“What the hell did you think you were doin’ comin’ here? You could have gotten yourself killed!”

“I was savin’ you, thank you very much!”

“I told you to stay in the house. I gave you a direct order.” He gritted his teeth, making his words muffled.

“You are not the boss of me, Joe McAllister! And besides, Muffy came back and was whinin’ and barkin’ at the back of my house. I couldn’t just leave her out there!”

“I told you to stay in the house!”

“If I had, they would have found me! Right after I got to Muffy, four men showed up and busted into your house lookin’ for me and found my shoes. So there!”

That caught him by surprise.

“Then I went to get another pair of shoes out of my house and found it trashed by them again…”

“Again?” His voice rose. “There was a first time I didn’t know about?”

I ignored his question. “Well, it just pissed me off, havin’ to get another cleanin’ crew to come and clean up his mess again.”

“So what? You came here to make him write you a check?”

“No, I came here to save you.”

“I didn’t need you savin' me.”

“Yeah, I could see that, what with the gun pointed to your head and all.”

His face softened and reached his hand up to touch my bruised cheek. “I almost lost it when he hit you.”

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t. It would have ruined everything.”

“What? You had a plan?”

“No, I just kind of winged it.”

“Why in God’s name did you taunt him into bringin’ you up here? When I heard that gunshot, I almost had a heart attack. I had to push my way through the DEA agents that showed up to bust the place. I nearly got myself shot tryin’ to get up here to you.”

“I had a gun. The gun you hid in my shed. I thought if I got Crocker alone, I could keep him from you until what you needed to happen, happened.”

“So you knew how to turn off the safety?”

“Safety?”

Joe’s eyes got as big as the pancakes they serve at The Waffle House.

I shrugged. “I figured out it was loaded, not an easy task, and I stuck it in the waistband of my jeans. And then when all the noise started happenin’ downstairs, I bit him on the lip.”

I could have sworn Joe’s face paled and then reddened.

“You realize there were so many problems with that plan that you are lucky to be standin’ here.”

“It was all I had.”

“No,” he growled. “You could have stayed away.”

I groaned in frustration. “That again? I had to do it, Joe. Could you have sat at home, watchin’ a show about prairie dogs, knowin’ I was probably gonna be killed?”

He didn’t answer.

“Yeah, you proved that you couldn’t last night. Why is what I did any different?”

“Because I’m a cop!” he shouted. “That’s what I’ve been trained to do!”

I stepped backward in disbelief. “What?”

“I was undercover, investigatin’ this mess. I’m with the state police.”

“So you’re not a criminal?” I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or angry. I let myself have both. “You lied to me?”

“Yes, no.” Joe shook his head, looking frustrated.

“You really were just usin’ me?”

He didn’t answer right away and I had all the answers I needed. I headed for the open door.

Joe stepped in front of me. “Rose! Wait! I was investigatin’ Crocker’s stolen-parts ring. I was a mechanic and worked on the delivery trucks that came in for their bogus maintenance runs. Instead, they were leavin’ with stolen parts and the pot Crocker grew in his warehouse. I wasn't even involved in the drug traffickin’ part until Sloan got into trouble with Crocker over the missin’ flash drive.”

“And me.” I reminded him, my voice cold. “Until you thought I had the flash drive. You really wanted it for the police, but it got you into Crocker’s good graces.”

The look on his face confirmed it. I tried to step around him again.

“So what’s on this precious flash drive everyone wants? It must be somethin’ special to kill people and waste time foolin’ stupid me.” I glared up at him.

“Rose, I swear it wasn’t like that!”

“You just saved me last night because it was gonna look bad that an innocent taxpayin’ citizen got killed by mistake.”

His face hardened. “You’re wrong there. They offered you immunity up until Saturday afternoon, the phone call I got after lunch. Then they said they wanted you to go through with meetin’ Crocker. They were worried if you didn't show, the big meetin’ today wouldn’t happen.”

My heart dropped into my toes. “I see,” I said, letting it sink in. “So how did you save me then? Why?”

“By disobeying direct orders. When my superiors find out what I did, I’m liable to lose my job. But I wouldn’t have been able to live with the guilt.”

“Am I supposed to feel grateful or sorry for that?” I shouted, about to burst into tears. “I saved you because I care about you Joe McAllister! Not because I felt guilty! Okay, a little because I felt guilty, since I thought you were gonna die because of me. But I saved you because I couldn’t bear for somethin’ to happen to you. I like you. Or I thought I did.” I stepped to my left to get around him.