Free Resurrection River: Men of Mercy, Book 2 by Lindsay Cross

kitchen. Slow. Steady.
    She caught a glimpse of a man through the small window in her kitchen door. Tall. Skinny. Dark ski mask. They made eye contact and the man stopped. Something familiar whispered through her mind.
    He kicked the door. Her heart slammed into her throat. Not familiar. Just deadly. Amy took off running to the nursery.
    Chloe slept, on her back, her tiny hands up above her head. So sweet. So perfect and innocent. Amy gripped the gun tighter. She would protect her daughter with her life.
    Moving faster now, with purpose, Amy crossed to the nursery door and locked it. She backed up to the crib and took aim.
    Chloe was the reason Amy kept living after Shane’s death. Her baby had needed her mother. Amy didn’t have a choice but to get out of bed in the morning. Keep going. Keep living. Keep the only part of Shane.
    Amy primed her gun.
    The kitchen door crashed in. Wood and glass shattered. Amy steadied the butt of the shotgun to her shoulder.
    Another crash, like someone kicked over a chair. The man had seen her run through the kitchen.
    Amy felt behind her, smoothed a hand down the baby blanket. Touched Chloe’s satiny cheek. Unable to resist, she leaned down and placed a kiss to her head, inhaling that scent, that special perfect scent that was specific to her baby.
    “I won’t let anyone hurt you. I promise.” Amy braced herself, and lifted the gun once more. She took aim at the door. Let the bastard come. If he thought he would hurt her or her baby, he would have to do it with a hole in his chest.

10

Chapter 10
    " G oddammit , floor this machine. I can hear the bastard trying to break in the back door." Sweat broke out across Rangers brow and dripped down into his shirt collar. Fucking Lobellos, he knew it. He knew it with every single fiber of his being.
    "I've got the gas pedal on the floorboard. It won't go any faster." Bo leaned forward over the steering wheel, swerving to the right and left as the road curved.
    Unable to resist, Ranger pressed the cellphone to his hear. Listening for every nuance of sound. He heard the door open. Heard her harsh intake of breath. The banging sounded like it was right there, in the phone. Then nothing. Silence. Had the bastard got inside the house?
    Rangers slammed his fist into the dashboard. Bo cut him a look but held silent. Anything happened to her, or Chloe...
    He wouldn't think like that. He had to keep his shit together for Amy. And for Chloe. He would protect them both with his life.
    He knew the moment Amy entered Chloe's room, heard her quiet sob and then the soothing sound of a mother with her baby. A silent baby. Please let her be okay. Please let Amy be okay. Please let Chloe be okay.
    Ranger wanted to scream in the phone for Amy to pick up, but he knew that would just scare and distract her. Instead he leaned forward, put his forehead on the dashboard he just punched a dent in, and took a deep breath. “Come on baby. Come on, lock the door.”
    He heard an explosion and his heart plummeted to his stomach. The bastard was inside the house. Bo cut a sharp right, Ranger flew sideways and then righted himself. The police cruiser spun tires down Amy's driveway. He flipped on the overhead lights and siren.
    "Maybe the siren will scare them off,” Bo said.
    Ranger didn't answer. He ripped his gun from its holster, cocked it, and exploded from the police cruiser before it stopped ten feet from Amy’s front porch.
    The front door was secure. Ranger ran straight up to it and threw his shoulder against the door, slamming inside, not even registering the pain from the blunt force.
    "Amy!" Ranger shouted, plunging through the living room, barely catching a shadow of movement. The intruder. Man. Tall. Thin. Face covered. The man bolted out the back door.
    "Bo. Out the back." Ranger kept running straight to Chloe's nursery. Cold sweat drenched his temples and dripped down his back.
    "On it." Bo rushed past Ranger in pursuit.
    Ranger stopped at the closed