fingered the plastic nametag attached to the bag. She’d spent a long time getting the name on that tag. After five years in foster care, seeing the distrustful looks and listening to the whispers of each new foster family upon recognizing her name from all those sordid newspaper articles, she’d finally been old enough to request the change in a New Mexico court.
As Jazz, for the first time in her life, she’d been free. A new name, a new town, a new state, a new life.
Jasmine Parker was her real name. She hadn’t lied at the gym, but she hadn’t revealed the whole truth either. She’d learned the hard way: sometimes it made sense to give up and start over. That’s what she’d done. So why couldn’t Luke just leave her alone? Why couldn’t Tower?
She rounded the corner of her apartment building and headed toward the back entrance. A faint shuffling came from the shadowy stairwell, just audible over the sounds of faraway traffic. She peered into the darkness. Silence billowed around her; her muscles flexed in readiness. Listening, waiting.
Could it have been a cat or a squirrel? She squinted along the hedge bordering the sidewalk, but she couldn’t see the stairs leading down into the building, much less a scurrying animal. She cursed her landlord for not fixing the bulb in the entryway yet. The nearest light was down the street, barely illuminating a beat-up VW and a rusty red Pinto a half-block away.
Both seemed empty, but she couldn’t banish the sense of being watched.
She slid deeper into the shadows, then slowly shifted the duffel off her shoulder and worked the side pocket zipper to reveal the holstered gun inside. Sweat trickled down her back as she grasped the Glock, the extractor flush with the slide. The chamber was empty of bullets.
Jazz eased the duffel onto the ground beside her then pulled the slide back until the comforting click echoed in the night.
An owl hooted. Slices of moonlight bounced off a figure slouched in the shadows next to the cave-like stairwell entrance, hands thrust out of sight in his jacket. Was he hiding a weapon?
She tightened her fingers around the butt then stepped forward. “You there. This is the police. Come into the light, hands where I can see them.”
A throat cleared. “There is no light, Jasmine. Not unless you count the moon.”
Luke’s velvet baritone sent shivers through her. She hadn’t forgotten what his whisper sounded like in the dark. She wished to God she had. Her fingers relaxed against the trigger even as nervous anticipation throbbed at the base of her neck.
A slight breeze rustled the trees nearby. She searched the darkness for his features, and he stepped into the moonlight, his footsteps silent on the concrete despite his size. That solid, muscular build had made her feel small when he held her against him. The beam illuminated the square jaw she’d caressed many a morning, and his eyes still mesmerized her. Brown pools of chocolate that could see straight into her soul, and when they turned dark with passion…
She shivered. He could melt her with a look. But seeing him didn’t get any easier. “What are you doing skulking out here, Luke? If I’d been more paranoid, I could have shot you and asked questions later.”
“In your dreams, honey. I could’ve disarmed you in seconds, and you know it. Besides, you’re too good at your job to shoot first.”
“Lucky for you.” With a few deft motions, she unloaded the weapon and replaced the bullets in a small leather case.
“Not bad. You know your way around that gun.”
“I’m a sniper. I’m good at a lot of things, including detecting bull when I hear it.” She tucked her gun in the duffel then straightened. “We’ve said all we need to say.”
Luke took in the fierce expression meant to terrify mere mortals, and damn if he didn’t get hard, because he also saw the translucent glow of her skin and the heightened flush of her cheeks as the moonlight bathed her face. His
As Jazz, for the first time in her life, she’d been free. A new name, a new town, a new state, a new life.
Jasmine Parker was her real name. She hadn’t lied at the gym, but she hadn’t revealed the whole truth either. She’d learned the hard way: sometimes it made sense to give up and start over. That’s what she’d done. So why couldn’t Luke just leave her alone? Why couldn’t Tower?
She rounded the corner of her apartment building and headed toward the back entrance. A faint shuffling came from the shadowy stairwell, just audible over the sounds of faraway traffic. She peered into the darkness. Silence billowed around her; her muscles flexed in readiness. Listening, waiting.
Could it have been a cat or a squirrel? She squinted along the hedge bordering the sidewalk, but she couldn’t see the stairs leading down into the building, much less a scurrying animal. She cursed her landlord for not fixing the bulb in the entryway yet. The nearest light was down the street, barely illuminating a beat-up VW and a rusty red Pinto a half-block away.
Both seemed empty, but she couldn’t banish the sense of being watched.
She slid deeper into the shadows, then slowly shifted the duffel off her shoulder and worked the side pocket zipper to reveal the holstered gun inside. Sweat trickled down her back as she grasped the Glock, the extractor flush with the slide. The chamber was empty of bullets.
Jazz eased the duffel onto the ground beside her then pulled the slide back until the comforting click echoed in the night.
An owl hooted. Slices of moonlight bounced off a figure slouched in the shadows next to the cave-like stairwell entrance, hands thrust out of sight in his jacket. Was he hiding a weapon?
She tightened her fingers around the butt then stepped forward. “You there. This is the police. Come into the light, hands where I can see them.”
A throat cleared. “There is no light, Jasmine. Not unless you count the moon.”
Luke’s velvet baritone sent shivers through her. She hadn’t forgotten what his whisper sounded like in the dark. She wished to God she had. Her fingers relaxed against the trigger even as nervous anticipation throbbed at the base of her neck.
A slight breeze rustled the trees nearby. She searched the darkness for his features, and he stepped into the moonlight, his footsteps silent on the concrete despite his size. That solid, muscular build had made her feel small when he held her against him. The beam illuminated the square jaw she’d caressed many a morning, and his eyes still mesmerized her. Brown pools of chocolate that could see straight into her soul, and when they turned dark with passion…
She shivered. He could melt her with a look. But seeing him didn’t get any easier. “What are you doing skulking out here, Luke? If I’d been more paranoid, I could have shot you and asked questions later.”
“In your dreams, honey. I could’ve disarmed you in seconds, and you know it. Besides, you’re too good at your job to shoot first.”
“Lucky for you.” With a few deft motions, she unloaded the weapon and replaced the bullets in a small leather case.
“Not bad. You know your way around that gun.”
“I’m a sniper. I’m good at a lot of things, including detecting bull when I hear it.” She tucked her gun in the duffel then straightened. “We’ve said all we need to say.”
Luke took in the fierce expression meant to terrify mere mortals, and damn if he didn’t get hard, because he also saw the translucent glow of her skin and the heightened flush of her cheeks as the moonlight bathed her face. His
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