Page 39 of Jenna's Threatened Sanctuary

The lights flicked on. Jenna met his gaze with wide, terror-filled eyes.

Calvin pressed his finger to his lips and hooked an arm around her waist, holding her close to him. He turned to press her against the back wall, out of sight of whoever came inside. Her full cleavage pressed against him. He bit back a groan. If the government needed to investigate new forms of torture, this should be at the top of the list. Jenna’s warm breath skimmed against his neck. His palm flattened on her spine. He yearned to rub his hand along the smooth curves of her back.

Heavy footsteps pounded into the room. His pulse thundered in his ears. The sound of shifting items on one of the metal shelves in front of them rustled in his ears.Shit!Holding hisbreath, he made his brain work. Right now, they were trapped in the back corner behind the numerous shelving units. But it wouldn’t be long before whoever was inside made their way to where they were.

The steps grew closer, the rattling more pronounced. Calvin didn’t chance peeking around the corner to see who was inside, but if it was one of Stella’s employees, they’d grab what they needed and leave. The intruder didn’t appear to know where anything was—or was looking for something specific that had been moved. Cleaning products crashed to the floor, the person responsible for throwing them to the ground unconcerned with the mess.

Just like at Stella’s house.

Jenna pressed her face into his neck. She wrapped her arms around his waist.

Calvin clenched his jaw. If whoever was in here didn’t find them and kill them, he’d die anyway from being so damn close to Jenna.

Rat-a-tat-tat

Jenna lifted her head and stared at him with raised brows.

He shook his head, straining his ears to hear. “Text message?” He mouthed the question.

Jenna shrugged.

Muttered curses sounded then drifted away. The lights shut off.

Calvin glanced around the corner.

Hurried footsteps darted in the opposite direction, followed by the opening and closing of the front door.

Dammit. Whoever had been inside disappeared before Calvin could catch a glimpse.

Jenna blew out a deep breath and melted against him.

He circled his arms tighter around the small of her back.

She tilted up her chin so their gazes locked. A shy smile danced on her lips. “You can let me go now.”

He coughed, expelling the pent-up desire still lodged in his throat. “You’re right. We need to hurry. That was too close.”

Jenna shook out the shirt she’d clutched in her fists then pulled it over her head. “How do I look?”

Unable to help himself, he grinned. “Like you work for Stella.”

“Great. Let’s go.”

He huffed out a breath and pushed the now-filled cleaning cart behind her. They might not have been busted for breaking and entering, but it didn’t mean they were out of the woods yet.

Jenna tooka deep breath and ran a hand over the wrinkles on her shirt. If she was going to trick the employees of Custer and Sholl into believing she was the new cleaning lady, she needed to walk in there like she belonged. Calvin waited in the car, parked on the street out front, but he wouldn’t do much good while she was inside.

Not like she expected to run into any trouble. A quick trip in and out.

Pushing the cart through the door, she stopped at the receptionist desk with a timid smile.

A middle-aged woman with tired eyes and sleek brown bob met her gaze. “Hello, can I help you?”

“Hi, I’m Suzy.” Amy told Calvin Stella’s other employee only cleaned for residential clients. Hopefully she hadn’t ever helped Stella with the law firm.

The receptionist tilted her head to the side. “What can I do for you, Suzy?”

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but I’m here to clean. I know Stella always cleaned after hours, but….” Jenna dropped her gaze and sniffed back emotion.

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