Robin tried to be quiet when she entered her apartment so as not to wake up Jeff, but he walked out of the bedroom before the front door closed.
“Where were you?”
“I was staking out Regina’s house, and I captured Jane Randall.”
“What?!”
Robin blushed. “I didn’t tell you, because I didn’t want you to worry.”
Jeff saw the bandage on Robin’s forearm when she took off her jacket.
“Are you okay? What happened?”
“There was a fight. I was stabbed, but it’s not serious.”
“Are you crazy?”
“I had to protect Regina and Stanley.”
“Did you think about calling the police? They’re paid to protect citizens.”
“I didn’t have a shred of proof that Jane would try to kill Regina tonight. The police wouldn’t have taken me seriously. If I hadn’t gone out there, Stanley and Regina would probably be dead.”
“We’ve talked about this, Robin. You seem to think you’re invincible, and you put yourself in danger when it’s not necessary.”
“This was necessary.”
“Jesus, you don’t get it, do you? You keep forgetting thatthere’s another person in your life who cares about you and worries about you. There were several ways you could have protected Regina without putting your life in danger. One involves asking me to come with you. Did you forget that I was a police officer, trained to handle serious situations? All that martial arts training doesn’t mean a thing if you’re facing a gun.”
“I faced a gun tonight and came out on top, and it’s not the first time,” Robin insisted stubbornly.
“You’re not listening to me. I know how tough you are. I’m talking about our relationship and what it would do to me if you were killed or seriously injured. You are not a one-woman army. That stuff is for the movies. You were stabbed tonight and could have been shot. If you’d called Carrie Anders or Roger Dillon, they would have protected Regina.”
“You can’t keep me in Bubble Wrap, Jeff.”
Jeff started to answer Robin. Then he shook his head. “You’re hurt, it’s late, and we’re both tired. We’re not going to solve this now. We should go to bed.” Jeff walked back to the bedroom and got into bed on his side.
Robin went into the bathroom and shut the door. She was exhausted, but she was also upset and she didn’t want to get in bed with Jeff, because she was afraid that he’d argue with her again.
Robin stripped down and got in the shower, letting the hot water wash over her. She did care about Jeff. He was very important to her. But she couldn’t stand the idea of being controlled. Robin turned off the water and toweled herself dry. She usually slept in the nude. But she’d brought pajamas in with her. She didn’t want makeup sex tonight. She wasn’t even certain that Jeff would want to make love.
Robin got under the covers and closed her eyes. She tried to see Jeff’s point. She knew he worried about her. This wasn’t the first time they’d had this talk. But she couldn’t admit that Jeff might be right. Having Jeff move in had been a serious decision for her. Shehad always been independent, and her biggest fear was that any man she let into her world might try to change her.
Robin had been given a mild painkiller at the hospital when they stitched her up. That and exhaustion made it difficult to think, so she decided not to. Hopefully, when they woke up, the argument would be forgotten. The last thought she had before she drifted off was, What if it isn’t?
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
When Anders and Dillon entered the interview room at the jail, Jane Randall was sitting with her hands folded on the table, looking perfectly composed. Her slender body was clothed in an orange jumpsuit that was too large for her and made her look like a child.
“Good morning, Miss Randall,” Anders said. “We want to talk to you, but you’re under arrest, so I have to read you your Miranda rights.”
When Anders finished, she asked Randall if she wanted to have an attorney with her.
Randall smiled. “Do you think Robin Lockwood would represent me?”
Anders returned the smile. “I think she has a conflict of interest, don’t you?”
Randall stopped smiling. “An attorney isn’t going to help me. No one else ever has. I’ve been on my own since Chesterfield killed my mother, and I’ll deal with this myself.”