AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“My GPS says I’ll be at your apartment in three minutes. Can you meet me outside?”
The unease in her voice stopped him from asking why. Later he’d find out what was up; for now, he’d go with it. “Sure thing.”
“Thanks. See you in a few,” Allison said before she disconnected the call.
Rock shoved the phone in his pocket. Allison’s request made no sense, neither did her tone of voice. He’d heard the same unease in her voice before too. He’d let it go on the other occasions; tonight he’d get some answers because it wasn’t his imagination. “Outside, Baxter.” Passing by
the couch, he gave the mutt a tap on the side, sending him toward the door.
Several cars passed by before Allison’s two-door coupe turned into the parking lot. When she spotted him, she waved before pulling in alongside his truck.
Stepping out of the car, Allison glanced at the road before looking at him. “I brought you a surprise,” she said, holding up a plastic bag and walking toward him.
He ignored the bag and focused on her face. She was pale and her eyes kept darting to the road. Something or someone had spooked her.
“Let’s go inside,” he said, meeting her near the row of mailboxes and taking her free hand. What he wanted to do was pull her against him and kiss her. His gut told him she wouldn’t be at ease until they were in his apartment with a locked door between them and the rest of the world. Her apparent unease didn’t stop her from placing a kiss on his cheek, sending his pulse up a notch before she all but sprinted up the steps into the building.
“Hope you’re hungry. I stopped at the Coffee Factory Cafe for lunch. When I saw the bear claws, I remembered you mentioning how much you like them,” she said, naming one of his favorite pastries as he opened his apartment door for her.
“Thanks.” Accepting the bag, Rock considered his next move. The head behind his zipper said to kiss her now and ask questions later. The one attached to his neck told him to get to the bottom of things first, because once he kissed her, they might not talk again for a while. “What’s wrong?”
She gave him a forced laugh as she walked away. “Nothing is wrong.” She slipped off her jacket and hung it on the back of a chair, a false smile in place. “How was the interview today?”
“Don’t buy it.” He dropped the bag on the table and crossed his arms. “Out with it, Ally.” The more time he spent with her, the more he thought of her as Ally. However, he’d never called her that until now.
“My mom called me Ally all the time. Sometimes my dad would too, but not after Mom died.”
Merda. She looked ready to cry. He preferred to avoid crying women. “It slipped out. Won’t happen again.”
“I like when you say it.” Incredibly soft hands, hands he vividly remembered touching him in other ways earlier in the week, slid up his arms before settling on his shoulders as she pressed her lips against his.
The woman knew how to distract him and put off answering questions, but he’d get what he wanted before they moved from this spot. He pulled her hands away and took a step back so he could see her face. “Tell me what’s going on. Why’d ya need me outside?”
“I thought someone was following me, but I think I was wrong. Right after I called you, the car turned and I didn’t see it again.” Her voice lacked its usual cheery tone. “Maybe it wasn’t even the same car the whole time. Lots of cars look alike.”
She didn’t believe what she said. She wanted to, but eyes gave her away. He saw the fear in them. “Start at the beginning.”
Allison clasped her hands behind her back. If she didn’t want him to see how they shook, she should’ve hid them sooner. “When did you first see the car?” he asked when she remained quiet.
“Right after I left work. It stayed behind me all the way to 95. At first it didn’t bother me too much. Then, I don’t know, I got this funny feeling, like something was up.” She rolled her eyes as she sat. “Go ahead say it. I know it sounds crazy. Feelings don’t just come on when something is wrong.”
“It’s not crazy.” Instincts and feelings had helped him too many times in the past for him to dismiss them as crazy. “What happened on the highway?”
“The car stayed right behind me. I changed lanes a few times and whoever was driving did the same. Even after I took the off ramp. That’s around when I called you. I didn’t want to get out of the car and be alone in case whoever it was followed me to your apartment.”
“Smart.”
“Then the car turned down another street.” She played with her gold hoop earing and looked at him. “It could’ve just been a bizarre coincidence, right?”
Maybe if her last name wasn’t Sherbrooke and her uncle wasn’t the President of The United States, he’d entertain the idea it had been a coincidence or not even the same car the entire ride. Given the evidence he had though, he didn’t buy it. “Has this happened before?”
The fingers on her earing stopped, answering his question.
“Ally?”
“The night of my accident, I thought someone was following me.”
“Did ya tell the police then?”
