Innocent Witness by Leona Karr

Author:Leona Karr
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Deanna struggled to deny what he was saying, grateful for the protective circle of his arms as she looked up at him. “Penny’s drawing is responsible for someone trying to poison her?”

His voice was tense. “Nothing else makes sense. Her description might have hit too close to the truth, and the murderer could be desperate enough to stop her from talking any way he can.”

“But how would he know about the drawing unless—”

“Unless somebody told him,” Steve finished. He gently stroked her cheek with his fingertips. “We know that the sheriff was riled up because he thought he was the butt of a joke, and no telling how far the story got spread around.”

“But whoever did this had to have access to this room. I mean, you lock it up before and after each session, don’t you? And there’s no sign of a break-in.”

“Remember the office ransacking? They used a key to get in there. Who has hotel keys?”

“Just Bob and I.” Even as she said his name, her breath caught for an instant. Could Bob be behind all of this? No, it was unthinkable. She had trusted him with too many things since she’d been alone. He’d never let her down, and he’d always shown deep concern for Penny. “There are only two sets of keys, mine and Bob’s.”

“Apparently, not any more.”

“What are we going to do?” It was appalling that some evil person had total access to the entire hotel and could invade her privacy at any time. At that moment her whole world seemed to crumble under her feet, and she trembled with the horror of it all. She tightened her lips and blinked rapidly to hold back a sudden fullness in her eyes.

Steve knew better than to touch her again, but her haunted expression overrode his determination to keep a physical distance between them. He touched her shoulder with a reassuring squeeze, and as she looked up at him, he fought to control an explosive chemistry that fired every masculine cell in his body. He knew that he would have to use every ounce of willpower to keep his feelings for her under control, and the memory of how wonderfully exquisite she had felt in his arms challenged the strength of his determination. “It’s going to be all right,” he promised, speaking softly.

Deanna’s heart quickened as the warmth of his touch on her shoulder sped through her, and she deliberately kept her gaze away from his face, knowing that her eyes and mouth would give away the desire she had to be in his arms again. And if he responded to her longing to be kissed, how could she ever be sure it wasn’t just out of pity or sympathy? Her pride had already been shredded enough. She couldn’t take any more rejection.

Moving away from him she fought to rein in her emotions. Bracing her shoulders, she said evenly, “We need to decide what to do.”

As she avoided his eyes, Steve could tell that she was fighting against a repeat of what had happened between them before.

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