Page 48 of Rascal

“Nope. Shane was a sap; he got played and lost his woman. Me? Baby, I know what I want and ain’t afraid to claim it.”

I folded my arms and glared at him. “So, in the last couple of days, you’ve had a personality transplant and grown some balls?”

“Babe.”

Did I suddenly turn into Medusa? My head felt ready to burst. “Babe? Is that meant to mean something? One word explains everything? What the hell are you drinking, Shane, because I want some too!”

Before I could blink, Shane was up and kissing me. I winced a little; he’d done a lot of that before I fell asleep, and my lips were sore.

“Shut your smart-assed mouth and get in bed.”

I went to argue, because that’s what I did, when Shane bent, scooped me up and threw me on the bed. He climbed in—still naked—and cuffed me again. He swallowed my screech with another kiss and tucked me in beside him. “Rest, babe, talk tomorrow.”

I rolled onto my side and jabbed Shane with my elbow. I’d give him talk tomorrow! Shane Morris could get ready. A yawn escaped me, and my eyes closed.

Rascal

Sirens blared, and I jolted awake. Completely forgetting Hallie was cuffed to me, I dragged her across the bed as I yanked my jeans on and stamped into my boots.

“Shane!” Hallie yelled.

“Shit!” I uncuffed her and grabbed my tee. “Wait for me. This is gonna be Jane.”

“You think?” Hallie demanded, hauling on a sweatshirt.

“Fuck, yes. What are the odds we’d have a fire at the hotel we’re staying at? Stay by my side, okay?”

There was a banging, and we jumped.

“Hallie! Rascal!” Jonas yelled.

“On our way, Lieutenant,” I called back in reply.

Hallie grabbed her bag and mine as I opened the door. To my surprise, I saw smoke billowing from the end of the hallway.

“Shit! The hotel’s actually on fire!” I gasped. Some guests rushed past as Jonas pulled his gun out. “Woman’s a fuckin’ lunatic.”

“Stay close; this is too coincidental to be anything but an attack,” Jonas ordered.

I immediately sandwiched Hallie between us, and she growled, but Jane had already proved Hallie was her target. We made our way to the stairwell as the smoke thickened behind us.

Jonas checked them over and then nodded. Hallie held onto the back of his shirt as we headed downstairs. We’d been on the fourth floor, so there were eight sets of stairs. The smoke was much thicker here, and I yanked my tee off and tore it into strips. We covered our mouths and continued downwards. The air was acrid, and within moments my eyes stung badly. Jonas’s were the same, which was why he missed the initial movement.

We had two staircases remaining when Jane burst out of the first-floor doorway. Jane aimed a knife straight at Hallie’s face. Hallie screamed and raised an arm. Jonas shoved Hallie back, slamming her into me, and I grunted as I staggered, swinging Hallie out of the way. Two shots boomed loudly. Moments later, two more shots rang out as I straightened up.

“Are you okay?” Jonas demanded, steadying Hallie.

“What the fuck?” I exclaimed, stuck on the crazed expression on Hallie’s face.

“Shane, are you hurt?” Hallie repeated, shaking me slightly.

“No.”

“Then where’s the blood from?” she shouted.

“That would be from me. The bitch caught me as I shoved Hallie out of the way. Can we get out of here? Jane fled and could be anywhere, and I’m bleeding profusely,” Jonas asked.

“Can you walk?” I asked.