“I’m not tired.”
“Alex—”
“Shut up, Genevieve.”
She was so startled at the harshness of his tone, she jumped. He took one look at her and gave a rough sigh, scraping his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. Can you stay close to the ground and check the phone?”
Since she’d been dying to anyway, she crawled over to the phone. Sure enough, the dial tone was still missing. “It’s dead. Do you think this is the guy who shot you?”
“What are the odds that there are two lunatics with guns running around?”
“Do you have any enemies?”
“Every policeman who does his job properly has enemies. Do any come straight to mind? No. I left my violent work in New York. I’ve been pushing paper around down here, damn it.” He shook his head. “You’re sure the shortwave doesn’t work?”
“No. Unless you’re mechanically oriented and want to try your hand at it.” Christ, everything that had kept Alex with her took on a sinister glow now. Just think, she’d been bemoaning the fact that the phones would soon be restored.
“I hand in my man card when it comes to fixing appliances. Okay, how much more ammo do you have?”
“A few boxes in the closet, in the back.”
“You stay here with the gun, keep an eye out. I’m going to move it in here. We can barricade ourselves in for the most part.”
It didn’t take him long to haul the ammunition back inside the main room. The supply, which she’d figured only a couple of weeks ago was more than sufficient, looked pitifully low when it was gathered together. He had a pair of ratty-looking grey sweatpants and a pair of huge sneakers in the pile, which she frowned at. “Where did you get those?”
“There’s a box at the top of your closet.” Standing out of direct line of either of the windows, he stepped into the sweatpants. Whoever had worn them before must have been significantly shorter and smaller than Alex. The hem barely reached his ankles, and the cotton clung lovingly to his ass. “They aren’t the best fit and the shoes look huge, but if we need to make a break for it, I have to be covered.”
Desperation welled at his words. Where would they make a break for it? There was no one nearby they could run to. When he was stationed in front of the window farthest from the door again, Genevieve crept to her bedside table and withdrew her .22. She brought the handgun to him. “Here. You can use this.”
He didn’t look surprised. “I wondered why you had bullets in this caliber. Good. I’m more at ease with this than the shotgun.” He opened the window slightly. Just enough to stick the barrel of the gun out, she noted. She did the same on the opposite window.
“I tinted the windows last year to keep the summer sun from baking me. If we keep to the side, someone looking in may not be able to really see inside.”
“Well, that’s something in our favor.”
She tried to lighten the mood. “Hey, at least I have the police chief in my pocket. I mean, could I get more luck than to get stranded in a shootout with a lawman? And look, he’s not even shooting.”
As if her words were the impetus, a volley of shots rang forth, peppering the building. She and Alex ducked. Thank God, none of the bullets hit either of the windows. The logs could take it, glass couldn’t. She sat up, ready to shoot back, but he stayed her actions. “No. Don’t shoot him unless you have a clear target. We have a limited amount of bullets. As far as we know, he’s got a whole jeep full.”
They both peered out the window as the gunfire stopped. Nothing was visible. “He’s playing with us.” Genevieve wasn’t sure if Alex was speaking to her or himself.
He turned around to sit with his back against the wall, the gun cradled across his lap. He was beyond pale. “We’re stuck in here.”
“You’ve exhausted yourself.”
Alex rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. “I don’t think I’ve ever been that terrified in my life as I was when I heard those shots and realized you weren’t inside. It brought back some bad memories.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to apologize, but he opened his eyes and pinned her with a hard gaze. “Can I ask what you were doing outside when I specifically said you shouldn’t leave the cabin until I was better?” His tone was soft, but it did nothing to hide the anger.
Genevieve reminded herself that she was a fully independent grown woman and should not be intimidated by such obvious tactics. “Um, feeding the animals?” Oh wonderful. Nothing screamed strong and brave better than an “Um” and a question mark at the end of a statement. She cleared her throat. “Feeding the animals.”
His scowl turned blacker. “Animals. Outside. Alone. When we know there’s a shooter on the loose. Brilliant, Genevieve.”
Okay, so it hadn’t been the smartest move, but she really hadn’t had a choice. “Just so we’re clear, I don’t like your tone. I’ve been careful and I’ve been going outside alone the whole time you’ve been here—I’m sorry if you happened to wake up this time, but my chores aren’t going to do themselves just because I have a cranky guest.” Oh, probably not a good idea to tell him he had slept through her slipping outside, she realized as the muscles in his jaw bunched. But really, what was she supposed to do? She hated being vulnerable, but someone had to tend the horse and the garden and everything else. She tried to go on the defensive to deflect the obvious lecture he was gearing up for. “And, in my defense, I had no idea someone was trying to actively gun you down. What are the odds?”
He spoke through gritted teeth. “It’s common sense to not make a target of yourself if you can avoid it. Any crazy could take it in their head to come out here and hurt you. You could have just asked me to come along. I can protect you. I can do this stuff for you. You shouldn’t be here alone, you should be…”
“I should be what?”
