Something inside her snapped. Phoenix didn’t think about it, couldn’t weigh the risk against the blazing anger that gave her strength. She simply reacted, launching herself at the man, her curled fingers aiming for his face.
Surprise took him backward in an awkward lurch and he almost fell. The gun exploded, shattering a window on the wall behind her, and while she heard it, while she felt bone-deep fear, her body seemed to be on autopilot...set in attack mode.
She clawed at the mask, half ripping it from his face. Screaming like a banshee, she kicked for his groin—until his fist caught her temple, knocking her to the floor. Her glasses skidded away, stars dancing before her eyes. Panting in pain, she waited for the gunshot that would end her life, but instead she caught sight of a large body charging into the kitchen, taking down the masked man in a vicious tackle. The entire floor shook as the men landed hard.
Someone crouched in front of her, and when she started to scuttle away, Baxter said, “It’s me, Phoenix. Stay still.”
She grabbed for his back, offered as a protective shield. If Baxter was here, Cooper must be also.
Fear choked her.
She struggled to sit up—then screamed in horror at a second gun blast.
No, oh God, no.
Tears spilled from her eyes and sobs burned her throat—until strong, familiar arms folded around her. “Shh, don’t cry.”
She gasped in great gulps of air. “Cooper.” He was alive, warm and vital, and safe.
“It’s okay, baby.” His hands stroked her hair. “I’ve got you.” Warm lips brushed her face where she’d been struck. “Are you okay?”
“Me?” She clutched at him, remnants of terror remaining. “I heard a shot! Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine. Gibb shot the bastard.”
From somewhere in the kitchen, Officer Clark muttered, “Better than you beating him to death.”
She ran her hands up Cooper’s body to his neck, then his face. “Is he dead?”
Baxter choked on a startled laugh.
“No.” Cooper gently drew her closer against his chest. “He’s hurt, but not dead.”
“Oh.” She tried not to sound too disappointed. In rushed explanation, she said, “He set the fire. And he was going to kill Harry and then you.”
“He won’t hurt anyone else.”
Beside them, Baxter said, “Here.”
She felt Cooper reach out, and then he settled her glasses on her, tenderly tucking the arms over her ears, nudging the frames into place on her nose.
“Cooper.” Finally, she could see him clearly, could see that he wasn’t hurt at all, although worry ravaged his features, making his eyes dark, his jaw tight. She peered past him and saw the man, now without his mask, absolutely demolished. Blood covered his nose and swollen mouth and ran down his throat. His brown hair, matted with more blood, stood on end. He had only one slightly dazed eye open.
As Phoenix stared at him, he groaned raggedly, attempting to roll to his side. Since he wore handcuffs, Officer Clark helped him to sit up.
“You, um...” She transferred her attention back to Cooper. “You pulverized him.”
“I love you,” he said as if the words weren’t life-altering. “The bastard is lucky I didn’t kill him.”
Her eyes went wide. They sat on the kitchen floor, Baxter, Officer Clark and a near-unconscious evil creep nearby, and Cooper chose that moment to make a major declaration?
Cooper leaned in to kiss the end of her nose.
“I love you, too.” Her eyes flared even more. She hadn’t even meant to say that!
But now that she had... Her voice broke and she reached for him, grasping, needing. “God, Cooper, I love you so much!”
With his arms around her, his face bent down to hers, she felt surrounded and safe and so happy it almost hurt. She stifled a watery laugh.
The man who had attacked her at her shop so long ago, the man who’d paralyzed her so badly that she’d spent months hiding in a hotel room, that man was only feet away and she didn’t care. He was nothing now, not a threat, barely a memory.
“Are you getting hysterical on me?” Cooper asked with mild interest.
“No.” She clutched him tighter. “I’m just happy.”
“I’m glad.”
She lowered her voice. “I hear more sirens, which means more people showing up, and I’m in my panties.”
A shirt dropped over her. Baxter, his chest and shoulders now bare, discreetly turned away as she wrapped it around herself like a skirt.
A new flurry of activity drew her attention to the doorway and then Ridley ran in, her face filled with shock and worry as she searched the room, seeing the battered goon, the officer...and finally Phoenix.
Hanging on to the doorway, she asked, “You’re okay?”
Phoenix nodded. “Absolutely fine,” she promised.
“Oh, thank God.” Her relief was so strong, she nearly sank to the floor.
Baxter caught her. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Eyes closing, her sister snarled, “Don’t yell at me.”
“I wasn’t,” he protested with heat, then asked more softly, “Are you insane? I thought we agreed you would wait in the store.”
“No, you ordered and I mostly ignored.”
Baxter glowered even as he wrapped his arms around her. “You shouldn’t be running in your condition.”
Cooper’s expression went comically blank. “Her condition?”
Oh, how Phoenix had hoped to tell him in a gentler, more private way. Cooper had lost his own child with the death of his wife. How would he react to Ridley’s pregnancy? Would it dredge up all the heartache and loss, make it fresh and painful again?
She prayed not, because she loved Cooper, and she loved Ridley, and honest to God, she already loved the baby her sister carried.
Baxter had already spilled the beans, so Phoenix quietly explained, “Ridley is having a baby.”
His brows shot up so high, they disappeared under his disheveled hair. But he didn’t look upset, just surprised.
Phoenix touched his face. “I’m getting a niece or nephew.”
Cooper looked at Baxter first, then Ridley.
Her sister said, “We’re in this together. Auntie is a very important role.”
Baxter didn’t object to that, but he did add, almost like an afterthought, “We’ll be getting married, too.”
It was ridiculous under the circumstances, but Phoenix thrust a fist into the air. “Yes!”
With a strained laugh, Cooper hugged her so tightly she squeaked.
Ridley cocked open one eye for a lopsided glare aimed at Baxter, but anything she might’ve said got cut short as an ambulance arrived and paramedics hurried in. Maris and Daron showed up with Sugar, who went berserk when reunited with Phoenix and Cooper.
How odd that there could be so much joy on such an insane, dangerous night. Phoenix had a feeling that as long as she was with Cooper, it would always be that way.
17
Several hours later, dawn played along the horizon, reflecting off the placid surface of the lake. A breeze ruffled the tops of the trees. Slowly the stars faded from the sky.
Beneath the lounge chair where he and Phoenix sat together, Sugar dozed, her soft doggy snores drifting on the quiet air. So far, she’d refused to be more than a few feet away from Phoenix. The pup was incredibly protective.
Coop knew just how she felt.
Despite the beautiful, peaceful setting, the scent of smoke lingered in the air. If he thought too much about what had happened, how close he’d come to losing Phoenix...
Shaken anew, he hugged her closer, her back to his chest, his face against her neck. Luckily, she didn’t seem to mind. She reached back to tangle a hand in his hair, turning her face so that her lips brushed his upper arm.