Скачать книгу

let them know that he’d backed out of the case once he made it back to Grandview.

      If there was a flight back to Texas soon, that meant she had only a few hours before the news hit and the shock waves spread this far east. Unless Brett used that handy, dandy cell phone he carried and lessened the time even more.

      Her stomach churned just thinking about it.

      She’d desperately wanted—needed—to do something active. Something productive in helping to find her mother, even if it meant having to deal with Brett.

      So what was she doing sitting there, totally inactive, feeling sorry for herself?

      There was nothing preventing her from going to the airport after Brett. If she was careful, if she kept her big mouth shut, she could salvage this.

      She straightened and strode out to the curb just as a cab pulled up. Perfect. A good sign.

      The back door opened and a man climbed out.

      A tall man. Broad-shouldered. With hair as dark as teakwood and eyes as dark as chocolate.

      Her mouth parted. She was so glad to see him, she nearly threw herself into his arms. She actually took several steps toward him, curtailing the impulse just in time. She stared at him, a tangle of emotions nearly choking her. “I’m glad you came back.”

      He looked none too happy about it. He handed over his luggage to the doorman with a quiet word, then took Kate’s arm in his. “We’re going to get some things straight.” He drew her, unresistingly, across the street toward the park. They walked a long while, as if he didn’t trust himself to speak just yet. And she, she didn’t know what to say. Eventually he found an empty bench and nudged her toward it.

      “I’ve never walked away from a case yet, Kate.” His shadowed jaw was tight. “And I’m not gonna walk on this one. But I swear, if we have to go through this kind of crap every day, I’ll stuff a gag in your mouth and cuff you to the bedrail. Understand?”

      She flushed. He was still so coldly angry that she could well imagine him carrying out the threat. “I’m sorry. I’ve said I’m sorry! You just…I, we…”

      “Make each other crazy,” he muttered.

      She chewed the inside of her lip. “I didn’t expect to have to share a room with you, Brett. It…threw me. I’m not proud of it.”

      Brett frowned. Kate had always been generous with her temper in the past, and equally generous with her apologies. “I think you were right,” he said. “That we need to forget what we know about each other and concentrate on the task at hand.”

      “Well, obviously I was so successful at that. Thirty-five minutes, I believe you said.”

      “Thirty-three,” he corrected.

      “An even more impressive failure.” She smoothed her hand over the stone bench beside her. “Brett? Do you really think she doesn’t want to be found?”

      The hard knot of anger inside him eased some at her diffident question. “Only Madelyn knows that, Katy.”

      He heard her sigh, then she stood, managing to look impossibly young and fragile for someone he knew had already hit the thirty-mark. He shifted his gaze, watching a pair of joggers passing by instead.

      “Is it necessary to hide my name?”

      “I’ve seen some weird things in my business. Someone overhears someone talking and the next thing you know, half the city is privy to a secret that only two people were supposed to know. From what I’ve learned, the art world is a small one. Word travels. I don’t want to take any unnecessary risks.”

      “So you decided I should go by your name instead of my own.”

      “You’re the one who insisted on coming here. If it weren’t for that, we wouldn’t need a cover in the first place. But since we do, it’ll be a simple one. Newlyweds, looking for a new LeClaire piece to add to our collection.”

      “Newlyweds,” she repeated faintly. “How…ironic.”

      “It’s simple,” he said again. He didn’t want to think about ironies. He didn’t want to think anything about the fact that they should have been newlyweds—for real—many, many years ago.

      She worried her lip between her teeth for a moment. Then swallowed and spoke. “Why did you agree to take on this case, Brett?”

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEAYABgAAD/4RE3RXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUA AAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAAagEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAUAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAhodp AAQAAAABAAAAnAAAAMgAAABgAAAAAQAAAGAAAAABQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIDcuMAAyMDEzOjEy OjI4IDIwOjM1OjIxAAAAAAOgAQADAAAAAQABAACgAgAEAAAAAQAAAfSgAwAEAAAAAQAAAyQAAAAA AAAABgEDAAMAAAABAAYAAAEaAAUAAAABAAABFgEbAAUAAAABAAABHgEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAIBAAQA AAABAAABJgICAAQAAAABAAAQCQAAAAAAAABIAAAAAQAAAEgAAAAB/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEASABI AAD/7QAMQWRvYmVfQ00AAf/uAA5BZG9iZQBkgAAAAAH/2wCEAAwICAgJCAwJCQwRCwoLERUPDAwP FRgTExUTExgRDAwMDAwMEQwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwBDQsLDQ4NEA4OEBQO Dg4UFA4ODg4UEQwMDAwMEREMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDP/AABEI AIAAUAMBIgACEQEDEQH/3QAEAAX/xAE/AAABBQEBAQEBAQAAAAAAAAADAAECBAUGBwgJCgsBAAEF AQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAEAAgMEBQYHCAkKCxAAAQQBAwIEAgUHBggFAwwzAQACEQMEIRIxBUFRYRMi cYEyBhSRobFCIyQVUsFiMzRygtFDByWSU/Dh8WNzNRaisoMmRJNUZEXCo3Q2F9JV4mXys4TD03Xj 80YnlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vY3R1dnd4eXp7fH1+f3EQACAgECBAQDBAUGBwcG BTUBAAIRAyExEgRBUWFxIhMFMoGRFKGxQiPBUtHwMyRi4XKCkkNTFWNzNPElBhaisoMHJjXC0kST VKMXZEVVNnRl4vKzhMPTdePzRpSkhbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2JzdHV2d3h5ent8f/ 2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/AKoZucGx3Rb6TUK28Hbr95Sxv59vz/IjZg0q7ktJP+c5NyH9d/gvRfFRoD/d /wC7aR4M9kB21xBbBHiFYfw74H8irVD2tEzykXIG7AASGlpJLXHcZgQiCqy5zKam77LNA2QO37zo a1MCQwwTt14b/sVfO6lVhMsw3Nd697Q214iWVOG7ZXu/wlnt3vSVKQiCSXc/5udWraD6HqN27mmt zXafmxqNyzmVtfVvaexgR4c8qngfWDJwa/TbdZVUP5lr3k7XsO1p2v37fpe/0v0Xpfz9P+Hp0L+s 4fUXOyqQG5BDX5dAiC6P0l9Op3V7v57/ALd/wiMYk34LDlhprV6aog1u4DUA9/h+aqHUdG2EkNBd GuugGu1o+KuNtafc7WdWjTt+c5UOoOb9BjRudE2AkmRx9JEDVWQjh0f/0B420XNkRz+RWM5sGjxN cx/aehU0v9YS0gcknhWcpm4Ud5rJ/wCnYhkH9IAH7n7XofipHAD4j/unMsIaC4mAAZPwCrY1lDqt 5uYxrTA3HbO793crOY1vp2N5BY+f81Z/R+iWdayK8IP9LGo22Zd0fQr8nH2+rb9Cn/txO4bNOLKf DrTbx/s1lznU3+syglpraJLogtsDm/S936NiwMWnI6te6zc0B1rWXPJktFzvSqsez/QV3enTda3+ Z9WpewdJ+qn1Ww67GYeIxrrAGOvL3W2Ty307bXPdU7/i9ih1vo1eKynPopY91Jc3Jt2w4seAz17t vut2tb6WR/wP85/NfowY1euo7rOIZJREvSL/ABfLB0WwZduLbY1oaRqQCIc1rq/bG5n6N21/8tEw MStnpsx6bbc5zrRZU0Od7G7WsYytu5zdv6b1V1HWsMEYuTVLLH+s/LLSCWfzdbL216bm7avzN/8A pFTrzvstNd2Pa11rN5dU6Kx6bm/Q3MH6ztdu9TfZ/ovTQjIx1kLBGjJLDAkiMuExlqd5f4rWpx6X XOxcgfZ85kE4xIDtsb9zq/6v5rFW6rjU4eUa3PFu9ocCWjQS5rGx/J2rD6h17Lzs52a8kOIaank+ 9pZHpvbb9L2qzldTt6kKsm8AXBnp3EaS5pc71I/4Vr1PjkCdRTUySNEA3r83y2//0ZZ1Ln4Tg07X OLC0tPHxQKskCqqsGDWCwAmY9xPP9pWMmwMxyXkBkt3EiNSoVdUwa8doDgXAkH2+aMyRkBq9Hb58 CuEyA2/7pHbSG1Oe9wOh08lrfVquvF6Te+P0mRaA4j91o0a3+zu/7cWPZ1qp0xXPhK1On5B+wtsd 7fU3WBvgB/5y1S4RxTuqoOPzFRhQldns9Fh5ljHYobHrXHe4dthd6VdZ/se9bv2ig72lwIYYeOSP Hc2Po/yvoLj8OwNy8f1bAxrdjN7jpMfR3fmrbv6lSzJsZQWl1YcXRpDWACHu/wAIz/g2p2XHchQ6 MEJaPPvc6t+Tg47hVfi2kUkw5vph26r2/RexzFxf1hvoGXeKGENtcWioM2GY/SlmPLvR9+7Yzf8A QW/n5NjOouztS4PLro7sI3We3+QqdV3QesdWeyxlgbcJqua4seA38w6ObYyxv5qi4SJ+0fkJseFs 85ieP3RXugcBs1xxDwTjBgS2NII1/tNW19X8jGFeRVfTXkw0OpFokNdME/5qs/W3pfRcSzb09t1d 1Ri31LA9rwRvZbw1zPaf8H+jWZ0WBdYHGDpBPhqDuRMZQlXVgxyjKutGj5v/0qvVS+zp7mMa553s ADWuPefBY1RhkcFpIIOhB/dIW/k05WT0e3HxQXvNofsaYcQ0DdtfLW/Q3LM6nm4tuJ09

Скачать книгу