SHE COULDN’T MEET HIS GAZE
The shirt hung to the middle of her thighs and would have easily wrapped around her twice. With incredible gentleness, he smoothed it into place. “Better?”
“Yes.” And it really, really was.
Silence, then, “You okay?”
Head down, she nodded. “Yes.”
Clint hesitated before touching her chin and lifting her face until she had to look into his eyes. “Those are an awful lot of yeses you’re giving me, Julie Rose.”
Mesmerized, Julie got caught in his gaze again. His eyes were…well, there was nothing ordinary about them, though she couldn’t really say the green was anything special. There was just so much intensity, so much emotion there. They’d looked cold earlier, but now they burned with heat.
The bonfire behind her reflected in his face and made pronounced shadows beneath his high cheekbones, his sculpted jaw, his square chin. He wasn’t what she would have termed a classically attractive man, but he was a hero. A bona fide, kick-ass, more than capable hero who offered her safety, and to Julie, that made him the most beautiful man she’d ever seen.
Lori Foster’s Books
Too Much Temptation
Never Too Much
Unexpected
Say No to Joe?
The Secret Life of Bryan
When Bruce Met Cyn
Just a Hint—Clint
Jamie
Murphy’s Law
Jude’s Law
Anthologies
All Through the Night
I Brake for Bad Boys
Bad Boys on Board
I Love Bad Boys
Jingle Bell Rock
Bad Boys to Go
I’m Your Santa
A Very Merry Christmas
Bad Boys of Summer
When Good Things Happen to Bad Boys
The Night Before Christmas
Star Quality
Perfect for the Beach
Bad Boys in Black Tie
Truth or Dare
The Watson Brothers
Just a Hint—Clint
LORI FOSTER
ZEBRA BOOKS
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Epilogue
Chapter One
“Why would he take her?”
Those rough, rumbled words carried a dose of suspicion—and accusation. Equal parts nervous and concerned, Robert Burns swallowed hard. He was a man of influence, damn it, a man of wealth and standing with his own source of power.
This man-for-hire, a grunt that now worked for him, would not intimidate him.
It didn’t matter that Clint Evans wore an aura of danger as thick and suffocating as an electrical storm, or that his eyes were so…Jesus, his eyes were so sharp they seemed to cut right through Robert.
Forcing himself to lounge back in his chair, Robert feigned an insouciance that eluded him.
Evans’s reputation hadn’t been exaggerated. This man was more than capable of killing. Robert could see that just by looking at him, and it suited his purposes even as it set his nerves jangling.
“I can’t think of anyone else it could be.” That much was true, because as far as Robert knew, Julie had no enemies.
But he did, and now he’d been reduced to a man he didn’t recognize, a man he couldn’t respect. That thought made him ill, but it was still possible that he’d get Julie back unharmed and be rid of some trouble at the same time.
Robert lowered his head in what he hoped looked like hesitation, when in fact he teemed with frustration. The ransom note, now somewhat crumpled and smudged, rested on his desktop as an ugly, grim reminder of what his life had become. He detested himself for what he planned to do, but damn it, he had no alternative.
“I hate to admit it,” Robert murmured low, “but Julie’s something of a…tease.” He sighed and raised his face. “Her father did his best with her, but she’d do things, see…certain men, just to enrage him, just to prove he had no real authority over her. After his death, well, she seems to enjoy dishing the same provocation onto Drew.”
“Drew?”
“Drew Johnson, her uncle, the executor of her trust fund and the man now forced to monitor her behavior.” When Clint said nothing, Robert felt compelled to explain further. “Drew and her father were close, as family and as business partners. He loves Julie, never doubt that. But she’s always done just as she pleased regardless of how it damaged the family name.” He shrugged. “Sometimes it pleased her to flirt with danger.”
“You’re saying she got snatched because she flirted with the wrong man?”
“It’s possible. She’s done it before. Once she even had a liaison with a stable hand.”
A funny expression, almost like satisfaction, passed over Clint’s hard face. “Do tell.”
Robert shook his head. “It was a huge scandal, and Julie wouldn’t even bother to deny it to anyone, not even the press. She almost seemed to enjoy the untoward attention.”
Amusement brought a crooked smile to one side of Clint’s unhandsome face.
Robert scowled at the awful ransom note. “It’s possible she’s been up to her old tricks, and now she’s gotten herself into trouble. That’s all I can come up with.”
“You think she flirted with Asa Ragon?”
Swallowing down his uneasiness, Robert began his fabrication of the facts. “After the note, there was…one phone call.”
A new alertness entered Clint’s already intimidating expression. “What was said?”
Robert wanted to back up a step. He wanted to stop now, to call it quits. But he couldn’t. “Only that I should wait to hear from the kidnapper. He said he’d call and give me a time and place to take the money.”
“That was in the note. Why make a call if there wasn’t anything new to add?”
“He wanted to reiterate that if I involved the cops, or anyone else, they’d kill her.” Robert gulped, and tried to appear convincing. “The voice…It sounded like Asa.”
“You’ve met him?”
“Yes,