HelenKay Dimon - Tamed

“I was attacked.” But he was right. It had been years. She’d met him through Holt. Shane was her big brother’s best friend. The guy with the bad marriage and, eventually, the difficult divorce. The one who made sure Holt came home safe from their assignments. The one who hung around and joked and looked and smelled so good.

For Makena, appreciation and attraction had grown from the second they met. She’d kept her feelings locked inside and pushed them away while he was married. Once he was single again, her gaze started lingering longer on Shane’s broad chest. Even when they weren’t together, the memory of his deep voice vibrated in her head. She looked forward to seeing him, even if the peek amounted to nothing more than a quick glimpse as Shane dropped Holt off somewhere.

She missed him when he was gone and enjoyed whatever little time they spent together these days. And today she silently thanked him for getting there on time. His entry had made all the difference. Anything could have happened to her if he’d waited a few more minutes to show up.

A groan cut off her mental wanderings. Low and almost a growl, it had her attention zipping to the floor. The attacker didn’t move and his eyes didn’t open, but the air changed. She felt rather than saw movement.

She shifted so they could both look down. “He’s waking up.”

“Good.” Shane moved her back, just far enough that the attacker’s hand no longer rested next to her foot. “I have some questions for him.”

Funny, but all she wanted was to see the guy dragged out of her house and locked up. The why mattered, but seeing the guy’s presence triggered a constant shaking inside her. “Any chance we could handle those at the police station?”

“I want to question this guy without an official report.”

That sounded like one of those things Holt said and she tried to ignore because she did not want to know. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

Shane took a step in the downed man’s direction and his eyes popped open. “You have two minutes to tell me who you are and why you’re here.” Shane aimed his gun at the attacker. “Or do you need an incentive?”

“Shane, please.” The only thing she wanted less than to hear about Shane’s work plans was to watch them in action. She understood the need for hard talk—even violence—to combat evil, but she did not want to witness it firsthand. She’d had enough of that tonight.

“Go wait outside for the police.” He never broke eye contact with the attacker. They’d launched into a staring contest and neither of them moved.

She wanted Shane safe. She also wanted him to stay out of jail, so she was not leaving, no matter how much relief flooded through her at the thought at being outside in the fresh air and away from the injured attacker. “No way.”

Shane shot her a quick glance before returning his attention to the guy on the floor. “I need answers. He has them.”

The attacker lifted his head but didn’t say anything. His fingers moved on the carpet and sent Shane’s gaze bouncing.

He held out a hand in her direction even as his focus remained on the attacker’s prone form. “Stay back.”

She didn’t have any intention of getting closer. The exact opposite, actually. She took one step and backed into a chair. She could add her calf to the list of injured body parts.

She swore as she glanced down. The room started spinning in slow motion. The attacker’s foot hooked around hers and he pulled. Her knee buckled as the air whizzed under her. Prone one second, the attacker moved with record speed the next as he jackknifed into a sitting position.

Shane’s hand brushed her forearm as he made a grab for her, but the attacker proved to be a second faster. He wrapped an arm around her legs. She fell and her weight came down in a rush. The next time she inhaled, she lay on top of the attacker, her back against his front, with the fire poker balanced on her neck, keeping her locked against him.

“Drop your gun.” Those were the first words the attacker had spoken since Shane raced through the back door.

Her breath rushed out of her as her heartbeat thundered in her ears. The shaking inside her morphed into waves of panic. Tension filled the room and seemed to have Shane’s arm locked as he pointed the gun just past her head at the attacker.

“I said drop it.” The pressure against her neck closed in, choking off what little air moved through her, as the attacker spoke. “Do it or I kill her.”

“No.” Shane didn’t offer anything else. Just that.

The attacker tightened his grip until his knuckles turned white. She could see his skin right by her face. His arms shook as he pulled in. The light began to fade on her.

No way was she going out like this, in her own home while Shane watched. She flailed, shifting her weight and elbowing as she pushed and kicked.

Shane said something, but she couldn’t hear him. Couldn’t hear anything. Could barely think.

Movement flashed in front of her. Shane went from looming over them to shifting to the side. A bang echoed through the room, right by her face. She felt the attacker shudder behind her. His hold tightened for a fraction of a second, then slipped away.

Her ears rang as Shane reached down and lifted her to her feet. She tried to turn and see what was happening as she rose, but Shane’s arm blocked her. Her body came to a halt and her head rested on his shoulder as her leg muscles gave out. She glanced over his arm and spied the blood on the floor around the attacker’s head, before she quickly closed her eyes again.

Shane had shot the guy.

The realization hit her and her stomach flipped. The trembling moving through her had her teeth chattering. “Did you...”

His arm tightened around her waist as his hand brushed up and down her back. “Yes.”

The soothing gesture threatened to suck her in. She fought off the comfort and pulled back so she could look up at him. “You mean you killed him.”

“Yeah.”

He didn’t deny it or try to pretty up the words. Part of her appreciated the clear voice and the sure way he spoke about his actions, without justification. But part of her hated how easy it all seemed for him.

“Are you okay?” With his hands on her shoulders, he turned her body until his shoulders stood between her and an unwanted view of the death below her.

She didn’t see a reason to lie, so she didn’t. “Not really.”

“He would have killed you.” Shane sounded so sure.

His conviction fueled hers. That fast, some of the haze cleared. “I know.”

“Makena, I—” He broke eye contact and glanced toward the front of the house.

She heard it, too. “Sirens.”

“Now we have a problem.” Shane stepped back.

“Now? As opposed to two minutes ago?”

“Don’t panic.”

That comment almost guaranteed she would. “I doubt that.”

“The police are going to come in here and act like I’m the suspect.” He offered the explanation as he unloaded his gun.

“What?” She needed Shane right where he was. Not down at a police station. Not in danger. But that wasn’t her only concern.

A new wave of panic crashed over her. The police could not go through her house. There were papers, folders and files they could not see. She hadn’t done anything wrong, but she’d have to explain, and she couldn’t. Not to them. Maybe not even to Shane.

He set his weapon on the table with the bullets next to it. “To be safe I’m going to get on my knees and—”

She grabbed on to his arm and fought to keep him on his feet. “No, I need your help.” A frantic clawing ripped through her insides. “There are things here.”

The sirens wailed and lights flashed outside the window. She could make out the shadows of people outside, likely neighbors gathered to see what was happening. There would be police and possibly press at some point.