Masked Intentions [Unmasking Prometheus] (BookStrand Publishing Romance)
Page 20
“I’m sorry to bother you so late, sir, especially after the day you’ve had, but I have a few questions for you and your wife.” O’Brien was a tall, lean man with burnished blond hair and the unmistakable bearing of a military man, about the same age as Adrian.
“Of course,” Adrian replied, ushering him into the sitting room. “How can I help you? My wife will be down shortly, though I’d prefer if you keep your questions to her brief. She’s had a rough time of it.”
O’Brien took a seat, refusing Clinton’s offer of a drink. “I understand. My condolences to both of you on the loss of your sister-in-law.”
Adrian nodded, clenching his jaw at the thought of Anne’s broken body and Morgan’s grief.
For the next half hour, Adrian recounted what he knew of the situation, including how he’d killed Roger’s two henchmen. Near the end, Vanessa came down, and Adrian listened, his heart aching, as she gave an accounting of all that had happened to her and Anne from the moment Roger’s men had stopped them on the street.
Cook brought them a tray of sandwiches and fruit, and even O’Brien partook as they continued to talk.
At last, O’Brien stood and closed the notebook he’d been writing in. “Thank you so much for your time. As far as the two dead men, it’s clearly a case of self-defense, and I doubt you’ll have to answer any more questions about that once I file my report.”
Adrian gave a sigh of relief and rubbed his eyes, the stress and exhaustion of the day finally hitting him. “Thank God.”
Vanessa, who sat beside him on the sofa, squeezed his knee. “He saved my life,” Vanessa whispered. “If it wasn’t for his quick thinking, I wouldn’t have made it.”
O’Brien nodded sharply. “Strictly off the record, sir, I’d have done the same thing, were someone I loved at risk.” He stood and shook Adrian’s hand again. He started to leave, then turned back around, meeting Adrian’s gaze directly. “By the way, sir, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about the man they call Prometheus, would you?”
Adrian was so taken off guard, he flinched and then struggled to maintain a cool facade. “Excuse me?”
O’Brien shrugged. “Well, when I questioned your half-brother about one of his businesses burning down not too long ago, he seemed to think you might have something to do with it. He claimed you were Prometheus.”
Adrian forced a laugh. “The man is unstable, obviously.”
O’Brien grinned and put on his hat. “Like I said before, off the record, I think Prometheus has the right idea. If it were up to me, I’d burn all those places down, too. But given this latest incident, I hope he takes a step back for a while.” With a wink, the officer turned and left.
Silence reigned for several moments, and then Clinton gave a shaky laugh. “I’m thinking Prometheus needs to take a good long break, sir.”
Vanessa leaned her head on Adrian’s shoulder and gave him a look filled with love and respect. “Prometheus is hanging up his mask,” she assured Clinton. “Adrian’s done enough. It’s my turn to rescue him.”
Adrian squeezed her tightly and kissed the top of her head, her hair still damp and smelling so sweet it brought tears to his eyes. “You already have, darling,” he whispered. “You already have.”
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
All her life, Diana Bold has wanted to a writer. Her sister claims that even as a child, all she ever did was sit in her closet and scribble in a notebook. Now, she concedes the scribbling part, but not the closet part!
In any event, she won her first writing contest when she was seven, and she was hooked!
She married young, and soon had three wonderful little boys running around the house, so writing took a backseat for several years as she worked a variety of jobs that she hated. Once she started seriously pursuing a writing career, she found it was not as easy as she had expected, and she was not the prodigy she had imagined. But she joined a writer's group, and made a ton of writing friends along the way who showed her the error of her ways and unselfishly helped her get a little better.
By the time she sold her first book in 2006, she’d already been at this for over ten years and was about ready to give up. Rejection is hard!!! But holding that first book in her hands made it all worth it!
For all titles by Diana Bold, please visit
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