Killer Exposure

by Lara Lacombe

  He didn’t regret his decision to let her go. Hannah was right—Jessica wasn’t the person for him, but her actions had still hurt.

  Would Hannah do the same? Would she soon grow tired of his lingering grief over John and issue her own decree?

  Logically, he knew that one day his grief would lessen. That’s what all the books said, anyway. It made sense—after all, wasn’t time supposed to heal all wounds? The trouble was, he couldn’t imagine a day when he didn’t wake up with a heavy heart. Couldn’t see a time when the world was more than muted shades of gray. Was it fair to ask Hannah to walk that road by his side, or should he let her go and try to find her again when he felt normal?

  But what if he never felt normal again? The thought wasn’t new, but it still sent a chill down his spine. What if this was his new normal? Could he really expect Hannah to stay, knowing things would never get better?

  He should let her go. But the idea of walking away and never seeing her again made his heart clench. It was wrong of him to stay, but she’d made him feel warm for the first time in months. He’d been so cold since John’s death, but being near Hannah gave him a measure of relief, like sitting by a roaring fire on a snowy night. And though it was selfish of him, he wasn’t ready to give that up just yet.

  The orderly wheeled the gurney into a small room, arranging the bed with practiced ease before leaving quietly, sidestepping an incoming nurse on his way out the door. Hannah opened her eyes as the woman walked over to the bed.

  “My name is Grace, and I’ll be taking care of you for the next few hours. Can you give me an idea of your pain level?”

  A calculating expression moved across Hannah’s face. “I’m actually feeling okay.”

  Owen spoke up. “They’re not going to let you go home if you tell them you don’t have any pain.”

  Hannah glanced at the nurse as if to verify the truth of his words. At the woman’s nod, she sighed. “Okay, it hurts. About a five on a ten-point scale.”

  “Let’s get that under control.” The woman turned to leave, flashing him a grateful smile.

  He pulled a chair over to the side of the bed. “You need to be honest. I know you want to get out of here, but I don’t want you going home before you’re healed.”

  Hannah shifted, wincing as she moved. “I know. I’m just not crazy about hospitals.”

  “Because of your accident?”

  She nodded. “I was there for weeks. Do you have any idea how long it took to get the smell out of my sinuses?”

  He laid his hand on her knee. “You won’t be here that long. Besides, I’m going to keep you company now.”

  “That is an improvement over the last time,” she muttered. “But can you really stay with me? Don’t you need to work on the case?”

  Just the mention of the investigation made him feel as if a heavy weight had been dropped on his shoulders. Over the past few hours, he’d pushed all work-related thoughts to the side, his worry for Hannah taking front and center in his mind. But now that he knew for certain that she was going to be okay, he needed to turn his attention back to the case. He owed it to the victims, and to Hannah, to get to the bottom of this disturbing mystery.

  He didn’t want to say anything just yet, but he was becoming more and more convinced that there was a connection between the deaths and Hannah. Was the killer he was looking for the same person who was targeting Hannah?

  Owen frowned as his thoughts turned in a darker direction. What if Hannah had been a target for far longer than he’d thought? What if the explosion in her lab hadn’t been an accident after all? A lab accident was a convenient excuse for offing a scientist, a tragic event that wouldn’t automatically trigger a police investigation. The company could blame her death on a careless mistake, and no one would be the wiser.

  But if that was the case, why hadn’t they tried to finish her off when the accident failed to kill her? He hated to even think along those lines, but if someone wanted Hannah dead, they wouldn’t have left her alone after she survived the accident. Her injuries would have provided the perfect cover for murder, and her death likely wouldn’t have triggered any alarms. People died of burn injuries all the time, and it was easy to make a death look accidental, especially when dealing with someone who was injured to begin with.

  “What’s wrong?”

  The simple question pulled him out of his thoughts. Owen blinked, and turned to find Hannah watching him from the bed. “What makes you think something is wrong?” He wasn’t quite ready to tell her his suspicions yet—she’d already been through enough today, and he didn’t want to make her worry about something that might not even be true.

  Hannah tilted her head and gave him a droll stare. “You look like someone kicked your puppy.”

  He shook his head. “I was just thinking.”

  “Care to share?”

  Should he? It was still just a half-formed theory right now, with no real evidence to support or refute his idea. It didn’t feel right to dump everything on her. But perhaps he could ask her about her time at ChemCure Industries without causing too much stress.

  “I’m just trying to figure out who attacked you today.”

  She frowned. “I wish I knew.”

  Owen paused, searching for the right words. “Can you tell me what it was like at ChemCure just before the accident?”

  Hannah’s expression turned guarded. “What do you want to know?”

  “Do you recall anyone acting strangely? Any confrontations with your coworkers?”

  She was quiet for a moment, and her eyes lost focus as she concentrated. Finally, she shook her head slowly. “No, nothing like that happened.” Owen’s heart dropped. It had been a long shot, but still...

  “It’s just...” She paused, then shook her head.

  “What?” He held his breath, hardly daring to hope.

  “It’s probably nothing, but the day before the accident, I got into an argument with Marcia and her boss, Dave.”

  “About what?”

  “They were unhappy with me because my team hadn’t identified any promising compounds in several months. I told them the data weren’t there, that the chemicals we’d been testing were too toxic to move forward in the pipeline. But Dave wanted me to push some through, just so we could show the bigwigs the project had momentum.”

  “What did you say?”

  She stiffened, her chest puffing out like an angry bird’s. He almost smiled but caught himself just in time. “I said no, of course! I wasn’t going to rubber-stamp something I knew wasn’t working, just to meet some artificial company benchmark.”

  “Weren’t you afraid they’d pull you off the project?”

  Hannah snorted and rolled her eyes. “Hardly. There was no one else to run the project.”

  Interesting. That meant the pool of people who had the know-how to work with the chemicals was small. She had told him as much the other day in the car, but it was good to have it confirmed. “How did Dave and Marcia react?”

  The corner of her mouth curved up, and he realized she had enjoyed defending her work. “They weren’t thrilled with me, but in the end, they accepted my reasoning. After all, I didn’t give them much choice in the matter.”

  “Did you have this type of discussion with them often?”

  She held up her hand and tilted it back and forth. “We didn’t talk about it all the time, but it was a fairly regular discussion.”

  The nurse walked back into the room, carrying a handful of supplies. Owen watched silently as she tended to Hannah, his mind whirring as he arranged the puzzle pieces of what he knew, trying to make sense of it all. A larger picture was starting to emerge, triggering a rush that was equal parts excitement and determination. While the nurse finished up, he retrieved his phone and stepped into the hallway.

  “Whe
re have you been?” Nate said, forgoing any kind of greeting. “I need to talk to you.”

  “Same here. I’m at the hospital—can you meet me here?”

  “Hospital? What the hell is going on? Are you okay?” It was petty of him, but the concern in his partner’s voice made Owen feel good, as though he belonged. Nate wasn’t anything like John had been, but he was still a good man, and Owen enjoyed working with him. It was nice to have a partner once more.

  “I’m fine. Hannah was attacked again, and this time, she wasn’t so lucky.” He rattled off her room number. “Can you get here soon?”

  “Give me ten minutes. I’ve been busy, too, and I think you’re going to like what I’ve got.”

  Owen ended the call and slipped his phone back into his pocket just as the nurse was leaving Hannah’s room.

  “Are you going to stay with her tonight?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he replied without hesitation.

  She nodded, as if she’d expected that answer. “I’ll get a spare set of sheets for you. The chair folds out into a single bed. It’s not the most comfortable thing in the world, but it’s better than the floor.”

  “Thanks.”

  He paused before heading back into the room. Would Hannah be okay with him staying the night? He hadn’t even thought to ask her; he’d just answered reflexively, without any conscious debate. There was no way he could leave her alone and unguarded, not after there had been two attempts on her life in the past day alone. He wasn’t going to take a chance that whoever was behind this would stop by to finish her off while she lay vulnerable in her bed.

  But what if she didn’t want him in the room? It was possible. She may want her privacy, especially since nurses and doctors would be stopping by regularly to poke and prod her. She was probably feeling especially exposed since she was naked under the thin hospital gown. Given her reluctance to let him touch her last night, the gentlemanly thing to do would be to stand outside her room so he didn’t catch a glimpse and embarrass her.

  Too bad he wasn’t a gentleman.

  No, he decided. He was going to stay with her tonight. Something told him that if he stepped back and gave her privacy, she’d use the space to rebuild her defenses. If he stayed, if he forced her to remember the intimacy of last night, she wouldn’t have a chance. And while he knew that in the long term it would be better for him to leave her alone, his selfish side was in charge and calling the shots. If that meant Hannah had to spend the night feeling a tiny bit unsettled by his presence, so be it. He wanted her to get used to him, to need him as much as he was coming to need her. And forget that old adage about absence making the heart grow fonder—in this case, absence would only allow her to forget about him.

  It wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.

  Chapter 10

  When Owen came back into the room, there was something different about him. Gone was the earlier sadness that had clung to him when he’d told her about his former partner. In its place was an aura of fierce determination, as though he’d made up his mind about something and he was going to see it through, regardless of any objections.

  Hannah used her feet and her good arm to push herself up on the bed. Owen looked as if he had something to say, and she didn’t want to hear it lying down.

  “I’m staying here tonight. With you.”

  She blinked, taken aback by his announcement. “Uh, don’t you have work to do?”

  “I can take care of it from here. I’m not leaving you alone.”

  A rush of relief swept through her, followed swiftly by the sharp bite of annoyance. “Don’t I get a say in the matter?” Truth be told, she had been worried about being alone tonight. Even though the chances of her assailant coming back to attack her in the hospital were vanishingly small, she’d rest better knowing she wasn’t alone. But Owen could at least pretend he was asking her permission before announcing his decision as if it was the law. She hadn’t slept with a man in the same room in...well, longer than she cared to think about. And even though he wouldn’t be sharing her bed, it still felt very personal.

  His gaze narrowed as he stepped closer. “What’s this about? You didn’t mind spending time with me last night. Why the sudden change of heart?” His voice was steady, but as he approached, she saw a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. It disappeared almost instantly, but that brief, unguarded reaction made it clear that her resistance had hurt him.

  “It’s not like that,” she began, but he cut her off.

  “I can assure you, I’m not expecting a repeat of last night.”

  Now, that stung. Even though she had no desire to get frisky in a hospital room, his knee-jerk rejection of the attraction they shared made her feel very small and alone. “I didn’t think you were,” she replied, hoping he couldn’t tell she was upset.

  “Then what’s going on? A few minutes ago, you didn’t want me to leave you alone in the hospital. Now you’re trying to get me to run off to work.” He ran a hand through his hair and lowered his head. “I’m not making that mistake again,” he said softly.

  “I want you to stay with me because it’s what you want to do, not because it’s something you feel you have to do,” Hannah snapped. “I won’t be anyone’s obligation.”

  “Is that what you think?” Owen’s eyes widened, his surprise plain. “Do you really believe I see you as some sort of obligation?” His indignation was almost palpable, and only served to make Hannah feel even worse. How had she bungled this so badly?

  “No.” She paused, looking around the room so she wouldn’t have to meet that intense blue stare. “Maybe.” From the corner of her eye she saw his brows shoot up, and she hastened to add, “I don’t know! Okay? I don’t know what to think.”

  He was still a moment, so still she didn’t think he was even breathing. Then he moved, slowly and carefully, as if his very bones hurt. But as he neared the bed, Hannah realized her mistake—he wasn’t in pain, he was angry. A fury like she’d never seen before glowed behind his eyes, and his muscles were rigid, tense with leashed emotion that he refused to express. His jaw was clenched so tightly she could practically hear his teeth grinding together, and as she watched, his hands curled into fists at his sides. He looked like a man on the verge of violence, and an instinctive burst of fear filled her, followed quickly by fascination. The two emotions swirled together, creating a potent combination in Hannah’s system that made her chest feel tight and her palms go damp.

  His anger caught her completely by surprise. In her experience, people only got upset to that degree if they cared about someone. While she knew they shared an attraction, she hadn’t realized she had the power to ignite his temper. It was a heady sensation, the ability to push his buttons and cause this normally unflappable and composed man to lose his cool.

  Her fear burned away quickly, leaving only curiosity in its wake as she watched him move. He was a big man to begin with, but since she was lying in a hospital bed, his legs seemed longer, his shoulders broader. Anger made his movements even more precise than usual, a clear signal that Owen was totally in control of himself and his emotions. Still, Hannah knew that even if he wasn’t, even if he needed an outlet for his fury, she would never be the target. No matter what she did or said, Owen was not the kind of man to take his rage out on a woman.

  He lowered himself to sit on the edge of her bed, then laid a hand on her thigh. His touch was warm, the heat of him burning through the thin hospital blankets. A wave of goose bumps broke out along her skin, radiating from the heavy weight of his palm, and Hannah struggled to contain a shiver.

  “You,” he said so softly she had to strain to hear, “are not an obligation.” He punctuated his words with a gentle squeeze that made Hannah’s skin tingle. “When I’m with you, it’s because I want to be, not because I feel like I have to be.”

  She nodded, her eyes locke
d on that big hand of his. It had felt so good to be touched by him last night, skin to skin, their breaths mingling along with the sounds of sighs and soft moans. Her body, willfully oblivious to the tension between them, rejoiced in feeling him again. Her stomach fluttered in anticipation and her skin seemed to shrink, tightening and growing ever more sensitive. Just a little higher, she urged silently. Slip that hand under the blanket and touch me like you did last night.

  “Hannah.” His deep voice brought her back to the room, to herself. “Look at me.”

  She didn’t respond right away, earning another soft squeeze from his hand. She was tempted to keep her eyes down, wanting to feel that gentle pressure again, but she forced herself to look up.

  “I care about you,” he said, his gaze taking on a sensual heat she recognized. “I enjoy spending time with you. And I think you feel the same about me.” He paused and she nodded, dropping her eyes to the sexy curve of his mouth. He rewarded her with a small smile and leaned closer. “Good. So make no mistake about it—I’m here because I want to be.”

  Hannah felt herself leaning forward as well, unconsciously straining toward him like one magnet seeking another. Just before their lips met, he drew back a little. “If you want me to go, I will. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable around me. But I will make sure another officer is here so you’re not alone tonight.”

  She shook her head. “No. I do want you to stay. Please.”

  He nodded, then closed the distance between them. She sighed into his mouth, relaxing into the kiss and surrendering to her body’s responses. He was better than any drug, she decided, the pain in her head and shoulder disappearing as endorphins flooded her system. The scientist in her knew she was merely experiencing a biochemical reaction to contact, but the woman in her recognized that it was the man kissing her that made her feel so good.

  He drew back slowly, too soon for her liking. She let him go reluctantly, her good hand still gripping his shirt as he eased away. He smiled, that sexy grin he seemed to reserve only for her. “I’m glad we got that straightened out,” he murmured.