Guardian of Justice Read Online Free Page A

where’s my ride-along? I told you to watch out for her.”
    Kira started to answer, but one look at the fear on Betsy’s face told her to wait. The child was Kira’s priority now. “Come here, Betsy. It’s okay. I’ll make sure you’re safe.”
    “She was next to the car just a minute ago,” the other officer answered.
    Dallas didn’t sound happy, a fact she could hear in his voice even from the other side of the house. “Kira!”
    Betsy started to run, but Kira caught her.
    “We’reback here,” she said quickly, then glanced at Betsy. “It’s okay, honey. It’s not Mickey. This is a police officer. He won’t hurt you.”
    Dallas rushed around the corner of the home, then came to an abrupt halt. “Oh, there you are.”
    Betsy let out a squeal, and Kira wrapped her arm around the little girl. “It’s okay.” Dallas was tall, with broad shoulders, a menacing sight with the glow of the streetlight behind him. He must look frightening to such a petite girl. Kira let go of Betsy, stood up and offered her hand instead. The little girl shied away when Dallas looked down at her. Betsy clung to her ragged bear…what was left of it.
    Kira grasped the child’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Betsy, Officer Brooks is our friend. He’s going to help you, and Cody, too. Aren’t you, Officer Brooks?”
    Dallas’s blue eyes met hers, and Kira felt his anger fade. He reminded her of her oldest brother, Kent. Strong and stubborn. But when it came to kids, she could see his soft side.
    “Yeah, we’ve been worried about you, Betsy. We couldn’t find you.” He knelt down several feet away and smiled at the little girl. “Did you dial 911 for help?”
    Betsy tightened her grip and shook her head, inching behind Kira.
    “It’s okay if you did. It was very smart to call. And we came here to help you. Betsy, did you get any scratches from the broken window?” he asked gently. Kira realized that with his military haircut, Dallas looked a little like a teddy bear, with a stocky body and full face shadowed with dark stubble.
    The little girl kept moving farther away, spinning Kira around in the process. As soon as Betsy realized she was face-to-face with Dallas again, she ducked behind Kira once more.
    “I’m going to stay right here. I won’t come any closer. Can you show Miss Matthews your arms so we can make sure you’re okay?”
    Betsy showed one arm while keeping a death grip on Kira, then switched.
    Dallas gave a smile of approval. “Thanks, Betsy. Could you answer a few questions for me?”
    The frightened child nodded, peeking out from behind Kira.
    “Do you know if Cody was playing baseball tonight?”
    She shook her head.
    “You don’t know?” Dallas prompted.
    “No, he wasn’t playing baseball,” Betsy said softly.
    Dallas glanced at her bear, then back at her. “What was Cody doing?”
    “He was mad at Mickey,” she whispered, repeating the story of Mickey hurting her, so Cody took a swing at him with the bat. “I don’t like Mickey. Cody don’t, neither.”
    Officer Brooks glanced at Kira, obviously sharing her concern. “Did Mickey hurt you, Betsy?” Kira asked.
    Betsy immediately shook her head. Her response was almost too quick.
    “If he’s hurting you, or your brother, or your mom, Betsy, you need to tell Miss Matthews so we can make sure he doesn’t anymore.”
    Betsy turned away.
    “Let’s go back into the house. We can talk more later.”
    Dallas hadn’t missed the child’s body language, either, Kira noted. She watched the interaction with admiration. She didn’t have fond memories of the officer who’d taken her and her younger half-brother Jimmy away after her parents’ car accident. And she would never forget the night Jimmy’s family had taken him away, leaving her with the foster family. Which was half the reason she was here tonight. It was time someone made Protective Services fit the name.
    After Officer Brooks asked Betsy several more simple questions, he said,