Riordan (7 page)

armed? I mean, right this minute?”

“I’ve come down here as a favor to—”

“You tell that lie again and I will shoot what I’m sure is that tiny dick of yours off.”

Cupping himself, Andy backed more away from her. “If you come here again, bother me with

one more phone call, I’m going to call Brigadier General Blackson. Do you remember what he

said to you the last time I called him?”

Without a word, Andy turned and left. The door to the bakery was still rattling when she

turned to Riordan. He was grinning at her like he knew something about her that she didn’t.

Which was impossible…she knew her own self better than he ever thought he would.

“Look, Mr. Harrison, I’m very busy today. If you’ve come down here to blast me again, I

would suggest that you leave now while you can. I’m neither in the mood to fuck around with

you today or fight.” He started to reach for her when she turned, and Storm backed out of his

touch. “Don’t. Don’t touch me.”

“All right. For now.” She had no idea what he meant but moved to the back room again. She

really was busy and didn’t want to get even more behind than she already was. He was right

behind her when she stopped at the board again. Turning, she backed up when he was simply too

close.

“What the fuck do you want?” Her head was hurting, and her back was throbbing like

someone was standing on it doing a jig. “I thought I made it perfectly clear that you’re not

welcome here. And from my understanding, you want less to do with me than I do with you.

Which is saying a great deal.”

“What did he really want? The doctor. What did he really want you to do?”

She thought about telling him to fuck off, but only shook her head. What would be the

point? He wasn’t going to leave until he had everything answered. And she was simply too tired

and too sore to fight with him over it at the moment.

“He has it in his head that we’re going to be an item, and I’m going to somehow advance his

career. That I’m going to get him in good with the president. I think, at least I hope, the president

has more sense than to want that fool as his personal physician. He can’t keep his hands to

himself, and he thinks that I’m just too lonely to turn him down. I’m not lonely, I’m busy, as I

have told you several times already today.” She walked away from him when he turned to look

toward the front of the building.

“You think that’s all he wants from you?” She asked him what else he thought the man

wanted as she picked up fifty pounds of flour. Riordan took it from her and asked her if she

needed more.

“Yes. I need three bags. But I’m capable of picking them up all by myself. I’m a big girl, in

the event that escaped your notice.” He only grunted at her and picked up the other two that she

was going to have to come back for. “I really wish you’d say whatever it is you want and get out

of here. I’m sporting a fucker of a headache and I don’t want to keep trying to be nice to you.”

“You were being nice?” She glared at him, and he grinned. Storm turned away from him.

The man was simply too charming when he wanted to be. “I came here because…actually, I have

no idea why I came here today. To talk to you for one thing. And to try and settle things between

us.”

“There is no
us,
and
we
have nothing to settle.” Measuring out the flour that she needed, she

looked at the next item on her list and wondered if she could make the two batches together. “I

don’t want to have any sort of relationship with anyone. I’ve got my life all mapped out and

believe it or not, Mr. Harrison, you’re not even a blip on my list. Go away.”

“I’ve been thinking.”

She started to ask him if it was painful but didn’t. Her head was killing her, and she just

wanted it quiet for a while. Danny came from the sinks and cleared his throat. He was the

quietest man she knew.

“I got Brady all trained now. I don’t think he’s going to work out though. He’s got himself a

complex, and he’s gonna act on it soon. Today if I don’t miss my bet. I would like to talk to you

about his….” Danny looked pointedly at Riordan and shrugged. “He’s got some problems.”

“Like?” She was sick to death of the cat-and-mouse games that people played. “Spill it,

soldier. I have a long list of shit that I have to do, and you’re taking up my space. And this ass is

going to be leaving soon, too.”

Danny grinned at her, just like she knew he would. “He’s supposed to be on some of those

anti-depressing shit. But he’s not popping them right. And he has himself an issue.” She asked

him if it was a service issue and he told her no. “Told me that he got it off a friend of his and that

he was tired of just making it by. I’m thinking he’s on a short one. You should maybe make a

call. He was telling me that taking himself out a hero and all was going to get him noticed. Might

be that he’s talking about popping you.”

“Fucking newspaper just had to talk about the new bakery and mention my name. Where is

he?” He told her in the pantry putting away the stuff that just came in. Storm looked at Riordan

and tried to think past the pounding right behind her eyes. She looked at Danny and nodded to

Riordan. “Take him up front with my aunts. I’m going to talk to him. Lock up and down,

understand?”

Danny told her he did and moved toward Riordan. But he was shaking his head even before

Danny tried to ask him to come along. “I’m not leaving you. I don’t know half the crap you just

said, but I don’t think you’re safe.”

“It means for him to lock up the front door and to keep his fucking head down between his

legs. And I am safe; you’re not. Go to the front with Danny.” He told her no. “Fuck. You know, I

really don’t need this right now. My head hurts like a son of a bitch. You’re irritating the shit out

of me, and I have a kid here that wants to be killed by cops by taking me out. What the fuck else

could possibly go wrong today?”

“Plenty I’m sure, but I’m not leaving you.”

Storm picked up the phone then and called the police. It wasn’t really the right order to do

things, but there were civilians in her place, and they had to come first. Pulling out her gun when

she hung up, she looked at Riordan.

“You get shot and I’m going to be really pissed.” He asked her what he could do. “Will you

go up front? If not, then I need for you to stay out of the way and don’t fucking move when he

comes out. Do you understand me?”

“Is he going to shoot you?” She told him probably. “I can’t let that happen. You’re my mate,

and I have to protect you.”

“Are you faster than a bullet? I’m thinking not, but if you are, then by all means, take point

on this. But if you want to keep me safe, then stay the fuck out of my way. I know what I’m

doing.” He nodded but didn’t look happy about it. Storm turned to the pantry. “Brady? It’s Storm

Browning. Can you come out here?”

~~~

Riordan called his mom, then his dad. He thought about just contacting them through his

link with them, but he was scared out of his ever-loving fucking mind and needed to talk to them

personally. When his mom hung up, he called his dad. He told him everything that happened,

too.

“Oh my God, son. Is anyone hurt? You? Are you hurt?” He told him that he wasn’t. “And

Stormy, is she…did she get hurt?”

“She was shot at, but the man she was talking to, he’s dead. She had to kill him or…she

saved my life.” His dad said that he was on his way. That he was only at the office. “Mom is

coming, too. Ennis is driving her.”

“Good, that’s good. I’m walking. I don’t think I could drive. And you’re all right, you

promise me that?” He told his dad that he really was fine. “I’m…you have no idea what is

running through my mind right now. You’re okay, son, right?”

“I am, Dad, I promise you I am. Storm is fine, too. Shook up, but the man with her is talking

to her. She said she has a headache, and he said he was going to have her checked out at the

hospital. I don’t think she’s all that thrilled about that.” Dad said that he could see her being

upset about someone wanting to care of her. “She shot him, Dad. Right between the eyes when

he…he was going to kill me, then her. I was told to stay out of the way, and I didn’t. I think she

could have been able to talk him down if not for me being there.”

“I’m here, son; come out and tell them I can come to you.”

He closed his phone and went to the front of the bakery. Sally and Lynn were handing out

coffee and Danish to anyone that wanted them, and he was pretty sure to a few people that

didn’t. Danny was talking to someone in a uniform, but it wasn’t police. He looked at him and

nodded but continued talking. As soon as he saw his dad, he was pulled into a great bear hug that

Riordan hadn’t realized he needed until just then.

He led him to the back where there were more uniforms than he’d seen on Memorial Day.

All of them were wearing stripes up and down on their sleeves, and a few of them were sporting

stars and bars on their collars. Mac was there with his friend, Tony Blackson, and the latter was

talking to Storm. It didn’t sound like he was having any more luck with her than the doctor had

been earlier.

“Just go down to the hospital and let them check you out, that’s all I’m asking.” She growled

at the man, and Riordan had to hide a smile. But she must have heard him and looked right at

him.

He expected her to tell them this was his fault. It sort of had been. When Brady had come

out of the pantry, he’d been pointing the gun right at her. Storm had hers at her side. Riordan

didn’t move even when Brady asked what he was doing there. But his cat wasn’t very happy

with the situation. Riordan remembered every word that was exchanged between her and this

Brady person. Brady had asked her again what he was doing there.

“He’s here to see me. For what, I couldn’t tell you. He’s a pain in my ass, too. What the fuck

are you doing? Do you have any idea what I am to you?”

He said “Yes, sir” like it had been drilled in his head to do so from birth.

“So you must have a good excuse for doing this then. What the hell is it? You want me to

shoot you? Because as I see things right now, you’re pointing a weapon at a superior officer. Is

that the way they’re teaching you grunts to do things now?”

“No, sir, they don’t teach us that. But I’m just tired.” She told him she was, too. “My head is

all messed up. I got me thoughts in there that I don’t care for. And I don’t know how to get them

done with.”

“You’re not taking your meds, are you?” He told her he didn’t like how they made him feel.

“Well, tough fucking shit, you moron, that’s what you’re supposed to do to feel better. I don’t

like having a gun pointed at me either. So I guess we neither one are getting what we want, now

are we?”

“Maybe if I kill you, then I can just go about my business like before.” She asked him how

the hell he thought that was going to work. “I don’t know. Like I was before they took me over

there. I had to kill people, and when I get back here, they say I can’t do that anymore. But I just

couldn’t help it. She made me do it.”

Brady had pointed the gun at Riordan, and Storm stepped in front of it, telling him he didn’t

want to do that. Riordan reached for Storm to move her, but before he could get her out of the

way, Brady had knocked Storm to the table and had Riordan by the neck with the gun pointed to

his head.

“I’m going to kill you both.” She told him no he wasn’t. “I am. I’m going to kill him, then

you. I can. I’ve done it before. I got me no problems with this. You’ll see, it’ll be over soon.”

Storm lifted her gun and told him to drop his. When he told her no, the next thing Riordan

knew he found himself being helped up from his knees and Brady was dead on the floor. Storm

told him to stand back when he moved toward the younger man. And that was when the police

showed up.

It was iffy for a few minutes as to whether or not they were going to shoot her, or at the very

least arrest her. But Blackson had shown up with Mac and everyone got an earful from Blackson.

In a few minutes there were no police allowed within a foot of him or Storm, and Blackson was

clearly in charge. The man wasn’t happy, and for some reason, Riordan didn’t think it was

because the man on the floor was dead.

Mac pulled him aside when Blackson asked for a moment with his soldier. Riordan didn’t

want to leave her, and it surprised him that the reason he didn’t was because he didn’t care for

Blackson. Riordan moved away but kept her in his sights. He looked at Mac when he laughed.

“Mom is out front. She wants to know if you want her to stay with Stormy while you go to

the office to work.” He started to ask him what he was talking about when he continued. “I think

they’re under the impression that you don’t want her as your mate. It looks to me like if you had