“I’m not sure.”

  A clicking noise came from the hallway.

  “What was that?” she asked.

  “Sounds like someone’s in the building with us.” He grabbed her hand and flipped off the flashlight. “We’re getting out of here.”

  She held her breath as he led her across the room. He stopped at the door and squeezed her hand before letting it go. He drew his weapon, and she did, too.

  “Go ahead of me. Back against the wall,” he whispered.

  “No, I have the vest. You’re more exposed so you go first.”

  He took her hand again and moved her into position. Arguing more would just delay their escape and put them in even more danger. She slid along the wall toward the rear exit. At the stairs, Cole clamped a hand on her shoulder and they stopped.

  She listened. Silence. So quiet it was deafening. Then she heard the reason Cole had stopped. Soft but sure footfalls came down the hall behind them. Adrenaline sent her heart racing.

  “Go. Now. Outside,” Cole whispered urgently. She hurried down the stairs and heard the footfalls running now. At the door, Cole threw it open and shoved her outside. “Take cover.”

  She ducked behind shrubbery next to the building and waited for him to join her.

  A shot split the air, shattering the glass in the door. Flying shards pelted the side of her face feeling like stinging nettles. Cole tumbled outside, his arm red with blood.

  “You’re hit,” she cried.

  “It’s nothing.” He squatted next to her. “Cover me. I’m going for my car.”

  “No. That’ll leave you too exposed.”

  “Now!” He ignored her request and bolted into the lot.

  A gun fired from inside again, the bullet whizzed above her head. She heard Cole rev the engine. Good. He’d made it to the car. She searched for the safest escape route and decided to stay under cover of the shrubs. She slipped along the edge of the building. The car screeched to a stop and the passenger door flew open. She jumped in and Cole floored the gas before she could close the door.

  Bullets peppered her side but she managed to get the door closed without being hit as they jerked onto the street, tires squealing. The SUV tipped to the side, and she braced her hand to keep from falling on Cole. They wobbled but finally the vehicle righted itself and they barreled down the street with no one in pursuit.

  Cole’s shirt was soaked with blood, but his injury wasn’t gushing and didn’t look life threatening. Gulping big breaths of air, she reached in the backseat for an emergency kit all the siblings kept in their vehicles.

  Her heart rate still elevated, she dug gauze from the kit and opened a package. “You better be heading to the emergency room.”

  “We’ll go to my house. If it’s bad enough, I’ll head to the E.R. after I find someone to stay with you.” Cole alternated his gaze between the rearview mirror and the road ahead.

  “Either you go to the E.R., or I’ll arrange for an ambulance to meet us at your house.” She pressed the gauze against his arm.

  He winced. “Fine. But you better get Derrick or Dani to join us or I’ll drag you into the exam room with me.”

  So much for brotherly love. She hated needles and he knew it. “I’ll be happy to come in the room with you.”

  He chuckled, and she felt more of her anxiety and adrenaline rush abate. At least as much as possible under the circumstances. She’d put her brother in the line of fire, the last thing she wanted to do. If only Mitch had been with her instead.

  Then what, Kat? That wouldn’t be any better now, would it?

  She dug out her phone to call Derrick and her finger hovered over Mitch’s number instead. She wanted to hear his voice. Just for a second. That’s all she’d need. But she might distract him and that could turn deadly on a stakeout so she hit Derrick’s icon.

  When he answered, she filled him in on the incident. “So if you or Dani could come to the E.R., I’d appreciate it.”

  “I’ll have Dani meet you, and I’ll contact the authorities, then head over to the office to secure it.” Spoken like a true Justice male. He wanted to protect the women from any hint of danger so he wouldn’t let Dani go to the office in case their assailant still hung around.

  Kat would normally argue, but she’d be glad to have her sister to talk to at the hospital so she agreed and hung up. She looked at Cole again. His color remained good, there was no fresh blood on the gauze, and he showed no signs of losing consciousness. He would make it. But it had been close. Too close. The very reason she didn’t want him or anyone in the family involved in this.

  She couldn’t lose them. Not a single one of them. And now, even though she hated to admit it, she included Mitch in that group. The big question was, what in the world was she going to do about it?

  * * *

  The family sat around Cole’s kitchen table devouring a large pizza with extra cheese just the way Kat liked it. She felt as if they’d gone back to old times. Cole, after leaving the E.R. with a surface wound and bandage matching hers, had called a halt to any talk of the recent events until after they finished eating and it was good just to be with everyone in a relaxed setting.

  Almost perfect. Almost. She wanted Mitch here, too. With her family. As part of her family.

  The doorbell rang and her gaze flew to the door.

  “Relax,” Cole said and squeezed her shoulder when he passed behind her. “I doubt the killer has come calling.”

  He was right. She was becoming paranoid.

  “So Ethan will be home tomorrow,” Dani said and Kat knew she was trying to distract her from the visitor at the door.

  Derrick gave a wry smile. “I’m sure he’ll be all over this case, telling us how we’ve screwed up.”

  “Where is she?” Mitch’s voice rose above their conversation and all eyes in the room turned to her.

  “What?” she asked. “I didn’t know he was coming.”

  “No! I need to see her now. Kat! Kat! Where are you?” He was on the move heading their way and obviously upset about something.

  She went to meet him in the living room where the others wouldn’t be privy to their conversation. She caught him rushing across the room and was so stunned at the intensity of his worried expression that she stopped in her tracks.

  “I heard there was another attack and I was worried about you. Are you okay?” His eyes collided with hers, and she couldn’t look away.

  “I’m fine,” she said, a little breathless from his penetrating study.

  “But she’s beat and needs to get some rest,” Cole said pointedly as he headed for the kitchen. “So don’t stay too long.”

  Kat waited until Cole left the room to speak. “You didn’t have to come all the way over here just to check on me, Mitch.”

  “Yes, I did.” His eyes roved from her head to toes and back up again. Then he pulled her close, his fingers threading through her hair and pressing her head against his rock-solid chest. His heart thundered. Hard and fast. Reassuring and unsettling at the same time. “If anything had happened to you I’d—”

  His words fell off but she knew what he meant. She slipped her arms around his waist and reveled in the closeness. This felt so good. So comfortable. So right yet so wrong.

  “Why didn’t you call me?” he asked sounding pained.

  “We didn’t need your help,” she answered truthfully, but purposefully omitted the little detail about wanting to call him.

  “Didn’t need it, or didn’t want it?” he whispered as if it was too painful to say louder.

  Neither, she thought. She wanted him near, and God help her, she was starting to need him, too. She leaned back and looked up at him, getting lost in his eyes. She wanted to trust this thing between them, wanted to trust him, but it wasn’t that simple after years of being hurt.

  Unwilling to lie, but also unwilling to lay her feelings out there as he was doing she said, “Does it really matter, Mitch?”

  His eyes clouded over, and he suddenly released her. “If you don’t think so then I guess it doesn’t.”

  Her answer had hurt him more than she would’ve thought. She wanted to take it back, but with the way she wanted to fling her arms around his neck and never let go, getting any closer to him would be a mistake.

  “Cole was right,” she said. “I’m exhausted and tomorrow’s a busy day so I—”

  “Should get some rest,” he finished for her.

  After a long penetrating look that left her unsettled, he headed for the door. With the knob in his hand, he turned and looked at her. “If Angie agrees to go to rehab tomorrow will you go with me to check her in?”

  She wanted to say it wasn’t a good idea for them to spend any amount of time together for any reason, but the fact that he asked for help with Angie melted any resolve she had to stay away from him. “Yes, of course I’ll go.”

  “I’ll call you after I talk to her then.” He stepped into the foggy night, and she watched the door close behind him wishing the impossible—that everything keeping them apart would disappear and they could give a relationship an honest chance.

  FOURTEEN

  Mitch sat in his car. Cold dampness seeped into his body tightening up muscles he’d strained the past few days. His own fault, of course. He could run the heater, but he didn’t want the purring motor to alert Kat to the fact that he hadn’t been able to leave. She was fine. Safe. Under the watchful eye of her siblings, but he couldn’t force himself to turn the key and drive away. Even if she’d just made it clear that she didn’t care about him.

  Abundantly clear.

  His phone trilled in Tommy’s ring tone and glad for something to distract him from the aches and pains, he answered it.

  “The paint results for your car are back,” Tommy said. “The van that ran you off the road is a 2007 Ford. Paint wasn’t specific to a model, but we know from your description that it’s a full-size van. Ford only made E series vans in ’07 so we can search D.M.V. records using that info and the three digits you caught.”

  “With a logo on the hood, we can assume it’s a business van,” Mitch offered. “That should narrow it down some.”

  “Agreed,” Tommy answered. “But it’ll still be a very long list.”

  And what amounted to a needle-in-haystack kind of search. Nabbing Granby was still their best option. “So what’s happening on the stakeout?”

  “We’re still a go for Judge Sloan’s trip in the morning.”

  “And you really think after Granby tried to kill Kat tonight he’ll switch targets and go after Sloan tomorrow?”

  “Sloan seldom leaves town so Granby shouldn’t be able to resist the chance to catch the judge—aka me—driving down a country road.” Tommy sounded too happy about being Sloan’s decoy, and Mitch hoped he’d be careful.

  “You want me to be there?” Mitch asked, feeling guilty over not having his partner’s back.

  “And let you miss slamming that court order on Weichert’s desk?” He laughed. “I’ll email the vehicle reports to you so you can work on them when you have time.” Mitch heard men talking in the background. “Look, I gotta go, but before I do I want to make sure Kat’s okay.”

  “She’s fine.” At least physically.

  “You at Cole’s house now?”

  “Yeah,” Mitch answered though it was only a half-truth.

  “Good. I’ll catch you tomorrow then.”

  “Be careful, Tommy,” Mitch warned again. “Granby’s not someone to mess with.”

  Mitch hung up and as he was stowing his phone, he saw the front door open and Cole step outside. Even with the thick fog, Mitch could see Cole motioning him to come inside. He knew it wasn’t a good idea to go anywhere near Kat tonight with everything in turmoil between them, nevertheless he climbed out and on legs stiff from the cold, made his way up the walk.

  “You planning on spending the entire night out here?” Cole asked, an eyebrow rising.

  “Yes.”

  “She’s safe with us, you know.”

  “I know.”

  “But you can’t leave.”

  “Something like that.”

  “Look, Elliot,” Cole widened his stance. “You seem like a stand-up guy and could be good for Kat, but I have to warn you, she’ll break your heart.”

  “You sound pretty sure of that.”

  “Sometimes I think there’s nothing in this world that’ll get her to let go of her past and trust a guy.” Cole pushed open the door, but caught Mitch’s gaze before stepping back. “She wants to talk to you, but if you hurt her, I’ll make you pay.”

  Great. Not only did Cole tell him that it’d be impossible for Kat to let go of her past enough to trust him, but if she got hurt in the process, a man who Mitch wouldn’t want to tangle with would hunt him down and make him pay. Made Mitch want to run the other way, but staying here tonight was as important as breathing to him so he stepped inside.

  Warm air instantly started thawing his face, but Kat’s chilly eyes sent him back to the deep freeze. He crossed the room to where she stood in front of a fireplace ablaze with a roaring fire. He was vaguely aware of Cole passing through the room, but Mitch couldn’t take his eyes off Kat. “You wanted to see me?”

  “Why are you still here?” It sounded like an accusation.

  “I’m in charge of this case, and I don’t want anything bad to happen on my watch.”

  A delicate eyebrow arched. “You’re just here doing your duty, nothing else?”

  He wouldn’t put his feelings out there to be trampled on again either. “Mostly, yeah.”

  She looked at him then, long and hard, and he couldn’t have looked away if he’d wanted to. “I don’t need you to stay, Mitch. I’m a big girl.”

  “Lori used to tell me that all the time, too.” He’d failed to protect her and now he was all alone. A slice of loneliness caught him off guard and he wanted to say more. There’d been no one else to challenge his memory of Lori. To make him want to let go and move on. Until now. Until Kat.

  “I’m not Lori,” Kat said, her tone still cool.

  “No, but when you shut me out it makes me feel helpless like I did when she rushed ahead of me that day.” He shook his head. “Let me help, Kat. Please. I need to help.”

  She appraised him for long silent moments and something changed in her eyes. As if she finally accepted him or at least accepted his insane need to be in charge. “I won’t have you sitting in your car all night. I’ll get bedding for the couch.” She walked away, and he let out a breath.

  They’d made progress. What kind of progress, he didn’t know. But at least he would be here if she needed him. Not that she would. She’d rather die than admit she needed him. Just like Lori. Strong and independent. But that’s where the similarities ended.

  Lori was sunshine and rainbows, keeping him on the right path. Kat was a bulldog, all thunderclouds and lightning, with a past that made her tough and wise. But also closed, with a wall so high, Cole might be right. Maybe it couldn’t be knocked down.

  She came back, her head barely visible above a pile of bedding. She navigated her way to the sofa, then dropped the linens and turned to leave.

  He couldn’t let her walk away. He’d probably regret it, but he reached for her hand and pulled her close. “I know you’re capable, Kat, and I’m sorry if I keep pushing your comfort zone. But you’re starting to mean too much for me to take any chances.”

  His admission seemed to catch her by surprise for a moment, but then she smiled up at him, the first time in days when she’d looked at him as she had in the past. He waited for her to walk away but she stood there, her eyes on his. Alive and real. So much better than simply settling for memories of a relationship in the past as he’d done since Lori died.

  He wanted to touch her. To kiss her. But he shouldn’t. He hesitated for a moment, waiting for her to bolt. But when she didn’t he caved, running his fingers gently over her cheek. She shivered and a spark ignited in her eyes. His nerves fired in a chain reaction. There was a connection here, beyond anything he’d felt before, and no matter the consequences, he was going to kiss her.

  He lowered his head, waiting for her to protest, but when she didn’t he swooped in and claimed her mouth. Her lips were soft and warm, sweeter than he could have imagined. He dragged her into his arms and deepened the kiss.

  Don’t do this, his brain shouted. You’re not ready for this. You’ll only hurt her and she deserves more than that. He started to lift his head, but she twined her arms around his neck, holding him in place and returning his kiss.

  “Did you find the bedding?” Cole’s voice came from behind them and slowly worked its way into Mitch’s muddled brain.

  He lifted his head, fearful of the expression he might find on Kat’s face. But she smiled again, this time knowingly, and those nerves fired again.

  “Go away, Cole,” she said, making no move to break out of Mitch’s hold.

  “I guess this means you found everything you needed,” Cole’s tone held humor, but as his gaze connected with Mitch’s he saw a note of warning, reminding him of their conversation outside and bringing him back to reality.

  This was exactly what Mitch didn’t want to happen. To start something he wasn’t sure he could follow through on. He needed to have a talk with her. To get things out in the open before kissing her again.

  He drew her arms from his neck and stepped back. “I shouldn’t have kissed you, Kat.”

  The interest in her eyes quickly extinguished and went cool. Then cold. Ice cold. “You’re right. This was a mistake. Good night, Mitch.” She turned and walked away.

  He wanted to reach out for her. To stop her and insist they talk about this. But maybe it was better to let their emotions cool down and have their discussion in the light of day when they weren’t so tired.

  Yeah, that was the right thing to do. So if it was right then why did watching her walk away hurt so badly?

  * * *

  Hours later, Kat went to the guest bedroom door and listened. Silence. Everyone had gone to sleep except her. She was too hyped up to even attempt to sleep. She’d tried to read for hours. The words all blurred together, and she kept thinking about Mitch. He was right; they shouldn’t have kissed.