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  “I have to talk to you,” she repeated, and with a sigh he stepped back, opening the door wider.

  “Get it over with, then.”

  She entered the room, fingering her purse nervously. She’d planned to tell him immediately that she wasn’t guilty, but now that she faced him and could see the distaste in his eyes, as if she’d brought a foul smell into the room with her, she couldn’t quite do it. He didn’t look like a man in pain, a man who’d been forced to do something that had to be almost as traumatic for him as it had been for her. He looked as cool and controlled as he’d ever been. There was no hint in his eyes that he even remembered the hours of lovemaking between them.

  She stopped in the middle of the room and forced her hands to cease their nervous movements. “Evan Brady—” Her voice was raw and shaky and she stopped, clearing her throat. “Evan Brady told me that you’re the one who pressed charges against me.”

  “That’s right,” Brett said easily, moving away from her and settling himself against the edge of the writing desk in front of the windows. He stretched out his long legs, crossing them negligently at the ankle.

  “You didn’t even warn me—”

  He burst out laughing, a cold, contemptuous laugh that flayed her skin, making her wince. “Did you think that just because we had sex together, I’d be so wild about you that I’d let you get away with theft? You’re a good lay, honey, I’ll give you that, but I had a job to do.”

  Tessa stared at him, her breathing stopped in her chest, though her heart was pounding so heavily that the sound of it filled her head. He couldn’t be saying those things! She was as still and pale as a statue, only her burning eyes alive as she looked at him. Slowly she went over his words, feeling something die inside of her. Her tongue was stiff and didn’t want to work, but she forced the words out. “Did you…are you saying that the only reason you asked me out…the only reason…”

  “You made our investigation easy,” he said, and smiled. “Maybe I shouldn’t have taken advantage of the fringe benefits you offered, but you’re a sexy little thing, and I wanted you to feel secure enough that you wouldn’t bolt.” Clenching his jaw with the effort it cost him to smile, he mentally thanked her for giving him the excuse herself. He couldn’t let her see that she’d almost brought him to his knees. If nothing else, he had to hang on to his pride. God, she was lovely, and so delicate that it was almost impossible to believe her capable of embezzlement, even though he’d seen the evidence himself.

  “One other thing,” he said, disguising his bitterness with a casual tone. “You made me lose my head Sunday afternoon, and I forgot to take care of things. It’s not likely, but if you’re pregnant, let me know. Damn it, even knowing you probably did it deliberately, a pregnancy would change things,” he admitted reluctantly.

  Tessa hadn’t moved an inch. Her face was paper white. “No, I don’t think it would change anything at all,” she said, and walked out.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  TESSA HAD BEEN hurt before, but nothing had ever made her feel as she did when she walked out of Brett’s hotel room. It was a pain so deep, so crippling, that she couldn’t even imagine the scope of it, yet in a way it was also a blessing, because the shock of it numbed her. He not only didn’t love her, but also had been using her all along! She’d thought that they’d had something real, something infinitely precious between them, only to find that he’d sought her out for his investigation. The love she’d been so certain of had existed only in her mind. If he felt anything at all for her, it was only lust. He’d used her body only because she’d offered it, and it had meant nothing to him beyond momentary physical pleasure.

  Now, with the wisdom of hindsight, she remembered all the casual questions he’d asked her the first time he’d taken her out to dinner. A harsh laugh tore from her throat. She’d thought he was making conversation, an easy way of getting to know her, but instead he’d been digging for information!

  She felt…dirty. The horror of being arrested, of being fingerprinted, hadn’t made her feel that way, because she’d known herself to be innocent of the charge they’d made against her, of the charge that Brett had filed against her. But now she felt violated, both mentally and physically. She’d given her love to him in every way she knew, openly, trustingly, and he’d used her as casually as any whore had ever been used. He’d turned his back on her, not caring that he’d trampled on her emotions, not caring that she felt soiled and lifeless.

  There was a lump in her throat that felt as if it were choking her. She swallowed convulsively, looking around in mild surprise. She was in her own apartment, and she had no remembrance of getting there. She didn’t remember anything from the moment she’d left Brett’s hotel room, though the clock on the wall told her that so little time had elapsed that she must have come straight home.

  There had been times in the past when she’d felt beaten down, but she’d always recovered, always found again the ability to laugh and enjoy life. Perhaps laughter was beyond her now, but there was steel in her, steel that wouldn’t allow her to knuckle under. She wasn’t going to go tamely to prison for something she hadn’t done, even if Brett Rutland had torn her heart out. She’d do whatever she could to prove her innocence. He could break her only if she allowed him to, and she wasn’t going to do that. All she had left now was her pride, and the knowledge of her innocence; with that, she’d survive. She had to turn her back on her pain, push Brett out of her mind, because if she allowed her tortured thoughts to dwell on him, she’d go mad.

  With that decision, it was as if a door had slammed in her mind. Her face was calm as she went to the phone. She wanted the one person who would never turn against her.

  “Honey, it’s so nice to hear your voice!” Silver exclaimed happily, hundreds of miles and three time zones away. “I was just thinking about you. Are you calling about wedding plans?”

  “No,” Tessa said calmly. “Aunt Silver, I’ve been arrested. I need you.”

  Five minutes later, when Tessa hung up the phone, it was with Silver’s grim reassurance ringing in her ears that she would be there the next day. If Tessa had needed an example of love and trust to compare with Brett’s behavior, Silver had given it to her. Her aunt’s support had been immediate and unquestioning, and so fierce that if Silver had been able to get her hands on Brett Rutland at that moment, he’d have been mauled before he’d even had the chance to protect himself.

  She’d barely hung up the phone when her doorbell rang. Remembering the night before when she’d opened the door to the two detectives, an especially cruel shock when she’d been anticipating Brett’s arrival so eagerly, Tessa froze for a moment. Had something gone wrong? Could her bond be rescinded?

  “Tessa? Are you all right?”

  It was Billie’s voice, and she sounded anxious. As Tessa opened the door to her friend, she wondered how much Billie knew, if it was common knowledge at the office yet that she’d been arrested.

  Billie’s eyes were worried as she stepped into the apartment. “Are you sick?” she asked. “No one knew why you weren’t at work today. I tried calling you at lunch, but there wasn’t any answer.”

  “Would you like a cup of coffee?” Tessa offered, her voice calm and flat. Billie had already answered one of her questions: The reason for her absence hadn’t been made public yet, though of course it would be, eventually. Gossip had a way of filtering out, like fine dust through the cracks in a floor.

  “I’d like an answer, but I’ll take a cup of coffee, too,” Billie replied testily.

  Well, why not? Why should she evade the issue? She hadn’t done anything wrong. “I’ve been fired, I think.” A faintly wry smile curved her lips. She hadn’t actually received a dismissal, but then a warrant for her arrest had been pretty effective.

  Following her into the kitchen, Billie stuttered questions at her. “Fired? Don’t be ridiculous—What are you talking about? Why would anyone want to fire you? And what about Brett?”

  Taking the coffee