Claire Gulliver #06 - Carnage Goes Coastal Read Online Free Page B

in place.
    It was him. Scott!
    There was a stunningly glamorous woman attached to his arm and he was smiling down on her, just as he used to smile at Karen. There was something about the proprietary hold she had on his arm, the confident way she smiled up at him that made Karen certain she was his wife. They were walking toward her and in a panic she looked around for somewhere to hide, but she really couldn’t move. She prayed he wouldn’t look up.
    Suddenly, with a burst of anger she remembered she had nothing to be ashamed of. She had not knowingly wronged this woman. If anything, they were both victims of that scum so adoringly holding her arm lest she stumble.
    Karen boldly stared at Scott and, as if feeling the malevolence of her gaze, he looked up, straight into her eyes. At first his eyes lit with pleasure and a smile started to pull at his lips, then she saw the shock freeze his face as he remembered who she was. His eyes traveled down her body and lingered on the bulge of her stomach, the eyes turned grey with anger, his face froze with an expression of fury. Karen stepped back under the force of that look. She suddenly realized she was seeing a look that could kill.
    He must have given a start because his wife looked up at him with a question, and then seeing his expression her eyes swept around the room, trying to locate the source of his anger. She turned to him again with an urgent question, but he shook his head and Karen saw him pull himself together and smile lovingly down at her. That’s when she saw what an actor he was. No wonder she hadn’t had a clue about the lies he told her. He had missed his calling; he would have been marvelous on the big screen.
    They continued walking toward her and swept by without even looking in her direction. She watched them exit imperially through the door, and pause while the doorman raised his arm to summon a taxi for them. He helped them in and Karen watched numbly as the taxi pulled out into traffic.
    Then she turned and approached the front desk. She asked to be connected to the room belonging to Scott Hutchins. The clerk checked and then shook his head sorrowfully, reporting that no one was registered under that name.
    Suddenly she was furious. She should have confronted him when she had a chance. But then she calmed herself, admitting she had no reason to confront him, she really had nothing to say to him, other than to vent her rage. And she admitted his angry glare had frightened her. She thought it was best to stay well away from him.
    But that incident rattled her. She didn’t stop at the Chinese restaurant. Instead she took a taxi home and had a Lean Cuisine dinner. She told herself it was over. She no longer had to concern herself with Scott Hutchins, or whoever he was. He was a part of her life that was over. Gone! Finished!
    And except for a pink phone message waiting for her when she returned to the office the next day saying, “You broke your promise,” and signed S, she heard nothing more. But when she felt those hands on her back on the subway platform, she was immediately certain it was another message from Scott.

CHAPTER 4
    Of course it was an accident. Karen shook her head at her own stupidity. How could she have been so sure someone was trying to kill her? That was absurd. She sat on the porch a while longer examining her reasoning from every which way. She was now prepared to accept that she was being a little paranoid by blaming Scott for what happened in the subway. The whole incident was obviously just an accident. Someone hurrying toward the train behind her had tripped and put out their hands to stop their fall and inadvertently pushed her. And really, after the man next to her caught her and settled her back to the platform, the train doors opened and everyone rushed forward to get on the train. The mini drama was over and there had been no time for anyone to apologize for the incident. The truth was, no matter how frightened she had