“You’re lucky I heard you. I almost thought I was imagining the screams.”
Max braced himself against the doorframe. He was much taller than her, which put him well over six feet, and broad. Jacked, as Ash would say. Most cops turned fat in small towns, but his well-honed physique spoke of ambition. Once Max earned his stripes in country Victoria, he’d move on to Critical Response or some other city gig kicking down doors, saving lives, etcetera. He was a hero cop in the making.
She arranged her face into a half-decent smile. “Thanks for finding me. Eating all the weed in the property office would have sucked.”
Max chuckled. “You still living around here?”
Julia’s queasiness accelerated. Was he actually asking her a personal question? “My sister and I have a place on Church Street.”
“Not that murder place?”
She winced. “Somebody was killed there once, yes.”
“Rough.”
Julia shrugged. “It’s not too bad. Although our bathroomisslowly sinking into the ground like the Titanic.”
Max huffed out a laugh. “At least you’re aware.”
“Of course.” Julia picked up her satchel and adjusted the strap over her shoulder. “Thanks again for finding me. It was looking pretty grim before you showed up.”
He smiled an easy, panty-combusting smile. “No problem. Hey, are you still into games?”
Julia tucked her hair behind her ears, torn between wanting to escape and exploiting a once in a lifetime chance to linger in a dark room with the married guy she had a boner for.Fuck it.“Yeah. I’m actually designing—”
Max strode forward, heavy boots pounding on the concrete floor. “Jesus, I swear I’m going to report Henrietta.”
She stood stock-still, unsure if she was relieved or insulted he’d cut her off. “What’s up?”
“The shotgun leaning against the overnight cage’s loaded. First you were in here unsupervised and now this? That woman’s going to get someone killed.”
Julia was slightly offended. “Hey, just because I locked myself in here you think I go around kicking live firearms?”
Max huffed out a laugh. “Of course n—”
There was a loud creak and they both turned. The property office door, freed from Max’s body was closing, slow like quicksand, slow like hot tar. Her worst nightmare swaying into reality.
Max lunged with an agility she couldn’t have replicated on her most athletic day, his muscles bunching, arms extended. Time stopped and for a moment, she was sure he’d make it. Then the door hit the frame, bobbing once before the lock returned home with a loud, hatefully satisfying click.
Julia swore. Max swore. They both reached for the handle, fingers colliding. Julia forgot her fear of touching him in her haste to see if they were trapped. The handle didn’t budge.
“The keys,” Max said, frantically checking his pockets. “I’ve got the keys, I’m sure I do.”
Julia didn’t say anything. She’d seen the keys embedded in the door as it closed. They would be there still, dangling impotently from the keyhole, of no use to either of them.
Max pounded a fist against the door, the sound like a grenade going off. “It’s locked. We’re locked in.”
Julia covered her face. Unless she could fashion a makeshift key out of a broken monitor, she was officially spending the weekend in her least favorite place, in her least favorite town with Max fucking Connor. She pressed her back against the cool concrete wall and slid all the way down.
Chapter 2
MANup. Push through it. Shit happens.They were the epithets of Max’s life. Blunt statements from uncles and coaches and mates. They all boiled down to the same thing essentially: when life gets hard you get on with it. And you get on with it quietly.
Sometimes the advice was helpful; other times it was useless. Take this scenario; Julia Bennett was slumped against a wall, him late for the most important evening he’d had in months, both of them trapped in a room with no windows and a reinforced steel door. I mean sure, shit happened but didthisshit have to happen? Over by the wall, Julia moaned quietly. She was white as a sheet, each of her freckles standing out like radio towers and there were goose bumps all over her bare arms. He should comfort her. He shouldn’t close his eyes and pretend none of this was happening. Right? Feeling woefully out of his depth, Max approached her the way one approached an unmarked package. Cautiously.
“Hey, are you okay?”
She nodded, her lips pressed together like she was holding in a scream. Max mentally counted down from ten, urging his body to relax. Their best bet would be to contact someone. Julia’s phone was out of the question. He checked his own. No reception. Bonnie was always lecturing him about getting a new provider but he told her he never used his personal phone at work. Famous last words.