Page 19

“No. And Kara needs to be careful since they threatened her.” Maddie finally jumped in, her voice protective.
“You neglected to mention that.” Simon shot Kara a dark look.
Their conversation was interrupted by a plainclothes detective, a very nice, youngish blond man who had identified himself as Detective Harris. He dropped papers in front of both Kara and Maddie, asking quietly, “Can you look at the reports and see if you have anything to add?” He put a casual hand on the back of Kara’s chair and leaned over her shoulder, perusing the report with her.
A low, reverberating sound came from Simon’s throat and she pulled her eyes away from the report to look at him. But he wasn’t looking at her. His eyes were shooting fire at Detective Harris, a threatening look that startled her.
Obviously, the detective wasn’t the least bit intimidated. “Boyfriend?” he asked quietly, quietly enough that Simon couldn’t detect the words.
“Friend,” she mumbled back, hating herself for wishing she could confirm the question with a simple “yes” answer.
She read the report quickly, with enough haste to get through it fast, but not so rapidly that she wasn’t accurate. After the official paperwork was finished, she stood, stretching her back as she got to her feet, feeling slightly unsteady.
“Careful!” The detective took her arm to steady her slightly swaying body. “You’ve had a tough day,” he stated kindly. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out two business cards and handed one to both her and Maddie. “My card. Call me anytime. My cell phone number is on the back just in case you need it.”
“Is that really necessary?” Simon snarled, his arm curling around Kara’s waist, pulling her body against him protectively.
The detective shrugged. “Yeah. It is. Kara was threatened. I want these ladies to be able to reach me any time.”
“Thank you, Detective Harris. You’ve been very kind.” Smiling softly, Kara shook the detective’s hand. Maddie did the same, before all three of them exited the building together.
Kara took a deep breath, letting the crisp, refreshing air of the outdoors enter her lungs. “It’s a good day to be alive,” she muttered to herself, thankful to just be among the living and healthy.
As the three of them descended the stairs, approaching the sidewalk, Maddie asked Simon quietly, “You wouldn’t happen to be related to Sam Hudson? I know the last name is pretty common, but I was just wondering.”
Stopping at the bottom of the stairs, Simon looked at Maddie with surprise. “Yeah…he’s my brother. Why do you ask? Do you know him?”
Maddie frowned. “Oh, God.” She let out a heavy breath. “Uh…yeah…I did. A long time ago.”
“Were you friends?” Simon asked curiously, looking at Maddie expectantly.
“No! Not really!” Maddie answered abruptly, her face turning as red as her hair.
“Ah…I see,” Simon answered. Not ready to let the subject drop, he added, “Bad experience with my brother?”
“He’s a complete and total snake.” Maddie reached up to rake the curls from her face. The wind was brisk and errant spirals were whipping around her head.
Kara jumped as a harsh bark of laughter escaped from Simon’s mouth. “Believe me, you aren’t the first woman to feel that way. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault that your brother is a slimy reptile. I just hope the two of you aren’t similar in some regards,” she replied awkwardly. “Take care of Kara.”
“With pleasure, Maddie,” he replied smoothly, reaching out his available hand. “Bad circumstances, but nice to meet you.”
“You too. I think,” she answered as she grudgingly shook Simon’s outstretched hand. “I know I can’t judge one brother by the other, but I hate anything that reminds me of Sam Hudson.” Shuddering, she released his hand and hugged Kara. “Take care of yourself. I’ll call you. Don’t do anything stupid,” she warned Kara fiercely in a whisper low enough that only Kara could catch her adamant advice.
Kara threw herself into Maddie’s arms and hugged her tightly, well aware of the danger that both she and her friend had been in and how easily things could have turned out differently. She loved Maddie to death. Although she could be prickly on the outside at times, her friend was a complete marshmallow on the inside. “You too. I’ll talk to you soon.”
Simon reclaimed her, slipping his arm around her waist and leading her to his car as Maddie crossed the parking lot to her own vehicle.
God, what a horrible day.
Tired, shaken, her mind on the events of the day, she didn’t even balk as Simon led her to his ridiculously expensive Veyron and seated her in the passenger side before climbing behind the wheel himself.
They were both silent, lost in their own thoughts, as they made the journey home.
Simon didn’t take them straight back to the condo. He pulled into a parking lot close to home and whipped the small sports car into a vacant parking space.
“We need to eat. This place has the best Italian food in the area, but it’s nothing fancy.” He hopped out and jogged to the other side of the car, opening her door and taking her hand to pull her out of the vehicle.