VANISHED, A Romantic Suspense Novel (Edgars Family Novel) Read Online Free PDF Page A

said, then winked at her and returned to the registration desk.
    Oh, she so wanted to take him down a few pegs. However, the kid behind the desk now watched them with complete fascination. If she made any more of a scene, he’d tell everyone he knew. Seeing as how she also wanted to stay, as Luke put it, off the radar , she’d let the arrogant lout have his way—for now.
     
    * * * * *
     
    “Home, sweet home,” Luke muttered as he set his overnight bag on the bed closest to the door, looking around at the standard two double beds, cheap veneer desk, semi-comfortable chair, television and DVD set-up of his hotel room. The same room, complete with English fox-hunt picture, could be found in countless hotels across the North American continent. He should know. In the past few years he’d seen more than his fair share in one way or another.
    His stomach rumbled. He glanced at the clock. Almost midnight. Too late to order pizza, and he was too damn tired to drive out and go get a burger. They’d passed a pancake house on the way to the hotel. Now he wished they’d stopped to eat before getting rooms.
    No use thinking about it after the fact. At the time all he’d wanted to do was get Abby away from the crime scene and into a safe place for the night. Somehow, he needed to convince her to let him and the local police take over the investigation. It was only a matter of time before someone leaked the information that her friend had contacted Abby before she’d been abducted.
    He kicked off his shoes and walked to the window.
    Abducted. Like hell.
    To keep her thinking on the positive side, he’d told Abby they’d work as if her friend were still alive, but they both could read the evidence. Given that much blood loss, if her friend wasn’t dead already, she probably wouldn’t last out the night.
    With a frustrated groan he pushed himself away from the window and strode over to the connecting door. Dammit, he couldn’t send Abby away. There was only one person who had any useful knowledge as to what happened to Brianna Mathews and she sat in the other room.
    He opened his door, and knocked on Abby’s side.
    No answer.
    Why wasn’t she answering?
    He pounded on the door.
    Still no answer.
    Panic rising inside him, he raised his fist to really pound on the damn door. Suddenly it opened.
    “What?” She stood there, her hair hanging wet about her face, dressed in a T-shirt that gave just the impression of her breasts and a pair of flannel pajama shorts. Her long, shapely legs seemed to go on forever. Her feet were bare and her toenails were a shiny, deep crimson.
    He swallowed hard. He couldn’t help it. She looked—sexy. Sad and cute, but sexy nonetheless.
    “Why were you pounding on the door?” She gazed at him with a curious look in her eyes.
    Struggling to keep his mind off her long legs, he cleared his throat. “You didn’t answer when I knocked.”
    “I was in the shower. Did you want something?”
    Yes, those legs wrapped around my hips. He shook off the image of a wet, naked Abby in his arms and focused on the question. What had he wanted?
    “I wanted to ask you some questions about your friend.” He pushed his way into her room and sat on the edge of the nearest bed. When she walked past him, her breasts bounced slightly beneath the T-shirt. He nearly groaned.
    “Ask away. I don’t know what I can tell you that will help.” She sat on the other bed, drawing her legs up and wrapping her arms around them. “Before yesterday, we hadn’t talked in nearly six months.”
    “What did she do at Hollister-Klein?”
    “She was the assistant to the Chief Financial Officer.”
    “So she was a secretary.”
    She shrugged her shoulders. “No. She handled accounting duties same as the other members of her department. I already told you that. And since I work for the Treasury Department, I assumed her phone call had something to do with some sort of government fraud.”
    “What do you know about