Protector's Instinct

by Janie Crouch

  Zane could tell getting the words out were difficult for Caroline. She was doing her best just to keep it together.

  “I need some water, Lisette. I can’t get through this whole thing with my throat this dry. I was working at a fire all day today.”

  “Fine.” Lisette did something to the camera, then stormed into the kitchen. When Zane heard the sink faucet come on, he stuck his hand over the banister.

  “Caro,” he whispered.

  She looked up, eyes wide. He put his finger over his lips. “Anybody else here?” he asked as quietly as he could.

  “No, just her.” He could tell she wanted to say more, but there wasn’t time.

  “I’ll jump her when she gives you the water.”

  He’d barely moved back into the shadows before Lisette came out of the kitchen. “You know, it’s good that we stopped. It reminded me you can’t be tied up when you give your confession. Then everyone is just going to think you were coerced.”

  Zane cursed under his breath as she picked up a knife and the gun again. She held the gun to Caroline’s head once more as she cut the binds on her wrist. Zane couldn’t risk the jump. She cut the rope on the other wrist before handing Caroline the water.

  “Now, let’s try this again. Take two.” Lisette laughed wildly, like some demented film director.

  They needed to get Lisette to come back over to the stairs but without the gun. Zane didn’t know how to get her to do that without risking Caroline’s life.

  Caroline started talking again.

  “My name is Caroline Gill. I’m here to set the record straight about my claim that Dr. Paul Trumpold attacked me.”

  Lisette’s eyes narrowed as she paused the camera again. “I will come over there and cut you if you don’t give me the truth.”

  “Okay, Lisette, the truth. You deserve that.”

  “Damn straight I do.”

  “Here’s the truth.” Caroline paused and took a deep breath. “I was standing right about here when someone knocked on my door. Do you know that hearing someone knock on a door still has the power to make me cower on the inside? Because right after I opened the door, your brother burst in, his fist striking my face before I could even react.”

  “Tell the truth, you bitch!” Lisette screeched.

  “I am telling the truth. He hit me so hard that the bones in my cheek shattered. I fell to the floor, ironically, right here. Right here under my feet was where your brother attacked and raped me, Lisette.”

  Lisette stormed at Caroline, knife in hand. But a knife wasn’t a gun and Zane was faster. He leaped over the banister, placing himself between Caroline and the madwoman rushing toward her. Lisette obviously wasn’t expecting that. She brought the gun in her other hand up, but it was too late. With one quick uppercut Zane had the woman laid out on the floor.

  He quickly took both weapons from her. She was already regaining consciousness and moaning as Zane handcuffed her hands behind her back.

  “He hit me just like that, Lisette, but your brother didn’t stop with just one punch,” Caroline said hoarsely.

  Then she sat down on the ground, on the floor where so much pain and humiliation had happened to her, and cried.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  It was a beautiful day for a wedding.

  Caroline had known Sherry Mitchell since they were both in college. They’d remained close through the years. Standing up here as part of the bridal party was an honor. She was delighted to be a part of her friend’s special day.

  A couple of weeks ago Caroline might have been nervous about standing in front of a hundred people. In a dress. In heels. None of those were things she was comfortable with. But given everything that had happened over the last two weeks, standing here didn’t seem like such a terrorizing event after all.

  Besides, she knew she looked good in the dress, especially if the way Zane couldn’t take his eyes off her was anything to go by.

  Maybe she’d have to start wearing dresses more often. Her paramedic uniform involved blue cargo pants and a blue button-down shirt. When she wasn’t in that, she tended to be in jeans and a T-shirt.

  No one would ever accuse Caroline of being too girlie.

  But Zane hadn’t taken his eyes off her from where he sat in the second row since the moment she’d walked down the aisle in front of Sherry a few minutes ago. He was still staring. And damn if she didn’t like that hungry look in his eyes.

  It was definitely enough to make a girl wear a dress more often.

  Jon and Sherry had decided on a small wedding in a simple church just outside of Colorado Springs. Even being small there were nearly a hundred people here, many of them Omega Sector agents who worked with Jon and Sherry. They were more than just colleagues; it was easy to tell. They were family.

  The wedding official was starting the charge to the bride and groom when Caroline caught sight of the videographer making his way straight up the middle aisle. The photographer had taken a much more conservative post in the back of the church.

  Caroline tried to ignore the videographer, with the camera stuck to his face, but the guy seemed to be coming straight toward her, not caring at all about the service.

  When she got married, she didn’t want any disruptions like this guy. She would make sure that the videographer and photographer both knew she and Zane wouldn’t tolerate a disruption like this.

  Caroline’s eyes flew to Zane’s. Had she just made wedding plans with him in her mind? She ought to wait until he actually asked her.

  The videographer looked like he was going to come all the way up onto the platform with the minister. Caroline just rolled her eyes as he did exactly that. But instead of having his camera pointed at the bride and groom, it was pointed at her. And then he dropped it from the front of his face.

  Caroline felt terror shoot through her.

  It was Paul Trumpold. And he was coming toward her, gun now in hand.

  She forced herself not to let the panic take her under. She needed her wits about her. No, this wasn’t Paul Trumpold. He was dead.

  But it was the man who had been in the doorway at the safe house and who she saw before the drugs had knocked her unconscious at the oil fire.

  “That’s right,” he said. “I’m Nicholas. Paul and Lisette’s brother.”

  How many violently crazy people could one family have?

  She heard gasps and movements as Nicholas pulled her down in front of him, using her as a shield as he pointed his gun toward her head.

  “You lied about my sister and my brother. He’s dead and she’s in jail because of you.”

  His voice, so similar to the one she heard in her nightmares, brought waves of terror. But this time she refused to give in.

  She’d frozen the last time a man had grabbed her. Forgotten all her training and panicked. She wouldn’t let that happen again.

  Nicholas obviously wasn’t expecting any fight out of Caroline. She certainly hadn’t given one as he’d watched Brodey try to take her from the safe house.

  This idiot probably didn’t know that he’d walked into a church full of highly trained special agents. Caroline didn’t know if any of them were carrying weapons, but she knew Zane was. He’d balked about having to get a special permit for his ankle holster for the plane ride here yesterday. But he wasn’t planning on going anywhere without a weapon after what had happened recently.

  All she had to do was give Zane a chance and not let this guy drag her out of the building.

  Caroline met eyes with Zane, who gave her the slightest nod. He knew what she was planning, in sync with her the way they always had been. He trusted her to be able to do it.

  Without warning she let all her weight go limp in Trumpold’s grasp around her throat. When he shifted his stance to get a better hold on her,
she made her move. She threw her heeled shoe back as hard as she could, gouging him in the shin, causing him to loosen his hold. She spun in his loosened grip, bringing her elbow around to clock him in the jaw.

  When his head snapped around at her strike, she continued her momentum, swinging her arms around in a double fist, knocking the gun out of his hand and straight toward Zane. Then Caroline dropped to the ground, out of the way.

  She hadn’t been there the day Zane shot Paul Trumpold, saving Jon’s and Sherry’s lives and ending Trumpold’s reign of terror over so many women.

  But she was here this time when he put a bullet in Trumpold’s chest before he could get his gun up and pointed at her. She was sure it was just as impressive.

  That was her man. And she loved him.

  In the aftermath of the situation, it was easy to tell who was an Omega Sector agent and who wasn’t.

  Everybody from Omega came forward to make sure Nicholas Trumpold was secure. Everybody who wasn’t an agent made a mad rush to an exit to get away from a possibly dangerous situation.

  Knowing Trumpold was taken care of, Zane moved quickly to Caroline, his face worried. His hands were gentle, ready to pull away if she seemed overwhelmed by what had happened.

  “Caro, are you okay?”

  Was she okay? Was he kidding? She knew she was grinning like an idiot but couldn’t find it in her to care.

  She had not been another damn victim.

  “Did you see that move? Would’ve been a hell of a lot easier if I hadn’t been in this dress.”

  The worry slid out of his eyes and he pulled Caroline against his chest. “It was pretty impressive. Trumpold definitely didn’t expect it.”

  “But you did. You knew I could do it.”

  He kissed her forehead. “Of course you could do it. You just had to believe in yourself.”

  He wrapped his arms tighter around her as a couple of agents handcuffed Trumpold.

  “I guess he’s not dead.”

  Steve Drackett, head of the Critical Response Division of Omega, shook his head. “No. He’ll soon be joining his sister in prison. Charged with attempted murder and ruining a perfectly good wedding day.”

  They all looked up at the bride and groom. Sherry looked white as a ghost and Jon was holding her tightly.

  “I’m so sorry, Sherry.” Caroline left Zane’s arms and walked toward her friend. “He ruined your wedding.”

  “No, that’s not it,” Sherry said, looking at Caroline, then over at Steve and the other Omega agents. “I saw Damien Freihof. He was in the back corner of the church.” She pointed in the direction. “He gave me a wave, then left in the middle of the panic.”

  Zane could hear the muttered curses of the agents around him, toned down because they were in a church.

  “How did he know about this wedding?” Steve asked. “How did either of them know about this?”

  The wedding hadn’t been a secret, but it hadn’t been made public in any way, either. Omega had too many enemies for that, Freihof being number one of them.

  “We’ve got a mole, Steve,” Jon said. “We can’t deny that anymore. Damien is working with someone inside Omega Sector.”

  * * *

  THE WEDDING WAS moved to the Omega Sector chow hall. It was the only place big enough to hold all one hundred guests.

  And after what had happened, nobody minded having to go through a metal detector to get to the ceremony.

  Jon and Sherry were determined that their wedding would go on. Today. Exactly one year to the day from when Jon had proposed. Damien Freihof would not stop them from getting married on the day they had planned.

  Zane had to admit it was the most unique wedding he’d seen, but that didn’t make it any less beautiful. Maybe it was because the bride and groom were so obviously in love with each other.

  The caterers had transported the food over from the original reception site, and the musicians had just packed up their instruments and brought them over. The cafeteria opened into a small terrace, so people flowed both inside and out.

  After the ceremony Zane planted an arm around Caroline and didn’t plan to let her go from his side for the rest of the night.

  Hell, he didn’t know if he was going to let her go from his side for the rest of forever.

  “That was some pretty impressive teamwork you two showed at the church today,” Steve Drackett said as they mulled around talking to people and eating the finger food.

  “Thank you,” Caroline said. “Although, we didn’t plan it, believe me. I’m just glad I didn’t freeze up.”

  “Well, if you two decide you’re ready to get out of Corpus Christi, be sure to come see me about openings here at Omega. We could always use people who stay cool under pressure.” Steve turned to Caroline. “And we could use a good medic for our SWAT team.”

  Zane loved Caroline’s smile, and if she had expressed an interest in Steve’s offer, Zane would’ve followed her lead.

  “Sorry, afraid we’re Texas folk, through and through. I don’t think we could ever truly leave,” Caroline said.

  “I certainly respect that. But let me know if you change your mind.”

  A beautiful lady with a dark-haired baby in her arms came up to Steve. “No shoptalk at the wedding. I could tell from across the room you were talking business.”

  Steve reached down and kissed her and took the baby from her arms. “Busted.” He smiled at Caroline and Zane as he led his wife back to the action.

  Caroline turned to him, worry in her eyes. “I shouldn’t have spoken for you, Zane. I’m sorry. Omega Sector might be a dream come true for you.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. “No, I don’t want to leave Texas. Especially not now just as I’m getting re-situated in the police department. Tim Harris would have my ass if I quit now, even for Omega Sector.”

  “You’re really going to go back to the department full-time?”

  “Yeah. It’s where I belong. We both know that.”

  Her smile beamed. “Stay right here. I brought something with me and I think it’s just about time.”

  “What is it?”

  “I’ll get it and show you.”

  “Maybe I don’t want to let you go.”

  “I’m just going across the room.” She rolled her eyes.

  He pulled her up tight against him. “Maybe I’m not just talking about here. Maybe I’m talking about forever.”

  She reached up and put both her hands on his cheeks. “I can’t promise you forever, Zane. Not yet. There’s something missing.”

  He fought to tamp down the disappointment that swamped him at her words. She needed more time, he had to understand that. After what she’d been through, who could blame her for needing more time?

  It was hard, but he let her go. He watched as she scurried across the room to a gift bag she’d brought and left by one of the doors. She’d had it on the plane and even had it at the church earlier. He’d assumed it was a gift for Jon and Sherry, but now she was bringing it back to him.

  She held the string of the bag with one hand as she stopped directly in front of him. She reached into it and pulled out his white cowboy hat.

  Zane didn’t know what to say. She must have grabbed it from his house, although he hadn’t seen her do it. Before he could think of anything, she slipped it onto his head.

  “Now,” she whispered, dropping the bag and smiling up at him.

  “Now what?” he said, unable to stop the smile spreading all over his face. He pulled her to him, knowing he would never be able to let her go again.

  “Now you’re ready to rejoin the force, and you and I are ready for our forever.”

  * * * * *

  Look for the next book in Janie Crouch’s

  OMEGA S
ECTOR: UNDER SIEGE

  miniseries next year.

  And don’t miss the previous title in the

  OMEGA SECTOR: UNDER SIEGE series:

  DADDY DEFENDER

  Available now from Harlequin Intrigue!

  Sheriff Flint Cahill can and will endure elements far worse than the coming winter storm to hunt down Maggie Thompson and her abductor.

  Read on for a sneak preview of

  COWBOY’S LEGACY,

  A CAHILL RANCH NOVEL from

  New York Times bestselling author

  B.J. Daniels!

  Join Harlequin My Rewards today and earn a FREE ebook!

  Click here to Join Harlequin My Rewards

  http://www.harlequin.com/myrewards.html?mt=loyalty&cmpid=EBOOBPBPA201602010003

  We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Intrigue story.

  You crave excitement! Harlequin Intrigue stories deal in serious romantic suspense, keeping you on the edge of your seat as resourceful, true-to-life women and strong, fearless men fight for survival.

  Enjoy six new stories from Harlequin Intrigue every month!

  Connect with us on Harlequin.com for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!

  Other ways to keep in touch:

  Harlequin.com/newsletters

  Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks

  Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks

  HarlequinBlog.com

  Join Harlequin My Rewards and reward the book lover in you!

  Earn points for every Harlequin print and ebook you buy, wherever and whenever you shop.

  Turn your points into FREE BOOKS of your choice

  OR

  EXCLUSIVE GIFTS from your favorite authors or series.

  Click here to join for FREE

  Or visit us online to register at

  www.HarlequinMyRewards.com

  Harlequin My Rewards is a free program (no fees) without any commitments or obligations.

  Cowboy’s Legacy

  by B.J. Daniels