Trouble With A Badge

Chapter Four

Alexa had to fight through the panic and force herself not to run. She couldn’t. Because running would mean putting the baby right back in the line of fire.

Ditto for her.

But she was in hot water either way. If she voluntarily went with Marshal Lockwood and he was indeed dirty, she could be dead by morning. If she stayed here with Levi, the same might happen at the hands of those attackers. And worse, she’d be putting Levi, his family and the baby in danger.

“Why would I go with you?” Alexa managed to ask Lockwood. It was hard to speak, though, with her breath suddenly so thin.

“Because you’re still a witness in an upcoming trial, that’s why. Or did you forget that?”

Alexa didn’t miss the marshal’s sarcasm. “Forget that a thug like Marcos Culver wants to kill me so I can’t testify against him? No, I didn’t forget.”

“Good. Because your testimony against him is the only thing that prevented you from being charged with hacking into FBI databases.”

Alexa didn’t need to be reminded of this. It was true. She had hacked into the databases looking for the Moonlight Strangler. Had gotten caught, too. And to stop charges from being filed against her, she’d agreed to testify against Marcos, who had worked part time for her as an investigator at her PI agency. She’d learned just enough about Marcos to help put him behind bars for extortion and money laundering, though everyone was certain he was guilty of a lot more than that.

But Lockwood might be guilty of those same things.

Both men were free, too. Lockwood because he hadn’t been officially accused of anything, and Marcos because he was out on bail awaiting the trial.

“I know you’ve continued your investigation into the Moonlight Strangler. Did you hack into WITSEC files, too?” Lockwood asked. “Is that how your identity was blown?”

Levi looked at her, silently asking if that was true. Part of it was. She had indeed been running her own investigation, but she hadn’t done the rest. “I haven’t hacked into anything since I’ve been in WITSEC.”

“But you’ve been investigating the Moonlight Strangler again,” Lockwood corrected.

“Of course I have. He killed a friend of mine and lots of other women. He nearly killed me. I want to catch him.”

Something that Levi and she actually had in common. Not that he or his family would consider that common ground. Still, she was hoping that Levi would want to protect an innocent baby.

Even if that protection didn’t extend to her.

Alexa didn’t bother to hide her frustration. “How could hacking into WITSEC files possibly help me find the Moonlight Strangler anyway?”

“You know there are several people out there who got glimpses of him.” Lockwood didn’t hesitate to say. “People who asked to be protected and given new identities. I believe you wanted to find those people and question them.”

Alexa groaned. “That’d be like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

“But it was your chance to find him. Your chance to redeem yourself.” Lockwood made air quotes around the word redeem.

“How did you even know Alexa was here?” Levi asked the marshal.

Good question, one that Alexa wished she’d already thought to ask. Somehow she had to force her mind to settle down so she could try to think of a way out of this potentially dangerous situation.

Now Lockwood took his time answering. “When I heard Alexa had skipped out of WITSEC I made some calls, and the locals there checked cameras at the traffic lights and saw Alexa driving a green SUV. No one else was in the vehicle, and she took the interstate heading in this direction.”

The cameras hadn’t shown Tasha because Alexa had told her to get on the floor with the baby in the car seat.

Levi made a sound of surprise. “There are plenty of places the interstate goes other than Appaloosa Pass. Why’d you pick here?”

Lockwood frowned. No doubt not very happy about what was beginning to sound like an interrogation. “I figured Alexa would want to get to a lawman she could convince to be on her side, and there aren’t many of those left who are speaking to her. You included. But I figured she’d try to come to one of the other deputies here.”

Alexa did indeed know some of the deputies, but it was a stretch for Lockwood to guess she’d go to Appaloosa Pass. Still, he could have figured that it was just what she would do. Of course, the hired guns who’d chased Tasha and her could have reported back to their boss—Lockwood.

“Besides,” Lockwood went on. “Alexa would have another reason for coming here. To find an ally to continue her investigation into the Moonlight Strangler.”

Again, it wasn’t something she could deny. Well, not fully deny anyway. The Crocketts would indeed do anything to catch the killer, but she doubted they’d want any help from her.

“You should have left the Moonlight Strangler investigation to lawmen who know what they’re doing,” Lockwood said to her like a warning. “You don’t even have your PI creds anymore. And besides, even if by some miracle you were to find him, it wouldn’t undo the death you were partially responsible for.”

At least Lockwood had used the word partially, but there were times, like now, when Alexa felt as if she’d been the one to end Paige’s life. Paige had been her best friend, and the only reason Paige had crossed paths with the killer was because she’d been trying to help Alexa with the investigation.

Something Alexa would never forget, never forgive herself for doing.

And neither would Levi and his family.

The door opened behind Lockwood, sending the marshal, Levi and the deputy all reaching for their guns, but it was just the medic.

The man froze. “Uh, is this a bad time?” he asked, eyeing all three of them and looking ready to bolt. He had a bag of what appeared to be supplies in each hand.

“No,” Levi said.

At the same time, Lockwood answered, “Alexa won’t need your services. I’ll have her checked out when I take her in.”

Alexa was about to continue her argument that she wasn’t going with the marshal, but Levi spoke before she could say anything.

“You can wait in the sheriff’s office,” Levi ordered the medic, and he turned to Alexa once the guy had scurried in that direction. “What exactly have you been doing to find the Moonlight Strangler?”

It took her a moment to gather her thoughts and switch gears. “Everything I could. Contacting criminal informants I used to work with, following up on any lead I could find. But what I didn’t do was compromise my WITSEC identity or any other identities for that matter. Someone else, an insider maybe, is responsible for that.” She aimed a glare right at Lockwood.

If the marshal was concerned about that glare, he didn’t show it. He seemed to smirk. “Alexa is mistaken when it comes to me. She thinks I once worked the same money laundering operation as Marcos Culver.”

“Did you?” Levi came out and asked.

Oh, Lockwood didn’t like that. His eyes narrowed. “Of course not.” If looks could have killed, Lockwood would have already put her six feet under. “There’s not an ounce of proof to connect me to Marcos and those assorted felonies he committed.”

Not proof, exactly, but she’d heard it from a CI that Lockwood had indeed been part of the same illegal operation. A part that Marcos might not even know about since Lockwood could have been using an alias to launder money from the sale of illegal weapons. Now, Lockwood might be concerned that his own criminal activities could be brought to light during Marcos’s trial. And Alexa would be the one to do that if she could link the information she had about Marcos to Lockwood.

If it was true, it would give Lockwood a motive to kill her, but that was still a big if.

“What kind of proof do you have that Alexa is responsible for her identity being compromised?” Levi asked.

She didn’t miss the flicker of surprise that went through Lockwood’s eyes. “Do you care what kind?”

Levi tapped his badge. “Yeah.”

More surprise, followed by some irritation. The marshal obviously wasn’t used to having this authority challenged. “The proof isn’t something I can share with a small-town cop. Too sensitive. Lives are at stake.”

“Yes, including mine,” Alexa verified. “Someone killed a woman tonight. A friend of mine, Tasha McKenna.”

Lockwood stared at her before looking at Levi. “Is that true? Is a woman really dead?”

“Maybe,” Levi answered before she could say anything. “There was an attack and we’re looking for her now.”

“Dead,” Lockwood repeated under his breath. This wasn’t only surprise, but rather what appeared to be shock. “Who killed her?”

“I don’t have names,” Alexa snapped. But Lockwood might know exactly who those men were. “Whoever they are, they also tried to kill Levi and me. What do you know about that?”

Lockwood scowled. “You accusing me of something?”

“Are you guilty of something?” she fired back.

The scowl stayed in place for several more seconds before he chuckled. “Now that’s rich coming from the woman who’d do pretty much anything to make things work for her. That includes making up a story about somebody trying to kill you and your friend if you thought it would get you out of being arrested.”

Levi stepped closer to the marshal. “Someone tried to kill Alexa. I witnessed it, got caught in the crossfire. Since that crossfire happened in this jurisdiction, I will investigate it. That means keeping Alexa in protective custody until I figure out what’s going on.”

That started a staring match between the two lawmen. One that Mack joined in on when he took up position by Levi’s side.

Lockwood finally looked away. “Was a woman really killed?” he asked. “Or is this more of your fairy tale?”

“Someone’s out looking for her body now,” Levi volunteered.

Lockwood cursed. “You shouldn’t have brought anyone else in on this, Deputy.”

Maybe Lockwood was genuinely concerned about the possible security breach in WITSEC files. Or maybe he didn’t want anyone to know that he was a dirty marshal and trying to cover his tracks by committing a murder or two.

“You don’t seem overly concerned that Alexa and the baby could have been hurt or worse,” Levi tossed out there.

“Oh, I’m concerned, all right. Concerned that you’re believing whatever lies Alexa has been telling you. This is an issue for the marshals,” Lockwood argued.

Levi shrugged. “Again, it’s our jurisdiction. If and when we have a body, we’ll let you know and share what we learn with you and the Texas Rangers.”

“The Rangers? Why the heck would you bring them in on this?”

“We sometimes ask them to assist when we’re looking at multiple suspects.” Levi’s attention stayed nailed to Lockwood. “In the meantime, unless you show me conclusive proof that Alexa had something to do with all of this, she’s staying here.”

No profanity from Lockwood this time. He stared at Levi, then chuckled. Not in a funny, ha-ha kind of way, either. It was laced with sarcasm. “Hell must have just frozen over if you actually care what happens to Alexa.”

Care? That was probably too much of a stretch for Levi, considering how he felt about her.

“Excuse us a minute,” Levi said, taking her by the arm and leading her into the hall.

“You’re not going anywhere with her,” Lockwood ordered, but he was talking to himself because Levi had gone somewhere. He ducked inside an interrogation room with her.

“Do you have any real proof that Lockwood’s dirty?” Levi demanded. And yes, he sounded exactly like a cop with that question.

“I heard it from a criminal informant.” She didn’t have to wait long for Levi to groan, and she knew why. CIs often were not reliable. “Do you believe in gut feelings? Because it’s my gut feeling that Lockwood could somehow be connected to Marcos Culver.”

Levi pulled in a long, frustrated breath and leaned against the doorjamb. Alexa could no longer see Lockwood, but Levi glanced in the marshal’s direction, probably trying to decide whose story he believed.

“You’re wasting my time, Deputy,” Lockwood called out. “Just hand over Alexa and you can take the kid.”

She hoped that Levi heard the menacing tone in Lockwood’s demand. Alexa also hoped his tone wasn’t her imagination brought on by fear and a major adrenaline crash. But she didn’t think it was the latter.

“If Lockwood once worked the same operation as Marcos, then why has it taken him five months to hire someone to kill you?” Levi asked.

Alexa had given this plenty of thought. “I’m not sure. Maybe he recently figured out I could connect him to Marcos. Maybe it took Lockwood this long to find me. I’ve been living in Austin, but I haven’t been staying at the house the marshals rented for me. I’ve been checking in daily by phone with the marshals as I’m required to do, but I’ve been moving around a lot.”

Levi stayed quiet a moment. “And Lockwood didn’t mind not having face-to-face contact with you?”

“Oh, he minded. He was always pressing to see me. Always threatening to undo the deal I made with the FBI if I didn’t meet with him. I finally got fed up and called another marshal and met with him instead. Lockwood wasn’t happy, and later that day someone trashed the house where I was supposed to be living.”

Of course, all of that was still circumstantial. All of it including her own gut feeling. Especially since there’d been a rash of vandalism in the neighborhood where the rental house was located.

“Deputy, I’m waiting!” Lockwood shouted. “Unless you want to be arrested, too, for interfering with a federal officer, I suggest you quit yapping and hand Alexa over to me.”

“Please,” she said. Something she’d been saying a lot to Levi in the past hour. “Just help me.”

But Levi didn’t get a chance to answer because of the footsteps. Lockwood came storming toward the hall. Levi met him halfway, walking back into the squad room. Alexa went, too, but she checked over her shoulder to see if there was some way to escape if Lockwood tried to take her. There was.

A back exit off what appeared to be a break room at the end of the hall.

“Now, come on, Alexa.” Lockwood’s tone softened a little, but there was nothing soft about that look in his eyes. “Just give that baby to the deputy and come with me. Whose kid is that anyway?”

Silence. The kind where Alexa could hear everyone’s breathing, including her own.

“Whose kid?” But Lockwood didn’t wait for an answer to his repeated question. “Hell, Alexa, did you steal that baby? Because if you did, I’ll be taking custody of it, too.”

No way would she let that happen, and she silently pleaded with Levi to do whatever it took to stop this. Even if it meant trusting a woman he didn’t want to trust.

Alexa waited. Her heartbeat drumming. Every nerve in her body raw and tense. She had no idea how this was going to play out.

Until Levi glanced at Violet.

And then he moved slightly in front of Alexa. “I’m protecting both Alexa and the baby.”

Lockwood followed Levi’s gaze, and she could almost see the wheels turning in his head. The surprise, followed quickly by the dismissal. “Whose kid is that?” Lockwood pressed. “Because if he or she belongs to someone in WITSEC—”

“The baby’s ours. Mine and Alexa’s.” Levi didn’t even hesitate.

More chuckling from Lockwood. “Really? You actually slept with the woman who helped put your sister-in-law in the grave? And from what I’ve heard, you had a thing for Paige, too.”

A muscle flickered in Levi’s jaw. “In high school. Obviously, Paige chose my brother. And what exactly does that have to do with any of this?”

“Paige’s rejection must have stung,” Lockwood said, dodging the question. The smugness was now in Lockwood’s tone, and he was clearly trying to goad Levi into some kind of confrontation. “For a while anyway. But I guess Paige figured out she’d married the wrong brother since she was divorcing him.”

Levi shook his head. “What I felt or didn’t feel for Paige is none of your business.”

“No, but what is my business is that I’m not sure I can trust you. Not after what went on at San Antonio PD,” Lockwood added. The smug tone had gone up a serious notch.

No quick answer from Levi that time, and because her arm was against his, she felt him tense. Alexa wanted to know what’d happened, but there was no way she would ask in front of Lockwood.

Lockwood, however, didn’t let it drop. “What? You didn’t tell the mother of your own child what you did?” He’d obviously noticed the surprised look on her face.

And there was no doubt it was surprise on her part. Levi was a top-notch cop, and she figured there’d be only one reason he was here with that deputy’s badge—because it was what he wanted.

“We haven’t exactly had time to catch up, what with someone trying to kill Alexa,” Levi answered. “Can’t say the same for you, though. You seem to know a lot about me.”

Lockwood didn’t break his stare with Levi. “It’s my business to know things. When I heard Alexa might be here, I made some calls on the drive over to find out who I’d be dealing with.”

“Then it’s obvious I’ll need to do the same with you.” Levi checked the time. “Now, I’ll have to ask you to leave. Both Alexa and the baby need to be examined for possible injuries, and then I’ll need to get Alexa’s statement about the attack.”

However, Lockwood didn’t budge. “You honestly think I’ll just walk out? Or that I believe you’re the father of that kid? When exactly did you have the time to get Alexa pregnant?”

“I’d rather not share personal details of my sex life,” she snapped. “Suffice it to say that I was pregnant before I was placed in WITSEC.” Thankfully, the lie didn’t stick in her throat.

Lockwood continued to stay put while volleying his glares between Levi and her before the glare finally settled on Levi. “You want proof she was involved with the security breach that compromised her own identity, then here it is in a nutshell. Alexa has been contacting anyone and everyone associated with the Moonlight Strangler. Yeah, she used fake names, but it didn’t take long for it to get around that somebody, a woman, was searching hard to find the killer.”

“So?” Levi challenged.

“So, she reached out to the wrong person.” Lockwood looked at her, motioned for her to finish. “Obviously she reached out to someone who learned where she is so that Marcos could get to her.”

Levi looked at her, probably to see if that was possible. Her expression let him know that it was. She had reached out to a lot of people, and despite all the precautions she’d taken, it was possible that one of them had connected all the dots and figured out who she really was.

“Here Alexa is, involved in another investigation that might have gotten another woman killed,” Lockwood added. “Tasha McKenna, this time.”

Levi obviously had a lot to absorb. He also likely had plenty more questions for her, but his attention stayed on Lockwood. “Do you have a warrant or a judge’s order to take Alexa into custody?”

Lockwood flinched a little. “Not with me. Didn’t think I’d need one.”

“Well, you thought wrong,” Levi insisted. “Mack, show the marshal out and lock up after him.”

Levi put his hand on her back and got her moving toward the sheriff’s office where the medic was waiting. He put her inside but didn’t go in himself. Instead, he stared at Lockwood, waiting for him to leave. Alexa wasn’t sure that was going to happen, but she finally heard the front door open and then shut.

“He’ll be back,” Levi said under his breath.

Levi was right. Even if Lockwood wasn’t dirty, he obviously thought he had a job to do by taking her back into custody. And if he was dirty, then he wouldn’t just give up. He was probably heading somewhere now to get that warrant for her arrest.

“You want me to examine them?” the medic asked, drawing both Levi’s and her attention to the young man.

“I’m all right,” she insisted. “But you should make sure the baby is okay.”

She eased Violet onto the desk. Not the most comfortable place for an examination, but it would have to do. It was too dangerous to try to go to the hospital right now, unless the medic did indeed find something wrong. Then they wouldn’t have a choice.

Levi continued to volley glances between her and the front door. “I know you only got a quick look at the man who attacked us, but could it have been Lockwood who came after us tonight?”

She took a deep breath, nodded. “He was the same size and weight, and it was just a glimpse so I can’t rule him out. But I also can’t rule out the most obvious suspect, Marcos.”

“Or Scottie.” Levi added some profanity under his breath.

Yes, and if it was Scottie, then he’d sent those goons after Tasha and the baby. Levi and she had just gotten caught in the middle. But if this was Marcos’s doing, then it was all on her.

Again.

Alexa couldn’t stop the nightmarish images from coming. Of another attack. The one that’d left Paige dead.

“God, what if I’m responsible for Tasha’s death, too?” Alexa pressed her hand to her mouth, tried to blink back the tears.

“Don’t go there, yet,” Levi snarled. Despite the snarl and the tacked on yet, there was still something in his voice that she hadn’t expected to hear. Sympathy. “I’ll get both you and the baby someplace safe so I can start trying to unravel this.”

He opened his mouth to say something else, but the sound snagged both their attention.

Violet whimpered.

But it didn’t stay a whimper. The baby started to cry.

“She’s not hurt,” the medic announced, easing the blanket back around her. “There’s not a scratch or bruise on her.”