The Girl Next Door (Shadow Agents 6)

Hugh exhaled loudly. “When are you going to realize, there are more important things than stories? Your life is on the line here.” He shook his dark head. “No, no, I’m not doing it. I’m not going to let you tell the killer you were minutes behind him last night—”

Gabrielle had to laugh at that. “He already knows. Why do you think he broke into my place?”

“Because you’re the next target on his list?”

Hugh’s words made her skin chill. “I’m not.”

“You’re smarter than that. You just don’t want to admit it, because if you do, then you’ll realize that you’re neck deep in danger.” He ran a hand over his chin. “We’ll keep some of the article. The parts that don’t yell ‘Come and get me’ to the killer.”

Her article did not yell that.

“Get a confirmation from Carmichael that we’re dealing with a serial, and we can lead with that. We’ll give him a name, something flashy and scary like the City Stalker, and we’ll—”

She could see red. Literally. “It’s not about making this guy into a celebrity. It’s about catching him!”

Hugh crossed his arms over his chest. “For me, it’s about keeping my reporter safe. Change the story. Take out the part about the message that was written in blood—hell, the cops probably want that kept off the record anyway.”

“But someone out there could know what the message means!” This was insane. And this was not Hugh Peters. Not Hugh Print-It-All Peters.

“In its current form, this story will not be published at the Inquisitor.” His eyes, a shade darker than her own, pinned her. “This isn’t your first rewrite, so just get back to your desk and take care of business.”

She was missing something. “You’ve never backed down from a story before.”

He swallowed. His gaze cut to a silent Cooper.

“Did someone...did someone contact you?” she asked. Crazy but...Hugh truly didn’t back down from stories. “Hugh, do you know what the EOD actually is?”

“Bodyguard,” Hugh muttered, “I’m going to insist that you step out of the room, right now.”

“I’m not moving,” Cooper said.

Her heart was about to burst out of her chest. Hugh knows. “Cooper, I want to talk to Hugh. It’s just the two of us here. We’ll be perfectly safe.”

The faint lines near Cooper’s eyes tightened.

“I’m the paying partner, remember?” she managed.

Uh-oh. Wrong thing to say. His eyes went glacial. “How could I forget?” He turned for the door. “I’ll just go play watchdog from outside.”

She hadn’t meant to make him angry. She’d apologize, mend fences and do whatever. After she found out what Hugh was holding back from her.

The door clicked closed behind Cooper.

“Spill,” she demanded.

Beads of sweat lined Hugh’s forehead. “Are you sure your guard won’t try to listen in?”

No, she wasn’t sure of that at all. Actually, she expected him to at least attempt some good eavesdropping. Gabrielle would be rather disappointed in him if he didn’t.

“What do you know? Tell me, Hugh. After what I’ve been through, I think I deserve to know.”

He crooked his finger, motioning for her to come closer.

Frowning, she maneuvered toward him.

“You’re in over your head,” he whispered.

No way would Cooper be able to eavesdrop on that whisper.