Page 49 of Allie's Shelter
“My, my, Ross. You are so perceptive.”
“I do try.” He kissed that sensitive place on her wrist and enjoyed the resulting goose bumps racing over her skin. “As for the letters, I have someone looking into that.”
“Hmm.”
“What?”
“There are a lot of ‘someones’ in your life.”
“But none of them are you.” He shifted, pushing up on one elbow to brush her nose with his. The happiness and contentment he saw in her eyes mirrored his own. Or should have, if he didn’t have the ‘being hired by Roberts’ gaffe hanging between them. “Promise me, however this goes down, you’ll trust me.”
Her brow puckered for a moment as she studied him. “I’m not entirely innocent in all this, Ross, and you’ve gone above and beyond for me.”
“Promise me. Roberts is a nasty piece of work. I need to hear you say you’ll trust what we have over anything he says.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve seen through his act and he won’t fool me again.” She toyed with his hair, but her eyes were on his mouth. “I promise. Do we need to pinky swear?”
“Nah.” He had a better idea of how to seal the deal. And it started with a kiss.
* * *
Allie woke to a dark room and a delicious, satisfied feeling from head to toe. She stretched and reached out, but Ross was gone.
His absence muted her enthusiasm a fraction, but the rightness of their connection felt stronger than ever.
Who knew reconciling could be this much fun? Lying here alone in the quiet, she actually felt comfortable with the glaring reality that her heart forever belonged to him.
Being reunited with Ross was almost worth the danger and shame of her boss’s deplorable behavior. Almost. It would have been nice to have avoided the flying bullet part of the equation.
As much as she wanted to linger in the afterglow, the gravity of her situation returned, seeping into her thoughts. Full of renewed urgency to resolve the situation, she pulled on Ross’s discarded t-shirt and went to find him.
Hearing voices in the office, she stopped short in the hallway, unwilling to interrupt. Ross was talking with Eva, and though she couldn’t make out the words, it was clear they were in the middle of a hushed argument.
About her? Or the case? She couldn’t go down that path, couldn’t afford to let doubt creep into her mind. From the little she’d seen, Eva and Ross could argue about the weather on a perfect day.
Allie hurried back to the bedroom. With nervous energy prickling along her skin, she made the bed and picked up the room, ignoring the way her body rejoiced in the mess they’d made. Just as she was ready to venture back out, she heard the door chime and Ross’s heavy footsteps coming down the hallway.
His warm, contented smile went a long way to soothing her nerves. “You’re awake.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Will be soon.” His hands were warm and strong on her hips and his grin was wicked when he bent his head to steal a kiss. “Eva had an update on some of those faces you recognized.”
“And she drove straight out here? Must have been important. What time is it?”
“It is important.”
The look in his eyes was absolutely predatory and she trembled in eager anticipation. “Right.” She backed away, hoping to maintain the ability to think clearly. “So tell me already.”
“Your corporate laptop turned up at a pawn shop. A crime team picked it up and the fingerprints match the guy from Aunt Ruth’s house.”
Allie’s knees went weak and she sank onto the bed. “How—” she had to clear her throat. “How do we stop Bradley?”
“First, we keep going. The girl who came at you with the Taser?”
“Yeah?”
“My FBI contact says she’s cooperating.”