Undercover Protector by Melinda Di Lorenzo

Author:Melinda Di Lorenzo [Lorenzo, Melinda Di]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2017-11-07T19:08:51+00:00

Chapter 13

Nadine felt Anderson go rigid behind her, and she knew the change in his demeanor had something to do with the man standing just outside the closet. Nervously she tried to see what he saw. She focused her gaze on the fortysomething man in the expensive jacket as he spoke in a low voice to the guy in the hotel uniform. He looked the slightest bit familiar, but she thought that might be because there was nothing terribly distinctive about his features. He had an average face, an average build and an average level of attractiveness. The kind of man who would blend into a crowd.

Wishing she could ask Anderson what had caused him to tense up the second he laid eyes on the man, Nadine drew in a silent breath and then paused. A smoky scent filled her nose, and her mind pricked up with some unidentified hint of memory. Before she could pinpoint its source, the well-dressed man turned. And as Nadine spied his profile, she almost gasped. Though it’d been unnoticeable when he was facing them head-on, the new angle showcased a mottled bruise on the side of his head. A slash of red marked his jaw, too, turning him from average to fearsome.

Nadine inhaled again, trying to calm the syncopated rhythm of her heart. But the influx of air only brought with it more of the smoke-tinged smell. And with the second taste of it, Nadine placed the man. And her pulse surged with renewed fear.

It was him. The man who’d lit her mom’s home on fire. She’d only caught the briefest glimpse of his face—and even then, it had been with his head pressed to the ground, his jaw slack and his eyes shut—but she was certain it was him.

What was he doing there? How had he managed to walk away from the scene of the crime?

His next words distracted her from thinking about it. “Be nice if we could get some answers before the police connect the two of them.”

The hotel employee’s response was tinged with worry. “You think that’ll be soon? Because I’d really rather not cross paths with the local cops.”

“Relax. I didn’t give them a reason to come looking for Mr. Smith or whatever the hell his real name is. I dropped enough hints that the entire thing lies on Ms. Stuart’s shoulders. They’ll have to put the pieces together themselves.”

It was Nadine’s turn to stiffen. And even Anderson’s gentle squeeze of her arm didn’t help her relax.

The man out there hadn’t just burned down her mom’s apartment. He’d made the police think it was her fault. He was still talking about it. Saying that they’d be looking for her. That they’d probably have gone to her own apartment already and asked around at the hospital, too.

But it wasn’t fear that made her bristle. It was anger. She was so mad that she wouldn’t have been able to string together a sentence even if she’d been in a spot where she could speak.

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