That’s why a quiet interlude each week with a pleasant companion who brought no baggage to the table was appealing—and hard to resist.

But it was also dangerous.

Look what had happened to Eve—and she was totally blameless.

He was too.

So far.

And returning Carolyn’s phone call wasn’t going to change that.

Before he could second-guess himself, he tapped in her number.

She answered on the first ring. “Hi, Doug. Thanks for getting back to me.”

As usual, her throaty voice jacked up his pulse. “No problem. I’d have called sooner, but it’s been crazy here all morning.”

“I bet. I heard about the call from a colleague and went online to listen. What’s the story?”

“There is no story, according to Eve.” He gave her a quick recap. “She’ll be posting all that on her blog this afternoon, so I’m not telling you anything the world won’t soon know.”

“Do the police think this is the same person who planted the fake bomb at her house?”

“The detective is convinced the timing is more than coincidental.”

“How’s Eve holding up?”

“She’s not a quitter. If we can contain this and hang on to her audience, she should be fine—but if listeners begin to desert her or ad revenues dip . . . well, radio is a numbers game.”

“Someone thought this through.”

“Yeah.”

“I may do a brief follow-up article, but I’ll wait to see what Eve writes on her blog. I know she’s not talking to the press, but do you want to make any comments on the record?”

“No. I’m hoping the less said, the better.”

“I hear you. So what happens if the show tanks?”

He frowned at the question. They weren’t just talking about a show here, but Eve’s career. “I don’t think any of us have thought that far ahead yet.”

“I can understand that. This came out of the blue. But from what I know about radio and ad revenues, if the money dries up, a show can get yanked fast. I figured you were already thinking about what to do with that potentially empty slot.”

Like maybe give her the chance she’d been itching for to break in?

An image of a shark circling a wounded swimmer flashed through his mind.

It wasn’t a pretty picture.

Doug swallowed past the unpleasant taste in his mouth, a tiny bit of Carolyn’s allure fading. While she’d made no secret of her ambition, he’d never pegged her as ruthless. As someone who would heartlessly cash in on another person’s misfortune.

“Doug?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m here.” He stood. “Look, I, uh, have to run. Like I said, it’s kind of chaotic here.”