Page 59 of Hotter than Wildfire

Her heart gave a lurch. Roddy, dear sweet harmless Roddy. He was a sweetheart, dedicated to music, with a good ear and a good heart. Snuffed out like an irritating bug. As if he didn’t mean anything at all. It made her so angry. He’d merely been an obstacle for Gerald, who’d probably ticked him off a list of things to do to get his hands on her.

“Three murders. Definitely something he’d kill to keep quiet,” Mike said, jaws clenching. “Not to mention the theft of a fortune in cash.”

Ellen shivered and the room went quiet.

Nicole checked her wristwatch and started. “Oh my gosh! I’ve got an eleven o’clock telephone appointment with a client. New Yorker. They’re always so terribly punctual. I must run.”

“Thanks Nicole.” Ellen smiled at her as she rose. Nicole was dressed in a beautifully-tailored turquoise silk dress and pearls, her pregnancy just visible. She looked cool and professional and gorgeous and she’d provided invaluable information. At that moment, Ellen loved Nicole. Nicole winked at her as she closed down her computer.

Ellen liked her so much. She was going to miss her. “See you this evening, then.”

The three men froze and turned to her as if she’d opened her mouth and toads had hopped out. Ellen looked from one hard face to another. “What? What did I say?”

“No way are you staying here alone.” It was a miracle he could talk at all, Harry’s jaws were clenched so tightly. He was looking at her with a don’t even think of arguing look. Harry was clearly not to be reasoned with so Ellen turned to Sam, but he looked exactly the same as Harry and then to Mike, who looked like he’d just chewed nails. “What? I thought it was safe here.”

“It is.” Harry looked like he’d just swallowed the nails Mike had chewed. “But⁠—

Nicole touched Ellen’s arm. “They do have very good security here, sweetie, but I think Harry would feel better if you would just come in to the office where he could see you. Otherwise I don’t think he’d get any work done at all.” She shot a glance at her husband. “I know if I were in danger, Sam would want me by his side.”

“Absolutely.” He put his thick, muscled arm around his wife’s shoulders at the thought.

Ellen didn’t think Harry could possibly care for her as much as Sam cared for his wife, but Nicole was right. Harry was clearly a man who took his duty seriously and right now, she was under his protection. If he wanted her where he could see her, he had every right. And if the thought of just sitting around while others worked wasn’t appealing, that was her problem, not theirs.

Unless…

”Sure I’ll come in with you, but—I’d love to make myself useful. I don’t have Nicole’s investigative skills but I’m a really good accountant. Tax time is here. Would anyone like me to check your returns, or prepare them if they aren’t ready?”

Four blank looks which quickly turned into excitement, eyes wide, like kids just promised chocolate ice cream.

“Oh, man,” Nicole moaned. “Me me me! I hate bookkeeping!”

“Me, too!” the three men echoed in chorus.

Okay. So she had some work to do. It made her feel better.

Seattle

At first she thought she was in her apartment, in bed, after a particularly nasty nightmare. Nightmares often accompanied her sleep. The one she had most often was running from terrible danger, only her legs wouldn’t move and she couldn’t scream. She’d wake up with a pounding heart, gasping and shivering and sweaty.

Kerry’s brows came together in puzzlement. How could this be? She was awake, she knew she was, but somehow still in the nightmare. She couldn’t see, couldn’t move, couldn’t talk, she found, as she made a sound deep in her throat that came out soft and muffled.

She snapped her head back, tried to look at the ceiling, but her eyes wouldn’t open. All she could see was blackness.

“—coming out of it,” a man’s voice said.

“Yeah.” Pronounced Yiah. “She’s coming round.” Another man’s voice, not American. Australian?

Her senses returned, all at once, in a painful rush. She was blindfolded, gagged, tied up. To a chair, she found as she tried to kick her feet. They were bound at the ankles and as she swung her bound ankles side to side they encountered spindly wooden columns. Chair legs.

Her heart nearly stopped. Tom, she thought, terror welling up, cold and icy. He’s found me.

He was going to kill her, beat her to death, and her hands were tied. She had an escape, but she needed her hands for it and her hands were tied.

How could she not have imagined he’d tie her hands?

Because he wouldn’t.

Kerry remembered how Tom had laughed when she tried to hit back once. It had amused him. She remembered his disdainful laugh, the half-smile as she tried to defend herself. He’d studied martial arts since he was a boy. There was nothing she could do with her hands to him that would hurt. He’d never tie her hands. It was an ego thing.