He untangled his fingers from her short hair. “Cait,” he said in not much better than a growl.
She stared at him without comprehension.
“The cops are here.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh, my God,” she exclaimed in a tone of sheer horror that pissed him off. She tried to leap back, colliding with the bumper of her car. He grabbed her arm. Staggering, she righted herself with his help, then retreated again so that several feet separated them. “Colin?” she asked.
“Uh…” He looked past her. “I don’t think so. Not yet.” Yeah, that wouldn’t have been so good.
Not five minutes later, her brother’s 4Runner barreled to a stop on the verge of the road, and he strode down to join them, his gaze pinned on his sister.
Who now stood a safe distance from Noah, hugging herself in the way she did when she was upset and feeling vulnerable. Although Noah suspected she wouldn’t like knowing how much she was giving away. She had recited her story again, in better order this time, and was now trying to answer questions.
The two young officers turned, their expressions pathetically grateful when they saw the new arrival. “Captain.”
He spared them a fleeting glance, nodded, then let his gaze pass coldly over Noah before returning his attention to Cait.
“You’re all right.”
She bit her lip and nodded. “A few scrapes and bruises. The worst damage is to my wardrobe.”
Something dark rose in his eyes that Noah recognized and felt. Colin stood in front of her, his hands lifting and then falling back to his sides as if he believed an embrace would be unwelcome.
But tears welled in her eyes and she stepped forward, just for an instant leaning her forehead against his shoulder. His arms closed around her, and Noah had to turn away, not sure what he felt but not liking it.
This tumult couldn’t be jealousy. Why would it be? This was her brother. He should be—was—glad that she was letting herself need him.
Noah had already held her. Stupidly, suicidally close. If he had half a brain, this was a good time for him to say, I’ll leave you in your brother’s hands, and depart.
Anguish coalesced in his chest. No way in hell was he going anywhere without her. Even if the actual intention had formed, he wouldn’t have been able to act on it when he saw her straighten and turn her head quickly until her gaze latched on to his, as if she needed to know he was there. Noah had no idea what his face showed her, but she relaxed as if it was what she was looking for.
I am in deep shit, he thought, and he couldn’t seem to do a damn thing to get himself out of it.
Her brother joined the grilling, but Cait kept shaking her head. She didn’t even know how she’d seen the weapon. She wasn’t positive she had. Something in her subconscious had triggered the leap of panic; that’s all she knew. But she was sure she hadn’t seen her assailant’s face. Or even enough of the set of his shoulders or his hand or silhouette to recognize her ex-boyfriend.
“I don’t know,” she said doubtfully, and about the third time she repeated the same thing Noah began to get a bad feeling about it.
She’d been with this guy for a couple of years. Noah wasn’t clear on how long she’d actually lived with him, but long enough. Someone she’d been that intimate with, she would know on a different level than she would anyone else. The very fact that she was having trouble fitting him into the frame where they all thought he belonged triggered alarms.
Why would anyone else have come after her?
She was a woman alone out there. An attempted rape or robbery might have made sense. But this guy—or conceivably even woman, he supposed—hadn’t even stepped out of the vehicle. It had essentially been an assassination attempt by someone who didn’t want to take a chance of being recognized if he failed.
No, damn it! Who else could it be but Ralston? He made sense.
Noah scrubbed a hand over his face, struggling for the self-control that rarely failed him.
“Let me drive you home,” he heard her brother say.
At that, Noah stepped forward. “Why don’t you let me do that. You’ll want to stay while your people investigate.”
McAllister’s internal battle was obvious, but finally he gave a short, unhappy nod. “That might be better. Cait—”