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Authors: Kyra Jacobs
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gaze with my own. “I’m just asking you to trust me.”
Even as I stand here, lying through my teeth about an imaginary boyfriend , I thought with a twinge of guilt.
She placed a hand on my cheek. “Alright, dear. I’ll try.”
* * * *
By the time I reached the alley behind our house, it was well past dark. I carefully navigated the usual obstacle course of trashcans and lazy parking jobs as best I could, then hit my garage door opener button as our lot came into view. The door began its ascent, and I watched as the light inside flickered on and then promptly died.
Just my luck. I pulled inside, guided only by my car’s headlights, and came to a stop. Our tiny garage was usually a tight fit. But with Grace’s car being God-knows-where the past week, I had a little more room to maneuver. A good thing, since I couldn’t see where the heck I was going.
I shut off the ignition, grabbed my purse and got out of the car. Its interior light faded to black, and I was left to fumble for the back door in total darkness. I debated going inside to get a flashlight and replacement bulb, then decided it might be best to wait until morning when I could actually see what I was doing.
Preoccupied with the annoyance of my bad luck, I stepped out from the garage and pulled the door shut behind me. The lighting outside the garage wasn’t much better, with our backyard lit only by the hanging bug lights from the neighbor’s house. I rubbed at my eyes, and turned to start the short journey up the path leading from the garage to our back door.
A hand reached out and grabbed my arm. I sucked in a breath to scream, but a second hand flew up to my face and clamped my mouth shut. I tried to break free, but it was no use. Whoever it was had me easily out-muscled.
I was trapped.
Chapter 6
I planted a heel in my assailant’s shin and heard him bite back a howl. He pulled me in tighter against him and hissed into my ear, “Damn it, it’s me—Officer Steele. Stop…fighting…me…”
I froze. Struggled to make sense of the situation.
He mistook my paralysis for compliance. “Thank you. Now listen, I’ll explain everything in a minute, but I need you to stay quiet. If I take my hand away from your mouth, do you promise not to scream?”
The more he spoke, the more convinced I was that the voice did in fact belong to Officer Steele. I nodded, eager for his explanation. After nearly giving me a heart attack, it’d better be a good one.
He slowly withdrew his hand from my mouth. His grip on my arm lightened as well, but he didn’t release me. I suddenly became very aware of the warm breath on my neck and firm chest pressed into my back. But even that wasn’t enough to allay my extreme irritation at being ambushed in my own yard.
I turned my head toward him and whispered, “You know, usually our visitors just ring the doorbell .”
“Or climb in through your open windows ,” he whispered back.
“Huh?” My gaze shot to our back kitchen window. Grace’s yellow gingham curtains rustled in the autumn breeze. “Shit! I knew I forgot to do something before I left.”
“Maybe next time you could spring for a radio advertisement. Get a real thief to come by instead of the kid that’s prowling around in there now.”
I didn’t appreciate his tone. Or his accusation. I yanked my arm free from his grip and whirled around. Would have been nose to nose with him if he hadn’t been several inches taller than me. “And how do you know someone’s in there?”
Even in the dark, his brilliant blue eyes pierced right through me. “Because I stopped by to talk about the Sullivan case. You didn’t answer when I knocked, so I checked to see if you were out back.”
He’d come to talk about Grace? At this time of night? The fact that he was sans uniform had me confused. Not that I minded the view—Officer Steele managed to make even casual street clothes look sexy as hell.
“I didn’t see you back here,” he
Even as I stand here, lying through my teeth about an imaginary boyfriend , I thought with a twinge of guilt.
She placed a hand on my cheek. “Alright, dear. I’ll try.”
* * * *
By the time I reached the alley behind our house, it was well past dark. I carefully navigated the usual obstacle course of trashcans and lazy parking jobs as best I could, then hit my garage door opener button as our lot came into view. The door began its ascent, and I watched as the light inside flickered on and then promptly died.
Just my luck. I pulled inside, guided only by my car’s headlights, and came to a stop. Our tiny garage was usually a tight fit. But with Grace’s car being God-knows-where the past week, I had a little more room to maneuver. A good thing, since I couldn’t see where the heck I was going.
I shut off the ignition, grabbed my purse and got out of the car. Its interior light faded to black, and I was left to fumble for the back door in total darkness. I debated going inside to get a flashlight and replacement bulb, then decided it might be best to wait until morning when I could actually see what I was doing.
Preoccupied with the annoyance of my bad luck, I stepped out from the garage and pulled the door shut behind me. The lighting outside the garage wasn’t much better, with our backyard lit only by the hanging bug lights from the neighbor’s house. I rubbed at my eyes, and turned to start the short journey up the path leading from the garage to our back door.
A hand reached out and grabbed my arm. I sucked in a breath to scream, but a second hand flew up to my face and clamped my mouth shut. I tried to break free, but it was no use. Whoever it was had me easily out-muscled.
I was trapped.
Chapter 6
I planted a heel in my assailant’s shin and heard him bite back a howl. He pulled me in tighter against him and hissed into my ear, “Damn it, it’s me—Officer Steele. Stop…fighting…me…”
I froze. Struggled to make sense of the situation.
He mistook my paralysis for compliance. “Thank you. Now listen, I’ll explain everything in a minute, but I need you to stay quiet. If I take my hand away from your mouth, do you promise not to scream?”
The more he spoke, the more convinced I was that the voice did in fact belong to Officer Steele. I nodded, eager for his explanation. After nearly giving me a heart attack, it’d better be a good one.
He slowly withdrew his hand from my mouth. His grip on my arm lightened as well, but he didn’t release me. I suddenly became very aware of the warm breath on my neck and firm chest pressed into my back. But even that wasn’t enough to allay my extreme irritation at being ambushed in my own yard.
I turned my head toward him and whispered, “You know, usually our visitors just ring the doorbell .”
“Or climb in through your open windows ,” he whispered back.
“Huh?” My gaze shot to our back kitchen window. Grace’s yellow gingham curtains rustled in the autumn breeze. “Shit! I knew I forgot to do something before I left.”
“Maybe next time you could spring for a radio advertisement. Get a real thief to come by instead of the kid that’s prowling around in there now.”
I didn’t appreciate his tone. Or his accusation. I yanked my arm free from his grip and whirled around. Would have been nose to nose with him if he hadn’t been several inches taller than me. “And how do you know someone’s in there?”
Even in the dark, his brilliant blue eyes pierced right through me. “Because I stopped by to talk about the Sullivan case. You didn’t answer when I knocked, so I checked to see if you were out back.”
He’d come to talk about Grace? At this time of night? The fact that he was sans uniform had me confused. Not that I minded the view—Officer Steele managed to make even casual street clothes look sexy as hell.
“I didn’t see you back here,” he
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