Eye of the Abductor Read Online Free PDF

steps,
trying to think of a way to make it up to Allison.
    ***
    Allison had no idea what had
gotten into her. She’d dealt with obnoxious customers before. Then the truth
hit her.
    I was jealous.
    She entered the bedroom and sat on
the edge of her bed, then rubbed her hand across the smooth walnut wood of the
antique, rocking cradle her infant son had slept in.
    The cradle, a family heirloom, had
been the only thing she’d managed to keep when everything she owned had been
auctioned off. Fortunately, she’d shipped it to her father in Kansas in time to
save it.
    She kept it nearby as a reminder
of what she wanted more than anything in the world. Nathan.
    Anything else in her life not
directly related to that goal could be chalked up as a frivolous waste of time.
Tonight should be proof enough. Brance Stone had already caused more damage
than a swarm of hungry termites.
    During church, life threw her
another punch below the belt. From the choir loft, she scanned the
congregation.
    Her breath hitched.
    Holy crap.
    Detective Brance Stone sat by an
older woman. His mother, apparently.
    Allison hoped she blended in with
the choir members, be another nameless face dressed in an off-white robe. She
found herself unable to take her eyes off him, unable to keep from studying the
contour of his handsome face. So far he hadn’t spotted her. He shared the
hymnal with his mother. Allison found it touching and sweet.
    Afraid he'd feel her staring and
single her out, Allison diverted her gaze. She finally surrendered and glanced
back. He stared at her with a slight smile. Out of all the churches in
Bartlett, why did his mother have to attend here?
    At the end of the service, she
escaped through the back door and hurried straight to the choir room where she
removed her robe and hung it up. In the outer hall, Brance waited with his
mother. He walked toward her. “I can’t believe you go to church here.”
    “Yeah, how about that?”
    “I’d like you to meet my mother.”
    Allison gave her attention to the
attractive fair-skinned woman with the same brilliant blue eyes as Brance.
    “Mom, this is Allison, my downstairs
neighbor. Allison, my mom, June.”
    “It’s a pleasure to meet you,
June.”
    “My pleasure as well. So you’re
the one who wouldn’t accept his roses.”
    “Mom,” he scolded.
    Allison couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yes, I’m the one. To have accepted them would be leading him on. I didn’t want
him wasting any more time or money on me.”
    “She’s not playing hard to get.”
    “Mom, you’re embarrassing me.”
    June laughed. “I’m sorry."
    It floored Allison to think he’d
spoken to his mom about her. Could this man really be interested? Rob had told
her how plain she was. Several times he’d stated he wasn’t sure what he’d seen
in her or why he’d married her.
    "Allison." Rick, the
choir director joined them. "I figured you’d be gone.”
    “I ran into a neighbor.”
    Rick eyed June. “We could use you
back in the choir.”
    "I’m too old. Let the young
ones sing.”
    “I’ve asked Allison to sing at our
candlelight Christmas Eve service. Maybe you can talk her into singing a solo.”
    “You should do it,” Brance
encouraged.
    “I’ll have to see if I can work it
in. Christmas Eve is one of our busiest nights at Malden Brother’s.”
    Allison wanted to kick herself for
mentioning where she worked. She’d already lost one job because of Brance
Stone.
    “See you Wednesday, Allison,” Rick
said. He turned to June. “You're never too old to sing.”
    After the director left, Allison
inched along the wall, hoping to escape. “I’d better run as well. It was nice
meeting you.”
    “Likewise, dear.”
    Allison shifted her gaze to
Brance. “I’ll see you later.”
    Bewildered over her attraction to
him, she hurried toward the exit. She couldn’t come near the man without a
four-alarm fire blazing inside her.
    ***
    Brance wanted to wring his
mother’s neck. Why in the hell had she