Beast of Desire by Jones Lisa Renee

Author:Jones, Lisa Renee [Jones, Lisa Renee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance Speculative Fiction
ISBN: 9780373617838
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2008-03-01T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

J essica stood behind her desk, the stain stick she kept in her drawer at hand, but there was no hope. Her dress looked as bad as she felt. She’d already been upset over Des’s aloof treatment, but now she was downright near tears. Tears, good grief. That would make twice in a week. She tossed the stick back in her drawer and headed back to the hallway, disgusted with herself for falling apart. Who knew if she would have reacted so intensely to Des, or any of this, if her mother’s absence weren’t such a predominant theme to the evening. Yes, they were honoring her mother, but in death rather than in life. She eyed the end of the hallway, the double doors leading to the secure area where the journal was being guarded. Despite her grief, pride welled inside her. Soon, it would be on the main floor, a vision for all to see.

Halfway to the elevator, she passed an office and heard a noise—

whispering, she thought. A shiver raced down her spine, a premonition of trouble.

“Where is your other shoe?”

Fear slid away, anger in its place. So much for Greg’s great catering company. A sexcapade during a high-security event was outrageously inappropriate. She shoved open the door, intending to blast the couple inside, finding herself a bit shell-shocked at what she saw.

Greg was in the room with another man who had discarded his pants but still wore the caterer’s white-shirt-and-tie ensemble. “What’s going on here?” she demanded, not sure what she had walked into, but quite certain it was far more than she’d expected.

“How about some privacy?” Greg demanded, moving in front of the other man as if protecting his lover.

Jessica eyed the clothes on the floor again, her heart pounding in her ears. Something was so not right here. “Sorry,” she said, easing backward, trying to act embarrassed when she was freaking-out scared.

The stairwell doors burst open and Des appeared. “Jessica.”

One look at his face and she could see the edginess, the tension.

“Des?”

He started walking, long strides closing the distance between them quickly. The urgency she felt in him further ignited her own. She yanked the door shut on Greg and the other man, and rushed to meet Des halfway, a feeling of being chased pressing her onward.

“Hold it right there.”

Greg’s voice alone wouldn’t have stopped her from her destination, but the sound of a gun being cocked brought Jessica to a dead halt.

“Turn around, Jessica,” Greg said. “Nice and slow, and don’t even think about making a sound. Right now, even as we speak, a sniper is in the crowd, ready to target your father. One word from me, and the trigger goes off.”

Jessica’s eyes locked with Des’s and somehow his presence offered a sense of security, despite the gun at her back. “Do as he says,”

Des whispered.

Drawing a deep breath, she desperately tried to quell the rage racing through her. Slowly she rotated, staring down the barrel of a gun. This couldn’t be happening.

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