Betrayal of Innocence (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 1)

Vanessa’s scream was stifled by the heavy hand that slammed over her mouth. She was immediately encased in large, masculine arms that seemed to encompass her and made even the slightest movement impossible. Panic and fear took hold. She began to struggle – against the hand over her mouth and the arms that held her still. It took a moment or two to recognise that while the arms held her steady they weren’t painfully tight, and while the hand over her mouth prevented her scream from escaping, it wasn’t clamped so tightly that she couldn’t breathe. Even so, she didn’t stop struggling. At least, not until she heard that now familiar masculine voice rumble in her ear.

“Just what in the Hell do you think you are doing?” Justin growled in disgust. “Are you into breaking and entering now for God’s sakes?”

Vanessa slumped with relief, and almost wept as the panic that had rendered her numb only a few moments ago vanished instantly. Unfortunately, it gave way to a budding anger at the unnecessary fear and worry he had caused her. It was strong enough to make her claw at his hand and glare at him with every ounce of her rising temper.

“What are you doing here? Are you in to following people now?” she demanded in a hushed whisper.

“I came to see what you are doing breaking into your sister’s house,” Justin snapped.

“Did you follow me?” Vanessa challenged, slamming her hands on her hips with a disgruntled frown.

Not one to be cowed by anything that challenged him in life, Justin squared up to her. He stood close enough so that she had to tip her head back to look up at him. He scowled deeply, just so she knew he was annoyed with her. To his disgust, she didn’t seem to notice, or care because she merely tipped her head back and glared malevolently up at him.

“I saw someone leave your house. Now, correct me if I am wrong but I do believe you were told to stay inside where it was safe,” Justin snarled. “What part of that didn’t you get? You do remember what has been going on around here lately, don’t you? What happened to your sister?”

“Well someone has to find out what happened to her seeing as you seem to be happier spending your time watching innocent people,” Vanessa growled back.

“What are you going to do if he is a killer? What would you do if he comes home and catches you in his house? This is his home, Vanessa. He has every right to call the magistrate and have you arrested for breaking into his house,” Justin warned.

Vanessa snatched the key out of the lock. “I don’t call this breaking in seeing as I am unlocking the door and going through it, not climbing through the window. Besides, I don’t think Weeks will be able to call it breaking and entering seeing as my father owns this house. You know, my father, the man who I share the house with? He has authority over this property, not Curtis.”

Justin mentally swore and planted his fists on his hips as he lifted his brows at her. “Does your father know you are here?”

Vanessa mentally cursed. “Someone has to find out what happened to my sister,” she declared, carefully avoiding answering him.

Great, she doesn’t lie worth a damn, Justin thought with a heavy sigh.

He was so incredibly angry that, for a moment, he didn’t trust himself to speak. The danger she had so belligerently put herself in was ridiculous, especially given she was trying to prove the guilt of a killer.

“What do you intend to do if Curtis saw you in the trees but pretended he didn’t? Eh? What would you do if he then parked his cart further down the lane, around the corner out of sight, and then came back through the trees just like you did and returned to the house? He could have stood in those trees and watched you enter the house and then come after you. Once you are inside, Vanessa, anything could happen to you and he could cover his tracks in just the same way as he has with Geraldine – if, and I re-emphasise the careful use of the word ‘if’ here, he had anything to do with his wife’s death or disappearance? What then Vanessa; when you are at the mercy of a cold-blooded killer who may have already dispensed of one person? Telling him you are going to report him to the magistrate will do you no good will it? What do you expect him to do, argue with you?” Justin knew he was going too far, especially when she paled and took a hesitant step back, but he didn’t stop.

He had to make her worry, if only to prevent her from doing anything as stupid ever again, so he could retain some peace of mind throughout the rest of his stay in the area. Once he was gone then she was someone else’s problem, damn it. For now, he couldn’t allow someone he had publically been seen with as recently as yesterday, to vanish today.

Vanessa opened her mouth to speak only to widen her eyes in shock when Justin clamped his hand over her mouth again, and suddenly backed her against the wall. Her breath left her in a whoosh of disbelief as she found herself suddenly pressed nose-first into the broad expanse of his very hard chest. Pressed so intimately against him, she felt every breath he took. She would have protested but was painfully aware of his sudden tension.

“What is it?” she mumbled around the heady scent of sandalwood and soap.

“Someone’s here,” he whispered. “Shut up.”

Vanessa huffed, but had no choice in the matter. Her mind had turned to mush because of his proximity.

“Who is it?” she muttered, desperate for something to think about other than the hard ridges pressed intimately against her.

“Curtis,” Justin warned, his voice cold and hard.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Justin knew they couldn’t be in a worse position. They were outside, trapped in a confined yard with walls on three sides, and an empty house before them, he suspected the destination of its occupier. If they were caught it was highly unlikely Curtis would leave the property at all. God only knows what would happen then.

Vanessa, pushing roughly against him, managed to gain the ability to draw in a deep breath. Her relief was absolute when Justin stepped to one side. To her surprise, he swiftly unlocked the door and hastily shoved her into the house before him. He closed the door with such speed that she barely had time to do anything more than blink before she was pushed through the kitchen and into the main body of the house.

“Where?”

Vanessa gasped as her mind raced. For a moment she couldn’t think straight, everything had happened so fast. It was only the sound of Curtis’s cough directly outside that snapped her out of her daze and filled her with an urgency that made her actions jerky as she waved toward the stairs.

“The spare room upstairs. It isn’t used, I don’t think,” she whispered.

Justin nodded, and ushered her up the stairs. He was painfully aware that they had barely nudged the door closed before the creaking of the kitchen door closing shattered the deathly stillness of the house. They tensed and waited. Justin put his mouth to Vanessa’s ear, wilfully ignoring the surge of attraction that swept through him when the delicate scent of strawberries and vanilla teased his nose.