“Joplin would know about the restraining order I filed against him,” she said. And Elise figured that certainly hadn’t made him happy.
Had it caused him to do something like this?
Of course, this was also right up Buddy’s alley. Meredith’s, too, since her scummy brother could have done the dirty work for her.
The shots stopped. Finally. But Colt didn’t move. He stayed on top of her, keeping watch. Protecting her—again. She hated that his life and so many others’ were in danger because of her.
“Reed’s making calls,” Pete relayed. “Cooper and your brother Tucker are on their way to set up a roadblock.”
Good. That might stop this idiot from escaping. If the person was still around, that is. With the shots silenced, there didn’t seem to be any sign of their attacker. Of course, he could be waiting for them to leave cover so he’d be able to gun them down.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I shouldn’t have insisted we leave the sheriff’s office.”
“Don’t,” Colt warned her. “He would have just found another way to come after us.”
Colt was right, but that tightened the knot in her stomach. This monster wasn’t going to stop until he killed Colt and her.
Colt’s phone buzzed, and without taking his attention off their surroundings, he handed Elise the device so that she could no doubt read the text message that popped up on the screen.
“It’s from Reed,” she relayed. “He’s going out the back of the sheriff’s office so he can get a better look at the roofs.”
“Good. Ask him to call Herman and see if he has a way of unlocking his car from the diner,” Colt instructed.
Elise fired off the text to Reed. And waited. Her body bracing itself for yet another attack. At least if they were in the car, that would give them some small measure of protection.
But that idea quickly went south.
“‘Herman doesn’t have a remote key to unlock the car,’” she read aloud when Reed answered.
It was an older-model car so that wasn’t surprising. But that meant they were stuck. It was a good twenty-five feet to get back into the sheriff’s office. About the same distance to get into the diner. That was a lot of space where they’d be out in the open and vulnerable to an attack.
“As soon as Reed gives us the all clear,” Colt said, “we’ll move.”
That couldn’t come soon enough. But the seconds crawled by, turning into minutes. Colt and she had on coats, but it didn’t take long for the cold from the pavement to seep through her clothes. She started to shiver.
“He’s on the roof of the diner!” Pete shouted.
That was the only warning they got before the blast ripped through the air. This time, there was the sound of shattering glass because the shot blew out the window just above their heads.
“Get under the car,” Colt insisted, but he was already shoving her in that direction.
It wasn’t fast enough. More shots came, one slamming into the tire just inches from them.
“Keep moving,” Colt told her. “Get to the other side of the car.”
She scrambled over the rough pavement, but there wasn’t a lot of room between Herman’s car and the curb. Still, Elise managed to squeeze in, and she reached for Colt to pull him to safety.
Just as the hail of bullets started.
She could no longer see Pete, but she prayed he’d managed to get out of the way in time. Reed, too.
“Stay here,” Colt ordered the moment he was fully out from beneath the car. He crawled toward the rear of the car, and using it for cover, took aim.
And fired.
Elise couldn’t tell if he hit the shooter, but at least the bullets stopped. For a few seconds, anyway. Then they picked back up, and she realized the shooter had moved. Probably because Colt had come close to taking him out.
“There,” Colt said, motioning to someone behind him.
Elise spotted both Reed and Pete on the side of the sheriff’s office. They, too, had their weapons aimed at the roof of the diner, and both fired.
Again, the shots stopped.
And this time, they didn’t immediately start back up.
“Hell, he’s getting away,” Colt said, and judging from his body language, he’d been about to bolt. No doubt to go in pursuit. But then he must have remembered she was there.
“It could be a trick,” he added. “To get you alone.” Colt mouthed some profanity and looked in the direction of the other deputies. “Reed, is it safe for you to move?” he asked.
Reed looked around, nodded, and he told Pete to cover him. Reed raced toward Herman’s car and dropped to the pavement next to Colt.
“Guard Elise,” Colt told Reed.
The deputy didn’t question Colt’s order, but Elise certainly did. “It’s not safe. This could be a trick to draw you out.”
“I’m not letting him get away again,” Colt insisted, and he gave her a look. A warning, actually, for her to stay put, and he took off.
“He’ll be okay,” Reed told her, and he held her in place when she tried to lever herself up. But Reed didn’t sound totally convinced of that.
And for a good reason.
The shooter on the roof had a much better vantage point than any of them. He could gun Colt down before he even made it across the street.
Pete didn’t stay put, either. As Reed had done, he hurried toward the car and took cover behind the back bumper where Colt had just been.
“Did you get a look at the shooter?” she asked.
Pete shook his head, but Reed nodded. “A guy, but I couldn’t see his face. Don’t think it’s anyone we know, though.”
Then maybe she’d been right about it being a hired gun. Elise wanted to yell out to the guy that it hadn’t turned out so well for the last person who’d been hired to do her harm. He’d been blown to bits. But yelling would only give away their exact position—if by some miracle the shooter didn’t already know that.
Of course, a distraction might stop him from trying to take a shot at Colt.
She pulled off her shoe and hurled it over the front end of the car. It worked. Well, sort of. The guy did indeed fire a shot, and it slammed into the hood.
Reed cursed and shoved her flat on the pavement again.
“Colt won’t be happy about you doing that,” Reed told her.
No, but at least it’d pinpointed the position of the shooter, and it’d gotten his attention off Colt. Hopefully long enough for Colt to make it to cover so he could go after this guy.
“He’s still on the roof,” Pete said when a second shot came their way.
Pete levered himself up and returned fire, the blast so close to Elise that the sound of his gun shot through her head. Not good. She was still a little woozy, and she wanted a clear mind in case they had to escape or help Colt.
“Colt’s using the Dumpster to get onto the roof,” Reed relayed to her. And he, too, sent a shot the gunman’s way. No doubt to keep him distracted so he wouldn’t hear Colt trying to sneak up on him.
Elise held her breath and prayed some more. As much as she wanted the bullets to stop, the silence was even more chilling when they did.
Did that mean the shooter was onto Colt? He could be walking right into another trap.
“Go help him, please,” Elise whispered to Reed.
But Reed quickly shook his head. “Colt will have my hide if I leave you.”
He would, but they had to do something, anything. “Fire some more shots at the gunman to distract him.”
Another head shake from Reed. “I can’t fire any more shots because Colt just got on the roof.”
Oh, mercy.
Elise had to see what was happening. Without lifting her head—something Reed obviously wouldn’t have allowed her to do, anyway—she angled her body and looked up, craning her neck so she got a glimpse of the roof.
She didn’t see anyone.
But she certainly heard something.
A gunshot.
She couldn’t tell if they’d come from Colt’s gun, the shooter’s. Or both. It was possible they’d fired and shot each other.
With that horrible thought racing through her head, she had to fight to make herself stay put. The seconds crawled by, and because she was listening so carefully, the next gun blast caused her to jump.
So did Reed.
He got to his feet, automatically aiming his gun at the roof. But the deputy didn’t fire.
Elise got just a glimpse of the man falling. Before he crashed with a thud onto the street below.
Chapter Fourteen
Colt hated the fear he saw in Elise’s eyes. Hated that he hadn’t been able to stop the latest attack. Hated even more that he might not be able to stop another one.
It’d been a hellish long day what with the shooting, the mop-up from it and Elise’s hypnosis session. Colt was hoping for a much more peaceful night.
“The guy’s name is Arnold Levinson,” Reed said.
Even though Colt didn’t have the call on speaker, Elise was close enough so she could clearly hear every word the deputy was saying to him.
“Who was he?” she asked.
“A lowlife with a long record, but among other things he’s done work as a bouncer,” Reed answered, obviously not having any problems hearing Elise, either. “No connection that I can find to any of our suspects. But I’ll keep looking,” Reed added before Colt could ask him to do just that.
“Another hired gun,” Elise mumbled. That got her pacing across Reed’s kitchen while she scrubbed her hands up and down her arms. She probably wasn’t cold since the house was toasty warm, but it might be a while before the chill left her.
If ever.
“Call me if you find out anything from our suspects,” Colt added.
Since Reed had already said that he was bringing in Joplin and Meredith for questioning, he might learn something new. And while Colt was wishing, he added that maybe someone would find Buddy and haul his butt in, as well.
“It could have been you falling off that roof,” Elise said the moment he finished the call with Reed. “It could have been you with a bullet to the chest.”
“But it wasn’t.” He went to her, knowing that she would resist when he pulled her into his arms. She did. She was too wound up to stay still, but Colt held her, anyway. “You heard what Reed said. The guy was a lowlife not a pro.”
He could thank his lucky stars for that. If the idiot had been a better shot, they might all be dead. Instead, the would-be killer was the one who’d been killed.
The remote-control device would be sent for testing, of course, and his truck would be dusted for prints and any other evidence that could be found connected to the break-in. That and all the other things they had in motion might help them ID this sack of dirt before he or she did any more harm.
Elise made a shivery sound of frustration, and Colt pulled her even closer. Yeah, it was dumb and dangerous. There was already enough tension left over from the attack without adding a different kind of tension. The kind that came from holding Elise in his arms.
That didn’t stop him.
Colt figured the sweet torture was worth it if it gave her any comfort whatsoever. Of course, what was comfort for her would be another torture session for him.
“At least we won’t have to deal with any surprise visits while we’re here,” Colt reminded her.
The security system was on and armed. Darnell, the ranch hand, had a gun and was in the living room at the front of the house, where he’d stay for the night. Plus, Reed’s two dogs, Sampson and Delilah, were on the glassed-in porch at the back of the house. They were barkers, Reed had told them, and would alert them to anything.
Colt was counting heavily on that.
Still, even with all those measures and the fact that Elise was continuing to fight the effects of the sedative from the hypnosis session, Colt figured this would be yet another restless night. That was okay. He’d take restless over danger.
“You should go to bed,” he reminded her—again. Like his other reminders, she stayed put as if somehow staying awake would protect them.
“Alone,” Colt added when her eyebrow came up.
“Alone,” she repeated, leaning into him.
She probably hadn’t meant for her body to land against his like that. But it did. And Colt’s body noticed, all right.
He quickly told those noticing parts to knock it off.
“Come on,” he added, giving her a nudge toward the bedroom. “I brought the sleeping bag with me, and I can crash on the floor again.”
Maybe.
But he figured that he’d get about as much sleep as Darnell and Elise. Little to none. Between keeping watch and reining in his body, it was going to be a long night.
She finally moved when Colt gave her another nudge and got her walking in the direction of Reed’s guest room. The walls were decorated like a nursery in pale yellow with baby-duck decals. No doubt leftover decor from Reed’s ex-wife, who, from all accounts, had desperately wanted a baby but hadn’t been able to have one. Even though Reed obviously hadn’t gotten around to redecorating since the divorce, he’d added a bed that looked freshly made and ready for Elise.
Not for Colt, though.
With everything they’d been through, getting into bed with her would lead to trouble. Even though his back was already protesting the hard floor and another part of him was protesting because it wasn’t going to get lucky. The floor was where he’d spend the night keeping watch.
She didn’t change into the gown that she’d brought from her house. Good thing. Best if she stayed covered so he couldn’t see what he was missing. Instead, Elise dropped onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Colt turned off the light and did the same. He got onto the sleeping bag that he’d already rolled out.
“If I just leave town, disappear,” Elise added. “Then I could hire a bodyguard. I could give a deposition for my testimony, and you and your family would be safe.”
“You still wouldn’t be safe,” he reminded her.
But it was a moot point, anyway. He wasn’t letting her leave. Yeah, it was probably cocky to feel this way, but he’d do a better job protecting her than some bodyguard for hire.
“What if it’s never safe?” she asked. She rolled to the edge of the bed and looked down at him.
Best to put a lighter spin on this since even though he couldn’t see her eyes in the darkness, he figured the fear was creeping back into them. Or maybe it’d never left.
“You don’t have much faith in my abilities as a lawman, do you?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “Well, you should. I’ve been a deputy for nearly nine years now, and I’ve always done a good job with protection detail. Only been shot once.”
She made a sharp sound of surprise. “You were shot?”
Heck, he figured her grandmother had told her all about that. Apparently not. So much for his attempt to lighten things up. Talking about gunshot wounds would do anything but.
“Sue Morgan’s ex shot me when I was trying to break up a fight between them,” he said, and he automatically rubbed what was now a faint scar on his abdomen. “Nothing serious.”
Well, he’d nearly died, but best to keep that to himself, too.
“Whatever happens,” she said, “I don’t want you to step in front of a bullet for me. I’m already on your family’s bad side. I’d rather not add personal injury or attempted personal injury to it.”
Colt couldn’t help it. He chuckled. “You’re soon to be on their good side. Well, my brothers’ good sides, anyway. You cleared our dad’s name.”
“Yes, that was something at least. Still, stay out of the path of bullets. And don’t go charging up on any other roofs to get bad guys.”
“Uh, that’s kind of my job description.”
She stared down at him. Now that his eyes had adjusted to the dark room, he could see that her own eyes were narrowed a bit. Elise obviously wasn’t h
appy that he would put himself in danger for her.
But he would.
“Okay,” he said to placate her. And hopefully to get her to go to sleep. “No charging after bad guys.”
Not until it was absolutely necessary, that is.
“Good.” She mumbled something else that he didn’t catch and dropped back down on the bed. “Here we are sleeping under the same roof again. You can bet Joplin will try to use this against me in some way.”
Yeah, he would. “He might try,” Colt settled for saying.
That brought her to the edge of the bed again, and he expected the conversation to continue. After all, Elise no doubt had plenty of fears and concerns that she needed calming.
Or not.
That wasn’t exactly a soothe-me look she had in her eyes now.
Elise eased off the bed and landed next to him on the floor. “This can work two ways,” she said. “I can throw myself at you, and you can crush me by saying no. Or—”
Colt didn’t need to hear the other part of that. Because there was zero chance of his saying no. Even if that’s exactly what he should be saying.
He slipped his hand around the back of her neck, pulled her to him and kissed her. This might not help their situation, but he figured it would help them. For a little while, anyway.
She slipped right into the kiss. Right against him, too, and put her arms around him to pull him even closer. Not that he wasn’t already heading in that direction, anyway, but she closed the already narrow gap between their bodies.
Colt took things from there. He deepened the kiss. Felt that punch of heat that he knew would be there. Then felt it burn even hotter. It made him wonder how he’d been able to go so long resisting this. Resisting her.
“I should give you an out,” he whispered.
“I don’t want one.” And she pulled him right back to her for yet another kiss.
It was just as good as the first kiss, but there was a big problem with kisses like that. They only caused the heat to rise higher and higher until soon kissing wasn’t nearly enough.
Colt slid his hand beneath her sweater, unhooked her bra, and her breasts spilled into his hands. No way could he resist that, so he shoved up her top and moved the kisses from her mouth to her nipples.
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