Free Dark Obsession by Amanda Stevens Page A

triumphed over those who sought to destroy him.
    Erin’s gaze lifted again, drawn by another movement on the balcony. The wind stirred a set of wind chimes, and a hanging basket swung to and fro. There’s your phantom, she scolded herself. Some detective you’d make.
    Still, she couldn’t shake the disquieting notion that she was being watched. As the shadows on the street grew even longer, Erin tried to shove away the darkness of her thoughts and concentrate on finding a way into the theater. More than anything, she wanted to talk to Roman Gerard, to find out why he had cast her sister in a play about vampires.
    Following the side street that ran parallel to the theater, Erin located the stage door. As she reached for the knob, the wind in the street picked up, rustling leaves in the alley and stirring trash in the gutter. The hair at the back of her neck prickled as her hand slowly turned the knob. The door opened and a man stood staring at her from the darkness within.
    “What the hell are you doing here?” he growled.
    Erin jumped back and would have stumbled over the concrete step at the stage door if a scarred hand hadn’t reached out from the darkness and snagged her wrist. Her throat closed over a scream as she watched Detective Slade step out of the theater into the fading light.
    He was wearing his long black coat and the darkglasses, and for a moment, Erin thought he looked no more substantial than one of the shadows moving in the breeze. But the hand on her wrist, warm, flowing with life, was real enough. Erin’s own blood began to pound in her ears.
    “What are you doing here?” he repeated.
    “I wanted to talk to Roman Gerard.”
    “About what?”
    “About Megan, of course.” He was being purposely dense, she thought, just to goad her.
    “I thought I told you to leave the investigation to me.”
    “And I thought I told you that I don’t intend to rest until my sister’s murderer is caught.”
    “If you had any sense at all,” he said, “you’d be on the first plane out of here.”
    There was something shocking about his voice. Something raw and elemental about the way he was staring at her. The pulse in Erin’s throat began to throb. “Why?” Her voice was hardly more than a whisper. “Do I threaten you that much?”
    “You have no idea,” he said, his voice rough, angry. He tugged on her wrist, and Erin stumbled toward him. To catch herself, or perhaps to insure some distance between them, Erin put up a hand to his chest. No illusion, this. Beneath her hand was a solid wall, warm and beating with life.
    “What are
you
doing here?” she asked.
    “Doing my job, believe it or not.” His taut voice challenged her to deny it.
    They were standing impossibly close, his mouth only a few inches from hers, and something in his expression altered. The challenge melted. The grim line of his mouth softened almost imperceptibly, and his hand moved back to her arm. But not to imprison her this time. To touch her. To hold her. His head moved slightly toward hers.
    He was going to kiss her, Erin realized, her heart beating like a drum. He was going to kiss her and she was going to let him. Emotion, stark and wild, swamped her. Not anger any longer. Not fear this time, but desire, basic and primal.
    Suddenly she wanted more than anything to see his eyes, to eliminate the barrier that hid his gaze from her. That shielded his stare. That masked whatever emotion he might have been feeling at that moment.
    As though sensing her intentions, he moved away from her sharply, as if she had burned him. “Let’s go,” he said, his voice flat and cold.
    In a flash, just like that, the moment became only a memory. Or an illusion, Erin thought, surprised at the regret she felt. “I haven’t talked to Gerard,” she protested.
    “There’s no one here,” he said. “You’re wasting your time.” Then he strode past her toward the street.
    Erin hurried to follow him out of the alley. Shecaught up with him