Two Sides to Every Story (Love Spectrum Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page B

it.
    Angela prayed quickly, silently, and felt her prayers were answered when she spotted a store several doors ahead. She ducked in and stood for a moment as a wave of hostility hit her in the face. Seven or eight men lounged around and all halted their conversation as she made her way farther into the interior of the store.
    Instead of lessening, her feeling of doom increased. She smiled, hoping to dispel the feeling. She walked down first one aisle, then another, hoping to buy herself time before venturing out again, knowing that as she was doing so it was growing darker outside. And she still had to retrace her steps to return home.
    Every single item in the store had Spanish labels and she had no idea what most were. She walked toward a cooler and picked up a clear bottle. At least she knew it was water. When she attempted to turn around, she felt the heat from bodies pressing in on her. “Excuse me,” she said and attempted to move.
    “ Cuál uno de nosotros hacerle prefiere tu?”
    “Tu tiene un hombre o es usted que mira?”
    “Eres casada?”
    “Tu eres tan hermosa.”
    “Excuse me,” Angela said again, trying to move the men aside. When a third joined them, the tension mounted and so did her fear. She wanted to scream out for the owner. She searched her brain for Spanish but nothing came to mind. Well, nothing but swear words, and now with a fourth man surrounding her, she didn’t think it was the wisest thing to tell the men to go to hell.
    “Move,” she said, and pushed at the man closest to her. “Move,” she said again, louder this time, determined not to be pushed around by a bunch of macho bullies.
    She gripped the bottle of water tighter in her hand. If she had to, she would clunk them all over the head. She wasn’t going down easy. She wasn’t going to be a victim. Just as she raised her arm to make her first swing, green eyes caught hers.
    Officer Remeris was staring at her and he continued staring for a long moment before he spoke in rapid Spanish to the men surrounding her and they moved, making a path for him.
    She trembled as he came nearer, her fear of him a thousand times more potent that the fear of the four men who’d surrounded her. Them she could fight; this man standing in front of her…She didn’t know if she possessed the weapons necessary to win.
    He leaned into her and whispered in her ear, “You’d better go along with me; they want to slit your throat.”
    She looked at the leering men. “Are you sure?” she questioned. That was not the feeling she’d gotten from the men. From the looks on their faces and the kissing noises one made, she’d thought they were more interested in sex.
    “I’m sure. Just play along. I told them you’re my woman, you’re off limits. I’d advise you to go with it.”
    “You’re the cop,” she said quietly. “Do something.”
    “I’m trying,” Raphael answered. “I’m trying to save both of our lives. I can’t fight all of them. This is the best way to handle this, trust me,” he said and lowered his head toward her, his breath searing her neck, his lips so close. He kissed the crevice of her neck, then lowered his hand to her waist, took the bottle of water from her hand and threw a dollar on the counter.
    He allowed his hand to slide even lower and he patted her rear, pulling her closer as she attempted to pull away. The men laughed at them as they walked out of the store.
    Raphael smiled inwardly, knowing he was taking the joke a little too far. He didn’t care. Angela Reed deserved it. Why should he tell her what he knew to be true, that the men had no intentions of hurting her? They’d only made a stupid macho bet with each other as to who could woo her. The only scary thing had been that they’d all barged in around her at the same time, and they’d frightened her.
    Raphael turned deliberately to look over his shoulder and turned back quickly. “Don’t look,” he ordered Angela. He should have felt bad for