it hadn’t sounded like a song out of Cabaret.
Becca said easily, “Sam doesn’t talk much, Sherlock. I think it’s
because he’s always thinking so hard.”
“I like a kid who thinks a lot,” Savich said. “Do you want to
come to the kitchen with me and we’ll find you a goody to eat?”
Sam didn’t hesitate, just lifted his arms. Savich scooped him up
and carried him away on his shoulders. “I don’t think I’ll even have
to burp you, Sam. I’m really good at that. Sean likes to burp a lot.”
Sam grabbed Savich’s hair, and Becca saw the smile on his face.
Then he turned his head and looked at Adam, at his bandaged arm.
He shook his head, frowning, looking confused, then afraid.
Adam said, “It’s okay, Sam. I didn’t hurt my arm bad, just a little
bit. Becca fixed me right up.”
“Yep, and I did a good job, Sam, don’t worry.” Then Sam and
Savich were gone, and Tyler said, “What the hell happened here?
No, Becca, don’t try to lie to me.”
She thought of Tyler and Sam and the two of them accidentally
being in the line of that madman’s fire, and said, “The stalker found
me. He fired at me and Adam. I shot him, but he got away. We’re
okay, but I’m worried about you and Sam coming here. It’s not a
good idea, Tyler.”
He shook his head at her and said, “He shot the door?”
“He fired through it a couple of times, really messed it up. I
don’t want the sheriff to see it. He’d ask too many questions.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. McBride,” Sherlock said. “Things will be under
control, but you know Becca’s right. It’s best if you keep Sam
away from here until we bring this guy down. It could be dangerous
until we catch him.”
Tyler looked both angry and determined. “Yeah, I’ll go but I
want Becca to come with me and Sam, either to my house or away,
maybe to California. I want her kept safe.”
“No, Tyler,” Becca said, lightly touching her fingertips to his
arm. “We’ve got to clean it up. There are lots of people here now
to help me.”
Tyler turned to Adam. “Who the hell are you, really? And you?”
he added to Sherlock.
“Savich and I are FBI, Mr. McBride. Adam here is on special assignment
to protect Becca.” That sounded like he was with the Bureau
as well, Adam thought, which was probably for the best. An
independent security consultant didn’t sound like he’d know what
to do with a madman. FBI did.
“You never told me,” Tyler said to Becca, his voice low. “You
didn’t trust me. You let me think he was your cousin. Why the hell
did you do that?”
Becca couldn’t think of a thing to say that wouldn’t make everything
worse. She hadn’t meant to hurt him, to keep him in the
dark, to make him feel unimportant to her, but–
“Get over it,Tyler,” Adam said. “This isn’t fun and games. It’s serious
business. You’re not trained to do this sort of thing. We are.
Besides, you’ve got Sam. He’s got to be your first priority.”
“You bastard,” Tyler said, his hands fisted at his sides. “You’re not
gay, are you?”
“No, not any more than you are.”
“You want to seduce her, to take advantage of her. She’s scared
and you just want her to depend only on you. You’re afraid to have
me here.”
“Look, McBride–”
But Adam didn’t have time to calm the man down. Tyler leapt at
him, knocking him over on his back in the entryway. Adam landed
on his hurt arm, grunted, then bounded back up. He wasn’t seeing
red this time, he was seeing a very sharp and clear target–right in
the middle of Tyler’s kidney. Hellfire, no, he couldn’t. It wouldn’t
be fair. He could seriously hurt the guy. Well, damn.
Tyler, breathing hard, out of control, was about to jump at him
again when Sherlock calmly tapped him lightly on the shoulder,
and when he turned, distracted, she clipped his jaw. His head flew
back and he stumbled. He regained his balance and stood there,