The Killing Game Read Free Page B

off.”
    “No problem. I think I've got my answer.” He took his suitcase out of the backseat. “I'll be much less abrasive once I have a shower. Do you want me to face Logan now, or do you want to show me where to lay my weary head?”
    Less abrasive was definitely better. “You can join us later for dinner.”
    “If I'm supposed to dress for dinner, you'll have to send me to the kitchen. I brought only this one suitcase.”
    “Are you nuts? You know I don't live like that. I change a couple of times a day only because it's so hot here.”
    “You never know. You're running in fast company these days.”
    “Logan isn't fast company. Well, not here on the island. We live as casually as I did in Atlanta.”
    “Very smart of Logan.”
    “He works hard too. He does as much here as he did when he was in the States. He likes to relax when he gets the chance.” She stopped at the front door. “Why have you come, Joe? Are you on vacation?”
    “No, not exactly.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Well, the department does owe me a few weeks. I've worked a lot of overtime while you've been here basking in tropical bliss.”
    “Then why do you say you're not ‘exactly' here on vacation? Why did you come, Joe?”
    “To see you.”
    “No, why now?”
    He smiled. “To bring you home, Eve.”
             
    LOGAN TURNED AWAY from the window as she came into the study. “Where is he?”
    “I showed him to his room. You'll see him at dinner.” She wrinkled her nose. “I know you can hardly wait.”
    “Bastard.”
    She sighed. Having to strike a balance between these two men she cared about was irritating. “I could have met him in Tahiti. You promised you'd be nice to him.”
    “As nice as he is to me.” Logan held out his hand to her. “Come here, I need to touch you.”
    She moved across the room and took his hand. “Why?”
    He didn't answer. “We both know why he's here. Has he talked to you yet?”
    “He said only that he came to bring me home.”
    He cursed. “And what did you answer?”
    “I didn't.”
    “You can't go, dammit. You'll just fall back into that dark hole where I found you.”
    “It wasn't so dark. I had work. I had purpose. You never understood that, Logan.”
    “I understand that I'm going to lose you.” His hand tightened on hers. “You've been happy here, haven't you? Happy with me?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then don't let it happen. Don't listen to that damn Pied Piper.”
    She stared at him helplessly. Dear heaven, she didn't want to hurt him. Tough, smart, charismatic John Logan, corporate giant and businessman extraordinaire. She'd never dreamed he'd be this vulnerable. “My staying here wasn't supposed to be a permanent arrangement.”
    “I want it permanent. I never intended anything else.”
    “You never told me.”
    “Because I had to walk on eggshells or you'd have run away. I'm telling you now.”
    She wished he hadn't. It made her decision more difficult. “We'll talk about it later.”
    “You've already made up your mind.”
    “No.” She had grown accustomed to this lovely, tranquil place. She had grown used to Logan. These had been days of tenderness, affection, and peace. If she also felt restlessness, wouldn't it eventually go away? “I'm not sure.”
    “He's going to try to make you sure.”
    “I make my own decisions. He won't pressure me.”
    “No, he's too smart. He knows you too well. That doesn't mean he won't use everything he can to make you go back. Don't listen to him.”
    “I have to listen to him. He's my best friend.”
    “Is he?” He gently touched her cheek. “Then why is he drawing you into a world that could destroy you? How long can you deal with skulls and murder without having a breakdown?”
    “Someone has to do it. I can bring closure to a lot of parents who are still searching for their children.”
    “Then let someone else do it. You're too close.”
    “Because of Bonnie? She only makes me better at what I do. She makes me work