Threats in the Deep
Author
Addison Fox
Reads
18.6K
Chapters
17
They shared one unforgettable night And now they're partners in more ways than one NYPD diver Gavin Hayes can't stop thinking about the woman he rang in the New Year with. Assistant district attorney Sera Forte needs to find the man she spent the night with and break the news of her unexpected pregnancy. When they learn they've been paired up for a new criminal task force, they realize they need to solve more than the mystery they've been given. The burning attraction that brought them together still smolders. But the case Gavin and Sera are working is a dangerous one. Can he protect the woman he loves and their baby?
Chapter 1
Special task force.
Those words swirled through Gavin Hayesâs mind as he prepared himself for a morning in the waters around New York City.
He stared up at the beautiful stretch of the majestic Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge as his police boat moved through the tidal strait that separated Brooklyn and Staten Island on their way toward the Statue of Liberty. The bridgeâs arches speared toward the bright blue early spring sky, a testament to manâs ingenuity and sheer prowess at building over, around and through nature.
He was on a patrol shift, and while they had no overt mission at the moment, he had no doubt something would come in before the day was out. Heâd worked two recovery jobs yesterday and had done structural checks the day before that. So it was a nice change of pace to just be out on the water, focused on the city that rose up as majestically as the bridge.
The quiet moments were also just low-key enough that he had plenty of time to think through Captain Reedâs invitation to join a special task force in collaboration with the Feds, the Coast Guard and the DAâs office.
It was a welcome change from the endlessly roiling thoughts that hadnât left him since welcoming in the new year with a gorgeous redhead whoâd fled on New Yearâs Day never to be seen or heard from again.
Put it in the past, Hayes. Firmly in the past.
There were bigger challenges ahead. Ones that he had some control over. Unlike the reality of being left all alone around three in the afternoon after the most incredible sex of his life.
Which was only a small portion of the problem. The bigger issue was that the sexâamazing as it wasâhad only been the physical outcome of the most extraordinary eighteen hours heâd ever spent with another person.
Sera.
He could still feel her name on his lips and could still picture the way a lock of her deep auburn hair lay over her cheek as she slept.
Damn, he needed to let this go.
Because all he had were the memories of those eighteen hours and her first name.
He caught the light spray of water as it foamed up from the boatâs wake and imagined it as a cool slap in the face.
Let.
It.
Go.
It was time. He had an exciting new opportunity in front of him and recognized it would be a challenge. A task force full of large governmental entities was a big deal. But the moment you mixed local and federal jurisdictions, things could get sticky quickly.
As much as that was true, he also recognized that New York was different. And while everyone liked returning to their own corners at the end of the day, everyone also understood that governance and security in the largest city in America was unique.
Which only added to his excitement. Heâd worked his tail off to make the Harbor team, and he loved what he did in the water, but he also saw it as a path toward his future. The men and women who worked the Harbor team might have expertise in diving, but they were NYPD cops, and as such, he wanted to make detective and continue his progression up the ranks.
The task force would go a long way toward supporting those ambitions.
It was also an opportunity to show what Harbor could do. While heâd felt respected from day one, the uniqueness of his job and the work they did wasnât as well understood by outsiders. Joining a team with federal as well as local government resources would give him an opportunity to raise the profile of their diving work, too.
While there was a lot of overlap between the Coast Guardâs responsibilities and the Harbor teamâs, there were significant differences, as well. The Coast Guardâs remit was far broader, including search and rescue, marine safety and fisheries law enforcement. Gavin and his team supported search and rescue in extreme circumstances, but their work was far more narrowly defined in the realm of public safety and police work, and specific to the waters surrounding the city.
As such, there was clear sharing of jurisdiction in a way that provided minimal friction and maximum benefit to the city of New York.
Especially because once a problem hit Atlantic waters, the Coast Guard took over.
He understood it, Gavin thought as he looked out over the harbor, the Statue of Liberty growing larger as they narrowed the distance. The work. The jurisdictions. Even the politics.
And when you understood something, you could influence the good and help support change of the not-so-good.
âGav!â
He turned to find their dive lead for the day, Detective Wyatt Trumball. Wyatt had been a force for change on the Harbor team, leading several cases over the past few years that had been both high-profile and well-executed to ultimately help reduce crime in the city.
It had also led him to his new wife, Marlowe McCoy. Granddaughter of one of the 86th Precinctâs most respected detectives, Anderson McCoy, Marlowe was practically a legend in her own right in their Sunset Bay neighborhood. She was the precinctâs favorite lock-and-vault technician and was frequently pulled in on jobs to help open recovered items in the course of casework.
A series of safes, strapped to bodies, that Gavin and Wyatt had pulled up early last fall had been a huge case for the Harbor team.
One that had also created the unexpected proximity for Marlowe and Wyatt to fall in love. Sadly, the case also brought the disturbing news that her grandfather had used his well-respected position of authority in the precinct to hide Marloweâs fatherâs misdeeds decades ago.
Theyâd all reeled from that unsettling revelation, and the lingering fallout hadnât fully subsided, but Wyatt had held up well under it and so had his new wife. Anderson had come clean and, while not fully exonerated, had been able to avoid jail time due to his overarchingly positive contribution to the NYPD. Now working off his remaining debt in volunteer service, the man was doing some great things with an at-risk youth program several days a week.
Was it justice?
Gavin knew there were several around the 86th who didnât think so. But others who had already seen some improvements in those at-risk youth thought the tradeoffs were more than fair.
âHey.â They shook hands in greeting.
Wyatt had already been in the wheelhouse when Gavin boarded, so theyâd missed initial hellos as theyâd started their shift. Wyatt settled in against the rail as the boat steadily navigated through the harbor.
âHeard the good news about the task force.â
âWord travels fast.â
Wyatt smiled before shrugging. âWhen the captain asked for recommendations, there was no one else who came to my mind. I couldnât put you forward fast enough.â
Although theyâd always had a good relationship, the endorsement went a long way.
âThank you.â
âYouâre going to knock this one out of the park.â
âItâll reduce my time on Harbor for the next few months.â
It was the only fly in the ointment of the opportunity, and Gavin had weighed that aspect when Captain Reed first approached him.
âWhich will be a loss for us,â Wyatt acknowledged, ââbut you have to do this. The opportunityâs too big, and frankly, itâs time to spread your wings a bit. Good things happen here, but the only way we keep getting better is to expand perspective and grow our talent.â
This mindset was a key element of Wyattâs management. Even bigger than that, it was the ethos of the entire 86th Precinct they were part of in Brooklyn. Under Captain Dwayne Reedâs leadership, those who showed promise were given opportunity.
And, in a virtuous cycle, because people knew there was opportunity, they worked harder and smarter and more collaboratively for it.
âI do think I can make a difference.â Gavin said it because he believed it. Way down deep.
âI know you can.â
âSpeaking of different, howâs married life treating you?â
Wyatt had only returned from his honeymoon a few weeks before. âMarried life is amazing. Marlowe is incredible. And she proved just how awesome she is by indulging me in a honeymoon full of diving in Grand Cayman.â
It was good to see his friend so happy. More, Gavin admitted, it was encouraging to see him come out the other side. The case that had pulled him and Marlowe together had been difficult, for the work itself, the impact on the precinct and the fact that Marloweâs father was murdered in the process.
He was well aware that sort of grief didnât just vanish, but it was good to see people he cared about showing signs of moving past it with the right partner to make it through.
Sometimes the right people did find each other.
It was a sobering thought, especially when all it did was bring to his own mind images of deep blue eyes and lush auburn hair.
Shaking it off, Gavin gave Wyatt a hearty slap on the back. âSo you spent two weeks with an amazing woman and crystal-blue water, and now youâre back here.â
He and Wyatt turned to look over the other side of the railing. Although the Hudson had improved considerably over the past decade, the river still surrounded a major city, in a shade of blue that bordered on gray. Along with the less-than-appealing color, they regularly dived through all manner of undesirable things.
Wyatt nodded, his grin broad and most definitely sincere. âA dream all its own.â
Gavin recognized those words for truth just as a shout went out from the wheelhouse. They were heading up toward the George Washington Bridge for evidence recovery after an accident.
And as he slipped into the cold, late March water under the bridge ten minutes later, clad head-to-toe in his gear, Gavin couldnât help but grin. He really was living the dream. Wide awake, full of the sweetest adrenaline, every damn day.
Now if he could only get a certain redhead out of his nighttime ones.
Serafina Forte reached for the clean tissue sheâd had the foresight to stuff into her suit jacket pocket and wiped her mouth as she got up from the floor beside the toilet. Sheâd gotten lucky this afternoon. The ladiesâ room at the courthouse was empty, and she hadnât had to worry about being overheard.
A fate she had failed to escape several times over the past few months. A woman could only claim a winter stomach bug or a âtouch of food poisoningâ so many times.
The only upside to her daily visit to the ladiesâ roomâand really, what idiot called it morning sickness when her visits could happen at any time?âwas that she hadnât put on much weight. Her body was still changing, though, and she could see that in the fit of her work suits.
A fate that was going to catch up with her before she knew it.
With a sigh, she laid her head against the cool tiles of the wall, grateful sheâd chosen the last stall so she could give the misery in her stomach time to settle a bit.
What was she going to do?
The question had been her constant companion for the past two months since sheâd discovered her pregnancy and, as of yet, she hadnât come up with much beyond take it one day at a time.
Perhaps the advice she should have taken was donât have amazing sex with a man youâve known five hours as a way to ring in the new year.
It seemed sound and eminently smart now, but was nowhere near as loud as the clanging voice in her headâone that had echoed through her bodyâon New Yearâs Eve. That night, all she wanted to do was get as close to Gavin as possible.
Gavin.
That was all she knew. His name was Gavin, and he was a cop. Theyâd met at a local bar in Brooklyn and had struck up a conversation so engrossing it had taken a while for them to realize their friends had moved on to another party down the street.
Neither one of them had cared.
Theyâd agreed to only discuss who they were in broad strokes, which is why sheâd only told him she was a lawyer, not an ADA with the city. And all she knew was that he was a cop. Since the NYPD employed roughly 36,000 people, it was a bit of a needle in a haystack.
Even if heâd wanted to get a hold of her, she hadnât made that easy, fleeing his apartment after a bout of lovemaking that had left her breathless.
And scared.
Because people didnât feel this way about each otherâor have this sort of reaction to one anotherâthat quickly after meeting.
Hadnât she learned that young?
And hadnât she been paying the price ever since?
Since that thought only produced profound misery, pregnant or not, Sera shook it off and pondered, yet again, how she could have played this differently.
Theyâd gone to his apartment, and it had been full of boxes. When sheâd teased him on his decorating skills, heâd confirmed that he was moving in a few weeks. It was the perfect segue into a congenial conversation about why he was moving and did he like his building and where was he going?
Only their need for each other had taken over and theyâd ended up kissing against said boxes, evaporating any questions she might have asked about where he was moving to.
Which now only left her with one dead end and absolutely zero lines to tug.
She had no last name. No cell phone. No known address.
And she was pregnant with his child.
On a sigh, she pushed off the wall and fixed her skirt. She slipped a breath mint out of the package sheâd taken to carrying in her other jacket pocket and smoothed her hair.
Between her crushing workload, her random acts of morning sickness and her endless mooning over Gavin, sheâd sort of drifted through her daysâand nights. She needed to get her head back in the game.
Todayâs case was big, and it meant they could get a solid handful of thugs out of the local drug trade. Sheâd prepped well, and she had a strong case. It was time to put her focus back on that and off her memories.
Off her worries.
Off her stupidity.
After all, crime in the city didnât stop. And sheâd be damned if she was going to let her current lapse in judgment stop her from her work.
She would figure this out. And while it wasnât what sheâd planned, in a relatively few short months, sheâd have a child. One she was already beyond excited to meet. That was her reality, and her child needed to be her full focus.
Not the childâs father.
And not the way sheâd become pregnant.
Even if she did look for him every time she walked the neighborhood. Sheâd even tried going back to their bar a few times, although once sheâd realized she was pregnant, sheâd switched to club soda instead of her usual wine spritzer as sheâd sat alone in the bar, her breath catching in her throat each time the door opened.
But to no avail.
Gavin was a memory, and whether she liked it or not, he was going to stay there.
Their child was her future.
Gathering her things along with her renewed focus, Sera headed for the door and the waiting courtroom. Which made the presence of her boss in the hallway something of a surprise.
âSera?â
âDavid. Hello.â
David Esposito was a formidable presence in the Brooklyn courts, their district attorney as adept at his job as he was at working the media. Tall and dashing, he had just the right amount of gray in his dark hair to make people feel he had the necessary gravitas to prosecute the criminals of the city and his broad shoulders filled out his suits to perfection. The media loved him, and lucky for her, his ADAs loved him, too.
He had an agile, exemplary legal mind, and he was a champion of his people. She loved working for him.
âDo you have a minute?â
âOf course.â She moved to take a seat on one of the benches that lined the hallway, but he gestured toward a small meeting room.
âLetâs go in there. I want to discuss something with you.â
âAbout the Landers case?â
He smiled as he waited for her to enter the room before him. âI read your brief. Youâve got it more than well in hand.â
Although she appreciated the compliment, it only added to her confusion. But he was the boss, which gave him the right to be a bit mysterious. Resolved to let him tell her in his own time, she took a seat at the small table that filled most of the room.
âI know how hard youâve been working, Sera.â
âItâs the job.â She gave a light shrug, knowing that for the truth. âAnd I love the work.â
âWhich is what I want to talk to you about.â
Although all lawyers were subject to scrutiny and the highest of expectations as to their behavior, the bar was set infinitely higher for the district attorneyâs office. They were scrutinized, evaluated and, ultimately, held to a standard that was beyond the beyond. Sheâd always believed herself up to the task, but she knew there would be raised eyebrows as her pregnancy became widely known. She wouldnât be fired for itâshe had full confidence on that frontâbut she would get knowing glances. A fact that would only be further exacerbated by the reality that she wasnât dating anyone.
Was that why David had pulled her into this discussion? Had her bathroom retch sessions somehow tipped someone off?
Her mind raced, and she nearly missed his words until she finally keyed back into what he was saying.
âIâm proud of all my ADAs, but you have to know, Sera, just how much your work stands out. Your dedication and your passion for the law is something to see. Our city is better for it, and my office is better for it.â
âThank you.â
âItâs why Iâm willing to give you time away to take advantage of this opportunity.â
âAway?â
He smiled at that, his expression lighting his normally serious face. âIâve put you in for a borough-wide task force. Itâll be members from my office, the NYPD, the Coast Guard and several federal agencies.â
âA task force on what?â
âThe drug trade is out of control. The governor and the mayor have been in talks with the Feds, and we want to put a team together to evaluate what can be done with the situation.â
âBut Iâm not a cop. I have no real knowledge of how to apprehend or take down criminals.â
âThatâs why your contributions are so valuable. This is a problem we want to attack from every angle. From the jurisdiction to those running the ops to the way we prosecute. We need every mind on this and all the effort we can muster to get ahead of the enterprising criminals who make New York their home.â
It was a huge ask, and her pregnancy flashed quickly through her thoughts as a reason to decline. In fact, she nearly came out with it before Sera stopped herself.
Why say no?
What example did that set for her child? More, what did it say to herself? She was pregnant, not dead. And motherhood aside, she fully expected to have a long career in front of her.
Now would be the worst time to say no.
âI feel like I should ask you a few more questions, but you know Iâm in, David.â
âI hoped so. Which is why you need to be at the 86th bright and early Monday morning.â David leaned forward and laid a hand over the back of hers folded on the table. âIâm going to miss having you in the office, but weâll get your caseload redistributed. I want to keep you on the Landers case as well as the discovery on the Nicholson murders, but everything else will be shared out.â
Sera mentally calculated the workload. While both of those were huge cases, the reprieve from her other work would be welcome.
âItâs an amazing opportunity, David. I wonât let you down.â
He gave her hand a quick squeeze before he stood up, effectively ending their meeting. âThat thought never crossed my mind.â
Sera walked the last few blocks from the subway, her umbrella up, albeit ineffectively, against the howling spring rain overhead. April had come in with a vengeance, and the city felt like it was practically underwater as she dodged puddles and what looked like a small lake at the intersection just shy of the 86th Precinct.
Sheâd opted for one of her pantsuits, but the thick rain boots pulled up over her calves, her slacks firmly tucked inside, were the height of frump. A fact sheâd willingly overlooked as she anticipated dry feet for the day. The boots could be stowed in a corner of whatever conference room theyâd be stuffed in this morning, so the fashion faux pas wasnât permanent.
She hadnât spent much time at the 86th, but sheâd been here before. Captain Dwayne Reed ran an outstanding team, and she always enjoyed working with his officers when it was necessary for a case.
Captain Reedâs style of leadershipâand his belief in his peopleâhad caught on, and there had been clear winds of change blowing through the other neighborhoods in an effort to emulate the precinct.
We need every mind on this and all the effort we can muster to get ahead of the enterprising criminals who make New York their home.
Davidâs pitch for the task force had lingered in her mind all weekend as she prepared for this morning. She wanted to start off strong and make a good impression, meeting the other professionals sheâd work with for the next several months.
Could they get ahead of the criminal element?
While she wasnât an inherently negative person, she would admit to moments of frustration and disillusionment with the system. Too many criminals flooding the streets. Too few people to catch them and ultimately prosecute them. And a bad life for the ones who were caught, locked up in a system that, while often full of well-intentioned people, was home to many who werenât.
Sheâd always understood it, but had also believed the work she did to serve the goal of justice would result in good outcomes. Even if her pregnancy had made her start to question some of those things and the reality of the world she was bringing her child into.
Her parents had never set a very good example, and sheâd had to forge a path forward on her own. It was only recently that sheâd begun to wonder if her dogged pursuit of justice was more because of them than in spite of them.
âSera!â
Saved from her own maudlin musings by the loud shout, she glanced up to see a former law school classmate waving to her from down the hall. Picking up her pace, Sera headed his way.
âSam, how are you?â They quickly exchanged hugs. âItâs great to see you, but what are the odds weâre here on the same day?â
âPretty good if weâre both on the new task force starting up this morning.â
âYouâre a part of it?â
He smiled before pointing toward the conference room a few feet away. âI am and will confess to getting here early and seeing your name badge on the sideboard. Iâm glad weâre working together again. Iâm representing the local FBI office.â
âIâd heard the Feds snapped you up. Lucky for them.â
âLucky for me, too. I love the work.â
Although sheâd always known she wanted the DAâs office, Sera was happy for him. His agile mind and love of complex cases likely made him a huge asset to the government.
âI love it, too, but I do have to say Iâm disappointed in us.â
âOh?â His blue eyes widened.
âWeâre both guilty of that dreaded post-law school sin of spending most of our waking hours together for three years and then abandoning one another for the work after getting out.â
âProof they didnât lie about the work.â
She shook her head but couldnât hold back the smile. âI wouldnât have it any other way.â
âMe, either.â
They found seats at the table and, after settling their things, wandered over to the sideboard to pick up their badges and get some breakfast. Sera eyed the pastries with a bit of caution, but was pleased to also see a selection of hard-boiled eggs and some dry toast waiting for toppings.
She hadnât been able to stomach anything that morning, but recognized the breakfast foods as a gift of fate. The protein from the egg and the bland toast with a bit of honey on top would go a long way toward keeping her level throughout the introductory meeting. A bit of tepid tea and sheâd have a breakfast trifecta that would hopefully stave off morning sickness.
âYou always were a healthy eater,â Sam whispered, leaning in conspiratorially.
âNot everyone can eat sugared cereals and donuts for breakfast.â She eyed his plate, a match for her own. âWhat happened?â
Although heâd always been a good-natured person, even in the throes of the most difficult exam periods, Sam lit up in a way sheâd never seen before. âIâm a man with a fitness plan. And a wedding in three months.â
âSam! Thatâs wonderful.â Sera put her plate down and pulled him in for a hug. âTell me all about her.â
âHer nameâs Alexandra. Alex.â He smiled, his gaze going hazy with love. âWe met at the Bureau my second week on the job. She held out for a long time, saying we shouldnât mix personal with work and that it was a bad idea.â
Although it wasnât forbidden in the Bureau, Sera could understand the reticence. But she also knew Sam Baxter and figured the woman was a goner when faced with such an earnest and truly wonderful man.
âIs she a lawyer, too?â
âNope, a field agent. Which puts us in the same office, but not working directly together most of the time.â
His happiness was electric, and Sera tried to tamp down the small shot of sadness that filled her as she pictured Gavinâs face in her mindâs eye.
Would it ever fade?
Even as she considered it, she knew the truth. Did she want it to?
And then she pushed it all away and gave Sam another hug. She could be sad in her own time, but there was no call for anything but joy in the face of such good news for a friend.
Which made the hard cough and rough âexcuse meâ a bit jarring as she pulled back from Samâs embrace.
And turned to find the one man she hadnât been able to forget standing two feet away.
