The Strong Silent Type Read Free Page A

the way.
    “Gun!” she yelled by way of a warning and an explanation as Hawk went down, uttering a very terse oath centered around her.
    The second she got the word out, a volley of gunfire echoed in its wake.
    Out in the open, exposed, Hawk quickly darted toward the roof’s entrance.
    Teri fell in behind him, although not as quickly as he would have figured she would have. Ordinarily,the woman was like his unshakable shadow, always less than half a breath behind, more than likely usually half a breath ahead. Concern instantly reared its head. Why was she dragging like that?
    Sending a hail of bullets in the direction of the skylight, attempting to keep the burglars pinned down, Hawk looked behind him toward Teri. Like as not, he figured she probably saved him from getting shot. He owed her and he always paid up what he owed.
    “Thanks,” he mumbled.
    For a moment, she didn’t hear him. The gunfire and pain blotted almost everything else out. And there was this strange buzzing in her ears that came accompanied by volleys of heat. When his words finally managed to echo in her brain, she forced a smile to her lips.
    “Too much paperwork involved when your partner dies on you.”
    Cavanaugh’s voice was strained. Even over the gunfire he could hear it. Hawk looked at her again, more closely this time.
    And saw the blood that stained her jacket.
    A barrage of curses materialized in his head, masking the deep concern he felt. “Damn it, are you hurt?”
    She forced a smile to her lips. Was that concern? Sure it was. Looked bad on your record, two partners getting shot in less than a year.
    “Just ketchup,” she managed to quip. “I’m a sloppy eater.”
    Damn it, she was cracking jokes when that scum had just shot her. Shot her with a bullet that had been meant for him. She could have been killed.
    Incensed, Hawk swung back around and began discharging his weapon in rapid succession, keeping the two home invaders trapped behind the skylight as he rushed them.
    Clutching her weapon with both hands, Teri followed him in his charge, summoning adrenaline and exercising mind over matter. She told herself over and over again that her side didn’t feel as if it were on fire.
    But it did. This wound hurt every bit as badly as when Clay, her twin brother, sent her flying from their tree house. They’d been ten at the time, embroiled in a heated argument she no longer recalled. All she remembered from the incident was that she broke her arm and her father had been furious with Clay. That had helped alleviate the pain somewhat.
    No, she amended silently, gritting her teeth together, this definitely hurt more.
    Firing as rapidly as she could, holding her side now as she went, Teri did her best to match Hawk step for step. She managed to keep the burglars pinned down as he gained ground.
    “Damn it, woman, get back!” He roared the order, knowing in his heart she wouldn’t listen. Cavanaugh never listened. Wasn’t it enough that she’d gottenshot? Did she want to get killed, too? Fear echoed in his brain.
    The next moment, he got the drop on both burglars, ordering them to drop their weapons or suffer the consequences.
    One threw down his weapon, raising his hands above his head. “Don’t shoot, don’t shoot,” he begged them each in turn.
    The second man held on to his weapon, his dark eyes darting from one police detective to the other.
    Hawk thought of Teri and what could have been. “C’mon,” he growled, pinning the second man down with a glare from his icy-blue eyes as much as with his gun. “Give me an excuse. Just one excuse.”
    Clearly shaken, the second man threw down his weapon and raised his hands. His eyes never left Hawk’s. “Okay, I did like you said. Just don’t shoot me.”
    “Step away from the guns,” Teri ordered, waving them back with her own weapon. Only when the men complied did she allow herself to look in Hawk’s direction. She did her best to brazen it out. “Good imitation of Dirty