Read Online The Seven-Day Target by Natalie Charles - Free Book Online Page A

struck her: someone was after her sister, and she could be a target. Her blood thundered in her ears.
    She locked the door behind her and wondered why she’d never listened when her father had told her she should get a dead bolt and an alarm system. “Dad, we live in Arbor Falls, where the most heinous crime is trespass to livestock.” She should know; she’d tipped a few cows in her day. Dad had always been worrying about her and Libby, ever since Mom had died. Mostly he’d worried about her, because Libby was self-reliant. Libby was the daughter who was going places while Cassie...how did he put it? Required a guiding hand . She turned her gaze to Sam, still asleep in his car seat. Well, Dad, maybe I needed more guidance than even you thought.
    He’d met his grandson before he’d died, at least. He’d held him in his arms and kissed him without lecturing her about how a boy needed a father in his life. She didn’t want to hear it anymore, and she didn’t want to have to tell him that Sam’s father didn’t even know about him. In a way that had been Dad’s final gift to her, to keep his opinions to himself.
    She looked at the clock. Sam had been sleeping for about an hour, and she probably had another hour or so before he woke and wanted to eat again. Long enough to get some things packed and head off to God-knows-where. Wherever people go when their sister is being stalked, she supposed. She knew she had to leave, but her legs felt like lead as she wondered if it was always this quiet in the house. Quiet enough to hear your own blood rush through your veins. She listened to the house settle, suddenly afraid to turn on the lights, because what if he was here now? What if she wasn’t alone?
    She turned at the sound of gravel grinding as a squad car stopped at the curb in front of the house. The door slammed, a tall figure approached and, moments later, he began pounding on the door. With a quick glance to make sure the baby was still asleep, Cassie cracked the door. “What?”
    She didn’t mean it to come across so rudely. Then again, she didn’t care about her manners at the moment.
    “Ma’am? I’m Sergeant Domingo Vasquez with the Arbor Falls P.D. I’m here to escort you to a safe location.”
    He flashed his badge and Cassie turned on the porch light to get a better look. He seemed official, dressed in a uniform and carrying a gun. Not that she’d be able to tell a fake cop uniform, but she’d be able to tell a fake cop car, and the car looked legitimate. She opened the door wider. “My son’s sleeping. Don’t wake him up.”
    The sergeant entered through the doorway and Cassie winced at the sound of his loud footsteps. A quick reminder to be quiet, for God’s sake, was on the tip of her tongue, but then she got a full look at him. Six-four, she’d guess. Broad-shouldered and muscular. He wasn’t about to tiptoe anywhere.
    “Pack up.” His voice was clipped. “I want you out of here immediately.”
    She snorted. Who did this guy think he was? “Look, you may be a big deal at the precinct, but this is my house, Sergeant. I call the shots. And may I remind you that I have an infant, so it’s going to take me longer than ‘immediately’ to pack.”
    “Well, I don’t have all night. I’m doing this as a favor, but I’m not running a charity here.” He placed his large hands on his hips, and heaven help her, but Cassie’s gaze followed those hands south.
    She snapped her gaze back to more appropriate territory. Dark hair. Olive skin. Full lips, and the top one was edged by a small white scar. Yeah, he was hot all right, and he had a bucket of arrogance to go along with it. “Thanks, Prince Charming. Why don’t you pull up a seat and lose the attitude. Did I mention I have an infant? I’m running on hormones and four hours of broken sleep, and I promise that’s a more lethal combination that that gun and your trigger finger. So I’ll be done when I’m done.”
    Her heart was