UP IN FLAMES

The fact that she’d allowed herself to do it before should have galled her to no end. Despite that, she wanted to march herself right back over there and crawl back into his arms.

“I’ll pass.” She smiled to show him she meant no harm.

Something in his gaze told her he knew her thoughts. “It’s three in the morning,” he pointed out. “We’ve already discussed this, so where will you go?”

Relief flooded her, though she refused to acknowledge it. She hated that she felt she needed some sort of justification for wanting to be with him.

“You’re right,” she said, shutting her mind down to all rational thoughts as she crossed the room and slid under the covers and next to the warmth of his very sexy, muscular body.

He wrapped his arms around her, and she was still there the next morning when she woke. Savoring the moment, she allowed herself the luxury of studying his sleeping face. His rugged and chiseled features were softer in slumber. Moving slowly, she eased out from under his arm and slipped from the bed. Though she tried her best to be quiet, he opened his eyes and sat up. “What’s going on?”

“I’ve got an appointment with a probate attorney this morning,” she told him, pulling on her pajamas.

He dragged his hand through his already tousled hair. ” I’ll definitely be going with you to the lawyer.”

Of course. Because he was her bodyguard, after all. The meeting with the attorney went exactly as she’d expected. She’d filled out forms and brought a copy of the will, the bank statements and papers from the brokerage detailing all their investment holdings. During the meeting, which lasted a little more than an hour, Alaric remained in the waiting room, cooling his heels. When she finally emerged, the sight of his rugged, familiar face made her want to smile.

“All finished?” he asked.

“For now.”

The attorney, a tall thin man with a goatee and wire-rimmed glasses, studied Alaric curiously.

“And you are?”

“Alaric is a detective,” Vanessa replied, before Alaric could answer. “He’s in charge of Christopher’s case and due to certain circumstances, he had to come with me.”

The lawyer appeared suitably satisfied with her response. “I’ll give you a call once all of this is logged in at the courthouse. Once the judge sets a hearing date, you’ll have to make an appearance.”

“Thank you.” Gripping her purse, she straightened her shoulders and tried to appear confident.

Alaric stayed a few steps behind as she exited the office. They waited for the elevator in silence. Once the doors opened, they stepped inside. With any other man, she might have felt awkward. Instead, she found herself entertaining fantasies of stopping the elevator between floors and seducing him. The thought made her entire body heat. She glanced at him sideways, wondering if he might be thinking the same thing. When the elevator arrived at the lobby, she impulsively took Alaric’s arm, earning a surprised look. She simply smiled as they headed toward the entrance.

Pushing through the front doors, they stepped outside. Flashbulbs exploded. A small crowd had gathered, all talking at once. Shouting out her name, asking questions, each trying to be heard over the others.

“What the…” Vanessa dug in her heels, turning to face Alaric, not bothering to hide her panic. They were surrounded on three sides by cameras and video recorders and reporters. No less than five news vans-two of them national-were parked in the street directly across from the building. She’d have to get past them to reach the parking lot and her car.

“Alaric.” She gripped his arm. “What do we do?”

“Keep your head down and stay close,” Alaric ordered. He immediately began hustling her past the crowd of reporters, all shouting out questions.

Grateful for him, she held on tight. A few of the reporters were brazen enough to follow, still shouting out questions.

Alaric took her around to the passenger side and helped her in before he took the driver’s seat. The silence once the car doors were closed was welcome.

She waited until Alaric started the engine, backed out of the spot and turned onto the street before exhaling.

“What was that all about?”This content provided by N(o)velDrama].[Org.

“I don’t know.” The grim set of his jaw told her how he felt about what had just happened. “I’m going to venture a guess that there’s been another revelation of some sort about Christopher.”

Immediately, she began scanning the radio stations. “Maybe we’ll hear something.” But though she continually searched, she found nothing mentioning Christopher Wesley. “This is crazy,” she said. “Have you had a chance to contact the authorities for a progress report?”

Alaric shook his head. “Not yet. I’ll check in with them in a little bit.”

“You’d think the police would have notified me if they’d learned something important.”

“I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough,” he said. “And someone would have called you if there was a major breakthrough in the case.”

Though she nodded, she wasn’t entirely convinced. She didn’t like the way the investigation was going. It was almost like there were multiple other things going on at the same time. She couldn’t help but wonder what. When they reached the house, as soon as he parked in front of the garage, Vanessa bolted. Shaking his head, he followed, but she was moving so fast he barely caught sight of her as she barreled up the stairs.

When he got upstairs, she was on the phone. He mouthed to her that he had to go out and would be returning soon. She simply nodded and turned away to continue her call. He didn’t really want to leave her alone, but this was important and he was sure she didn’t really want him around at the moment.

He got into his car and drove straight to the station. In the office, he found Paul, sitting at the table drinking black coffee. “What’s up?” he asked, eyeing Alaric. “You look kind of frazzled.”

“Maybe,” Alaric conceded, dropping into a chair. “Vanessa and I just left her attorney’s office. When we walked outside, we were mobbed by reporters.”

Paul drank his coffee and swallowed. “Why? What’s happened now?”

“No idea. We tried every station on the radio, but couldn’t find anything.”

Finishing his coffee, Paul pushed to his feet and carried his cup to the sink. “Let me know when you find out,” he said, before ambling off.