Read Online Wait Until Dark by Karen Robards, Andrea Kane, Linda Anderson, Mariah Stewart - Free Book Online

ago. It couldn't have arrived yet. Oh, God, could something have happened?
    She snatched up the receiver. "Hello?"
    "Sell it," a gravelly voice commanded.
    "What?" Whatever Lindsey had expected, it hadn't been this. She sat bolt upright, her heart slamming against her ribs. "What did you say?"
    "The manor," the gravelly voice continued. "Sell it. Cancel your plans. Forget about Newport tomorrow. Keep quiet about your bloodline. You'll get rich and stay healthy. Do yourself a favor - sell."
    Click.
    Lindsey stared at the receiver for a long moment. It was only when it began beeping stupidly at her and a computerized voice droned, "If you'd like to make a call, please hang up ..." that she reached over, put the phone back in its cradle. Her mind was reeling, and she leaned back against her headboard, waiting for her breathing to return to normal and her hands to stop shaking.
    Part of her reaction was relief that her mother was fine. A middle-of-the-night call when her mother was on an overseas flight - Lindsey's imagination had run wild. On the other hand, her own well-being had just been threatened. And while she was sure it was all an ugly bluff, she still felt unnerved.
    She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, propping up her chin as she pondered what had just occurred.
    Whoever was responsible for that call knew she was leaving for Newport in the morning. They were getting desperate. So they'd decided to go for the jugular and threaten her safety if she didn't sell the house.
    She tossed off the blanket and got up, all semblance of sleep having vanished. She was unnerved, yes, but she was also furious. The voice at the other end of the phone had been unfamiliar - some dirtbag paid by the Falkners, no doubt. Which one of her loving stepsiblings was desperate enough to arrange for that call - Tracy or Stuart? Or was it both of them? Were they so intent on forcing her out of their lives that they'd resort to scare tactics to accomplish their goal? And did they honestly think she was stupid enough not to guess they were the ones behind the call? Who else knew she'd inherited the manor? Who else cared if she kept it? No one but the Falkners had an interest in the place.
    Wrong. There was one more person. Nicholas Warner.
    An uneasy shiver darted up Lindsay's spine, although her mind was already screaming its denial.
    Or was it her hopes doing the screaming?
    Nicholas had called her three times since she left Newport eight days ago. And not only to make arrangements for her stay at his house. They'd talked for almost an hour each time, about nothing and everything, until Irene had started giving her daughter knowing looks and leaving the room so she could have some privacy.
    Lindsey wasn't sure she needed privacy. In fact, she wasn't sure what she was feeling when it came to Nicholas. Excitement. Attraction. Desire.
    Not trust. Not yet.
    Could he possibly be the one who'd arranged for that phone call? He hadn't brought up the manor since their lunch two Fridays ago, except to ask an occasional question about the contractors she'd hired. Not over the weekend, and not during any of their subsequent phone calls. Nor had he made a single attempt to convince her to sell him the manor for his condo development. Was he still hoping to accomplish that?
    Even if he was, would he stoop to threatening her into selling?
    No. She didn't believe it. She wouldn't believe it.
    She walked across the room, turned on the light, and began packing some last minute things. Whoever had arranged for that call was going to be sadly disappointed. Their theatrics had failed. She was going ahead with her plans. In fact, since she was wide awake anyway, she'd leave for Newport immediately.
    Nicholas stood in the doorway to his bedroom, staring at his bed and trying not to picture Lindsey lying naked on the sheets, her body intimately entangled with his. Unfortunately, it was an image that came to him a lot these days. And it was