Tessa's Treasures by Callie Hutton Read Free Book Online Page A

and cast a glance at Lucas. “You the fella that called?”
    “Yes. Lucas Raven.”
    “Wally Canton.” The two men shook hands after Lucas stepped forward. “Hey, aren’t you the guy that bought the Rogers house?” At Lucas’ nod, the officer continued. “Out of OSBI?”
    “That’s right. Left the Bureau a month ago.”
    “Tough job.” Wally pulled out a notebook and pushed the brim of his cap back. “So tell me what happened.”
    Tessa took a deep breath. “I locked the store as usual, then Lucas and I went to dinner.”
    “Where?”
    “A Chinese restaurant outside of town.” She turned to Lucas. “What was the name?”
    “Royal Palace.”
    As she spoke Wally wrote furiously. “The new place.”
    “Right. After dinner we drove back here to pick up my car. When we arrived, we saw lights on inside the store. I’m sure I had turned them all off.”
    Lucas strolled around the store, his hands in his pockets. Every once in a while, he used his fingers to comb back the hair that fell on his forehead. He bent to touch something on the floor, and then glanced at the counter.
    “Okay, Tessa.” Wally flipped to a new page. “What happened next?”
    Tessa tore her gaze from Lucas before turning to Wally. “Lucas took my keys and let himself in the front door. And this is what we found.” She waved her hand around.
    Once he was finished writing, Wally shoved his notebook in his shirt pocket. “Lucas, what do you think?”
    “I don’t know. Front and back doors were both locked. I checked the windows. Don’t seem to have been opened.” He walked to the counter, leaned against it, his arms crossed. “Kids messing around is my guess. But I can’t figure out how they got in. Or out.”
    Wally turned to Tessa. “Can you tell if anything’s missing?”
    Her heart sped up again at the thought of someone coming into her space and moving things around when she wasn’t there. “It’s hard to remember exactly what I had on those shelves, but I’ll check my records. Everything is logged on the computer at home.”
    “All right, folks,” Wally said from behind them. “There doesn’t seem to be much more I can do tonight. I’ll check with Mason, see if he wants someone to come out and dust for fingerprints. Check those records and give me a list of anything that’s missing.” He opened the front door, then turned back. “I’ll tell ya, though, if nothing’s missing and there don’t appear to be any vandalism, probably not a whole lot your brother will do about it. Be sure to lock up. I’ll be waiting to hear from ya.”
    Lucas uncrossed his arms and walked to her. “You want help putting things back?”
    “Not tonight. I have the makings of a very bad headache.” She rubbed her forehead with her thumb and index finger, giving him a half smile. “It can wait for tomorrow. I’ll print out the inventory list and bring it with me in the morning.” He walked behind her, his hands sliding over her shoulders, and began to knead her neck muscles. She dropped her head forward and moaned. “That feels good.”
    “You’re all knotted up back here.” He edged aside hair that had loosened from her pony tail to continue his ministrations. It’d been so long since she’d allowed a man this close to her. And longer still since she felt excitement from a man’s touch. Her heart sped; her breathing increased. She should stop this before it went too far.
    “Come home with me.” His warm breath floated over her ear, vibrating against her skin. “I’ll take care of your headache.”
    She stiffened. Familiar words Dean had growled before he used her. Would Lucas be rough and fast—or slow and caring? Her instincts favored slow and caring, but instinct had also put her in Dean’s clutches. Although tempted, it was too soon. “No, Lucas, I can’t.”
    “Spend the night. Let me take care of you. Nothing else, I promise. You’ve had a shock, you shouldn’t be alone.”
    Panting as if she’d run a