“She could be in the shower, you know,” Darcy said logically. “Give her a few minutes and try again.”
“I just don’t think she is taking the threat seriously enough. She actually left the house and went to the barn yesterday. I was so pissed off at her!” he said. “In my Alfa Romeo, no less! In the snow!” He had to grin on that one.
“Ha!” Darcy exclaimed good humoredly. “Well, it would be hard to be holed up alone like that, and she is probably right that she is not really that important to them,” she continued, “however, we can’t assume anything and it’s better to not take unnecessary risks.”
“I agree, it’s much too serious to take chances and try to second guess what their next move is going to be,” Zane said. “She said my Alfa survived and the damage could be ‘plunged out,’” he laughed.
“She is a character, that one.” Darcy looked over at Zane to study any reaction to her statement.
“Yes, she is that among many other things,” he answered quietly.
“You know, I hope you don’t mind my saying, but the chemistry between the two of you is off-the-charts. If I’ve learned one thing, it is that kind of connection doesn’t come along every day, and when it does you have to seize the opportunity for love,” Darcy said wistfully.
“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience,” Zane said gently.
“Truth be told, there is a deeper reason why I left the police force. I fell in love with my partner. It happened pretty unexpectantly and quickly. I think working so closely with someone in often-intense situations day after day accelerates intimacy. Trust must develop quickly when you each have the other person’s life in your hands. He was charming, handsome, and brave. The best partner anyone could wish for. We got engaged six months after meeting, although we tried to keep our relationship under wraps at work,” Darcy explained.
“We picked up a call from dispatch that was a domestic situation phoned in by a neighbor reporting loud screaming and fighting. We arrived to encounter a very volatile scene. The husband had a gun and was threatening to kill his estranged wife and himself. We called for backup and Ryan, my fiancée, began to negotiate and try to talk the gunman down,” she continued.
“We thought he was about to hand over the gun to Ryan, he had actually been placing it on the ground, when suddenly he pointed it at Ryan and fired a shot. Ryan went down. I leapt at the shooter, and the gun went flying. I was so enraged that I could have killed him with my bare hands! The hardest thing I’ve ever done was to restrain myself from killing him in cold blood right then and there,” she said quietly.
“I radioed that we had an officer down and went over to Ryan with my gun still pointed at the shooter, told the hysterical victim to move to safety outside, and kneeled alongside my love. I tried to assess the damage and stem the bleeding, but he had taken a bullet to the gut and was rapidly losing blood. He was still conscious, but I could see the life leaving his eyes. I begged him to hold on, that help was on the way. He told me that he loved me and closed his eyes and was gone,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes.
Zane reached over and touched her on the arm and said, “I’m so sorry, Darcy. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like.”
“I resigned from the force immediately. Nothing mattered anymore. I fought my way back through the guilt, grief and ‘what ifs’ and came out on the other side. I really don’t know how, I like to think Ryan is still with me, pushing me to move on and live my life. I know he never would have wanted me to give up, so I have to honor him by living the life he was robbed of,” she said solemnly.
“Darcy,” Zane said, “I admire you tremendously. You have come through and still sparkle and are a joy to be around. I’m honored that you shared that story with me.”
“Well, I hope you got my message. We never know how much time we have on this earth. Don’t squander it! It is better to go for it and fail then to have regret later and wonder what could have been,” she said wisely.
Zane gave her a warm smile and thanked her again for sharing such an intimate part of her life with him. “You have certainly given me a lot to think about,” he said.