Paradise By The Rifle Sights (Greatest Hits romantic mysteries book #5) (Greatest Hits Mysteries) by Leslie Langtry
Authors: Leslie Langtry
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tonight. You get some sleep." He left before I could change my mind.
Roberto followed him out. I took a shower and went to bed. So tomorrow, I'd pick Cindee and someone else, who would just be cast aside later. The memory of Cindee's kiss resonated on my lips. I really liked her. But could I propose to her in two days?
I 'd never gotten that far with a woman before…emotionally, that is. And I was not the kind of guy who could fake propose when what I really meant was want to see where this leads us?
Suddenly, this didn 't seem like a good idea at all. What was I thinking? Actually, I was thinking this wouldn't get any further once they discovered the executive producer dead. But the fact of the matter was, I didn't have any semblance of a plan from the start. And that wasn't me.
I climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom for some aspirin. Upon closing the medicine cabinet, I froze when I saw my face staring back at me. I seemed to be disappointed in myself. As I looked into my own brown eyes I saw something I hadn't seen before. Fear.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
" She jerked away from me like a startled fawn might, if I had a startled fawn and it jerked away from me."
~ Raymond Chandler
A crash behind the bathroom wall caused me to launch automatically into defense mode. It was very late. What was on the other side of this wall? The garage. I slipped into a pair of chinos and an undershirt and opened the doors to the balcony.
There were a lot of expensive cars in the garage. A thief could make a lot of money stealing just one. Or it could be worse. There was someone after me. I hoped for the thief. If anyone got hurt in this house because of me, I'd never forgive myself. Slipping one leg over the rail, I lowered myself to the ground below and headed for the garage.
A light was on. Maybe it wasn't a thief. Maybe it was worse. Even though I wasn't fond of these women (except for Cindee, of course) I wasn't going to let anything happen to them. Where was security? Were they too broke to have any?
The main garage door was open , and I slipped inside on the right. Hugging the wall, I worked my way to the back.
" Dammit!" a hoarse voice cried out. It gave me the bearings to zero in, and I crept closer. Being barefoot, I was able to move quietly. A shadow appeared ahead of me, hunched over what looked like a body on the floor.
I took him out in a flying tackle. He was a big, ugly man with cauliflower ears and a broken nose. I hit him in the jaw with a right cross, and he crashed to the floor. The body behind me moaned, but I didn't take my eyes off the guy.
He swung heavily up at me , and I dodged it easily. One uppercut to the jaw, and he was out cold.
" Unhh," the body behind me groaned. I'd attend to whoever it was in a minute. First I had to secure this guy before he came to.
A long electrical cord snaked on the floor next to him. It only took two minutes for me to hog tie him.
" Paris?" the voice behind me said unsteadily. It was Teri. I turned to find her sitting up, holding her head. She was holding her hand in front of her, staring at the blood on it as if she didn't believe this was real. Seeing her there, hurt like that, was like being sucker-punched. How did this happen? She was just staying late, working on the cars and got in the way of a very bad man. A man looking for me. This was all my fault.
I pulled her into my arms. "Shhh. It's okay. You're safe now." I needed to get to a phone.
" He…he came out of nowhere…" she said. She didn't cry or freak out, and I wasn't sure if she was in shock.
I asked for her cell , and she handed it to me. Because of the address, the police were there in minutes. They found us and took the thug away. By then, the other women in the house had woken up and stood around the edges of the garage. Cindee came forward with a towel and pressed it against Teri's scalp. She was the only one who did anything.
I couldn 't figure out if the women were quiet due to
Roberto followed him out. I took a shower and went to bed. So tomorrow, I'd pick Cindee and someone else, who would just be cast aside later. The memory of Cindee's kiss resonated on my lips. I really liked her. But could I propose to her in two days?
I 'd never gotten that far with a woman before…emotionally, that is. And I was not the kind of guy who could fake propose when what I really meant was want to see where this leads us?
Suddenly, this didn 't seem like a good idea at all. What was I thinking? Actually, I was thinking this wouldn't get any further once they discovered the executive producer dead. But the fact of the matter was, I didn't have any semblance of a plan from the start. And that wasn't me.
I climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom for some aspirin. Upon closing the medicine cabinet, I froze when I saw my face staring back at me. I seemed to be disappointed in myself. As I looked into my own brown eyes I saw something I hadn't seen before. Fear.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
" She jerked away from me like a startled fawn might, if I had a startled fawn and it jerked away from me."
~ Raymond Chandler
A crash behind the bathroom wall caused me to launch automatically into defense mode. It was very late. What was on the other side of this wall? The garage. I slipped into a pair of chinos and an undershirt and opened the doors to the balcony.
There were a lot of expensive cars in the garage. A thief could make a lot of money stealing just one. Or it could be worse. There was someone after me. I hoped for the thief. If anyone got hurt in this house because of me, I'd never forgive myself. Slipping one leg over the rail, I lowered myself to the ground below and headed for the garage.
A light was on. Maybe it wasn't a thief. Maybe it was worse. Even though I wasn't fond of these women (except for Cindee, of course) I wasn't going to let anything happen to them. Where was security? Were they too broke to have any?
The main garage door was open , and I slipped inside on the right. Hugging the wall, I worked my way to the back.
" Dammit!" a hoarse voice cried out. It gave me the bearings to zero in, and I crept closer. Being barefoot, I was able to move quietly. A shadow appeared ahead of me, hunched over what looked like a body on the floor.
I took him out in a flying tackle. He was a big, ugly man with cauliflower ears and a broken nose. I hit him in the jaw with a right cross, and he crashed to the floor. The body behind me moaned, but I didn't take my eyes off the guy.
He swung heavily up at me , and I dodged it easily. One uppercut to the jaw, and he was out cold.
" Unhh," the body behind me groaned. I'd attend to whoever it was in a minute. First I had to secure this guy before he came to.
A long electrical cord snaked on the floor next to him. It only took two minutes for me to hog tie him.
" Paris?" the voice behind me said unsteadily. It was Teri. I turned to find her sitting up, holding her head. She was holding her hand in front of her, staring at the blood on it as if she didn't believe this was real. Seeing her there, hurt like that, was like being sucker-punched. How did this happen? She was just staying late, working on the cars and got in the way of a very bad man. A man looking for me. This was all my fault.
I pulled her into my arms. "Shhh. It's okay. You're safe now." I needed to get to a phone.
" He…he came out of nowhere…" she said. She didn't cry or freak out, and I wasn't sure if she was in shock.
I asked for her cell , and she handed it to me. Because of the address, the police were there in minutes. They found us and took the thug away. By then, the other women in the house had woken up and stood around the edges of the garage. Cindee came forward with a towel and pressed it against Teri's scalp. She was the only one who did anything.
I couldn 't figure out if the women were quiet due to
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