Officer in Pursuit Read Online Free Page A

their other friend, though the question was obviously more one
of courtesy than a serious invitation.
    Predictably, Sasha shook her head. “I
might do some wading in a little bit, but you know I’m not much of
a swimmer.”
    Sasha always seemed to prefer the sun
and the sand. Whenever anyone asked her why, she just said she
liked it hot and laughed. Looking glamourous in her high-waisted,
curve-showcasing red bikini, she reclined on a towel, not a single
drop of sweat visible on her face.
    Henry seemed content to watch her show
off – he stayed by her side, said he might get in later. One of his
hands was closed around one of Sasha’s, and the diamond-studded
curve of her engagement ring glittered from between their entwined
fingers. Kerry’s gaze lingered on their hands, and she felt a pang
of something.
    Several somethings, actually:
happiness for her friends and a stab of wistfulness for herself –
one that delved deep into memory, hitting her where it hurt, and
polluted her feelings with an old sense of bitterness, edged with
fear.
    It shouldn’t hurt to see a diamond
shining on her best friend’s hand, but it did. Hurt because as
wonderful as it was, it was also a reminder of her own foolish
mistakes, of what she’d never have.
    She didn’t want to think about those
things. She’d come to the North Carolina coast to get away from
them. And so she pushed those feelings away – hard – as she
strolled toward the water. When she walked into the waves, the cool
water rushed around her, and she pretended to let it wash her past
away.
    The imaginary baptism made her feel
lighter – or maybe that was just the buoying effect of the
seawater. She went deeper, let her feet rise above the sandy
bottom. Floating, with saltwater weighing down her hair, she felt
oddly free.
    “Watch out!” Alicia’s voice rose high
and sharp above the waves, but it was too late – a spray of
speeding water hit the side of Kerry’s face.
    “Aghgh!” She choked on the water
that’d made it into her mouth, bobbed under briefly as she tried to
blink the salt out of her eyes. When she came up again, she was
staring straight at Grey.
    He looked horrified, except for the
telltale twitch around one corner of his mouth. “Sorry! I was
trying to hit Liam!” He jabbed a finger in his friend’s direction.
“He ducked at the last second.”
    Liam looked vaguely guilty for a
moment, then he raised a hand and hit the water, sending it arcing
toward Grey.
    It was a devastatingly accurate
splash. It hit Grey in the face and soaked his short, dark hair,
making him stumble backward, swearing.
    “Consider yourself avenged, Kerry,”
Liam said.
    Alicia bobbed in the water beside him,
laughing.
    “That’s it.” Grey scrubbed his eyes
with the back of his hand, blinking and trying to glare in Liam’s
direction. “You’re going down.” He turned to Kerry. “Kerry, come
here – I need your help.”
    “What?” She was still blinking salt
water out of her eyes.
    “C’mon, there’s only one way to settle
this: chicken.”
    Visions of sitcom episodes where
characters played chicken in pools avalanched through Kerry’s mind
– those, and visions of Grey. His broad, muscled shoulders and what
it would be like to sit on them, with his head between her
thighs.
    There was no way in hell. Just no
way.
    But Liam was already crouching down
into the water so Alicia could climb onto his shoulders, and she
was laughing, like it was all some fun game.
    Which was exactly what it was supposed
to be, but Kerry couldn’t just hop on top of Grey – after all, who
actually played chicken in real life?
    Grey held out a hand, beckoning her.
“Come on, we can beat them – we’ll avenge you for real.”
    The water was calm, just gentle,
rolling waves that undulated in shades of blue and green. One
lapped against Grey’s shoulder, but he just grinned and shook off
the water, waiting for her to come to him.
    “I’ve never played before,” she