Midnight Hero by Diana Duncan Page A

onto the trampoline’s taut surface, and then he jumped to the floor. He extinguished the flashlights. “If you don’t move, I can’t see you at all in the dark. Stay put. Don’t budge. Don’t make a sound until I return and you know for sure it’s me.”
    She scooted to the edge of the trampoline. “Be careful.” She blew him a kiss.
    He pretended to tuck the kiss into his jacket pocket. “For later.” He gave her a roguish wink, turned and strode out.
    Bailey lay spread-eagled on the trampoline and waited. Waited. And waited. Eerie silence smothered the room. How long did a recon take? She mentally skulked up the dark mall with Con, picturing every cautious step, every heart-shaking pause. Fear thrummed inside her. Stop it.
    Seeking a diversion, she glanced around the store. A tiny pair of ice skates caught her gaze. She smiled. The mall held a lot of good memories. She and Con had gone ice-skating at the mall’s rink on their third date. On a weekday, the rink was sparsely populated. She’d stroked the ice to pop songs blaring from the loudspeakers. A natural-born athlete, Con had tossed cinnamon gum into his mouth, skated backward and teased her to go faster. His joie de vivre was contagious. They’d danced across the ice, engaged in a breathless, daring one-upmanship that he’d won by executing a back flip.
    She’d jokingly called him a show-off and pushed him down on his backside. Laughing, he’d tugged her on top of him, andkissed her for the first time. The instant their lips touched, she’d felt as if she’d belonged to him forever. Lost in the kiss, all awareness had faded. Until he’d gently reminded her they were in a public arena. He’d helped her up, wiggled his eyebrows and offered to kiss her thoroughly later, in a more private place. She’d blushed crimson from forehead to toenails.
    More flushed and breathless from the kiss than the exercise, they’d sat at a cozy table in the back of the concession area and sipped cocoa dotted with marshmallows. Later, at her front door, when his hard body had brushed hers and he’d kissed her goodbye, he’d tasted of sweet, dark chocolate and cinnamon…and oh-so-tempting sin.
    The desire to take their relationship to the next level both physically and emotionally had grown each time they were together. Each touch, each kiss, every beat of his heart had made her long to be his. Until her doubts and fears had begun to choke off her feelings.
    Tingling in her fingers tugged her back to the present. Her hand was going numb from inactivity, and she shook it. How long had it been? She retrieved a flashlight from her pack and checked her watch. Twenty-two minutes. Twenty-two minutes was plenty of time. Waiting turned into worrying. What if he’d been caught? What if—?
    No. She wouldn’t wander down that horrifying road.
    Con was smart, tough and capable. He’d be back. She rested her cheek against the trampoline’s textured surface. The pebbled rubber smelled like new sneakers. Strange how insignificant details sharpened when every sense was on edge. Worrying turned into praying. Please, keep him safe.
    She again consulted her watch. Thirty-five minutes. Praying turned into planning. Stay put and don’t budge, my Aunt Fanny. In fifteen minutes, she’d go looking for him.
    Ten more of the longest minutes of her life ticked by. Six hundred endless seconds before Con crept into the store. Relief made her giddy as she slithered to the edge of the trampoline, hung from the rim and dropped. She met him at the doorway. “Thank goodness! I was nearly frantic—”
    Relief morphed into confusion. His face was sickly pale, his forehead and upper lip beaded with sweat. “What’s wrong?”
    He looked at her, his eyes stunned, bewildered.
    Her anxious gaze spun over him. No blood. But in the gloom, she couldn’t be sure. “Are you