Page 9 of Tempting Tessa

Her critical gaze ran over him again. She touched one of his brows as if brushing off a stray hair. “I think you’ll pass, Professor.”

“Professor?”

“Yes. A distinguished college professor—that’s what you remind me of.”

The way she said it, as if the idea verged on a racy fantasy, made him stand a bit taller. “Of what? Philosophy? History? Science?” he asked, playing along.

“Literature, I think.”

“Boring,” he said.

“Sexy,” she countered.

She didn’t take him to any of the popular tourist hotspots. Instead, she led them into a tiny café on a side street, its windows slightly fogged from the warmth inside. They ordered bowls of soup and a plate of grilled meats, which arrived steaming and fragrant.

Wiping the moisture off the window with a napkin, Tommy scanned the street outside. He kept running a hand through his short hair and wondering how to make casual conversation. It had been too long since he’d had to act normal.

Tessa simply regarded him while she ate, seeming content with the silence.

The place was nearly empty. The gal behind the counter kept giving him flirty glances and even winked. He ignored her, watching the street for any sign of danger.

“You’re paranoid,” Tessa said, dipping a chunk of bread into her soup.

“Paranoia has kept me alive.”

She nodded. “Relax. That’s my job for now.”

But halfway through their meal, his vigilance paid off. Across the street, he saw movement that made the remaining hair on his neck stand up. “Down!” He yelled just as a crack rang out and the window spiderwebbed.

Tessa hit the floor, and for half a second, his heart stopped dead in his chest. He thought she’d been shot, but as he joined her, pulling her to him, her eyes were wide, and she blinked at him.

Another shot punched through the remaining glass, embedding itself in the wall.

With barely a thought, he jerked her onto her hands and knees and shoved her forward. “Go,” yelled. “Back door!”

She grabbed her backpack. The other patrons were screaming, and the girl behind the counter had disappeared. He couldn’t take time to check and see if any of them were hit, scrambling to get Tessa to safety.

She shoved the back door open, and he saw a small gated area with a dumpster and two cars packed into a tiny patch of concrete. The vehicles had to belong to the waitress and the cook.

When he went to grab Tessa and head for the locked gate, she pointed. “Fire escape.”

She was on it and climbing before he could argue.

As they scrambled to the roof, a bullet pinged off the metal steps below. Whoever was shooting wasn’t far behind, but when he glanced down, all he saw was a hooded figure taking cover near the dumpster.

“What’s your plan here,” he said as they hit the roof, “bodyguard.”

“Shut up and run,” she snapped, tugging him toward the edge.

He didn’t like where this was going. “You can’t be serious.”

But she was. He watched with a mixture of shock and fascination as she launched herself off the building roof and onto the one next to it.

She fell into a controlled roll and bounced back up on her feet. Blood covered one of her arms. Shehadbeen shot.

“Coming?” she called. Was that a challenging grin on her face?

Gritting his teeth, he ran for the ledge and leaped.

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