Before the Moon Rises Read Online Free PDF Page A

her up at the hospital. He would come after
    her, and Max had a whole new set of reason's to keep her
    safe.
    His thoughts turned to her kiss. Her body melting into his
    floated in his mind. He glanced her way through lowered lids
    and darkened sunglasses. Her blonde hair glistened in the
    sun. Her hands stroked the wheel of his car. She held such
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    Before the Moon Rises
    by Catherine Bybee
    sex appeal, he could hardly wait to explore more than her
    lips.
    Janet drove into a small driveway of a bungalow-style
    house in the hills of Sunland. "I'll only be a minute." She
    tossed him the keys after turning off the ignition. "I'm
    starting to hit a wall, you should drive back."
    He walked her to the door, hand in hand. "Quiet
    neighborhood."
    "Yeah, this part is. Over a few blocks is a little noisy."
    They climbed the steps together and then Max smelled him
    and stopped.
    He pushed her behind him, and reached for the small
    revolver he had on a leg holster.
    Janet's eyes widened, words choked in the back of her
    throat.
    All she could do was stare at his gun.
    "Stay behind me," he whispered in a deadly voice.
    "What is it?" She kept her voice low as he did.
    "Shhh."
    Slowly, Max pushed the front door open. To her dismay, it
    gave under a gentle push. She never forgot to lock the door
    when she left home.
    Her skin started to prickle. Max crouched and seemed to
    sniff the air. He tossed his sunglasses to the porch and Janet
    watched his eyes literally swirl. The deep blue, which had
    mesmerized her earlier before he kissed her, turned to a
    deathly grey. She blinked twice. How did he do that with his
    eyes?
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    Before the Moon Rises
    by Catherine Bybee
    When the door opened wider, Max stood tall, keeping the
    gun in front of him while he entered the house.
    Janet let out a gasp. Inside had been ransacked. Her couch
    lay upside down, her lamps thrown to the ground and broken.
    Every drawer yawned open, their contents dumped.
    Tears stung her eyes, her back teeth ground together.
    Janet stood frozen in place, while Max moved forward to
    search the rest of house.
    Her first thought was someone had robbed her, invaded
    her space and peace of mind and stole what wasn't theirs to
    take. She wandered around setting things to rights on
    impulse. Her television was still in place. Her CD's spread all
    around.
    Janet scanned the room. Everything was there, only torn
    and broken. Panicked, she ran to her bedroom, and found
    clothes strewn everywhere. She lifted the mattress and
    retrieved a box. "Thank God," she whispered, crushing it to
    her chest.
    "What is it?" Max stood in the doorway, his gun placed
    back in its holster.
    "My jewelry. It's not much but it's still here." It was the
    only thing she had left of her mother. To Janet the contents of
    the box were priceless.
    She sat on the edge of the bed and shook her head. "I
    don't get it. I don't see anything missing. Who would do this
    and not steal anything?"
    Max sat down beside her, he draped his arm over her
    shoulders. The comforting movement had her shaking, the
    tears started to flow.
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    Before the Moon Rises
    by Catherine Bybee
    "It's okay," he murmured.
    She buried her head in his shoulder. His hand stroked her
    hair while he spoke words of comfort.
    As the tears dried up, Janet pulled away. "I should call the
    police."
    Max followed her to the phone, his mind ticked off the
    facts as he knew them. Gorman had been there. Max knew
    he'd be back. But why had the bastard trashed her place? It
    wasn't his MO.
    Janet picked up her phone, but before dialing, she played
    her messages.
    Max was surprised to hear her voice come over the player.
    The message to herself made him smile despite the severity
    of the situation.
    She avoided his eyes. "I didn't know if you were a serial
    murderer."
    "You're very resourceful."
    "Hey, baby girl..." the male voice boomed into the
    recorder.
    "My dad," Janet explained.
    "I'm going out of town for a few days. There's a car show
    in Vegas