The One Nighter (8 page)

He turned the envelope over, still holding it high. “This is addressed to me,” he observed, his eyebrows cramming together in confusion. “Dare I hope that it’s a love letter?” he teased.

She reached for it, but he pulled it out of her grasp. Hoping he wouldn’t open it, she chewed the inside of her lip. “Not exactly,” she replied.

Turning away, he opened the envelope. Staring at his back, she waited for the harsh realization to set in. When he turned back to face her, the betrayal she saw made her knees feel weak.

“You’re leaving?”

With two words, he had conveyed a wealth of em
o
tion.

Betrayal.

Confusion.

Pain.

Pulling her lower lip beneath her teeth, her eyes met his. “I…”

“Are you?” he challenged.

Unable to hold his gaze any longer, she looked away. “I think that it’s best,” she reasoned.

“Best for whom?”

Squaring her shoulders, she lifted her chin.
“Best for both of us.”

Shaking his head, he turned to throw the letter on his desk. “Right,” he bit out.

She opened her mouth to speak, but the tense line of his shoulders warned that he didn’t want to hear what she had to say.

“I should go,” she said.

Without turning around, he answered.
“Yeah.”

As she walked out of his office, she let out a heavy sigh.

This wasn’t what she wanted.

She didn’t want things to end like this.

But she wasn’t sure there was any other way.

Things with Connor were too brash, too passionate to end on a middle ground. It was either a raging flame or an arctic chill.

Reaching the back door, she pulled it open to step ou
t
side. She walked across the parking lot, stopping midway to her car. Looking over her shoulder, she realized that he wasn’t coming after her. And why should he? Hadn’t she just told him that she wanted to leave?

Still, it hurt.

More than she wanted to admit.

At the end of the lot, the rumbling of a car engine broke her concentration.

Her eyes narrowed as she realized the car didn’t have its headlights on.

She reached into her purse, her fingers searching for her keys. She tried to focus on the task, but her mind was still on the man inside. She didn’t want to leave. It was the last thing she wanted. But there wasn’t any other way. Couldn’t he see that? As it was, she was going to have to face a grueling rumor mill for the next two weeks before she left.

Suddenly, the lot was ablaze with light.

She turned to find the car’s headlights at the end of the lot flashing bright.

She blinked, her eyebrows crowding together in conf
u
sion.

Tires squealed as the car began speeding toward her. As she turned to run, she collided with a broad chest. Co
n
nor wrenched her out of the way mere seconds before the car sped past. Horrified, she watched it speed through the lot and escape onto the road.

She tried to catch her breath as her gaze met his. “What…” She couldn’t get the words out. She couldn’t even think.

His gaze was still focused on the street. “I heard the car when I came out. If I hadn’t gotten to you…” He trailed off, not wanting to voice the horrible conclusion.

She felt his arms tighten around her as she drew in shaky breaths.

“Are you okay?” he inquired, his voice laced with co
n
cern.

Biting her lower lip in an effort not to cry, she replied. “I think so.”

“Did you get a good look at the car?” he asked.

Worry clouded her features as she shook her head.

She tried to ease out of his grasp, but her knees wouldn’t hold her.

Immediately, she felt his arms enfold her, holding her against him.

“Why don’t you let me take you home? We can call the cops from there,” he suggested evenly.

At the dubious look she gave him, he fixed her with an intent stare. “Look, you’re in no condition to drive right now. And to be honest, I really don’t feel like hanging out in this parking lot to find out if that guy is coming back.”

When she hesitated, he tilted his head to the side. “B
e
sides that, I am a witness, so I’m sure they will want to talk to both of us at the same time,” he reasoned.

“Did you get a good look at the car?” she inquired.

“I wasn’t focused as much on the car as I was on getting you out of its way,” he confessed sheepishly.

“That doesn’t make you much of a witness,” she re
p
lied.

“True, but I have an ulterior motive,” he admitted.

“What’s that?”

“I need time to convince you to stay here.”

She let out a heavy sigh. “You won’t be able to,” she explained.

One side of his mouth quirked up on a cocky grin.
“We’ll see,” he observed.

Deep down, she knew she shouldn’t take him up on his offer, but the truth was that she didn’t want to be alone.

Not after what had happened.

Sliding into the car next to him, she tried her best to still her racing pulse. Tears clung to the corners of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She wanted to believe that what had happened was an accident. That it was not inte
n
tional.

But the sickening feeling she felt in the pit of her st
o
mach warned her not to be so complacent.

Someone had tried to kill her tonight.

The big question was, who?

And…why?

Chapter 11

Connor cast a quick glance at Melanie. As much as he tried to reassure her, he didn’t like this.

From the tense line of her shoulders, she obviously felt as uncomfortable as he did. It was understandable. After all, she had nearly been killed in that parking lot. If he had been one second slower coming out of the office, things would have had a much more tragic ending.
It didn’t even look like the person driving tried to slow down.

Which made things even worse.

Because if they hadn’t tried to stop, it meant that they’d intended to hit the woman sitting next to him.

His thoughts were inevitably drawn to Miranda. After her dire prediction earlier, it was conceivable that she had tried to take matters into her own hands. But he couldn’t believe that Miranda would do something so violent. It was true that she had been angry, but angry enough to kill?

Besides, she didn’t even know about his connection with Melanie.

But, if not Miranda, then whom?

He felt a chill of apprehension tease his spine.

None of it made sense.

Something was off.

He just wished he knew what it was.

“Turn left at the next light,” she directed.

He glanced over at her. Despite the fact that she had agreed to let him take her home, she had barely said two words to him. She might not admit it, but she was obviou
s
ly still shaken. In truth, he couldn’t blame her. It wasn’t every day that a person nearly escaped death. When it ha
p
pened, he supposed it required a certain amount of intro
s
pection.

Easing the car into the spot, he shut off the ignition. Before he could get around
to help
her, she had her door open and was getting out. Silently, she led him through a courtyard filled with lush foliage. The underwater lights in the pool on the right glowed.
The small patio she led him to
was
decorated with colorful hanging plants.

When she opened the door, he followed her inside. A living area sat to the right with a plush blue couch. A glass coffee table sat in front of it with several photos in picture frames. The entertainment center in front of the couch was filled with cheerful knickknacks. A small dining table sat to the left with candlesticks in the center.
A couple of steps before him led to what he could only assume
was
the be
d
room. A black cat peeked curiously around the corner, de
s
perate to get a glimpse.

“And who’s that?” he inquired, pointing to the cat.

A smile erased the worry from her face momentarily as she leaned down to absently stroke the cat’s head. “His name is Romeo,” she replied.

He tilted his head to the side, giving her a boyish grin. “So, I have competition,” he observed.

She let out a nervous giggle as she leaned against the wall. And just as quickly as the fog had lifted, he watched the worry cloud her face.

He walked across the room, coming to stand directly in front of her. His hands reached out to stroke her upper arms. “Why don’t I make us both a drink? After what ha
p
pened, I think we can both use it.”

Letting out a heavy sigh, she nodded. “The glasses are in the cupboard over the sink. I think there’s an old bottle of rum in the cabinet on top of the refrigerator.”

Walking into the small kitchen, he grabbed the bottle of rum. When he was finished, he carried out two glasses of rum and coke. Sitting on the couch and leaning her head back, she looked so small, so fragile. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and hold her. Sliding the drink into her hands, he sat down next to her.

“Sip it,” he instructed as she lifted the glass to her lips.

After taking a couple of sips, she wrinkled her nose b
e
fore placing the glass on the coffee table.

Her eyes met his. “Do you think they were trying to hit me?”

It was the question that he had been asking himself all night. As much as he wanted to believe that there was a lo
g
ical, nonviolent explanation for what happened tonight, he had to accept the fact that it didn’t look good.

“I don’t know,” he hedged. “Do you have any enemies? Anyone who might want to hurt you?”

She shook her head.
“Not that I know of.
The only pe
r
son who’s been upset with me lately is Jill. But I don’t think she would…” She trailed off, not wanting to voice the su
s
picion.

One eyebrow lifted as he tilted his head to the side.
“No old boyfriends who are still pining for you?” he qu
e
ried.

She let out a harsh laugh. “No. For the last few years, I haven’t really dated much. I was trying so hard to get ahead and finish school that I barely had time to do anything,” she admitted.

He couldn’t deny that the information pleased him. It wasn’t that he didn’t expect her to have a life or to have dated. It was just that he hoped that her past boyfriends were all horribly disfigured, and possibly impotent.

“I just can’t believe that someone would actually want to…”

She didn’t finish the sentence, but she didn’t have to.

When she shivered, he slid his arm around her, pulling her close.

His hand caressed her cheek before lifting her chin with his forefinger. Her eyes met his. “It’s going to be okay, M
e
lanie. It’s over,” he said.

The look in her eyes made it clear that she didn’t b
e
lieve him, but her next words confirmed it.

“Is it?”

It was the question he had been asking himself all night.

Was it really over?

Or was it just beginning?

* * * *

Melanie looked into his eyes. Despite the harrowing events of the night, when he held her this close, she felt safe.

“I should probably go,” he said.

His words made panic race up her spine.

“Connor?”

“Yeah,” he replied.

“Stay with me tonight,” she said. “I don’t want to be alone.”

His arms tightened around her as if he could protect her from whatever unseen force was out there. And when she was with him like this, she actually thought that he could.

“I could sleep on the couch,” he remarked, giving her the opportunity to back down.

Her eyes met his.

“I don’t want you to sleep on the couch.”

He looked down at her, his expression intent. “Are you sure?”

She offered him a shy smile. “I’m sure,” she confirmed.

It was all the encouragement he needed.

He leaned down to press his lips against hers, and she opened willingly. When his tongue met hers, she moaned. His hand slid up her ribcage to cover her breast, stroking the taut bud that begged for attention.