Page 49 of Forged By Fire

“I didn’t like not being there to protect you,” he murmured near her ear.

“I know. I realized today that it would be hard for both of us. Every time I hear a siren, I’ll wonder if it’s you and if you’re safe. And I imagine you’ll feel the same when you see a fire truck driving down the street or hear about a fire.” She realized she’d spoken as though they were together and were talking about their future as a couple. They’d never even come close to having that conversation.

Her cheeks heated, and she pressed her forehead against his chest. “I’m sorry. The last few days have been intense. I don’t even know if you want… if we’ll still see each other when all of this is over.”

Clint stepped back and cradled her face with his hands. He waited for her to look up and meet his eyes. “I very much want to keep seeing you when all of this is over. I know there’s a lot to deal with when it comes to our schedules and some of the dangers of our professions, but we can handle them as they come. Honey, I’m all in if you are.”

Her heart stuttered in her chest at the intensity and emotion in his eyes. He hadn’t said he loved her, but she could see the truth of it in his eyes. There would be time for those declarations.

For now, she knew that she wanted to see where this went, too. “Yeah. I’m all in.”

With a look that reflected the wonder in her own heart, he leaned in and kissed her gently, slowly, and with a promise that this was only the beginning of something amazing.

“Ahem.”

Leslie wasn’t sure which of them broke the kiss, but when she opened her eyes, she saw the nurse standing there looking amused.

“I’ve got your discharge papers ready. Assuming you still want them.”

“Definitely.” She reached for them with her uninjured arm. “Thank you.”

The nurse had already gone over the aftercare, and it would be relatively simple to follow. Lifting her arm would be a challenge, and it meant she’d be wearing a lot of button-down shirts for a week or two.

Still, she’d take it. At this point, she’d give anything to catch the person responsible, so that her biggest worry was how she was going to get dressed in the morning.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Clint looked over at Leslie seated next to him at the conference room table, and sent up a silent prayer of thanks that things today hadn’t turned out differently. She was here, she was healthy, and she was safe.

Even after all she’d been through, Leslie looked like she was ready to tackle anything that was thrown her way.

Right now, she was busy studying the large whiteboard at the front of the room. There was an extensive amount of information, and even though he’d shared a lot about the investigation, he hadn’t told her everything.

Along with Detective Paris, Carrington, Smith, and Logan also joined them for the meeting.

Paris stood and addressed Leslie. “Miss Granger, I think I speak for everyone here when I say I’m glad that you’re okay, and that you’ve come in to assist us.”

Murmurs of agreement filled the room.

“Please, just call me Leslie.”

Paris gave her a friendly smile. “At this point, we must assume that the suspect has some kind of personal connection to you. We need to find out what thatis. Once we do, then we can identify him and get him into custody before he hurts anyone else.”

“I’m happy to help in any way I can.”

Paris nodded his appreciation. “There’s nothing about this guy that seems familiar to you?”

“Nothing. I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out a connection. I mean, someone this angry has to have a reason. At least something he sees as a reason, anyway. It makes no sense. Wouldn’t hewantme to know why he’s targeting me?”

“One would think so,” Clint agreed. “Nothing about this is random. It seems like our two main possibilities are stalking and revenge.”

Paris wrote them on the whiteboard. “But again, a stalker wants attention and usually tries to get positive attention before it turns abusive or deadly. As for an individual bent on revenge, Leslie’s right. He’d want you to know why he’s doing this to you.”

“Maybe there’s some kind of indirect attention,” Carrington suggested. “A situation where the suspect blames Leslie but doesn’t have a direct contact with her. He doesn’t care if she knows why he’s trying to hurt her as long as he completes his mission. If there was a personal connection, why not simply shoot her? Why shoot Danny Bracken and then go through all this to scare her?” He cringed and turned to Leslie. “Sorry.”

She held up a hand to stop him. “No apologies necessary. They’re legitimate questions.”

The thought of everything that Leslie had been through over the last few days made Clint’s blood boil, especially when he thought about how right Carrington was. “He was probably watching the whole time the fire department was working that fire earlier. He could have shot Leslieat any time. He waited until they ran into the barn. I’m not sure he intended to kill her so much as hurt or scare her.”

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