Read Online Under His Cover-nook by Lyric James - Free Book Online Page B

the glass.
    “I take it this is Maya?” she asked.
    He glanced at the picture again and nodded.
    “She’s beautiful,” she whispered. And the young lady was. Curly chestnut brown hair, high cheekbones, and a smile that revealed straight, pretty white teeth. And the same silver gray eyes as Rhys.
    Her father.
    She tried to shake the thought from her head, but she couldn’t. What else could it be? What other secret could he be hiding after all this time if she wasn’t his daughter?
    “I’ll take this one to my friend in the fingerprint lab as well, when I get the other ones back.”
    He only nodded. “They’re threatening her,” he said quietly.
    But underneath the veil of his voice, she heard the anger. Sensed the simmering rage.
    “She’s only a child. She’s just entering the exciting time of her life.” He turned to her. “I won’t let anything happen to her. I can’t.” Rhys pointed a corner of the envelope at her. “You have to find out who’s doing this.”
    The tightness in her neck and shoulders slowly ebbed away. No matter his secrets. No matter his refusal to acknowledge this child publicly, he loved her. Jade saw it in his eyes, heard it in his voice. The emotion mirrored in his face was undeniable. And for that, and only that, she’d do her damnedest to find out who was threatening them both.
     
    Later at the library, with scores of newspapers scattered around her, Jade perused the high society section of every Sunday’s paper for the last year. She had stacks in front of her, beside her in chairs, below her on the floor. And on a yellow notepad, she’d listed four names. Including Jackie’s. What was curious, pictures of Rhys with Jackie came before, in between, and after the other three women. Was Jackie a sucker for punishment? Did she really think if she acted like she didn’t care about the other women, Rhys would eventually choose her? Marry her?
    They were obviously close, and he appeared to enjoy her company made evident by the frequent visits to his office, the breakfast date they had this morning, and the many phone calls Jade had buzzed through to him throughout the day. If that were true, why didn’t he settle down with her and make her Mrs. Rhys Cunningham.
    Something she didn’t want to define clinched in her stomach. She began to gather up all the papers and put them back in date order so the librarian could easily put them away in the archives. As she did so, her thoughts drifted back to Maya and the implications of the apparent relationship her birth resulted from. She wasn’t the first African American woman he’d been attracted to. Even one of the ladies listed on her paper, Cynthia, was African American.
    And for some odd reason, a little flutter of joy seized her heart. Was there a chance for her in Rhys’ life after all? But as she glanced at the names on the list, Jackie’s name seemed to lift and hover over the page. This woman wasn’t going anywhere. That much was sure. Plus, all of those ladies were slim, athletic types. Jade glanced down. She was not. She wasn’t Winona the Whale, but her full hips and bosom didn’t look anything like what he was used to dating. Her mood soured at the thought. Why was she doing this to herself again?
    However much she fantasized about being with Rhys, she wasn’t going to put herself in the position to be one of those women who enjoyed casual sex with him and went on about her merry way. She wouldn’t put herself in a position to be hurt. Unlike those other women, she was well aware of the power Rhys Cunningham had over her. He had the power to make her fall in love with him. Yes, admittedly, he was attracted to her as far as sex went. The huge erection that hummed in his pants the night of the fundraiser was proof of that. But she was sure that was all it was.
    Back in her car, she dug inside her purse for her cell phone and zoomed through the names in her address book until she got to her contact at the telephone