frozen to the bone.” He smiled as he shivered. The expression softened his hard-edged features.
The curve to his lips made Holly’s heart thump in her chest.
What was one coffee? Holly wanted to say yes. But he was a stranger. An unknown.
And he’d made heart thumped in her chest just by smiling at her. Her heart shouldn’t be doing that...not for him...not for anybody.
She’d learned the hard way that unknowns and strange men were dangerous.
Very few people liked Holly. She’d been told more than once that she put out a vibe that made others...uncomfortable and sometimes downright mean. Even Priscilla had seemed to bristle at the thought of inviting Holly to spend Christmas with her family.
“No, no thank you.” Holly hugged her arms to her chest and her thudding heart and hurried on down the street. “I’m going out of town for the holidays. I need to get home and pack.”
She glanced back. The man hadn’t moved. He still was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, watching her. His overcoat rippled in the wind.
There was something eerie about him. In the dim light, it looked almost as if he had a strange blue glow about him. He’d unsettled her in a way that made her both excited and anxious.
That night, she tossed in her bed unable to tear her thoughts away from that handsome, mysterious man who’d protected her from the ice and wind...and the way he had made her feel.
* * * *
“I don’t understand.” Detective Newton shook his head as he stared down at the body of a young woman. Ice crystals had formed on her eyelashes. A light sprinkling of snow had covered her body. She reminded him of a storybook, fairytale princess cursed with a spell and waiting for a magical kiss to revive her.
“Damn. Just before the holidays. No family should have to be faced with this.” She couldn’t have been much above twenty. She was dressed well, too. Looked healthy. Alive.
But she wasn’t.
“She was murdered,” Hadrian Graham said as he dipped under the crime scene tape to stand next to Newton. It was a calm declaration. Like saying there would be snow today. Or that Newton’s wife would burn yet another meal.
“You have ice in your veins?” Newton ground out. “Damn it, look at her. She was in the prime of her life. She has a family who will grieve her. She matters! How can you be so cold about her death?”
Hadrian shrugged. “I have to be.”
Newton swiped his mouth with the back of his hand and took a deep breath. He should know better than to let an enigma like Hadrian push his buttons. None of the cops on the force understood Hadrian’s role with the city. Nor did they understand why he’d show up at certain crime scenes and not others. But Hadrian had the blessing of the mayor, so his presence was...tolerated. Captain’s orders.
Personally, Newton thought there was something fishy about Hadrian. He didn’t like how the guy lurked around an official investigation, giving hints about a crime or murderer, but never any direct answers.
Was he connected with the mob? No. He never showed up to mob hits. He only appeared at crime scenes where something just felt...off. The kind that made Newton think thousands of spiders were crawling up and down the back of his neck. Crime scenes just like this one.
Sometimes Hadrian helped the police make an arrest. More often though, the case would be closed, labeled unsolved. What the hell was up with that? Why close an unsolved case, unless there was something else going on behind the scenes. It stank, and it made Newton edgy as hell to be in charge of yet another case where Hadrian was involved.
“How can you be so sure it was murder?” Newton demanded. “There’s not a damned mark on her that we can see. This could be a drug overdose. Or even a freaking heart attack.”
Hadrian tucked his hands into his coat pocket and dipped back under the bright yellow police line.
“She’s the first,” he warned as he walked away.
“Meaning
The curve to his lips made Holly’s heart thump in her chest.
What was one coffee? Holly wanted to say yes. But he was a stranger. An unknown.
And he’d made heart thumped in her chest just by smiling at her. Her heart shouldn’t be doing that...not for him...not for anybody.
She’d learned the hard way that unknowns and strange men were dangerous.
Very few people liked Holly. She’d been told more than once that she put out a vibe that made others...uncomfortable and sometimes downright mean. Even Priscilla had seemed to bristle at the thought of inviting Holly to spend Christmas with her family.
“No, no thank you.” Holly hugged her arms to her chest and her thudding heart and hurried on down the street. “I’m going out of town for the holidays. I need to get home and pack.”
She glanced back. The man hadn’t moved. He still was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, watching her. His overcoat rippled in the wind.
There was something eerie about him. In the dim light, it looked almost as if he had a strange blue glow about him. He’d unsettled her in a way that made her both excited and anxious.
That night, she tossed in her bed unable to tear her thoughts away from that handsome, mysterious man who’d protected her from the ice and wind...and the way he had made her feel.
* * * *
“I don’t understand.” Detective Newton shook his head as he stared down at the body of a young woman. Ice crystals had formed on her eyelashes. A light sprinkling of snow had covered her body. She reminded him of a storybook, fairytale princess cursed with a spell and waiting for a magical kiss to revive her.
“Damn. Just before the holidays. No family should have to be faced with this.” She couldn’t have been much above twenty. She was dressed well, too. Looked healthy. Alive.
But she wasn’t.
“She was murdered,” Hadrian Graham said as he dipped under the crime scene tape to stand next to Newton. It was a calm declaration. Like saying there would be snow today. Or that Newton’s wife would burn yet another meal.
“You have ice in your veins?” Newton ground out. “Damn it, look at her. She was in the prime of her life. She has a family who will grieve her. She matters! How can you be so cold about her death?”
Hadrian shrugged. “I have to be.”
Newton swiped his mouth with the back of his hand and took a deep breath. He should know better than to let an enigma like Hadrian push his buttons. None of the cops on the force understood Hadrian’s role with the city. Nor did they understand why he’d show up at certain crime scenes and not others. But Hadrian had the blessing of the mayor, so his presence was...tolerated. Captain’s orders.
Personally, Newton thought there was something fishy about Hadrian. He didn’t like how the guy lurked around an official investigation, giving hints about a crime or murderer, but never any direct answers.
Was he connected with the mob? No. He never showed up to mob hits. He only appeared at crime scenes where something just felt...off. The kind that made Newton think thousands of spiders were crawling up and down the back of his neck. Crime scenes just like this one.
Sometimes Hadrian helped the police make an arrest. More often though, the case would be closed, labeled unsolved. What the hell was up with that? Why close an unsolved case, unless there was something else going on behind the scenes. It stank, and it made Newton edgy as hell to be in charge of yet another case where Hadrian was involved.
“How can you be so sure it was murder?” Newton demanded. “There’s not a damned mark on her that we can see. This could be a drug overdose. Or even a freaking heart attack.”
Hadrian tucked his hands into his coat pocket and dipped back under the bright yellow police line.
“She’s the first,” he warned as he walked away.
“Meaning
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