Page 47 of Vanished in the Mist
Kaden stared at Shanna and shook his head in disgust. “You do realize he almost killed you, right? And now, he’s free to try again.”
“Who’s free to try again?” Dawson demanded.
Shanna smiled up at Kaden. “I have faith in you. You’ll keep me safe.”
Dawson rolled his eyes and stepped away to make a call. “Ortiz, yeah, I’m at the Tate cabin. Someone’s been here shooting up the place. A knife’s buried in one of the porch railings and there’s blood and evidence of a scuffle beside Kaden’s truck. I need backup… Yesterday. I’ll update you on the situation and who we’re after just as soon as I can get Kaden and Shanna to stop flirting with each other and answer my questions.”
Kaden glared his displeasure at Dawson.
Shanna burst out laughing.
“At least tell me how many bad guys I’m after,” Dawson said. “And which way they went.”
Kaden arched an eyebrow at Shanna. “I’ve got backup. Now, will you lock yourself inside the cabin?”
“What?” Dawson asked. “I’m not backup. You are.”
“I’d be happy to,” she said. “Go get him.” She jogged up the steps and headed into the cabin, locking the door behind her.
It couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes later when a knock sounded at the door.
“Ms. Hudson, it’s Officer O’Brien.”
Shanna hurried to unlock the door and pull it open. But her greeting died on her lips when she saw the urgency in O’Brien’s face. “What happened? Is Kaden—”
“Mr. Rafferty and the chief are both okay. The chief phoned in an update as I was pulling into the driveway. You’re going to be hearing a lot more sirens, other people arriving, in just a few minutes. I’ve been asked to make sure you don’t leave this cabin, that you stay locked inside. Even if, um, even if I have to handcuff you to the refrigerator, or whatever I can find to make sure you can’t leave the cabin. Ma’am.” Her face turned a slight red.
Shanna narrowed her eyes. “The chief wouldn’t have told you that.”
“Not in those words, no.”
“Kaden did.”
O’Brien gave her a pained smile. “Will you promise you’ll wait until Mr. Rafferty or one of us police tell you it’s okay to come out before you do so? Please?”
Shanna sighed. “Fine. Okay. I promise I won’t come out until I’m given permission.” She rolled her eyes. “But only if you swear that Kaden’s really okay.”
“He’s uninjured, from what I’ve been told. I haven’t seen him yet. I only spoke to him on the phone.”
“Fair enough.”
The policewoman gave her a relieved smile, then hurried outside, pulling the door closed behind her.
Shanna turned the lock, then settled down to wait, her foot tapping an impatient tune against the wooden floor.
“WAKE UP, BEAUTIFUL. We’re leaving.”
“Hmm?” Shanna slapped at the hand pulling on her covers and snuggled into her pillow.
An impatient sigh sounded. “Come on, sleepyhead. Your chariot awaits.”
“Chariot?” She yawned, wondering what kind of dream had chariots and grumpy-sounding princes in them.
“Unbelievable,” her prince complained.
Her world suddenly tilted and her head fell back against something hard. And warm. The ground began to shake. She grabbed for her pillow.
“Ouch, dang. Sheathe those claws.” Her world tilted again and her bottom pressed down on something hard and cold.
