Hunted in Conard County Page 23

  At last she plastered herself to the sofa and picked up a book. She didn’t read a word. She felt as if doom were marching her way. She’d blown it with Stu. Conviction filled her.

  Just before one, everything changed. Snowy went on alert. She didn’t often see him that way. Was Stu here early?

  The dog fixated on the door, and his hackles rose. Now Kerri became alert. Snowy had never raised his hackles. Was someone outside her door?

  Rising, she walked quietly to the hinge side of the door and picked up her baton. Holding it firmly, she waited. If some thug tried to enter, he was in for a hell of a surprise. The baton’s weight reassured her.

  Then two things happened almost simultaneously. Snowy growled, a deep, deep sound as the doorknob rattled. And then he poked her leg hard.

  God, no!

  Then she was gone.

  * * *

  When she returned, everything was different. Snowy lay on his side whimpering. A man wearing a ski mask was in her apartment and walking toward her. What was going on?

  When she saw the knife, she responded instinctively. Confusion vanished. The threat was clear despite everything being changed. It pierced her usual fog.

  She felt the weight of the baton in her hand.

  Snowy rose, limping and snarling, and charged for the man. That caused him to back away. Kerri wasn’t backing away. She didn’t care if she killed the man with that baton.

  Snowy didn’t feel much differently apparently. Hurt though he was, he dove for the man and latched on to the back of his calf.

  The man howled and Kerri saw him raise his knife as if he were going to stab the dog.

  She leaped into immediate action, raising her baton, every inch of police training rising to the fore.

  “Drop it. Freeze!”

  He did neither. Whatever he’d meant to do when he broke in here, he was in agony and wanted that dog off him.

  She moved in, baton at ready, gripping it so hard her knuckles hurt.

  “Freeze!” she ordered again, then without another warning, she swung hard at the arm holding the knife.

  * * *

  Stu had gotten off duty a little early and had run by the truck stop to get Kerri her midnight breakfast. After last night, he was feeling bad that he’d had to work all evening, and worried that she might be feeling abandoned by him. She understood his need to go to work, but emotions were different.

  Bags in his hands, he was walking down her hall when he heard her shout.

  Freeze? Was she really shouting that?

  He dropped the bags in the hall and ran to her door. He didn’t waste time testing the lock. Without hesitation he lifted his foot and broke it open.

  The scene horrified him but didn’t stop him. He saw the masked guy, saw Snowy latched on to his calf, saw Kerri raise her baton and strike. All of that in an instant.

  Adrenaline must have been running strong in the man because despite the blow to his arm he still held the knife, a big ugly hunting blade.

  Stu needed no more. As the man pointed the knife at the dog, he jumped in, warning Kerri.

  “Don’t hit me.”

  The baton paused before a second blow and Stu rushed a diving tackle, grabbing the guy around the waist and knocking him to the floor. This time he lost the knife.

  Snowy got out of the way in the nick of time and the intruder crumbled.

  “I want to hit him again,” Kerri snarled. “He hurt my dog.”

  The freaking creep was howling his fool head off. “The dog bit me! She broke my arm!”

  “And you broke into her apartment,” Stu growled as he forced the man to roll over and quickly cuffed him. “If you want, she can break your other arm. I’ll swear I never saw it. Now shut up.”

  The howling died to a whiny snivel. Stu put his knee on the man’s back. He spoke to Kerri, whose eyes glowed with fury like flares. “You want to call the shop or do you want me to do it?”

  * * *

  The next night Kerri and Snowy were home together. Snowy had evidently taken a couple of kicks. His ribs were bruised and his foreleg had been broken, but he got around on the cast well enough. Simple fracture, Dr. Windwalker had said. He’d heal just fine, although the rib bruising might be painful for a few weeks.

  Snowy, however, seemed to have little problem dealing with what had happened. He showed little interest in his tennis ball, but he still enjoyed his rawhide and his walks outside. Kerri kept them short because of his injuries, but watching him she decided little could keep him down.

  “He’s a tough guy,” Stu said. He’d gone out to get her the breakfast he’d promised for last night and was laying it out on her china. “But then, you’re tough, too. As long as I live I’m going to remember you swinging that baton.”

  “I’m glad I had it handy.” She bit her lower lip. “Stu, I spaced again. I couldn’t even protect Snowy. When I came out of it, he was already injured.”

  He took her hand and drew her to the bar, setting a hot regular coffee in front of her and a plate full of eggs, home fries and toast. “It’s not like you stood there frozen because you wanted to. You sure as hell kicked into action the instant you saw what was happening. Ya done good.”

  “Doesn’t feel like it.”

  “Dammit, Kerri, stop telling yourself you’re not good enough. You did a spectacular job of catching an armed man, and you acted before he could kill Snowy. You saved him.”

  She shook her head a little.

  “Listen, that guy breaks in. You’re not ready for what he’s going to do. How could you be? Before you could even react, even if you hadn’t had a seizure, the first thing he would have done would have been to kick that dog. There is no way on earth you could have guessed he would go for Snowy first. You simply didn’t have time to prevent it. That’s the long and the short of it.”

  She ate for a few minutes, then sighed. “You’re probably right. I never imagined Snowy would guard me. That’s not what he’s supposed to do. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d taken off to another room when that guy walked in. Or huddled against me.”

  “Instead, he fought for you. Did a damn good job of it. Anyway, Snowy made the guy deal with him first.”

  She hadn’t thought of it that way, but realized it was true. Her mood began to leaven. “Thanks.”

  “It’s true. And now you know you have your own personal K9.”

  That drew a laugh from her. Stu always made her feel better. She turned to look at him and started to drown in his eyes. “Stu...”

  “We have some unfinished business,” he said. “From the night before last. You can’t imagine the things I want to do to you.”

  Her heart skipped and heat began to drizzle through her. As simply as that, he woke the strongest desires in her.

  “First,” she said, “I want to apologize for my meltdown. Bad timing, if nothing else.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t want your apology. We got close, you got scared, and you dumped your fears. You’ve got every right and I didn’t mind at all. No apologies, ever. Not for anything like that.”

  She smiled. “You were going to tell me your story.”

  “Not tonight. I’ve got other things in mind.” His smile was crooked, as if he was holding something in. “Say, are you through eating? Can we just leave the dishes? I mean, we can warm most of this up in a little while if you want, or trash it, I don’t care.”

  Startled, her eyes widened. “What’s going on, Stu?”

  “I think we need a little celebration. You caught the rapist. Sandra is showing some signs of recovery. May can rest easy now. That’s worth a celebration.”

  “I didn’t catch him,” she protested. “He kind of caught himself.”

  Stu made a sound of disgust. “Stop it, Kerri. You broke the thug’s arm. Made it easy for me to cuff him. You get the arre
st.”

  Her heart skipped. “I do?”

  “That’s the official decision. Your arrest. Great way to start, huh?”

  It was, it was indeed. A happy glow began to fill her. Yeah, that was worth a celebration.

  “But there’s more.”

  She blinked. “More of what?”

  “As much of me as you can handle. When I saw what was happening, you could say I had a major epiphany.” He reached for her hands and drew her from her stool until she stood between his legs.

  “What kind of epiphany?” All of a sudden she was having trouble catching her breath. Something about the way he was looking at her, drawing her closer.

  “I realized it would be awfully hard to live without you, Kerri Lynn Addison. I realized I want to spend the rest of my life with you. If you can stand the idea.”

  Her mouth fell open. Joy filled her heart. “But... But...”

  “I know. All your problems. Well, stuff them in a trash bag and throw it in the nearest dumpster. I’ve seen them all, I’ve heard them all, and I can tell you they don’t change my mind one bit. I’ll give you time to learn my problems first so you know what you’re getting into, but, darlin’, I need to know. Will you just consider marrying me?”

  Her heart lifted on wings. The one thing she had been sure could never be part of her life was holding her right now and telling her he wanted her, mess and all.

  She really didn’t need to wait, but she understood he’d feel better if he was sure she wanted him warts and all. Finally she found her voice. “You bet, Stu.”

  “Good. Because I love you, heart and soul.”

  And that seemed like the only thing that really mattered. “I love you, too, Stuart Canady.”

  A smile spread across his face, the warmest happiest smile she’d ever seen from him.

  Gloom about the future was gone. In its place had come sunlight and joy.

  The impossible had just become possible.

  * * *

  Don’t forget previous titles in Rachel Lee’s

  Conard County: The Next Generation series:

  Conard County Watch

  Conard County Revenge

  Undercover in Conard County

  Conard County Marine

  Conard County Spy

  Conard County Witness

  Available now from Harlequin Romantic Suspense!

  Keep reading for an excerpt from Ranger’s Family in Danger by Lara Lacombe.

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  Ranger’s Family in Danger

  by Lara Lacombe

  Chapter 1

  “I can’t believe this is your last night.”

  Sophia Burns smiled at Will Porter as she slid his glass across the smooth surface of the wooden bar. The older man was one of her regulars; he’d been coming to Hank’s every Friday night for so long, he was practically the bar’s mascot.

  “I can’t pour beer forever.” In fact, she felt like she’d already been working here too long. The job had been a nice way to bring in extra cash while she took care of her grandfather, but now that she’d finally managed to convince him to move to an assisted-living facility, she could start living her life again. She didn’t regret the two years she’d spent in Alpine, Texas, but in many ways it felt like she’d put her dreams on hold.

  But now that her grandfather was settled in and making new friends, it was her turn to move on.

  “I know, I know.” Will sighed. “You’ve gotta go look for comets or something.”

  “Or something,” she agreed. There was a temporary lull in orders, so she leaned against the bar for a second. Movement at the far end of the place caught her eye, and she looked past Will on his bar stool to watch Carter Donaghey and the other members of his band as they started to pack up their instruments. They played a set most weekends, and fortunately for her, they were actually pretty good.

  Sophia tried not to be obvious as she watched Carter moving around. What is it about a man with a guitar? she mused. He was handsome on his own, with his broad shoulders, tanned skin and easy smile. But as soon as his big hands picked up that guitar, he went from appealing to dangerously sexy.

  “Think you’re gonna find the big one?”

  Sophia blinked and refocused on Will. “What?”

  “You know.” He waved his hand in the general vicinity of his head. “The asteroid that’s supposed to take us all out someday.”

  “Oh.” She grabbed a rag and started to wipe down the bar. “I don’t know. Anything’s possible, I guess.”

  Will nodded thoughtfully, and Sophia hid a smile. He knew she was moving to El Paso to start the master’s program in astronomy at the state university, but she would bet her last dollar his understanding of the subject was limited to alien-invasion movies.

  And if the conversations she’d had with people over the last several weeks were any indication, he wasn’t alone in his ignorance.

  Carter and his friends moved to the other end of the bar for their postset drinks. She always enjoyed serving them; the guys were polite and friendly and they tipped her well. Moving with her trademark speed, she assembled their usual order and walked it over.

  “Thanks, Soph.” Danny, the group’s drummer, gave her an appreciative grin. He was sweet and single, and when he wasn’t playing drums with Carter, he worked as a mechanic. Danny was exactly the kind of guy she should be settling down with, at least according to her grandfather. But while Sophia couldn’t deny she liked him and enjoyed talking to him whenever he was around, her affection for him was planted firmly in platonic territory.

  “Is this really your last night?” James asked. He lifted his arm as his fiancée, Amy, walked over, and the woman stepped in close for a hug. Sophia couldn’t help but notice she’d brought two friends with her, and they were eyeing Carter and Danny with such frank appraisal she felt a sympathetic twinge of embarrassment.

  “I head out tomorrow,” she replied. Her skin tingled faintly, and she knew Carter was looking at her. Sure enough, she glanced over to find him watching her, a smile tugging at the corners of his gorgeous mouth.

  “We’ll miss you,” Danny said. He lifted his glass, and the other guys followed suit. “To Sophia!”

  The men echoed his words, and she heard a belated “To Sophia!” from the other end of the bar as Will joined in the toast. She laughed and caught Carter’s gaze. He winked at her over the rim of his glass, making her stomach flip-flop.

  Not for the first time, she wished she’d had the courage to ask him out. She’d overheard enough conversations to know the sexy musician had a wicked sense of humor and a ready laugh, two important qualities in a man. Given her awareness of him, and the fact that she’d caught him staring at her more than once, they probably would have had fun together.

  But she hadn’t wanted to form any attachments or put down any kind of roots in Alpine. This was always supposed to be a temporary stop, a stepping-stone on her way to El Paso and graduate school. It had taken eighteen months longer than she’d expected to overcome her grandfather’s stubbornness, but now that he was finally settled, she was glad there was nothing else holding her here. She and Carter could have set off some major fireworks, but then she wouldn’t have wanted to leave. And as much as she would have enjoyed his company, it was time to start living for herself for a change.

  Still, she couldn’t deny the sense of wistfulness that came over her as she watched his big hand grip his glass. What would it have been like to feel that body against hers, even just once?

  Apparently bored with the conversation, Amy huffed out a sigh and tapped o
n the drummer’s arm. “Danny, have you met my friend Sheila?” She pulled the blonde woman forward, positioning her so that she was closer to Danny. Then she turned to Carter. “And you—” She poked him playfully in the chest with her index finger. “You need to meet Chelsea.”

  The brunette recognized her cue and moved to stand in front of Carter, thrusting out her chest to better display her prodigious assets. He offered her an easy smile, and they began talking.

  Pushing down a rising sense of disappointment, Sophia stepped away and faded into the background again. The logical side of her realized it was silly for her to feel any kind of way about Carter and whom he flirted with. After all, she had no claim on him. They saw each other on weekends, exchanged a few smoldering looks and went their separate ways. Besides, she was moving tomorrow. Pretty soon, she’d be so busy with her studies and her new life she wouldn’t even remember Carter anymore.

  She knew this, and yet she couldn’t stop sneaking glances at him and Chelsea as she counted down the minutes until closing time.

  “Do I need to call you a cab?”

  Will shook his head as he slid off the stool. “I rode my bike.” He weaved a bit as he tried to focus on her. “Left it just outside.”

  “I don’t think you should be riding a motorcycle,” she said, but he shook his head.

  “Not a motorcycle,” he corrected. “My bicycle.”

  “Oh.” She tried to imagine Will riding a bike, but was unsuccessful. “Are you sure you can get home okay?”

  He grinned at her, looking suddenly younger. “This ain’t my first rodeo, young lady.” He pulled his wallet from his back pocket, opened it and withdrew a crisp bill, which he handed to her.

  Sophia gaped at the image of Ben Franklin. “Will, no—” It was a sweet gesture, but it was too much. Will’s pension didn’t amount to much—she knew, because he’d often told her so—and she didn’t want to think of him eating cheap ramen noodles because he’d tipped her his grocery money.