The Perfect Bride - By Kerry Connor Page 0,60

run more in-depth checks on them in case there’s anything else we should know that we don’t already.” Perhaps he should have dug deeper to begin with, but it hadn’t seemed necessary. He’d basically been hiring people to work at a hotel, not the Pentagon. He hadn’t needed to know more about them. Or so he’d thought.

“Good idea.”

“In the meantime, every moment you’re here you’ll be a target.”

She fell quiet for a moment. “We could still use that to our advantage.”

Adam immediately recoiled at the idea. “I am not going to let you use yourself as bait,” he said firmly.

“If we can draw out the killer, we can catch him or her.”

“Or you can get yourself killed. This person already managed to get to you twice.”

“I didn’t have anyone watching my back. And now I do.”

She said it as a statement of plain fact, not a question, as though she had no doubt that he would be there for her. She was right, of course, and her faith in him nearly made his chest swell with a sense of masculine pride, regardless of why she was saying it.

“Yeah,” he said roughly. “You do. And I’m watching your back when I say you’re not using yourself as bait. We’ll figure something out.”

Jillian nodded once. “All right. What about Meredith? Do you want to tell her the truth about me?”

Adam considered the question. It was another one he didn’t like the answer to. “I don’t like the idea of leaving her clueless to what’s really going on here, but Meredith isn’t the best liar. Never has been. I think it’s one reason she became so distant when things went bad with that bastard Brad. She had to know I would realize what was going on. And she hasn’t been that strong emotionally in the wake of everything that happened. If we do tell her, I’m not sure she would be able to keep from letting the others know something is up.”

“So we won’t tell her yet,” Jillian agreed. “Hopefully we’ll be able to tell her soon enough, if we can resolve this quickly.”

Which they would, he thought. Whoever was responsible for all of this had to be stopped before anything else happened, anyone else was hurt.

Now, if they could only figure out how to do that.

In the meantime... “We really should get dressed before anyone comes looking for us.”

Adam felt her sigh, and nearly did the same. “You’re right.”

With mutual reluctance, they pushed apart and climbed to their feet. They dressed quickly, collecting the clothes they’d scattered across the floor and shrugging into them. Adam couldn’t resist sneaking a few glimpses of her tantalizing body as it was regrettably recovered—and found her looking back at him, watching him in exactly the same way.

Jillian shot him a grin, completely unembarrassed to be caught staring or to have him look. He could only grin back.

God, she was amazing. So vital, so full of life. Just the idea of anything happening to this woman—

Not going to happen, he vowed.

Finally, all too soon, they were dressed. Unable to resist, he reached for her, moving in for another kiss.

A sharp knock suddenly sounded on the door. They barely had time to move away from each other, let alone acknowledge the knock, before the door swung open. “Hey, boss—”

It was Zack. He came to an abrupt stop just inside the doorway as though sensing he’d interrupted something. He glanced between the two of them, eyes narrowing.

Adam could imagine what he saw. They hadn’t taken the time to completely straighten their clothes and hair, so they had to look disheveled, as if they’d been—well, as if they’d been doing exactly what they had.

“What is it, Zack?” Adam asked, keeping his tone completely unconcerned.

Zack lowered his eyes, his discomfort clear. “We’re finished in the ballroom, but Ed is worried part of the basement might flood with all this rain. Looks like there’s already some leakage. He wanted to know if you wanted to come take a look so you’d know what was going on.”

“Thanks, Zack,” Adam said. “I’ll be right out.”

Zack nodded tightly. Ducking his head, he backed out of the room, closing the door behind him.

As soon as it was shut, Jillian raked a hand through her hair, giving it a makeshift combing. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance he’s not going to tell everyone what he just saw—or thinks he saw.”

“I doubt it. I’d give it about thirty minutes, tops, before everyone knows.”

“The only question is, how will