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Thankfully Miller had grabbed the knife before he’d run for exactly that reason. The last thing they needed were the cops on their trail.
“But it was there. I remember it falling,” Aggie protested, her eyes wide in bewildered surprise.
“Maybe he grabbed it before he ran off, afraid that we could get his prints off it. That could mean he’s in the system,” Detective Dion told her. “I'm probably going to want to talk to you again, to both of you, and I'm going to leave you my card. You can call meanytime if you think of something. Mr. Sleigh, can I give you a ride back to your car?”
He couldn’t leave Aggie yet, he needed a little more time to cement her trust in him. Nick offered the cop a smile. “Thank you, Detective, but I'd really like to see Ms. Candella home.”
Understanding flooded her eyes as she obviously figured that the two of them had developed crushes on each other. She was half right since Nick’s gut told him that Aggie was attracted to him. Okay, maybe she was three-quarters correct as he was finding himself a little attracted to her too, unwanted though it may be. The desire she stirred up in him was purely hormonal. Nothing more. But he wasn't a teenager, and his hormones didn’t control him. This physical attraction meant nothing, it was merely an annoying distraction. Nickolas Sleigh never let emotion get in the way of a job. Calm, controlled, and cold, that was who he was. He didn’t form attachments, and he had no intention of making Agape Candella an exception to that rule.
“You really don’t need to see me home,” Aggie said as soon as they were alone again.
Nick leaned in close. “I want to.”
A shy smile curled her lips up. “Okay. Thanks. I feel like I could say thank you to you every minute of every day for the rest of my life and it still wouldn’t be enough.”
“Aggie.” He took hold of her chin and leaned in even closer so his lips were a mere hairsbreadth from hers. “You don’t have to thank me anymore. Although if you really insist on it there is one thing you can do for me.”
Her blue eyes were as wide as saucers, her lips quivered, and she nodded. Aggie thought he wanted to kiss her, and unfortunately, she wasn't wrong, but he wasn't going to. Not yet anyway.
Giving her his most charming smile, he said, “When I take you home you can make me a cup of coffee. Then we’re even.”
She laughed as he had hoped she would. As she did her face was transformed. She was gorgeous, bandaged face and bruised neck notwithstanding. Nick really, really hoped he wasn't going to mess this up by falling for the girl.
* * * * *
11:16 P.M.
On to the next task.
Sometimes he felt like a robot, just going through the motions, ticking off boxes on a checklist, acting on autopilot.
It wasn't the best way to move through life, but neither was it the worst.
There were times when the ability to act simply as a machine came in handy, and right now was one of those times.
He’d been sitting outside her house, waiting for the lights to go off to indicate she’d headed off to bed for over an hour. Then he’d waited another half an hour to give her time to fall asleep. Not that he really needed her to be asleep, but it definitely made things easier, and he was feeling a tad bit lazy tonight.
With his lock-picking tools, he was inside her house in less than a minute. The alarm was also quickly dealt with, thanks to his thorough research he knew the code. He also knew the layout of her house, which was helpful given that she was one of those cluttered people. Her house was completely full of stuff, there was furniture everywhere, and every available bit of space was crammed with some sort of knickknack.
He hated clutter. He much preferred things tidy and organized.
Which was why he was always such a meticulous planner.
It just made things a whole lot easier.
Moving quickly and quietly, he made his way through the kitchen, dining room, and lounge room, up the stairs, and down to her bedroom. This room was just as cluttered as the rest of the house. Clothes, shoes, handbags, makeup, and hair accessories littered the floor. He would have to make sure he didn’t trip over anything, he didn’t want her to wake until he was ready.
For a moment he just stood and watched her.
Emily Hadden.
A pretty blonde with delicate features. She was beautiful, like a princess. He liked classy ladies, especially ones that oozed fragility. He liked his women helpless, that was one of the reasons he chose them. Well, helpless but resilient. And Emily seemed to fit that description perfectly. She was twenty-seven and had graduated college but never worked for a living. She preferred to live off other people’s money and spend her time hanging out with friends, shopping, and attending parties.
Ready to get moving now, it had been alongnight, and he wanted to get this done so he could go home to bed. He would enjoy playing with Emily tomorrow, but tonight he just wanted to knock over the basics, get her tucked away safely where no one would find her.
With his knife in hand, he approached the bed. Emily was a hot sleeper, she’d tossed most of her covers aside, they now lay in a tangled heap half on the floor. She was dressed only in her underwear and the sight of her long, slim bare legs, and her elegant shoulders, were more arousing than if she’d been completely naked. So much so that he almost reconsidered his plans for the evening. He had some time he could spend with her before he went home, he didn’thaveto wait until tomorrow.
He positioned the knife a few inches from Emily's neck. He loved knives. Some may say they weren’t as practical in his line of work as a gun, but a knife was so much more personal, and that was why he would never stop using one. With the blade at her neck, he put his other hand over her mouth and Emily sprung awake.
