Page 25 of Crazy for You (Loco, Texas 1)

“Shut up, bitch,” her stalker yelled.

She saw Finn move and knew she needed to distract the man if they had any chance of making it out of there alive.

“No.” She struggled to turn and face him without slicing her neck, sneering up into his red face. “You say you want me. That you cared and have waited for me, but you treat me like this? Call me a bitch? You have no respect for women.”

The man snarled, spittle trailing down his chin. “You betrayed me. You are nothing but a whore who needs to learn her place.”

“I am not a whore. I made love to a man I care about. That doesn’t make me a whore. You are just a sick, delusional man who needs to see the padded walls of a nuthouse,” she screamed.

He released her hair, and the back of his hand arched down to slap her with enough force to send her spinning. Shaking the dizziness away, she looked up in time to find him raising both hands over his head, the knife gleaming as a ray of sunlight hit it.

“You’ll pay!” The knife came down. Deana rolled just as gunshots rang through the room. She looked up in time to watch three red stains blossom across the man’s chest, his expression shocked as blood trickled out of his mouth. The knife clattered to the floor, and Deana scooted farther back until she hit the wall.

Unable to look away, she stared helplessly as the man fell to the floor, his eyes fixed and sightless.

“Deana.” Hands smoothed over her arms, releasing her wrists from the cuffs. She was brought up hard against the wall of Finn’s chest as he rocked her.

Coming out of her daze, she sobbed, her arms going around Finn’s shoulders as he sat down next to her, pulling her into his lap. “Oh, baby, shhh… Don’t cry, honey, you’re safe. I’m so sorry. So sorry, baby.”

She buried her head in the crook of Finn’s neck. “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. You should stay far, far away from me.”

A gentle hand settled under her chin, lifting her gaze to his, and he shook his head. “Not a chance. It wasn’t your fault, none of it. I’m just glad I got here in time.”

A wobbly smile spread across her lips. “You do have perfect timing.”

He kissed her gently, and she was surprised to see a tear escape the corner of his eye. When he pulled back, he said, “I thought I was going to lose you.”

She swallowed the large lump in her throat. “He was going to kill you. I thought if I focused all his attention on me, you might be able to get the drop on him and stay safe.”

“Which reminds me,” he said, scowling, “never, ever piss off a psychopath with a knife.”

“It distracted him, didn’t it?” she argued.

“And nearly took ten years, no, twenty off my life. Don’t you ever risk yourself like that again.”

Her eyes drifted from his. “I had to.”

“Why? I could have handled it without you nearly getting stabbed.” His arms wrapped around her once more, and his chin rested on the top of her head. “You didn’t trust me to save you?”

“No, I trusted you. I was just afraid of you getting hurt in the process. I wanted to protect you.” She snuggled into him, afraid to see his expression. What if her admission scared him off?

“When I saw him bring that knife down… God, it was like my heart stopped.” His voice was raw.

She heard the beep of a phone and realized Finn was dialing. “Hello, this is Officer Finn Meyers…”

She listened as Finn explained the situation, warmth spreading through her as his arms stayed around her.

He cares.

* * *

Hours later, Deana and Finn had given their statements, and Finn was put on leave with pay for the shooting. It was standard procedure, and he would have to see a shrink to get cleared, but it was worth it, knowing that crazy bastard would never come after Deana again.

Finn hadn’t been able to let Deana from his arms through the whole process. The thought that he might have lost her after so short a time made him realize that, against all the warning bells that went off telling him he was crazy, she was it for him. Deana was the one.

As the last officer left his house, he turned to smile down at her. “So, I’ve been thinking…”

With her arms around his waist, she rested her chin on his chest to gaze up at him. “Yeah?”

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