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“YES, THERE is something wrong,” Troy said in a stern voice after they went into her office and closed the door.
He then pulled Dana close to him like a magnetic charm and brushed his sweet lips against hers, hungrily kissing her. She melted into his arms, her legs felt weak in a good way. Her body felt light.
Moments later, he stopped kissing her and grinned. “I’m on a break right now,” he said in a softened tone. “Just thought I’d grab a coffee.”
“And a sweet kiss on the side?” she playfully teased him, arching a brow.
“I’ve been dying to do this for a while now. I’ve missed you.” His voice was hoarse with arousal.
The scent of his cologne drove her wild. The heat of his touch captivated her.
Dana was on top of the world. Her body tingled from head to toe by his touch. “I’ve missed you, too,” she said, breathless.
“Oh, Dana. You’re so beautiful, you know that. I can’t stop thinking about you,” he said leaning into her again.
Her body tingled. Dana had never felt this way before, not even with her ex-fiancé. With Detective Troy there were sparks, a certain powerful chemistry that was inexplicable.
Was it also the excitement and adventure of seeing each other in secret?
They couldn’t keep their hands off each other.
He pressed his lips to her neck and she arched her neck back as they leaned against the desk. She was breathless, her heart pumping hard and fast in her chest.
Then...
The door knocked and opened.
Dana and Troy immediately pulled away from each other. The force was so great that Dana ended up toppling backwards over her desk doing a somersault. She got up.
Troy’s eyes were wide with concern. “Dana, are you okay?”
“I’m good. I’m fine.” She brushed herself off and readjusted her blouse.
“Dana?” Katie asked as she stood at the door. Katie’s eyes narrowed to Troy then to Dana as she looked at them. “Is everything all right in here?”
Katie had a clipboard in her hand with a pen and some sheets.
“Um...yes, everything is...fine...I...we...were discussing....um...Troy, what were we discussing? Tell Katie.” Dana flushed. Okay, she was so not good at lying.
Katie sighed heavily.
Troy cleared his throat. It looked as if his coffee break would end earlier than intended.
“I’m here to discuss your neighbor, Brenda Barinotta,” Troy said in a professional tone.
“Oh her,” Katie rolled her eyes. “Miss Noisy Neighbor?”
“It appears that she may be missing.”
“Missing?” Dana said, alarmed.
“Yes. A lawyer in Toronto called and said she was supposed to meet him for an important meeting. He said it was a meeting she wasn’t going to miss for the world. He was concerned and asked us to check if there were any accidents on the highways near Berry Cove.”
“Oh, no. I hope she’s all right.” Dana felt flustered.
“Well, there’s been no reported accidents in the area...”
“But how could she be missing? We just saw her last night,” Dana said.
“You did? You saw her last night? What was she wearing?” he asked, pulling out his small notepad.
“Um, well. We didn’t quite see her come to think of it,” Dana backtracked.
“No, what she meant is we heard her. Loud and clear. That woman can really turn up the volume on a house.”
“Katie,” Dana scowled.
“So you heard her last night?” Detective Troy scribbled down some notes on his notepad.
“Yup,” Katie continued. “She cranked up some loud heavy metal music. Made the walls shake.”
“I see,” Troy said as he scribbled down more information. His brows were furrowed. What was he thinking?
Oh, boy. Dana hoped and prayed their new neighbor, as loud as she was, was okay.
“Maybe, she went out of town for something,” Katie added.
“But she was supposed to be here this morning to pick up a dozen cupcakes and place a large order for her party this weekend. It’s now eleven and no one’s heard from her. And she’s not at the house right?” Dana asked Troy.
“No, she isn’t. We’ve checked. Now as you know, a person can’t be reported missing unless they’ve been gone for twenty-four hours—unless there’s reason to suspect foul play.”
“Oh, right. That’s true.” Dana frowned.
“Well, this really is a puzzle then,” Katie added.
“It is,” he agreed. “Please let us know if you hear anything.”
“Will do,” Dana promised.
Why did she get the feeling something was very off about the whole situation?
Dana hoped and prayed that murder wasn’t involved in this missing case.