off-limits. There were few people in this world Josh trusted. Daniel had been at the top of the list. Dishonoring his memory by becoming romantically involved with his sister wasn’t something he intended to do.
Besides, Josh would never do anything to jeopardize his working relationship with Serena by pursuing her romantically.
Josh had tried on numerous occasions over the past year and a half to talk to Serena about the day Daniel died, but she’d refused to engage in a conversation. Not that he wanted to explain why he’d taken a personal day or why he hadn’t answered the phone when Daniel had called him hours before his death.
What he wanted to tell Serena was how gut-wrenching it had been to learn of Daniel’s murder and then hearing Daniel’s voice message asking for backup.
Josh would live with the knowledge he’d let his fellow marshal and best friend down because of a woman. Lexi, Josh’s girlfriend of three years, had dumped him that morning, accusing him of having feelings for Serena.
Not putting any stock in the accusation, he’d dismissed Lexi’s allegations as irrational jealousy. Lexi had always been territorial, but she’d gone too far this time.
Josh wouldn’t deny he found Serena attractive, with her long dark hair captured back into a low ponytail and her wide-set eyes that saw through him. The tailored pantsuits she wore covered her from head to toe but showed off her athletic and feminine curves underneath. When Josh had first met Serena, she’d been reserved and wary, but she had warmed up over the years that Daniel had been Josh’s friend.
Josh wouldn’t have felt right about pursuing Serena, especially after she started working alongside him and Daniel. Josh had forced his attraction into a box and made himself treat Serena like a little sister when they weren’t working and like a professional colleague when they were.
None of that mattered now. Daniel was gone. Serena was now virtually a stranger, and Josh had no intention of becoming romantically involved with her. His guilt wouldn’t let him. He didn’t deserve happiness or even contentment.
He was to blame for Daniel’s death.
He would never forgive himself.
With a heavy heart, he drove out of the neighborhood and merged onto the highway heading toward Houston’s Intercontinental Airport. The evening traffic had thinned.
He glanced in the rearview mirror, noting the headlights of a black SUV. The same vehicle had been behind them since they left the suburban neighborhood. The big black beast stayed two cars back. Josh moved into the right lane to see what the SUV would do. It changed lanes, as well. At the last second Josh took the off-ramp.
“Hey!” Serena cried, reaching up for the grab-handle.
The SUV shot down the ramp behind them.
“We’re being followed,” Josh stated.
Serena swiveled in her seat to look out the back window. “I can’t make out the license plate.”
Josh stepped on the gas, heading the sedan down a side street. The back window exploded as gunfire pebbled the car.
Up ahead an empty parking lot came into view. Josh made a sharp turn into the parking lot. Then, keeping his foot on the gas, he twisted the steering wheel, sending the sedan into a ninety-degree spin. When the front end faced the oncoming SUV, he stomped on the brake and threw the gear shift into Park.
Popping open the driver’s-side door with one hand, he yanked his Sig Sauer out of its holster beneath his jacket. Beside him Serena did the same with her Walther. Using the door as a shield, he aimed at the oncoming vehicle.
Blinding light from the high beams made him wince. He fired off a shot, taking out one headlight.
Undeterred, the SUV barreled toward them.
Panic cramped Josh’s chest.
The crazy driver wasn’t going to stop.
TWO
“Look out!” Serena cried, as the SUV headed for a collision course with the sedan.
Her heart crawled into her throat and constricted her breathing. Galvanized by self-preservation, she scrambled away from the open passenger door. Anticipation of the SUV crashing into Josh’s sedan stiffened every muscle in her body. She braced herself for the impact and glanced back. Josh hadn’t moved!
“Josh!” Why wasn’t he getting out of the way? “Move it. Now!”
He squeezed off several rounds, hitting the front of the SUV.
At the last second the SUV veered to the left, roaring past the driver’s side of the sedan. The barrel of an assault rifle stuck out the open back passenger window.
A barrage of gunfire split the air. Bullets riddled the fender and door of the rental sedan. The deafening noise echoed inside Serena’s head.
Josh dove inside the car.
Serena rolled to her knees, aimed and fired, hitting the back window. The SUV screamed out of the parking lot and disappeared down the street.
Heavy silence descended.
Fear for Josh overwhelmed Serena. Please, dear Lord, don’t let him be dead.
She jumped to her feet and rushed to the car. “Josh! Are you hurt?”
Josh jolted to a seated position to pound his palm against the steering wheel, his frustration obvious. He yanked out his cell and called 911.
She sagged forward with relief that he was okay and braced a hand on the car roof. Losing her brother had sent her into an emotional tailspin that she’d barely begun to come out of. Losing a partner wasn’t something she wanted to go through, no matter what her personal feelings for said partner were.
Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the edges of her professionalism and pulled it tightly around her before stepping back to allow Josh to climb out of the car.
“Did you happen to see the shooters?” he asked.
“No, the windows were tinted. Do you think they were the same perps from the house?”
“Pretty likely that it was. We saw their faces.” His usually warm brown eyes hardened. “I’m sure they figured if they got rid of us then there’d be no one to ID them.”
“Except the guy I shot could identify them,” Serena said. “We need to let the local marshals know they might have a potential target on their hands.”
“Good idea.” He loosened his tie then swiped a hand down his face.
A smear of blood on the back of his hand caught her attention. “You’re hurt.”
He glanced down at the cut where flying glass had scraped across his skin. “Hazard of the job.”
Right. She knew all too well the dangers that came with being a U.S. marshal. Her brother died in the line of duty. Would she and Josh suffer the same fate?
* * *
The next morning Josh rolled into work five minutes before eight. A sleek skyscraper in downtown St. Louis housed the U.S. Marshals Service district office. Josh took the elevator to the fourth floor and made his way to his desk. Serena was already seated at her station a few feet away. She glanced up, gave him a tight smile and returned her focus to the file in front of her.
In contrast to her neat and tidy desk, Josh’s desk had a mound of files stacked precariously close to the edge. A desktop weekly planner, sporting coffee stains, still showed the previous month. He took a seat and ripped the top sheet off the calendar so that June would show. He powered up his laptop.
“Hey, McCall.” Marshal Burke Trier stopped beside Josh’s desk. Tall and lean with dark eyes, dark hair and a dimpled chin, Burke was the resident ladies’ man. “Glad to see you made it back in one piece. We heard about the ambush last night.”
“News