A strong hand landed on her shoulder. “I’ve got this. You go call your insurance company.”
His offer was sweet, and meant a lot to her, as did his willingness to help. “No, I’ll clean up first.” She went out to the shed to get her wide broom and shovel. Together they worked to scoop all the broken glass and other debris onto a tarp.
Tate came back just as they were finishing up. “Bev and Pat across the street confirmed their story. Pat made it to their front window just in time to see someone in a black hoodie throw a brick through your last one, then jump into a black Jetta and take off. You wanna run the plate while I grab some plywood for your windows?”
“Sure, thanks.”
While she called someone to run the plates, Mason finished sweeping up, then dragged the tarp down the steps and outside. Turned out the black Jetta had been reported stolen a few hours earlier. And the first vehicle Pat had noticed earlier today belonged to a Shannon Torbert out of Billings.
Avery called her contact there to alert him to the new developments, who promised to inform her if he found anything of interest. And she would start looking into this woman personally first thing in the morning.
Tate arrived with the plywood. He and Mason boarded up the broken windows while Avery called her insurance adjuster, then Tate promised to pick her up first thing in the morning to take her into the office.
“Find anything?” Mason asked her once Tate had gone.
“Possible suspect to look into.”
He set his hands on her hips and turned her to face him, his gaze intent. “How are you, really?”
“Getting pissed.”
He cracked a grin. “That’s good.” Then his expression sobered, his thumbs stroking the sensitive hollows just above her hipbones.
Heat pooled low in her gut. Latent sexual energy hung in the air between them, but there was a tenderness in his gaze along with the heat that turned her inside out. When he cupped the side of her face in his hand and kissed her, she allowed herself to melt into it. Allowed herself to cling to him, absorbing his strength, the distraction he offered.
Too soon he ended the kiss and tucked her face into his chest. “I’m here for you, okay? No matter what.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, her heart squeezing. That scared her even more. She couldn’t resist this tenderness from him.
“I’m sleeping in your guest room,” he told her. “Until this is over.”
“Okay.” Badass cop or not, having him across the hall would make her feel better tonight. “Thank you.”
She went to her room alone, conflicted about what she wanted. She’d seen so many sides of Mason tonight. A surprisingly vulnerable one, as well as protector and comforter.
If she wasn’t careful, Mason would steal her heart and she might never get it back.
****
Shannon smiled to herself, imagining Avery’s reaction when she got home. She’d left the note just to fuck with her.
Avery thought she was a do-gooder, doing her duty and protecting others by locking up people. But Mike was only a threat to his enemies, no one else. And his enemies deserved to suffer.
She drove to an empty parking lot along the downtown strip and parked behind a building to eat her takeout dinner, waiting. Plotting. Working out exactly how she was going to pull this next part off.
She glanced in the rearview mirror at the can of gasoline in the back, her heart beating faster. In a few hours she would put it to good use.
Chapter Fifteen
Mason lay flat on his back in Avery’s guest room, staring up at the ceiling. It was almost midnight now. She was asleep in her room, and he’d give just about anything to be in there with her. This entire stalker situation was weighing on his mind. He needed to make sure she was safe.
Lying across the foot of the bed, Ric snorted and rolled onto his side, then dropped right off into doggy dreamland again. Mason gingerly shifted his legs under the covers so as not to disturb him, thinking about Avery and their conversation earlier.
Talking about his past with her had actually been a relief. That terrible event was always with him, even on the good days. The horror of it built and built inside him, and then invariably he’d have an episode. They weren’t as bad or as frequent as they’d been before he got Ric, thankfully. He no longer had nightmares every night, and the panic attacks were rare now.
It was a relief that Avery knew his secrets. He was already falling for her, and refused to let her distance herself now. His previous relationships had never worked out because he’d never clicked with anyone before. Until Avery.
Ric lifted his head and perked his ears. Mason sat up to stroke his head. “Go back to sleep, buddy,” he whispered.
But Ric rolled to his belly and lay there, head cocked as he stared at the door. Then let out a low woof and jumped down to stand in front of it.
Mason’s stomach muscles grabbed. He snatched his pistol from the bedside table and got up, yanking his jeans on. Ric was still poised by the door, ears up. “What did you hear, buddy?” Wasn’t Avery. Ric wouldn’t have been concerned if it was.
He passed a reassuring hand down the dog’s back, then turned the doorknob and stepped out into the hallway. It was dark, the only light coming from the moonlight spilling through the kitchen windows. Ric scampered ahead, running into the kitchen to stand by the door leading to the back deck.
Mason raked his gaze over every corner of the room before turning his attention outside. As soon as he opened the door to the deck, Ric ran out and began sniffing around it.
Mason made his way down the stairs from the deck, weapon ready. The entrance to his suite was undisturbed. He swept around the perimeter of the house next, then came back to check the backyard. Ric was sniffing around the fence line. Mason watched him closely, but the dog didn’t bark or show other signs of agitation.
“Mason?”
He spun to find Avery coming onto the deck, a pistol in her hands. “Everything’s fine,” he said. She didn’t look scared, she looked ready to kick ass. Her being able to handle herself was one of the sexiest things about her. “Ric heard something, but whatever or whoever it was is gone now.”
She stood at the deck railing and looked around. “You sure?”
“Positive. I’ve checked everything.” But according to Ric, something or someone had definitely been moving around out here.
“Okay.” She lowered the weapon to her side.
He crossed the yard and loped up the steps with Ric bounding after him. Mason stroked the dog’s head. “Good boy.” Then he faced Avery. She looked like an avenging angel standing there with her fiery hair and creamy skin glowing in the moonlight. “I’m going to install some cameras tomorrow,” he said quietly.
“You don’t have to do that. I can hire—”
“I’ll take care of it.”
She nodded slowly. “All right. Thank you.” She sighed and gestured at the open doorway behind her. “Feel like a root beer?’
He smiled a little. “Sure.”
“Good.”
He followed her into the kitchen and locked the door to the deck behind him. She got two bottles of root beer for them from the fridge and returned to the kitchen table. He liked that she hadn’t turned on any lights. The faint moonlight coming in through the glass gave this a surreal quality, made it more intimate.