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."Why would that interest SETI?"Edward Falk stepped forward."Is this yours?"Lainey glanced at the paperback book in his hand.It was the mystery novel she had taken up to thePage 42Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlhouse to read to Micah."I wrote it, if that's what you mean.""We found it at the mansion.""So? Lots of people read my books.""So we're a little short on leads, that's all,"Bergen explained."We figure some transient probably left itbehind.""Mind if we look around?" Falk asked.She glanced at the police officer, wondering if his talk of a search warrant was just a bluff, but he didn'tlook as though he was bluffing.Lainey shrugged, more confused than ever by SETI's interest in the old Grayson place.What were theylooking for, and why did they think she had anything to do with it, whatever it was?"Help yourself," she said, hoping that, if she acted as if she had nothing to hide, they'd go away.They didn't.The shorter of the two suits stayed in the front room with her while the policeman followedthe other suit into the kitchen.Lainey could hear them moving from room to room, felt her nerves stretch to the breaking point as theyneared the guest room.Her fingernails dug into her palms as she waited for& what? A shout ofdiscovery? A gunshot?She glanced around the room, and then her gaze fell on the black box on top of the television.Casually,she crossed the room and picked up the box and the cup she'd left there earlier."Would you care for a cup of coffee?" she asked, rattling the cup as she glanced over her shoulder.Falk shook his head and Lainey walked into the kitchen, careful to keep the box hidden from his view.She slipped it under a dish towel and poured herself a cup of coffee.When she turned around, she sawFalk standing in the doorway."Sure you won't have a cup?" she asked."No, thanks."He stepped aside to allow her to return to the living room.She was relieved when he followed her.A few minutes later,Bergen and the police officer entered the room.Frank Bergen glanced at his partner and shook his head."There's no one here.""Want me to dust the place for prints?" the police officer asked.Frank Bergen regarded Lainey for a long moment, then shook his head."I don't think so." He shoved hisnotebook into his coat pocket with an air of finality."Let's go, Ed.Sorry to have troubled you, Miss St.Page 43Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlJohn.""What is it, exactly, that you're looking for?""A fugitive.Thanks for your time."Lainey nodded.She watched them drive away, then closed and locked the door.If Micah wasn't here,where was he?Chapter Nine"Lainey?"She whirled around at the sound of his voice."Micah!"He stood in the doorway, wrapped in one of her flowered sheets, and a bandage."Have they gone?""Yes.""I'm sorry.I shouldn't have involved you in this.""It's all right," she said with a shrug, although a thousand questions crowded her mind."They said youwere a fugitive.""I'm not.""Why didn't they find you? Where did you go?""I went out the window.""You might not be safe here," Lainey said."They might come back.""Then I'll go out the window again.Unless you wish me to leave.""No." She didn't want him to leave.Not now.Not ever."Lainey& "Her gaze met his and something warm and tangible arced between them, a need that sizzled like chainlightning, an awareness that pulsed in time to the beat of her heart, making her forget everything but thelook in his eye and the sudden, fluttery feeling in her stomach."Micah?"She whispered his name, afraid to cross the invisible barrier between them, knowing that once shestepped into his arms, she'd never be able to turn back.She would be his then, body and soul, and shehad vowed never to let another man wield that kind of power over her again.It was too traumatic when itwas over, too painful to look back and think of what might have been.Resolutely, she took a step backward and crossed her arms over her breasts in a decidedly defensivegesture.Page 44Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlMicah looked at Lainey, at her rigid stance, at the wary expression on her face.Only a few feet ofcarpeted floor separated them, yet he felt as if a chasm had opened between them.Overwhelmed by a sharp sense of loss, he took a step toward her."Lainey, let me hold you.""I don't think it's a good idea.""Please." The look in his eyes spoke more eloquently than words."Just for a moment."She went to him because she couldn't resist the pleading in his gaze, the need in his voice.She went because he was hurting and far from home.She went because she wanted to.Lainey rested her head on his chest, felt his arm circle her waist.As before, she was flooded with asense of peace, of coming home after a long absence.Micah held her for a long while, saying nothing, doing nothing more than holding her close while he lightlystroked her hair.She made him feel strong, invincible, and yet strangely vulnerable, continually arousingemotions he had never experienced, making him question the habits of a lifetime."You can tell me," Lainey said quietly."Whatever it is you're running from, you can tell me.""I wish I could."She heard the regret in his voice, the need to share his troubles with someone who would listen andunderstand."Don't you trust me?""With my life,cominza.""Cominza?""It means my lovely one."Lainey tilted her head back so she could see his face."You trust me with your life, but not your secrets?""It's for your own good," Micah said.And mine."Okay, okay, I give up.""Lainey, if you only knew& if I only had the words to tell you& ""Tell me what?""How you make me feel.When I hold you like this, I feel as though anything is possible, anything at all.""There's nothing wrong with those words." Deeply touched, she resorted to humor as she frequently didwhen she was genuinely moved or embarrassed.Page 45Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html"Lainey& ""I'm sorry.""No.I've never felt anything like this before.It scares me a little."He wasn't like Drew at all, she thought.Drew had always been self-confident, assured, secure in hischarm, in his ability to say just the right thing.A real macho jerk.Lainey let her gaze meld with Micah's.He might be hiding all kinds of secrets about his life, his past, butthere was nothing secretive about the look in his eyes, those amazing silver-blue eyes that revealed avulnerability and a yearning that went straight to her heart."I'm a little scared myself," Lainey admitted [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]