Questioning The Heiress by Delores Fossen

Author:Delores Fossen [Fossen, Delores]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780373693429
Publisher: Harlequin Intrigue
Published: 2008-07-01T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Caroline nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the doorknob turn. Every inch of her was on edge, and she couldn't stop reliving the terrifying images of lying in that mud while someone had tried to murder Egan and her.

She waited, with her hand flattened against her chest, and she watched as the door opened.

Egan walked in.

Relief flooded through her. Well, as much relief as she could feel after everything that had happened. Egan obviously felt the same. She could see the tension in his face and shoulders.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Maybe nothing." But it didn't sound that way. It sounded like something big. "Carlson Woodward tested positive for gunshot residue."

Of all the people she'd thought who might test positive, he wasn't one of them. "He's the shooter?"

Egan shrugged. "He was at a firing range earlier in the day. That could account for it."

He didn't add the obvious--that the other explanation was that not only had Carlson been at the firing range but he had also tried to kill them.

But had Carlson really done that?

It seemed extreme. Unless he was linked to Vincent Montoya and those other murders. Or maybe the childhood grudge between Egan and him was a lot more than just a grudge.

Egan locked the door, using the deadbolt and the chain, and he walked closer, studying her clothes. She was wearing one of his blue work shirts and a pair of his boxers.

"This is all I could find," she explained. Maybe if she concentrated on conversation or anything else other than the shooting, those images would go away. "You really don't own any pajamas, do you?"

He stopped just inches away from her. The corner of his mouth lifted. A half smile. But the smile didn't make it all the way to his eyes. "I'll see if Taylor can bring you something to wear."

"She's not home tonight. I already called her. She's on a business trip for her charity foundation and won't be back until tomorrow morning." Caroline wanted to keep talking. She wanted to keep thinking about clothes, about Taylor, about anything that would keep her mind occupied.

She refused to cry, but she felt the tears building. And the fear. Mercy, when was that going to pass?

"You're no longer in my protective custody," Egan said. It sounded like an announcement.

And it apparently was.

Because he immediately pulled her into his arms.

That embrace was more than warm strength and comfort. It was necessary. And she needed it. Just like that, Caroline shattered. She couldn't fight it any longer. The tears came, and she fell apart.

Egan was right there to make sure she didn't fall too hard.

"I don't usually cry," she heard herself say.

"It wasn't a usual night."

She didn't accept that as an excuse. "But you're not a basket case."

Egan leaned back a little and looked down at her. "Yes, I am."

Their eyes met, and she saw it then. Not just the tension. But the uneasiness that ran bone-deep inside him. This shooting had been a nightmare and had brought them together like nothing else could have.

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