Page 61 of Serve ’N’ Protect

Markus went to the fireplace. The knife sat peacefully on a display trivet attached to the back of the case. As he stared at the long, shiny blade, he had a vague recollection of a flash of gold protruding from his abdomen. It was weird, surreal even, looking at a murder weapon that had to have been dripping with his and Jack’s blood.

“Use this.” Kade stood beside him, holding out a white towel he must have retrieved from the kitchen.

Markus opened the case, reaching up with the towel to grab the knife and wincing as the skin around his wounds stretched to their limits. For another long moment, he stared at the blade resting on the white towel. Shiny metal glinted, the many faceted gemstones twinkling as they caught the light and seemed to be mocking him. It had to be worth thousands of dollars. At least Jack and his family would finally have justice.

After wrapping the knife carefully in the towel, he turned to face Mansfield. All it would take were three steps and he could plunge the knife into the guy’s neck and save the taxpayers all the money it would take to keep the guy alive in prison for the rest of his life. Too bad he couldn’t take that money and give it to Jack’s family instead.

A heavy hand landed on his shoulder. Kade’s. Markus had a feeling his friend knew exactly what he was thinking.

Unmoving, he watched Mansfield. Under his intense scrutiny, the guy looked away. Emotions roiled inside him, ones he seriously needed to keep in check. Rage. Relief. Sadness. Those he could easily identify. So why in the hell couldn’t he figure out what he felt for Cassidy?

“Ghost, stay.” They didn’t need Ghost having another Cujo moment. To Mansfield, he bit out, “Get up.”

The moment Mansfield stood, Ghost growled, hair along his spine standing straight up.

“Care to do the honors?” Matt held out a set of handcuffs.

Oh, yeah. Markus gave his friend a curt nod of thanks as he handed Matt the wrapped-up knife in exchange for the cuffs. “Turn around,” he ordered Mansfield, then cuffed him behind his back and began ushering him to the door. “You’re under arrest for the murder of a federal officer and for the attempted murder of another.” He didn’t bother reciting the host of weapons charges for the knife and the gun. Unless it was in a prison exercise yard, the murder charges alone meant Mansfield would never again see the light of day.

They’d already worked out the logistics. Kade and Matt would transport Mansfield in the back of the SUV they’d arrived in. Markus and Ghost would follow in the other.

As they pulled from the curb, a peaceful yet numb feeling settled around him. It was finally over. Now he and Ghost could get back to their lives. No longer did they have to hide out in Leonardtown. He could finish out his recuperation in his own house in Virginia. The realization should have sent a surge of triumph through his veins, but it didn’t. Because it meant leaving Cassidy.

In a heartbeat, his priority shifted. Given what he knew about himself, he didn’t know what he could offer her in the end. Probably nothing. Maybe nothing. Besides, they lived nearly two hours from each other. But wasn’t that what weekends were for?

As he followed Matt’s taillights, he wondered if this time would be different. Could he actually make a relationship work for the first time in his life without fucking it up?

He honestly didn’t know.

Chapter Twenty-One

Cassidy set down the gel pack she’d been holding against her bruised, swollen cheek. It was 12:05 a.m. Christmas Day had officially arrived.

She looked up from the brand-new laptop that had arrived just before dinner and stared out the window to the empty driveway next door. It had taken hours to install the necessary accounting software she needed and then to reload the partially completed spreadsheets from the external hard drive. After her last conversation with Walt Teedle, she worried that this was all a waste of time. Blissfully, though, it had kept her mind occupied. That and finishing making cookies for the kids in the neighborhood.

Lights twinkled on the tree and the scents of pine and cinnamon filled the air, all part of the holiday ambiance she’d surrounded herself with, yet the celebratory vibe eluded her.

Worrying about Markus took precedence over any cheery thoughts. He hadn’t heeded her warning that he wasn’t ready to be running around chasing after bad guys. At least his friends, Matt and Kade, were with him, and Ghost. Ghost would always have Markus’s back.

She logged into her email account and clicked on an old message from Teedle Tech, the one containing the password for the files Walt Teedle had originally forwarded in a separate email. After copying the password, she clicked open the other file and pasted it into the login box.

Incorrect password.

She tried again, typing it out this time, but got the same result, then tried one more time, pasting to be sure she wasn’t being sloppy. Ditto.

Incorrect password.

“Great.” Another hurdle to get over. What should have been a simple business audit had turned into an embarrassing mess that made her seem totally incompetent.

After tapping out a quick message to Walt requesting a password refresh, she closed the laptop, running her fingers across the clean, shiny cover. Without the laptop, she’d doubtlessly lose the Teedle account. She still might. In that case, there’d be no referral and she’d have to go back to placing more ads for new clients. Somehow, she’d pay Markus back as soon as possible, but having the laptop now was a godsend.

Markus might have difficulty putting his feelings into words, but she saw this for what it was. A very kind, thoughtful gesture, one that left her wondering what other facets of his personality lay hidden beneath that hard, emotional shell. If only he’d let them out for her to see.

Needing something else to stave off the worry that refused to diminish in the slightest, she lay on the floor, doing some of the stretching and leg-lifting strength exercises he’d taught her.

Markus and Ghost had driven off nearly eight hours ago. Aside from her friends calling to wish her happy holidays and her family to confirm Christmas breakfast at 9 a.m. sharp at her parents’ house, her phone had been eerily silent. Reaching out to Markus had been at the forefront of her mind since the moment he’d driven off. She’d grabbed her phone then set it down again no less than four times.

If things had gone well tonight, that meant he’d found the person who tried to kill him. She wanted that for him, of course, but then he would go back to his own world and leave her behind.