The Fine Line Book One Between Worlds Series by Tracee Ford Read Free Book Online Page B

warmth in his touch and how he felt
against her body when they embraced. But a knock on her door
snapped her out of her dream world.
    “ Come in,” she said
pleasantly.
    A familiar face appeared; it was Colin
Baker, the deputy with the insane crush on her. His smile
brightened the room.
    “ Hey there,” he said as he
walked in and sat down in the vacant chair beside her desk. He wore
his uniform, so she assumed he needed to talk to her about a
case.
    “ So what’s up?” Robin
asked courteously.
    “ Can’t a friend come by
and talk? Just because I’m here doesn’t mean that I’m going to beg
you to do work.”
    They laughed. But his dropping by wasn’t a
normal occurrence.
    “ What’s the real reason
you’re here Colin?” she continued.
    “ It’s about your new
boyfriend.”
    “ Okay.” All at once, she
felt sick in the pit of her stomach fearful of what would roll out
of Colin’s mouth next.
    “ I just want him to be
good to you. You’ve been through a lot. I have been there with you,
you know, when all that stuff went down. I promised you then I’d
make sure you were okay… always. Remember?”
    Robin couldn’t forget. Her mind flashed back
to that fateful evening and the events played out in her head like
a horror film. The entire experience seemed like a dream; it was as
if she had been outside of her body watching everything happen
around her. She remembered sitting in the corner of the apartment
as Brett paced with the gun in his hand. She remembered feeling the
barrel against the back of her head. She remembered how agitated he
was. The smell of alcohol was unforgettable, too.
    She remembered the tone of his voice and his
words:
    “ You won’t leave
me!”
    In her mind’s eye, she saw the gun pointed
in her face and heard his voice again shouting,
    “ I won’t let you leave
me!”
    She remembered sitting on the concrete step
of the apartment after Brett had been taken away in cuffs. She
remembered feelings of helplessness and violation. She remembered
feeling Colin’s arm around her trembling body as the blood poured
from her wounds. She was frightened and cold, but that night when
her eyes met Colin’s, she saw kindness. Her fondest memory of the
horrible situation was Colin’s reassurance that he wouldn’t let
anything happen to her. It was then that their friendship began. He
had kept his promise all of this time, too.
    Shaking back into reality, she looked at
Colin’s expression.
    “ I remember all of it,”
she replied.
    “ You haven’t dated a lot
since then and I want to keep my promise. I don’t want to ever
watch you go through something like that again. You’re a good
person, Robin. You deserve the best.”
    “ I don’t think you have to
worry about Matt.”
    “ I checked him out. He’s
clean, but Brett was nice, too.”
    “ Please, Colin,” she said
throwing up a hand. “That name…”
    “ I know. I’m sorry. But
really… be safe. I will be watching to make sure he is who he says
he is.”
    “ Really, I think things
will be fine.”
    “ I’m just
saying.”
    “ I appreciate it Colin.
Really, I do. You’re a good friend.”
    “ Friend…” He sighed. “I
guess that is what I really came to talk about. I’m too late. I
waited too long, I know. You always intimidated me.”
    She tilted her head with disbelief.
    “ Intimidated you?
What?”
    “ Yes,” he began as he
shrugged. “So, I never really… I… um… Wow. I didn’t dream it would
be this hard. I just need to spit it out, don’t I?”
    Robin waited as she rocked back in her
chair.
    “ Listen, I know this is
probably in bad taste and really poor timing,” he continued, “but
let me take you out. I’ve wanted to for a really long time. This
Matt guy… he just beat me to it.”
    “ I’m really sorry Colin,
but I really like Matt and want to make a go of it with him. You
are a wonderful man, but…”
    He dropped his head.
    “ I’m too late. I
know.”
    “ I’m really