Sizzle by Julie Garwood Page B

waiting,” Sidney explained. “But then Lyra heard the two guys getting even more violent, and she decided she couldn’t wait any longer.”
    “You both could have been …” He didn’t finish his thought.
    “Lyra wants to get a Taser.”
    “A what?”
    “A Taser,” she answered. “I don’t think she cares if it’s legal here or not. Oh, and mace.
    She wants to get mace.”
    “Let me talk to her. Can you put her on the line?”
    “She’s asleep. Do you want me to wake her?”
    “No, I’ll talk to her tomorrow. I was going to ask if you two are nervous about sleeping there tonight, but Lyra obviously isn’t. What about you?”
    “There’s a nice policeman outside, and he’s going to be there the rest of the night. That’s a real deterrent, right? Besides, I don’t think they’d come back. You don’t either, do you?” she asked worriedly.
    “Probably not.”
    “And I’m exhausted. I’ll sleep. What do you mean, probably not?”
    “You’ll be okay tonight. What’s your schedule tomorrow?”
    “Classes.”
    “Both of you?”
    “Yes, but not the same classes. Why?”
    “E-mail me Lyra’s schedule, and yours, too.”
    “What are you going to do?”
    “I’ll talk to some people early in the morning, and I’m going to send some help. I wish I could come out there, but I can’t. I promise I’ll send someone almost as good.”
    “I see you’re still arrogant,” she said, smiling. “This someone will take good care of Lyra. You trust him, right?”

    “Yes,” he assured. “And just to be on the safe side, I’m gonna get someone to watch over you until we figure this out.”
    “Alec, you’re being so sweet. I’m starting to understand why someone as beautiful as Regan married you.”
    He laughed. “She lowered her standards. Talk to you tomorrow.” Sidney hung up the phone, then went to the window to see if the police car was still there. It was parked under a streetlight, so anyone approaching the apartment would definitely see it. Sidney checked the door, put a kitchen chair in front of it, and looked out the window once again before finally getting ready for bed. She wished she had a baseball bat for protection, but she didn’t, so she grabbed a kitchen broom. She might be able to do some damage with that.
    She fell asleep gripping the broom handle.
    “WHERE ARE YOU, SAM?”
    “Seattle.”
    “You owe me a favor,” Alec said.
    “Saving your ass makes me owe you a favor?”
    “That’s how we do it in the United States.”
    “Listen, Buchanan, I’m kind of busy …”
    “Ask her to get dressed. This is important.”
    “Hold on.”
    Alec was left waiting for two maybe three minutes, then Sam was back on the line.
    “Okay, you’ve ruined my evening. What do you want?”
    “When are you going to Los Angeles?”
    “I leave tomorrow. Why?”
    Alec told him about Sidney and her roommate, Lyra. “I can’t get out there, and Lyra’s in trouble. I thought maybe you could step in for me. You’ve got the time off—”
    “Sure, I’ll do it. What about your sister? Is she in danger?”

    “I don’t think so, but I’m not taking any chances. I’m gonna ask Max Stevens to watch out for her.”
    “How long do you think I’ll be on this?”
    “I honestly don’t know. I’ll talk to the detectives tomorrow, but I don’t think they have anything.”
    “When do you need me there?”
    “As soon as.”
    “Yeah, okay.”
    “And Sam?”
    “What?”
    “Thanks.”
    LYRA HAD COMPLETED HER paper and had fallen asleep on her laptop. Fortunately, the lid was closed so she didn’t drool all over the keyboard. She slept hard and didn’t really wake up until she showered the next morning. She dressed in jeans and a light blue T-shirt.
    Usually she wore flats, but today she decided to wear running shoes because they were more practical, and she could run like lightning if she needed to.
    “Do you think we should move?” Lyra asked Sidney while they ate cereal.
    “I don’t