Deadly Past

by Reus, Katie

  She glanced over her shoulder at the sound of a commotion—then froze as two men wearing masks and carrying huge guns kicked the door open, sending Melissa sprawling onto the tile floor.

  Autumn stared in horror as one of them locked the door and turned to face everyone, gun raised.

  “Everybody on the ground!” the taller of the two men shouted.

  They both had on the creepy white masks from the movie Scream, making them look terrifying.

  Autumn didn’t pause at their order, she hit the ground and covered her head. But she turned her head sideways and peeked over her arm, watching the men jump into action.

  She’d seen reports about bank robbers on the news. This crew of two men had been robbing banks along the East Coast of Florida for the last couple weeks. She’d never imagined they would target Verona Bay. Which was stupid as hell, because no place was safe. She knew that more than most.

  She watched booted feet stomp across the tile toward the glass-encased tellers. So far these guys hadn’t killed anybody, and she hoped they would just take what they wanted and leave as they’d done at other banks.

  “Open the second door or I start blowing off heads,” the tall one shouted as he held a gun up to what was likely bullet-resistant glass.

  Blood rushed in her ears as she watched Gloria, the woman behind the glass, stare at him, crying.

  “I’ve got the key to the door and the safe,” Melissa said, making Autumn whip her head around even though she was trying to remain as still as possible.

  The other man had a gun trained on Melissa as she approached, cool, calm and collected, with the keys jingling in her hands.

  Heart racing, Autumn watched as her friend hurried to the door and opened it. One of the men rushed through it and started shouting at the teller to empty the drawers. Thankfully, Gloria managed to jerk out of her shock and start following orders.

  Just do what they say, Autumn mentally shouted at her. She didn’t want anyone hurt…or worse.

  “I know you’ve got more cash in the back,” the other man snapped at Melissa.

  She nodded and turned toward the door that would lead to the vault. Then Melissa and the man ducked out of sight for a long sixty seconds.

  Despite the air-conditioned building, sweat rolled down Autumn’s back, pooling at the base of her spine. She slowly, carefully glanced around, took in all of the bank. There was no security guard visible. But the cameras were recording everything. She recognized a man who worked for the local hardware store on the floor near the bathroom door, and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw a teacher she worked with crouching on the ground on the other side of the bank. The woman was half in, half out of one of the offices. She must’ve been in a meeting and dropped where she stood when the men infiltrated the bank.

  There were a few others she recognized, all with their faces buried in their arms as they remained immobile on the ground.

  Moments later, Melissa stepped out, her hands trembling slightly as the bank robber clutched a blue duffel bag over his shoulder. His gun was pointed at the ground at least. “I got it,” he snapped out. “Let’s go!”

  The man with the teller grabbed his own bag and leaned close to Gloria. “Good, this bitch is too slow,” he snarled before turning away from her and stalking out.

  A cacophony of noise blasted the air as the tall man started shooting at the ceiling, sending plaster flying everywhere. Bang. Bang. Bang.

  A scream caught in Autumn’s throat as part of the ceiling landed in a heap two feet in front of her, but she didn’t let it escape. Tensing, she covered her head, all her muscles taut even when it suddenly went deathly quiet.

  The men sprinted for the doors, throwing them open before racing out.

  Melissa hurried after them, her heels clicking wildly. She immediately locked the doors even as Autumn grabbed for her purse and pulled out her cell phone. She didn’t think, she simply called her neighbor—Sheriff Lincoln Jordan. She didn’t call 911, but his personal cell phone. Later she might think about why that was, when she’d taken to avoiding him in general.

  But she knew without a doubt that he would be here if she called.

  “Autumn, hey,” he said after the first ring.

  “I’m at the bank. It was just robbed by two armed men,” she rasped out, her voice thready. “They had on masks but I think it’s the guys robbing banks up the coast. The ones from the news. They literally just ran out.”

  He softly cursed. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” Not true, but it didn’t matter. She was alive and that was what mattered.

  “Okay. I’ll be there in two minutes. Hang tight.” He hung up, and she finally shoved to her feet. “Lincoln’s on his way,” she said to Melissa, who had her own cell phone out.

  Her friend nodded, her expression tense even as she spoke to the 911 operator.

  Looking around, Autumn saw that Mrs. Ackerley was quietly crying in the corner. She hurried over to her and checked to make sure she hadn’t been injured by a ricochet bullet.

  In the distance, she heard sirens, and the sound brought up a whole lot of bad memories but she squashed them fast, locking them up tight.

  “You’re okay,” she said as she gently held the older woman’s trembling hands. “We’re all okay.”

  Mrs. Ackerley blinked and shook her head as her tears dried up. She looked as if she was coming out of a fog. “This weekend is my granddaughter’s first birthday. I thought… I thought we were all going to die.”

  Autumn pulled her into a hug and was surprised by the woman’s tight grip as she hugged her back.

  The door flung open again, and her body tensed as she turned at the sound of the little bell.

  But raw relief punched through her the moment she made eye contact with Lincoln. His green eyes immediately sought her out—pinned her in place with a long stare before sweeping over her. The look was purely clinical, but the tightness in his shoulders lessened the smallest bit when he saw she was okay.

  Then he turned to Melissa, all business as he started talking to her.

  Autumn…didn’t know what to do with that look from him. That concern. She didn’t know what to do about her attraction to him in general. She’d been ignoring it for months. Ignoring him as best she could, even if he was her neighbor.

  And that was what she would continue to do.

  Chapter 2

  Lincoln rubbed a hand over his damp hair, exhausted from the evening’s events as he looked out the side window toward his neighbor’s house. Autumn Perez, his very sexy, remote neighbor he wanted to get to know a hell of a lot more.

  He could see a few lights on so he knew she was still awake. It was only nine, but she’d been stuck talking to the Feds and his own people for a couple hours after they’d secured the bank.

  He’d been there even after she’d left, talking to the team of Feds who were hunting the bank robbers along the East Coast, taking statements, making sure everyone got home safely and talking to the media. At this point, he was beyond exhausted.

  But he wouldn’t be able to sleep until he’d seen for himself that Autumn would be okay tonight. They’d talked at the bank but it had been a rush of people and noise, and he was feeling protective of her.

  It had been like that since she’d moved in next door to him a year ago, and he wasn’t sure why.

  That was a lie. He found her insanely attractive.

  She was petite, maybe five feet two inches, with long, thick dark hair she normally wore in a ponytail. Her dark brown eyes had flecks of amber in them if the light hit them right. And she always had paint spots or ink on her fingernails or on her hands. She also had another kind of ink covering her arms—tattoos he wanted to see more of.

  She was the local art teacher at the high school and did a lot of extra classes around town. And the more he found out about her, the more he liked her. He’d discovered that she was good friends with Serenity, his soon-to-be sister-in-law, a woman he’d known since colle
ge and adored. A woman who’d been through hell.

  Sighing at himself, he trekked next door and knocked softly. If she didn’t answer, he would head back home. He never wanted her to feel like he was trying to invade her personal space, and it was clear that she liked hers. She’d put up very clear boundaries with him, refusing to even call him by name. It was always “Sheriff”, not Lincoln.

  She opened the door a few moments later and a whisper of surprise flickered across her face before she gave him a real smile. An honest to God smile that changed her entire countenance and made her look a decade younger, as if she were fresh out of college.

  “Lincoln, hey. Is everything okay?” Her dark eyes were warm tonight as she watched him.

  She really must be feeling out of sorts to call him by his first name. “Yeah. I just… Honestly, I just wanted to check on you. Today was a lot for anyone, and you held up at the bank like a boss.” Both she and Melissa had, handling everything with a certain sort of fortitude that had been impressive.

  She gave him another, smaller smile as she stepped back. “I’m doing all right. And I was about to pour myself some wine. You want some?”

  He didn’t actually drink wine but no way in hell was he saying no to spending time with Autumn. He’d convert to being a wine drinker if that was what it took.

  “Thanks.” As he stepped inside, a black and white Border Collie peeked around the corner of a club chair by the window. Her little head tilted slightly to the side as she cautiously watched him.

  His eyebrows raised in surprise. “I didn’t know you had a dog.” Normally dogs ran to see who was at a front door, but it was clear this one was skittish.

  She snorted. “I just got her about a month ago. Her name’s Shadow and she’s a rescue. I swear she’s more like a cat than a dog. Instead of running for the door when anyone stops by, she hides. Just give her time, she’ll warm up to you in a minute.”

  He half-waved at the dog then felt kind of foolish, but when he saw the smile on Autumn’s face, he thought maybe not so foolish after all. He was definitely a dog person and had been planning on getting one in the next year as well—if his schedule ever cleared up.

  Inside the kitchen, he took in everything with interest. She’d made a lot of changes from the previous owner. He’d known she’d had construction done here before she moved in. There’d been a whole crew of people ripping out the old carpet, putting in new floors and doing other things before he’d even met her. But seeing all the changes were incredible.

  “You really have an eye for design,” he said as he took in the mix of modern and eclectic. The walls were a pale gray, the floors a dark wood, and there were pops of color everywhere, from the art to the throw blankets and pillows. “And those photographs are incredible.” They were pictures of downtown Verona Bay, some of the outlying areas, and various shots from different festivals. Six had been blown up and they covered one of her kitchen walls. The images were…striking. “Where did you get them?”

  When he looked back at her, her cheeks were flushed pink. “Thanks, I actually took them.”

  “I didn’t know you were into photography. I knew you painted but apparently you’re multitalented.”

  She made a scoffing sound as she pulled down two glasses. When she did, the sleeve of the oversized sweater she wore fell back, revealing one of her tattoos—a cluster of dainty-looking white flowers winding up her inner arm. “I like to dabble in all sorts of mediums. I find that it keeps things fresh.” She saw him looking and half-smiled. “You like my ink?”

  “I do. What’s the meaning behind that one?” Because something told him that she wouldn’t get tattoos that didn’t mean something.

  She shoved up her sleeve and held it as she stretched out her arm. “Ah, this one is Lily of the Valley flowers. I got it for a couple reasons—they were my mom’s favorite and even though they’re delicate, they’re tough. They survive harsh winters and always bloom in the spring. Plus, they’re poisonous, so animals give them a wide berth.”

  “I like it.” And he liked her. He motioned toward her wall of art as she let her sleeve drop. “You could sell some of those pictures.” They had enough festivals, farmers markets and hell, even the local art gallery would display her work. He might not know much about art, but he knew that those were professional-quality pictures that people would want.

  She simply shrugged and poured both of them a glass of red. “For some reason I don’t think you’re actually a wine guy, so if you don’t want this you won’t hurt my feelings.”

  He grinned as he sat down at the island countertop. “I prefer beer but my mom has gotten me to try a few of the bottles she got on her last trip to Italy.”

  “Your mom is one of a kind,” Autumn said as she sat down across from him. Her fingernails were a bright coral color and, sure enough, random flecks of colors dotted her fingers.

  “I didn’t know that you knew her.”

  “Pretty sure everyone knows Mrs. Jordan, mom of the three hellions from Verona Bay.” Her full lips quirked up slightly before she took a sip of her wine.

  “We weren’t hellions.” And she wouldn’t know because she hadn’t been raised here, had only moved here recently.

  “So the rumors aren’t true?”

  Now he grinned. “Only some of them.”

  Laughter in her dark eyes, she took another sip of her wine, sighing in appreciation. The black and white sweater she wore hung slightly off her shoulder, revealing smooth bronze skin he wanted to kiss.

  Something he didn’t need to be thinking about. “So how are you feeling, honestly?”

  She paused, as if weighing her answer. “Shaken up. Everything happened so fast. They rushed in, shouted orders, and just…took what they wanted with violence. It was like a surreal dream, like it was happening to someone else.” She shuddered then and wrapped her arms around herself as she looked him in the eye.

  “I’m glad no one was hurt. The Feds will catch those guys.”

  “I hope so. They could have hurt someone. Killed any of us with a ricochet bullet.”

  He paused for a moment, debating on how much he should tell her. “Between us, the Feds are already closing in on them anyway, but they managed to figure out who the buyer of the bullets was from some of the casings. It confirmed what they suspected.” They had the names of the robbers but weren’t releasing it to the public yet.

  She raised her eyebrows at that, took another sip of her wine. “Well then I guess I’m glad they made a stupid mistake. It was all so…unnecessarily violent.” She shook her head and set down her glass. “I sometimes wonder what goes wrong with some people, how their lives might’ve turned out differently if they’d made different choices.” She glanced at her wall of pictures…and for a moment he didn’t even think she was aware of him. But then she shook her head and looked back at him, giving him a smile. “You were really good with everyone today,” she said, surprising him.

  “It’s my job.”

  “It might be your job, but I’ve seen the way some cops handle things. You made everyone feel safe even with all the Feds milling about. They were actually pretty decent too.” She seemed surprised by that, something he mentally noted.

  He nodded because he knew the team of agents working the case. He didn’t know what to say and felt unnerved by her praise, as well as by the intense stare she was giving him. Thankfully at that moment, Shadow trotted in and started sniffing his feet and ankles, so he remained very still.

  He smiled down at the dog and held out his hand. Shadow deigned to sniff it and must have decided she trusted him because she jumped up, planting her paws on his knee and begging for affection. Laughing, he started scratching behind her ear and bent down so she could lick his face to death.

  Autumn grinned as he sat back up, which made it completely worth it. “Apparently you have a fan. She must really like you.”

  “I still can’t believe you have dog I didn’t know about. Does she even bark?”

 
She shook her head. “Nope. Not even when I take her for walks in the evening and let her run in the backyard, but she is definitely a homebody. She loves being with me. I’m a little worried about leaving her when school starts, but my hours are fairly decent so she shouldn’t be home by herself too long. I actually might hire a service to come walk her while I’m gone, just so she gets extra interaction. She really is like a cat though, she even curls up by my head at night.”

  At that thought, his mind immediately went to her bed, what it looked like, what she would look like stretched out in it. He’d had too many fantasies about what Autumn would look like naked, stretched out under him as he brought her pleasure. But he shut that down fast and hard. He was just here as a neighbor.

  Only a neighbor, he repeated to himself.

  Shadow, who he was still petting, finally jumped off his knees and raced for her food bowl.

  Lincoln stood then, not wanting to overstay his welcome.

  Autumn set her wine glass down too and rounded the island. “Thank you for stopping by, seriously. I really appreciate it, Lincoln.”

  He wasn’t sure if it was the fact that she’d said his name again, but simply hearing his name on her lips sent a jolt of…something through him. He knew what it was, even if he didn’t want to define it. Without thought, his gaze dipped to her full, kissable lips.

  And that was when he realized she was trembling. Oh hell. “Autumn?”

  She wrapped her arms around herself. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m so damn cold right now. I thought I was handling everything okay, but I keep seeing everything replay in slow motion. I mean… I should be fine. I’ve dealt with worse.” She snapped her mouth shut and wrapped her arms tighter around herself at that.

  He filed away that knowledge for later. But he also didn’t pressure her for more information. Her private life was her private life and she was a law-abiding citizen, as far as he knew. He wouldn’t break her privacy and dig into her past.