Page 54 of Counter Attack

“Yes, but I keep coming back to why would anyone want to kill you in the first place.”

31

Nathan and Alexis were both quiet as he drove to her grandparents’ house. Although his mind formulated a plan for tomorrow night based on what they’d seen and heard at the field house, the memory of almost losing Alexis when her SUV wove all over the road kept intruding. If the SUV had crashed and seriously injured or killed her...

Alexis getting shot last month had reawakened his feelings for her like Mount Vesuvius erupting, but it had taken the near-wreck to make him realize if he didn’t do something, he would lose her for good. But what if she didn’t feel the same way? She certainly hadn’t said anything when he’d told her he missed their friendship.

What had he been expecting? Her to say she’d made a mistake ditching him years ago? That she still loved him? He stifled a sigh.

Yeah, sure, they got along fine ... but what if she only thought of him as a friend? Nathan didn’t think he could take that. It’d be better to wait and not risk outright rejection.

He turned into the drive that circled the house and kept to the right, pulling around to a side patio that gave Alexis directaccess to her bedroom. Then he turned to her. “Are you going to stay here, at your grandparents’, or get your own place?”

Alexis blew out a breath. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead. For right now, I’ll probably stay here so I can keep an eye on Gramps. Gram told me this morning he wanted to start driving again, and I don’t think he should.”

“Good luck with that,” Nathan said and climbed out of the truck, scanning the area. The full moon was directly overhead now, making the shadowy interior of the woods adjacent to the Stone property even blacker.

Seeing nothing that alarmed him, he jogged around to the passenger door, surprised Alexis had actually waited until he opened the truck door for her. “Do you need the step?”

“I’m good. Thanks for bringing me home.” Once her feet were on the ground, she shivered and pulled her jacket close. “When did it turn so chilly?”

On the way home, she’d taken off the body armor and the baseball cap and loosened her hair, letting it fall around her shoulders. Now one strand clung to her cheek, and he wanted to brush it back. Instead, he found his voice. “I, ah, think it’s been chilly all along. I just don’t think we were focused on the temps.”

She glanced up at him, and the air charged between them. He certainly wasn’t thinking about the chill in the air now.

“You’re probably right.”

Her voice was soft, taking him back to other evenings when he’d brought Alexis home, and the memory of kisses they’d shared speared his heart like a flaming arrow. Maybe he would risk—

The sharp report of a rifle followed by his passenger window shattering into a thousand pieces sent his heart into orbit.

“Get down!”

Alexis dropped to the ground and rolled under the pickup.Two more bullets kicked up gravel as Nathan yanked his Glock from the holster and followed her.

They crawled out on the other side of the truck. Alexis had her phone out, calling 911 as they worked their way to the patio, where they knelt behind the brick half-wall. “Help is on the way,” she said, keeping her voice low.

Nathan strained to hear anything ... footsteps, a twig breaking, but silence surrounded them. From the next street over, a motor revved and tires screeched. He slipped his gun in the holster. “I think whoever it was is gone.”

Alexis nodded and holstered her gun as she leaned against the side of the house. After a minute, she said, “I certainly hope it isn’t past midnight.”

“What do you mean?”

Sirens approached. “Just that I don’t want this to be the first thing happening in a new day.”

He stared at her, and they both burst out laughing and couldn’t stop. Before the squad cars reached them, Nathan drew a deep breath and got control of himself.

Alexis did the same thing. “What is wrong with us?”

“Reaction to being shot at?”

“I couldn’t stop laughing.”

“Me either.” He took another deep breath. “Did you get a sense of where the bullets were coming from?”

“The wooded area.” She nodded to the property next door. “There’s a street on the other side. That’s probably where the shooter parked.”

The next hour passed quickly as they filled in the two Russell County deputies and Nathan’s night officer who came to the scene, as well as Sheriff Stone, who was awakened by the commotion. Half of the county CSI team in the form of Taylor showed up and dug a slug from Nathan’s dashboard.

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