Special Forces Father by Mallory Kane Read Free Book Online Page A

day.”
    “Right. Well, Canto was murdered a little over a year ago. His granddaughter was at home and heard the attack. She claims that the menwho broke in kept repeating three names—Ernest Yeoman, Senator Stamps and Paul Guillame.”
    “Paul?” Travis laughed. “They yelled Paul’s name? For what? Because I’ll personally testify that Paul couldn’t beat up a teddy bear.”
    “Your brother Harte caught the case. Oh—” She gasped, suddenly remembering Harte’s injury. “Travis,” she said, laying a hand on his forearm. “Harte was shot. In thechest!” At Travis’s look of horror, she quickly amended, “I’m sorry. Of course he’s fine. Almost as good as new.”
    “Harte—shot?”
    She nodded. “He was shot by Yeoman’s men, after he and Dani had been running and hiding from them all night during the storm.”
    Travis shook his head tiredly. “What? I’m totally lost. What’s been going on and what does it all have to do with you—and yourson?”
    “I’m not sure I understand it all yet myself, but here’s all I know. Your brother was holding Danielle Canto in protective custody until time came to testify in the trial of a local businessman named Ernest Yeoman. She had heard the men who killed her grandfather say Yeoman’s name, as well as Stamps and Paul Guillame.”
    “Why were the men talking about Stamps and Paul?” Travis asked,still looking bewildered.
    “The theory is that Stamps and a couple other local politicians were accepting bribes to keep the tariffs on imports low, to help smugglers. Apparently Yeoman has been suspected of smuggling in illegal imports for years.”
    “That doesn’t explain Paul.”
    Kate shrugged. “I can’t explain that. But the Friday before Yeoman’s trial was to start, there was a hugestorm—wind, lightning, flooding. Someone threw a Molotov cocktail and a smoke bomb through the window of the bed-and-breakfast where Danielle was staying, so they had to run. They ended up—”
    “Wait. Who had to run?”
    “Harte and Danielle. After hiding and running all night, they ended up at Paul Guillame’s house. Apparently Harte was shot before they got to Paul’s house. Once they werein the house, a shoot-out ensued and Stamps shot Paul. Yeoman was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in Freeman Canto’s death. I suppose Danielle’s testimony about hearing Stamps’s name wasn’t enough to link him to the murder. But he’s coming to trial for shooting Paul Guillame.” She spread her hands. “Personally, I’m not completely clear on why the D.A. is pushing this so hard. I mean, Guillameeven says it was an accident. But the D.A. is determined to prosecute Stamps. He wants me to tear down the defense’s claim of temporary insanity. Now whoever is pushing for him to get off on a temporary-insanity plea has stolen my baby.” Her breath hitched. She didn’t know how much longer she could live without knowing whether Max was okay.
    Travis shook his head as if shaking it would helpall the information settle into his brain. “You’re sure Harte’s all right?”
    She nodded. “He brought some papers over to my office yesterday morning. He said he was sore and tired but was feeling good otherwise.” Then she smiled. “By the way, I’m pretty sure he and Danielle Canto are quite the item, after spending that entire night together hiding from the bad guys.”
    “Looks like I’vemissed a lot these past five years.”
    Kate’s breath stuck in her throat. He had no idea how true his words were.
    Travis finished his coffee and set the mug down. She noticed that he clasped his hands in front of him, probably to hide their trembling. She was a good doctor, but she didn’t need a medical degree to see that something terrible had happened to him. The signs were obvious—weightloss, trembling, the weakness and the sunken eyes. He was suffering from PTSD, maybe brought on by the rigors of some dangerous mission or supersecret operation.
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