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chance for more training. She was pretty sure they still blamed her because Sheriff Barnes and her father were once friends and the other officers probably thought that gave her special privileges. Maybe it did, but she’d needed the job, so she took it.
    Holding his gun with one hand, Ethan pulled his black Maglite from the loop on his belt and turned it on. He was all business.
    â€œWas he armed?” he asked.
    â€œNo.” She frowned. “I don’t think so.” His expression made her cringe. It was worse than the steely eyed look. Ethan always made her feel like she lacked a key ingredient to be a good cop. She raised her chin and met his gaze head on. “There wasn’t a visible weapon. It doesn’t mean he didn’t have one on him.”
    He didn’t comment, telling her exactly what he thought without words. Not that she cared. She only wanted the intruder behind bars so she could crawl in bed for a few hours of sleep.
    The beam of Ethan’s flashlight made its way around the room. Nothing. “If you’re in here, you might as well show yourself. It’ll go a lot easier on you.”
    Silence surrounded them like a graveyard at midnight. He reached inside and flipped on the light switch. Brightness filled the space, chasing away the shadows. He cautiously stepped farther inside. Raine braced herself, expecting the stranger to jump out at them any second, but as Ethan looked behind every piece of furniture, her anxiety grew.
    â€œThe man was right where you’re standing. Tall, maybe six two or six three. Dark blond hair. Black cowboy hat.” Raine hated the fact that she sounded apologetic. “He was right there,” she said, but with less conviction.
    â€œYou just got off duty,” Ethan said. “You’re tired. Maybe you just thought you saw someone.”
    â€œI know what I saw. He spoke to me.” She gritted her teeth to keep from saying more.
    â€œAre you positive you didn’t imagine him?”
    The biggest slap in the face was when Ethan holstered his gun. He might as well have told her that he didn’t believe there ever was an intruder. “No, I didn’t imagine him.”
    â€œDid the man say anything?” Ethan asked.
    She started to tell Ethan about the man’s dire warning, but stopped herself at the last moment. What could she say? The bank would be robbed? She would be shot and killed? Ethan would really think she’d lost her marbles. “Not much. Nothing specific.”
    Maybe he’d slipped out of the house when Ethan drew her attention away after all. The stranger could’ve gone past her.
    She’d gotten maybe four or five hours sleep the day before. Last night her shift dragged by. Now that it seemed her intruder was gone, she no longer felt the adrenaline rush. Raine was so tired she could barely stand.
    He sighed with exasperation. “If he didn’t say anything, then can you describe him a little better? Did he have a beard? Was he unkempt?”
    Hysteria bubbled inside her. The stranger could have posed for a tropical paradise ad. A blond hunk with an amazing tan walking on the beach, white shirt flapping open in the breeze, no shoes, slacks rolled up to his ankles. He didn’t look like he belonged in a freakin’ line-up!
    Before she could say another word, footsteps sounded on the stairs behind them. They both whirled around. She pointed her gun up the stairs at the same time Ethan drew his gun back out of his holster.
    Her grandfather stopped halfway down the stairs, his eyebrows drawn together. “What’s all the blasted commotion? A body can’t get a decent night’s sleep around here anymore.”
    â€œGrandpa, what are you doing home?” Raine holstered her gun as relief and a twinge of anger filled her. Her grandfather was getting forgetful and frail. He was supposed to stay at Tilly’s on the nights she worked, which kept him out of