ALL THE RIGHT MOVES

By

D.A. Wallace

© copyright December 2005, D.A. Wallace

Cover art by Kat Richards, © copyright December 2005

ISBN 1-58608-809-2

New Concepts Publishing

Lake Park, GA 31636

www.newconceptspublishing.com

This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

Chapter 1

Annie kicked back the smothering covers and sat up with a low groan of frustration, running her fingers through her sweat-damp hair. The air conditioner had broken down on her floor, and for the second night in a row she was forced to try and sleep in the stifling Florida heat. September wasn’t the warmest month of the year, but when you were forced to go without air conditioning it seemed unbearable. Well, at least they’d fixed the electricity, again. She supposed it could always be worse.

She glared up at the inoperable ceiling fan, wondering why everything seemed to break down all at once. It was dark in the room except for the soft glow of the moonlight filtering through the motionless lace curtains, allowing her just enough light to see her familiar surroundings.

She sighed heavily, plucking her nightgown away from where it was plastered against her breasts. If she’d been a little less inhibited, she would have slept in the nude, but memories of sleepwalking when she was a child remained with her and were a deep-rooted fear. The last thing she wanted was to give any of her neighbors something to gossip about for the next fifty years.

Help. Help.

She started violently and then calmed herself with a nervous laugh, realizing that it was her pet Mynah, Harold, a comforting knowledge that didn’t stop her heart from missing a beat, all the same.

Help.

“Hush up Harold!” she ordered harshly, running her hands through her tangled hair again and fluffing it against her hot neck. The relief was gratifying but brief.

The cops are here.

In spite of herself Annie felt her lips twitching as she swung her legs over the side of the bed to get to her feet. Thank goodness she lived on the second floor, or she would never have felt safe leaving the place open. She walked to the open balcony doors, pulling the sheers aside, closing her eyes as the faintest of breezes lightly touched her over-warm body.

Help!

“If you don’t quiet down, Harold, I’m going to give you to the cook,” she threatened, tugging at her damp nightgown again. Harold was repeating that particular word because of the cop show they’d watched before going to bed. It was a bad habit of his, picking up phrases and repeating them over and over again until it made her want to pull her hair out.

You need a man.

Annie rolled her eyes. She was not going to get into that conversation with him again. It went nowhere. Moreover, if the neighbors heard her having a discussion about her sex life, or lack of one, with a Mynah bird they’d think she was crazy for sure. Not that the walls were exactly paper thin, but she knew with the air conditioning out other tenants would have their windows and doors open, too. Unfortunately Harold’s voice tended to carry.

You need a…

“Harold!” she warned.

Man.

“That’s it!” Annie turned from the balcony, stomping toward him in the darkness, forgetting about the antique blanket chest she’d purchased the day before. Stumbling over it, she fell heavily to the floor, directly beneath Harold’s perch, which only added to her frustration because it gave him the opportunity to sit there gloating down at her.

“Darn it!” She probably broke her toe, she thought, using the chest to pull herself to her feet. She sank on the edge of the bed to examine the injured digit with her fingers.

Harold’s sorry, sorry, sorry, he chanted in rapid succession.

“You should be, it’s all your fault,” Annie grumbled, rubbing her throbbing toe. It wasn’t broken, thank God, but no thanks to Harold. The thought of banishing him from the bedroom entered her mind, knowing he’d hate that.

Sorry, he repeated almost pitifully, as if sensing the direction of her thoughts.

She knew he wouldn’t cease until she acknowledged him. Honestly, sometimes he was as bad as having a disorderly child around. Of course, Annie’s only experience with that was when her neighbor’s seven-year-old grandson was visiting and he used the corridors as a racetrack.

Sorry.

“Okay, enough, I forgive you,” she lied. “Just be quiet will you? I want to try and go back to sleep.”

Why then, was she limping back to the open balcony doors? She stepped onto the small verandah, moving to the railing that protected her from the two-story drop. Once in a while a mild breeze off the ocean whipped at her ultra-thin nightgown, feeling wonderful against her skin. Tilting her face toward the sky, she let the wind blow through her shoulder-length hair.

Paying a small fortune to live here was definitely worth it. Nothing could replace the calm and serenity she felt living near the ocean, smelling the salty air, and hearing the surf crash against the beach every night. The sound had lulled her to sleep many a time and in her book was better than any glass of brandy or sleeping pill. The screech of the seagulls was somehow soothing as well, although they upset her psychotic bird.

Smiling, Annie couldn’t resist opening her arms to the sky as if offering herself up to the heavens, or some unknown man of her dreams--a lover waiting in the shadows to draw her into the protective shell of his embrace to keep her warm and safe.

* * * *

Marshall Thomas was jogging down the deserted beach when he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye, flashes of something catching the moon light while dancing in the gentle breeze. He halted, glancing up to the second story. The security lights stationed at various locations around the building were enough to give him a fairly good view of the woman standing on her balcony.

Though her face was in the shadows, he could tell she had a knock-out body. She was attired in some white gauzy thing that was molded against her shapely curves. Her slender arms were raised as if in prayer, her colorless hair gently dancing around her face and neck. She appeared to be an angel in the moonlight, offering herself to the heavens. She moved, turning sideways, and Marshall sucked in his breath. The filmy thing she was wearing must be as thin as tissue paper. He could see clear through it, the way the light of the moon filtered through it like the translucent wings of a delicate butterfly.

He couldn’t help but appreciate the outline of her breasts and the way they tilted upward slightly. He could see the flatness of her belly and the curve of her hip before the rounded shape of her buttocks snagged his attention. Unexpected awareness stirred his blood, making him warm and uncomfortable.

He knew he should look away but didn’t have the strength. It had been a damn long time since he’d seen anything so mouth watering or tempting. Maybe that was because he hadn’t taken the time to notice those things in a woman lately--not since he’d called it quits with Michelle. Beautiful, alluring, two-timing Michelle. If he’d been paying attention with his brain instead of another part of his body, he would have found that out much earlier in their relationship instead of wasting nine months.

He had no one to blame but himself, although at the time he’d wanted to blame the bearer of bad news, his partner. Thank God Jim hadn’t pressed charges after he’d decked him. Marshall guessed that kind of privilege came with the friendship territory. He and Jim had exchanged a blow or two over the years because of a woman and not always one they both wanted.

The woman moved again, pulling his attention back to her. He watched her stiffen slightly and wondered if she’d spotted him. He hoped he blended in with one of the many palms and other landscaping plants that lined the beaches close to the numerous high-rise buildings. She appeared to be staring down in his direction, but after a few seconds he realized she was really staring out at something on the water.

Marshall automatically turned toward the ocean but didn’t see anything other than a few small lights on boats. The blackness of the water went on endlessly and the full moon’s reflection on the gentle waves made it appear gigantic. Seagulls screeched overhead, taking turns as they dived for their dinner, sometimes fighting over a small scrap of food.

When he turned back toward the balcony his enchantress had disappeared inside. Disappointment washed over him, but he reminded himself he didn’t have time to waste staring at something he couldn’t have anyway. He had a rendezvous to make, and besides, he’d probably never see her again.

The ringing of the phone drew Annie reluctantly back inside her bedroom. Who in the world would be calling her at this ungodly hour? Her eyes automatically sought out the time on her alarm clock. If she had family, a call at two o’clock in the morning would definitely be cause for concern.

She fell across her bed reaching for the receiver on the nightstand. “Hello?” She waited a few seconds before trying again. “Hello?” She could hear breathing at the other end so knew someone was there. Probably kids playing with the phone again, a problem that seemed to be an ongoing weekend event.

“I know someone’s there,” she said calmly into the receiver. She’d count to ten and if they didn’t answer she’d hang up. She no sooner did that than it rang again. “Hello?” she said with irritation in her tone, her brows drawn together in a frown. “Look, whoever you are....”

“Dr. McCall, please don’t hang up again! I need your help!”

Annie hesitated from hanging up, bringing the phone back to her ear when she heard the sound of desperation in the caller’s voice. “Who is this?” she inquired. “Are you a patient of mine?”

“Yes!” The voice lowered an octave until she had to strain to hear. “I need to see you, it’s important!”

She struggled to recognize the voice, but at this point she couldn’t even tell what sex they were. “If you call my office on Monday....”

“No! That’s too late. Please, I need to see you now!” the caller insisted in a tone bordering on panic.

As a psychiatrist, Annie didn’t mind giving out her home phone number to her patients, making it a rule to always be available for them if they needed to talk, but she’d always drawn the line at making any unscheduled, off-hours house calls. That could be extremely dangerous. “I’m sorry, you’ll need to....”

“Please! It’s a matter of life and death!”

Annie got the impression from the hushed tone he was afraid of being overheard. For the first time the hair at the back of her neck stood up and a shiver ran down her spine. Maybe if she knew who it was… “Who are you?”

“It’s too dangerous! They might be bugging your lines! Please, can you just meet me somewhere?”

They might be bugging her lines? Really, why would anyone be interested in bugging her phone? Yet Annie couldn’t dismiss the terror revealed in the voice. And he had said it was a matter of life and death. Still, she’d be a fool to go out at this time in the morning to meet with someone she wasn’t even sure was a patient of hers.

“If you can’t tell me your name, I need some kind of proof you’re a patient of mine before I meet with you.” She wasn’t that stupid!

The caller didn't answer and as the silence stretched on Annie began to get that uncomfortable feeling again, like maybe she should just hang up. Nevertheless, she found she couldn’t. If he needed her help she just couldn’t turn her back on him. She’d become a doctor to help people.

Finally the silence was broken. “Martin Strong,” he rushed out.

Martin Strong? He was a patient of hers but Annie didn’t for one minute believe the voice on the other end of the phone belonged to him. Martin’s thick, nasal-sounding tone always made her think he was suffering from a cold or allergies. Maybe this was a friend making the call for him. She exhaled a heavy sigh, running her hand through her shoulder-length hair as she thought about what to do.

She couldn’t believe she was going to do it. “Where?” Crawling into a sitting position, she opened the nightstand drawer for pen and paper.

“Your office!”

“My....” He hung up. Annie jerked the phone away from her ear and looked at it as though it was something foreign, before replacing it in the cradle. Her office? If he wanted her to meet him there anyway, why couldn’t he have at least waited until daybreak? Warning bells went off but she brushed them aside.

She was use to dealing with all types and she was always eager to help. It was a commitment she’d made the day she began private practice and one she hadn’t backed out of yet. She jumped from her bed and headed for the closet.

Work time.

“Afraid so.” She reached for the closet light, grabbing the first pair of jeans she saw. Tomorrow was the beginning of her weekend. There was no reason to dress professionally for an unscheduled appointment that was probably only going to take five minutes. After struggling into her old, faded blue jeans, she pulled a white cashmere sweater off the hanger and slipped it over her head, not bothering to tuck it in where it fell at her waist.

A quick trip to the bathroom to splash some cool water on her face and run a brush through her hair and she was as good as she was going to get for two o’clock in the morning. She grabbed her keys from the table next to the front door and reset the alarm on her way out.

Annie’s office was close enough to walk to and she did so often, but not at this time of the morning. She went to the underground garage where she kept her sporty, compact car, not surprised to find the garage attendant fast asleep at his desk. Smiling, she cleared her throat and tapped lightly on the glass door, knowing Mr. Jones kept it locked from the inside. She could have just gone to her car and taken off, but Annie knew he liked being notified when someone was on the way out.

She knocked on the glass again. “Mr. Jones,” she called out loud enough for him to hear her. The old man’s head jerked up and he slammed his feet to the ground, focusing his eyes on the small TV mounted on the wall until he realized it was her and not the TV that woke him. He looked at his watch, then back at her.

Annie offered him an apologetic smile. “Sorry to disturb you, Mr. Jones. I’m on my way out.”

He hobbled over and opened the door. “At this time of morning?”

She heard the concern in his old, cracked voice. Reminding him she was a thirty-year-old doctor would be a waste of time. She’d tried that once and had gotten an earful about the perils of life, beyond the parking garage. She doubted she’d ever be anything more than just a youngster in his seventy-year-old eyes.

“I’m meeting a patient at my office. I won’t be long.” She beamed at him, before turning and continuing to her car.

Ten minutes later Annie arrived at her office building, pulling into the darkened parking lot with apprehension. That was strange, she wondered why the lights were out. She parked in her usual spot, looking around nervously before turning off the engine. Not another car in sight, was her patient not there yet?

She contemplated waiting in her car but thought better of it. What if he was trying to call her in her office to tell her he changed his mind? It wouldn’t be the first time. The lights were off for a reason, probably due to the storm earlier in the evening. That was it--a power failure. She realized she was being silly and opened her car door.

She used the dome light to look for her office key, aware she wouldn’t be able to see it once she was at the door. Her office was actually inside another office, but once she was inside she’d be able to turn on the lights. She hoped. Just in case she grabbed a flashlight from her glove box.

The sound of her heels tapping against the hard concrete seemed overly loud in her ears and Annie felt the hairs at the back of her neck rise. She held her breath as she dashed the rest of the way to the door, fumbling with the lock, only to gasp with shock when the door pushed open. Her eyes darted around with apprehension, straining to see if anything out of the ordinary moved in the darkness.

Once she was inside she slammed the door behind her and flattened her back against it, not realizing until then how truly frightened she was. As she struggled to bring her breathing under control she reached behind her with the intention of turning the lock. And that’s when she felt the rough, splintered wood beneath her palm, indicating someone had broken in. She knew then and there she should turn around and get out, but what if the person who’d called her was inside, injured in some way? She couldn’t in good conscience ignore that possibility. Instead, she slid her hand up the wall to the light switch.

Nothing.

“Great!” she mumbled harshly, the corners of her mouth turning down. Was she going to get a break tonight? She flicked on her flashlight, and the beam of light landed across the room on the water cooler. It wasn’t a big light but it was better than nothing.

She made her way to her office door, pausing at it to glance down at the keys in her hand. As she fumbled to hold onto the flashlight and locate the right key, her door slowly squeaked open an inch.

Annie froze, her heart in her throat. Not once in the three years she’d been there had she ever forgotten to lock her office door before leaving at the end of the day. The cleaning crew didn’t even have a key. She chose to clean it herself because of the nature of her business and the personal records kept on file.

Realizing she was holding her breath, she slowly took in air, her eyes rounding with uneasiness. Her first thought was to call out to see if anyone was there but realized that would be a stupid thing to do. What if someone had broken into her office too? She curled her hand around the doorknob and opened the door further, shining the light directly in front of her.

Pictures were knocked off the wall, desk drawers were open, and papers strewn everywhere. The phone was off the hook and buzzing loudly, but before she could comprehend the significance of that she noticed her file cabinet drawers were open and rushed towards it.

“Oh, no!” She gasped with alarm.

She tripped and fell to the floor, letting out a startled cry as she went down, the flashlight flying from her hand to roll beneath her desk. For a second she lay there stunned, watching the beam of light bounce off the walls as it twirled around and around on the floor until finally coming to a stop.

At least she was alone in her office. That alone should have calmed her fears but didn’t change the fact that someone had vandalized the place. She crawled to her desk and reached under it for the light, and that’s when she saw the body. The ray of light shone directly on his lifeless form.

It was Martin Strong.

She clamped her hand across her mouth to stifle the scream that rose in her throat. He had to be dead, just sitting against the wall with that open-eyed stare. His frozen expression reminding her of the figures she’d seen in a wax museum once, as a school girl on a field trip, only he wasn’t wearing a sign on his chest telling her what historic character he represented. Instead he had a hole in his chest the size of a marble.

She had to get out of there and call the police. Grabbing the flashlight, she jumped to her feet and ran to the outer door. She opened it and came face to face with a tall, dark form. She screamed, trying to slam the door in his face, but with one shove the man sent it flying back against the wall and Annie with it.

He was upon her in a flash. Screaming, she raised her flashlight to use as a club. It was chopped viciously from her hand, flew across the room, and slammed against the wall. Annie turned, heading for the exit door at the back of the building, but realized she was trapped. He blocked her only avenue of escape.

She heard the man’s breathing close behind her and knew he was upon her an instant before his hand close on her shoulder. Twisting free, she released a string of ear piercing screams to scare him away, grabbing things off nearby desks to use as weapons. But he was much too big and strong and the items she threw recklessly at him bounced off his body with little effect. He grabbed her and swung her around.

“No!” she shrieked, trying to break away. The classes she’d taken in self-defense came rushing back, and she raised her arm to deliver a chop to his throat. He expertly intercepted it, causing her hand to bounce harmlessly off hard biceps. Swearing, she raised her knee, aiming for his groin.

The man twisted the lower half of his body, letting out a vicious curse when her knee came in jarring contact with the inside of his muscular thigh, just missing vital parts. His hands were everywhere in an attempt to subdue her.

Adrenaline pumped through Annie and a mixture of fear and anger gave her unusual strength. She knew she could very well be fighting with the murderer and didn’t stop to consider what she was doing when she picked up a letter opener. She raised it threateningly.

“Oh, no you don’t!” his deep voice rasped, full of anger and slightly out of breath. His fingers curled around her wrist and for a brief second they struggled together until the weapon was wrenched out of her hand and tossed aside. She heard it hit the floor.

“Damn it!” This time she was the one doing the swearing. With super-human strength she broke away from him, changing tactics and running for the open front door. She barely took two steps when she was tackled from behind. Losing her balance, she landed with a frustrated shriek, hitting the floor hard. And even though the breath had been knocked out of her, she found the strength to turn on her backside and raise her legs, kicking out at him in the hope of catching him with the pointed tips of her heels.

His grunt of pain gave her little satisfaction. The man threw himself on top of Annie, pinning her down with his superior weight. She screamed, tangling her fingers in his hair and trying to hurt him any way she could.

“Damn it, stop!” his voice boomed above her.

She ignored him, raking her nails down the side of his face instead. The sound of something ripping split the air, spurring her on all the more. Was he going to rape her first and then kill her? God help her! She couldn’t fend him off much longer; her strength was sapped. Before she had a chance to draw another breath, she found her wrists seized and slammed against the floor above her head, his body crushing hers against the unyielding floor.

“Please don’t hurt me!” Annie knew she was begging, but under the circumstances figured she had nothing to lose. Especially if he’d killed Martin Strong.

She could barely breathe and the man pinning her down seemed to be having the same problem. His warm breath slapped her in the face, his heaving chest was smashing her breasts. At least his hands weren’t roaming.

“Please....” She’d decided to try again. “I’ll give you whatever you want!” Well, not quite everything, but she figured at a time like this it was okay to lie.

“You don’t have anything I want,” he rasped. He hauled Annie roughly to her feet, dragging her arms behind her back where he locked her wrists together with one of his much larger hands. “But if you keep fighting me, I’m not making any promises about not hurting you.”

He pulled her with him to where the flashlight had landed and while holding her against him, bent and snatched it from the floor. “I just want to know what the hell is going on around here.” He started to shine the beam of light around the room, searching for God knows what.

It began to dawn on Annie that maybe he wasn’t the killer after all. Perhaps he was with the Security Company that took care of the building complex. Or, worst case scenario, he’d just been driving by and noticed a strange light flashing around the office and stopped to investigate, sticking his nose in something that was none of his business. Maybe he was an off duty police officer…

“Are you going to answer me?” the man growled.

“I have nothing..."

He snorted, dragging her around the room with him. “Nothing? You sure put up one hell of a fight over nothing.”

“You frightened me,” she said, her eyes darting to her office door and praying he didn’t insist on checking it out. She tried to will her body under control but her heart was pounding like a jackhammer inside her chest. “Are you with security?”

“You might say that.”

Annie started to drag her feet when he headed straight for her office. If he noticed, he didn’t say anything, but continued pushing her ahead of him in that direction. When they reached the threshold, she actually leaned against him in an unconscious effort to keep him from entering the room.

“Please....” She couldn’t get the words out. The thought of Martin Strong on the floor on the other side of her desk made her stomach churn. “I can’t go back in there!” She struggled to break the hold he had on her wrist. He was too big and strong to win against in a struggle, but if she could manage to pull away speed might be on her side.

“Why not?” He pushed her further into the room. “What are you hiding?”

“Nothing....”

He gave a dissatisfied grunt. “Let me be the judge of that. Something’s going on and I intend to find out what it is.”

Helplessly, Annie watched as he shined the flashlight around the small office until the beam landed on a pair of shoes. Her heart sank. The more he pushed her into the room the more she strained against his unyielding form. He halted when they were close enough to see Martin’s body slumped against the wall, the beam of light zeroing in on the nice neat bullet hole in his chest.

“Damn....” he whispered against her ear as they stood above Martin.

Unbelievably Annie felt his hold around her wrist begin to relax. She took advantage of his momentary lapse and slammed her heel down on top of his foot. He swore a blue streak when she pulled away from him. She heard the flashlight drop to the floor, and it was over before it began. He caught up to her at her office doorway. She let out a blood-curdling scream when his hand tangled in her hair, before she was hauled back into his arms.

He slammed her against the wall and pinned her there with his body. Breathing hard, he took a moment to catch his breath. “No wonder you were in a such hurry to get out of here,” he rasped, close to her face. “Who’s the stiff, honey?”

“You don’t understand!” Annie cried out desperately. She strained against his hold. “I was going for the police.” She had to make him understand.

“Yeah right, and I’m Santa Clause. That’s why you were running away....”

“You scared me! I thought you were the killer!” She arched her body in a pitiful attempt to push him off her. He grabbed her arms and pinned them to the wall above her head, his movements rough enough to reveal he was growing tired of her persistent struggles. She felt every sinew of his powerful body against her. He was built like a mountain, everything about him hard as granite.

“You’re hurting me!” she gasped in outrage, raising her knee in an attempt to hurt him any way she could.

He transferred both her wrists to one hand and his other dropped down to her thigh to hold it in place. “I wouldn’t advise it! That’s twice you’ve aimed for that particular spot, and I’m getting damned tired of having to worry about it.”

“Then I suggest you let me go!” Annie ignored the anger in his voice. If she was going to die it wouldn’t be without a fight.

“Who the hell are you, lady?” He gave her a little shake. “That’s a stiff over there and until I get to the bottom of this you aren’t going anywhere.”

Annie began to tremble violently as reaction to her predicament finally set in. Her weak struggles were useless. He didn’t hesitate using his body and hands in whatever manner it took to subdue her. There was nothing sexual about anything he was doing to her though she couldn’t help but be aware of the sculptured muscles crushing her breasts, and his masculine scent. Something spicy yet mild, blending well with his body chemistry.

Stirring her senses.

She accepted the fact she couldn’t win against him, but the awareness zinging through her was betrayal of the worst kind. “This is my office.” The silence that followed was unnerving. Annie wondered if he believed her.

“And you are?” His hard voice was laced with mistrust.

“Doctor Annie McCall,” she said quietly, relaxing against him. What else could she do?

The lights flickered on and for the first time their eyes met. She caught her breath, meeting the fierce glare in his dark, sensual eyes. He made her think of as wild animal, lying in wait for his prey. No, his mate. She felt her heart beat flutter wildly in her throat.

A strong premonition washed over Annie that her life was about to change.