"You did good things to the place. It's a little pink for me, but to each their own."I stay on the ground not moving as he continues to survey the kitchen almost like he's reminiscing. Unfortunately, it doesn't last long. At least not long enough for me to make it to the security panel and hit the panic button."I'm gonna need you to come with me," he says, his attention finally returning to me.I shake my head. "That's not a good idea."He sighs. "That's too bad, you looked nice. I thought I'd be able to do this without a lot of violence."Violence?He drops the hand from behind his back and I wish he hadn't. What is it with adults and the overuse of guns? I've seen so many the last two weeks, my reaction to another is totally out of character. Meaning I do nothing. There's no screaming, or flinching, nothing but a bunch of deep breaths."Okay." I stand up with my hands in the air.He smiles the same hole between his teeth standing out. "This is the kind of listening
At the end of the dirt track is a clearing with an obviously old and hopefully abandoned cabin. Ridge has commented about these old forgotten family hunting cabins that are scattered across the county, but this is my first experience seeing one firsthand. I'm not impressed."Time to go," Kevin says, not giving me time to object. Again, he's the one holding the gun. I guess he gets to decide when we leave and where we go.The wooden porch steps creak and moan as we walk up them. The middles bend and I worry about falling through, but Kevin runs up them directly behind me not at all worried. Inside the cabin is empty. Old dusty cobwebs have settled in all the corners, and our feet leave prints as we walk across the floor. At the end of the large open space I assume to be a living room is an open area leading to a small kitchen. To our right a set of steps leads upstairs."Sit."I don't ask any questions or argue but sit on the dirty floor. More of the deep breaths I've perfected
The sun is warm in the area on my cheek where my head rests on the pillow. It's my first clue something is not right. I haven't been able to sleep in long enough to have the sun wake me up in...too damn long.Another half a second passes and I remember it's Friday. Two days ago I survived a kidnapping. I'm allowed to sleep in today. Another stretch to fix the kink in my body so I can sleep longer, but the muscles in my back protest.The clock on Bennett's side of the bed reads 10:07.I retract my earlier statement. I haven't slept this late since high school.Another minute happens before my mind kicks in and realizes it's 10:07 in the morning and nobody has called me. That seems unlikely. Especially since I left Tabitha in charge of Katy while running my bakery. I spent all day yesterday in the bakery cooking. Everything from donuts in the morning to cupcakes, cookies and a few new items I wanted to try. Baking helped to work through the anxiety of my kidnapping. And while Rid
"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Bennett asks as his truck idles in the parking lot behind the bakery."Yes.""It's supposed to be a day off, Anessa.""Yes, but you need time with Liam." Bennett spent a lot of time the last few weeks saving me from bad guys and chasing down drug dealers. With Kevin on the run and none of Ridge's team or the local police departments able to track him down, there is still a lot of work to do. He should spend a day off with his son. "Plus I want to visually confirm that Tabitha isn't cooking.""I'll be back to pick you up in three hours," he says leaning across the cab to give me a quick kiss. "Three hours."When he deepens the kiss, it's time for me to go. Even after what we did an hour ago, kissing Bennett is never enough. Unfortunately, I have responsibilities and he has a child, so realistically we can't spend an entire day in bed having sex.I stop in my back door and turn, watching his truck in the parking lot before waving go
* Bennett *I swipe my thumb across the print scanner and, when it beeps, open the door. The heavy steel door opens with a squeak. Behind it Ridge's private office. The one he doesn't show anyone else. This is where the real action happens and where he keeps all his private files on our high profile clients."I thought you were gonna do something about that?" I ask taking a seat in front of the large desk in the middle the room. Papers and manila folders are stacked in tall piles on either side of Ridge.He looks up from whatever he'd been working on with flattened lips. "The door? I'd have time to take care of the door if I wasn't always chasing someone's girlfriend around.""Hey, Anessa was not my girlfriend when this whole thing started. And the first time it was your girlfriend." I laugh, stretching back in the metal chair. He can complain all he wants, but the truth the matter is Ridge lives for the kind of excitement we've had the last few months. We all do. "Doesn't your
VOLUME THREE: HOLIDAY RISK* Spencer *Every once in a while, life takes a crazy, random array of events and turns them into something wonderful.Other times, she takes your life, spins you around, throws you in a new direction, and then kicks you in the balls.I've obviously pissed her off. There's no other explanation for why I'd find myself in this tiny apartment on the outskirts of small town USA, Pelican Bay. With a boss whose brain has been overrun with testosterone after finding what he considers his soulmate. Or the roommate who sees it as her life mission to eat every single thing in my apartment.The smell of fried chicken permeates the second floor hallway, and increases as I walk past the Johnson's apartment door."Boss, Tabitha will cut off your nuts and serve them to you as supper if you put a camera or GPS in her car."Ridge, the owner of Pelican Bay Security and my delusional boss, laughs at my reasonable assessment. I don't know how he's survived the grow
* Joslin *LOCAL MAN BRINGS RESCUE DOG HOME TO PELICAN BAYEight men celebrating a bachelor party in Kentucky each went home with a surprise—puppies!This past October, Kenny Jacobson and his groomsmen got together at a cabin in southern Kentucky to celebrate his upcoming nuptials. On their third morning, they noticed a stray dog outside their rented cabin."She was scrawny and shaggy-looking, but a sweetheart," said Will Perkins.Swayed by her soulful eyes, the men gave her food and water. They were soon rewarded with her wagging tail.Later that evening, Lucas Hewitt heard whining in the woods. He followed the sound to where he found six hungry pups.Their beer fund quickly turned to dog food money as the men worked to clean and care for the mother and her babies. They washed, fed, and prepared beds for them in the already-crowded cabin.But the rescue didn't stop there. When the bachelor party was finished, the groom and groomsmen all took home a puppy. Seven dogs fo
It's doubtful. I can't imagine this big guy sitting on Facebook watching a live video in anticipation of scoring a piece of clothing. It would take hours."No, it's okay." Have I said "okay" five hundred times in this conversation? I think so. Get a handle on yourself, Joslin. He may be hot, but his dog ruined a fresh pair of holiday leggings.While a piece of my legging blows in the breeze, his clothes aren't disheveled in the least. Except for his lack of a warm winter coat, he's the image of put together. My large black Columbia coat hides the upper half of my body, except for the hat and mittens I shoved in my pockets when I entered the store. Because I'm sane and wear a jacket in the winter."She's only a few months old, and all my attempts to train her have been ineffective. It's another six weeks before they start the next puppy training class, and I'm pretty sure she's going to chew me out of a house before then." He puts Frankie back on the ground but keeps a firm grip o