For a moment Mandy stood frozen. The jolt from the delicious time they’d spent together—discovering that the spark between them went all the way to the bone, and from the perfect warmth of waking with him beside her—to this was more than she could process quickly. She thought it sourly, remembering how her father had always bragged about how quick and smart she was.
Not tonight, Dad.
But finally she moved, scrambling into her own clothes. She could hear sounds from outside, along the side of the house. Mostly Cutter’s ferocious snarls. But Adam was out there and he had admitted himself he was somewhat limited with a handgun. She supposed with a rifle the angle his arm could take worked, but it was harder to aim a pistol accurately.
Her brain finally kicked into gear and she dashed into the living room to grab the small revolver that had been her father’s off duty weapon. She wasn’t in the habit, was probably very rusty, but he’d taught her to shoot with this weapon. Had told her never to hesitate if she needed to defend herself, and they’d deal with any fallout after she was safe. She would do the same for Adam. As he had done now, without hesitation, for her.
She ran to the back door. Pulled it open. The motion lights had come on, but they were out of its range and she couldn’t see what she could hear. But then she saw Cutter, darting into the semicircle of light and then plunging back into the shadows, that terrifying snarl seeming to echo from the walls of the house.
She heard the sound of a blow, a human grunt. Adam? Or the shadow he was wrestling with? How could he fight hand to hand with his arm like that? She knew now—oh how sweetly she knew—just how strong he was, how well he’d adapted, but sex, even as energetically as they’d done it last night, was a very different thing. He was dealing with someone who probably wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if he had to.
To get to me.
She stepped outside. Heard the thump of a body against the ground. The pavers of the far end of the driveway, she judged from the direction and distance. He’d never actually made it even close to the yard, let alone the house. Thanks to Cutter’s early warning.
She heard another blow. Heard Adam swear. She adjusted her grip on the pistol as her dad had taught her, and crept that way.
A sharp, loud crack shattered the night. She froze. No mistaking that for anything other than a shot.
Not Adam, not Adam, not Adam…
Another shot, and a red-hot poker seared against her upper left arm. She heard a scream, a split second later realized it was hers. Her flesh sizzled, burned, and she had the oddly disconnected thought she should be able to smell it, like a burned steak. Then she stumbled backward as the pain radiated through her. She hit the steps up to the deck with the back of her legs and collapsed onto them. Barely managed to keep from curling up into a ball. She couldn’t seem to catch her breath. Even Cutter’s snarls seemed to fade as the ringing in her ears grew louder.
She wasn’t sure of the exact moment when she became aware of the change. It hadn’t stopped, but had at least stopped getting worse. She sucked in a much-needed breath, and then another. And another. Finally, the ringing subsided a little. Just in time for her to hear a rough voice saying, “Cutter, guard!”
And then that voice, in an entirely different tone, was yelling her name as Adam ran toward her.
He dropped to his knees beside her. “Were you hit? He was firing wild, and I heard you—”
He stopped, swore harshly and reached for her arm. She bit back a cry as he touched it, but he was incredibly gentle as he lifted her sleeve.
He didn’t chastise her for not staying inside, which worried her for a moment. Was she dying, was that why he was being so kind and tender when she’d ignored his order? Was that why—
“Thank God,” he muttered. “It’s not bad, it’ll be fine.”
Not bad? It felt as if her arm was on fire. A sudden understanding hit her, hard and deep, of just how much worse Adam’s injury had been. A hundred times worse. And the idea of withstanding a hundred times this pain and still being able to function enough to even think about getting to his weapon with his other hand…
Dear God, no apology could ever be enough. She was a stupid, stupid fool and—
A sudden bark from Cutter made him look that way. The dog was standing just inches away from the downed man—she still couldn’t see him in the shadows outside the circle of light—who was cowering away from the dog’s clearly bared fangs.
“Right,” Adam said, set down the weapon he’d apparently never fired and pulled the Foxworth phone out of his pocket. But before he could hit the red button Liam materialized out of the darkness. Belatedly, she realized that was the cause for the bark.
The cavalry had arrived.
* * *
Adam was more than happy to leave the detritus to the Foxworth man. He wanted nothing more than to focus on Mandy. He knew as soon as the police arrived he was going to be tangled in statements and paperwork for who knows how long. Even with the Foxworth name and the weight it seemed to carry, he was still the primary witness and they’d need a blow-by-blow from him.
On that thought he felt another twinge from his ribs, where the guy had landed a couple of fairly solid blows. But then Cutter had latched onto his wrist and the man had freaked. There was something about a dog with his jaws clamped on you that reduced most people to terrified lumps. He’d seen it often with police K-9s, and while Cutter might be fluffier, his snarl was just as scary and his teeth were just as impressive.
In fact, the dog had reacted exactly as a trained one would. For which Adam was beyond grateful, because if he hadn’t the guy might have been able to actually aim those shots at Mandy, instead of having them go wild.
Mandy, who shouldn’t have been out there at all.
She was calmer now, now that the paramedics Liam had called had seen to her arm. It had actually been more of a gouge than a graze, but he hadn’t wanted her to panic. She’d withstood the cleaning and bandaging stoically, had politely refused to go to the emergency room, but she’d been watching him all the time, with a rather odd expression on her face.
He waited until the medics were done with her, and had gone to fill out all the paperwork required after treating a gunshot wound of any sort, then went over to sit beside her. Liam was still outside, talking to the officers who had responded.
He hadn’t meant to do it, but it came out anyway, “God, Mandy, why did you come outside?”
He sensed as much as saw her spine stiffen. And when she spoke, her voice was just as stiff. “My father didn’t raise me to be a bystander.”
“I know that, but you’re the one he was after. And you still came out. And headed toward him.”
“What was I supposed to do? Just wait inside like some helpless female?”
He nearly laughed. “Helpless? You?”
“All right, then.”
He shook his head slowly, starting to smile now. “You are your father’s daughter.”
She met his gaze then, the stiffness vanished. “Thank you. There’s no better compliment you could give me.”
“I know,” he said softly.
“And now I know firsthand.”
He blinked. “Know what?”
“How utterly amazing it was that you were on your feet at all that night, let alone able to function enough to help Quinn.”
He was saved from having to answer that by Liam stepping inside.
“You okay?” he asked Mandy. He was frowning.
She nodded. “I’ll be fine.”
Still frowning, Liam said, “You’re sure?”
“I am.” She managed to smile. “You don’t need to look like you’re at a funeral.”
“I may well be,” Liam said glumly. “My own, when Quinn finds out.”
“Finds out what?” she asked.
“That I let you get hurt.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” she said instantly.
“And I should have buzzed you first,” Adam put in.
“Besides, I’m the one who went outside, when Adam told me to stay put,” Mandy added.
“Armed, I see,” Liam said, gesturing toward the unfired .38 on the table beside her.
“Never had the chance to use it,” she said ruefully.
“Still, took some nerve.”
“It runs in the family,” Adam said.
Liam looked at him. “So I gather. They’re going to want to talk to you again,” he added with a nod toward outside.
“I figured.”
It was much later, the sky lightening with the dawn, before they were alone again. Well, almost; Liam was in his truck, now parked in her driveway. Mandy had tried to get him to come inside where it was warm, but he’d politely refused and told them to get some sleep. Adam guessed he’d probably be right there until his boss arrived. He hoped the intimidating Quinn Foxworth wouldn’t chew on him too hard.
“Liam’s right, you should try to get some rest,” he told Mandy.
She shook her head. “I’m still too wound up.”
He let out a breath, but nodded in understanding. “I get that.”
She gave him a sideways look. “I can think of a way to unwind, though.”
Despite everything, a sudden streak of heat rippled through him. “Can you?”
She leaned over and whispered into his ear exactly what she’d like to do. To him. His breath left him in a rush. “Liam’s in the driveway.”
“So?”
He gave her a look that matched the building sizzle. “You do that, and there’s no way I can stay quiet.”
“Oh, but it will be such fun to watch you try,” she said.
“You’ve got a cruel streak,” he teased. For a moment her expression darkened, and he knew she was thinking of…before. “I didn’t mean it that way,” he said quickly.
“But I was cruel.”
“No. You don’t have it in you, any more than your father did. You were just…angry.”
“And you thought you deserved it.”
“I’m still not sure I don’t,” he admitted.
“I am,” she said, nodding toward her bandaged arm. “Even when I realized it had been much worse than I thought, I still had no idea now incapacitating it must have been. So please, Adam, can we put it behind us? For good?”
He wasn’t sure he could put the guilt behind him, but he was more than glad to put her anger there. It was worth more than he could say that she no longer hated him. That she even might—
Easy there, don’t make this more than it is.
His father’s advice, given often to whoever needed it at the time, echoed in his head. And Adam told himself not to read too much into these precious hours with her.
But Mandy wasn’t a woman to take sleeping with a guy lightly. Nor was she the type to do it out of revenge; lure him in and then slam him down. In fact, it seemed like—if her request just now was anything to go by—she pretty much liked him. Maybe more.
And he refused to let the size of that maybe bother him as he swept her up in his arms and carried her gently to her bed.