Read Online A Secret Life by Barbara Dunlop - Free Book Online Page A

her living room last night when he’d planted himself between her and potential danger. They go through me to get to you, he’d said. Right now, watching his eyes darken to a midnight sky, she believed every word.

    A NTHONY WORKED to quell his nerves as he watched Joan through the control room window. Clearly thrilled with the opportunity, Karen St. Claire peppered her with friendly, chatty questions about her story ideas and her quiet lifestyle in Indigo.
    They’d met with Ray and Karen before the interview, making sure everyone was clear on the rules. Still, Anthony could tell Joan was nervous by the way she twisted her little ruby ring around and around her finger, but she was doing a fabulous job. She smiled openly at Karen, answered the questions directly and articulately, leaving just enough to the imagination. If he’d known she was this poised and beautiful in front of the cameras, he’d have pushed her on publicity a lot harder a lot sooner.
    The five-minute mark went by, but nobody made any move to shut it down. If the networks were still carrying the interview, this was the publicity coup of a lifetime. He could see daytime talk shows in their future.
    “Were you angry when the Prism Agency leaked your name?” Karen asked.
    Anthony tensed. It was the first question that wasn’t on his approved list.
    Joan’s smile didn’t falter. “Not at all, Karen. Anthony Verdun and I keep in very close touch, and the move didn’t surprise me.”
    Brilliant. And it was the third time she’d dropped Anthony’s name. He owed her big-time.
    “Are you saying you authorized the release of your identity?”
    “Mr. Verdun works within parameters that allow him to make the best choices for my career on a wide range of issues.”
    Anthony could barely sit still. She was good. She was better than good. His cell phone vibrated against his chest, but he ignored it.
    He vaguely heard the booth door open behind him. He ignored that, too.
    Then Heather’s voice hissed in his ear. “You set me up. ”
    He spared her a sideways glance. “I merely distracted you.”
    “You’re an evil little man.”
    Anthony glanced through the window to the hallway. He and Joan had gone through two separate security checks. “How’d you get in here?”
    Heather crossed her arms and gave him an imperious look. “You’re joking, right?”
    He took in her clothes, her hair, her makeup and a demeanor that had wealth and breeding stamped all over it. Silly question. Heather could get into the inner sanctum of the CIA if she put her mind to it.
    “She’s doing great,” he said, nodding to Joan.
    “What great?” Incredulity crept into Heather’s hushed voice. “I call Samuel Kane off the tabloids yesterday, only to have you stuff her in front of a camera today?”
    “This is different.”
    “No. It’s not.”
    Not that he owed Heather any explanation. “I picked the interviewer. I approved the questions.”
    “You’re throwing her to the wolves to further your own interests.”
    “Karen St. Claire is hardly the wolves.” Anthony’s phone vibrated again.
    “You hurt my sister, and I’ll hunt you down.”
    The threat didn’t worry him. Not that Heather couldn’t have him killed, or worse. He simply had no intention of hurting Joan.
    Out in the studio, Karen St. Claire straightened the index cards on the news desk in front of her. “Can you tell us a little about your late husband?”
    Joan’s expression faltered, and Anthony jumped up. “End it,” he called to the news director.
    The news director signaled to Karen, and she smoothly wrapped it up.
    The second they switched to a commercial, Anthony was through the booth door. He brushed his way past cameras and assistants, stepping over extension cords to get to Joan just as she removed her microphone.
    He drew her into his arms and hugged her tight to his chest. “You were magnificent,” he mumbled in her ear.
    She molded against him, and he prolonged the hug, greedily