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“Reid,” she said, and he never loved the name more. Her eyes held his, and she gave the tiniest of nods as if she was giving them full permission to surrender to each other.
He dipped his head, ready to claim her. A loud crash echoed through the house, and Reid put his body between Allison and the door. He reached for his gun, looking out toward the front door.
“What was that?” Allison asked.
“Stay here,” Reid said, training his gun on the door and moving at an even pace. Normally he’d just look, but with everything that had been happening, he wasn’t taking any chances. Not when Allison’s life was in his hands.
“Like hell, I will.”
“Allison,” he barked. “For once in your life, can you fucking listen to me?”
She moved next to him, holding her own gun out like this was an audition for Charlie’s Angels.
“What in the hell are you doing? Put that away!”
“If you’re armed, why can’t I be armed, too?”
“I’m a trained professional.”
“I think I’ve proven I’m more than capable with a gun.”
She managed to help take down one inexperienced criminal, and she thought she was fucking Dirty Harry. He needed to investigate, but he also needed to prove to Allison how life didn’t play out like the movies. The good guy didn’t always win.
In one quick motion, he holstered his gun, then grabbed her wrist and pinned her hand holding the gun to the wall. His other hand held her in place. He pressed his chest to hers, slipping his leg in between her thighs. He bent down to her ear. “Seconds,” he said. “That’s all it takes for shit to go south.” He clenched his jaw, holding back the anger surging through him. “If I was anyone else, you’d be dead. Don’t ever make yourself that vulnerable.” His lip brushed against the edge of her ear, and he pulled back.
Her sharp stare met his, but she didn’t say anything.
“Now please do as I say and stay here.”
She bit her lip and nodded.
He loosened his grip and stepped back, reaching for his gun and disappearing out the front door. It was probably nothing, but with Louie on the loose, he couldn’t chance it. He needed to check for himself. He only hoped Allison listened to him and was safe inside.
A planter had shattered on the stone pathway that led to his backyard. He rounded the house and spotted the culprit—a black cat with odd patches of orange arched against his workbench. He holstered his gun and grabbed the bag of cat food he had in an outside storage bin, along with a bowl.
“Did you knock over that planter?” He poured food into the bowl and placed it on the ground. The cat waited until he stood before approaching the bowl. For over a year, he’d been trying to catch the damn thing to get it to the vet and checked out, but she was a feisty little thing.
“Who do we have here?” Allison asked, and he closed his eyes and sighed.
“I thought I told you to stay in the house.”
“Afraid this cutie might attack me?” Allison bent down, but kept her distance. “I didn’t know you had a cat.”
“I don’t. It’s a stray.”
“That you just so happen to have food and a bowl for.”
“She’s been coming around for the past year. I couldn’t let her go hungry.”
Allison stood up, her eyes meeting his. “You really are a good person, Reid.”
“Doing what’s right shouldn’t be the basis of a good person.” He was far from good. His bloodline was a long list of criminals and feeding a stray, or walking a woman’s dog, didn’t change his genetic makeup.
“Humble, too, which almost makes it annoying.” Allison spun on her heel, bending to the cat. “Have you named her?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
