tell you this, buddy, but it is not becoming when you act like macho man. Don’t treat me like some helpless little flower who can’t take care of herself for thirty minutes. I won’t stand for it.”
Tony grinned. “Ah, there’s my Irish spitfire back again.” He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her. He raised his head, but didn’t release her. “Seriously, are you sure you’re going to be okay if I take off?”
“I suppose you’ve never heard of dead bolt locks and pepper spray?”
He grinned again, released her and took another glance up the street.
“What?” Erin followed his gaze. “That’s the second time you’ve looked up the street. What’s going on?”
Tony wore a sheepish grin when he turned back to face her. “You’re going to be mad at me.”
Erin tilted her head and studied his face. “I’m going to be mad, huh? How mad? Don’t-talk-to-you-for-an-hour mad or full-blown I’m-going-to-kill-you mad?”
“I’ve had a private detective watching you.” The words burst from his lips, no-nonsense, direct and his body tensed, waiting for her reaction.
The color drained out of her face and her mouth fell open. “You’ve had someone spying on me?”
“No,” Tony said. “I’ve had someone protecting you when I couldn’t.”
He stood there quietly and waited for her to process what he had just told her.
Erin could have sworn she heard Carol’s voice whispering in her mind’s ear. Did you hear him, Erin? Protecting you. Because that’s the kind of guy Tony is. The only kind of guy worth having…a guy who makes it his business to protect his own.
Erin looked up the street. “Where is this private detective of yours?”
“Black car. End of the block on the right.”
Erin squinted and stared into the distance. She saw the shadow of a man sitting in the driver’s seat. She looked back at Tony. “He better not have binoculars in that car. The thought of a stranger staring into my house gives me the creeps.”
“So you’re not mad?”
She smiled. “No, I’m not mad. Actually, I think it was sweet of you. But if you don’t get going, you won’t have to worry about leaving me alone because the two policemen will be here already and you’ll be late for your meeting.”
He chuckled and pulled her close. “You’re killing me here. Just when I’m sure I know what you’ll do, you do something else. I can’t ever figure you out.” He pressed a hurried kiss against her lips, turned to go and turned back again. “Um. Tastes like eggs and bacon. I need just one more kiss to be sure.”
Tony’s lips banged hard against her mouth and his body jerked violently.
It took a moment for her mind to register what she heard. A firecracker? A car backfiring?
Tony spun around. He slammed his head against the porch railing, collapsing onto the floor.
“Tony?”
Precious seconds passed as she stared in shock at his unmoving body. Tony? She fell to her knees beside him. She touched the quickly spreading liquid that seeped from beneath his jacket in disbelief. Blood? This can’t be happening. Please, Lord, please, not Tony. A second pool of blood began to puddle on the floor beneath the left side of his head.
“Stay with me,” she screamed. “Do you hear me? Don’t you dare die on me.”
Her emergency room training kicked in. She pushed her emotions beneath the surface and assessed the situation, prioritizing her responses. She pushed his jacket open, pulled the walkie-talkie off his belt and pressed the transmit button. “Officer needs assistance. Officer down.” She hurriedly relayed her address into the device and repeated it once more for clarity. She opened his jacket and quickly examined his chest. No exit wound. The bullet was still inside him.
She probed the back of his head. Her left hand came away soaked in blood and she realized his nasty head wound was the result of the porch railing and not a second bullet. The paleness of his skin and the fact that he hadn’t made a sound nor moved a muscle since the incident made her stomach churn. She placed her trembling fingers against his carotid artery and felt for a pulse. Nothing. C’mon, Tony. C’mon. She pressed harder. There it was. Thready and weak but there. He needed help. Fast.
She grabbed the walkie-talkie, pressed transmit and screamed, “Officer down. Please respond. Officer down.”
“Ms. O’Malley, come with me, please.” Erin followed the detective down the hospital corridor to an unoccupied private room. He held open the door and motioned for her to precede him