He walked with purpose back to the living room. He tidied up a bit, but left the broken shards where they were. Looking at them helped his tranquility; knowing he might be scattered carelessly over the wall above them gave him comfort.
Baldwin sat in his favorite chair, and didn’t waste any time. Tonight would be different; he could just feel it. He checked the speed loader to make sure the bullet was in place, leaned back, and gave the cylinder a vicious spin.
Put the gun to his head.
Pulled the trigger at the very same moment someone started knocking on his door. The noise startled him, and the gun jerked. A bullet flew out of the two-inch barrel of the Smith and Wesson at full velocity, grazing his cheek. He heard shouting and thought he recognized the voice. God, was that Taylor Jackson? What in the hell was she doing here?
His door crashed open, and the homicide lieutenant flew into the room with her weapon drawn, looking around wildly.
Baldwin drew down on her purely by instinct. A worthless move on his part, considering the solitary Winchester .38 bullet that had lived in his gun for the past few weeks was now lodged in the wall of his living room. They faced each other, guns sighted point-blank between the other’s eyes.
Taylor was the first to flinch. She slowly holstered her weapon, never letting her gaze stray from Baldwin’s face.
“Why don’t you put the gun down, Baldwin?” she said softly. “I’m not here to shoot you. Or to get shot. Come on, put it away. Christ, you’re bleeding.” She started toward him, still mindful of the gun trained at her head.
Baldwin started laughing. Taylor was caught short, then smiled cautiously. He lowered the weapon, and she quickly took it from his hand and tossed it into the kitchen. He was doubled over by now, hysterical with laughter.
“Baldwin, I think we need to get you to a hospital. You’re bleeding badly.”
He hiccuped, still snorting with mirth. “No, Taylor. No hospital. What in the name of all that’s holy are you doing here?” He was calming down, but still held his sides as if he would explode.
“I wanted your opinion on something. And I wanted to apologize. We treated you badly today, and I’m sorry.” Her gaze took in the room, noting the disarray, the broken bottle, the phone lying askew on the floor. Her eyes trailed to his face. “Really, Baldwin, you’re bleeding. Let me fix it up for you.”
“Leave it.” His voice was sharp, and Taylor froze four feet from him. He turned toward the kitchen, then spun back and landed awkwardly on the couch. Taylor could see exhaustion shadow his face. She dared a step, and another, then sat quietly in the chair, looking at the fireplace while he composed himself. Damn, she had barely gotten here in time. Maybe she hadn’t been in time at all; she didn’t think a quick chat was going to change the man’s mind. She decided to try anyway.
“You wanna tell me why I saw you through the window with a gun to your head?”
Baldwin shook his head, smiling at her. “Seems I just can’t win. I’ve been working this little project for a while now, and I keep getting interrupted.” He leaned back into the couch, covering his eyes with his crossed arms. “Every time I’m all set and ready, the fucking phone rings, or someone knocks. Really, Taylor, it would have been better if you’d come five minutes later. You’d have assumed I wasn’t home, and seeing as the shot went off this time, I’d be out of this hell.”
This time. Oh boy. She knew she’d have a job in front of her with Baldwin, just didn’t realize it would entail dragging him out of the jaws of Cerberus. She was shocked to see tears roll down his face.
“I’m kinda glad I showed up when I did. You’d have been a hell of a mess to clean up.” Her tone was light, but the look she gave him wasn’t.
“Well, thanks, I guess.” He gave her the first genuine smile she’d seen since she met him that morning. God, it had only been a day, but she felt as if he’d been under her skin forever. She let out her breath, suddenly aware that she had been holding it.
She gave him a small smile back. “Seriously, let me clean you up a little bit.”
He brushed a big hand across his face, clearly embarrassed. “No, let it be. I’m fine. I want to know why you really came over here.”
He was staring at her so intently that she felt a shiver run down her spine. “To be honest, Sam had some news at dinner I thought you might be interested in. Some results came back from the tests on Shelby Kincaid and Jordan Blake.”
Baldwin looked at her with doubt. “And why do you think I’d be interested in any of it? I quit tonight, remember?”
“You can’t quit something you never started.” She was surprised at how bitter she sounded. Not exactly the tone to be taking with someone who looked as though he had been prepared to kill himself a half hour prior. “I mean...”