by Codi Gary
Resisting the urge to move away again, she thought about what he said. Tokens? Tokens? What was he talking about?
The rumble of a truck outside broke into her thoughts, and he cursed. He hadn’t found Finn’s gun, which had been a relief, but there was no way to know if Finn had it on him. She opened her mouth to warn Finn, but cool steel bit into the skin of her neck.
“Make a sound, and I’ll gut you in front of him.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks unbidden as she whimpered behind the hand that had covered her mouth. As she stared up at him, she racked her brain for who he was, how he knew her…
He pulled a rag from his back pocket, mopping at his brow, and it hit her like a ton of bricks. He was the new janitor at the high school, had only been there a few months. She had met him briefly one night when she had been working late and had barely spoken to him in passing, just a friendly hello here and there.
And then the apples had started showing up. Every day for the last few weeks, she had found a perfect red apple waiting for her on her desk. She had assumed it was one of her students, but none of them had admitted it.
“I know you now. You left me the apples.”
He jerked his gaze back to her, and she recognized the warning. If she didn’t shut up, she was dead.
But so was Finn.
The knob turned, and she felt a warm trickle of wetness on her neck. He had cut her.
“Hey, De, I’ve got food. How about we…”
Finn, loaded down with bags of groceries and a beautiful floral bouquet, had spotted them.
Oh Finn, I’m so sorry.
“Do not move,” her stalker said. God, my stalker. Who would have ever thought she would have a stalker? A crazy, homicidal stalker.
Finn hadn’t moved. His jaw ticked, and his gaze fixed on the man holding a knife on her. She tried to say she was sorry, but the janitor’s hand was still covering her mouth.
“She’s bleeding,” Finn stated quietly.
“It was just a little scratch. She’ll live. The question on your mind should be, will you?”
Finn’s mouth kicked up in a small smile. “I like my odds.”
The hand over her mouth moved, and he suddenly gripped her hair, yanking it hard. She cried out, and Finn dropped the bags to the floor.
“Don’t,” he growled, taking a step around the couch.
“If you come closer, she’s going to get a lot more than a scratch and a little hair pulling.”
Deana winced as her head was jerked again for effect. “Finn, he wants me, not you. Go.”
“Shut up, bitch,” her stalker yelled.
She saw Finn move and knew she needed to distract the man if they had any chance of making it out of there alive.
“No.” She struggled to turn and face him without slicing her neck, sneering up into his red face. “You say you want me. That you cared and have waited for me, but you treat me like this? Call me a bitch? You have no respect for women.”
The man snarled, spittle trailing down his chin. “You betrayed me. You are nothing but a whore who needs to learn her place.”
“I am not a whore. I made love to a man I care about. That doesn’t make me a whore. You are just a sick, delusional man who needs to see the padded walls of a nuthouse,” she screamed.
He released her hair, and the back of his hand arched down to slap her with enough force to send her spinning. Shaking the dizziness away, she looked up in time to find him raising both hands over his head, the knife gleaming as a ray of sunlight hit it.
“You’ll pay!” The knife came down. Deana rolled just as gunshots rang through the room. She looked up in time to watch three red stains blossom across the man’s chest, his expression shocked as blood trickled out of his mouth. The knife clattered to the floor, and Deana scooted farther back until she hit the wall.
Unable to look away, she stared helplessly as the man fell to the floor, his eyes fixed and sightless.
“Deana.” Hands smoothed over her arms, releasing her wrists from the cuffs. She was brought up hard against the wall of Finn’s chest as he rocked her.
Coming out of her daze, she sobbed, her arms going around Finn’s shoulders as he sat down next to her, pulling her into his lap. “Oh, baby, shhh… Don’t cry, honey, you’re safe. I’m so sorry. So sorry, baby.”
She buried her head in the crook of Finn’s neck. “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. You should stay far, far away from me.”
A gentle hand settled under her chin, lifting her gaze to his, and he shook his head. “Not a chance. It wasn’t your fault, none of it. I’m just glad I got here in time.”
A wobbly smile spread across her lips. “You do have perfect timing.”
He kissed her gently, and she was surprised to see a tear escape the corner of his eye. When he pulled back, he said, “I thought I was going to lose you.”
She swallowed the large lump in her throat. “He was going to kill you. I thought if I focused all his attention on me, you might be able to get the drop on him and stay safe.”
“Which reminds me,” he said, scowling, “never, ever piss off a psychopath with a knife.”
“It distracted him, didn’t it?” she argued.
“And nearly took ten years, no, twenty off my life. Don’t you ever risk yourself like that again.”
Her eyes drifted from his. “I had to.”
“Why? I could have handled it without you nearly getting stabbed.” His arms wrapped around her once more, and his chin rested on the top of her head. “You didn’t trust me to save you?”
“No, I trusted you. I was just afraid of you getting hurt in the process. I wanted to protect you.” She snuggled into him, afraid to see his expression. What if her admission scared him off?
“When I saw him bring that knife down… God, it was like my heart stopped.” His voice was raw.
She heard the beep of a phone and realized Finn was dialing. “Hello, this is Officer Finn Meyers…”
She listened as Finn explained the situation, warmth spreading through her as his arms stayed around her.
He cares.
* * *
Hours later, Deana and Finn had given their statements, and Finn was put on leave with pay for the shooting. It was standard procedure, and he would have to see a shrink to get cleared, but it was worth it, knowing that crazy bastard would never come after Deana again.
Finn hadn’t been able to let Deana from his arms through the whole process. The thought that he might have lost her after so short a time made him realize that, against all the warning bells that went off telling him he was crazy, she was it for him. Deana was the one.
As the last officer left his house, he turned to smile down at her. “So, I’ve been thinking…”
With her arms around his waist, she rested her chin on his chest to gaze up at him. “Yeah?”
“Since I’m on leave and you’re taking the week off to recover, what do you say to going on a trip with me?” Her eyebrows rose, and he continued, “I don’t know about you, but I really want to put this craziness from my mind, and I don’t think I can do that here.”
After a brief pause, she gave him a small smile. “As long as it’s not a cabin in the woods or a scary mansion, I’m good.”
Dropping his lips to hers, he murmured against them, “I was thinking some place a little more private.”
“With a beach?”
“A beach sounds good.”
“We could rent a little condo on the shore. Plenty of privacy…to role-play.”
Finn quirked an eyebrow. “Yeah? Who are we pretending to be?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
“I see.” He dropped a kiss on her mouth and before he lost his nerve, murmured, “Well, what if I pretend to be a man falling in love with a woman?”
Deana sucked in her breath and for a second, he thought she was going to bolt.
It wasn’t until he saw the tears welling up in her eyes that he relaxed.
“I guess
then I’ll pretend to be the luckiest woman in the world?” she said.
Picking her up in his arms, he kissed her one more time. “I could go along with that.”
“Me too.” Deana leaned her head onto Finn’s chest as he carried her into the bedroom. “But afterwards, can we switch roles?”
He paused at the foot of the bed. “How’s that?”
“I’ll be the woman falling in love with you, and you can be the luckiest man in the world,” she said sheepishly.
Laying her on the bed, he climbed up next to her and held her close, kissing her forehead softly. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
About the Author
An obsessive bookworm, Codi Gary likes to write sexy contemporary romances with humor, grand gestures, and blush-worthy moments. When she's not writing, she can be found reading her favorite authors, squealing over her must-watch shows, and playing with her children. She lives in Idaho with her family. Codi loves hearing from her readers, so be sure to visit her at http://codigarysbooks.com, Facebook: CodiGarysBooks, and Twitter: @codigary.
Discover More by Codi Gary
Rock Canyon, Idaho Series
The Trouble With Sexy
Things Good Girls Don’t Do
Good Girls Don’t Date Rock Stars
Return of the Bad Girl
Bad Girls Don’t Marry Marines
Bad For Me
The Men in Uniform Series
One Lucky Hero
Hero of Mine
Holding Out for a Hero
Coming Soon: Hot Winter Nights Series by Codi Gary and James Patterson
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Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
About the Author
Discover More by Codi Gary