“Was that a gunshot?”

Simon nodded to his partner and they pulled their weapons, crouching low as they scanned the area for threats.

A moment later, they heard a feminine scream, then more of the odd, “soft” gunshots.

“That’s coming from inside the house,” Detective Arik Dorant hissed, his eyes narrowing.  Arik lifted his radio even as he continued to scan the area.  “Shots fired at my location,” he said to the dispatcher.  “Officer requests backup.”

They slipped closer to the house.  The early morning sunshine shimmered through the leaves of the birch tree in the yard, reflecting off the windows of the small cottage. 

Another scream increased their speed, heading towards the front door.  The small porch was deserted. 

Simon reached out and tested the door.  “It’s unlocked,” he declared quietly.

Arik and Simon shared a glance.  They’d done this so many times over the years that they could anticipate each other’s movements and, as they entered, they moved in unison, each carefully turning to scan the rooms filled with piles of boxes. 

“Clear,” Arik announced as he moved past the front room that, at some point, had been a small parlor.  The two men moved into the main living area, which was a combined den/kitchen/dining room space.  There were more boxes stacked on the counters and on the floor.

Another scream shattered the silence of the cottage and they turned towards the sound.  They heard additional gunshots, but the noise still didn’t sound like a normal weapon.  The sound was obviously a gun, but it was too soft. 

“A silencer?” Simon offered as an explanation. 

A silencer would be bad.  Something that quieted a weapon meant a professional, not just a run-of-the-mill felon. 

They moved carefully down a narrow hallway, checking each of the small bedrooms and the tiny bathroom as they went.  The rooms were empty other than still more boxes.  That was a good thing, they both thought.  It was harder to hide behind boxes when they were against a wall. 

The pair moved further down the hallway, their senses on high alert. 

“Die, you son of a bitch!” a woman shrieked.  Her tone was odd, not a vicious command. More a plea of desperation followed by…more of those oddly soft gunshots? 

Arik and Simon shared another glance, silently questioning the scene.  Still, they continued towards the sounds, a distant siren indicating backup was coming.  They knew that they couldn’t wait. 

When they came to the open doorway of what they assumed must be the owner’s bedroom, they paused, one on either side of the door.  Simon nodded to his partner as the adrenaline surged through his veins. 

A fraction of a second later, they burst through the doorway, their weapons pointed and…!

Simon blinked, shocked as he took in the scene before him. 

Damn, she was gorgeous!  Her long, silky brown hair cascaded around her shoulders, hiding most of her face. She wore a thigh length tee shirt. Simon caught a flash of pink underneath that must be her panties.

What really confused him was that she was standing in the middle of her bed holding…was that a BB gun?  Yes.  Yes, it was a kid’s BB gun in her hands.  And the damn thing was aimed at the floor. 

“Watch out!” She screeched, then pointed the BB gun at the floor and fired several more rounds! 

Simon muttered a curse as he danced out of the way.  Not that there was a threat of them coming anywhere close to his feet, but the woman…was she crazy?  She looked a bit insane.  Beautiful. Seriously hot!  But definitely nuts!

Adrenaline rushed through his system, leaving Simon unable to keep his temper in check.  “What the hell are you doing, lady?” Simon snatched the BB gun and backed away, out of arm’s reach. 

“It’s still there!” she screamed, unable to hold still. 

“What are you talking about?” he demanded, stuffing his pistol back into his hip holster. 

“The spider!  It’s–” she peered frantically around, shoving her glorious hair out of her eyes as she searched.  A moment later, she did the most outrageous thing.  She dropped onto the bed, giving Simon a perfect view of her pert, rounded derriere as she wiggled to the edge of the mattress.  Then…was she looking under the bed? 

Yep.  The crazy woman was looking for something under her bed!

“It’s still there!” she hissed, scooting back against the headboard.  “Get it!  Kill it!”

Simon blinked at her, fighting to keep his gaze away from the flash of pink panties just visible at the juncture of those long, golden legs. 

Oh hell!  He was not getting turned on by a crazy woman!  No way! 

“Get what?” he demanded gruffly.   Now was not the moment for distraction, long legs be damned!

Arik chuckled, inching deeper into the room.  He lifted a booted foot and stomped hard enough for the sound to echo. 

“I got it, ma’am,” he announced, tipping his hat slightly.  “You’re safe.”

The crazy woman beamed at Arik. Simon was horrified by how badly he wanted to slug his partner just then.  Because the nutcase was smiling at Arik?  Yep!  Sure enough, Simon felt the stab of jealousy strike him. 

Which only pissed him off further. 

“What the hell were you doing, lady?  What are you shooting at?”  He glared at her as Arik left the room, chuckling as he went to take care of the backup that had just arrived. 

“Did you see the size of that thing?” she demanded, shifting onto her knees and…oh hell!  That cute ass was right there! When was the last time he even saw an ass that beautifully formed? Thoughts about what he’d like to do to that ass, while she maintained this position, flashed behind his eyes. And his body tightened painfully. 

“What were you freaking out about?”

She turned around, frowning at him over her shoulder.  “The spider!”

Simon’s mind went blank. Green.  Her eyes were a glorious shade of light green! 

Simon was a pretty laid back guy.  It helped him to not get emotionally involved. He was also incredibly observant, well able to read a crime scene as well as a suspect’s body language, even the most subtle shifts in a person’s expressions, allowing him to easily tell if someone was telling the truth. 

But between her stunning green eyes, those long legs, and cute butt…not to mention those damned pink panties…he could barely restrain his temper. 

“Are you telling me,” he roared, “that you were shooting a gun in your house, screaming your fool head off, because of a spider?”

The woman pulled back, startled by his outburst.  But she rallied quickly, those gorgeous green eyes sparking with an equally fierce temper.  “Yes!  I’m seriously telling you that I was freaking out about a spider.  A huge spider that crawled across my hand and woke me up!”  She stood up on her bed so that she was towering over him.  “It freaked me out, so I screamed and grabbed the only weapon that I had.  Why the hell are you in my house? And more to the point, why are you screaming at me?”

Simon gritted his teeth.  “Point of fact, lady, you’re screaming at me!”

“How did you even get in?” she asked, in a slightly calmer tone.  “The door was locked!  Did you break down my door?”

Simon tried to calm his temper by counting to ten, but only reached “one” before he yelled, “The door was unlocked!”

She shook her head, impatiently brushing her hair from her face. 

That didn’t help because now Simon could see her delicate beauty more clearly.  Her lips were full and wide, her cheekbones high.  She wore no makeup, but her skin was flawless. He looked closer, searching for something to piss him off.  But all he found were freckles.  Just a few, but they were adorable!  Hell!

Taking a deep breath, he glared up at her. “Lady, your front door was unlocked.  We heard screaming and gunfire.  We came in, thinking that you were in trouble only to find out that you were shooting a…” he glared at the “rifle” in his hand, “…a BB gun?  Where the hell did you get a BB gun?  And why were you shooting it?”

“I told you, officer!”

“Detective!” he snapped.

“Right,” she replied, folding her arms protectively over her chest.  Again, he was only human…and male…so he couldn’t help but notice that her breasts were full, with drool-worthy nipples pressing against her thin tee shirt.  “So Detective Hulk, I got the BB gun as a gag gift from a friend.  My door was locked last night when I went to bed and I was shooting at the spider,” she leaned forward, nodding at the splat mark, which was all the remained of the arachnid, “so that I could kill it!”  She sighed and straightened.  “Unfortunately, those suckers can really move.” She ran her hand through her hair again.  “You grow ‘em big here in Wyoming.”

 “You were shooting at a spider?” he echoed, still not comprehending the situation. 

The woman peered over the side of the bed, then glanced back at him.  “Yup.”