Worth the Fall by Caitie Quinn Read Free Book Online Page B

toothbrush.”
    “Ms. Lane, you’re understandably upset. You’re having quite the week.”
    “That’s right I am.”
    Wait . What?
    “First assault. Now breaking and entering. I thought I told you to stay out of trouble.”
    That sounded vaguely familiar. Hadn’t Abby just told me to stay out of trouble? And to make myself dateable. But, on the sliding scale of how much I was willing to listen to her, that advice was pretty low on just about any list I could come up with.
    “See?” Micah demanded. “You’re going to have to pay for that window.”
    “Nothing’s wrong with the window.”
    “Then how’d you get in? Huh?” Micah stalked past me and began examining the frame behind me.
    Meanwhile, I examined the wide bulk of the silhouette behind the flashlight.
    Micah muttered to himself, looking for something wrong with the window. This still wasn’t fixing my situation.
    “Officer Darby, I have a question.” I glanced at Micah over my shoulder, considering pushing him out the window. Besides the law enforcing witness, the idea that the fire escape would stop any type of fall whatsoever ruined the joy I got from the vision. “Isn’t it illegal for a landlord to turn off your paid for utilities and lock you out of your paid for apartment when you have a signed agreement?”
    “Actually, it is.” I could hear the humor tingeing his voice, a low chuckle closing out the sentence.
    “So, not only am I not under arrest, but I might have a case for filing, um, something?”
    “Well, not a lot of a case since there were no damages. But you could be a pain about that if you wanted to.”
    “No. I really just want to sleep somewhere warm, with lights and hot water, my last night here.”
    Officer Darby lowered the light and I caught a glimpse of a strong jaw and short, dark hair in the dim light. Exactly the kind of guy my friend Jayne would go for. He probably rode a motorcycle and glowered a lot. The kind of guy I avoided at all cost. Definitely not the kind of guy I wanted to keep running into while my life was falling apart.
    “I think that’s fair. Mr. Marrow, can you get this apartment turned on again?” But, apparently, he was also the voice of reason.
    Micah came around to stand beside me and grumbled that he could.
    “Within the next thirty minutes?” Officer Darby obviously knew how to ask the right questions.
    Micah grumbled under his breath as if I was the person who turned off all my utilities two days early and he had to run around cleaning up my mess.
    “So, thanks for coming.” I headed toward the door, hoping to walk Officer Darby right past it and push it shut behind him.
    “Not so fast, Ms. Lane.” The door did fall shut, but Officer Darby was still on my side. “Do you want to explain to me this run of bad luck you seem to be having lately?”
    “Not really.”
    “Do I need to rephrase my question?” He stared down at me, one hand resting casually on the belt above his gun, the other braced on his hip.
    “You said I hadn’t broken any laws.”
    “Somehow I suspect you’ve been bending a few this week.” Thank goodness it was dark because I knew he had to be giving me that steely-eyed cop look. He was probably the inscrutable type the actors who played cops studied to be all…inscrutable.  
    “I really am a law abiding citizen.”  
    I was. I really was. I just wasn’t looking so good on my downward spiral.
    “This better be the last time I’m called out for you.”
    “I promise it will be. Nothing else is going to go wrong this week. I’ve had a distinct run of happy-things since last night.”
    “Alright.” He drew out the word like he didn’t believe me. “Just, really, behave yourself.”
    Officer Darby pulled the door open and I got a peek at sharp, rugged lines, deep blue eyes and jet black hair. I might have been staring a bit. He was only five inches taller than me, but he filled the doorway like it was built around him.
    “Also, Ms.