Read Knock Me Off My Feet for Free Online Page B

for over two years. We broke up when he turned pro-soccer—and was traveling all the time. But we're still close. We'll always be close."
    "Two years is longer than seven weeks, Audie."
    She smiled a bit. "I think we stayed together a lot longer than we should have because it felt safe, comfortable. It was the first serious relationship for both of us. Besides, I think that was before I had the green slimy problem we discussed."
    Quinn nodded, letting his eyes trace the line of her cheek and jaw. "Do the letters scare you, Audie?"
    She looked around the room again, a blur of activity. Quinn seemed so calm compared to the rest of the cops in here, she thought. He seemed to move slower—not a lazy kind of slow but an intentional hesitation.
    "There's definitely something about the letters that bothers me," she said, biting her bottom lip and gazing at her sandals—anything to keep from looking in his eyes. "It's not so much what he's saying. It's the way he's saying it. There's so much hate there, but it's like he's laughing at me, too. Like he knows me, like the joke's on me." She looked off into the room again. "Do you know what I mean?"
    Quinn dropped forward in his chair and leaned his elbows on his knees. He scrutinized the softness of her face in profile. "I do, Audie. And I think you're right—whoever it is knows you. That's why we're starting where we are."
    She turned to face him, feeling a bit shaky. The fear must have been broadcast in her eyes, because Quinn suddenly reached out for her hand. She slipped her fingers inside the safety of his warm, steady grip.
    "Your apartment is safe, Audie. That place is a fortress."
    She nodded. She knew Lakeside Pointe was a forty-six-story citadel. Her neighbors were the kind of people who demanded their privacy and security and were happy to pay dearly for it. Her mother had been one of those people, and along with the column, Audie had inherited the $6 million condominium that overlooked Lake Michigan and the Gold Coast.
    "It's the rest of your life that concerns me," Quinn said suddenly. He squeezed her hand a bit. "You're by yourself a lot."
    "I like it that way. I refuse to let these letters take away my privacy. And I don't want a bodyguard or some cop following me around, if that's what you're getting at."
    Quinn dropped her hand and gave it a friendly pat as he returned to the file. "Actually, you don't have much choice. My commander has already made it clear to Stan and me that you're our priority right now."
    She shook her head slowly and emphatically. "No way in hell."
    "Just until September twenty-second. To be on the safe side."
    "No! That's… " She waved her hand, thinking. "That's a month away! There's no way you are going to follow me around for a month, Quinn! Absolutely not!"
    He shrugged. "Detective Oleskiewicz then."
    "Well—"
    "But you should know that Stanny-O's got a wee bit o' the gas now and then."
    How extremely vulgar he was. So why was she laughing? It had to be the brogue he'd slipped in for effect, and she couldn't stop giggling to save her soul. Several moments went by before she reclaimed her composure. "You're disgusting, Quinn."
    "Thank you, lass."
    She stood up from the chair and glared down at him, seeing that he now grinned ear-to-ear.
    "There will be no kissing, are we clear on this?" She put her hands on her hips. "I regret that kiss. You're delusional if you think I'm interested in you, Detective, so don't grin at me like that. I think it's best to be honest about this from the beginning so nobody gets hurt. Understand?"
    "Honesty is good."
    She made an impatient clucking sound, abruptly turned to go, and caught the buckle of her sandal on the chair leg. She toppled over and went belly-down on the shiny linoleum, giving Quinn another look at what he believed was one of her best assets.
    He came behind her and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her to her feet. She slapped his hands away and walked out in a huff, not looking