Page 12 of Steele

“How could it?” Steele asked. “She’s in danger because of her ex-husband. Either—as she pointed out—from him personally or from someone who thinks that taking her will force him into not testifying.”

“Okay, okay,” Brock muttered. “I see your point.”

“Good. Because she’s the victim here, bro. Not the perp,” Steele shot back.

“Maybe, but we need answers.” Brock turned at the next stoplight. “Sooner than later would be nice.”

“If I had them, I’d give them to you.” She was tired of defending herself. She wasn’t a criminal and didn’t condone her ex-husband’s behavior. Not in a million years would she keep a secret that would place her and her baby in danger.

Swallowing hard, she relaxed against the seat and rubbed a soothing hand over her belly. The baby was kicking again, the movement reassuring. Her feet were still killing her, but all the running and fence climbing to escape danger hadn’t caused any permanent damage.

Yet.

A shiver that had nothing to do with the January temperature rippled through her. If these guys kept coming after her, they might cause her to have a miscarriage. Or deliver a very premature baby. Seven months and one week was far enough along for a baby to survive, but only with the expert care provided within a neonatal ICU.

Bands of panic tightened around her chest. No, she couldn’t allow that to happen. Drawing in slow deep breaths, she struggled to remain calm. Three months ago, she’d joined the church located just two blocks from her apartment building. She’d found solace and hope there, the members welcoming her with open arms. Like a sponge, she absorbed everything she’d heard about God, their Lord Jesus, and having faith.

She firmly believed God would protect her and her child.

* * *

It wasn’teasy to shrug off his rookie mistake of not checking Harper’s car for a tracking device or having her dump her phone sooner. A stupid oversight that had nearly gotten them both killed.

The bad guys hadn’t shown up on the street outside her law office by accident. No, they’d known her routine, had watched her maybe longer than the police had.

But why attempt to kidnap her? That was the part Steele didn’t understand. If Harper was right about her ex-husband not caring about her, then using her as leverage to prevent him from testifying wouldn’t work.

Unless the guys who’d tried to take her didn’t know that. After all, she was pregnant with her ex-husband’s child.

When his phone rang, he winced, knowing it was likely Joe or Rhy. Seeing Joe’s name on the screen, he quickly answered. “What’s up, Lieutenant?” Up until a week ago, Joe had been one of them. Now their teammate was technically their boss.

“What were you thinking taking Ms. Crane to your house?” Joe Kingsley demanded. “Have you lost your mind?”

“I was waiting for a safe house.” He kept his tone reasonable. “Where else would I take her?”

“Anywhere else,” Joe snapped. Then he sighed. “Look, Steele, I appreciate you were in a predicament, but I need to you to remain focused.”

“Like you did when Elly Finnegan was in danger?” The comment shot from his mouth before he could stop himself. He winced. “Never mind. I shouldn’t have said that. Please know I’m laser focused on finding these guys. I should have expected them to be tracking her car or phone, more likely her car since they shot it up. Did the officers who responded to the scene get anything useful? Shell casings? Bullet fragments?”

“Yes, they found casings and slugs embedded in Ms. Crane’s car,” Joe admitted. Thankfully, he let the comment about Elly, his fiancée, slide. “The casings appear to be the same as we found outside the shooting at your squad. The lab will let us know for sure.”

“Okay.” The slugs and shell casings would only come into play if they recovered a weapon for a comparison. “The car I saw was a brown SUV, maybe a Ford Bronco or a Nissan. I don’t know how many auto companies make brown SUVs, as it’s not a common color. Something to check on.”

“I’ll run a DMV record of brown SUVs registered in the state of Wisconsin,” Joe said. “But that doesn’t mean it’s not a rental, or even from out of state, like Detroit or Chicago.”

According to the AFT, both cities had ties to the Grotto gunrunning operation. “I know. I wish I had a license plate number, but I don’t.” He thought back to the incident outside his house. “I didn’t get a close look at the weapon in his hand either, but it was similar to a SIG Sauer.”

“Glocks use the same sort of ammo as the SIG Sauer,” Joe reminded him.

“The weapon I saw wasn’t a Glock.” It wasn’t much of a clue, but it was all he had.

“Okay, we’ll lean toward the SIG, then.” Joe was silent for a moment. “Steele, I know I didn’t listen to your warnings the way I should have when it came to protecting Elly. But don’t follow in my footsteps. Things could have ended very differently for us.”

He glanced at Brock, who kept his eyes trained on the road. “I hear you loud and clear, Lieutenant.”

“Stop the ‘lieutenant’ baloney and call me Joe. The way you always did.” With that, Kingsley ended the call.

“What was that about Elly?” Harper asked.

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