Hostile Desires Read Online Free PDF Page A

imagine.
    Graeme knew the smile he gave Del wasn’t pleasant. “Better you than me. I am happily single.”
    “I was too. Happy in my bachelor ways. So don’t get cocky, Graeme, because life has a way of proving you wrong.”
    After he watched his boss leave the office, Graeme rose from his chair and looked out his window. He liked that he had a view of the outside when a lot of the other offices did not. It was smaller, which didn’t bother him. He’d grown up in a three-bedroom house with six people, so he knew how to live in small places. He’d happily traded that space for the view.
    He couldn’t see the ocean, but he did get a gorgeous view of the gardens and the Palace. He liked to watch all the people mingle about, enjoying the beauty of Hawaii. He didn’t think anything could replace his love of Scotland, but Hawaii was a close second. And here he felt he was doing something. After leaving the Royal Marines, he had been at a bit of a loss, but it all clicked when he had interviewed here for the job.
    And now he had his first official case to lead…with a woman who hated him. He remembered the first time he had seen her. She’d just finished an autopsy, her scrubs were covered in blood, and she had smiled at him. Just that, a smile, and her eyes had sparkled. He swore at that moment; his heart had actually stopped beating. Even now, he got sweats remembering the way his body had reacted. Hell, he’d wanted to seduce her right there and then, even covered in the muck of an autopsy. Just because she had smiled at him.
    Then, he had introduced himself. The moment she heard his accent, all happiness drained from her expression and the prickly attitude had emerged. Even so, he still lusted after her. He couldn’t seem to help himself. Which made him an idiot. He’d found a woman who made him itch beneath the skin, and she wanted nothing to do with him. Worse, she loathed him.
    Life definitely liked to bite him in the arse, and this time, the bitch had taken a big chunk of it.
----
    E lle waited on the phone , waiting to hear about the ME’s report, when the door to the morgue opened. She should have seen this coming. Del had warned her she would be working with McGregor.
    “Dr. Middleton?” a voice over the receiver said.
    “Yes.”
    “We have no report for that case.”
    She frowned. “I saw that in the computer, but that makes no sense. This is an open case. A homicide.”
    “I understand, doctor, and you are more than welcome to come over here and look, but even the physical ME report is missing.”
    She sighed. “Thank you. If you should find it, make sure to contact me at TFH. And, could you send over the files about the other cases during the time period I asked for?”
    “I will.”
    She clicked off her mobile and looked at Graeme, who was frowning at her. It was nothing new, nothing that she shouldn’t have grown accustomed to over the last few months. It was her fault. She’d been the one who had bristled the first time they’d met. He was only reacting to her behavior, so it was her fault, not his. There was a very good chance that he had no idea why she acted the way she did.
    “We have a problem,” she said.
    “What?” he asked.
    “The ME report is missing.”
    “From the original case? Bloody hell, this gets worse and worse.” Then he thought about Charity’s findings. “How did Charity match the DNA.”
    “I talked to her about that earlier. She said that has to do with the Kalanis. They insisted on having a sample of Jenny’s blood stored at a separate secure location. When DNA started to get used, they paid the hefty fee to have hers tested and recorded. Most cold case nutters like Charity know of the companies. But there are more disturbing things than just the ME report going missing.”
    “That isn’t the most disturbing thing?”
    She shook her head. “It was not logged into the computer system when the others were. So I am not even sure if it disappeared directly