lot just being here. But more than the reward, a girl’s life was at stake, and Izzy could probably shoot her way out of here if things got bad. Probably.
She left the room and edged toward the end of the hall. It took a sharp right turn and she could tell by the increase in the volume of music, laughter, and shouting that the connecting hallway led straight into the clubhouse’s main room. She took a quick peek around the corner and confirmed that, yes, the next hallway did lead right to the heart of the party. It looked like the back of the room, though. Most of the people were to her left and therefore out of her direct line of sight.
Taking a deep breath, Izzy moved forward, against the wall, toward the main room. Her heart was pounding but the music was louder and no one could hear her boots on the chipped tile floor. She slid along the wall, careful as she could be until she got to the end.
There were a dozen more people than the ones who’d traveled from the bar. Only a small number of them were women. One woman in particular seemed to be the main event. She was standing on a table in the center of the room, stripping off her clothes for the crowd. Izzy only spared them a moment before she pivoted and hustled back the way she’d come.
She turned the corner to the other hallway, but her heart leapt to her throat when the sound of heavy boots followed her. Fighting panic, Izzy glanced at the empty rooms that lay between her and the open window she’d climbed in through. But none of those rooms had windows and she couldn’t risk getting trapped. She moved faster now, but could not run because the sound of her own boots would surely raise suspicion.
She realized too late that there was no time to climb back through the window. It was too small to dive through and if she tried to hike her leg over the sill, she’d be caught by whoever was coming down the hall before she could get all the way out. She plunged through the last door on her right, the one she’d unlocked, and quickly closed it behind her.
Moving faster now, she hustled to the bathroom door and to the window that lay beyond. She grabbed the sill with both hands and tugged. When it didn’t open, she cursed herself and remembered why she hadn’t been able to come in that way to begin with. She hurriedly flipped the lock and tried again, but it still wouldn’t rise. She inspected the makeshift exit and realized, to her horror, that not only had it been locked, but it had also been painted shut.
Close to melting down now, Izzy cast her gaze about wildly while she tried to think what to do. She opted for waiting until the person went into whatever room they were headed toward then she would slip back out to the hallway and escape there. As she left the bathroom and went back into the bedroom, she froze when she realized that though she couldn’t hear a set of keys being jangled, the doorknob itself was indeed turning. Her breath caught in her throat as the door started to open.
Chapter 10
Caleb slowed as he cruised past Maria’s bar. The sun had set and the temperature had dropped fairly quickly. It was also Monday, so he wasn’t expecting a large crowd. No one lingered in the parking lot, probably owing to the chill. He scanned it a second time just to be sure. He wouldn’t say that he was actually looking for anyone in particular, especially not a five-foot-five brunette with a killer right hook. But if he happened to run into anyone matching that description, he wouldn’t exactly complain. He’d also take the opportunity to find out what she was doing in his town. But she wasn’t loitering out front and unless he actually got a call from Maria, Caleb didn’t have any good reason to abandon the cruiser to take a quick peek inside the building. The job came first, personal curiosity a close second.
He turned the wheel and headed up Palmer Ave, toward downtown. His patrol route was mostly the south side of town, but it crept up right to
She left the room and edged toward the end of the hall. It took a sharp right turn and she could tell by the increase in the volume of music, laughter, and shouting that the connecting hallway led straight into the clubhouse’s main room. She took a quick peek around the corner and confirmed that, yes, the next hallway did lead right to the heart of the party. It looked like the back of the room, though. Most of the people were to her left and therefore out of her direct line of sight.
Taking a deep breath, Izzy moved forward, against the wall, toward the main room. Her heart was pounding but the music was louder and no one could hear her boots on the chipped tile floor. She slid along the wall, careful as she could be until she got to the end.
There were a dozen more people than the ones who’d traveled from the bar. Only a small number of them were women. One woman in particular seemed to be the main event. She was standing on a table in the center of the room, stripping off her clothes for the crowd. Izzy only spared them a moment before she pivoted and hustled back the way she’d come.
She turned the corner to the other hallway, but her heart leapt to her throat when the sound of heavy boots followed her. Fighting panic, Izzy glanced at the empty rooms that lay between her and the open window she’d climbed in through. But none of those rooms had windows and she couldn’t risk getting trapped. She moved faster now, but could not run because the sound of her own boots would surely raise suspicion.
She realized too late that there was no time to climb back through the window. It was too small to dive through and if she tried to hike her leg over the sill, she’d be caught by whoever was coming down the hall before she could get all the way out. She plunged through the last door on her right, the one she’d unlocked, and quickly closed it behind her.
Moving faster now, she hustled to the bathroom door and to the window that lay beyond. She grabbed the sill with both hands and tugged. When it didn’t open, she cursed herself and remembered why she hadn’t been able to come in that way to begin with. She hurriedly flipped the lock and tried again, but it still wouldn’t rise. She inspected the makeshift exit and realized, to her horror, that not only had it been locked, but it had also been painted shut.
Close to melting down now, Izzy cast her gaze about wildly while she tried to think what to do. She opted for waiting until the person went into whatever room they were headed toward then she would slip back out to the hallway and escape there. As she left the bathroom and went back into the bedroom, she froze when she realized that though she couldn’t hear a set of keys being jangled, the doorknob itself was indeed turning. Her breath caught in her throat as the door started to open.
Chapter 10
Caleb slowed as he cruised past Maria’s bar. The sun had set and the temperature had dropped fairly quickly. It was also Monday, so he wasn’t expecting a large crowd. No one lingered in the parking lot, probably owing to the chill. He scanned it a second time just to be sure. He wouldn’t say that he was actually looking for anyone in particular, especially not a five-foot-five brunette with a killer right hook. But if he happened to run into anyone matching that description, he wouldn’t exactly complain. He’d also take the opportunity to find out what she was doing in his town. But she wasn’t loitering out front and unless he actually got a call from Maria, Caleb didn’t have any good reason to abandon the cruiser to take a quick peek inside the building. The job came first, personal curiosity a close second.
He turned the wheel and headed up Palmer Ave, toward downtown. His patrol route was mostly the south side of town, but it crept up right to
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