Without thinking, she opened the door.
It wasn’t the cop.
She drew breath to scream, but she never got the chance.
A hand covered her mouth, and she was dragged out into the night.
6
S ean Canady had taken the call while he was standing on the sidewalk on Conti Street, having just made sure that Lauren and her friends had gotten safely into their cottage.
“Canady here,” he said.
“It’s Bobby, Lieutenant. We’ve got trouble.”
“Go on.”
“We have another floater.”
Sean’s heart sank, and he swore silently. “Where?”
Bobby gave him the coordinates. He was thankful to hear that they weren’t in the heart of the city.
“Send a car for me now,” he said, and gave his exact location.
“Yessir.”
“Bobby?”
“Yeah?”
Sean paused. “Headless?”
“Yeah, Lieutenant. Headless.”
“Don’t scream. Please, don’t scream. I swear to God, I have no desire to hurt you, I’m trying to
Thoughts plowed through her mind with the speed of lightning as she was dragged from her own doorway.
She should scream. Definitely, she should scream.
She would pretend to agree, but the minute he lifted his hand, she was going to scream bloody murder.
His eyes seemed so sincere. And he was definitely a powerful man, all muscle; if he had wanted to drag her somewhere else, he could have done it easily.
How many women throughout history had died because they had listened to the words
She wasn’t an idiot.
She was the daughter of a cop, for God’s sake.
“Please, if you’ll just listen to me, I swear I won’t touch you again. You just have to listen to me. You have to understand the danger you’re in.”
Bad thought.
But when he eased his hand away from her mouth, she just stood there, staring daggers at him, shaking. Despite her promise to herself, she didn’t scream.
“The cops know all about you,” she warned.
“Some cops may know what I’m talking about.”
“They know you’re staying here.”
“Please.” He didn’t touch her, though she could tell he wanted to. “Come next door. For ten minutes. And you can leave any time you want.”
Not only was she not going to scream, she realized, she was going to go into his cottage with him.
Not a grave danger, she tried to reassure herself. The cottages were small and close together. If she screamed, someone would hear her.
Wouldn’t they?
“If you still think I’m totally insane after listening to what I have to say, I swear…I’ll leave you alone.”
“I could have you arrested,” she lied.
“Your lives are worth the risk.”
He sounded so sincere.
She knew that the voice in her head telling her to just say no was right. Sure, she was attracted to the man, attracted in a way she had never believed she could feel again. In his presence, she felt as if her every sense was heightened, but that was a stupid reason to trust him. And yet…
“This better be quick,” she said brusquely. “Wait here. I’m going to lock the door.”
