When Love Strikes

by Christina Tetreault

  “Be careful.”

  He insisted the arrests he would be taking part in tomorrow were nothing like what she saw in the movies, and that everyone involved did everything to make them as safe as possible. He’d even given her the exact number of FBI agents who had been killed while in the line of duty. She couldn’t deny the number was remarkably low, but it didn’t stop her from worrying about him. Maybe as time went on, the fear would diminish, but tomorrow’s arrests would be his first since they’d become so close.

  His arms encircled her and held her snugly against his body. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. Promise.” He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her with such tenderness she shivered. His kiss didn’t stay tender. Soon her heart hammered in her chest, and she yanked his shirt from his waistband so she could slide her hands along his bare skin.

  Without any warning Dakota’s lips left hers. “If I don’t stop, I’ll never leave.”

  She felt the rapid rise and fall of his chest against hers as well as his erection pressing against her.

  “I’ll be over as soon as I can tomorrow.” He released her and took a step back.

  “Be—”

  “Stop worrying.”

  Irrational or not, her concern was real.

  “I love you.” For weeks now she’d known she loved him. And she truly believed he felt the same way, even though he hadn’t spoken the words either. Blurting the truth out tonight hadn’t crossed her mind once, but if he was going into a potentially dangerous situation, she needed him to know how she felt.

  He gifted her with the very smile that had caught her attention the first time they met. It no longer momentarily left her speechless but caused her internal temperature to jump a notch.

  Slipping his hands up her arms, he brought her in close again. “And I love you.”

  She couldn’t let the declaration go without at least a quick kiss, so she brushed her lips against his before moving away. “See you tomorrow afternoon.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  By three o’clock Monday afternoon, she was almost all packed for their trip, and as far as she was concerned, that was good enough for now. It wasn’t like she couldn’t finish with Dakota here. What she couldn’t do with him here was work on her screenplay, and she certainly wouldn’t be able to do it when they were in Aruba.

  The house was quiet for a change. The contractor and his assistants had left for the day over an hour ago, and they wouldn’t be back until she returned from vacation. When the contractor dropped the news on her last week, it had annoyed her. She was well past anxious to get the kitchen and back staircase in working order again. Unfortunately, the rest of the cabinets and flooring she’d selected wouldn’t be delivered until next week, and since the master bathroom was complete, there wasn’t much more they could do until the materials came in. Dakota suggested it was a good thing the men wouldn’t be around this week. While she didn’t stay home the entire time they were there, she always let them in when they arrived and returned before they left. If they worked while she was in Aruba, she’d have to either give them a house key or ask Mia to come over in the morning to let them in and return later to lock up. Neither option appealed to her.

  Before they’d started on the kitchen, she’d gotten in the habit of using the back staircase since it was closer to her bedroom. With the stairs temporarily gone, she grabbed her cell phone off the nightstand and walked down the hallway. When she originally decided to remodel, replacing the old servants’ stairs hadn’t entered her mind. Gregg had incorporated the additional facelift into his designs for the kitchen, and she’d been unable to disagree that what he had in mind would look much better than what was there now. So she’d given him the go-ahead, increasing the amount of time and money it would take to complete the project.

  When she came home earlier, she’d left her laptop in the library. On the occasions she did any writing at home these days, she worked in there. The bookshelves held both her favorite novels as well as her many books on writing, character development, and grammar. In a few months, when the cooler temperatures moved in, she pictured herself working in there while a fire crackled in the fireplace and she had a cup of hot chocolate nearby. For now, she’d have to settle for working with the windows open so she could enjoy the fresh air while a bottle of water sat on her desk.

  Opening the file containing her current work in process, Angie allowed her creative side to take over and lost herself in the story.

  The ringing cell phone near her laptop pulled her back to reality two hours later, and it couldn’t have been at a worse time. She’d been struggling with this scene for days. In fact, she’d skipped it entirely yesterday, hoping if she took some time away from it, she’d figure out exactly how it should play out. Her plan worked. Not long after she started writing, the entire scene fell into place for her. She had more than half of it written, and she wanted it finished before Dakota arrived and she didn’t touch the laptop again for several days.

  She glanced at the device to see whom the call was from before picking it up and answering. She made the mistake of answering a call yesterday from a number not in her contact list. It had turned out to be an individual doing a survey about the upcoming election.

  “I’m running behind,” Dakota explained after they exchanged greetings. “The traffic on 128 was worse than usual. I need a quick shower before I do anything else. It was hot at the range today. I’ll be over as soon as I’m done.”

  Once a quarter, all agents had to pass a firearms qualification test. Dakota had done his today, so instead of being in an air-conditioned office building all day, he’d been outside at the firing range.

  They’d agreed he’d pick her up after work and they’d stay at his house tonight. She could just as easily drive over to his house instead and leave her car in his garage for the week. “Do you—” The doorbell stopped her midsentence. “I’ll be right back. There’s someone at the door. It’s probably something I ordered.”

  Leaving the cell phone on the desk, she pushed her chair back. She’d recently ordered all the bedding, curtains, and lamps for the spare bedroom her parents would use when they came next month. She’d expected the order to arrive last week. On Wednesday, however, she received an email from the company explaining two of the items were temporally out of stock, and the order wouldn’t arrive until sometime this week.

  The doorbell rang a second time before she reached the foyer. “Hold your horses. I’m coming.”

  Opening the door, she found Shane from Door2Door Express on the steps holding a large package in his hands.

  “I was hoping my order would come before I left.” She didn’t want packages sitting outside her house while she was away, and her sister had more important things to do than come by to see if it was there.

  “It’s heavy. Where would you like it?”

  If he left it near the door, she could unpack it and carry the items up or ask Dakota to bring it to the bedroom for her later. “Right here’s fine.” She pointed to a spot near the door and moved back so he could enter.

  If the box was heavy, it didn’t appear as though Shane was struggling with it when he walked inside and placed it where she indicated.

  “Thank you.”

  “Anytime.” He turned as if to leave, but instead he pushed the front door closed. “And now that we’ll be together every day, I can take care of you all the time.”

  Angie didn’t stop to consider where she’d go once she got out of the house. She just needed to get away from Shane. Rushing forward, she tried to reach the door.

  Shane moved immediately, blocking her escape. “The house is ready. I wanted everything perfect before we moved in, but if there’s something you don’t like, you can change it. And wait until you see the view from our bedroom window. It’s breathtaking.”

  The last time he delivered a package, something about him made her uncomfortable. Later she’d told herself she was being silly, that he was harmless. She’d never been mor
e wrong in her life. The guy was crazy. Not only that, he was a lot bigger than her. No one would call her short, but Shane was at least four inches taller and muscular. She’d never be able to fight him off.

  “I can’t wait to show you.” He reached out for her hand, but she clasped them behind her back before he touched her. “It’ll take us a few hours to get home, but I have sandwiches in the car for us.”

  Her neighbors could probably hear her heart, it was beating so hard. “I can’t go tonight.” It was a long shot, but maybe she could get him to leave if he thought she’d go with him another time. “I promised to babysit my niece. We can go tomorrow instead.”

  Angie moved farther away from him. She doubted she could outrun him, but if she made it to the kitchen, she might be able to go out the back door and at least try.

  She only managed a few steps before Shane followed her.

  “We’ve been apart long enough. She’ll have to find another babysitter.” Reaching toward his waist, he removed the gun he had holstered under his shirt. “It’s time to go, Angie.”

  The chances of her outrunning him were low, but the possibility of her outrunning a bullet was nonexistent. And she didn’t need to take another step closer to the kitchen to know he’d follow her if she did.

  If she had her phone, maybe she could somehow dial 911, but it was…. Her thoughts came to a standstill. Dakota was still on the phone waiting for her to finish their conversation. If she went in the other room, maybe she could say something and Dakota would overhear. If he suspected something was wrong, he’d call the police.

  Looked like it was time to play the biggest role of her life.

  Smiling, she touched Shane’s shoulder. “You’re right, Mia can ask Maureen to babysit. But there are some things I need to take with me. My laptop is in the other room.” She headed toward the library.

  Since she was cooperating, she waited for him to put the gun away.

  He didn’t. But at least he didn’t follow her into the room either. Instead, he remained near the doorway watching her.

  “I’ve been working on this screenplay for about a month. It’s coming along. If you want, I’ll let you read what I have so far when we get home tonight.”

  Could Dakota hear her? She didn’t dare touch the cell phone, but she glanced at the screen. The connection was still open. Dakota hadn’t hung up. But was her voice loud enough?

  Her hands shook as she closed the laptop and unplugged it. “It won’t take me long to pack some clothes, Shane.” Tucking the device into her backpack, she glanced at her cell phone again. If Dakota heard her, he hadn’t disconnected yet to call the police.

  “Don’t worry about packing a lot. I’ll buy you whatever you need.”

  He wasn’t as close to the cell phone as her, but hopefully, Dakota could hear Shane’s voice as well.

  Angie left the backpack on the desk on top of her cell phone. If the police didn’t get here before Shane forced her out the door, maybe she could somehow slip the device into the bag later. She certainly couldn’t do it now with him watching her.

  She touched his arm as she passed by him into the hall. “I’ll be right back.” Please don’t follow me.

  Once she reached the top of the stairs, she jogged down the hallway and straight to the master bedroom. None of the rooms had locks on the doors. She hadn’t seen the need to have any installed since she lived alone. Angie wished she had one on her bedroom door now. It might not stop Shane from dragging her out of the house, but it would slow him down.

  Crossing the room, she looked out the window. She couldn’t tell the exact distance to the ground, but it looked like a lot. There was nothing under the window to break her fall either. If she jumped, she’d probably break a leg or an ankle when she hit the ground. She wouldn’t be able to run if she broke either. She’d be a sitting duck waiting for Shane to find her and drag her off.

  If the back staircase was still in place, she could slip down those and be out the kitchen door before he realized she was gone, but all the treads were missing, making it useless.

  Dakota heard me. He’ll call the police. Somehow she just needed to make sure Shane didn’t get her out of the house before help came.

  The attic. She could hide up there. Only a handful of people knew the secret room existed, and Shane wasn’t one of them.

  Dakota finished his bottle of water and tossed it in the trash. What was taking Angie so long to come back? He could’ve taken his shower and been half dressed by now. After he removed his hat, he kicked off his shoes. The temperature today had been in the high 90s with 100 percent humidity, making for an unpleasant day at the range. All his clothes were soaked with sweat. Hell, even his baseball hat was sweaty.

  “I’ve been working on this screenplay for about a month. It’s coming along. If you want, I’ll let you read what I have so far when we get home tonight.” The sound of Angie’s voice came through his phone, but she wasn’t talking to him. Not only wouldn’t she be telling him that because he already knew, but if she’d been talking into her phone, her voice would be much louder.

  She’d gotten friendly with Ella and Cat over the past few weeks, but he doubted either would stop at this hour on a Monday night.

  “It won’t take me long to pack some clothes, Shane.”

  His entire body froze as a giant hand reached into his chest and squeezed. Dakota didn’t know who Shane was, but there was no mistaking the desperation and fear in Angie’s voice.

  “Don’t worry about packing a lot. I’ll buy you whatever you need.” Shane’s voice was softer, indicating he was farther from wherever Angie’s cell phone was.

  Dakota shoved his shoes on and raced down the stairs. Most days he found it a nuisance that he carried two phones, one for work calls and another for personal ones. At the moment, having two meant he could keep the connection with Angie’s phone and call the police.

  Afraid of alerting whoever was in the house to his arrival, he parked in front of a house several feet away. A maroon-colored two-door car was parked in Angie’s driveway. It was the only indication something was wrong.

  The fear squeezing his heart urged him to knock down the door and rush inside. His common sense and years with the FBI told him to hold back and wait for the police to arrive. Going into an unknown situation alone was a terrible idea, and at the moment, he had few details about the situation inside. Nothing Angie said let him know if the guy had a weapon or not. He also had no way of knowing where in the house they were. When she went upstairs to pack, had Shane followed her? If he hadn’t, there were plenty of rooms on the first floor for the guy to wait in. The only one he might not bother with was the kitchen. The room had no furniture or even counters.

  When he’d called her earlier, she’d been in the library working. If she’d left her phone in there while she answered the door, she couldn’t have been far from the room when he heard her talking. Maybe the asshole inside had stayed in there while Angie went up to pack. There was no way to tell. Not another sound had come through the phone since Shane told her she didn’t need to pack a lot.

  The police should be there at any moment. But he couldn’t wait. Already the guy had been in there long enough to do God knew what. He needed to get her out of the house now.

  Dakota paused long enough to grab both his cell phones off the passenger seat. Then he sprinted toward Angie’s neighbor. Since he didn’t know where Shane was, he figured his best point of entry would be through the kitchen door. He kept his fingers crossed that no one would be in the Plantes’ backyard when he jogged through it toward Angie’s house. He didn’t have the time to answer their questions, and he didn’t need them interfering.

  Drawing his gun, he unlocked the door and quietly slipped inside.

  “Do you need help, Angie?” a male voice inside the house called out.

  He didn’t know Shane’s exact location, but he was on this floor. Dakota listened for Angie’s response as he crept across the kitchen. He wanted her as far
away from danger as possible, considering the situation.

  “Angie?” Shane called out again when she didn’t reply.

  Unless she jumped out a window, there was no way for her to escape the second floor. She had to be in the house. Was she hiding, hoping to delay the asshole’s plans until help got there? If she was hiding, someone in Shane’s state of mind would be pissed when they found her. There was no way to know what he might do once he got angry.

  He couldn’t let Shane get upstairs.

  With his weapon at the ready, he silently moved down toward the library.

  Dakota recognized the guy moving away from the sofa. He’d seen him waiting tables at Masterson’s restaurant. Something about the guy had always struck him as a little odd when he waited on him, but nothing suggested he was out of his mind.

  More importantly, he recognized the make and model of the gun sitting on the table next to the sofa. Before Shane saw it, Dakota moved his pistol behind his right leg so it wouldn’t be visible but still ready in case he needed it. If left with no other choice, he’d do it, but he’d rather not shoot someone in Angie’s house.

  Shane’s eyebrows bunched together and he blinked rapidly when he spotted Dakota, then he took one step back toward the sofa and end table.

  “You don’t want to do that.” Dakota kept his left hand up and facing Shane while at the same time keeping his body slightly angled with his gun still hidden behind his leg.

  He stopped. “I’m not going to let you stop us.” His nostrils flared as he formed a fist. “Angie loves me. We belong together. I have everything ready for her.”

  “I know she does.” Dakota struggled to keep his tone neutral. He wanted to end this in the safest way possible, which meant he had to talk this guy down, keep him from picking up his weapon. As soon as Shane reached for his gun, Dakota would have no choice but to shoot him. “I’m here to help you.”

  Shane’s gaze drifted past Dakota toward the foyer for a brief moment before settling on his face again.