“Has anyone ever told you that you’re an interesting person?” Abigail asked, making Emma laugh.

“She is, and it runs in the family, and they’ll pass it on to your kids,” Emma said. “But that’s not a bad thing.”

“We’ll talk about that later, but for now what we do know is Nicola isn’t in any shape to come after you. That gives us time to deal with her. What we need to do now is figure out how Nina got here. Find the car or the hotel she was staying at, and it might give a clue as to where she started.”

“We’ll take care of it,” Finley said. “You okay here? I’m sorry I didn’t shoot faster.”

“It’s not your fault. Desperate people are hard to deal with.” Cain pulled her bow tie loose and unbuttoned the top of her shirt. At this rate, she was going to have to order more. “It might not seem like it, Abigail, but tonight was a good thing. It brings us one step closer to cutting you free of your past.” Her breathing returned to normal now that Abigail had again taken the edge off the pain.

“I hope you’re right, and I’m sorry you keep getting the brunt of all my mistakes.”

“Don’t send me a bill for the stitches, and we’ll be square.”

✥ ✥ ✥

Emma undressed Cain once they were upstairs behind a locked door. They were both exhausted, but Emma couldn’t get used to the sight of blood seeping from Cain’s body from some new wound. Nothing in her life was more terrifying than seeing Cain hurt. The gunshot had made her heart jump to her throat, and only Cain’s voice in her head had kept her from rushing outside blindly.

“You keep scaring me. I wish you’d stop getting new holes in your body.” She finished unbuttoning Cain’s shirt and wadded it up once it was off. She wanted no reminders of Cain’s mortality.

“The thing you should keep remembering, my little hayseed”—Cain put two fingers under her chin and gently lifted her head—“is I always walk away breathing. You’re not getting rid of me even if you try.” Cain backed her toward the bed. “My mum used to say I walk with the angels, and today I finally figured out she was right.”

“You are luckier than most, my love.” Emma turned so Cain could unzip her. “And you’re not getting lucky. You just got shot.”

Cain nodded and watched her take off her dress, making a noise of approval at the strapless bra and matching panties. “You’re right.” Cain’s caress meant she didn’t really mean what she was saying. “But I bet if I do this”—she moved her hand higher—“you don’t really want that to be true.”