AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her smile spread wider. “My mama made sure her girls could take care of themselves, Jimmy. Every one of us learned to shoot by the age of ten. And Brands never miss.” She gave the gun a half pump, which opened the chamber, and leaned it against the arm of he couch. Then she set a slug in front of her on the coffee table. With the gun in that position, she could slam the slug directly into the chamber, jerk the action upward again and fire. It would save a step. She knew what she was doing.
He pursed his lips as he thought about the possibility that Vinnie might actually show up here. The nightmare image of a shoot-out with Tyler and Kara Brand—sweet, shy, giving Kara Brand—in the middle of it, flashed through his mind. The thought made his stomach convulse.
“Kara, um, I’m not real sure I’m comfortable with this.”
“No, I didn’t think you would be once you gave it some thought.” She looked toward the stairway. “Which bedroom are you using?”
“I’m staying in Ty’s room or on the sofa, close enough to hear him.”
“That’s a good idea. I was going to if you weren’t.”
“I put your things in the second bedroom. Colby’s been using the first.”
“Good, I wouldn’t want to put Colby out,” she said as if there was no question about whether he was coming back. “But maybe after tonight I can stick a cot down here.”
“No.”
She met his eyes, didn’t argue. Didn’t ask why not. Maybe she knew deep down that he’d be too damn distracted if she was sleeping that close to him.
“I was thinking... tomorrow we should put some better locks on this place. And maybe we can start looking for a dog.”
“A dog?” He’d just been marveling at how much her thoughts mirrored his own—right up to the part about the dog, which he hadn’t even considered.
“We need a good dog,” she said. “I know Ty wants a puppy, but I’m hoping we can take him to the pound and convince him to fall for an adult dog. One that will bark if anyone comes around.”
“I thought I told you the chances they’re going to try anything are slim.”
“Which is why you’re sitting in the dark with a forty-five in your lap, right?”
He shrugged.
“So chances are slim,” she said. “We do whatever we can to make them even slimmer.” She nodded toward the window. “Caleb’s parked outside, just so you know. He’ll be there for three hours, then Wade comes and takes over from one until four. Edie’s taking the four-to-seven shift.”
“They don’t have to do all that”
“They want to do all that. The shifts will get shorter once Mel and Alex get back. They’re due in tomorrow morning, by the way. So have you called someone back in Chicago to find out where things stand?”
He glanced at the clock. “Did that as soon as I got Ty settled into bed. My chief says they’ve got every cop in three counties on this. They all have photos of Colby, as well as Ang and Vinnie’s mugshots. Colby’s face showed up on the TV news tonight.”
“Maya told me. She saw it.”
He nodded, still uneasy. “Kara, if this guy is dangerous, I’d really feel better keeping you out of the line of fire.”
“I know that. But Tyler’s more important, don’t you think? And the more of us here watching him, the better.”
“Still... “ He sighed and tried another tack. For some reason he just wanted her safe in her own home, away from him—far enough away that Angela’s sickness and Vinnie’s filth couldn’t touch her. “There’s more than just that to consider, Kara.”
She was walking up the stairs now, so he followed. She stood just inside the bedroom door, eyeing the place. It was a usable room, clean, freshly painted. It had been his own room as a kid. It made him feel odd to see her standing there in what had been his bedroom. She moved to where he’d put her bag on the bed, bent to unzip it and yanked out a bundle that included fresh sheets.
“What else is there to consider?” she asked him as she tossed the bag aside and began to make the bed.
He got on the other side to help her. “Tyler. He’s...he’s getting attached to you, Kara. If you seem to be moving in with us... “
She lifted her eyes to his. God, they were pretty. “I’ll make sure he knows from the beginning that it’s only temporary, Jimmy. I promise, I won’t let him get his hopes up for anything more.”
“It’s probably already too late for that,” he told her. He swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. “God knows, I’ve already built my hopes pretty high that there will be something more. How can I expect him to do any different?”
She looked at him, her eyes wide with surprise. Then he swallowed hard, lowered his head and told himself that was the wrong thing to say to get rid of her. But hell, he didn’t want to get rid of her. Not really, not down deep.
