Page 6 of Katherine's Last Hope
And it was sexy as hell.
A flash of movement at the corner of the screen caught his attention and ripped him away from his inappropriate thoughts. “Did you see that?” He pointed at the corner of the screen.
Owen nodded. “Someone’s there. Waiting.”
A fresh wave of anger tapped his booted toe against the hard floor. “She’s walking straight toward him and has no idea. Son of a bitch.”
“Must be hiding behind the lamp post. There’s a wide cement base that raises a good two feet. Bet he’s crouched behind it. Katherine pays attention to her surroundings. No way she’d keep strolling to her car in a dark, empty lot if she saw a man standing there.”
“In her statement, she says he came out of nowhere,” Cody said.
He kept watching as Katherine got closer, grabbing her keys to unlock her door seconds before the man sprang up and grabbed her from behind.
“I saw her headlights,” Cody said, his anger thrashing around inside him like a tsunami. “That’s why I checked the back of the lot.” He didn’t tear his eyes away from the struggle, but he could feel Owen’s fury as clear as if it was his own.
Neither spoke as the video played. By the time the man shoved her, Cody thought he’d burst through his skin.
The man ran away as Cody comforted Katherine. Watching the scene play out brought back a memory of feeling her in his arms, the pulse of desire in his veins at holding her close. Shit. What the hell was wrong with him?
“You did good, Hogan,” Owen said. “If you hadn’t shown up…”
He didn’t have to finish the thought for Cody to understand where his thoughts wandered. “No need to go there, man. Besides, if she hadn’t been smart enough to press her panic button, I’m not sure how it would have played out.”
“You would have figured out how to get her out of harm’s way. Thank you.” Owen faced him and clapped a hand on his shoulder. He gave a small squeeze before dropping his arm to his side and spinning toward Gus. “Can you send this footage to the station? I doubt there’s more we can get from it, but we’ll damn well try.”
“No problem,” Gus said.
“Cody, you’re the lead on this. I don’t want to step on toes but be prepared for a lot of extra hands. Tommy and I both will be involved, and if I know my dad, he won’t want to sit on the sidelines. No one rests until this bastard’s found. Let’s head outside and see if anyone’s uncovered anything.”
He kept what he hoped was a blank expression on his face as he walked beside the sheriff and back outside. He could handlethe Wells men—it was their sister he had to keep his distance from.
3
Before Katherine stepped foot on the wide front porch that wrapped around her two-story brick colonial, her dad was out the door. Former county sheriff Mike Wells marched over the sidewalk, blocking her path and meeting her with open arms.
She drew in a deep breath, inhaling the scents of cedar and cigars that would forever remind her of her father. “Is Ollie asleep?”
“Yeah, he’s been out like a light for over an hour.”
Knowing her son was safe and sound, asleep in his bed, allowed her to melt against her father and release the torrent of emotions clawing at her throat. Tears burst from her eyes as worst-case scenarios of tonight’s events assaulted her like shrapnel. Tremors overtook her body. “I could have died. It would have taken seconds for him to jam that knife in me, leaving Ollie all alone.”
“Shh, don’t think like that. You’re fine now. You’re home and here to look after that little boy. Besides, with as much family as we have running around this town, Ollie will never be alone.”
She cracked a smile and sucked in a shuddering breath. Growing up in such a small town meant not only having blood relatives around to keep her in line, but a whole community behind her—and now her son.
“You’re right,” she said, pulling away and wiping her eyes. She’d given herself a moment to fall apart and now it was time to pull herself back together. She couldn’t afford to let herself feel every emotion boiling inside her or putting one foot in front of the other would be impossible.
Mike wrapped an arm around her shoulder again. “Let’s get you in the house. It’s been a long day, and you need some sleep.”
A snort of derision shot from her nose. “I have a feeling I won’t be getting any of that tonight.”
“I’ll stay,” Mike said. “Set up in the living room and keep an eye on things so you don’t have to worry.”
More tears stung the backs of her eyes. She stepped inside her home and tossed her keys in the little dish on the table nestled against the wall in the entryway. “You’ve been here for hours. No need to stay any longer. I’m a grown woman. I can handle things.”
“No one says you can’t, but that doesn’t mean you should have to do it alone. How about some tea?”
She started to argue but her father dipped down the hall to the kitchen before she could say a word.
