Free Shrouded in Darkness (Shrouded Series) by H. D. Thomson

the time to find out.
    He lifted his hand as if he wanted to rub his face but dropped it back to his side. “Maybe that didn’t come out right. Much of their work is experimental and highly classified. The competition is fierce. They pay their people damn good, and because of that, they expect absolute loyalty and absolute silence.”
    “Are they associated with the government? Johnny wouldn’t even tell me that.”
    “No. It’s privately owned. They have a number of contributors. People with too much money and too much power.” He pulled away from the doorjamb and walked into the room. “Enough about Miltronics. I don’t work there anymore.”
    She took the hint and shut her mouth. He had every right to his privacy, but even knowing that, it didn’t help her from feeling rebuffed. Turning to leave, she bumped her hip and knocked a section of newspaper off the dresser. She caught the folded newsprint in midair. About to put it back, she paused when the glow from the screen caught the word Miltronics in bold print across the newspaper. Frowning, she opened the paper and saw the caption on the front page of the Boston Globe.
    “Twelve Dead in Explosion.” Unable to read more because of the room’s darkness, she reached over for the light switch.
    “Don’t!”
    She jumped at the harsh urgency in his voice. She’d completely forgotten about his problem with bright light. The shock of seeing Johnny’s company in the papers had blinded her to anything else around her.
    “What is this? When did it happen? I have to know...”
    Pivoting, Margot hurried from the room, gripping the newspaper tightly with one hand. She rushed down the hall. She was only half-conscious of Jake behind her as she entered the den and turned on the lamp. After sitting down in one of the high-backed chairs, she read the first several paragraphs in disbelief. When finished, she looked up at Jake.
    “You didn’t know, did you?” Jake asked softly.
    “I—” She stared at him standing along the edge of the room’s shadows. “Johnny, he...” She hesitated, then shook her head. “I feel terrible. I never knew.” She reread the date. “It happened a couple of days after Johnny was killed. These people worked with my brother. And here I thought no one showed up at his funeral because they were too damned busy. I didn’t know they were all dead!”
    She tightened her grip on the newspaper, mangling it between her fingers. “They say it was arson. One of the employees. A janitor. They found evidence at his home.”
    “That’s what they want everyone to believe,” Jake muttered to himself, knowing damn well who the real arsonist was.
    “What did you say?” Her gaze narrowed. “Are you telling me that they don’t have the right person?”
    Damn. That was stupid. He needed to learn to keep his opinions to himself. One wrong move from him, and Margot would get suspicious. Then sooner more than later, she’d be asking Malcolm and anyone associated with Miltronics questions. If she did that, she wouldn’t live long. Not with Malcolm.
    And that scared Jake. In far too short a time, he’d come to like this woman. He’d realized that the second he thought Malcolm was going up to the house to confront her. Jake had raced out of the barn, thinking to head him off. Instead, he’d found the bastard leaving the place. God, the relief had almost brought him to his knees.
    Jake folded his arms and shrugged. “I never said they had the wrong person. Don’t put words in my mouth.”
    She stared back. It looked like she wasn’t completely convinced. But hell, it was damn hard to act convincing when the idea of someone else taking the fall for Malcolm’s criminal activity tasted like crow. Granted, the guy they caught hadn’t exactly been a model citizen with two prior arrests and an outstanding warrant for burglary.
    “I need a drink.”
    Jake bit back a retort. If she wanted to drink herself under the table, that was her business. After