Drew pulled out his glock that had been tucked into the back of pants and walked on silent steps. Tearing open the door Drew ran into the garage ready for anything.
A woman who’d been trying to open the side door to his back yard heard him and whirled around with a gasp. The woman in white. He stood there stupefied. “You?” Was all he could say.
She stared right back at him like a deer caught in head lights. Even from the distance between them he could see her chest rising and falling like she’d run a marathon. Her eyes that had looked at him with laughter looked at him with fear now. Why was that? He hadn’t done anything to hurt her. That’s when he realized he still had his pistol aimed to her.
He tucked it back into the back of his pants and held his hands up in surrender. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
The woman shrunk back at his words. Her back hitting the door she’d been trying to escape out of. Her eyes darted around for another escape route. There wasn’t one unless she went into the house.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” He repeated. He remained rooted in his spot knowing she was in a fight or flight mode. Ifhe approached her now she might react in a way that could hurt herself. “I’m going to go inside. Feel free to come in. We can talk and I’ll even give you a ride to wherever you want to go.”
She hadn’t followed him here and the fact she was in his garage told him she’d hitched a ride with him. She’d been hiding in the back or the truck.
She looked so fragile and lost right now he wanted to wrap his arms around her and promise her everything would be alright. When he turned so sentimental he didn’t know.
It was the hardest thing to do, but Drew stepped back into the house waiting to see if she followed.
Chapter 4
Shay stood in indecision. Could she trust this man? She remembered dancing with him. He seemed nice. He had kind eyes, but her luck with men wasn’t the greatest. What were the odds out of all the cars she’d hidden in the back of it would be his. She’d panicked when the fire alarms went off and everyone ran out.
The fire had grown faster than she planned when she set it. It had spread through most of the second floor by the time she ran outside. She’d only meant to cause a distraction not try and kill people.
It had served its purpose though. Shay worried the men holding her would see her and bring her back. Her white dress stood out like a beacon. The streets weren’t safe for her to walk around at this time of night and she had no idea where she could go to be safe.
The men holding her knew who she was. They already took her from her school parking lot. Her dad’s house couldn’t be any safer. She didn’t have any friends. Shay was completely on her own.
When everyone started running, she allowed the chaos to conceal her in her escape when saw the older black car. An old boyfriend had one like this and he showed her a trick to pop the truck and climb in when he locked his keys in his car. He’d been her one rebellion against her father that hadn’t lasted long but that knowledge served her now.
The only plan she had was to hide until the coast was clear and make her way to the police station. Then they started moving. She waited until the car shut off before she slipped outhoping they were far enough away from the club she could call the police.
Could she trust this man to not turn her back over to the men who’d held her? He had held a gun to her but that could have been home protection more than him knowing she was there. Shay weighted her options. What choice did she have? She didn’t know where she was. Once again, she was at the mercy of men. A fire wasn’t going to get her out of this one.
Shay wrapped her arms around her waist and shrunk down going for the damsel in distress appearance. She would keep up her playing dumb routine until she got to the police station. Between them and her dad she would be safe. Her dad would most likely send her away.
She didn’t know what that would do for her schooling but her heart wasn’t invested in it. Her father paid for her college so she went where he wanted. He had a reputation to maintain and wanted to project a certain image. A daughter either in law school or nursing had been her only two options.
Shay’s eyes darted around her new surroundings when she entered the house. She didn’t know what she was expecting. A trap. Him to come out of the shadows and grab her. There was nothing. Just a small simple kitchen that looked clean and impeccable. Nothing looked out of place. Not even a crooked dish cloth.
Her gaze swept around noting the rest of the space looked the same. Everything in order. An impulsive side of her wanted to put something out of place to see if he would notice. Maybe titled a picture frame just a smidge.
She bet everything in this man’s life was like this. Controlled. Organized. She remembered how much she startled him when she told him to dance with her. He looked like a man that took charge, that wasn’t a follower. The thought brought a smile to her face.
She’d originally planned to use him as a ruse to work through the crowd to make it to the entrance, blending with the dancers so she wasn’t noticed. It wasn’t easy to blend when you were almost six feet tall.
He made her feel average and dainty being a few inches taller than her. She was used to looking someone in the eyes, not have to tilt her head back to. She didn’t know why she picked him out of every man in the crowd. It wasn’t because he was single. There were several men on the dance floor trying to find a woman to dance with.
Something pulled her toward him. Like magnet.
Once she was in this strangers arms, she forgot the fact she was running for her life. She forgot about being kidnapped. Shay forgot about everything. Everything except how good it felt to be in his arms. His stormy gray eyes that made her think of ships listing in the sea. She felt lost in them as much as a ship caught in a storm.
Just like that the spell was broken when another couple bumped into them. It was then reality came back to a screeching halt. She had to get out. The building was on fire and people were looking for her.
“Can I get you something to drink?”
Shay jumped hearing his deep voice. He was coming down the hall carrying something in his arms. He no longer wore his dress shirt but a white undershirt. She tried not to notice how the material fit snuggly to his body like a second skin.
That’s also when she noticed the wristband on his wrist. The thin black wristband she saw many people on the second floor wearing. She hadn’t noticed it earlier. Probably because she hadn’t been looking for it. Was he supposed to be one of her buyers? The thought made her stomach pitch.
