Abandoned by Rhonda Pollero

Author:Rhonda Pollero
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2017-06-04T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Emma’s first thought upon seeing the blood-dipped flower was to call Connor. Not just because he was the sheriff, but because having a big, muscled guy with a loaded weapon with her right now would help dispel her nerves. But she rejected that.

First, because she was used to fighting her own damned battles, second because she’d just seen him, and third, she did not want him thinking she was a freaking damsel in distress.

There wasn’t anything he could do, but there was something she could do for herself.

She unlocked the door and discovered the house was quiet. She assumed Jeanine and David were in their respective rooms. Before stepping over the threshold, she plucked the flower off the porch and immediately deposited it in the garbage as she passed through the kitchen.

“Note to self: install video cameras.” The sound of her own voice in the quiet house was comforting as she washed her hands.

She was still keyed up after the party, partly because she was intrigued by the variety of people she’d met and partly because she could still feel the ghost of Conner Kavanaugh’s fingers dancing along her bare back. Emma shivered. Not an I’m cold shiver. Nope, this was primal lust. A distraction and a complication she couldn’t afford.

Maybe the flower person was the same person who’d sent her the clippings. It was a possibility, but a grim one. Emma had thought that once she arrived in Purdue, the anonymous clippings sender might contact her in some fashion. If the blood-dipped flowers constituted contact, she was stumped.

She slipped off her heels and went into her office. She retrieved the news clippings and scanned them again, trying to see if there was any mention of flowers. Nothing. Just like there was no explanation as to how her father had ended up at the presidential rally that night. All she knew was that he had responded to a timeshare invitation in Purdue and had somehow ended up murdering the leader of the free world. She returned the clippings to her briefcase.

Emma opened her laptop and waited the ridiculously long time it took for the relatively new machine to come to life. While it did its thing, she decided to make herself a cup of coffee. She was startled when she turned the corner into the kitchen from the hall and found David in the kitchen.

“You scared me,” she said.

“Sorry.”

“No big deal. I’ll just tie a bell around your neck so I’ll know when you’re around.”

He gave her a small grin. “Why do I think you’d actually do something so whack?” he asked. “And I know I’m supposed to stay upstairs, but my mom hasn’t stocked our fridge yet and I’m hungry.”

“David, you can have the run of the place. Except for my office and my bedroom.”

He shrugged. “How was the party?”

“Long.”

“I’ll bet. When my mother worked for the Burkes she put in some long hours and usually got screwed on her paycheck.”

“I can see Renae stiffing an employee. She seems like a bit of a tight ass.

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