So he let his arms loosen around her.
She moved back slightly, her chin lifted, and their eyes met and gazes held.
Heat sparked between them. She inhaled, and he was so close that he felt it.
He wasn't the only one feeling the attraction between them.
Relief and want crashed through him, and he lowered his head to capture her lips with his.
He meant the kiss to be a gentle brush of lips, but she raised on tiptoe to meet him, and he fell deeper into it. His hands tightened on her waist. He wanted her closer.
But he also knew that her emotions had to be seesawing wildly today. And he desperately didn't want to take advantage.
He set her away gently, brushing one last kiss at her temple. "Unless you want to eat eggs and toast again for lunch and supper, I'd better make a run to the store. What do you need?"
He left with a short list of supplies for her, since all her things were still evidence.
He headed for the precinct to talk to the captain. This might be his day off, but he wasn't going to let anything hurt Kylie, not when she'd come back into his life. She'd be safe enough in his apartment, and hopefully, he'd have some answers when he returned.
"You see that?"
Pieter followed Gideon’s nod to a guy gassing up a dark sedan at the gas station across the street.
Evening was falling, and the two Glorvaird men were seated at an outdoor table at the small cafe along Main Street. The gas station was caddy corner across the street.
Pieter didn't see anything amiss. He shrugged.
"He did something to the license plate on his car," Gideon said. He’d tensed beneath the brown jacket he wore.
"Are you certain he wasn't just cleaning off some dirt?"
Gideon turned a stone-set face to Pieter. "I'm going to track them." He slipped from the chair and disappeared before Pieter could respond. The man was uptight, though nothing much had happened in town—at least as far as Pieter knew—since their arrival.
What was he doing here? It was a long shot that Mother was nearby. She could be anywhere in the States by now.
Gideon was never going to trust him, not really. Why was he doing this to himself when he could be with McKenna? She was up in Montana right now, preparing for a pageant next weekend. He knew she had to be careful of her reputation while on the pageant circuit. Rodeo queens were supposed to be unattached young women. So their relationship needed to remain a secret.
She'd put off her enrollment to university until the spring semester. When it began, she'd be in one place. He could... Well, he didn't have any marketable skills, but he could rent an apartment close to her and try, couldn't he? It wasn't as if he had real royal duties.
But what about Mother? She shouldn't be on her own, not with her mental challenges. He needed to find her, settle her, get things figured out. He couldn’t move forward in his relationship with McKenna until that happened. And he couldn’t expect her to wait forever.
6
Twilight was falling when Nick parked in front of his apartment and headed up the outside stairwell. He’d spent too long researching on his computer at the precinct and the day had slipped away.
He had several bags of groceries in the bed of his pickup. He'd come back for them next, but with his arms full of a garbage bag filled with Kylie's possessions, those that the PD had released anyway, he knew she'd want her things first.
He could provide at least one good thing, since the rest was bad news.
He used his key then pushed the door open. His apartment was dim and quiet inside. His stomach pitched.
"Kylie?"
No answer.
A chill went down his spine. Had she left? Why?
He kicked the door closed, then set her bag beside it. He reached for the small handgun in his ankle holster, the weapon he carried when off-duty.
"Kylie? Snowball?"
There. A soft noise from the laundry room—really a small alcove behind the kitchen.
"Kylie?" he tried once more. "It's Nick. Are you okay?"
There was a muffled bark, and his heart leapt.
He lowered the gun to his side as he strode across the linoleum, flipping on the kitchen light as he went.
He rounded the corner to find Kylie and Snow crouched beside the top-and-bottom washer-dryer combo. She was clutching a small wooden mallet that he used to tenderize meat and blinking against the bright light, her pupils large and unfocused.
And panting. Like she was caught in a panic that wouldn't let her go. Worry ratcheted up in his throat.
He squatted in front of her, mindful of the mallet. He also kept his weapon out of sight behind his thigh. No reason to scare her more. "Kylie?"
She blinked again and seemed to come back to herself. "Nick?"
"What happened?"
She was shaking, and he reached out to take the mallet from her trembling hands.
"S-somebody was here."
His hackles went up.
She wasn't finished. "They knocked, but when I looked out the peephole they must've"—she sniffled—"must've covered it up, because I couldn't see anything at all."
He drew her up, intending to have her sit on the couch while he poked his head out the door and looked into the parking lot. He hadn't noticed anything amiss when he'd pulled in. If there were bad guys out there, they were good at hiding.
"Then—then someone started shining a flashlight in the window."
His pulse beat in his temple, adrenaline rushing through him. His hand tightened slightly on his weapon. "How long ago was that?"
She shook her head, eyes a little wild. "I don't know. A few minutes?"
There was a crash of glass, and Nick turned and pushed her behind him, back into the alcove. He pointed his weapon at the window, but didn’t fire. Snow barked but went silent when Nick make a slashing motion next to his thigh with one hand.
He flipped the light off. No reason to give whoever was out there an easy target. The outdoor fire escape attached to the balcony was difficult to access from the ground floor. Who was out there? He felt naked without the bulletproof vest that was a part of his uniform.
"Stay here," he whispered to Kylie. "I'm a police officer," he shouted.
He pulled his cell phone from his hip pocket and dialed dispatch even as he stepped forward to see beyond the kitchen bar to the window.
The fire escape was empty.
Was it Military-Guy? Nick had thought upon meeting him that he had the look of Special Forces. Somebody like that could probably scale the wall like Spiderman.
Which meant Nick had to keep them from climbing inside.
"Dispatch," came Aibgail's voice in his ear.
"This is Nick," he said, voice low to try and keep the possible intruder from hearing. "Someone's vandalized my apartment, broke the window. They might be trying to come inside."
She told him the nearest on-duty officer had been called to an injury accident on the opposite end of town. Not good.
Nick didn't know if they time, not if whoever was after Kylie was Special Ops.
There was no one visible in the window, not a shadow. But the hairs on the back of Nick’s neck remained raised.
The glass had shattered on the floor around a large rock or brick. Had someone thrown it from downstairs? To what end? To flush Kylie out of the apartment? Were they waiting for her to run outside?
He approached the window slowly, from the side, trying to get a glimpse of anybody who might be hanging on the wall or maybe standing on a ladder beneath the window. There was no one there, but he thought he caught motion on the ground.
"Kylie!" he whispered. He motioned her to join him, but as she padded softly across the floor, he realized she was barefoot. "Wait! There's glass everywhere. Here, let me lift you."
She shook her head. "Snow first."
He figured they could argue long enough to get themselves in trouble, so he tucked the gun in his waistband before he quickly reached down and scooped up
the dog with both hands under its belly. His shoes crunched on the glass as he crossed, moving the animal quickly through the living room and leaving it beside the couch with a quick order to "Stay!"
Then he went back for Kylie. Having her in his arms should have been a long-fulfilled dream, not this nightmare he’d walked into.
There were shouts from below.
"Where are your shoes?" he asked as he set her next to the dog. "Get them on. We're getting out of here."
He ran into his room and grabbed a second ammo clip from the top shelf of the closet. He shoved it into his pocket and grabbed his vest. His spare was at the precinct. He wished it were here.
Kylie was frozen where he'd left her, but thankfully she'd donned her shoes. He was a little apprehensive about running onto the upstairs balcony. It would be quicker than climbing down the fire escape. But had someone noticed his arrival? If so, they might be waiting near his truck.
The iron-railed balcony offered no protection. But they were sitting ducks in here.
Options ran through Nick's mind at warp speed, and he finally came to a decision.
They had to go.
Kylie stared up at Nick as he pulled the bulky vest over her head and snugged it around her middle.
His focus was completely on his task, his eyes glued to what he was doing. It was dark in the apartment, and shadows flickered across his face, the dim light illuminating his intent expression. His jaw was locked, his focus completely on his task.
Shivers of fear still ran through her, but she was no longer locked in the dark place she'd gone into when she'd realized someone was attempting to break into Nick's apartment.
Because he was here now.
"What about you?" she whispered, realizing that he wasn't wearing a vest.
"It's not me they're after," he said grimly.
Well, that was scary, but it was hard to be afraid with him looking so close.
He pulled a ball cap down over her forehead and then looked at Snow. She thought she heard him mutter that he wanted some shoe polish, but she couldn't imagine what for. To paint the dog? "Stay close and move fast."
He put his back to the door, and she stood at his left side. And tried not to shiver when she saw he held a gun.
She hadn't had time to leash Snow, so she looped her fingers beneath the dog's collar. Her nerves were jangling, but she wouldn’t focus on the fear. She’s just follow Nick. Trust Nick.
He opened the door more quickly than she’d expected and stuck his head outside, looking both directions.
It seemed quiet, but that didn't erase her fear.
With his empty hand, Nick motioned her to follow as he crept onto the landing and looked over the railing.
The parking lot was well-lit, with lights at intervals, but shadows remained between the vehicles big enough for someone to hide in.
"You sure that's the right apartment?" a male voice she didn't recognize rang out, and footsteps approached from around the corner where the landing continued on to more apartments.
"C'mon," Nick whispered. He clasped her hand in his free one and pulled her with him toward the nearby staircase.
Snow's claws clicked on the cement as they ran.
"Hey, you!" The same voice shouted as Nick's feet hit the first stair.
He never outpaced her, even steadied her when she tripped on one of the stairs.
Heavy footsteps clattered on the cement above them. The man yelled, "Is that her?"
She didn’t hear an answer, didn’t want to think about where the man’s companion was.
Nick said, "Run to the truck!"
He'd only parked a couple of spaces away from the bottom of the stairs, and she did as he told her, passing him as he turned to confront their pursuers.
"C'mon, Snow!" she panted. Thankfully, the dog seemed to understand Kylie's urgency and followed at her heels.
"Stop right there!" Nick's voice rang out strong and sure. "I'm a police officer, and I'm armed."
A glance over her shoulder showed Nick with feet spread and gun pointed at the two bulky bodies in dark clothing mid-way down the stairwell.
She didn't wait to see what happened next. Instead she focused on the truck and kept moving.
A shot rang out. She ducked her head, feet stumbling as fear spiked. Had they shot at Nick? He at them? She had his vest!
She was half afraid someone would have guessed their escape plan and waited at Nick's truck, but the parking spaces on either side of it were empty, and a glance didn't reveal any moving shadows on either side of the pickup or in the truck bed.
Kylie yanked open the driver's side door. "Snow, in!"
The dog jumped in, and Kylie slid in just behind, bumping her knee on the steering wheel in her haste to slide across the seat. "Nick!"
He was already there, jamming his key into the ignition before he'd gotten his door closed. Where had his gun gone?
Another shot rang out and the passenger window splintered into cracks.
"Get on the floor," Nick ordered. He gassed the truck, and it reversed quickly, making it hard for her to maneuver.
Then he hit the brakes hard, and she was thrown back against the seat.
"Now!" he cried out, shoving her shoulder before throwing the car into drive.
She was knocked forward and banged her elbow on the dash as she crumpled awkwardly into the floorboards on the passenger side. Snow remained on the seat, lying down. But Nick had to see to be able to drive. What about him?
Something pinged against metal. Another shot?
Nick swerved once and accelerated. Illumination from streetlights flashed through the cab as they sped along the streets.
Nick held onto the wheel with his left hand and reached into his hip pocket with the right. She saw the dark stain down his forearm.
Blood.
"Nick! Did you get shot?"
He wedged the phone between his shoulder and ear. "It's not bad. Stay down, will you? I want to make sure we aren't followed."
It wasn't bad, just bleeding? Was there such a thing as a little bit shot?
"Abigail, it's Nick. There were three perps at my apartment, armed. Shots fired. Miss Winters and I are in route to a safe location." He glanced at her but quickly looked back at the road.
He didn't seem shaken at all as he related the facts about people shooting at them—shooting! And he seemed unconcerned about being shot.
While she couldn't seem to hold back the tears that blurred her vision.
She gave a valiant sniff, but a tear escaped anyway.
Nick said something into his phone that she didn't catch, then ended the call and dropped the device on the seat next to him. He reached down for her, clasping her hand again.
And she hung on for dear life.
Nick had never been so shaken in all his life. Someone had taken shots at Kylie.
They'd nearly succeeded too. He'd run into one of them with the rear fender of his truck. Somehow, luckily, the man hadn't been able to grab onto the truck bed and get in.
He hadn’t been able to identify Military-Guy. Because it had been dark and he’d been focused on getting Kylie into the truck, he hadn’t gotten a good look at the guys shooting at them.
It was clear Kylie was in trouble. The problem was, he didn’t know where that trouble was coming from. He’d spent the afternoon verifying different pieces of Kylie’s story. He’d looked up her mom’s death certificate. Spoken on the phone to her mom’s former landlord, who confirmed that Kylie had cleaned out the apartment all those months ago. And he’d spoken to her boss, who said Kylie was welcome back to the Chicago firm when her leave of absence was over.
Now, he could only hope they'd left all of their assailants behind as he turned onto a back road outside of town. The dirt road needed tending badly, and his truck bounced and jostled before the tires caught traction.
Maybe he should slow down, but the residual fear had his foot pressing on the accelerator.
"Where are we going?" Kyl
ie asked, still on the floor.
He flashed another look in the rearview mirror. No headlights shone from behind.
"I think it's safe for you to come up here now."
She shoved Snow's hind leg out of the way and crawled into the middle seat, knocking into his thigh before she settled.
"My uncle's wife has a cabin on the east side of Bear Lake. It's not much, but it will be hard for someone to connect it to me. So as long as we're not being followed, we should be safe there."
Her leg jangled up and down. "I don't get it. Why is someone targeting me? Nobody even knew I was coming to town. Who…who were those guys anyway?"
She sounded sincere, but…there were still chunks missing in her story. Where had she been during the months between cleaning out her mom’s apartment and now? Was she hiding something? He wanted to believe she was simply traveling and trying to work through her grief, but his former relationship with Farah made him wary.
He slanted a glance at her, her face shadowed in the darkened cab. “You don’t know anyone who might be targeting you? Anybody you might’ve run across in your travels…? Maybe you witnessed something…?”
“No. Nothing.”
Nothing? Or maybe she hadn’t realized she’d seen something. A shooting in Bear Lake was unprecedented and he was going to have to work to remember the training he’d gone through at the academy on how to deal with it. Or maybe the captain would call in the OSBI for help with a scene this big…
When Nick was sure they were safe, maybe after they’d slept for a few hours, he’d ask her about every place she’d been in the past few months.
Didn’t mean he couldn’t probe now.
"I didn't mention it before, but someone came into the precinct looking for you yesterday. I didn't tell him where you were, but obviously he had skills enough to track you to the state park and then to my apartment."
She was sitting close enough that he felt the shiver go through her. "Who was it?"
"I don't know. I checked the video cameras at the precinct, and I've got a photo of him tucked in my pocket to show you. A bigger issue is that there were two guys back at the apartment complex." Two, not one.
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