Love Inspired Suspense April 2015 #1 by Terri Reed, Becky Avella, Dana R. Lynn Page A

shiver of apprehension made her quake in her pumps.
    The dog’s nose lifted as if he caught a whiff of something, then he took off with a bark, racing toward a maintenance shed at the back of the building.
    Adam jumped to his feet and hurried after his partner. Lana ran to keep up. The dog skidded to a halt in front of the shed, his body stretched as if pointing to the door. His low, guttural growls raised the hair on Lana’s nape.
    Adam put out a hand. “Stand back.”
    Swallowing the fear rising up to choke her, she moved a few paces away. Her heart beat in her ears. She tensed.
    Adam reached for the door of the shed with one hand, his other hand on his holstered weapon.
    The door of the shed burst open, and a man wearing jeans and a hoodie covering his head and obscuring his face barreled into Adam, knocking him aside before taking off at a fast run through the parking lot for the busy street beyond.
    Adam and Ace chased after the assailant. Ace leaped in the air and grabbed the sleeve of the man’s jacket. For a second the assailant slowed, then jerked his arm, the soft material of the jacket ripping off. The man sped away. Ace chased after with a mouthful of his jacket.
    Lana held her breath as the guy darted into traffic, dodging cars like a football player avoiding a tackle.
    With horror, Lana saw a bus roaring down the lane. Terrified that Ace would be hit, she screamed, “Ace, no!”
    Adam came to an abrupt halt at the curb and brought Ace to heel, in the nick of time as the bus roared past them with a blaring horn.
    The assailant disappeared down the street.
    Wrapping her arms around herself, Lana met Adam and Ace halfway across the parking lot. She couldn’t stop shaking.
    â€œDid you see his face?” Adam asked. He had the torn piece of material in an evidence bag.
    â€œNo, you?”
    He shook his head.
    â€œDo you think he could have been the same man that assaulted me at the museum?” She hated how vulnerable she felt as they made their way back to her apartment building.
    â€œDon’t know,” Adam said. “Not sure what he was doing in the maintenance shed.”
    She bit the inside of her lip, then admitted, “My ex-husband, Mark, once discovered a way inside the building posing as a maintenance guy. I found him waiting outside my door one night when I’d returned from work. The police had to forcibly remove him.” A very embarrassing situation because her reputation, her dignity, had been tarnished in the eyes of the other tenants.
    Adam held the door open for her. “Could that have been Mark?”
    â€œNo. Mark has a slighter frame.” After having lived with the man for most of her adult life, she would have recognized him, wouldn’t she?
    Maurice, the senior doorman, waved as they approached the reception desk.
    â€œHave you seen anyone suspicious, someone who doesn’t belong in the building, lurking about?” Adam asked Maurice.
    â€œNo, sir.” Maurice scratched his head and glanced at Lana. “Is there a problem?”
    â€œYou monitor everyone who comes and goes?” Adam asked, ignoring the doorman’s question.
    â€œThat I do.”
    â€œGood.” Adam nudged Lana toward the bank of elevators.
    Stepping into the elevator, she couldn’t help but notice how wide Adam’s shoulders were—he took up more than his fair share of the space and his musky aftershave swirled around her, teasing her senses to high alert.
    Surreptitiously, she studied his face in the reflection of the silver metal door. She liked the angles and planes, the strong jawline that folded into a dimpled chin. Full lips, straight nose and intense eyes that stared back at her with an equal amount of interest. A flush of embarrassment crept up her neck.
    Quickly she dropped her gaze to Ace. He sat perfectly still, like a statue next to his handler. The pair made an intimidating picture.
    When the doors opened on her