Unauthorized Passion. Amanda Stevens

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СКАЧАТЬ a professional hit man would have used a silencer.

       Professional hit man? Whoa, hold the phone. Jumping to a few wild conclusions there, aren’t you, buddy?

      Who would want Celeste Fortune dead?

      The cop in him silently began to list suspects. Owen Fleming’s wife. An old boyfriend. A jealous roommate.

      And that was just off the top of his head. He knew from experience the potential for animosity was endless when it came to women like Celeste Fortune.

      But if someone had really been watching her earlier, the culprit was probably just some sleazy tabloid reporter who’d followed her to Houston, hoping to catch Owen Fleming in a compromising position with his hot, young mistress. What Jack had seen on the roof could have been light reflecting off a camera lens.

      His theory made a lot of sense, and he might have been able to buy it if not for that nagging sensation in his gut telling him Celeste Fortune was in danger.

      A similar sensation had warned him that Casanova was still on the loose, and look where that premonition had gotten him.

      * * *

      THE FRONT DESK was deserted when Cassie walked into the lobby a few minutes later. She wondered if Lyle Lester had come on duty yet, and if he might be lurking about somewhere. For some reason, the notion of him skulking about in the halls and stairwells made her shiver, and she hurried across the lobby into a waiting elevator.

      The car began to ascend, then jerked to a stop when the power went out. Cassie was plunged into pitch black for a moment before a dim emergency light came on. Trying to remain calm, she pressed the red button on the panel, but nothing happened. She couldn’t find a phone, either, so what was she supposed to do?

      Panic! a little voice screamed in her head, but Cassie ignored it. No need for that. The power had simply gone off, and she was trapped somewhere between the first and second floor. It wasn’t like she was in danger of plunging hundreds of feet to her death. If worse came to worst, she could try to reach that little door in the ceiling, climb out, and—

      A soft thud sounded from somewhere above her, and then the elevator shimmied as if…someone…had…jumped…on top…

      Slowly, Cassie lifted her gaze.

      “Hello?” she called as her heart flailed against her chest. “Is someone up there?”

      No answer. Everything was silent except for the sound of her own breathing.

      She whirled back to the control panel and jammed the red emergency button with her thumb.

      Stay calm, she warned herself.

      To hell with that. Frantically, she began to push random buttons.

      A split second later, the power came back on and with a slight shudder, the elevator continued its ascent to the third floor.

      As Cassie got out, she turned and glanced at the panel in the ceiling. Had someone been up there? Was he still there?

      With a little shriek, she jumped back as the elevator doors slid closed.

      Letting herself into her suite, Cassie tried to convince herself that the whole thing had been her imagination, triggered by the incident at the restaurant. But when the phone rang, she jumped violently, and then scolding herself, rushed to answer it. She hoped it was Celeste. She had a few choice questions for her cousin, like why in the hell hadn’t she mentioned the fact that a hit man might be on her tail?

      “Did I scare you?” said an electronically altered voice in her ear.

      The blood in Cassie’s veins turned to ice as her hand squeezed the phone. “Who is this?”

      “Open the door and find out.”

      The line went dead then, and as Cassie slowly turned toward the door, someone knocked.

      CHAPTER FIVE

      CASSIE’S GAZE REMAINED riveted on the door. There was no way she would answer it. No way in hell she would go anywhere near it—

      The dead bolt! Had she locked it when she came in? She couldn’t remember. The phone had started to ring. She’d been distracted—

      She flew across the room and twisted the lock, but it was already engaged, thank goodness.

      Was he still out there? Cassie wondered frantically.

      Pressing her ear to the door, she heard nothing. Then, her heart still pounding, she glanced through the peephole. She couldn’t see anything, either. Her tormentor might have cut and run or…he might be standing to the side of the door, out of sight, hoping to lure her into the hall.

      Cassie glanced over her shoulder at the phone, wondering if she should call the front desk or even the police. But what would she tell them? That someone had played a prank on her? Because that’s all it was, wasn’t it? She couldn’t actually be in danger, could she?

      What if she was? What if Mrs. Ambrose-Pritchard was right, and Margo Fleming had called on her family to exact a little payback?

      But…wouldn’t a Mafia hit man be a little more subtle?

      Come to think of it, though, subtlety had never been the Cantrells’ strong suit.

      When Cassie put her eye back to the peephole, someone stared back at her.

      She gasped and jumped away from the door. Whoever was out there knocked again, more boldly this time, as if he didn’t care who might hear him.

      Cassie’s hand flew to her chest. Her heart was racing so fast she could hardly catch her breath. “Who’s there?” she called.

      A male voice said anxiously, “Miss Fortune? It’s Lyle…Lester. The night clerk said she saw you get on the elevator right before the power went off. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

      Then why hadn’t he simply called her suite? Cassie wondered.

      And how had the night clerk witnessed her getting onto the elevator? The girl hadn’t even been at the desk when Cassie had come in.

      “Miss Fortune?”

      Cassie bit her lip. Then drawing a deep breath, she said, “I’m fine. No harm done.”

      “I’m so relieved to hear it. I’ve brought you up a flashlight and some candles. I heard on the news earlier that these outages are happening all over town. Something about an overloaded power grid caused by the heat wave. Hopefully, it’ll just be temporary, but I thought it best to be prepared just in case.”

      Cassie stepped back up to the peephole. She couldn’t tell what Lyle held in his hand, but she sure as hell wasn’t about to open the door to find out.

      “I’m…indisposed at the moment,” she called. “Can you just leave the stuff outside the door?”

      A slight hesitation, then, “Of course. If you need anything else, СКАЧАТЬ