A Thin Line by Tammy Jo Burns Page B

Then he would reveal himself and try to explain the situation.   In the end he would turn her over to Derek and insist he escort her as soon as possible back to her parents.   He thought he had made it clear to Mr. Simmons how much danger she was placing herself in, but the older man must have ignored the urgency of the letter.
    “So, I was right.”   She sounded rather disappointed.   She stared at the ground, but he could have sworn he saw the glimmer of tears on her dark, sable lashes.   “Then you should know that I saw this man and another meet with the same woman the other evening at the Chatham ball.”
    “Two men?   Perhaps there is more than meets the eye.   Trust me.   Tell me who these men are and I will do my best to protect them.”
    “There’s only one I’m truly worried about.   I only saw the back of the other man, though the longer I have thought about it, his voice seemed familiar to me somehow.”
    “Trust me to help you,” the anonymous man coaxed.
    Kala halted, nibbling worriedly at her lower lip.   Gabe found the action so sensual with Kala performing the gesture that he felt himself hardening as he watched.   She almost looked like a scared rabbit, ready to bolt at the least little sound.   He wanted to take her in his arms and protect her from the world that she believed to have turned against her and turn her over his knee at the same time.   Why didn’t he feel this way with Clarissa?   He forced his concentration back to the matter at hand.   He had to find out what she knew about this second man.  
    At that exact moment, Kala noticed several things happened at once.   She heard a hissing sound in the hedges behind her and turned to inspect it, ever the inquisitive one.   A huge firework exploded over her head, lighting up the night sky in a brilliant white color before going dim once more.   She heard the pounding of feet down the footpath as well as her name being called in a deep, familiar voice, directly behind her.   The same spot where the government agent had stood moments earlier.
    She turned back around as the hissing grew louder, and then her world exploded.

Chapter 9

    She tried to throw her hands up to cover her eyes from the blinding light, but found them pinned to her sides by powerful arms.   The heat from the blast could be felt on the parts of her face that the mask did not cover.   The statue of Aphrodite she had thought so beautiful disintegrated into hundreds of pieces, and she felt each one pummel her.   She flew backwards only to land on top of something warm and solid, but not as hard as the ground.   Someone moved and lowered her to the path, tiny pebbles digging into her back.   “Don’t move, I’ll be back,” then footsteps rushed away from her.   Dust from the fireworks and statue stung her eyes.   Her hat must have come off because she felt tendrils of her hair lying on her face.  
    She lay back on the ground grinding her hands into her eyes in an attempt to remove the grit and ease the burn.   Kala then attempted blinking the grit out of her eyes, but nothing seemed to help.   The burning sensation had not eased in the least.   Her eyes began to water compounding the irritation.   She opened her eyes, but saw nothing but darkness.   At that moment she heard the shelling of another firework as it exploded over her head.   Blackness.
    It must have been one of those odd ones that popped but did not sparkle.   A dud, they called it.   Again another loud pop sounded, but this time she heard the tell-tale crinkle that followed the colorful shimmers.   Nothing.   Her heart began to race.   No, it simply couldn’t be.   She heard another firework explode in the distance followed by the crinkling sound it made as it disappeared.   No brightness, no color, nothing.  
    She stumbled to a standing position and began moving blindly along the path, her hands stretched in front of her, reaching.   Mikala felt the roughness of a