Sneakers. Two rows over and one car down. He could see the blue jeans and the untied shoe. He waited a second longer to see if the guy shifted his weight or made a move, but nothing happened. He had the advantage, but he had to move fast.
Under or over. He debated for a second, only ruling out around because that would waste time and he could shift to one side while this person in hiding went the other way. Shane made the choice and moved. Slipped right over the top of the nearest hood and saw a head pop up. He made out the build and the hair as the guy took off toward the back of the parking lot and picnic area.
He swerved and wove as he moved. Shane went for the straight line. He didn’t run through lines of cars, he vaulted over them, taking a row at a time until he ran right behind the guy. Two more steps...one more... Shane reached out and grabbed the guy’s shirt. Got two fists full and jerked. Threw his weight behind it.
The guy lost his balance. Thanks to forward momentum, Shane crashed into the runner, causing him to stumble. With his grip secured and the advantage on his side, Shane heaved the man into the side of the nearest car and pinned him there. Nailed the guy across the shoulders and separated his legs with a kick.
Adrenaline rushed through Shane, fueling every move and giving him strength. He felt alive and on fire as he searched the guy for weapons. The energy continued to thrum even though he didn’t find a gun. That probably meant he’d dumped the weapon, which was smart.
When Shane flipped the guy over and held him against the car with nothing more than a hand wrapped around his neck, his control almost snapped. He should have been surprised at the guy’s identity, but for some reason he wasn’t.
“Jeff Horvath.” Shane didn’t have to search his memory to call up the name, because this guy was also high on his list of suspects. Never mind that Frank had just pointed a finger at him. Shane hadn’t liked this Jeff guy from the beginning.
“Let go of me.” He squirmed and shifted all around.
Shane braced his arm across Jeff’s throat and fought off the urge to press in hard. “Shut up.”
The guy’s eyes bulged as his fingers clawed at Shane’s arm. “Stop.”
“Calm down.” When Jeff nodded, Shane eased up. He wanted to keep the guy slammed against the car but knew he had to back up. Actually doing that took another few seconds.
The minute Shane let go, Jeff doubled over, coughing and hacking. The display went on for what felt like forever. When he finally straightened up again, fury colored his features and he looked braced for a fight...until his gaze went to the gun in Shane’s hand.
Amazing how a loaded weapon changed the balance of power. Not that it was all that level to begin with, but Jeff could pretend about that, too, if he wanted. The guy excelled at pretending.
“Let’s try this again.” Shane backed up a step just in case this guy was dumb enough to dive for the gun, thinking they could wrestle. Shane wanted to question him, not shoot him, but he would if he had to. “Why are you here?”
“It’s a public park.” Being the kind of guy he was, Jeff didn’t back away quietly. He grew indignant and scowled.
One nowhere near his house, but Shane sailed over that detail. “Try again.”
“I don’t have to answer your questions.”
Shane’s gaze bounced down to his gun, then back up again. “This says you do.”
Lights flashed as three police cars passed through the gate a few hundred feet away. The roar of the sirens grew louder, drawing everyone’s attention. Everyone but Shane. He stood his ground and waited for an answer to the only question he cared about right now. “Why are you following Makena?”
Jeff glanced in the direction of the police cars. “I wasn’t.”
“They aren’t going to help you.” They actually would, because the diversion and their presence would stop Shane from going wild on the guy to get information, but Jeff didn’t need to know that. “No one is.”
The guy kept leaving a trail. He knew where she lived. He showed up after each incident. He’d made threats of a sort. If he’d wanted to paint a bull’s-eye on his chest, he was doing a great job of it. And that was what didn’t make any sense to Shane. It was too easy to tie the attacks right back to Jeff. He might not be a professional, but the file Makena had on him suggested he wasn’t an idiot, either.
The whole thing smelled wrong and Shane couldn’t figure out why. But he had a new problem, because she was heading right for them.
She didn’t stop until she stood almost on top of them. “It was you? First my house and now you come here.” She shook her head with a mouth twisted up in obvious disgust. “You could have hurt a kid or someone just walking by. What is wrong with you?”