Chapter 4

FOUR

Kenzie paused in the middle of the steps trying to remember where she'd left her phone. On the end table upstairs next to the remote? Probably.

Her pulse thundered and her gaze went back to the boots at her window. They had moved away a few seconds ago, and Kenzie had darted for the stairs. Only, she paused when the boots returned and one lifted to press against the glass. Testing to see how sturdy it was?

The end of a crowbar appeared for a brief moment before it settled against the window. Did he not realize she was in the room? Or did he just not care?

She ran the rest of the way up the stairs. The door leading to the basement didn't lock, but she shut it anyway. She grabbed her gun, checked the magazine, and then bolted into the den, aiming her steps toward her phone.

Her fingers curled around it and she dialed 911. While it rang, she slipped her feet into the tennis shoes she'd worn home from headquarters.

"What's your emergency?"

"Someone's breaking into my house. I'm a cop and I'm armed and I don't know if this guy has a friend with him." She gave her badge number and returned to the entrance to the kitchen to watch the basement door.

"I have a unit on the way."

"Tell the responding officers I have a basement. The guy was right outside the window that's just above ground level. If he opens it, he can slide in—assuming he's average sized. Can you also alert Detective Cole Garrison?" She rattled off his number.

"Yes ma'am." She heard keys clicking in the background. "Do you know if the intruder is armed?"

"I didn't see a weapon other than a crowbar, but I'm going on the assumption he is and he might not be alone."

"Of course. Where are you? Can you get out of the house?"

"I can, but I'm not sure if he's inside or out now, so I'm staying in at the moment. If he comes through my basement window, there's only one way to access the rest of the house and I've got my weapon pointed at it."

"Detective Garrison was actually nearby. He's pulling onto your street now."

Kenzie backed toward the great room, keeping eyes on the basement door, phone pressed to her ear, weapon aimed. Her ears strained for any hint of sound or movement from below, but all was quiet.

Until a footfall hit the squeaky stair in the middle.

Okay, then. He was inside.

Kenzie darted for the front door, flipped the deadbolt, and twisted the knob.

Only to come face-to-face with Cole, who had his weapon drawn. Relief flashed on his features for a fraction of a second before he stepped back. "You reported an intruder?"

Kenzie ended the 911 call. "Coming up my basement stairs. I ran instead of confronting him. Because him might be a them ." She wasn't ashamed of that.

"Smart."

"But now that I have backup, you ready?"

He hesitated, almost said something, then nodded as he stepped inside. Kenzie steadied herself. This was just like any other situation where she would be going after a burglar. She held her weapon ready and Cole shut the door behind him. They walked toward her basement stairs. Everything looked exactly like she'd just left it. "I'm going to clear this floor," she said. "Keep an eye on the basement, will you?"

"Got it."

Blue lights came into view and bounced through the front door and off the walls. She heard Cole updating dispatch to pass along their current situation to the arriving officers. She ignored them and checked the utility room, her primary bedroom, bath, and closet, then made her way back into the kitchen, where Cole nodded that he still had the basement door covered. It didn't take her long to clear the other two bedrooms, bath, and office, and she walked to the basement stairs.

They were clear. She started down.

"Right behind you," Cole whispered.

"Skip the step I do."

"Got it."

She continued down the stairs until she had a full view of the room. And the legs hanging inside her window to the thigh. "Police! Stay there!"

The legs withdrew and the window swung closed. Of course he ignored her.

Cole disappeared up the stairs, speaking into his phone, reporting the intruder at the back of the house and ordering officers on the scene to go after him.

Kenzie darted for the window when a gloved hand reappeared holding a weapon. He fired and she dove sideways, crashing into the punching bag. Another bullet slapped into the floor beside her.

"Kenzie!"

Cole's shout came from above and she rolled behind her exercise bike. "I'm good!"

She peered around the wheel, weapon aimed, but the hand and the gun were gone. Kenzie shot to her feet and darted for the stairs. Cole was already halfway down and she waved him back up. "I'm fine. Go! He's running!"

Cole went. Kenzie followed him up and stopped in the kitchen long enough to grab a powerful flashlight from the drawer next to her oven, then bolted out of the house. She noted the officers fanning out and beginning their search.

The neighborhood was heavily wooded with mature trees, big yards, a few wooden fences, and tons of places to hide should one be fleeing the scene of a crime. She ran toward the back of her home, her flashlight beam on high. While the others searched for the intruder, she scanned the ground around the window.

It had been trampled, but she couldn't see any distinguishing footprints. However, she was able to follow the trampled grass to the edge of her property.

Cole came up beside her. "What is it?"

"He hopped the fence."

"Easy enough to do. It's a low one." He listened to the Bluetooth in his ear, then looked at her. "Chopper is on the way. As are the dogs. Officers are going door to door telling residents to stay inside and locked up."

"It'll be too late."

"Yeah, I think you're right."

HE HATED THAT SHE WAS RIGHT , but he was coming to find out that she usually was. About a lot of things. He followed her into the house, still thinking about her. She was a natural cop and her medical skills were top-notch. He'd welcomed her into the unit with cool reservation, but he'd admit it hadn't taken him long to figure out she was special, a real asset to the unit. He just didn't know how to convince the other guys of that fact without it looking like he was protecting her or giving her special treatment.

Which wouldn't go over well with Kenzie or the others. Regardless, for the moment, whoever had gotten in her house was gone.

And Kenzie was pacing.

A helicopter roared overhead and a spotlight swept over the house, illuminating everything for a brief moment. She spun to face him. "What the heck is going on, Cole?"

He shook his head. "I wish I had an answer for you."

She pressed her lips together, then blew out a low breath as she dropped onto the couch and crossed her arms. "I might be able to say the car thing at the hospital was an accident. A reckless driver. But tonight was no accident. Obviously."

"But are the two incidents connected. That's what you're wondering, right?"

"Of course."

"Yeah. Me too."

She stood.

"Where you going?"

"To work a crime scene."

She headed for the basement door and he snagged her bicep in a gentle but firm grasp. "Uh, we're going to have to let the crime scene unit work the crime scene."

"We're trained."

"This is a conflict of interest, Kenzie, you know that."

He thought she might explode right there, but after a few seconds, she groaned, pulled from his grip, and stomped back to flop onto the couch.

To pout?

She leaned forward and dropped her head into her hands. "I know. You're right."

No. Kenzie wasn't one to pout. He sat beside her. "Sorry."

"It's okay," she mumbled, her face still in her palms.

"No, it's not, but it will be." He was tempted to slide an arm across her shoulders and the feeling spurred him to his feet. He couldn't make gestures like that. Not with her. Could he? No. It wasn't against the law or anything, but he was still her supervisor and it just wouldn't be right. But he could still be her friend.

She looked up just as a knock sounded on the front door and a young woman in a crime scene unit vest stepped inside. "Kenzie?"

Kenzie stood. "Hey, Sarah."

Sarah Beckworth, the CSU leader. "Hey, Cole."

He nodded. "Thanks for coming so quickly."

"Absolutely." She looked at Kenzie. "All right if I head down to your basement?"

"Of course."

"Mitch is outside working the area around the window, hoping for a footprint or something."

"And hopefully, a handprint," Kenzie said. "He had his legs in the window and probably braced his hands in the grass as he pulled himself through." She paused. "I saw his hand when he shot through the window. Pretty sure he had gloves on."

Sarah radioed the information to Mitch.

Cole followed Kenzie and Sarah through the kitchen to the basement stairs. Kenzie placed a hand on the woman's arm. "He came up the stairs. About halfway. I heard the step creak. Cole got here about that time, and the guy went back down and was climbing out the window when we got down there. He'd pushed a trunk up against the wall so he could reach it."

"In other words, check the stairs for anything?"

"Exactly."

"Got it." She paused a moment to slip on the little blue booties to protect the scene from any outside trace material. "Why don't you two stay put? If I need anything, I'll holler."

Kenzie hesitated, then nodded. "Fine."

Sarah paused. "Saw Logan outside."

"Guess he heard the call," Kenzie said.

Cole rubbed his chin and tried to read her expression. She was pretty good at hiding her feelings when she wanted to, but he'd known her a while and could pick out the wariness in her eyes. She turned on her heel, and Cole followed her back into the den, where she took her spot on the couch again.

He settled into the recliner. "You and Logan okay?" She and her brother had applied for the same position on SWAT. She'd gotten it.

"We're fine."

"You sure? Doesn't sound like it."

"Well, we are. He made detective about the same time I was offered this position, so we're fine. He'll probably come check on me in a few." She sighed and rubbed her head.

Sympathy made him decide to let it go. For now. "It might be a while before Sarah's back up here."

She eyed him. "I'm aware."

"Right."

A small groan escaped her. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be snippy."

"You have every reason to be. I can handle it."

"I know you can, but that doesn't mean I should take my frustrations out on you." She leaned back and closed her eyes, and Cole decided this would be a good time to keep his mouth shut. "You can leave, you know," she said. "No need to babysit me."

"I don't consider it babysitting. You'd do it for me."

She cracked an eye at him. "What makes you think that?"

"Instinct."

"Hm. Maybe." The eye shut again.

No maybe about it. He had no doubts. "Why don't you rest? Try to sleep."

"With CSU downstairs?"

"Why not? You got anything better to do?"

"Go find an intruder?"

"Besides that."

"Nope." She paused. "It was just him working alone?"

"Looks like it."

"I should have confronted him."

"You did the smart thing. You had no idea how many people were involved."

"Right." She drew in a deep breath and let it out.

"Adrenaline crashes are real. You know that. Let yourself ride it."

"I couldn't sleep if you threatened me."

He grunted. "There's been enough of that. At least close your eyes."

"They are closed."

He chuckled and she opened her eyes to scowl at him, then her lids lowered once more.

Moments later, he noted her even breathing and almost imperceptible snores. A part of him wanted to record her so he could tease her later, but the other part warned him she wouldn't appreciate that. They didn't have that kind of relationship. Yet. He shook off that last thought.

Forty-five minutes later, after her brother had indeed checked on her and said not to wake her, footsteps on the basement stairs pulled Cole out of the chair and he met Sarah in the kitchen. "All done?"

"We are."

"Find the bullets?"

"One. And one of the casings. Ballistics will have to weigh in, but the headstamp says it's a 9mm." She hesitated, then motioned him to follow her. They walked back down the steps, and she pointed to the bullet hole that had gone through the punching bag to wedge itself in the wall. "Dug that one out." She pointed to the gouged cement floor. "Can't find the second bullet. It may have disintegrated. We found some fragments that probably belong to it. Didn't get anything off the steps, but under the window, there was some loose change that we bagged. Could have fallen out of the intruder's pocket as he was squirming his way through the window. Assuming it doesn't belong to Kenzie."

"It doesn't."

Cole turned at Kenzie's voice. He hadn't heard her come down.

She stepped off the bottom step and walked over to them, tucking her phone into her back pocket. "It's not mine."

"Then we'll have the lab analyze it and see if they can get a fingerprint off of it," Sarah said. "Granted, even if they do, it might not belong to the intruder."

"It's worth a shot," Cole murmured. Sarah raised a brow and he grimaced. "No pun intended."

He thought Kenzie might have snorted, but when he looked at her, she just shook her head and walked back up the steps.

"Thanks, Sarah."

"Sure thing."

Cole followed Kenzie and found her at the sink looking out the window. "I noticed something down there," he said.

She tilted her head at him, questions in her eyes. "What's that?"

"You have Butler's face on your punching bag."

He suspected she turned away to cover a smirk before she shrugged. "It's my own personal brand of therapy."

He frowned. "He's bugging you that much?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, it doesn't affect my ability to do the job."

"Do I need to—"

"Absolutely not." She didn't raise her voice, but he got the message loud and clear. She'd handle it. And yet...

"Kenzie, it's my job to make sure the team functions like a team. If Butler is jeopardizing that, then I need to address it."

She sighed. "I get what you're saying, but I'd rather you didn't. Not yet."

He nodded and leaned against the counter. "Will you tell me if he crosses a line?"

She glanced at him, then back at the officers still outside. "How do I know where the line is?"

He studied her a moment, then shook his head. "You'll know."