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.When she picked it up, Helen said without preamble, “You guys need to get over here now.”“What? What’s going on?”“Just get over here.” Helen voice was tense and stretched, and Julia couldn’t tell if it was from fear or excitement.Her heart starting to hammer in response to her friend’s urgency, she asked, “Where are you?”“In the rare books room.”“Of what library?”“Mine.Get over here.Now.Both of you.”Julia hung up, handed Mike the last wedge of her quesadilla, since he’d finished his half and she wasn’t hungry anymore.Since Helen had sounded so urgent, they both left immediately, driving over to the campus of the liberal arts college Helen taught at and finding the library—much smaller than the university library Mike had visited a few days before.The library was quiet and nearly empty, and they went upstairs, following the signs for the rare books room.Helen was waiting for them at a large table, with an old book open in front of her.“What are you doing?” Julia asked, sitting down beside her as Mike sat across the table.“Is everything all right?”“I don’t know,” Helen said, looking stiff and rather strange.“Don’t both turn at once, but tell me if that’s someone you recognize sitting at the table in the corner there.” She inclined her head slightly to the right.Since Julia was facing in the right direction, she glanced over to look.Then she stiffened and sucked in a breath when she saw the brunette from the party, who was looking down at a book, as if she were reading it.“What is she doing here?”“I don’t know,” Helen said.“But I’ve seen her three times today, and it just didn’t seem right.Why would some woman be following me? Is she connected to Drayton somehow?”“She’s the chick from the cocktail party he gave the necklace to.What is going on here?” Julia flashed her eyes to Mike, who’d subtly looked back enough to see the woman too.He shook his head.“They must have realized we know more than we should about whatever Drayton is up to.Maybe they’re just keeping an eye on us to make sure we don’t know too much.”“They’re not terribly stealthy,” Helen said.“I saw her right away.”“Maybe they’re not trying to hide.The guy in the parking deck today definitely wasn’t trying to stay out of sight.” Mike pushed a hand through his hair, mussing it even more.“Neither was the antique-shop guy, when he was watching me and Drayton.It seemed more like a warning than a real attempt to spy.”Helen gave a half-shrug.“So what do we know? Drayton is the son of some legendary thief, he has very unpleasant acquaintances who keep showing up, he sometimes ends up with blood on his clothes, and he disappears without explanation.Sorry, but it really seems like he must be involved in something criminal.”“Yeah.Thief.Blackmailer.Hired gun.Hit man,” Mike murmured.“Who knows? Whatever it is, it’s bad enough for him to keep secret.“But then who are these other people, and why are they following us around?” Julia asked.Mike just shook his head.“But…” Julia trailed off, more upset than ever at where her deductions were leading her.“Anyway, this is Drayton we’re talking about.I can’t believe he’s a murderer or something.He might be kind of shady, and I could believe he’d break the law under certain circumstances, but, underneath everything, he’s a good guy.”“Is he?” Mike asked.“I just don’t know anymore.”They stared at each other for a long minute as the repercussions of the words hit home.Julia rubbed her face, trying to control her bewildered shudders.“Listen to us! We’re jumping to conclusions too soon.”“Maybe,” Mike said, his brown eyes holding hers with absolute seriousness.“But right now, him being a criminal is the best theory we’ve got.”***That Friday, Julia lounged on Drayton’s rumpled bed while he got dressed.It was close to nine-thirty in the morning, and she normally would have been at work by now.“Do you have to go?” she asked, feeling oddly nervous about his answer.Part of her wanted him to leave town, as he’d scheduled, so events could unfold the way she and Mike had planned them.But part of her wanted for him to stay at home with her today—so she wouldn’t have to go through what felt kind of like a betrayal.“I’ve had this trip planned for a month,” Drayton said, buttoning up his dark green dress shirt.“If you take Monday off from work as well, then we’ll be able to enjoy the day together.”He gave her a warm look, but it was more affectionate than passionate.He wasn’t in a sexy mood this morning—an incongruity she could hardly fail to miss.“I don’t know if I can take two days off in a row.Today was just a spontaneous thing.I’ll get too behind if I miss Monday too.”“I’m sorry I can’t stay and play hooky with you.” Drayton looked polished and sophisticated as he slid a black belt around his waist, despite his ruffled hair and lack of shoes.It seemed absurd to think of him as anything other than he looked—an intelligent photographer in his thirties with an eye for aesthetics and a lightning-quick wit.Julia pulled her knees up and hugged them to her chest.“Hmph,” she grunted, giving him a teasing pout.“Some fun you are.”With a smile, Drayton leaned over the bed and took her protruding lower lip between his teeth.After giving it a little tug, his mouth softened into a kiss.She responded, feeling oddly hopeful, and pulled him down onto the bed with her.Pressing the length of her body against his, she murmured, “Stay with me today, Drayton.”If he stayed, she wouldn’t have to go through with the rest of the plan.And maybe they could bond again, make a first step toward the truth coming out in a more natural and less underhanded way.“Julia, I can’t.” Despite his words, his hands traced along the curves of her thighs, butt, and back, rubbing against the pink cotton of her shorts and tank set.After giving her another kiss, he added, “Did Mike turn you down first?”It took her a few seconds to process the question.When she did, she jerked away and sat up stiffly on the edge of the bed.“That wasn’t fair, Drayton.”“Wasn’t it?” Drayton sat up too, but made no move to touch her again.“It wasn’t intended to be an attack.You’ve been spending a lot of time with Mike lately, and I’d be surprised if you hadn’t asked him to spend the day with you first.”“Well, I didn’t.We’ve hardly seen you lately.I wanted to spend some time with you.”She was too on edge to look at him, but she could feel his eyes on her back.“I’m not the one who pulled away,” he said at last.That made her suck in a sharp breath and look at him again.“I keep trying to reach out to you, Drayton.You can’t blame this on me.You’re the one keeping secrets [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.When she picked it up, Helen said without preamble, “You guys need to get over here now.”“What? What’s going on?”“Just get over here.” Helen voice was tense and stretched, and Julia couldn’t tell if it was from fear or excitement.Her heart starting to hammer in response to her friend’s urgency, she asked, “Where are you?”“In the rare books room.”“Of what library?”“Mine.Get over here.Now.Both of you.”Julia hung up, handed Mike the last wedge of her quesadilla, since he’d finished his half and she wasn’t hungry anymore.Since Helen had sounded so urgent, they both left immediately, driving over to the campus of the liberal arts college Helen taught at and finding the library—much smaller than the university library Mike had visited a few days before.The library was quiet and nearly empty, and they went upstairs, following the signs for the rare books room.Helen was waiting for them at a large table, with an old book open in front of her.“What are you doing?” Julia asked, sitting down beside her as Mike sat across the table.“Is everything all right?”“I don’t know,” Helen said, looking stiff and rather strange.“Don’t both turn at once, but tell me if that’s someone you recognize sitting at the table in the corner there.” She inclined her head slightly to the right.Since Julia was facing in the right direction, she glanced over to look.Then she stiffened and sucked in a breath when she saw the brunette from the party, who was looking down at a book, as if she were reading it.“What is she doing here?”“I don’t know,” Helen said.“But I’ve seen her three times today, and it just didn’t seem right.Why would some woman be following me? Is she connected to Drayton somehow?”“She’s the chick from the cocktail party he gave the necklace to.What is going on here?” Julia flashed her eyes to Mike, who’d subtly looked back enough to see the woman too.He shook his head.“They must have realized we know more than we should about whatever Drayton is up to.Maybe they’re just keeping an eye on us to make sure we don’t know too much.”“They’re not terribly stealthy,” Helen said.“I saw her right away.”“Maybe they’re not trying to hide.The guy in the parking deck today definitely wasn’t trying to stay out of sight.” Mike pushed a hand through his hair, mussing it even more.“Neither was the antique-shop guy, when he was watching me and Drayton.It seemed more like a warning than a real attempt to spy.”Helen gave a half-shrug.“So what do we know? Drayton is the son of some legendary thief, he has very unpleasant acquaintances who keep showing up, he sometimes ends up with blood on his clothes, and he disappears without explanation.Sorry, but it really seems like he must be involved in something criminal.”“Yeah.Thief.Blackmailer.Hired gun.Hit man,” Mike murmured.“Who knows? Whatever it is, it’s bad enough for him to keep secret.“But then who are these other people, and why are they following us around?” Julia asked.Mike just shook his head.“But…” Julia trailed off, more upset than ever at where her deductions were leading her.“Anyway, this is Drayton we’re talking about.I can’t believe he’s a murderer or something.He might be kind of shady, and I could believe he’d break the law under certain circumstances, but, underneath everything, he’s a good guy.”“Is he?” Mike asked.“I just don’t know anymore.”They stared at each other for a long minute as the repercussions of the words hit home.Julia rubbed her face, trying to control her bewildered shudders.“Listen to us! We’re jumping to conclusions too soon.”“Maybe,” Mike said, his brown eyes holding hers with absolute seriousness.“But right now, him being a criminal is the best theory we’ve got.”***That Friday, Julia lounged on Drayton’s rumpled bed while he got dressed.It was close to nine-thirty in the morning, and she normally would have been at work by now.“Do you have to go?” she asked, feeling oddly nervous about his answer.Part of her wanted him to leave town, as he’d scheduled, so events could unfold the way she and Mike had planned them.But part of her wanted for him to stay at home with her today—so she wouldn’t have to go through what felt kind of like a betrayal.“I’ve had this trip planned for a month,” Drayton said, buttoning up his dark green dress shirt.“If you take Monday off from work as well, then we’ll be able to enjoy the day together.”He gave her a warm look, but it was more affectionate than passionate.He wasn’t in a sexy mood this morning—an incongruity she could hardly fail to miss.“I don’t know if I can take two days off in a row.Today was just a spontaneous thing.I’ll get too behind if I miss Monday too.”“I’m sorry I can’t stay and play hooky with you.” Drayton looked polished and sophisticated as he slid a black belt around his waist, despite his ruffled hair and lack of shoes.It seemed absurd to think of him as anything other than he looked—an intelligent photographer in his thirties with an eye for aesthetics and a lightning-quick wit.Julia pulled her knees up and hugged them to her chest.“Hmph,” she grunted, giving him a teasing pout.“Some fun you are.”With a smile, Drayton leaned over the bed and took her protruding lower lip between his teeth.After giving it a little tug, his mouth softened into a kiss.She responded, feeling oddly hopeful, and pulled him down onto the bed with her.Pressing the length of her body against his, she murmured, “Stay with me today, Drayton.”If he stayed, she wouldn’t have to go through with the rest of the plan.And maybe they could bond again, make a first step toward the truth coming out in a more natural and less underhanded way.“Julia, I can’t.” Despite his words, his hands traced along the curves of her thighs, butt, and back, rubbing against the pink cotton of her shorts and tank set.After giving her another kiss, he added, “Did Mike turn you down first?”It took her a few seconds to process the question.When she did, she jerked away and sat up stiffly on the edge of the bed.“That wasn’t fair, Drayton.”“Wasn’t it?” Drayton sat up too, but made no move to touch her again.“It wasn’t intended to be an attack.You’ve been spending a lot of time with Mike lately, and I’d be surprised if you hadn’t asked him to spend the day with you first.”“Well, I didn’t.We’ve hardly seen you lately.I wanted to spend some time with you.”She was too on edge to look at him, but she could feel his eyes on her back.“I’m not the one who pulled away,” he said at last.That made her suck in a sharp breath and look at him again.“I keep trying to reach out to you, Drayton.You can’t blame this on me.You’re the one keeping secrets [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]