Alone in the Dark Read Free Page B

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    blue eyes and took the rose out of his hand. For some people, words worked best, for
    others, it was actions.

    Coltrane, she already knew, definitely fell into the latter category. He was nothing if not a
    man of action. The phrase "strong, silent type" had been created with him in mind. For a fleeting second, she forgot all about her rules.

    "I'm touched."

    "Then you know who left this?" he asked.

    Something cold and clammy began to rear its head within her when he asked the simple
    question. She struggled to hold back her fear. To blot out the grim photograph she'd
    glimpsed in the file her father had brought home with him. A photograph of a girl, about
    her own age now, who'd been stabbed by her stalker.

    Damn it, Walterknewbetter this time. She took a deep breath, running her tongue along
    her dried lips. "You mean, it's not from you?"

    For a second he found himself engaged by the flicker of her tongue moving along the
    outline of her mouth. It took him a moment to respond to her question. Brady shook his
    head. "No, I found it on your doorstep."

    Patience's fingers loosened their grasp, and the rose fell to the floor.

    Brady bent to pick it up. When he straightened again and looked at her face, he saw that
    all the color had drained out of it. Her complexion had turned a shade lighter.

    Was she going to do that female thing and faint on him? "You all right?"

    No, she thought, doing her best to rally behind anger rather than fear. She wasn't all
    right. Damn it, this was supposed to have all been behind her by now. Walter's eyes had all
    but bugged out when she'd told him that the nine police officers in dress blue were all
    related to her. She'd thought that was the end of it. And it had been.

    Until now.

    Patience had to remoisten her desert-dry lips. "You found this?" She nodded at the
    flower that was once more in his hand. This time she made no move to take it from him.

    "Yes. On your doorstep." He'd already told her that. Brady watched her closely.

    "Just like the last time," she murmured the words to herself. Why couldn't she stop the
    chill that slid up and down her spine.

    "What last time?" The question came at her sharply, like fighter pilots on the attack.

    She stared at him. For a second she hadn't realized that she'd said anything out loud. And
    then she shook her head, dismissing her words. Not wanting to open the door any further
    into the past than she'd already opened it. "Nothing."

    Brady scowled. The hell it was nothing. People didn't turn white over nothing.

    "What last time?" he repeated. The question bordered on a demand.

    She tried to smile and only partially succeeded. The knots in her stomach were stealing all
    her available air. "Is that your interrogation voice?" she asked him, trying to divert his attention. "Because if it is, it's pretty scary."

    "Damn it, Doc, what last time?" And then he drew his own conclusion. "Someone been
    harassing you?"

    Bingo. From her reaction, he'd say he'd hit the nail right on the head. It was there, in her
    eyes.

    He could see it happening. Patience Cavanaugh was more than passingly pretty. She was
    vibrant and outgoing on top of that. But in this upside-down world, someone could mistake
    her friendly manner for something else, feel perhaps that she was being friendly beyond
    the call and go on to misinterpret her behavior as a sign of interest.

    She blew out a breath and looked away. "Not lately," she told him evasively.

    Get a grip, Patience. It's just a flower, not a scorpion.She laughed to herself. Right now,
    she would have preferred the scorpion. She knew how to deal with that.

    Obsession—if that's what this was boiling down to—was something beyond her range. No,
    no, it wasn't obsession, it was just a man who was too obtuse to understand that she just
    wasn't interested. There was no reason to believe she'd wind up like Katie. Katie Alder,
    that had been her name. The dead girl. This would go away just like the last time,