Moving fast, he darted to the broken doors before she could object—and caught just the quick flash of taillights.

“Son of a bitch. I’m going after him.”

“He has a gun. Do you?”

Ignoring her, he grabbed pants, swore as he cut his foot on broken glass. “Stay here.”

She only had a second to think: Like hell.

When he ran from the room, she was right behind him. “Wait. Think. I know you’re mad. Me, too. But there could be more than one of them, with guns, for God’s sake, Zane. They could be trying to lure you out, just like this.”

Though it galled her, she pulled out another weapon—the only one she believed would work on a furious male.

“Please don’t leave me here alone.”

That stopped him. “Damn it, Darby, he can’t outrun the Porsche. Hide in the pantry until the cops come.”

It galled, more than a little. But deciding her pride wasn’t worth his life, she wrapped around him, clung. “Don’t leave me alone.”

“All right. Okay.” So he stood with her in the upstairs hall, holding her. “It’s all right, darlin’, I’m right here. It’s okay.”

As relief spilled through her, she tightened her grip. “It had to be Clint Draper, had to be. He won’t get away, Zane.”

“No, he won’t. Look—I’m not going anywhere. I want you to take the dog into the spare room there—stay away from the windows. I’m just going down to wait for Lee.”

“We’ll all go down. Jesus, you’re bleeding.”

“Just stepped on some glass.”

“Bathroom,” she ordered. “We’ll clean it up, then Lee or Silas or somebody will be here.”

It gave her direction, something to focus on, so her hands stayed steady as she examined and cleaned the wound—nastier than she liked, not as bad as she’d feared.

“He didn’t try to break in.”

“He’d know about the security system. Everybody does. Probably too stupid to realize shooting the glass would spring the alarm.”

Seconds before Zane heard the sirens, Zod began to howl again.

“Here they come. Darlin’? You’re naked.”

“Right. I’ll take care of that and be right down.”

He stood, favoring his injured foot. “You weren’t afraid of being alone.”

“I was afraid,” she said simply, and went to put some clothes on.

The dog raced downstairs, barking ferociously, and Zane followed.

Still naked, Darby sat on the side of the bed, let the trembling come again. The broken glass, the bloody footprints, the tangle of sheets. And, she saw now, the holes bullets had torn into the wall just a few feet from where they’d slept.

What if he’d waited? Waited until morning, until Zane stepped outside as he did every day? Until they’d sat together on the back patio over cereal and coffee?

They’d have been defenseless.

Or if he’d come sooner, using the booming fireworks as cover, shot while there were children running around the lawn, while everyone looked up at the sky?

She wrapped her arms around her belly, rocked.

“Pull it together,” she told herself. “Just pull yourself together. Ifs don’t matter. It didn’t happen. And they’ll find him. They’ll find him.”

She walked back to the bathroom, splashed cold water on her face, and waited for the sudden wave of nausea to pass.

By the time she’d pulled on clothes, Zane had started back up the steps.

“Wanted to see if you were dressed. Lee needs to come up.”

“Sure.”

He walked to her, laid a hand on her cheek. “You’re really pale.”

“I’ll be better after coffee. I’ll go make some.” She looked down to the base of the steps where Lee waited. “It’s really good to see you, Chief.” She continued down. “I didn’t even hear the shots, the glass breaking. I woke up when Zane rolled me off the bed and we hit the floor.”

“Don’t you worry now, honey. We’re going to take care of this. That I can promise.”

She nodded, walked to the kitchen to make coffee.

She continued to sit, sipping slowly, when Lee and Zane came back down.

Darby considered herself pretty adept at reading a room, and this one struck her as even more grim than it had been.

“Oh God, he didn’t shoot someone, did he?”

With a shake of his head, Lee sat beside her. “Silas called in. Zane’s office was vandalized again. Obscenities painted all over the front of the building. Paint’s still wet. I’ve got a couple of officers going up to your place to check it out.”

“Okay. It might have been Draper who broke in before, before Micah added security.”

“Could be. We’re going to wait until daybreak to check and see if we can find where he was when he shot the doors. And we’ll be checking on his place, and his family before that.”

“All right.”

Lee patted her hand. “You’re a steady one, Darby.”

“Not altogether, but I believe in the system. It stood up for me when I needed it. I know you’ll find him. Where’s he going to go? And you’ll put him away. Except…”

“Except.”

Her gaze flicked to Zane. “It’d be a wild coincidence if it wasn’t Clint Draper, with the timing. But, Zane, you were a prosecutor. It’s not impossible somebody you put away is out, and wants some payback. And I can see by your face you’ve considered that.”

“Have to,” he agreed. “But it’s Draper. Hitting my office, that’s bullshit stuff. It fits him like a glove. And I’m betting anybody I prosecuted who had the brains to track me here probably knows how to spell ‘motherfucker.’”

Lee rose to answer his phone, wandered off, wandered back when the call was complete.

“Your place, too, I’m sorry to say, Darby. Paint, crude words. And … he left some DNA. We’ll send that off. We’ve got Clint’s on file already. Still, it takes time. Not as much for prints, and we’re going to find them, too.”

“I should go see—”

“No, you’re not going to go see,” Lee said before Zane could. “It’s a crime scene now, and you’re going to steer clear of it. You need anything from there, we’ll get it for you.”

She looked Lee dead in the eyes. “What kind of DNA?”

“You leave that to us.” He patted her hand. “I’d appreciate it if you’d both stay here for now. We’re going to go have a conversation with the Drapers. And leave the bedroom as is. One of my men’ll be around to take pictures.”

He bent down, brushed his lips over Darby’s hair. “Nobody does this to my family. You can take that to the bank.”

“I’ll walk you out.”

Darby stayed where she was, waited until Zane came back.

“What kind of DNA? He told you just now. I have a right to know.”

“My office, he pissed on the porch. Your place? He jacked off on your doormat.”

She blew out a breath. “Well. Glad I didn’t pay much for it.”

“I’d beat him bloody for that alone, and I say that as somebody who’d rather use words than fists. But for that, I’d beat him bloody. Darby, I’m—”