1734—until his family had finally convinced him to retire. Shiloh didn’t envy whoever tried to take his place. The former chaplain had left enormous shoes to fill, and the people of Treasure Point—while loving and protective of their own—weren’t the easiest group to break into. The new chaplain, whoever he was, would have his work cut out for him.
Shiloh knocked on the front door, taking a deep breath to steel herself against whatever problems the widow thought she was having today.
“Mrs. Hamilton? It’s Shiloh Evans, from the Treasure Point Police Department. Mrs. Hamilton, are you there? Can you hear me?”
No one answered. Shiloh glanced to the detached garage on the right, to see if there was a car inside, but the door was down. More than likely the woman was out running errands around town. Shiloh was tempted to simply turn around and leave. But even though she was relatively certain there was nothing to the widow’s fears, Mrs. Hamilton counted on the police department to take her concerns seriously. With that in mind, Shiloh walked around the side of the house, noting that if the widow was truly concerned about intruders, she’d take care of the overgrown bushes, which would make an ideal hiding place for someone who was up to no good.
“If anyone’s there, come out now. Don’t make me come in after you.” There was only silence—not a single rustle. The quiet should have been comforting. It wasn’t. Instead, it added to the tense, charged feeling running up and down her spine. She glared at the bushes as she walked by, narrowing her eyes to make absolutely sure no one was hiding in them. She saw nothing, only the dense green leaves. Still she shivered.
“Keep it together, Evans. You don’t want to have to explain that you discharged your weapon because you got spooked by some shrubbery.”
When she reached the back of the house, she knocked on the back door. No answer there, either. She peeked in several windows and noted that nothing looked out of place or disturbed. Duty done, Shiloh walked back to her car, eager to continue with her day. And maybe find some decent coffee to make up for the morning she’d had so far.
Shiloh got in her car and was reaching up to turn the key when movement near the passenger seat caught her eye.
She froze and turned her gaze in the direction of whatever had moved. The first thing she noticed was an unfamiliar burlap sack on the floorboard.
The second was the coiled-up form of what looked like a timber rattlesnake.
Her heart pounded as she reached to slowly open her door. She managed to get it almost all the way open without the snake noticing, but the final push caught the rattler’s attention and startled it.
The snake tensed.
So did Shiloh. She sat there, skin crawling at being inches away from the viper, not knowing if moving would startle it into striking. They sat for several long seconds, Shiloh caught in indecision over what to do until a soft rattle made up her mind.
Not caring where she landed, Shiloh threw herself backward, squeezing her eyes shut and praying she’d be fast enough to make it out before the snake struck.
She hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of her, but she kept her head enough to kick the door shut behind her. She stood up, backed warily away from her car and the dangerous reptile, and reached for her radio.
“Unit 807 to dispatch—” Shiloh took a deep breath “—there’s a poisonous snake in my vehicle.”
She didn’t have to wait long for a reply. After a crackle of static, she heard “Unit 807, this is dispatch. We have a car coming your way.”
Relief came and then dissipated like liquid on a hot summer day as what had happened fully sank in. The burlap sack on the floor of the car said that snake hadn’t ended up there by accident.
Someone was trying to kill her.
* * *
Shiloh’s car had been de-snaked and examined for evidence, and she’d been cleared for duty. She took a deep breath, trying to relieve the tension that had built as she’d sat by helplessly while other officers investigated the car for evidence—as if there was any she might have missed. Then she’d had to convince the chief that she was fine and more than capable of finishing her shift. Treasure Point was a quiet little town, but that didn’t mean that law enforcement could afford to just take the day off. The town had its share of troublemakers.
Like the driver of the truck in front of her that had been practically flying down the road but was now parked on the shoulder. She didn’t recognize the vehicle, but anyone going sixty in a 35 mph zone was showing blatant disrespect for the law.
She opened her door and approached the driver’s side of the pickup. She reached the window and saw that the man inside was...
Talking on a cell phone?
Shiloh mentally counted to ten. Talking on a cell phone while you were being pulled over?
Shiloh shook her head and tapped lightly on the glass.
He waved her off.
She tapped again. Harder.
This time he held up his index finger—the universal one second sign.
One second? Oh, sure, she had the time to wait. It wasn’t as if she had areas to patrol, crimes to solve...
Shiloh scanned the area. She didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but the prickly feeling on the back of her neck refused to go away.
She was reaching to tap on the glass—for the third time—when the stranger rolled down his window.
“Sorry about that.”
The too-familiar voice registered in her mind a split second before the mossy-green eyes locked with hers.
This man was no stranger.
“Adam?”
* * *
Adam’s heart was still pounding from the conversation he’d been having. The former congregation member’s depression had been so striking that it had taken Adam’s attention off his speedometer. When he’d noticed the lights and sirens behind him, he’d ended the call, leaving her with strict instructions to phone the senior pastor of the church. While pulling over, he’d then called the pastor to brief him on the situation so he could handle it from there.
Guilt had been his primary reaction when he’d realized he’d been speeding. But that feeling, along with every emotion other than shock, vanished as he looked straight into the face of the most gorgeous cop—scratch that—the most gorgeous woman he’d ever seen. Still, even after all these years.
“Shiloh.” Memories rushed through him as he said her name out loud. Memories of her laughing, the two of them running together on Tybee Island, racing into the ocean at the end. The feeling of her lips on his.
“Do you know how fast you were going?”
She practically spat the words through gritted teeth. Apparently, seeing him didn’t bring back the same set of pleasant memories for her. He thought of their last few weeks together, before she’d left town five years ago: the death of her cousin, Annie; Shiloh’s declared intent to someday find the
