Page 18 of Wanted

The hardware store closed at 11:00p.m. If I hurried, I could make it there, copy the key and the return before I got caught, and it all went to shit.

I didn’t stop to think twice. I grabbed the keys and flew to my room, snagged my purse and shrugged into a sweatshirt as I hurried down the stairs. Minutes later, I was speeding down the road, I was halfway into town before I realized the reason I couldn’t see so well was because I’d forgotten to switch on the headlights.

Chill, Kass. Getting a ticket right now will only make things worse.Yeah, I’d have to break into the hardware store to make the copy, then, and add that to my list of crimes.

I make it inside the store and in minutes, I’m out again, my copy of the key lying cool in my palm. I freaking did it. Step One. I had the office key, safe and secure.

I grinned and closed my eyes.Halfway there, baby. Jeremy, we’re halfway there.

Giddy with relief, I zoomed back to the mansion—this time, with headlights on—and I was practically dancing the two-step as I stepped through the front door. I pulled out the Count’s keys from my purse and gripped them tightly to keep them from jingling.

Now, the only thing left was to return the keys back to the—

The shadows to my left shifted.

Shit.

It was the Count.

5

“You have returned?” the Count’s deep baritone slid over my skin like a caress even as my heart threatened to burst from sheer panic. “Where did you go, Kassandra?”

The rule. I couldn’t lie to him. I swallowed and licked my dry lips. “It’s a surprise.” It was. A bad one.

“Surprise?”

“Yep.” I forced my lips into a smile and gripped the keys tighter, willing them with all my might to not make a sound, not one freaking sound.

“And what surprise is that?”

“If I tell you, it wouldn’t be a surprise then, would it?” I challenged, my nerves standing on edge. And as far as surprises went, trust me, he really didn’t want to know about this one.

“I’m not keen on surprises, Miss Blackwood.” The disapproval hung heavy in his voice.

So, I was Miss Blackwood all of a sudden? What happened to Kassandra? Did that mean something…bad?

He stepped closer, looming over me in the darkness less than an arm’s length away. His eyes seemed to glint as they searched mine.

Every cell in me wanted to run, but I couldn’t. I stood there, pinned by his gaze like a deer caught in headlights. After several attempts at clearing my throat, I rasped, “Can I get you something, Sir?”

I winced. Since when had I ever called him ‘sir?’ God, I sucked at being a criminal.

It was dark, but the moonlight was bright enough to allow me to see the suspicion that marched over his face.

“Must I remind you of the rules, Miss Blackwood?”

“Yeah, I know them. Don’t lie, steal, or disobey.” A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek.

“Then, do not disobey me. Tell me of your surprise.”

Well, this was great. He had me fenced in here. My thoughts whirled through various possibilities, but I couldn’t think of any combinations that would get me out of my predicament this time.

Real fear stabbed through me as I bit the corner of my lip in thought, accidentally biting a little too hard in the process. Shit. I winced a little as my mouth filled with the coppery tang of blood.

The Count sucked in a long breath.

Yeah, I’m thinking. Think, Kass. Think.

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