Feel the Heat by Cindy Gerard

Author:Cindy Gerard
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Tags: Romance, Suspense, Contemporary, Thriller, Adult
ISBN: 9781410423405
Publisher: Pocket Star
Published: 2009-09-28T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Nothing. Stephanie could see nothing. She could hear nothing. Nothing but her irregular breathing and the beating of her own heart as she hid in the stuffy closet. Perspiration trickled down her back; her palms were sweaty on the pistol grip.

The adrenaline had let down a while ago. Her wrist screamed in pain, but she refused to give in to it as she gripped the gun with both hands, the barrel braced in the tight vee between her bent knees.

How much time had passed? Five minutes? Ten? She didn’t know. She’d lost all point of reference.

How long had Joe been gone? Long enough to … to kill those men? Long enough to get killed?

And then she heard something.

She jerked her attention to the closet door, hyper-aware of every sound outside of her little hidey hole.

Someone had entered the house.

She swallowed hard, her heart beating so fast she thought it would explode.

Joe. Please, please be Joe.

And then she heard nothing.

No. Something. Someone breathing. Then the snick of metal against metal. A gun, she realized.

Someone had injected a bullet into the chamber of a gun.

Footsteps. Slow. Cautious. Careful.

It could still be Joe, she told herself, working to regulate her breathing so she wouldn’t hyperventilate and pass out. He could be checking the house to make certain no one else was inside.

He wouldn’t call out to her if that was the case. He wouldn’t want to give away her location.

So she sat. And trembled … and gasped when the door swung open.

The silhouette of a man filled the doorway. A small man.

Not Joe.

He raised a rifle to his shoulder.

She screamed.

And she fired.

And fired.

And fired until the gun was empty and she was wildeyed with shock as a man lay twitching at her feet.

“Stephanie.”

Terrified, she scrambled further into the corner.

“Stephanie. It’s okay. It’s Joe. You’re okay. Steph. Look at me.”

A light flicked on.

“Look at me!”

An order.

She looked up.

Joe. Oh God.

“Joe!” She reached for the hand he extended, rose on wobbly legs, and flew into his arms.

Hard, strong arms wrapped around her, then lifted her off her feet. Joe stepped over the body and carried her into the living room.

“He… he—”

“I know. I’m sorry. He never should have gotten to the house.”

“I… I… is he… d-dead? Did I k-kill him?”

“Don’t think about it.”

“The… the others—”

“Are no longer a problem.”

God, oh God, oh God.

People were dead. Men were dead. She could be dead… if not for this man.

She was shaking violently now. Even in her agitated state she knew it was a form of shock.

“Steph?” He set her on the sofa, knelt in front of her, and gripped her face between his big hands. “I know you’re scared, baby. But you’ve got to pull it together, okay? We’ve got to get out of here. As soon as they figure out that their goons are out of commission, they’ll send reinforcements. Are you with me?”

She nodded, then almost started crying again when he used his thumbs to gently wipe the tears she hadn’t even known were sliding down her cheeks.

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