Free 16 Taking Eve by Iris Johansen

false alarm. It was only my friend at the door.”
    “At this hour?” He was looking beyond her at Ben. “May I come in for a moment?”
    It was clear he wanted to check Ben out and make sure she wasn’t being coerced. Why not? It would be the quickest way to reassure him. No one would believe Ben would be a threat once they’d spoken to him. She opened the door wider. “Of course.”
    “Thanks. I’ll only be a minute.” He showed her his ID as he came into the house. “Detective Quinn wouldn’t like it unless I did everything by the book.” He looked at Ben. “Your name?”
    “Ben. Ben Hudson.”
    “And your purpose here?”
    “To help Eve.” He smiled. “Like you. Right?”
    “Right.” Officer Hughes smiled back at him. It was hard not to smile at Ben. “But from now on call her and tell her you’re coming. It will save all of us a lot of trouble. You don’t want to scare her.” He turned back to Eve. “I’ll be on my way. If you need me, just call. I’ll be on duty for another two hours, and I think Detective Quinn has arranged for Pete Dolanelli to take over.”
    “Thank you for being so prompt.” She went with him to the door. “I hope it’s the last time I’ll have to call you.”
    “So do I.” He grinned. “But it broke up the duty a bit. Monotony is always best, but it gets boring.” He started down the steps and looked back over his shoulder and lowered his voice. “No offense, ma’am, but I’d rather you rely on me or Dolanelli. Mr. Hudson seems like a nice guy, but there’s no … edge.”
    “You’re absolutely right,” Eve said. “Ben has no edge at all. But he’s very loyal and has a good heart. When I need edge, I’ll definitely call you.” She went back in the house, locked the door behind her, and turned back to Ben. “You see, I have that very nice and competent policeman to protect me. I don’t need you, Ben. Go back to the camp.”
    He shook his head. “I have to stay with you.”
    She nodded. She hadn’t thought that she’d be able to convince him. “I’ll go and get Joe’s clothes. The bathroom is the first door on your left. Why don’t you take a hot shower?”
    He shook his head. “I’ll only get cold and wet again when I go back outside.”
    “Outside? Why should you go outside again? You want to protect me? Do it from the living-room couch.”
    “I just wanted to make sure that the cottage is safe. That Officer Hughes is in a car. I’ll be able to see more if I move around on foot.”
    “Ben, there’s no solid proof that I’m even in danger. It’s all fog and mirrors.” She met his eyes. “And dreams. And that dream of yours was very vague.”
    “Because of the darkness,” he said gravely. “But it wasn’t vague that Bonnie sent me here. She wanted me to come.”
    “And park yourself out in the rain?”
    “Maybe the rain will stop.”
    “And maybe it won’t.” She gazed at him for another moment and turned on her heel. She wasn’t making a dent in that solemn determination. “I’ll get those clothes. Do you have a cell phone?”
    “Yes, but I keep doing things to it that make it go wonky.”
    “Well, don’t do anything tonight, dammit. I want you to call me every hour, and I want to be able to reach you.”
    He smiled. “Yes, Eve.”
    “And I’m going to give you Joe’s slicker, and I want you to keep beneath the trees and out of the rain as much as possible.”
    “Yes, Eve.”
    “And if you see something you don’t like, then call me, and I’ll call Officer Hughes. Don’t try to deal with it yourself.”
    His smile widened. “Yes, Eve.”
    “And stop saying that and grinning at me. I mean it.”
    “I know you do. But it’s hard not to smile. You’re worried about me, and that means that you like me. That makes me happy.”
    She felt a melting within her. “Of course I like you. I’ve always liked you, Ben. Don’t you know that?”
    He shook his head. “I thought it was because I helped you with Bonnie.