Free Darkfall by Denise A. Agnew Page B

his Sentry Security ID. The officers made Ian and Penny turn over their weapons and searched them both. Penny didn’t blame the police for it—they already had a mess on their hands in Bangor and it was unlikely to get better. All four men wore suspicious expressions, and she couldn’t blame them for that, either.
    “This is my condo,” Penny said. “My father is the owner of Sentry Security. He sent Ian to get me out of here.” She explained the how the roaming gang had chased her into the bunker twice.
    “We got a call about a fight, but we also know there is a gang roaming around here,” one of the young officers said while his partner checked Ian’s credentials. “We’ve been trying to track them down.”
    “We’ve got a big problem in my back yard you need to see.” Penny launched into another explanation about Frank, including the details about him stalking her in California. “Ian took him down. He’s hogtied in the back yard.”
    One of the officer’s lifted one eyebrow. “I’m impressed.”
    His partner kept a stern frown. “Did you hurt him?”
    “Hell yeah, I hurt him. He’s probably got a concussion. He needs an ambulance,” Ian said.
    The stern officer used his shoulder radio to call for medical backup.
    A third officer asked, “I take it you were in the military?”
    Ian kept an even stance, not even crossing his arms in what could be interpreted as a defensive or arrogant posture. “British Special Air Service.”
    Penny relaxed a little when this seemed to break the ice with the officers. Two of the police officers went to the backyard while Ian and Penny waited with the one who’d questioned Ian about his military service.
    When the other officer returned from the police cruiser, he handed Ian his identification. “Congratulations. You check out.”
    “We don’t have wheels any longer,” Ian said.
    Ian had already explained his mission and that he needed to get her back to Buckleport.
    The cop shrugged. “Not sure I can help you. We’re up to our ears in crap here.”
    Ian nodded. “Understood. But if you see me hotwiring a vehicle, don’t arrest me, okay?”
    The officer grinned and nodded. “Deal.”
    Eventually the ambulance came, but right before that, Frank woke up. Though Penny and Ian stood in the front yard, she could hear Frank yelling obscenities and accusing Ian of attacking him. But then he rambled on about Penny being the devil’s concubine and how she should submit to him. When they brought Frank around the side of the condo, his hands cuffed and stumbling along, Ian slipped his arm around Penny’s shoulders. She automatically looped her arm around his waist and snuggled into his side.
    Ian held her tightly and whispered in her ear. “It’s all right.”
    Frank glared at them and then his lips curled into an ugly grin. “Bitch! You’re the devil’s cunt, you know that Penny?”
    “Watch your language,” the officer leading him to the cruiser said in a deadpan voice.
    Frank obliged, and when the officer stuffed him in the car, Penny felt a sense of relief. The ambulance came a short time later, and Frank was transported to the hospital. It took a long time for the officers to finish questioning Penny and Ian. Penny said she’d press charges and signed some paperwork. Once the officers learned Ian was taking Penny to Buckleport to her father, they didn’t insist she stay in town, especially after they saw the trashed condition of the condo. When they left, Penny felt as if a million spiders were skating over her skin, her nerves prickling and jumping. She just wanted to run until she could escape this place. She turned to the condo, wanting to hide from everything that had happened. Ian followed and clasped her arm to turn her back to him.
    His gaze was unyielding and with little understanding in his eyes. “Why the hell didn’t you stay in the bunker like I asked?”
    Tears welled in her eyes and blurred her vision. Anger rode close behind. She