LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

now?” she asked.

      “Hey!” Before he could clear the screen, however, she glimpsed a photo of a cheating husband and his paramour doing the deed in front of a curtainless window.

      “I can’t believe they’d do that with the shades open! And one of them is probably married, right?”

      “Both of them. Not for long, I suspect.” Kevin closed the program.

      “What else have you got? Never mind.” Standing so close he could feel her heat, she said, “Listen, I’ve got a friend at the paper researching background for me, and I promise to share it. I just need a place to hole up and a computer, because mine has a virus.”

      “Tell me again why you’re not at the Outlook anymore,” he said, partly to gain control of the conversation and partly because he wanted to know.

      “I never told you in the first place.”

      “Make it short,” he advised.

      “They fired me.” She spread her hands in a helpless gesture. “Office politics.”

      There had to be more to it, but he knew it wasn’t a matter of competence. Although he had no intention of admitting it, he read her articles frequently. Alli had a gift for digging up information and persuading people to talk.

      Although her talents might prove useful, the idea of this woman moving into his house was preposterous. Even if he had a guest bedroom, which he didn’t, she was the last person in the solar system he would choose as a roommate.

      On the other hand, if the van really was trailing her, she might have no other recourse than to call the police. For his client’s sake, he’d hate to see that happen.

      “Do you have any idea who those guys are?” he asked. “The ones who’re stalking you?”

      “They’re the mayor’s bodyguards. I’ve been investigating LeMott, and I guess you’ve seen the stories in the paper.”

      Kevin disliked the mayor, both for his unsavory reputation and for his arrogance, but to authorize a drive-by shooting showed a truly brutal nature. It would serve the man right if his hair-trigger temper ruined everything he’d fought for. Unfortunately, it might cost Alli Gardner her life before he got caught.

      Then the full meaning of her words sank in. “That wasn’t your byline on the articles. When exactly were you fired?”

      “Yesterday morning.”

      “Office politics, you said?”

      “Something like that.”

      He’d seen police investigations snarled by competing jurisdictions and rival egos, so it made sense that this happened at newspapers, too. “Who are you writing for now?”

      “Like I told you, myself,” she said. “I’m working on speculation.”

      Kevin couldn’t suppress a twinge of sympathy. “If I were to give you a place to sleep—and I haven’t made up my mind about that—you’d have to promise not to publish anything until the case is completed. And you could never mention my name or my client’s.”

      “I don’t know your client’s name.”

      “That isn’t the point.” Another angle bothered him. “The problem is, if these adoptions do turn out to be illegal, my client could still lose her child even if we nail the extortionist.”

      “I suppose so,” Alli agreed. “But it seems to me the blackmail angle needs to be handled first, because that’s the most pressing. Besides, we only have his say-so that there’s a problem with the adoptions, right?”

      Kevin saw no reason to withhold his data, since he’d confirmed what Mary had told him. “Unfortunately, it’s true. The orphanage is under investigation in Costa Buena for buying and selling babies, although nothing’s been proved.”

      “Are they going to try to take the babies back?” she asked.

      “I don’t believe they’ve gone that far yet.”

      “Don’t you think you should find out for sure?”

      “Are you telling me how to do my job?” he snapped.

      She scooted away before replying. “Just pointing out the obvious.”

      Angrily, Kevin stood up. “Forget about moving in with me. If you’re afraid to go home, stay with friends.”

      “You need me,” she said.

      “I think it’s the other way around.”

      “Well, yeah. That, too. Look, I’m sorry I ruffled your feathers.” On her expressive face, he saw a hint of desperation. “Isn’t there anything I could do to persuade you? Clean your house? Wash your car? Walk your dog? I love animals, by the way, if you happen to have any.”

      “I don’t.” It would be cruel to keep a pet when he worked such long hours.

      “I can answer the phone and cover for you if there’s someone you don’t want to talk to,” she proposed. “Although I suppose your secretary does that.”

      “More or less.” After hours, his mother was likely to quiz the caller to find out if he or she had an eligible daughter. Heloise also promoted his services shamelessly, even to people soliciting political donations or selling restaurant-coupon books.

      His mother. The thought reminded Kevin that a bevy of single and divorced women had been given carte blanche to hound him a mere twenty-four hours in the future.

      He had options, such as fleeing to Palm Springs or locking his doors and refusing to answer the phone. But either of those choices would interfere with his work. Also, he did need the interview with Dr. Abernathy.

      “There is one thing,” he added.

      “You got it!” After a heartbeat, Alli added with a note of uncertainty, “What exactly?”

      “Go to a party with me tomorrow night,” Kevin said.

      Chapter Three

      The cottage, painted dove-gray with blue shutters, had a reserved air softened by flowering bushes along the edges of the porch. “Cute house,” Alli said as she followed Kevin up the walk.

      “Thanks.” He’d slung her duffel bag over one shoulder but hadn’t made any macho noises about how she should leave everything to him, so she was lugging her suitcase and computer.

      He plucked a couple of envelopes from the mailbox before opening the door and punching in the security code. The place smelled nice, Alli thought in surprise, catching a whiff of cinnamon instead of the aged sweat-sock odor she associated with bachelor pads.

      Inside, the house appeared bigger and brighter than she’d expected. Off-white carpeting and pale yellow walls heightened the impression of spaciousness, aided by the scarcity of furniture—no couch, just four comfy chairs that swiveled to face either the entertainment center or the fireplace.

      Alli, who’d grown in up in apartments, didn’t understand why a guy would want to rent an entire house, but she wasn’t foolish enough to look a gift horse in the mouth. Kevin had agreed to let her stay for the weekend and hadn’t demanded sex, so how could she complain?

      Not that she considered sex out of the question. The guy looked hot from any angle. She liked his powerful build and the fact that, at roughly five-eleven, he would make a perfect dancing partner, neither towering over her nor bumping his head against her chin.

      She hoped there’d be dancing at tomorrow’s party. He’d refused to tell her anything about the party, however. She hadn’t packed fancy clothes, but she’d brought a pantsuit that ought to do. Besides, his friends were probably cops who’d take way too much interest in ogling her legs if she displayed them.

      “My office is

Скачать книгу