Morning After (A Reynolds Security Novel) Read Free Page B

make the bank drop. Marco called and texted her so many times she shut her phone off, and then just as she was getting ready to leave she realized that Zoe wasn’t there to make the supply order. It took her longer than it would’ve taken Zoe so when she was finally leaving it was dark.
    Carrying the money for the bank drop always made her edgy but doing it in the dark made her paranoid. She was jumping at shadows and her heart was pounding when she slid into the front seat of her Honda and locked the door. She took a deep breath and let her heart slow before she turned the key. All she heard was a hollow click. Suddenly her heart was racing again. She looked around out her window. It was dark and fairly deserted behind the building but she could see the lights of passing cars. There was no thick fog or ominous piano music.
    “You are being ridiculous.” She said out loud and the sound made her feel a bit better. Deciding to call AAA from her office she got out of her car. Half way back to the building she thought she heard something and turned, before she could fully turn someone grabbed her from behind. She screamed but the sound was cut short by a hand clamping around her throat. 
     
    Ethan pulled his truck up in front of the building. It was late enough that the parking meters weren’t running so he didn’t bother with the garage and parked on the street instead. Just as he reached the glass doors he heard a scream. He turned scanning the area. He didn’t see anyone and he didn’t hear any more screams but his gut told him not to ignore it. He jogged in the direction of the sound dodging through the light traffic and getting honked at for his efforts.
     
    Erica tried frantically to remember what she had learned in the self-defense class she had taken in college. She remembered she could use her keys as a weapon but she had dropped her keys when she'd been grabbed. She clawed at the hand around her throat but the grip didn't lessen and her vision began to dim.
    Suddenly her attacker was knocked to the side and lost his grip on her. She fell to the ground and began to cough violently as she tried to pull air into her burning lungs. She looked up but all she could see was two dark figures grappling with each other. It gave a whole new meaning to shadow boxing. The smaller figure took off running and the larger figure chased after him. Not sure which was the original attacker and which was her defender she began to search the ground for her keys even as she continued to cough.
    "Erica? Are you all right?" She jumped at the sound of her name she hadn't heard anyone come back. She didn't recognize the voice. But when he knelt in front of her she did recognize the face.
    "Joe?" she rasped and coughed.
    "It's Ethan actually," he said gently. "Are you OK?"  She started to say yes but the pain stopped her and she simply nodded.
    "Keys?" she croaked. He reached back to his belt and retrieved a small flashlight. It was surprisingly bright for its size he swept it back and forth across the ground in search of keys. She finally noticed what he was wearing. He was wearing all black, black jeans, a black t-shirt, a black jacket. She saw a glint of light off metal under his jacket and stiffened.
    "Is that a g-gun?" she asked in a whispered rasp.
    "Yeah I just came from a job." He wasn't looking at her he was still looking for her keys. Her heart was pounding again she debated just running. Nothing felt real and she couldn't think straight. She stood up and immediately felt a rush to her head that caused her knees to buckle. She waited for the impact of the ground but never felt it. Instead a strong arm hauled her against a hard chest. Her nose was pressed to the center of his chest and he smelled amazing. The feel of his arms made her want to borrow in deeper and stay there forever.
    "Easy, you've had quite an adrenaline rush it can have unpredictable results." He murmured close to her ear and it sent a rush of tingly warmth