Page 54 of Maverick Detective Dad
It wasn’t the sex that had brought them closer. It was thefeelingsthey had for each other that had led to sex. She had always cared deeply for Noah. Had once even been in love with him. And Everly could feel that love returning.
“What’s wrong?” Noah whispered. “You groaned.”
Yes, she had, but it hadn’t had anything to do with the danger. It’d been because this was not a good time for her to realize just how much Noah meant to her.
“I’m okay,” she settled for saying. It wasn’t anywhere close to the truth, but it got Noah moving again.
As he’d instructed, they went back-to-back once they were away from the wall, and they began to make the trek across her bedroom. She tried to listen for any and all sounds that they were about to be ambushed.
But there was nothing.
It seemed to take a couple of lifetimes to reach the door, and of course, every shadow looked menacing. Especially the bed. Everly obviously had a too-vivid imagination because she could practically see the killer there. Unfortunately, she couldn’t put a face on him, but she had to wonder if it was Jared, River or Bobby who was playing these mind games with them right now.
Noah and she stepped into the hall, and while Everly glanced around, she made sure some of those glances were at the bed. She steeled herself up in case the killer came rolling out from there, ready to fire shots at them, but she saw or heard nothing.
Where was he?
And how did he plan to finish this?
That question froze in her mind when Everly heard a sound. Not inside the house. But rather outside. Out front. There was a slash of headlights in the window, followed by the sound of a car engine.
Maybe Deputy Molina or Hudson had called Grayson. If so, Everly knew he wouldn’t just come charging toward the house where he could be gunned down. He was a veteran cop which meant he’d know how to handle a situation like this.
She heard the sound of voices and thought one of them belonged to Deputy Molina. The other, however, was a woman.
“Bobby?” the woman shouted.
Both Noah and Everly groaned because the woman who’d just yelled was Helen. Sweet heaven, what was she doing here? And better yet, how could they get her to leave fast because it wasn’t safe for her to be here with the killer nearby.
Noah’s phone rang, causing him to curse, but the call wasn’t a surprise since it was probably from Deputy Molina. Probably. But it also occurred to Everly that it could be the killer trying to dole out another distraction. In fact, if the killer was Bobby maybe he’d lured Helen here with the intention of not only letting her be that distraction but also killing her.
Cursing under his breath, Noah maneuvered her so that her back was against the wall in the living room, and he became her human shield again. With his position, he could also keep watch of the hall in case the killer came at them from there. Noah then answered the call, keeping his phone in his pocket and putting it on Speaker, no doubt so it could keep his hands free in case they were attacked. It was a risk, since the killer might hear them, but it was also critical that they find out what Deputy Molina had to say.
“What’s going on?” Noah asked the moment he had the deputy on the line.
“This woman just showed up, and she won’t leave. She says she’s looking for her stepson, that he could be in danger,” Molina added, his words rushed together. “Should I have Nelline drive around so she can take the woman to the sheriff’s office?”
“No. Because the woman, Helen Fleming, could be a decoy to get us to do just that.” Noah huffed. “I want to talk to Helen.”
It didn’t take long, only a couple of seconds for the deputy to do that, and Everly heard Helen’s frantic voice. “I can’t find Bobby anywhere, and I have a bad feeling that he’s been hurt. Is he here? Is he in the house with you?”
The answer to that was a Texas-sized maybe, but Noah didn’t come out and say that. “Helen, you need to get in your car and go back to the inn. It isn’t safe for you to be here.”
“But I have to find Bobby,” the woman sobbed. “Please help me find him.”
The words had just left her mouth when Everly heard the blast. Felt it, too, because it shook the floor beneath them. Not a bullet. Not that.
But an explosion.
THEIMPACTOFthe explosion knocked Everly and him back against the wall. Slamming them into it and knocking him off-balance. He had to fight to stay on his feet. Fight, too, to get past the slam of adrenaline and figure out what the heck had just happened.
Noah heard the crashing sounds of things falling, and the sounds were coming from Everly’s bedroom. Judging from the smoke that started to seep from the room and out into the hall, the killer had put a bomb in there.
Hell.
The snake could have killed them, and there might be more than one bomb. Since the killer had had plenty of time in the house before they’d gotten back from the hospital, he could have set multiple explosives on timers, maybe set to go off when he thought Everly and he might be asleep.
The bomb must have rattled some windows in the bedroom enough because Everly’s security system went off. Not a loud blare of noise, just the pulsing beeps. A warning to let them know there was trouble.
