Theirs to Keep (Tangled Hearts Trilogy #1)(2)

Merrick threw open the door to the driver’s side and slid behind the wheel. Cade got in on the passenger side, and not even two seconds later, Merrick roared off down the street, heading toward downtown, where Hank’s shop was located.

They made it in record time even with the streets being sloppy and a damn drizzle that made it hard to see. Merrick doused the headlights when they were a block away and pulled to a stop several businesses down.

He and Cade both got out and pulled their guns.

“According to the alarm monitor, it was the alley window that was compromised,” Cade said in a low voice as the two men hurried down the sidewalk.

Merrick ducked down a side street so they could access the alleyway. When they reached the end, Cade flattened himself against the wall and inched his way toward Hank’s store.

When he and Merrick were only a few feet away, Cade held up his hand and then put a finger to his lips. He concentrated intensely, straining to hear if any sounds were coming from inside.

He eased forward again when he heard nothing, and then he frowned when he saw the shattered glass on the rough, cobblestone street. Glancing up, he saw where the window was busted, but there was no light coming from within. No flashlights. Nothing. It was dark and silent as a ghost.

“Probably just some damn kids vandalizing,” Merrick muttered.

Cade switched on his flashlight and shone it downward, skimming the immediate area. He stopped the beam on a large shard of the glass and then knelt to pick it up.

He held it up to Merrick, shining the light on the blood smeared on the edge. “Looks like our perp didn’t get away unscathed.”

“Let’s check it out,” Merrick said. “Dumbass could still be in there for all we know.”

Walking into a gun store where a suspect may or may not be inside wasn’t on Cade’s list of favorite things to do, but neither did he want an entire squadron of patrol cars to converge and shoot up Hank’s store.

Cade picked up his cell phone and punched the number and then the codes to deactivate the alarm system. Then he dug out the key to the back door and quietly inserted it into the lock.

He eased the door open and went in, gun up, flashlight in his other hand. Merrick hurried in after him, and the two flattened themselves against the wall and slid forward down the hall leading to the showroom.

When they got to the end, Merrick motioned toward the row of light switches above Cade’s shoulder. Then he held up three fingers to signal on the count of three.

Cade switched off his flashlight, stuck it back in his pocket and then reached up with his arm so he could flip all the switches at the same time.

He took a deep breath and then counted out to Merrick. “One…two…three!”

He pushed his arm up, and suddenly the entire building was awash in light. Merrick gripped his gun and made a wide sweep of the showroom as Cade did the same, looking for any movement.

But there was none. Everything was quiet. No sudden sounds. No one startled by the light.

“Kids,” Merrick muttered. “Just a bunch of damn kids with nothing better to do on a Saturday night.”

Cade was about to agree when his gaze stopped on one of the large cabinets underneath the rifle display along the wall.

“Check it out,” he murmured, gesturing toward the smear of blood right by the handle.

Merrick frowned and then circled around, separating himself from Cade. He dipped his head to the side to signal Cade to come in from the right while he closed in from the left.

Cade crept forward until they were directly in front of the cabinet. Cade bent and touched the drop of blood on the floor. It was still warm and fresh.

Surely… Well, he wasn’t going to say surely anything, because he’d pretty much seen it all. If their intruder had heard Cade and Merrick, he very well could be hiding in the cabinet. It was large enough for a small person, and if Merrick was right about it being a teenager, then it was certainly possible.

Merrick took position, pointing his gun at the door, and Cade leaned away so he could open it and use the door as a shield. He hooked his fingers around the handle and then looked up at Merrick to make sure he was ready.

Merrick nodded and Cade yanked the door open.

Merrick’s face went from pissed off to what the f**k in two seconds flat. His gun wavered, and then he slowly lowered it.

Cade lurched up and pushed around, wanting to know what the hell Merrick had seen.

To his utter shock, there was a small woman curled into a ball, cowering in the cabinet. She was staring at them both with wide, frightened eyes, and she was a complete mess.

“Holy shit,” Merrick breathed. “Who are you lady, and what the hell are you doing in here?”

Her entire face crumbled, and tears simmered in her wide, blue eyes.

“I don’t know,” she whispered.

Chapter Two

MERRICK STARED AT THE WOMAN huddled in the storage cabinet and immediately knew two things. One, she wasn’t the average intruder out to steal money or merchandise, and two, she was scared out of her mind.

The blood covering her hands and other parts of her body worried him. It worried him a damn lot. She looked like someone had beat the hell out of her, and that enraged him.

He squatted down so that he was closer to her level, but she immediately shrank back, cowering farther against the wall of the cabinet.

And he couldn’t blame her. He didn’t exactly look like Captain America. He was a heavyweight fighter, and both arms were tattooed. His nose had been broken twice, and he knew he didn’t look like the kind of man who posed no threat to a woman.