The four men continued to talk, but her gaze stayed mostly pinned on to Kyle. His hands alternated between fists planted on his hips and lifting one to tear it through his hair. He finally dropped his chin to his chest and stared at his boots for a minute, and she continued to observe as the other three men shot glances toward her. Uncertain if she should disobey his order to stay, the choice was taken from her when he finally turned quickly and headed straight to her.
Opening her door, he said, “It doesn’t look like anyone broke into your place. Let’s get you off the street and into your home.”
Nodding silently, she allowed him to assist her down and dropped her keys into his outstretched hand. Avoiding the front, he led her to the back and through her fenced patio. It did not escape her notice that Carter, Alex, and the other man surrounded her completely, providing a protective barrier between her and anyone else. But why?
Kyle opened her back door and she was hustled inside, the door closed behind them. Following him through her laundry room and into the kitchen, she waited until he stopped and turned around to face her. “Kyle, honey, what’s going on?”
He stepped directly into her space and cupped her face with his hands. She held his eyes before he tilted her head down and placed his lips on her forehead, mumbling, “I’ve got you.”
Uncertain of his meaning, she didn’t have time to ask before he turned to the side, wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and pulled her close. He nodded toward Carter, and she turned her attention to him.
“Kimberly, you know Alex, and this is Evan, my partner,” Carter began.
She offered a tremulous smile to the other detectives, clasping her hands together in front of her, glad for Kyle’s presence.
“Here’s what we know. A call was placed to 9-1-1 a little after two a.m. from a man who identified himself as Bob Trogdon, saying an intruder had shot him. He gave his address and police and rescue were dispatched. Evan and I were on call, and we got here right after the paramedics.”
“Is he… will he be…”
“He was alive and conscious, able to talk when we got here, and he’s been transported to Hope City General. He took one shot to his shoulder and another clipped his side.”
A slight growl rumbled against her side, and she twisted her head around to look up at Kyle.
Carter continued, drawing her attention back to him. “Bob was able to give us a very quick statement before they took him away. The intruder did not turn on any lights, but Bob heard a noise and moved. I would guess that either the intruder was an incredibly bad shot, incredibly nervous, or incredibly stupid by not clearly seeing his victim.”
“Or a combination of all three,” Kyle mumbled under his breath, drawing nods from the other three detectives.
She sucked in her lips, rubbing them back and forth as she tried to make sense of what they were telling her. Finally, shaking her head slowly, she said, “I’m sorry, I just don’t understand. I can’t imagine why anyone would be after Bob, and you all are acting as though this had something to do with me.”
The other men shared a look, and she twisted her head back up toward Kyle again. She spied fire in his eyes but was unable to interpret the expression. Carter called her name, and she gave her attention back to him.
“Please understand that we’ll be questioning Bob more, but he was very lucid although in pain when we talked to him. He agrees that he cannot think of anyone who would want to harm him, but what he was very clear about was what the intruder said.”
“And that was?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“Shit, Kimberly.”
As she attempted to decipher the words, she shook her head slowly. “I… I don’t understand…”
“Babe,” Kyle said softly. He turned their bodies so that they were facing each other and bent closer. “Why would an intruder call Bob ‘Kimberly’ unless he thought he was talking to you?”
She jerked, but Kyle’s hands about her waist tightened to hold her in place. Continuing to shake her head, she repeated, “I don’t understand.”
“We have to look at all possible scenarios, Kimberly,” Carter said. “And one of those is that the intruder was not actually after Bob. It was dark in the room,