“Lime?” Fiona would have frowned, but her head hurt too much.
“Yes—you know, limestone.”
The fog cleared. “Oh, limestone. As in, to help bodies decompose faster—or slow them down decomposing. I can’t remember which.” She sighed and gave a rueful chuckle as she replaced her toast on the tray. “Anyway, I guess my mind is more addled than I thought. No, I haven’t seen anything like that around.”
Gideon took her hand and fumbled with her fingers between his own, touching each of the three rings she wore, and smoothing over the freckled skin on the back of her hand. His breath hissed out when he saw the red roughness around her wrists, and he touched that too.
“I should have made sure you went home last night,” he said finally. “I’m afraid I just didn’t see any reason that a fifty-year-old skeleton would be the cause of anyone’s concern. But apparently it is.”
Fiona swallowed and reached for the tea to moisten her throat. His stiffness and arrogance seemed to have faded, and the warmth emanating from him was so unlike the cool, business-like attorney she’d first met that it threatened to work its way past her barriers.
“Do you think…could it be Brad Forth?” she said. “Or Arnold Sternan?”
Still holding her hand, he shrugged, and she felt the gentle jolt. “Forth’s been sniffing around ever since you opened the place…but, frankly, I think he’s more interested in you than a skeleton or scandal. And I don’t think he’d do anything to jeopardize the election, with it being so close. And as for Arnold Sternan…well, I suppose it’s possible. He did come to your opening. And he was in the back of the shop. I saw him come out from back there.”
“You did?” She gave him a sidewise look. “You never mentioned anything about it.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t think anything of it—between Iva and my grandfather meddling in the whole—well, I didn’t think it was worth mentioning. But now that we’re talking about it, I should also state that I saw Rudy and Viola Ruthven coming down from the upstairs of the shop. They were definitely poking around up there.”
Fiona felt sick. “If someone’s broken in twice, they’re looking for something,” she said. “It’s not just a thief. But the first break-in—the night of the grand opening—was before I found the skeleton. Is it possible they’re not related?”
Gideon reached up to tuck a coiling curl behind her ear, fighting internally with himself. He didn’t want to say anything that would put an even greater edge of fear in her eyes, but at the same time, he wasn’t about to downplay her safety. If she was concerned about the situation, she would take more care than to be in the store alone at night.
He ground his teeth at the thought of her lying bound and gagged on the floor of the shop forhours, then forced himself to unclench his fists. “It’s possible the first break-in was a random thief. Last night, though…well, you must have surprised the intruder and we don’t know whether he got what he came for.”
He stroked the back of her hand. If he hadn’t leapt to answer Rachel’s call and dropped everything to help her…
He thrust the thought away. There was no way he could have known Fiona would return to the shop, and absolutely no indication that she would interrupt another burglar. Still…if he’d listened to the message his heart had been telling him, he’d never have gone to Rachel.
Gideon’s stomach churned at the memory last night of the terrible, heart-rending scene that had ensued after he told Rachel how he felt. It had ended with her in a storm of tears, and him unable to comfort her…and all the while, he’d been thinking about Fiona.
“I suppose the reason he tied me up and left me was to scare the hell out of me,” Fiona said in a small voice, breaking into his thoughts and jerking him back to their conversation. “Well, it worked.”
Her eyes, framed by thick, winged lashes, carried the shine of fear, and she fluttered her lids down as though to hide it. “But why scare me? I haven’t done anything.”
“That you know of, anyway,” Gideon agreed. “Fiona, we don’t know what’s going on here—so I want you to promise me thatno matter what,you won’t be in the shop by yourself in the evening, or at night—or even early in the morning. Not until we figure out what’s going on, and why you seem to be a target.” The very thought was enough to make his throat close up. “That note was definitely a warning, and it was definitely personal.”
She pulled to adjust herself upright in the bed, exasperation showing in her drawn features. “Don’t be ridiculous, Gideon. I’m not going to be stupid about things—especially now, after this—but I can’t schedule Carl to be there with me every waking hour. He lives in Ann Arbor and only comes out for the weekends.”
He began to talk, but stopped when she pressed two firm fingers to his mouth—which had the added benefit of distracting him as she touched his lips.
“I promise I won’t be in the shop after hours by myself. And I’ve already scheduled to have the security system updated, so I’ll turn the alarms on when I’m there alone. Customers will just have to knock to be let in when I’m alone. Plus, I’m going to get some Mace and have it with me all the time. Unlike my cell phone—which, I promise I’ll try to keep handy. Or, at least, handier. Okay?”
What else could he say? She made sense, even though it left him with a nervousness that would not abate. However, her fingers were still pressed to his lips…and it was rather distracting…
He smiled under her touch, then, with a quick movement, he opened his mouth and let a finger slip in. He nipped it lightly, quickly, and pulled away, grinning at the shocked look on her face. Gideon leaned to press her back into her pillows, covering her lips with his in a gentle, sensual kiss.
She tastedwonderful…hot and lush and exotic. Like Fiona.
A wave of desire washed over him, surging to his groin, and he slid a hand along the length of her neck, tracing over her shoulder to the curve of her breast. Oh…yes….
The rumble of a throat clearing sharply behind him froze Gideon.
Half sprawled on Fiona, he swallowed deeply and with a wry smile, pulled away and sat on the edge of the bed as Fiona’s bloody, interfering brother entered the room.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Ethan said—sounding not the least bit sorry at all, “but Diana thought I should check to see if you need any more tea, Fiona.” He gave Gideon a very cool look.
“Diana did?” Fiona replied with an arch expression.
