Read The Merzetti Effect (A Vampire Romance) for Free Online Page B

whistleblower? I would have thought that little detail would be a deterrent. What, for instance, makes you think I wouldn’t rat you out? Something tells me your research might not be in strict compliance with the Tri-Council’s ethical standards for research involving humans.”
    He smiled. It started slow, then spread until it suffused his whole face. And oh, Christmas, he was gorgeous when he did that. Which was the absolute last thing she should be thinking. This man had violated her privacy!
    “Okay, what’s so funny?”
    His smile faded much quicker than it had appeared. “You are a fearless little thing, aren’t you?”
    Her neck prickled. “What do you mean?”
    “You’ve been sitting in that bed, thinking what an unprincipled rogue I am, what a disgrace to the healing arts. You’ve wondered about your own safety, about the wisdom of staying here under my care. Indeed, you’ve wondered whether I would let you leave. Even now, I can see you second-guessing whether the hospital might be a better bet, after all. And yet you dare to raise the specter of reporting me to Health Canada for regulatory breaches. You are, Ms. Crawford, quite a piece of work.”
    Dammit, she’d let her mouth run on again. When would she learn? Ignoring the heat that rose in her cheeks, she tilted her chin.
    “If that sounded like a threat, I apologize. I hardly know enough about your research to even speculate about compliance issues. And I would certainly not reward you for saving my life by jeopardizing either your livelihood or your research. As I’m sure your investigation revealed, Dr. Bowen, I have trouble staying silent in certain situations. Which begs the question again, what made me look like a desirable employee for such a … delicate project?”
    “Your financial situation.”
    Ainsley gasped. “You investigated my finances?”
    “I believe I mentioned I expect a thorough job when I commission an investigation.”
    Of course! That’s how he knew about her domestic situation. Did he know about Lucy and Devon?
    She schooled her face into what she hoped was an expressionless mask. “So, what did that highly illegal investigation tell you, Dr. Bowen, to convince you that I was the candidate you wanted?”
    “It told me that until you left your employment last month, you earned very good money. That you’d been working as many extra shifts as you could safely work without compromising your patients’ safety. That you live in a modest bachelor apartment and drive a vehicle that was bequeathed to you by an elderly patient, a vehicle that is sadly past its prime. You take very little vacation, and spend virtually nothing on yourself, and you have no drug habits to support. Yet you have a significant appetite for money. Money which barely has time to hit your bank account before it gets transferred offshore.”
    For the second time in the last ten minutes, her heart hammered against her ribcage like a wild thing. Which made it hard to keep her face impassive. “Again, you viewed this as a good thing?”
    Another smile, this one tight and controlled. “Quite definitely. You need immediate employment to keep the dollars flowing into that bank account. And despite your former employer’s agreement to stay mum on that little cloud over your head, your employment opportunities are limited unless you’re prepared to relocate, which takes time and money. Just as obviously, you need your employment to be lucrative, stable and predictable. All of which augured well, I thought, for a mutually beneficial relationship. Your need for cash, my need for discretion…”
    “And did your impeccable source tell you any more?”
    “About the money? No. Certainly I could have pursued it further. I’d have had to switch channels, but I assure you, the information could be had. Information is the one commodity that can always be purchased.”
    “So … what? You decided you’d already spent too much money on your little