Page 44 of Disarming Caine

The elevator dinged and a tall man in a thick black jacket headed toward me. Hands in his pockets, head up, looking straight at me. Did I enter the room or not?Keep an eye on him.Should have grabbed my gun. He smiled and nodded in greeting.

“Sam? You there?”

“Yes,Officer, good to hear from you.”

“Where are you?”

The man stopped two doors down from me, produced a keycard, and disappeared into the room.

“Fuck.” I filled my lungs and held them still again.

“Sam!”

“Sorry, Janelle. I’m standing outside my hotel room, freaking myself out.”

“Go into your room. It’s okay. We caught him.”

“You what?”

“Slater put the screws to some guys he knows.”

I swiped the card by the lock and opened the door.

“He pulled a double shift on this one, just brought the guy in. Said no one treats his friends that way.” She chuckled. “Maybe he’s not a half-bad cop after all.”

“Have you interviewed the suspect yet?” I put my bag and mail down on the kitchenette counter, leaving my jacket and boots on. One step beyond the counter and I froze. The blood smeared across the carpet practically screamed at me. I hadn’t even noticed when the shattering glass hit Antonio; I’d been too focused on getting us to safety.

“Yes and no. He’s not talking until a defender shows up, but he was carrying concealed without a license and resisted arrest, so we’re holding him on those. Nathan charged in as soon as he heard and threatened the guy with at least fifty years behind bars.”

I swallowed the panic down and headed into the bedroom. Avoided looking at the side of the bed in case the blanket was stained, too. I threw enough fresh clothes into a backpack for tonight and tomorrow.

“Anyway, the statement we got from Slater’s guy sounds solid. Said he was with the shooter yesterday. Drunk and high, he pulls out his gun, bragging about what great aim he’s got. ‘Third floor, balcony door, watch this,’ he says.”

Zippering the bag, my gaze drifted to the ceiling, where forensics had removed three bullets. “Real funny, asshole.”

“Informant tries to stop him. He fires the rest of the rounds, then they take off when they hear the sirens.”

I sank onto the bed, suddenly aware of how fast my heart was beating and the tremor in my hands. “Thanks for letting me know.”

“We’re waiting on Lansing forensics to release the evidence, but we’ve got this guy’s handgun, so we can match them up. I’ll let you know if something goes sideways here and it turns out he’s the wrong guy. Keep your guard up but try to stay calm.”

“I’m working on it.”

“Before you go…” She paused, sucking in a couple breaths as if to start talking before eventually continuing. “Everything alright with the boyfriend?”

“Really good, actually.”

“I’m glad. I’ll call when I know more.”

I hung up and stared at the phone for a few minutes. What a couple of days. I needed a friendly voice. Janelle’s was good, and Cass was my go-to. But what I needed was Antonio.

He answered before the first ring finished. “Ciao, bella!”

My nerves unknotted at his deep voice, every word like music. “Hi.”

“It’s wonderful to hear your voice.”

“Yours, too.” More than I’d thought it would be. A lot more. For three months, we’d talked on the phone, knowing we wouldn’t see each other in person for a long while. But hearing him, knowing he was only ten minutes away, was different. It was comforting. If I really needed him, he was right there.