A small laugh escaped him. “You know exactly why I would think such a thing.”
Her smile fell away and she appeared small and vulnerable once again. “Trust me, I’ll cooperate with you in any way I can, but I intend to leave the investigation up to you.”
“That’s my girl,” he replied. He squeezed her hand and then released it and stood. “Now, do you want to go to one of your sisters’? If so, I’ll wait for you to pack a bag or whatever, and then I’ll walk you out.”
She stood as well. “I’m not going to one of my sisters’ places or anywhere else. I’m not going to allow some creep to chase me out of my home. Trust me, I won’t be caught unaware again. Mama had a knife she kept for protection, and that knife will be my new best friend and bedmate from now on.”
She raised her chin and for a moment she looked like a strong, beautiful warrior. A wave of renewed attraction to her filled him.
“My back door has a good lock on it and now with the board in place nobody will be able to reach a hand in to unlock my front door. I’ll be just fine here.” She offered him another one of her half smiles. “It’s late, Daniel. Go home, and I’ll just see you tomorrow night.”
“If you’re sure?”
“I’m positive,” she assured him.
Together they walked to the front door. He was reluctant to leave her here all alone, but there was really nothing else hecould do. He didn’t have the manpower to put a guard on her and at least for now the danger had passed.
When they reached the door, he turned back to look at her.
She was still clad in the pink nightshirt that now was stained with blood on one side from her wounds. Thank God she had only been sliced on her arm. It could have been so much worse. It could have been deadly.
She looked like a victim until he looked into her eyes. There was a strength there in the gorgeous light brown depths, and a deep admiration for her filled him.
He reached out and pushed a strand of her hair away from her face. She took a step closer to him, bringing with her the scent that half dizzied his senses.
For a long moment they stood intimately close to each other. A snap of energy filled the air and her lush lips parted as if in invitation of a kiss. Damn, he really wanted to kiss her, but in the back of his mind a voice of reason finally moved him a step away from her.
“Good night, Angelique. Call me if you need me for anything, and I mean anything. And keep thinking about who the attacker might have been. In the meantime, I’ll see you tomorrow evening,” he said.
“I’ll be here.” Her eyes appeared to darken. “I only have one request…if possible could you not tell my sisters about this attack on me tonight? The last thing I want to do is worry them.”
He frowned. “I’m sorry, but I can’t keep that request. To do my job right I need to speak with both of them. One of them might have valuable information about the reason for the assault on you tonight. Unfortunately, I will be talking to them tomorrow.”
She sighed. “All right, I understand. Then I’ll just see you tomorrow evening.”
They said their goodbyes, and then Daniel stepped out of the shanty. It was after four in the morning and the swamp was relatively quiet as he clicked on his flashlight and began to walk toward the entrance where his car was parked.
As he walked, his brain whirled with dozens of questions. Who had attacked Angelique tonight? And why? Angelique didn’t seem the type to go around and cause trouble, but somebody had come after her tonight with a killing rage.
Did this have something to do with Mystique’s murder? It seemed damned coincidental that one woman was murdered, and then within weeks her daughter was attacked. Did somebody have a vendetta against the whole Santori family?
Unfortunately, he had to talk to Angelique’s sisters, if for no other reason than to warn them of potential danger. If somebody was after the Santori family, then they needed to know they might be in danger, too.
By the time he reached his car, he was exhausted from the night’s events and was still very concerned about Angelique’s safety. He hated that she was all alone in the shanty.
He didn’t even want to think about that moment when they’d stood so close to each other. He especially didn’t want to think about how much he’d wanted to kiss her, because he knew if the opportunity presented itself again, he would definitely take it.
ANGELIQUE SLEPTUNTILafter nine the next morning. It had taken her a very long time to fall asleep after Daniel had left. She was aware of each creak and every groan that the shanty made. What had always comforted her now sounded suspicious and had kept her awake. It was around dawn when sleep finally caught up with her.
Once awake, she went about her normal routine, dressing and then starting the generator. As she went about her business, shetried not to think about what had happened the night before, but she couldn’t help that her thoughts kept taking her there.
The cuts on her arm were certainly a reminder of what had happened the night before. They burned and hurt. However, she was thankful they hadn’t been worse.
There was no question that the intruder had wanted to kill her, or at the very least, greatly harm her. Why? What had she done to somebody to warrant this kind of hatred?
The only places she had been since her mother’s funeral were the café with her sisters and the grocery store. Several people had come up to her in the store to give their condolences, and she thought she’d been gracious and kind to each of them. Had she said something off to anyone? She didn’t believe so and, in any case, she couldn’t believe a simple exchange in the grocery store would result in a murder attempt.
Equally as confusing was that moment just before Daniel had left, when she’d found herself standing so close to him at the front door. There had been a single, breathless moment when she thought he was going to kiss her. And the confusing thing was she had wanted his kiss.
