Excerpt of Tidal Falls by Jacquie Biggar

"Sara Sheridan waited with nervous anticipation, and when
her husband turned away to network with the senator and
his
wife, she made her move. Excusing herself from her half-
hearted discussion on the state of the economy with old
Judge Perkins, she edged out of the dining room and
hurried
down the dimly lit hallway, ignoring the condescending
stares from Tom’s ancestors lining the walls in their
expensive frames.

Knees quaking now she’d in fact committed to her plan,
Sara
slid the key borrowed from his nightstand into the lock,
entered his office and pulled the heavy oak door closed.
Flipping on the lights she froze as his mahogany desk
loomed out of the darkness. Forcing her stiff limbs to
move
across the room, the pungent scent of his tobacco
violated
her nostrils. She wanted nothing more than to run, fast
and
far. But couldn’t, not yet. Rolling his heavy leather
chair
out of the way, she slid her fingers across the keypad to
wake his computer. Password protected, she’d expected
that.
Pulling a list from her pocket, she started at the top,
working her way down.

Nothing. Please, please, plea…

The screen changed, signaling success.

Yes.

Her eyes slid shut in a brief moment of gratitude.
Knowing
she had to hurry Sara grasped the thumb drive Fiona had
smuggled in to her and plugged it in. A quick search
brought no results.

Now what?

Frustrated, she entered random words from the password
list.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Crap.

Covert stuff wasn’t her forte. Sweaty hand sticky on the
mouse, her ragged breathing loud in the otherwise silent
room, she keyed in one last word.

Phoenix.

The screen switched and a list of names, dates and times
appeared. She’d done it. Excitement skittered up her
spine.
The download took the longest minute of her life. When it
was done she shut everything down, replaced his chair and
turned to leave. Then a muffled thud out in the hall just
about stopped her heart. She wasted precious seconds
staring at the closed door wishing herself invisible,
before frantically searching for a place to hide. There
were heavy velvet drapes covering the windows, they’d
have
to do. Praying her dust allergies wouldn’t give her away,
she hid between the folds, clenching the edges of the
fabric in her hands. Kicking herself seven ways to Sunday
for leaving the key in the outer lock, she held her
breath
when the door opened, praying it wasn’t Tom.

It wasn’t. Belinda, Jessica’s nanny, entered and
sauntered
across to the leather sofa along the opposite wall.

What is she doing?

Searching among the pillows she smiled in triumph,
pulling
a pink bit of nothing from between the plump cushions.
She
was just pushing the material into the cleavage of her
skin-tight dress when Sara’s worst nightmare came true,
Tom
snarled from the open doorway.

“What are you doing in here? I told you to go upstairs
and
find my wife. Our guests are preparing to leave.” He
stomped across the room and snatched Belinda up by the
arm,
jerking her against his chest. “What are you hiding?”
Pushing her hand away he shoved his fingers down the
front
of her dress and withdrew the scrap of cloth still
peeking
from between her breasts.

“Tom, please. I only wanted to find those before the
staff
or your wife found them. Let me go. You need to get back
to
the party. Everyone will be looking for you.” Though her
voice betrayed her nervousness, she still flirted with
him
through her lashes.

He crushed the silk, giving a sneering laugh as he
bunched
his hand into her blonde hair. “Do you really think I
give
a shit if anyone finds some thong? I’ve told you before
not
to come in here without me. I won’t tell you again.” His
voice was a dark omen in the twilit room. He dropped his
head to hers in a punishing kiss that swiftly changed to
passion when Belinda’s arms and legs wrapped around him
as
if she was riding a stripper pole.

After long minutes that seemed to last forever to Sara,
she
broke away with a sultry laugh and backed through the
open
door, her finger crooking a follow-me message. Tom
hesitated, his gaze scouring the room before he slowly
followed, closing the door behind him.

Sara remained hidden; her heart pounding. Even though
Tom’s
actions had long ago managed to erase any of the tender
feelings they’d ever shared, it hadn’t made this scene
any
less repugnant.

Finally deeming it safe she inched her way back to the
door, pressing her ear against the smooth wood.

Silence.

She turned the brass knob, grateful it slid open and
hurried to her room, her mind already filled with the
next
step of her crazy plan.

Escape.