Page 39 of Allie's Shelter
“I-I’m selfish and—” she sniffled “—and stupid to think I could change anything. I should’ve listened. Should’ve just let it go.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “And as soon as that drug started hurting people, you’d be hurting right along with them. You can’t help being who you are. And you are a person who does the right thing.”
“No matter who gets hurt along the way?” She swiped away tears.
He didn’t believe that for a minute, but it was clear he wouldn’t convince her of the truth right now. “You need to eat and you need some rest. Whoever shot up that tree can’t get to you in here. Let Eva and the sheriff’s deputies do their thing.”
“Then what?”
It was a good question, but he didn’t have any answers that would make her happy. “Then we’ll take the next logical step.”
“None of this is logical, Ross.”
He agreed completely and felt marginally better to hear her say it. For his part, he couldn’t make up his mind if the people hired to harm her were inept or if she’d simply been that lucky. Did they want her really dead or just scared to death?
He gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze and started cleaning up the first aid supplies. “What sounds good for dinner?”
She shrugged. “How can you be sure we’re safe here?”
“State of the art security,” he replied, trying not to think about the cameras. Trying to forget the sight of her when she’d walked into the range of the camera he kept trained on his slice of the lakeshore. He cleared his throat. “Soup, sandwiches?” He opened the freezer. “In the mood for a pizza?”
“Whatever you want.”
“Pizza it is.” He turned on the oven and returned the first aid kit to its rightful spot. “Eva got bored and insisted on filling the wine rack.”
“Wine? Wow.” Allie shot him a look. “I pegged you for a cold beer.”
“Doesn’t mean you can’t have wine.”
“True.”
He suddenly had a picture of her on a date with some dark suit who knew his way around an elaborate wine list. Though the background search didn’t turn up any current man in her life, she’d surely done her share of dating. Outgoing, intelligent women with beauty and charm like Allie weren’t meant to stay single. The resulting pang of jealousy wasn’t unexpected, but it rankled all the same.
She wasn’t really his, all his instincts to the contrary. If he brought it up, she’d only remind him he was the one who left Haleswood—and her. Still, he was the one who’d waited for any word from her, any reply to his letters, until one day he discovered he would’ve been thrilled with a Dear John letter.
He tried to keep his perspective as he put the pizza in the oven, but still ended up slamming the door. It pissed him off more when she jumped at the sound.
“Relax.”
She frowned, that little crease forming between her pale brows. “You first.”
“I’ll check in with Eva while that’s cooking.”
“Okay. I’ll set the table.”
“Great,” he said, heading for his office. Just great. His irrational reaction to a past that should stay buried wasn’t making the present any more bearable.
Aw, hell. Did he have a present with her—beyond her case? Sharing a meal after another life-threatening situation wasn’t step one on the road to personal bliss. It was another deadly leap off the burning bridge of heartache. He’d given her everything he had once before and had felt her rejection on a bone-deep level. He should be smart enough not to repeat the same mistakes.
“Get a grip,” he muttered. Hitting the button hidden under the lip of his desk, he pulled up the various feeds from the closed circuit cameras he’d installed around his property. He may not live here, but that didn’t mean trespassers were welcome. Clicking from camera to camera, he surveyed the perimeter, zooming in here and there, searching for any sign that the sniper was still out there.
He had the camera feeds stored on a cloud server, not unlike Allie’s approach to the banking transaction records. Eva would go through the hours preceding this latest attempt on Allie’s life as soon as she was done with her physical search.
In the morning, if Eva didn’t find it first, he’d go pull the bullet out of the tree. Maybe a ballistics report would give them something useful.
* * *
Allie retreated to the bathroom to check the damage to her cheek and freshen up.