Forcing herself not to notice the way his bulging biceps stretched the material of his light blue button-down, Ellie shot back with, “This isn’t about emotions!” It wasn’t. “This is about facts and…gut instinct.”
“And your gut says this had nothing to do with Harvey’s escape?”
“I have no idea what today’s shooting was about. I just know that every instinct in my body is screaming that this wasn’t him.”
“Five years is a long time to sit in prison,” Archer pointed out. “Plenty of time to plan.”
“Exactly. And can you honesty stand there and tell me that the best plan someone as intelligent and cunning as Harvey could come up with was to start randomly shooting into a crowd?” Ellie knew he couldn’t because she knew Harvey. “A crowd filled with law enforcement officials whose sole focus is finding the man, himself, no less.”
“She has a point.” Lucky dropped his arms at his sides and rested his hands on his denim-clad hips.
One corner of his lips had curved upward as he spoke, and damn if Ellie didn’t catch herself wondering what it would be like to taste them.
Okay, so maybe now would be a good time to follow the doctor’s orders and go lie down.
“That may be,” Cassie chimed back in. “But until we know for sure who the shooter was, or at the very least, who they were aiming at, I still think it’s best if Ellie isn’t alone tonight. Just in case.”
“I agree.”
Ellie’s brows dropped in the center as her gaze bounced back to Lucky’s. “You just said I had a point.”
“Because you did.” He nodded, then tipped his head toward Cassie and added, “So does she.”
“Sorry, El.” Archer slid his arm from his fiancée’s shoulders and shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “They’re both right. Until we can confirm there is no viable threat to your life, you need to be protected.”
She pursed her lips together, expelling a slow breath through her nose. “You don’t get it. This guy, he’s…” She swallowed once before continuing. “He likes toying with his victims. The kills…they’re personal to him. From the stalking to the cutting…even the way he kills them is up close and personal. For a guy like that, using a gun…he wouldn’t get any satisfaction out of simply shooting someone. Nor would he risk missing his intended target.”
Whomever they may be.
“I hear what you’re saying, El.” Cassie’s stare was as serious as she’d ever seen it. “Wealldo. And I’m not trying to make this about me, I swear I’m not. But after what I went through…to imagine something like that happening to you, too…” Unshed tears formed, magnifying the woman’s baby-blue eyes. “Please. Even if it’s just for tonight. Please come stay with me and Arch.”
“Ah, Cass.” Ellie was tempted to go to her friend. “I know you’re worried about me, and I love you for it. But after what happened to you, do you honestly think, if there’s even theslightestchance one of those bullets was meant for me, that I’drisk your life…or Archer’s, for that matter…by leading the son of a bitch straight to your front door?”
“El—”
“I’m sorry, Cassie.” She gave a quick shake of her head. “But I’ve already given up too much to that murdering asshole. I refuse to let him…or rather thefearof him…run me out of my own home, too.”
Again.
“I agree with Ellie.”
All heads swung toward Lucky, Archer’s and Cassie’s shocked expressions no doubt matching her own.
“You do?”
“Sure.” His broad shoulders lifted and fell with a casual shrug. “I can understand not wanting to hand over that kind of power to anyone, let alone a guy like that.”
Ellie studied his gaze closely, her mind racing to figure out his angel. Only, as those gorgeous eyes of his stared back into hers, she got the feeling he truly meant those words.
“Thank you.” She offered him a small, genuine smile.
Lips she’d fantasized about kissing curved into a pulse-spiking grin as Lucky dipped his chin ever so slightly. “Anytime, sweetheart.”
Her heart gave a tiny extra kick at the sound of his low rumble.
But right as she was about to reconsider her opinion of the amorous man, Lucky flashed a playful wink her way, turned his attention to Archer, and unceremoniously announced, “I’ll just stay here for the night.”
Wait…what?