Adrenaline surged in him, made his skin go tight, his muscles rigid. He eyed the door. He took several steps back, then lifted his leg and drove his foot into the door. Sonofabitch! That fucking hurt! But the door broke loose from the frame. She didn’t have the deadbolt on. Stupid. Or good. Okay, in this case, good.
He kicked one more time and a splintering noise filled the air. He charged in, reaching for the gun he still wore on his hip. He hadn’t even been home since he left work and he still carried. He whipped his Glock out and assumed the stance, eyes sweeping the room.
Keara sat on the couch in her living room, gaping at him, eyes about to fall out of their sockets, hands clasped together. A male had jumped to his feet from the armchair across from her, and Jesus, he had a gun and was aiming it right at him.
“Police!” Shane barked. “Drop the gun!”
The young male’s hands shook and the weapon wavered. Shane took a step back and glanced at Keara. “You were right,” the guy said, almost with disbelief. “I thought you were lying.”
“Oh, for God’s sake,” she said, standing and walking toward Shane. “Put the gun down.”
He didn’t. His gaze flicked back and forth between her and the guy. “Keara! Sit down, for Chrissake!”
She shook her head and continued toward him. Shane kept the guy in his sights and his gun leveled at him. “Who is this guy?” he demanded. “What the hell is going on?”
“What are you doing here?” she asked, not answering his damn question. He stared at her incredulously, then reached for her and shoved her behind him.
“Drop it!” he commanded again.
“Shane,” she murmured in his ear, putting a hand on his arm. “I don’t think his gun is even loaded.”
He glanced over his shoulder at Keara then back to the other man, confused, stunned, disbelieving. Was she insane? She didn’t know? You always had to assume a gun was loaded. Jesus.
“Scott,” she called softly. “It’s okay. He is a police officer, but he’s a friend of mine. Put the gun down.”
Scott whoever-the-hell-he-was didn’t lower his gun. Keara, sweet as she was, knew nothing about criminals. You couldn’t just tell them to put the gun down and expect they would do it.
“I told you,” she continued. “Just cooperate and don’t hurt anyone and I’ll help make it okay.”
The kid—he was just a kid, for God’s sake—stared at both of them. Then, to Shane’s astonishment, he dropped his hands. The gun hung at his side and he seemed to cave in on himself.
His mind boggled, Shane kept his own gun leveled at the guy.
And then Keara—the crazy woman—walked over to the guy and took the gun away from him. Just like that. Shane’s jaw almost smacked the floor.
Keara turned to Shane. “Here. I don’t know how to tell if it’s loaded.”
He took three steps toward her and numbly removed the gun from her hand. His lips curled as he regarded the cheap Bersa, checked the chamber. Holy hell. Empty. He lifted his eyes to Keara, and then directed a stern glare at the kid.
“Are you really a cop?” Scott asked.
“You bet your ass I am,” Shane replied tightly, shoving the Bersa into his waistband then reholstering his Glock. “What the hell are you doing with this? Who are you? What is going on here?”
He looked at Keara. She should have been crumpled into a traumatized heap on the floor. Instead, she stood there beside Scott whoever, and she laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. In his entire life, Shane didn’t think he’d ever been so bewildered.
“We’ll tell you,” she said. “But you have to promise to take off your law enforcement hat and just be my…” She paused.
He waited.
“My…”
He shoved a hand through his hair.
“My friend,” she finally finished.
Whatever. They’d talk about that later.
“Fine,” he snapped. “Sit.”
She rolled her eyes but amusement tugged the corners of her mouth up. “Have a seat,” she said to Scott.
The kid looked terrified now. Sure, now his gun was gone. His unloaded gun. Shit. But Scott sat obediently in the arm chair.
“You too.” Keara sat, looked at Shane, and patted the couch cushion beside her. “Scott and I will tell you everything.”
Chapter Twenty-One
They had a big argument about what to do with Scott. Shane insisted she had to call the police. She didn’t want to. Well, part of her did. The stupid idiot could have killed her by driving her off the road that day. She wavered between spurts of anger and empathetic sorrow. She felt for him, she really did. But what he’d done wasn’t right. And perhaps he needed some kind of help.
So in the end she gave in and let Shane call the police. They came and took statements and took Scott away but she told them she didn’t want to press charges—she just wanted to make sure he got the help he needed.
It was nearly midnight by the time that was all done and she and Shane were alone. She eyed her broken door with disgust.
“You didn’t have to break the door down,” she said. “I had him calmed down and I knew there were no bullets in the gun.”
“Keara. Dammit. Don’t ever assume a gun isn’t loaded.” He walked toward her. “If you have some tools I’ll fix the door. For tonight.”
They found what he needed although he looked askance at her pink-handled hammer and screwdrivers. “They’re tools for women,” she said.
He just shook his head and went to work, and soon the door was fixed enough to be secure for the night. She’d likely still have to get someone to replace the whole thing tomorrow.
Shane set her tools on the kitchen counter and turned to face her. They shared a long, questioning look.
“What are you doing here, Shane?” she whispered, arms wrapped around herself, shoulders hunched.
He took a step toward her. “I…Jesus, Keara.” His eyes closed briefly and he stuck his hand into his hair, held the back of his head for a moment. “I can’t believe I got here just when that guy…”
“It was okay,” she said softly. She took a step toward him now. “I was dealing with it.”
He burned her with his gaze, eyes blazing blue. “Yeah. I guess you were.”
She shivered. “You still haven’t answered my question. And I don’t think it’s because you have ESP and knew that I was in danger, so you rushed here to rescue me.”
He smiled faintly. “Actually…”
Her lips parted. “No!”
He huffed. “Okay, I guess it’s not ESP, but it’s weird. Once I’d decided I was coming, it felt like it was an emergency. Like I had to get here as fast as possible. I broke the speed limit on the freeway.”
“Not you! An officer of the law?” Her teasing coaxed a small laugh from him.
“Yup.”
They stared at each other again. She tipped her head to the side and lifted an eyebrow.
He sighed. “I came to see you. To talk to you.”
“About…?”
His mouth tightened and his throat moved as he swallowed. Her body quivered in anticipation.
“I love you, Keara.”
Everything inside her went soft and shivery and her breath got stuck in her throat. Her eyes burned. Her mouth pouted.
He watched her with eyes full of hope and fear. She unwrapped her arms from around herself and stepped into Shane’s. He pulled her hard against him and the welcoming warmth and strength of him sent a flood of emotion through her so intense he had to hold her up. She threw her own arms around him and squeezed tight.
“I love you too,” she told his chest, her words muffled by his shirt. “I love you so much. I missed you so much.”
“Me too. That’s why I’m here. I want to be with you, Keara.” He tugged her hair so she had to lift her head and look at him. A wet spot spread on his shirt from her tears.