Deadly Devotion by Sandra Orchard

Author:Sandra Orchard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC022040, FIC042060, Female friendship—Fiction, Herbalists—Crimes against—Fiction, Suicide—Fiction
ISBN: 9781441241832
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2013-04-22T04:00:00+00:00

14

Kate had a sweetness about her that could make a man dream. And dreaming was dangerous. Except . . .

Tom propped a foot on his desk and sipped his coffee as the Tuesday morning shift trickled in. His dreams the past few nights—filled with images of strolling through the park with Kate, sharing meals, laughing, teasing—hadn’t felt dangerous.

Nothing like the nightmares he’d been facing down since his partner’s death. Kate made him believe that he could still make a difference working in law enforcement.

She probably didn’t have a clue about the feelings she’d sowed in his heart with that green thumb of hers, especially since he’d implied more than once over the weekend that his motive for spending so much time with her was to keep her out of trouble.

So far nothing about coming home had worked out the way he’d expected. For more than two months, he’d tried to convince Dad to attend church again. Yet Dad had accepted Kate’s invitation without a second’s hesitation.

Tom closed his eyes and revisited the memory. Kate’s sweet singing voice and the radiance on her face during the worship service had reawakened his own yearning to draw nearer to God—something he’d hoped leaving the FBI and returning home would make easy for him. But Kate’s joy and the exuberance with which she’d discussed the pastor’s message had underscored just how far off course he’d wandered.

The computer beeped, prompting him for his password.

Giving his head a little shake, Tom opened his eyes. Yup, dreaming was dangerous business. He’d begun to think that he and Kate could have a future. That she might be someone he could believe in.

After his partner’s betrayal, that wasn’t something he’d ever thought he’d do again.

“Tom.” Officer Hutchinson, the youngest rookie on the force—a lanky kid who looked like he’d started shaving last week—planted himself in front of Tom’s desk. “The chief wants to see you in his office.”

Not good. In the past week, Hank had gone from bringing him coffee and resting his feet on the corner of Tom’s desk while they rehashed old times to sending rookies to summon him to the office. Tom grabbed the three files he’d been working on since Hank’s ultimatum, in case he expected proof.

When Tom stepped into the office, Hank’s scowl warned him that this week wouldn’t be an improvement on the last. “Shut the door.” Hank twisted the window blinds closed, cutting off the one source of brightness in the room. “I just got off the phone with Dave McCleary.”

Hank’s pronouncement mimicked the rapid-fire staccato of an automatic assault rifle, and Tom knew better than to return fire. He searched Hank’s face. Maybe the man hadn’t completely dropped the case. If he was calling Leacock’s lawyer, he must harbor at least some suspicions. “That so?”

“Yup. Little Miss Loyal Friend is getting greedy.”

“Excuse me?”

“Kate Adams. She’s blinded you with a few flutters of her eyelashes.”

Tom folded his arms over his chest as if Hank might notice the way his heart kicked at the suggestion.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.