Free Catching the Cat Burglar by Cassie Wright Page B

imagine him in black, opening windows silently, entering smoothly, taking what he wants.
    Breaking the rules. Lying to people. Pretending to be someone he's not. Lying to me.
    He isn't a librarian. He's a thief. And no matter how attractive, courteous, mysterious, alluring, and devastatingly hot he might be, I'm not a librarian either. I'm a cop. And it's my job to arrest him.
    But I need proof. I need evidence. I can't go to Bardwell and the chief with this. Groofy's testimony would only make them laugh. What can I do? I could try to get Chase to invite me back to his place, and then find an opportunity to find evidence there... but no. He's too smart to leave stolen goods lying around. And snooping would invalidate my finds.
    I frown. I want to stride up to him and slap him. I realize that I'm furious. Why? I feel betrayed. I was falling for Chase the librarian. Now what do I feel? Who is he? Was he laughing at me all this time?
    Then it hits me. Last night. In Anita's bakery. That was Chase. It was him taking hold of my shoulder, growling in my ear, telling me that he wanted to kiss me and lick me and make me scream. I blush furiously. My heart skips a beat, and my legs go weak. Which only makes me more furious. Does he think he can toy with me? Oh no. I'll show him.
    "What are you going to do?" Groofy is watching my face carefully. "That's a scary smile."
    "Oh, I have an idea." And I do. It comes to me in a flash. "Wait here."
    I stride over to Chase, feeling dangerous and powerful and vengeful.
    "Hey," he says. "I know we just had dinner, and I should play it cool and wait a couple of days, but do you want to grab a bite to eat? I was heading down to Anita's to grab breakfast."
    "Oh, really?" My smile grows wider. "Anita's? Have you been there before?"
    He raises an eyebrow, taken aback by my animated tone. "Not yet. But I've heard good things."
    "I'm sure you have." I want to shake him. "And while I'd love to join you, I can't. I'm sorry. I have a prior commitment."
    "At this hour?" He almost goes to check his watch. "What are you up to?"
    "Guard duty." I shrug as if to say, Them's the breaks .
    "Guard duty, hmm?" He sips his coffee again, watching me speculatively. "What's so important they need to pull their cutest officer off the streets?"
    "That's sweet." Compliments only fuel my fire. "There's a valuable diamond that we have to protect till it's picked up tomorrow. The Countess Diamond. It's as big as my fist!"
    "The Countess Diamond?" Chase frowns. "Are you serious?"
    I nod enthusiastically. "Oh, yes. It's normally kept at the mayor's house, but with this cat burglar on the prowl, he doesn't think he can keep it safe. So he's asked us to watch over it till he can have a security team take it to Boston for safekeeping."
    "Really..." I can actually see him thinking this over. Go on. Take the bait. "That's probably a wise move. Is this thief really that dangerous?"
    Fishing for compliments? I smile sweetly. "Oh, no. From what we can tell, he's a real amateur. We were all laughing about his clumsy robberies so far. He's a real clown! We told the mayor not to worry about it, that this thief couldn't steal a rattle from a baby, but he's insisting." I shrug. "What can you do? Mayors."
    Chase's brow lowers and his expression darkens, but then he visibly takes control of himself and laughs, though the sound is forced. "Ha. A real amateur, eh? That's good to know. So you think you'd be impressed if he stole this diamond?"
    I put my hand on his arm. "Oh, yes. If he could steal this diamond, I would be blown away. But he can't." I drop my hand. "So I guess I'll just have to keep thinking of him as an amateur."
    I have to hand it to Chase. After that initial moment of displeasure, he's playing it cool, like a pro. Which, of course, he is. He simply nods and drinks a little more coffee. "Well, I'm sorry you won't be able to join me. I'll see you tomorrow at the library, then?"
    "Sure. If we don't run into each other before