The Hostage Bride by Janet Dailey

Author:Janet Dailey [Dailey, Janet]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781439189153
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: 2009-10-12T07:00:00+00:00

After adding the column of figures twice and arriving at the same answer, Tamara entered the total at the bottom of the page. She cleared the adding machine and punched the next number in the following column. The door to her office swung open and she looked up. A smile spread across her features with radiant force as Bick walked in.

“Hello.” Her greeting was soft and warm, echoing her feelings. “I didn’t expect to see you this morning.”

“I’ll bet you didn’t.” His expression was unfathomable, but there was a subdued bite to his voice.

Her gaze ran over the haggard lines stamped into his features. They made him look tougher and harder, and tired. “Sit down. You look like you could use a cup of coffee. How do you like it? Black? Or with cream and sugar?” She stood up, silently volunteering to get him a cup.

“Forget the coffee.” But he did sit down in the chair placed in front of her desk.

Tamara was tempted to argue that a cup of coffee would do him good, but the set of his jaw warned her not to do it. So she sat back down and wondered why he hadn’t stolen a good morning kiss. Of course, there wasn’t anything loverlike in his expression this morning.

“Did you come to watch me work?” Tamara attempted to lighten his apparently black mood.

“No. I want you to repeat what you told Adam and me yesterday.” He leaned back in the chair and laid an arm along her desk, picking up a pencil to roll it between his thumb and fingers. The narrowness of his gaze was strangely challenging.

“Again?” A frown flickered across her face.

“Yes. Again.”

Tamara hesitated, fighting down a budding apprehension. She began her explanation with an account of her mother’s illness and her subsequent financial straits. Bick listened without comment, never taking his eyes off of her. She went into greater detail about her attempts to broach the subject of a loan with Mr. Stein before she took it upon herself to take the money.

“Don’t forget the part about the previous loan.” Bick prompted her when she paused.

“I … I was just coming to that.” The frown became a permanent part of her expression when she continued. She explained the similar position she had been in the previous time and the late Art Stein’s offer of a loan. Again Tamara made certain Bick understood she had repaid the loan with money her mother inherited. Lastly, she referred to the insurance policy.

When she finished, Bick set the pencil aside to clap his hands, applauding her with mockery. “Marvelous performance. You did even better than yesterday, but then, you had time to perfect your story, didn’t you?” he concluded.

“It isn’t a story,” Tamara protested in wary anger. “It’s the truth.”

“I don’t think you know the meaning of the word,” he jeered. “With a body and a face like yours, you can make a man believe almost anything you want. What were you thinking when you walked out

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