“Yes, that’s right. No one even thought I killed Alanna. Wade made love to me. It was glorious. Heaven. So the next time I made sure to do it exactly the same way.”
“You killed your own cousin?” Wade said.
“She was a cheap, ugly, fucking slut.”
With a growl, Wade rushed her.
Whitney jerked toward him, surprised, and her finger clenched the trigger.
The bullet hit Wade in the stomach. Blood seeped through his shirt. He staggered back several steps.
Dennis cried out. He dove toward Whitney. She backhanded him and he fell, bleeding.
Whitney turned to Wade, eyes wide and wild. “No no no!” Whitney screamed. “I love you, Wade!”
“I hate you,” Wade said through clenched lips. “Go fuck yourself!”
She screamed and turned the gun on Dennis. “It’s your fault!”
Sean kicked in the door, gun out, drawing her attention-and her gun-away from everyone else in the room.
A window broke. Whitney’s body jerked twice.
A dark hole appeared in the back of her shirt, spreading until her whole back was a deep, dark red. Blood dribbled out the side of her mouth as she crumpled to the floor.
Silence descended as every eye in the room went to the body. It seemed to last for minutes, but when SWAT rushed the room, only seconds had passed.
“We need an ambulance!” Lucy yelled. “Wade was shot in the abdomen.”
Sean was at her side when she crawled over to Wade. Dennis took Wade’s hand. “You’re going to be okay,” Dennis said, repeating the mantra.
“Denny.” Wade coughed.
Sean ripped open Wade’s shirt and pressed his hands to the open wound. “Medics!” he called.
A SWAT guy knelt on one knee next to Lucy. He had a small medical bag and took out a thick pad of gauze and cotton. “I got it,” he said to Sean and took over the first aid.
“Paramedics are already on site waiting for us to clear the scene. Is there anyone else in the house?”
“No,” Sean said.
Lucy went over to Mrs. Barnett. “Where are you injured?”
“Head,” she whispered.
Lucy inspected the wound. The cut was dry and not bleeding anymore, but her graying hair was sticky with blood. “We have a head injury here, probable concussion.”
“Are you a doctor?” the SWAT medic asked.
“No, I’ve only had some first responder training.”
Sean stared at her. “I don’t think there’s anything you don’t know how to do.”
“You could have gotten yourself shot,” she said.
“But I didn’t.”
“Tell me you knew SWAT was in place.”
“I knew they were coming.”
Lucy let out a long, pent-up breath.
Sean frowned at the blood on her head. “You need medical attention.”
“I’m fine.” When he began to argue, she said, “Really. I just need to clean up.”
“Me, too.” He wiped his bloody hands on his khakis.
The paramedics brought in a stretcher and equipment. “Clear the room! Stat!”
Lucy pulled Dennis’s hand from Wade’s. “You have to let them do their job,” she said. “Come with me.” When Dennis didn’t move, she said, “Let’s get you cleaned up, Denny, okay?”
Wade said, “Go ahead, Denny.”
He nodded, looking lost and bewildered. With tears in his eyes, he looked at the paramedic and said, “Don’t let him die. He’s my brother.”
“Not on my watch, kid.”
Lucy led Dennis past Whitney’s dead body. Dennis stared at her, bewildered. Lucy wasn’t going to forget today anytime soon.
Sean followed them out to the porch. Suzanne was coming up the stairs and waved. Lucy sat Dennis down on a bench and said, “You’re safe here. I’m going to talk to Agent Madeaux, okay?”
He nodded, dazed. A medic came up to him. “I’m going to look at your head, all right?”
They left Dennis with the medic and met Suzanne at the top of the stairs. “Looks like I missed all the fun,” she said. “I heard Wade is down. How bad?”
“The paramedics are inside,” Lucy said. “He was shot in the abdomen.”
“What were you doing out here? Did you think she’d show up here?”
“I was concerned about Dennis after the interview yesterday. He was so upset. I wanted to let him talk about it if he wanted. And Sean had news for him about Kirsten. She’s having surgery tomorrow and hoped to see Dennis at the end of the week. He saved her life last weekend. We wanted to tell him in person.”
“At least that’s one happy ending.” They stepped out of the way as the paramedics brought Wade out.
“How is he?” Sean asked.
“Lucky,” the paramedic said. “I think he’s going to make it.”
Dennis stood, wobbly.
“Whoa, son, let’s sit you down,” the medic said.
“I gotta go with my brother. Please.”
The medic looked at Lucy, and she said, “I think he should go with him, if there’s room in the ambulance.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” He helped Dennis down the stairs.
Suzanne turned back to them. “I’ll need to debrief both of you, but I’ll be stuck here for a while.”
“We’ll stay another night,” Sean said. He led Lucy over to the bench where Dennis had been sitting. “I’m getting my first-aid kit. Or I’m taking you to the hospital.”
“Get the kit,” she said.
Sean jogged down the stairs, stopping to talk briefly with the SWAT leader. He almost looked like one of them. Except he didn’t have the big gun or the bulletproof vest. He jumped in and risked himself time and time again. That’s who Sean was. He’d never let someone else suffer if he could stop it.
Suzanne sat next to Lucy. “You have your hands full with that guy.”
“I sure do.”
“You’re lucky.”
THIRTY-FOUR
Sean pulled Lucy down the hall and into Kate’s office. He quietly shut the door. Lucy barely suppressed a giggle, then forced herself to eye Sean sternly.
“It’s my belated birthday dinner,” she said, raising her eyebrows in mock indignation. “Don’t you think everyone will notice that we snuck off?”
Sean kissed her. “I don’t care.” He kissed her again, drawing her lips into his, wiping the giggle from her face. She was trying to keep it light; Sean was turning it serious.
“What is it?” She didn’t know why she was nervous. All she could think about was New York, and Sean telling her
