“You’re not going to believe this.” After Meghan walked into Kara’s office, she slammed the door and started pacing in front of her desk.

“What’s wrong?” Kara stopped dissecting the report in front of her and looked up at her friend. First day back in the office after her accident, and already shit was hitting the fan. Max refused to go anywhere without her. Not to mention there was always a group of security with them. She loved being with Max, but she had not seen the inside of her house in over a week. There were things she’d been neglecting and crap that needed cleaning.

Meghan stopped, pulled a chair back, and sat down. “Has Max told you about the mental evaluation someone is pushing the board to request after your accident in the tropics?”

“Yes. I think it’s complete bullshit. Why?”

“Because I’m still pissed they’re doing that to him. Still, I went ahead and set it up. He’s there now. I just don’t understand what the hell is going on in this place anymore.” Frustration and anger were clear in her face.

Kara frowned and leaned forward on her desk. Her arms ended up crossed on the paper-littered surface. “We need to calm down and figure out who is pushing all these requests. It never happened before, so something must have motivated this.”

Meghan ran a hand through her curls and sighed. “You’re right, but what?”

When she opened her mouth to speak, the building speakers came on. “This is an emergency. We are requesting all personnel leave the building at this time. Please follow your fire safety evacuation procedures. This is not a drill.”

“What now?” Kara stood, grabbed her bag and the new office phone given to her since hers was destroyed when the car was under water, locked her drawers and office door, and then followed Meghan down the stairs.

“Who knows? I hate when they do this shit when I’ve got a busy day,” Meghan grumbled and walked along with the crowd.

Immediately upon reaching the lobby, they saw a group of detectives and emergency service personnel looking for Kara Masters.

Both women headed straight for them and stopped in front of one of the detectives. “I’m Kara Masters, Officer.”

The older man gave her a head-to-toe perusal, as if looking for something. “Ms. Masters, you look much better than the last time I saw you. My name is Detective Ortiz. Could you please come outside with me?”

Once they were in front of the building, Kara followed him to a quiet spot where fewer people were gathered. Kara and Meghan watched a person being wheeled out on a gurney. It was clearly a female from the dress and pumps, not to mention the ruffled pink top hiding her voluptuous breasts. The woman’s face was covered in bandages, and she lay motionless on the bed.

“What happened?” Kara asked in shock.

The older detective grimaced when he saw the gurney and shook his head with a sigh. “Someone opened a package not meant for them.”

Kara’s mind was in a panic. She took a breath and asked, “Who was the package meant for? What was in it?”

He looked her straight in the eye. “It was meant for you, Ms. Masters.”

“What?” Meghan shrieked.

“Ladies, someone wants Ms. Masters out of the way, and I need to know who this person is. That woman,” he pointed to the gurney, “her name is Cora Mastens. The package got delivered to her by mistake. She opened it without looking at the name, and a homemade bomb exploded in her face. Acid sprayed her. She’s got horrible burns and loss of skin.

“So what I need for you to do is think real hard, Ms. Masters. And after you do, I want the names of any person that could be angry at you for any reason. Doesn’t matter how small. I want a list to go through right away.” The detective’s tense voice made Kara’s hair stand on end.

Kara’s blood turned to ice while she watched the other woman being placed in the ambulance. That was supposed to be her. Holy shit! Whoever wanted her dead was not giving up. She had no clue why someone would want to hurt her. Never in a million years had she ever experienced anything like that before.

Guilt over the other woman’s injuries swarmed her. That was meant to hurt her. Who would do that? Why?

“What’s going on?” Brian joined their group while Meghan continued to ask the detective questions. Kara thought hard, but not a single name came to mind. She wasn’t the type of person to get into arguments with anyone. Sure, she had disagreements with people, but nothing that would make them want her dead.

Meghan filled him in. “That was a homemade acid bomb meant for Kara. It got delivered to the wrong floor.”

Everyone turned to look at Kara while they waited for her to give up names of anyone out to get her.

“I’m sorry, Detective Ortiz, but I have no idea why anyone would want to hurt me.” Frustration made her want to hit something.

Meghan tapped her toe impatiently. “So how long are we supposed to stay out here, Detective? I’ve got a ton of work I need to get to.”

“Look, ladies, we’re going to sweep your floor and the mail rooms for any more of these packages. They should be done shortly. Why don’t you both sit in one of our patrol cars, and we’ll let you know when it’s safe to go back inside?” the detective suggested.

Brian shook his head. “I think we’ll all sit in my car if you don’t mind. We can brainstorm about the probable culprit. Besides, Max would have my head if I leave Kara alone for a second outside the building while he’s gone.”

Detective Ortiz didn’t seem very happy with the suggestion but nodded and motioned to a guy in uniform. “I’ll have this officer stand guard outside the vehicle. Once it’s all clear to go back inside, we’ll let you know.”

They argued over who would want to hurt Kara. The entire conversation turned into comedy hour when Brian mentioned nonexistent baby daddies. Adding to the humor, Meghan suggested ex-lovers who couldn’t deal with having been dumped.

The reality was Kara only had a handful of exes. They were all such mild-mannered men. It made her laugh to think of Barry, the thin, wiry accountant who was afraid of the dark, looking for revenge. He was the one who dumped her to begin with. By the end of the conversation, Kara was laughing so hard tears were streaming down her cheeks. At least her friends knew how to help make light out of a stressful situation. Her thoughts strayed to Max, and she wondered how he was faring.

Kara turned to Brian. “Brian, have you heard from him at all after he got to his meeting?”

“No, but he was supposed to meet with two different specialists. I’m sure he’s fine.”

Concern for Max made her stomach knot. His own board was out to get him. And there was some sick freak that wanted her dead. What a pair they made. A few minutes later, her cell phone rang. Max’s name showed up on her screen.

Slapping the phone to her ear, she answered breathlessly. “Max?”

“Are you okay?” His concern came through the line and wrapped around her like a warm blanket.

Her brows lifted, wondering what he’d heard. “Yes, why?”

“I called your office but got no response. Where are you?”

Shit. How to explain? “Oh, there was an incident. It’s not important.” Her heart had been racing inside her chest and now slowed to a normal gallop. It was so soothing for her to hear his voice. “What happened with you?” she rushed to ask.

“Exactly what we expected. Both medical professionals feel I’m fine and should continue in my role as chief and CEO without any need for medical intervention. A report should be sent to Meghan sometime in the next few hours. I’m heading back now. So stop stalling and tell me what happened.”

She nibbled on her lip and glanced around the inside of the car. Brian and Meghan stared at her intently with raised brows. It took her a moment to realize they were waiting to hear what had been Max’s outcome.

She smiled and gave them a thumbs-up. “He’s fine to continue being head, and Meghan should get their recommendations in a report sometime this afternoon.”

Both Meghan and Brian cheered, and Kara laughed at their enthusiasm.

“Kara.” Max’s deep voice in her ear made her heart speed up.

“I’m here,” she answered softly.

“Why aren’t any of you in your offices?” The question was tense, and his voice sounded panicked.

“Well…”

Meghan pulled the phone out of her hand and immediately started talking. “Some freak sent an acid bomb to Kara only it got delivered to the wrong floor and ended up burning some poor woman’s face!”

Kara listened while Meghan spilled the entire sick story to Max. His loud, angry yell let her know what he thought of the entire bomb scare. And he wasn’t even on speaker. Meghan nodded, smiled nervously, and passed the phone back to Kara.

She placed the phone back over her ear. “Max, listen, I wasn’t really in any danger—”

“No. You listen.” Icicles came through the line when he spoke. “You’re going to sit your ass in that car, and you’re not going anywhere without Brian and Meghan. Once all is clear, go back to your office, and I’ll meet you there. Then, we’ll go home together. You’re not doing anything alone, and no going off anywhere, understand?” While she knew he was worried, him telling her what to do didn’t sit well with her.

“Max, I’m not an idiot. I’m not going to go off looking for whoever it is that wants me dead. Calm down. I’m going back to my desk. I’ve got a call I’m waiting for from a bank in the Caymans. I’m so close to finding out who owns that fake CalTek, I can’t sit still.” Her change in subject wasn’t entirely to calm him, but more because she’d been dying to share her news.

“That’s great, baby, but you need to be careful.” He sighed. “My father’s on the other line. I’ll see you soon.” His voice softened to the churned gravel that made her panties wet.

“I’ll see you later then.”

“Kara? Sweetheart?”

Her finger froze over the button that would disconnect them, and her heart beat double-time at his raspy tone. “Yes?”

“Be careful. Please?”

She smiled. Love for the wonderful man filled her heart. “I will.”