Seven Days to Forever Read Online Free PDF Page A

a useful talent to have in his business—talking his way out of a situation was often preferable to using force. In spots like this, people called it quick thinking. When he was off duty, people called it charm.
    The technical word for it was lying.
    But it wouldn’t have accomplished his objective if he’d told Abigail that he’d celebrated his thirtieth birthday more than two years ago. And it sure as hell hadn’t been with his parents. He’d been six years old the last time he’d seen his mother, and as far as he knew, his father was somewhere in Brazil with wife number four.
    “What exactly are you looking for?” Abigail asked.
    He glanced over his shoulder. Rather than staying by the door, she had followed him into the living room. There was more light here than in the hall, but still, the place was too dim to see more than dark shapes and outlines.
    Her outline was worth seeing. Compact, feminine and rounded in all the right places. She must have been fresh from the shower when she’d answered the door. He’d caught a whiff of fruit-scented soap—apple or cranberry, he’d guess. Her hair was wet, plastered flat to her head until just below her ears, where it coiled into heavy curls. She probably hadn’t realized that the drips from her wet hair had been turning her white blouse transparent.
    Flynn kept his flashlight aimed at the floor. “Like I said, I traced the short to your apartment, but that’s about as specific as the gauge gets. I need to test each one of your electrical outlets until I find the source of the problem.”
    “But wouldn’t each apartment be on a separate circuit? I still don’t understand how a problem here could black out the entire building.”
    “Seems the wiring in this building wasn’t done to the standards specified in the electrical code,” he improvised. He had to distract her before she realized how flimsy his story was. “Wow, I still can’t believe we share a birthday.”
    “Me, neither.”
    “And that we’ll both be spending it with our parents.”
    “Mmm. Yes.”
    “Are you close to your folks, then?”
    “Yes, you could say that.”
    He heard the caution in her voice go down another notch. He decided to play up on the family angle. “So am I. A lot of people would call it old-fashioned, but there’s nothing like family.”
    “Especially on birthdays.”
    “You got that right.” He paused, trying to think of the most likely spot for her to have dropped that backpack. “Kids make it the most fun, though. I’ve got two nephews who can’t wait to blow out my candles.”
    “Do you like children?”
    “Love them,” he said, figuring that would be what a schoolteacher would want to hear.
    A sigh whispered through the darkness. “So do I.”
    He used the flashlight to scratch his elbow as he moved toward the outline of the living room window.
    “Oh, watch out for the—”
    Something stiff and dry hit his face. He automatically brought his forearm up to block the next blow and jumped backward.
    “—avocado plant,” she finished.
    Flynn directed his flashlight upward. A branch thick with long, wavy leaves hung at head level. He traced the branch to an enormous plant that grew from a pot beside one wall. “What the…”
    “It’s an avocado plant,” she repeated. “I started it from a pit. I know it’s in the way but it does best in that spot. Are you all right?”
    “Sure. I managed to fight it off.”
    “Don’t worry, it’s not carnivorous.”
    Flynn heard a smile in her voice. It reminded him of the private smile that had so intrigued him before. He swept his flashlight around the room, this time aiming the beam higher. A pair of monster plants hulked under the window. No, it was a glass door, not a window. Probably led to a balcony, but he hadn’t been able to see it before because of the plants. More pots of foliage clustered on the top of a low bookshelf. “I see you’re good at growing things.”
    “It’s my hobby.”
    “I’m