Read Online The Female Charm by Amelia Price - Free Book Online Page A

up. On
the way to her bedroom door, she pulled out one of the two knives
Myron had sent her from its holster clipped to the corset she'd
been wearing that day.
    Feeling a little
safer with a weapon she'd been trained to use nestled in her hand,
she opened the bedroom door and padded silently through to the
living room. Her handbag still sat on the coffee table, exactly
where she'd left it, but her back door stood slightly ajar, blowing
back and forth in a slight breeze. Someone had been in her
house.
    For several
minutes, Amelia stood where she was, listening for any sign that
whoever had come in might still be there, but the only sound was
the pounding of her own blood as her heart raced in her chest. By
the time she had summoned up the courage to move, she was shivering
in the cold night air that had been let into the room.
    She crept over to
the back door and closed it as quietly as she could, not locking it
in case an intruder was still in her house. It made no sense to
lock someone dangerous in with her when they were likely to want to
escape.
    As she did, she
noticed there was no sign of a break-in. Whoever had got inside had
picked the lock. Or worse, used a key. She clutched the knife
tighter before reminding herself not to panic. With all the
training she'd had, she ought to be able to handle this.
    Standing by the
back door, Amelia took several deep breaths, getting her heart rate
back under control and surveying the room as best she could in the
darkened state. From where she stood, she couldn't see anything
missing or out of place.
    One step at a
time, she made her way around the open-plan living room and
kitchen, running her eyes over everything of value and the drawers
and cupboards. Nothing was gone or open.
    When she'd
completed the living area, she went back down the hall to her
bedroom. She'd left the door wide open and could see that the room
was exactly the same. Given that she'd been sleeping in there, she
didn't worry about checking it and moved on to the spare room. She
kept that door shut, which was exactly how she found it now.
    Taking another
deep breath, she turned the handle and pushed the door open. The
tucked-away sofa-bed stood where it always did, and her desk was
equally neat in the opposite corner. Not even her computer had been
touched. She moved on, leaving that door wide open as well.
    As she passed the
airing cupboard, Amelia paused. Although she doubted anyone would
be hiding in there, she knew if she didn't check she'd not be able
to sleep. Steeling her nerves once more, she opened that door as
well. Once again, she exhaled as she found nothing out of
place.
    That left her with
one more room. The bathroom. It was also the farthest room from the
back door. Despite finding everything untouched so far, standing
outside this final room was the most frightening. If the intruder
was still inside her house, then he was in here.
    She bit down on
her bottom lip to keep it from trembling, and pulled the final
handle down. Even once she'd managed to get that far she continued
to hold it, the door still shut, for several long seconds.
    With her hand
shaking, she gently gave the door a push. It swung open, revealing
the interior of the bathroom bit by bit. As soon as she could see
the whole area, she let out a nervous laugh. She was such a moron
sometimes. There was no one there, and it didn't look like there
had been anyone since she'd last used it.
    Now that any
immediate threat was over, Amelia went back to the living room and
flicked the light on. She blinked rapidly while her eyes adjusted
to the sudden brightness, and then she scanned over the contents
again to check nothing was gone.
    Once more, she
glanced over all the rooms and then she checked her jewellery box
on the dresser in her bedroom on the slight chance whoever had come
in had crept in there while she slept, but all her valuables were
still in place.
    Confused, she
returned to her living room and sat down on the sofa to think.
Given