LITMIR.BIZ

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had died two weeks ago. If he’d been involved in anything risky, she would have known it by now. O’Riley would have told her.

      What was she thinking? She gave herself a good mental scolding. If her father was involved in a government project, then it was on the up-and-up, end of subject.

      Dani started to push away from the desk, but something in her peripheral vision snagged her attention. The final line of text on the screen. Termination. A frown tugged at her mouth. The information on the first few screens had been encrypted, but this part wasn’t. She scrolled down a little farther. She quickly read the text. It was a report by Joseph Marsh, an old colleague of her father’s. She vaguely recognized the name. Why hadn’t she looked this far before? She exhaled a weary breath. Because it had been marked Top Secret. Her father had long ago ingrained in her the relevance of security measures. Besides, she had assumed it would all be encrypted.

      Uneasiness stirred again in the pit of her stomach as she read the report a second time. It was about an animal training program and its possible termination. But phrases such as most imperative, life-altering and frightening consequences were used. Studying the screen more closely, she decided it was a faxed report her father had scanned into the file. Squinting to make out the tiny print along the edge of the scanned page, she also saw that the sending telephone number was the same as the one on the tape. I think we’re in trouble. This only confused her further. Was the caller Joseph Marsh? She searched her memory banks in an effort to remember his face or if she’d even met him before. Nothing came to her.

      Her first thought when considering animal training was dogs or horses. Was the government using inhumane training procedures? If so, what did it have to do with her father? He was a scientist specializing in human genetic engineering. He didn’t train animals.

      She stilled. Could her father have discovered that some sort of immoral genetic engineering was taking place using animals? She could definitely see him fighting to ensure the termination of a program he believed was wrong. The frown reached her forehead, etching deep furrows there. If that were the case, he would have gone to any lengths to stop it. He definitely wouldn’t have hidden the file or acted in secret. He would have gone straight to O’Riley. Her father had been a strong man. He would never have hidden his beliefs or his actions. Unless…

      This couldn’t have anything to do with his accident…

      Her heart pounded a little harder in her chest. She shook her head. No. That was ludicrous…unthinkable. She wasn’t generally the type to think along conspiracy lines.

      This couldn’t be anything like that. No. It was ridiculous to even consider. She was tired, that’s all. The lingering smell of cherry blend pipe tobacco and sandalwood aftershave she’d endured while packing away her father’s personal belongings had her nerves raw. She needed something to eat and a long, hot bath. Now that she thought about it, the day had passed without her taking a break. She’d been too upset this morning to eat the muffins she’d gone to the trouble to make…had worked through lunch. No wonder she was so tired. Her body needed fuel.

      She quickly closed the file and removed the storage stick from the computer. She started to drop both the stick and the tape into one of the desk drawers, but something she couldn’t quite name, a feeling, made her hesitate. Instead, she removed the tape from the machine, turned off the brass lamp and headed into the entry hall. She opened the door to the hall closet and knelt next to the vacuum cleaner. Carefully, she replaced the file and the tape where her father had hidden them.

      “This is totally nuts,” she chastised herself softly as she got back to her feet and closed the door.

      But somehow she felt better knowing it was secured in that way. Her father had hidden it for some reason. And he’d been no fool.

      Determined to banish the unsettling thoughts about his last days, Dani turned toward the kitchen. Dinner and then upstairs for a nice long, hot bath. No more sorting and packing. No more conspiracy theories. Tonight, she was going to relax and maybe have a couple of glasses of wine. She might even find an old movie to watch.

      And she would forget all about death and conspiracy.

      IT WAS dark.

      He was cold. Very cold. Pain. He needed to rest, but he was lost. His lids were so heavy he could barely keep his eyes open. The ache in his head pulsed with the beating in his chest.

      Light. He could see light from…from a…place. He frowned at his inability to put a name to what he saw. Almost too weak to stand alone, he pushed away from the tree he’d been leaning against and went toward the light.

      A long time passed before he reached it. He was so exhausted by the time he got there he wasn’t sure if he could go any farther. But he had to get inside…to the light. He would be safer there.

      He stared at the door in front of him and tried to think of what to do. He wanted…needed…

      He didn’t know what…he was tired…so tired.

      DANI shivered.

      “What is wrong with you, Dani?” She shook her head and took another bite of her sandwich. A heavy silence had invaded the house, or, at least, it somehow felt that way. Despite her best efforts, another shiver danced up her spine one vertebra at a time.

      This was ridiculous. She wasn’t usually so jumpy.

      Unable to help herself, her gaze shifted to the back door. It wasn’t locked. Well, duh. She rarely locked the doors until she went to bed. She tried to ignore the nagging feeling, but it just wouldn’t go away. She pushed away from the table, the chair legs scraping over the tiled floor, stood and walked straight to the door and locked it.

      “Do you feel better now?” she muttered.

      She dropped back into her chair, disgusted with herself. She never acted this way. What was wrong with her? Then it hit her. Rand’s hunting story had her spooked. That was it. Dani breathed a much-needed sigh of relief. The tale had been hanging around in the back of her mind and building up panic momentum all day. No wonder she was feeling out of sorts.

      If the county had a halfway decent sheriff, she would have called and reported the incident. Though she trusted Rand’s and Cal’s judgment, she would feel a lot better if someone official checked out their story. But it wouldn’t be Sheriff Nichols. She’d already seen more of him than she cared to, and his men were no more welcome on her property than he was. Their allegiance was, of course, to their esteemed leader. She wasn’t about to give him a legitimate reason to come around. He might have fooled the locals into voting for him, but Dani knew the pervert behind the badge. How did a guy like him get elevated to a position of such authority? He was a lying, womanizing jerk.

      Subject change. She wasn’t about to go down that road again. It had taken her months to get over the ulcer she’d developed five summers ago from when that low-life had attacked her and thought he’d get away with it. She had no intention of working herself up over him now. She was older and wiser.

      Unable to finish her sandwich, Dani cleared the table and dropped the remainder of her meal into the trash. It was times like this that made her wish she had a dog. When she felt creeped out, she’d have someone to talk to. Plus, the dog would bark if anyone came around, giving Dani advance notice. But neither she nor her father had ever been able to stay here long enough to justify owning a dog. Finding someone to feed him wouldn’t be the problem, but she wouldn’t want the poor animal to be lonely.

      Since the house sat empty more often than not, that was bound to happen, especially since it was just her now. She doubted she would be able to get back here for more than a few days at a time. She wondered if her father had lived if he’d have eventually gotten a dog. A pet would have kept him company since he’d taken up permanent residence on the ranch after retiring. It was only natural to have a dog in the country, wasn’t it? For lots of reasons other than security.

      I think we’re in trouble.

      Dani forced the unbidden thought away. She didn’t want to think about that any more tonight. She didn’t know what the file was about and

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