Free Eye of the Abductor by Elaine Meece Page B

his arms around her neck.
    Allison thought her heart would burst.
She choked back the tears. She closed her eyes and savored the moment as his
warmth surrounded her.
    While he chomped down on his last
cookie, she picked up the Matchbox cars and put them away, hoping he’d join the
other children. No sooner than Nathan finished, he searched until he found the
cars and continued playing cops and robbers.
    After another twenty minutes,
Allison walked up beside Mona. “Can you handle things while I visit the restroom?”
    “Sure.”
    “Thanks.” Allison entered the wide
hallway that joined the two nurseries and paused, turning for a moment to take
one more glimpse of Nathan.
    It’s so hard to walk away from
you my precious little boy. Mommy loves you, sweetheart.
    She turned from her son and stepped
into the bathroom. Hopefully, by the time she returned, the Wilsons would be
gone.
                ***
    Sunday morning, Brance entered the
breakroom at the Bartlett Precinct and saw Shawn and Randy involved in a
serious conversation. Guilt shaded Shawn’s face when he glanced up. Brance
poured a cup of coffee before joining them. “What’s going on?”
    Shawn shrugged, and Randy
continued to peel the wrapper off his Twinkie. “Nothing much. Solve those
pharmacy burglaries yet?”
    Brance shook his head. “Nah.
Sooner or later, the perps will slip up.”
    Shawn’s body language revealed
they’d been talking about something they didn’t want to share. Randy had
changed the subject too quickly.
    Brance stirred his coffee. He
wouldn’t press the issue now, but when he caught Shawn alone, he’d convince him
to talk. Whatever they'd been talking about had made the rookie uneasy.
    He recalled a name he’d heard them
say as he’d crossed the room. Paige Wilson. Why would they be this uptight over
a woman? Randy had always been the type to brag about his female conquests.
    After several minutes, Randy broke
the awkward silence. “You still interested in your downstairs neighbor?”
    “Yeah, I’m taking her to dinner
tonight.”
    Randy and Shawn shared a brow-raising
look before turning their gazes back to him.
    Brance returned to the counter and
set his empty cup in the sink. “See you round.”
    ***
    That evening, he dressed in jeans
and wore a long sleeved white dress shirt and boots. He hurried down the steps
and knocked on Allison’s door.
    When she opened it, his brows rose
in awe. She was stunning. She wore a black cocktail dress and high heels and
carried a thin black sweater draped over her arm. She had nice legs with thin
ankles. He imagined those legs wrapped around him in the heat of passion. She
looked and smelled delicious.
    “You look radiant.”
    “Thanks. I wasn’t sure where we
were going. I didn’t want to under-dress.”
    “You didn’t, but I’m afraid I did.
Come upstairs for a minute and let me change.”
    “Nonsense, I’ll change into jeans.
I insist.”
    “If that’s what you want.”
    “It is. I feel silly being this
dressed up.”
    As she turned away, he grabbed her
arm. “Wait. I’m taking you to Capriccios at the Peabody for dinner." Actually,
he’d planned on taking her to a steakhouse where buckets of peanuts sat on the
table. “I’ll change.”
    She gave him a warm appreciative
smile that melted his heart. By the way she'd dressed, it was obvious she
wanted this date to be special.
    He figured she’d lost something
she wasn’t even aware of—her trust in people, in the system, and men in general.
He wanted to change that, wanted to shield her from anymore heartache. He
wished she’d open up to him, share her past, and let him help her cope with the
future. Surely it couldn’t be that bad.
    She affected him in ways that
amazed him. He had a deep inner need to please her, to make her life right. To
see her united with her son. How far was he willing to go to make it all
happen?
    ***
    Allison choked back the
nervousness that made her palms sweat. She reminded