Page 34 of Laying it Bare on the Run

Cannon cupped my cheeks in his hands and tilted my face up to meet him. “Are you sure you don’t need any medical attention? I have connections that I can get you in and out of the emergency room quickly.”

“No. I just want to go . . . home.” As natural as it felt to consider his place mine, the word still sounded odd falling from my lips.

“My home is your home, Harper. But I don’t want you dwelling on what that means at the moment. We have more important things to address right now. I don’t want you worrying about anything. We’ll talk about it later.” He placed a quick kiss on my cheek. “I’m so sorry I left you alone. I’m a cop. I should’ve known better.” Self-recrimination was strong in his voice and his lips pursed in a grim line.

It was my turn to place my hands on his face. “You had no idea. I was in a police station surrounded by officers. You believed I was safe. You didn’t know he was a bad one.”

His eyes held a ton of regret. “I had a hunch. He raised my hackles the first day I met him. I even told the sergeant I didn’t trust him. He assured me his background was good.” He slipped his hands into my hair and played with the strands. “You already had to deal with a dirty cop once and I almost handed you to another one.” His words dripped with disgust at himself.

“Well, we’re even. I wrecked your office.” My lips tilted into a half smile. “Too soon? I know that was a pathetic joke but I don’t want you blaming yourself for this. I don’t. And even though it was horrible and I was petrified, I’m in your arms right now. And your sergeant now knows your instinct was right. So something good came out of it.”

He slanted his head and studied my face for a moment. “You are truly something amazing, Harper. Despite what you just went through and knowing what you do about these guys, you don’t dwell on the bad; instead you reach for the good.”

I shrugged. “I just keep going because I have to believe that justice is coming. So many times, I almost fall into a panic, worrying he’s going to find me and it will all be over for me and then there will be no justice for my family because no one else is out seeking it. But I can’t let that fear rule me because I can’t let him win. No matter how many times I feel hopeless.”

“You’re going to get that justice, Harper.”

“For the first time in my life, I actually kinda believe that.”

“Oh good, you’re still here.”

Cannon and I shifted our attention to the doorway.

“I called in a favor. Frank is sending over some temps to start tomorrow. So I can give you a week off. Although hopefully we don’t need that long to take care of this situation.” His sergeant ran a hand over his bald head and sighed. “But we don’t have much to go on. I’ll see what she can give me tomorrow.”

“Mike and I will help out too, Sarge.” Joe popped his head in the doorway. “We’ll do some overtime again. And I’m sure some of the others will too. We can help fill in Cannon’s shifts and also help with this case.”

“Thanks, Joe. I’ll tell the other guys thanks tomorrow. Right now, I just want to get Harper out of here. Are we clear outside?”

“They came up with nothing. But I’m going to follow you out anyway. Just to be an extra set of eyes to make sure you’re not followed.”

I tensed in his lap. He could possibly find out where I was staying. Dread washed over me again and my heart which had been finally slowing to a normal rhythm picked up again.

“He won’t find you there. Besides, I will be there to protect you.”

I swallowed hard. I didn’t want him hurt or . . . I refused to think the word, because of me. I had already lost so much. Suddenly, going home didn’t sound so good.

“Joe, can you give us a minute? And then we’ll meet you out front.” Cannon nodded to his buddy, his sergeant must have walked away while I wasn’t paying attention.

When we were alone, he leaned down and placed his forehead against mine. “You will be safe at my home. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable there. I have weapons and a security system. I can protect you and will have back up if needed.”

“But he – ”

He pressed his lips against mine for a gentle kiss. “Is a coward who wiped out people who were unsuspecting and had no way to fight back. I’m expecting it and can fight back. I will fight for you, Harper. I care about you and won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Or to you.” The whispered words barely fell from my lips.

“So you’re worried about me.” His lips curled into a cocky smile. “I can work with that. And you are truly amazing. Let’s get out of here.” Sliding me off of his lap, he stood and then pulled me toward him to wrap his arm around my waist.

Out in the front of the station, we met up with Joe and the three of us walked out to the parking lot. However, after Cannon helped me into his Explorer, the fingers of terror I had managed to keep at bay while in the station seized me. A sob burst from my mouth as I finally gave way to the fear I’d kept bottled up inside.

When Cannon crawled in the other side, he glanced over at me and his face fell. Stretching across to me, he wrapped me in his arms. “Hey, it’s okay, Harper.” He ran his hands soothingly through my hair.

His words brought on a tsunami of tears and I transformed into a weeping mess. “I don’t want Waik to find me. And I felt so safe for the first time in so long. And I don’t want you getting hurt or worse because of me.”

He pressed a kiss to the top of my head before tilting my head up to meet his eyes. His expression was one of fierce determination. “Will you be alright until we get home? I want Joe to be able to head on home too. He’s waiting for us to go.”

I gave him a jerky nod. “I’m sorry.”

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