Read In the Dark for Free Online Page A
Authors: Heather Graham
him with dignity and, she hoped, a certain disdain.
“What the hell are you doing on my porch? There’s a lobby for guests.”
“Get off it. You must have been in a panic. And Jay probably behaved like an asshole.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m trying to help you out.”
“If you want to help me out, get off the island.”
“Am I making you uneasy?”
“You bet,” she told him flatly.
That drew a smile to his lips. “Missed me, huh?”
She sat farther forward, setting her wine cooler on the rattan coffee table, preparing to rise.
“I assume you have a room. Why don’t you go put some clothes on.”
“Ah, that’s it. Can’t take the sight of my naked chest. It’s making you hot, huh?”
“More like leaving me cold,” she said icily. “Now go away, please.”
His smile faded for a moment. “Don’t worry. I know you want me to leave. I haven’t forgotten that you had the divorce papers sent to me without a word.”
“What was left to say?” she asked with what she hoped was quiet dignity.
“Hmm, let me think. Maybe your reasons for leaving me?”
She got to her feet. “You want the truth? I couldn’t take it. I was so in love with you, it hurt all the time. You were all that mattered to me. My dolphins were far too tame for you—and far too unimportant. Our agreement that we’d spend time dedicated to my pursuits didn’t mean a thing—not if a sunken ship turned up or a shark-research expedition was formed. Then it came to the point when I said you were welcome to go off even when you were supposed to be helping me—and you went. And then that became a way of life. There’s the story in a nutshell. You were gone long before I sent those papers. And sometime in there, I got over you. I love working with dolphins. No, it isn’t like finding a Spanish galleon, or even locating a yacht that went down ten years ago, maybe. But I love it. What you apparently needed, or wanted, was a different kind of wife. Either a pretty airhead who would follow you endlessly, or…someone as fanatic about treasure as you are. So go to your room and put some clothes on, or take a stroll over to the Tiki Hut and give someone else a thrill.”
She started inside, hoping he would stop her. Not because she wanted to be near him, but because he knew about the body.
Her back to him, she suddenly wondered how he knew. The question left her with a very uneasy feeling.
“Alexandra, whatever anger you’re feeling toward me, whatever I did or didn’t do, I swear, I’m just trying to help you now.”
She spun around. “How do you know about the body, anyway? Jay gave me very direct orders not to mention it to anyone.”
He cocked his head slightly. “Jay’s assistant talks.”
“What did you do? Flirt with Len, too?”
He arched an eyebrow, curiously, slowly. She wished she could take back the comment. It made it appear as if…as if jealousy had been the driving factor in her quest for freedom. And it hadn’t been.
Thankfully, David didn’t follow up on her comment. “I don’t think Len could contain himself. He tried to be smooth and cool, but I guess he feels he knows me and that I’m intelligent enough not to repeat what he said. He told me you’d all gone off in search of a body, and then it turned out to be gone. I overheard Jay tell him that part.”
She stood very still, watching him for a long moment. “You know, I came back here to be alone.”
“So talk to me, then I’ll leave you alone.”
“You know, this is very strange. Most people wouldscoff at the idea immediately. Bodies don’t turn up on a daily basis. And yet…it sounds as if you think that there…should have been a body.”
“No,” he corrected. “I didn’t say I thought there should be a body.”
Alex pressed her fingers to her temples. “I can’t do this,” she said.
She was startled when he suddenly moved close to her. “Alex, please. If there was a body, and you saw
“What the hell are you doing on my porch? There’s a lobby for guests.”
“Get off it. You must have been in a panic. And Jay probably behaved like an asshole.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m trying to help you out.”
“If you want to help me out, get off the island.”
“Am I making you uneasy?”
“You bet,” she told him flatly.
That drew a smile to his lips. “Missed me, huh?”
She sat farther forward, setting her wine cooler on the rattan coffee table, preparing to rise.
“I assume you have a room. Why don’t you go put some clothes on.”
“Ah, that’s it. Can’t take the sight of my naked chest. It’s making you hot, huh?”
“More like leaving me cold,” she said icily. “Now go away, please.”
His smile faded for a moment. “Don’t worry. I know you want me to leave. I haven’t forgotten that you had the divorce papers sent to me without a word.”
“What was left to say?” she asked with what she hoped was quiet dignity.
“Hmm, let me think. Maybe your reasons for leaving me?”
She got to her feet. “You want the truth? I couldn’t take it. I was so in love with you, it hurt all the time. You were all that mattered to me. My dolphins were far too tame for you—and far too unimportant. Our agreement that we’d spend time dedicated to my pursuits didn’t mean a thing—not if a sunken ship turned up or a shark-research expedition was formed. Then it came to the point when I said you were welcome to go off even when you were supposed to be helping me—and you went. And then that became a way of life. There’s the story in a nutshell. You were gone long before I sent those papers. And sometime in there, I got over you. I love working with dolphins. No, it isn’t like finding a Spanish galleon, or even locating a yacht that went down ten years ago, maybe. But I love it. What you apparently needed, or wanted, was a different kind of wife. Either a pretty airhead who would follow you endlessly, or…someone as fanatic about treasure as you are. So go to your room and put some clothes on, or take a stroll over to the Tiki Hut and give someone else a thrill.”
She started inside, hoping he would stop her. Not because she wanted to be near him, but because he knew about the body.
Her back to him, she suddenly wondered how he knew. The question left her with a very uneasy feeling.
“Alexandra, whatever anger you’re feeling toward me, whatever I did or didn’t do, I swear, I’m just trying to help you now.”
She spun around. “How do you know about the body, anyway? Jay gave me very direct orders not to mention it to anyone.”
He cocked his head slightly. “Jay’s assistant talks.”
“What did you do? Flirt with Len, too?”
He arched an eyebrow, curiously, slowly. She wished she could take back the comment. It made it appear as if…as if jealousy had been the driving factor in her quest for freedom. And it hadn’t been.
Thankfully, David didn’t follow up on her comment. “I don’t think Len could contain himself. He tried to be smooth and cool, but I guess he feels he knows me and that I’m intelligent enough not to repeat what he said. He told me you’d all gone off in search of a body, and then it turned out to be gone. I overheard Jay tell him that part.”
She stood very still, watching him for a long moment. “You know, I came back here to be alone.”
“So talk to me, then I’ll leave you alone.”
“You know, this is very strange. Most people wouldscoff at the idea immediately. Bodies don’t turn up on a daily basis. And yet…it sounds as if you think that there…should have been a body.”
“No,” he corrected. “I didn’t say I thought there should be a body.”
Alex pressed her fingers to her temples. “I can’t do this,” she said.
She was startled when he suddenly moved close to her. “Alex, please. If there was a body, and you saw