He didn’t say anything, but she felt a tug on her ponytail and realized that he was winding it around his fist. When he had a tight grip, he turned her head toward him. She closed her eyes, but she could feel the pressure of his gaze on the top of her head.
“Open your eyes.”
Given her recent thoughts on the strength of his hands, she did as he ordered because she was afraid not to. She was on eye level with his waist. The proximity of her face to his body, and the intimacy it suggested, was disconcerting, as she supposed he intended. He wanted there to be no doubt as to who was in charge.
But perhaps she could turn this to her advantage. Her nose was inches from the outline of the pistol beneath his T-shirt. Her hands were free. Could she—
No. Even before she had finished formulating the thought, she cast it aside. Eddie had taught her how to shoot a handgun, but she’d never been comfortable handling any firearm. She couldn’t secure the pistol and fire it before Coburn knocked it aside or yanked it from her. Any attempt to do so would only anger him. And then what? She didn’t hazard to guess.
Using her fisted ponytail as leverage, he tilted her head back until she was looking up into his face. “Why did you delete your husband’s emails?”
“He’s been gone for two years. Why would I keep them?”
“They could have had important information in them.”
“They didn’t.”
“She says, sounding real sure about it.”
“I am,” she snapped. “Eddie wouldn’t have been so careless as to put important information in an email.”
He held her stare as though gauging the strength of her argument. “Do you do your banking on this computer?”
“No.”
“Pay any accounts?”
She shook her head as much as his hold on her hair would allow. “Neither of us used it for personal business.”
“What about his work computer?”
“It belonged to the police department.”
“It wasn’t given to you?”
“No. I suppose another officer has use of it now.”
He studied her face for another long moment, and must have determined that she was telling the truth. He released her hair and backed away. Relieved, she stood up and moved away from him and toward the door. “I’m just going to check on Emily.”
“Stay where you are.”
His eyes made a sweep of the room and did a double take when something on top of the dresser grabbed his attention. He crossed quickly to the bureau and picked up the picture frame, then thrust it into her hands. “Who are these guys?”
“The oldest one is Stan.”
“Eddie’s father? He’s in awfully good shape for a man his age.”
“He works at it. That’s Eddie standing next to him.”
“The other two? Twins?”
“Fred and Doral Hawkins. Eddie’s best friends.” Smiling over the fond memory, she ran her fingers across the glass sealing the photograph. “They’d gone on an overnight fishing trip into the Gulf. When they put in the following afternoon, they posed on the pier with their catch and asked me to take this picture.”
“Is that the boat you sold?”
“No, that was Doral’s charter boat. Katrina took it. Now he’s our city manager. Fred is a policeman.”
He looked at her sharply, then tapped the glass inside the frame. “This guy’s a cop?”