Chapter Thirty-Three
Two patrol cars remained at the curb and yellow police tape fluttered across the porch. The CSI people had finished their work, had taken photos and dug out bullets. They had studied the angles from which the shots had been fired and managed to discern the shooter’s location.
Officers still scoured the area where they believed the man had been positioned: the rooftop of an empty two-story residence for sale at the end of the block. No shell casings had been left behind.
Aside from the officers in the patrol cars, the rest of the police were gone. Hannah was home from Mrs. Oakley’s, back in the apartment with Ethan and Val. Nick and Samantha were there, getting the child settled enough to take her home with them.
The blouse Val had been wearing was in tatters and covered with blood, so she’d changed into baggy jeans and a soft, loose, short-sleeved gray sweatshirt that was easy to get off and on and allowed plenty of room for her bandaged arm.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME in red plaid letters decorated the front.
She closed her eyes and tried not to feel as if her safest place had been invaded.
She glanced around the living room. The curtains throughout the apartment were closed just as a precaution. Ethan had found a thin sheet of plywood out in the garage and nailed it over the broken front window. Samantha had vacuumed up the shards of glass scattered all over the carpet.
Val looked over at Hannah. The little girl sat on the sofa, gripping a plastic bag full of homemade chocolate chip cookies as if they were the last food left on planet Earth. Sensing the child’s distress, Snoozie had curled up beside her.
A memory returned of the child shivering with fear on the floor beneath her, and Val fought not to tremble. She glanced up to see Samantha crossing the living room toward the sofa.
Sam crouched in front of the little girl. “This won’t be for long, sweetie. I know you want to stay with your daddy, but he needs to find the man who shot at you.”
“At me and Valentine,” Hannah said solemnly.
“That’s right, sweetie. He shot at you and Val, but Val’s okay.”
Hannah looked at Val with big blue worried eyes. “Does your arm hurt bad?”
Val’s heart squeezed at the child’s concern.
She managed to smile. “It hurts a little. Not too bad.” It had hurt like bloody blazes until the meds the EMTs had given her kicked in.
She’d only taken one, though, instead of two.
She needed to stay as alert as possible in case someone else tried to kill her.
Or Ethan. Neither of them could be sure exactly what had happened.
Beneath the bandage, her left arm continued to throb. She still couldn’t believe she had actually been shot.
“I’ll call every day, sweet cakes,” Ethan said as he approached. “I promise.”
Hannah stared up at him, tiny lines cutting into her forehead. “What about Mommy?”
Ethan’s jaw tightened. He wasn’t happy with Allison’s DUI. Val couldn’t believe the woman had been drunk with her daughter in the car. Clearly, Ethan figured Allison deserved some time in jail.
“You’re mama’s gonna be fine.” Ethan crouched next to Samantha. “You won’t see her for a while.” Or so Ethan’s lawyer had assured him. “But you get to spend time with your Aunt Samantha and Uncle Nick.”
They were actually her cousins, but Ethan and Nick were nearly the same age and very close, and aunt and uncle seemed easier for a child to grasp.
Samantha took hold of the little girl’s hand and urged her up from the sofa. “We’re going to have a great time, Hannah.”
“What about the Busy Bee? And Chrissy?”
Samantha turned to Ethan for help.
“The Busy Bee’s her day care,” he explained. “Chrissy’s her babysitter. Ally’s gone a lot.”
Sam cast Val a disgusted look they both understood. Allison wouldn’t leave the little girl with the dad who yearned to spend time with her, but she thought nothing of handing the child over to day care or a babysitter so she could party with her friends.
“We’ll make sure they know you’re visiting your aunt and uncle,” Ethan said. “Okay?”
For the first time the child seemed to relax. Apparently, order had been restored to her young world. “Okay.”
Nick scooped her up and propped her on his hip. “I need kid practice, anyway,” he said with a grin. He was going to be a dad soon himself, and clearly he was excited about it.
“Thanks again,” Ethan said as he walked his family to the door. Val could almost feel the emotions rolling through him. She wished she knew what to say to make him feel better.
He watched through the curtains as Nick’s SUV drove away. The engine noise slowly faded. Though the police were still outside, with everyone gone the house seemed strangely silent.
“I know how you must be feeling,” Val said, walking up behind him. She rested her head on his broad back and slid her arms around his waist, hoping the contact would soothe him.
Ethan turned to face her. “I don’t think you could possibly understand. Until today, I had no idea what it would feel like to see two of the most important people in my life looking death square in the face.”
Val’s throat tightened. “Oh, Ethan, I’m so sorry. If I’d let you stay at your place instead of insisting you and Hannah come back here—”
His warning glance cut her off. He eased her into his arms. “This isn’t your fault, honey. None of it. We don’t even know if you were the target. Hoover’s right. It could have been me.”
She nestled her head against his shoulder and Ethan just held her. She could feel the tension coiling through his big hard body, the worry, the weariness. “What are we going to do?”
“The cops are still outside, so we’re okay for the moment, but we need to get away from here. Trouble is my apartment might not be safe either. I called Dirk while you were giving your statement. He’s got a place we can use. You’ll need to pack a few things.”
“Okay. I’ll do it right now.”
He reached out and touched her cheek. “I’ll never forget the way you protected my daughter, Val. Never. You were amazing.”
“Ethan.” She rose a little, pressed a soft kiss on his lips. His arms tightened around her, pulling her fully against him.
“I was so damned scared,” he said. “I don’t scare easy, Val, but I was so afraid for you and Hannah.”
“Oh, baby.” Her eyes burned. She leaned into him, very gently kissed the side of his neck, trailed soft kisses along his throat, the bottom of his hard jaw. She pressed another kiss on his lips.
Ethan cupped her face between his hands. “Valerie, honey. I don’t want to hurt you, but Jesus, I want you.”
Her chin wobbled. She wanted him, too. Needed him in a way she never had before. “You won’t hurt me.” Wrapping her good arm around his neck, she kissed him the way she’d been wanting to since she had sensed his pain.
Ethan took the hot kiss deeper, made it wetter, then he was pressing her back against the wall, reaching for the buttons on her jeans. She shoved his hands away and unbuttoned them for him. Toed off her sneakers, pushed her jeans and panties down to the floor and kicked them away.
Careful not to hurt her arm, Ethan lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. His lips were hot as they moved over hers, plundering her mouth, making her burn.
She heard the buzz of his zipper sliding down, knew he was freeing himself, and a fresh wave of heat pulsed through her.
He was big and hard, and she knew how good it would feel to have him inside her.
“I could have lost you,” he said, stroking her with a big talented hand, sending soft heat into her core. “I don’t ever want to lose you.”
“You won’t lose me.” She prayed it was a promise she could somehow keep.
“I need you, honey.” Filling her slowly, he took her, joining them in a different, special way. For an instant, he held himself back. “I won’t let anyone hurt you, baby, I swear it.” Then he kissed her and started to move.
Deep, driving thrusts sent heat burning through her.
Slow, erotic strokes pushed her toward the edge.
Pleasure rose, fierce and wild. Ethan gripped her hips, holding her in place as he took her, lost himself inside her.
She wanted to give him this, wanted to lighten his burden, to let him know how much he meant to her.
With a soft moan, she picked up the rhythm, moving with each of his thrusts, bringing him closer, absorbing some of his pain. Giving him the comfort he so desperately needed.
The pounding increased, along with her own sweet pleasure. Her sex tightened around him as he drove her higher, nearer the peak. Reaching the crest, she tipped over into climax and cried out his name, slid into deep, saturating pleasure.
Moments later, Ethan followed, his muscles tightening, his head going back, the cords flexing in his powerful neck and shoulders.
For seconds they clung to each other. Ethan pressed a last soft kiss on her mouth, but he didn’t pull away. She’d needed this as much as he, she realized as they continued to spiral down. Needed proof they were both okay. Needed to believe they would find a way out.
Maybe even find a way to each other.
Ethan stood at Val’s front door, surveying the area around the house as they prepared to leave. He waved at the officers sitting in their patrol cars.
“All clear,” he said to her. “Time to go.” The Jeep was in the driveway, the key in the ignition. Their suitcases were packed and loaded into the back. Mrs. O. had volunteered to take care of Snoozie again.
Val joined him in the doorway. Ethan took a last look around, spotted four cars coming in their direction, eased her back inside and stepped in out of sight.
Since they were four of the least threatening vehicles he had possibly ever seen, his heart rate returned to normal.
He came out of protection mode and watched as the cars approached.
Joe Posey, in an older-model Ford, rolled his window down and waved.
Ethan waved back, giving the cops in the patrol cars the all-clear signal.
Behind Joe, a white Ford Fusion pulled up and Sandy Sandowski climbed out.
Walt Wizzy unwound his long, bony frame from a little silver Prius he could barely fit into.
Last but not least, the red-and-white, lowered ’56 Chevy Pete Hernandez drove pulled up to the house, the muffler overly loud in the quiet street.
“I guess we aren’t leaving just yet,” Val said with a grin as the men walked toward them.
Ethan flashed her an amused glance touched with a remnant of heat. “Good thing they didn’t show up a few minutes sooner.”
Val’s cheeks flushed a pretty shade of pink.
“Joe’s got a police scanner,” Pete explained as he climbed the porch steps, half a foot shorter than Walt, who ascended the steps right behind him. “Joe heard the call come in and remembered Val’s address from when the media was here after the Larsen murder.”
“Joe phoned and filled us in,” Walt added. “We thought you might need some help.”
Ethan nodded. “Appreciate it. Come on in.”
Now that the fashion show tour was over, La Belle had let its temporary security team go but kept Beau Desmond and its full-time crew in place. Ethan was still working the murder investigation, but after today’s shooting, he was off the grid till this was over. So was Valentine Hart.
They all settled in the living room. “We don’t have much time,” Ethan said. “We need to get somewhere safe.” He debated telling the men where he planned to hole-up, but he had been working with them for weeks. He trusted them completely.
“I’ll be taking Val to Dirk’s place. If you’re serious about helping, I could use some backup.”
“Serious as a heart attack,” Joe said. “Just tell us what you need us to do.”
After a little back and forth, Ethan laid it out.
He figured six-hour rotating shifts. They would need to be careful not to be followed to and from the location, but if the shooter found a way to track him and Val to the safe house, with a lookout in place outside, they’d have a chance of spotting him, arresting him, or taking him out.
Maybe they could make this end.
“We’ll try it for a couple of days and hope a lead will break.”
“Sounds good,” Joe said. Once the plan was set, Ethan went out to the Jeep to retrieve the burner phone he kept in his glove box. He programmed in their numbers, then the men programmed the throwaway’s number into their own phones.
“All right. Pete’s volunteered to go first.” Ethan turned toward him. “I’ll see you there two hours from now. That’ll give me time to go by my office and pick up my old case files. You got a car you can borrow? Something that won’t stand out?”
“I should have thought of that,” Pete said. “I’ll trade with my girlfriend. She loves to drive the Chevy.”
Joe chuckled. “If she drives like my wife, you’ll be lucky to get it back in one piece.”
Pete groaned. “You had to say that.”
“You need to bring your weapons,” Ethan said, sobering everyone up. “You’re all licensed to carry. You never know what you might run into.”
They ran over a couple more points, wound up the discussion, and headed out the door. The sky had turned a dull pewter gray and a light rain had started to fall. The wind kicked up as the storm drifted in.
The men returned to their cars, and Ethan guided Val out to his Jeep. Things were moving forward. He damned well hoped they were moving in the right direction.