Broken Ties Read Online Free Page B

pathway to the carport. “But these shrubs need to come up. Someone could easily hide behind them.”
    “Thanks. I like it. And I like the shrubs. They’re staying right where they are. I’d have to get the landlord’s approval before I pulled them up anyway.”
    Coda’s whining turned to furious barking as Sidra turned the key in the lock and pushed open the door. What in the world was wrong with the crazy dog? Did she know Levi was here? Did she think Teddy was nearby, too?
    Sidra had barely pushed the door open when Coda flew through it, barking up a storm as she launched herself at Levi’s legs. Even in the dim glow of the porch light, Sidra saw Levi’s face pale as he dropped to his knees to pet his brother’s brown-and-white English bulldog.
    “He left her with you?” he murmured.
    “Mm-hmm.”
    She didn’t trust herself to speak as she turned away from Levi’s anguished eyes. It was beyond her understanding how two men who loved each other so much could cause each other so much pain.
    She stopped before she entered her house, a gasp escaping her as she saw the mess illuminated by the dim light in the corner.

Chapter Four
    Levi was on his feet in an instant, pushing Sidra behind him as he drew his gun and stepped inside. His eyes scanned the room, taking in the upended furniture, stopping at the curio cabinet lying on its side in the corner. Bits of brightly colored fabric stuck up from the broken glass and the paperbacks knocked from the nearby bookshelf.
    As he moved from the living room to the kitchen and bedrooms, Sidra followed on his heels, fingers hooked through his belt loop, keeping him from getting too far ahead of her.
    The kitchen cabinets hung open and the contents of the drawers had been emptied on the floor. The bedrooms weren’t nearly as bad as the living room, or even the kitchen. Although the drawers had been emptied and their contents scattered about the floor, at least the beds were still made and the furniture was still in its upright position.
    The second of the two bedrooms was obviously Sidra’s. The dressing table was covered with cosmetics and perfume bottles, and the bed rumpled as if she’d sat on the side after making it up. His eyes fell on the bedside table, where a romance novel lay open beside the crystal carafe of water and the old-fashioned alarm clock beside it. As she lay in her bed all alone, did she imagine she was the heroine in a novel? Did she long for a man to sweep her off her feet, deposit her on the flowered quilt, and make love to her all night? Would she throw her head back like the cover model’s, letting his mouth close over the throbbing pulse of her throat, or the delicate white skin above the plunging neckline of her soft blue gown? Did his quiet, efficient little secretary lose her sense of propriety when a man touched her like that? Would she have that look of pleasure on her face if it was his dark head bent over her, his breath warming her flesh?
    He was so caught up in his own fantasies he hardly noticed she had turned loose of him and had become a whirling dervish, stuffing clothing back into drawers before slamming them into place with angry thumps.
    Tears tracked her cheeks and her breath came in short, angry sobs as she worked. She was quickly coming undone, and he wasn’t quite sure how to stop it without touching her. At the moment, however, touching her was not the best idea. He wanted to move toward her, take her in his arms, and soothe her, but he wasn’t sure he could keep from giving in to his wayward imaginings. One day soon, he just might sweep her up and carry her to bed, but it wouldn’t be tonight.
    When she shoved the last drawer into place, she swung around to face him.
    “Why would someone do this?” she demanded. “I have nothing to hide. Nothing anyone in the world besides me would want.”
    He had no idea how to answer her. The sliver of hope that the man really had picked her randomly because she had been at the bus