One Deadly Sin Read Online Free PDF Page A

song of it, low and sultry. It was crazy, this instant attraction. She didn’t even know the man. She should send him away. It was late. She was tired.
    She was tempted.
    “Thought this was your day off,” she said.
    “Technically that was yesterday.”
    “So you’re back on duty.” She peered closer and made out some kind of emblem on his shirt. A star? A uniform jacket? Thank you for small miracles. She didn’t like the idea of him skulking around in jeans and a T-shirt. He looked too delicious in them. And if he kept it up, he might discover more than she wanted him to. “And I’m your early morning task?”
    “Gotta check out all the newcomers.”
    She paused, careful now. Was he serious, or just bantering? “Want my social security number?”
    “Nah. Red’s got it if I do.”
    Her shoulders stiffened. Had he already scoped her out? If he’d discovered who she really was, why not say so? No, he knew nothing. Had discovered nothing. She was just… a newcomer, as he said. And she could almost smell his attraction. That was something she could manipulate, couldn’t she? Draw him in. Pillow talk could be useful.
    And he was considerably gorgeous.
    “So what
do
you want?”
    He peered down at her, and though she couldn’t see well enough to know the expression in his eyes, she felt them piercing and hungry. She shivered.
    “Truth?” he asked.
    “Night’s the perfect time for confession.”
    “Can’t sleep. Been here five years and the quiet still gets to me.”
    “City boy?”
    “Nope. Redbud born and raised. But city spoiled. Can’t get the hum out of my head. Thought I’d see if Red was still open.”
    “Drinking on the job, Chief?”
    “Coffee, Edie Swann. Just a lowly cup of coffee.”
    Her pulse picked up but she didn’t show it. Coffee alone with Holt Drennen was more than a temptation. It was a dare. And she was too damn weak-kneed when it came to daring herself over men. “Well, Red’s closed up, but I’ll reopen if you want.” She yawned, hoping he would take the hint.
    He did. “Thanks, but it’s late. Don’t want to keep you from your beauty sleep.”
    She put a foot on the bottom iron stair. “I’ll owe you one.”
    He nodded. “I’ll collect.”
    She felt his eyes on her back as she climbed up, the clang of her feet on the metal echoing between them.
    She got to the landing at the top, inserted the key, and opened the door. Turned to say good night, but the dark had swallowed him up.
    Safe, she let herself lament that she hadn’t given him that cup of coffee. Or invited him to follow her up. But the regret lasted only a moment. Long enough to ensure he’d cleared out. Time enough for her to complete her task.
    She did it with shaky hands. Not from fear, because she believed in the righteousness of her mission. But because something about Holt Drennen, chief of police of Redbud, lingered in the air. Like a tantalizing smell to wind that drew her off course.
    She’d always liked big men. The way they could crush you and didn’t. The heft of them. As if no storm could blow them down. Holt was a big man. Hard-handed when he needed to be. But good-humored, too. It was the gleam in his eyes that made her look twice. The twinkle that said the world might be a serious place, but we don’t have to give in to it.
    Then again, he hadn’t lived her life. Hadn’t heard his mother scream out her soul and her mind. Hadn’t watched strangers bury his father.
    She ripped off the protective strip from the envelope seal. Pressed it tightly. Crept down the iron stairs to the alley where her bike was parked. She kicked the starter and the engine snarled awake. The abrasive howl bolstered her, reminded her of the strength she owned, bone, sinew, and brain.
    She leaned to the left, kicked the bike off the stand, and roared off.
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6

    T he morning after the town picnic, James Drennen pulled into the abandoned rock quarry on the east side of town. His hands were