Too Far Gone by Debra Webb, Regan Black Read Free Book Online

odor of the explosion in his hair.
    Good grief! What was wrong with her? She had a normal sex drive, even if it had been parked for a long time, but this was the worst possible time for it to kick into high gear. She hadn’t felt a physical attraction to Desmond in years. On the occasions when she allowed herself to envision her future, when she thought of the ideal man she’d invite into her life someday, she’d pictured someone far less authoritarian than Desmond. She wanted a man who listened and understood her, who saw through the public persona to the real woman underneath.
    Something must be wrong, maybe even warped to have her feeling such a sudden attraction to another
I-know-what’s-best-for-you
man. In preparing for her role as Dr. Loveless, she’d consulted some top psychologists. When this mess was over she’d put in some couch time as a patient. She didn’t want to repeat the mistakes she’d made with Desmond. She wanted a decent guy who didn’t feel compelled to press opinions, expectations, and orders on her at every turn.
    “Claudia pulled the crime scene photos,” Mike warned, aiming the cursor at a folder on the screen. “Are you squeamish?”
    “I saw it firsthand last night.” The pictures couldn’t possibly be any worse than being there. Nothing could be as bad as her memories of the murder as she’d tried and failed to sleep last night.
    Mike straightened away from her. “Take it at your own pace then.”
    She opened the file and examined each picture, not bothering to ask how Claudia had acquired the evidence report so quickly. It took her a few minutes of clicking back and forth between angles to pinpoint the inconsistencies. Like Treadwell said, the woman’s body wasn’t in the room and there was no pool or splattering of blood anywhere except around Desmond.
    She leaned forward, looking for anything the police might interpret in a way that made her look guilty. Paperwork had fallen from the desk, which didn’t make sense to her as Desmond had a habit of keeping his desk clear.
    “Wait.” She used the mouse to enlarge one photo. Her blood turned cold when she recognized those papers as the script she’d been carrying. “I wasn’t in that room.” She swiveled in the chair, her knees nearly knocking into Mike’s legs.
    “Are you referring to the script with the note on it?”
    She nodded. “I dropped it in the hallway. The sound is what gave my presence away.”
    “You can see it’s spattered with the victim’s blood.”
    She saw it, but couldn’t believe it. “I did not go into his office. I ran.” She shook her head. “This doesn’t make sense.” She wanted to swear and yell and pound something or someone. “They set me up. I didn’t go in. I swear. I never went in.”
    “I believe you, but the police can only work with what they find.”
    “They’ve found lies!” She pushed back from the desk and stood but her knees had turned to jelly and she fell right back into the chair.
    “Take it easy, Lauren. We’ll figure this out.”
    She minimized the file, unable to bear the sight of the accusing pictures. “How could they have known I would be there to play the part of their scapegoat?”
    “They probably didn’t plan to pin it on anyone. They expected to get away with it, but you interrupted. They still might get away with it if they can make you a believable patsy.”
    “And kill me before the truth comes out.” She let his words roll through her mind, twisting and turning as she tried to make sense of this terrible mess. “The woman. We have to find her. She knows the truth.”
    Mike leaned his hip against the desk. “Whether she’ll tell the truth is another matter.”
    Lauren turned her face up to his. “What do you mean?”
    “Worst case scenario, the fact that she survived suggests to me that she was in on it with the two men you saw.”
    A chill skated over Lauren’s skin. It wouldn’t be the first time Desmond had been fooled by a gorgeous