Duty Bound Guardian. Terri Reed

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СКАЧАТЬ and despair ran a race through her, making her head pound. “And lost.”

      Something warm and rough touched the back of her clenched hand. The dog licked her hand again before resting his head on the bed to stare at her, his dark eyes watching her intently. She extended her fingers to rub them against the dog’s snout.

      “Ace. Sit.”

      The dog obediently sat. Her fingers curled.

      “You didn’t see the intruder’s face?”

      She lifted her gaze to meet his. “He wore sunglasses. Not the dark type but the reflective kind that were popular in the 1980s.”

      “Aviators.”

      “That’s it. His face was covered, too, with a ski mask.”

      “Could you tell skin color?”

      “Caucasian, maybe. Definitely not African-American.”

      “Height?”

      She struggled to remember. “It happened so fast. I’m pretty sure he was taller than me.”

      “What did the intruder use to hit you over the head?”

      “The Golden Arrow.” She rubbed her dry lips. “I hope he didn’t ruin it.”

      “Do you have any idea why you were attacked?”

      Huh? “He came to steal the arrow.”

      “But he didn’t.”

      She shot upright. “What?” Pain shot through her temple and exploded inside her skull like a peony shell shot into the sky on the Fourth of July. She flopped back and stared at the officer. “What did you say?”

      “I talked briefly with dispatch. They said as far as the DC police could tell nothing was taken. Only one display case had been damaged.”

      “The intruder smashed the glass covering the Golden Arrow.” Confusion made her head pound. “The arrow was still in the display?”

      “Evidently. But the police won’t know for sure if anything is missing or not until someone from the museum can verify that. Apparently your boss is out of town.”

      She nodded as relief flooded her system. “If the thief didn’t take the arrow then why did he break in?”

      “You said your attacker was dressed in white? Not black.”

      “White. In fact, if he hadn’t been standing beside the display he would have blended in with the white marble walls.” She propped herself up on her elbows. “I need to go over there now.” Make sure for herself that the arrow was safe.

      “The doctor hasn’t released you yet.”

      She bit her lip and lay back. Panic washed through her as her thoughts spun. Had the thief damaged the arrow when he hit her over the head, rendering the artifact worthless? Or at the very least lessening its value? Was that why he left it behind? But even a piece of the arrow would be worth something to someone.

      She pinched the bridge of her nose in distress.

      “Could this have anything to do with your sister’s death?” Adam asked.

      Her breath stalled. Her gaze shot back to his. “I told you before, we weren’t close, so I don’t see how her death and the break-in could be related. She fell off a cliff while out walking in President’s Park at night. Right?” As far as she knew the police had yet to determine whether Rosa’s death was an accident or a robbery gone wrong. The thought of her sister’s broken body sent a shudder rippling over her skin.

      “What happened in California that brought your sister to DC?”

      His refusal to answer her question sent irritation flooding her system while his question pounded at her heart. She shook her head, then stopped as the motion set off another set of fireworks screaming through her brain. She waited a heartbeat for the pain to subside enough for her to talk. “After my parents’ death, she kind of went a little—”

      She sought a polite, kind word. “Nuts. She had expected to take over my parents’ restaurant when they retired—”

      Pain pierced Lana deep in her heart. She missed her parents so much. “But then the fire happened. An accidental grease fire, the arson investigator said. Our parents perished in the blaze and the restaurant was destroyed. My parents had let the restaurant’s insurance lapse—”

      To pay her college tuition. Guilt twisted her insides into a pretzel. “After all the debts were paid from their life insurance there was nothing left. Not even our childhood home. I invited Rosa to come live with my husband and me. She came out to DC, but only stayed a few days. I don’t know where she went after that. We lost touch until she showed up on my doorstep three years ago.”

      Right around the time Lana had filed for divorce and had moved out of the apartment she’d shared with Mark. Lana would never forget the chaos of those days. The pain and humiliation.

      “She stayed with me for a couple weeks, then she found her own place. The day she moved out was the last time I spoke with her.” The hurtful things her sister had said cut so deep and were never far from Lana’s mind. “I didn’t know she was working for Congressman Jeffries until I heard it on the news.”

      She hadn’t known about Juan, either. There was so much about her sister she hadn’t known.

      “What caused the rift between you?”

      She bristled as a tidal wave of guilt swamped her. “That has nothing to do with anything that’s happening now.”

      “Let me be the judge of that. It seems a little too coincidental that your sister meets an untimely death and then a month later there’s a break-in at your place of employment where you’re attacked, struck over the head and left for dead.”

      She shivered as his words sank in. “You believe my sister was murdered, don’t you?”

      He didn’t need to say a word. She could read the confirmation in the way his jaw hardened and his eyebrows twitched.

      Her hand pressed against her heart. “And now you think whoever killed my sister is after me?”

       TWO

      “You’re wrong,” Lana stated firmly. She struggled to sit up in the hospital bed.

      Feeling the need to offer help, Adam adjusted the pillow behind her back. She flinched. A flash of fear lit her dark eyes. Startled by her skittishness, he drew back, his hands up, palms facing out. Ace, however, must have read his intentions of help as acceptance. The dog stretched until his nose could nudge her hand.

      “Heel,” Adam commanded. Ace complied immediately.

      Lana kept her gaze on the dog. “The break-in had nothing to do with me or my sister. The man wanted the arrow. I wasn’t even supposed to be working last night.”

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