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He knew it was the epitome of idiocy to walk into the situation, but at the moment, he didn’t care. If it came down to her or him being shot, he’d prefer it be him; then, he’d take it out on her ass later. Even as he stood there after busting through the doorway, he questioned his sanity. But it seemed to be the right move because while the room’s other occupants were focused on him, Detective Sparks and Officer Bailey had a chance to draw their own weapons and point them at the idiot woman.
Celia’s heart was in her lungs. As soon as she heard Riley’s voice and saw him from behind the filing cabinet where she’d taken cover, her body grew weak, and her limbs threatened to give out on her. What the hell was he doing here? And what kind of fool puts himself in the line of fire like that?
She’d already been blaming herself for not checking the room for weapons and for letting her guard down to the extent that an almost seventy-year-old woman had got the drop on her. If this was the city, she doubts she’d have been this lax because there she’d learned to expect anything and to take nothing for granted.
Silly me, she thought. This small town is turning out to me just a bit more hazardous than the big bad city. Her mind was rambling because of her fear for Riley even as she stepped out from behind the filing cabinet, and Pete stepped out from his place behind the large plant pot near the window. If the situation weren’t so serious, she’d find the whole thing comical.
Stella wasn’t sure who to point her gun at now. The big man who’d crashed into the room or the two cops who were now pointing their guns at her. In her mind, she knew that this was the end of the road for her, but there might still be a chance… She turned to aim at the female detective, but the guy who’d come into the room whistled at her and got her attention.
“Hey, lady. I can’t let you do that.”
“How’re you gonna stop me?” Stella got a sick twisted look on her face as she turned the gun on him and started to pull the trigger. “Riley, no,” Celia yelled before pulling the trigger and shooting the older woman in the wrist, which sent her gun flying.
The place was pandemonium as the room went into chaos. Stella was screaming about the bitch shooting her, Celia was yelling at Riley for putting himself in danger, and Riley was trying to hug her to make sure she was okay while she evaded his arms.
Don was trying to edge his way out the door while Officer Bailey checked on Stella, whose hand had been shattered. “Riley, get out of the way. I’ll deal with you later. Mr. Simpson, hold it right there.” Don stopped like a deer in headlights bemoaning the fact that he’d almost made a clean getaway.
Officer Bailey called it in and ordered an ambulance to be sent to the scene while Celia cuffed Don and dragged him back into the room before going back to Riley. “You can’t be here right now. I’ll come home as soon as this has been taken care of. It may take a few hours; we’ll talk then.”
Riley looked at her eyes for a few seconds longer than was comfortable until she started fidgeting under his intense stare. “Fine, I’ll leave, but try not to get your ass shot at again, Detective. I won’t be happy if you let something happen to you.” Celia barely restrained from rolling her eyes as she shoved him out the door.
Riley walked back across the street to the diner even though he wanted to hop in his truck and go home where he could have a tall glass of something hard. He wasn’t leaving until his woman walked out of there in one piece, plus he was sure the two older women would want to know what had happened. Constance and Lenore were waiting for him when he returned.
He took his seat again, looking down at the sandwich and fries he’d forgotten all about. “Dammit, my fries are cold.”
“Boy, what happened over there?” He’d yelled at them to stay put when he rushed from the diner earlier, and now it looked like every eye in the place was focused on the building across the street.
“Our girl is fine, but there’s a cuckoo over there with a gun.”
“And you left her there? Boy, what the hell?”
“Everything’s under control, not to worry.” The two of them went back to looking across the street while Riley plowed through his lunch suddenly ravenous. “I wonder if she had lunch yet. I doubt it.” Both women looked back at him as if he were nuts.
