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His pulse leapt. Cath was out there. Alone. Unprotected.
The gate clanged shut in his face. Mitch turned the cold brass knob and stepped onto the sidewalk to glance around. Where did she hide?
He started to call out to her but stopped. No running footsteps echoed in the silent street. That meant the intruder could be out here, too, hunkered down to wait him out before slipping away. Where?
Across the street stood the two-story house where he and Cath had regrouped. Next door, a high wall ran along someone’s sealed-off courtyard to the end of the block. Typical of the French Quarter, no gardens or bushes anywhere along the narrow sidewalk. The entrance doors of the grocery on the closest corner offered no hiding places. Neither did any of the other houses—except the dark Victorian porch next door.
Mitch snuck along the sidewalk. The earthy smell from flowerpots along the railing filled his lungs. A movement in his peripheral vision sent his pulse spiking.
Was someone lurking up there? In the dark rear corner?
With his gun at the ready, Mitch tested each step before settling his full weight.
“Don’t move.” The shadows jumped in front of him. “Or I’ll blow you away.”
Chapter 4
Cath squinted at the crouched shadow, her clammy hands clenched on the grip of her gun. He held something. She couldn’t see what, but she took no chances. “Drop your gun.”
“It’s Mitch.”
She staggered backward. Her voice rose an octave. “Mitch?”
“Remember me?” He lowered his arms in slow motion. “Let’s not do pistols at dawn.”
“You know about the Dueling Oaks?” On tours of City Park, she always pointed out the location, although now only one tree remained.
Silence. Followed by the clearing of a throat. “You’re pointing your weapon at me.”
Was she? She eased her finger off the trigger guard. If she shot him, she could plead insanity due to extreme aggravation. But one felon in the family was enough. She groped for her pocket with shaky fingers and stowed her gun. “You were gone forever. What happened?”
Mitch looked up and down the street. “You see anyone run past?”
She shook her head and clenched her lucky charm. “Was it my brother?”
“No, but he…” Mitch kept his gaze on her like a prison guard watching a convict.
If it wasn’t her brother, why did Mitch look at her suspiciously? She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. “He what?”
“Never mind.” Mitch jogged down the steps. “I’m going to look for him.”
“No!” She rushed after him and clutched his muscled arm. “Don’t leave.”
The glow from the street lantern glimmered off his arched eyebrow, and she dropped her hand. “Forget I ever asked you to leave. Let’s go inside.”
“You want me or you don’t want me? Make up your mind.” His rich baritone verged on impatience.
I want you. She stamped her numb feet and shivered. “It’s too cold out here.”
She strode to her house without waiting for an answer. The inside light shown through the chink in the window shutters. “You left the lights on?”
“Don’t worry. No one else is hiding inside.” He climbed the stoop right behind her, and his warm breath brushed her neck. She bit her lip to stifle the shiver.
“Never hurts to confirm.” She didn’t need to be a wimp forever either. She crossed the front room and the empty kitchen to close the open patio door. A loud thud had her swinging back through the beads. “What was that?”
Mitch strode to her front door and squatted.
“What is it?”
