Free Edge of the Enforcer by Cherise Sinclair Page A

of dreams should have some ceremony attached.
    Feeling the thickening in her throat, she shook herself.
    The wagon train of destiny has passed, girl. Barking after it won’t make it stop.
    Carrying the papers, she went into the narrow filing room. Tucked behind the reception area, the room was isolated and perfect, since she couldn’t see deVries’s office.
    Mood lightening, she hummed to herself, answered the phone when needed, and filed papers. As, Bs, Cs…
    “You look like you know what you’re doing.” DeVries’s gravelly voice echoed in the small room.
    Lindsey spun. “Jesus, you scared the spit out of me.” God, God, God. How could she have been so stupid as to turn her back on a door? Anyone might have walked in. Shot her dead.
    Trying to regulate her heartbeat, she picked up the paper she’d dropped.
    “Bit jumpy?” His gaze swept over her, sending a different type of anxiety into her.
    “I drank too much coffee.” She assumed a pleasant smile. “Was there something you needed, Mr. deVries?”
    His face darkened. “Considering all the ways I’ve tasted you, fingered you, fucked you, calling me Mister is pretty formal.”
    Her spine snapped straight. “I thought formality would serve us best. After all, I don’t like you, and you don’t like me.”
    “Hell,” he said under his breath before giving her a scowl. “I was out of line.”
    She nodded acknowledgment of his half-assed—though unexpected—apology.
    “I didn’t come in to apologize, though.” He gave her a stare as if she were a scorpion scuttling around on an outhouse floor. “You’re working under a fake ID, Miss Adair. What’s your real name?”
    As her hands went cold, she took a step back. The file drawer jammed into her hip, blocking her retreat. “You researched—”
    “Yeah. I did. Give me a real good explanation of why, and maybe I won’t tell Simon.”
    Her fear disintegrated as rage danced along her nerve endings. How dare he snoop? Threaten her? “Go away.” Trying to block his existence from her universe, she turned and leisurely filed the paper she’d crumpled.
    The air seemed to darken. What kind of man could change the very atmosphere in a room?
    “I’m waiting for your explanation.”
    He could wait until the stars fell from the sky. “Run and tell Daddy, little boy. What are you, five?” She took a long inhalation and told her shoulders to relax. God, I just want to go home.
    “Let’s start with this: why’re you working here?”
    Because if I’d stayed in Texas, I’d be dead. She turned and glared at him. “Why do you think, you idiot? Because he pays me. You know,” she said sweetly, “Simon thinks you’re so clever, but I kinda figure you can’t find your ass with a flashlight and a search warrant.”
    Silence.
    Perhaps that hadn’t been the smartest comment she’d ever made. Well, if he couldn’t take the heat, he shouldn’t have come into her filing room. She slammed the drawer shut and started on the next letter. D. DeVries’s name was on a lot of the investigations. He was respected here. What would Simon do when his buddy outed her? Still, Simon knew she was hiding. Surely he wouldn’t fire her. She felt her lower lip tremble and compressed her lips. Leave me alone.
    He didn’t leave. His voice was even raspier as he said, “I think you should—”
    “Lindsey, it’s five o’clock. Time for you to head on home.” Simon’s smooth voice hit the room like the warmth of a fire after a chill morning walk.
    She turned.
    DeVries still stood in the doorway, his expression unreadable.
    “Okay,” she said to Simon. “Thank you.”
    “Not a problem. You’re doing an excellent job.”
    Pleasure swept away her worry. “Oh, that’s nice to hear.”
    “Only the truth.”
    After closing the filing drawer, she left the remaining papers on the small table and headed for the door. DeVries didn’t even try to get out of her way as she squeezed past him.
    “Butthead,” she said