Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
A chill skated down Haisley’s spine. Having such sinister crimes happening in her own backyard, to young women just starting their lives… It was terrifying and unthinkable. “I had no idea the situation was so dire. So seemingly…deliberate.”
“Neither did I—at first. Not until the latest victim. But that phone call was a gut punch. It destroyed my wife’s Christmas. I knew I had to take more drastic measures.”
Haisley risked a sidelong glance at her new boss. His expression remained impassive as he gazed out the floor-to-ceiling window. Did this incident bother him beyond the financial?
Maybe she was being too harsh. She hardly knew him, and some people didn’t wear their emotions on their faces.
“So what ‘drastic measures’ did you take?”
“Follow me.”
He led her toward the contemporary U-shaped desk he’d pointed out earlier. A laptop sat waiting as he gestured her into a black ergonomic chair. This was where she’d be spending most of her waking hours. It wasn’t fancy, but at least she was near a window.
She opened the lid on her laptop and was immediately prompted for a password.
“Before I say anything else, do you have any recommendations from a PR perspective?” he asked.
“Attacking the problem head-on. We can continue spinning your social media. You didn’t ask me, but you should consider hiring someone more competent than the local police and mall cops to solve the problem quickly and discreetly.”
“I’m a step ahead of you. I didn’t just hire ‘someone.’ I hired highly trained operatives from one of the most elite private security firms in the region, if not the country. They’ll get to the bottom of these abductions, utilizing every resource at their disposal.”
At least he was done fucking around. “Good. Once they’ve accomplished their mission, we’ll go wild with the press.”
He nodded in approval. “I’d like you to work with these security experts, provide them whatever information they need from this office, and stay apprised of what they’re doing so that if anything is press or social-media worthy, you can start getting Oakfield—and us—some wins with the public.”
Resolve buoyed Haisley. These cases dredged up the worst of today’s world, but she couldn’t deny the sense of purpose at the prospect of putting her skills to meaningful use. In order to help end this horrible string of crimes and make the world safer—even if it was just her hometown—she’d give it her all.
“You can count on me, Mr. Benedict. I’ll do whatever it takes to assist their investigation and highlight their progress through all our media and public channels.”
“Good.” He smiled faintly. “I hired you for your spirit and gumption.”
“When will I meet the operatives you hired?”
From behind, she heard heavy footfalls approach. Haisley turned as a broad-shouldered silhouette emerged, backlit by the blinding morning. The world dropped out from beneath her…
CHAPTER EIGHT
Apainfully familiar figure filled Haisley’s vision. She couldn’t breathe.
Nash.
Oh, shit.
Her heart rattled in her chest as she took in his rugged features, all chiseled angles and battle-hardened edges. He looked just like he had the night of their heated kiss—powerfully built beneath the snug black tee that hugged the sculpted contours of his physique and gripped his tatted biceps. A black leather cuff encircled his thick left wrist. His inscrutable onyx stare landed on her, scorching her from across the room.
She licked her suddenly parched lips, assailed by visions of their kiss at Highrise, of Nash’s body pressing her into the unforgiving wall, of the slick heat of his mouth trailing a searing path down her throat, of the steel bands of his arms engulfing her in his embrace while he drank her in like a man dying of thirst.
Haisley swallowed hard against the sudden, visceral rush of bone-deep attraction.
Recognition sparked in Nash’s gaze. A flicker of something deeper Haisley couldn’t decipher crossed his face. His brow furrowed with a primal dare that raised the fine hairs along Haisley’s nape. Then his expression shuttered closed.
Mr. Benedict stared between them, frowning as if trying to grasp the sudden undercurrent. “Are you Nash Scott? This is Haisley Rowe, our new social media director. Haisley, Nash is one of the operatives who will be leading EM Security Management’s investigation into the…situation at the mall.”
Several beats of charged silence stretched between them, thin and taut.
Suddenly, Mila appeared, her giggle slicing through the tension. “Looks like you two have already met.”
Nash turned a scorching gaze on the boss’s wife. Mila’s playfulness vanished.
Haisley gave herself a mental shake and forced a smile. She was not about to clue in her new boss—or his nosy wife—about her old flame. “Nice to make your acquaintance once again, Mr. Scott. I look forward to assisting your team in any way I can.”
Another heavy pause hung between them, rife with all the things they couldn’t say. Not here. Not with witnesses present. Not with their tangled history. And definitely not with the secrets she was keeping.