"No, I'm fine." Kelsey sat at the kitchen table. "I just slipped and fell."
Lara deposited a handful of ice cubes in the center of the towel. "Let's be honest about this, okay? If you had fallen in the shower, it wouldn't be just your face that was hurt."
Kelsey's shoulders drooped.
Lara folded the towel, encasing the ice inside. On the way to the table, she noticed the empty vodka bottle in the sink. "You called us for help, Kelsey. We can't help you if you won't tell us the truth."
"I-I shouldn't have fussed at him for drinking so much."
Lara handed her the ice pack. "This is not your fault. How many times has he hit you?"
Kelsey dabbed the ice pack against her lip. "This is only the second-no, third time."
"One time is too many." Lara sat beside her. "You need to put a stop to it. Press charges."
"No! That would make Charlie so mad. It would get even worse then."
"No, it would be better. He'd be in jail."
Kelsey's bruised face contorted with horror. "But what would I do without him?"
I don't know, live? Lara tamped down on her growing frustration. "Listen, he's going to keep using you as a punching bag. In fact, you can count on him getting more and more violent."
Kelsey glanced at the open door. "What's that officer doing to him? He won't arrest Charlie, will he?"
"They're just talking for now-"
"He'd better not make Charlie mad," Kelsey continued, growing more agitated. "Charlie has a gun in the living-"
"What?" Lara rose to her feet. "Stay here."
She unsnapped her holster as she peered into the foyer. No sign of Harvey or Charlie Trent. They must have moved into the living room. She raised her voice. "Harvey? Can I speak to you for a minute?"
"What are you doing?" Kelsey shouted. "Don't shoot my Charlie!"
"Quiet," Lara hissed. She heard male voices shouting. "Harvey!"
BAM! A gun fired.
Kelsey screamed.
Lara's heart lurched in her chest, and she drew her weapon. "Harvey, answer me!"
"Goddammit!" Charlie roared from the living room. "You stupid bitch! This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't called the police!"
Lara could hardly think with Charlie bellowing and Kelsey shrieking. Panic seized her as she mentally pictured Harvey dying on the living-room floor. Get a grip. Harvey needed her to stay calm. She'd gone through a jillion simulations like this at the academy, but still, she wasn't prepared for the sheer terror of real people dying.
She punched the transmitter on her shoulder. "Shots fired. Officer down. Requesting an ambulance and immediate backup."
"Ten-four. They're on their way," the dispatcher said.
Even so, it could take five minutes or more for the cavalry to arrive. Lara's heart thundered in her ears as she positioned herself next to the door frame and readied her pistol. "Charlie Trent! Put down your gun and step into the foyer with your hands up!"
"I'm not going to jail for this!" Charlie shouted. "Goddammit! This is Kelsey's fault. I'll make her pay."
A chill crept down Lara's back. Charlie was planning to take everyone down with him. She shut the kitchen door. It would take Charlie a few seconds to open it, and in those few seconds, she would have to shoot. She glanced around and spotted two more doors. One looked like it led into the dining room. What if Charlie attacked from that direction? And then, there was a third door. She rushed over to Kelsey. "Where does that door lead?"
"It's a back entrance."
"Then I want you to leave. Now."
Kelsey shook her head, whimpering.
"I'll kill you, you stupid bitch," Charlie yelled. "And the children, too."
Children? Lara's heart plummeted. "You have children?"
Kelsey burst into tears. "My babies."
This was a nightmare. Lara fought to remain calm. Was Harvey dead? Would Charlie attack his wife first or the children? Oh God, she couldn't think. She needed to act now. She had to stop Charlie before he killed anyone. Dammit! If only there was another option …
If you're ever in trouble ...
He couldn't come here immediately. Or could he? Jack was so … different.
"I'm coming for you, Kelsey!" Charlie yelled.
Lara heaved at the thick kitchen table and it fell onto its side with a loud crash. She squatted behind it with Kelsey. With shaking fingers, she retrieved her cell phone from her shirt pocket. Three days ago, she'd told her roommate about Jack. LaToya had urged her to call him, but Lara had refused. Then LaToya had swiped Lara's phone and entered Jack's number on speed dial at number one.
What did she have to lose? Lara pressed 1, then set the phone down and readied her weapon.
Charlie's heavy footsteps pounded across the foyer.
"Pronto?" Jack's voice emanated from the phone.
"Jack-"
The kitchen door burst open and shots exploded across the room.
Chapter Five
Lara's heart slammed in her chest as she crouched behind the thick table with Kelsey Trent. Charlie had taken a few wild shots as he'd entered the kitchen, probably to keep her from shooting him. A bullet whizzed over her head and thudded into the wall behind her. Kelsey screamed.
Lara's chest constricted, making it hard to breathe. The thought of sticking her head out was terrifying. But she had to see to take aim. She struggled to remember all the instructions that had been drummed into her head at the academy. Dammit. She'd thought the simulations were scary, but they were child's play compared to the real thing.
The shots stopped.
Now or never, Lara leaned to the side of the table and aimed her pistol. Time suddenly slowed to a crawl. A cold sweat chilled her skin while her ears filled with a buzzing noise. All she could feel was her right index finger crooked against the trigger, ready to kill.
God, no. Forced to kill someone. She'd known in theory that this could happen, but she'd foolishly believed that somehow, if she was careful enough, it never would.
Charlie spotted her and aimed his gun.
This was it.
The air wavered in front of Lara.
"What the hell?" Charlie stumbled backward.
He saw it, too? Lara's knees shook in her semi-crouched position. The multicolored pocket of air took shape. Human shape. Jack. She gasped.
"Oh my God!" Charlie pointed his gun.
With a blur of super speed, Jack knocked the gun from Charlie's hand and slammed him down onto the tile floor.
Lara blinked, stunned by Jack's speed. In the millisecond it took to reopen her eyes, Jack had Charlie pinned down and his hands pulled behind his back. Jack be nimble, Jack be quick.
"Get off me!" Charlie squirmed, but couldn't budge his captor.
A wave of cold air swirled around the room.
Jack's eyes narrowed, gleaming with a golden intensity. "Be still. Be quiet."
Charlie went limp. Kelsey slumped against the table with a blank expression. Lara shivered. Jack. He was doing his mind tricks again.
"Lara, pass me your handcuffs," Jack demanded.
Icy cold vapor crept along her skin. Oh God, it had been cold in the hotel room, too. Was Jack doing that? And how had he magically appeared out of thin air?
He glanced at her. "Are you all right?"
"I-" She stumbled, and her pistol knocked against a table leg. She glanced at it, confused and disoriented by a reality that had suddenly zoomed forward at warp speed.
"Put the gun away, Lara," Jack spoke softly. "And give me your handcuffs."
She holstered her sidearm, then walked stiffly over to Jack and handed him the cuffs. "Thank God you came." She hadn't had to shoot. Jack had saved her from killing. Jack may have saved her life. And the lives of everyone else in the house. Including her partner …
"Harvey!" She ran from the kitchen and located him on the floor in the living room. He was barely conscious, his hand pressed against his blood-soaked shirt.
She spotted a laundry basket full of folded clothes on the coffee table and grabbed whatever was on top. A bath towel, good. She knelt beside her partner and pressed the towel against the bullet wound in his side.
"Butch," Harvey gasped. "Thank God. I heard gunshots. I was afraid you were-"
"I'm fine. Everything's under control. You just hang in there, okay? The bus is on its way."
Harvey grimaced. "I was stupid. I saw his gun, but I hesitated. I-I've never had to shoot anyone before."
"I know." Lara's vision blurred with tears. "I didn't want to shoot, either." What a relief Jack had arrived when he did. But now that she was away from him, she could feel the cold fog clearing from her mind. She realized Kelsey and her crazy husband were staying perfectly still and quiet because Jack had ordered them to be that way. He'd taken complete control of the situation without even wrinkling his expensive suit.
She shuddered. What sort of man could magically appear? Or move as fast as lightning? Or control people's minds? At least he was on her side. Otherwise, he could be a really dangerous man.
Lara's attention snapped back to Harvey when his eyes flickered shut. "Harvey? Harvey, hang in there."
"He's unconscious." Jack strode into the room. "He'll need a transfusion right away." He closed his eyes briefly and drew in a deep breath. "He's Type O positive."