Page 127 of Disarming Caine

“Because I knocked it to the floor just before you got there.” She leaned a hand on the dash and covered her mouth as though about to be sick. “When you came up to the room that first time, he had that gun pointed at your head.”

I swallowed and pressed harder on the gas, maintaining focus on the road. There was ice, but her truck handled perfectly on it. “And at you?”

“Don’t go there, Ferraro.” She sat up, fingers rubbing at her throat. “We can’t afford to get all weepy over whatalmosthappened.”

We rounded a corner onto Oak Street and she gestured to the Scotts’ driveway. “Turn off the lights and park over here. I just hope we’re not too late.”

Chapter 45

Samantha

Antonioturnedoffthelights and pulled to the side of the road before Kathy Becker’s house. Beyond that was the Scotts’.

I put my hand on his atop the steering wheel. “I want you to stay in the truck.”

He frowned. “Not a chance.”

“I’ll be too worried about you to function properly.”

“And I’ll be too worried about you to stay behind.” He brought the hand to his lips, kissing hard.

“I can handle myself.”

“Marone, do you remember where I found you? The noise you were making as she tried choking the life out of you?” He clenched the hand tight. “We’re stronger together.”

I folded a leg underneath me to raise myself up and over the center console, grabbing his head and pulling his lips to mine. When we separated, I whispered, “Just don’t get hurt.”

“Same goes for you.”

This was why it was best to keep your circle of important people small. Fewer people to lose. But I would not lose him. I was putting an end to this. Not just for me or our future, but for Bobby—for the man who’d inspired me to go into the art field. He deserved better than what Olivia did to him.

I startled when my phone rang. Janelle. I put her on speaker. “Sam and Antonio here.”

“Sam! Elliot’s with me. We just got three credible sightings of David and Olivia in town tonight. Are you at the penthouse? Are you safe?”

“Safe?” I laughed. “They’ve already had me taped to a chair with a gun in Antonio’s face. So no, I wouldn’t call that safe.”

“What?” There was a hint of surprise in her voice, but mostly anger. In her heart, she was still my protector.

“They said they were going to their house and so are we.”

“Dammit, Ferraro,” growled Janelle. “I thought you were smarter than this! Restrain her before she gets you both killed!”

“Have you ever tried that?” He tightened his grip on my hand, jaw set.

“Jimmy’s going to be here with backup any minute.” I looked at Antonio, at his big hand circling mine. He was all the strength I needed. “We’re taking them down, Janelle.”

I clicked off and ignored when she called back. It was dark down the road, no lights coming from the Scott house. “I don’t think the police are here yet. If they were, we’d see their cars.”

“We should wait for Jimmy.”

I shook my head and opened the glove box, withdrawing a large, heavy flashlight plus a smaller one. “Let’s go look around. Officers will be here soon, whether it’s Jimmy, Janelle, or someone else. If you won’t take a gun, take this.”

He accepted the heavy flashlight.

We slid out into the dark night. It was a day past the full moon, and it reflected off the layer of snow which had fallen earlier in the week. We walked out on the road, clinging to whatever shadows we could find between the streetlights, avoiding the snow, where we’d be even more obvious to the eye and the ear.

In the summer, when the fire had happened, the trees and bushes were all full of life, and you couldn’t see the house from the road. In the dead of winter, though, you could easily spot the sprawling ranch-style home, with its red-brick facade and two-car garage. The large stone planters, which had been knocked over five months ago by the firefighters, were still on their sides.

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