Chapter 51

Claudia threw her purse at him and whirled around, sprinting for the back door. Luckily, her perpetually on-edge brain had taken note of its whereabouts. She heard Tyson running behind her and tried for more speed. Her bare feet easily gripped the floor as she rounded the kitchen and reached for the door. She turned the lock, losing precious seconds, and flung it open. She hurtled into the darkness, heedless of the fact that she was unlikely to get far even if she managed to make it to the car barefoot.

"Oomph!" The air rushed out of her as she ran headlong into the rock solid body of Daniel Mercer. The guy she had vowed never to run into in the dark. So far she was doing a terrible job of taking care of herself.

Daniel didn't even flinch when she hit him full tilt. He simply absorbed her weight, his arms coming down around her, trapping her against his hard body. She squeaked in fear and tried to extricate herself from his punishing grip. He seemed quite determined to hang onto he