Silent Awakening by Elaine Barbieri

Author:Elaine Barbieri [Barbieri, Elaine]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Suspense
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-01-31T12:43:58+00:00

NATALIE WAITED ANXIOUSLY for the elevator door to open. She glanced at Officer Clark where he stood beside her and smiled. The afternoon had stretched tediously onward after Brady left the cafeteria. Actually, she wasn’t quite sure what had happened. It could have been Chuck’s comments about the lack of progress on the case that had started everything rolling. Or maybe it was the change she had sensed in Brady since they had parted that morning. Whatever, she’d had the feeling Brady was assessing her in some way and that she had come up short.

The elevator opened and Natalie stepped out of the car and started toward the door where Officer Flynn was waiting. She heard the relief in Officer Clark’s voice when he officially turned his watch over to the younger policeman and allowed her to enter the apartment.

Natalie was never quite certain who would be guarding her door, considering that NYPD personnel seemed to change on a day-to-day basis. Brady and his partner were the only constants. She wondered how she could have made it without him.

Natalie turned the key in the lock, pushed the apartment door open and walked inside. A sound from within the apartment halted her thoughts abruptly, and fear shot up her spine. She called out sharply as she took a backward step, “Who is it? Who’s there?”

“It’s me. I’m in the bedroom.”

Brady.

Her heartbeat gradually returning to normal, Natalie started toward the sound of his voice. Her smile froze on her face when she reached the bedroom doorway. Brady was in his shirtsleeves, his tie hanging loosely askew as he packed the small suitcase he had brought with him a few weeks earlier.

In answer to her unasked question, Brady said emotionlessly, “I’ve been taken off the case, Natalie. Wilthauer assigned the case to a new team. He figures a fresh outlook might start things moving again.”

“What do you mean? That’s crazy!”

Brady looked up at her and shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s right. Maybe it’s time to get some new blood in on the case.”

Natalie shuddered.

“Sorry. Poor choice of words.”

A slow breathlessness began to overwhelm her. Natalie said, “But that doesn’t mean you have to leave.”

“Yes, it does. O’Reilly and Potter have their own way of handling things. They wouldn’t appreciate my interference in the case.”

“You wouldn’t be interfering. You’d just be staying here…as a friend.”

“Chuck Randolph is coming to visit this weekend. He can keep you company.”

“Is that it, Brady? Chuck is just a friend, but you’re more than that. It’s different between you and me. I feel safe with you. I know no one will ever hurt me while you’re here.”

“No one will hurt you with O’Reilly and Potter on the case, either, Natalie. They’re good cops and excellent detectives. They won’t let anything happen to you.”

Natalie attempted a smile. “But you and Stansky are the best. You said so yourself.”

“Yeah, well, maybe I exaggerated.”

Natalie stared at Brady in silence, her chest heaving. Brady looked the same—tall, handsome, light eyes—but no, those light eyes were now cold.

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