Page 51 of Drop Dead Gorgeous

Briefly I wondered if he’d left my knife in there, or disarmed me. I’d check later. Right now I had some communicating to do. I pulled the notebook toward me and began writing. After I finished the note, I twirled the notebook around and pushed it to the other side of the table.

He poured himself more coffee and came to the table, frowning a little as he read.Both. I coughed a lot from smoke inhalation, then strained my throat even more screaming to get SOMEONE’S attention when I saw her in the crowd. Plus I’m not speaking to you, and the wedding is OFF!!

“Yeah,” he said wryly. “I saw the note about the wedding.” He glanced up, his green eyes narrow and glittering, intently focused on me. “Let’s get something plain between us. Whatever I have to do to protect you, to keep you safe, I’ll do it, no matter how pissed off you get. Putting you in a patrol carand keeping you therewas the best way to keep you out of trouble and out of danger. I won’t apologize for doing that. Ever. Got it?”

He had a real knack for turning the tables, I’ll give him that. He could make a point and turn a phrase so only someone small and petty could disagree with him. That’s okay; I don’t mind being small and petty. I reached out and pulled the notebook to me again.

I’m not your problem anymore. As soon as someone gets here with some clothes for me, I’m so out of here.

“That’s what you think,” he said calmly, after reading the note. “Your little ass is staying right here so I can keep an eye on you. You can’t stay with any of your family, you’d be endangering them if you did. Someone’s trying to kill you, and she doesn’t care if other people get hurt so long as she gets to you.”

Damn, damn,damn! He was right about that.

I wrote:So I’ll stay in a hotel.

“No, you damn well will not. You’re staying here.”

There was an obvious point to be made here, so I made it.And if she somehow follows me here? You’d be in just as much danger as anyone else I stayed with. And you’re called out a lot at night.

“I’ll handle that aspect,” he said, after pausing only enough to read what I’d written, certainly not long enough to have given it any thought. “You have to trust me on this. An arsonist leaves clues behind, plus it’s standard procedure to videotape the bystanders at any murder or arson scene, and I clued everyone in while I was on the way that this was likely arson. A patrolman had the crowd on tape way before you spotted her. All you have to do is point her out to us, and we’ll take it from there.”

That was a relief. He had no idea how big a relief, because he hadn’t been in that condo with me. I would have been much more relieved if she were already in custody, though, which she would have been if he hadn’t had me locked in that stinky squad car.

I wrote,I know her face, I’ve seen her somewhere, but I can’t place her. She’s out of context.

“Then someone else in your family, or even one of your employees, might recognize her. Of course, you saw her when she was following you, so that may be what you’re thinking about.”

That was logical, but…wrong. I shook my head. I hadn’t been able to tell that much about her when she’d been following me, only that the driver was a woman.

The sound of a car in the driveway caught our attention and Wyatt got to his feet. The sound continued around to the back, which meant it was either family or a friend; everyone else went to the front door. He opened the door into the garage and said, “It’s Jenni.”

Wyatt had called Mom less than an hour ago, so I was surprised anyone had gotten here with clothes so soon. Jenni bounced into the kitchen with two Wal-Mart bags in her hands. “You have the most interesting life,” she commented, shaking her head a little as she placed the bags on the table.

“Never a dull moment,” Wyatt agreed drily. “She also has complete laryngitis, from smoke inhalation, so she’s writing notes.”

“So I see,” said Jenni, picking up the one that saidASSHOLE MEN. She studied it for a moment. “And very upset, too. It isn’t like her to be redundant.” Her back was to Wyatt, so he couldn’t see the mischievous wink she gave me.

His only response was a snort.

“Moving right along,” Jenni said breezily, opening the bags. “I was already awake and dressed, so when Mom told me I went straight to Wal-Mart. This is basics only, but that’s all you need today, right? Jeans, two cute tops, two sets of underwear, blow dryer and round hairbrush, mascara, gloss, and a toothbrush and toothpaste. And moisturizer. Oh, and a pair of loafers. I can’t vouch for their comfort, but they’re cute.”

I dug out the sales receipt, nodding my liking for each item, and got out my checkbook to reimburse her. Because she was standing, she caught a glimpse of my wedding shoes in the tote, and gasped.

“Oh. My. God.” Reverently she took one shoe out and balanced it on her hand. “Where did you get these?”

I paused in writing the check, and on the notebook, I obediently scribbled the name of the department store. She didn’t ask how much they’d cost, and I didn’t volunteer the information. Some things are irrelevant. Those were my wedding shoes; cost wasn’t a factor in the decision to get them.

“You are so lucky they were in your tote,” she breathed.

I finished the check and tore it out, then shook my head and scribbled,They weren’t. I had to go back and get them.

Of course, Wyatt saw me shake my head, and he strode over to see what I’d written. He stared at me in disbelief for a moment, then his brows snapped together. “You risked your life for a pair ofshoes?” he thundered.

I gave him an exasperated look and wrote,Those were my WEDDING SHOES. At the time, I still thought I’d marry you. Now I know better.

“Ooookay,” Jenni said, grabbing the check and turning on her heel. “I’m outta here.”

Neither of us paid any attention as she went out the door. Wyatt said furiously, “You went back into a fucking burning building to get a pair of shoes? I don’t care if they’re gold plated—”

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