Free Overheated by Laina Kenney Page A

finding it somewhat more difficult. Her palms were sweating and she was clutching her sheaf of files like a lifeline, her nervous fingers leaving dents in the pile of papers.
    “I don’t like pineapple,” Sara said in a shaking voice, trying to keep up with the game.
    Carolyn’s look was understanding. “Okay,” she said easily. “No pineapple. Got it. Listen, I’ll order from here and then just go down to the front to pick it up. They usually get here in about twenty minutes since the pizzeria is just at the end of this block.”
    “Great.” Sara tried to smile. Listening to her friend ordering a pizza with every topping except pineapple, she wondered frantically if she would be expected to eat it. Her dry throat and clenching stomach muscles warned her not to try. She didn’t want to throw up on her first real assignment. She needed to feel she was helping in some way, and gaining the respect of her new friends was important to her. The people she worked with were all experienced, but she kept reminding herself that they had all been beginners at one time. Still, throwing up was not an option.
    When Carolyn left to get the pizza, Sara wasn’t truly worried. The team had repeatedly warned her that the process of security work was a waiting game, and she might have to stay until
midnight
for several nights in a row to lure in their prey. So when she heard the scrape of the side door opening, she thought perhaps one of the team had needed to adjust some of the equipment or use the washroom.
    “Sweetheart, I’m here,” Martin’s sickeningly sweet voice said.
    Sara froze, hardly believing. She turned slowly to look at her ex, feeling the blood drain from her face. Suddenly, it was as if her hands developed palsy, and the papers scattered across the floor.
    “Sweetheart, weren’t you expecting me?” Martin asked as he walked right up to her. He was dressed in his customary tweed jacket and slacks, picture perfect, as if he had just stepped out of a country gentlemen’s catalogue. He looked as comfortable as if he owned the place. “I’m sorry to startle you. I know how nervous you get.” He smiled at her.
    Sara was surprised. It was almost surreal. He was speaking as if they were still a couple, as if she had never left him, never run halfway across the country to get out from under his control.
    Sara tried to swallow, to speak, but it took her two tries to get her voice to work.
    “I didn’t expect to see you again,” was all she was able to say.
    Martin frowned. “What? That doesn’t make any sense. I couldn’t let you just go, Sara, a delicate creature like you. You need a man to look after you. You’ve always been sheltered, always been afraid. I knew it was just a matter of time before you realized how much you needed me, so I gave you that time. And now I’m here to bring you home.”
    “I’m not going anywhere with you.” Sara was very proud that her voice came out at all. She was feeling faint. “I didn’t want you to come here. I didn’t like having you watch me, Martin.”
    “You wanted me to come and get you, but you wouldn’t answer my calls. I have every right to watch you.” His voice was harsh and getting louder, as it always did when he wasn’t getting his way. She wasn’t reacting like she was supposed to. She wasn’t running into his arms and begging him to protect her. He reached out for her, but she stepped back quickly.
    “You know what happens, Sara, when you back away from me. You know how I hate that.” He was becoming angry now. His face was darkening with temper.
    Sara ran around behind the desks, keeping her eyes on him. Where was the backup team? She didn’t want to take her eyes from Martin to look for them.
    “I will not go with you, Martin,” she said firmly, though her knees were shaking and she wondered how much longer they would hold her up. “I left you.”
    “You left me because you’re too stupid to know what you need! You need my protection in