Secret Weapon Spouse - By B. J. Daniels Page 0,33

beat a little faster. “Then you know she’s conscious.” He could tell by her expression she hadn’t heard. Had he caught her in a lie? Possibly not her first. He suspected she’d been down the hall visiting the chauffeur again. More eavesdropping?

“She was sleeping so I didn’t know she’d regained consciousness. That’s wonderful news.” He could hear Samantha’s obvious relief that Caroline was alive and getting better. While he didn’t understand this woman, something told him that whatever she might be up to, she was one of the good guys. At least he hoped to hell that was true because he felt something for her. Something he hadn’t felt in a long time for a woman.

But then he had a track record for falling in love with the wrong woman. Usually one he couldn’t trust, he reminded himself.

“Did you get to talk to Caroline?” she asked.

“The doctor let me see her for a few moments. She’s pretty out of it still.”

“So you didn’t ask about Preston.”

He shook his head as he let the elevator doors go and stepped in. She’d already pushed the ground floor button. “No reason to hit her with any of that the moment she wakes up, right?”

Samantha nodded and smiled. “I’m sure once she’s able she’ll clear this all up.”

Right. “Any word on that other woman?” he asked.

She shook her head.

The elevator doors opened on the ground floor. He told himself that he couldn’t let her get away—maybe even more so because she looked as if that’s exactly what she wanted to do.

“I still can’t believe it but the doctor says Caroline and the baby are going to be fine. Don’t you think this calls for a celebration?”

Instantly, she started to decline.

“Just one drink. Please. I can’t tell you how relieved I am, but then I suspect I don’t have to.”

“No, you don’t.” He could see that she was weakening.

“Just one drink to celebrate this good news.”

“All right.” She seemed different. It took him a moment to put his finger on what it was. She was always in control. Except tonight. Tonight there was a vulnerability to her. He felt a pull toward her like the force of gravity. He wanted to take her in his arms and hold her, protect her, comfort her.

“Still no word from Preston?” she asked giving him the impression she was just trying to make conversation since he would have told her if he’d heard anything.

He shook his head. “I think Preston probably used Caroline to get to my father. I’m not sure how much money C.B. gave Preston but I have a bad feeling it was considerable.” He told her that his brother, Brian, had provided him with the addresses of Preston’s supposed businesses. They had proved worthless, just as Alex had suspected.

Samantha Peters looked sick. “I can’t imagine what this will do to Caroline.”

“I still think he’s behind what happened to her. So, one way or another, I’ll find him and get to the truth.”

THAT WAS WHAT SAMANTHA was afraid of—that Alex was the kind of man that settled for nothing less than the truth.

It was one reason she felt so jumpy. That and almost being killed earlier upstairs in Craig Johnson’s room. That and the intimacy of being in this elevator alone with Alex. That and the fact that she was lying to this man. Not lying exactly, but definitely not being honest with him.

And what made it all the worse was that he didn’t realize how dangerous the situation had become. She had to warn him, had to tell him everything she knew. It was the only reason she’d agreed to have a drink with him. At least that’s what she told herself. She would tell him everything. Well, enough that he would stop his investigation of Preston Wellington III or whoever the man was. She couldn’t live with herself if anything happened to Alex.

As they stepped off on the ground floor, Alex reached over and touched her hand.

She felt a jolt of warmth and did her best not to react.

“I’ll get my truck. Wait here.” He didn’t give her a chance to argue. She watched him walk away, no wasted effort, his body lean and strong, the man himself self-confident. She felt a pull so strong that she couldn’t look away and chastised herself for wanting to watch Alex for those few moments longer before he disappeared into the darkness of the parking lot.

He had struck a chord in her and she didn’t know what she