Bailed Out (The Anna Albertini Files #2) - Rebecca Zanetti Page 0,17
a favor.
With that thought giving me courage, I pushed open the door and stepped inside, instantly holding my breath.
Quiet reined. The place felt…empty. Worn sofa, rickety wooden coffee table, and old television on an even older wooden stand. Dust covered every surface, but the carpet looked fairly clean. It was a gold shag that had mellowed to more of a rust color, and it was a little crunchy under my flip flops.
The picture of a teenaged Aiden and his Grams still sat on the end table by the sofa, and the cheap plastic blinds were up on the one window, showing a view of the dried fields extending to the west.
I gulped in the quiet, shut the door, and turned toward the one bedroom to the right. His bed was made with a thick blue comforter, and the sight caught me off guard. Did bad guys make their beds? A damaged plastic white clothes basket perched in the corner with dirty clothing piled in it.
Still holding my breath for some unknown reason, I opened the closet to see clothes neatly hung with shoes beneath them. His leather jacket and leather cuts were side by side. I ducked down to rifle through his shoes, but there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary there. Man, he had big feet.
Turning, I shut the closet door and searched under his bed. Just dust.
Finally, I opened the one drawer of the particle board bedtable by his bed to find condoms, Chapstick, and a matte black gun that looked like a Glock, but I was no expert.
Talk about prepared for anything.
I fought a hysterical giggle. If he had sex and then had to shoot somebody, at least he’d have moistened and protected lips from the Chapstick.
The roaring of motorcycle pipes echoed through the peaceful day outside, and I slammed the drawer shut and froze. Just completely froze. My entire body electrified, and I took a deep breath to prevent the heart attack that was probably coming for me. What had I been thinking to break in?
Heavy footsteps sounded and then paused by Aiden’s outside door. It slowly opened.
I winced and moved out of the bedroom, more than ready to give Aiden a piece of my mind.
It wasn’t Aiden standing there.
Chapter 7
“Well, hello.” The guy in the doorway filled it completely. His brown hair hung to his shoulders, his eyes were a shade lighter than his hair, his skin was tan, and his jawline was strong. Several scars lined the right side of his temple, and he looked like he’d spent a lifetime in the boxing ring leading with his face. He wore jeans with oil stains across the left knee, motorcycle boots, and a dark T-shirt that had seen its share of time. “I believe you’re trespassing.” He had a very slight Spanish accent.
I set my stance. “This isn’t your apartment, so I doubt you’d know who was trespassing. From where I’m standing, it’s you.” My heartbeat thundered in my ears and my knees wobbled, but I kept my expression calm. In my cut off jean shorts, pink tank-top with the pretty flowers across the bottom and flip flops, there was no way I was going to scare this guy. I might be able to bluff my way out of this before Aiden arrived, and at the moment, that seemed like a good thing to do. “If you don’t mind, my boyfriend is waiting for me at the police station. He’s a detective nicknamed Killer.”
The guy at the door grinned. “That’s a good nickname. Mine is Saber.”
I frowned. “Saber like the company from The Office? The one that bought Dunder Mifflin?”
The grin widened. “No. Saber like I enjoy slicing people all the way through.”
I barely kept from gulping. Saber and I were not going to be friends. “Get out of my way.” It was time to stop being nice.
He didn’t move. “I’m pretty sure Aiden doesn’t have a bitch. Want to tell me why you’re here?”
“I’m nobody’s bitch,” I said calmly, wishing I’d brought my gun from the car. I could get to the one in Aiden’s bedroom, but it’d be close as to whether or not Saber could get to me first.
“Okay.” He reached for his back pocket, and at that second, I moved. I leaped into the bedroom, yanked open the drawer, and turned around with the gun pointed to the doorway that Saber suddenly filled. What was it with this guy and filling doorways?