Page 55 of The Gift
Only a moment passed until she opened the door, smiling. “Back for seconds?”
He blinked. Surely, she didn’t mean—
“Food,” she clarified quickly. “I meant breakfast.”
“We need to talk. There’s been a leak.”
Her smile vanished. She stepped aside, inviting him in without saying a word.
Inside, he handed her the phone.
She read the article in silence, twin lines forming between her brows. “They don’t mention me by name.”
“No.”
“Or that it’s a psychic.” She glanced up. “I hate that term, by the way.” Her focus returned to the screen, scanning and slowly scrolling. Then she froze. “The byline. It’s Darren Holt.”
“You know him?”
“From El Paso.”
“I take it he’s not up for a Pulitzer.”
“He’s a snake.”
“Is he any good?”
Her eyes locked with his. “As a person? No. As a reporter? He’s tenacious. He’ll do anything, say anything, and break any rule to get a story.”
Not what he wanted to hear.
“If he’s sniffing around, someone pointed him my way. You and O’Reilly know,” she said, quieter now. “Who else?”
“No one.”
The twin lines deepened. “Do you think he said something?”
Coop wanted to say no, but right now, nothing was certain. “I don’t want to believe that, butnontraditionaldidn’t invent itself.”
Her thumb hovered over the screen. “If Kedrov reads this—”
“He won’t connect it yet.”
“I’m sorry. ‘Yet’isn’t very reassuring.”
No, it wasn’t.
“They don’t know I’m across the street from the victim,” she said.
“And we’re going to keep it that way.” He moved closer, arms encircling her waist. Her palms settled on his chest as if they belonged there.
Dammit. He hadn’t planned on her, on last night, on how quickly she’d gotten under his skin. Now this, right as something real was taking shape.
He hated that the first thing he had to bring her this morning was a threat.
“Listen to me,” he said, voice low. “Right now, you’re not exposed. The article dances around something it can’t prove.”
“But if he digs—”
