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Mary Elise staredat the security computer, monitor images of the yard still uninhabited except for gulls. Alarm silent now. Except for in her head where the alarm still blared and the memory of Daniel slipping off into the band of oaks and pines stayed imprinted.
Of course it made sense that she shouldn’t go with him. She didn’t have the training to move silently enough to stay undetected. She would be a liability to him out in the open.
According to logical Danny, she should stay here, locked down tight behind a dead bolt with her loaded gun. Still, the situation chafed.
Nerves tangled into a snarl that rivaled her hair after a shower. Fear gummed the tangle to near unmanageable levels. Why had she wasted time arguing with Danny? Why couldn’t she have waited to make her stand for independence—all because she was scared of taking a final step? Stay calm. The alarm could be nothing worse than a rowdy raccoon setting off a trip wire. Right?
One really heavy raccoon.
If only she could do something besides stare at the computer screen. She hated the inaction.
Well, what do ya’ know? She was starting to sound like Danny. Part of her wanted to be just like him, able to dive into a situation, completely confident in her judgment. Sure, Danny was a little arrogant. But, doggone him, he was usually right.
And to give him credit, he was trying to include her. Once confronted, he shared more about tracking Kent’s finances, working through Ammar’s possible connection together when he could have bluffed his way through.
So why the knee-jerk need to pull back from Daniel? Intellectually she knew he wasn’t a threat to her independence. He might get angry and stomp around, but the man eventually listened. He cared. Danny’s words in the car tripped through her mind, his confusion about her reluctance to go for even a simple doctor visit. The answer sidled past her defenses with blinding clarity.
Those doctor visits symbolized weakness to her, and above all she couldn’t bear to be weak, dependent. Just as it didn’t help denying herself the healing balm of words to negate there was even a problem, staying away from Danny couldn’t protect her from the risk of loving him.
The rest of the answer followed in a rush, now that her defenses had been breached. Sharing burdens didn’t equate loss of control or weakness, with the right person by her side.
With Danny by her side.
His innate honor, his ever-logical sense of fairness would make him a man to trust. He might not always agree with her, but he would listen to her. Respect her.
Love her.
How strange that Danny with his black-and-white reasoning helped her see the shades of gray to find the formula for making it all work. She sank back on the stool, exhausted and exhilarated all at once.
A flicker of movement on the screen snagged her attention. Danny? Nerves drew taut, near to breaking. The figure cleared the trees. Not Danny.
Kent.
Icy pinpricks tingled over her scalp.
Her ex-husband stepped deeper into the clearing. Closer to her hiding place in the cabin. Sunlight played dappled shadows over his blond perfection. She’d once found the dimple in his chin endearing, his classic looks and clean-cut appearance safe.
She’d been so horribly wrong.
Bile roiled up her throat. Swaying, she gripped the edge of the counter.
He stared at the cabin, eyes intense, as if he knew. Of course he knew she was inside. Her teeth chattered with fear. Where was Danny? He couldn’t be dead. She refused to believe that. What should she do?
Kent pulled his hand out of his pants pocket, his fingers clenched around a rock-size object. Her methodical, understated ex couldn’t have a grenade. Something so overt—so messy—wouldn’t be Kent’s style.
Still, she winced. Zoomed in with the camera and saw…a piece of paper banded around some kind of weight. With a gentle underhand toss, Kent lobbed it onto the porch. Mary Elise heard the thud echo in stereo from outside and through the computer’s speaker.
He raised his hand, waving once in a mocking salute and waited.
She shifted on the bar stool, trying like crazy to adopt Daniel’s logic and blend it with her own intuition about the madman she’d married. Stepping outside would be reckless, and undoubtedly Danny would be furious with her.
Unless Kent had already—
She sliced that thought away. She couldn’t even consider that, because then she couldn’t think at all.
But what if Daniel had been hurt? Time became crucial. Or worse, what if he hadn’t even discovered Kent as of yet and stumbled on him unaware? She knew with a certainty born of both intuition and logic that Kent was well armed in some fashion. Perhaps he had backup lurking in the cover of trees waiting to take her out while he watched.
Certainly a possibility. In which case Daniel would stumble on two people unaware. Which left her with only one choice. She would have to alert Daniel. All she needed was a single warning shout. Or shot.
