voice was strong, firm and undeniably female. He half wondered if he should ask who he was talking to, because there was no way that hardened tone could be coming from the mouth of the woman with the shy smile and retreating gaze. But who else would be calling 9-1-1? Did she have someone staying with her? He hadn’t noticed anyone, but then, he hadn’t been paying attention.
“I already did. The cops are on their way.”
She didn’t say anything to that. He stood stock-still, listening to the ragged sounds of her breathing inside the room.
“Look, I’m just going to poke my head around the corner so you can see me. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t blow it off.”
Another long silence, then a reluctant “Okay.”
Her tone wasn’t reassuring. He wondered for a few seconds if he really wanted to risk it. It seemed like he’d gone past the point of no return now. Taking a breath, he leaned over with painstaking slowness and pushed his head into the doorway.
As promised and suspected, he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. Even as he entered the doorway, his eyes focused on her, she made a nearly imperceptible correction, keeping them right in her sights. He had the feeling she had every intention of putting a bullet straight between them if he looked at her funny.
He did his best to ignore the gun, no easy feat, and met the steady gaze behind it. This was his neighbor, all right. His first impression was that he’d been right. She was pretty, even more than he’d expected. She had soft features, her face full and round, probably more than usual due to her condition. Not a classic beauty, but definitely attractive.
There was nothing soft about her expression. Dark brown eyes met his, unblinking.
The hands that held the gun were steady, as unwavering as her stare. She might be on edge, but there was no doubt she knew exactly what she was doing, and was ready to do whatever else she thought she had to.
“Hi,” he said lamely. “We haven’t officially been introduced. I’m Jake Armstrong. I moved into the house next door last month. I just came over to make sure you’re okay.”
Her gaze raked over his face, as though scrutinizing every inch for any sign he wasn’t who he said he was or who he appeared to be. He waited, hoping to high hell he passed her inspection.
Finally, just when he was about to coax her to do just that, she lowered the gun. Not entirely. No more than a few inches really. Her finger didn’t release the trigger, leaving the impression she was prepared to jerk the weapon back up and fire at the slightest provocation.
Still, it was a start.
Her expression didn’t relax, either. Her gaze narrowed, slowly traveling down the length of him and back again. She gave a small nod, as though satisfied. “You’re not one of them.”
“Who?”
“The people who broke in to my house. You’re too big.”
Not the first time he’d heard that one. “Who was it? What did they want?”
“I don’t know.”
A troubled note entered her voice, and the hard lines of her expression softened slightly, betraying the first hint of the fear she must have been feeling. She eased her left hand off her weapon and moved it onto the swell of her belly, as though reassuring herself it was still there, still safe.
His eyes tracked the gesture, a feeling of dread pooling in the pit of his stomach. The obvious answer would have been robbery. That she hadn’t said so must mean she believed it was something else. Something related to her baby, judging from the way her hand clutched her stomach.
Why would someone break in to her house because of her baby?
A few answers came to mind, none of them good.
And he had to wonder just what would have happened here if she hadn’t had that gun.
Chapter Two
“I’m telling you, I was not dreaming.”
Sara did her best to fight her rising impatience, but was still unable to keep the aggravation completely out of her tone.
The police officer who’d finally responded to her neighbor’s 9-1-1 call gave her that condescending look that was the cause of most of her irritation. Then he opened his mouth and delivered the source of the rest of it.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Carson, but like I said, we checked the whole house and weren’t able to find any signs that anyone else was here. There’s no indication the door was tampered with, no footprints inside or outside the house. No blood or any other reason to believe you shot anybody.”
“They ducked and ran,” she said for what seemed like the millionth time.
The officer—Dawson, she recalled him introducing himself—didn’t even acknowledge the interruption. “None of your neighbors saw anything, and you say nothing was taken.”
“That’s because I scared them off before they had the chance,” she returned. “Not that I think they were here to steal anything.”
“Right,” he said on a sigh. “The needle. Are you sure that’s what you saw? If the lights were off, in the dark…”
“It was shiny, and they said ‘This won’t hurt.’ It was a needle.”
“Do you know of any reason why someone might break in and try to harm you or your baby?”
“No.”
“Who else has a key?”
“No one.”
“And you’re sure you locked the back door before you went to bed?”
“Yes.”
The officer sighed again. “Ms. Carson, you said you haven’t been sleeping well. A woman living alone, in your condition, it’s understandable you might have a bad dream, or think you see something that isn’t there—”
“I’m pregnant, not deranged.”
His eyebrows went up and his gaze slid away, an expression that clearly said “Is there a difference?” She hadn’t missed the wedding ring on his finger and wondered briefly if he had kids. If so, she hoped he’d been more empathetic to his wife than he was being with her. Or maybe that experience was the cause of his current attitude.
Sara shot a glance at the other officer standing in the living-room doorway. He had a small smirk on his face, with slightly more impatience. She wouldn’t be getting any help from him.
She returned her attention to Dawson. “I know what happened,” she said stubbornly.
“I know you believe that. We just have to go by the evidence.”
“So you’re not going to do anything?”
Dawson held out his hands in a helpless gesture. “I’m not sure what I can do. Even
