Tag: mystery

Connor stared at the photo of Lacey he held in his hands. It was only her drivers license photo, and her unsmiling face stared back at him, but he still thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Those sky blue eyes, and hair like spin gold, he could have stared at her for hours except he had more important things to be doing.

Like finding out where she had gone.

He’d had her photo printed up and handed out to every cop in the city because he wanted her found.

What was she thinking running off on her own when she knew such a violent man was after her?

Didn’t she know that he would do whatever it took to keep her safe?

No, of course she didn’t, why would she? They didn’t know each other and she had no reason to trust him.

Connor crossed the street and nearly bumped into a blonde woman on the steps to his apartment. For a second he thought it was Lacey, who had somehow managed to track him down and come to him for help, but then she turned around and he saw it was a stranger.

“Excuse me, miss,” he said as he walked past her. How long was he going to fantasise about seeing Lacey? Unfortunately he suspected he knew the answer to that.

Bypassing the elevator he took the stairs, hoping running up six flights would work out some of his nervous anxiety so he could focus and find Lacey before anything happened to her.

He was just opening the front door when he noticed the stack of picture books he’d left by the front door ready to take to his sister’s house for his nephew and niece had been knocked over. He was kind of anal when it came to the tidiness of his home and it had been in a neat pile when he had left earlier.

Someone was in here.

Puling out his gun he began to search his apartment.

Her leg hurt.

Really hurt, a kind of pain she had never hurt before. But as excruciating as it was it couldn’t compare with the pain in her heart.

Callie was dead.

Because of her.

Because Todd had come after her.

She should have known that he would never let her leave, that sooner or later he would come back to get her. He thought that she was his possession and he would never leave her alone as long as she was alive. Or as long as he was.

Which didn’t give her many options.

Trying to hide her limp as best as she could so no one noticed that she was a patient and not a nurse. She had thrown on a set of scrubs a nurse had left for her since her clothes were evidence for the cops, and she hoped that no one would spare her a second glance as she snuck out of the hospital.

“He’s sick,” a woman cried out, carrying her small son into the emergency room as Lacey hurried through the doors.

The only problem in her plan to disappear was Detective Zaal.

Connor Zaal.

He had saved her life, and she knew that he would do anything within his power to help her remain alive until her ex-husband was found and arrested. But trusting him was out of the question. It was trusting a man that had gotten her into this mess to begin with and she wasn’t ready to take that leap of faith again.

Even for someone like him.

So for now she was on her own.

Connor couldn’t stop thinking about the woman, who’s name he had finally learned was Lacey. Lacey Bentley, aged twenty-three, parents deceased, no siblings, and a recent divorce. That was what he had managed to learn about her while he was sitting in the hospital corridor waiting to speak with her.

After admitting that it might have been her husband who sent someone to kill her and bursting into tears she had kind of drifted off into a trance.

He’d bundled her into an ambulance, waited at the scene to give a statement to his colleagues about what had gone down, then driven to the hospital as quickly as he could. Connor had spoken to her doctor and learned that her leg hadn’t needed surgery but that they were keeping her overnight to treat her for shock.

He wanted to see her again. He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to . . .

“Detective Zaal?”

“Yes?” he asked the doctor who had walked down the corridor towards him. “How is Ms. Bentley?”

“She’ll be alright, physically at least, psychologically, well thats going to take time.”

“Can I go in and speak with her? She is a witness in a shooting that lead to seven deaths,” he added when the doctor looked to be wavering.

“Okay, but I don’t know how much you’ll get out of her.”

“Thank you,” he said. Standing he walked towards Lacey’s hospital room a little brisker than was strictly necessary but he really wanted to see her again. Back at the crime scene she’d wanted to kiss him, he had been able to read it written all over her face.

What was worse was that he had wanted to kiss her too.

That was completely inappropriate. He was a cop, she was the victim of a crime, one who was probably still in danger. He had to shut down this attraction he felt for her before he did something stupid that they would both regret.

“Lacey, its Detective Zaal,” he said as he opened the door and stepped into her room.

Which was empty.

She’d run.

No doubt afraid that her ex-husband would track her to the hospital she had decided that she was safer on the run.

On her own.

“Lacey,” he groaned. How could he keep her safe when he didn’t know where she was. She’d just made his job a whole lot harder.

But he would find her, and he would protect her from her ex. And then for once in his life he might throw caution to the wind and win the girl.

She wanted to kiss him.

Lacey couldn’t take her eyes off the handsome stranger who had just saved her life.

His eyes were honey coloured, his hair as black as night, and he had the most endearing dimples. He was like a dream, a mirage, something that was too good to be true, especially in her messed up life, and yet he was standing in front of her touching her. His fingers clasped her chin and he was staring into her eyes like . . . like . . . well she wasn’t sure, but his eyes were like magnets, holding her gaze.

The man cleared his throat. “You need to sit down.”

“Sit down?” she echoed, confused.

“Your leg,” he said, releasing her chin and pointing to her leg where she could see a stain on her sweatpants.

“My leg?” Her brain was mush right now and she couldn’t figure out why a stain on her pants was important.

“You were shot,” he said gently.

“Shot?” Lacey shook her head in denial, she hadn’t been shot, people who were shot were in pain and she felt . . . nothing, she was numb.

“You should sit down,” he said again.

Lacey was aware of people buzzing around them but it felt like she and the handsome stranger were alone in the universe.

No second chances.

That was what Callie had told her after her life had fallen apart six months ago. Now was the time to find what she wanted in life and go for it. No holding back, no hiding in the shadows, because if she didn’t embrace the possibilities that presented themselves she might not get another chance.

Callie.

Where was Callie?

Her eyes scanned the area and settled on a body.

Callie’s body.

Her best friend was just lying there, drenched in blood.

Dead.

She was dead.

Lacey heard screams, but it took her a moment to realise they were coming from her. She tried to get to Callie, but she was picked up and carried further away.

“Those men were aiming for you,” her saviour told her as he cradled her in his arms. “Is there anyone you know who wants to hurt you?”

There was only one answer to that question.

And it chilled her to the core.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she began to shake. Her eyes sought his because that was the only thing that could steady her in this moment. “My ex-husband,” Lacey replied on a sob. Then she buried her face in the man’s shoulder and wept.

Connor didn’t see a way where this ended well.

The gun had misfired once but it wasn’t going to happen again, there were four men surrounding them, and he had to wonder why they would come back, and why they had zeroed into the woman he was currently holding in his arms.

Who was she?

And why did someone want her dead?

The man who appeared to be in charge lifted his weapon, pointed it right at the woman’s head, but before he could fire the most wonderful sound in the world filled the air.

Sirens.

Finally back up was on the way, maybe his number wasn’t up quite yet.

The four men exchanged glances, then turned and ran, jumping into a car then screeching off down the street.

It took a second for him to accept that they were still alive, he had been so sure that they were about to meet their maker.

Slowly he turned the woman around so he could see her face, she was still staring right through him, her blue eyes blank with shock. Connor gave her a shake, he needed to snap her out of the haze she was stuck in.

“Hey,” he said gently, grasping her chin between his thumb and forefinger he gave her another shake.

The woman gave a slow motion blink and her eyes cleared. They looked deep into his and he felt something inside him shift. She felt it to, the woman sucked in a breath, and quickly looked away, then cautiously her gaze moved back to meet his. The tension was so thick you’d need a machete to cut it.