Thieves Like Us by Starr Ambrose Read Free Book Online Page B

demonstrations now, but I don’t think I want to get into that.”
    “It’s you they’re interested in.”
    “I’ve always liked public speaking,” he said, surprising her by downplaying his ability. “I was the class clown in school.”
    “I’ll bet you were.” She laughed, having no trouble seeing Rocky as a shaggy-haired imp, irritating teachers and amusing classmates. “But tonight was informative, too. I even learned a few things.”
    “About self-defense?”
    She started to answer yes, because what else would she be talking about, burglar alarms? But he glanced at her with a hint of mischief, taking his eyes off the road for longer than he should. She realized he was talking about himself. About them. About what she might have learned by having his arms around her and their bodies pressed together. Turning an innocent comment into a sly innuendo.
    She gave him an exasperated look. “Don’t you ever give up?”
    “Nope. I can last as long as I have to, but you do test my patience. I’m just about ready to—what the hell?”
    She was dying to know what he was just about ready to do, but then she saw it, too. Caught in his headlights as he turned onto her cul-de-sac, her car sat by the curb in front of her condo, a jagged scrape showing as a bright silvery line against the dark blue paint. The line followed the whole length of the driver’s side. “Oh, no!”
    He pulled in the driveway, but held her back when she rounded his car and hurried toward hers. “Don’t touch anything.”
    “Why? This isn’t a crime scene. Someone sideswiped me.” The car had lost its appeal ever since she’d remembered the purchase had been Banner’s idea.
    “No one sideswiped it, Janet. It was keyed. See how the line wavers? Another car would leave a straight line in the surface, or an even curve. Someone did this by scraping it with a piece of metal. Intentionally.”
    His eyes scanned the car, front to back. “Damn.” Walking to the trunk, he poked one finger under the lid and lifted. The trunk opened. “What did you have in here?”
    “Nothing.” She peered inside along with Rocky. Still nothing, except for a long gash in the carpet.
    “They were looking for something. Did you have anything inside the car?”
    She shook her head. “Just a few CDs.”
    They moved to the side windows and peered in. The leather upholstery was slashed in long, diagonal slices.
    Janet put her hand to her mouth. “Oh, my God,” she groaned. “Why?” As soon as she said it, an answer occurred to her. “The necklace.”
    Rocky’s mouth was a tight line. “Yeah, I think so.”
    “But why would they look in my car? It makes more sense to—” she drew in a sharp breath and darted toward her condo, but was stopped by a strong grasp on her wrist.
    “Don’t.”
    She wasn’t going to take time to discuss it, so she said the words that were most important. “Jingles! I have to go!”
    “Stay here, I’ll look.” He held her by both arms, forcing her to look at him. She scowled, suddenly impatient with his domineering attitude. “I mean it, Janet. You stay right here beside my car. If anyone went in there, someone could still be inside.”
    That stopped her cold.
    “Do you have your cell phone?”
    She nodded.
    “Call nine-one-one. And give me your keys.”
    She fumbled in her purse, pulling out both the cell and her keys. “Here, this one’s the front door. And the code is two-one-six-zero.”
    “I remember; I programmed it.”
    She dialed 9-1-1, but her gaze stayed on Rocky as he examined the lock on her front door, then inserted the key. All she cared about was knowing that her cat and her belongings were safe. No, forget the belongings. If they’d hurt her cat, she’d hunt them down.
    The two minutes he was inside felt like an eternity. She gave her name and address to the emergency operator, told them about the car and a possible break-in, then hung up. It wasn’t the most accurate report, but she was too