Sunny snaked her hands up around his neck, drawing him in tight as their breath mingled. Judson walked her backward until she hit the hard wood of the cabinet for a second time. She ignored the stab of the cupboard handle jabbing into her backside.
With no thought to what was happening upstairs, Sunny rose up on her toes demanding more. Her lips pulsated against Judson’s. When his hand trembled against her cheek in a soft caress she lost touch with reality.
“Judson.” Sunny’s weakened body drifted farther into Judson’s as his fingers glided down her arms, pulling them to her sides where their fingers intertwined. He forced them behind her before his tongue thrust into her mouth. She sagged against him.
Their bodies molded together, she not only heard her own heartbeat, but his as well when he curved his fingers around her rear and squeezed. Her stomach quivered and heat soared through her lower extremities, her legs turned to mush.
That’s when the click of the handcuffs against her wrist connected her to the handle of the locked cupboard. She tried to pull away, but it was a lost effort.
“What the hell…Judson?” She looked up at him, her knees shook, her body still inflamed with fever.
“Like I was saying, you wait here and I’ll go upstairs to check it out. Backup’s already been called, so you’re safe until your brothers arrive.” Judson winked before walking toward the steps to the third level. Once he reached them he turned toward her and smiled. “Gotcha,” he whispered with his notorious grin.
Sunny kicked the air behind his retreating back as he made his way up the next level of stairs.
“Damn you Judson Blackwolf, you’re going to pay.” Sunny spoke the words under her breath, but they weren’t angry. She couldn’t blame him. If she’d thought of it first she would’ve done the same thing.
She slid the cuffs down the length of the handgrip and tugged, of all the parts of this decrepit old building, of course this handle was the sturdiest.
Sunny pursed her lips as she twisted her hands around in the circle of the cuffs. Judson hadn’t locked the ratchet to the smallest size. It wouldn’t be a problem to work her hands through the hoop. She’d savor the look of surprise on his face for the rest of her life when she made her way upstairs to join him.
All along she’d told him this was her baby. He should’ve known better than to think a pair of handcuffs would stop her.
With her thumb tucked into her palm Sunny turned her wrist to slowly work her hand through the cuff. Freeing one, she did the same with the other, grinning when the handcuffs swayed against the wood cabinet, empty.
Raised voices came from overhead, followed by scuffles and pounding footsteps. Someone yelled and then the pop of gunfire echoed throughout the building.
A heavy weight invaded her stomach and knocked her to the floor. Her knees hit the bare wood with a loud boom. The pain which shot up her legs didn’t faze her as fear gripped her entire body. Judson. An image of him alone upstairs on the cold floor, with a bullet hole marring his body filled her mind. Her vision blurred and her hand clutched her chest, then she heard him yell out. It gave her the strength to stand and run up the short flight of stairs.
She tightened her grip on the Pink Lady revolver, stopping on the last step which led to the third floor.
“Next time I shoot, I’ll hit more than your leg.” Vivian’s coarse voice ate away at Sunny’s spine.
Nobody spotted her, so Sunny glanced around the room until she spied Judson. He lay with his back resting against the wall, his legs stretched before him, a circle of blood above his left temple and a thin trail trickling down the side of his face. He stared blankly into space and even though relieved he was alive, it was apparent he’d been knocked hard with either the butt of Vivian’s revolver or some other blunt object. A dark stain, which she assumed was blood, oozed across the thigh of his jeans. Vivian needed to give herself up before she made this even worse for herself.
A slight distance from Judson stood Slater. His watery, shocked eyes seemed unfocused, but he didn’t appear to be hurt, just stunned. Not sure of what exactly had transpired she turned her attention to Vivian.
She studied the older woman’s profile. From the looks of things she’d tried to change the color of her already dyed black hair to garish red, but had missed several patches. The bad dye job paled her pasty complexion. Her lips set in a straight line and her green eyes hard and empty.
“Let’s make this easy, Vivian.” Sunny jiggled the cuffs looped on her jeans as she stepped forward. “How about I give you a beautiful set of bracelets before anyone else gets hurt?” She aimed her revolver straight at the woman’s head.
Vivian laughed as she turned mechanically toward Sunny. The evil sound gripped Sunny’s chest.
“I’ve got nothing to lose at this point. Let’s go for it.” Vivian lunged at her, shoving her forcibly into the wall. Sunny’s gun slipped from her grasp on impact and hit the floor with a resounding thud before it spun out of reach.
The gun in Vivian’s shaky grasp raised in the air as both women fell to the floor. Sunny rolled over Vivian and tried to grip her gun wielding arm, but Vivian kicked her in the side with her steel toed boot and Sunny fell away, her ribs screaming in pain.
Before Sunny had a chance to steady the burning throb of her ribcage, Vivian jumped on her, wringing her hands around her neck, one still clutching her gun. Sunny slugged Vivian in the eye. The woman hissed as if she were a wounded animal, her skeletal fingers stronger than they looked as they ripped the gold heart pendant from Sunny’s throat. The soft sound of the precious metal skidded across the unfinished wood floor.
The anger in the pit of Sunny’s stomach rose up to give her strength. She fisted her hand and with every pound of her body behind her slugged Vivian in the jaw at the same time she rolled to straddle her waist, pinning her arms above her head.
Vivian groaned, slack jawed and stunned. As soon as Sunny relaxed enough to suck in a shallow breath of air into her burning chest, Vivian jerked her hips, toppling Sunny over. The older woman then rammed her in the side with her fist, rolled over on top of Sunny and pressed the revolver against her left temple.
“You should never underestimate your opponent.” Vivian’s breath reeked of alcohol. Any image behind her blocked out as her face hovered inches above Sunny’s.
The pain in Sunny’s side squashed the queasiness in her stomach. She was stuck and her eyes darted around hoping to spot something to help her out of this predicament. The nearly empty room didn’t leave many options.
“Any last words, Sunny Kennedy?”
“No—” Slater yelled from across the room. His loud, heavy footsteps sounded on the wooden planks of the floor.
Sunny twisted her head to the side, closing her eyes as she felt the barrel of the gun butt up against her temple.
Slater shoved Vivian away from her. Then two gunshots reverberated through the room and a woman screamed. She had no idea if it was her or Vivian, but the sound curdled her insides and depleted the tiny bit of air in her lungs.
Sunny’s left shoulder flew back against the floor, a sharp sting ripped through her skin. The intense pain rocked her body, and she rolled to the side as Slater leaped over her and tackled Vivian to the floor.
She grabbed the arm that burned in pain, tucking herself into a ball to squelch the ache in her side. Her shoulder and arm felt limp, heavy and she concentrated on the intense pain, trying to control it with short gasps of air.
Judson yelled from across the room, but the deafening pound of her heart blocked out his words.
There was a thud. It echoed across the floor. The room spun and someone took short quick gasps of air, then it went silent.
Sunny tilted her head back and spied her revolver. She stretched her hand in an effort to reach it. Her fingertips brushed the cool metal of the handle. As she flexed her fingers, it turned the gun in a circle, but pushed it farther from her reach.
A warm wetness seeped over her shoulder and upper
arm, engulfing the fibers of her sweater. She glanced at Judson and saw fear on his face. Everything went foggy. She couldn’t hear and her eyesight blurred. Sunny closed her eyes then opened them to blink several times, trying to regain her focus. The icy tips of her fingers touched the odd color staining her sweater. It smelled like iron. She stared at it, touched it again with her fingertips and realized it was blood, her blood. The stain spread, quicker now across her shoulder, down her arm, covering her chest.
She turned her head in Judson’s direction. His face crinkled in pain. He shuffled and limped toward her, falling when he was halfway there. With his upper body strength he pulled himself toward her.
Her mind fogged, afraid for Judson and herself. She glanced at her shoulder. Tremors flinched across her body as her tan sweater turned a brownish red.
Heavy, heart-wrenching sobs filtered through her pain. She twisted her neck to follow the sound. Her chest tightened at the sight of Slater bent over Vivian. He held her head in his lap, his sobs growing louder as he rocked back and forth.
Closing her eyes, Sunny pictured the scene which unfolded only moments ago. Slater tried to save her from Vivian. He pushed his wife from Sunny at the same time Judson fired his gun. Even though Sunny had been shot by Vivian, it appeared Judson hit his target as well. Vivian.
Her arm hurt, the burning pressure and pain ran from her shoulder and down her body, but she couldn’t make any sounds. The hand of her injured arm went numb. She attempted to wiggle her fingers but couldn’t.
Her whole body convulsed in pain, and her breathes came in short, uncontrolled gasps. Air seemed extinct as she fought to fill her lungs. She blinked, and looked up at the raw joists of the ceiling. The room spun, her stomach lurched and she closed her eyes. Sunny felt detached, as if she were floating. She wanted to get up, but her body wouldn’t obey her commands.
Although she kept her eyes closed she sensed Judson’s presence, even before his hand moved through her hair. She forced herself to open her eyelids to focus on his eyes, nose, and lips. His touch relaxed her and each breath became easier.
Sunny couldn’t bare the tenderness in his eyes. She loved him and knowing he didn’t feel the same killed something inside of her.
She wanted him to leave, to go to Montana and be happy.
“Judson?”
“What do you need, baby?” His breath warmed her cheeks as he leaned in.
“Go…just leave…happy…”
Bits of her heart broke off with her every word. Sunny turned away from the sudden hard look in his eyes.
Coldness washed over her entire body. A tear slid down her cheek and Judson brushed it away. She shivered, her mind began to float again.
“Stay with me. Can you do that?”
Desperation coated his voice, he sounded miles away.
“I…don’t think so.”
And everything went black.
Chapter Sixteen
Sirens sounded in the distance. Judson’s mind drifted back to the almost identical scene of the day he’d lost Roxanne. Except this time his chest contracted with a heavy weight as he gazed down at Sunny. As if he’d been shot in the heart instead of the leg.
Damn, when had his feelings ripened and turned into something more than attraction? Protectiveness he understood, but what churned and clutched at his heart scared him. It went deeper.
He fought against a sudden onslaught of emotion. His eyes watered while he smoothed hair from Sunny’s face, erasing the tense lines of pain with his fingertips. He inhaled and the air burned his throat. It tasted like dust mixed with musty, stagnant air.
Judson couldn’t look away from her tiny body curled up next to him. Even as Slater’s pathetic cries met his ears. Perspiration stained Judson’s shirt from the effort exerted to reach Sunny while biting back the discomfort in his leg and head. He blew out a long, shaky breath and pulled himself into an upright position to cradle her head in his arms.
Sunny moaned, shivered and scrunched up smaller. Her features pinched, and he felt her pain deep inside of himself.
Judson continued to brush his fingertips across her skin. Somewhere along the line Sunny not only earned his respect, but his full support in her battle against her family. Although Slater had a rap sheet thicker than some epic novels, it hadn’t deterred Sunny’s brave behavior. Her strength was one of the first things that drew him to her.
“Up here. There’s one more floor.” Shouts preceded the onslaught of heavy footsteps and frantic voices floating up the staircase. Derek reached the room first and rushed toward his sister. He seemed blind to everything in the room, even Judson.
He turned and waved over the first medic who entered the deep, rectangular room, “Over here. Hurry up. She’s lost a lot of blood.”
A paramedic ran over, another close on his heels, and bent to examine Sunny. Another team of medics positioned Judson onto a gurney and rolled him out of the way. As his hand was dragged from Sunny’s face, she frowned, but didn’t open her eyes.
With a heavy sigh, he went limp and let the medics attending him do what they needed. Time ticked by slowly and his gaze kept straying to where Sunny was being taken care of, even though he couldn’t see her through the throng of people surrounding her.
Craig glanced at him over his shoulder. With long strides he came up beside Judson. “You all right, man?”
“Yeah…yeah, I’m fine. What’s the word on Sunny?” Judson tried to sit up to see what was happening, but a bulky medic, with the physique of a weightlifter, pushed him back, telling him to lay still.
“Nothing yet. They’re still assessing her. Hooking her up to equipment.”
Judson grabbed Craig’s upper arm as he turned to his sister’s side. “Hey, Sunny did a helluva job. You should all be proud.”
Exhausted, he thumped back onto the thin pad of the stretcher as if a weight were lifted from his chest. All along he tried to get Sunny to admit she couldn’t handle this type of work and her family knew better, that this was no job for a woman.
Her family was wrong. Hell, he’d been wrong. She could do this job as well as any investigator he’d seen, better than some. With her will and determination alone, Sunny would go far. Working with women in law enforcement had never bothered him before. He’d let what happened to Rox control his mindset, and it’d been a mistake.
Several more paramedics filled the cramped quarters and from the corner of his eye he watched Slater being dragged to his feet, cuffed. Two paramedics made eye contact, one shaking her head, as they tried to find a pulse on Vivian. Judson squeezed his eyes shut. Sorry he’d taken a life, but convinced he’d do it again if it meant saving Sunny.
As he was wheeled from the room he glanced over to where Sunny lay. The blood stained sweater was cut away from her body and thrown off to the side so the medics could get her bleeding under control. An oxygen mask covered her nose and mouth. Her pasty white complexion knotted his gut. Before he could see anymore another medic blocked his view.
Derek glared over his shoulder, the message in his eyes warned Judson to expect to see him later.
When he closed his eyes Sunny’s face filled his vision. He winced against the pain of being bounced down the three flights of steps.
Honest, compassionate, caring and giving…but at the same time stubborn, combative, willful and sassy. The knowledge slugged him between the eyes before he lifted his hand to rub his temples. He’d handcuffed Sunny downstairs not to get his own way, but to keep her safe so she’d be in his life. Not just today, tomorrow or next week, but forever.
All this time his body tried to relay the message his mind wouldn’t listen too. He loved this stubborn woman.
Sunny challenged him. Almost from the beginning there’d been more than simple attraction between them.
As soon as they started working together he questioned his decision to move back to Montana. The day Sunny kicked Derek and him out of her apartment, he confessed to her brother he actually considered taking Sunny up on
her offer to work together. Now he realized he wanted to stay for Sunny, not the job.
Although he couldn’t control how the person he loved acted or what she wanted to do, he accepted it. It was part of what made her unique, and one of the reasons he loved her.
Love. Judson never experienced anything like this. Not even close. All of his thoughts and emotions centered on Sunny. She’d become his main concern. And she always would be. They would be equals. He needed to be there to support her choices like she’d support his.
The evening breeze flowed across Judson’s body as the ambulance doors snapped shut. He covered his eyes with the length of his forearm. Sunny’s words before she’d passed out made it clear she wanted him to go, to leave, so she’d be happy. A bullet to the heart would be less painful, and normally he would give her what she wanted, but he needed to speak with her first. He couldn’t leave until she knew everything.
****
Judson eased his way off of the elevator. His thigh wrapped in a stiff bandage, reinforced by a metal splint. A woman stepped in front of him and pressed her arm against the lift door so it wouldn’t close. He smiled, nodding as he wobbled past. The clunk of his heel hit the linoleum floor with every other heavy step and drew the attention of several nurses, doctors and patients in the hospital corridor. Determined, Judson shuffled down the hallway, the weight of his injured leg making the journey twice as long.
As he approached, the door opened. Derek and Brent emerged. Deep in conversation, their brows creased and their tones hushed. Brent looked up noticing Judson, and then elbowed his brother in the ribs.
“Hey, how’s the leg?” Brent asked. They all stopped in the center of the hallway.
“I was lucky. The bullet missed the bone and made a clean exit, so no surgery. Another four to six weeks and I should have this piece of baggage removed.” Judson slapped his thigh, grinning.
“Looks like the final statements from Slater and Sunny will clear you of any blame in Vivian’s death.” The lines on Derek’s face relaxed. “I know you just came off leave after Roxanne’s death, so this can’t be easy. You doing okay?”
Some Like It in Handcuffs Page 20
