One Kiss More by Mandy Baxter

paused. Tilted her head toward the sound. Tap, tap, tap .
    With slow, quiet steps, she crossed the room. Her heart rate jacked up to about five hundred beats per minute as she made her way to the door. How could she live alone in the city and not even have a can of pepper spray handy? Good Lord. Up until now, she’d existed under the false sense of comfort that came from living in a building with great security. But in the course of a few weeks, not only had the U.S. Marshals barged in without anything more than a heads-up from security, but Cesar had wandered up to the twenty-first floor like he owned the place. Emma grabbed the first heavy object she could find and finished her trek to the door, decorative vase in hand. It might not do a lot of damage, but if push came to shove, she might be able to immobilize an attacker.
    The fear that crept up her spine made her want to cringe away from herself in revulsion. She couldn’t afford to be afraid.
    She took one last calming breath before rising up on her tiptoes to look through the peephole in the door. Landon McCabe stood on the other side, one arm braced against the door, his head hung between his shoulders. Jeez, he looked as tense as she felt. She placed the vase back on the end table and went back to open the door. So, Cesar wasn’t here to finish her off, but it looked as if she was about to be taken into custody. She should have felt relief. The way her hands shook when she turned the doorknob, though, told a different story.
    McCabe pushed his way in and placed his palm over Emma’s mouth, gently shutting the door behind him. Emma tried to back away and struggled against his iron grip, but he wrapped his free arm around her waist and pulled her tight against him. Her hands came up between them to push against his chest and his warmth soaked into her skin, jacking Emma’s pulse in a way that wasn’t entirely unpleasant. Damn him. She was trying to be outraged.
    “Is there anyone else here?” Chills danced over Emma’s skin as the warmth of his breath brushed her ear. She shook her head in response, and he said, “I’m going to let you go now. Don’t say a word, do you understand?”
    What in the hell was going on? She pulled back so she could look into his face and the hand that was wrapped around her waist moved to cup the back of her neck. He leaned in and his lips brushed her cheek when he said, “Not. A. Word. Nod your head, Emma.”
    Bossy.
    But she obliged him anyway, giving a sharp nod of acknowledgment. McCabe let her go, and Emma almost melted into the floor without his firm grip to keep her upright. She followed him into the living room, bemused at his strange behavior. As if she thought her situation couldn’t get any weirder. By all rights he should have barged in flashing his badge and gun, being seven different kinds of cocky while he tried to intimidate her into cooperating.
    Was she in the Twilight Zone?
    No, seriously.
    McCabe grabbed the TV remote from the coffee table and turned up the volume until it was a notch below annoyingly loud. He crossed back to Emma and again, leaned in so close that their bodies touched. “Your apartment, phone, and cell are tapped and you’re going to be arrested tomorrow for conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and a handful of additional charges. Since we can’t find Javier, you’re going to be the scapegoat, Emma. I know you didn’t do this alone. Tell me what’s going on so I can stop this arrest. Let me help you.”
    The conviction in his words didn’t go unnoticed. Nor did the way his body tensed when his hand brushed her hip. Electric energy charged the narrow space between them, and Emma’s breath sped in her chest. “I can’t.” She felt as though she were being torn in two. The pressure Cesar put on her was too much. Landon’s urging was too much. She was breaking under the strain. “Please, McCabe, go. Or arrest me right now.” Would he? Could he simply slap the cuffs on her right here