Harbour Falls (A Harbour Falls Mystery #1)(58)

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “We need to discuss something.” He turned and began walking down the hallway. “Follow me,” he said. “We can talk in my study.”

Aah, the study, I thought. Must be serious.



Trailing behind him, feeling more like I was off to the principal’s office, I sighed. “What’s going on, Adam?”

“We’ll discuss it in here,” he said brusquely. We’d reached the door, and he pushed it open.

Adam’s study was smaller than most of the rooms in his place, but it was by no means tiny. Tastefully decorated, the study was a cross between a traditional Old World study and an executive’s office.

He led me to a plush, burgundy leather chair that faced the front of his ornately trimmed dark wood desk. “Sit,” he commanded.

Maybe due to Adam’s no-nonsense demeanor, maybe due to the air of authority with which the atmosphere pulsed, I couldn’t be sure. But, in any case, I quickly obeyed, gently placing my bag on the floor next to me. Adam took a seat in an elegant, black leather chair behind his desk. What an image—the powerful Adam Ward in his element.

Evening was rapidly approaching. The light from the large, single window in the room—overlooking the ocean through a break in the thick pines surrounding Adam’s compound—was waning.

Adam clicked on a desk lamp, and I cleared my throat. “There’s obviously something wrong,” I began. “Are you mad about something?”

Instead of answering Adam shot me a pointed look, and then he withdrew a key from his pant pocket. Reaching down, he inserted it into the bottom right-hand desk drawer.

“I’m not mad at you, Madeleine,” Adam said distractedly, head down as he turned the key and entered a code into what I assumed was a keypad built right into the drawer. “However, something has come to my attention with which I’m not particularly pleased.”



The drawer sprung open, and I waited, still having no idea what Adam could be referring to. When he looked up, his serious gaze met mine. In his hands he held a stack of photos. Of what I didn’t know, but I had a feeling I was about to find out.

“Can you do something for me?” His voice was even and smooth, businesslike.

“Sure, anything,” I replied.

Adam slid the photos across the vast expanse of the desk. “I know you’re set on this little quest of yours to research my ex’s disappearance. But I’d prefer if you stayed away from this place.” Adam nodded to the pictures, so I picked them up.

There were about a dozen four-by-six-inch color photos, all of me going into (and coming out of) Billy’s. They’d been taken earlier today. Unbelievable!

Instantly I was furious. “You had someone follow me?” I accused, my voice raised. I tossed the photos back at Adam, scattering the glossy images across his otherwise tidy desk.

“Maddy, calm down,” he said reproachfully.

“No! I’m not going to calm down. I knew I was being followed today, but I never expected you were the one behind it.”

Adam’s expression betrayed his displeasure with my outburst. “There’s no reason to get this upset. I asked Max to follow you for your own safety.”

“Max again?” I scoffed. “And I’m supposed to believe you’re that concerned with my safety?”

“Madeleine,” Adam said warningly. “Need I remind you of the other night with J.T. O’Brien?”

That gave me pause, because maybe it wasn’t that crazy to believe Adam had had Max follow me for my own protection. After all, it wasn’t like Billy’s was exactly safe. An image of Zeb pretending to “shoot” me with the pool stick flashed through my mind.

I shuddered and said, “But pictures, Adam? Really? Don’t you think that’s a bit much?”

His eyes held no apology. “I wanted to see what you were up to anyway,” he stated matter-of-factly. Ah, there’s the real reason. “And I’m going to reiterate, I do not want you going back there. End of story.”



“God, who do you think you are?” I said, incredulous and infuriated at his demand. “Maybe your, your minions obey your every command, but I, Adam, am not one of them. I make my own decisions,” I stated with conviction. “You got that?”

Maybe I should have held back. Adam’s eyes flashed in anger, boring into me. “Yeah, I got that, Madeleine. Far be it from me to try and save you from your own damn self.”

Fleetingly his mask wavered, and I saw concern cross his features. God, maybe I was overreacting. Was it guilt for keeping my visits to Billy’s secret that had me so worked up? Maybe Adam had been thinking of my safety?

Confused and humbled, I backed down. “I’m sorry for snapping at you,” I said, my voice soft. “I know you’re only looking out for me.” I put my head in my hands and mumbled, “I guess it’s just been a long day.” It was a weak excuse, but it was all I had.

“Come here, Maddy.” Adam’s voice had eased, his anger dissipated.

I glanced up, and he beckoned for me to come around to his side of the desk. I got up and went to him, and once I reached him, he spun his chair to face me and leaned his head back. “Kiss me, Madeleine,” he purred.

His charm was irresistible. And the tension from our fight lingered—we both needed a release. So I bent down and curved my lips to his. Such a perfect fit. Our mouths moved together—tongues touching, dancing, darting—until Adam made a growling noise and pulled away.