Blast, she was a pea-brain.Now, as she digested the ramifications of what she’d just done, her hands began to shake.What the hell had she been thinking?She’d chased a felon out into the street.Would’ve kept chasing him if that big lug hadn’t got in her way.It would’ve been her alone, running down the deserted roadway after an intruder, perhaps with another criminal hard on her tail.What a stupid, stupid thing to do.She’d acted on instinct, white-hot anger driving her on.But now… In the light of her adrenaline withdrawal, she could see how foolish she’d been.Not even her Nikon was worth putting herself in that kind of danger.
Summer startled and almost let out a scream as the tall stranger materialized out of the darkness by her side.Blast, where had he come from?She’d been so caught up in her own self-recriminations, she’d forgotten to keep watch.Either that, or he was good at moving quietly.She shrank away from him, toward the safety of the doorway, her fingers already reaching for the access panel.
“Sorry, I could find no sign of the man who stole your camera.”He had a strong accent that she couldn’t place, with a stilted way of speaking.
Summer lowered her hand from the keypad, tilting her head to look up into his face, and was arrested by the strange color of his eyes.They were so light blue; they were almost silver.A tad disconcerting.Together with the prominent touches of gray at his temples and forehead in his otherwise dark hair, it made a compelling combination.Her friend Bianca might’ve called him a silver fox, but then he surely wasn’t old enough to fit that category.He looked to be Summer’s age, perhaps a few years her senior.
His mouth tilted down as a concerned frown hovered on his brow.He didn’t strike her as a criminal, but that meant nothing; she was often a poor judge of character.He was smartly dressed in dark blue jeans, black trainers, and a simple black T-shirt that stretched over impressive biceps.Now that she took the time to study him, the rest of him was impressive as well.Tall, with lean hips and broad shoulders.
“Are you okay?”he asked again as he leaned in to search her face for signs of shock or hurt.
But she tilted away, and replied curtly, “Of course I am.I’m just pissed that guy got away with my camera.And he trashed my apartment,” she added with a sour grimace.
The man’s features hardened.“You need to call the police.”
“I left my phone upstairs,” she responded, not letting on that she didn’t really want the law involved.In her experience, they weren’t to be trusted and were next to useless when it came to tracking down the perpetrators of a crime.
He pulled a cell from his back pocket.“What is the number you American’s use?911, is that it?”
“Wait, no…” she grunted in surprise but was too late; he was already making the call.
“My name is Mårten, by the way,” he said as he handed the phone over and she took it from him reluctantly.“I’m a police officer from Sweden,” he added just as a tinny voice asked what her emergency was.So that’s why he’d been so keen to chase down the thief, and then report the theft.It would be second nature to a cop; he was just following procedure.She eyed him suspiciously as she spoke into the cell, wondering what he was doing so far from home, and his reasons for standing out the front of her building at that time of night.
After Summer had related the robbery and ransacking of her apartment, and been told a unit would be there soon, she handed him back his phone, strangely tongue-tied.A stab of shame coursed through her when she remembered she’d thought he might be connected to the lowlife who’d robbed her, when he’d genuinely been trying to help.But now that she knew he was in law enforcement, she still couldn’t bring herself to regard him with anything more than a flawed distrust.
“Umm, thank you,” she said, then stared up at him, unsure what to do next.Annoyingly, her hands continued to shake, and she tucked them into the pockets of her leather jacket, hoping he hadn’t seen.
“I think I should wait with you until the police arrive,” Mårten said as he replaced his cell in his back pocket.
Damn, maybe she hadn’t been as good at hiding how rattled she was as she’d hoped.Summer bit her lip, then shook her head and opened her mouth to speak, but he interrupted before she could decline his offer.
“Break-ins like this can be quite shocking.I know; I deal with the victims of crime all the time.You should have someone with you when you return to your apartment.Trust me.”
She hesitated.Oh, she knew exactly how it felt to be the victim of a violent crime.And this was nothing compared to what she’d experienced back when she was seventeen.But she wasn’t about to tell him her life story.However, now that she thought about it, the idea of facing her wrecked apartment by herselfwasa little daunting.Perhaps having someone with her, even if it was a stranger—a foreigner and a cop moreover—might be better than the alternative.An officer of the law would be used to dealing with these kinds of situations.And although she didn’t trust most cops, he did seem to be sincerely concerned.
“It’s the least I can do, seeing as how I stopped you from catching your thief,” he said with a lopsided half-grin.
Summer considered him for a few seconds before deciding.“Thank you, that would be nice.My name is Summer, by the way,” she added, before ducking her head and pushing open the doors, leading him upstairs, her need for moral support overcoming her need to keep this handsome stranger at arm’s length.She just hoped she was making the right choice.
CHAPTER TWO
MÅRTEN FOLLOWED THE woman up five flights of stairs to the top floor, watching with interest as she retrieved a baseball bat from the third landing.Had she chased the man using that as a weapon?His respect for her went up a few notches.Now, she hovered by the open doorway; her determined footsteps faltered.He’d seen enough cases of people in shock to know what it looked like, and this woman was definitely suffering the effects, even if she was trying to hide it.She’d been as white as a ghost after he’d returned from chasing the felon, and her hands had been shaking badly before she tucked them in her pockets.Reality might be setting in now, but a few moments ago she’d shown just how kick-ass she could be when she’d run after that guy down the stairs and out into the street without a thought to her own safety.Courageous as well as a tad foolish.He wondered what she would’ve done if he hadn’t stepped in her way.How long would she have hunted the thief down the street?And what would’ve happened if she’d caught him?He shuddered to think.That robber could have been carrying a knife, or even a gun.Perhaps it was destiny that he’d been on the street at that exact moment.
Mårten had been taking an evening stroll, checking out the neighborhood, and giving his friends, Jacob and Nikki, some time to themselves.Even though they continued to tell him how welcome he was in their house, their love affair was still fresh, and they could barely keep their hands off each other, although they tried to hide it whenever he was in the room.Jacob had given him an appreciative tilt of the head when Mårten had said he needed some fresh air and that he’d be back in a couple of hours; he could just imagine they’d made a beeline for the bedroom as soon as he’d shut the front door.
His visit was almost at an end, and he was due to fly back to Sweden in four days.This was his first trip to the US, and the three of them had had a great time doing the tourist thing, even flying down to Las Vegas for a quick weekend jaunt.Mårten had been surprised at how beautiful and unaffected the state of Washington was.
The real reason for Mårten’s visit was never discussed, however; to check out this woman who’d lured Jacob away from his family, friends and career.But he could find no fault in her.As a matter of fact, Mårten was trying not to be jealous of his friend and ex-police partner’s good luck.Nikki was an amazing person, and Jacob was lucky to have found her, even if he’d had to move halfway across the globe to be with her.Less than six months ago, Nikki had been the target of two hitmen, who’d been trying to stop her testifying in a court case against Diàoyú, a Chinese fish farming company.Thanks to Jacob’s heroics, she’d survived to give her evidence, but they still hadn’t tracked down the ultimate villain responsible for ordering the hit on her life, which was both frustrating and annoying.But after all they’d been through together, it wasn’t surprising they’d discovered love along the way.
So, it was indeed mere coincidence that Mårten had been walking down this exact street at this exact time.He’d seen the man in the hoodie dashing out of the door right in front of him and had stopped and turned to see what he was up to when the woman had careened into him, both of them ending up in a heap on the pavement.
He disliked being taken by surprise.Being a trained cop, he looked unprofessional at the very least.And it was one reason he’d offered to go upstairs with Summer, to atone for his lack of awareness and reaction to a sudden threat.A reason, but not the only one.She might’ve been putting on a brave face, but he could recognize vulnerability and fear when he saw it.She was in need of protection right now, and he was just the guy to give it.It didn’t matter that she had an alluring, sultry pout to her mouth that intrigued him.Nope.That had nothing to do with why he followed her pert, jean-clad backside up the stairs.Nothing at all.
“I’ll go in first, if you like,” he offered, seeing her hesitate.
“No, it’s fine.”She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin, tossing her long ebony ponytail over her shoulder.She was petite, small and slim, the top of her head not quite reaching the middle of his chest, dressed casually-hip in a black leather jacket over blue jeans and white Adidas.Downstairs, she’d stared up at him with dark, haunted eyes.But even in the face of her trauma, he’d noticed how sensuous those eyes were, causing his heart to kick like a mule behind his rib cage.He’d heard her give her name to the police on the phone as Summer Pérez, and he guessed she was of Latino heritage.He liked her determination.Liked that she was prepared to chase a criminal into the street in pursuit of her property.She seemed distressed at the loss of the camera, and it made him wonder why it held such value for her.
Following close behind, he turned into her apartment and was shocked to see the complete state of disarray.She wasn’t wrong when she’d said the burglar had trashed the place.Immediately, his instincts were on high alert.It was unusual for a mere thief to cause this much damage.This person was either looking for something or making a statement.Or perhaps both.
