It was a good thing she knew the town’s layout so well at this point, but it appeared the person following her did, too. Her heart pounded in her chest as she breathed heavily, her muscular legs pounding the crumbling sidewalk as she tried desperately to escape. The footsteps sounded a little quieter now, but they were still close behind.
As Grace slipped down another dark side street, she backed against the wall and paused, unable to keep running. Her legs felt heavy beneath her, throbbing in pain from her sudden sprint. As she ducked behind a nearby trash bin, she tried to calm her frantic breathing as she listened intently for her fast-approaching stalker.
Her throat was now dry, as she waited anxiously for the mystery pursuer’s footsteps, cringing inwardly as the familiar sound of the person’s shoes hitting the pavement came nearer.
“No,” she whispered almost inaudibly to herself, shaking her head frustratedly. She knew at this point the confrontation was inevitable as she heard the person turn the corner and step closer to where she had been hiding behind the row of bins.
The footfalls became slower and more cautious as they neared Grace’s hiding spot. Watching intently from a small space between two of the trash receptacles, grimacing and nearly gagging at the rancid smell lingering in the air, her pulse pounded in her ears as the footsteps tentatively approached the row of smelly bins.
Muscles tensing, and ready for ambush, Grace counted the seconds until the pursuer came into view. She saw him, well, his legs. He was quite tall and wore black boots twice the size of her own shoes.
Grace trembled nervously as the man stepped closer to investigate, kicking one of the bins next to her expectantly.
He nudged each bin with his boot, making his way down the line until he reached the tallest one that she had ducked behind for safety. As his hand reached out toward the bin to shove it aside, Grace finally leapt into action.
She attempted to sucker punch him unexpectedly as she pounced at him, but the man deftly dodged the blow, causing Grace to stumble confusedly for a moment. She regained her composure, however, and quickly whipped back around to face him, just in time to deliver a powerful punch to his jaw.
The man fell backwards as Grace fell on top of him, pinning him to the ground. She hadn’t had a chance to look her attacker in the eyes until this point. Her stomach churned as she realized the man pinned under her was Kilian Kelly; she had just assaulted a police officer.
“Shit,”was all she managed to say, her mouth open and eyes wide in disbelief. “Oh, God damn it.” Her chest was pressed tightly against his, and she became acutely aware of their hearts beating wildly, almost in frenzied unison.
The two remained frozen in place for several painfully awkward seconds, staring dumbfoundedly into each other’s eyes. How the hell would Grace talk her way out of this in time for the match later? Was she about to go to jail? Her head swirled with panicked thoughts as Kilian’s familiar sly half-smile crept across his face beneath her.
“What’s so funny?” she growled at him, still refusing to let him out from under her grasp. She dug her nails into his wrists as he let out an amused chuckle.
“Christ, nails, okay,” Kilian huffed, dropping her hands. “You ripped my uniform, you know.” His eyes drifted down to his chest, where his shirt had been torn in the struggle that had ensued moments prior.
This time Grace rolled her eyes exasperatedly. “Why were you following me?”
“Because you’re trouble,” Kilian replied coolly, his voice strained slightly by the pressure of Grace’s body weight pressing down against him. “What was all that about a ten percent discount, huh?”
“What?” she asked, confused until she remembered the ridiculous demands of the man who’d weaseled his way out of their deal earlier.
“Roger Madden, the man who owns the pawn shop, you were arguing about a ten percent discount or decrease in price, what was that about?”
“None of your damn business,” Grace hissed, her breath hot against Kilian’s face and neck. “You’re lucky I didn’t knock your teeth out for that,” she grumbled, more to herself than to him.
A few more seconds passed in silence with Grace straddling Kilian, as if she wasn’t entirely sure what to do with him.
He spoke up once again, raising an eyebrow suggestively. “So, aren’t you going to at least take me out on a date first? I think this is a little forward.” He chuckled as Grace groaned in apparent disgust.
“You wish, you creepy bastard,”Grace shot back with a scowl, finally releasing her grip on his wrists. “I don’t believe this.” She shook her head, rubbing her temples as her face flushed red with embarrassment, discomfort, and perhaps a tiny bit of attraction, as much as she hated to admit it to herself.
There was no way she’d admit to a cop, much less a cop in the Kelly family, that she actually found him sort of sexy. Her attraction to him repulsed her, causing a flurry of conflicting emotions to dance around in her mind. She did her best to be as cold and detached towards him as possible.
“Why the hell have you been following me?” Grace demanded, glaring down at Kilian, fury in her eyes.
Kilian laughed to himself again in apparent delight, finally lifting Grace off of him gently and wiggling out from under her grasp. As he stood up straight and brushed himself off, he extended a helping hand out towards Grace, but she swatted it away, preferring to stand up on her own. She was surprised at his strength; despite how slender and wiry Kilian’s frame was, he was unexpectedly muscular underneath his uniform.
“Save it,” Grace spat, breathing heavily as she readjusted her posture and stood up straight. “I can take care of myself.” She was surprised to still be out of breath while Kilian seemed to not be rattled or drained at all by the encounter.
“Just trying to be gentlemanly,” Kilian quipped, watching as Grace steadied herself and stared back at him angrily. “What?” he asked, noticing Grace’s furious expression.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Grace replied coldly, turning away from him to storm away. “I’m not going to forget this.”
Kilian shrugged, amused at her attitude, refusing to dignify her with a serious response. “Don’t need a reason to investigate suspicious individuals,” he stated with a satisfied smirk, “and you were awfully suspicious with your little deal going on.”
Grace’s eyebrow twitched in anger. She whipped around to face him again, opening her mouth to deliver a vicious comeback, but before she could do so, a familiar voice emanated from the end of the alleyway.
