Read Online Bait by Karen Robards - Free Book Online

me, but when I woke up and found a man in my room, it didn’t occur to me to check the clock. Sometime between midnight and three is the best I can do. I fell asleep just after midnight, and I was at the hospital by a quarter after three.”
    Her sarcasm seemed to roll off him like oil off waxed paper. If anything, his expression grew more intent. “Did you get a look at him?”
    Maddie repressed a shiver as she remembered the terrifying bulk of the man.
    â€œNo.”
    â€œNothing? Not even a glimpse? Come on, you must have seen something.”
    â€œI didn’t see anything, okay? It was dark. No.”
    Their eyes clashed. A beat passed.
    â€œSo walk me through what happened, step-by-step.”
    Maddie took a deep breath.
    â€œIt upsets me to talk about it, you know? If you want details, read the police report.” Her stomach was doing its twisty thing again. The urge to escape was so strong that she could practically feel the muscles twitching beneath her skin. But escape was impossible for the moment. With the elevator gone, there was, once again, no place to go. That being the case, she needed to not lose it with him, she reminded herself. She needed to stay cool, calm, and in control. All the things that at the moment she definitely was not feeling.
    His eyes slid over her face. He rocked back on his heels, folded his arms over his chest, and appeared to consider her.
    â€œIs it my imagination, or am I sensing some hostility here?”
    Oh, God. Careful.
    She had to fight the urge to swallow. He was watching her too closely for such a telltale action to pass unnoticed.
    â€œI just don’t see the value in going over this umpteen times. Like I said, it upsets me.” Her voice turned tart. “Anyway, aren’t you the FBI? Don’t you always get your man? So why don’t you go get him, and stop harassing me?”
    â€œThat’s the Mounties,” McCabe said dryly, as, unable to help herself, Maddie cast a longing glance to her left.
    Where, oh where, was that fricking elevator?
    â€œMiz Fitzgerald ...”
    As if on cue, the elevator closest to them arrived with a ding. The doors opened, and a gush of people spilled out into the lobby.
    Thank God.
    She met his gaze, summoning the best she could manage in the way of an “it’s been nice” smile.
    â€œLook, I really have to go. Like I said, I already went over the whole thing with the police. You should be able to get whatever you need from them.”
    With that and a dismissive nod, Maddie stepped away from the wall and turned to battle her way through the once again surging crowd. Using her briefcase as a makeshift battering ram, she managed to wedge her way through the stream of riders disembarking and make it onto the emptying elevator ahead of the hordes still more or less politely waiting their turn.
    It did her absolutely no good.
    â€œMiz Fitzgerald ...”
    McCabe was right behind her, damn him, his Southern drawl unmistakable, persistent as a dog after a pork chop as he followed her toward the back of the car. Finding herself nose to nose with the gleaming brass wall as a jostling crowd filled the elevator, Maddie tensed as she realized that, once again, she had nowhere to go. Seconds later she experienced a sudden sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Glancing up, she discovered that, sure enough, he still loomed like the big bad wolf behind her and was, in fact, watching her reflection. For a moment their gazes met and held. They stared at each other, a pair of faintly blurred golden images apparently equally surprised to find their gazes colliding in a too-shiny wall.
    Her stomach clenched.
    Then, be cool, Maddie ordered herself fiercely, and pulled her gaze from his. Grabbing hold of her vacillating courage with both hands, she turned around, deliberately bumping his legs with her briefcase and forcing him to step back a pace.
    â€œSorry,” she said in a voice as bland