Page 30 of Sergeant's Christmas Siege

Templeton kept going. “When they went out to see what was happening in your father’s compound, there was shooting. Two troopers died.”

Kate had their names emblazoned on her memory, more potent and lasting than any tattoo. If she did anygood in the world, if she made any kind of difference, it was to honor their sacrifice.

“Trooper Timothy David Gerard,” she said quietly. “And Sergeant Jacob Anders Tolliver.”

Templeton’s gaze was too warm. Too bright. “You not only turned your father in, you endured each and every trial of your father, mother, uncles, and other relatives as the chief witness for the prosecution. While other kids were going to high school, Kate, you were going to court.”

She stared back at him, somehow keeping her expression impassive. “Congratulations, Templeton. You have succeeded in telling me a great many things I already know.”

“So here’s what I have to ask myself,” he said. “And what I need to ask you.”

“If this is where you out yourself as some kind of ghoulish junkie of cult leaders, I warn you, I might shoot you.”

“You can always try.” His eyes gleamed, and she hated that she could feel it... everywhere. “But here’s the thing. You’ve already distinguished yourself as somebody who took down groups like that when you were in your teens. I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone that you followed the same path as an adult. From what I understand, when there are strange groups led by potentially dangerous men, you’re the one they send. For going on five years now.”

She wanted to argue that, but it was true. Or it had been true until today, when she’d been sent off on leave anyway.

“I have a lot of experience, that’s all.”

“I’m not asking you. I’m telling you.”

Kate realized in that moment that she was seeing the business side of Templeton, right there in front of her. Not the public relations act. Not the flirt. But the man who had a thick file as full of medals andcommendations as it was of redacted, classified material that all added up to a man who was remarkably good at what he did.

“If it’s common knowledge that you’re the one who’s going to get sent out there when there’s a questionable group that needs looking into, why are we assuming that the arson attempts, which are lame and annoying more than anything else, are aimed at Alaska Force?” he asked, his voice quiet but intense. Almost as intense as the way he focused all of his attention on her. And still not nearly as intense as the way her body reacted, with a shiver she had to fight to repress. “And why are we thinking that a body in your plane is somehow a message to us, or about us? Because the more I think about it, the more I think that this is all about you.”

Seven

To say that Alaska Force didn’t like it when people messed with Grizzly Harbor was an epic understatement.

Templeton hadn’t liked it much when that lunatic preacher had come at them last spring. He really hadn’t liked it when some hired muscle had neutralized Rory and helped himself to Mariah, their client. He took it pretty personally that someone was going around lighting their stuff on fire, and he hadn’t much cared for it when that boat had gone up in flames at the beginning of the month.

But it was amazing to him how much less he liked it when it was all aimed straight at his trooper.

He studied her face in the dim shadows of the front seat of her car while Juneau did its early nighttime routine all around them. And the darkness might have felt endless at this time of year, but Templeton found he didn’t mind much when Kate was there beside him, looking fierce and stubborn. Just the way he liked her.

“Of course this doesn’t have to do with me,” she said dismissively. As he’d expected she would. “And it certainly doesn’t have to do with my father.”

“What makes you so sure?”

It had taken them a few days to circle back around to Kate. They’d waited out the troopers and their initial investigation. They’d smiled politely and pretended to agree when told—repeatedly—to leave it alone.

Templeton was the one who’d done a deeper dive into Trooper Holiday’s background. They’d already known she was the go-to for questionable groups. They knew all about her history with the Troopers, how she’d been rapidly promoted, and the cases she’d been involved with. That had seemed like sufficient information to have on hand for an initial interview.

But Templeton had wanted more. Not entirely because of the case, he could admit. But nonetheless, he’d dug in and found gold.

“The last time I spoke to any of my relatives was something like ten years ago,” Kate said now. “I have nothing to do with them anymore. An arrangement everyone involved is perfectly happy with. Especially me.”

“You think they’re happy with you?” Templeton laughed, though he knew it wasn’t his normal laugh. This one landed a lot more hollow. “I can tell you from experience, whenever prison is involved, there are bad feelings. That’s just a fact.”

Kate shrugged. “I’m sure they have bad feelings. I don’t have any feelings. About them, about my childhood, anything. That’s a closed chapter.”

As usual, he had the urge to touch her.

And as usual, he didn’t.

His halo was so bright by now he figured he could light up even the early Juneau night.

“Is that how it works?” he asked, his drawl a little too edgy. “You decide a chapter’s closed and that’s that? You must be the one person alive who gets to choose not to be affected by their childhood.”

---