Free INVITING FIRE (A Sydney Rye Novel, #6) by Emily Kimelman Page B

jungle, sounded too insane. Are you sure? I typed instead.
    He sent me a video clip from CNN. It had the date and time in the corner. It was from this morning. I hit play. Robert "Bobby" Maxim leaned back in a stiff blue upholstered chair. His left ankle rested on his right knee. His elbows rested on the chair's arms, his fingers pressed together into a steeple. Bobby wore a beautiful suit, the blues and greens subtly running through the gray brought out those colors in his hazel eyes.
    "Do you believe Joyful Justice is a threat to international security?" an off-screen female voice asked.
    Robert's lips lifted into a small smile. "Of course, who doesn't?" he answered.
    "So you think we should be worried."
    "I never worry, Melissa, I prepare."
    She laughed and the camera angle changed so that I could see her sitting next to him, a coffee table in front of them creating a triangle. Melissa was blonde, her hair sprayed into submission, forming a bob-shaped helmet around her head. "I guess that makes sense for a man in your position." Robert nodded slightly. "Is Joyful Justice a major topic at the Central American Security conference this year?"
    "Of course."
    "I would think you'd have a special interest then."
    The screen closed in on Robert's face again, his eyebrows rose slightly, one higher than the other. "Why's that, Melissa?"
    "Many of the corporations that Fortress Global International provides security for have been targeted." There was a small tick in Robert's neck, right at the collar of his creamy white shirt, but his eyes stayed passive. "There was the revolt against Sunrise Oil in the Amazon, the rumors of offshore accounts being raided," Melissa continued.
    Robert laughed, just a little, not to be condescending, just because he couldn't help himself. Or at least that was the impression he gave. The man was a chameleon. He could make you see whatever he wanted you to see. "Melissa, you're asking me about unsubstantiated rumors. Next you'll be asking me about aliens." He smiled, his eyes twinkling in the studio light.
    The shot opened up again and I could see a blush creeping up Melissa's neck. She kept a tight smile on her face though. "Tell me then, you've never attended this conference before and now you're the keynote speaker. Does that have anything to do with Fortress Global's approaching IPO?
    "I've just been waiting for an invitation," Bobby replied. The clip ended then. A message from Dan popped up. Are you okay?
    Yeah, you?
    Yes.
    And this was what was left of us, I thought, staring at the screen. Dan and I had lived together in a one-room bungalow in Goa for months. We'd fought side by side. Made crazy passionate love. Read paperbacks with our elbows touching and our fan clicking loudly above us. So much intimacy and now this. Yes, just yes. It was my fault. I should have called when Malina died. It was wrong that I didn't respond to him. But I couldn't stand it. Any of it.

LENOX GOLD
    E verything I know tells me wine is good for you, and I needed a glass. I wanted to sit on the deck and stare out into the night and listen to the sounds around me and not think.
    I found an open bottle of merlot in the fridge that I'd started with Cynthia. We both agreed that in this heat nothing but chilled wine would do, no matter the color. I poured an inelegant amount into a glass and was making my way toward the deck still wearing only my towel, Blue padding beside me, when there was a knock on the door.
    Cynthia, I thought, turning around. "It's open," I called.
    The door opened and Lenox stepped into the entry. I stopped short, the wine sloshing out of the glass and onto my hand. The towel slipped from my breasts. I grabbed at it, clutching it to my chest before it could fall completely away, but it unraveled and hung from my fist, exposing most of my body. Blue sat next to me, looking up, wondering what I was doing.
    I stopped breathing and time seemed to freeze. Lenox smiled, knowingly, kind and understanding. As