Hardwired For Ecstasy Read Online Free PDF Page B

building a rapport
with her, or offering an ear to listen to what Leland Clough had allegedly done
to her. She was here so he could determine whether she was spying on him and
the other Weathermen. It was time to stop thinking with his damn cock.
    “You
sound like you have personal experience with that.”
    Fuck it all. “We’re not talking about my life.
When and how did you find out about his wife?”
    “I
began getting calls on my Internet phone where the person listened for a second
or two while I said ‘hello’ several times, then hung up. The calls came from
the same area of Central as Leland lives. I tried to trace the number, but it
was blocked.”
    “How
did you know where he lived?”
    She
flushed. “I looked it up. At work, I mean.”
    “In
three years you never wondered why he wouldn’t take you to his house? ”
    Her
loud sigh told him he’d struck a nerve. “Yes, of course I did, okay? I wondered
why he wouldn’t spend the night at my place, too.”
    Had
someone been watching her place and Leland known about it?
    “But
it’s not like we never went out in public. I had no reason to think he was
hiding anything.”
    “Are
you sure?”
    Her
eyes flashed with anger once more. “Atticus, why are the details of my
relationship with this asshole so damn important to you? I mean what’s really
going on here? Can’t you see I’m humiliated enough by this? Why do you think I
looked for another job and moved to a different city in less than a month? I
couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there. The guy took my damn virginity, for
God’s sake. Okay? There. Are you happy now?”
    He
was stunned into silence.
    “I
was a naïve twenty-five year old virgin who had spent most of high school
crying. Half the boys wouldn’t go out with me because I’m fat, and the other
half wouldn’t because they all thought I was too damn nerdy or too smart. I
always had my nose in a book, and it wasn’t because I never had dates. I was
smart. I still am. I liked school.”
    He
started to say something, but she cut him off.
    “Don’t
you think I’ve asked myself a million times why I never listened to the rumors
about Leland with my head instead of my heart? Or why I never dug into his
background on my own? I had the resources right there at work. I could have
done it, but I never did. When the phone calls started, all the alarm bells I’d
ignored for three years were too loud to ignore any longer.”
    Atticus
had to force himself not to reach for her so he could hold her. Guilt washed
over him. He hadn’t meant to bring up horrible memories for her. And another
thought occurred to him that hadn’t entered his consciousness before now. She’d
had feelings for Leland Clough.
    Why
wouldn’t she develop them? The man had wined and dined her, and made her feel
special and wanted for the first time in her adult life. He had a sudden urge
to drive to Central and choke the fucker for what he’d done.
    “I’m
sorry, Emma. I didn’t know any of that.”
    “ No one does. I don’t discuss it. Leland
wasn’t a stupid high school boy. He loved me. Or I thought he did. He loved my
curves. He told me I was beautiful. He treated me like a precious gem. He
helped me earn my college degrees and told me I was too smart to be tracking
down criminals for the police.”
    And he lied to you about being
married.
    “And
then the fucker…” She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand so he reached
over and plucked a tissue from the box, handing it to her. She took it with a
quick look of gratitude and wiped her face once more. “Shortly after the phone
calls started, I had made up my mind to confront him again about the rumors. We
had a terrible argument over them. I mean really horrible. He accused me of
betraying the trust between us, and I told him I needed some time to think
about our relationship.”
    She
wiped her face again. “Then a few days later the stupid fucker brought his wife
to the station. It was a Sunday