Romantic Thriller: Only Time Will Tell – A Romantic Suspense and Romantic Mystery Book: (Thriller Romance, Suspense, Mystery Romance, Suspense Romance) Read Online Free
Dean was reading her parents’ file that she had stolen from the office. She was planning to put it back in its hiding place on her return.
She marched across to him and grabbed the file out of his hands.
“How dare you? Don’t you respect other people’s privacy?”
He jumped at the vehemence of her action. “I’m sorry. I…I… I just thought it might be a case you brought home from the office…and so my curiosity got the better of me… I apologize.”
She held on to the file and tossed him the clothes she had found. He picked them up but did not know what to do.
“The bathroom is over there, you can change and then we’ll put your clothes in the dryer.”
Still seething, she watched him go. As she waited for him to return, she found herself thinking that maybe she was over-reacting, and the explanation he gave sounded plausible. Detectives were trained to take keen note of their surroundings. But was he always that snoopy? And what had he read in the file that she did not want him to know? And what was he thinking now? Maybe she should try and find out.
She did not hear him come back into the room until he asked, “Were these your boyfriend’s?” He meant the clothes.
She did not know if she should be angry or amused, but she forgot what she was about to say when she turned and noted how tightly the t-shirt was stretched over his muscular frame emphasizing his well-toned abs. She couldn’t deny that she found him attractive.
Realizing that she was staring, she got up quickly and said, “The dryer is just down the hall, the second door on the right.”
She watched as he left the room. She took the opportunity to glance through the file before putting it back in its hiding place. The sight of the photographs of her parents’ bodies from different angles clouded her eyes with tears. She hurriedly closed the file and put it away.
In an effort to control her emotions, she went into the kitchen and grabbed two mugs from the cupboard. They were bland, lacking color, just like her present life. To her it did not matter, or so it seemed, until now, when she had a visitor. She paused to wonder what he thought of her drab apartment. Before her mind could go any further in that direction, she heard him coming back along the hallway.
She handed him a cup of coffee and not wanting to get into anything personal, she asked, “So what do you think about the case?”
“If it is personal, he could have been stalking her for some time and knew her routine. She was in good physical shape and seemed to have been a regular jogger. If it is random, then we might have a serial killer on our hands.”
“Let us hope not.” Chelsea was glad for the distraction, her memories were threatening to overwhelm her.
Then quite unexpectedly, Dean asked, “So what about the case in the file you stole?”
“It is not a stolen file,” she said fiercely. “It is a copy and I have every right to it.”
“So you’re planning on finding the killers all by yourself?”
“None of your business!”
He guessed as much, so he decided to take a different tack. “The loss of both your parents at the same time and in such a horrible way must have been very traumatic for you.”
He saw her wince and knew that the wound had not yet healed.
Chelsea was torn as she tried to decide whether to talk about her past or not. She had never really shared her experience with anyone but her therapist, and only because it was mandated by her superiors. Dr. Moore kept on telling her that it would help if she talked to someone, sometime, even if it was a stranger. Right now she felt like not telling Dean anything, and at the same time she wanted to let it all out. This was so, especially after that frightening phone call this morning which she had not yet had the time to process. Maybe, if she spoke to someone, she would feel better and release some of the tension.
“I see you’re not ready to tell me yet, but I can
She marched across to him and grabbed the file out of his hands.
“How dare you? Don’t you respect other people’s privacy?”
He jumped at the vehemence of her action. “I’m sorry. I…I… I just thought it might be a case you brought home from the office…and so my curiosity got the better of me… I apologize.”
She held on to the file and tossed him the clothes she had found. He picked them up but did not know what to do.
“The bathroom is over there, you can change and then we’ll put your clothes in the dryer.”
Still seething, she watched him go. As she waited for him to return, she found herself thinking that maybe she was over-reacting, and the explanation he gave sounded plausible. Detectives were trained to take keen note of their surroundings. But was he always that snoopy? And what had he read in the file that she did not want him to know? And what was he thinking now? Maybe she should try and find out.
She did not hear him come back into the room until he asked, “Were these your boyfriend’s?” He meant the clothes.
She did not know if she should be angry or amused, but she forgot what she was about to say when she turned and noted how tightly the t-shirt was stretched over his muscular frame emphasizing his well-toned abs. She couldn’t deny that she found him attractive.
Realizing that she was staring, she got up quickly and said, “The dryer is just down the hall, the second door on the right.”
She watched as he left the room. She took the opportunity to glance through the file before putting it back in its hiding place. The sight of the photographs of her parents’ bodies from different angles clouded her eyes with tears. She hurriedly closed the file and put it away.
In an effort to control her emotions, she went into the kitchen and grabbed two mugs from the cupboard. They were bland, lacking color, just like her present life. To her it did not matter, or so it seemed, until now, when she had a visitor. She paused to wonder what he thought of her drab apartment. Before her mind could go any further in that direction, she heard him coming back along the hallway.
She handed him a cup of coffee and not wanting to get into anything personal, she asked, “So what do you think about the case?”
“If it is personal, he could have been stalking her for some time and knew her routine. She was in good physical shape and seemed to have been a regular jogger. If it is random, then we might have a serial killer on our hands.”
“Let us hope not.” Chelsea was glad for the distraction, her memories were threatening to overwhelm her.
Then quite unexpectedly, Dean asked, “So what about the case in the file you stole?”
“It is not a stolen file,” she said fiercely. “It is a copy and I have every right to it.”
“So you’re planning on finding the killers all by yourself?”
“None of your business!”
He guessed as much, so he decided to take a different tack. “The loss of both your parents at the same time and in such a horrible way must have been very traumatic for you.”
He saw her wince and knew that the wound had not yet healed.
Chelsea was torn as she tried to decide whether to talk about her past or not. She had never really shared her experience with anyone but her therapist, and only because it was mandated by her superiors. Dr. Moore kept on telling her that it would help if she talked to someone, sometime, even if it was a stranger. Right now she felt like not telling Dean anything, and at the same time she wanted to let it all out. This was so, especially after that frightening phone call this morning which she had not yet had the time to process. Maybe, if she spoke to someone, she would feel better and release some of the tension.
“I see you’re not ready to tell me yet, but I can
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