I’m a detective now and was buried in a murder investigation. I said I’d call her back and now I can’t reach her. If I’d known... This is all my fault.”
“No. No, it’s not, and beating yourself up won’t help find her.” Kendall started to reach out a hand to cover his hand, but a siren in the distance caught her attention.
What? No way. Her backup wouldn’t come racing up to the house with sirens running. The responding deputy couldn’t know the suspect was gone and wouldn’t risk alerting him that backup had arrived.
“That’ll be your dad,” Cord said. “Or your brothers.”
She blinked a few times as she tried to process his comment. “Why would you think that?”
“I used your radio to report you down, and we both know every McKade within radio range will be on their way here.”
She sighed. He was right. Her father was sheriff, her brother a deputy and her sister a crime scene investigator. Not to mention two cousins were deputies, too. She took a long, slow breath and mentally prepared herself for the arrival of her overprotective family as sirens wailed closer.
It was only moments until that family member, likely her father, rushed into the house. He’d treat her like his little girl instead of the deputy and aspiring detective she’d become. She wished he wouldn’t do so, but she understood. He was a good father, and the worry carried over to the job. At least he didn’t call her “Peanut” like he did with her younger sister, Tessa.
Regardless, Kendall wasn’t going to let her father find her sitting here instead of working the scene. She didn’t want to disappoint him, but also, Eve was missing and it was Kendall’s job to find her.
She pushed to her feet and held on to the back of the chair to wait out a rush of dizziness. As long as she didn’t make any sudden movements, she should be able to hold up under her father’s scrutiny long enough to ease his concern and convince him to leave. Then she could get started on the investigation without him hovering over her.
“You’re not fooling anyone, you know.” Cord rose to his full height, and she couldn’t help but remember when she’d had bad days at work, how he’d held her against that firm chest and the world had righted itself again. “You’re injured, and you’ll have to let the medics take a look at you. Maybe head to the ER to get checked out.”
“I’m fine,” she said, but he could be right. Still, she would seek medical attention because she knew it was the right thing, not because Cord or her father insisted on it.
She’d had a lifetime of overprotective men. Her dad. Older brother, Gavin. Even Matt, who was a year younger. The McKade men couldn’t help it. They were fierce defenders, and that meant they wouldn’t back down and let the women in their lives get hurt. So they took charge.
“Man,” Cord said. “Whatever I said has you seriously upset. You’re working your jaw like crazy.”
“It’s nothing.” Headlights joined hers in the driveway, and she turned to watch for the first McKade to arrive.
Her father came barreling through the door. Six foot two, he was still fit and trim and wore his county uniform well. “Kendall, honey. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Dad. Just a bump on the head.”
He took hold of her chin and studied her face, the look far more clinical than when Cord had examined her injury. She could feel the worry rolling off her dad in big waves, and she felt bad about getting caught up in her thoughts of Cord and not radioing in that she was okay. Her father rectified that by leaning down to his radio and reporting in. She was thankful he did so, as that meant the rest of the marauding McKades wouldn’t show up.
He pinned his focus on her again. “You’ll let the medics check you out.”
“No problem,” she said, though inside she cringed at his demanding tone.
Cord snorted.
Her father released her chin and shot Cord a look. “Cord Goodwin. Well, I’ll be. Didn’t expect to see you in Lake County again.”
“This is my aunt Eve’s house.”
“She okay?”
“She’s missing, and we found blood in the kitchen.”
Her father clapped Cord on the back. “I’m real sorry to hear that, son.”
Her father had always liked Cord and had taken it hard when he’d left. Not that her dad knew the real story. Cord thought it best not to bring his personal life into the job and explain that he had to leave because emotions were running high with her. So he’d said he was looking for a different challenge.
“I’ll get a team out here,” her father said. “And we’ll do a grid search of the immediate area.”
Cord’s face paled, but he didn’t say anything. What could he say? Her father basically said that he thought Eve might be hurt or dead somewhere nearby. Either thought had to be messing with Cord’s emotions. She wished she could provide some comfort—offer the reassurance that she might offer another family member, but as a detective, Cord knew all too well that his aunt could be in peril. Her best way to help him was to do her job and do it well.
“Our suspect is long gone,” she said. “But I can put out a clear description on him.”
“You got a good look at him?” Her father’s eyes widened.
She nodded and radioed in the suspect’s details as her father frowned at her.
The moment she finished with dispatch, her father took a step closer to her. “As much as getting a look at the suspect will help the investigation, I don’t like the sound of it. He might panic and want to silence you.”
She hadn’t thought of that, but she wasn’t going to let fear get in the way of investigating her first case. “Then the sooner I figure out his identity and where Eve is, the better. I’ll get started investigating right away.”
“Wait, what?” Cord shot her a look. “You’re investigating? I don’t understand.”
She faced him. “Dad’s retiring, and Matt’s running for sheriff. He’s on a leave of absence to work on the campaign. If all goes well, he’ll be taking over Dad’s spot in a few months, and I’ll be stepping into his detective role. So I’m handling investigations in his absence.”
“No. No.” Cord shook his head hard. “I can’t have a rookie detective in charge of finding my aunt.”
Before Kendall could offer a rebuttal, he swung his gaze to her father. “You have another detective, a more seasoned one, who could work this investigation, right?”
“I do.” Her father faced her, and he didn’t have to say a word. His apologetic expression said it all. He was going to side with Cord. “What with your injury and the potential for this suspect to come gunning for you, maybe it’s a good idea for you to sit this out, honey.”
How could he take Cord’s side, and equally as bad, talk to her like she was still a little girl?
“Honey.
