Jeremy stared back, his expression stunned. “Shit. You could be right.”
“I know I’m right. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
Her stomach turned and twisted into knots. Somehow it had been easier to deal with when she thought she was the intended target. But to know that someone was after Hutch? That the killer could go after him next or even Cam and Sawyer?
“But why?” Jeremy asked. “What could Hutch possibly have done to piss off someone this badly? It doesn’t make sense. I’m not sure we can rule out your father as a motive yet.”
“I’m not saying we have to rule him out, just that we have to consider that none of this is coincidence and that Hutch could be the ultimate goal.”
“Has it occurred to you that this could be linked solely to you?” Brett spoke up. “Birdie’s important to you, as is Hutch. You’re a police officer. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time some whack job a cop arrested has gone off the deep end and retaliated.”
Regina frowned. “Maybe.” She closed her eyes. Jesus. If itwasabout her, Hutch, Sawyer and Cam could still be targets. Either way the thought of losing them terrified her.
“You know the chief is going to put you on leave indefinitely,” Jeremy said in a low voice.
She grimaced. “Yeah, I know. He’ll have to.” And suddenly she didn’t mindquiteso much. Her priorities had shifted in short order. While both Jeremy’s and Brett’s theories certainly held water, she couldn’t discount the nagging idea that this was aimed at Hutch and that he or Cam or Sawyer could be next. And if that was the case, she wanted to make damn sure she stayed close to them at all times.
“I’ve put in a call so we can get some guys over here to dust for prints. Everyone was tied up over at your place,” Brett said to Regina. “Although so far, if it’s the same guy, he’s been careful not to leave any. I’m hoping like hell that this isn’t human blood.”
“You and me both,” Regina murmured.
“I’m beginning to think they don’t pay us enough to work in this town,” Jeremy said in a weary voice. “I doubt any of us will ever sit around the station hoping for action again.”
“You’re telling me.”
He cracked a grin. “Yeah, I suppose that was bad of me to whine. I mean look at you. You look like something the cat dragged in.” His expression became more serious, and his tone lost the light teasing. “I’m damn glad you’re okay, Regina. That was a close call.”
She smiled wanly. “Yeah, no shit.” She rubbed a hand through her snarled hair then let it fall to her hip with a smack.
“Let me take you over to the station,” Jeremy said. “And then I’ll come back over to help Brett out here. I’m pretty sure the chief won’t be happy if he shows up and you’re on scene.”
“Yeah, okay,” she said.
She turned and walked slowly back out of the house, furious that Birdie’s home would be defiled. This house held so many happy memories for Hutch, Cam and Sawyer. And for her as well. It had been a home when her own home felt more like a house. A cold, sterile house that people inhabited but no onelivedin.
And the idea of anyone doing Birdie harm made her physically ill.
She climbed into Jeremy’s car feeling a hundred years old. She needed a long, hot bath. Preferably one she could soak in for three hours.
He pulled out and headed toward the station, his hands tight around the steering wheel.
“I need you to keep me up-to-date on this case, Jeremy,” she said. “Hutch, Cam and Sawyer are very important to me. I’m going to do everything in my power to keep them safe. I’ll be staying out at their house until this blows over. If that fucker comes near them, he’s dead meat.”
“I’ll keep you in the loop,” Jeremy promised. “As soon as we get the scene processed and I bounce our ideas off the chief and Carl, I’ll have a better idea of where the investigation is headed. Until then you need to lay low and make sure Hutch does the same.”
“And Birdie,” Regina said softly. “Somehow I need to persuade her that she can’t stay in that house alone until this guy is caught. Whether I’m right about it being about Hutch, or you’re right about it being about me, she’s important to us both and is at risk either way.”
CHAPTER 16
No sooner had Jeremy pulled up to the police station and Regina gotten out, than she looked up and saw Sawyer striding out of the station, his face as dark as a thunderstorm.
“Uh-oh,” Jeremy murmured as he walked ahead of her. “He doesn’t look too happy.”
Sawyer walked straight past Jeremy, and Regina braced for impact. He didn’t say a word. He yanked her into his arms, tilted her head back and kissed her hard and fierce.
Her gasp of surprise was swallowed up as his mouth moved hungrily over hers. His arms were bands of steel around her back, strong and comforting. Her body softened and melted into his as he possessed her with his lips.
Warm, soothing honey flowed through her veins. She forgot where they were, lost all sense of time and place. Tongues met. His delved deep, tasting her as she tasted him.
