Return to Me (Storm Lords) by Nina Croft Read Free Book Online Page B

curious about this place and these people, and maybe Phoebe would tell her something about what was going on.
    She opened the door wider and gestured for the other woman to enter.
    “Be careful,” she said. “There’s glass on the floor.”
    Phoebe glanced down. “So there is.” She stepped over the smashed bottle and looked around. “You know, I stayed here when I first met Cade.” Crossing the room, she sank onto the sofa, kicked off her flats, and let out an audible sigh of relief.
    Bella followed her and took the seat opposite. “You did? How did you meet him?”
    “I’m a reporter. I came to do a piece on the company. You know the sort of thing—how sleazy multinational organizations succeed by means of bribery and corruption. Cade offered me the chance to stay and see how the company really worked and I never left.”
    “So are they sleazy?”
    “No, boringly clean as far as I could tell. And I’m good. If there was any dirt, I’d find it.”
    A suspicion formed in Bella’s mind. She studied the other woman, but Phoebe smiled serenely.
    “Did Torr send you in here?” Bella asked.
    “Not really. I was on my way up to see you and I met him outside.” She grinned. “I’ve always been terrified of Torr, those eyes and that scar, and he’s always so self-possessed.” She shivered dramatically. “It was good to see him not entirely in control for once.”
    “He seemed pretty much in control to me. So why were you on your way to see me?”
    “Just to say hello, welcome, and all that. This place can be a bit overpowering.”
    “I’m not overpowered,” Bella replied. Phoebe seemed like a nice woman, but Bella wasn’t ready to pour her heart out to a stranger. It wasn’t her way. “So did Cade tell you anything about me?”
    “A little. That they were bailing you out of the police station.”
    “Do you know why?”
    Phoebe glanced away, then back, and Bella got the distinct impression she was thinking of how much to say. Which was a huge indication that what she was about to say was not going to be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
    She waited, curious as to what Phoebe would reveal.
    “Just that Torr wanted you for some sort of advisory position, here at the company.”
    “And does the company employ a lot of potential cons?”
    “Cons?”
    “You know criminals, people with a police record.”
    Phoebe shifted, and Bella almost smiled. It was obvious the other woman was uncomfortable with making things up. Maybe that came from being a reporter. “Well I—”
    A knock sounded on the door and Phoebe jumped to her feet. “I’ll get that.” She headed for the door.
    “Watch out for the—”
    “Ouch…shit!”
    Too late.
    Bella winced. “—glass. Don’t move,” she muttered, making her way over.
    The knock sounded again, louder this time.
    “It’s Cade,” Phoebe said, leaning against the wall and lifting one foot so she could examine her bloody sole.
    Bella frowned. “How do you know?”
    “I just know. Let him in before he breaks the door down.”
    Bella opened the door. Cade stood there, her dog at his feet, a frown on his face. “What the hell? Phoebe—”
    “It’s nothing,” Phoebe said hurriedly. “Just the tiniest little cut.”
    Cade swung around to face Bella. “What did you do to her?”
    “She did nothing, Cade. It was my own stupid fault.”
    Bella rolled her eyes and didn’t bother to answer. Instead, she held out her arms. “Skip,” she called.
    The little dog leapt into them, and she carried him through into the bedroom and shut the door.
    When she came back, Phoebe was in her husband’s arms, her own wrapped around his neck. She glanced across at Bella. “Well, it was nice meeting you.”
    “Yeah, we must do this again sometime.”
    She watched as Cade strode down the hallway, Phoebe clasped tightly in his arms. He obviously loved her very much. Bella could sense the bond between them.
    She closed the door slowly. She had to get