Page 36 of Sadie's Guarded Harbor

Davey cast huge green eyes at Tommy. His round face was red from crying.

Tommy forced a smile on his face and whispered, “Go ahead. It’s okay.”

Davey ran around the corner.

Tommy didn’t chance a peek. He didn’t want to give anything away. He forced a laugh. “Man, so much quieter without the screaming kid.”

“Welcome to my life. It’s always loud as hell in here. One of them is always crying, Clara’s always scurrying around. It’s a fucking nightmare.” Mitch closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, the arm wrapped around the baby pulling her closer.

She wailed and squirmed against the confining hold.

“Dammit,” Mitch roared.

“I can put her in her bed.” Tommy took a tentative step forward. “She has to have a crib or something, right?”

Mitch gripped the gun on his lap. “Stop moving! I need to think. I can’t think with all this noise.”

A shadow shifted in the corner of his eye.

Sadie.

He’d give his right arm to know what was going through her mind—to talk and come up with a plan. Instead, he was standing helplessly in front of a man whose anger grew by the second. Time was ticking, and he couldn’t see a way out of the house that didn’t involve someone getting seriously injured. And if Mitch was the only one at risk, he’d take those chances any day. But not with the baby’s safety on the line.

He had to keep Mitch’s attention on him. “What do you need to think about? Let me help you.”

Mitch darted his gaze between Tommy and the window and back again. Understanding lit through the drunken haze in his eyes. “Shit. Shit. Shit! She ruined everything. She brought me to this, and now I’m fucked.”

Anxiety tightened his chest. Mitch was close to losing it. Tommy could feel it in his bones.

The sound of feet shuffling caught his attention, and Tommy glanced toward the hall. Sadie gave a brief nod. Panic shot through his veins. What was she doing? He didn’t understand what a stupid head-nod in a dark hallway meant.

A loudthumpsounded from the dining room.

Mitch shot to his feet. The gun dangled at his side. He shifted the baby to his hip and swung toward the noise. “What the hell?”

Tommy lunged forward. Taking Mitch by surprise, he secured the baby in his arms and turned his back to Mitch. If Mitch got off a shot, at least his body would protect the baby and the Kevlar vest under his shirt would protect him.

Gunfire pierced the air as Tommy cradled the baby closer to his body and ran for the door.Bang!

“Sonofabitch!” Mitch screamed.

Tommy glanced behind his shoulder as he reached for the handle. Mitch sprawled on the floor, blood oozing from his leg.

Sadie stood above him, kicked the gun from his reach, then pinned Mitch to the ground with her knee between his shoulder blades. She slapped handcuffs on Mitch as Tommy opened the door. “He’s down. The kids are fine. Mitch needs an ambulance.”

Clara rushed forward and grabbed the baby. “Where’s Davey?”

“In his bedroom. He’s okay, but probably scared.”

Clara ran past him.

Relief stole his breath and adrenaline leaked from his limbs. He locked eyes with Sadie as she rose, the sexy black leather boot she’d worn to dinner still pressed on Mitch’s back. He wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without her.

Gratitude spread through him. She was his partner, and finally, he was damn glad about that.

14

Sadie’s hand trembled as she tried to fit the key into the lock. She’d ridden the high of adrenaline and satisfaction that Mitch was locked away in jail through the last hour or so. But now that the statements were taken and the job behind her, she couldn’t steady her fingers to unlock the damn door and get inside.

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