Whisper by Tressie Lockwood Page A

have turned Alec down. After all he couldn’t know that the man she’d loved and was close to marrying had dumped her cold saying he’d fallen for someone else. The lover before that had been in a tragic accident, which took his right leg. After the accident, no matter how supportive she’d been, he drew further away until he didn’t come around at all. The various guys she’d dated around those two weren’t about anything. Sometimes she thought she was cursed, that all relationships with her were doomed to failure. Maybe it was true, and Alec should look out. No, he didn’t want a relationship, so he was safe.
     
    She headed out the door in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. The store wasn’t far, and the street was well-lit. At the corner, she stopped and waited for the light to change. The night might have grown late, but that didn’t slow down city traffic. Everybody had somewhere to be no matter what the time.
     
    “Excuse me, miss, you have the time?” A man had drawn up next to her in his car. Whisper raised an eyebrow. Was he serious? That was the oldest line in the book to start a conversation with a woman. Did he actually think she was going to talk to him this time of night?
     
    “Nope,” she replied and started to go around his vehicle.
     
    “Come on, honey,” he crooned. “Don’t treat me this way. Let’s talk a little.”
     
    “I’m in a hurry.” Her clipped tone didn’t seem to deter him. The man got out of the car and walked around to block her path. Whisper evaluated him. He was small but wiry. Although he didn’t look like someone ready to rob her, that didn’t mean he wasn’t a bad guy. Making the wrong assumption could get her hurt or worse. Still, something told her he was just some idiot desperate for a girlfriend. “Get out of my way.”
     
    “How about this.” He held out his hand. “I’m Kal. I have a job and as you can see a car. What’s your name? Maybe we could—”
     
    A snarl from the shadows caught both their attention. Whisper looked over her shoulder. All she needed to see was the glowing slanted eyes to know it was Alec’s pet. She suppressed a smile and turned back to the guy.
     
    “My boyfriend’s dog”—A dog seemed more of a threat, and she didn’t want to admit the animal was actually a leopard—“I wouldn’t come any closer if I were you. My boyfriend trained him to devour any guys that try to hit on me.”
     
    Another low growl that was a great imitation of a dog if she said so herself did the convincing. The guy jumped back into his car and peeled out of there without looking back. Whisper burst out laughing. “Wow, you come in handy. Sorry about the dog thing, baby.” She threw a kiss toward the spot where the cat had been, but she no longer saw his eyes or him. “You better get back home. I’ll be fine now. Thanks.”
     
    The cat had lightened her mood, and she no longer needed the ice cream, but she went to pick it up anyway. Tomorrow or the next couple of days when she had her date with Alec, she might need it. Whisper didn’t see the leopard, but something told her he wasn’t far. She decided not to tell Alec about his pet protecting her just in case he wasn’t allowed outside on his own, which she was sure he wasn’t. How a wild leopard on the loose didn’t attack people, she didn’t know. The fact that he was smarter than the average cat was obvious, but she still should have her head examined for accepting it.
     
    All was quiet back at the apartment, and Whisper put her ice cream in the freezer and then took herself off to bed. Tomorrow was another day.
     
     

Chapter Six
     
     
     
    Alec rubbed a towel over his wet hair, frowning. What had he been thinking going to Whisper’s apartment? He could admit in the privacy of his own thoughts that he’d longed to see her sooner than the three days she’d given him. He was a fool. Maybe he should cut this one loose before the situation got out of hand. Of course he