Suddenly, the world filled with chaos, turned upside down, and shattered around them. Sound exploded, engulfing them in turmoil, nearly bursting their eardrums, as if the truck crashed in on them.

Cade heaved himself upward and shielded Lainie with his arm over her face. He used his body to block anything from harming her beautiful, now-trembling body.

Nothing else happened. No movement. No other sound. No attacks came from any direction. Just the initial harsh crack of three sharp shots and glass exploding, followed by confounding silence.

Cade recognized the sharp sounds easily for what they were. He’d heard them many times before. The sounds had come from a gun, and they’d been close – too close. Some maniac had tried to shoot out the back window of his truck, which had dark tinted windows and shatter-proof glass. In his line of work, he never put anything else but dark windows and shatter-proof glass in his vehicles. He’d been shot at one too many times – enough times to know how to protect himself. Danger. He was used to that. But this? He wasn’t used to this. He wasn’t used to having to protect the people close to him…important to him.

He spat out a stream of profanity that would’ve turned a Baptist minister black and blue. “I’m getting a little tired of this dirty son of a bitch.” Lainie shivered beneath him, silent and cold as ice. Cade didn’t like it. Not when she’d been so warm, happy and satisfied a few moments ago. Trying to sound soothing – even though he felt murderous – he asked, “Lainie, are you all right?”

“Eli,” Lainie whimpered.

“Let’s call Chuck. I’m sure she’s fine, sweetheart.” Lainie nodded into his chest, allowing him to comfort her.

“Let me get out first. Wait here,” Cade instructed her. She shook her head and wrapped her arms and legs around him like a vice, holding him to her. “No. You can’t. What if he’s still out there?”

In this position, with her this close, and practically naked in his arms, she was in danger of his doing what he most wanted to do. He wanted to make love to her. Didn’t she know that all he’d have to do was pull himself upward and enter her? He was still hard, and she was open to him. He lay at her threshold, ready, willing and able, and waiting and wanting. It was all he could do to hold back and do the right thing. He needed to console her and reassure her, and himself, that Eli was fine with Chuck and Trish. “He’s not still out there. I heard him pull away from the curb. I’m sure he didn’t want to be seen by the neighbors.” Cade pulled away. “Let me get the door open.”