Page 15 of Stripping Bare

As if she could really be distracted from the way Jonah’s mouth had felt on hers—strong and soft all at once—and the way his hands had felt on her body. Like he never wanted to let hergo.

Maybe he wouldn’t have if she hadn’t pulled away. But the taste of beer on his lips had sent her hurtling back to a place she never wanted to return to. She’d worked hard to handle the smell in social settings, but still couldn’t deal with it on a man’s breath when his mouth was onhers.

So instead, she was spending the rest of her evening with Captain Malcolm Reynolds of the Firefly-classSerenity.

Her cell rang, making her heart jump. Maybe it wasJonah.

Stop acting like a twelve-year-old girl with a crush. You can call a man your own self if it’s soimportant.

But when she checked the screen, it was a Seattle area code. She hit the talk button. “Hello?”

Badger, never one to be ignored, tried to insert his long snoot between her mouth and the phone. His nose touched her lips, and she pushed it down and tucked his head under herchin.

“Is this TessaMartin?”

“To whom am I speaking?” She gave her corporate clients her private number for emergencies, but she wasn’t stupid enough to give out information when she didn’t know who was on the other end of theline.

“This is Carson Grimes. Rememberme?”

He’d been a developer at Steele Trap, one of the first of Jonah’s employees to see her after she was contracted to help the staff with things like stress management and work/life balance. She resettled Badger into the crook of her arm. “Of course. How areyou?”

“Honestly, I’m not worth dick.” His tone was harsh and his words wereclipped.

Tessa tensed. He’d never once spoken to her this way while she’d been at Steele Trap. Now she was no longer on retainer, and Carson wasn’t even an employee anymore. But she wouldn’t turn him away. “Would you like to talk aboutit?”

“Not really,” he said, “but you damn well need to do something aboutthis.”

“Aboutwhat?”

“Get online and go to the Q13website.”

“Give me a sec to open up my laptop.” Something was obviously very wrong here, so she scrambled up from the couch, which made Badger give an admonishing yap, and ran for the spare bedroom she’d set up as her home office. It took a few clicks to open her browser and navigate to the right site. “Okay. I’mhere.”

“Scroll down to the story about the AuroraBridge.”

That uneasy feeling inside her expanded. That bridge was a famous spot for jumpers in Seattle. She tried to swallow back her alarm, found the article, and quickly scannedit.

Oh, God.Her pulse quickened. “Whathappened?”

“Why don’t you tellme?”

“Carson, I’m sorry, but you’ve caught me at a disadvantage. I don’t know what you want from me. Obviously, I’m devastated to readthis.”

His laugh was raw and mean. “You don’t know what I want? I want you to fucking stop e-mailingme.”

E-mailing him? She’d barely had her laptop open recently. “What e-mail areyou—”

“Davey was little more than a kid.” He plowed over her question. “He couldn’t take your bullshit. But I swear to God, you mess with me anymore, and you won’t like the outcome. Davey killed himself. I don’t know what your game is, but if one of us is going down, lady, it’s gonna be you.” The phone went silent on the otherend.

“Carson? Are youthere?”

Nothing.

Tessa’s earlier agitation had been microscopic compared to what she was feeling right now, and Badger sensed it, because he hopped into her lap and put his front paws on the keyboard, making the article scroll back to the beginning. She pulled her chair closer to her monitor and reread the news slowly, looking for any clue as to why Davey Sinchilla, another Steele Trap employee she’d counseled and Carson’s close friend, might’ve committedsuicide.

But the write-up was all about the facts. David Stanley Sinchilla. Age twenty-four and a native of Redmond,Washington.

“Oh, King B, this is horrible.” Her heart felt as if it had been squeezed into a hard little ball. She’d met Davey’s parents once. His dad was a high-school biology coach and his mom was a mail carrier. They’d been so proud of their son, working at a big, famous game company. Making excellent money. What parent wouldn’t be thrilled to have their child find such purpose andstability?