“I got time.”
“And I have no intention of filling it. Believe it or not, Cassie, I didn’t come here to be cross-examined by you.”
“I asked a simple question.”
“And I gave a simple answer. No.”
Chapter Three
The man made Cassie want to strangle something. Mostly him. “So, I’m just supposed to trust you? You could be anyone, for all I know.”
Cal sighed, then reached into his back pocket and took out his wallet. Flipping the worn leather open, he showed her his driver’s license. “Better?”
“Not really.”
“The bottom line is that Dan knew if he had trouble, I’d help.”
She had seen the haunted look in Dan’s eyes when he walked away from the service for good. He refused to talk about what had happened. Code of silence and all that. But that did not explain Cal’s cryptic remarks now.
“Is this rush-to-help thing some kind of military code?”
“That Others May Live. That’s the only code I’ve lived by for years.”
She recognized the PJs’ motto. “Seems to me whatever friendship you had with Dan was over.”
“So, do you live here?”
Interesting time for a topic change. “On a neighboring island. This one is Kauai. I live on Oahu.”
“I’m aware of Hawaii’s geography. I was stationed here at one point.”
He was? “When was—”
“Now that we know everyone’s address, what’s your story?” Cal asked as he continued to pay more attention to the room than to her.
She sensed the air of relaxation that stole over him was one he practiced and learned. Being in that many treacherous situations would make a man develop a façade. Still, she preferred asking the questions to answering them. From the way he kept circling her questions and asking his own, she guessed he felt the same way.
“I’m Dan’s sister. With our parents being gone and Dan being single, the job of cleaning out the house fell to me.”
“And your husband or boyfriend doesn’t mind you running over here?”
Sounded like fishing to her. She refused to take the bait. “Let’s stick to Dan.”
Cal stared at her for an extra beat before switching directions again. “Was the house in this condition when you got here?”
“Yeah.” She looked around the disheveled room. “This isn’t exactly my idea of decorating. Dan could be sloppy, but this is something else.”
“Why do I think you’re not telling me the whole story of how and why you’re here?”
Because she wasn’t. Not even half of it. “I don’t know what—”
A crack split through the quiet night and glass from the window shattered with a bang and showered the hardwood floor with small pellets.
“Get down!” Cal leaped across the room, dragging Cassie to the floor with him.
She landed on the wood with a thump and a hard slam. Her face hit the floor as his stomach covered her back. After a bounce, strong arms surrounded her, wedging her under his firm body. This time she didn’t struggle to get away from him. If one of them was going to get shot, she voted for him.
“What’s happening?” She started squirming to get a better view.
“Gunshot”
“Again?” she squeaked out.
“Again? You’re telling me this sort of thing happens often in your world?” Shock shook his deep voice.
“Just twice.” She bit her lip.
“Oh, that’s better.” He leaned up and whipped out a small gun from his waistband.
“Where did you get that?”
“My pants.”
She refused to think about what else he kept in his pants. “Since when did you—”
He motioned for her to stay quiet.
Which she ignored. “What are you planning to do with that thing?”
“I’m a second away from shooting you to keep you from talking.” He eased off of her and crouched down in a squat.
“Where are you going?”
“Do you not know what quiet means?” His whisper hit her with the force of a yell.
Cal balanced his athletic body on his elbows and muscled forearms. Gliding with the stealth of a predator, he traveled to the other side of the room, then sat up with his back to the wall, under the broken window. Seconds of silence ticked by, broken only by the sound of a slamming car door.
Cal jumped to his feet and peeked out into the dark night. “Damn.”
“What’s going on?”
“Other than you disobeying direct orders?”
She rolled her eyes even though she doubted he could see her. “I’m not in the military.”
“Which is a good thing.”
She sprinted across the floor, pressed the front of her body against his back, and peeked around his shoulder. As far as she could tell, in the bleak darkness of the night nothing moved. “I can’t see anything.”
“Because whoever it was is gone. The car took off.”
A wave of disappointment moved through her. Just as her blood started pumping, it now needed to cool. “That’s not good.”
He stared down at her. “Let’s talk about how this wasn’t your first shooting.”
An unexpected spark of electricity shot through the room at the sound of his deep voice. “We already did.”
“I’m thinking I need a bit more information.”
“Then you should have stopped the bad guys before they jumped in the car.”
“Uh-huh.” He turned around until little more than an inch separated their bodies. “Explain why people keep taking shots at you.”
“No idea.”
His inviting mouth loomed just inches above hers. “I knew you were going to be trouble.”
Chapter Four
Cassie’s head snapped back. “What are you doing?”
The woman asked a very good question. “Standing here.”
“You were going to kiss me.”
For a second there he toyed with the idea, yeah. “Think a lot of yourself, don’t you?”
“I know when a man wants to kiss me.”
She didn’t have to sound so appalled by the possibility. “So, that’s a ‘yes’ on the arrogance thing?”
“Come off it. I saw you.”
“Then you need glasses.” And a drink. Maybe that would help.
“You’re two inches away and swooping in.”
“Swooping?” Cal stepped back and well out of swooping range.
Mauling complete strangers was not his style.