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Authors: KyAnn Waters

BOOK: ToServeAndProtect
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“That’s not where your hands belong,” Dawn said. Tex sat down and pulled Dawn onto his lap. “Does anyone care if we leave?” She looked at
McKenna because she was the only person who counted. “Tex, you’ll take me to
Mickey’s tomorrow?” Dawn still wore the man’s hat.

“Steven’s taking me home.” His hand rested on her
thigh again, higher this time.

“We’ll come get your car tomorrow, Mickey.” Dawn put Tex’s hat back on his head. “Let’s go, cowboy.”

Last call was announced, and Steven’s friends bid him
goodnight, saying they’d had a good time. The crowd thinned, and the lights
came on. “Ready?”

She stood holding his hand. “I don’t know,” she said
honestly.

They walked to Steven’s car. A single streetlight lit
the parking lot. His compact car was parked in the shadows. He opened the door
for her and then went around the car and climbed behind the wheel. McKenna
glanced over her shoulder and stared at the backseat.

“It might be uncomfortable, but at the moment, I’m
willing to try.”

McKenna leaned across the gearshift. Their lips
touched, and his hand wrapped around her ribs. “Let’s go to my place.”

“Sounds great.” Steven started the car, pulled out of
the club parking lot, and drove up Twelfth Street. Less than ten minutes later,
they pulled into her driveway. He leaned over and kissed her.

“Let’s go inside,” she whispered against his lips.

Steven went around the car and opened her door. She
stumbled up the walk, fumbled with her keys, and finally opened the front door.
Once inside the foyer, Steven backed her against the wall and smothered her
mouth with his.

She knew she was forgetting something, but her senses
were fuzzy and Dustin was kissing her. No, Steven. Steven had his hand on her
breast, his tongue in her ear, and his solid cock pressed against her…and then
the siren wailed and all the lights in the foyer blinked.

“What the…” Steven covered his ears, and McKenna started
to laugh. Suddenly, there was pounding on the kitchen door leading to the
garage.

Stumbling to the control panel, she switched off the
alarm, all the while laughter bubbling forth. “I forgot I gave Dustin the
clicker.”

“Mickey, open the door!”

“Oh, shit. He’s here.” She hurried to the kitchen and
unbolted the door. “Sorry,” she said still laughing and sank to her knees.

Dustin burst into the room with his gun in his hand.
“Are you okay?”

She leaned her head against the wall. “Detective—” She
wiggled her finger at him. “You need to stop dropping in like this.”

“What in the hell is going on and who the hell are
you?” he said to Steven while holstering his gun next to his ribs under his
suit jacket.

“Steven.” He held out his hand. “A friend.”

“Detective Pearce, and isn’t this interesting?”

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter
Eleven

 

The telephone rang. “Hello,” Dustin barked into the
receiver. He listened for a moment, and then turned to McKenna, “The code,
Mickey. It’s the monitoring service ready to dispatch the police.”

“Tell them you are the fuzz.” McKenna pulled herself
off the floor and took the phone from Dustin. “False alarm,” she said while
trying to control her laughter. “The password is Captain Kangaroo,” she
whispered the words like the 1960’s game show. Then she hung up.

“Christ, you’re drunk.”

McKenna wiggled her brows. “I’d say pleasantly
buzzed.” She leaned against him, pressing her breast against him. “And if you
weren’t here, I was going to take my good friend Steven to bed.” She smoothed
the front of his shirt. “If you hadn’t kissed me, I wouldn’t’ve realized what
I’ve been missing. So, this is all your fault.” She poked him in the chest.
“That is, if anything had happened, but since you’re here, I can’t very well
take another man to bed. I guess no one gets lucky tonight.”

“Hey, look,” Steven said, putting his hands out. “I’m
going.” He took McKenna’s hand. “If you’ll excuse us for a minute.” He pulled
her into the hall. “What’s the cop doing here? There are laws keeping the
police from harassing citizens.”

“He’s a detective,” she corrected. “And since he
believes someone is trying to kill me, I’ve become a project of sorts.”

“I’ve kept my distance after Dawn chewed my ass, but I
can stay here tonight if you need me.”

“Thank you, and I appreciate the offer.” She put her
hand on his chest. “But it’s a bad idea. You don’t want to get involved with
me. Tonight would’ve been fun, but tomorrow I’d tell you to leave. It’s too
dangerous.”

“In case I don’t get another chance.” Titling his
head, he captured then parted her lips and kissed her deeply.

They broke slowly. “Good-bye, Steven. I did have a
good time.” He left, and she closed the door. When she turned, Dustin stood in
the hall, glaring at her.

“Had a good time, did you?”

“Yes, I did,” she said defiantly. “I did my first body
shot.” She brushed past him and went toward the kitchen. “Have you ever done
body shots?”

“We’re talking about you. What game are you playing? I
told you, if I found out you’re lying to me, I’d—”

“That was about Elliot. I’m emotionally drained right
now, and I can’t deal with the fact that my dad, who isn’t even my dad, is
dead.” She pointed her finger at him. “Tonight wasn’t about you, or lying, or
the case. It was about me. I met Steven at the bar. We country line danced,
kissed a bit. And yep, if you weren’t here, I would’ve had my first
one-night-stand. I think that calls for a celebration.”

He followed her. “I’d say you’ve already celebrated.”

McKenna took the orange juice from the fridge and
drank straight from the carton. “Are we having a slumber party again? I don’t
know where you slept last night, but there’s a spare bedroom upstairs.” She set
the empty carton on the counter.

Dustin put his car keys and cell phone next to the
carton then shrugged off his suit coat. “This isn’t a game. Getting drunk when
you should be focused on staying alert is dangerous. Do you know what can
happen? Mistakes happen!”

“Good night, Detective.”

 

Dustin went to the great room and sat on the leather
sofa overlooking the city. His nerves were live wires, and his thigh screamed
in pain. His head dropped back, and he closed his eyes. Deep breathing, he told
himself while he rubbed the old injury. A low growl rumbled from his chest as
he kicked off his shoes and stretched out his legs.

“This is bullshit,” he said to the stillness. But what
choice did he have?

After a few minutes, he stood and made his way
upstairs. Opening closed doors, he methodically found his way to the spare
room. Problem. It was too far from McKenna. Thinking like a detective again, he
pulled the mattress from the bed and pushed it down the hall to the master
bedroom positioning it against the wall near the French doors.

After he closed the bedroom door, he stretched out on
top of the mattress. He slipped off his gun and laid it next to him on the
floor where he could find it with his eyes closed. The night was quiet. His
body became heavy. And he drifted off to sleep.

At least one suspect lurked in the shadows of the
dimly lit parking lot. Dustin squatted beside the passenger door of his patrol
car. Focused on the cornered teen suspected of armed robbery, Dustin scanned
from the right then to the left. He needed a better position. His partner
hunkered down forty feet away behind a metal green dumpster. Communicating with
hand signals, his partner gave Dustin the okay to move around the front of a
car. Staying close to the vehicle, his gun in hand, he steeled his nerves and
moved further from his partner in hopes of flushing out the perp.

Bang! A gunshot echoed, sending chills down Dustin’s
spine. He ran in the direction of the blast. “Oh Fuck! Jeezus, Matt!” Blood
splattered the green metal dumpster. “Officer down,” he screamed into his
radio. And then he heard the second shot.

Dustin sat up. Sweat dripped from his forehead. His
breathing slowly returned to normal.

The dream was always the same. McKenna and her
cavalier attitude had triggered it tonight. Pulling on his pants, he opened the
French doors to get some air.

Dustin heard the unmistakable sound of someone on the
stairs. Not McKenna. Whoever was on the stairs was coming up painstakingly slowly.
Reaching for his gun, he clutched it in his hand and moved to the door. He
listened. Voices, muffled, but he could clearly hear more than one person
speaking in low tones. Fuck, too late. They were in the hallway.

Dustin quickly stepped onto the balcony just as
someone turned the doorknob to his room. “Not that one,” a male whispered.

Staying close to the house, Dustin moved along the
deck. His bare feet didn’t make a sound as he stepped in front of McKenna’s
door. He could see her sleeping. Her small frame outlined under a thin summer
blanket.

He tried the French door. Locked.
Now
she
decided to be careful. If he tapped on the glass, whoever lurked in the house
would surely hear. He moved to the window and couldn’t help but smile. Even
though he was going to raise hell, he was glad that she’d left it open about
three inches. Punching his thumb through the corner, he tore the screen rather
than making a noise trying to remove it. Slowly, he lifted the window at the
same time someone tested her doorknob. Thankfully, it too was locked. Showed
how much she trusted him. He’d be sensitive about it later.

Why hadn’t the fucking alarm gone off? Because she’d
turned it off when she’d come in with her
friend
.

Dustin came up to her bed and put his hand over her
mouth. Her eyes flew open. “Shh.” Removing his hand from her mouth, he put a
finger vertically to his lips. They both heard someone trying to force the
handle to move. He pointed to the balcony.

McKenna picked up her shorts from the floor. She’d
only worn silky panties and a T-shirt to bed. After slipping on her sneakers,
she picked up a pair of pink flip-flops, and followed him onto the balcony.
“Just shoot them,” she said handing him the thongs.

“What are these for?”

“Your bare feet.”

“Thoughtful of you.” He slipped them on. His toes hung
over the top, and his heel off the back, but it was better than nothing. “I
don’t know how many there are. I left my cell phone in the kitchen, along with
my badge and keys. Where are your keys?” If they could get to the vehicles, he
wanted to be sure they could drive them.

“My car is at the bar. Dustin, they’re coming! I’m
scared.”

“Nothing like a shot of adrenaline to chase away an
alcohol buzz.”

“Don’t worry. I’m sober now.” She could hear the lock
being forced open. “How come they don’t break down the door?”

“We’ll ask later. We need to get down from here.” He
looked over the edge of the balcony at the ground far below.

“We can jump.” She sounded eager.

Dustin touched his leg. “I can’t. You go. Stay close
to the house and then run into the hills.”

Her eyes were wide. “No, we jump together.”

“You don’t understand.” He grabbed her by the
shoulders. “I can’t! Now get your ass over the side of this banister. Once you
clear the house, run.”

She shook her head. “Not without you.” They heard
voices from the room. Any moment they’d be discovered. “You go first or I won’t
jump.”

“Do you always have to be difficult?” Dustin tucked
his gun into his waistband and swung his leg over the balcony. One spot didn’t
look any closer than another. “Ready?” In the shadow of the house, he let go of
the railing and dropped to the ground. His feet slipped out of the flip-flop. His
thigh couldn’t absorb the impact. His ankle buckled, he grunted in pain and
collapsed, holding his leg.

A split second later, McKenna was next to him. “Are
you hurt?”

Unable to speak, he nodded. Sharp tremors of pain
ricocheted up and down his leg.

“Put your arm around me. Now!” she commanded. He
leveraged himself up on his good leg. “Walk.”

Dustin’s leg was useless as he dragged it along. “Over
there.” He pointed to a thick grouping of shrubs in the neighbor’s yard. “Leave
me here,” he said as she helped him duck under the low overhang of brush.

They both froze. A few feet away they heard
whispering. Two men held flashlights. Beams of light dissected the darkness.

“Up there,” one said, shining his flashlight into the
wooded area above the house. It had been luck that they ducked into the
neighbor’s yard. If McKenna had gone up the mountain, she would already be in
their clutches.

Flashlights danced around the foothills. Under the
branches of Rose of Sharon and other flowers, Dustin and McKenna burrowed into
the ground cover.

Dustin’s thigh burned. He’d known the cost of jumping
from the balcony. Three years, and he still had residual pain. When he landed,
the pink shoes probably caused more harm than good.

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