Trouble Comes Knocking (Entangled Embrace) Read Online Free PDF Page A

hours later. I waited a few moments for my aunt to answer, but when she didn’t and the knock repeated I pulled myself from under the covers and shuffled downstairs. From the peephole I saw Detective Reyes in street clothes but with his piece still holstered at his hip.
    I opened the door a crack. “Detective Reyes, I didn’t expect to see you again.”
    “May I come in?”
    “Do you have a warrant?”
    “Do I need one?”
    I frowned. “Thought you might somehow have decided I was responsible for the murder.”
    “I know you aren’t.”
    “Good, because being accused of murder after being called crazy would have been a real drag.”
    He took a breath. “I’m sorry. I’m here to apologize.”
    I stood my ground, not nervous about his being there but not quite certain if I wanted him in my house, either.
    “May I come in?” he prompted.
    “Fine, but only if you use the magic word.”
    His jaw clenched. “Please?”
    I stepped back and opened the door.
    As he walked past, I smelled a lingering hint of Acqua di Gio—my favorite cologne on any man—and a faint tang of peppermint. I motioned for him to continue to the kitchen, and as I walked behind him, I openly ogled the tight muscles flexing in his blue jeans. He walked with an air of confidence that came from someone driven toward success.
    In the kitchen, I motioned for him to sit at the table while I set two cups in the microwave to heat up some water. Our coffee-maker-slash-hot-water-heater broke over a month ago and, why replace it when we had a perfectly good working microwave? “Do you want tea or coffee?”
    “Coffee is fine. How are you today?”
    “You aren’t here to make chitchat.”
    His lips pursed, and he sat up a little straighter, visibly insulted by my cutting to the chase. “No, I’m not. You just don’t look that great so I thought I should ask.”
    “I’m a little under the weather but fine.” I sneezed and grabbed another tissue. He didn’t have to be kind; I knew I looked atrocious. I’d caught a glimpse of myself on the way to the door: hair poking up every direction, black smudged under my eyes, my nose puffy and red. I’m already rail thin, but when I get sick I somehow seem to look even skinnier. Basically, I looked on the verge of death.
    “About last night…”
    I stood by the counter, arms folded, ready for a fight.
    “I shouldn’t have been so quick to dismiss you.”
    My insides vibrated and an unwanted quaver crept into my voice. “No, you shouldn’t have. But it doesn’t matter. I know you’re here to tell me you found out what I said was true, and now you’re afraid your captain will look poorly on you because you dismissed a lead. But I don’t plan to stay at that job so I’m no longer a lead. Take whatever information you found and do your own work.”
    He tapped his thumb on his thigh and leaned slightly forward. “You’re right. All of that is right. And I wouldn’t blame you for leaving. But thing is…”
    “This is an active investigation and now you need my help.”
    “Yes but—”
    “But you don’t want to bring a kook into your investigation.”
    “I wasn’t going to say—”
    “No, you may not have used those exact words, but the gist is there, right?”
    “Will you stop doing that?”
    “What?”
    A tic formed by his jaw. “Finishing my sentences.”
    My voice came out steadier now. Strong. “Anyone who’s ever seen a cop show would know why you are here.”
    The microwave beeped giving me an excuse to turn away. I don’t even realize when I do things like that, like finish people’s sentences or come off as a know-it-all. I just do them. And then I get defensive because I’ve been doing them. It’s a cosmic-circle pain in the ass, really. With Detective Reyes it felt good, though, to finally have the upper hand. “Coffee, right?”
    “That’s fine.”
    “Black?”
    “Yes.”
    With a button-down detective trying to prove his way in the world, it’s a good guess he