Lara Lacombe - Killer Exposure

Her eyes widened when she met his gaze, but there was no fear in her expression. Encouraged, he leaned closer, gratified to hear the soft hiss of her indrawn breath. She feels it, too.

This close, he could see her pulse beating, faster and faster under the delicate skin of her neck. He licked his lips, wanting to put the tip of his tongue just there , to feel the thrum of her excitement as he tasted the salty tang of her skin. His own heart rate kicked up a notch in response, and he sucked in a deep breath, trying to rein in his body’s automatic response to being close to such a beautiful woman.

Not here.

Owen jerked back, shaking his head to clear the fog of arousal that had threatened to obscure his better judgment. Hannah watched him, her hazel eyes a swirl of blue and green and yellow. He could get lost in those eyes, if he let himself.

“Sorry about that,” he muttered, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. The short strands tickled his palm, chasing away the last of his lust and redirecting his focus to the job.

She offered him a shy smile. “Don’t worry about it.” There was a wistful note to her voice, as if she was disappointed that the moment had passed.

Not knowing what to say, Owen held up his arm. “Shall we?”

She nodded, but before they could take a step, a loud voice rang out.

“Hannah Baker, is that you?”

Hannah froze in place, and he could tell by the way her shoulders tensed that whoever this new woman was, she wasn’t happy to see her.

“Oh my gosh, it is you! How have you been? It’s been ages since I’ve seen you!” The newcomer, a plump woman who appeared to be in her forties, approached and threw her arms around Hannah, then drew back, beaming. “You know, I was just thinking about you the other day. Tim and I were wondering what happened to you after the accident, hoping you were okay. You are okay, aren’t you? I mean, it was just horrible, that fire—”

“I’m fine, thanks,” Hannah cut in. She aimed a pained smile at the woman and indicated Owen. “Let me introduce you to my friend. Shelly Newman, meet Owen Randall. Owen, this is Shelly. She’s a former coworker.”

“Nice to meet you,” Owen said, offering his hand. He was grateful Hannah had introduced him as a friend and not a detective. Shelly appeared to be a bit of a gossip, and if she knew the real reason he was here, it would be all over the building before they’d even made it to Marcia’s office.

Shelly gave him a quick once-over before turning her focus back to Hannah. She pushed a wayward curl out of her brown eyes and reached up to pat Hannah’s shoulder. “It just hasn’t been the same around here since your accident. We all miss you so much. Did you come to see the new lab? They totally renovated it after the explosion—brand-new everything. You can’t even tell!” She sounded so proud, like a mom bragging about her kid’s latest accomplishment.

Owen felt his brows raise and fought to keep his expression neutral. Had Hannah been involved in some kind of explosion? It sounded like it, if Shelly’s ramblings were to be believed. The woman prattled on, oblivious to Hannah’s strained expression and Owen’s presence. He listened closely, absorbing all the news and piecing it together to make a complete picture.

Apparently, Hannah’s lab had been ruined due to a lab accident a few years ago—“Just terrible! You should have seen the aftermath—glass everywhere. I thought they were never going to find all the little pieces.” Evidently, Hannah had been injured, although Shelly didn’t seem to know how severe her injuries were. She kept asking Hannah leading questions, clearly hoping Hannah would fill in the blanks for her and give her a juicy story to share. But Hannah didn’t cooperate, instead replying with monosyllabic replies and nodding. Undeterred, Shelly pressed on.

Owen narrowed his eyes when Hannah reached up to fiddle with her shirt. She tugged at the collar, pulling it up to cover more of her neck. Her injuries , he realized. She must have scars . Shelly had mentioned a fire—had Hannah been burned?

He mentally winced at the thought. He’d seen a few burn victims in his time on the job. Nasty stuff, and painful as hell, from what he’d heard. His heart clenched at the thought of Hannah suffering like that.

Had she left the company because of the accident? She wouldn’t be the first person to shy away from returning to work after an injury. If the accident had been severe—and from what Shelly was saying, it had been—it made sense that Hannah wouldn’t want to keep working in a lab. A pay cut like the one she’d taken was nothing compared to peace of mind.

“I’m on my way out the door. I have to pick up Jeffrey for soccer practice, but it was so good to see you!” Shelly went in for another hug, and Hannah shot him a “save me” look over her shoulder. Owen hid a smile, although the other woman continued to ignore him. “You should give me a call sometime. We need to grab lunch and catch up! I know Tim would love to see you, too.”

Hannah smiled, but Owen noticed it didn’t reach her eyes. “Sounds great. You take care.”

Owen waited until Shelly was out of earshot before turning back to Hannah. “Having fun yet?”

Hannah huffed out a laugh. “Loads.” She was quiet for a moment while they walked, then said very softly, “That’s exactly why I didn’t want to come here.”

He cast about for something to say that would make her feel better but came up empty. “She seemed nice enough,” he said lamely.

She shook her head. “Shelly’s harmless. I just didn’t want to stir things up again.”

“I’m sorry,” he replied. It was the truth. From what he could gather, she’d already been through a lot, and he didn’t like forcing her to relive some of the worst moments of her life. But he had a case to solve, and all clues pointed in this direction. Hannah was his best shot at cutting through the red tape, and he had to take advantage of that.

Even if it did make him feel about two inches tall.

She shrugged off his apology. “Not your fault. Let’s do this.” Drawing up her shoulders like a woman preparing to do battle, she led him down a white corridor. Small windows high on the walls allowed glimpses of laboratory space behind closed doors, but he couldn’t see enough to form a complete picture. Many of the rooms were dark, their occupants having gone home for the weekend.

At the end of the hall sat a large glass enclosure. Hannah led them inside, and they approached an older woman sitting behind a desk. She glanced up but didn’t stop typing, the click of her keys the only sound in the otherwise silent room.

“What do you need?”

“We’re here to see Marcia Foley,” Hannah said.

The secretary returned her focus to her computer monitor. “She’s not available right now.”

Owen stepped forward, pulling out his badge. “Sure she is.”

The woman’s hands paused, the only indication of her surprise. She reached for the phone. “Let me tell her you’re here.”

“Don’t worry,” Owen said, walking past her desk. He grabbed Hannah’s hand as he went, enjoying the feel of her soft skin against his palm. “We’ll show ourselves in.”

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