Read Secrets in the Shadows for Free Online

umpteenth time, so she decided to rent a nice, shiny Taurus for the trip. She loaded up with maps at the rental place, but she was a tad … directionally challenged. Three hours, and too many wrong turns to count, later, she gratefully pulled up to the front doors of the hotel. The gratefulness turned to unease when she got a good look at the place. She’d known from her research that it was a nice hotel, but she hadn’t realized how nice. She made a good living, but this place was definitely not in her price range. She almost lost her lunch when she found out parking would cost her twenty-one dollars a day. Maybe she should have taken the train after all.
    Her discomfort rose another notch when she stepped into the lobby. “Holy shit,” she muttered under her breath. The place was a freakin’ palace. Her shoes made soft clinking noises as she crossed the floor of creamy ivory tile. The gorgeous flower arrangement that dominated the room was bigger than Hannah, and overflowed with sunflowers and lilies and exotic greens. A graceful curving staircase, complete with red-patterned carpet, gave the lobby a Gone with the Wind feel. And there was a crystal chandelier. In the lobby. Motel 6 this was not. Why couldn’t Jules have been a cheapskate?
    Trying not to look awed at her surroundings, she made her way to the reception desk. She could just use a house phone and ask to be connected to Jules’s room, but thinking about what this trip was going to cost her made her grumpy enough to want to give him a hard time. So instead of calling his room, she went to the front desk and asked them to leave a message, saying only that an “old friend” would meet him in the bar. No doubt Jules would think the message was from Squires.
    As she should have expected, the bar was as classy as the rest of the hotel. It was called the Explorer’s Lounge, and was decorated in an elegant safari motif, with murals on the walls and antiques everywhere. She felt like some kind of barbarian ordering a beer—this was more of a cognac kind of joint. But a Corona was about as high falutin’ a drink as she could handle, so she ordered one and tried to look inconspicuous as she waited for Jules to make an appearance.
    Minutes ticked slowly by as she nursed her beer. She smiled faintly to herself, trying to imagine what kind of face Jules was going to make when he saw her. And how grateful he was going to be to have her help. Not!
    Some of her self-assurance fled when she glanced at her watch and noticed it was six-thirty already. She’d thought sure he’d be down by now. Certainly he was awake. Maybe he hadn’t noticed the message light on his phone? She debated calling, but decided against it, at least for now. She ordered another beer and settled in to wait some more.
    She’d just decided she’d have to call after all when Jules finally made his appearance. No attempt at stealth—he was striding toward the bar with calculated purpose, his face set in a deep scowl that would be unbecoming on anyone else. Damn, she’d forgotten what eye-candy he was. He didn’t see Hannah at first, so she took a moment to ogle before the games began.
    It was no wonder it had taken him so long to come down—he’d obviously spent a good deal of time in front of the mirror. His dress was casual—for Jules, at least—but screamed of money and good taste. Hannah imagined each item had a designer label on it, but not being a connoisseur of men’s fashion, she couldn’t have said which ones. His long-sleeved forest-green shirt had the sheen of fine silk. The color was a perfect complement to his artfully tousled auburn hair. She couldn’t help wondering how much mousse it had taken to get those fine locks into such perfect disarray. Charcoal gray trousers hugged his hips, and she knew if he turned around the rear view would be spectacular.
    His features and his clothes should have given him a pretty-boy look, and yet Hannah would never dream of describing