Twin Temptation

The moment Jase heard the thud, he poked his head out again and scanned the area. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw bark fly. He figured he had about five seconds to spot the shooter while his attention was focused on the place where the rock had fallen.

But there was no one. It was only after he’d pulled his head back out of sight that he realized he’d seen something in his peripheral vision—a black canvas bag at the base of a tree about ten feet away. He was betting his shooter was in that tree.

Drawing his gun, he clasped it in both hands, drew it up, and risked another quick look. He spotted the man on a branch about fifty feet off the ground. He wore all black. A bullet thudded into the tree inches away from his face. Operating on instinct, Jase threw himself to the ground, rolled twice, then took aim at the tree limb and fired three times.

The branch swayed, then cracked, and the shooter fell. Jase kept his position and counted to ten. The man had dropped his rifle and it was lying on the ground about two yards out of reach. So far he’d made no move to retrieve it.

Slowly, Jase got to his feet and walked forward. Nothing moved. There was absolute silence. The shots that had been fired had sent birds flying out of the trees. When he reached the prone body, he realized two things. The hit man was a woman, and she’d been playing possum.

Too bad he didn’t realize the latter until she’d hurled a rock at his forehead. He fought off the grayness that threatened to envelop him while she leapt to her feet, grabbed his gun hand and flipped him to the ground.

MADDIE WAITED only until she reached the cover of the trees before she hauled herself to her feet and ran directly to her left. That was where the shots had come from. Shots from Jase’s gun, she told herself. He was all right.

But she never would have heard the shots from the other gun because it had a silencer, nagged a little voice at the back of her mind.A fresh jolt of fear had her hitching up her skirt and forcing more speed into her legs. Being barefoot slowed her down. The carpet of dried leaves helped, but stones and branches still cut into the soles of her feet, causing her to skid and stumble. Once she saved herself by grabbing the trunk of a tree. The next time she went down on all fours. She stayed there for a moment dragging breath into her burning lungs.

And she listened.

She heard it then—grunts and thuds, the crunch of leaves. Sounds of a struggle. Hope blossomed within her, and she pushed herself up again. She raced for the line of trees and tore across the grass toward the noise. She’d just dashed into the trees again when she heard the sirens. The police were coming.

Maddie skidded to a halt the moment she saw them. A woman and Jase were rolling over the ground locked in a vicious struggle. First one was on top, then the other. Blood pouring from a gash on Jake’s forehead was putting him at a disadvantage.

The sirens grew louder, but they weren’t going to arrive in time. Maddie glanced around quickly and spotted Jase’s gun. She raced toward it, picked it up and whirled. The woman was on top again. Raising the weapon in both hands, Maddie took aim. They rolled over once, then again.

Her hand was steady. She knew how to handle a gun. Her father had seen to that. But she didn’t want to hit Jase. She glanced around the area again. Then she spotted something. Trading the gun for a fat tree branch, she cocked it over her shoulder and dashed toward them.

The woman rolled on top and wrapped her hands around Jase’s throat. He grabbed for hers. The sound of ragged breathing filled the air.

Maddie evened her stance and swung the branch. The woman fell forward onto Jase. Dropping her makeshift bat, Maddie dragged her off him.

“Maddie?” Swiping blood out of his eyes, Jase got to his knees. “You were supposed to stay put.”

“I heard shots. I didn’t think the police were going to get here in time.” She dropped to her knees too and forced herself to take a closer look at the wound on his forehead. “Did she shoot you?”

“Nah. She suckered me by playing possum, then threw a rock. I’m going to have a hell of a headache. What did you take her out with?”

“A tree branch.”

“Good job.”

With great effort, Maddie shifted her gaze to the woman who lay facedown in the dirt. “Is she…dead?”

As if in answer, the woman moaned.

“Evidently not. But I’m not taking any chances this time.” Jase drew a pair of plastic restraints out of his pocket and fastened her hands behind her back, then secured her feet.

The sirens that had been growing steadily louder abruptly stopped.

Jase shoved himself to his feet and moved to a nearby tree where he knelt down beside a black duffel Maddie hadn’t noticed before. “Before we go out to talk to them, I want to take a quick look in our shooter’s bag.”

He unzipped it and the first thing he drew out was a pink pillbox hat. Then he lifted a pink jacket and a padded vest. He shifted his gaze to Maddie.

“It’s the woman who was in the main salon of the store when we arrived.”

“I saw her later across the street watching the front entrance,” Jase said as he stuffed everything back into the duffel.

“And I saw her enter the park with two shopping bags.”

“To carry the duffel and the rifle.” Jase rose, slung the bag over his shoulder. When he reached her, he pulled her close. She wrapped her arms around him and for a moment they stood still and merely held on. It wasn’t passion that moved through her. It was something else, warmer, sweeter. Maddie knew that she could have stood there for a very long time.

But there were footsteps approaching, so she lifted her head. Jase met her eyes, and his were cool and hard. “One thing we know now. Only someone who knew you were visiting the store this morning could have set this up. And that someone wants you dead.”

Then to Maddie’s surprise, he gripped her shoulders hard and gave her a hard shake. “So the next time I tell you to stay put, follow orders.”

IT WAS with some relief that Jase opened the door and let Maddie precede him into his office. Thanks to Dave Stanton and the fact that he’d done some favors for a few detectives at the precinct, they’d been delayed less than two hours giving their statements. While one of the policewomen had helped Maddie wash up in the restroom and had lent her a pair of sneakers, Jase had called Michelle Tan to explain why they wouldn’t be returning to the store. Then he’d called Dino and D.C. to fill them in and ask them to join him ASAP at the office.

Maddie hadn’t talked to him during the taxi ride to his office. She was annoyed. But he was the one who had a right to be annoyed. She should have stayed behind the boulder. Every time he thought of what might have happened, what almost had happened…Mostly, he was angry with himself. He should have taken better care of her.

Dino rose from his chair as they entered and walked toward Maddie, his hand extended. “You must be Maddie. I only met your sister Jordan once, but the resemblance is striking.”

“Thank you.”

To Jase’s annoyance, Maddie beamed a very warm smile at Dino. Dino not only returned it but he held on to her hand a moment before releasing it. If Jase hadn’t been sure that Dino and Cat McGuire were totally in love, he might have been jealous. But he wasn’t.

“I hear you saved my partner’s life,” Dino said.

Maddie sent Jase a look. “He’s mad at me about that.”

“I’m not mad,” Jase said.

She turned back to Dino. “Instead of saying thank you, he told me to follow orders next time. Can you picture that?”

Much to Jase’s annoyance, Dino grinned. “He’s a stickler for following orders.” Then he shifted his gaze to Jase. “Any news on your hit woman?”

“She’s not talking. But they’ve got her fingerprints and the gun, and they’re running a background check. Soon as they give me a name, we’ll run our own.”

Dino nodded and held Jase’s gaze then. “Right before Christmas, we were involved on a case, and you gave me some good advice. At the risk of taking a left to the chin, I’m going to return the favor.”

Jase knew exactly what was coming. Dino was about to tell him that playing the blame game was only going to interfere with solving the case. Jase already knew that. He also knew that if Dino was ready to duck a punch, Jase was allowing his temper to bubble too close to the surface. He rarely allowed that to happen. It was a delayed reaction, he told himself. “It was close. I nearly lost her.”

“I nearly lost you too,” Maddie said, striding toward him. “But I didn’t.” She poked a finger into his chest. “And if I had just sat there by that boulder waiting for the police, you might not be here.”

Summoning up more control, Jase drew in a breath. “You’re right. Thank you.” Then he drew her into his arms and for the first time since that chip of granite had sliced his face, he felt some of his tension begin to ease.

“Should I come back later?”

At the sound of his brother’s voice, Jase released Maddie and turned to find D.C. leaning on his cane.

“No. Join the party,” Jase said with a smile. “And meet Maddie.”

Jase noted that in crossing the room to take Maddie’s hand, D.C. moved with only a slight limp. A little knot of tension inside him eased.