Unravel Me

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Ebook Edition © July 2014

ISBN: 9780007558438

Version 2014-09-16

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For the girls who are my real life Lia and Stephanie; Bethany, Crissy, Deana, Kelly, Jenny, Renee and Tamara.

Deana and Renee - thanks for always knowing what group we’re in and where my comb is. I hope you make it off the island soon.

Kelly, Jenny and Tamara - even though we’re scattered around the country, I couldn’t have asked for a better, more fabulous group of ladies to be lucky enough to call my longtime friends. Heart you guys! Can we all be in one state at the same time someday soon?!

Crissy - thanks for being my partner in crime and joining me on many, many adventures through Orlando, Scotland and England.

Bethany - My sister from another mister. Thanks for all the pep talks, laughter and crazy poses on roller coasters.

CHAPTER ONE (#ufb0853c8-e94e-5f7f-a081-bc8288abec8d)

The newsroom was in a frenzy. A meth lab had exploded in one of the motels along US 192 westbound. Nobody was hurt but most of the rooms had to be evacuated. I was in the middle of typing the reporter’s package intro, ignoring the steady beeping of my cell phone. It was Stephanie. She’d been texting me all day, presumably to continue her barrage of insults.

“Did the keyboard do something to piss you off?”

I stopped pounding my fingers against the keys and looked up, meeting the bright, almond eyes of my co-worker and cubemate, Sydney Makeeda.

“Didn’t even realize I was doing it, Syd.”

She laughed. “I can tell. I thought your hand was going to smash through the desk. Everything okay?”

“For a Tuesday? Mostly.”

“How’s that delicious British boyfriend of yours?”

I couldn’t help but smile. Alastair Holden always had that effect on me. “He’s good. He flew back to Glasgow though. I guess they needed him at headquarters.”

She let out a low whistle. “Hot, English and the head of a media company. Can you and I trade lives for, like, ten minutes? Don’t tell Ray.”

“Sydney!” I laughed.

“Will he be back soon? I can tell you miss him like crazy.”

“I hope so.”

Mindful not to abuse the keys anymore, I finished typing the intro and sent a message to my executive producer, Jeanie, so she could take a look. An alert from the Associated Press dinged on everyone’s computer like a warped version of Carole of the Bells. Amid the chaos, my desk phone rang.

“Lia Meyers,” I answered a little more haughtily than normal.

“I want to offer you an exclusive interview.”

The low voice with a slight rasp made me sit up straight.

Jesus.

“I’m not interested, Nathan,” I grumbled, pissed off that my ex-boyfriend had the balls to call me at work. Or at all.

“You should be.” His smugness seeped through the phone. “I’ve considered every station in Orlando but want to give it to you.”

Stretching back in my seat, I took a deep breath. Securing an interview with him would rank highly with my news director. Bruce loves this exclusive shit, especially when it involves a U.S. senator’s son who also happens to be an influential businessman.

“What’s it about?”

“Still as inquisitive as ever,” he chuckled.

If I could have reached through the phone and torn out his vocal cords I would have done.

“It’s a perfectly normal question to ask. What is it?”

“Some damaging information has come to light about a prominent figure. That’s all I can say right now without giving too much away.”

I squirmed in the chair. His pompous attitude irked me.