Page 24 of As Long As You Kiss Me

Chapter 6

Jackson sat behind the wheel and gazed up at the large white house down the street. The lights were on in the apartment over the garage. “It looks like he’s home.”

They were both dressed in black, and it was about ten at night. Jackson had a ladder thrown in the back of his truck so they could access the windows of his place better.

“Ready to go?” Sully asked.

“It’s now or never.”

They got out of the truck, the wind whipping around them, tossing Sully’s hair around her shoulders. It made him want to reach out and touch her hair, running his fingers through it. Her black shirt was tight across her midsection and hugged her curves in a delicious way that had his heart thumping in his chest.

Sully put on a black baseball hat and tugged it low over her face. “Am I recognizable?”

“Hardly. Especially in the dark.”

“Good.”

The weather was still warm, despite the wind, but it was September, so it wasn’t that out of the ordinary.

He peered up at the big house. “This place really does look haunted.”

“I know. I’d be way too creeped out to live here,” Sully agreed with a shudder.

“Well, let’s hope we can make Mason feel the same way.”

Jackson grabbed their bag of goodies from the back of the truck and then hauled the ladder out.

“Want some help with that?” Sully offered.

He hoisted it up on his shoulder with ease. “Nope. I’ve got it.”

They crept through the yard toward the historic home. When they got to the base of the garage, they set the ladder against the house quietly.

“It would be just our luck for Mrs. Fuller to hear us and come out to investigate,” Sully said.

“Let’s just hope that doesn’t happen.”

He wasn’t sure which would be worse, the fact that he was trespassing or that he was caught being so ridiculous. He inched his way up the ladder and quietly as he could. When he got to the top, he peered into the window. Mason sat on the couch with a beer in his hand, watching what looked like some kind of suspense movie. Even better.

“I’m going to keep watch from this tree here.” Sully climbed up it with impressive skill and perched on one of the branches. She put a pair of binoculars to her face. “I can see right in there from here,” she said in a low voice.

He pulled out a chain from his shoulder bag and began shaking it. He made sure to crouch beneath the window so he couldn’t be seen from in the house.

“He’s getting up,” Sully said quietly.

Jackson kept himself flattened against the house.

After what seemed like an eternity, Sully announced, “He’s gone now.”

Next, he pulled out two metal rods he’d picked up from the hardware store. He slid them against each other, making an eerie sound from the action.

“That sounds really creepy,” Sully said from her perch in the tree. “He’s back,” she hissed.

He stopped the movement, and once again flattened himself against the wall.

“The coast is clear again,” Sully said.

He got up from his crouch and peered into the window. Suddenly, the light went out. It was time to go. Either Mason was going to bed, or he was coming outside to investigate what the noises were.

---