Page 38 of London
“Oh, Gerard, I just called the police. Someone broke into your apartment!”
Chapter Ten
Gerard had no choice but to catch Danielle before she knocked them both down. Linda let go of his arm as if it burned her. What did she think was happening here? He opened his mouth to explain, but Danielle started talking.
“I’ve got the late night shift at the club and was on my way to work when I walked past your door and saw this mess.”
He gently disengaged himself from her. “When was this?”
“About ten minutes ago. I tried to call you, but your phone was off. Then I called the police.”
“Thanks, Danielle, you did the right thing. Did you see anyone?”
She shook her head, blinking rapidly. “No. I rushed upstairs to get my cellphone—I’d forgotten it. I looked out the window, but there was no one in the yard.”
Gerard huffed out a breath. He should be thankful he didn’t own anything of great value. What was really important to him wasn’t in this flat. Raking his fingers through his hair, he stared at the chaos just inside the door.
“Merde!” he swore again. “Probably some doped up kids looking for drug money. This happens too often, and most of those cases remain unsolved. I might as well go inside while we wait for the police and see what’s missing—if I can figure it out, given the mess.”
He reached out instinctively for Linda, but stopped when he looked at her. She stared at Danielle, her face as white as a sheet. Gerard could almost feel the pain in her eyes. She definitely had the wrong idea.
He drew her into his arms, ignoring her stiffness.
“I’m sorry, in all the excitement I forgot my manners. Linda, this is Danielle, my neighbor from upstairs. Danielle, this is my girlfriend, Linda.”
As the tension in Linda’s shoulders relaxed, Danielle’s lips tighten. Gerard smothered a groan. He’d always been flattered by the young woman’s attention, but he’d never taken her up on her offer, even though she’d made it clear she was available. Danielle was as nice as they came, but he preferred his women without a body full of silicone. He wasn’t comfortable starting a relationship with someone who made her living rubbing up against a pole, half-naked, gyrating to music while strangers leered at her. Call him judgmental, but it was what it was.
“Nice to meet you,” Danielle said, her tone frost-filled.
“Likewise. Thank you for calling the police,” Linda replied, standing stiffly beside him.
Gerard swallowed his laughter and tucked her body more closely to his. Two beautiful women arguing over him? Subtle or not, this was a standoff, and he knew enough to be careful.
As a teenager, living with his mother and his aunt, he’d learned to respect women because he knew what they were capable of. Depending on their mood, they could give their life for love, or kill with a look.
He wouldn’t trade Linda’s natural beauty and intelligence for anything. Mother Nature had given her full, sexy lips, perfect for kissing. While her breasts weren’t large, they were so beautifully firm that he would willingly spend days fondling and kissing them. Her lack of experience with men made her even more attractive to him. If she’d had dozens of lovers, would he have been able to ignore the fact? He honestly didn’t know. Deep down, he was a man with primitive instincts and old-fashioned values. It might be a double standard, but he couldn’t change.
He shook his head. No matter how flattering this invisible duel was, he had to face reality. Releasing Linda, he took a deep breath before pushing open the door to his flat to get a better look at the damage.
“Holy crap.” It was even worse than he’d expected. He had no idea what the burglars might have taken. He didn’t keep large sums of cash in the flat, so if they’d been looking for money, they’d come up empty. “It’ll take me days to clean this mess.”
“Don’t worry, honey, I’ll help you. I can work magic with a vacuum cleaner,” Danielle offered, her flirtatious voice back in place. “And you can stay at my place as long as you need to.”
Gerard opened his mouth to decline politely, but Linda shifted her body slightly forward, and put her arm around his waist.
“Don’t worry, Gerard will stay with me. That won’t be a problem,” she said. “Thanks for the offer, but we’ll clean it up together.”
The way Linda had stepped forward to stake her claim was a bright spot in a dark situation and held his rage in check. The prospect of staying with her a few days made this break-in the best thing that could’ve happened to him.
Heavy footsteps trudging up the stairs announced the arrival of the police officers before they entered the hallway. Gerard turned to greet them. One of the men was young, fresh and eager, probably a new graduate from the Police Academy, the other one looked as if he should’ve retired ten years ago. The climb had taken its toll on him. His breathing was heavy, his large paunch testifying to the man’s love for food and beer.
From the onset, Gerard hadn’t had much confidence in the police catching those responsible, but as he examined the officers, any glimmer of hope faded. All he could do was assess the damage and suck it up.
“Hello, I’m D.I. Patterson,” the older of the two said. “This is Officer Kane. What happened here?”
“I’m Doctor Gerard Leon. Someone’s broken into my flat. I was out for dinner, and got back about ten minutes ago. When we returned, we found this,” he indicated the ransacked apartment. “My neighbor, Danielle Copperfield, saw the door ajar, realized what had happened, and called the police.”
The officers moved closer to look inside.
