Page 32 of Forged in Steele

She swiveled to the other door, while he remained at the primary bedroom. Heart pounding, she burst into the space set up as an office and swept her gun in an arc. She moved to the closet. Swung the door open.

“Clear.” She let out her breath and returned to the hallway.

Jared held her gaze for a long moment. So many thoughts in his expression.

Take care. Have my back. I’ll have yours. Let’s do this.

He released his hold and signaled they would go in.

They flooded into the room. She marched to the closet and flung open the door. “Clear!”

Jared dropped to his knees and looked under the bed. “And we’re good.”

“Release him,” Jared said. “I’ll cover us at the door where I can see down the hallway.”

Just like Jared to want to keep her safe. But then he would likely do the same thing with any officer. The new Jared seemed to be extra cautious instead of fun-loving as he’d once been. But that had been summer. At a camp made for fun.

This was the extreme opposite. A crime scene with a bound and gagged man.

She moved to Aaron and untied his gag.

“Thank God.” His words croaked out, sounding like a frog. “I heard your uncle come over but couldn’t make enough noise to attract his attention. This stinking chair was wedged between the bed and wall so I couldn’t move. Worked for hours on it. Finally got across the room to the table and was able to knock the lamp off before I fell.”

She got a pocket knife out and sliced into the duct tape binding him to the chair. “What happened?”

“This is crazy. Just crazy.” He shook his head. “I was about to get ready for work and someone knocks on my door. I was in a hurry so opened it without checking through the peephole. He had on a ski mask and forced me back here. Tied me up then stole my uniform. I had it packed up and ready to go for today’s job.” His gaze clung to Bristol. “Did something bad happen?”

She hated to tell him, but he had to know. “A baby was abducted.”

“No, no, no.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’m so sorry. If I hadn’t opened the door, I—”

“If you hadn’t, he would’ve grabbed you when you walked out to go to work,” Jared said. “You can’t blame yourself.”

Jared’s straightforward statement still held suspicion of Aaron that all good law enforcement officers would have at this point. Aaron’s captivity could all be a setup to make him look innocent, though her gut didn’t tell her that.

Jared continued to focus on Aaron. “How would anyone know you were scheduled to work at Mercy today and specifically guarding the birthing center?”

“Good question. One I’ve been thinking about this whole time.” Aaron stretched his arms. “Best I can figure out is another guard tipped this creep off.”

“Why would one of our guards do that?” Bristol asked.

“Money. Why else?”

“Or revenge or both.” Jared looked at Bristol. “You fire or discipline anyone lately?”

“We can ask Teagan about that.” She ripped the tape from Aaron’s ankles. “Can you describe the man? Maybe that can help us figure out if he was an employee.”

“No can do. He wore a ski mask. But I can tell you he was around six feet tall and built the same as me. Wore jeans and a plain gray T-shirt. No tats or other marks.”

“You’re sure on that?” Jared asked.

“Believe me. I looked hard at him as he wrapped me in that stinkin’ tape. He had hazel eyes, and he used a falsetto voice when he talked. I can’t even ID his voice if it came to that.” Aaron rubbed his wrists again. “I can’t believe I let him get the jump on me.”

Bristol faced Jared. “I’ll call this in and get an officer over here to secure the scene and escort Aaron in for a more thorough debrief. Then I’ll get Teagan on looking into disgruntled employees or ex-employees.”

Jared frowned, remaining in place without speaking for a moment. He jerked his head at the hallway and stepped out.

“Be right back,” she told Aaron and joined Jared.

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