Stolen Seduction by Elisabeth Naughton Read Free Book Online

handful that had
    been active for a few days now. It boasted a living area, one bedroom and a veranda that overlooked
    the lake. It wasn’t fancy, but she wasn’t staying more than a few days. Since she’d gotten what she
    needed from Bryan last night, she could put at least one worry out of her mind. The meeting with
    her staff here this morning to go over the construction timeline, budget and the cause of the delays
    would take care of the second.
    Three days max. Then she’d be back in Florida, worrying about the rest of her father’s cryptic will.
    She pulled the door open, expecting to see Liam, the head chef’s new assistant, but instead an attractive Asian American man filled the doorway. He held up his badge. A badge she immediately
    recognized as being from Illinois. “Ms. Roarke? I’m Detective Chen with Chicago PD. Can I have a
    minute of your time?”
    Chicago police?
    Hailey pulled her white terry robe tighter to her chest. “What’s this regarding?”
    “Do you know a man by the name of Bryan Roarke?”
    Oh, crap. Bryan had figured out the security system had been down last night.
    Hailey kept her face neutral. “Yes, I do.”
    He glanced up and down the hall. “Mind if I come in? I’d really prefer not to discuss this in front of
    your staff.”
    Hailey hesitated, then realized, yeah, whatever he had to say, she didn’t want said in front of her
    staff, either. She eased back a step. “Sure, Detective—”
    “Chen.” She made a move to close the door after he stepped in the room, but a hand that seemed to
    shoot out of nowhere stopped her. Chen gestured with his chin. “This is my partner, Detective
    Maxwell.”
    If she’d been sucker punched in the stomach, Hailey would have been less surprised. Her blood
    warmed at the memories from last night as Shane walked into the room—his mouth, his hands, the
    things he’d whispered in her ear.
    Then she remembered how he’d pushed her away.
    Hailey let go of the door and stepped back into the living room, trying to keep her hands from shaking. If Detective Chen noticed any sudden tension in the room, he didn’t show it. She purposely
    didn’t meet Shane’s gaze. Couldn’t.
    “Were you in Chicago yesterday, Ms. Roarke?”
    Hailey looked toward Chen. “I’m sorry. What was that?”
    Chen’s eerily light eyes narrowed. “Were you in Chicago yesterday?”
    Though her pulse was kicking up in her chest, her brain was slowly coming back online, and the
    tone of Chen’s question finally registered. Two Chicago detectives were standing in her living room
    asking her whereabouts from the day before.
    She chose her words carefully, knowing if she got caught in a lie it would just make things worse.
    But if Bryan had squealed about her being at the house…If he’d lied to get her out of the
    way…"Yes, I was.”
    “Where about?” Chen asked. “What were you doing there?”
    “I had some errands I needed to run and then got a drink.”
    Chen and Maxwell exchanged glances. And in the time it took for Chen to look back at her, Hailey
    knew something was seriously wrong.
    “What’s going on here?” she asked, glancing between the two. Shane still hadn’t uttered a single
    word since stepping in the room and it didn’t look like he was about to, either.
    Good cop, bad cop. Oh yeah, she knew the drill.
    “What’s your relationship with Bryan Roarke?” Chen asked.
    Hailey’s spine tingled. “He’s my cousin.”
    “He works for Roarke Resorts?”
    She nodded. “He’s vice president of operations for the northern region. Did Bryan do something?”
    Chen widened his stance. “I’m afraid we have some bad news, Ms. Roarke. Your cousin was found
    dead late last night.”
    The floor shifted under Hailey’s feet. In her mind she saw Bryan’s aggressive demeanor when she’d
    refused to sign those papers just two days prior. She must have wobbled, because one minute she
    was spinning and the next Shane’s big hand was wrapped tightly