Free Too Far Gone by Debra Webb, Regan Black Page A

back. None of them are from California. Why were they familiar to you?”
    “Occasionally Desmond brought home head shots and resumes of clients he was considering. I recognize three of them from the headshots. The fourth woman I saw at the office on one of my rare visits.”
    “Do you recall anything else?”
    “I really tried to stay out of his way.” She shook her head. “You must think I’m the biggest idiot for letting him cheat on me and dictate the terms of my career and personal life.”
    “I’m not here to judge you. I’m here to keep you out of the line of fire.”
    She turned and walked away.
    “Where are you going?”
    “I need to move.” She stopped at the door. “I need to
do
something.” She pushed her hands through her hair. “This is too unthinkable. I couldn’t have been this blind.”
    “You can’t leave the house.” Not until there was a hell of a good reason to take that kind of risk.
    “I got that part loud and clear. There’s an exercise room. I need to burn through this helpless feeling.”
    Mike let her go, recognizing she’d hit her limit. It wasn’t much progress, aside from identifying several pretty young women who had been seen around Trinity before they’d disappeared. He emailed the names back to Claudia. Mike feared any nice memories Lauren had of her former agent and lover were about to be obliterated. Somehow, he felt really bad about being the one to make her see that ugly truth.
    Lauren was bold and smart. She didn’t fit his image of a spoiled actress and she was damned talented. His old nightmares had roused him last night and he’d decided to watch a few episodes of
Harper Cove
. He was damned glad she hadn’t awakened and caught him.
    He wished like hell he could get an accurate read on her. Too often he found himself wondering if he was looking at the actress or the woman.
    Maybe he was better off not knowing.
     
    Lauren started on the treadmill, getting her blood pumping while she watched breaking news headlines trailing across the bottom of the muted television screen. The home she’d shared with Desmond was surrounded by news crews. The police hadn’t released anything else about her. Paparazzi were claiming sightings of her all over town. She even caught a glimpse of that damned black SUV in one of the aerial views.
    “Bastards,” she growled.
    “That’s probably undermining the good endorphin thing,” Mike said, walking in.
    He wore a dark t-shirt and loose gym shorts and if she hadn’t already been warm and sweaty from the workout, she’d be spiking a fever about now. The man took hot and tempting to an all new level. “You’d rather have music?”
    “Doesn’t matter to me. I stop listening once I’m in the zone.”
    “Okay.” She struggled to keep her running rhythm. “I keep watching, expecting to see something about the witness.”
    “And have you?”
    “No.” The treadmill hummed as the incline increased with the program she’d chosen. Her quads burned and she embraced the affirmation of being alive.
    Across the room at the multi-function machine, Mike set his weight load and then positioned himself for the bench press. Catching herself sneaking glances at him, enamored by the bunch and flex of his arms, she had to make a concentrated effort to return her gaze to the television.
    “Sometimes it’s easier if you stop thinking about it,” he said.
    “Huh?” Could he tell she was practically drooling over his body? Somewhere in the back of her mind she understood that it was a defense mechanism—a way to escape the awful reality of her life right now. Good grief, couldn’t she think of a better way than ogling her protector?
    “The woman from the office that night has you worried, right?”
    “I don’t understand why she would have told the police a different story, but it’s not just her. I keep trying to figure out what I missed.” She would figure this out. Desmond might have kept her in the dark, but she didn’t