Six squeezed her shaking hands, bringing her back to the present. "And just so you know, staying safe means learning to protect yourself, sweetheart."
"I did just fine," Louisa huffed, unwilling to take on the mantle of victim she was constructing in her head.
"You held a rolling pin," Six said, shaking his head at her. "What were you going to do, Betty Crocker them to death?"
She pushed her hands against his chest, and this time he let her go. It had never occurred to her that someone would violate her home, but Six was right. If she looked at it logically, she obviously needed to upgrade every element of her home security. She couldn't even remember when she'd last opened the window in the dining room, but she'd obviously become lax in locking it afterward. And none of her external security lights had come on, which meant they either weren't effective or the sensors were pointing at the wrong places. And her alarm had the ability to be on for just the doors and windows when she was home but awake, yet she never-
"What's going on inside that head of yours?" Six asked. "Because you disappear inside it sometimes and I worry when I see you start messing with things."
Louisa looked down at her hands and realized she was restacking the coasters she had placed on the marble. "I was just thinking through what you said. I guess I've become a little lazy … I've stopped worrying about home security because nothing ever really happens here."
"Okay, we'll look at two things. One, how you protect your home, and two, how you protect yourself in the event that someone makes it past all of your other defenses." He parted her bangs with his finger, and it made her shiver.
Since her father's death, she hadn't had anyone to count on. Not like this. "Why are you really here, Six? It's not about my uneven shelves, is it?" she asked quietly.
Six studied her face, taking in her forehead, her cheeks, and even her neck before meeting her eyes. It was a moment that felt much longer, filled with … something. Potential, maybe. "Because you asked me to help, and-"
He stopped talking at the sound of wheels pulling onto the gravel. Quickly, he shut off the kitchen light, and it became apparent that the exterior lights were on. With a swift jog, gun drawn, he hurried to take a look out the window. Blue and red beams of light flashed onto her kitchen wall. They were the best thing she'd seen all day, well, other than seeing the door to the kitchen burst open and Six rolling in, looking as deadly as any soldier she'd ever seen. In hindsight, now that the danger had passed, she realized he'd looked hotter than any Hollywood action star in a big blockbuster movie.
Even as she wondered what other reason he'd been about to give her for being there, she realized that none of his words, or the arrival of the police, meant she was safe.
* * *
"So, you said the lab sample was reported missing by you a week ago yesterday."
"Yes," Louisa said as the police officer made notes on his report. "I'm sure Vasilii Popov, the lab owner, has already filed a report, but I can't tell you when he did it."
"Let me just get the details for that," Officer Meeks said. "Dispatch, can I get a report for a theft at VPN Laboratories?" He added other details, such as the lab address. "Complainant is either a Vasilii Popov or Ivan Popov."
Six listened as the police officer repeated the information Lou had given him via his radio to the dispatcher to ask for details and report number. Six couldn't fault him for this thoroughness. Plus, he'd noticed that Lou was immediately ill at ease with strangers in her house, and the tenured cop had been observant enough to act accordingly.
For Lou's part, she was holding herself together remarkably well, but once the adrenaline began to clear her system, he wasn't sure how she would react. One thing he was certain of was that she wouldn't be alone.
"I don't want Six to get into any trouble," she said.
In everything that was going on, she was still thinking about him.
Officer Meeks's partner poked his head around the door of the living room. "Forensics are here. I set them up in the kitchen. And I also called Sherriff Pike in Alabama. He corroborates Mr. Rapp's story."
When the police had arrived, Six had exited the building with his hands in the air, identified himself, and informed the police officers of the location of his weapon. In return, they'd been mildly angry about his interference and had lectured him extensively about not treating US soil as a militarized zone, as if they even knew what that meant. But he'd do it again in a heartbeat if Louisa's life was in danger.
Officer Meeks looked at Louisa. "Mr. Rapp won't be facing any charges from us. He is allowed to concealed carry." He turned and looked pointedly at Six. "We just hope next time he takes a second to call us before things go down rather than after."