Read Online Deadly Desire by Audrey Alexander - Free Book Online

drained of all feeling. He couldn’t be here. Not now. Not here. How did he even know where I lived?
    “It’s Pierce,” I hissed back. “Donovan. The guy I…”
    “Holy shit,” she breathed, eyes widening. “Open it.”
    I shook my head, and my hair almost sprang free from its elastic band. Cynthia didn’t know the full story. There was no way I could see him now. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see him ever again. Still…what I’d just heard on the news made me wonder what he might have to say. At the time of Michael Astor’s death, Pierce would have been back at the club doing…whatever it was guys like him did when they went out on the town.
    Rolling her eyes, Cynthia opened the door and disappeared out of the room before I could stop her. I held my breath and turned to see Pierce glowering at me from the hallway. He didn’t look very happy, though it was hard to pin down exactly why. His expression was as cool and composed as it normally was, but something like danger flickered in his eyes.
    I took a step back. “What are you doing here?”
    “We need to talk,” he said, stepping inside and shutting the door behind him. “I got a phone call today. It turns out someone has been playing private investigator.”
    Ah crap. The woman on the phone—Rachel Donovan—must have given him a heads up about my call. “Listen, I can explain.”
    “I don’t want you to explain.” His crossed his arms over his broad chest and clenched his jaw. “I want you to stay out of it. Don’t pry into my business.”
    “I only did it because I needed some answers, and it’s not like you gave me any when I came to see you today.”
    “Oh, I gave you some answers.” His eyes went dark. “Now agree you’ll stay out of it. I don’t want to be angry with you, Emma, but this is non-negotiable.”
    Sighing, I shook my head. A part of me felt like I should be angry he came barging into my apartment unannounced, demanding I obey him no questions asked. But another was too tired to put up a fight. If he wanted to keep his secrets, fine. At least they didn’t concern me if the story on the news was correct. As long as my photos had nothing to do with the murder, then we could go our own separate ways, just the way he wanted.
    “Okay, if that’s what you want,” I said with a shrug.
    He cocked his head, clearly surprised. “I expected you to put up more of a fight.”
    “Well, I just saw the news. Michael Astor was killed before I even gave you the photos, so it looks like I was wrong to jump to conclusions.”
    Pierce looked legitimately surprised before he painted over his shock with his trademark stone mask. Interesting. He so rarely showed emotion that whatever I’d seen just now must have been real. But why would he be so shocked? Something still wasn’t adding up, and I couldn’t land on an explanation that made much sense.
    “You took the photos Tuesday night and gave them to me Wednesday morning. You’re saying his death happened during that timeframe.”
    “Yeah, they estimate his time of death to be about ten minutes after I saw him.”
    Pierce narrowed his eyes, and he strode toward me with his hands clenched by his sides, his body radiating anger. I sucked in a sharp breath and tried to step back, but he gripped my arm to hold me there. I tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip, digging his fingers into my skin.
    “What are you doing?” I hissed. “Let go.”
    “Listen to me right now,” he said, dropping his voice low. “You need to pack a bag and come with me.”
    My mouth dropped opened. There was no way I could have heard that right.
    “Emma, listen.” He shook me, forcing me to look up into his intense dark eyes. “Something’s not right, and you need to come with me. Now.”
    A tear stung my eye as I tried to make sense of what was going on. “You’re scaring me, Pierce. Please let go. I don’t understand what’s happening.”
    “Think about it,” he said in a growl. “You were