Free Annie's Neighborhood (Harlequin Heartwarming) by Roz Denny Fox

she swung wide to make the turn into her driveway. She punched her remote garage door opener. As the door rose, her headlights and those of the cruiser behind her illuminated horrible black graffiti splashed across the disappearing door. Awful fat letters, along with skulls and wild arrows and curves, also left an ugly trail along the lovely blue siding she’d spent over a week sanding and painting.
    Sky barreled out of his car, flashlight in one hand, his Glock in the other.
    Numbed by shock, Annie was slower to descend from her vehicle.
    Sky waved her back when she started to enter the garage. He uttered a low, angry growl as he flashed his light over the rest of the house. “Get in your pickup and lock the doors. Wait while I inspect the premises to make sure the guys who did this are gone, and that graffiti is the worst we’re dealing with.”
    “What else could there be?”
    “Oh, booby traps. Something set to explode the minute you open your house door. I hope to heaven you’ll reconsider sticking your neck out to pretty up the town. Even if this warning turns out just to be graffiti, next time could be worse.”

Chapter Four
    H IS FLASHLIGHT CAST amuted yellowhalo as Sky plunged straight into the varying degrees of darkness. His orders to Annie had been snapped out with a precision indicating he expected them to be obeyed. Like he’d said back at the library, he took his oath to protect and serve seriously. However, Annie had been in control of her life for a long time. This was her home and her ruined hard work, after all.
    So, in spite of the fact that her legs didn’t feel steady after Sky had casually tossed out the mention of a possible booby trap, she retrieved her house keys, threw her purse back in the pickup, then locked it, and struck out to follow his bobbing light.
    She caught up to Sky in a narrow strip of yard separating her house from the Gilroys’.
    Sky wheeled on her. “What are you doing? I told you to stay in your truck!”
    “My house, my problem,” she shot back in an exaggerated whisper. “If it blows up with you in it, I want to know where to point the fire marshal...and your replacement.”
    “Thanks,” Sky drawled. “I actually doubt the place has been wired. This looks like the work of kids.” He panned his light over a section of graffiti. “The little hoodlums sprayed as high as they could reach, and they can’t spell worth a hoot.”
    Annie followed the light to words under a skull that said, “Leve town or next time dye.” She put a hand over her mouth, but couldn’t hold back a laugh.
    “I’m glad you find it humorous,” he chided. “Crudely written or not, the message is plain. Next time gang leaders might send someone capable of murder.”
    “Must be nervous laughter. And you’re right, the message is clear—clear enough to make me spitting mad. I’m going over to the Gilroys’ to make sure they’re all okay. They haven’t come out, even though we’ve made no effort to keep quiet.”
    “I’ll go,” he said. “You have a bad habit of forgetting which one of us wears the badge.”
    “You said you were off duty. And Peggy Gilroy used to babysit me. I need to make sure no harm comes to good people through my attempt to fix things around here.”
    “We’ll go together,” Sky said firmly as he shifted the Glock, gave her the flashlight and grasped her hand. “This time, do as I say. Stay behind me. I doubt your friends are dead, but in case I’m wrong about the group that did this, I’d prefer not to have to deal with you fainting.”
    “Brother!” Annie shook her head. “On my job, I saw death far too many times, and never once did I faint.” She waved the light around, shining it directly in his eyes, which made him throw up his gun arm.
    “Sorry.” She managed to sound meek as she swiftly dropped the beam.
    He snarled something Annie couldn’t distinguish, which was undoubtedly just as well, since her companion used his fist to bang