LITMIR.BIZ

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happened?” she asked.

      Brian shook his head. “I found you passed out on the entry floor. You’ve got a gash on the back of your head. I figure maybe you fell in the dark and hit your head on something.”

      Now that the initial crisis had passed, Brian felt irritation begin. “Things like this are exactly why I told you to stay put. You can’t just walk around in the pitch-black in a strange house. You’re going to be lucky if you don’t need stitches.”

      “There was a fire,” Justine argued. “I smelled the smoke in my room, and stronger in the hallway.”

      Brian frowned. “I don’t smell anything, and if there was a fire we’d see it by now. Are you sure?”

      “Of course I’m sure. Do you think I would risk leaving the room with that…that thing outside if I didn’t have a good reason? I know you’re here to protect me, but I didn’t exactly grow up in Mayberry. Survival is something I’m very familiar with.”

      Brian sat on the coffee table and sighed. “So what happened after you left the room?”

      Justine stared at the wall behind him, her brow scrunched in concentration. “I figured the safest place to go was my car. I checked the bedroom door before opening it. It was cool, but the smell of smoke was stronger in the hall. I hurried downstairs and looked out the entry window to make sure the outside was clear.”

      She frowned and Brian could see she was struggling to remember.

      “Did you see something outside?” he prompted.

      “No…I heard something…inside.” Her eyes widened. “Directly behind me in the entry, but before I could turn around, something hit me on the back of the head and everything went black.”

      “Damn it!” Brian jumped up from the coffee table and paced the room. “I should have known better. Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

      “What should you have known? I don’t understand.”

      “It was all a trick to get to you. The person outside to draw me out of the house. The smell of smoke to get you out of the locked room. All so someone could take a shot at you.”

      Justine sucked in a breath. “But that’s crazy. Why would someone go to all that trouble just to hit me? If they’d wanted me dead, I would be.”

      Brian frowned at Justine’s words because he knew she was right. There had been plenty of time to kill her if that was the intent. “Maybe someone wants to scare you away.”

      “But why me? Why not go after you? You’re the strongest.”

      Brian shook his head. “All I can figure is that someone is unhappy about your work here.”

      “How would anyone even know about it?”

      “It’s a small place. I’m sure word has already gotten around about most everything that’s happened here. A lot of the story was splashed all over the New Orleans newspapers, and the Cypriere locals probably all know what really went down. All anyone would have to do is figure out what you do for a living and they could put two and two together.”

      “I thought the missing emeralds were a secret, assuming they’re even still around. The only other thing I’m here to do is research the Borque ancestry. Why would anyone care about that?”

      “No one should care, and that’s exactly what I don’t like about all this. Olivia and John didn’t make the emeralds public knowledge because they didn’t want the estate besieged by treasure hunters.”

      “That makes sense. And the locals have probably passed down tales of the emeralds and other things at laMalediction for generations. A local would have looked for them before now if he thought they really existed.”

      “Maybe he has been looking and wasn’t successful. News of the hidden journals was made public. Maybe he thinks the journals will lead you right to the very thing he’s been looking for.”

      “This is so convoluted.”

      Brian nodded. “John and Olivia anticipated trouble when they asked me to come here, but I know for a fact, they didn’t expect anything like this.” He placed a hand on Justine’s arm. “I think you ought to consider leaving. Pack up the journals and albums and take them back with you to New Orleans.”

      “No way. The emeralds are not hidden in any of those books, and that’s what Olivia’s paying me to do. If they even exist and can be found, they’re going to be at laMalediction.”

      Brian blew out a breath. She was right but he didn’t have to like it. “Okay, then we stay, but we’re going to have to come up with a strategy. Someone prepared for us, so right now he has the advantage. We have to make sure we do everything to level the playing field. That means, if you want to stay, you do everything I ask with no argument. Got it?”

      The apprehensive and somewhat belligerent expression on Justine’s face gave away her real feelings, but she nodded.

      For now, he guessed that would have to do.

       Chapter Four

      Justine awakened before dawn the next morning, but that was no surprise. She’d never been a heavy sleeper, and the previous night hadn’t been exactly restful. She sat up in bed and gingerly felt the back of her head. The lump was still there, but had decreased significantly in size. It was tender to the touch, but her headache was gone, so she figured the worst of it was over. She threw back the covers and eased out of bed, careful not to jar her head and start the throbbing all over again.

      The connecting door to Brian’s room was partway open, so she eased over to it and peeked inside. Brian was sprawled on top of the bed, covers bunched in a ball at the foot of the bed. He wore only a T-shirt and drawstring shorts, and Justine couldn’t help but admire the toned, tanned length of his muscular arms and legs. As much as being closed up with a man, especially this man, made her uneasy, she had to admit that, as far as bodyguards went, Brian appeared to be a competent one. Certainly his bravery wasn’t in question, given what he’d chased in the courtyard the night before.

      She pulled the connecting door almost shut, hoping the sound of her moving around wouldn’t wake him. He’d tended to her head last night in a gentle way that she’d found surprising, then he’d insisted on helping her to bed and to two shots of whiskey. He’d sat in the rocking chair in the corner and claimed he wasn’t leaving until she fell asleep. Justine had no idea what time he left her room, but figured he could probably use the rest.

      She eased out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the kitchen. Coffee and aspirin were her first orders of business. She couldn’t afford a headache, with everything she needed to do today, any more than she could afford to be unfocused. Between the caffeine and the aspirin, she should be ready to take on the world—or at least her research. Olivia had indicated she’d left supplies in the kitchen and Justine sighed with relief when she pulled out a sealed package of gourmet coffee.

      Pulling the package apart, Justine took in the rich smell of the grounds and gave Olivia a mental blessing. Her employer had seriously good taste in coffee. She filled the coffeepot, figuring Brian wouldn’t be able to pass up a cup, once the smell had permeated the entire downstairs, and while the coffee brewed, she checked out the refrigerator and pantry. Olivia had understated the amount of food she’d provided. Both the pantry and refrigerator were full of tasty and easy-to-prepare items.

      Justine pulled a strawberry breakfast bar out of the pantry and waited impatiently for the coffee to finish brewing. She’d just taken her first heavenly sip when Brian entered the kitchen.

      “Man, that smells fantastic,” Brian said, and took in a deep whiff of the coffee. “It is fantastic,” Justine said as she removed a coffee mug from the cabinet and handed it to Brian. “If Olivia was here, I’d kiss her.”

      Brian poured a steamy cup of coffee and smiled. “I didn’t know you swung that way.”

      Justine

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