Page 16 of Embers of Torment

"Sounds good." Jace turned to Sofie. "It was a pleasure to meet you. I'm sure I'll see you again."

"You will as long as you hang out with these two. Have fun watching the movie tonight. Oh, I also have a little tidbit to share. When you discover Della whispering to herself, she's about to freak out. You might want to keep an ear out for that."

"Wow. You don't have to be mean and embarrass me more than you already are." I kicked Sofie underneath the table, becoming even more irritated when she giggled.

"I'm not. I'm trying to be helpful and give the man fair warning on what to expect."

I glared at her and crossed my arms over my chest.

"No worries. I'll take care of Della." Jace winked at me and softly chuckled as he walked away with Adam.

Sofie laughed as soon as they were out of earshot. "See? You won't have to worry. Jace will keep the boogeyman at bay so you don't freak out."

"You did that on purpose. You set me up. Jeez, you're horrible."

"Of course I did. And I didn't do it to be mean. I saw you checking Jace out when you thought no one was watching. I don't blame you either. He's an attractive man, and he must be trustworthy if Adam likes him, seeing how he has zero tolerance for liars and jerks."

"All right. I admit Jace is super hot, but he's not my type. So you can dash those hopes of yours. He's a friend, and that's all he'll ever be."Holy moly! That is such a lie. He is so my type.

"Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that. I know people, and I know what I see. There's an underlying current between you two, whether you want to acknowledge it or not."

"Well, you're wrong," I lied again. "Okay, change of subject. I need to confess something since you brought up my tendency to get spooked. I've spent the last three weeks debating if it's important enough to mention or if I should chalk it up to some weird scenario that doesn't mean squat."

Sofie cocked her head, her eyes narrowing. Her expression changed from amusement to wary concern. "Whatever it is, I think it best you consider it a possible issue and fill me in."

I took a deep breath and exhaled. "Promise you won't get upset I didn't say anything sooner?"

"I promise. Now tell me what happened."

"Well… After I left your place the night I babysat, I drove down the block, and when I turned the corner, I caught a movement off to my right. I saw someone dressed in dark clothing appear out of nowhere. I don't know if the person was coming from a doorway, behind a tree, or somewhere else. Maybe he lived there. All I know is the guy was watching me when I glanced in my rearview mirror, and it freaked the bejesus out of me. I sped around the block, but when I came back, no one was there. I…umm…think it was a man based on his height and bulky size."

"Wait! What? You saw some mysterious figure, and although you were scared, you still went back to check. Alone? Late at night?"

"Yeah. Stupid, I know. But I was curious if the creepy person had something to do with the noise in your backyard. It seemed too coincidental, and before you get mad and yell at me. Yes,I understand returning was risky and wouldn't have solved anything."

"I'm glad you realize that," Sofie huffed. "I only wish you wouldn't have put yourself in that situation and would have said something. You could have called us rather than go back to investigate on your own, and Reid could have contacted Braxton to be safe."

"You're right. I'm sorry. Can we drop it now?"

"For now. But I'll have to tell Reid, and he'll want to talk to Braxton when he returns from an out-of-town police conference and visit with his parents. Reid has to contact him anyway since Allison still doesn't answer her home phone or cell, and we're getting concerned. Reid stopped by her house. He said it looked like she'd been gone for a while. There was old mail sitting in her mailbox, and when he peeked in her garage window, he could see her car was missing."

"Allison is probably on vacation or something."

"She could be, but it would be odd for her to leave and not tell us so we'd know she wasn't available. Plus, we don't think she'd let her mail pile up like that." Sofie paused, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I shouldn't say anything, but Reid used the spare key hidden in Allison's backyard and went into her house to see what he could find. Although nothing appeared out of place, Reid said some of the food in her refrigerator was expired and moldy, and there was a layer of dust on her tables. Allison is a meticulous housekeeper, so that doesn't make sense."

"Wow. The mystery is getting deeper."

"It is and worrisome." Sofie's phone dinged, and she picked it up. "Speaking of Reid. He sent me a message." She opened it and read her screen. "He got tied up in a conference call that went on longer than planned. He wants me to get him a sandwich from the café. I better do that now. He must be starving." Sofie stoodand pushed her chair underneath the table. "Are you coming with me or heading back?"

"I'm going back. Chad and I are trying to finish up that new advertising campaign. We want to have it ready for you to review on Monday."

"All right. I'll see you at the office."

Sofie took off toward the restaurant while I walked across the lunch area in the opposite direction. Reaching the curb, I peered down the sidewalk, catching a glimpse of Jace on the next block. After watching him for a few seconds, I turned away and headed back to work, shaking my head.

Why does that man have to be so darn personable and hot-looking? And how am I supposed to avoid reacting if he touches me during the flick?

Gazing upward at a giant fluffy cloud, I whispered, "Heaven help me. I think I'm in for a rough night."

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