Page 3 of Locked Out

Logically, she knew it was an accident. She didn’t know anyone in Venice and honestly using a skateboard to knock a person in the water is not the most efficient way to kill someone. It had to be a kid that was heading somewhere and rode his or her skateboard where they could.

Speculation had always been her way to procrastinate. She hadn’t met a story she couldn’t fabricate or justify. However, none of her wild theories helped her determine if she should go to the meeting. If she were smart, she would grab the first flight out tomorrow morning and head home. That was the intelligent, logical thing to do. She didn’t need to know about her birth parents…except she did. She really did. Glancing down at the note once more, a foreboding came over her. The goosebumps were back.

Stupid. She was letting her imagination run away. Some kid hit her by accident, and she went into the canal. Full stop! Hell, she could have pulled herself out if she hadn’t been wearing that cape. It was made of wool and became inordinately heavy when it was wet. It weighed her down. Her boots hadn’t helped the situation either. What the hell had possessed her to wear boots and a cape along with her blue dress? Ridiculous. She dropped the letter and ran her hands over her face. Venice’s aura of old-world romance just kind of called for a cape and boots.

She grabbed the letter again. Tonight, she’d wear jeans, sneakers, and a warm jacket. And she’d stand under the brightest light so no one could sneak up on her. Foreboding aside, she was going. How could she not? This was her chance.

She headed to the bathroom and tried to tame her unruly blond hair. In the end, she put it up in a thick bun. She pulled on a black turtleneck sweater and a pair of faded jeans. She added a bit of makeup and pulled on her sneakers. She looked around for her purse but then remembered she’d lost the one she’d been carrying last night. She had packed another, though, so good on her. Throwing on her jacket, she then slung the extra purse across her body. The lack of a phone made it light, but at least she had her wallet. She’d left it behind last night since it wouldn’t fit in the tiny evening bag that matched her dress. She laid a hand on the dresser and heaved a sigh. The dress was ruined, the bag was gone, and she still hadn’t solved the mystery of who she was.

Stop with the defeatist thinking, Riss. She straightened her shoulders and checked her reflection in the wall mirror. Satisfied with her appearance, she headed out in search of food and then off to the piazza.

At ten p.m. she took up a position in the middle of the square. The place was buzzing even at this time of night. It was the off-season, but the tourist attraction drew a crowd. Everyone was chatting and laughing. Some were eating dinner and some having drinks. Vendors hawked souvenir junk, but no one approached her. She walked toward the Doge’s Palace at the far end of the square. To the right was the water, and she snorted a laugh. She wasn’t going anywhere near that. So, she stood next to the palace and waited, surely sticking out like a sore thumb.

Twenty minutes went by. No one approached. The temperature was dropping, and she suppressed a shiver. She’d brought half of her closet when she’d packed for this trip. The promise of finding out about her birth family outweighed any worry about which jacket to bring. She’d grabbed the leather coat she wore on the airplane over on her way out the door. She should’ve taken the time to pull out her puffy black jacket. It was colder than she’d thought it would be.

Rubbing her hands together, she studied the crowd. Tourists milled about and made their way into the restaurants and bars surrounding the plaza.

After ten minutes, she blew out a defeated breath. No point in waiting any longer. She’d given the mysterious note writer thirty minutes grace, and she was done waiting. They’d had their chance. Two chances and still nothing. She started walking down the length of the piazza once more, back the way she’d come. She was three-quarters of the way down when a man caught her eye. His dark hair was a little longer than most men. Just enough to put in a ponytail if he wanted. He was wearing a brown leather jacket and jeans. There was something so familiar about him… Where did she know him from?

He walked towards her. Their gazes locked and a small blip of excitement rocked through her. Was this the guy who knew about her family? He prowled like a lynx, his animal-like grace sexy as hell. He was only a few paces away and she opened her mouth to say hello when she tripped over the uneven stones. He lunged at her and spun her around. She yelped and stumbled. He caught her and held her to his chest. What the fuck?

Riss looked up but he was staring over her head. She turned around but she had no idea what he was looking at. There was just a mass of people moving like ants around the square.

“Are you okay?” he drawled. He had a slight New York accent if she wasn’t mistaken.

“Um, yeah.” She was still leaning on his chest and his arms were still around her waist. “What happened?”

He reached over and pulled her leather jacket out slightly from her. There was a big slash and the bottom of the jacket fell away, waving in the wind.

“Oh my god! Did someone just try and kill me?” she demanded.

The man’s mouth turned up slightly at the edges. “No. They tried to steal your purse.” He tugged on the strap across her chest. “You tripped. Otherwise, he would have slashed your purse strap, grabbed your bag, and ran.”

“Oh,” she said as she stared up at him.

He towered over her. Upward of six feet to her diminutive five feet four inches. His eyes were an amazing shade somewhere between brown and green. The sensation that she knew them somehow knocked on her brain again.

“Do I know you?” she blurted. She knew she should step away from this stranger but oddly enough she didn’t want to leave the circle of his arms. Nor did he seem in any big hurry to let her go.

He cocked his head. “We weren’t formally introduced, but I pulled you out of the canal last night,” he stated, his voice rumbling out of his chest.

She blinked. “Yes. I remember your eyes.” Heat crept up her neck to her cheeks. Stupid. She sounded like an idiot.

“I remember yours, too. You don’t often see someone with violet eyes.”

She licked her suddenly dry lips. Excitement burst through her making her lady parts tingle. She straightened, dropping her hands from where they’d curled on his chest. “Thanks for saving me. Again, I guess I should say. Thank you for saving me both times. I’m not usually so accident-prone.” She wondered if he could detect the whopper she’d just laid on him. She was clumsy with a capital C.

He dropped his arms but didn’t move away. “Where are you from?”

“New York,” she said. “Just here on a quick holiday. As a matter of fact, I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“Pity,” he said as his lips turned up even more and she felt a quick sizzle of desire in her core.

“Right, well. Thanks again.” She needed to get out of there. This man was totally throwing her off. She couldn’t think straight.

“You need to be careful.”

“I guess I do.” She turned to go.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com