Officer on Duty (Lock and Key Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

hung in the air. A casserole dish was open on the counter beside the microwave, a serving spoon sticking out.
    Paige’s latest library book sat alone on the kitchen table.
    He called for her again as he walked down the hall, toward her bedroom.
    The light was on, and the door cracked.
    He knocked, then pushed it open.
    There was no sign of her, just walls glowing with the violet paint that matched the patterned bedspread she’d fixed with hospital corners.
    Adrenaline hit him like a shot to the heart. His hand went to his service weapon, fingertips touching steel as a metallic taste crept into his mouth.
    He turned, his pulse thumping in his ears, drumming up an instant headache.
    Where was she? Why the hell had he ever agreed to let her stay home alone?
    Protective instinct swirled with a thousand terrible thoughts, fueled by the worst things he’d seen during his twelve years with the sheriff’s department.
    “Paige!” He was flying down the hall when he heard a voice.
    “I’m in here.”
    Something was wrong. He could tell by the sound of her voice.
    “Paige! Jesus.”
    He turned back around, approaching the bathroom door.
    He opened it, too panicked to knock, and there she was.
    Scissor blades gleamed silver and sharp in her hand, and something dark was pooled on the floor.

CHAPTER 4
     
    Her hair. It was heaped in a pile of curls, tangled on the bathroom tile.
    Jeremy barely stifled a curse. “I thought you were gone. You scared the hell outta me. What’s going on?”
    Paige looked down at the pile of hair, then up.
    Her lip trembled.
    He finally realized, then, what she’d done.
    The hair that’d flowed down her back that morning was half its previous length in places, a third in others. She’d cut away sections, and the effect was uneven – if her curls hadn’t softened the asymmetry, he would’ve called it jagged.
    “Honey?” His adrenaline gave way to something softer, something that felt like the beginnings of heartache.
    “I cut my hair,” she said, looking down at the scissors she held, then placing them on the edge of the sink. “I… It’s hot outside.”
    “You couldn’t wait to make an appointment with a professional?” He stared at the mess she’d made, not buying the heat excuse for a minute.
    Her remaining hair flew in a wild cloud as she shook her head. “Nobody knows how to cut my hair! All they do is make it shorter, and then it poofs out and gets all frizzy, like a pyramid. It’s so curly – I hate it!”
    “Your hair is beautiful. Your grandmother would kill to have it, but you inherited it from your grandfather.”
    She shook her head even harder. “I don’t want grandma hair. I just want to look normal, like everyone else.”
    He glanced down at the pile of severed curls on the floor, then up at his daughter.
    And felt like a failure.
    “We’ll get this fixed. We’ll get you a haircut you’ll like.”
    She sighed. “Haircuts don’t work on me. They just make it worse. And I’m tired of wearing it so long.”
    “No offense honey, but you cutting your own hair with the kitchen scissors was bound to make it worse. I’m sure there’s someone out there who can do better. We’ll get you to a salon tomorrow.”
    She looked down at her feet. “I don’t want to go to a salon. It looks too bad – I don’t want anyone to see.”
    “Well, maybe I can even it out a bit.” He eyed the scissors lying by the sink.
    “You?” She looked up, regarding him with suspicion.
    “Why not? I can’t make it much worse, can I?”
    Her lip trembled again, then quirked briefly in something like a smile. “Don’t cut all my hair off.”
    “I’ll try to save as much as I can.” He picked up the scissors. “Now for the love of all that’s holy, promise me you won’t move. Your grandmother will have my hide if I cut off too much.”
    “She’s already going to freak out when she sees.”
    He had no doubt that was true, but kept his mouth shut as he took one of the longest