Chapter 3
Anxiety rippled along Lane’s skin like a strong current. He sat in his truck and stared at the house in front of him. Moonlight shone down, only revealing Celine’s new place to him through partial shadows.
Thirty feet.
That’s all that separated him from the bomb he knew waited for him. He’d had a couple hours to wrap his mind around being a father, and he was just as confused as when he’d laid eyes on the little boy. A conversation with Celine wouldn’t change that, but it was a start.
Lead weighed down each step as he climbed out of his truck and walked up the brick sidewalk to the front door.
A bone-chilling scream poured from the house, setting his heart into a gallop. He leapt up the porch steps and found the door unlatched. Shoving it open, he catapulted into the house. “Celine!”
A quick survey showed an empty living room, so he kept moving, noting the light on in the next room.
“Celine, where are you?” he yelled and turned the corner into the kitchen.
If he was afraid before, a terror like he’d never known boiled his blood. Celine lay on the floor with a man standing over her. With the rage of a bull, he charged forward, circling his arms around her attacker and shoving him to the ground.
Whimpering, Celine pedaled her feet against the floor until her back hit a wall.
He wanted to tell her to get to the baby but didn’t want to waste time. He needed to get this asshole away from her—make sure he couldn’t hurt her or his son.
With the man bucking below him, Lane pulled back his fist and smashed it into the man’s mask-covered face. Blood squirted from the nose hole in the mask, and his head jolted back, hitting the ground.
Celine scrambled to her feet and ran across the room to the butcher block holding the knives on the counter.
Lane gripped the neck of the man’s shirt to punch him again, but the intruder smashed a fist into his gut.
Pain erupted inside him, stealing his breath. But he didn’t loosen his grip. Gritting his teeth, he pulled back his fist.
Celine grabbed a knife and spun back toward him. “Lane, watch out!”
Before he could react, a sharp stab sliced through his side. Instinct relaxed his grip, and the man shoved him off and clambered to his feet before sprinting out the back door.
Rolling onto his back, he pressed his palm to the wound.
“Oh my God, Lane,” Celine rushed to him and dropped to her knees. “He stabbed you. You need an ambulance.”
Groaning, he forced himself to sit and peel back his T-shirt. Blood oozed from a small gash right above his hip bone. “He didn’t get me good. Just enough to throw me off guard so the bastard could get away. We need to call the sheriff.”
Her eyes were wide, her hands shaky and the shock of what just happened clear on her face. “I…I don’t…I mean.”
He smoothed a palm along her jawline and forced her to focus on him. “Celine, I’m fine. You’re fine. But we have to call the police, okay? Get someone here to track that guy down and make sure he doesn’t come back.”
“Okay. You’re right.” She swallowed hard and pulled her phone from the back pocket of her jeans. Alarm stretched the lines of her face, and she pressed her device in his hand before jumping to her feet. “Parker. I have to check on Parker.”
Her concern for their son tightened his chest in a way he didn’t understand—or expect.
“Go get him. I’ll make the call.” With her phone unlocked, he dialed 911.
The operator answered in two quick rings. “911, what’s your emergency?”
He gave the woman a rundown of what had gone down along with Celine’s address.
With the promise of help on the way, he staggered to his feet.
He closed and locked the kitchen door then did the same for the front entrance.
Chances were low the intruder would return right away, but there was no reason to make it easy for him if he did.
A tiny cry caught his attention, and he made his way down the hall. Peering into the room, he spied Celine in the dimly lit room holding the baby. She had his face pressed against her cheek with her eyes closed, tears streaming down.
And something deep shifted inside him. His arms ached to hold his child, his heart stretched as though allowing space to fill with an outpouring of love he’d never wanted. Never needed. Until now.
He could stand there forever and watch mother and son, but he didn’t want to startle her.
He softly tapped the side of the door jamb. “Sheriff’s deputy is on the way. They’ll want a statement and to talk about what happened. You up for that?”
With the baby still pressed close to her cheek, she nodded. “Whatever I need to do.”
“Are you okay? Did he…” he swallowed the rest of the question, his stomach rebelling at what could have happened.
What might have happened before he’d arrived.
Her gaze latched on his, mirroring the fear that had taken root inside him the second he’d heard her scream.
She gave a tiny shake of her head. “You got here before he could really hurt me. I’m more worried about you.”
“I’m fine.” Hell, he’d stopped even feeling the cut on his side now that he was so close to Parker. “The baby all right?”
She nodded, shifting so he could better see the boy’s face.
He took a step closer, drawn to the baby by some unseen magnetic force. His fingers itched to brush against his dark curls—to breathe in his scent. “Is he—”
The doorbell chimed, interrupting the moment and reminding him he needed to make sure both Celine and the baby were safe before diving into a more delicate conversation.
“I’ll get that,” he said. “Take however much time you need.”
“Is it all right if I bring Parker with me? I don’t want to put him down, and I’m not sure he’ll fall back asleep after all the commotion.”
“Whatever you want.”
He tore himself away from the duo and hurried to the front door. Shoving a hand through his hair, he pushed away the pain that’d returned along his side. He’d known the night would be long and difficult, but he’d had no idea the twist his evening would take.
He shouldn’t be surprised. The past few weeks had been filled with nothing but one unexpected bomb after another. He’d survive one disaster only to oversee the next.
And fighting off an intruder was much less terrifying than accepting the fact that he might be a father.
If it were up to Celine, she’d close and lock the nursery door and stay hidden with Parker for the rest of the night.
Heck, maybe forever.
Between having Lane in her home and her near death experience, her nerves were stretched so tight she feared they’d snap any second.
But hiding away wasn’t an option.
“Let’s get this over with,” she said, staring into Parker’s sweet face.
He gurgled, his mouth morphing into a tiny smile before reaching a chubby hand toward her.
She kissed his knuckles, gathered her courage, then walked out to the living room.
Lane stood with his back to the front window, his arms crossed over his broad chest. His narrowed eyes spied her, and he tracked her movement down the hall.
Sheriff’s deputy Spencer Goodwin sat on the edge of the sofa, writing in a notepad.
His cowboy hat rested next to him, his sandy blond hair slightly mussed.
Noting her presence, he stood and flashed a tight smile.
“Evening, Celine. Sorry about your troubles. I’ll grab your statement then take a look around.
We’ve already got deputies searching the surrounding area for the intruder. ”
“I appreciate you coming.” She should offer him water or something but it took all her strength to make it to the couch and collapse on the soft cushion.
“Lane already told me what happened once he got here. I just need you to fill in the blanks.”
Drawing in a deep breath, she dove into the details that would no doubt play on repeat in her dreams tonight.
Lane took a step closer but never said a word. His face a hard mask of fury.
“Did you recognize the intruder?” Spencer asked. “His build, his voice…anything?”
Memories flooded her senses of the man’s hot, smoky breath. His dark, beady eyes staring at her through the slits of the black mask. She squeezed her eyes shut to try and regain her equilibrium but couldn’t stop the shaking taking over her body.
“Shit, she needs a minute.” Lane’s low, rough voice reached her seconds before a warm hand rested on her knees. “Take your time.”
She opened her eyes and found him crouched in front of her. Concern softened the lines of his face.
“You’ve got this, okay? You’re safe. He’s gone and I won’t let him near you again.”
His reassurances calmed her nerves in way that put her at ease as much as it annoyed her. As grateful as she was for Lane’s help—hell, he’d saved her life—he was also the last person she wanted to depend on.
For anything.
Tearing her gaze away from Lane, she focused on Spencer. “I have no idea who that man was. Nothing about him was familiar.”
As if sensing her need for distance, Lane stood and reclaimed his spot by the front window.
“Is there anyone you know who’d want to hurt you?” Spencer asked. “Anyone who’s upset with you?”
She glanced over at Lane, their eyes connected for a brief second before she looked away. She tightened her hold on Parker and tried to think of anyone besides Lane who was angry with her.
Clearing her throat, she hoped she erased any signs of guilt from her expression. “I don’t think so.”
Spencer frowned. “Kevin been hanging around still?”
Discomfort tightened her chest. Lane was the last person she wanted to discuss her ex-husband around. “No more than usual.”
“He still giving you grief?”
One of Lane’s dark eyebrows hooked up.
She fought the urge to roll her eyes. There were a lot of benefits to living in her small town. Everyone knowing her business wasn’t one of them.
“No more than usual,” she repeated. “He might have his issues, but he’d never hurt me. Never do this.”
“I’m sure you’re right, but I’ll track him down and talk to him just to make sure. Is there anything else you think I might need to know?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
Spencer closed the notepad and slipped it into his back pocket. “Then I’ll get out of your hair. Speak with the sheriff and see if we can find this guy before he hurts someone else.”
Panic rippled through her body. “Wait, that’s it? You’re just leaving? What am I supposed to do? What if he comes back?”
“There’s no reason to believe he’ll return. Nothing points at this being a personal vendetta,” Spencer said, placing his hat back on his head. “Lock the doors and keep your phone close. I’ll make sure a deputy is driving by throughout the night to make sure everything’s okay.”
She wanted to argue, to demand Spencer stay close and protect her and Parker.
“I can stay as long as you need me,” Lane cut in.
“Perfect,” Spencer said and picked a business card from his pocket. “Call me if you think of anything else or you need anything.”
Taking the card, she waited for Spencer to leave and Lane to lock up behind him before standing and facing off with the man who’d once held her whole heart.
Heck, who was she kidding, the man who still did.
A weird tension crackled in the air between them. She hated the emotions ping ponging inside her. A part of her wanted to push him away, tell him to leave and never come back.
The other part yearned to fall against him. To feel his arms wrap around her, promising safety and security.
But even if he’d saved her tonight, he’d already proven he wasn’t the knight in shining armor she craved.
She’d saved herself once, she’d figure out how to do it again—with no help from Lane Tipton.