Page 2 of Holiday Loss

Since there was only one perpetrator, Jessica kept her hand near her weapon but again didn't pull it out.

“Sir, please step away from the door and put your hands where I can see them,” she ordered as she walked toward the man in black.

The figure startled and went to turn, putting her on alert.

When she walked into her job each day she had only one goal.

Make it home to her son alive.

Freddie already had a dad who didn't want him and wouldn't support him, he wasn't going to lose his mom as well.

“Sir, don’t turn around, hands in the air,” she ordered, pulling her weapon free. Better to be safe than sorry. For all she knew this was a junkie high on drugs who could be dangerous and unpredictable. Or it could be some silly kid trying to impress his friends. Or it could be a member of a gang. There were too many options not to be cautious.

“If I could just explain?—”

“No, you can't,” she said, close enough now that she could reach out and snap a handcuff around one of the man’s wrists. There would be no explanations until she knew she was safe and had this man under control.

Only when she had both of his wrists secured behind his back did she turn him and see the most incredible pair of gray eyes staring down at her, dancing with amusement.

Amusement?

That sparked anger in her.

Not only had he prevented her from already being home with her little boy to grab a few hours of sleep before she had to get up and do it all over again, but he thought this was funny.

Let’s see how funny he thought it was after spending the night in a jail cell.

“Sir, you're under arrest for attempted breaking and entering,” she announced with satisfaction.

“You're making a mistake,” he informed her.

“That’s what they all say.”

Chapter

Two

December 1st

11:19 P.M.

While he could tell the pretty cop disagreed, Donovan Davidson found this whole thing highly amusing.

If she’d just given him a second to explain, she would have known there was no need to cuff him and haul him over to her car. She’d shoved him in the backseat with an air of exhaustion, and he was overcome by a need to do something to fix that.

Fixing things was what he was good at. Or at least it was when it came to money. With women? Not so much.

“A unit is coming to take you into the precinct,” the woman informed him.

“You going to give me a chance to explain myself now, beautiful?” he asked.

Anger flared in the prettiest pair of green eyes he’d ever had the pleasure of staring into, and red stained her cheeks.

True as the compliment was, Donovan immediately regretted it. His mother had raised him to be more respectful than that to both women,and law enforcement. Once he asked the pretty cop out on a date and she said yesthenhe could call her beautiful all he wanted, but not now.

“I'm sorry, that was out of line,” he said before she could tell him off. “True, but out of line. I wasn't breaking in there to steal anything tonight. This is my mother’s restaurant. I'm Donovan Davidson, Sylvia Grayson’s son. My mom left her keys in there tonight and didn't realize until she got home. I was visiting and didn't want her coming out this late on her own, so I said I'd come and get them for her. Unfortunately, my lock-picking skills weren't up to the job. It’s harder than it looks,” he joked.

Those green eyes narrowed, and she was clearly trying to figure out if he was telling her the truth. Probably didn't help that he looked nothing like his mom. Only his little sister had gotten her fair, almost pixie-like features. Both he and his two older brothers took after the father who had walked out on them all leaving their mom to struggle with five mouths to feed. It was no wonder all four of them were protective of her even if it had been a little over two decades since she married their stepfather, a billionaire who had given her the life she deserved and worshipped the ground she walked on.

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