The Twelve Nights of Christmas Read Online Free PDF Page A

them, a burly man she’d didn’t know came sprinting through the door.
    â€˜Sorry, boss.’ He stared hard at Rio Zaccarelli, as if in some silent communication. ‘Lost him. He must have nipped down the back stairs. I’ve contacted the local police and I’m going to go through the CCTV footage with hotel security. We’ll identify him. Do you want me to question the girl?’
    Question her? Why would they want to question her? Her crime was straightforward enough, wasn’t it?
    â€˜You don’t know her?’ Carlos looked shocked. ‘I assumed—why else would she be in your bedroom, Rio?’
    Appalled, Evie stared at him. Obviously, Carlos was going to put his own future before hers. Presumably he was worried that if he confessed to having given her permission to sleep in the Penthouse, he’d be disciplined. Feeling intensely vulnerable, she stood there, searching desperately for a way out of this mess.
    â€˜Accept my apologies, Rio.’ Carlos’s voice was smooth. ‘We normally screen our staff very carefully but at this time of year when we’re so busy—’ He left the sentence hanging. ‘I’m disappointed in you, Evie. You abused a position of trust.’
    â€˜She works here?’ Rio Zaccarelli’s voice was harsh. ‘She’s one of your staff?’
    Everyone turned to look at her and Evie burned with humiliation. So that was that. No one was going to believe she’d slept in the Penthouse with permission. They’d believe Carlos, not a lowly member of the housekeeping team. She was nothing more than cannon fodder. Whatever happened next, she was doomed.
    There was no point in defending herself.
    She had no home, no job and it was less than two weeks until Christmas.
    Thinking of her grandfather, Evie felt despair seep through her veins. There was no way she could tell him. Not just before Christmas. He was so proud of her new job and the way she’d picked herself up.
    You’re a real soldier, Evie.
    After everything he’d done for her, she’d let him down.
    Maybe she should just forget dignity and beg. Or maybe she should try kissing the boss again. Her eyes drifted over his handsome face and rested on his firm, sensuous mouth. That same mouth that had taken liberties with hers only moments earlier. Without thinking, she drew her tongue over her lower lip, tasting his kiss.
    He saw the gesture and his eyes flared with anger and something else, far, far more dangerous. With a final contemptuous glance, he turned back to Carlos. ‘Do you know what you’ve done?’ His voice was thickened with emotion. ‘Have you any idea how much damage you’ve caused?’
    Confused, Evie watched as Rio Zaccarelli transferred the full force of his anger onto Carlos. Why? Had he guessed that Carlos had given her permission? Had he seen through the lies? He was rumoured to have a brain as sharp as a blade.
    Hope flickered to life inside her. If Rio Zaccarelli knew Carlos had given her permission, then maybe he’d let her off this time.
    He had the reputation of being an exacting boss with impossibly high standards, but, all the same—
    Sweat shone on Carlos’s forehead. ‘What damage? I have no idea what you’re talking about.’
    With a growl of anger, Rio Zaccarelli crossed the room in three long strides and locked his fist in the front of Carlos’s shirt. ‘Have you no conscience? No sense of human decency?’
    Seeing the black expression on Rio Zaccarelli’s face, Evie covered her mouth with her hand.
    Wasn’t he going a bit overboard?
    Oh, dear God, he was going to punch creepy Carlos.
    And Carlos looked terrified and triumphant at the same time. Although he was undoubtedly afraid, Evie had the strangest feeling that he was enjoying seeing the other man lose control. His expression was mocking rather than apologetic, as if the outcome had exceeded his most