got the gun. I got time. We can stand here all night for all I care.” He figured a smile would work right about now, so he shot her one. “But you might want to remember something else.”
“What’s that?”
“You think I’m a criminal.”
“That’s where the evidence points, yeah.”
“If I’m such a bad guy, chances are you’ll blink long before I do, sweetheart.”
Chapter Two
Forget about later. Cassie Montgomery fought off the urge to blink right then. If she swallowed any harder her tongue would end up in her stomach.
She had yelled and ordered this guy around while panic flooded her insides. She was not the type to take on complete strangers with little more than a bad attitude. Unlike her mysterious guest, she did have something to lose—like what was left of her life.
The wide-shouldered stranger with the dark brown hair and piercing hazel eyes kept breaking her concentration. In the safety of the darkness she had not been able to see Mr. Tall, Dark, and Deadly.
Well, she saw all of him now. Criminals were not supposed to look like him. Hell, no one should look like him. Slim black jeans and a sleek black shirt that hugged his body, molding to his muscles like a second skin. Not exactly an outfit meant for late-night hiking.
Sun-kissed hands peeked out from underneath the covert clothing, suggesting that whoever he was, he liked to be outside. With her luck, he was probably an escaped convict who worked on the road crew during the day. The fact the man knew her brother’s name kept her from engaging in a bit of uncontrolled screaming and gunplay.
That and the fact the guy looked vaguely familiar. Cassie could not place him, which was odd since this guy wasn’t exactly the forgettable type. Still, something about that face tickled at her memory.
She’d spent weeks trying not to remember anything. Now that she needed to call something up, her mind stuttered to a halt.
Grief sucked.
Anger she could handle, so she went that route. “I’m waiting for a formal introduction. And if I have to ask again, I might just go ahead and try talking with the gun.”
A sly smile crossed full lips as Cal nodded toward the overturned chair. “May I?”
Muscles strained against the fabric of his pants as he hitched one of his thighs on the arm of the chair. He picked the only piece of furniture not smashed to pieces. That left her to stand, but hovering above this guy felt better than the reverse.
“You can actually sit down,” she said so she would have the advantage if he decided to strike. Despite his athletic look, she’d bet he could not outrun a bullet.
His smile only grew. “I’m good here on the edge.”
That made one of them. “Are you ready to talk?”
“Didn’t exactly come here to chat.”
A good reminder. She knew staying at Dan’s house carried a few risks. She expected a flood of tears and regret. She had not counted on a six-foot-something walking risk with broad shoulders and an intelligent flash behind his eyes.
Time to act like a woman being hunted. “Talk or I’ll call the police.”
He shot her one of those all-too-knowing smiles that all men seemed to have mastered. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Option B it is.” She flipped open her cell phone and pretended to dial.
“You won’t.”
True. She didn’t really have anyone to call, but how could he know? “That’s wishful thinking on your part.”
“More like a calculated guess. One I’m willing to play out.”
“This isn’t a game.”
“Sure feels like it.”
Before she could maneuver him to the door, he sprang from the chair and knocked the gun and phone from her hands, sending them skittering across the smooth hardwood floor. Losing her balance, Cassie crashed to the ground on her stomach and smacked her forehead against the chair leg.
In a panic, her heart raced and her head spun. She had been numb for weeks, like the walking dead, but nerve endings snapped to life at the unexpected assault.
She kicked out aiming for any weakness she could find on her visitor’s trim, lean body. He blocked her attack and launched one of his own. The breath whooshed out of her lungs as he squeezed her upper body in a fierce bear hug against the floor.
Being surrounded and crushed by about a hundred and ninety pounds of furious male made her adrenaline pump. Finding strength she didn’t know she had, she flailed and tried to punch. Nothing worked. When he flipped her onto her back and pinned her hands above her head, a squeal escaped her tight throat.
Heavy breaths beat against her chest as he straddled her. Long-distance running and hours at the gym had not prepared her for this fight. Not now. Not after all that had happened. No, with the weight of everything crushing in on her she lost ground almost from the start.
“Now you don’t have the weapon,” he said, more as a fact than a threat.
She calculated the distance from her knee to his groin and waited for the right time to attack. “Get off of me.”
“Tell me who you are first.”
His face did not look quite so handsome now that it loomed over her. And that bored look he wore before, yeah, that disappeared as fast as her balance.
“Go to hell.” She wiggled her shoulders, trying to break his stranglehold, but his weight held her down.
The vulnerability of her position set her heart pounding until it formed a steady drumbeat in her ears. She bucked her hips and went rock still when her midsection met with his lower body.
Big mistake. No reason to encourage anything down there.
“Don’t look so horrified.” A rough edge tinged his voice. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
Easy for him to say since he was on top and in control. “Like I trust you after that tackle and roll move.”
“You’re fine.”
The pounding in her head suggested otherwise. For the first time in weeks Cassie felt something other than frustration and sadness. But she wasn’t sure terror-filled minutes were any better than those that came before.
“Let me up,” she said in the strongest voice she could muster.
He loosened the grip on her wrists but kept her pinned. “Stop moving around and tell me who you are and how you know Dan.”
She glared but stayed quiet.
“Okay then. We’ll skip the introductions and get to the point. Where
