Emergency Response. Susan Sleeman

       THREE

      Noah paced the communal living area on the first floor of the team’s remodeled firehouse. Upper floors of the historic building held individual condos for the team members, while the kitchen, dining room and game room were available to them on the main level. Kerr Development once owned the historic building and had it slated to be sold until Darcie saved Winnie Kerr’s life on a callout. Winnie was so grateful for Darcie’s care and ensuing friendship that she remodeled the firehouse as a home for the entire FRS. She donated the building to the county, along with an endowment that allowed the team to live there rent-free. A sweet deal for all of them.

      Tonight all of the team members and their significant others had gathered for a group dinner, but Darcie’s attack changed everything. They’d put dinner on hold and waited for Darcie to provide details of the assault after she took Isabel upstairs for a nap.

      Noah had to give the team credit. They’d restrained their natural instinct to take charge and go barreling out the door to find Darcie’s attacker right away. Any one of them, from team leader Jake Marsh, to sniper Brady Owens, bomb expert Cash Dixon, or negotiators Skyler Hunter and Archer Reed, were capable of mounting a hunt for Darcie’s attacker. Instead, they’d patiently sat in wait. Maybe it had to do with the addition of Skyler’s husband, or Brady’s and Cash’s fiancées to the group. Maybe they served as a calming influence on the high-strung team.

      Brady suddenly shot to his feet. He never sat still for long and had been whittling away on a chunk of wood, the shavings piling up near his feet. “How long does it take to get a kid to sleep?”

      “Cut her some slack, honey.” His fiancée, Morgan, looked up from where she perched on the arm of the chair he’d occupied. “After Isabel’s scare, Darcie likely wants to be sure she’s sound asleep before leaving her alone.”

      “I know, but—” He dropped back into the chair.

      Morgan pressed a finger against his lips and surprisingly, he smiled up at her and didn’t argue, but fell silent.

      Looked like Noah’s take on the significant others was on target.

      Footsteps sounded above, then Noah heard the click of shoes coming down the stairway. He crossed the room to see Darcie slowly descend. She was long and lean, with legs that didn’t seem to quit. She’d changed out of her work uniform of black pants and polo shirt into jeans and a bright blue sweater with a high collar. The color highlighted the generous red tint to her hair, something he’d often thought was related to her fiery personality. And the neckline covered the bruises on her throat—a choice that he figured was probably deliberate.

      “You poor thing.” Cash’s fiancée, Krista, rushed over to Darcie and led her toward an open chair as if she was a fragile teacup. “I can’t imagine having a guy try to choke me. And bullets? I’d faint.”

      Morgan joined them, her blond hair standing out in contrast to the dark-headed pair. She patted Darcie’s shoulder, then squatted next to her. “It’s terrible. Just terrible. What can we do to help?”

      Darcie shrank back from their enthusiastic concern. She started turning a small silver ring around and around on her pinkie finger. The ring had belonged to her daughter, Haley, and Noah knew she played with it when she was nervous. She hated being the center of attention like this and rarely let people focus on her. She usually sidestepped questions about her life and her past, but the attack seemed to have rattled her more than she was letting on, as she simply stared into the distance.

      “This is crazy,” Noah said, purposefully pulling the attention from her.

      “What is?” Krista pushed her hair from her face to look up at him.

      Noah forced a lighthearted tone to his voice. “For the first time ever, someone is mothering Darcie instead of her taking them under her wing.”

      “Noah’s right.” Jake Marsh smiled down on Darcie from where he stood by the blazing fireplace, his stance wide and ready for action, as usual. Jake was tough and in charge, but Noah also knew how much he cared and that he would put his own life on the line for his team members.

      “Guess it’s a side benefit of having more women around.” Cash smiled up at Krista, and Noah couldn’t help but gape. The former Army Ranger and bomb tech seemed to have mellowed out, too.

      “What does that say about me, then?” Skyler got up and stared at Cash. Petite, with curly red hair, she was a lot tougher than her pint-sized stature made her seem. And she was one of the finest negotiators and detectives Noah had ever met.

      “Don’t take offense, sweetheart.” Logan claimed his wife’s hand. “You have a heart of gold, but most of the time you’re more in a round up criminals and take names’ kind of mode.”

      Noah expected Skyler to get mad, and he waited for her response.

      She wrinkled her nose. “I kind of am, aren’t I?”

      Logan smiled fondly at Skyler. “As an FBI agent, I appreciate that, as do your teammates. Krista and Morgan, on the other hand...?”

      “Hey.” Morgan snapped her head up. “Don’t put words in our mouths. We like Skyler just fine, don’t we, Krista?”

      “Well.” Krista’s face suddenly lit with mischief. “Maybe she could shrink an inch so I’m not the shortest person in the group, but yeah, otherwise she’s great.”

      Skyler scowled in mock offense and the teammates broke out in laughter. Even Darcie smiled, once again proving to Noah that this team acted more like family than coworkers. Darcie was blessed to be a part of the group. He wished he had the same thing on the job, but most of the guys he hung with were married and focused on their own families, and he was like a fifth wheel.

      And his real family? They hadn’t spoken much since they’d learned about Ashley. About his son, Evan. Her parents had raised the baby and they wouldn’t let his parents anywhere near their only grandson. Noah deserved their reproach, but it stung. And to make matters worse, they’d recently learned that Evan wasn’t brought up in the Christian faith. It weighed heavy on Noah’s mind, night and day. And put a boatload of guilt in his heart, too.

      “I may not be the soft and squishy type,” Skyler said, transferring her focus to Darcie, “but I can make a mean cup of tea. I’ll get you one.” She went straight to the adjoining kitchen.

      Jake dropped into a recliner and pushed it back, his focus locked on Darcie. “Noah gave us the basics of your attack, but I’d like to hear about it in your own words.”

      Her face blanched. Noah grabbed onto the fireplace mantel to keep from crossing over to her to offer comfort. Not only wasn’t it a good idea, but she’d also hate the extra attention.

      Krista took Darcie’s hand. “Take your time, sweetie. I understand. I’ll never forget the creep who tried to kill me, but it gets easier to deal with as time passes. I promise.”

      Noah had heard something about Krista’s abduction six months ago when Cash had saved her life, but Noah didn’t know more than that.

      Darcie extracted her hand, leaned back in her chair and started in on the details of her attack. She described the suspect and her breathing intensified as tears started to form. She was a strong woman, but even strong women cried after a harrowing attack, and it was going to take Darcie time to get over the experience.

      Her voice faltered and she blinked hard. “I don’t know this creep, but Noah wonders if it’s related to someone from a callout