Bishop's Angel by Tory Richards

Chapter 1
     
     
    Angel was sleeping deeply when a sound
penetrated the most delicious of dreams. Brushing it off as Barnie
getting into something he shouldn’t be, she rolled over, punched
her pillow, and willed herself back to sleep. She was halfway there
when another noise snagged her attention again, too loud and
distinctive to be the troublesome cat. She yanked back the covers
and sat up. What was that?
    “Darn it!” she swore under her breath. She
focused her gaze on the alarm clock on the nightstand. Two
o’clock! She’d stayed up late watching Syfy and had only
crawled into bed an hour ago. Barnie appeared at the foot of the
bed and began to rub the side of his face against her big toe. At
the same time she heard another noise from downstairs, and with
growing fear Angel realized that someone else was in the house with
her.
    She was supposed to be alone!
    Alex and Diana were on a two-week-long
cruise in Europe, and she was watching the house and cat-sitting
for them. She swung about and put her feet on the floor. The action
caused Barnie to jump off the bed.
    Meow!
    He began weaving in and around her bare
legs, arching his back for attention, totally oblivious to her
sudden concerns. Angel rose to her feet, wondering what she should
do. She remembered reading an article once, that had recommended
sleeping with your car keys close by so that if someone broke into
your house you could set your car alarm off, and possibly scare the
intruders away. Now she wished she had taken the advice more
seriously.
    Her next thought was that her cell was in
her purse, downstairs. Lord, how could she have been so careless?
Knowing there was no land-line, she would have to make her way down
there and get her cell if she wanted to phone the police. Another,
louder sound coming from the direction of the kitchen decided it
for her. She had to try.
    Meow!
    “Not now, Barnie!” she whispered sharply,
gently shooing the twenty-pound feline away with her foot. Angel
slowly made her way to the bedroom door, and listened at the
threshold. Whoever was downstairs must have thought they were
alone, they weren’t even trying to be quiet. That was good, because
as long as they made noise she would know where they were as she
made her way to her purse.
    She closed the door, shutting Barnie inside
her bedroom, and walked to the top of the stairs. All the lights
were off, but the outside security lights were on and shining
through the sheer curtains on the windows, giving off just enough
light so that she could see the layout of the room below and that
no one was there.
    The noise the intruder was making was
definitely coming from the area of the kitchen. Angel was almost
certain she heard the slam of the fridge door, and then the
distinctive sound of someone opening a can. Are they actually
helping themselves to a beer? She’d brought a six-pack with
her, along with a few other staples to get her through the week.
Diana and Alex had left her food, but there were some things she
couldn’t live without.
    Taking a breath for courage, Angel rushed
down the carpeted steps in her bare feet. She stopped at the bottom
and listened before turning the corner. Her jaw dropped in surprise
when she noticed the kitchen light had been turned on. Talk
about a brazen burglar! She glanced toward the living room,
remembering that her purse was on the floor at the far end of the
sofa. In order to get to it she would have to pass the kitchen
doorway.
    Crap! She darted as close to the
doorway as she could, and then dropped down to her haunches. The
unique sound of the toaster popping up made her gasp. She quickly
covered her mouth, and held her breath. The smell of toast reached
her nostrils. I can’t believe they’ve actually made something to
eat! Who did that when they broke into a house? As they moved
around the kitchen she made her way to the edge of the
doorjamb.
    Curiosity caused her to try and peek around
the edge of the doorjamb and into the kitchen