THE HUNT

CHAPTER-TWENTY EIGHT

Kate woke with a start, jerked awake by a rigorous pounding at her door. Not that she cared too much-she'd been teetering on the verge of another nightmare-but at three in the morning, it was possible the visitor at her front door could be far worse than the tormenting dreams.

"Coming," she shouted, slipping on her robe. She hurried down the stairs to the door, checked the peephole, and saw Adam's scrawling face.

She opened the door and soon discovered the reason for his restlessness-her neighbor who lived across the street, Mrs. Ahreans, was standing on her porch in curlers, with an expression of disapproval.

And why not? With his leather jacket, dark hair, and his strong jawline, Adam looked formidable.

"May I come in," he said.

"Ah, sure." She noticed as she ushered him inside, he'd brought her a flower.

She stroked her fingers over the soft petals of the camellia.
"It's beautiful. Thank you." She frowned, looking more closely at the flower, and then at his sheepish expression. "Where did you get it?"

"The garden from across the street," he admitted. "There aren't many options at 3 A.M."

She bit back a laugh. "No, I guess not." She headed to the kitchen to make some tea. "So, why are you here?

"I needed to see you," he said, his voice somehow both strong and vulnerable. "Tony Mills was brought in tonight for questioning. The slimeball was shooting his mouth off, on how the authorities had found the girl."

"Do we have enough to charge him with murder?"

"No. We don't have any physical evidence to link him to the crime," he said. "At most, we can detainee him for a day or two as a material witness for having information on the crime."

Kate turned to Adam. "So, we've hit another snag."

"Not necessarily," he said. "There's more," and Adam filled Kate in on the rest.

After a long pause, Kate finally spoke. "I have to admit, the case gets more bizarre with each passing day."

"I had to talk to you. I had to see you. You're in my head." He met her eyes. "I had to know that you were safe." The words were out before he even realized it, and he stood frozen, waiting for and fearing her response.

Her heart tripped in her chest. "I-" She swallowed, knowing she shouldn't say more, but unable to stay silent. "I'm happy you did."

"Are you?"

"Yes," she said. And told herself she was unaffected by his presence, insisting that the lazy curl of desire that eased through her was nothing more than her damn hormones. "Adam, there are some lines, we shouldn't cross."

He moved toward her. "Oddly enough, I've never been great at following rules."

"Why do I believe that?"

"But, some rules are made to be broken," he said, caressing her cheek. "Do you want me to leave?"

She hesitated, knowing that for the sake of her sanity --she should lie. Instead, she spoke the truth. "No." She looked at his face. A face that had seen death and a man who had surely fought it a thousand times over. Yet right then he was looking at her with such tenderness it made her breathless. "No," she repeated, her voice little more than a whisper. "I want you to stay."

"Good," he said, the simple word conveying a wealth of emotion. "May I hold you?"

She hesitated for a moment, then moved in and wrapped her arms around his waist.