The Stranger In Room 205 (Hot off the Press! 1)

“I’m not married,” Cameron told her, as if he guessed her biggest fear. “Never have been, according to Shane.”

Shane chuckled. “You’ve never even come close,” he said. “Not that there haven’t been quite a few who tried to change your mind.”

Serena didn’t smile. She noticed that Cameron didn’t, either. “When are you leaving?”

His eyes were somber when he answered. “Shane has a plane waiting at the airport in Little Rock. We can leave immediately.”

“One of my cousins is a pilot,” Shane murmured.

“Of course,” she replied. “You, uh, have a large family, I take it?”

“Larger than you can probably imagine.” He stood. “I’ll go call my cousin and make the arrangements for our trip home. I’m sure you two have a few things to say to each other. And, uh, Cam—” He paused in the doorway.

“Yes?”

“Don’t be an idiot.”

“What did he mean by that?” Serena asked when the other man had disappeared into the hallway.

“Apparently he has a rather warped sense of humor. I haven’t caught up with it yet.”

“Mother told me what happened. Have you found out who it was that attacked you?”

“Shane’s pretty sure he’s someone who works for the guy I was investigating for an exposé—a public official I suspected of using embezzled tax money to provide a lavish lifestyle for his wife and kids in Dallas and an equally extravagant existence for a mistress in Little Rock. Before I left Texas, I told Shane I would be in Little Rock, pursuing my hunches. Apparently, I was caught snooping.”

“You think whoever beat you up thought you were dead when they dumped you here in Edstown?”

He shrugged. “That’s a reasonable guess. If you hadn’t found me, I would have been dead by morning.”

She swallowed. “And does Shane think you’re still in danger?”

“No. Shane had his P.I. uncles follow up on my leads. They’ve found evidence that I was right all along. Once the story breaks, there will be no further incent

ive to try to get rid of me. And Dan will probably get a confession out of the guy who jumped me this afternoon, some sort of deal that implicates his employer and lessens his own punishment.”

“So you’re going back to Dallas now to solve a new mystery,” she said. “Your own, this time.”

He lifted a shoulder. “I guess that sums it up. How would you like to go along? You could be Dr. Watson to my Holmes.”

He made it sound like a joke, but something told her he was partially serious. Though she was flattered to think he wanted to take her with him, she couldn’t help wondering if he was merely clinging to a familiar lifeline in an understandably overwhelming situation.

Besides, she thought sadly, she wasn’t Kara. Serena couldn’t just drop everything and run off with a gorgeous male on a quest of his own. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” she said, trying to speak lightly. “I have a few responsibilities here—a law practice, a newspaper, a mother, a dog. Unless you want to take the dog with you?” she offered with a valiant attempt at humor.

“I don’t think Walter would care for Dallas. He’s a small-town dog.”

“You’re probably right.” And she was a small-town girl. Some facts just had to be faced, no matter how difficult.

There was a heavy moment of silence and then Cameron spoke again. “Shane said money isn’t really a problem for me, so I won’t have any trouble paying my medical bills or the money I owe you and your mother. Apparently, I come from a distinguished line of attorneys, and I’ve been fondly remembered by my late grandparents.”

“Attorneys?” She remembered his distinctly negative reaction to the profession.

“Yeah. I guess even rich lawyers have been known to slap their kids around.”

“You still don’t remember your parents?”

“No. But Shane promised to give me all the unhappy details during the flight to Dallas.”

“Shane will probably be back in a minute.”