DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS by Mallory Kane Page A

“Did you finish giving me a written accounting of your duties and Senator Sills’s and your movements yesterday?”
    “Yes. It’s all here. Can I get my phone and purse so I can go?”
    Ethan turned toward the mirror. “Have Ms. Montgomery’s belongings brought down here,” he said.
    While they waited, he leaned back in his chair and watched her. Those blue eyes on her made her extremely uncomfortable. But she did her best not to show it. She pulled the legal pad to her and read over what she’d written—or pretended to.
    Even without looking at him, Laney felt Ethan Delancey’s presence. She’d noticed last night in the penthouse suite that the feel of the whole room changed the moment he walked in. From the first instant she’d laid eyes on him, she noticed an energy about him that seemed almost palpable. She remembered glancing around to assess others’ reactions to him, but most of the other people in the room were going about their tasks as if nothing was different. Was it just her?
    And now, as tired as she was, as sick of this room and the police and the questions as she was, she still felt that same energy. But there was something else, too. Something calming or soothing. All her tension and exhaustion didn’t fade away, but it occurred to her that she’d felt very alone and uneasy while he’d been gone. Now that he was back, she felt safe.
    She glanced up to catch him watching her. Her heart rate shot up and she quickly dropped her gaze back to the pad. On second thought—maybe that feeling of safety was just wishful thinking—or a hallucination.
    He said something she didn’t catch. She looked up. “What?”
    His mouth quirked into a ghost of a smile. “I asked if you’re ready to go. Were you falling asleep?”
    “No,” she snapped, then blinked as she realized he had her purse and her phone. Her gaze went to the door, which was closed, then back to him. Had she dozed off for a few seconds? Long enough for someone to bring her things in without her even noticing?
    “Hey,” she blurted as she realized he was playing with her phone. “What are you doing? That’s my phone.”
    At that instant, another phone rang. “Don’t worry. I’m just using it to call my phone. There,” he said as the phone stopped ringing. “Now you’ve got my phone number. And I’ve got yours.”
    She looked at him, puzzled. “Why?” she asked.
    “Just in case,” he said. “If you think of anything else that might be pertinent to the case, or if you need anything, you can just call me.” He pushed her phone across the table to her.
    With a shrug, she slid it into her purse. “Okay, thanks.” She stood and sidled past him toward the door.
    “Laney,” he said, his voice close to her ear.
    A shiver slid through her as she turned her head.
    “Stick close to home. Don’t go out alone, especially at night. The killer knows who you are.”
    The shiver became a frisson of fear gripping her spine. “But he knows that I have no idea who he is, right? I mean, I couldn’t see anything except that mask.”
    “And the belt buckle,” Ethan reminded her. “And Laney, we’re holding on to that clue. Don’t tell anyone about it. Not the press, not anyone in the government. Not anyone. ”
    “You think someone in the legislature might be involved?”
    “I don’t know. Right now, I’m proceeding as if everybody’s involved until I can eliminate them.”
    She shrugged, reached for the doorknob, then turned back. “But I’m not a suspect, right? You still know I didn’t have anything to do with the senator’s murder, don’t you?”
    “I can’t totally rule you out as a suspect yet, but no. Personally, I don’t think you’re involved,” he said. “However—”
    “However what?” she asked. To her dismay, her voice quivered slightly.
    “You could be in danger,” he said.
    Although she already knew she could be targeted by the man who’d killed Senator Sills, his words ramped up the chill of