Free Darkest Desire by Tawny Taylor

hands started shaking, her heart racing. What now? What?
    Her phone, set on vibrate, hummed as it rang a third time. One more ring and it would go to voice mail. One more ring and she wouldn’t have to hear his next threat.
    She hit the button, but didn’t say a word.
    â€œI always knew you were an intelligent woman,” he said. “Smart move answering.”
    â€œWhat do you want?” she whispered.
    â€œI don’t ‘want’ anything. I thought I’d let you know that I’ve been in contact with the lead on a certain murder case, and he tells me they’re looking for a woman who fits your description. He called her a ‘person of interest.’ ”
    â€œWell, I had nothing to do with anyone’s death. I think you’re bluffing.”
    â€œBluffing? Are you sure about that?”
    â€œYes, I’m sure. You’re lying. About the gun. About everything. You just want to scare me so I’ll do what you say.”
    â€œI guess you’d better hope your alibi stands up.”
    â€œThis is just a scare tactic,” she said, her teeth gritted so hard her temples throbbed. “I don’t know anything about a murder or about some stupid secret. Leave me alone!” She cut off the call, dropped her phone, and covered her face with her trembling hands.
    She was caught in a nightmare, and she couldn’t wake up.
    Â 
    A couple of hours later, Malek returned and proudly proclaimed he was now a registered student at the University of Michigan. He added, somewhat sheepishly, that he’d invited a guest over.
    Malek’s “guest” was attractive, if you like them skinny, blond, and stupid. Lei didn’t. She was actually very surprised Malek did. Upon entering the house, Jodi gushed nonstop about how gorgeous the decor was. Malek played host, giving her the grand tour and introducing her to Lei.
    Then Jodi discovered the pool. At the proclamation, “Ohmygod, look at this pool. We should go skinny dipping,” Lei headed upstairs to do some research online. She was not in the mood to watch that little tramp throw her skinny little ass at Malek.
    What was he thinking?
    The echo of that woman’s grating laughter followed her all the way up to the second floor. Lei was almost glad when she stopped laughing. Then she considered the most likely reason for her silence.
    Lei’s blood burned in her veins.
    She was freaking jealous.
    This was so bad.
    After staring at her computer screen for an hour, she was sleepy, her neck was stiff, and she needed to get off her butt and move around. She layered on some warm clothes and, listening for the sound of Malek and his friend, headed out the back door for a walk.
    The air was crisp and smelled like frozen earth. The crunchy leaves crackled underfoot as she made her way through the wooded part of the property to her favorite spot.
    She realized, unfortunately, that the little wood gazebo sitting next to the river was inhabited. It seemed Malek had brought his guest outside. And that was why they’d become so quiet.
    Lei slumped against a nearby tree and tried to pretend they weren’t there. The river was gray and sluggish. Thin ice formed a crust that reached out a couple of feet from the banks. And the breeze gusting across its surface sent the smell of water and life to her nose. Winter was here—dull, gray, dreary winter. There wasn’t a thing about the season she liked. And with Rin gone for at least the next month or so, she’d like it even less than normal.
    The sound of Jodi’s chuckle filled the silence.
    Lei hoped Jodi wouldn’t become a repeat houseguest. Keeping her word that she wouldn’t leave the house without a bodyguard would be almost impossible.
    For some reason, her gaze kept sliding along the river’s edge and inching toward the stupid gazebo. It didn’t help that she was in a bad spot. From her vantage, she could see Malek and his new