The chair swiveled, and he jumped back to miss being hit.

  “Mr. Malone, do you see this line here?”

  “Yes,” strangled past his throat.

  “That indicates how many boxes are included with each file. I don’t know if I can get all these myself. Would you mind coming to help me?”

  His tongue was tied. Being in a dark storage closet with her? Could it get any better? Perhaps a rat or some animal would scare her, and she would fall into his arms. Taking a deep breath, Bruce answered, “Yes, of course, I’ll help you.”

  Elizabeth added, “Normally I wouldn’t ask you, because it’s my job to retrieve these things. But well, it’s almost quitting time, and I’ll have to go down the rows and rows of shelves to find these files alone. And quite frankly, those rooms can get a little scary in the afternoon.”

  He couldn’t help himself, when he added playfully, “So you need my protection?”

  Her honest reply surprised him, “Yes. I do.”

  Bruce gazed at her face. She was very beautiful as the last light of day filtered through the room and landed upon her face. Her chignon had long since fallen down and her hair now lay across her back in soft waves. His fingers itched to touch the silken tresses. His arm rose, inches from their desire. But instead he pointed forward and said, “Lead the way.”

  Elizabeth led him down to the basement of the building. Once off the elevator, they walked until they came to a large, grey metal door. Elizabeth grabbed a key from a hook on the wall. She unlocked the door and led them inside a cold, dark room. Flicking a switch, the room was flooded with a dim, yellow light. A desk sat directly in front of them. She walked to the desk and retrieved a flashlight using it to read the pages in her hands.

  A rolling cart sat nearby. Elizabeth directed it to the first set of files. More than one cart was needed, however. By the time they were close to done, they were hot, sweaty, and covered in dust.

  “There is only one more set,” she said.

  “Well, I hope so. It’s creepy down here.”

  Elizabeth laughed. A musical lilt to her voice. Bruce smiled in return. He was glad he’d come with her. Elizabeth was right. The file room was huge, dark, and scary. Every little noise sent the imagination into overdrive.

  Bruce followed Elizabeth down a long row of files. On the way she grabbed a ladder. It reminded Bruce of one used in a large library. It was wooden, and leaned against the shelves. As the wheels ran the length of track they squeaked in protest.

  Placing the ladder into position, Elizabeth climbed up to the third shelf and grabbed the last box on their list. Handing it down to Bruce, he placed it on the unstable pile beside him. When he glanced back up, Elizabeth was descending. Without warning her heel caught on the rung of the ladder, and she stumbled. Instinctively his arms shot forward. As she fell into his grasp, his knees bent to absorb her weight. He cradled her to his chest, his heart beat a wild tattoo against his rib cage, as her body rested against his own.

  “Are you okay?” came his breathless question.

  Elizabeth moved her hair back from her face, looking up into his dark blue eyes. He felt her begin to tremble as he sat her on her feet. Every nerve ending in his body felt as if it was on fire as she slid against him to the floor. Bruce couldn’t breathe.

  He was ready to step back when her body pushed against his, as her face eased upward, their lips touched. It was the briefest of kisses. And not nearly enough. He reached down, snaked his hands around her waist and pulled her closer. Gently, their lips met. The kiss was slow, and thorough. He ran his hands through her hair, delighting in the feel.

  Bruce pulled back first, placing his forehead against her own. “Elizabeth,” he said nervously.

  She pulled away, staggering toward the rolling cart. Not looking at him as he went to reach for her. Bruce’s hand dropped to his side. Maybe this was for the best. The kiss had been nothing more than a reaction to her near fall. That was it. Nothing more. As he watched her push the cart and walk away, he wondered if the kiss meant nothing, then why did his heart tell him differently?

  Chapter Thirteen

  Today on the bus was different. It was the last day of her first full week working for Bruce. Elizabeth was in a jolly mood. She was excited. Honestly, she had never hated her job. In fact, on most days she’d looked forward to it. She’d been raised to believe in doing an honest day’s work and receiving an honest day’s pay. She didn’t expect to receive anything for free.

  Today was different. Elizabeth was expecting to be more than just a laborer. Today she was expecting to be appreciated, as not only a valued employee, but as a woman. After the kiss she’d shared with Bruce a couple of days before, nothing would be the same.

  That was her first mistake. She should have realized she wasn’t any more special than anyone else. God made all creatures and loved them all equally. Why did she think she would be any different, right?

  Elizabeth was in a gleeful mood when she stepped onto the bus, but it didn’t last long. She noticed the woman with the three kids and the priest with the less-than-white collar were not in attendance. Looking up at the bus driver, Elizabeth noted that he looked different as well. That was when she saw the bus numbers and the route listed across the top of the bus. She groaned inwardly. This wasn’t good. She was on the wrong bus!

  Elizabeth had to get off. When she came to the first bus stop, she tried to exit, but so many people crowded to get on that it was completely impossible.

  Again she’d worn heels. So ecstatic that she could finally walk in the things without twisting her ankles, she’d forgotten to bring a pair of tennis shoes to get her to the office. Since she couldn’t get off the bus at the stop, she had to return to her seat and go on to the next stop. On the way back to her seat, she caught her heel in a hole and a crunching sound could be heard. Picking up her foot, Elizabeth walked on. Climp, clomp, climp, clomp. As she put weight on the shoe, she heard a final crunch and her foot sunk to the ground, flat. She had broken a heel.

  Limping to the back of the bus, Elizabeth was determined to get off at the next stop. The idea was immediately abandoned when she noted the bus was in a completely deserted, rundown neighborhood. Since all the seats in the front of the bus were taken, she had to again hobble to the back.

  Just when Elizabeth was contemplating jumping out of the back of the bus through the emergency exit, she spotted a familiar place. She got off at the next bus stop and began to retrace her steps to the office.

  She pulled out her Blackberry, which was probably the best purchase she had ever made besides her townhouse, and keyed in her location. Directions to the office popped up on the screen. All she had to do was get on bus number forty-three and she would be fine.

  Finding the covered bus stop area, she sat down on the bench and waited. A woman with a shopping cart came up beside her. The old lady took out some bird seed and began to scatter it around the area. Elizabeth was sure the store owners probably didn’t appreciate the added traffic of the birds in front of their buildings, but she wasn’t going to complain. The little old weathered lady looked down at Elizabeth’s feet then back up at her face and said, “You broke your shoe.”

  Elizabeth smiled. “Yes, I did.”

  “Would you like another pair?”

  “No, that’s okay. But thank you.” She didn’t want to hurt the lady’s feelings. If the lady had another pair of shoes Elizabeth was sure she needed them.

  The lady didn’t take it that way however and she began to become irritated. “Are my shoes not good enough for you?”

  Elizabeth frowned. “No, I didn’t mean that. I just meant I’m sure if you had shoes you probably need them worse than I do.”

  Too late Elizabeth realized she’d said the wrong thing. The woman pulled out a small knife shaped object, pointed it at Elizabeth’s ribs and with an angry no nonsense tone said, “Give me your shoes.”

  Elizabeth didn’t feel like arguing. She removed her broken shoes and handed them to the lady. The bag lady proceeded to study them. When she finished, she got up from the bench, picked some of the bird seed of the ground, stuffed it in her mouth, threw Elizabeth’s shoes on the top of her cart and went on her way, all while humming a merry tune. Elizabeth said a silent prayer for God’s protection and looked at her watch. Chewing the inside of her lip until it felt like it was bleeding, she thought surely the bus would arrive soon.

  After the incident with the bag lady, Elizabeth admitted to herself she wasn’t in the best of situations. After consulting once more with her Blackberry, she decided not to wait any longer on the bus. It might be detrimental to her health. She couldn’t think of anyone she could call that might have a car and be able to leave work to come and get her. Of course Wesley would leave in a heartbeat and travel any distance to pick her up, especially if he believed she was in danger. But she hated to ask that of him.

  Of course, there was her pastor who would come and pick her up if he wasn’t at the hospital visiting the sick or taking care of other parishioners.

  Looking down at the screen of her phone, Elizabeth realized her cell phone battery was going to give out soon. She might have enough power left to make one call. And she still didn’t know who that would be. Still thinking on who might be able to help her, she decided to skip the bus and head for the subway. She was getting lots of funny looks standing on the concrete in her stocking feet. But what else could she do?

  At this time of day, no respectable person was on the subway. All the people with jobs had reached their destinations and only the riff-raff was left. She boarded the train that she hoped would take her where she needed to go. As the doors shut behind her, she thought she heard her cell phone ring but she wasn’t sure. When she went to check her phone, she noticed she couldn’t get a signal in her current location.

  Looking up from her phone, Elizabeth began to pay attention to the people around her. She wasn’t in exactly the most respectable crowd. She knew that Jesus didn’t make differences between persons based on their appearance so she tried to be friendly and smile at everyone around her. All the while attempting to keep to herself as much as possible. She’d taken some defense training but not enough to beat off some of these characters if they decided to come on really strong. Her hands in her lap, Elizabeth stared out the window, attempting to mind her own business, when she felt someone messing with her hair from behind.

  “What pretty hair you have, girl. Mind if I take a sample?”

  Before Elizabeth could respond she heard the snip of scissors behind her and she felt a blast of cold air reaching the back of her neck. Next she felt air on her arm as the scissors cut through her shirt. She stared down at the slash that appeared in her clothing.

  How could this be happening? Why was this happening? She didn’t expect certain things because she was a Christian, but she treated others with respect in the hope she would receive the same in kind. Obviously these men didn’t subscribe to her theories.

  The men looked at her and laughed, gloating over what parts of her they had taken. When they looked back she could see a lust for blood in their eyes. Then one of her assailants opened his mouth, his putrid breath hit her in the face. “Stay away from the case.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me. Stay away from the case. Or your hair and your shirt won’t be all that gets cut.”

  She looked at them with her eyes wide. They fell backward in laughter at Elizabeth’s fear, and she used that time to escape. She didn’t know what exit she was taking in the subway, and she didn’t care, just as long as she got out of there. When the doors slid opened, she jumped through. She promised when she returned to the light, she would use her cell phone to call the first person she could think of that might have a car. She didn’t care if she disturbed them or not. At this point she was willing to call her father in Tennessee to come and get her.

  When she came up out of the subway tunnel and into the sunlight, right there in front of her sat a shiny new police car. The policeman was on his cell phone and seemed to be in a heated discussion. She walked straight up to the window and banged with her fist. She knocked continuously not caring what she was interrupting.

  The man turned to face her initially showing annoyance. His face quickly changed and he became pale almost as if he’d seen a ghost. He got out of his car and looked her up and down taking in the ragged look of her clothing, the lack of shoes, and the big whack that had been taken out of the back of her hair. “Are you Elizabeth Smith?”

  Elizabeth was a little stunned. How did this policeman know her by name? Surely someone hadn’t reported her missing. Didn’t they have to wait twenty-four hours before they could do anything, or maybe that was just a television bit that made for good drama, but she didn’t think so. She finally responded to his question, “Yes. I’m Elizabeth Smith.”

  “Thank heavens. My partner has been crazy with worry for you and now I can see why.”

  “Your partner?”

  “Yeah. He’s in the deli over there.”

  When a man walked out, Elizabeth was surprised to see Cole Malone.

  Bruce had called the cops to help search for her? Well not really the cops. He’d called family.

  Just then Cole came out of the deli. A look of relief crossed his face as he yelled, “Hey, girl. Where have you been? We better get you to the office before my little brother has a coronary.” Stopping and looking at her he said, “Hmm, it might be better if you had a way to freshen up.”

  Elizabeth scanned the area. Her attackers didn’t seem to be close by. Releasing a pent up breathe, she said, “I have another suggestion.”

  “A suggestion, huh?”

  “Would you please take me home? I’ll call Mr. Malone and tell him I need a sick day. I haven’t taken a sick day since I started working at the firm, and I’ll be honest, right now I feel ill.”

  Cole agreed to do as she requested. While they waited on a separate car to be brought to him, he muttered, “Bruce is going to have a fit.”

  “What did you say?”

  “Nothing.”

  Elizabeth pondered what she’d heard. Why would Bruce care if she called or not? Of course as her employer he would most likely be concerned that her work would pile up or that no one would be there to answer his phones. Maybe there was something more. They had shared some intimate moments over the past couple of days.

  As Cole placed her inside and drove her home, Elizabeth’s mind continued to wonder. Had Cole been following her? How had she found him? It was all so mysterious.

  Light filtered in through the car window and landed on a metal object laying on the dash. Shifting in her seat to get a better look, Elizabeth saw a familiar shape. A cross necklace lay on the dash, the gold material reflecting in the light. The answer to all her questions seemed close at hand.

  As Cole drove her there without direction, Elizabeth assumed Bruce must have told him where she lived. Sitting beside him, she remained silent, watching out the window as they passed by people and shops. Still she had yet to call Bruce.

  Cole sent a glance in her direction. “Are you forgetting something?”

  Elizabeth looked at him barely holding back the tears that threatened to slip down her face. She grunted to clear her throat before answering, “My phone died. I’ll have to call him when I get home.”

  “You can borrow mine if you like.”

  Elizabeth shoulders sagged; the events of the day were beginning to catch up with her. “I guess I should, if he was as worried as you say. He might want to know that I’m okay.”

  Taking a deep breath, he asked, “Did anyone touch you while you were out on the street, Elizabeth?”

  She wanted to remain silent, except he was so kind in his manner she felt she should answer him. “No.”

  In a quiet voice, he asked, “Do you have someone you can talk to about what happened to you?”

  “Yes,” she said, with a sad smile. She didn’t want to tell her parents. But she knew she could call Lisa or Wesley or even LuLu. Or any number of people at her church that would support her. Also she had the Lord to talk to, and she knew better than anyone that He would understand her situation. “Thank you for asking.”

  “Comes with the job.”

  “As a police officer you have to ask these questions, but you aren’t required to express sympathy while doing it. I appreciate you doing so.”

  “Yeah,” Cole said, a red hue indicating his embarrassment at her praise.

  The trip to her townhouse didn’t take as long as she expected. Before Elizabeth knew it she was out of the car and struggling to walk up to the door.

  “I could pick you up and carry you.”

  Elizabeth worried her lip. She was sure some on the neighborhood committee were looking out the window and had seen the cop car. Would it make a difference if he carried her up the stairs? It might. She sighed, “No, I can make it. It’ll just take me a little longer than usual.”

  When she finally reached the door, he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He took the keys from her hand. Unlocking the door, and pushing it open, he assisted her to the couch. He looked around her home and made sure all the rooms were empty. Then he handed her the cordless phone with a look in his eye that said, ‘Call Bruce.’ Before he left he asked, “Is there anything else I can get you?”

  “No. Thanks, Cole. I appreciate it.”

  As an afterthought, Cole asked, “Do you mind if I ask a question before I leave?”

  “No, go ahead.”

  “How did you find me? I mean I was looking for you, and then all of the sudden you were just outside the patrol car window, like magic.”

  Elizabeth laughed. “Oh, it wasn’t magic. It was divine intervention. God knew I needed help, and He sent it to me.”