LITMIR.BIZ

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bonuses from the company due to her successful drug trials and she was known for her work ethic. So to drop off the face of the planet was completely out of character and Layla knew it. Marissa could tell her boss was plainly worried sick by the tone of her messages.

      One phone call couldn’t hurt, she reasoned.

      She quickly dialed. Layla picked up on the first ring, no doubt seeing it was Marissa from the caller ID.

      “Where are you? What is going on? I went by your apartment and it looks like a hurricane hit it,” Layla said all in one breath before Marissa could say a word. Layla’s concern sparked an achy feeling in her chest that made it difficult to speak at first. “Marissa? Are you okay? You’ve got me really freaked out.”

      “I’m okay.” She thought of her apartment, and how Ruben’s guys must’ve trashed it when she split, and swallowed hard. “I need some personal time. My sister—”

      “Of course, you do,” Layla clucked compassionately. “You should’ve told me right away. You have plenty of vacation time you can use to get you through this. Did you know our company also pays for grief counseling? You ought to look into that. No sense in paying for benefits you don’t use, right?”

      “Yeah, I guess so,” Marissa murmured, wishing she could tell Layla the truth but knew it was better this way. Besides, Layla was a wonderful boss but they weren’t friends in the strictest sense of the word. Somehow telling her boss that she’d stolen a child and quite possibly killed a man might not reflect well on her ability to remain employed. And Marissa was planning to return to her life. Somehow. “Thank you for your understanding. I’m sorry I didn’t call. I’ve been pretty upset these last few days. It just hit me.” Funny, ha-ha, Marissa. She drew a shuddering breath. “But I’ll be okay in a few weeks.”

      “Who do you want to take over your experiments?” Layla asked, returning to business. Marissa didn’t fault her. She had a company to keep running and those drug trials were time sensitive. “How about Danny? Or Veronica?”

      She wrinkled her nose at Veronica and quickly agreed to the former. “Danny should be fine. Thanks, Layla.”

      “Oh, you’re most welcome. I feel so bad about your sister but I’m glad to hear you’re okay. When I went by your apartment…well, I immediately thought the worst.”

      Marissa could only imagine the destruction left behind. It burned to know Layla thought she had wigged out to the extreme and trashed her own apartment but she had little choice but to go along with it. “Extreme grief and too much wine is a bad combination,” she murmured, though she grimaced at the lie coming from her mouth.

      “Enough said,” Layla replied with dry humor. “We’ve all had a moment where we lose it. Some with less reason than you. Don’t worry about it. No one is judging you on this end. I just want to see you back to work when you’re ready.”

      “Thanks,” Marissa said, feeling marginally better that she’d tied up at least a few loose ends, but still wishing she could just close her eyes and realize everything had been a terrible dream. But she knew it was real and she had to cover her bases. “Layla, if anyone asks about me, could you keep our conversation under your hat? I just want to decompress for a bit in private.”

      “You got it,” Layla assured her. “You take care, dear.”

      Marissa ended the call and gazed at her niece happily drooling on a universal remote that probably cost Archer a ton of cash and wondered how exactly she could possibly “take care.”

      ARCHER RETURNED WITH bags of groceries and various odds and ends that made Marissa wonder if he’d went down each aisle systematically, tossing whatever caught his fancy into the cart. She held up a rubber hot dog that squeaked. “Do you have a dog?” she asked, confused.

      Archer scowled and then gestured toward Jenna. “I wasn’t sure what she’d play with. I figured something that made noise was a sure bet. Don’t kids like to make a racket?”

      “I guess so but I think you could’ve found more suitable toys in the aisle with the kids’ stuff, don’t you think?”

      “I bought everything they had down that aisle but there wasn’t much to choose from. So, the kid got a rubber hot dog, too.”

      His demeanor was gruff but Marissa was silently stunned by his generosity. Looking at the bags littering the living room, he had to have spent a fortune. Her eyes watered but she didn’t let the tears fall. She’d cried enough lately but she was ridiculously touched by his attempt to fulfill Jenna’s needs. She reached out and tentatively caressed his cheek. He stilled and then shot a quick, suspicious look her way. “What’s that for?” he asked.

      She removed her hand, wishing she’d just said thank-you and left it at that. But she’d reacted to a gut need to touch him and she’d moved before thinking it through. “I’m sorry,” she said, shaking her head. “I just wanted to say thank you. I appreciate all you’ve done.”

      Something flitted across his expression but whatever it was he drop-kicked it far and clear within a heartbeat as he said, “Don’t thank me yet. We’ve still got ground to cover and you’re not in the clear. I haven’t decided what to do with you. I’m not going to sacrifice my career for your screwup. If you remember…it’s all I care about.”

      Her eyes stung as he threw her words at her again. They’d been said in fear of a future that could’ve left her brokenhearted, so she’d ended their relationship with a clean cut, thinking surgical lines might heal more easily than jagged tears, but she’d been wrong and they both paid the price.

      “I’m not asking you to sacrifice anything,” she retorted, her pride smarting from his harsh rebuff. “You’re the one who told me not to leave. I was prepared to get out of your life this morning, remember?”

      “Well, running away is what you’re good at. But it’s not that simple any longer. By involving me, you involved the FBI. This isn’t child’s play. We’re talking kidnapping here, Marissa. Do you even know what kind of trouble you’ve gotten yourself into? I’m half tempted to take the kid in myself for your own good. This is going to end badly, I can feel it,” he predicted with a growl that sent a shocking shudder tripping down her back.

      He cared. He didn’t want to admit it, was fighting it, but deep down Archer Brant still had feelings for her. Her breath hitched in her chest and she swallowed the lump rising in her throat. She knew those feelings would never go anywhere but it warmed her shivering soul that they were there.

      Archer broke the growing silence with a string of swear words that he didn’t even try to censor in spite of Jenna’s presence. “I’m going to go shower,” he bit off, and then gestured angrily to the bags still unopened. “There are clothes in there for you, too.”

      ARCHER STOOD UNDER the jet spray, letting the water pelt him on the strongest setting in the hopes that some discomfort would continue to remind him that he was in a mess.

      He should’ve dropped her at the nearest bus station with a handful of cash and sent her on her way. That would’ve been smart. But since when was he into going the smart route? He turned and leaned into the spray, closing his eyes as the water streamed down his face. He reached forward and grabbed the bar of soap. Why’d she have to look the same as the day she left him? Was it too much to ask that she’d suddenly sprouted an excess of facial hair and a spare tire around her middle? Apparently. Marissa Vasquez had always been his weak spot. And she’d known it. She’d known he wouldn’t turn her away—hell, she’d banked on it—and now he was staring down ten different ways to tank his career in one fell swoop. Damn, talk about talent.

      But Marissa looked just like she did in his dreams. Long waves of dark hair tumbled down her back and framed her heart-shaped face, drawing attention to the plump and wickedly kissable lips he could still remember tasting. Images from the past, sweaty, sultry and scorching, rose like ghosts to haunt him and his body reacted. His groin tightened with an aching intensity and he stifled a groan at the thick erection that sprang to

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