Tamed (Corcoran Team: Bulletproof Bachelors Book 3) (9 page)

But they had to get out of there. Well, she did. If she looked at Frank for one more second, she might punch him just on principle.

“We should leave.” She wrapped a hand around Shane’s arm and tugged.

He didn’t move. “Do you understand me, Frank?”

“Fine.” He had taken two steps when the crack echoed through the trees.

Makena didn’t understand what she was hearing, but it sounded wrong. As she turned toward the parking lot, where she thought the sound had come from, a pounding weight nailed her in the back. The world flashed in front of her as her body went down. She put out her hands and waited for the ground to smash into her face. But she felt a tug and turned in midair. Not by choice. Something moved her. It took a second for her to realize Shane had wrapped his body around hers.

She landed with a bounce against his chest. He groaned but didn’t stop moving. He rolled her under him, pressing her back into the freshly cut grass and her face into his chest. She was about to ask him what was happening when the screaming registered. She heard voices and crying. Glanced up and saw people running. Then Shane’s weight lifted.

“Do not move.” He issued the order as he went.

She followed the flash of his body. In a few steps he hit Frank and knocked him to the ground. They both went down with Frank falling under Shane and neither man moving.

Tires squealed and sirens wailed in the distance. It took her brain another few seconds to kick into gear. A shooting. Someone had fired at her or Shane or Frank. Maybe at all of them. She doubted this was a coincidence and they’d just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Someone knew they were there or followed them...maybe Frank had been lying all along. The long list of possibilities made her dizzy.

Her gaze flicked to him. He lay on his stomach with his arms folded over his head. His whole body bucked as he said something she couldn’t make out. Tears. The man was in a full-blown panicked cry. She sympathized. She also doubted a shooting mastermind would act like that.

Then Shane was by her side. He slid to his knees and pulled her up in his arms. His hands rubbed up and down her back as he rocked her. “Are you okay?”

“Is it over?” she stammered. She’d never tripped over her words before the attacks. Now she spent half her time trying to find the right word and spit it out.

“Makena?” Shane ran his hands over her. “Any injuries?”

Just from where he’d clunked her against the ground, but she didn’t care about that. She snuggled closer into his chest. “I’m fine.”

He held her for a few more seconds, mumbling soft words to her that made no sense but managed to soothe her. And she held on. Grabbed on to him with a death grip and refused to let go.

He finally let go, not seeming to notice she didn’t. “I need to check on everyone.”

“Don’t leave me.” She knew her answer came off as selfish and maybe a bit crazed, but she didn’t care. Irrational was all she had right then.

“It’s okay.” Each word he uttered sounded measured and calm.

“No.” That was all she could get out as she sat there all tucked and hiding from the world.

He slid that new phone out of his pocket and pushed a button. “Cam is on the line. Talk to him while I do a quick look.”

He got away from her that time. Shifted to a crouch as he scanned the area.

“You could be killed.” And that would destroy her. She’d lost control of her life, and the world kept spinning around her, but she knew that much. Losing him would rip her open until she’d never be whole again.

“The police are coming. Do you hear the sirens?” He caressed her cheek. “They are on the way, which would have made the shooter run.”

Logical. Made sense. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to process common sense at the moment. But she tried. “You better be right.”

“I am.” He leaned in and kissed her. A soft peck on her forehead, more calming than heating.

He got up and went to a lady hiding under a picnic table nearby. Makena watched until Frank blocked her view. He scrambled over to her with a pale face and a drip of blood running down from a cut over his eye.

She knew she should rush to help, but all the energy had drained out of her. She sat there unable to move. “You’re bleeding.”

Frank touched his fingers to his head and stared at the red on the tips. “From the guy knocking me down.”

The words lit something inside her. This man had pretended to rescue. Shane actually did. “He saved you.”

“I know. I was frozen.” His voice sounded far away and stilted. “Could only stand there.”

Realizing he wasn’t arguing with her or blaming Shane sucked the rage right back out of her. “Me, too.”

Some of the haze cleared from Frank’s eyes. “Is that what happened to you the other night?”

She shivered at the memory and the new one that would haunt her for days...maybe longer. “Close.”

“So this is all about the website.”

Last week she might have let the comment pass. Not today. “No, Frank, it’s about the men who lied and got called out on the website. One or more of them did this. Blame the right thing.”

“We don’t know that for sure.”

“I do.” She did. Knew it to her soul. She’d brought this danger into her life. She’d put Shane in peril. Shane and everyone in the park. Anyone who came near her. “And this time when they get caught, the punishment will be way more than public humiliation.”

Frank’s body froze. “What do you plan to do?”

That was easy. “Stop them for good.”

Chapter Eleven

Shane couldn’t shake the rage that threatened to plow him under. The men in Makena’s life had her teetering on the edge of danger. He’d stepped out to give her space. To keep the need inside him from spilling out. The logic had made sense back then, but now he wondered if distance had done anything but cause more trouble.

He still wanted her. Kissing her, touching her, sleeping with her. It all had been so easy and felt so right. Then the bullets started flying and danger signs flashed and he fell back on the only way he knew to operate—he backed away. The cycle was making him nuts.

He blew out a long breath as he paced the parking lot. After the gunfire ended he’d performed a quick injury check of the people standing nearby. Most were shaken up, but none were injured.

Satisfied, he’d headed out here. Even now, police sirens echoed in the distance as they raced to the scene. Between the noise and calls from potential victims, an entire crowd of law enforcement should show up within minutes. Pretty soon he’d see the lights and then he’d lose control. If there was some piece of evidence to find, he needed to do it now.

Another glance in Makena’s direction eased some of the anxiety slamming into him. She sat on the picnic table bench and watched over Frank and a few of the other people who roamed around, waiting for the police to arrive.

Frank... Shane couldn’t place that wild card. The guy claimed to have some renewed sense of purpose after being exposed for the fraud he was. He acted as if he’d found a pool of integrity, but he possessed all the nervous tics of a man two inches from being caught in a lie. Not a good sign.

Shane vowed to wait and see what Connor’s investigation turned up, but Frank had moved up on Shane’s list of suspects. He did not trust the guy and certainly did not want him near Makena. Now was fine because Frank sat with his head down and looked ready to drop out of fear or guilt or whatever else was jumping around inside him.

Two Good Samaritans had the parking lot blocked off and were stopping new cars from pulling in. Shane had given them the directions and was relieved they followed them without question. Speaking with authority tended to work in these situations. Trouble made some people more willing to follow law-and-order commands. Brought out an inner protective streak Shane leaned on right now to keep the parking lot emptied out.

That allowed him to search. He kept up his pacing, up one line of cars and down the other. He wasn’t clear about what he was looking for—evidence of the shooting or an idea of exactly where the guy had stood. He had an idea but would need Cam to come in and work some trajectories to be sure.

He got to the approximate spot. Cars took up most of the spaces, which made it a good place for a shooter to aim and then duck without a high risk of being seen. That didn’t answer the questions about why here, out in the open, and who had been the target. Shane assumed Makena, but it could have been him or even Frank. Someone was intent on hiding something in this case, and who knew how far he or she would go to make that happen?

The scrape of a shoe against loose gravel had him turning. A footstep. Just one and then nothing, as if the person froze or dropped. Shane looked from one side to the other. Listened for any sound as he tried to pick up a sign of who else might be out there. That hadn’t been a trick of his mind. He’d heard something. Someone close by.

Without making a sound, he crouched down. He didn’t move so much as a pebble as he ducked beside the car and scanned the ground. He spied the visitor immediately.

Sneakers. Two rows over and one car down. He could see the blue jeans and the untied shoe. He waited a second longer to see if the guy shifted his weight or made a move, but nothing happened. He had the advantage, but he had to move fast.

Under or over. He debated for a second, only ruling out around because that would waste time and he could shift to one side while this person in hiding went the other way. Shane made the choice and moved. Slipped right over the top of the nearest hood and saw a head pop up. He made out the build and the hair as the guy took off toward the back of the parking lot and picnic area.

He swerved and wove as he moved. Shane went for the straight line. He didn’t run through lines of cars, he vaulted over them, taking a row at a time until he ran right behind the guy. Two more steps...one more... Shane reached out and grabbed the guy’s shirt. Got two fists full and jerked. Threw his weight behind it.

The guy lost his balance. Thanks to forward momentum, Shane crashed into the runner, causing him to stumble. With his grip secured and the advantage on his side, Shane heaved the man into the side of the nearest car and pinned him there. Nailed the guy across the shoulders and separated his legs with a kick.

Adrenaline rushed through Shane, fueling every move and giving him strength. He felt alive and on fire as he searched the guy for weapons. The energy continued to thrum even though he didn’t find a gun. That probably meant he’d dumped the weapon, which was smart.

When Shane flipped the guy over and held him against the car with nothing more than a hand wrapped around his neck, his control almost snapped. He should have been surprised at the guy’s identity, but for some reason he wasn’t.

“Jeff Horvath.” Shane didn’t have to search his memory to call up the name, because this guy was also high on his list of suspects. Never mind that Frank had just pointed a finger at him. Shane hadn’t liked this Jeff guy from the beginning.

“Let go of me.” He squirmed and shifted all around.

Shane braced his arm across Jeff’s throat and fought off the urge to press in hard. “Shut up.”

The guy’s eyes bulged as his fingers clawed at Shane’s arm. “Stop.”

“Calm down.” When Jeff nodded, Shane eased up. He wanted to keep the guy slammed against the car but knew he had to back up. Actually doing that took another few seconds.

The minute Shane let go, Jeff doubled over, coughing and hacking. The display went on for what felt like forever. When he finally straightened up again, fury colored his features and he looked braced for a fight...until his gaze went to the gun in Shane’s hand.

Amazing how a loaded weapon changed the balance of power. Not that it was all that level to begin with, but Jeff could pretend about that, too, if he wanted. The guy excelled at pretending.

“Let’s try this again.” Shane backed up a step just in case this guy was dumb enough to dive for the gun, thinking they could wrestle. Shane wanted to question him, not shoot him, but he would if he had to. “Why are you here?”

“It’s a public park.” Being the kind of guy he was, Jeff didn’t back away quietly. He grew indignant and scowled.

One nowhere near his house, but Shane sailed over that detail. “Try again.”

“I don’t have to answer your questions.”

Shane’s gaze bounced down to his gun, then back up again. “This says you do.”

Lights flashed as three police cars passed through the gate a few hundred feet away. The roar of the sirens grew louder, drawing everyone’s attention. Everyone but Shane. He stood his ground and waited for an answer to the only question he cared about right now. “Why are you following Makena?”

Jeff glanced in the direction of the police cars. “I wasn’t.”

“They aren’t going to help you.” They actually would, because the diversion and their presence would stop Shane from going wild on the guy to get information, but Jeff didn’t need to know that. “No one is.”

The guy kept leaving a trail. He knew where she lived. He showed up after each incident. He’d made threats of a sort. If he’d wanted to paint a bull’s-eye on his chest, he was doing a great job of it. And that was what didn’t make any sense to Shane. It was too easy to tie the attacks right back to Jeff. He might not be a professional, but the file Makena had on him suggested he wasn’t an idiot, either.

The whole thing smelled wrong and Shane couldn’t figure out why. But he had a new problem, because she was heading right for them.

She didn’t stop until she stood almost on top of them. “It was you? First my house and now you come here.” She shook her head with a mouth twisted up in obvious disgust. “You could have hurt a kid or someone just walking by. What is wrong with you?”

She made good points, but this could explode. In addition to that, Shane didn’t want her anywhere near Jeff or any other guy associated with the website. “Go back to the picnic area and—”

“We should turn him over to the police,” she said as she moved away from Jeff to stand by Shane’s side. “End this once and for all so I can get back to work and he can get the punishment he deserves.”

“Woman, you just never stop.” Jeff’s hatred came out in the harshness of his voice and how he almost spit out the words.

“Do not talk to her.” Shane shoved against the other guy’s shoulder. “Ever.”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I got a call to come to the park.” Jeff sneaked another peek in the direction of the police. “I didn’t ask for any of this.”

The police parked on the far side of the lot, and the doors started banging as they got out of their vehicles. Shane started a mental countdown in his head. He couldn’t be seen waving a gun around or he’d become a suspect.

He needed Connor to step in and get the place secured. He also wanted Jeff hauled away but knew that wasn’t going to happen. The police might question him, but he should be able to squirm out of that cross-examination.

“We’re supposed to believe you?” she asked.

“I don’t care what you believe.” Jeff tried to take a step toward her.

“Enough.” Shane slammed the guy back against the car again. “Explain without the drama and bullying.”

“Look at my phone.” The guy looked in the general direction of his front pants pocket. “I got a text. Probably from her. This smells like a setup.”

“You should continue to not talk unless I ask you a direct question.” Shane slipped the cell out, scrolled through the messages until Jeff tried to grab the phone back, then concentrated on the texts.

The message was there from an unknown number. No name or identifying information. A simple statement and no reply from Jeff.

But that didn’t make it authentic. Things could be faked. Alibis built on nothing.

“The message sounded cryptic, so I came.” His gaze shot to Makena. “Just like you wanted me to. This was your plan, right? It all makes sense now.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re forgetting that I was the one who was shot at ten minutes ago.”

“And I’m sure you intend to blame that on me, too.”

“No more talking.” Shane’s head might explode if this kept up for much longer. Every word Jeff uttered inched him closer to a punch in the face. “For the record, you lied about your military service. Be a man and own that.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Jeff’s denial stayed strong, but some of the heat had left his voice.

“You’re still denying?” Makena sounded stunned at the idea.

The idea didn’t make much sense to Shane, either. He’d seen the evidence that Jeff had lied. No question about it. But getting him to grow up and take responsibility was not going to happen.

“I tried.” Shane stepped back and gestured for Jeff to leave.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Makena grabbed Shane’s arm.

“Letting him go.” They needed evidence and they all had to get through the newest round of questioning headed their way. Once, maybe twice, Makena could sell the idea of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Much more of this and the police’s focus would shift to her. Shane needed to postpone that—hopefully avoid it, if possible. This case belonged to the Corcoran Team and it needed to stay there.

Jeff rubbed a hand over his neck. “I’m innocent.”

“You’re not, but if I find out you just shot at us, you will be dead.” Shane put his gun away and made a mental note to check the parking lot for the shooter’s gun since Jeff didn’t have one on him. “Got that?”

“You don’t scare me.”

Maybe the guy wasn’t as smart as Shane thought. “I should.”

* * *

M
AKENA
HAD
NO
IDEA
how she made it through the next hour. All those police questions. The sapping of her strength when she saw Jeff leave the lot. He’d been there, in the middle of her life...again. She didn’t believe his phone or his story. She’d wanted to spill it all to the police and let them take him in, but Shane had said no. Then Connor arrived and backed up Shane.

She’d had just about enough of the Corcoran Team for one day.

After Shane did his usual search of the safe house before entering, she stepped through the doorway and kept going. She wasn’t in the mood for mindless chitchat. She wanted a hot shower. Anything to wipe away the memory of the morning. Anything for a few minutes of quiet when no one tried to kill her. Seemed simple enough to her.

“What you do is important,” he said in a determined whisper.

Shane’s voice stopped her steps. It broke into the silence and dragged her back to the present. Had her spinning around. “What?”

“The work you do on the website.” Shane dropped his keys on the table next to the small couch. “It matters.”

This from the man who’d tried to talk her into leaving and had insisted she’d been foolish to help out there in the first place. She tried to put all the pieces together in her head and balance them against his comments now, and none of it made any sense.

“I don’t understand what’s happening.” She stood frozen to the floor, staring at him.

“When you told me I wasn’t supportive, you were right.” He sat on the armrest. “I should have been, and I messed up. Meeting these guys...” Shane shook his head. “They’re jerks and they should be exposed. They deserve whatever fallout comes to them and should not be able to just walk around as if nothing happened. You make sure that happens. You.”

The heartfelt apology tugged at her. After everything that had happened and the exhaustion threatening to suck her under, she knew she should accept his words and duck into the other room. Get a little perspective and tighten the control. Rebuild the walls that held her back from saying too much. Her life kept rolling out in front of her, and now it included fear and danger, and she couldn’t catch up no matter how fast she ran.