Read Snowfall for Free Online Page B

slush. At that moment, I felt a hand in the middle of my back and then a distinct push. After that, I have only vague memories of falling and of seeing my own reflection in the bumper of the truck.”
    Aaron shuddered in disbelief, unable to take his gaze off her bruised face.
    “It wasn’t an accident,” Caitlin said. “It was on purpose.”
    “Can you think of anyone who would have a reason for doing that to you?”
    “No, of course not. I’ve never hired or fired anyone in my life. I just write my books and mind my own business.”
    Trudy continued. “About your books. I have to admit I haven’t read them, but is there anything in them that would incite this kind of anger in a reader?”
    Caitlin sighed. “I wouldn’t think so, but who knows?”
    Neil had been silent the entire time his partner had been talking, just watching Caitlin’s face and listening to the panic in her voice. Suddenly he found himself caught in her wide-eyed gaze. The contact was brief, but startling. Almost immediately, he turned away, focusing his attention on Aaron.
    “We’ll need to see the letters Miss Bennett has been receiving, as well as the ones your company had gotten.”
    “I’ll get Caitlin’s tomorrow,” Aaron said. “And check with your bomb unit. Someone there already has Hudson House’s copies.”
    “Right. We’ll check,” Neil said, then took a card from the inside pocket of his overcoat and handed it to Caitlin.
    “Miss Bennett, if you think of anything…anything at all that might help us in this investigation, then give me a call.” His voice dropped. “Anytime. Day or night.”
    He watched Caitlin read his name and number and then look up, studying him in a most uncomfortable way. He hesitated, as if he wanted to say something more, then nodded and left, leaving his partner to follow.
    Caitlin heard them speaking briefly together in the hall, and suddenly she just didn’t care what they thought. She sighed and laid her forearm across her eyes.
    “Aaron, be a dear and turn out the lights, will you? They’re making my headache worse.”
    He did as she asked, but when he returned to her bedside, she seemed to have fallen asleep. He stood for a moment, absorbing the scope of her injuries. The darkening bruise on her left temple was horrific, as were the stitches they’d put above her eye. He kept thinking how close he’d come to losing her today and gently leaned over the bed rail and kissed the side of her cheek.
    “You rest, Caitie. I won’t be far.”
    He strode into the hallway, his cell phone in his hand.
     
    Connor McKee stepped out of the shower and reached for a towel. It was the first full day of his vacation—the vacation he’d been promising himself for the better part of six years.
    Wrapping the towel around his waist, he strode out of the bathroom and across the warm, carpeted floor of his bedroom to the windows overlooking the ski slope below. Colorado was a beautiful state, but in the winter it could be stunning. He’d owned this chalet in Vail for three years, bought with the first large profit his private security system had turned, but this was the first time he’d used it. Last night he’d christened it with a bottle of Cabernet and a cute little redhead he’d met at the lodge the day before. Now the redhead was gone, the bottle was empty and all he wanted was to fly down that powder until his feet were numb and his mind was free.
    With a satisfied sigh, he undid the towel, drying himself off as he moved away from the windows. He had to admit, he felt pretty damned good. It had been a long, uphill struggle—going from a burned-out Atlanta cop to owning his own business and being responsible for the welfare of six employees. The first two years after he’d gone into business, he’d often wondered if he’d made a mistake. Then, a little over three years ago, everything had turned the corner. One of his security systems had been directly responsible for preventing the