“I’m a cop. I’m paranoid. If he’s still here, he won’t get within twenty feet of us.” He squeezed her tighter. “I’ll never let anyone hurt you, Ally. You’re my life.”
Sirens sounded in the distance, and Ally couldn’t control her fear. She knew Lucky would be here and Lana would make a big deal out of her coming home, but Jesse was right, it wasn’t safe for anyone anymore. She couldn’t put Lily at risk, either.
“What am I going to do, Jesse? I can’t stay with Lana and Lily and put them in danger! I can’t stay here. Maybe a hotel?”
“You’ll stay with me.” His voice was so certain, as if it were the most logical choice.
“I haven’t talked with Michael yet. Until I do, I can’t do that.”
Jesse’s eyes wandered everywhere, missing nothing as he swept the area. “Yeah, well, he could be the one responsible for all we know.”
“Michael wouldn’t hurt a fly,” Ally argued, but then she realized that even though she’d dated him for years, how much did she really know about him?
“Would you rather stay with him?” Jesse’s cold, hard eyes fell on hers, searching. “If the killer did this Ally, you’re in big trouble. And you need around-the-clock protection.”
She didn’t want to fight with him, so instead she turned her attention to his leg. “I’m sorry you’re hurt. Can I take a look at it?”
“It’s a scratch, I’m fine.” His heavy breathing and the sweat across his brow didn’t lend much confidence to his statement.
“You keep an eye out while I take a look at this.”
She carefully rolled his pants leg up as high as she could, but it wasn’t enough. Before she thought it through, she grabbed some scissors out of what used to be a drawer and cut his pants leg opened. He hissed when they both laid eyes on his wound.
“Guess this will teach you to carry women around in the heat of passion. Klutz.” A wry grin spread across her features but he just studied her, looking fierce with a gun in his hand and determination on his face.
She smoothed her palm over his shin and looked at him. “You need a doctor. You could have dislocated your knee. It looks like there might be some splinters in there, too.”
“I’m not going anywhere until I know you’re safe.”
“I’ll come with you. I won’t leave you, Jesse. We’ll be safe in the hospital.”
“No, I’m going to tell Lucky you need a guard. He can stay at my house and stay with you when I’m not around. I’m not risking you getting hurt.”
Ally’s heart lurched at his thoughtfulness. “I’ll be fine, Jesse. We’ll both be fine.”
His harsh gaze landed squarely on hers. “I lost you once. It won’t happen again. Do you hear me?”
All Ally could do was nod. He was rattled. Outwardly, she couldn’t see too much proof, but she knew him. And she remembered the times when they were children and had to hide for fear of getting caught doing something they shouldn’t have. His pulse throbbed in his neck and his teeth were clenched, the muscle twitching there like a heartbeat. He held his gun with white knuckles.
The sirens had finally reached them. No doubt her neighbors would be out in their yards trying to figure out what had happened.
“Ally? Jesse?” Lucky’s voice bellowed from the mudroom.
“We’re in the kitchen!” Ally called.
Lucky’s footsteps rapped against the floor as he walked in. “Good grief. Did they leave anything intact?”
Ally looked around the room. “Not much, that’s for sure. I need to get Jesse to the hospital. He tripped over the table and hurt himself pretty bad.”
“I’m fine, you guys!” he protested. With a grunt he tried to stand but slumped back down before he gained purchase on the floor.
“What was that hotshot?” Ally asked with a tight smile. She hated seeing him in pain.
“Okay, let’s investigate, and then I’ll go to the hospital.”
“Have you searched the premise?” Lucky asked. Two rookies walked in behind him wearing shocked expressions as they looked around. No doubt their little town hadn’t seen much action since Lily’s kidnapping.
“No, I was injured before I could. But I had this.” He waggled his gun.
“Thank goodness for paranoid cops. Hughes and Stiles, check the upstairs. I’ve got downstairs.”
“Jesse, that knee looks bad. I think you should go to the hospital sooner rather than later. Ally, use my cell to call 9-1-1.”
“Can I at least just ride there in a normal car? I don’t think this warrants an ambulance,” he argued, eyeing Lucky hopefully.
“Whoever did this won’t go near a siren because of the attention they draw. I don’t think we should take any chances.”
With a curt nod, Jesse let his head fall against the cabinet. Ally cocked an eyebrow at him while she dialed, and he glared at her. She might have been alarmed if she hadn’t seen the twinkle there as well.
“They’re on their way,” she announced as she hung up.
“I’ll get you for this,” he mumbled, shaking his head. “I hate people fussing over me.”
Ally sat next to him again. “You’ll be fine. Consider this that combustible ending to a near perfect evening.”
“Seriously. Although this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when it started out. In fact, combustible was part of the idea, just not with my knee as part of the busted part.”
Ally smiled grimly. She prayed that his knee wouldn’t be permanently ruined. It could kill his career and any chance he might have for advancement.
Silently, Jesse took her hand in his and threaded their fingers together. He brought her knuckles up to his mouth and kissed them one by one, his eyes never leaving hers. “I love you,” he whispered with bright eyes.
This time Ally smiled a genuine smile. “I love you, too, Jesse.”
****
“Mr. Richards, if you’ll just hold still,” the nurse complained to a wiggling patient.
“Well, you try having someone poke a needle into an open wound and see how still you could be!” Jesse squirmed some more and held tight to Ally’s hand. She gritted her teeth through the pain.
“Ma’am, if you have any good distraction techniques, now would be a good time to use them,” the nurse said in good humor.
“She does, but she’s not allowed to use them in public. You might be scarred for life,” Jesse growled and gripped her hand tighter.
Ally had never been one to flaunt sexuality or even to entice men, but the doctor had stressed how important it was for Jesse’s knee to be numbed up so he could properly examine the wound.
So she didn’t think too much, she just acted. She put her lips on his and kissed him with all her might. It took Jesse exactly one point seven seconds to give up fighting and kiss her back. She gave it everything she had and while his groans embarrassed her, she told herself it was for the greater good. Even after the nurse announced she was finished, Jesse didn’t let Ally go, but rather continued to kiss her senseless.
“That’s some distraction technique,” the nurse trilled with a smile in her voice. “I’ll give the shots some time to kick in and let the doctor know we’re ready.”
When the door closed behind her, Jesse pulled away and shoved lightly at her shoulders. “You little minx.”
Satisfied, Ally sat down in her chair and crossed her legs. “It worked, didn’t it?”
“Yeah, and now I know you’re not above doing whatever it takes to get what you want.”
“Haven’t you known that to be the case since we were kids?”
“A good reminder then.”
“Fair enough. Does it feel better?”
“Not yet. It still burns from the four shots she stabbed me with.”
“Four?”
“That’s right. You’re lucky I love you so much, or I would have bit your face off from the pain.”
Ally couldn’t help it. She threw her head back in a belly laugh that felt so good after the strain of events t
hat evening.
Jesse sobered, and he reached for her hand. “We need to talk about what we’re going to do after we leave here. I don’t want you by yourself until we catch this guy.”
“I can just stay at a hotel. It’s safer than putting my sister’s family in the line of fire. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to Lily after all she’s already been through.”
“You’re not staying at a hotel. Or, if you do, I’m staying, too.”
“That’s clearly not a good idea,” she said, motioning toward his knee. “Apparently I need to lose some weight.”
“Ha. Ha. You know good and well that I love every part of your body. But it’s killing me that our plans got interrupted tonight.”
“We should behave ourselves until things are cleared up with Michael.” She looked down at their hands. “I think he deserves more than a phone call.”
“I think at this point you’re not going to win either way. It’s only seven. Why don’t you call him and let him know what happened? If you meant what you said earlier, that you love me, it’s time, Ally. We could have made love tonight and regardless of my personal opinion of him, I’d rather not sleep with someone else’s girl.”
With a grunt, he pulled his cell phone out and handed it to Ally. She just wasn’t sure she could break up with Michael over the phone. He’d never done anything to deserve that.
“Ally?”
She glanced at Jesse again, unsure.
“After all this, you’re really not going to do it? What pull does he have over you?”
With a quiet voice, Ally answered, “He saved me from myself when you left. If nothing else, he’s a friend.”
“Friends tell each other everything, right?”
He had a point, but Ally didn’t have to like it. It was time to stop being a baby and face the music. She hadn’t acted in the best way and now Michael would have to pay for her crazy indecision.
Carefully, she dialed his number because she wasn’t sure she’d have the courage to do it again. It rang three times before Michael’s baritone came over the line. “Hello?”
“Michael. It’s Ally.”
“Hey! What number are you calling from?”
“I’m at the hospital. My house got broken into, and Jesse got hurt.” She let the implications of that fall silent on the line.
“Are you okay?” His voice was full of dread and suspicion.
“I’m fine. My house isn’t, but I’ll be fine. We think the murderer knows I saw him.”
“What? Ally! What are the police going to do?”
“Jesse wants me to stay with him.” A brief glance in Jesse’s direction confirmed he was listening intently without even trying to hide the fact.
“Are you going to? You can stay with me, you know.”
“I know. But listen, Michael, I haven’t been fair to you.”
“No. No you haven’t.” She thought at first he’d hung up but he finally said, “But I understand.”
“What do you understand?”
“I know you need time and space. You want to call things off with me so you can figure out things with him. But I remember those days after he left. Do you? Do you remember the pain he put you through?”
“It was me, Michael. I’m the one who hurt him. Not the other way around.”
“Even still, if he loved you like he claimed, he wouldn’t have forced you to make that decision.”
“We were both young and stupid. Now we’re adults, and I want to make sure you know where I stand. I can’t keep you waiting in the wings. It’s not fair. I want you to live your life and find someone who can give you the part of themselves that I never could.”
“Are you with him right now?” The anger in Michael’s voice startled her.
“Y-yes.”
“Did he make you call?”
“He didn’t make me do anything I didn’t want to.”
“Ally, I won’t argue. If this is what you want, it’s what you’ll get. Just know that I’ve loved you no matter what. I never left you. I never hurt you. And I certainly would never make you choose.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but the line had gone dead. Without a word, she handed the phone back to Jesse.
“Well?” Jesse asked, his eyebrows rose in question.
“Well what?”
“How did he take the news?”
“About as well as could be expected.”
“You know it was time. But I know it couldn’t have been easy.”
“No, it wasn’t. But there is one good thing to come out of all of this.”
“What’s that?” He shifted in the hospital bed and gave her a lazy grin. Could he read her mind?
She stood and leaned over him, her mouth a mere whisper away from his. “There’s nothing in our way now. I’m all yours.”
Chapter 7
An air cast and two crutches later, Jesse was released from the hospital. Lucky was waiting for them when he walked through the doors of the ER.
“Did you find anything?” Jesse immediately asked.
“He pretty much smashed up everything. There was only one thing he didn’t mess with.”
“What?” both Jesse and Ally said simultaneously.
When they got in the car, Lucky handed them a frame. It was a picture of both of them from her high school graduation, the night they realized there was more than just friendship between them. Jesse glanced at Ally to check her reaction.
“So if he does a little research, he’ll find out I’m a cop. He’s going to feel threatened that our star witness is dating the investigator.” Jesse sighed and pulled Ally close to him in the back of the police car.
“Maybe. Either that or he’s going to take it as an opportunity to play with us, which I think is what he did at Ally’s house. Nothing appears to be missing, and everything was beat up except for this picture. I think he’s trying to let us know he’s on to our trail.”
“Can we just stop talking about it? I’m getting creeped out,” Ally announced and snuggled in next to Jesse.
“You should be, Ally. This man killed someone. One that we know of so far. No telling how many before you witnessed him.” He turned his focus back to Lucky. “I don’t think she should be with Lana and Lily. I want her with me.”
“You know that’s a conflict of interest. You can’t protect her without putting yourself in harm’s way,” Lucky reasoned.
“Guess what, dude. That’s what we do every day. I’d gladly take a bullet for her if it means sparing her that kind of pain.”
Jesse took Ally’s hand and squeezed, trying to give her some measure of comfort.
“She still needs to be in protective custody. I know you love her, but we’ve got to play our cards right. One misstep and the judge could throw out any evidence we have if we don’t get it the right way. And Ally is our evidence.”
Jesse thought for a moment. Lucky was right, but that didn’t mean his inclination wasn’t to throw caution to the wind. He was the only person who could protect her enough when the time came. A deputy or even a bodyguard wouldn’t care enough for her life to save her if push came to shove.
“I’m sorry, Lucky, but I have to do this. Take me off the case if you have to.”
Lucky eyed Jesse through the rearview mirror then returned his eyes to the road ahead. “You know I have to.”
“Jesse, this isn’t necessary. I’ll be fine staying with Daddy or having someone from the department. I trust them.”
“No,” Jesse said, feeling his determination bubble in his chest. “I don’t trust anyone but myself. I’m off the case.” It was the way it had to be. If anything happened to Ally, he couldn’t live with himself.
Lucky glanced at him again then gave him a curt nod. “If that’s what you want.”
“It is.”
“I understand the need to protect her. I think Ally and Lana have more than blood in common.”
Ally sat up. “Speaking of Lana, has anyone checked on James’
s status lately? I know he’s supposed to be in prison for awhile, but that’s never written in stone is it?”
“I’ll check on him when I get back to the station tonight,” Lucky agreed.
Without much fanfare, Lucky dropped them off at Jesse’s house downtown. He hoped he’d remembered to pick up his dirty underwear. He’d done the dishes last night so he should be good with that.
“How can this be your place?” Ally asked as Lucky pulled away.
“It just is. I liked it so I bought it. Grandpa’s trust fund was put to good use.” Jesse jingled his keys.
Ally cocked her eyebrows at him, stirring the heat inside of him. “You gonna behave yourself, Richards?”
Jesse grinned. “I doubt it.”
“At least you’re honest.”
“You’re a free woman now. I don’t have to feel guilty about kissing you.”
“Good.” Ally leaned forward, her eyes intent on his mouth. Her lips grazed his, and she sighed. “I’ll hold you to that.”
Clearing his throat, he unlocked the door and led her inside. At the same time, his cell phone rang. “Richards,” he said in his most authoritative voice.
“Everything all right? Nothing trashed in your place?” Lucky’s voice boomed over the line.
Jesse turned his lights on and scanned the room. “Everything is in order. Thanks for checking.”
Turning his phone off, he turned to Ally, who was looking around. She looked good in his kitchen. She belonged here.
“You know, I bought this place for you.”
Ally’s gaze snapped to his. “What?”
“Remember when we were little and you used to dream about this house? I thought it was fate when it was up for sale the week I came back to town.”
“No pressure,” Ally said with a disbelieving smile.
“No pressure. It’s all good.”
Ally’s smile turned to a frown. “What if you decide I’m not the same girl I was back then?”
“You’re not the same girl. And that’s a good thing. That girl left me with a broken heart.” His arms encircled her waist, and he took a deep breath and kissed her on the nose. “This girl? She’s pretty amazing. She’s brave. She’s beautiful. She’s got the kind of curves that make men drool. And she’s all mine. If she wants to be that is.”
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