Chapter 25

Gina screamed as she ducked and covered her head. Tiny bits of plaster fell into her hair while a dusting of white powder floated down around her. The close-range explosion left her ears ringing and the sulfuric smell of the gun stung her nose.

She remained in her crouch, part way between the toilet and the wall, bracing herself for the next shot that would surely end her life.

“Oh my God, Jack, what the hell did you do?”

She cautiously lowered her arms as Liz arrived in the doorway. Terrified blue eyes met Gina’s, then filled with relief when she saw her unharmed.

“Thank, God,” she breathed, pushing past Jackson. Gina bumped her head on the toilet paper dispenser as the redhead helped her to her feet.

“She had her phone,” he accused. “That’s why she asked to use the bathroom.”

When he’d kicked in the door, she’d lunged backward at the sight of his gun pointed right at her. Her phone had hit the floor and skidded across the tile. He stepped forward and smashed the screen with his heel. Damn it. She hadn’t even managed to get the second number keyed in before he’d scared the hell out of her.

A glance back to see the bullet hole a mere six inches above the roll of toilet paper made her knees wobble.

“Next time I won’t purposely miss,” he warned with icy calm before moving back into the hall.

When Liz took a step to follow him, Gina grabbed her arm. “You can’t trust him,” she whispered urgently. “He’ll kill you too if you get in his way.”

Worry flashed in her eyes, but she shook her head and jerked free. “He loves me.”

“And you’re fine with an open relationship?”

Confusion filled Liz’s eyes.

“I’m sorry, I thought you knew he’s been sleeping with my former assistant for the past six months.”

The stunned expression on her face confirmed she hadn’t known. She glanced toward the hallway as her expression hardened.

“You can’t trust him,” Gina repeated.

“Just get out here and fix the program.”

She moved past the rigid woman and returned to the couch while Liz went to stand in front of Jackson. “You can’t go around firing shots off,” she snapped. “Your neighbors probably called the cops already.”

“There’s a firing range just down the road,” he retorted, waving off her concern. “We’re leaving here anyway. You were right about now being—”

The musical sound of the doorbell jerked Gina’s head up from the computer screen. Jackson stiffened as Liz whirled around. “I told you!”

“The fucking cops wouldn’t be here that soon.” He sidestepped over to the couch and jerked Gina to her feet by the arm. Pulling her back against his front, he put his left arm across her throat. She instinctively grappled for his forearm with both hands to keep him from closing off her airway, only to have her breath hitch when the cold barrel of the gun touched her temple.

Swallowing hard, she strove to remain calm when his harsh command assaulted her eardrum. “See who it is.”

Dean.

But in the next second, she prayed it wasn’t him—not with Jackson so tense and trigger happy.

Liz crossed to the door and rose on her tiptoes to peer through the tiny eye on the door. She twisted to face them with a frown as the doorbell rang again, a couple times in a row. While she turned back and reached for the door, Jackson covered Gina’s mouth and pulled her backward with him, into the shadowed hallway leading to the bedrooms.

“Keep your damn mouth shut,” he rasped in her ear.

Mike’s voice registered from the front door at the same time Jackson bumped the door of his bedroom open with his shoulder.

Gina caught a split second glimpse of Dean pressed back against the wall and immediately let her body go limp. The unexpected shift of her weight threw Jackson off balance and dislocated the tip of the gun from her temple. He stumbled and let her go as Dean lunged forward.

His hand locked on the wrist with the gun as the two crashed against the footboard of the bed. She’d scrambled to the side and heard Dean grunt as his ribs took the brunt of both men’s weight.

Strong hands reached out to pull her farther away from the violent struggle as the gun went off, shattering one of the bedroom windows. Her mind registered her new captor as a tall man dressed in military gear, and she struggled against his grip.

He tightened his hold and set her behind him. “I’m with Dean.”

She tried to push past his solid bulk. She needed to help Dean. He should help Dean!

Police sirens sounded in the distance as Liz and Mike burst into the room. The redhead cried out Jackson’s name. With the distraction, he managed to bring up a knee into Dean’s side, causing him to stumble backward. Pain twisted his features as he gasped for air.

Gina watched in horror as Jackson raised the gun. The man in front of her shouted as he lunged forward at the same millisecond Liz’s momentum put her between Dean and Jackson.

The gun went off and her body jerked before tumbling to the floor. Jackson froze long enough for Dean and the military guy to take him down. Mike rushed to his sister’s side.

Blood welled up from the wound in her chest as Gina stripped off her coat and wadded it up to press against the wound as she knelt beside her. Liz’s already drawn features twisted as she cried out in pain. Once she caught her breath, she met her brother’s tear-filled blue eyes.

“I’m sorry. I thought…” She coughed and gasped. “I thought he loved me.”

“Shh,” Mike comforted. “We’ll sort it out later.”

Keeping pressure on Liz’s wound, Gina glanced over to see the military man scoop up the gun as he straightened with the phone to his ear. “Cops are coming in,” he said to Dean. “I’ll meet them out front.”

Dean had a knee planted in the middle of Jackson’s back, and one arm wrenched up high enough to make him gasp in pain. He nodded to the guy in camo pants before turning his concerned brown eyes to her.

“You okay?”

She gave a nod and a shaky smile. Her heart thumped at the way his gaze still greedily took her all in, as if making sure for himself she hadn’t been hurt. “You?”

“I’m good now,” he assured her, his voice low and gruff. He shifted slightly and she noticed an involuntary grimace tighten his features.

She met his gaze once more, doing nothing to hide her feelings. “You got my message?”

The light in his eyes answered before his mouth, and her heart soared as he smiled. “Yeah, I—”

Noise from the living room grew louder and quickly rushed down the hallway. He gave her a rueful smile as the police entered the room.

* * *

The next hour passed in a blur as the police took Jackson into custody while the paramedics stabilized Liz before rushing her to the hospital. Mike was allowed to ride along with the accompanying officer.

Gina caught Dean’s gaze more than once across the driveway as they each gave their statements. Officers Nilsen and Mueller were not on duty, but the men she talked to were just as efficient. Finally, she was free to go with the warning they would be in contact should they have any more questions.

She shook the officer’s hand, then turned to see Dean leaning against her car. He’d slipped his hands into his front pockets while waiting for her to finish up. Sunlight hit him from behind, casting his face slightly in shadow. He wore his usual, the jeans as faded as ever, the T-shirt dark gray today. His hair was a tousled mess—exactly the way she liked it.

He didn’t straighten as she approached, just widened his stance to give her plenty of room to step between his legs. His gaze held hers captive, the same as the rest of him held her heart. As she leaned forward to brace her hands on his chest, he pulled his hands from his pockets and rested them on her hips. The steady beat of his heart grounded her.

“Crazy morning,” she quipped.

“I prefer the excitement of last night to today,” he replied with a subdued grin.

Heat flared as she returned it, but then her smile faded. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you. With the note, I mean.”

He shook his head, his hands tightening on her hips. “Don’t apologize. I should’ve woken you up before leaving with the cop to take care of my SUV.”

She raised her eyebrows. “That’s where you went?”

“Yeah. And after seeing the email, I decided a little bit of time might clear my head.”

“I can’t believe you thought I would betray you.” Not after last night, she added silently as she dropped her gaze slightly.

“I didn’t want to believe it, especially after last night.”

He’d read her mind. She noticed his heart rate pick up beneath her palm as he slid his hands up her back and then used his thumbs to tilt her face back up to his.

“There are two things I need to get on the record. First, I figured out you’d been set up before I listened to your message.”

The reference to her voicemail made her heart skip a beat. Then it tripped along at a speed that matched his. She raised her eyebrows the tiniest bit. “And the second?”

He brushed his thumbs along her jaw line while drawing her near. His head lowered and his lips hovered just above hers. He paused a breathless moment, then the smile that curved his mouth against hers lit up his eyes.

“I love you, too.”

His mouth captured hers, and she slid her arms up to encircle his neck, leaning into him, returning the kiss with all the love she had inside. In his arms, everything felt right, like love should feel.

A minute or so later, he drew back and rested his forehead against hers. She grinned up at him. “You know, you might be Prince Charming, after all.”

“Mike would tell you that’s not possible.”

“You did come to my rescue,” she reasoned. “For which I love you all the more.”

“That is true.” He nodded, pretending to seriously consider her argument. Then he laughed and kissed her again. This time when he pulled away, they were both more than breathless.

“Definitely charming,” she whispered.

“When I left you in my bed this morning, I’d planned to work until you woke up, then take the rest of the day off.” His voice was low, husky, and sexy as hell. “So, what do you say we go home, Cindy?”

She tilted her head back with a laugh of her own. “Lead the way.”