Saved by Sin [Paladin Protection Agency 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Susan Hayes Read Free Book Online Page A

to get rid of it. I left one day while he was in a meeting out of town. I just packed my things and ran.”
    “What did he do when he found out?”
    “Apparently he went crazy. He called all my friends demanding they tell him where I’d gone. Not that I had many friends left. He’d made sure I’d cut ties with most of them. He phoned the police and tried to report me as a missing person, but I hadn’t been gone long enough for them to take a report. I had my lawyer file the restraining order the next morning, and he let the police know what was going on. They were the ones who told him about the missing person report. I stayed hidden, and after a few days, he stopped calling my friends. I guess he realized I was really gone for good. It all seemed like it was going to be okay, and then last week I got a call from the police department. Robert had killed himself. He left a note saying that he couldn’t live in a world where I wasn’t with him, and that I was all the joy he’d had in his life.”
    “What a bastard.” Sinjin shook his head in obvious disbelief. “He offed himself and made sure you felt guilty about it? Unbelievable! So why do you think he’s haunting you?”
    “I don’t feel guilty, not really.” Michelle’s denial came out sharper than she’d wanted, but she needed Sinjin to believe her. “I felt a little guilty, of course I did, but mostly I felt relief. If he was dead, then I was free. I wouldn’t have to hide from him anymore. His funeral was yesterday. I didn’t go. When I got back from a run, there was a letter waiting for me. A letter he’d written to me before he died. There was no postage, so he must have had someone deliver it. He’d found me again. He said he forgave me, and that he’d be watching, waiting for another chance for us to be together.”
    “Son of a bitch,” Sinjin swore and took a long pull on his beer. “Your ex was one sick puppy.”
    “Oh, it gets worse.” Michelle was surprised at how much better she felt to say it all out loud. Weeks of worry and fear eased as she shared the story for the first time. “Right after that, Robert’s mother Nancy arrived at my building. I have no idea how she tracked me down, but she did. She was fresh from the funeral no less. She blamed me for her son’s death and kept going on and on about her precious Bobby. Then she tells me he left everything to me, changed his will just days before he died. She was furious.” Michelle shuddered at the memory. “That was when I realized just how similar mother and son were. The Tanners are not a family to mess with.”
    Sinjin blinked at her, his mouth opening in shock. “Bobby Tanner? As in Robert Tanner III, Vice President of Tanner Entertainment?”
    “That would be him.” She wondered how he’d known, Robert had been big money locally, but he was hardly a household name.
    Sinjin blew out a low whistle. “You were with Robert Tanner. Damn, it’s hard to see the attraction.” He grinned and threw up a placating hand. “I mean, I see why he wanted you, but what in the hell did you see in him? He was a nasty piece of work.”
    “You knew him?” Michelle felt her jaw drop. “How?”
    “I work for Paladin Protection. I’m a security advisor, which is a fancy way of saying I’m a very well-paid bodyguard. One of our clients was your ex.” Sinjin shrugged. “I didn’t like him much, and the feeling was mutual. We ended our contract with him over a year ago, which is why you and I never met.” His fingers tightened around hers. “If we had, I’d of felt the need to talk you into getting away from him. I knew what he liked to do to women, the coward.”
    “Small world.” Michelle’s heart was racing now. What were the odds of her running into someone who knew Robert? Who knew what he was really like?
    “Sometimes it seems very damned small indeed.” He squeezed her hand again. “So you inherited everything? Why do you think he did that? His mother must have had