the hell am I going to tell her?”
“Tell me what?”
Adria stood in the doorway. Anxious with the most absurd fear that she could tell whathe’d just been thinking, he watched as she walked over to his cluttered desk.
“You haven’t slept or shaved since you left me yesterday, have you?” She peered at the overflowing trash can. “Or eaten. You’re living on caffeine.”
And memories, he thought. “I came back and began running checks on our Ms. Greene. I’ve been at it ever since.”
She looked as if she wanted to say something. Something personal. Not now, he thought. If it killed him he would keep this meeting business. Hell, by the time he told her about his meeting with Forster, he wouldn’t have to worry about talking to her at all. “I still haven’t been able to find out who she really is. But I did learn from a member of the recovery crew that she had flashed credentials and used Forster’s name. Which doesn’t mean squat. It’s not impossible to get Forster’s name and fake IDs.”
Adria sank down into a visitor’s chair. “I’ve been racking my brain all night and I just can’t figure out what this woman’s agenda is. She pretends to be a reporter to grill me and try to find out what I know about the investigation. She learns I’m most likely the fall guy, then I don’t hear from her again. All of a sudden she pops up on national television, digging around looking for plane parts.” Adria leaned forwardand snagged the open Coke on Dane’s desk, absently helping herself to a deep swallow.
It was such a casual gesture, Dane thought, one not unusual between two people who’d been as intimate as they had been. Maybe that was why it hit him so hard. It was the only indication either of them had given since yesterday that anything had happened between them at all.
Maybe it was just as well, his little voice commented. And maybe you can go to hell, he shot back silently.
“It’s all circumstantial,” he said finally. He held up his hand to forestall her argument. “I agree that there is a bunch of it, but I ran what I had past Forster, hoping he’d give me more time.”
“And?” Adria immediately shook her head. “Never mind. I can read it on your face.”
When had he let the rest of his guard fall around her? Masking his emotions was second nature for him. It was his
entire
nature. It made him a good investigator. Plane crashes were brutal, ugly scenes of carnage and death. A little detachment went a long way. And he’d taken detachment to a whole new level. Until Adria.
“Don’t worry, Dane. I know this makes you uncomfortable. I’m not trying to make you more so, believe me.”
“That’s just it,” he said. “I do believe you.About everything.” And she deserved to know. He hadn’t been trying to save
her
the pain, he’d been trying to save himself.
“Well, then,” she said, sitting up straighter, clasping her hands in her lap. “I guess we have our work cut out for us, don’t we?”
“What do you mean?”
“I know you don’t think you need my help on this, but it’s my job on the line. I promise I won’t do anything to compromise yours, no matter what happens. But we have to find evidence and I’m convinced our reporter is the link. Friday is less than three days away. You can’t expect me to just sit around twiddling my thumbs. I won’t. I can’t.”
He was a dead man. Death right now would be preferable to what he was about to tell her.
You’re a coward, Dane Colbourne
.
He’d never thought that of himself before. But maybe it was because he’d never risked anything of real importance to himself.
“We don’t have until Friday, Adria. We don’t have any time at all.”
She froze. Then, so quietly it hurt, she said, “What do you mean?”
Dane stood and came around the desk. When he was a step from her, she shifted away.
That withdrawal ripped into him, and he stilled for half a second. Then, as casually aspossible, he rested his
“Tell me what?”
Adria stood in the doorway. Anxious with the most absurd fear that she could tell whathe’d just been thinking, he watched as she walked over to his cluttered desk.
“You haven’t slept or shaved since you left me yesterday, have you?” She peered at the overflowing trash can. “Or eaten. You’re living on caffeine.”
And memories, he thought. “I came back and began running checks on our Ms. Greene. I’ve been at it ever since.”
She looked as if she wanted to say something. Something personal. Not now, he thought. If it killed him he would keep this meeting business. Hell, by the time he told her about his meeting with Forster, he wouldn’t have to worry about talking to her at all. “I still haven’t been able to find out who she really is. But I did learn from a member of the recovery crew that she had flashed credentials and used Forster’s name. Which doesn’t mean squat. It’s not impossible to get Forster’s name and fake IDs.”
Adria sank down into a visitor’s chair. “I’ve been racking my brain all night and I just can’t figure out what this woman’s agenda is. She pretends to be a reporter to grill me and try to find out what I know about the investigation. She learns I’m most likely the fall guy, then I don’t hear from her again. All of a sudden she pops up on national television, digging around looking for plane parts.” Adria leaned forwardand snagged the open Coke on Dane’s desk, absently helping herself to a deep swallow.
It was such a casual gesture, Dane thought, one not unusual between two people who’d been as intimate as they had been. Maybe that was why it hit him so hard. It was the only indication either of them had given since yesterday that anything had happened between them at all.
Maybe it was just as well, his little voice commented. And maybe you can go to hell, he shot back silently.
“It’s all circumstantial,” he said finally. He held up his hand to forestall her argument. “I agree that there is a bunch of it, but I ran what I had past Forster, hoping he’d give me more time.”
“And?” Adria immediately shook her head. “Never mind. I can read it on your face.”
When had he let the rest of his guard fall around her? Masking his emotions was second nature for him. It was his
entire
nature. It made him a good investigator. Plane crashes were brutal, ugly scenes of carnage and death. A little detachment went a long way. And he’d taken detachment to a whole new level. Until Adria.
“Don’t worry, Dane. I know this makes you uncomfortable. I’m not trying to make you more so, believe me.”
“That’s just it,” he said. “I do believe you.About everything.” And she deserved to know. He hadn’t been trying to save
her
the pain, he’d been trying to save himself.
“Well, then,” she said, sitting up straighter, clasping her hands in her lap. “I guess we have our work cut out for us, don’t we?”
“What do you mean?”
“I know you don’t think you need my help on this, but it’s my job on the line. I promise I won’t do anything to compromise yours, no matter what happens. But we have to find evidence and I’m convinced our reporter is the link. Friday is less than three days away. You can’t expect me to just sit around twiddling my thumbs. I won’t. I can’t.”
He was a dead man. Death right now would be preferable to what he was about to tell her.
You’re a coward, Dane Colbourne
.
He’d never thought that of himself before. But maybe it was because he’d never risked anything of real importance to himself.
“We don’t have until Friday, Adria. We don’t have any time at all.”
She froze. Then, so quietly it hurt, she said, “What do you mean?”
Dane stood and came around the desk. When he was a step from her, she shifted away.
That withdrawal ripped into him, and he stilled for half a second. Then, as casually aspossible, he rested his
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