“Well, I said the guy was a Marine, but the rest of the story is that he had extensive combat training and was a sniper in Afghanistan.”
That hit her so hard it almost knocked the wind out of her.
“Then …”
Roger and Nick were both nodding but Nick spoke first. “Yes, that means that if he’s the one who shot me, he wasn’t aiming at me or I’d be dead now.”
A cold chill went all over Nicole then, causing her to shiver, and both men started toward her, but she quickly waved them off.
“I’m okay. It’s all become a little clearer but also much more dangerous. I saw what some of those snipers could do over there. They rarely miss their target.”
* * *
“So, did I, Nicole.” Roger leaned toward her, wanting to take her hand but didn’t dare since he knew Nick was watching him closely.
“That’s why we need to be very careful from now on to keep you out of sight and away from them.”
She quickly looked at his eyes. “We?”
He knew it was now or never. He had to convince her that she needed him to help keep her safe.
“Yes, Nicole. We. I think you and Nick need all the help you can get.”
He turned to Nick. “Do you have any training?”
Nick shook his head but pointed at his back. “Nothing more than I had to have to get a Conceal Carry Permit. Working late in downtown Kansas City is not always the safest thing to do.”
Roger nodded at Nick. “That’s better than nothing.” He looked back at Nicole. “I know you were an MP, but you don’t know I was a Ranger.”
Her eyes lit up at that comment as he knew it would. “So, Mr. Roger McCracken. There’s more to you than meets the eye.”
He nodded. “I’m not bragging and most of the time, I wish I’d never volunteered to go into the Rangers, but I’ve had the training to deal with a guy like Andrews.”
“Does that mean you are volunteering to help us? Why?”
She was giving him a look he’d never seen before and he didn’t know what to make of it. But he knew how he had to answer that question, honestly.
“I’ve already told you that I admire you for your determination and forceful character.”
Nick grinned and shook his head causing Nicole to give him a dirty look.
She turned her stare back on Roger and nodded her head slightly as if to tell him to go on since he apparently hadn’t convinced her yet.
He blew out a sigh. “Well, even I think it’s too soon for me to be saying this but it’s a fact. I’m attracted to you as a woman, Nicole.”
Amazingly, he’d shocked her with that declaration. Her eyes went wide, and her face turned red all at the same time. She tried to look away to keep him from seeing it, but it was there whether she wanted him to see it or not.
He knew he needed to look at Nick to see how he was taking all this, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Nicole’s beautiful face.
Finally, she looked back up at him. “You couldn’t be. For the last six years no man has ever looked at me twice.”
He laughed. “That’s their mistake. I did look twice and what I saw was this beautiful, caring woman who is the most capable person I’ve ever known.”
Well, he’d gone all the way now, and he finally took a quick look at her brother. Nick was staring at him like he’d just grown another head. Shock wasn’t quite strong enough to describe it but was it good or not?
He looked back at Nicole who still seemed to be speechless.
“Another advantage you have with me helping is that Floyd shares most everything with me and unless he specifically tells me not to tell anyone, you’ll know everything I know.”
Roger was surprised, and he thought Nick might have been too when instead of saying anything, Nicole turned her wheelchair around and left the room.
He looked at Nick who shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her do that before. Usually, she’ll go nose to nose with anybody who gets in her way.”
Roger didn’t know what else to do, so he simply sat there waiting to see what Nicole would do next. Would she stay out of the room until he left? He hoped not. That would probably mean she didn’t want his help.
After two or three minutes, Nick stood. “I think I’ll go see what she’s up to. If she blows up at me, she’ll get over it quickly. Stay here or we’ll both be in trouble.”
Roger watched helplessly as Nick went to the back of the house in the direction Nicole had gone.
He sat there thinking, trying to remember if he’d said things the way he’d meant to. But then, he realized it didn’t matter how he said them. What mattered was how Nicole took what he’d said.
* * *
Nicole sat in her dark bedroom thinking or maybe trying not to think.
She had never been so embarrassed in her whole life. She had never expected to have any man say he was attracted to her at least not since Afghanistan. Was he serious? Was he telling her the truth?
She thought she was a good judge of character and could tell a lot by the look in someone’s eyes and the expressions on their faces even if she couldn’t hear their voices. And, the more she thought about it, the more she was sure Roger had been sincere.
Now what? She couldn’t go back in there now. Could she? She’d just have to wait back here until Roger left.
She saw movement to her right and looked around to see Nick easing himself down on the side of her bed. He waited until she looked up at his face before saying anything.
“You okay?”
She and Nick knew each other so well that all he had to do was ask that simple question and she’d know exactly what he meant. He wasn’t asking about her emotional state and certainly not her physical health. He was asking her if she was okay with what Roger had said. Was she? She didn’t really know. How could she? This was totally new territory for her.
But when she started talking to the only person who really understood her, it became clearer to her.
“All my life, I’ve only been certain that one person loved me. It should have been my parents too. But I’ve learned the hard way that neither one of them is capable of that kind of love. But you Nick. You’ve always been there for me.”
Thankfully, Nick not only remained silent, but he also stayed right where he was on the edge of her bed.
“It truly frightens me to think someone else could have those kinds of feelings for me.”
She’d been looking down at the floor but suddenly looked up at her brother.
“Do you think it’s true Nick? Do you really think he is attracted to me the way men are to normal women?”
Nick held up both hands. “Stop right there Laine. You are more normal than any other woman I’ve ever met, twice as much as most.”
They were both quiet for another long moment then she looked back at him again. “Do you think he left?”
Nick grinned at her then. “Nope. I told him not to. I thought for sure I could talk you out of this bedroom, but I haven’t really had to say much. You’ve done all the talking and I think you’ve pretty much talked yourself back into that living room.”
When she just gave him a startled look, he laughed again. “Come on Laine. Let’s go see what else the man has to say. I think there’s much more coming.”
That frightened her almost as much as Roger’s declaration had. But just the same, she followed Nick out of her bedroom and into the living room.
Roger was still there!
Ever the gentleman, he stood when she came back into the room and resumed her position between her brother and him.
One thing she was learning about Roger McCracken was that unlike his big brother, the sheriff, he was normally a quiet man and he didn’t push himself on other people the way Floyd did.
“What is Floyd doing other than getting Andrews’ photo out to his department?”
Roger smiled, and she knew then that he took her coming back into the room to be her acc
eptance of what he’d said before about him being attracted to her. She liked that. She didn’t have to embarrass herself and say anything. He knew.
“Well, the last time I talked to him was late morning, and he was doing a thorough background search on Andrews. He said he was also requesting the guy’s service record. He wasn’t sure he’d get that on the first try but if he didn’t, he knew he could get it through the FBI office in Springfield.”
“I’m impressed. Why is he doing all that?”
He laughed and shook his head slightly. “Floyd is my brother. He may not be my twin brother like Nick is to you but either one of us will do anything to help the other.”
“So, he’s helping you instead of me?”
“No. He would do most of that stuff for any woman who’s been threatened the way you have.” He grinned at her then. “The difference is that I didn’t have to ask him. He knew how I felt about you and he’d doing all the extras because of that. So, he’s helping you more because of me.”
She couldn’t help it, she had to smile at that.
“So, what do the three of us do while your brother is doing all the things he’s doing?”
Roger looked over at Nick. “You good with all this?”
Nick nodded. “Yes, but I don’t mind saying this in front of Nicole. You hurt her and you will have me to contend with.”
“Fair enough.”
“All right, you two. I’m sitting right here. Don’t talk about me like I’m not even here.”
They all laughed at that and Roger rose to leave and suddenly Nicole didn’t want him to leave.
“Well, as long as we’re all on the same page here, I’ll leave and let you two have your evening together. I’ll let you know if Floyd finds anything else out. Meanwhile, keep everything locked and the alarm on.”
He walked toward the door but turned so she could see his face. “Stay out from in front of windows and doors.”
She watched him go out the door and had the urge to follow him but of course she stayed right where she was. She wasn’t about to give the man too much to go on … yet.
Chapter Ten
It was dark when Roger left Nicole’s house. He didn’t want to leave her for several reasons. The two most important ones were that he wanted to stay and protect her, and he just plain wanted to be with her. He’d never enjoyed being around any other woman as much as he did Nicole.
He couldn’t explain why, at least not in a few sentences. He simply liked everything about her. Most of the time anymore, he hardly noticed that she was in a wheelchair. And her deafness never entered into it unless he forgot and turned away from her to say something. But he was learning not to do that.
Except for his mother and his sister, he’d never been around many strong women. But Nicole was about the strongest he’d ever known, and it was definitely appealing to him.
He was deep in those thoughts when he heard a thudding sound accompanied by the sound of glass breaking. It was only then that he could process the next sound he heard right after the glass sounds. It was a rifle that had been fired several times.
He hunkered down as much as he could and steered the Jeep to the side of the street then ducked down in the passenger side floorboard. He pulled out his Glock and set it on the seat near his face. Then he pulled out his cell phone and punched the Speed Dial number for Floyd’s cell phone.
“Floyd, I’m at the corner of Maple and State. Somebody just shot out the rear window of my Jeep.”
“Stay put. Somebody will be there within five and I’ll be there as quick as I can after that.”
Roger disconnected the call and raised his head enough above the passenger seat to see out the back window, but he couldn’t see through it. The bullet holes were spaced perfectly to cause the cracking from each hole to intersect with the one next to it to fill the window with cracks.
He shook his head. This guy really knew what he was doing. It had to be the former sniper. They were trained to do exactly that among a lot of other things.
The street remained quiet until the first deputy arrived. He knew the shooter was long gone by then. But, just in case, he wasn’t about to get out of his vehicle and neither did the first deputy on the scene. They both waited for his backup.
It wasn’t until the street was full of sheriff’s cars including Floyd’s that everyone got out of their vehicles and searched the area.
Roger leaned up and pulled himself up into the passenger seat just as Floyd’s face appeared in the driver’s side window. Floyd opened the driver’s door just as Roger opened the passenger door and stepped out. They met in front of his Jeep.
Roger quickly replaced his Glock in its holster.
Floyd looked him over. “You all right? I didn’t ask before because I needed to get people heading this way and I figured if you could talk then you were probably okay.”
Roger couldn’t help it. He laughed at Floyd’s logic. But he couldn’t fault it either.
“Did you see anything?”
“No. I was headed the same way the Jeep is pointed now, and I heard the glass breaking and the thuds as the slugs hit something in the back. Then I heard three shots.”
They walked around behind the Jeep and Floyd pointed at the three holes and whistled. “That was some professional shooting. He spaced them exactly far enough apart that they sent cracks over the whole window so you couldn’t see out.”
Roger frowned and had a shiver run up his back. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. It sure looks like the work of someone trained to do that.”
“Open the hatch.”
Roger reached into the Jeep and pushed the button that released the rear hatch and Floyd pulled the bottom part open and shined his flashlight all over the interior.
Then he closed the hatch and shined his flashlight through the holes until they lined up with the slugs in the back of the back seat.
Floyd turned and looked behind them. He pointed to where one of the police cars was now sitting. “I’d say the guy was sitting in some kind of vehicle right about there. He must have been in the car which caused the brass to stay in the car when they were ejected.”
Roger groaned. “Yeah, then there’s no evidence.”
“Nope. I’m not counting on it except for the slugs they’re digging out of your back seat.”
They were standing under a streetlight and Roger could see his brother’s face and he knew what he would say before he said it.
“You going to tell Nicole, or you want me to?”
“You really think she needs to know?”
“Yep. You told her about Andrews, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“Then she needs to know about this too.” He scratched his head. “And I would say you need to go back to her house and tell her right now.”
“How did you know I just came from there?”
Floyd laughed loudly. “Two reasons. I know you and we’re only two blocks from her house.”
Roger couldn’t argue with that logic either. “Okay. I’ll go there right now then.”
As he was getting in the Jeep, Floyd called out to him. “If you need me there for any reason, just call me. I’ll be here for another fifteen minutes or so.”
Roger waved and got in the Jeep.
As he drove the two blocks back to Nicole’s house, he rehearsed how he would tell her and her brother he’d just been shot at.
He still hadn’t decided exactly what he wanted to say when he rang her doorbell.
* * *
After Roger left, Nicole wheeled her chair over to her recliner and pulled herself up into it. Nick moved to the other end of the sofa to be directly across from her.
Neither one said anything for almost five minutes. She could tell Nick was deep in his own thoughts and she certainly was.
How could a virile man like Roger want anything to do with a deaf cripple? Surely there were lots of other women around who would love to be with him. Why her?
As if he’d rea
d her thoughts, Nick shocked her with, “Because he sees the real you behind that façade you hide behind.”
That didn’t surprise her at all. She and Nick had been doing that to each other all their lives.
“And who is that?”
He laughed. “You always did cut yourself down, even before Afghanistan.”
She frowned and waved her hand in the air. “You know how both Dad and Mom always cut me down. I could do nothing right as far as they were concerned.”
Nick blushed. “Yeah, I know Laine and I’m really sorry they did that to you. It makes it even worse that they didn’t do it to me. I’m so sorry.”
She was saved from having to respond when the doorbell light flashed. She was in her recliner and didn’t really want to go to all the effort to slide out of it into her wheelchair and go to the door.
She was glad when Nick jumped up. “Stay there. You look comfortable. I’ll get it.”
Nicole watched as Nick went to the door and laughed when he had to bend over to look out her peephole.
“It’s Roger again. I wonder why he’s back so soon.”
So did she, but something in her was glad he was.
When Nick opened the door, Roger stood on the other side for a long moment as if he didn’t want to come in or was afraid to do so. Which was it?
Finally, he came in and she looked at him. “Have a seat Roger. You can put your coat there on the chair arm.”
As soon as Roger was settled on the opposite end of the sofa from Nick, her brother, always impatient prompted him.
“What brought you back so soon Roger? Did you forget something before?”
Roger shook his head then looked directly at Nicole. “Someone shot out the rear window of my Jeep just two blocks from here.”
Cold fear wrapped around her so badly she couldn’t have spoken if her life depended on it.
Nick yelled. “What? You’re kidding?” He looked closely at Roger’s pale, tense face. “You’re not kidding.”
Roger shook his head but never took his eyes off Nicole. “Floyd and I both agree that it was done by someone trained to space his shots so that the whole rear window cracked, and I couldn’t see out it.”
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