Free Flirting With Fate by Lexi Ryan

friend would do.
    He’d discreetly made himself invisible and
followed anyway.
    Her skin was already beginning to bruise on the
right side of her face and a series of X-rays had revealed a nasty break in her
right arm. After the doctor had set it and put it in a cast, a police officer
was sent in to take her statement.
    The man was looking at his paperwork when he
walked into the examination room, but blinked and took a step back when he saw
Josie.
    Josie had that effect on guys when she was in her
Stiletto Girl get-up, but not when she was dressed like a cat burglar and
looked like she’d been hit by a Mack truck.
    This wasn’t the reaction of a man who was just
attracted to Josie. Tanner narrowed his eyes. Sadness mixed with lust and
regret. This was the reaction of a man who recognized an old flame.
    The officer looked back down at his paperwork and
when he looked back up, he’d wiped away any sign of his reaction to her. “Josie
Bovard?” he said, as if he expected her to correct him.
    Josie nodded. “That’s my name.”
    The officer held out a hand, a half smile on his
face as he looked at her through narrowed eyes. “Sergeant Greyly,” he said.
    He was one of those smooth guys who looked at
women like he’d already seen them naked—and completely approved. He had one of
those smooth-guy smiles that said he’d like to do it again.
    Tanner hated him immediately.
    “I wish I could say it’s nice to meet you,” Josie
said, “but you’ll understand if those aren’t my sentiments.”
    “Of course,” Greyly said softly. “Listen, we’ll
get through this as fast as we can so you can get home and get some rest.”
    Josie smiled and melted into her chair a little.
Jealousy burned through Tanner’s veins. For six months, he’d tried to get her
attention and not once had she looked at him like she was looking at Greyly
now.
    That was, until he’d kissed her. He smiled. She’d looked
at him differently after he’d kissed her. He’d have to do that again.
    “Can you describe what happened?” Greyly said.
    Josie licked her lips. “I walked into my apartment
and someone was there.” She shook her head. “I should have seen him, but I
didn’t realize I wasn’t alone until he’d thrown me against the wall.”
    “Did you see him at all?”
    “I tried but he was strong. Really, really
strong.”
    Tanner knew what Josie wasn’t saying. She was
professionally trained in the martial arts and strength trained several times a
week to keep in prime condition for Stilettos, Inc. Even though her strength
might not match that of a well-conditioned man, it would take a man much
stronger and more agile than average to overpower Josie’s maneuvering.
    “You’re sure it was a man?”
    Josie smiled. “I like that you don’t just assume
strength equals male. Kudos to you, Sergeant.” Her smile dropped and her face
turned like she smelled something vile. “His voice was really deep, and…” She
closed her eyes. “He was turned on. I could feel his…erection…I could feel it
against my back.”
    So the prick got off on beating on girls and
throwing them against walls? If Tanner hadn’t already been set on finding the
guy and pounding the shit out of him, that would have done it.
    Greyly took a note and moved his hand down his
form. “Did he say anything? Give you any indication of what he wanted?”
    Josie met Greyly’s eyes. “No.”
    If Greyly could tell she was lying, he didn’t give
any indication. But Tanner knew.
    What the hell was she hiding now? What had the guy
wanted? Tanner would bet money the intruder had been a Special. There was a
general consensus among Specials that they should keep their existence a secret
until the time was right. Of course, the Ascendants didn’t see it that way, but
even they wanted certain controls in place before they revealed themselves to
the rest of the world. Namely, they wanted to be controlling it.
    “I told him where my money was, but he said he
wasn’t