Be With Me(23)

She strained to hear any sounds, but silence lay heavy over the house. Only the hum of the refrigerator could be heard.

The sound had come from the back. Not the French doors. Was there a door into the kitchen from the back? She honestly couldn’t remember.

She whipped around the corner and strode into the kitchen, bat up and ready to swing. She froze when she saw the wide-open door. Damn it al to hel .

She was here without her gun in an unfamiliar house.

Her gaze fel on the cordless phone lying on the counter by the sink. She inched her way over, stil listening for any sound within the house. Birdie.

She’d left Birdie alone upstairs. Christ.

She snatched up the phone and raced back to the stairs. “Birdie, it’s me, let me in,” she said outside the door.

Birdie opened the door immediately, and Regina strode in. She shut the door and locked it again, then motioned Birdie to move away.

As she started to punch in Jeremy’s number, she glanced up at Birdie. “Jesus. I don’t even know where we are, Birdie. Can you tel Jeremy how to get out here?”

At Birdie’s nod, Regina put the phone to her ear and silently urged Jeremy to answer.

“Mil er here.”

“Jeremy, thank God.”

“Regina, is that you? What’s wrong?”

“I need a unit out here. There’s an intruder on the premises.”

“Where are you?” he demanded.

“I’m going to give the phone to Birdie. I have no idea where the hel I am.”

She thrust the phone at Birdie before he could respond.

“It’s off county road 126,” Birdie said in a steady voice. “A quarter mile past Cypress Creek. It’s the second left after the creek. Go up the drive and you’l see the house when you top the hil .” She handed the phone back to Regina.

“Regina? You there?” Jeremy said.

“Yeah, I’m here.”

“Okay, hang tight. I’m on my way. I’ve cal ed in one of the county units. They’l probably be on scene before I wil . Stay where you are and keep the phone on you.”

Regina hung the phone up and looked over at Birdie. “Someone’s in the house, or at least they were. The back door is open.” She glanced around the room, her gaze lighting on the large walk-in closet. “In the closet,” she directed Birdie.

She was across the room, pushing Birdie toward the door before Birdie could even react. She opened the closet and helped Birdie to the back. She quickly arranged some of the empty boxes in front of her.

“Get down and stay down,” Regina said in a quiet voice.

“What about you?” Birdie asked. Her voice trembled, and she looked at Regina fearful y.

“I’l be in the bedroom,” Regina said calmly.

“Jeremy’s on his way. He’s sending another unit. If someone comes into the bedroom, I’l take his head off with the basebal bat. But no matter what you hear, you do not come out of this closet until either I or Jeremy or another police officer comes in for you.

Okay?”

Birdie nodded.

Regina backed out of the closet and closed the door. She readjusted her grip on the bat and scoped the best spot to lie in ambush for anyone coming through the door.

Once again, she found herself waiting an eternity for Jeremy to arrive. She edged toward the window and looked out to see if there was a vehicle or if she could see the intruder on foot.

Nothing.

She returned to the door, put her ear against it and listened. Her breath caught, and sweat rol ed down her neck when she heard the creak of the bottom step. The sound halted.

She pressed forward, straining to hear if the intruder was moving up the stairs.

Several long minutes passed. Tension coiled and built in her chest. A painful knot centered between her shoulder blades, and her muscles quivered as she continued to hold the bat up, her hands locked around it.

Her heart leapt, and she nearly dropped the bat when the shril ring of the phone burst through the air.

She eyed the receiver she’d left on the bed. If she let it ring, the intruder might assume no one was in the house. If she answered it, he’d know for sure he wasn’t alone.

Despite the fact that it might be Jeremy or Dispatch or even one of the guys, she let it ring. But she couldn’t hear what was going on outside the bedroom door over the sound.

She raised the bat higher, ready to strike. Then the ringing stopped, and she heard the scrape of a shoe outside the door of the bedroom.

Anger bubbled up, replacing fear.

Bastard had picked the wrong house to break into.

She was tired, grumpy and in pain. She was dying to kick some ass, and at this point she wasn’t particular about whose ass it was.

A sudden noise sounded and then the thump of feet on stairs. In a hurry. No care was taken.

She bolted from the bedroom in pursuit. The intruder was fleeing. She hit the stairs at a dead run and took them two at a time. Pain jolted through her chest, but she ignored it and kept going.

The slam of a door directed her to the kitchen. The front door flew open, and she yanked her head around to see a sheriff’s deputy burst into the house, gun raised.

“Around back,” she yel ed. “He went out the back.” The deputy ran out the front, and Regina bolted for the back door. She yanked open the door and stepped out, her head moving rapidly as she scanned the area.