Page 54 of Threat of Danger
“I like who I became,” she told him.
The corners of his lips twitched. “I like who you became too, Jess. A lot.”
Her heart gave a mad flutter.
She raised a hand to ward him off. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“No come-ons.”
“Why?”
They’d talked about that already.
Words deserted her now. Or, rather, her true reasons were too numerous and too convoluted, and perhaps they didn’t entirely stand up to closer inspection. So she simply said, “I can’t.”
“OK.”
Just like that.OK.And then Jess was suddenly even angrier, and didn’t even know why.
Because Derek had given up so fast?
She stomped away, into the mudroom, and grabbed her boots. “I need to catch up with Eliot. He’s waiting for me.”
“When are you leaving for the airport?” Derek asked, his tone inscrutable and detached. So was his face—unreadable.
Jess held his gaze while she took a few seconds to think. A hundred thoughts ran through her mind. But, in the end, making the decision wasn’t difficult. “I’ve decided to stay.”
The bones changed everything.
Chapter Thirteen
Wednesday
“I HAVE MYeye on you.” Derek watched Mark Maxwell closely, although the light in the little alley between the newspaper office and the Taylorville Museum wasn’t great. He’d backed the man in there once he finally caught up with him.
“Is that an implied threat?” Maxwell was all puffed up and sure of himself, knowing damn well he was in shouting distance of the sidewalk.
“It’s a spelled-out threat. If I find out that you had anything to do with Jess being hurt, you’re going to beg for the safety of a jail cell.”
Maxwell stepped back. “You’re insane.”
He was the right body type, right height. He’d been in the middle of the investigation back then, and he’d inserted himself into it now. But was he the masked man? No matter how carefully Derek watched the asshole, he couldn’t tell.
“You had a printout of the police reports on the missing girls,” Derek said. “Want to explain how you got that?”
“Confidential source.”
“You have a keen interest in this case. One might say it’s an obsession.”
“I’m a reporter.”
“There’s only one thing that’s worse.” Derek let his eyes finish the sentence:A dead reporter.
Judging by the way Maxwell pulled back again, he read that loud and clear.
“You’re going to stay away from Jess Taylor.”
