Shades of Desire by Virna Depaul

Author:Virna Depaul [DePaul, Virna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HQN
Published: 2012-06-03T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“NATALIE, I’VE LEFT a thousand messages on your phone,” Melissa said when Natalie finally answered her cell.

“And I told you I’d be in touch,” she said coolly. “That I was a little busy dealing with another attempt on my life.”

“You’re also mad at me, and I don’t blame you. I’m so sorry. I swear, I never thought something like this would happen.”

Natalie gripped the phone tighter. No, she thought, you just thought I’d be stuck standing in the middle of the street looking like a fool. She didn’t say anything, however. She couldn’t have, even if she’d wanted to, because Melissa was still talking.

“It was just…I thought I’d be a little late, but then I got hung up in traffic because of that accident on the highway and my cell phone battery was dead. When that policewoman answered the door, I—”

Natalie’s head was throbbing, and she pressed her fingers to her temples. “It’s fine, Melissa, really.”

“But you were kidnapped. Taken by some weirdo because of me.”

The same weirdo who tried to strangle me to death. She’d told Melissa the connection, but that was it. As Mac had ordered, she hadn’t told her what he’d said or even that she’d ended up jumping out of the cab. “It wasn’t because of you, Melissa. It was because of my own bad luck. Now, you be sure and tell Agent McKenzie that when he talks to you. Remember, it’s just a precaution he’s taking. He has to talk to everyone. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

When Melissa didn’t say anything, Natalie frowned. “Melissa?”

“I’m here. It’s just, how can you be so damn noble all the time? Don’t you ever get angry? I fucked up, Natalie. You have a right to be mad.”

“Well, I’m not mad,” she said, her voice strained. “I’m just tired.” She forced her tone to be slightly more cheery. “Thanks for coming by today. We’ll talk later, okay?”

She hung up before Melissa could say anything else. A pinch of guilt made her chew her lip, and she struggled with whether she should call her friend back. Despite her words, she had sounded mad at the end, hadn’t she? But she’d been through so much. Wasn’t she entitled to be a little cranky, given what had happened to her?

Besides, she had some things to do. Like once again go over her copies of the photographs she’d given Mac. She hadn’t seen anything the first twenty times she’d looked at them, but maybe…

A faint knock made her look up.

“Natalie, is it okay if I come in?” Liz asked.

Natalie was sitting in the sunroom, where she and Mac had shared that disastrous kiss, and the idea of Liz inhabiting the space made her feel weird, so of course she said, “Yes, please do.”

“So, that was your friend, Melissa? The one who stood you up yesterday?”

Natalie didn’t miss the hint of censure in the woman’s voice. She raised her chin. “That was Melissa, yes.”

“You spent a lot of time reassuring her that you’re okay.

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