unknowingly gave her an unapproved drug that had found its way into the country through the black market.” Carolyn saw the hard set of his jaw and the way his gray eyes glittered like honed steel. “That pharmaceutical drug came from Horizon.”
Her stomach took a sickening plunge. “How can you be sure?”
“Drugs are produced in batches,” he explained. “Each bottle has the batch number on it, along with the name of the company that manufactured it. The bottle of bad pills that killed Marietta came from Horizon Pharmaceuticals, but when the FDA tried to verify it, the company records showed that a batch with that number had never been produced by the company.”
“Then the drug your wife took was a counterfeit,” Carolyn said, frowning.
“That’s what the authorities believed. I came back to the U.S. a few months ago and found the investigation at a standstill. It’s true that illegal organizations that produce counterfeit drugs do their best to duplicate the appearance of the drug by using bottles of the same size, shape and the same kind of labeling.”
“So Horizon is telling the truth?”
“I don’t think so, and this is why. It’s almost impossible to produce an exact match in every detail to an authentic bottle of pills. The size of the lettering may be wrong, the color of the label slightly off, the plastic bottle lighter or heavier, the pills flatter or more rounded. But in this instance, everything in the bottle of pills that killed Marietta is an exact duplicate to one produced by Horizon.”
“How could that be if the company has no record?”
“For the past year products from Horizon have shown up illegally on various foreign black markets, and until now there hasn’t been a way for me to penetrate company operations and conduct an on-the-spot investigation.”
Until now. The way he was looking at her left no doubt in her mind what those words meant. She stiffened. He was here with an agenda of his own, and his next words verified it.
“You can provide me with a legitimate cover for my investigation. If I can get in a position to examine the workings of the company from the inside, I’m confident I can find out how black-market drugs that don’t meet FDA standards are being illegally circulated in other countries.” He reached over and took her hand. “That’s why I need your help. You can provide me with a legitimate cover for my investigation.”
“How can I do that?” she protested. “I’m totally inexperienced, and it will take time for me to make any changes. You would stick out like a sore thumb if I tried right off to put you in any kind of position at Horizon.”
“I know. That’s why we’d have to arrange something different. I’ll need a cover that will give me intimate access to the workings of the company.”
The steadiness of his gaze told Carolyn that he had already decided what that cover should be. She felt a strange quiver in her stomach, like someone about to take a plunge off a cliff with a bungee cord tied around her ankle.
“When you arrive at Horizon for the first time, Carolyn, I need to be there with you—as your husband.”
She choked on her intake of breath. “My husband?”
“In name only,” he hastened to reassure her. “Don’t you see? It’s the perfect cover!”
Chapter Two
“You want to pretend to be my husband?” Her incredulous tone was a mixture of amusement and indignation.
“Well, not pretend, exactly.”
“Then what exactly?” Her eyes narrowed and she stiffened beside him.
Adam sensed her instant withdrawal and silently cursed. Damn! He’d come at this the wrong way. What to do now?
He stood up, took a few aimless steps and then eased down on a corner of the old desk. He hoped he could handle the situation better if he wasn’t close enough to be aware of every breath she drew. Aware of her soft, womanly warmth. Now, he had to lay all his cards out on the table, and fast. Above all, he had to be honest with her. She wasn’t about to jump into anything with her eyes closed.
“It wouldn’t all be pretend,” he explained, not wanting to hold anything back. “I mean, we’d have to perform all the legalities and officially be husband and wife in case anyone decided to check for a marriage license.”
“We would go through a wedding ceremony and be legally married.” She tried to keep her voice even. “Is that what you’re saying?”
“Yes, but between us, Carolyn, it would be strictly a business arrangement that would be dissolved once the investigation was over. I’d be a husband to you in name only.”
“A business arrangement? A husband in name only? And how would that work, exactly?” She raised a questioning eyebrow.
“Well, in public we would have to behave like a congenial couple and—”
“Like newlyweds, perhaps?”
He couldn’t help but chuckle. Leave it to her to put her finger exactly where the charade would demand more than she was willing to give. “We’d be playing a part, acting, pure and simple.”
“A few kisses and hugs between business partners wouldn’t mean anything. Is that the way it would work?”
“Exactly. It would be just for show,” he answered firmly, but as his gaze settled on her pink, kissable lips and the delicate curve of her cheek, he knew he’d have to keep his guard up every moment or he’d blow the whole charade. Everything about her luscious body invited a man’s touch. He felt a quiver of desire just thinking about holding her close and kissing her. He’d have to be damn careful not to let her know that he found her utterly sexy and desirable.
“And living arrangements?” she asked as if reading his thoughts. “I assume they would demand a little more playacting?”
“The Stanford mansion is large enough for us to have extreme privacy. We could have one wing of the house to ourselves. We would only have to interact with the others when we want their company.” He didn’t add that an important part of his investigation would involve getting close to Jasper and Della because of their positions in Horizon.
“You have this all figured out, haven’t you.”
“That’s my job. And I’m good at it,” he added without conceit. He already had an impressive record, working in Brazil and in the U.S.
“And how long do you anticipate this ‘business arrangement’ might last?”
“Hopefully just a matter of weeks. Once I have access to company files, I should be able to get the evidence I need to track the illegal shipments.” He paused. “There is one other thing, though.” He hesitated as if searching for the right words. “There could be complications if all this leads into a murder investigation of your grandfather’s death.”
“Murder investigation?”
“I told you that the hit-and-run was suspicious.” When he saw her lovely face whiten, he cursed himself for being so callous. That was one of the fallouts of being an investigator. You got hardened to things that made a normal person wince.
Her mouth trembled slightly as she asked, “You think the black-market drugs and his hit-and-run might be connected?”
“I don’t know, but I promise you I’ll do my best to find out.” He sat down beside her again. “Look, I feel like a heel pushing you like this, but if we’re going to set up this cover, it has to be now, before you move into your role as Carolyn Leigh Stanford. When you meet your uncle and the others living in the Stanford mansion, I’ll need to be there as your husband—a fait accompli, so to speak.”
“My…my uncle.” She stumbled over the term as if it had never crossed her lips before. “Do you know him?”
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