The Stranger Next Door (6 page)

Chapter Six

The rest of the day went by in a lazy haze. They’d painted the entire porch, and although neither of them had a lick of professional painting ability, it actually looked great. When dinnertime rolled around, they’d agreed to share a pizza and unwind after the events and work of the day.

Like I could ever unwind with Jack around.

He kept her wound as tight as a coil about to pop with his glimmering smile and charm.

“Do you enjoy being a cop?”

Tess raised her eyes from the slice of pizza she’d been enjoying and smiled. “Yes and no.”

“Care to elaborate?” Jack asked curiously.

Taking a sip of her ice water, Tess shrugged. “I used to enjoy it a lot more than I do now.”

“Since your partner’s death, you mean?”

“Not exactly,” she admitted. “I was getting a little restless with my job even before the shooting. I just didn’t want to admit it. Being a cop was all I ever wanted to be. How could I admit I might have made a mistake by actually becoming one?”

Jack nodded. “I understand what you mean. I went on this vacation to get away from the stress of the job, but in all honesty, I was getting restless. Not necessarily bored, but now that I don’t have to deal with the lying and betrayal aspects of the job, I'm a lot happier. I still want to work but not like before.”

“Are you thinking about quitting?” she asked curiously.

“No, just working behind the scenes maybe, arranging the cases for other PIs to take on instead of going out in the field and doing it myself.”

“Perhaps that’s what I should do,” she said thoughtfully.

Jack gazed at her intently. She felt a chill slither across her heated flesh as his gaze bored into her. She needed to put some distance between them. She feared if she moved closer to him, she’d lose all control and attack the poor man. Tess glanced out the kitchen window at the darkening sky.

“It’s getting late,” she said wearily. She stood and began clearing the table.

He rose too and helped her complete the task before moving toward the door to make his exit.

“I’ll be here around six in the morning, if that’s all right.”

She nodded as she followed him to the door. “Perfect.”

With one final smile, Jack opened the door and walked at a quick clip across the street.

As much as she wanted Jack to stay, she knew it was a bad idea. She watched him disappear into his house, then, closing and locking her door, she headed upstairs.

After a quick shower and scrub of her teeth, she climbed beneath the sheets of her bed and fell quickly into a deep sleep.

* * * *

Thump.

Shifting against her pillow, Tess sighed.

Thump
.

“What in the world…?”

Rubbing her eyes, Tess raised herself to rest on one arm.

She was used to the many creaks and squeaks of her new house, but the thumps that had just stirred her from such a deep slumber were ones she hadn’t heard before.

Sitting perfectly still, she listened quietly for a long moment but heard only the soft chirp of crickets and the occasional hum of the locusts, the sounds she’d come to love since moving into her new home.

“You’re just being paranoid.”

The attack in the garage must be what had her feeling so paranoid.

Tess pounded her pillow and snuggled back down into the soft linens. It’d been a long day, and tomorrow was going to be even longer. Jack had suggested they start painting the rest of the house.

Jack.

Tossing an arm over her eyes, Tess groaned.

The image of Jack’s taut, tan skin glistening in the sun as he worked stirred her desire unlike any before.

After the fiasco in the garage, it had taken her no more than a minute to realize Jack was now working shirtless. And while she’d acted as though his shirtless state hadn’t affected her, it had.

After laying eyes on his muscular physique, she’d been useless the rest of the day. She hadn’t been able to work more than five minutes before she caught herself staring as his muscles rippled and rolled with every movement as he stroked the paintbrush gently against the railing.

With a single glance, Jack could set her body ablaze. He was a force to be reckoned with.

Jack’s stunning good looks would leave even the most chaste of women questioning her decision.

She needed to tread carefully, or she’d find herself falling for his irresistible charm.

“Just go to sleep.” She groaned as she forced herself to relax. But just as sleep threatened to claim her once again, a soft creak reached her ears, and this time she recognized the sound … footsteps on the stairs.

Her eyes popped open as she bolted upright in bed. Narrowing her eyes against the darkness, she listened carefully, training all her senses on the sounds around her. She willed herself to stay calm.

When another creak sounded, Tess knew for certain she wasn’t alone. Slipping quietly from the bed, she tiptoed to the dresser.

Easing open the top drawer, careful not to make a sound, she reached in and pulled out her gun.

She slid the clip into place, flicked the safety switch off, and then crept quietly across the room to stand beside the door. When it opened, she’d be behind it. The door itself and the shadows would give her the cover she needed to conceal herself and get the drop on the intruder without being seen.

Tess had been a cop for a very long time, but all those years of experience didn’t curb the fear creeping up her spine as she waited for whoever was in her home to make their appearance. Slowly, the knob turned. Getting a better grip on her gun, Tess took a deep breath as the door eased open with an eerie creak straight out of a horror flick.

Hiding in the shadows, Tess eased away from the wall to peer around the edge of the now-open door. She watched quietly as a tall, black-clad figure stepped into the room.

Taking a quick survey of the intruder, she noted his medium build.

He wasn’t as tall as Jack, but he still stood a foot taller than she did.

She held perfectly still and watched as the trespasser crept to the side of her bed. Stopping as though he were surprised to find her gone, he seemed to panic as he raised his head and looked quickly about the room.

Who was he, and why was he in her house? He was obviously looking for her, but why?

There’s only one way to find out
, she thought to herself.

Stepping quickly from behind the door, Tess held her gun on the prowler.

“Don’t move.” She hoped her voice sounded as stern as she wanted it to. As he raised his hands into the air, she took a step farther into the room. “Turn around,” she said sternly. As he did so, she kept her gun trained on his chest.

Stepping sideways, she reached out and flicked the light switch on. Bright light spilled into the room, illuminating the intruder, but with his black mask and clothing, she couldn’t determine any real characteristics other than his build.

“Who are you and what do you want?” she asked forcefully while scanning his body for visible weapons.

A large hand forcefully clamped over her wrists knocking the gun from her hands before twisting her arm behind her back. She was then hauled back against a hard chest as a second hand clamped over her mouth, smothering her scream. The man she’d been facing lunged forward and grabbed the gun she’d lost. He walked to her.

Fear spiked within her as she fought against the other man’s vise-like hold. Fiercely, she fought with as much power and strength as she could muster, but the man holding her was a brick wall. Nothing she did seemed to faze him.

The first man, now holding her gun level with her face, smiled beneath his mask.

Adrenaline rocketed through her as, without thinking, she kicked out and her foot connected with the gun.

A shot ripped through the air as the gun went off. It hit the floor and slid beneath the bed as the man holding it lost his grip on the weapon.

“She’s a wild one.” The voice at her ear sounded rough as she continued her struggle.

“He said she would be,” the other replied. The man in front of her cautiously came forward and, timing her kicks, grabbed her legs then pulled a roll of duct tape from the pocket of his hooded sweatshirt and began taping her ankles together before moving on to do the same to her hands.

“Slap a piece of that on her mouth and let’s get her to the old man. Someone might have heard that shot, and I don’t wanna have to come back and do this again.”

Nodding his agreement, the other man did as he was told and covered her mouth with a thick piece of duct tape.

A million questions raced through her head as she was tossed over the man’s shoulder.

Who was the old man, and why did he want her?

Breathing deeply, Tess racked her brain for ways to get out of this situation but drew nothing more than a blank as she watched the stairs pass beneath her view.

* * * *

Jerking upright in bed, Jack frowned.

“What the hell was that?” He feared he already knew, as this wasn’t the first time today he’d heard that same sound … a gunshot.

“Tess.”

Leaping from the bed, he grabbed his discarded jeans and pulled them on as he stumbled to the dresser. He removed his gun from a drawer and shoved it into the back of his jeans. Sprinting down the stairs, Jack flew out the main door and across the street. Looking up, he noticed her bedroom light was on, and more than one shadow caught his eye.
Someone was up there.

Reaching Tess’s front door, Jack twisted the knob and scowled. It didn’t budge. Acting on a hunch, he bent down and lifted the welcome mat. Bingo! Like some, Tess kept a spare key there. Bending down quickly, he removed the key from under the mat. Just as he was about to place it in the keyhole, he stopped as the sound of heavy footfalls sounded in the entry.

Turning to the left, he peeked through one of the door’s side windows.

Two men were coming down the stairs, one holding a bound and gagged Tess over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes; another led the way toward the kitchen and rear exit.

Running, Jack leapt over the freshly-painted porch rail and rounded the side of the house.

Fear coursed through his veins as he made his way as quickly and quietly as possible to the rear of the house.

Sliding close to the back door, he pressed himself close to the wall and waited.

Who were these men, and why were they kidnapping Tess? What kind of people kidnapped a cop?

He knew the answer to that question. He just didn’t want to answer it. First the attack in the garage today, and now someone trying to kidnap her? Someone was after Tess, but why?

The knob turned, and the men exited the house. The lead man stopped to hold the door open for the man carrying Tess.

Jack watched for a moment, evaluating his situation.

Leaping into action, he slammed the grip of his gun into the base of the second man’s skull. With a grunt, he dropped like a stone at Jack’s feet.

The man holding Tess turned, and beneath the mask, Jack could see his eyes widen with surprise before he turned and started a mad dash toward the rear wall lining the backyard.

Able to reach the man quickly, as Tess undoubtedly weighed him down, Jack wanted to tackle him, but that action would jeopardize Tess.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to act. Just yards before they reached the wall, the man dropped Tess, closed the distance, scaled the wall, and leapt over.

Out of nowhere, the second man sprinted past Jack and Tess, hand holding the back of his head, as he too, leapt over the wall and out of sight.

Dropping beside her, Jack grasped the duct tape’s corner. “Quick like a Band-Aid,” he said as he ripped the tape from her lips.

“Son-of-a-bitch that hurt!” she bellowed as she reached up and gingerly touched the irritated skin.

“I’m sorry. It was the best way. Doing it slowly would have only prolonged the sting. What the hell happened?” he asked as he went to work on the tape at her wrists and ankles.

“I wish I knew,” she said irritably with a shake of her head as she recited the detail of her latest attack.

Jack listened to her recount what happened then sat back on the balls of his feet.

If she tried to tell him this was just some teenager, as she had earlier in the day, he was going to scream. Someone was obviously after her. She needed protection until they knew who they were and had them in custody.

“Are you going to try to tell me they were just a couple teenagers out looking for a thrill, or can we call the police now?” he asked with just a hint of sarcasm.

She looked at him; one eyebrow lifted, then she shook her head. “Hell no, those guys tried to kidnap me. I know when I'm in over my head. I want to know what’s going on and put a stop to it.”

Jack couldn’t stop himself from looking her over.

She wore nothing more than a small pair of what looked like boxers, but they were formfitting like panties, and a thin strappy shirt.

Tearing his eyes away from the sight of her perky nipples pressing against the thin material of her top, he asked, “Are you hurt? You hit the ground pretty hard.”

He took her wrists in his hands and examined them before moving lower to her ankles, hoping his lustful gaze at her breasts had gone unnoticed in the dim moonlight.

Shaking her head, she answered, “No, I'm fine. My skin just burns a little where the tape was. After I wash it and put a little cream on it, it’ll be as good as new.”

Nodding, he stood up and helped her to her feet.

“We need to get back in the house and make the call. The sooner someone can get out here and document what happened, the sooner they can find out who’s after you and why.”

“I know,” she said a bit testily, and when he looked at her in question, she cocked a brow. “Didn’t forget I'm a cop, did you?”

“No,” he answered tightly.

As a matter of fact, that fact weighed heavily on his mind.

“I didn’t forget. I just want to protect you.”

The moment he’d heard that gunshot he’d been wound as tight as a bowstring. Only now that he had her next to him, safe and sound, did he start to calm down. The blood pounding in his veins slowed to normal.