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day.
He was stabbed. There was no way to sugar coat the situation. The doctor says no
organs were pierced and he should make a good recovery. Okay, so I could sugar coat a
little.
What happened? Fuck, I could hear the tears in her voice. I would rather pull out my
teeth than make my sweet aunt cry.
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45
There was an intruder at my apartment. The police are looking into why someone
knocked out the cameras and attacked Ray.
The silence on the phone stretched.
Aunt Janie?
Where were you?
I was out on a date.
So while you were out clubbing, my boy was hurt?
For the first time Aunt Janie didn t sound so sweet. There was a hard edge to her voice
I d never heard before. He should ve been safe. I live in a secured apartment. There are
cameras on every floor and you need a key to get into the building.
Who stabbed him?
Nobody knows. The police are looking into it. I ll get you a flight out here. When do
you want to come?
I ll make my own arrangements, Francis. I think you ve done enough.
The sound of the line disconnecting was loud in my ear. When I looked at the screen, it
showed the call had dropped.
Shit.
What s wrong, babe?
She hung up on me. I stared at the screen in disbelief. She holds me responsible for
Ray getting hurt.
Bill made a short snorting sound. I think it s more likely someone from his past, but
we should still go over your current cases.
My cases? I wasn t really paying attention. I was more concerned that my Aunt Janie
was holding me responsible for the injury to her son.
Bill shook my feet. Focus.
Sorry. You know I mostly do family law, and my cases lately have been pretty run of
the mill. A few amicable divorces, two child custody cases where both parents wanted the
best for their children and only needed a lawyer to draw up the proper papers. I haven t
even been in court for a month or so. I shook my head. Nothing is jumping out.
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46
I felt nauseous over the thought that someone could ve attacked Ray because they
wanted to hurt me. I didn t know how many people Ray had told where he was staying, so it
did make more sense for them to be after me instead of Ray.
What about ex-boyfriends? Anyone not appreciate being an ex?
I shook my head. My boyfriends usually dump me, not the other way around. It was
the sad truth. After a while, men who were initially interested in having some nice arm
candy to walk around with decided they didn t like all the attention I brought with me when
we went out.
Huh. What about at that shelter you help out at sometimes?
How did you know I volunteered at the women s shelter?
Bill shrugged. I asked around about you. I know you do pro bono work at the office,
too.
It was my turn to shrug. I like to be helpful and I inherited a lot of money when my
grandfather died.
Why don t you go completely pro bono?
Because then I wouldn t be able to donate my salary to the women s shelter and only
live off the interest of my money.
Bill s hands stopped his massage.
Hey! I wiggled my feet imperiously at him, but he only continued to stare. I d never
had a guy give me a foot rub before and I enjoyed it immensely.
You donate all of your salary?
I nodded.
Bill shoved my feet off the couch, slid over and took me in his arms. If I thought his
kisses were hot before, now they were nuclear.
I moaned against his lips as I drowned beneath the waves of need rushing through me.
Eventually he lifted his mouth so we could gasp for air. If I hadn t loved you before, I
would ve fallen in love with you just then.
Love.
I froze, unable to think of a single thing to say as Bill gave me a sad smile. I didn t
mean to say that so soon. I don t expect you fall in love with me after a few dates. He
PROTECTING FRANCIS Amber Kell
47
brushed my hair back from my eyes with a gentle touch. I only want you to give me a
chance.
Give him a chance? How could I turn down this strong, sweet man who treated me as if
I were someone to be treasured instead of a hot piece of ass to decorate his arm? Still, I wasn t
quite ready to move in together and start picking out china patterns. Why don t we see how
things go?
Fair enough. The determined look in Bill s eyes said he wouldn t give up easily. That
didn t bother me, as long as he gave me time.
Come on, let s go to bed. It s been a long day. Bill stood up and held out his hand. I
felt perfectly comfortable taking it. For a brief second, I felt a flash of what it would be like to
belong to another person.
I liked the idea.
A few minutes later, I was naked and snuggled in Bill s arms. After a long emotional
day it didn t take long to fall asleep.
* * * *
Bill
I woke up to the most beautiful face in the world. Okay, I might be a tad prejudiced, but
the streams of light cutting through the twilight shadow slid across Francis face like an old
black and white photograph, throwing his sharp cheekbones into contrast.
The idea of putting him in a padlocked room until this psycho was caught flashed
through my mind, but I could just see him charming someone into letting him out and
where would I be then?
I needed to get up and do some research on Francis cousin to see if I could dig up any
dirt on the man who could ve knowing or not brought a psycho to Francis front door. I
knew little about the man and didn t plan on giving him any quarter.
An hour later, I sat before my computer, confused. Ray s company appeared legitimate,
and I couldn t find that he d got as much as a parking ticket in the past two years.
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48
Finding nothing, I decided to make Francis breakfast while I thought over how to
approach this next. Francis phone rang on the counter. Glancing at the readout, I saw it read
Jane Davis. Suspicious that Francis aunt had called to give him a hard time, I answered.
Hello.
Who s this? An elderly lady s voice came across the line.
I m Bill, Francis partner.
Oh. I m his Aunt Janie.
What can I do for you?
I wasn t going to give an inch. She d crushed Francis last night. There were no second
chances when it came to hurting my man.
I wanted to tell him my flight will be in at three this afternoon.
I ll tell him. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] - zanotowane.pl
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