Deadly Lover by Charlee Allden Read Free Book Online Page A

facility bed?” His hand lingered, knuckles skimming her jaw line. His wedding ring glinted on his other hand.
    Lily’s jaw clenched tight as she bit out a response. “How’s Rose?”
    He sighed then withdrew his hand and leaned back out of swinging distance. Smart man. “Healthy. I can’t say either of us has been happy in a long while.” He met her glare directly. “Our marriage is all but over, Lily.”
    “Does Rose know that?”
    “Yes. She doesn’t want to rock the boat, but that’s the only thing keeping it together now.” He shrugged as if he weren’t ringing the death toll on his marriage. His sister’s marriage.
    “You’re a jerk, Bradley. You know that?”
    “Yeah. I know.”
    “I hate you.” Her voice felt small and cutting in her mouth as she ground out the words.
    “Hate.” A melancholy look settled into his eyes. “That’s a strong emotion. I have strong feelings for you too.”
    “Hate?”
    “Of course.” He laced the whispered words with a wistful note and a hint of humor.
    The moment stretched thin then faded.
    “Right, then.” Lily wasn’t letting fatigue get the best of her. She shifted her hips, sitting up straighter. “I have an idea about how I can deal with the press tomorrow.”
    “How’s that?”
    She pushed down the thin blanket, adjust the med gown and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “You help me get out of here tonight. I want to go home.” She bent her head to study the IV in her arm.
    “You want me to take you home?
    “Don’t get any ideas.” She lifted her head. “I want you to drop me off at my place.”
    “Of course.”
    “And I’m not getting involved in your damn investigation.” No way would she get involved in anything that meant dealing with Bradley on a daily basis.
    “Of course.”

Chapter 7
    Lily pressed her forehead to her apartment door and smiled. She’d enjoyed the look on Bradley’s face when he realized he wasn’t getting into her apartment…or anything else. It felt good for all of thirty seconds. Then the thought of Rose married to the jerk stole the smile away.
    Despite the late hour, light from the street streamed through her privacy glass windows, painting her open-plan living space in stripes of mellow-amber and leaving a lace-work of shadows that suited her mood. She shrugged out of her coat and winced at the twinge of pain in her lower back. She’d be sore for a day, but she’d rather be in pain at home than trapped in the med facility.
    Carefully, she hung the coat on the hook by the door and ran a hand down the aged leather. It had been her father’s. The only memento she’d managed to save before her mother had tossed away all her painful memories. Weary to her bones, Lily reset the security and navigated her way through the familiar shadows to the shower.
     She scrubbed the blood from beneath her fingernails and washed the sticky residue of the alley from her hair. Soap and steam and shampoo mixed in a floral bouquet that did wonders to erase the day. Rinsing away the soap, she watched the bubbles circle the drain. But instead of relaxing, her muscles tightened again.
    She couldn’t say if she’d heard a noise or if some cursory visual cue had surfaced in her brain, but every breath she took solidified her certainty that someone was in her apartment. Silently, she cursed her own carelessness then she cursed the audacity of the intruder. If the bastard had waited for her to get naked, thinking it would make her more vulnerable, he’d be disappointed. It had been a bad day and getting caught naked only made Lily angry, it didn’t make her unarmed.
    She reached for the hunting knife she kept on the high ledge to her right then peeked carefully around the edge of the shower screen. She couldn’t see anything, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t there.
    She left the shower running and stepped clear of the frosted screen, adjusting her grip on the blade. A chill rippled across her wet skin as she surveyed