does Irene look?”
Bad? Paul nearly smiled. Irene never looked bad. Even bruised and shaken, the red-haired woman was perfect. Of course, he couldn’t say that, although he had a suspicion that Jace was on to him.
“She looks fine. Maybe a little shaken.” Blue eyes glared up at him. “Make that mad, will you?”
An unexpected chuckle floated down the line. “She’s glaring at you, isn’t she?”
“Sure is. And I much prefer that.”
A pause. “Yeah. Me, too.”
