Page 1 of Condemned By Secrets

CHAPTER 1

Anna pushed the start button in her brand-new Toyota Camry, then frowned at the display.What does that funny little symbol mean?

An orange exclamation point taunted her when she didn’t have time for problems. Sighing at yet another hiccup in her day, Anna reached for the glove compartment to retrieve the owner’s manual.

Growing up in Washington, D.C., she knew the Washington Metrorail like the back of her hand but the display on her first-ever car—not so much. After a few minutes of searching, Anna found the symbol.

TPMS. Tire pressure monitor system.

As she read what it meant, her frown deepened and turned her cupid’s bow mouth into an attractive pout.Resigned to the fact she’d have to find a gas station with air, Anna turned the car off, then climbed out to inspect her tires.

Fudge!She groaned in frustration when her eyes fell on the back wheel on the driver’s side. It was completely flat. There was no way she’d make it anywhere driving onthat.

Anna closed her eyes and took a calming breath.You’re twenty-four. An adult. You can handle this.

After the pep talk, she opened her eyes and stared at the flat tire. Barely resisting the urge to kick it with one of her shiny nude pumps, she glanced around the Town Hall parking lot, hoping there might be someone who could help her.

The lot was deserted, and even the building looked quiet where it had been bustling with the activity of a town hall meeting a mere hour before. Anna frowned at the ugly modern structure with its glass siding and minimalist frame. She’d never been a fan of contemporary architecture. It always seemed cold and aloof to her.

Much like the mayor.

As she thought about her conversation with the woman, Anna’s frown deepened. She glanced around the parking lot one more time, but everyone had cleared out after the meeting while she’d been badgered into agreeing to something she wanted no part in. Rolling her big brown eyes, Anna grabbed her phone and started to search for how to change a tire.

After ten minutes of how-to videos, she was overwhelmed. Did she even have a lug wrench, a jack? Anna opened her trunk and lifted the fabric covering to find out. She had a spare, and what looked like the scissor jack she’d seen in one of the videos.

Anna lifted the jack out first and grunted at the unexpected weight. When it came to muscles, she didn’t have any. She’d often been called petite, which was a polite way of saying what she knew to be true—she was short and skinny. As a teenager, she’d longed for curves, but her wish, like so many others, had never been granted. Struggling with the jack, she managed to set it on the ground beside her now useless tire.

About to brush back the strands of long brunette hair, which had fallen into her face, Anna caught sight of her grease-covered hand and released a sound of disgust.Why is everything greasy if it’s brand new?

Good thing she hadn’t worn her white blazer today. She’d thought about it in this heat. It was early summer, and the afternoon sun packed quite a punch, but she’d opted for her navy jacket with the matching trousers in hopes of looking more professional. The town hall meeting had been her introduction to the people of Rolling Brook, and she’d wanted to make a good first impression.

Not that they’d cared.

Thinking about the less than stellar reception she’d received at the meeting, Anna blinked back tears. She’d agreed to attend under the guise of being presented as the town’s new historic preservationist, but she’d been wholly unprepared for what she’d walked into. There seemed to have been two camps of people. Those who wanted to raze all the historic buildings and start fresh, and those who wanted to restore them back to their appropriate historical periods and turn them into museums. Neither of which were her plans for Rolling Brook.

She wanted to rehabilitate the existing historic buildings into new homes and businesses—make them “work” for the town. But that idea had been met with grumbles and hard stares, so she wasn’t sure where that left her. And then the mayor.Ugh!

A tear slipped out as she stared down at her filthy hands. She had nothing to wipe them on; she was as unprepared for her current situation as she was for her new job. Realizing she was wallowing in self-pity, Anna shook herself and went to retrieve the spare tire.

She'd get through this if she just focused on the task at hand. Though she was young, the challenges Anna had faced taught her you could only solve one problem at a time, and, right now, her most immediate problem was this stupid flat tire.

After lifting out the spare, she leaned it against the bumper and sighed in relief at the sight of the lug wrench stowed beneath. It looked like she had everything she needed to change the flat.

Stepping back from the trunk, she wiped her forehead with the back of her arm and winced when it came away covered in makeup. She wasn’t used to wearing any, but she’d put it on today, knowing it would make her look older. Now, she’d have to get the jacket dry cleaned. Resigned, she took her blazer off and felt a little bit of relief. The heat was beating down on her making tiny beads of sweat crawl down her back. She thought about rolling up the sleeves of her white shirt, but the dark spots on her fingers made her decide otherwise. She would just be extra careful not to get anything on it. Grabbing the wrench, she bent down to the wheel and placed it over one of the lug nuts just like she’d seen the man do in the video.

Grunting with the effort of a tennis pro smashing the ball, she attempted to turn the wrench, but it didn’t budge. She huffed out a breath and slid her rectangle tortoiseshell glasses back up her nose with a knuckle, careful not to get grease on her face. Deciding she’d come back to that lug nut, she moved on to the next one and was met with the same result. Getting frustrated, she tried all five and wasn’t able to make any of them the tiniest bit looser. How had they come off so easily for the man in the video? She had to be doing something wrong. Anna stood up, holding the wrench loosely in her right hand as she studied the tire. What was she missing?

“Excuse me, Miss?”

Anna jumped, letting out a shriek as she spun around. She’d been so absorbed she hadn’t heard anyone approach. What she saw had her lowering the lug wrench she’d clutched to her chest in defense.

Oh. My. Gravy.Who was this Adonis?

Standing before her was a breathtaking policeman. His hair was caught somewhere between brunette and blonde, the sun having made the strands on top a lighter color. It fell over the middle of his forehead in a tousled “V”, drawing the attention to his pale blue eyes. She’d never seen anything like them before. They were so light they appeared silver as the sun reflected in them. He had a little bit of scruff on his chin as if he’d missed shaving it, and, for some reason, she found that utterly sexy, especially when it contrasted with the smooth line of his perfect nose and square jawline.

“Do you need some help?”

Gawd.Even his voice was sexy. The husky tone wrapped around her like a warm towel, trapping the heat building within her. It was comforting but steamy—much too steamy in this weather. Fresh perspiration broke out on her neck, and she wished she’d pulled her hair up.

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