SEIZED Part 1: New Adult Romantic Suspense (Seize Me Romance Fiction Series) by JC Coulton Read Free Book Online Page A

anything to do with last night. Their deaths were completely random. One minute, April’s mom and dad were heading out to get some chocolate chip ice cream, and the next they were wrapped around a pole. There was no one else even remotely nearby. That’s why they didn’t make it. Both died from their injuries, both strapped into the seatbelts that didn’t protect them from the chest trauma that occurred when the front of the car buckled in.
    April didn’t see the gory details, but I did. A crew from KCRG was sent out to film it. I’m grateful she never had to see it on the news. The station manager graded it inappropriate for viewings. God, it was sad. They were even holding hands when they died. I wanted to tell April that, but then I’d have to explain about the tapes, and I knew she’d force me to get them for her.
    “There’s no link,” I say, and my statement seems to surprise him. “I mean, there’s nothing connecting their death to last night, nothing I can see anyway.”
    Maybe it’s my vehemence that makes him ask, “So, what do you think then?”
    He picks up his pen and waits for my answer.
    “Well, she had no enemies, so I can’t imagine this was planned, but the thing is, those guys were deadly serious, so that makes me think it’s not a random rape case, either.”
    My serious tone seems to make him sit up and pay a little more attention. “Ahh, that’s right,” he says. “You’re press. Of course you’ve got an opinion.”
    His eyebrow goes up again, but I’m not offended. I take it as a challenge. Men and their stupid assumptions about female journalists. I get it every damn day, even with my boss, and I’m sick of it. The challenging stare I unleash on him, filled with venom and daring, obviously touches a nerve, because he shuts right up and gives me the space to continue.
    I talk and talk, going through everything that has been flooding my mind since I first got here. There are so many possibilities, and I ask if there have been similar abductions in the last month. Blake ends up telling me more than I should probably know as a witness, and I quietly feel a glow that he’s giving me what I want. Maybe I’m more persuasive than I think I am. One thing’s for certain, there’s no way I’m giving up.
    It must be eight in the morning by now, and my head has almost stopped throbbing. All I can feel is a fire to do something about April. I’ve got no patience for this stuff. I wonder if he’s been working all night. I can definitely see that he’s tired, but that’s how all cops are. Their caseloads are massive, so once the leads go cold, it’s way too easy for them to stop looking. If I don’t drive this investigation, or at least make some noise, then he’s going to forget about the girl from Iowa.
    I know that’s what happens. I’ve spoken to the families of too many victims of violent crime to think otherwise. Even if Officer Anderson and I do have a past connection, it’s time for me to stop complaining about my injuries and start thinking like an investigative reporter. April was there for me all those years ago, and now I need to return the favor.
    I realize how hungry I am, and when I say so I see his concern immediately flare in his eyes. He jumps straight up and heads out to the vending machine. I don’t know what he’s getting me, and I don’t care. His eyes really take me back. They’re deep blue, flecked with little grey spots.
    All of a sudden, I remember when he used to come and watch my track meets. He’d stand in the bleachers and silently root for me. I’d be shocked every time he showed up. Blake looked totally out of place there amongst the jocks and cheerleaders. I liked it, though. I liked knowing he was there, and I was grateful whenever he came to watch.
    The day I qualified for state was the best day in memory. Every lap of the fifteen-hundred meters, I’d loop around the track and see him standing in the same place; his steady eyes watching