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She hoped so. Sort of. Well, that was what she
should
want. He‟d

deceived her and may never care about her the way she cared about him.

Granted, his “not caring” always made her feel special, but she had no way

of knowing if his tenderness was an act. And she didn‟t want to blindly trust

him, then wake up one day and realize—too late—that she‟d put her faith in

someone who would rip her world apart and stab her in the heart.

Someone like Joshua.

Telling Luc about her past had been cathartic. And though difficult, it

had seemingly brought them closer together. The fact she‟d misjudged the

situation only made her more determined to end things now. If she stayed,

she‟d only get in deeper, and that mistake could be catastrophic.

Though it hurt damn bad, it was better this way. Or would be someday,

she supposed. Now, drawing another breath, putting one foot in front of the

other, was hell. Alyssa wasn‟t eating as well as she should. What little she

managed to choke down was for the baby‟s sake. And sleep . . . It just

wasn‟t happening without Luc‟s hot, protective body next to her. Alyssa

knew she was burning her candle at both ends, running herself ragged

trying to get a restaurant off the ground, deal with the insurance adjusters

and contractors to rebuild Sexy Sirens . . . while trying to forget Luc. But the

life growing inside her was a constant reminder of her husband. Even

without the baby, she doubted she‟d ever get over him.

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Shayla Black

After locking the front door, she turned on a nearby lamp that provided

just enough golden glow for her to trudge up the stairs. Her heels clicked

on the hardwood floors in the shadowed hallway to her bedroom.

All at once, she remembered that her alarm hadn‟t sounded when

she‟d walked in the house. Had she forgotten to set it this morning? And

her bedroom door was closed. Alyssa frowned. The lack of sleep and

nourishment must be catching up to her. Other women told her that

pregnancy had a way of making a girl fo rgetful.

Still, she never shut that door when she left. She always wanted to

know what—or who—awaited her in her room before she walked in.

Something else Joshua had taught her.

Was it possible Luc was waiting for her on the other side of the door?

He had a way of melting her defenses with his surprises.

The possibility pumped her full of excitement. They were supposed to

be ending their marriage, but she‟d be lying if she said she hadn‟t missed

him with every breath she took. She wasn‟t sure how he‟d gotten into the

house. After all, she‟d changed the locks. Then again, he knew Jack and

Hunter, and those two could break into Area 51, wrapped inside Fort Knox,

surrounded by the White House.

With a sigh and a stomach tightening in knots, Alyssa pushed the door

open, hoping to see that Luc had decorated the bedroom like a fantasy

honeymoon suite.

But no. Instead, ropes had been tied to the bedposts at each corner,

leaving loops at the ends for wrists and ankles. She gasped, bile rising in

her throat.

Blinking, her breath thin, Alyssa stared in horror. What the hell? Luc

knew better than almost anyone that she could not endure bondage. Why

on earth would he put her through this? To prove that she could, in fact,

trust him? If he wanted to reconcile, threatening to tie her to the bed wasn‟t

the way to persuade her to give their marriage another try.

Anger set in. Where was the son of a bitch? In the bathroom? Closet?

Hiding because he knew she was going to take a strip out of his hide for

this shit?

As she turned toward the bathroom, acid nearly dripped from her

tongue. Then she caught sight of who awaited her.

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Shayla Black

It wasn‟t Luc who leaned against the wall, jacket stripped off, tie loose,

smirk firmly in place.

She screamed.

LUC pulled up in front of the house he had shared with Alyssa.

Parked. Stared. She‟d beat him home, based on the softly glowing lamp in

the living room. Damn. Would she even answer the door at this time of

night?

During the long drive, he questioned himself a hundred times, his

thoughts an endless loop of logic that always drew him back to one

conclusion: He had to talk to her face-to-face, try to reconcile with her

again. He wasn‟t letting Alyssa go without a fight. Somehow, he had to

make her believe that he loved her and would never do anything to betray

her trust again.

Armed with his conviction, he turned off the car, stepped out to the still

night and chilly November wind. His palms were sweating as he

approached the door.

A faint feminine scream of terror burst across the night. The sound

seared its way down his spine. It wasn‟t the TV. It was real and human—

and familiar.

Alyssa!

Running to the door, he grabbed the knob and wrenched it. But it was

firmly locked.

“Fuck!” Windows? Other door? All locked, he knew. Jack had wired

her house tight. Which begged the question: Who had gotten to her and

how had they broken in? Later. He couldn‟t worry about details now.

Luc would also have to break in, somehow. He had to make some

decisions—and fast—or Alyssa could die.

Nine-one-one was the first logical choice . . . except Remy didn‟t do his

job well and didn‟t have the means to get into the house. Calling Tyler

made more sense.

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Shayla Black

Ripping his phone from his belt, he hit his speed dial, thankful he‟d

filched the number off of Alyssa‟s cell phone just after she‟d gone “missing.”

Tyler answered before the second ring. “What?”

“It‟s Alyssa. There‟s someone in her house. I can hear her screaming,

but I can‟t get in since she changed the locks.”

“Don‟t try to bullshit me just so you can see her again.”

“God‟s truth.” Then Alyssa screamed again—loud.

“Shit!” Her bouncer cursed, and his demeanor changed. “I‟m at least

ten away. You‟re going to have to get in and handle this until I get there. I‟ll

get you inside.”

“How?” They were losing time. Every second, another opportunity to

keep Alyssa from harm was lost.

“Go through the gate, around to the side of the house. In the side yard,

there‟s a door that leads into the garage. On the right of the door, there‟s a

holly bush. Behind it is a tiny film canister. It should be half buried.”

Luc sprinted around the side of the house and was now directly below

Alyssa‟s window. He heard her scream again, and the sound cramped his

gut with fear and dread. Why couldn‟t he just break the fucking thing down

and save her? He
needed
her in his life, damn it.

“Too damn dark to see anything.”

Frustration mounting, he ran back to his car and pulled out his

emergency flashlight. While there, he also pulled out the semiautomatic

he‟d forgotten was in his car and tucked it into the waistband of his jeans,

at the small of his back . . . just in case.

The seconds back to the side door seemed to take forever, but he

quickly located the canister, extracted the key, and shoved it into the lock.

“I‟m in the garage.”

The stuffy air was dusty and smelled faintly of grass. Luc didn‟t dare

turn on a light, but at least he knew his way around.

“Shut and lock that door behind you in case the assailant isn‟t working

alone. No need to alert anyone to the fact you‟re there yet. They could kill

her before you have a chance to save her.”

“Right.” He did as instructed.

Edging around her lawn equipment and the front of her little

convertible, he sidled up to the door that led into the den.

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Shayla Black

“Standing in front of the door to the house.”

“You can‟t use it. It should be locked, and I don‟t know where she

keeps a key. And if you open it, the alarm, if it‟s engaged, will make a

sound and alert her intruder. You need to go through the attic.”

“Gotcha.” Luc eased back around Alyssa‟s car and pulled on the string

hanging from the garage ceiling. A set of stairs emerged into the empty

space beside her car. He climbed up, flashlight leading the way.

Inside the space, he found Christmas decorations in boxes, tax

records boxed up neatly and arranged one year after another, and virtually

nothing else but empty space. Impatience and fear gnawed at him.

“I see two small doors. They open to crawl spaces?”

“Right. Never knew helping her fix her cable one day would come in

handy,” Tyler tried to joke, but the quip came out tersely.

“The one ahead seems like it would lead over the living room.”

“Exactly. Take the one to your right. Once you‟re inside the crawl

space, it will angle up. The exit is at the end, in the hall just outside her

bedroom.”

“I know exactly where.” He‟d noticed the attic entrance as he‟d

traversed the hall.

Luc made his way through the door and, on hands and knees, crawled

up into the rafters of the house.

“This will take a few minutes. It‟s long and narrow, but you‟ll keep the

element of surprise.”

As much as every second apart from her chafed Luc, he agreed this

was the best plan.

“Any idea who the fuck we‟re dealing with?” Tyler asked.

“No clue.”

“Peter was extradited to Florida. He had a pending sexual assault

charge there, so it‟s not him. But fucking Primpton made bail.”

“You think he‟s that stupid?”

“He‟s that tenacious. And he ain‟t right in the head.”

Luc couldn‟t agree more.

Tyler sighed. “There‟s something else I should tell you, just in case this

asshole is our problem. You‟ve probably guessed that I‟m not a bouncer by

trade.”

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Shayla Black

“Yeah.” Luc‟s guts seized up. What the hell was the man saying?

“I‟m from California, Alyssa‟s home state.”

Shit
. Luc did not like the sound of this. “What the fuck did you do?”

“I used to be a vice detective for LAPD. Now I‟m a PI. I was hired at

the end of August by a real wealthy prick to find Alyssa. I was given a

teenage picture of her and the information that she was somewhere in

Lafayette. The asshole told me it was his missing sister.”

Luc went cold all over. “Joshua.”

“That‟s him.”

“Why didn‟t you tell me sooner? Or tell
her
?”

“So she could throw me out of her life completely? No. I thought I had

the sitch under control.”

“So you think Joshua could be inside?”

“I don‟t know.” He sighed. “As soon as I found Alyssa for him, he wired

me payment. I flew back to L.A. to give him her information and

photographic proof. Son of a bitch asked me a million questions, like did

she have a husband or lover, had I fucked her, was I aware of anyone

fucking her. He was obsessed, man.”

Luc‟s gut knotted. “Damn it, we all assumed Primpton was the threat.”

“The councilman is unhinged, but I don‟t think he‟s eager to up his

prison sentence with this prank. You almost through the crawl space?”

“It‟s tight in here, but I‟m close.”

“I‟m about five away.”

For once, Tyler‟s presence would be a huge relief. “Once you figured

out that Joshua was a scumbag, you stayed in Lafayette to protect

Alyssa?”

“Yeah. I couldn‟t breach the confidentiality of my client by telling her

without risking my license. For all I knew, he just wanted to know where

she was and to beat off to her picture every night. Then when things started

to get hot, I couldn‟t prove who‟d left her the knives and the threats. So I

stayed, called buddies back home periodically to check up on the bastard,

make sure he was still in L.A., and I did my best not to let her out of my

sight. It would have been a shitload easier to safeguard her if I‟d been her

lover. Nothing like twenty-four/seven protection.”

Jealousy belted Luc. “That‟s not the only reason you wanted Alyssa.”

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Shayla Black

“Oh, hell, no. I‟ve been in love with your wife almost from day one.” He

sighed. “But she‟s always been into you. I never had a chance.”

“You led me to believe more than once that you were fucking her.”

“I kept hoping you‟d get pissed off, go away, and give me a chance.