Fatal Exposure Read Free Page A

Praying her luck would hold—and the cop would keep ringing her doorbell instead of circling around to the back—she snuck through the shadows to the gate and pressed her ear to the wood.
    Silence.
    Now came the risky part.
    She had to exit through the alley. There wasn’t another way out. And she couldn’t wait; once that cop realized she’d fled the house, he would search the entire block—including the neighbor’s yard. She just hoped that if he did have backup, his partner would be watching her back door instead of the neighbor’s gate. Her pulse quickening, she cracked it open and peeked out.
    She swept her gaze down the dark alley, over hulking, tomblike cars, past trash cans looming like phantoms in the quiet night. The cold wind gusted, ruffling the bushes lining the fence, but she seemed to be alone.
    Now or never.
    She sucked in a breath, swung the gate open wider and stepped through.
    Just as the shadows leaped.

Chapter 2
    P arker lunged at the woman fleeing the alley, a hot rush of fury fueling his steps. There was no way she was going to escape him, not after all this time.
    “Stop! Police!” he ordered, grabbing hold of her shoulder. But she whipped around, catching him off guard, and rammed her elbow into his head. He staggered back at the sharp jolt of pain.
    Damn. The woman could fight. But she still wasn’t getting away.
    Shaking off the pain, he surged forward as she took off running again. His feet jackhammered the pavement. Shadows zipped past in the night. He put on a burst of speed, catching up to her in a few long strides. Then he went in low, locking his arms around her waist, and lifted her off her feet.
    She twisted and thrashed like a hellcat, but he gritted his teeth and held on. She dropped her pack, snapped her arm back in another attempt to hit his head, but he ducked and dodged the blow. Then she reached down and grabbed his leg, jerking it up hard between hers. Thrown abruptly off balance, he fell.
    Hell. He’d underestimated her. Again.
    But this time he didn’t let go. He dragged her down to the pavement with him, his arms encircling her waist. She landed atop him a split second later, knocking the breath from his lungs. Grunting, he rolled over and pinned her down.
    “Stop fighting,” he rasped between gasps for air. “I’m not trying to hurt you. I’m a cop. I only want to talk.”
    But she wriggled and squirmed, managing to pin his arms to his sides with her legs before he anticipated her intent. Then she jabbed her finger beneath his ear, sending excruciating shocks sizzling through his nerves. White spots danced behind his eyes.
    So she wants to fight dirty. He could accommodate that.
    Furious now, he wedged his elbow around her knee and swung his leg over hers. Then he flipped her over, reversing their positions, and trapped her between his legs.
    For a moment she went stone-still, her uneven gasps filling the night. Then she shoved against his chest, struggling to gain enough space to break free. But he bore down even harder, using his strength to make her stop.
    Sweat trickled down his jaw. His breath seesawed in time to his careening pulse. After several futile attempts to get loose, she stopped.
    “Let me go,” she cried, her voice muffled.
    “Why should I?”
    “I can’t breathe.”
    He didn’t doubt it. He probably had seventy pounds of muscle on her.
    “Please.” She sounded desperate now. “I...can’t...breathe.”
    Unable to dredge up any sympathy, he steeled his jaw. “You going to talk to me this time?”
    “Yes.”
    “Somehow I’m not convinced.”
    “I said I would.” Despite her predicament, temper flared into her voice.
    “You’d better,” he warned. “You try running again, and I’ll hurt you for real this time.”
    Too ticked off to trust her, he rolled over, positioning himself on top. Then he lumbered to his feet, every sense alert in case she tried to bolt. When she didn’t make a move to join him, he reached down and pulled