Protecting the Innocent by Cassie Miles

Author:Cassie Miles
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2004-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Anya woke with a start. Blinking, she peered into the shadows of the unfamiliar bedroom—a huge, open space that was plush and luxurious. Roman’s bedroom.

Thoughts pieced together like an emotional mosaic in her mind. Sorrow. Rage. Frustration.

She’d been crying. Her eyes still stung from the nearly hysterical outpouring of tears. Jeremy had been murdered. Damn the Legate Corporation and all it stood for…except Roman. He worked for the CIA. It all seemed impossible and unreal.

“Roman?” She spoke into the darkness. “Are you here?”

There was a rustling from across the room. He said, “Computer, morning light.”

A gradual pinkish glow flushed two walls of the bedroom. Subtle sounds accompanied the illusion of daybreak. She heard the soft whisper of wind through conifers and the quiet chirping of sparrows. It was like sunrise in the mountains. If only she were back in Denver and none of this had ever happened. If only she hadn’t come to Legate.

“What time is it?” she asked.

He mumbled, “Computer, time.”

The sultry computer voice answered, “Eleven thirty-seven.”

Though Anya had only slept for a couple of hours, Anya felt somehow refreshed as though she’d been cleansed by finally knowing the truth. The violent storm of discovery had passed. She knew the worst and now had to deal with the aftermath.

“How are you feeling?” Roman asked as he approached the bed.

“Better.”

She was well enough to notice that he wore only silky black pajama bottoms and an open robe—kind of a Ninja-looking outfit. Under the sheets, she was still fully clothed, except for her shoes.

He stood at the end of the bed. “Can I bring you anything?”

“A new life?” Somewhere in the back of her mind, she’d always suspected that her husband’s death wasn’t an accident. “I’m glad I know the real story.”

“The truth is dangerous,” he said. “Remember, Anya. You can’t tell anyone.”

“You said that before, and I still don’t understand why I can’t say anything. At the very least, I should talk to the police.”

“The same police who said the explosion was an accident?”

He had a point. If the police had been duped before into believing that the explosion was an accident, they had no reason to listen to her. “There must be somebody I can go to. Slater can’t get away with murder.”

“He’s a vindictive bastard. Don’t even think about threatening him.”

“Can I think about shoving him off a cliff? Mowing him down with an AK-47?”

“Such nasty fantasies from such a beautiful woman.” He sat on the bed beside her. “Are you ready for another dose of truth?”

She groaned. Normally, she didn’t wake up quickly no matter how many stereophonic birds were twittering. “I don’t want to hear any more bad news, not until I’ve had coffee.”

“Computer, coffee,” he said.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Not at all. The computer is electronically connected to everything in this room. She sends a signal over to the coffeemaker in the wet bar.”

“No wonder you’ve never married,” she said. “All the basic needs are taken care of by a computer.”

“Not all my needs,” he said.

His eyes were hot.

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