“Hope, it’s okay, it’s only me.”
The voice took a while to penetrate her panicked haze.
Chance.
It was only Chance.
He pulled her against him, crushing her against his chest, his arms so tight around her that she could barely breathe, but no way on earth was she asking him to loosen his grip. She needed him. She needed to be held. Right here, encircled in the arms of the man she loved, was the only place she wanted to be.
“Shh.” His lips pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and he began to rock her gently. “It’s all right now. You're safe. You're safe,” he repeated. She knew it was for his own benefit as much as hers because she could feel him trembling against her.
“What if it was me?” she whispered, her voice muffled against Chance’s chest.
“What if what was you?”
“What if it was me the shooter was really aiming for?” The fear that that could be the case had been growing inside her ever since Luke Sleigh had come running into Summer’s living room and her brain had begun to process what had happened.
Grasping her shoulders, Chance pulled her back so he could look down at her. “Why do you think you could have been the shooter’s real target?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. We don’t know for sure that it was Summer he was after. Everyone just assumed that because it was her house. But I was there too. What if it was really me that he wanted to kill?”
“There’s no one who wants to kill you,” Chance said. Then his amber eyes began to glow with fear. “Is there?”
Hope had been wracking her brain for the last twenty-four hours trying to think of anyone who might wish her harm. So far, she had come up with no one, although that did not ease her fears. “No, but …”
“But nothing, honey,” Chance soothed. “What happened yesterday was traumatic, and it’s only been one day, you’re still just upset and in shock about it, but there isn’t anyone who wants to kill you. And even if there was, I promise you that they wouldneverlay a hand on you. I would kill anyone who tried to hurt you.”
He sounded so sincere, so serious, that Hope shuddered. She knew Chance was right, but still, she couldn’t let go of the fear. “No one would want to kill Summer either,” she pointed out. “Maybe it was just random? Or maybe it was someone from work? We do take children from their homes and place them in foster care. Taking away someone’s child could make them do something crazy.”
“Have you received any threats lately? Any families who you’ve worked with who seemed so unstable they may want to harm you physically?” Chance reasoned.
She tugged herself out of Chance’s embrace and picked up the next glass on the counter and a sheet of newspaper. “No, but …”
“I think that’s enough packing for now,” Chance said, taking the glass and the newspaper from her hands.
“What? Why?” She needed to keep busy, it was the only thing keeping her from completely losing it.
“Because of this.” Chance reached into the box beside her, pulled something out, and unwrapped it.
“My phone?” she said, surprised, and glanced at the counter where she had left it. Sure enough it was no longer there. “I must have accidentally thought it was one of the cups,” she said a little sheepishly. She hadn’t realized just how distracted she had been.
“Maybe it’s time to take a break.”
She shook her head.
“We could go for a walk, or out to breakfast, or lunch,” he suggested.
She shook her head even more vehemently. She wasn't ready to go outside yet. She didn’t even feel safe inside her home and was taking care to avoid getting too close to any windows, but if she went outside, it would be so much easier for someone to shoot her.
“Hope, honey, you can't stay locked away inside forever,” Chance said softly, cupping her cheek in one hand, his fingers gently stroking her face.
She knew that, but the thought of being someplace so unprotected, knowing a gunman could be hiding behind any house or car or tree, left her shaking so hard she thought she might shatter into a million pieces.
“Baby,” Chance said helplessly and drew her against him again. “I hate seeing you like this. I want to help you, just tell me what you need, anything, I’ll do anything to help you.”
Hope snuggled closer against him. Chance was already giving her exactly what she needed. Him. The man she loved and time were all it would take for her to work through what had happened.
“I didn’t plan on doing it this way.”