Nightfall Read Free

embrace.
    “You all right?” Alexander asked.
    She looked back at Dominic. “I am now.”
    “Who is this?” Alexander’s voice was calm, but held a deadly undertone.
    “My ex-husband.”
    Dominic glared as he walked toward them. Alexander released her only long enough to edge her behind him.
    She peered around his shoulder, her body tensing as she clasped his left shoulder. “Alexander, wait.”
    “Who the hell are you ?” Dominic asked, keeping considerable distance between them.
    She found her voice and stepped out from behind Alexander. “Dominic, this is my friend General Alexander Graham. Alexander, Dominic Cantrelli.”
    Neither man extended a hand, but that didn’t surprise her. They were too busy staring each other down.
    “General, eh?” Dominic smirked. “I’ve heard of you. You run that hot shot security outfit.”
    “Sentry Security.” Alexander’s voice was flat and no nonsense.
    “Right.” Dominic smiled. That self-assured, confident cop grin that made everyone trust him even when they shouldn’t. “I was worried about Patty and thought I’d check on her.”
    “I can see that,” Alexander said. “But she’s all right now. I’m making sure of it.”
    A wave of uncharacteristic heat flashed through her body at Alexander’s decisive tone. Whoa. Dominic had tried to dominate her in their relationship, never protect her, and Alexander’s possessive statement made everything feminine inside her take notice. At the same time she was pissed. She could handle herself, and these men were acting as if she was a china doll.
    She stepped out from behind Alexander. “Gentlemen, it’s getting cold out here. Time to go home.”
    Dominic eyeballed Alexander as if he was making up his mind, and the tension drew tighter by the second.
    “If I find out you’ve hurt her in any way, I’ll kick your soldier-boy ass,” Dominic said.
    She glanced up at Alexander. His stone-cold expression didn’t change. “You could try.”
    “I’d succeed.”
    “Stop it,” Patty said in frustration.
    Dominic nodded. “Take care, Patty.”
    Her ex went down the alley and when he disappeared, Alexander reached for her. He clasped her arm gently. What looked like genuine fear flashed through his eyes. “You all right? Did he hurt you? When I saw him hovering over you like that it scared the shit out of me.”
    Her mouth flopped open. This was the most emotion she’d seen Alexander display in a year. “I’m…no, he didn’t hurt me. Scared the crap out of me, though.”
    With a gentle tug he directed her down the alley. “Let’s get you home. It’s damned cold out here. We can talk more there.”
    After she’d locked herself in her car, he left the alley. When she pulled out onto the street she was relieved to see Alexander’s black SUV waiting for her. She glanced around and noted the traffic was thin, with no sign of Dominic anywhere. She turned west toward home, her headlights cutting through the whiteout. As she drove the few miles that led to the outskirts of town, the way was slow going. Conditions were worsening by the minute and making visibility nasty. When she reached her home surrounded by four acres, she kept her eyes on the slick road. When she pulled into her driveway, she was glad to see lights on in the two houses nearby. It wasn’t as if she lived out in the boonies, exactly. Her neighbors were nice people—they’d all banded together during the Long Valley Super Volcano event. She clicked the opener on the driver’s side visor, and the garage door opened. She drove into the garage, killed the engine and got out.
    Alexander’s black SUV parked along the curve of the driveway. The blizzard screeched, the wind now battering the area with heavy winds. She stood just within the shelter of the garage, her keys open and at the ready. Alexander trotted up the driveway, his boots making tracks.
    He stopped inside the garage as well and pushed his hood off. “Damn, this storm is the biggest