Angela Campbell - Spirited Away

He swore and waddled to his feet.

A peek through the peephole gave him the back of a ginger-haired woman. He yanked open the door.

“Emma? Everything okay?”

She turned around, holding a tray full of cookies. The sight and smell of melted chocolate triggered his mouth to start watering. He swallowed.

“Oh, boy. You’re gonna keep calling me Emma, aren’t you? Fabulous.” Her tone was as resigned as it was dry. She shook her head a little before lifting the tray and smiling. “I made you some cookies as a thank you for checking on me. I mean, they’re only the kind out of a box that you stick in the oven for like, 10 minutes, but hey – cookies!” She lifted them higher.

“Come on in, and we’ll eat a few.” He opened the door wider and gestured her inside. His gaze skated toward the room he’d been using as an office and verified the door was closed. “I take it there haven’t been any more scares today.”

“Scares?” Her eyes widened.

“Yeah, remember this morning? You thought someone was in your room.”

“Oh, right. No. No scares.” Her gaze strayed toward the stairs. “This is an interesting house. Do you like it?”

It needed a paint job and lots of repairs, but he supposed it was all right. “I’ve lived in worse places.” He couldn’t remember if he’d left any revealing papers in the living room, so he touched her arm and guided her toward the kitchen. “I bought some milk yesterday. It’ll go great with those cookies. Want some?”

“Sure.” She followed him into the one room he barely used. “Look, Noah, I wanted to explain that—”

Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam.

They both froze. Noah’s heart did a quick step around his chest until he realized it was again coming from the front door.

“Sorry. Be right back.”

“Um, Noah—” She opened and closed her mouth.

“Give me a minute.”

He peeked out and saw the same uniformed officer from yesterday standing on his doorstep. Pushing a hand through his hair, he opened the door. “Officer. What can I do for you?”

“Mr. West, I was wondering if I could take a look around.”

“Oh?” He crossed his arms. “Mind if I ask why?”

“I told him about the woman I saw in your window.”

Noah turned at Emma’s rushed voice behind him.

“I’m sorry,” she hurried to add. “I think I might have overreacted.”

Noah clenched his jaw to keep from swearing. This was the last thing he needed. If he refused the officer’s search, it would seem suspicious. If he allowed the man to look around, he’d expose his surveillance from the past month, the photos of the Collins and King pinned to a corkboard, which would look damn suspicious indeed.

He stepped aside. “Come on in, officer. Do whatever you need to do.”

“I’m sorry,” Emma said again, red-faced. She took a step forward. “Jack, you don’t have to look around. I, um, tried to call and tell you not to worry about it.”

Noah watched the older man consider the young woman, his right hand not far from the weapon holstered at his side. “I don’t see what the harm is in checking things out. Do you, Mr. West?”

He shrugged and leaned against the wall. “Like I said, do what you need to.”

The officer’s gaze lifted toward the stairs. “I’ll start upstairs.”

“Help yourself.”

A grimace tightened Emma’s features as the officer walked past her. Her eyes pleaded an apology as she turned and followed the other man up the stairs.

Noah swore softly and ducked into the office, hiding the corkboard and moving his camera away from the window. He left the room’s door open and hurried to find them. He couldn’t remember if he’d left any documents or photos lying about upstairs.

The officer was thorough, opening closets, inspecting every room, even lowering the overhead attic door and climbing up to look around. When he came downstairs, he glanced into the office and went into the living room, and Noah hurried to distract them from the pile of documents on the table.

“As you can see, there’s no one here.” A cold sweat trickled down the back of his stiff neck. Emma stood beside the folder he’d left open on the end table last night, so he shifted to stand closer to her, to block the folder with his body. One of his business cards almost screamed “Noah West, Insurance Claims Investigator” in bold print on top of it. His investigation could be jeopardized if she – if anyone – saw it.

The officer grunted an agreement. “No signs of intrusion either. If anyone was in here last night, it’s not because they broke in.”

“I did see someone,” Emma insisted. “She had long dark hair, was wearing a white t-shirt and a jean jacket. She looked my age, maybe younger.”

Lanier frowned. “You know anyone like that, Mr. West?”

Noah shook his head, losing his balance under the movement. He sagged into the recliner behind him. A week ago, he’d dreamt about a woman matching that description exactly. He found it difficult to breathe as memories from the dream overwhelmed him. The dark-haired girl walking alongside the road, carrying a backpack. An old truck pulling up alongside her. A man’s voice muffled as he asked, “Need a ride?”

“Noah, are you okay?” Emma touched his forearm, calming a tide of dizziness and bringing him back to the present.

“Fine. Just tired. I haven’t been sleeping much.” He rolled his shoulders in an unsuccessful attempt to relieve the tension gathered there. “I appreciate you taking time out to come check my house, officer.” He stood and held out his hand.

The cop’s narrow-eyed gaze raked over him, dismissing the gesture. Noah sucked in his breath until the cop nodded. “Emma, can I have a word alone?”

“Sure.” She followed the officer onto the front porch, and Noah could only catch a few snippets here and there as he hurried to cover up the papers on the table. The officer murmured something about her being careful and that Noah seemed strung out of his mind. Her whispered reply was too soft to make out.

A few seconds later, the creak of the door opening again signaled her return. She slowly entered the room. “Hi.”

He clenched his jaw and met her gaze.

“The reason I came over was to warn you about that.” She hitched a thumb over her shoulder. Her words spilled out in a rush. “I’m really sorry. I tried to call him, but I couldn’t reach him again and I thought you were, well, never mind what I thought.” She took a deep breath. “Do you hate me?”

He forced a smile. “No, Emma, I don’t hate you. I’m glad you called him.”

“You are?”

He nodded and gave up on sliding the manila folder underneath some magazines. He wasn’t happy she’d called the cops on him, but he’d managed to avoid a messy scene and that was all that mattered. “Shows you’re more cautious than I first thought. Maybe I won’t have to keep an eye on you after all.”

“I don’t mind if you do.” Their gazes locked, and a slow simmer of lust stirred an arousal in his jeans. She looked away. “I guess I’d better be going.”

Stay . The thought caught him off guard. Asking her to stay would only lead to a complication he didn’t need right now.

Grabbing the base of his neck, Noah frowned. “Maybe you should.” She turned to leave, and he called out, “Emma?”

She lifted wide eyes to gaze at him. “What?”

“Just be careful. I meant what I said. If you need anything, give me a call.”

“Okay.” A few seconds later, the screen door banged shut behind her. Noah glanced around as unease settled in his gut.

Hell if he knew why.

Sweaty palm tightening around the strap of her messenger bag, Spider sucked in a deep breath and pressed the doorbell. When a minute passed, she knocked on the door before she lost her nerve. She had no idea what kind of reception she’d get, but she knew that she could do this. Three espressos, a pep talk in the mirror, and enough remorse bottled inside her chest to induce groveling were the perfect recipe for courage.