danger every time it reared its ugly head.
That he did was another matter. After all, he was a man. Men were supposed to do this kind of thing. Besides, he hadn’t anything to lose. The way she talked, Cavanaugh loved life. That meant she had everything to lose.
He, on the other hand, had never loved life. Hetolerated it, just as it tolerated him. As far as he was concerned, he and life were nothing more than less than friendly adversaries.
Ignoring the startled inquiry of the doorman, Hawk tore into the building and quickly took the stairs to the second floor. The echo of footsteps told him she was right behind him.
His eyes took in everything in one swift, sweeping glance. The stately hallway before apartment 2E looked ready for photographing. Peaceful, elegant, it seemed an unlikely setting for a home invasion. Which was just what made it ripe for one.
Motioning Teri to the left side of the wide door while he took the right, Hawk strained to hear the sounds of discord coming from inside the apartment. Just the faintest of whimpers seeped into the air. His eyes met Teri’s. She nodded, indicating that she’d heard it, as well.
Holding his fingers up, Hawk did a silent count to three, then spun and kicked open the door, his service revolver poised to fire at anything that moved. He yelled out, “Police!”
His voice swiftly drowned in the onslaught of screams, curses and confusion.
In a split second, Teri saw six people, two elderly, two middle-aged and two children, in various stages of terror, frozen in place. Their arms were raised above their heads and they were obviously the victims rather than perpetrators.
Two others were fleeing to the end of the apartment—toward the apartment’s fire escape, if she didn’t miss her guess.
“Freeze!” Hawk shouted, but neither of the two men did.
Instead, both men, small, agile and athletic, propelled themselves through the open window and were gone in less time than it took for the scene to register.
Hawk was in hot pursuit. “Stay here,” he tossed over his shoulder, expecting her to obey. He should have known better.
“And when the hell did you become the boss of me?” Teri asked. Half a step behind, she followed him up the fire escape to the roof where the robbers had gone less than a minute before.
Hawk didn’t bother answering her, knowing it was useless to waste the energy or the air. Instead, he was focused on the two burglars who moved with the speed of men who had done this kind of thing more than once before. He was convinced that these were the men who had been reported breaking into homes, terrorizing their marks before they made their escape.
Grasping the black, newly repainted railing, he swiftly made his way up.
Sick, sick people, he thought, having less regard for the men he was chasing than he would for a beetle that crossed his path.
If he could have gotten a clear shot, he would have tried to wound the one closest to him in the leg. But if he took the time to aim, they would get too far ahead of him and he wasn’t about to risk firing wildly.What went up came down if it didn’t find a target and there were innocent bystanders on the street watching this minidrama unfold.
Why didn’t they all go home and just let him do his job?
Reaching the roof, Teri scanned it from one end to the other, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. The area appeared almost eerily still. She’d expected to see the two robbers trying to make the daring leap from one roof to the other. Buildings in this part of the city were structured close together enough for the reckless to attempt a leap.
Nothing came but the sounds from the street below.
That and a pigeon circling around overhead, looking for somewhere to land.
And then suddenly, Teri saw the glint of sunlight hitting metal. It was coming from behind the raised skylight.
Her heart froze. They were going to shoot him. Instinct rather than cold observation kicked in and she shoved Hawk out of
That he did was another matter. After all, he was a man. Men were supposed to do this kind of thing. Besides, he hadn’t anything to lose. The way she talked, Cavanaugh loved life. That meant she had everything to lose.
He, on the other hand, had never loved life. Hetolerated it, just as it tolerated him. As far as he was concerned, he and life were nothing more than less than friendly adversaries.
Ignoring the startled inquiry of the doorman, Hawk tore into the building and quickly took the stairs to the second floor. The echo of footsteps told him she was right behind him.
His eyes took in everything in one swift, sweeping glance. The stately hallway before apartment 2E looked ready for photographing. Peaceful, elegant, it seemed an unlikely setting for a home invasion. Which was just what made it ripe for one.
Motioning Teri to the left side of the wide door while he took the right, Hawk strained to hear the sounds of discord coming from inside the apartment. Just the faintest of whimpers seeped into the air. His eyes met Teri’s. She nodded, indicating that she’d heard it, as well.
Holding his fingers up, Hawk did a silent count to three, then spun and kicked open the door, his service revolver poised to fire at anything that moved. He yelled out, “Police!”
His voice swiftly drowned in the onslaught of screams, curses and confusion.
In a split second, Teri saw six people, two elderly, two middle-aged and two children, in various stages of terror, frozen in place. Their arms were raised above their heads and they were obviously the victims rather than perpetrators.
Two others were fleeing to the end of the apartment—toward the apartment’s fire escape, if she didn’t miss her guess.
“Freeze!” Hawk shouted, but neither of the two men did.
Instead, both men, small, agile and athletic, propelled themselves through the open window and were gone in less time than it took for the scene to register.
Hawk was in hot pursuit. “Stay here,” he tossed over his shoulder, expecting her to obey. He should have known better.
“And when the hell did you become the boss of me?” Teri asked. Half a step behind, she followed him up the fire escape to the roof where the robbers had gone less than a minute before.
Hawk didn’t bother answering her, knowing it was useless to waste the energy or the air. Instead, he was focused on the two burglars who moved with the speed of men who had done this kind of thing more than once before. He was convinced that these were the men who had been reported breaking into homes, terrorizing their marks before they made their escape.
Grasping the black, newly repainted railing, he swiftly made his way up.
Sick, sick people, he thought, having less regard for the men he was chasing than he would for a beetle that crossed his path.
If he could have gotten a clear shot, he would have tried to wound the one closest to him in the leg. But if he took the time to aim, they would get too far ahead of him and he wasn’t about to risk firing wildly.What went up came down if it didn’t find a target and there were innocent bystanders on the street watching this minidrama unfold.
Why didn’t they all go home and just let him do his job?
Reaching the roof, Teri scanned it from one end to the other, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. The area appeared almost eerily still. She’d expected to see the two robbers trying to make the daring leap from one roof to the other. Buildings in this part of the city were structured close together enough for the reckless to attempt a leap.
Nothing came but the sounds from the street below.
That and a pigeon circling around overhead, looking for somewhere to land.
And then suddenly, Teri saw the glint of sunlight hitting metal. It was coming from behind the raised skylight.
Her heart froze. They were going to shoot him. Instinct rather than cold observation kicked in and she shoved Hawk out of
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