Page 38 of Hard Wired

But it was different facing something like this in reality, rather than in the abstract.

Sylvie was completely calm and collected. He had no idea what was going through her head. If she was scared, in shock. Angry.

He wished he could hold Sylvie’s hand to reassure her. And maybe himself.

Sweat trickled down his sides.

In the eerie silence, Dominic allowed himself to think about what Sylvie had confessed—that she’d never had an orgasm before. At first, when she’d pulled away from him, he was the one who’d been embarrassed. Satisfying a woman was one of the few things that Dominic could usually get right. And yet, he’d failed.

He was willing to experiment with her. In fact, he’d been looking forward to it. They could do whatever she felt comfortable doing, and they’d both probably learn from the experience. Not to mention having a hell of a lot of fun.

But this attack, whatever was really going on, had put a damper on those plans. He couldn’t imagine that Sylvie would be able to forget who he was ever again.

After today, she’d probably want nothing more to do with him.

“What was that?” Sylvie asked.

Maureen squeezed Dominic’s arm. He held his breath.

There was the crash of something heavy against an exterior door. The splintering of wood. Maureen gasped. Dominic’s arms ached as he pointed the Glock at the barricaded doorway. His heart drummed against his ribcage. Somebody was in the house. But who?

A shout came from downstairs. “Police!”

Sylvie crawled toward the window and peeked between the blinds. “I see a SWAT van. And half a dozen squad cars are just pulling up.”

Dominic closed his eyes for one brief moment of relief. But he wasn’t out of danger yet. He pulled the magazine from his Glock and hid both items under a cabinet. “I need to hide your gun.”

Sylvie yanked the magazine. “I’ll do it.”

“Could you call the police back now? Tell them where we are?”

Dominic held out his phone. She accepted it. “Why can’t you?”

He knelt on the carpet. “I’m going to lie down on the floor with my hands spread so the SWAT team doesn’t shoot me on sight.”

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