In Too Deep Read Online Free PDF Page B

body’s coiled intensity eased.
    â€œYour father is probably one of the finest engineers I’ve ever met,” he began. There was no denying the admiration in his voice. “I went to the best schools, trained under some of the best instructors, but I didn’t learn anything until I’d hooked up with Scottie. He has an uncanny ability to size things up, to work with people. Hell, he put up with me, and I’m not the easiest man to get along with.”
    Cara bit back a quick retort, and he grinned an acknowledgment of her restraint.
    â€œWhen it came to work, your father was all business. Nobody slacked off when he was around. He put in sixteen-hour days if that’s what it took and he commanded enough respect to get the rest of us to do the same without a murmur of complaint. He never asked us to do a thing he wouldn’t do himself.”
    â€œHe does the same thing now,” Cara said, but her comment was made with regret. “I’m convinced that’s why he had the heart attack. He never lets up. I was tempted to insist they keep him in intensive care so he couldn’t get to a phone. Right before I left I had to snatch a stack of reports out of his hospital room so he’d rest.”
    She chuckled and confided, “I can hardly wait to hear what happens when he finds out I hid them where that secretary of his won’t be able to find them.”
    A look of complete understanding crossed Rod’s face, but he shook his head. “It won’t work. Louise has the instincts of a private eye and none of the objectivity where Scottie’s concerned. If the files are anywhere in the building, she’ll find them for him.”
    â€œI’m not that naive. They’re not in the building. They’re in the back of my linen closet. Not even Louise would break into my apartment.”
    Rod bestowed a lazy, surprisingly sensual grin on her. “I think you underestimate Scottie’s power over her.”
    â€œNot a bit. She’s crazy in love with him, though he’s too blind to see it.”
    â€œI rest my case. She will not let a little thing like breaking and entering stand in the way of making Scottie happy.”
    â€œOh, I think she will.” She couldn’t resist a smug smile.
    â€œYou seem awfully confident.”
    â€œI am.”
    â€œCare to share your technique for keeping Louise in line? I’ve tried everything, from flattery to candy and roses. She’s even immune to outright bribery.”
    â€œYou obviously missed blackmail. I told her if I discovered those files in Scottie’s hands again, I’d tell him how she felt about him.” Still delighted with her ingenuity, she chuckled at its success. Louise had been horrified. She’d hidden those feelings for fifteen years.
    â€œFrankly, I’m not sure I won’t anyway,” she said thoughtfully. “It’s about time he woke up and gave her the attention she deserves. Besides, he needs a woman in his life.”
    That hard expression was back on Rod’s face in an instant. “Playing matchmaker, princess? I doubt your father would approve. He’s more than capable of finding a woman for himself, if he wants one.”
    â€œWere there women when you knew him?” she asked hesitantly, not sure she wanted to know the answer. The man she knew had been a doting father, a loving husband... when he was home.
    â€œWith a man like your father there will always be women around. He’s a charming, virile man. But if you’re asking about affairs, the answer is no. In all the years I knew him, as far as I know he was faithful to your mother.”
    There was something in Rod’s voice that bothered her. “You sound as though you disapprove.”
    â€œIt wasn’t for me to approve or disapprove,” he said, and this time she recognized the emotion underscoring his comments with absolute certainty. He was angry. Before she