He had a job to do. A woman to protect, and a stalker to find. A stalker who had already murdered in order to get close to his obsession.
A stalker who would kill again unless Gavin could stop him.
Using a knuckle, Gavin rapped sharply on Chief Paul Kennedy’s office door. Impatiently he waited for the chief to answer. He was getting ready to knock again when Lieutenant Jace Tucker strolled past him.
“The chief’s not in, Jackson,” Tucker informed him. “He had to go with his wife to the doctor. He said he should be back in the next hour or so. Anything I can help you with?”
“Is Irene okay?” He hated to think of anything being wrong with the chief’s feisty red-haired wife. Irene was well-loved by all the officers. Paul Kennedy was her second husband. Her first, Tony Martello, had been a solid cop. And a good friend. Four years ago, he’d been killed in the line of duty. The loss had been devastating to all involved. Especially to Irene. They were all happy when she and the chief had found each other.
She was also Lieutenant Tucker’s sister. He didn’t seem too worried. So it couldn’t be that bad. Right?
“Nothing serious,” Tucker said, confirming his thoughts. “What do you need?”
Switching gears, Gavin related what he’d learned so far. “What I’d really like to do is to order some sort of protection for Alexa.”
At this moment nothing was more important than the frightened woman sitting in the conference room. “The woman ran from Chicago. And all evidence points to her stalker being from there, too.”
Lieutenant Tucker straightened, his gaze sharpening. “Really? Let’s put this on a priority level. I will inform the chief when he gets back. Can you hang with Miss Grant until we get the details worked out?”
He ignored the jolt of relief at the words. He should not, under any circumstances, have a preference for which officer stayed with Alexa. Nor should he be glad to have an excuse to stay with her.
The sooner he got her back to her place and another officer watching over her, the better. He’d been with her only a couple of hours and she was already messing with his mind. He didn’t need that. Hadn’t his dealings with Lacey taught him anything? He was better off alone than setting himself up for that kind of heartbreak. And heartbreak and disappointment it would be. He was the kind of man that women liked until someone steady and smooth-talking came along. Someone like his brother, Sam.
He wasn’t going there.
Alexa’s life was in danger. He was chasing her stalker turned sniper. As far as he was concerned, that was as far as their connection would go. Could go. He refused to allow it to become anything more.
“I can do that, Lieutenant Tucker,” he said. “What kind of plans are you thinking of?”
He didn’t mean to be pushy, but he needed something concrete here.
Lieutenant Tucker gave him a level stare, and his right eyebrow twitched, but he didn’t give Gavin any grief. Probably because Tucker himself had once had to protect a woman from a killer. A woman who was now Lieutenant Tucker’s wife. Irrelevant. Shoving the annoying thought away, he focused once again on his superior officer. “I’m sure we could do some sort of drive-by. Like I said, I will run it by the chief when he gets back. We’re limited on how much surveillance we can do. But we’ll do our best.”
“Yeah, that’ll have to work.” He ran a hand through his hair, thinking rapidly. “Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll drive Alexa back to get her car. Then I’ll follow her to her place and check it out. Maybe Parker can meet me there, and we can canvas the neighborhood, talk to the neighbors. See what’s the situation there.”
“Sounds good. I’ll pass your message along to the chief when I see him.”
There was nothing more to do at the station. He needed to confer with Parker. One of them needed to get to the hospital and get Noah Hostetler’s statement the minute he was out of surgery and conscious. Amish folk didn’t particularly go out of the way to converse with cops. However, given that he’d already told someone he had caught a glimpse of the sniper, Gavin didn’t think the man would protest answering a few questions. Gavin retraced his steps back to where he’d left Alexa with Parker. They were talking quietly when he entered.
“Hey, Parker. One of us needs to go to the hospital.” He didn’t go into details. Parker was a smart man and an experienced officer. He’d be able to connect the dots. He switched his gaze to the anxious woman. The shadows drenching her eyes tugged at him, despite his desire to not be moved. It might take a while, but he would do everything in his power to clear away those shadows. “Alexa, how ’bout I drive you to get your car, and then we can head back to your house?”
She caught her lip between her teeth and blinked up at him. As her blue-gray eyes zeroed in on him, he knew that she wasn’t going to agree with his plan. He waited for her argument.
Gavin fought against the frustration that was tearing at him. All he wanted was to find the stalker who was after her and give him a lengthy stay in a prison cell. Letting his emotions get out of hand would only get in his way. He couldn’t afford that kind of complication. If he was to keep his wits about him and work with a clear mind, he needed to stay detached.
Especially from pretty blondes like the one gazing up at him. Nope. Not going there.
“Just say it, Alexa. Whatever’s on your mind, just go ahead and say it.”
She smiled slightly. “If you don’t mind, I would like to go to the hospital with whoever is going. See how Noah is doing, and if his wife has arrived yet. I’ll never be able to sleep until I know how they’re coping.”
He just wanted to get her home and locked up tight. The thought of her being out in the open when there was a sniper after her didn’t sit well with him. Gearing up to tell her no, they couldn’t visit the hospital, he glanced into those blue-gray eyes. The denial never made it past his lips.
After all, he had just said that they needed to go there. It might as well be him. Plus, Tucker did tell him to stick close until they had a plan approved.
“Sure. Parker, I’ll take Alexa to the hospital. Cover the details there. We have to get her neighborhood checked out.”
“I’ll go ahead and start on that, Jackson.”
He threw a grin toward Parker. “I was so hoping you’d say that, buddy.”
“Yeah, I figured.” Parker waved his hand at them in a shooing motion.
Alrighty, then. Alexa’s stalker had already escalated to the point of violence. Violence that possibly had led to at least one death. If his suspicions proved to be true, then he was also responsible for the deaths when the florist shop had burnt down. It was only a matter of time before he struck out again.
Unless he could stop him.
Check out her neighborhood? Alexa paused, her coat halfway on. “Why do you have to check out my neighborhood? It’s a very quiet one.
