through his hair, his level of frustration apparent. “God, Darb, our little brother is headed down a path we can’t go. I agree with the Sergeant Major—it’s best to just wait for him to hit rock bottom and straighten himself out.”
“Don’t you think lying in a coma and being an accused cop killer is rock bottom enough? He can’t defend himself.”
“Maybe you’re right. I give up.” He stuck his hands into his pockets. “You’re going through with this? No way to talk you out of it?” He had one of those big-brother faces on—the kind he gave her when he was in charge after Connor had left for boot camp.
“I have to find out the truth.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.” He took her hand and closed her fingers around a wad of cash. “You’re going to need more. This is all I have on me.”
“I’ll pay you back.”
She didn’t argue since she did need the money. She only had a twenty in her purse after buying the T-shirts. “Thanks.”
“Thank me by staying safe and out of jail, will ya?” He gave her a quick hug. “You’re a good cop, sis, and if you need to find out what Michael was doing or how he’s involved…do it.”
“I will prove he’s innocent.”
“That’s what I don’t get, Darby. Michael
“I’ll stay in touch, but not with my phone. I’m taking Richard to Pike’s house to have a look around and see what I can find.”
Her brother nodded toward their father, who still had a hand on Erren’s shoulder, still nodding, not yelling. Strange behavior.
“Whoever that fellow with the Sergeant Major is, he’s good. Real good. Don’t trust him and don’t…” He arched his eyebrows and gave her a birds-and-bees kind of nod. “You know.”
Even though Sean didn’t say the words, she didn’t miss his look of “don’t sleep with him.” It would be unethical to sleep with her partner, no matter how incredible of a kisser he happened to be.
“WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR face, son?”
“Job hazard, sir.” With the exception of last night and perhaps once or twice in San Antonio, he hadn’t been in too many fights. Although he trained most of the time. This one had left him a little ragged looking. The others had broken his nose. Twice.
“Being roughed up didn’t seem to stop my daughter in the balloon.”
“My apologies, Sergeant Major.” But he wouldn’t be apologizing to Darby. After this operation was over, he’d be revisiting that scene…if she were open to the idea.
“Paladin is a character from
He needed some type of connection or cooperation from the Sergeant Major without blowing his cover. It would help to avoid the police, but the people who were after Darby might come after her family. Leaving them blind wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.
“I can’t compromise the situation by giving you my true identity. I won’t sugarcoat my intentions. What I do is dangerous—lethal. Your daughter is key to my mission, and I’ll do everything I can to protect her. What I need for you to do is protect the rest of your family by letting Darby and me do our job. Don’t help us. Don’t hinder us.”
“That’s quite an air of command about you. Most fathers may accept a strange young man at his word. But I’m not like most fathers.”
“I do what I have to do.”
Darby’s father hadn’t removed his hand from Erren’s shoulder. The pressure under the man’s fingertips might leave bruises. The Sergeant Major may not show a lot of emotion, but he could convey his dislike of the situation.
“Interesting thing about that show.” His fingers relaxed, giving Erren a pat. “Paladin was the protector of the innocent, always portraying a role. Kind of an odd show for someone your age to choose. Maybe you didn’t think anyone would recognize the name or maybe you didn’t realize exactly what name you’d taken?”
He knew. He’d almost chosen the actor from the series, Richard Boone, as the name to go with today, but didn’t want the O’Malleys to think about it too much. Just his luck that Darby’s dad happened to be a fan of Westerns.
“It’s only a name.” He looked the Sergeant Major in the eye. For some odd reason he wanted the man to trust him. It would be easier to leave without explanations, but he had a strange feeling that the Sergeant Major’s trust was important. “Darby needs to do this, sir. And it should be with me.”
Sometimes, honesty worked better than lies. Darby was headed their way and he needed to wrap this fatherly talk up quickly.
“I appreciate your concern, son, but my girl doesn’t need taking care of or my permission to do anything. She was raised to be self-reliant. Nice to know she’s got capable hands along for the ride.”
Denny O’Malley tapped Erren’s shoulder one last time before placing both his hands behind his back to stand “at ease.”
“I’m not going to waste my breath telling her she can’t get involved. She’ll do what she wants anyway. But if Michael’s mixed up in this mess, then that’s what it is…a mess. And I don’t want her to ruin her career for that wastrel of a brother.” He shook his head, momentarily dropping his eyes to the ground. “Daunting possibilities and odds with that boy.”
Erren saw how difficult it was for the Sergeant Major to admit the information about his son. The man’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down with each heavy swallow. But however Michael was involved didn’t matter, as long as Darby took him to Pike’s mysterious package.
“I can’t really say how he’s implicated, sir. Can I count on you?”
“On me?” The older man stuck out his hand, gripped Erren’s firmly. “Yes, and I’ll keep my boys in line, but —”
His boys—Darby’s brothers. Sean was here and Michael was missing, possibly a suspect.
“But?”
“If you haven’t figured it out yet, you will. Darby doesn’t take orders.”
“I can handle her, sir.”
Darby’s father laughed as she joined them.
“I came to rescue you before my father tried to get you into that balloon again.” She gave her father a somewhat reserved kiss on the cheek. “Did you tell the man all our family secrets, Dad?”
“You know me better than that, my girl.”
“I know what I’m doing. You don’t have to worry.” She left marching in double time.
Sergeant Major stroked his cheek where his “girl” had planted her kiss.
“She’ll be safe. You have my word.” He said the words, hit by another compulsion to assure the older man his daughter would be protected.
Granted, he’d never been in this type of situation before. But he didn’t give his word lightly…at least not to honest men.
He had to run to catch up with her. It might have been awkward making their way through the crowd, but most participants were inflating their balloons and were too busy to notice. No cops in sight. She retrieved everything from her car, including the notebook with her accounting of their activities, and nodded toward the monster truck to the left.
“What was that all about?” she asked when they had safely left the park.
“You tell me. He’s your father.”
“Which speech did he give you? Wait, I don’t want to know.”
“Is that the way he treats all your prospective boyfriends?”
“I wouldn’t know. Connor brought home a girlfriend while we were stationed in Germany. The Sergeant Major interrogated her throughout dinner regarding her family history. After that, the rest of us decided it was safer to skip the meet-the-parent introduction.”
“You have a third brother? Are there any more O’Malleys hanging from the eaves?”
