Out of Time. Shirlee McCoy

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СКАЧАТЬ before returning to her eyes.

      “What?”

      “You were wound up tighter than a caged tiger.”

      “Not really. I was just—” Afraid of nothing? Jumping at shadows? She couldn’t say any of those things. “It’s been a long day. I’m ready for it to be over.”

      “I’ll make this as quick as possible, but I can’t promise that we won’t be here awhile. The Alamo Planning Committee is anxious for security measures to be worked up and in place for the upcoming ceremony. My captain asked me to come by and do a security sweep, check to see if there are any weaknesses that we’ll need to address during the event.”

      “I’ll give you a tour. Let you get a feel for the compound. Then, we can go over things in detail.” She followed his lead, focusing on the task at hand. Secure the compound for the ceremony. Get through the next nine days. She could make a decision about her future as an Alamo Ranger after that.

      “You have some security plans in place already, right?”

      “Of course. We’ve been working on them since we were told the opening ceremony would be held at the Alamo.” She led him into the office, gestured for him to take a seat while she pulled a file from her desk. “We can take a look at the plans before we do the tour if you’d like.”

      “Better to see the place first, I think. I moved back to San Antonio a couple of years ago, but I haven’t been to the Alamo since I was a kid. Walking around the compound will familiarize me with it again. That will make visualizing security measures a little easier.”

      “Let’s get started, then.” She led him through the chapel and into the compound. Shadows still edged the path, but they seemed less sinister, the silence less ominous.

      She wasn’t sure she liked what that said about her.

      She’d been an Alamo Ranger for four years, and she’d never been afraid to walk the compound alone at night. That she was ate at her, turned her inside out, made her wonder if being a security officer really was what she should be doing. Made her question everything she believed about herself, her goals, her passions.

      “You’ve changed, Susannah.” Levi broke into her thoughts, and she met his eyes, saw that he was studying her with an intensity that made her shiver.

      “We’ve both changed.”

      “We’ve both matured, sure, but there’s something else. Used to be you were bubbly and excitable. Talkative to the point of frustration. Now, you’re subdued. Quiet.”

      “And you’re reading a lot into five minutes of reconnecting.” She offered a smile that she hoped looked more natural than it felt.

      “Maybe, but—”

      “It doesn’t really matter, does it? We’re both here to do a job. How we’ve changed, why we’ve changed, if we’ve changed, none of those things are important.” She cut him off, not wanting speculation to lead to a discussion she didn’t want to have. Not with Levi. Not with anyone.

      “Then we’ll call my observation a point of interest and move on. How big is the compound?”

      “A little over four acres. The ceremony will take place in the gardens. We’ll have a stage set up there.”

      “And you have enough people on your security team to keep the area protected?”

      “Yes. We—” A loud bang shattered the quiet, the discordant sound so completely unexpected Susannah didn’t have time to think, didn’t have time to panic. She ran, skirting the long barracks, Levi close on her heels. Another bang followed the first, and she changed course, racing toward the sound. A figure lurched out from behind the giant oak that had stood for centuries in the compound, and Susannah called out a warning, her hand on her gun, her body humming with adrenaline.

      The intruder didn’t heed the warning to freeze, didn’t stop bulldozing toward her. Wobbling, but coming fast, knocking into Susannah before she could decide if deadly force was necessary.

      She stumbled and went down hard, the pungent scent of alcohol and sweat swirling around her, threatening to drag her back to that night, back into terror.

      And then he was gone, pulled up and away, slammed down onto the ground, Levi crouching over him, a gun pressed to his head. “Don’t move. Don’t even breathe. You okay, Susannah?”

      “Fine.” She managed to get to her feet, managed to cross the small area that separated them. Managed to do it all without shattering into a million pieces.

      But she wanted to shatter.

      Wanted to fall into a heap of blubbering fear and let Levi handle the intruder.

      “Susie. Suze. You tell him to let me go. You tell him he’s got no right to treat me like this.” The slurred words, the voice, they were familiar. The alcohol. The sweat. The stumbling, fumbling steps.

      Mitch.

      She should have known.

      She hadn’t.

      Fear had clouded her judgment, had almost made her pull a weapon she didn’t need.

      The knowledge was a heavy weight as she crouched next to Mitch and signaled for Levi to let him go.

      TWO

      “You can let him up.” Susannah’s voice seeped through the haze of Levi’s rage as he leaned over her attacker. The acrid scent of alcohol and sweat drifted up from the prone man, mixing with the softer, subtler scent of Susannah’s perfume.

      Susannah Jorgenson.

      He still couldn’t quite believe the stunningly beautiful Alamo Ranger he was going to be working with for the next nine days was the knobby-kneed tomboy who’d followed him around when he was a kid.

      “He’s trespassing on private property.” And he’d knocked Susannah to the ground.

      “Trespassing? You know I wouldn’t do something like that, Susannah.” The words were slurred, the man obviously drunk as a skunk.

      “You are trespassing, Mitch. And you know it.” Susannah nudged Levi’s arm away, then helped the man turn over and sit up. Deep wrinkles and hollow cheeks told the story of too much excess. Threadbare clothes and duct-taped shoes told the story of something else. Desperation. Helplessness.

      Levi knew the feeling of both those things.

      Had known them since the day five months ago when his former captain, Gregory Pike, had been shot and killed in his own home.

      “I fell asleep. You know how that happens with me sometimes.”

      “You didn’t fall asleep. You passed out, and I told you that the next time you passed out on the compound I was going to call the police and have them take you away and dry you out.”

      “Now, you wouldn’t do that to me, would you, girl?” The man ambled to his feet, his movements slow and ungainly.

      “I СКАЧАТЬ