by Ruth Langan
Until the two had gone out, they’d been locked in Joe’s office all morning. Thad had only had to interrupt them once, to check the monitor. And when he had, he’d found Heather busy at the computer, a phone to her ear. Though she’d seen him, she hadn’t acknowledged him in any way. But he’d seen her pass the phone to her uncle, before continuing with her work on the computer.
Maybe he’d been wrong about her. Maybe she actually did know how to work. For a day or two. He’d see just how disciplined she was after a little more time on the job.
In the meantime, he intended to heed her advice. He’d just keep his distance for a few days. By then she’d probably be gone. When the day came that he saw her toting a packed suitcase, he intended to remind her of their bet. Even spoiled little rich girls were required to pay when they lost. And that was one debt he’d enjoy collecting.
“Thad.” Joe walked closer, trailed more slowly by his niece. “How’s the work going?”
“Good. We should have these two cameras up and running soon and I’ll show you how to switch them on and off from the console in your office.”
“That’s great.” Joe looked up when the cell phone in Heather’s pocket began ringing.
She turned away to answer it, then passed it to Joe. While he carried on an animated conversation with someone, Heather and Thad waited, an awkward silence stretching out between them.
“Time to get back to work,” Joe announced as he handed the phone back to Heather. “I’ll see you in my office whenever you’re done here, Thad.”
“Right.” Thad watched as Heather walked away beside her uncle. She appeared relieved to be escaping. Not that he could blame her. He’d come across like a Neanderthal this morning.
There was just something about her that pushed all his buttons. And now that he’d had some time to consider, he knew why. She’d accused him of hating her on principle, because she reminded him of someone else. And she was right. Though she looked nothing like Vanessa, Heather came from the same privileged background as his late wife. He frowned as Heather and Joe disappeared inside the house. One broken heart was enough for any man. And the best way to ensure that it didn’t happen again was to keep his distance. Which shouldn’t be too hard, since Heather McGrath had already made it plain that she didn’t want him around. Not that he minded. He already had so much going on in his life he found himself wishing he could be cloned.
A short time later he knocked on Joe’s office door and stepped inside. The first thing he saw was Heather, standing on tiptoe trying to reach a leather-bound volume perched on a shelf high above her. Without thinking he strolled across the room and reached over her head, easily snagging the book. What he hadn’t counted on was brushing her body with his. Or the way his body betrayed him without warning.
She turned with a smile. “Thanks, Uncle…” Her smile froze. “Thad.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you again.” He couldn’t seem to look away from those soft blue eyes, wide with surprise. A man could easily drown in them. And happily go under without lifting a hand to save himself.
He lowered the book but didn’t step away. He couldn’t. He’d already fallen under the spell of her perfume. It was filling his lungs, clouding his mind.
He knew he was about to make a fool of himself, but it didn’t seem to matter. Nothing did at the moment except staying here, just like this, breathing her in and tempting himself with the thought of those lips.
She couldn’t back up. There was nowhere to go. Her back was already firmly pressed to the bookcase. Besides, she wasn’t sure she wanted to. The electricity sparking between them was mesmerizing. Like the static charge in the air before a wild summer storm.
She tipped her head higher. “If you’re looking for my uncle, he should be back in a minute.”
“Good. A minute’s all I need for what I have in mind.” Though an hour would have been better. Much better he thought as he lowered his face to hers.
Heather saw it coming and was helpless to stop it. But though she braced herself for his kiss, she was totally unprepared for what followed.
His free hand cupped the back of her head as his lips covered hers in a kiss so hot, so hungry, she was rocked back on her heels. This was no tentative brush of mouth to mouth, tasting, testing, persuading. This was all fire and flash and thunder. And she was tossed into the heart of the storm, with lightning flashing between them, and wildfires being ignited everywhere.
He crushed her against him and took the kiss deeper. She could feel that hard, muscled body imprinting itself on hers. Branding her with his taste, his touch.
He kissed like a man who intended to possess her. She returned his kiss like a woman already possessed.
She was shocked by the way she was reacting. If any other man had dared to take such liberties, she would have cut him off at the knees with a single harsh word, a killing look, a slap across the face. But this man was kissing her breathless, and all she could do was hold on while her heart hitched, and her breathing became ragged, and her body, her flesh, her blood grew unbearably hot. She could feel her flesh melting. Her bones dissolving. Her blood singing in her veins. And her pulse pounding furiously in her ears.
Thad knew he’d crossed a line, both personal and professional, and yet he couldn’t seem to stop. He needed, desperately, one more taste of her, one more touch. And so he lingered over her lips, struggling with an almost overwhelming desire to take her, here and now.
Even while the thought formed, he dismissed it as the cravings of a demented fool. Ever so slowly he lifted his head and watched as she struggled to compose herself.
Her eyes snapped open. Her lips, those soft, perfect lips, looked moist and swollen, still bearing the imprint of his. For some reason he couldn’t fathom, that pleased him enormously.
“I’d like to say I’m sorry.” He was surprised at how dry his throat felt. “But that would be a lie.”
“All right. As long as we’re being honest, I’d like to say I hate you for this.” She could barely get the words out over the pressure in her throat. Her heart was still pumping furiously, her mind still clouded. “But I’m as much to blame as you.”
“Well, then.” He laid his palm against her cheek and saw her eyes go wide again. His smile was slow in coming, but when it did, it changed all his features. “Next time I’ll let you kiss me first. Then we’ll be even.”
“Gee, thanks.” But there was no anger in her tone. Only a hint of humor. She couldn’t believe the change in him when he smiled. Those icy blue eyes warmed and heated. His mouth, so often set in hard tight lines, looked surprisingly soft. And there was a cleft in his chin she hadn’t noticed before.
“You’re welcome.” Feeling stronger now, he took a step back, breaking contact.
He handed her the book. “I think this is what started all of that.”
“Yes.” She closed her hands around it, holding on to it like a lifeline, wondering if her heartbeat would ever return to normal.
He grinned. “My pleasure. If you ever need any more help reaching and fetching, just let me know.”
They both looked up at the sound of footsteps. Joe stepped into his office and crossed to his desk. “Thad. I guess this means the cameras are installed?”
“Yeah. I thought I’d show you how to operate this monitor.”
Heather remained where she was as Thad strolled to Joe’s desk and the two men went over the controls.
After a few minutes Joe looked over at her. “You’d better learn these, too, sweetheart. As long as you’ll be living here, you have to learn how to operate the security system.”
“Yes, of course.” She walked closer and was forced to endure the closeness of Thad’s body as he explained the controls.
Each time he leaned forward to turn on another switch, she felt the sizzle of heat along her spine. And wondered if he felt it, too.
She chanced a quick glance at his face. He winked, and she felt her cheeks flame.
Finally,
when she was certain she couldn’t possibly endure being this close to him for another moment, he stepped back. “I think you’ve both got the hang of it.”
“Well, if we have any questions, we’ll know where to find you.” Joe began sorting through the mail on his desk, which Heather had already opened and stacked. He looked up as a thought occurred. “How about staying for dinner, Thad?”
“Sorry. I can’t. I have…commitments.”
“Okay. Maybe another time.”
“Sure.” Thad glanced at his watch, then started toward the door. “Sorry. I’ve got to run.”
“Thanks for taking care of this, Thad. It’s much appreciated.”
Thad paused at the door and turned with a grin. “Don’t say that until you get my bill. The Prosperino P.D. only pays me when I’m on duty. What I do for you goes on your tab.”
Joe threw back his head and roared. “You’re worth twice what you’re charging me.”
Thad grinned. “Now you tell me.”
Joe waved a hand. “Will I see you tomorrow?”
“Yeah. But be warned. I’m going to be bringing you a list of security measures I think you should add.”
“I’ve told you, Thad. I think the new cameras are enough.”
“And I told you, not by a long shot. They’re nothing but a stopgap measure. You ought to employ a security team until the shooter is behind bars.”
“Uh-huh.” Joe smiled. “See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” Thad shot a quick glance at Heather, standing beside her uncle’s desk.
At once she felt the heat rise to her cheeks.
As the door closed behind him, she settled down to the computer and began scrolling until she found the figures she was searching for. But as she stared at the screen, the numbers blurred and she found herself replaying in her mind the kiss they’d shared.
She’d been kissed dozens of times. Hundreds. But she had never in her life felt anything that even came close to what she’d experienced with Thad Law.
What was happening here? She’d always considered herself a calm, intelligent, sensible woman. And yet, in the space of a single day, she felt as though her life had tilted at some crazy angle. As though she’d been caught up in something completely out of her realm of experience and totally out of her control.
Maybe it was just because Thad Law was unlike any of the men she’d ever known. Most of them were smooth-as-silk members of her family’s country club, with a string of degrees after their names, eager to marry well and move up the corporate ladder. Most of them saw her as the perfect corporate wife.
Thad Law was about as far removed from that as a man could be. Tough talking, rough around the edges and completely unconcerned about how he appeared to others. But she had the sense that he was a man who would finish whatever he started, to the best of his ability, come hell or high water. Maybe that was why he so intrigued her. He appeared to be that rarest of all breeds—a man of integrity.
And though it galled her to admit it, even to herself, she couldn’t wait to see him again.
Three
The normally blue sky had turned to dull gunmetal gray. The sun had taken refuge behind dark clouds that gathered and thickened.
The family began drifting into the dining room. Heather stood with nine-year-old Joe, Jr., and seven-year-old Teddy, teasing them about the gloomy weather.
“Don’t worry,” Heather laughed. “You know what the song says. The sun’ll come out tomorrow.”
Both boys groaned and gave matching pained expressions before dissolving in laughter.
Their laughter faded when their mother entered. It was clear to see that she was already well on her way to throwing a full-blown temper tantrum. Her eyes were as stormy as the clouds outside the windows. Her mouth a thin, tight line of anger.
As always she found fault with the way the table was set, with the flowers that had been carefully arranged as a centerpiece. She even found fault with the way Heather was dressed.
“This isn’t a barn.” Meredith looked her up and down without bothering to hide her contempt. “Save your denims and boots for the horses. I expect you to dress for dinner while you’re a guest in my home.”
It was on the tip of Heather’s tongue to remind her aunt that this wasn’t the White House, but one look at her two young cousins, and she felt a wave of sympathy. It must be terrible to have to live with so much seething anger and resentment. There seemed to be no love left in this home.
“If you’d like me to change…” she began.
“If I’d like?” Meredith’s eyes narrowed to tiny slits. “Are you so thick-headed you have to ask? Get this straight. I don’t want to see you in this room until you’re wearing what you’d wear to one of your fancy country club dinners. Is that understood?”
Before Heather could reply Meredith slammed out of the room, leaving her sons staring after her in disbelief.
Hoping to calm them, Heather put an arm around each of them and gave them her brightest smile. “Looks like this is your lucky day. You’re about to see me looking the way I look at a glamorous dinner party. I’ll be right back after I change.”
They all looked up at the sound of a loud report, followed by the shattering of glass.
“What was that?” Teddy’s eyes went wide with fear.
Even as he cried out the question, they all knew what they’d heard. It was unmistakably a gunshot. The sound was eerily like the sound they’d heard another time, at Joe’s party.
For the space of a heartbeat they all went perfectly still, absorbing the shock.
Heather was the first to recover her senses. She was already rushing through the open doorway and toward the stairs, a scream lodged in her throat, when the boys started after her. Seeing them, she stopped and held out her hands.
“You don’t want to come up here,” she said insistently. “Not until I see what’s happened.”
The thought of these two little boys finding their father lying in a pool of blood, dead or wounded, was too terrible to contemplate. As they rushed toward her she caught them and held them back, then glanced over their heads to where Inez stood in the doorway, staring in stunned silence. “Take the boys with you into the dining room and keep them there.”
The poor woman was too frightened to respond.
Just then her aunt hurried into the hallway.
The woman who had for years pretended to be Meredith paused at the scene before her. Her mind couldn’t seem to take in what her heart already knew. The gunshot. The eerie silence. It was so much like the previous time. But that time she’d been prepared. It had all been carefully choreographed by her, Patsy Portman. This time the gunshot had caught her completely by surprise. What was going on here? This hadn’t been part of her plan. In fact, she’d been so busy trying to do away with Emily, she hadn’t given any more thought to getting rid of Joe.
“Aunt Meredith.” Seeing her aunt’s apparent confusion, Heather adopted a tone she’d used as a camp counselor whenever she was dealing with an errant child. “You don’t want your boys to go up here. Please see that they stay downstairs, out of harm’s way.”
For a few more seconds Patsy’s mind seemed to be somewhere else, mulling this strange twist. Then, with great effort, she pulled herself back from her thoughts and called sternly, “You heard Heather. Come down here and wait with me.”
Heather turned away, relieved, and started up. Just then Joe Colton appeared at the head of the stairs. In his eyes was a look of dazed fury.
In a voice that sounded deadly calm he said, “Heather, call the police.”
“Are you all right? Was it a gunshot?”
He nodded. “I’m fine. Call now. And, Heather…”
She paused.
“Keep everyone downstairs and in one place until the police detectives have had a chance to gather evidence. We know the routine by now. I don’t want anyone messing up footprints or other signs this madman may have left behind.”
She was so grateful to
see that her uncle was alive and unharmed, she could hardly speak. She gave a quick nod of her head, then raced toward the phone. After speaking with the police, she realized that she was trembling. Joining the others in the dining room she sank down onto a chair and waited for the tremors to pass.
Thad Law was out of his car and striding across the yard within minutes of the call. He was thankful that he’d been in the vicinity. Otherwise there was no telling how long it might have taken him.
As he drew near the front door he saw a shadowy figure and drew his gun.
“Police. Hold it right there.” He saw the figure pause and dart a look toward him. At that same moment he took careful aim. “I wouldn’t move if I were you, unless you’d like this to be your last minute on earth.”
The voice was low and deep and slightly out of breath. “What the hell is this about?”
“I’ll ask the questions.” Thad could see the man clearly outlined in the spill of light from the glass panels on either side of the door. His shrewd cop’s mind was already memorizing every detail. A hair over six feet. Strong, rugged build. Jet black hair. Dressed casually enough, in charcoal slacks and sweater. To blend into the darkness? Thad wondered.
He stepped closer and spun the man around, forcing his face to the door, while he searched for a weapon. Seeing that he wasn’t armed, Thad stepped back, allowing the man to turn.
Thad’s tone was sharp. “Now tell me who you are and what you’re doing here.”
The man looked startled by the questions before saying, “My name’s Jackson Colton. I’m here to see my uncle.”
“You got a beef with Joe Colton?”
“A beef? Of course not. I’m Joe’s nephew, and I’m here for a visit.”
“Did Joe know you were coming?”
There was a slight hesitation before Jackson said quietly, “No. I didn’t call and tell him I was coming. With Joe it isn’t necessary. His family is always welcome. Now I’d like to know what right you have to hold me at gunpoint and ask me these questions.”
“I have every right. There were shots fired here.” Thad gave a sharp rap on the door and waited until it was opened by a trembling Inez. Shoving Jackson ahead of him, he headed toward Joe Colton’s office. As he stepped inside he heard the high-pitched wail of sirens signaling the arrival of the rest of the squad. When a uniform rushed into the room, Thad nodded his head toward Jackson Colton.
