They were going to look at mug shots. Nothing more. Jenna was a deputy who reported to him. Off-limits in more ways than he could count. Besides, he wasn’t interested in a relationship, not after the way he’d indirectly caused his wife’s death. Granted, he wasn’t the one who’d run a red light, but he had been driving.
He’d supported his wife through law school and had been proud of her when she’d obtained a position at a high-powered law firm doing corporate legal work and family law. Helen had been passionate about her career but innocent in some ways to the seedy side of life. Jenna was tough, edgy, and had a chip on her shoulder the size of Mount Hood. Okay, maybe Jenna had a point about the way he’d instinctively opened doors for her, but she was a woman. His grandmother had ingrained manners into him from the moment he’d gone to live with her at the tender age of eight, after his parents were killed.
When Griff had learned the details of how his parents had operated on the wrong side of the law, he’d made a silent promise to be a cop. To bring people like his parents to justice.
He blew out his breath and concentrated on getting back to the issue at hand. One of his deputies had been brutally assaulted, and he was determined to find out who was holding a grudge against Jenna and why. And how did the bracelet fit in, if at all?
She had a point about the Brookmont scandal. The arrests of the crooked mayor and police chief had rocked the foundation of the entire city. Especially once they’d uncovered the drug running that had been going on for several years right beneath the public’s nose.
“You really think this recent attack on you is related to Brookmont’s former chief of police?” he asked, breaking the silence.
“I think it’s a possibility we can’t afford to ignore,” she said. “It’s a good thing that Nate happens to be down in South Carolina helping to move Melissa’s stuff back here. Maybe he should extend his leave of absence a bit. If they’re coming after me, they’d likely go after him, too.”
“True,” Griff agreed. He slanted a glance at Jenna. “And you’re sure no one is giving you a hard time? What about the new guy, Jake Matthews?”
“He’s fine,” she said with a careless shrug. “Seems to fit in well enough. Better than Simms ever did.”
He lifted a brow at the bitter note. He’d known there was tension between Jenna and Simms, but it was possible that more had transpired between the two of them than he realized. Had Simms made a move on her? Griff clenched his jaw and reminded himself that he preferred to have his deputies handle their interpersonal issues on their own.
Logic that didn’t work well when it came to Jenna.
He turned into the parking lot of the building that housed his office and parked near the entrance. He climbed out from behind the wheel and met Jenna at the door. After unlocking it, he held it open so she could precede him inside.
Jenna led the way to his office and dropped into a chair as he took his familiar seat behind the desk. He booted up his computer and clicked on the file that contained their closed cases.
“Here. Do any of these guys seem like they may have been the one who attacked you?” he asked, turning his computer screen toward her so she could see the faces of their most recent arrests.
She pinched the bridge of her nose, frowning as she peered intently at the mug shots. Each time she shook her head, he flipped to the next page.
After about fifteen photos, she sat back with a sigh. “The last one, Corey Rock, has a similar height and muscular build,” she admitted. “But I don’t see why he’d have a personal grudge against me. If I remember correctly, Isaac was the one who arrested him. I was the spotter up on the building across the street.”
“I’m sure he saw you at trial,” Griff felt compelled to point out. “After all, you were one of the witnesses to his little shooting spree.”
“Yeah, but it still seems out of proportion for him to come after me like that. The guy who grabbed me clearly wanted to physically take me down, as if to punish me. I have to agree with you that it’s odd he didn’t try to use a weapon.”
Griff nodded, then reached over to shut down the computer. “Okay, let’s call it a night. I’ll drop you off at home.”
For a minute it looked as if she wanted to protest, but she gave in with a brief nod. “Fine. Tomorrow morning I’ll see if I can find any link to the Brookmont matter. The more I think about it, the more I believe that the guy who attacked me might have been sent by the former police chief. You’ll warn Nate?”
Griff couldn’t deny that taking down a huge drug ring placed both Nate and Jenna at risk for revenge. “Yeah, I’ll call him. And I expect you to let me know if you find anything. I’ll see if there’s anything I can shake loose from the DA’s office. Maybe they have a list of Randall Joseph’s known associates.”
“Sounds good.” Jenna turned and walked out of the office. He followed close on her heels.
This time, when Jenna approached the SUV, he held back from opening the door for her. She lifted a brow and smiled, as if reading his thoughts.
The ride to Jenna’s house didn’t take long, and when he pulled onto her street he found an empty parking spot near the front of her house. When he stopped the car, he noticed she already had her hand on the door latch, ready to bolt.
He put out a hand to stop her, concerned that the assailant might have returned in their absence. And when he caught a flash of movement near the corner of her house, he knew his instincts were right on.
“Wait—I think there’s someone out there,” he said in a hushed tone.
“Where?” Jenna whispered, pressing her face to the window.
“Near your house.” He stared through the darkness, wondering if he’d let his imagination get the better of him.
“I don’t see anything,” she said after several long minutes. “I’ll be fine. This time, I have my gun.”
Tough to argue that logic. He dropped his hand and watched helplessly as she pushed open the passenger-side door.
“Later, Lieutenant,” she said before closing the door with a solid thud.
Griff didn’t move from his spot on the street, even after Jenna opened her door and disappeared inside.
He reminded himself she was a highly trained deputy on their SWAT team.
He waited five minutes. Then ten. Just as he was about to drive away, he caught another glimpse of movement.
Enough to have him turning off the car and charging out of the vehicle to make sure the assailant hadn’t returned to finish what he’d started.
Jenna pulled the bracelet out of her pocket as she headed into her bedroom to find the small jewelry box she had stashed in the top drawer of her dresser. She opened the lid, gently lifted her bracelet out and set it beside the one still contained in the plastic bag.
They were identical in size, shape and every other detail, except for the engraved initial on the heart-shaped charm. If her mother was still alive, Jenna would have called to ask where the bracelet had been purchased. But Jenna had lost her shortly after graduating from the police academy.
It wasn’t likely her father would know anything about it, either. Besides, he was the last person on earth she wanted to talk to. It still burned to know he’d done only ten years of his twenty-year sentence for attempting to murder Jenna and her mother.
After his arrest, Ruth’s shelter had been their