Read Online Christmas Wishes (novella) by Rhian Cahill - Free Book Online

needed to get his head around what he’d just learned.
    She was Martin Greenwood’s sister . How had he not made the connection?
    Winning the contract next time was hardly a priority. Allegra was in serious trouble, her career on the line.
    And his conscience left him no choice.
    Luke studied her symmetrical face, the halo of golden blonde hair, the now obvious resemblance to her brother. The corporate suit she wore was well cut, clinging to her slim figure and showcasing a set of killer legs. She wore tasteful jewellery, nothing too blingy, and natural make-up. The impression was sexy ice maiden wearing a ‘don’t mess with me attitude.’
    But the woman the press dubbed the ‘perfumed steamroller’ had a skeleton in her closet. Who knew?
    She clicked her tongue, looking irritated all of a sudden. “Look, do you want the case or not?”
    He dragged his thoughts away from her physical attributes and concentrated on the job at hand. “Here’s what we’re going to do.”
    “We?”
    Luke sighed at the interruption. Sharp, she missed nothing.
    “It feels good to have an ally, that’s all.” She smiled, her body almost sagging with relief. “And thank you.”
    He ignored the way his heart shifted up a gear. “We, we’re a team until we catch this loser .”
    He pushed a notepad and pen across the table. “Write down Chris Noble’s full name and his last known address in Melbourne. It’s logical to start there.”
    As she scribbled down the details he noticed her absence of rings. He hadn’t got around to asking about partners and such, but it appeared from her bare hands she hadn’t succumbed to the last legal form of slavery.
    She slid the notebook back to him.
    “Go home and make sure the original photographs are where they should be. Phone me immediately if they’ve been disturbed. I want a list of every person who’s had access to your home since breaking up with Noble.”
    “Okay.”
    Strange, she didn’t seem at all phased by his request. Most people groaned and objected, daunted by the task. “I mean everyone you can think of Allegra. Family, friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, work colleagues, tradesmen, landlords, cleaning staff, anyone who could conceivably have gained access to those photographs.”
    “In Melbourne they were locked in a safety deposit box, but since moving to Sydney I’ve kept them hidden in my apartment.”
    “Then I only need a list of people who’ve visited your Sydney residence.”
    She nodded. “When do you want it?”
    “Is seven in the morning too early?”
    She shook her head, blonde highlights shining under the fluorescents. “I’m used to deadlines.”
    “Then I’ll come by and pick it up, check out your security,” he said in an offhand manner, trying to give the impression it was standard procedure. It wasn’t. From cases he’d worked, extortionists were predictable, demanding money straight up. No demand for cash pointed to something more sinister.
    He watched the colour drain from her face, his nonchalance not fooling her for a second.
    “You think they could come to my home?”
    Nothing to be gained by sugar coating it. “A photograph without a demand for cash smacks of a stalker or a psychological blackmailer.”
    Her eyes widened, and for the briefest moment she looked truly frightened. He waited, letting his words sink in. She needed time to accept the ugly truth. A hidden enemy intended doing her harm.
    “I hoped it might be a prank,” she said finally, her voice thick and shaken.
    “Could be, but I doubt it. Having it delivered by bicycle courier shows it’s well thought out.”
    She stared at him, a bemused expression on her face. “It doesn’t sound like Chris at all.”
    A spurt of anger surfaced at her stoic defence of the photographer. Despite her position, she didn’t appear all that street smart, or men smart.
    “Not the Chris you remember, but people change.”
    Luke shifted in his seat, longing to undo the top button of his