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Forbidden Ground
Copyright 2006 Gabriella Bradley
ISBN: 1-55410-676-1
Cover art and design by Martine Jardin
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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FORBIDDEN GROUND
GABRIELLA BRADLEY
To my mother…
CHAPTER ONE
Cassandra was aggravated and more than just a little. She had looked forward to this assignment and expected to go to Texas on her own. But at the last minute her boss had ordered Braden Miller to accompany her. Dammit! She was the best investigative reporter on staff. She didn’t need a babysitter.
They were on their way to Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle to investigate the ongoing case of a serial killer who had killed twenty-one young women. So far, the police had no leads, no clues at all. The killings had been methodical and well thought out—so well planned that the detectives on the case were stumped. She’d jumped at the chance to take on this challenging assignment. Her recent breakup with long time beau Jason was still tearing at her heartstrings. Sure, she’d noticed Braden flirting with the other women in the office, but she’d been so much in love with Jason that Braden’s attempts to flirt with her had only annoyed her. And now she had to put up with him for however long their investigation would take and it could take quite a while. Patience had never been one of her virtues at the best of times, and it was now being tested heavily.
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. They had spoken very little since leaving the airport. Once she was seated on the plane she’d been gratified that his seat had been a last minute booking and he sat far away from her. But right now he was far too close to her. So far he’d behaved himself admirably and they had already been driving for more than an hour.
She looked at the scenery flying by. It hardly registered in her mind. As always, Jason crept into her thoughts, crowding everything else out. Their last night of love, which had ended up in a nightmare, played through her mind like a slide show. Blocking out the nightmarish part and her pain, she only concentrated on the love she still felt for him. Her blood started on fire as she pictured Jason’s body, felt imaginary fingers between her legs creeping between the elastic of her panties, seeking her clit. Uncomfortably, she shifted on the seat.
“What’s wrong?” Braden’s voice interrupted her.
“Nothing. I’m just stiff from the plane ride,” she retorted briskly and impatiently, annoyed at the interruption of her thoughts.
“Do you want to stop somewhere for a coffee?”
“I could stand a coffee right now. Yes please.”
Just a few miles down the road he pulled into a service station with a diner next to it. “This looks like a good place for a bite and a coffee.”
“Doesn’t matter where. As long as they have fresh coffee.” He got out of the car and as she reached behind her to grab her purse he opened the door for her.
“Ma’am,” he said, gallantly holding out his hand. But she ignored the hand and pushed him aside. Everything he did annoyed her, and she had no idea why.