Pulse Points
THE MORE SHE TRIES TO FORGET…Kasey Ellis's life is shattered after she witnesses the murder of her friend and business partner at their Tyler, Texas, advertising agency. Though Kasey can't identify the killer, she believes the killer saw her–and that her life is now in danger. And, as if trying to salvage her company and her sanity isn't trouble enough, Tanner Hart has walked back into her life.THE EASIER IT IS TO REMEMBERA former bad boy who's made good, Tanner is now running for the Senate and needs Kasey's media savvy for his campaign. Accepting his offer means she can only try to forget that, twenty years ago, a night of passion in Tanner's arms left her with a son whom another man raised as his own. Tanner's return awakens emotions that never died. But as the media circus surrounding his campaign grows, so do Kasey's fears about the killer's identity…and about her own devastating secret. Soon there's nowhere to hide…from the danger, from the truth–or from her deepest desires.
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“Hello, Kasey.”
The bottom dropped out of her stomach. She had hoped this day would never come. Tanner Hart. That deep, sexy voice still had the power to jolt her. The way her luck had gone these past few days, she shouldn’t have been surprised that he’d shown up at Shirley’s funeral.
“It’s been a long time,” he commented into the growing and somewhat hostile silence. “How’s your son?”
Kasey’s heart wrenched, though she didn’t so much as move. “He’s great. He just finished his freshman year at Baylor.”
Their eyes met for another millisecond, but that was enough to up the already crackling tension between them.
“How did you know the deceased?” he asked.
“Shirley had taken me on as a partner,” she said through tight lips, wanting this conversation to end. Obviously he wasn’t aware that she’d witnessed Shirley’s murder, and she wasn’t prepared to tell him, either. The less he knew about her and her business, the better.
“Look, it was good to see you,” she said, anxious to get away. “But I really have to go.” Kasey had taken several steps when he spoke, stopping her, her heart taking a nosedive as she swung to face him.
“I have a proposition for you.”
Contents
One
T he parking garage seemed eerier than usual that evening. Kasey Ellis paused and unbuttoned her jacket, hoping to ward off the smothering heat of the July day. Normally she was gone long before the premises was filled with eerie shadows. But the disturbing situation at the office had kept her there, though she had nothing to show for her efforts except a burgeoning headache.
Thinking it was her less-than-rosy mood that was responsible for her paranoia, Kasey shrugged her uneasiness aside and upped her steps to her Toyota Camry. She had inserted her key in the lock when she heard the noise.
Pop. Like a gunshot.
Surely not, Kasey told herself, positive her paranoia was messing with her mind. Nonetheless, she stood motionless and listened while her heart lurched in her chest and her breathing turned labored. Only after she heard the sound again did she spin around.
Even then, she couldn’t immediately absorb the scene playing out in front of her.
A man was standing in the shadows with a gun pointed at a woman. Kasey froze and watched in manifested horror as another squeeze of gunfire assaulted her ears. This time the woman sank to the cement like a rag doll whose stuffings had been removed.
Kasey knew she had to do something. Anything, other than stand like she was encased in a huge block of ice. Then she heard another strange sound. Finally she realized it was coming from her. A whimpering erupted from her throat. She felt helpless and vulnerable in the midst of an oncoming bout of hysteria.
She shut her eyes, clinging to the remnant of hope that this was nothing but a contorted, macabre nightmare from which she would soon awaken. But when she opened her eyes, the woman remained crumpled and lifeless.
And the man had disappeared.
Do something, Kasey mouthed silently, making an effort to fight through the fog that dulled her mind, but it was impossible.
She had no idea where she found the courage to move her paralyzed limbs. Later, she credited the force of adrenaline that kicked in, giving her the strength to run to the victim and drop to her knees.
“Oh, my God,” she cried when she recognized the ashen-faced woman with the blood-splattered chest.
Her stomach churning and her vision blurring, Kasey lifted her head and took several deep, shuddering breaths, praying again that this was indeed a dream. But when she peered down once more, nothing had changed.
Her business partner, Shirley Parker, remained splayed on the pavement. Dead. Kasey lifted her head high again as the stench of fresh, oozing blood filled her nostrils making her dizzy.
Her stomach pitched and heaved, and for a moment, she feared she might faint. Instead she sucked in her breath, and without touching her partner, fumbled for her cell phone, then dialed 911.
“Please, hurry.” She didn’t even recognize her own voice. It was squeaky and faint. “There’s…there’s been a murder.”
The police station was frigid, though Kasey suspected it was her fractured nerves rather than the temperature that made her teeth clack together. Despite a valiant effort to get her emotions under control, she couldn’t seem to do so. She continued to reel from the fact that her world had just splintered into a million jagged pieces.
