Noni’s face heated.
Denver coughed. “I understand.” He glanced toward the bedroom doors. “It’ll give me a better protection point. Guard dog sleeps by the door.”
Franny nodded smugly.
Noni cut her a sharp look, and her aunt rolled her eyes. Damn it.
CHAPTER
24
Denver lumbered out of the courtroom with Noni behind him and Malloy behind her. Franny and Verna followed along with Tina, who’d held the baby during the hearing. The hearing had been closed because of Talia’s age, so he hadn’t had to worry about unwelcome threats.
“I can’t believe it went that smoothly,” Noni said, holding the sleeping baby. “I mean, it just happened.”
Actually, they’d had all the necessary documents as well as the testimony of a cop. Malloy had come through and big time. Now that it was done, the cop was safe. The paperwork was authentic.
“We’re almost legal,” Noni whispered to Talia again.
Denver straightened. She was right. “You have temporary custody and will need to do the actual adoption in Alaska.” Heath had explained jurisdiction ad nauseam, but that was the gist of it. “So you’ll need all the same documents up there. But you’ll be successful.” Man, sometimes things worked well in the court system when the welfare of a kid was at stake. It almost gave him faith in the system again. Almost.
The hair on the back of his neck prickled, and he looked around the hallway of the courthouse. Was he being watched? Lawyers, clients, some people just hanging out. Maybe jurors on a break. He tried to study them and find anybody out of place. They all blended.
That wasn’t good.
His instincts were, though. Somebody was watching him—watching them. He had a plan to execute, and it was going to piss everyone off. But he had to get moving to get it done.
He slowed to be closer to Noni. Damn it. He had to get out of this fat suit. “Are we covered outside?” he asked Malloy quietly.
The cop apparently caught the undercurrent, because he sped up on his crutches. “We are.” He gestured at two uniformed officers waiting at the front door. “We don’t have all the gang members rounded up, so a protection detail was easy to obtain.”
Denver kept his body between Noni and the exit. “Are you still in trouble?”
“Some but not as much. Taking down an entire gang kind of increased my worth around here.” Pain cut lines across the cop’s forehead.
“You need a rest, Malloy,” Denver said, opening the door and scouting the outside. In fact, the cop was taking a break whether he liked it or not. Malloy’s crappy car waited, guarded by two patrol cars. “Did you even take a pill?”
“No. I’ll rest when this is done,” Malloy said.
“I could use a rest, too,” Denver said, leading the way to the vehicle. He hoped he didn’t lose Malloy’s friendship over this. Sucking in air, he took the baby from Noni, gave her a little kiss on her little head, and settled her in the far back car seat that Tina had picked up. Talia giggled, and his heart melted.
Who was going to kiss her knee when she fell riding a bike? Or scare off teenaged boys when she was old enough to date? Noni would do it and well, but alone? And who’d protect Noni?
He swallowed, wanting them. But he couldn’t put them in danger. Couldn’t get them hurt.
Noni sat next to the baby while Franny, Verna, and Tina sat in the middle. Malloy limped into the passenger side, folding his crutches, and Denver stretched into the driver’s seat.
“To the safe house,” Malloy said. “I’ve told the protective detail to wait and then follow, making sure nobody else follows us.”
Denver looked around, unable to shake the feeling of being watched. His body tensed. Everybody in the car needed protection, and he had to be ready. “Somebody is out there.” But hell. It could just be the FBI. They were certainly keeping an eye on him, if the two agents he’d made inside the building were indicative. He drove slowly out of the lot and started heading in the right direction. Malloy’s gun was in a shoulder holster that apparently didn’t bother his wounded arm. Or if it did, he didn’t seem to care.
Denver calculated the distance. Oh, this was going to be ugly.
Malloy searched outside, keeping an eye on the surroundings. “I don’t see anybody following us.”
“Neither do I,” Denver said, moving through the center of town and appreciating the Christmas lights sparkling from every storefront. The women were too quiet. He’d scared them. He had to get their minds off the danger. “Any plans for Christmas?” he asked Malloy.
Tina piped up. “We’re supposed to head to Tahoe for a ski vacation, but I’m thinking that is out of the question now.”
