In moments, Carson had the man facedown, his body pinned against the tile. He was holding the shooter’s arms behind him at an angle that looked incredibly painful had the guy been conscious.
“Get my cuffs! Top drawer,” he ordered.
With trembling fingers she managed to grab his silver cuffs and toss them to Carson. After that, everything happened so quickly. Carson called Julian, asking for backup.
She was trembling, blood rushing in her ears as she tried to keep it together, but in reality she could barely move from where she was rooted by the dresser.
“He has a vest on.” Carson’s voice ripped her out of her thoughts as she stared at the man on the ground who still hadn’t moved since Carson punched him.
She blinked. “What?”
Carson placed his big hands on her shoulders, his eyes searching hers. “He has a vest. You didn’t kill him. He might have some broken ribs—and maybe a broken jaw—but he’ll live. Julian is on the way with an ambulance.”
She wasn’t sure why that mattered but for some reason it did. This guy had come here to kill both of them but still…she didn’t want to be responsible for taking another’s life.
Throat tight, she nodded. “You really need some pants,” she whispered.
Carson looked stunned for a moment before he barked out a short laugh. “You’re probably right.”
Chapter 13
Sienna wrapped her fingers around the mug of hot coffee even though it was late at night as she and Carson sat in the office of Special Agent Collins.
The local Fed station was a lot different than the police department back home. It was quiet here, the walls gray, and everyone was in suits even with the later hour. There was a decent amount of activity, but everyone seemed to work quieter.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done to help us,” Agent Collins said, looking between the two of them.
They’d been brought in to make an official report—the Feds had originally separated them so they could make their statements—and Sienna just wanted to leave. But she nodded politely because she also wanted more details. “Can you tell us anything about that man or…I guess anything that happened with Eileen? Is she okay?”
The woman paused, then seemed to come to a decision. “The man who broke into your place is Miles Hunt. He was hired by Graham Jordan to help him eliminate anyone who’d seen the images of him. They’ve worked together in the past, so it isn’t a surprise that’s who he hired. But they’ve both already tried to flip on each other. They’re both trying to make deals. Hunt swears he didn’t kill your attorney friend. He says Graham did that himself and I tend to believe him. That kill was too messy, especially with the added arson. The others were much more professional and lined up with what we know about his alleged past. We’ve been after him for a while too.”
“Did you know Hunt was going to come after Sienna?” There was an underlying edge to Carson’s tone even though his body language was casual as he sat with her on the other side of the agent’s desk.
“No. He…” She cleared her throat. “The phone we had her use was secure. He tracked your partner. Something we didn’t consider since he was with me most of the time. But it’s how Hunt found your location. That’s on me and I apologize. The only consolation I can give you is that he won’t be getting out of jail for a long time.”
“Will we need to testify?” Sienna asked.
“Doubtful. He’s working on a deal right now. He’s got a lot of information not just on Jordan, but others. He’s hopefully going to give it in exchange for no trial and a prison of his choice.”
“Are either of us in danger?” Carson asked.
“No. There’s no reason to come after either of you now. Sienna was just a contract to him. And he’s going to be turning on a lot of former clients. If anything, he’s in danger of…” She cleared her throat instead of continuing. “We have no reason to believe you’re in danger anymore. You’re free to go.”
“Thanks.” Carson stood before she’d finished speaking.
Sienna set her coffee on the desk and stood with him. “Oh…I know I’ve asked about this, but what about Kevin Fox? Was his death involved with—”
“It had nothing to do with this. From what we can tell, he was killed by someone he pissed off before he went to jail. At least that’s what it’s looking like according to the local police department. It was just a coincidence that he was one of your clients and got killed around the same time as the others.”
Well there was that, then. Sienna’s head hurt as they strode out the office door.
“You want to get a place for the night? Or head straight home?” Carson asked her.
It would be a decent drive up the coast of Florida but she wanted to be home, wanted to sleep in her own bed—with him. She wanted this whole mess behind them. “Home.”
* * *
Carson grabbed Sienna’s duffel bag from the back seat of the rental before they strode up the front walk to her house. The sun was just peeking above the horizon, illuminating everything in oranges and pinks. It was early enough yet that the humidity of the day hadn’t set in and there was a decent breeze blowing through the trees.
They’d stopped at a diner to grab some food then driven straight here, and while Sienna had tried to sleep, she hadn’t been able to get any. He left his bag in the rental car, unsure if she wanted him to stay or not. The drive home hadn’t been awkward, but now that they were back to reality, he wondered if she was going to place him back in that box she’d kept him in before.
“I just remembered I need to call my brother and tell him about his friend’s condo.” She sighed softly.
“Daniel isn’t going to care. He’ll just be happy that you’re alive.” So was Carson. When he’d heard her scream from the bedroom, telling that bastard to drop his weapon, it had shaved a decade off Carson’s life. Punching the guy hadn’t been enough. He was only sorry he hadn’t actually broken the guy’s jaw.
“True enough.” She cleared her throat as they stood there on the porch. “Do you have to work today?”
“I…have no idea.” He hadn’t even talked to his boss. Julian had taken over everything, had told him to just call him when he got back to town.
It was Tuesday morning but he doubted his boss wanted him to come in, considering everything that had happened. Still, he would need to check in officially.
“This feels kind of weird to say, but even with everything that happened I still had fun with you. You know, when that guy wasn’t shooting at us.”
He snorted at her words and leaned down to brush his lips over hers.
“Do you want to come in, or…?” She left the question hanging in the air but the exhaustion on her face told him everything he needed to know—she just wanted to sleep.
Frustration slid through him even as disappointment joined in. He wasn’t going to force himself into her home when she was just being polite. He’d made mistakes with her before and he didn’t want to do that again. She’d just been through a lot, had shot someone. It didn’t matter that the guy had been wearing a vest; she’d shot with the intention to kill. He shoved back all his possessiveness, shoved back the need to demand she let him stay. “No, but I’ll call you. You need to get sleep and I’ve got to check in with my boss.”