Chapter 39

Hunter set his feet on the floor and groaned. He got up unsteadily, still bone tired, and hurried to quiet the ringing phone. “Ian, if this is you, I really do not want to hear it.”

He snatched up the cordless. “Hello?”

“Hunter?” The voice on the other end was unfamiliar, a woman.

“Yes?”

The woman took a breath. Did it sound as though she was sniffling?

“Hunter, this is Stella Carmichael.”

“Oh.”

“Ian’s assistant. We met when you came into the office.”

“Of course. How are you?”

The woman didn’t answer for a moment. She got only a few words out before her voice was choked by sobs. “I’m sorry, Hunter, but I have bad news.”

Hunter felt himself stiffen.

“Ian was in a car accident this afternoon. He was killed.”

It felt like a jolt of electricity passed through him. He groped his way over to the bed and sat down heavily. “What happened?”