Guardian. Terri Reed

the vehicle charged forward, the driver’s intention clear. He was about to ram into her. Leo stomped on the gas and swerved around Alicia, putting his SUV between her and the muscle car. Leo tensed, bracing for impact.

      The driver of the other vehicle jammed on his brakes, barely missing Leo’s SUV, as Leo and Alicia zipped past him.

      Slowing to allow Alicia to pull in front of him again, Leo twisted the wheel, bringing the SUV into a 180-degree spin so that he now faced the assailant’s car. He hit the dash lights that set off the unmistakable police strobe. The muscle car peeled out, sending a tail of gravel flying through the air, and sped toward town. Leo hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand, torn between wanting to give chase and the need to protect Alicia and her son.

      Decision made, he made another, slower U-turn and caught up to Alicia. He used the vehicle’s Bluetooth to call Chief Jarrett and reported the incident. Unfortunately, it had been too dark to make out the car’s license plate.

      “I’ll have patrol officers searching for the car and driver. Keep Alicia and Charlie safe, Agent Gallagher,” Jarrett instructed with worry in his tone.

      “Count on it.” Leo hung up and followed Alicia when she turned off onto a long gravel drive that led past rolling grass pastures populated with horses. A solid-looking log-and-brick house sat at the end of the drive, along with two other outbuildings and a large barn.

      He drew the SUV to a halt beside Alicia’s smaller vehicle. She sat there not moving. Concern arced through him. He quickly got out and released True. The dog took a second to assess the area before racing off to a patch of grass.

      Leo opened the driver’s side door of Alicia’s car. Her fingers were wrapped around the steering wheel and her breathing was shallow. Her long, wavy dark hair created a veil that blocked her face from his view. He touched her shoulder. “Alicia, it’s okay. You’re home. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

      She leaned her head back against the headrest. “If you hadn’t been with us...”

      “But I was,” he said gently. He held out his hand. “Let’s get Charlie inside.”

      She peeled her fingers from the steering wheel and took Leo’s hand. Her skin was soft but cold as she curled her fingers around his. “Can you get him?”

      He swallowed back the terror the request sent spiraling through him. Two decades had passed since he’d last held a child in his arms. The last one had been his little sister the day she died. Guilt clawed up his throat. He took a shuddering breath and opened the back passenger door.

      After releasing the buckle on Charlie’s car seat, he cautiously lifted the sleeping boy into his arms, careful to keep the child’s leg from catching on the holstered gun at his waist, and held him close to his chest with one arm. His heart hurt but he pushed through the pain to wrap his free arm around Alicia to help her toward the front door. True trotted over and stayed at his side.

      The front door opened before they could climb the four stairs to the porch. True growled and positioned himself in front of Leo.

      A grizzled man with gray hair, dressed in a plaid flannel shirt, jeans and cowboy boots, stood there with a shotgun in his gnarled hands. No doubt Harmon Howard, Alicia’s father.

      Leo stiffened. He’d been an agent long enough to recognize the protective gleam in the man’s eyes, and he knew better than to make any sudden moves or the situation could get out of hand fast.

      “Who are you?” The old man’s jaw jutted forward. “What are you doing with my daughter and grandson?”