Page 32 of Unlikely Guardian

Except she was no longer sure he was holding a grudge. Lilly rethought that. Or maybe that kiss was nothing more than just that—a kiss. A basic physical reaction and nothing more.

Hey, it was possible.

And what with his fatherly duties and high-pressure job, it’d probably been a while since Jason had kissed or been kissed.

He leaned closer and whispered, “Best not to think about it.”

She knew what he meant. He wasn’t talking about her road rage/grudge-holding theory. He was referring to them. And Jason was right.

“Think about Wayne Sandling and Raymond Klein,” he continued.

Oh, she was thinking about them. Even the kiss couldn’t diminish that. “Means, motive and opportunity. They both have that in spades. And while I know they’re guilty of illegal business practices, is either of them actually guilty of wanting me dead?”

“Time will tell.” He paused. “Any other names that jump out at you?”

She shook her head. “Not really. But that’s what scares me. It could be some person that we don’t even know about. Someone who was smart enough to keep his name from drawing attention. My father wasn’t exactly discriminate about his business associates.”

Jason’s cell phone rang and Lilly was in such deep thought that it took her a moment to realize what it was. He snatched his phone from his pocket and answered it. And Lilly immediately became alarmed, because he’d told the two officers in the parking lot to alert him if anything went wrong.

So, had something gone wrong?

She closed the file folder and reached for her cane in case they had to dive for cover. With all the danger of the past four days, she would have thought her body had grown accustomed to the fear.

It hadn’t.

Lilly reacted as if this were the first time. The racing heart. The thin breath. The sickening feeling of dread that came from having little or no control over a potentially deadly situation.

Because there was nothing else she could do, she waited, watching for any cues on Jason’s face. There were emotions there, all right. Confusion. Questions. Concern. It was the concern that created all sorts of wild scenarios in her head.

“Is Megan okay?” Lilly asked the moment he took the phone away from his ear.

“This isn’t about Megan. Your former secretary, Corinne, is downstairs, and she wants to see you.”

Well, it wasn’t the threat she’d tried to prepare herself for. “Corinne’s here?” Lilly checked the time at the bottom of the computer screen. It was already past 11:00 p.m. Hardly the hour for an office visit.

“She says she was just driving by and saw the lights.” Jason paused. “You want to see her?”

She almost said no, because she wanted to continue to go through the files, but there was something about Corinne’s visit and her saw-the-lights explanation that piqued Lilly’s curiosity.

“Sure.”

Jason relayed that to the cop and ended the call. “You think Corinne knows something?” he asked.

“Probably not. If she did, she would have already given the information to the police.” Still, that didn’t rule out Jason’s theory about Corinne having some information. Like the cops and everyone else who’d been through the files, Corinne might have missed something.

Because time was preciously short, Lilly reopened the file folder and continued to go through it while they waited for Corinne’s arrival. Jason did more than wait. He put the computer on a screensaver and withdrew his weapon.

That got her attention. “You think Corinne’s an assassin coming in here to finish me off?” Lilly asked, conveying her skepticism.

“I’m not taking any more chances.”

Lilly was about to point out that Corinne was almost fifty. A grandmother at that. On a profiling scale, she wouldn’t be in the top one hundred suspects. Still, she didn’t object to Jason’s diligence. It was that diligence that’d kept her alive so far. More so, she trusted him, and she swore to herself that her change of heart had nothing to do with this odd intimacy that was now between them.

She heard the elevator door open and then the footsteps. Two sets. Probably Corinne’s and the police escort’s. Several moments later, both appeared in the doorway.

Like her office, the changes in Corinne were minimal. A few more gray hairs threaded through the rich chestnut strands. Maybe she’d put on a pound or two. But that was it. No sinister vibes that she was a killer. Then, Lilly hadn’t expected to get such vibes, anyway.

“It’s so good to see you.” Corinne went to her, reached out and hugged her. “How have you been?”

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