Page 34 of Cruel Ice

Agony.

She almost passed out on him then and there.

Was I shot?Seemed like it. This was her first gunshot wound. She was not handling it well. Or maybe she was. Hard to say. Blessedly, Declan had only put the coat around her shoulders.He hadn’t tried to tuck her arms into the sleeves. If he’d tried that, she wasn’t sure she could have stopped a scream from breaking free.

“Just try saying ‘shooter’ next time,” he groused. “You don’t need to launch yourself into the line of fire.”

“The red dot was on your back. I saw it.Youwere in the line of fire.” The dizziness was fading. Maybe. “Saying ‘shooter’ wouldn’t have done anything but get you to spin around and look at me. Then he would have shot you in the chest.” And Declan could be the dead one on the ground, not Keith.

No way could that happen.

Her left hand fisted Declan’s shirt. “I don’t want you dead.”

“I don’t plan on dying, so that’s damn good to know.”

She realized he had a gun in his right hand. The man did love his weapons. When had he even pulled out the gun? “We can’t just stay here all night,” she told him.

A shrill ring cut through the night.

His left hand dove into the pocket of his pants. Declan hauled out his phone and put it to his ear. He also turned so that his back was to her. Her hand fell back to her side as he took up a protective position in front of her. He wasn’t supposed to do that. “You’re the client,” she mumbled. “I think you just don’t understand our relationship.” Marley’s words were low.

He shot a glare back her way. Or at least, she was pretty sure it was a glare. Too dark to be certain behind the dumpster.“Youdon’t understand,” he fired back. Then, into the phone, “Tell me you have the bastard.”

She held her breath.

“Dammit!”

At that explosion from Declan, she took that to mean, no, the guards had not found the shooter.

“I’m getting her out of this freaking alley. Have Andy bring the limo around for me. I’ll cover her six. Tell James we’re coming and?—”

“The cops,” Marley reminded him. “We can’t just leave the scene of a shooting.” That wasn’t the way things worked.

“Call the cops,” Declan bit out. “Because some law-abiding PI is about to lose her mind on this issue.”

Calling the cops at a murder scene was a normal thing to do. Why was he acting like she was the weird one? Again, she was therationalone. She’d have to discuss this issue with him at a later date.

Then the call was over. He spun and grabbed her arm.

Her left, blessedly. Not the right. And he pulled her close. “We’re getting you into the limo. It will be pulling up at the end of this alley in about thirty seconds. It’s bulletproof, so I’ll get you in and you’ll stay there, and we’ll get the fucking cops. Happy?”

No, she was not feeling happy. “I think you should be the one to stay there. You’re the target, not me.”

“Don’t be too damn sure about that.” His hold tightened on her. “You could have been shot.”

Maybe she should mention that she was, um, injured. Seemed like a good enough time. “So, don’t freak out on me but?—”

A screech of tires cut through her words.

“Andy is fast,” Declan noted.

The front of the limo stopped about twenty feet away, near the end of the narrow alley.

“You go first. And donotargue with me.” Declan’s grip tightened on her. “I’ll be guarding your back.”

The client wasn’t supposed to guard the PI’s back. Before she could argue—and shehadbeen planning to argue—more footsteps rushed into the alley.

“Declan!”

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