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The sound of the gunshot echoed in the lobby of the bank, as pandemonium broke out.

Sarah gasped as Tommy Tipton crumpled without a sound, a small dark hole opening up in the center of his forehead. She ran toward him, then stopped as the robber pointed his gun at her. "Forget him! Get away!"

Having no choice, Sarah stepped back and dropped to the marble tiles with the others, but her mind was spinning through the possibilities. She had to do something and do it fast.

Then she cursed.

She'd left her weapon locked in her trunk.

Lifting her head, Sarah watched the four men huddle together, hoping against hope she might figure out what to do. They split up and headed in different directions.

At the front of the bank, one of the robbers stood in the middle and counted off the time, his eyes trained on a stopwatch. The one with the child stayed by the front door and the other one guarded the hostages. The fourth man, the one in charge, barked out instructions to the two tellers, sending one woman to join the others on the floor and ordering the remaining one to fill the bag he threw at her.

Sarah winced and held her breath as the older woman froze. Lucille Abbot had been with the bank forever and always greeted Sarah with the kindest of smiles. She'd lost her husband to a heart attack last summer, but she had two grandchildren and a third on the way.

"Move it!" he screamed. "Fill the damned bag."

"I I can't...." Lucille clutched the bag to her chest and stuttered the words, the colour draining from her face to leave two circles of blush.

He lifted his gun and pointed it at her, cocking the hammer with a smooth pull of his thumb. "Does this help?"

The clicking sound seemed to jar her. Without another word, she reached toward the nearest drawer and began to stuff money into the sack.

Sarah let out the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, then suddenly she realized Ray was right beside her. As the confrontation had taken place, he'd used the opportunity to move to her side. No one had noticed, including her.

She held back a gasp, his dark eyes inches from hers, his head a heartbeat away. For just a second, she didn't know what was making her pulse race faster; the holdup or Ray's closeness. Her eyes went over his face, from the stubble of his beard to the fullness of his lips. They were as sensual and compelling as she remembered. He spoke urgently and she jerked her gaze to his, leaving her thoughts where they'd been.

"Have you got your gun?" he asked.

"It's in the car."

"What about your radio?"

"Same place." She glanced over her shoulder, then looked back at him. "I've got to think of something, though. These guys mean business."

Together they looked at Tommy, then their eyes connected again. Ray's hand was on her shoulder, the heat of his fingers burning through her T-shirt, the strength of his grip digging into her flesh. A second later, Sarah heard Lucille gasp and she jerked her gaze to the woman's white face. The teller had finished filling the bag and had just seen Sarah. Lucille's eyes widened as the realization sunk in.

"Do something," the older woman screamed. "For God's sake, Sarah do something! You're a cop!"