Not Without Risk by Sarah Grimm Page A

stuttered reply, Sullivan didn’t let on. “Those
     can be bad news. Do you have someone to stay with you for awhile?”
    “Yes,” she lied.
    Sergeant Harrison’s dark eyes remained steady on her. Her body grew warm as her own
     measured the broad span of his shoulders. Her eyes moved lower.
    Her gaze hardened. The pounding in her temples intensified.
    His hand lay against his side as he moved overly carefully around the burned-out shell
     of her car. In a sudden flash of clarity, she recalled his quiet, strained expression
     before she walked from the station. His quick intake of air that signified pain as
     the young officer slapped him on the shoulder and exclaimed, “Two days back and already the ladies are all over you.”
    Two days back?
    His clean, uncluttered desk sprang to mind and suddenly the fog she’d felt trapped
     in since the explosion cleared. Cold realization slammed into her. The gravity of
     her error pressed down upon her.
    “I…” She’d really stepped into this one. Chest tight, she pushed a hurried explanation
     from between her lips. “I need to sit down. Please excuse me.”
    Her pace hurried, she sidestepped the police tape, moving away from Sullivan, from
     the wreckage, and around the corner of her building to a rarely used side entrance.
     Memory echoed along with the pounding beat in her head.
    Two days back…I hope you’re not looking for sympathy from the rest of us…
    She’d managed to forget. The shock. The horror. She’d pushed it aside, at least for
     a while. Suddenly, memories of her past flooded her. A chill snaked up her spine.
    How could she have been so blind? It had been right in front of her the whole time.
     Only she’d been too distracted to see it. Her stomach ached. There was such a terrible
     pressure there that she pressed her right hand against it.
    Body trembling, she stood before the door she’d just unlocked and stared blindly at
     the keys nestled in the palm of her left hand. She struggled to focus her thoughts,
     to bring her last vestige of energy together and to face this new turn of events.
     But as it had for days now, the urge to hide away, to run from that which she feared
     most won out. She turned the handle of the door.
    “Are you all right?” Sergeant Harrison voiced from just behind her.
    With her thoughts so inwardly focused, she hadn’t heard his approach. “Of course.”
     The tremble in her voice said otherwise. “I just need to sit down.”
    “I’ll come with you.”
    “No.” Her stomach ached, her head swam—she thought she might get sick. “Thanks for
     the ride home.”
    “Paige?”
    When his hand settled upon her shoulder, she sucked in air against an undeniable longing
     and turned abruptly. Her above average height of five-eleven combined with her heels
     put her at eye level with him and gave her an unparalleled view of the stricken look
     that crossed his face at her next words.
    “Two days back,” she said with conviction.
    He recovered quickly. “I’ve had a bit of time off.”
    “Please, don’t tell me.”
    “Paige, I—”
    “I don’t want to know.” She already knew. It all made sense now. The exact details
     didn’t matter for they didn’t change what she had to do. “I can’t do this again.”
    “Let me explain.” His hand shifted to her face, circled her eye. The tips of his fingers
     slipped into her hair as his thumb wiped across her cheek.
    She closed her eyes and briefly drank in the pleasure of his touch. “I don’t even
     know your first name.”
    “Justin.”
    “Justin, that’s nice.”
    He stepped closer.
    “I don’t date cops.” Her words stopped him cold, as she knew they would. His lips
     thinned and his hand fell away. “Whatever this is between us, it could have been good.
     But I won’t make the same mistake twice.” She reached behind her and pushed the door
     open. “No more cops,” she whispered with a shake of her head.
    He didn’t respond, just stood his