Page 71 of Tough as Steele

Londyn eased free and got out her phone. “Zeke. Good. Shooter at front entrance. Nearly took Nate and me out. Stay vigilant.”

She shoved the phone into her pocket and drew her sidearm. “I’ve got the front end.”

She scooted toward the front bumper and kept her gaze trained ahead.

Confident she would stop any shooter who approached from that direction, Nate faced the other way. He pocketed his phone and drew his weapon. Their shooter couldn’t get to them from the angle of his initial shots, but he could move or make his way into position.

“What do you want to do?” Londyn’s voice was high and tight.

“We’re best off hunkering down here. If this is the same person who killed Gaskin, we’re dealing with a trained marksman. Lift your head above this car, and you’re a goner. The only thing that saved us out there was bending to pick up your keys.”

“Yeah,” she said, her voice trembling. “It was close. Too close.”

“And it was a setup. The caller wanted us to step out the door to take us out.”

“The big question is why? Why would someone want to kill us?”

Londyn sat in Mimi’s office and wished she could stop shaking. She was a law enforcement officer, for goodness’ sake, and should be cool and calm. But she’d never been shot at like that before. Sure, at Wigg’s place someone opened fire on them, but she’d had a vehicle to help protect her. She wasn’t standing on a stoop out in the open. Her fumble fingers were the only thing that saved them.

Thank you. Thank you.

She might’ve died, but Nate had come close to losing his life too. So very close. And then she knew. Right in that moment. She’d come to care for him. Not love him. No, that was something that developed slower. But wanting to love him? Yeah. She wanted to find out what it would be like to date him. To form a partnership not based on enforcing the law but on mutual respect and caring. Everything she’d missed with Brad, her heart knew that Nate could provide.

He entered the door, two ballistic vests in his hands, and set them on the desk. “Our new best friends.”

A step in the right direction, but the vests didn’t do a thing for a head shot. Deputies were scouring the area for the shooter’s hide, but no luck so far and she wouldn’t tell Nate that the vests couldn’t completely protect them. He was doing his best for them without forcing them to remain prisoners in this house. Which they couldn’t be, or the kidnapper would never give Clarice the drop location.

Besides, Londyn didn’t want to burden him any more than he was already burdened. His hair was a mess, and his eyes tired. The mere sight cut her to the quick. No more would she think first before offering comfort.

She went to him, and as if reading her mind, he opened his arms. She melded herself to the solidness of his body and rested there. Quiet. Soaking in the strength that had never wavered during the shooting. Ah, the comfort. So wonderful. But as much as she loved the feel of his solid reassurance, she couldn’t stay there. Mimi needed them.

Remain at least a few moments enveloped in the iron hard arms, and her muscles stopped shaking. She leaned back a fraction, but now that her fear had subsided, her awareness of him as a man took over.

He was solid. Unyielding. His arms strong. But there was a restraint there too. He could crush her, but he wouldn’t. She was sure of that. And she knew in her heart, deep in her heart, that he was the kind of man a woman should fight to have in her life.

“I’m so thankful you’re a klutz,” he whispered against her hair. “I wouldn’t be standing here right now if you hadn’t dropped those keys.”

“I couldn’t bear that.” She tightened her arms around him and imagined how the incident could’ve gone terribly wrong. “Especially not after losing Thomas.”

She shuddered again. Here she was, finally giving in to the thought that she might want to pursue a relationship with Nate, but how could she? She could lose him in a flash, just like Thomas. Today proved that. A detective could never anticipate what they might face when they went to a suspect’s home. And today? What happened was beyond believable, considering there seemed to be no logic to the attack.

He leaned back. “We need to figure out why someone took pot shots at us.”

“If it’s the kidnapper, he could be mad because we stepped in when he specifically said in the note not to involve the police.”

“Could be. I’m pretty sure the trajectory will show he was aiming at me. Doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have taken you out next.”

She peered up at him. “I can’t believe we’re standing here talking about this like it happened to someone else. It was us, Nate. Us! And you’re so calm about it.”

“I can’t let it get to me. I keep imagining the shooter taking you down, and it makes me sick to my stomach.” He took a long breath and stroked her cheek. “I don’t want to lose you. Not when I’m just getting to know you and…” He looked up at the ceiling and shook his head.

“And?” she asked, forcing herself to breathe.

“And I want to keep getting to know you. Everything about you, actually.”

“Me too. You, I mean. I want to know more about you.”

“But to what end?” he asked. “Are you now considering a relationship?”

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