Page 13 of Deadly Secrets
The class professor stood and clapped his hands together to get everyone’s attention. “I’m afraid that’s all we have time for. Thank you, Dr. Heaton, for this fascinating lecture. I hope you’ll come back and present for us again in the fall.”
Applause was sporadic and students began talking, shoving their laptops and other stuff into backpacks and heading out.
A few gathered around the lectern, asking Brooke questions. One was the guy who’d started The Reverend conversation, and Roman saw he wasn’t all that young.Must be one of the grad students.
The professor allowed her to answer a couple of quick questions, then shooed the students off. He shook Brooke’s hand and held it a little longer than necessary, speaking in such low tones Roman had to lean forward to hear him.
“I heard about what happened last night at the bar. Dr. Reid told me. Are you all right?”
Brooke smiled, withdrawing her hand. “It was quite the evening.” She chuckled, as if being shot at were an everyday occurrence. “But I’m fine. I had a”—her gaze shot to Roman, who stood and started down the aisle—“guardian angel.”
Guardian angel, huh? He’d go with that, althoughangelmight be a stretch.
“I would love to pick your brain over lunch,” the professor said. “There’s a sandwich shop on campus. My treat.”
He grinned and Brooke’s smile slipped off her face. “Oh, I’m so sorry, but I can’t. I have…a…”
“She has a lunch date with me,” Roman said, leaning on a seat in front. He looked her in the eye. “Ready, Dr. Heaton?”
She gripped her briefcase tightly and narrowed her eyes at him. “Lunch. Right.”
For a second she didn’t move, as if considering which was worse—lunch with Dr. Tweed or him. Finally, she offered her fake smile once more. “Thank you for having me, Dr. Olsen.”
“I meant what I said about having you come back in the fall,” Olsen called after them as Brooke brushed past Roman and hustled up the steps to the door.
Her only response was a wave over her shoulder. Roman jogged to get to the door first and open it for her. “I’m sorry I missed your lecture. Looks like you wrapped Dr. Tweed around your finger.”
They broke out into the warm sunshine and Brooke kept walking at a pace Roman suspected was challenging in the tight skirt. He did enjoy the way it spotlighted her curvy ass though. Man, what he’d do to get his hands on that ass.
When she realized he’d fallen behind, she stopped abruptly and whirled. A second too quick, she caught him staring at her backside.
Her lips pinched and her eyes narrowed. “Why are you here?”
“You still haven’t thanked me for saving your life last night.”
Those pretty eyes narrowed even more. “Try again.”
She really was just like a profiler, knowing he was there for a far more serious reason. He liked that she called him on his exaggerations. Most take-charge women in his line of work had to be over-the-top. Brooke’s assertiveness wasn’t the same. She called it like it was and didn’t take crap. “You said you’d be in touch, yet you don’t answer my calls or texts.”
“I was being polite.”
A group of students wandered past. Roman waited until they were out of earshot. “So you had no intention of discussing last night’s case with me?”
“There’s really nothing I can tell you about the sigil.”
“Liar.”
She blinked several times and drew back. Apparently she didn’t like having the tables turned on her. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. You’re lying and I want to know why. You know damn well what that sigil is and what it means. You expect me to be straight with you? Then you be straight with me.”
Her eyes closed briefly, long lashes resting against her flawless skin. “I wrote up notes for you.” She blinked her eyes open and he saw a flatness covering her emotions. “I’ll email them, okay?”
She turned on her heel and started marching away. He caught up to her as she entered the parking lot. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”
She kept walking. He did too, right beside her.
“You cut your hair, I see.”
