Donovans 01 - Amber Beach

she wasn’t there at all. Part of her wanted to scream down the house.
    In the end she didn’t do either one. Making as little noise as possible, she eased from beneath the blankets and went barefoot to the bedroom door. It was open a few inches, just enough for air to circulate.
    A gust of cold swirled through the living room to the bedroom. The front door was wide open. A silhouette moved through the moonlight pouring inside. A human figure.
    A pencil of light came from a small flashlight. The beam played over Kyle’s desk. When the figure bent over and started opening drawers, reflected light showed only the black of a ski mask, dark jacket, and leather gloves.
    Fear and rage burst through Honor. The combination left her light-headed with adrenaline. The burglar was already inside.
    Silently she retreated from the doorway and went to the window. The new lock didn’t squeak when she opened it, but the old wooden frame did. It was much louder than the scratching noises had been.
    Fear of being trapped in the bedroom by the intruder slammed through Honor. She shoved upward with all her strength and then kicked through the bottom half of the opening, taking out the screen as she went through. She stumbled when she hit the ground, recovered, and ran toward the dock.
    Honor didn’t know she was screaming Jake’s name until he ran toward her from the direction of the dock. He was naked as a hook.
    “Honor, what’s wrong!”
    “A m-man. In the cottage. He”
    “Is he armed?” Jake interrupted.
    “All I s-saw was a flashlight.”
    “Lock yourself in the boat. Don’t open up until you see me.”
    “But”
    It was too late. Jake was already headed for the house at a run. Unlike her, he didn’t use the moonlit path. He stuck to the shadows. When he reached the house, the front door was wide open. Papers were scattered across the porch. No sounds came from inside.
    He went in low and hard through the open door. Crouching, listening, he turned swiftly in an arc that covered the whole room. The gun in his fist was a darker shade of night.
    Even in the faint moonlight, the interior of the cottage looked like it had been through a storm. The only question was whether the prowler was still hanging around or if he had run out the door when Honor started screaming. If he was smart, he was gone. But Jake knew that fairy dust had a bad effect on brain cells. It shrank them.
    Quietly he eased along the edges of the room until he was within reach of the bedroom door. It was ajar. He kicked it hard enough to make the door slam open against the wall or anyone who might be hiding there. The instant his bare heel connected with the door he spun aside and waited, listening. He heard nothing but his own careful breathing.
    Then, from somewhere well beyond the driveway, came the sound of an engine starting up. The prowler, presumably. But not certainly.
    With a silent curse, Jake grabbed a heavy book from the mess at his feet and heaved it into the bedroom. Before the book finished making a racket on the floor, he was in the bedroom, crouched as he had been in the living room, his gun a swift arc taking in every corner.
    He was alone.
    Just to be certain, he went through every space in the cottage that was big enough to hide a man. Then he started circling the exterior. He was almost finished when he heard faint footsteps behind him.
    Jake sank down into a deep patch of shadow and waited, breathing lightly. He was ninety-seven percent certain who was out there, but that last three percent could be fatal. After a few more breaths a shape went by. He attacked as silently as he had waited.
    Honor would have screamed but his hand was clamped over her mouth. She would have bitten him but his fingers were cupped so that she couldn’t reach them. She would have kicked but he was holding her so that she couldn’t reach anything vital. She would have run but her feet were dangling six inches off the ground.
    “The next time I tell you to stay put, you damn well better stay put,” Jake said roughly against her ear.
    “Mmmph!”
    “Is that an apology?” he asked, lifting his hand.
    “Listen, you arro”
    His hand descended again. “No, you listen. I wasn’t expecting anyone out here but a prowler who might or might not be armed. You should be damned grateful that I’m not the kind who empties a gun into the night just because a shadow moves. I could have killed you. Do you understand?”
    Honor went completely still. She