A muted clatter outside her bedroom window jerked Sam awake. Save for the glow from her bedside clock, her room lay wrapped in darkness. She lifted her head from the pillow and looked at the time. The digital numbers read 1:32 a.m. A sharp bang resounded below.
Outside or inside? Her heart kabumped and every nerve ending buzzed. Maybe it was just some critter digging in the garbage. Not likely. She’d closed that lid.
Bastian mewled and leaped up on the captain’s bench in front of the window, his lean form a shadowy outline. The direction of his stare was fixed as if he could see through the curtains and make out something—or someone—in the alley. A rattle carried to Sam’s ears. That sounded like an attempt at the private entrance door.
Muscles rigid, Sam lay motionless. Her pulse throbbed.
Bastian growled, deep and low.
She couldn’t just lie here until whoever it was found her and did whatever he came to do. How many books had she read where the stupid character did that? Or, dumber still, snuck around with some lame weapon like a bat to try and nab the burglar herself? She’d always wanted to yell, “What do you think nine-one-one is for, dummy?”
As suddenly as the paralysis had gripped her, it lifted. Sam sprang upright and grabbed the cordless phone from her nightstand. A few punches and she was talking to a no-nonsense woman who took her information and promised to get a car there immediately.
With the line still open to the dispatcher, Sam scooped Bastian up and perched on the edge of the bed, staring into the darkness. Her hand ran the length of her cat’s back. Again. Again. Bastian’s fur crackled and stood on end. He hopped off her lap, growling a protest. The operator kept assuring her help was on the way, but where were they? Sam gripped the edges of the mattress, ears perked. Sure, the police hung around here all day, and now when she needed them—
Sirens blared outside and lights flashed. Voices yelled, followed by clatters, then quiet. The cruiser lights continued to strobe.
Her intercom buzzer sounded. On jelly legs, Sam padded to her kitchen and answered.
“Ms. Reid, this is Officer Johnson of the Apple Valley Police Department. Your intruder says he has a right to be here. Would you mind coming down?”
Why did the police always ask questions like a person really had the option to say no? “Let me get my robe.”
A few seconds later, Sam unlocked her private entrance and peered out into the night. Under the entrance light, a pair of officers she’d never seen held a man between them—someone she did recognize. She glared up into the stone face of Ryan Davidson.
Their gazes locked, and raw emotion flickered in those intense blue eyes. The power of his bewildered pain snagged her breath. In times not long enough past, she’d seen that look of a stunned victim in another pair of eyes…whenever she looked in the mirror.
Why was this woman staring right through him, all white face and big green eyes? Was he a ghost or something?
Ryan studied her. One arm hugged her trim waist. The opposite hand clutched her robe at the neck. She was kind of cute with that heart-shaped face and tousled hair, but it looked like he’d scared her something fierce. Not his intention. So what had he meant to accomplish by his impulsive visit to the old neighborhood? Insomnia wasn’t much of an excuse.
His shoulders slumped, but the officers retained their grips like manacles around his biceps. He was lucky he wasn’t in handcuffs. Yet. “I’m sorry, ah…Miss Reid, isn’t it? I didn’t mean any harm.”
She frowned. “Why are you skulking around my property?”
“I wasn’t skulking exactly. Not even looking for physical clues. I was searching my memory of that night. Did you know I cruised by here right before I went home to find—” His voice cracked. “Anyway, I ended up pacing back and forth in this alley. Kicked the Dumpster in frustration, and I’ve got the throbbing toe to prove it.” He lifted a tennis-shoed foot. “I suppose that’s what woke you.”
“Do you want us to run this guy in for trespassing, Ms. Reid?” asked the officer who’d identified himself as Johnson.
Ryan held his breath. She wouldn’t. Would she?
Her gaze darted away, and the tips of white teeth nibbled at her bottom lip. “I don’t know. I doubt Mr. Davidson poses a danger, but—”
“You know him?”
“You know me?”
Ryan’s words tangled with Johnson’s.
“From a photo.” A flush spread across her cheekbones.
Yes, definitely attractive, but where had she seen a picture of him? “I wasn’t in those photos you turned in. The detective laid out the whole roll for me to see.” What shadowed her eyes? Pity? Ryan’s jaw clenched.
She met his stare. “I assume it was the same detective who showed me a print of you down by the river.”
Ryan snorted. “Sure, updating their file with a sneak shot after they get me all riled up. Bet I looked like a lunatic.”
Static crackled from the nearby police cruiser, followed by a garbled voice. The officers released Ryan and backed away. “If you’re not going to press charges, Miss,” Johnson said, “we need to answer that call.”
“You should go, too, Mr. Davidson.” Samantha Reid narrowed the door opening so he could only see half of her body. “There’s nothing for you to find here. The police haven’t uncovered anything new, and I doubt they will.”
She moved to close the door, but before she could, a small creature darted from the doorway into the alley.
“Bastian, come back here!” the woman called. “Oh, no, I must not have shut the door tight above.”
“I’ll find him. Little animals have certain ways of moving in the dark. Hang tight. I’ll bring him to you.”
“But—”
“It’s the least I can do for getting you up in the middle of the night. Besides, you’re not dressed for a walk.”
Her brows scrunched together. “Bastian won’t come to you.”
“We’ll see.” He headed in the direction the cat had disappeared, a mental Here, kitty, kitty going in his head. Not that he’d ever talk out loud that way to such a dignified animal.
“Of all the arrogant guys!” Samantha fumed as she threw on jeans and a T-shirt. He’d better be gone by the time she got downstairs again, or she’d clobber him with her flashlight. Bastian was particular about who he allowed to touch him. She was the only one who could get close, and who knew how long that would take? Her night’s rest was officially over.
She stormed down the stairs and flung open the outside door.
“Hi.” Ryan Davidson grinned down at her, the purring Abyssinian cradled in his arms. “He was just investigating your
