Page 5 of Dark Terror
Actually it had helped when she’d closed her eyes because it meant she wouldn’t be distracted by the sight of him. She picked up her wine, took a deep drink, then set it back on the table, and closed her eyes.
By the time she’d reached the point where she’d left off at the library, her heart was beating too fast and her breath was shallow. “I-I don’t think I can do this.” She kept her eyes squeezed shut, gripping her hands together on her lap.
The sofa dipped next to her, and a warm hand covered hers. “You can, Cara. What did you do after you saw him stab her?”
Maybe it was the strength of him pouring through her skin at his touch, but her heartbeat eased, along with her breathing. “I wanted to make him stop hurting the woman, and took a step toward them thinking to do just that. But he raised the knife and stabbed her again.” She shivered. “I realized it would be stupid to try to fight him, and the best thing I could do was call the police. He hadn’t seen me yet, and I backed up as quietly as I could. Then Cricket… wait, I didn’t know his name then. I should tell you like it all happened at the time. So, the dog started barking again, and the man, he was bent over the body on the ground.” She shuddered.
“You’re doing good. What happened then?”
“He rose to his full height. He was tall, because I had to look up to see his face. It wasn’t cold out tonight, and I wondered why he had the hoodie zipped up to his throat. That was a dumb thing to be thinking at the time.”
“Not really. After the dog barked, what then?”
He was using his soothing cop voice, and it did calm her. “That’s when I looked up. He was staring at me, and I screamed. When I screamed, he started toward me. I took off and kept screaming, hoping he would be afraid someone would hear me and he’d stop chasing me.” She laughed, the sound of it on the hysterical side. “I’ve never moved that fast in my life.”
“I’m glad you did.”
She opened her eyes. “Yeah, me, too. When I reached the street and noticed the dog was running with me, I scooped him up. I looked over my shoulder and the man had stopped at the edge of the sidewalk, but he was watching me. I wasn’t sure why he’d stopped until I saw that Mrs. Kastrop was standing outside, about to lock the door. I yelled at her to go back inside. She just stood there staring at me like I’d lost my mind. When I reached her, I pulled her in with me and locked the door. And then I called the police.”
“Was he standing near a streetlight where you could get a good look at his face?”
“I’m not sure.” She closed her eyes again, visualizing what she’d seen. “No, he stood just outside of the lighted area. But the little bit of hair that I could see was lighter than the hoodie. His hair was blond.”
She blinked her eyes open, excited that she’d remembered that. “He’s tall and blond.” At feeling a squeeze on her hand, she glanced down to see that she had her fingers linked with Gabe’s. When had she done that?
Gabe saw the moment Cara realized they were holding hands. She blinked several times, and a blush stained her cheeks a pretty pink. She’d turned her palm up, linking their fingers when telling him how she’d raced back to the library. He’d been tempted to put a stop to the questioning for the night when he put his thumb on her wrist, feeling how hard her pulse pounded.
“Sorry,” she said, pulling her hand away from his.
“Not a problem.” He stood, taking her hand again and pulling her up with him. “You said you had to look up at him.” At her nod he said, “As tall as me or more?”
“I think close to your height.”
“A little over six feet then.”
She nodded, her gaze drifting to his mouth. The stray thought popped into his mind that he wanted to kiss her. With a shake of his head, he stepped back, putting a little distance between them.
Gabe Calder was a believer in rules. He did not cross lines that were there for good reasons. Descended from three generations of cops on his mother’s side—his great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother, who was currently a captain in the Colorado Springs police department—he’d had the differences between right and wrong drilled into his head from the time he could talk.
All three women had set the bar high, and Gabe, the first and only son born to any of them, was not about to be a disappointment. Cara was his witness. Kissing her was not an option.
“Ahem, okay.” Cara did a slow crumble onto the sofa, as if her knees had decided to stop holding her up. “Is that it? Are we done?”
A part of him liked that she seemed to be attracted to him, but he squashed that thought before it could grow. His own knees feeling a bit weak, he sank back into his chair. Gabe liked women. A lot. He loved their minds, their bodies, their strength. But after Brittaney he was gun-shy, and he wasn’t sure he’d ever get over her suicide and his role in it. Since her, he’d only casually dated, backing off at the first hint of a woman getting serious about him.
He’d never felt such an instant attraction to another woman, not even Brittaney, and it unsettled him. Even after six years the guilt that still lingered from his college girlfriend’s death affected his judgment where women were concerned. He knew that, accepted it, and thus his policy of no serious relationships.
Cricket whined, and Cara picked him up, settling him on her lap. While her attention was on the dog, he took a moment to study her. Sleek light brown hair fell just below her ears, and the streak of blue near the front implied she had a fun side. It was hard to get a handle on her personality, though, under the circumstances. Her eyes were dark brown with fascinating flecks of gold in the irises. They were eyes he could get lost in if he let himself. He wouldn’t.
“Unless you can think of anything else, we’re done for the night. I’ll want to go over everything with you again tomorrow, see if there’s anything else you remember.”
“So, you’re leaving now?”
Her gaze darted to the door, and he knew she was nervous about being left alone. “My cousin—” His phone buzzed with a text, and he picked it up from the coffee table. After turning off the recorder, he read the text, pleased with his cousin’s timing.
“My cousin is here. She’s going to stay with you tonight if that’s okay.” He had a feeling it would be. What he didn’t tell her was that he’d be spending the night in his car, guarding them both.
“I’m sure I’ll be okay.”
