Shawna Delacorte - Her Hero And Protector

“Today someone abducted me as I was about to get into my car to go to the grocery store. I managed to escape when he stopped for gas. I ran into the woods and kept running until I saw your cabin.”

It was the last thing he had expected her to say and one more detail that added to his growing interest in her story. He fought to keep it on a purely intellectual level while attempting to ignore her physical attributes and the vulnerability that continued to reach out to him.

He maintained his outer composure, making sure he didn’t show her any of his thoughts or feelings. “Do you know who abducted you? Or why?”

“I have no idea why anyone would want to abduct me. I’m not wealthy. My family isn’t wealthy. I don’t have an ex-husband or even a spurned lover who would be wanting to get back at me for some real or imagined deed. I lead a basically uneventful life. I don’t have any enemies that I’m aware of. I’m at a complete loss as to why this is happening to me.”

She paused and took in a calming breath before continuing. “I guess I can’t blame the police for not believing me. I know everything I’ve said sounds absurd. And to make things worse, I think…uh, I think the man who abducted me was…” Once again she drew in a deep breath in an effort to still her rattled nerves. She stared at the burning logs, her words a mere whisper.

“I think he was a policeman.”

Chapter Two

Reece’s senses jumped to rigid attention as he rose to his feet and stood facing Brandi. “You were abducted by a policeman?” His words came machine-gun fast as the excitement raced through him. “Are you sure? How do you know he was a policeman? Was he in uniform? Do you know his name? What did he look like? How old was he? Had you ever seen him before?”

Had he heard her correctly? It was a rogue cop who had framed him for a crime he didn’t commit. A quick surge of anger jolted through him. He would never be able to get those two years back, but he was determined to get the people responsible for sending him to prison. It was all he had thought about for the entire two years. Was it even remotely possible that what happened to him could somehow be connected to her predicament?

His office had been in Rocky Shores. It had been a detective with the Rocky Shores Police Department who had framed him. She lived in Rocky Shores. Could it be the same cop? If it had happened in Seattle, or some other large city, he would have said it was preposterous—too coincidental to be real. But in Rocky Shores—a city of only thirty thousand people? Or was he desperately grasping at straws in an attempt to connect the two incidents?

He repeated his question, determined to get an answer that satisfied him. He leaned forward, his hands on the back of the sofa on each side of her head—his face almost touching hers. He slowly repeated the question, clearly enunciating each word in a low voice that left no room for any confusion concerning his seriousness and demand for an answer.

“How do you know he was a policeman?”

Brandi stared at Reece in several seconds of stunned silence. He had suddenly come alive, catching her totally off guard. The intensity etched on his features matched the resolve in the depth of his blue eyes. His commanding presence was unnervingly close, his face so near that she could literally feel the strength of his determination radiate to her.

And that wasn’t all. His clean, masculine scent was as sexy and appealing as if he had just splashed himself with an aphrodisiac guaranteed to work its wonders on unsuspecting women. It was the type of thing that could make the strongest will melt on the spot. She suspected that if they continued in such close proximity she would succumb with very little objection in spite of the earlier frightening physical encounter.

She tried to douse the flame of desire he had ignited inside her—the totally inappropriate desire—by forcing her attention back to the reality of the present and the danger that had suddenly invaded her life. Something was going on. Something more than the owner of this cabin wanting to know why she had trespassed on his property. He already knew a lot about her, but the only thing she knew about him was his name.

If that was really his name.

It left her with a very uncomfortable feeling. He had blatantly displayed how physically vulnerable she was when he had thrown her over his shoulder as if she were nothing more than a sack of feathers and then pinned her to the floor when she had tried to run again. With each ensuing question her emotional vulnerability increased.

And she didn’t like the sensation—the same helplessness that had beset her for the past month. An emotional upheaval that she couldn’t control.

Somehow, she had to regain the upper hand over what was happening. She had to once again be in charge of her own life. Whether anyone believed her or not, she knew she was in danger, and it was up to her to protect herself from the unknown person who seemed determined to harm her. She had tried to go to the police and had been dismissed as if she was some delusional nut case—some irrational woman . She didn’t have anyone she could count on other than herself.

His voice interrupted her attempt to make sense of things. “You haven’t answered my question, Brandi. How do you know the man who abducted you was a police officer?”

She steeled her determination, put her hands on his hard, muscled chest and pushed him away. “Stop browbeating me!”

He straightened up as her words sank in. And along with his realization of what she had said was the heated sensation of her hands against his chest. One thing was blatantly clear. He had to avoid any more physical contact with her. Two years in prison followed by three months of self-imposed isolation had left him with a very tenuous hold on his libido. Being around her had ignited a burning need that all the cold showers in the world would not be able to quench.

He took a step backward. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It’s just that I’m very interested in what you’re saying. I want to know about this man you claim abducted you. I…uh…I know some of the members of the Rocky Shores police force—”

“You’re friends with the police?”

He saw the alarm register on her features and knew he had said the wrong thing. “No, I didn’t say I was friends with any of the members of the Rocky Shores Police Department. I merely said I knew some of them. I came in contact with several of the boys in blue over the years. Sort of an occupational hazard.”

“Occupational hazard?” She furrowed her brow in confusion. “What is it you do?”

“I was a private investigator.” He clenched his jaw in a hard line of determination. “And a damn good one, too. I lived on Mercer Island, but my office was in Rocky Shores.”

“A private investigator?” Her entire demeanor brightened. “I had considered hiring a private investigator when the police wouldn’t help me with my stalker.”

“Why didn’t you?”

A downcast expression crossed her face. “I guess I thought it would all come to a stop by itself, the same way it had started. I kept putting it off—” she emitted a sigh of resignation “—and then it was too late. Maybe if I’d hired a private investigator I wouldn’t be in this mess now.”

“So, let me try this for the third time.” His words and tone of voice were part exasperation and part determination. “How do you know the man who abducted you was a police officer?”

“Well…he was dressed in plainclothes, but when he grabbed me his jacket came open and I saw a badge clipped to his belt.” She saw Reece’s eyes narrow as if he was turning the information over in his mind. A little tremor of anxiety fluttered around inside her. Had she said the wrong thing?