Page 27 of His Impossible Heir

Not men she’d like to cross though. They weren’t puppies. Nope, they were wolves with razor sharp fangs, dressed in expensive suits. Those tailored suits didn’t even subtly hide their danger.

“Yes, I can see that,” she replied with a smile and a nod of understanding.

The three men stood up. Daniesh and Amanda did as well and, for some reason, she hoped that she would see these men again.

Matteo’s sharp eyes looked down at her, concern lingering in their depths. “I understand that the police think that you murdered Mr. Burrows.”

“That’s true,” she replied, folding her hands in front of her as horrified shame washed over her.

Matteo leaned forward, his eyes softening slightly. “Our next stop is to the police. We will provide enough information that they understand that you are not the prime suspect in Mr. Burrow’s murder. There are many,manyothers who are far more than capable of murder, and with a much better motive.”

Amanda’s heart lurched and her green eyes widened with hope. “Oh my gosh! That would be wonderful!” she gushed, reaching out to shake his hand gratefully. “If the police drop the charges against me and start looking for the real culprit, I would be completely in your debt!”

Matteo’s other hand covered their clasped hands, trying to reassure her. “You will not be in my debt, Ms. Thomas. You were falsely accused and the police were hoping for an easy scapegoat to close the case. The murder happened in the early hours of the evening and, from what we’ve gathered, they didn’t even call in a forensic team to gather evidence yet. They focused on you and didn’t bother to investigate further.”

Tito returned and everyone turned to face the large bodyguard. “We have information that Mr. Burrow’s wife is on her way here to collect his body for burial.” The stern man looked at each of them as he continued. “She’s flying a private plane donated by The Levinthal Group.”

Amanda watched as Daniesh shifted into “authority” mode. “When is her flight due to land?”

Tito glanced at his phone. “According to her flight plan, she’s due to touch down at a private airfield in six hours.”

Daniesh turned to the three other men. “I will–”

“We’ll take care of this,” Levi interrupted. He looked at Amanda. “We still have time to speak with the police. As soon as we’ve discussed this information with them, we’ll contact you again. Do you have a cell phone?”

Amanda automatically touched her upper thigh where she normally kept her phone in a side pocket of her leggings. But the police had taken her phone and her laptop. Her heart sank at the memory. “The police still have all of my electronic devices.”

Sian’s jaw tightened. “We will convince the police to release your belongings.”

Amanda felt lighter after that promise. “That would be wonderful,” she replied with a relieved smile. Unaware of her actions, she leaned against Daniesh, who hadn’t left her side, not for support this time, but perhaps in gratitude?

“Until later, then,” Levi said and the three men all nodded, then filed out of the room. Tito closed the door, giving Amanda and Daniesh some privacy.

“That’s such a huge relief!” she said in a rush.

“Yes, but I don’t want to leave anything to chance. We should still do a bit of digging as well.” She started to open her mouth to say something, but he stopped her with a finger to her lips. “After breakfast. You haven’t eaten anything in hours, and even last night, you only nibbled at your dinner. You need food, and while you eat, we’ll plan what we’re going to do this afternoon.”

He took her hand and led her out of the library.

“Don’t you have work to do?” She asked, pulling back and he stopped to look down at her. “I’m not really hungry, but I could…I could…” she stopped, not really sure what she could do if he needed to work. She didn’t have her computer, so she couldn’t work on her next book release. She didn’t have her phone so she couldn’t read the rest of the electronic book she’d been reading on the flight over the Atlantic.

“You could sit down and eat something,” he said, his voice softer now, and the sound of it warmed her. Then he touched her arm. “And after that, I think we should…” he paused, a slight grin forming on his handsome features, “…sneak into Burrows’ hotel room and see what we can find out.”

Amanda’s features darkened. “No!”

“Why not?” he asked, tucking her hand onto his elbow and leading her towards what she assumed was the dining room. “The police obviously haven’t figured out where the man was staying. I’m not even sure if they’ve managed to identify the fellow.” He glanced at her again, a spark of mischief in his normally stern, dark eyes. “Besides, we don’t have anything more important to do. Why not do a bit of investigating?”

Because he looked too adorable when he smiled like that, was the first answer that popped into her head. “Because I won’t allow you to put yourself in danger in order to help me,” she replied instead.

She caught a smothered chuckle from one of the guards. Amanda glanced over at him, her eyes narrowed. But the guard’s features morphed into polite blandness, despite the amused light sparkling in his eyes.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

Daniesh laughed softly as well, patting her hand in a patronizing manner. “My guards and I know how to get into and out of places without being detected. Getting into a hotel room without hotel security knowing won’t be a problem. It won’t even strain our skills.”

“Oh,” she replied, feeling foolish now.

“What do you prefer to eat for breakfast?”

---