by Leigh, Lora
She cocked her head. “Are you that concerned he’ll come after me?”
With a thoughtful look, Adam said, “I don’t think you should take chances.”
“I won’t.” She waved the business card at him. “I know how to reach you if I need to.”
Adam gave a short nod, then went down the hall to the front door. He paused, his hand on the doorknob. “Good night, Keri,” he said before he let himself out and closed the door and the screen door behind him.
TWO
Thirty seconds later a knock on the door startled Keri. She’d had one drop-in guest tonight, who could be here now? She looked through the peephole. Safe, she thought.
When she opened the door, Detective Boyd was standing on her doorstep. This time he looked a little shy. Almost embarrassed.
Keri tilted her head. “Did you forget something?”
Adam shook his head. Cleared his throat. “I’m off duty now,” he said. “By any chance would you like to have dinner with me at Pete’s?”
Keri blinked in surprise. “Um, well. I don’t know. We just met. I really don’t even know you.”
“It’s a good way to get to know me.” His eyebrows rose and the corner of his mouth turned up in a slight, pleading grin.
Charming and persistent. A dangerous combination.
Keri shook her head. “It’s probably not a good night. But it was very nice of you to ask. Thank you, but I should really say good night.”
She closed the door, leaving him on her doorstep.
With a sigh she leaned against the door and tilted her head back so it thumped on the wood.
Truth was, she really did want to go out with him. But she never did things like that, went out with men she just met.
Hers was a simple life that included a nice routine with her dance studio and her parents, and not a whole lot else.
She really, really wanted to go out with Detective Boyd.
Keri turned and hurried to jerk the door open. “Adam. On second thought I’d love to go to dinner,” she called out before he reached his SUV.
He smiled as he returned and the cutest dimple appeared in one of his cheeks. “Grab something warm, it’s chilly outside.”
Damn he was hot. “I’ll meet you there,” she said. “You can snag a table for us.”
“See you,” he said and headed outside, and she locked the door behind him.
The coat closet was right by the front door and she picked out a short black leather coat and slipped her arms into it. She scooped up her wallet, keys, and cell phone from the stand in the entryway and stuffed them into her coat pockets.
Kinda crazy that she was going out with a man she had known for a few minutes at most, but she had the feeling that the detective was a genuinely nice guy. Not to mention really, really sexy. Besides, this had a little more excitement to it than sitting home eating leftover Chinese and reading a book.
After going through the kitchen door to the garage and raising the garage door, she climbed into her red VW Bug and backed out into the narrow street. She made sure her garage door closed behind her before driving downtown to Pete’s on Water Street.
When she arrived, Adam was seated at a small table near the bar. The buzz of voices, the clink of dishes, and music was a pleasant hum in the background. The restaurant had the warm smells of Italian food that made her mouth water.
He stood when she reached the table. “Nice to have an excuse to get out of the house,” Keri said as he assisted her in getting out of her coat. “Other than going to the studio to teach classes or visiting my parents in Forest Hills, I don’t get out much these days.”
“I’m glad you said yes.” Adam helped her with her chair and she caught his scent of coffee and leather. “It’s great to have good company to enjoy dinner with.”
“How do you know I’ll be good company?” Keri gave him a teasing smile as he took his own seat.
Again that dimple that made her sigh as he said, “It was worth a shot.”
The server appeared with glasses of water and a basket of garlic bread. After glancing at the menu and asking Keri what she liked for an appetizer, Adam ordered her favorite, the fresh mozzarella and red peppers.
When the server walked away, Keri met Adam’s gaze. “So, Detective, you said you live in Kensington?”
“A two-story Victoria.” He pushed his hand through his thick brown hair and she watched the play of muscles beneath his snug T-shirt. “Been there a couple of years,” he was saying and she just nodded. She would have been happy to watch him all night. He was the picture of masculine grace despite the rough edges.
As he spoke, Adam reached for the bread at the center of the table. At the same time he was going for the basket, his gaze dropped to Keri’s breasts. His hand shot too far and hit Keri’s glass of ice water.
The water glass tipped over and a wave of ice water covered Keri’s lap.
Keri gasped from the icy cold of the water that drenched her jeans and the belly of her sweater.
“Sh—damn,” Adam said as he rushed up from his seat to hand her a napkin. His arm hit his own glass of ice water and it tumbled over and sent another splash of cold over Keri.
At the look of utter embarrassment on the detective’s face, Keri started giggling and within a moment she couldn’t stop.
While the server brought napkins to help clean up the water, Keri laughed so hard that her eyes watered and her stomach hurt.
As she laughed, she saw Adam’s embarrassed smile turn into a grin. “It’s a special woman who can laugh at some guy dumping two glasses of ice water on her their first night out.”
“The first night out?” Keri said as she caught her breath and sopped up as much of the water as she could with napkins the server handed her. “So when’s the second night?”
“I get a second chance?” Adam said.
“Sure, maybe, if you stop with the water fights.” Keri dried herself about as much as she was going to be able to and handed the soaked napkins to the server. “But first tell me what distracted you to begin with.”
Adam cleared his throat. “The top two buttons of your sweater are undone.”
“Oh.” Keri glanced down and heat rushed to her cheeks. Her sweater gaped wide enough to get a good look at her black lace bra. “Uh, thanks,” she said as she fastened the pearl buttons.
“Well, I didn’t mean that you had to button it back up. I’ve dumped all the water we have on the table.” Adam gave her a teasing look. “It’s not like I can cause more damage,”
Keri gave her best serious act. “Yes, but I still have a glass of wine, and we’ll probably end the evening with a cappuccino. When you dump that on me it will cause a bit more of a problem than ice water. Better to keep them buttoned for you, Adam, you apparently get easily distracted.”
“Easily distracted?” Adam said. “What healthy red-blooded American boy wouldn’t be?”
The server came with fresh glasses of water, along with their appetizer.
“I feel like I know you well enough now after knocking heads and you sharing your water with me to say yes to another night out,” she said in between bites of fresh mozzarella and peppers on bread garnished with basil.
“Good,” Adam said. “Let’s hope you feel the same way by the end of dinner.”
Their conversation was easy and fun. Adam made her smile and laugh and she had no problem forgetting the fact she was still damp.
“How long were you a ballerina?” he asked over shrimp scampi and white wine, after they discussed the Knicks’ last game against the Celtics.
“My mother put me in dance as soon as I learned how to walk.” Keri smiled. “I had an aptitude for ballet at an early age,” she said. “I loved it and worked hard at it, dreaming that one day it would be my career. And it was. In another way it still is.”
“I read in your file that you were about to go on an extended world tour before your career ended,” he said.
Keri liked how he didn’t baby her by “dancing” around the subject. “We were scheduled to dance for the Queen of England to start our tour.” Keri tilted her head as she thought wistfully about the excitement she had felt during those days. “But Edward put an end to that dream.”
“You don’t seem bitter about it,” he said.
Keri shrugged. “I was at first, but not long. There’s no use in wallowing in self-pity. Now I have another career I love, one that would not have happened for a long time. Who knows how insane my life would have been if I’d continued dancing for another three to five years.”
“How did you get involved with someone like Edward Carter?” Adam looked genuinely interested.
With his bad boy grin, blond hair, and blue eyes so bright it almost hurt to look at them, Edward had been drop-dead sexy and sought after in the social circles. Most females, from young women to cougar age, had found the charismatic man charming, well-spoken, and completely hot.
If they’d only known the real Edward Carter. If she had only known.
“I saw him at a party,” she said. “He had everyone fooled and ran with the same groups that I did.” Keri looked at her wine glass, swirled it, and studied the gold liquid. “He was fun to be around and he seemed so levelheaded, intelligent, confident. He had his business front that fooled so many people, including me.”
She paused before she went on. “He actually treated me well then. I fell for the man I thought he was.” Keri sighed. “Then I starting seeing and hearing certain things around him. I asked him about what I’d overheard on occasion and he finally got comfortable enough with me to tell me details, thinking I would go along with it.
“Things went bad when I didn’t accept it.” She tapped her finger on the glass, making small tinking sounds. “I began to see his violent temper. He was a different man—almost like he was possessed. It shocked me that someone could fool me like he had.
“When I realized the truth,” she said, “it was like someone I cared about died.” She lowered her eyes before looking at Adam again. “It’s hard to think about right now.”
Adam saw the topic was starting to change the good mood of the evening. “You mentioned that you teach,” he said.
Thankfully his question pulled her mind away from thoughts of Edward. “All ages, and I love it.” She tilted her head to the side. “What about you, Detective? What made you go into law enforcement?”
Adam gave her his adorable boyish grin. “Batman.”
Keri laughed. “Batman?”
“I really wanted to be Batman when I was growing up,” he said. “I didn’t grow up as rich as Bruce Wayne and my parents said a Batmobile was too expensive. I figured the next best thing was to be a cop.”
“So now you’re a superhero police officer,” she said.
Adam shook his head. “Believe me, I know superheroes and I’m no superhero.”
Keri gave him a mischievous grin. “I’ll be the judge of that. There is something about a man in a mask.”
“What about Catwoman?” Adam had an amused expression. “Any young male who watched that show had to have had a thing about Catwoman and her mask.”
“I have one,” she said.
“You seriously own a Catwoman mask?” Adam said. “Okay, that’s it. We need to get this take-out and I need to see that on you.”
Keri laughed. “I was Catwoman at a Halloween party and I still have the outfit.”
“True confessions,” Adam said. “Now you know one of my weaknesses—a Catwoman look.”
She gave him a devious smile. “I just might have to model it for you someday, Detective.”
* * *
Keri shivered, thanks to her damp jeans, as she stood outside the door of her home. They had driven separately to the restaurant, but Adam had wanted to see her home.
“Better hurry and get inside,” he said, obviously noticing that she was shivering.
She unlocked the door, then faced him. “Thanks for dinner, Adam.”
“I’m glad you took me up on it.” He shoved his hands into his leather bomber jacket. “I have to say, you’re a fun person to spill water on.”
On impulse she reached up and kissed his cheek. “Good night.”
His voice was husky as he caught her hand and rubbed her knuckles. Again the crazy sensations traveled from his hand to hers. “You still game to do this again?”
She tried to catch her breath. “Absolutely.”
“What’s your phone number?” he asked and she gave him the number for her cell.
He gripped her hand for a long moment, as if he was frozen, too. His brown eyes were so warm, so inviting. She had the urge to reach up and touch his lightly stubbled jaw, to caress his cheek with her fingertips.
His throat worked. He finally released her and she let out her breath as she let her hand fall away from his.
“Good night, Keri.” The way he said her name made her stomach flip. “Guess I don’t get to see how that Catwoman mask looks on you, do I?”
“Maybe if you’re good and let me win the next water fight, Detective, I just might show it to you,” she said.
“I’ll hold you to that.” His voice was deep and rumbly and oh-so-sexy.
“Good night, Batman.” Telling him good night had been hard to say, but she got it out.
He winked, then turned and walked away.
It was almost unnerving how he made her feel, and she barely knew him. She had never felt this way with someone she just met. It was something about the way he looked at her, the depth of caring she saw in his eyes. And maybe more than that.
Keri rubbed her temples and stared at the door for a long moment before locking it. The bolt lock thunked and the chain rattled as she slid it into place. After she set her car keys, cell phone, and wallet on the stand by the front door, she turned away and went toward the kitchen.
So many thoughts went through her mind, but the primary one was Adam. How much she had enjoyed his company, the fun they’d had, including getting dowsed with ice water. She had felt so comfortable with him and never felt any awkward moments the whole night, including, surprisingly the incident with her sweater buttons.
As she began to straighten up the kitchen, her thoughts turned to Edward. The fact that he was out of prison and the possibility that he might be searching for her right now was constantly at the back of her mind. She did her best to keep it there. Edward wouldn’t come after her or have one of his men hurt her, would he? He wouldn’t be that stupid.
But then it was Edward. And he lived by his own set of rules.
Thinking of Adam was far more fun. She rubbed her palms on her jeans. “You’re like a schoolgirl, Keri,” she said to herself. “With a crush on the cutest boy around.”
She finished up a little cleaning, then headed up to get ready for bed, skipping the squeaky step. At the top of the stairs she flipped on the light switch in the hall and then went into her bedroom and turned on the Tiffany lamp beside her bed. She went into the bathroom and washed her face and brushed her teeth before heading back into her bedroom.
She unbuttoned the sweater and smiled as she thought about Adam and the mini chaos that had come from a couple of undone buttons. After she tossed it aside, she pulled on a white T-shirt to sleep in, then started to take off her damp jeans. A sound from downstairs caused her to halt.
Heart pounding, she paused, her hands at the hem of her T-shirt, and waited to see if she heard the noise again.
Nothing.
Fred started barking like crazy in the rear courtyard. She’d forgotten to bring him in for the night. But what was wrong with the golden retriever? No doubt she should let him in before the neighbors decided to call or come knocking at her door.
She skipped the squeaky step as she silently walked down the staircase to go let Fred in. She reached the foyer and went into her living room—
The lights went out.
THREE
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br /> Keri clapped her hand over her mouth, holding back a cry. Was it Edward? Had he or one of his hit men come for her?
She was being stupid.
Keri sucked in her breath, her heart pounding, and wondered why she was so jumpy. The power must have gone out on her block.
It was now so dark in the living room that she couldn’t see anything. She blinked rapidly, trying to get accustomed to almost pure darkness.
A squeak and the brush of the door from the garage opening came from the kitchen.
Panic crawled its way up her throat. That door couldn’t possibly squeak unless someone had pushed it open, and she knew she had left it closed.
She had to call 911, but she had left her phone on the stand by the door like she always did. If someone was there she would never make it. She would call from the landline.
Silvery light came in through the curtains from the full moon. It wasn’t much, but she could see well enough. Keri glanced over her shoulder.
Her breath stuck in her throat as she saw a shadowy figure pass from the kitchen toward the stairs.
Oh, my God. Someone was really in here.
She watched as the dark form moved up the stairs.
Keri remained frozen until she couldn’t see the figure anymore.
Heart pounding, she worked her way through the living room, cursing herself for the clutter that decorated the place, afraid she was going to knock something down.
The stair that she always avoided gave a loud squeak.
Whoever it was had reached the top of the stairs.
Fear tore through her like a jagged knife ripping her belly open from side to side. What was she going to do?
She had to hide. First she would call for help and then get to the cellar door.
When she picked up the phone, she started to press the number for emergency—the phone was dead.