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Did he do or say anything that could have indicated he would have an influx of cash coming?"
Gina frowned. "Like I told you before, Mr. Steele, Eddie always needed money. And if he had extra money coming, then he wouldn't have mentioned it to me." There was a glimmer of bitter cynicism in her dark gaze.
"Did Eddie play the lottery or gamble in any other way?" Nik questioned her. Gina shrugged, her gaze becoming clearly upset now. "Look, Eddie stopped talking to me a long time ago, about money or anything else. I wasn't exactly his best friend."
It was spoken matter-of-factly, without anger, but with an underlying sense of disillusionment that was more powerful than anger could have been.
"Who was his best friend, Gina?" Nik leaned forward, his gaze intent as he watched her. "Who could we talk to who might know if Eddie was having any problems, Gina? Someone besides Jarvis?"
Gina sat back in her chair and stared back at them with a frown for long moments before sighing wearily.
"Steve Gainard."
Oh boy. Mikayla heard the name with a sense of discomfort.
"Steve was one of the only friends Eddie had who was decent. They'd been friends since high school, though Steve travels a lot, so that may have made it easier for Eddie to remain friends with him."
"You didn't mention him to us before," Nik pointed out. Gina shook her head. "He wasn't in town. Steve just returned last night. He's an architect. He's been in London on a job for the past several months. He called me early this morning to let me know he was back and give me his condolences." 178
"Do you have his address, Mrs. Foreman?" Nik asked. Gina frowned back at Mikayla. "Mikayla knows it; they used to date." Mikayla bit her lip before turning to Nik with a bright smile. "Yeah, I know where he lives. She doesn't have to write the address down at all."
"Tell me," Nik muttered, his voice so low Mikayla was certain only she heard him. "Is there anyone you haven't dated?"
She smiled and shrugged. "You."
His eyes narrowed, but thankfully he simply turned back to Gina. "Mrs. Foreman, do you mind if we check out Eddie's office again?"
"Make yourself at home." She waved back to the office. "Someone else did last night. They broke in while I was at work and stole most of the paperwork. That's why I'm home today. I have to get the locks changed and a security system installed." Mikayla glanced quickly at Nik as he rose to his feet and strode through the short hall to the office. Moving behind him, she reached the doorway just as he entered the office.
"Your friends?" she asked, careful to keep her voice low. Nik shook his head. "Not my friends."
As Gina had stated, just about everything was gone. File drawers hung open, shelves had been emptied, and the mess that had been there days before was definitely limited now.
"Wow. Someone cleaned house," Mikayla murmured.
"No doubt." Icy disdain filled his voice now as Mikayla continued to stare around the room. "Maybe Steve will know something."
Bad idea. She should have never mentioned it.
Nik's gaze turned on her slowly, the ice in his pale blue eyes freezing the air around her.
"How serious was this relationship you had with Steve Gainard?" How serious?
There was no question of being honest with Nik, but that honesty had the potential to make Nik's gaze even icier.
"Well, he may have been more serious about the relationship than I was," she admitted.
"Meaning?" Nik's voice lowered.
"Well, he might have asked me to marry him." She winced as she gave the information.
She didn't expect Nik's reaction. She expected icy anger, expected that distance that he'd placed between them to grow; what she didn't expect was to have him pull her into the room, lift her against him, and cover her lips in a kiss of pure possessive hunger. Shock held her; dark, intent need washed through her like a tidal wave of hunger. There wasn't a chance in hell that she was going to fight this, no matter how brief it would be.
Her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers tearing at the leather strap that held his hair back until the thick, soft strands fell over her hands. As she lifted herself closer to him, her knee
s gripped his hips, the suddenly sensitive mound between her thighs rubbing against the heavy length of his cock. His fingers dug into her hair, gripping and holding him closer, her lips parting, her tongue 179
meeting and stroking against his until he suddenly jerked back from her. His gaze blazed down at her.
