Authors: Rebecca York
Terror Mansion (Decorah Security Series, Book #12): A Paranormal Romantic Suspense Novella (9 page)
As she stood facing her workbench, she thought she heard him come in, but she stayed where she was, trying to focus on molding some silver clay into something that didn’t look like a kindergartner had done it.
She’d told Wyatt she wanted to get this drama over with, but now she couldn’t keep her nerves from jumping as she pictured what might happen.
“Come on. Come on,” she whispered under her breath, willing the stalker to make a move tonight. “Get this over with.”
Still, when she sensed movement behind her, she felt her whole body go rigid. Long seconds ticked by, each of them an eternity. And then she heard a scream.
When Kate whirled around, she saw that the net Wyatt had rigged earlier had fallen from the rafters of the old warehouse and captured an intruder who was now dangling a few feet from the floor. A hammer fell from a flailing hand and crashed to the wooden boards.
“What the hell? Let me out of here,” an angry voice cried out.
Kate stared in disbelief at the person who had been about to assault her. She’d thought it was going to be one of the silversmiths—probably Margot Redding. Instead she found herself staring at a Main Street shop owner.
“Mr. Hillman?”
His face had turned an angry red. “Let me down, damn you.”
Behind Hillman, Wyatt stepped forward. “So you’re the one who’s been causing trouble for Kate,” he said in a voice sharp as a silver dagger.
“Of course not,” the shopkeeper protested. “You can’t prove anything. Let me down.”
“Actually, I can,” Wyatt corrected. “I have you on video, holding up a hammer getting ready to bash in Kate’s head. Why?” he added in an angry voice.
The man sucked in a sharp breath. Apparently realizing he was well and truly caught, he said, “Because she’s going to put me out of business. She’s dominating my merchandise, but she’s not charging enough.”
Wyatt recalled his earlier discussion with the man, who had tried to get him to spend more money.
“And that’s your solution to the problem, get rid of her—the hard way?”
Hillman glared at him. “I’m not saying anything else without my lawyer.”
“Fine,” Wyatt agreed. “But meanwhile, let’s make sure you stick around.” Using a rope and a pulley, he lowered the net to the floor so that the shop owner was standing on his feet. Reaching through the net, Wyatt secured the man’s wrists with handcuffs.
As he was finishing, Everett Judd, the St. Stephens Chief of Police stepped into the workshop. A couple of years before he’d had a nasty run-in with Ben Walker when the Decorah agent was looking for a kidnap victim, but now he was dedicating himself to keeping the peace in town.
“Thank God,” Hillman said when he spotted the lawman. “You see what they’ve done to me. I demand that you release me.”
“Can’t do that,” the chief said. “I was watching the action on Granger’s camera feed. You were about to assault Ms. Kingston.”
They stood by as Judd removed the net, read Hillman his rights, and marched him off to his police car after saying to Kate and Wyatt, “I’d like to get a statement from both of you in the morning.”
“Yes,” they answered.
When the chief and his prisoner had left, Wyatt turned to Kate. “This time, it’s finally over. And I can finish up my arrangement with the state police.”
“Which is what?”
“They agreed to keep what happened in the fun house under wraps until I figured out who was going after you in St. Stephens?”
“They did?”
“Yes, that’s why there was nothing in the press.” He kept his gaze steady. “But now the story’s going to break—and get you some notoriety, I suspect. I mean, along with everybody finding out about dear Mr. Hillman.”
She nodded. “I hope we’ve got a few hours before anyone bothers us.”
He grinned. “Let’s hope.”
She grinned back, then came into his arms, holding him tight.
“You were pretty brave to stand there, waiting for someone to attack you.”
“Because I knew you were going to stop him.”
“You put a lot of faith in me,” he said, speaking around the lump in his throat.
She clung to him more tightly. “Yes, I did.”
The way she said that made his heart squeeze.
He gathered her close, and when he lowered his lips to hers, he felt a jolt of sensation sizzle between them. They had been on edge all day. Now the danger was over, and they were only a few yards from her apartment. She led him inside, and he slammed and locked the door behind them, kissing her, stroking her, undressing her as they headed for the bed.
They were naked in record time, both ready to show each other how much they felt. And when he took her down to the surface of the bed, she rolled to her back, her gaze locked with his as she guided him into her. They were so keyed up that they both climaxed almost at once, then lay panting in each other’s arms.
“Thank God you’re finally safe,” he whispered.
“Thank God you showed up at my workshop and forced me to listen to you.”
He stroked the silky skin of her back, thinking there was so much more he wanted to say—about how the two of them belonged together. But he had learned she was a woman who had to make up her own mind. You couldn’t push her into anything, which meant he’d have to take his time getting around to the subject of marriage.
He wasn’t going to pressure her, even when he knew this was the woman he wanted in his arms for the rest of his life.
And he had secret knowledge that he wasn’t going to share just yet. Most of his prescient dreams foretold bad things to come. The one he’d had last night was of the two of them standing on a beach in front of a minister, exchanging vows and rings. He’d been afraid to trust it. Now he knew it was going to happen—not too far in the future.
THE END
Thank you for purchasing
TERROR MANSION
, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I loved writing it.
If you enjoy my books, do me a huge favor. Please go back to your favorite online book store, and leave an honest review. Authors live and die by their reviews. The few extra seconds it takes are really appreciated. Thank you!
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If you enjoyed
TERROR MANSION
, you might also like to read other Light Street Press books by Rebecca York:
Book 1.
On Edge
(a Decorah Security prequel novella)
Book 2.
Dark Moon
(a novel)
Book 3.
Chained
(a novella)
Book 4.
Ambushed
(a short story)
Book 5.
Dark Powers
(a novel)
Book 6.
Hot and Dangerous
(a short story)
Book 7.
At Risk
(a novel)
Book 8.
Christmas Captive
(a novella)
Book 9.
Destination Wedding
(a novella)
Book 10.
Rx Missing
(a novel)
Book 11.
Hunting Moon
(a novel)
Decorah Security Collection
(an anthology including Ambushed, Hot and Dangerous, Chained, and Dark Powers)
Book 1.
Hero's Welcome
(an off-world series short story)
Book 2.
Nightfall
(an off-world series novella)
Book 3.
Conquest
(an off-world series short story)
Book 4.
Assignment Danger
(an off-world novella)
Book 5.
Christmas Home
(an off-world short story)
Book 6.
Firelight Confession
(an off-world novella)
Off-World Collection
(includes Nightfall, Hero’s Welcome, and Conquest)
Rebecca York delivers page-turning suspense.
—Nora Roberts
Rebecca York never fails to deliver. Her strong characterizations, imaginative plots and sensuous love scenes have made fans of thousands of romance, romantic suspense and thriller readers.
—Chassie West
Rebecca York will thrill you with romance, kill you with danger and chill you with the supernatural.
—Patricia Rosemoor
(Rebecca York) is a real luminary of contemporary series romance
—Michael Dirda, The Washington Post Book World
Rebecca York’s writing is fast-paced, suspenseful, and loaded with tension.
—Jayne Ann Krentz
A New York Times and USA Today Best-Selling Author, Rebecca York is a 2011 recipient of the Romance Writers of America Centennial Award. Her career has focused on romantic suspense, often with paranormal elements.
Her 16 Berkley books and novellas include her nine-book werewolf “Moon” series. KILLING MOON was a launch book for the Berkley Sensation imprint. She has written for Harlequin, Berkley, Dell, Tor, Carina Press, Silhouette, Kensington, Running Press, Tudor, Pageant Books, and Scholastic.
Her many awards include two Rita finalist books. She has two Career Achievement awards from Romantic Times: for Series Romantic Suspense and for Series Romantic Mystery. And her Peregrine Connection series won a Lifetime Achievement Award for Romantic Suspense Series.
Many of her novels have been nominated for or won RT Reviewers Choice awards. In addition, she has won a Prism Award, several New Jersey Romance Writers Golden Leaf awards and numerous other awards.
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Published by Light Street Press
Copyright © 2015 by Ruth Glick
Cover design by Earthly Charms
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.