Page 6 of Steele

You think? She bit back the snarky comment because it wasn’t fair to take her anger out on him. Not when he’d done everything possible to protect her and her baby.

She pressed her hands to her abdomen, willing herself to stop trembling. She wasn’t hurt. Her baby was fine.

That was more than enough for now.

Steele’s radio crackled. “Steele? Where are you?” She thought she recognized Officer Greer’s voice.

“I’m taking Har—er—Ms. Crane someplace safe.”

“Where?” Greer demanded.

“I don’t know yet. See if Joe or Rhy will get us a safe house.”

“Fine, but stay in touch, we’re spreading out to search the area for the shooter.” The radio fell silent.

The idea of a safe house was both reassuring and horrifying. It was nice that Steele cared enough to keep her safe, but how long would she have to stay there? She forced herself to think logically. “You believe someone wants me dead because I know something about Jake’s illegal arms dealing.” She made it a statement, not a question.

“Yes.” He shot her a quick glance. “Unless you have another reason for bad guys to come after you?”

“No.” She thought briefly about some of the criminals her boss represented. Men and women who had been accused of terrible crimes. There was one guy recently who made her skin crawl, but there would be no reason for Neil Otterson to come after her. Not when her boss was doing his best to keep him out of prison.

She didn’t like the exposure to criminals. Trent always reminded her that every citizen deserved a fair trial, and that could only happen if there were good lawyers like him to help make sure the cops and DAs got it right.

Trent Gibson liked to compare himself to the fictional character of Mickey Haller from Michael Connelly’s books, although his record for getting his clients off wasn’t nearly as impressive. Real life wasn’t the same as fiction.

“What about one of your boss’s clients?” Steele’s question seemed to pick up on her thoughts. “If this isn’t about Jake, is there a reason one of Gibson’s clients would come after you?”

“He is defending several clients, one big one in particular, but I’m not a lawyer, so it doesn’t make sense for him to come after me.” She drew in a deep, calming breath. “Trent is married and has two kids. If any of his clients were upset with him, they would target his family. Not a lowly office assistant.”

He nodded thoughtfully as he navigated the streets of Milwaukee. He’d taken so many twists and turns she soon had no idea where they were. Some area of the city she didn’t normally enter, based on the boarded-up and run-down homes lining the streets.

It didn’t take long, though, for them to enter a nicer neighborhood. She realized they must have been heading east, as they’d arrived at White Gull Bay, a nicer suburb not far from Lake Michigan. When Steele pulled up to a dark-gray ranch home, she frowned. “Who lives here?”

“Me.” He parked in the driveway, then pushed out of the car. “Wait for a moment.”

She did as he suggested, the recent shooting still fresh in her mind. If Steele hadn’t reacted so quickly, the outcome could have been bad.

Very bad.

Swallowing hard, she unbuckled her seat belt as he opened the door for her. She noticed Steele scanned the area as he ushered her to the front door. A moment later, they were inside.

The warm interior was nice, decorated for comfort rather than looks. There was a plush sofa in an L shape and several watercolor prints on the walls. Her knees felt weak, so she made her way to the sofa and sat down. “How long have you lived here?”

“Four years.” He shrugged out of his MPD jacket and crossed over to join her. “Are you warm enough?”

At some point during the drive, she’d stopped trembling. “Yes.” She unzipped her coat as the warmth soaked into her skin. “How long are we going to be here?”

He eyed her curiously. “As long as it takes.”

She blinked in confusion. “What does that mean?”

“We’re staying here until the upper brass finds a safe house for you.” He didn’t sit but rose and paced the area. “That shooter was waiting for us, as if knowing I’d drop you off at the law office sooner or later.”

His words drew her up short. “You mean, he was watching and waiting the same way you and Officer Greer watched and followed me.”

“Yeah. I guess you could say that.” He scowled. “There must be something you know, Harper. Some reason your ex-husband’s cohorts in crime have come after you.”

“I don’t know anything!” She didn’t hide her sharp tone. “Why don’t you believe me?”

---