Savage Alpha (Alpha 8) by Carole Mortimer Page B

Devlin’s work, and these ones of the American prairie were no exception.
    “Who are you?” The house itself was impressive, even more so considering it had been built out here, in the middle of nowhere. But the fixtures and fittings were obviously top of the range, and those Finn Devlin originals were worth a small fortune.
    “Jonas Grayfeather.” Jonas folded his arms across the massive width of his chest as he eyed her guardedly.
    Lily’s own gaze challenged. “That isn’t what I meant, and you know it.”
    He shrugged. “Private security is a lucrative business.”
    She knew that from the company her brothers owned and ran, but this, the extensive private woodland and this house, the obvious wealth of the furnishings inside, were so much more than that. Besides which, Jonas didn’t own Grayson Security; he was an employee there. So where had all this wealth come from?
    “You don’t rob banks on the side, do you?” she prompted warily.
    Jonas grinned. “No.”
    Which, Lily guessed, was as far as she was going to get on the subject of Jonas’s obvious wealth. “Can we get a signal here for my cell phone and laptop?”
    “We can.” Jonas straightened. “But I would rather you didn’t use either of them for now.”
    She frowned. “Why not?”
    “Because if someone has the right software and the ability, a cell phone and laptop connection can both be traced.”
    “I doubt my stalker has either of those things.”
    “We don’t know that. We don’t know anything about the cowardly little fucker,” Jonas added fiercely. “But we will,” he assured her, expression grim.
    “I don’t see how…”
    “Slow but sure progress. I passed the envelopes on to staff at Grayson Security, and they’ve already established from the postmarks that three of the last six letters were posted within the same area in London.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?”
    “Because so far today, there hasn’t been time to do anything more than stay one step ahead of the bastard.”
    He had a point. “What area?”
    “Clapham.”
    “And the rest of them?”
    “Random locations about the city.”
    Which meant they were basically no further forward. “I need to call the hospital to see how Evan is.”
    “As you aren’t family, I very much doubt they will tell you, but you can use the landline for that.” He indicated the phone on the wall in the kitchen area as he slipped off the leather duster and hung it on the coat stand beside the front door. “I want you to keep your cell phone switched off, and remove the battery too. And absolutely no contact with anyone on your laptop or any other device you might have.”
    “How am I supposed to keep in touch with Giles? To know when the theater will be opening again?” Once again Lily found herself distracted by the play of muscles across the width of Jonas’s back beneath the dark T-shirt he wore, along with the pleasure of looking at the tautness of his backside in faded denims.
    “As I said, use the landline. It’s totally secure.”
    Of course it was. “How about my brothers? Do they know where I am?”
    “I’ve given the police this telephone number where you can be reached, if necessary. But your brothers and I all agreed it was for the best if they knew only that you were still in England rather than the exact location, and that I would be the one to report back to them on a regular basis.”
    “ I didn’t agree.”
    Jonas gave a distracted shrug as he strode through to the kitchen area. “If you think you can find your own way out of here, then go for it.” His expression was unconcerned as he began to take food out of the fridge.
    Because he knew there was no way Lily would be able to walk herself back out of here tonight, that she would become completely lost within minutes of losing sight of this house. Which meant she was completely alone in the middle of this forest, with a man she barely knew.
    But a man whose slightest touch stripped her