Free Explosive Attraction by Lena Diaz Page B

lit with amusement, as if he knew what she was thinking. “Don’t be embarrassed. Your manners were impeccable.” He laughed when she scowled at him. “You had tobe hungry. You haven’t eaten since we ordered room service around this time yesterday.”
    She wiped her mouth and set her napkin down. “What about you?” She waved at his half-eaten sandwich, which he hadn’t touched in several minutes. “Aren’t you hungry? Are you feeling okay? The concussion—”
    “The concussion is not an issue. I don’t even have a headache anymore. Besides, I snacked earlieron some vending machine food.”
    She tossed her sandwich wrapper in the garbage can. “Were you able to find anything out about the investigation? Are there any leads?”
    “I’ll answer that in a minute. First, you have something important to take care of.” He took his cell phone out of his pocket and held it out to her.
    “What’s this for?” she asked, hesitantly taking the phone.
    “With everything happening so fast, I didn’t think to offer earlier.”
    “Offer what?”
    “To let you call your family. They have to be worried about you. Even though your name wasn’t released to the press, the location of the warehouse bombing was. And your family has to be worried that your office was just across the street, especially since they haven’t heard from you.” He stood. “Is tenminutes enough time?”
    He was halfway to the door when she called out to him. “Wait, I don’t... I don’t need ten minutes. I don’t even need one. But...thanks. Really, I appreciate it.”
    A look of understanding crossed his face as he took the phone and sat down again. “Sorry. I didn’t realize you didn’t have a family. I shouldn’t have assumed anything.”
    “No, I...ah, have a family.I just don’t...” She awkwardly cleared her throat. “You said you were going to tell me about the investigation.”
    He studied her, looking thoughtful.
    She tried to sit still without squirming under his scrutiny. Her family situation was complicated, and not something she wanted to discuss, especially with Rafe Morgan.
    “Actually,” he said, “I want your help on another part of the investigation,aside from the sketch.”
    Darby let out a relieved breath.
    Rafe pulled his chair around the side of the desk next to hers and rested his forearms on his knees. “The fingerprints from the hospital confirm that Daniels and Buresh were both attacked by the same perp.”
    She frowned. “Did you think there was more than one?”
    “We can’t make assumptions. That’s when mistakes happen. Unfortunately,the fingerprints didn’t come up in our local database or in the FBI database. That means our perpetrator hasn’t been in the system before. So, we’re no closer to knowing who he is. But if we can get a list of suspects together, we’ll be able to exclude based on those prints.” He shrugged. “It’s a start.”
    “You said you thought I could help. How?”
    “You’re the common link. The bomber sentthe first envelope to you. And then he left an envelope at the scene with your picture in it, when he abducted you.”
    She blinked at the reminder and tightened her hands on the arms of the chair. “Go on.”
    He studied her for a moment, as if to decide whether she was going to fall apart or not. “Since he doesn’t know where you are,” he continued, “we believe he’ll move on to another victimsoon. When he does, I’d like to be ahead of the game, with a list of potential suspects. That’s where you come in. There has to be a connection between you and the bomber. Is there anyone you’ve had an argument with recently, someone who might think of you as their enemy?”
    “Honestly, there are probably a lot of people who think of me as their enemy.”
    His brows rose.
    “Don’t lookso surprised,” she said. “I told you I get a few threats every year. I’m a psychologist, and an expert witness. Both of those roles pit me against plenty of