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What s important is that I didn t run away from it, damn me for a fool. And no, I could
have gotten what I needed a number of ways. I didn t need to take you to bed to do it.
Her face heated and she yanked her arm away. The sudden movement knocked
over the wineglass and it spilled onto both of them. Taylor jerked and grabbed her
napkin, blotting ineffectively at her skirt. She glanced sideways at Noah to see him
wiping at his suit jacket with an implacable le look on his face.
 I m sorry. She threw her napkin down on the table.  I m making a mess of things
as usual. This time quite literally. Why don t you just tell me how we got to this point
and what you need in the least number of sentences possible?
 Fine. His voice was steady but when she looked at his face she saw the glitter in
his eyes.  As to what s in the folder, Josiah had me check out everything about you. He
wanted to be sure he wasn t turning his back on someone who was really his. When I
brought him the folder he locked himself in his den and got stinking drunk.
 Drunk?
Noah nodded.  I had to jimmy the door to open it the next morning. He was sitting
at his desk holding the picture of your mother. He never told me what happened back
in the day but he gave me instructions.
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Desiree Holt
 Instructions. She dropped her napkin over the spot on her skirt.
 Yes. He was in the middle of investigating what was happening with Arroyo or he
would have asked you to come back right away. I drove him into San Antonio to a
lawyer he s used for private activities before and he had the new will drawn up. The
proxies he d gotten himself by that time, with the vote assigned to me for a new CEO.
Taylor frowned.  Didn t the board think it strange?
 Maybe. I don t know how he did it. He told me this was his fallback plan. Just in
case. He was getting ready to fly to Tampa to see you when he was killed.
 Have the police made any progress in the case?
Noah made a sound of disgust.  The police can t find their ass with both hands. If
anyone s going to find the answer to Josiah s murder it will have to be me. All I can tell
you is my gut says it has to do with Arroyo and that now involves you.
She leaned against the back of the booth, trying to make some sense of it all.  And
what is it you want me to do?
 Come back to San Antonio with me. Move into Rancho Arroyo, Josiah s home.
Take over the reins of the company. Help me ferret out what s going on and who s
behind it. I can fill you in on the key players, help you with whatever you need. I will be
with you every step of the way.
 I ll just bet. She gave a short laugh.  Why did Josiah choose you for this? What do
you get out of all this, Mr. Cantrell? Forgive me but I can t see you as being particularly
altruistic.
His jaw tightened and he took a long time answering her.  I owe him a great debt.
One I ll never be able to repay. I would do anything for him. And he trusted me. This is
for him.
 And exactly what&
He held up his hand.  No. The details are not open for discussion.
 Well. She sipped at her water, trying to make some sense of things.  You don t
want much, do you? And when am I supposed to do all this?
 Tonight. I ll give you all the details and a rundown on the cast of characters on the
plane.
Taylor thought she d faint. Tonight?  That s impossible.
Noah turned his gaze on her.  It s necessary. What could possibly hold you back? I
know you resigned from your position at Clemens Jacobs. And today was your last day.
You have no close associates that you have to explain things to. No& relationships to
keep you tied down.
She jerked herself upright.  You checked out my love life? You are the most
arrogant ass in the world.
A corner of his mouth twitched.  Probably. But I had to know if you had any loose
ends we needed to tie up. I had to have a complete picture.
40
Where Danger Hides
She clenched her hands around her water glass.  I m sure you had a good laugh at
how pathetic that picture is. I guess that explained why I threw myself at you in the
hotel room.
 I told you. What happened that night is a separate issue. His eyes narrowed.
 One we ll definitely get to later.
 And what about my house? Other things? I can t just get on a plane and fly away.
 Yes you can. I brought people with me to take care of closing up your house and
storing your car. We ll hire a security service to keep an eye on things.
She set her glass down carefully and looked hard at him across the table, hands
folded in front of her, shoulders stiff.  All my life people have been telling me what to
do. Giving me orders. Setting my priorities. And then I find out these people had quite
literally destroyed my mother s life and would have gladly disposed of mine. So the
quiet, complacent Taylor Scott has disappeared. No one is going to tell me what to do.
Not anymore. Am I making myself clear?
His answering stare was just as hard.  This is a little more than telling you what
dress to wear and who to have dinner with. An entire corporation is at stake here. And
all the people involved with it.
She picked up the wine again, sipped the rest of it slowly, then replaced it with a
hand that shook just slightly.  If these people are determined to hide what they re
doing, to take over the company, what s to stop them from killing me? They probably
thought they were home free and now I pop into the picture.
His hands tightened slightly then relaxed.  I won t let that happen.
 Really. She laughed but it wasn t a pleasant sound.  You didn t manage to keep
Josiah safe.
Anger flared in his eyes.  We weren t expecting anything that drastic. We are now.
We ll be prepared.
She stared at him, sudden knowledge flooding her.  You want to use me for bait.
 Taylor. He leaned forward.  Someone has to take the reins of this buggy before [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]