@page { margin-bottom: 5.000000pt; margin-top: 5.000000pt; } @font-face { panose-1: 2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4 } A Thief At Heart He started to move towards her, but she felt awkward and stepped over to the fridge. What they’d done in the light of a kerosene lamp last night seemed so unreal now that watery daylight was streaming like melted butter through the windows. “I’m really short on food. I hope you don’t mind cold cereal and bananas. I planned only to feed myself.” “Don’t apologize. It’ll be fine. Is something bothering you? Is everything okay with Mary?” “Mary’s not quite herself. But then she’s very much herself.” Rob nodded. “I think I get that concept. What about you? Are you yourself?” “Yes. Maybe I’m getting back to being myself.” “After last night? You mean I was sleeping with some other chick? The wild chick who never sees the light of day?” “Chick? You know, Rob, some of the things you say are weird. Like a man educated at fine prep-schools couldn’t possibly ever think of saying.” “I watch a lot of Sylvester Stallone movies. I read Mickey Spillane books.” Riley smiled. “I guess that says it all.” “Are you having regrets about what happened?” Riley set the milk jug on the table with more force than she’d intended. She didn’t know what to say in answer to such a direct question. She found the box of Special K. “Are you having regrets, Rob?” “I might have known you’d answer a question with a question. And the answer is no. I wanted it to happen. Maybe I willed you to come to me.” “I heard a noise outside.” It seemed so lame now. Thinking about it now she knew she had heard something weird. He took the cereal box from her hand. He tipped up her chin so she had to meet his eyes. “We have to talk about this--” Talk. Since when did men want to talk? “We both know how things are with us, Robert. We know where this is going.” “I like it a lot better when you call me Robbie.”         What They Are Saying About A Thief At Heart   Ms. McCarthy has written wonderful, engaging characters that will draw you into their story and not let you go until the final page. The heroine is strong willed and feisty, keeping the hero on his toes to protect her from those who would harm her. The romance of Robin and Riley Jane will capture your heart and make you wish for a second chance with your first love. --Leslie Hodges Managing Editor Wings ePress, Inc.           Wings             A Thief At Heart         by         B. G. McCarthy                     A Wings ePress, Inc.   Romantic Suspense Novel   Wings ePress, Inc.     Edited by: Lorraine Stephens Copy Edited by: Leslie Hodges Senior Editor: Lorraine Stephens Executive Editor: Lorraine Stephens Cover Artist: Casey McCarthy     All rights reserved   Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher.   No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.     Wings ePress Books http://www.wings-press.com   Copyright © 2004 by Betty McCarthy ISBN  1-59088-266-0       Published In the United States Of America   January 2004   Wings ePress Inc. 403 Wallace Court Richmond , KY 40475   Dedication To my dear mother and to my best-friend, Bev, great readers both, who believed in me and who are gone far too soon. I know you’re in heaven trading novels as I write this.             One No girl had ever been able to do it like Riley Jane Turner: make him feel breathless and dazed, like he’d just been hammered on the head by a two-by-four and had his jeans stuffed with live firecrackers. For years he couldn’t even smell chocolate chip cookies without a jolt to his guts. Their first night together, their only night as lovers, her hair had smelled like the cookies she’d baked just for him. Fifteen years ago while working on old man Farley’s roof--a stint of court ordered community service--he’d watch through mirrored shades as long-legged Riley sunned herself on Aggie’s back steps. She’d been sipping on a Big Gulp, enthralled by fashion magazines and romance novels. He’d believed she’d been watching him, too, but every time he turned around to take a look her eyes were averted. Aggie had warned him that she was out-of-bounds and he’d seen to it that they’d never been closer than a hundred feet until the end of summer. Their liaison could have remained a trick played on his mind, if not his juvenile delinquent heart, but for one outrageous party when he’d finally gotten close enough to really see her, touch her, hear her low, sweet voice. After that, given a fighting chance, he’d have been her man for life. “Who the hell is that?” Robin Butler jumped guiltily as Otis Ellis peered over his shoulder at the flickering videotaped image on the computer screen. Otis had indulged in garlic for lunch again. “You surfin’ hot babe sites, boy?” he asked. “This babe’s name is Jane Turner,” Rob said, feeling like a fool because the words came out husky. His pants felt crowded, too. Cripes, if Otis noticed he’d never live it down. How old was he anyway? Seventeen? “This is the woman you told Frankie Lopez to get some video on. And note that she’s wearing a gray suit, Otis, not a string bikini,” Rob snarled. “That’s the companion to Blake Connor’s elderly mother?” “Yep. That’s her.” Otis gave a wolf whistle. “Bet she’d look good in a string bikini. I wonder what a looker like her is doing playing nursemaid to an old lady. This broad can’t possibly be on the up and up.” Rob’s jaw tightened. “I ran a check on her. Miss Turner’s as fresh and clean as Irish Spring soap.” He wasn’t going to tell Otis that he and Jane Turner had known each other. Otis had a general idea of Rob’s former circumstances. Most of the people around here shared a similar background. Call it self-preservation, but Rob hadn’t willingly shared his personal sentiments about his family, his youthful escapades, or his stints in foster homes with any of his associates. And he wasn’t about to start now. That was history. Just as he’d believed Riley Jane Turner was history. “Give me something I can sink my teeth into.” Robin shoved that image to the back of his mind and tried for neutral. “There isn’t much. Miss Turner spent her formative years in foster care. She had some issues--like most foster kids do--but straightened herself out. She has a degree in occupational therapy, completed as an adult student. She’s been with the old lady for about a year. That’s about all I found of interest.” “Yeah? You sure, big guy? She’s looks pretty interesting to these old eyes,” Otis said, leering at Riley Jane Turner’s captivating image. “I did all my homework, Otis. As far as I can tell, if Miss Turner’s ever been up to anything she managed to fly right under the radar.” Otis grinned. “Unlike you.” Rob bit back a grin of his own. “I like flying over the radar. More of a rush.” Otis agreed with a snort. “Think it’s possible this Miss Jane Turner has a hidden agenda? Maybe Toddy-boy has caught her eye. The old lady’s gonna be pushing daisies soon and with Daddy Blake six-feet under only six months ago, pretty-boy Todd’s prime meat for a female predator.” A female predator? Riley Turner? Rob shifted in his leather chair. “You have such an interesting way of putting things, Otis.” “How old will Todd be when he comes into his money?” Rob sighed. “Thirty for the trust fund that his father left. That’s peanuts and a full five years away. If the old lady dies Todd splits around sixty-three million with his sister.” “Holy crap. That much, eh? We should keep an eye on Sweet Baby Jane. She may even be useful to us, boyo.” Rob’s lips drew into a tight line as he loosened his navy blue tie and started to yank it through his collar. He hated ties, but he’d been meeting a mark that afternoon and Otis had this thing about image. “I think she’s on the up and up.” “What do you think of her looks?” Otis questioned. “You’re a connoisseur of the ladies, aren’t you?” Feeling an unaccountable rush of blood to his face, Rob slammed down the cover of the laptop. Riley Jane Turner’s image disappeared but he felt little relief. “She’s attractive,” he said, achieving bland indifference. “More attractive than Belinda Connors?” “They’re different types. Belinda’s a twenty-year-old kid.” “Does having to romance Belinda suddenly bother you?” Finally free of the tie, Rob tossed it on the desk. “Maybe it won’t have to come to that. I’ll just break into the compound. Do it quick. I’ve told you a million times that I could pull it off in a--” “A B-and-E?” Otis howled, jowls quivering like jelly. “No way, son. Time to turn on the finesse, the legendary Robbie Butler charm. Halfwit, silicone-enhanced Belinda’s the perfect way to gain access to her father’s personal records. It’s all been planned and we’ll take our time and do it right. Concentrate on baiting Belinda. I’ll have another man keep an eye on Todd at the office.” Rob thought for a minute that he might prefer sleazy car salesman over gigolo. “So, let me get this straight, Otis: all we know for certain is that Vasco and Blake Connors met about three years ago on the French Riviera.” “That’s about it.” Otis chuckled at some classified joke. Louis Vasco’s movements were vast and complicated. Stories about him had prevailed around here since Rob had been a newbie recruited straight out of the clink. The man was handsome, cunning, a thief, a master of disguise and a lady killer--perhaps literally. There was this one juicy story circulating about a spinster coffee heiress from Columbia . Her fortune had gone missing thanks to Vasco. She’d soon met the same end. Vasco apparently got whatever he wanted, but never had to do any of his own dirty work. When Otis talked about the ‘shady bastard’ it was with awe, like he was describing a childhood hero, which, knowing Otis’s own former rap sheet, might not be far off the mark. No one had a recent picture of Vasco. They’d been flying blind for years. There was a lot at stake. Millions, to be exact. The so-called ‘good-guys’ had failed miserably already in trying to apprehend him, but the system had always sucked. Too little communication, too many players. So now Vasco--or more importantly his ill-gotten fortune--was open game for anyone with the wherewithal to take it. But their people weren’t faring much better at the moment than the status-quo as far as Rob could see. “From what I can see here, Otis, Connors’s record looks spotless. Business and otherwise.” Otis looked at Rob like he’d lost his mind. “He paid people to make it look that way. His record was too spotless. I’m ninety-nine percent certain that someone in Blake’s family--or in his employ--was in close personal contact with Vasco. Before and since Blake’s suspicious death.” “Suspicious death only to you, man. He was a wild driver.” Rob got a dirty look for that. “It all works for me, kid. I’d bet my next grandchild on it. Connors Luxury Automobiles has made several suspicious stolen car claims since young Toddy-boy took over the helm. The place is goin’ to hell in a hand-basket according to my sources. Or up young Todd Connors’s nose.” Rob tiredly rubbed his neck. “Maybe they were legitimate claims. The local adjustors didn’t blink an eye.” “Maybe the adjusters were in on it, boyo. We have some recent intelligence that Vasco may have been involved.” Otis clamped a meaty hand on Rob’s shoulder. “But that’s not your problem. Do what we pay you for, pretty boy. You’re to find the goods, not to analyze incoming intelligence. We stand to make a tidy profit if we recover just one of those stolen paintings. Only God only knows what juicy pies Vasco has dipped his sticky fingers into besides stolen art and antiquities.” Otis sank his girth into one of the swivel chairs with a grunt. “The Connors are little fish. Just a means to an end. Our big payoff is in finding Vasco’s operation.” Otis suddenly leaned forward and barked. “Robbie, what the hell is wrong with you?” Rob crossed the office to the window, looking down at the scruffy street kids walking Granville Street at four in the morning. One of the girls was obviously pregnant. It was freezing out there for March. Things hadn’t changed one whit on the means streets of Vancouver . “So, you’re ready for this party next week?” Rob ran a hand through his long, shaggy coffee-brown hair. “I’m ready. I’ll be attending some gala to benefit Promise House, that youth center they want to build on Main . Blake Conners’s mother is on the board of directors.” “Get a close shave and a good haircut, then. You look like a derelict, boy. No rich young woman’s going to fall for a scruffy biker dude, even if he’s wearing a nice tux. I’m thinking more James Bond, less Snake Pleskin.” Robbie touched his mangy stubble and smiled. “I have a disguise in mind.” He could easily pull it off. Even without a disguise his own mother wouldn’t know him now. He almost laughed over that irony. His mother hadn’t been sober enough to tell him from his stepbrothers half the time. The old man snorted. “I could give this one to Scottie Fields if you don’t figure your head’s into it. He’d love this one.” Scottie Fields. That turkey? “I’m in,” Rob said, his head spinning with thoughts of seeing Riley Turner. He wondered if she ever thought about him, that one crazy night so long ago. Despite that night they’d spent together, they hadn’t known each other at all. God... that night. That party had been so wild. He’d just let himself go with it, have fun. They’d been so young, so swept away. Had it really been that long? Over fifteen years. An eternity. He was not that boy any longer. He didn’t get the chance or even the penchant to seduce and destroy too many nice girls these days. He wondered if Riley Jane Turner was still was a nice girl, the kind who baked cookies for boys she shouldn’t trust. Or the gold digger Otis predicted she was. ~ * ~ Riley Turner’s feet were killing her. She didn’t have bunions or anything, just feet that had been forced into ill-fitting shoes for too much of her lifetime. This pair had felt pretty good the day she’d bought them. Considering her love of sexy shoes, it was just too bad she hadn’t had perfect little tootsies to tuck into them. Or the devil-may-care attitude. Riley sighed. She and Mary should have stayed in Mary’s luxurious apartments in the Connors compound and watched Pride and Prejudice for the hundredth time, then finished on a bang with Bridget Jones’s Diary. Mary never tired of Colin Firth’s discreetly smoldering charms. Riley didn’t either. It was just one of many things they had in common. Riley had developed a taste for classy guys in the last few years. Finding a classy guy who wanted a girl like her was the only problem. Riley thought again, with a slight stab of conscience, about how much she distrusted most of these rich, snotty people. They seemed to be able to read through her disguise right down to her dirt-poor soul, like they had x-ray eyes or something. She really had to keep her chin up. Maybe she didn’t belong here socially, but these were Mary’s friends and family and as long as she wanted this job as Mary’s companion, secretary and caregiver she’d have to learn to go with the flow. Mary Connors, for all her money, could have been an insufferable wretch. But even after a stroke last year and the death of her only son in a terrible car accident in Europe , she was a trooper, delightful in an eccentric way. Not always nice, but never a drag. Riley allowed Mary her whims; she was the employer. Mary told it like it was and something in Riley’s makeup responded to Mary’s lack of artifice. Speaking of openness, Riley’s stomach gave a hollow little pang as she thought about the lies she had told Mary. As far as Mary knew, Jane Turner was raised in a middle class suburban home, traveled in Europe and Australia , then went back to school to get her degree in occupational therapy. Everything but the degree, attained recently, was a huge stretch of the imagination. Riley doubted that the sharp-tongued, lace curtain, Irish-born Mary O’Hara Connors would have cared a lick about the truth, but it had seemed too much of a risk. Things were too good now. When things got good, Riley, out of habit, got worried that everything was going to come crashing down about her ears. Riley glanced around the glittering ballroom, watching the beautifully garbed people laugh and schmooze and sip champagne. The gala was for the benefit of Promise House, a shelter for displaced teens. Mary was a supporter of many such charities. Riley suspected that her grandson, Todd, was into the charity gala scene for the chicks. Her granddaughter, the giddy and insensitive Belinda, would be here to make contact with the opposite sex as well. At the moment, Mary was looking to find a wealthy, pedigreed husband for her only granddaughter. Riley wasn’t quite sure how that sat with the girl, but she’d doubtlessly grown up expecting that her family would play a big part in choosing her mate. People could tell themselves that even the wealthy folks had changed with the times, but as far as Riley could see, the opposite might just be true. Mary had given Belinda a little time to sow her oats and now she had to settle down. Riley hadn’t really gotten to know Belinda in a year, but she’d formed some opinions. If they lived in California rather than British Columbia , Belinda would be the consummate Valley girl. Riley lifted up on her sore toes a little, abruptly catching sight of a face she knew well. Craig Alexander was here! She hadn’t seen Craig in a while. He’d been working nonstop, holding two jobs--one as an actor in locally shot films and the other as a real estate agent. He’d just recently sold the Wellman mansion to some famous American actress whose two young sons were hockey mad. Riley looked back over her shoulder and made eye-contact with Mary, who was busy chatting with some of her friends. The older woman gave Riley a smile and a nod, silent code that she could go off on her own. Craig finally noticed her, his too-handsome face becoming animated as he approached. His gym-honed arms were spread open for a big bear hug. It was hard to believe that the fabulous Craig Alexander had once been a displaced kid like herself. They’d met in Aggie Richard’s foster home. Now instead of performing Shakespeare for pedestrians on Granville Street Mall to earn a few bucks for a meal, Craig was attending galas and dressed in an impeccable Armani tux. He now had his golden brown hair--formerly spiked, green-tinted and arguably pest-ridden--styled at Pink Lime. He bought his clothes on Robson at the trendiest boutiques. He looked gorgeous. Craig was gorgeous, successful and more like a brother to her than anything else. Too damned bad. “Riley! Hi!” He gave her a resounding kiss on the mouth, her first mouth-to-mouth kiss from a man in ages. She found it curiously unsatisfying, the sensual equivalent of tofu. “Jane. Call me Jane in public, Craig.” “Sorry. I forgot about that. How are you, Ja-a-a-ne? Aggie told me you were coming here tonight. I hoped I’d see you.” “How does Aggie remember what we’re all doing?” Prim and proper Jane--Riley’s alter-ego--laughed her soft, discreet laugh. “She has this continuous tape loop in her head. Are you, Annika and Rory still planning the reunion?” he asked. Riley nodded. “It’s only a month away. We’ve found about fifty foster kids so far, including you, the regular group and me--everyone who still sees Aggie. Don’t know if that’s good considering there were well over a hundred of us through the years.” Riley frowned, remembering a phone call from last night. Rory had demanded to know about one missing foster kid who had departed long before they arrived at Aggie’s. Riley had deliberately excluded his name from the list. The other girls knew of him because they’d seen his picture in Aggie’s memory books. She and Rory had quite a heated discussion about the reasons for Riley’s omission. Riley wouldn’t admit a thing. Let them look for Robin Butler. Only the devil knew where he was. Craig looped arms with her. “That party should be a wild time if I know Rory. So, how was the holiday you were supposed to take?” “Didn’t go. Mary hasn’t been feeling that well lately. She needs me. I’ll find the time eventually.” “Well, if I know you, I know exactly how you’ll spend the time, and it wouldn’t be lounging on the beach in Greece . Right?” She shrugged. “Right. I couldn’t afford that anyway.” Craig sighed. “If your half-sister was anywhere to be found, Riley, you’d probably have found her by now.” Maybe he was right, Riley thought with a sinking feeling in her stomach. Maybe it was time to give it up. Grace would be busy with a life of her own. She probably wouldn’t be pleased to have her half sister poking her nose into her business. “Have you seen that new rich dude from back East everyone is talking about?” Craig craned his elegant neck to look around the room as he led her around the outskirts of the dance floor. “Rich dude? There are hundreds of rich men here. I didn’t have time to notice any individual ones yet. What’s this paragon of manhood look like?” she asked, curious. “This bad boy is crunk.” “Crunk?” she repeated. “It means sexy. What rock have you been living under? He’s ruggedly handsome, but debonair, to quote a cliché. He’s giving me a run for my money. My actor stories and my boyish charm used to be all I needed to get the chicks. This guy comes along and I’m yesterday’s news. And I was hoping to get laid tonight.” Riley staggered in mock horror. “Well, don’t look at me for that,” she teased. “I’m hoping he’s light in the loafers. Then there might be some poor disillusioned women left in his wake for me.” Riley laughed. “You’re a sicko, Craig Armstrong.” “I know. Want a glass of champagne?” he asked. “I don’t drink when I’m working.” He gave her a pitying look. “You do need a holiday.” “You sound like a broken record. I promise I’m going to go soon. I’ve saved an impressive sum of money this year. This job is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” Craig gave her a long, hard look. “Don’t say it, Craig. Now that Mary knows me and trusts me, I don’t think my past is a huge deal. Everything is going to be just fine--” She broke off, not feeling up to discussing things she’d rehashed over and over with Craig. He knew better than anyone what she felt like, what she faced in her life. “Speaking of Mary, I really have to get back. I should go to the restroom, too. Hope it isn’t as busy as the last time I tried.” “There’s a small private restroom down in the back servant’s hall, unless you want to use the big one and pick up the latest gossip.” His eyes twinkled with mischief. “I’m trying to get a lead on who’s up for this part of a hockey player in that new Jack Travis film. The casting director for the movie’s here--” “The back hall washroom sounds great to me. And I’m not spying on casting agents for you,” she said quickly. She kissed Craig on the cheek. “Call me soon. Okay? We’ll go see Aggie together.” “Take that holiday time, kid. Maybe you can just stay with me at my loft. Veg out for a week.” “I’d keep that in mind, but last time I lived with you there were far too many co-ed slumber parties.” “Okay. I’ll only have one girl over at a time.” “You’re disgusting,” she said with a smile. She watched him walk away, smirking as she noted the female heads that turned as he passed. She would visit the washroom, then return directly to Mary. Despite their good relationship, Mary expected the hired help to know their place. She wasn’t paying Riley to party. Riley slipped her glasses from her bag, perched them on her nose and made her way to the private washroom at the end of the dimly lit hall. In the bathroom Riley saw to her most immediate need, washed her hands and fixed her hair, and frowning at her reflection, returned her small tortoiseshell specs to her bag. She really ought to get laser eye surgery or quit being so vain. She’d had a lazy eye and severe astigmatism since she was little and had passed the better part of her life in a blur. She walked out the door and smack into Todd Connors. Riley felt a little quiver of revulsion. The young man was handsome and well-dressed, but Riley didn’t trust him. He was often drunk or hung-over. She had the feeling he was dabbling in worse than drink lately. Todd’s smallish eyes went directly to her breasts as his full lips drew up in a familiar leer. His face was going to fat; there was a telltale crease where a second chin was starting. “Well, if it isn’t the gorgeous Miss Turner,” he drawled. Riley bit back a smart retort and attempted to pass. Todd moved forward, forcing her to step further back into an alcove under the stairs. She knew that Todd was basically harmless and she could defend herself if the need arose. She’d dealt with men who thought she was dying for their sexual attentions half of her life. He’d never pushed it this far before, however, and she had a bad gut feeling about this. “Please let me by,” Riley said. “Where’s my grandmother?” Todd asked. “She’d be with her friends, I assume. I was just going back to check on her.” “How about a dance, Jane?” He made a move with his hips like he was hoping to boogie there in the hall. “My dance card’s all full, thanks.” Todd made a tsking sound with his tongue. He ran a moist, manicured finger down the inside of her arm setting off alarm bells in Riley’s head. She had to suppress a full-body cringe and the urge to shove him hard. “Why do we keep fighting it, Jane?” Riley rolled her eyes. Did this creepy boy actually think she’d find him attractive? The lapels of his tux were askew and there were beads of sweat at his temples. Expensive cologne applied with a heavy touch and the sour reek of booze wafted from his person. “I have to go--” “Come on, Jane, I have something important to ask you.” “I don’t have the time--” “A friend of mine who’s here tonight thinks he knows you. Says you worked at the Purple Door as an exotic dancer. He swears it was you. Carl says you have a little birthmark on your lower back shaped like a pair of lips puckered for a kiss.” His eyes glittered with wickedness. “Was that you dancing naked at the Purple Door, Jane?” Riley swallowed hard. “Your friend is quite mistaken.” “I don’t know about that. Carl’s got a great memory for the ladies.” Riley steeled her spine. “I’m leaving now. Get out of my way.” “I think we ought to talk about this, Jane. After all, you are an employee of my family’s and I’d hate to see anyone embarrassed. Especially dear, old Granny. Maybe we could make a bit of a deal here: a mutually satisfying deal.” “No one will be embarrassed on my account.” As she tried to move past him once more he suddenly took her wrist in a sweaty grasp and pressed her against the wall. “Don’t you know how much you turn me on, Jane? Even with that serious expression and those boring pantsuits and those little glasses you wear most of the time. I know you’re hot, Jane. I know you want what I can give you. Let me see that little birthmark.” He still had a painful hold of her wrist. She tried to jerk it back, but he suddenly made the shocking move of placing Riley’s open palm over his privates. It was almost pathetic. Todd, she could not help but notice, was really rather inadequately endowed. Riley had to bite her cheeks to stop herself from laughing. That lapse only lasted a second before her instincts kicked into high gear. “Come on, baby. I know there’s a closet around here where we can be alone. Or maybe we’ll ditch this party and get a room at the Mandarin.” He pressed his wet, pulpy lips against the hammering pulse in her neck. Riley moved her hand a bit, making Todd groan in pleasure. Then he gasped. His bleary eyes widened as understanding took hold. Riley squeezed as hard as she could and twisted her wrist. Todd’s face went as pale as his shirt and he could barely croak out a protest. “Let go of my wrist now, Todd.” He complied quickly. Releasing her hand, she pushed him away in disgust. “You have one warning. If you ever try anything like this with me again I’ll present them to you on a platter at Sunday dinner with Granny. Got me, Todd? I don’t care if I lose my job.” Todd nodded, slumping against the wall, tears of pain slipping down his flushed cheeks. “I don’t like you, Todd. You’re a spoiled little rich boy. Your grandma should stop paying your way in life. And if I was an exotic dancer at one time, that’s my own bloody business.” With that said, Riley stepped away from him. He muttered a nasty name for her. With aplomb she didn’t feel, Riley said, “And proud of it. Get away from me, you big baby. Go find your creepy little friends.” He shuffled past her, limping like Hop-Along-Cassidy after too long in the saddle. Double damn him. She couldn’t even find a reason to feel satisfied. “Little jerk,” she muttered at his back, steeling herself to go back to the ballroom. And she’d been looking forward to the midnight supper after the auction; now he’d destroyed her appetite. Her knees were quivering. Her eyes filled with tears and her whole body burned with rage. Well, that was it, she thought. Game over. She’d have to do something now, tell Mary the truth about herself--that she, Riley Jane Turner, was one step down from trailer trash. Todd would see to that. This perfect work situation was blown to hell. She uttered another ugly word fitting for a trailer trash princess. “Do you do that to all the men or just the little jerks?” asked a low, male voice from directly behind her shoulder. He was standing so close she could feel his body heat. Riley drew in an unsettled breath, discerning the faint scent of bergamot. She ought to feel threatened, but for some reason she didn’t. There was something about that canyon-deep voice that stirred a buried memory. It was as if she’d felt that same low-pitched voice stirring the hair over her ear. She imagined a phantom arm wrapping possessively round her waist, a slightly stubbly jaw nuzzling her neck. She wanted to lean back against a wide, solid, chest, feel his heart beating against her back in time to the rapid pulse of her own. How weird. Riley was almost afraid to turn around. She wanted to walk quickly away but she was still trapped in the alcove under the stairs. Telling herself she was an idiot, Riley turned her head slightly. Holy cow! The fantasy that had popped into her head a few seconds before hardly did justice to reality. Her skin prickled in scalp to toe goosebumps. She told herself it was a residual effect from the nasty little encounter with Todd. There was no way one simple look at a man--albeit quite a starkly sensual looking man--could demolish what was left of her wits. Riley looked up into darkest eyes she’d ever seen, positioned several inches above hers. Those eyes were fringed with sexy, thick eyelashes and dark, devilish looking brows. The cut of his tux was simply perfection, everything black, as if he’d been composed out of steel and shadows. Even the shirt beneath his expensive tux was ultra-fine black silk. Riley refused to look at the hand that grasped the sloping wall a little above her shoulder. If that hand was as big and sexy and masculine as the rest of this guy, she might just melt into a puddle. Her captivation with beautiful male hands had started with the first boy she’d ever given herself to, the one with whom she’d fancied herself in love... That skanky rat in a boy suit, Robin Butler.             Two Lord! Robin Butler? But Robbie’s eyes had been blue, the same sweet, dreamy blue of Easter eggs or cotton candy or soft summer skies; too gentle a color for such a cynical, defiant boy. This man was certainly not her Robbie-- Her Robbie! What a joke. He’d never been her anything. Robin Butler had never been anything but trouble. She hadn’t given that incorrigible smooth operator a moment’s thought in years. Not until the talk of the foster home reunion came up. She gave herself the mental equivalent of a shake for intestinal fortitude. No woman, not even a tough one like her, really forgot getting her poor, untried heart stomped for the first time. “Are you okay?” he asked her. He moved a little closer to her. He smelled delicious, but unconventional, like imported cologne applied sparingly, mingling with good old Head and Shoulders shampoo. She wondered about that because his hair was so clean and shiny, as black as night. “Yes... I’m okay... thanks.” She cleared her thick throat. “I’m just fine.” “You seem a little overwhelmed. Want me to go after him? Call security? Or was it a lover’s spat?” “A lover’s spat?” Riley squawked, feeling her face flame. “No. It was nothing of the kind.” “So, he was just coming on to you? Maybe security will--” “No security, thanks. Security would be most tolerant of Todd’s shortcomings since his family’s spearheading this charity evening. They’d likely throw me out first.” One corner of the man’s lips lifted in a half-smile. He had an awesome mouth. His lower lip was lush, but firm, surrounded by a hint of shadow that belied his recent shave. His teeth were straight, white perfection. Like a movie star’s. That fleeting smile had given his face a surprisingly sweet aspect that was an exquisite counterpoint to the aloofness the stark black tux conveyed. His easy smile made her think of Robbie again. Robbie’s smile had been adorable, but his teeth had been slightly crooked, one of the front teeth broken straight across, the other badly chipped. His stepfather had hit him in the mouth one too many times, so had been the rumor. He’d worn the broken teeth like a badge, like that ever-present Axel Rose blue bandana and sunglasses that had defined him as a bad boy. “Do you know Todd Connors and his shortcomings well?” Riley snapped out of her reverie about Robin. “I wouldn’t say that, but I work for his family.” “At one of the car dealerships?” he asked. The spin of the conversation was beginning to make her uncomfortable. It was dangerous to talk to strangers. And this stranger had trouble written all over him, she told herself firmly. Just like Robbie Butler, only a different class of trouble. Riley just wished she could put on her glasses. In a blur he looked like a soft-focus dream of the man she hadn’t found yet, rarely put hope into finding. He had a shallow dent in his firm chin. There was a thin white scar on the bridge of his nose. It had to have been broken badly at one time, maybe even a few times, but it was a pleasing nose all the same. Bold. It gave him a reckless allure, made a woman wonder what sort of macho things he’d done to hurt it. “Did I hear him call you Jane?” She frowned at him, her tone brassy. “I think you heard too much.” Her sharp retort didn’t put him off at all. “The kid was talking a bit loud. I heard a bit,” he said with a small smile. “Do you really have some kind of birthmark on your lower back?” Riley stiffened her shoulders to suppress a shiver. “I think that maybe you should mind your own business--” “Sorry. I shouldn’t tease you. I really suck at flirting tonight. I was talking to a girl for a while but she’s disappeared on me,” he said with a rueful smile. “Maybe she’s run home to mother. I think I’m losing my edge.” He grinned down at her once again and her heart turned over. “My name’s Robert Murphy. My close friends call me Rob.” Her heart froze. Robert was one of the most common names on the planet. But still the coincidence was disconcerting. This man was everything she’d imagined a grown up Robbie could be. Everything but the celestial blue eyes she could still see shimmering in her mind’s eye. Robbie hadn’t been this tall. At sixteen they’d met eye to eye because she was tall for a girl. That hadn’t bothered him a bit, but he’d promised to grow six inches by daybreak so she wouldn’t have to take off her sexy high heels when they kissed. God, she’d been so naive. Robbie had to be in jail somewhere. Or even dead. Not that she would wish either on anyone. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, reaching out to take her arm, steady her. His fingertips pressed warmly into her bare flesh. She looked down at his long fingers. No rings. A few fine scars, though. His were very manly hands. “I’m fine,” she said. “Really. I have to get back to my employer.” “Have you seen Belinda Connors? I take it she’s the jerk’s sister? She was the woman I was looking for. She got a call on her cell, went to take it privately, then...” Riley shook her head, her heart sinking to the very bottom of her stomach for some ridiculous I-should-be-kicked-hard-in-the-butt-for-even-caring reason. “No. I haven’t seen her. Perhaps she’s already returned to the ballroom.” “Could be. Are you going back now?” “Um... I have to find Mrs. Connors.” “Afraid of running into the clown again?” “Why would you care about that, Mr. Murphy?” she asked frankly. His concern flustered her. “You don’t even know me.” “Some women wouldn’t handle that sort of situation too comfortably. He took a great big liberty and you seem a bit shook up--” “I’m fine. I handled it myself. Quite well.” “So I saw. Poor guy.” Riley sighed deeply. “Does he do that to you a lot? Make sexual advances?” “Mr. Murphy--” she gritted, “--like I said before: I don’t even know you. This is--” “--none of my business?” he finished. “Exactly.” He shrugged his wide shoulders. “Mary Connors is supposed to be a nice lady. Maybe she’d like to know what her grandson is up to.” “This honestly hasn’t happened before.” “Really? Not even close?” He’d poked at a sore spot. He didn’t have to point out to her that she was a damned fool for keeping this sort of thing to herself. “Listen, I usually manage to avoid him. What’s your interest in Belinda?” she asked. “Turning the tables on me?” “Yes,” Riley said tartly. “I am.” “I met her briefly at another party a few days ago. She’s a pretty girl and I liked what I saw. I don’t think you were there or I doubt I’d have noticed anyone else.” She almost snorted. Men were such idiots, so predicable, even the smooth ones. Especially the smooth ones. He and the flirtatious Craig ought to meet and trade come-ons. Someone from the hotel staff opened one of the back doors and a draft of cold air wafted down the corridor making her shiver. “Are you interested in seeing Belinda socially?” she asked, truly curious. At the question his perfectly carved lips twisted slightly. Maybe he was scoffing at her presumptuousness. Maybe he was having a laugh at the formal way she’d put it. Would he have preferred if she’d asked him if he wanted into Belinda’s pants? She swallowed hard as the tip of his tongue swept lightly against his perfectly bowed top lip. His dark eyes were cool, almost distant. “Interested in Belinda socially? In all honesty, I may be. She seems quite a catch and I’m looking.” He’d handled that admirably, she thought. “She’s very young,” Riley said. “She may not want to settle down just yet. I don’t really think you’re her type, anyway.” That made him laugh out loud. He had a wonderful laugh: deep and husky. “I’m not her type?” “No. You’re a bit young for her tastes, actually.” “I have at least ten years on her.” “I hear she likes significantly older men. And her last few boyfriends were medium height because she’s so petite. But who am I to comment? I’m just the hired help.” That made him smile. “I really do have to be going now. So, if you’ll excuse me...” She started to turn away but something stopped her. “Mr. Murphy... by the way... thanks for noticing that I needed help. It was very kind of you.” With that she turned, made it to the stairs and headed up on still shaky legs, hoping like hell that the steps led in the direction she needed to go. She planned to hide behind Mary’s wheelchair the rest of the night. ~ * ~ Rob watched her walk away, back straight, head held high on her wide, shapely shoulders. He watched her hips sway, the firm flesh of her lovely rear-end, legs long and sinuous under the smooth black fabric of her gown. If he wasn’t careful he was going to make like a fifteen year-old and sprout a world class woody. Robbie was inclined to believe that interest had sparked somewhere behind those wide, intelligent green eyes. Not that he was going to do anything about that. She hadn’t recognized him. He was certain of that. He ought to feel relieved. So why was he disappointed? Was she was supposed to know him by his scent alone? Like animals who mated for life. Rob turned and hastened down the corridor. He was slightly breathless a few minutes later--certainly not from the minor exertion--but didn’t see her in the ballroom. No surprise, in fact, because he knew the staircase she had taken had led outside. If she wasn’t careful and stepped out for air, as he suspected she might, the door would lock behind her. Robbie didn’t see Belinda in the crowded room either, but he did see the old lady--her grandmother. Mary Connors was sitting alone watching a news anchor auctioning a collection of celebrity donated watches. She’d been surrounded by solicitous hangers-on all evening. She appeared to have dropped something and was trying to reach for it with the rubber tip of her cane. Time to turn on the charm, he decided, heading quickly in her direction. He reached her quickly. Rob grabbed the fallen program and placed it in the old lady’s withered hand. He gave her his best, most endearing smile. “Is everything all right, ma’am? Would you like me get you anything?” “I just dropped the damned program,” she snarled. “I’m not about to fall out of my chair, boy, even though I am half starved. Never did like these midnight suppers. It gives me heartburn and nightmares to eat late.” “Maybe I could get you something to drink?” Her sharp blue eyes softened. “I could do with a drink, though I’m not actually supposed to have anything... under doctor’s orders. Everything I bloody do is under doctor’s orders these days. Jane always turns a blind eye if I have one nip, though. Don’t know how she’d feel about my having two,” she said, peering up at him with eyes that were still keen. “Do I know you, young man?” He shook his head and gave her another grin. “No, I don’t think so. But I know who you are. My name’s Robert Murphy. You’re on the board of directors for Promise House aren’t you? You’re Mrs. Mary Connors?” Mary Connors nodded. “I certainly am. But why would a hunk like you give a hang what a crippled old lady like me is up to? Or which charities I support.” Rob smiled. She was sharp, this one. “Well... I know you have a beautiful granddaughter and I’m new in town.” “Ah. You were the handsome one talking to Belinda at the Whitfield’s party last night. I was watching you together. Feeling my almost eighty years the whole time. She ran off on you? Where is that girl’s head?” “I’ve no idea.” “I know she didn’t mention you, but then she doesn’t talk to me all that much. I’m just a demented old purse on wheels. What do I know besides how much allowance to give her?” “Plenty, I’m sure. And those wheels look pretty fetching to me.” She laughed loudly. “Well, you’re the cat’s meow, boy, even if you are full of Irish blarney. And Belinda must be nuts to ignore the likes of you. Maybe that silly girl’s been into the champagne again.” “Belinda seemed very cordial tonight, actually. She spotted some friends of hers and went to talk to them.” “I see. You’re not only handsome, but a diplomat...” Her eyes assessed him. Maybe she was on to him. “Well, my boy, you do know that in order to see my granddaughter socially you’d have to have the right connections. What families, exactly, do you know?” she asked. Was she serious? Whoa. These society types. He hoped he didn’t look like he’d been produced by mongrels fornicating behind the woodpile. “Helen Nablock pointed you out to me this evening.” “Well, I don’t know about Helen being a good connection. Don’t like her too much.” “Do you mind if I sit?” he asked. She indicated a chair. “Be my guest. You’re too bloody tall and it’s hurting my neck to stare up at you. Don’t tell me you’re related to Helen? You don’t have that slack-jawed inbred look they all have in the Nablock family.” Rob took the chair. “I’m acquainted with Helen’s nephew.” “Edmund?” “Yes. I know him as Fast Eddie. I attended the University of Toronto a few years after him.” “You’re from Toronto , then?” “Yes, most recently, though I was born on Prince Edward Island . My family has always summered there.” He signaled a waiter and requested a sherry for Mary. For himself he got a local micro-beer. Mary seemed to approve of that with a little nod of her head. “I loved Prince Edward Island . Such a charming place. And what do you do in Toronto , Robert?” “Rob, please. Insurance. My family’s business. We’re thinking of expanding the company westward and I’m here to do some preliminary scouting of commercial real estate.” At that moment Riley arrived, breathless, her cheeks flushed with cold and exertion, her impeccably dressed hair escaping its moorings. He’d yank the pins out altogether and let it fall where it may. He wanted to grin but bit it back. She had to have run all the way around the building. Her breasts heaved against the front of her gown and she seemed to be favoring one foot, as if she had gotten a blister or had stubbed her toe in the dark. Robbie felt a sudden staggering rush of longing at the sight of her. Rising, his knees almost buckled with the weight of his reaction. He felt more than a little perturbed by his adolescent response to her. The return of the waiter helped him regain his sanity. She stared icily at him, obviously irritated. “Mary, I’m sorry I’ve been so long. I took a wrong turn coming back from the ladies room and ended up outside in the back parking lot. Is there anything you need?” “No. Mr. Murphy ordered a sherry for me. Maybe you should drink it. You look flustered.” Jane shook her head. “Not at all. I’m just fine.” “You’re all goosebumps, girl. It’s still rigid nipple weather out there.” “Mary!” “I could give you my jacket, Jane,” Rob suggested. “Don’t be silly. I’m fine. Just fine.” Riley gave him a sharp look that he couldn’t quite read, rubbing one of her sleek, slender forearms with the palm of her hand. Rob longed to touch that smooth skin, to see if it was a soft as it looked, to pull her close against him and bury his face in her shiny fall of light taffy-colored hair. “You know each other, do you?” Mary asked. Rob nodded. “No. Not at all--” She flushed again. “We’ve just met. In passing, Mary,” Jane said. She flashed him a look that dared him to breathe a word of what had happened in the hallway. “Sit down here, Jane,” Mary demanded. Her companion complied reluctantly. Mary told Rob to sit as well. “Mr. Murphy is new in town. From Toronto .” She said that with obvious distaste. Laid-back Vancouverites and arrogant Torontonians didn’t mix, a well-known fact. “How long have you been here, Rob?” “Less than a month.” “Are you staying in a hotel?” Mary inquired. He named an expensive one on Georgia Street . “It’s not much like home, but I’m still looking for an apartment to buy. Maybe a loft in Yaletown. I’m looking for a good realtor.” “Jane knows a good one. What’s his name? Greg? Maybe she can introduce--” “Craig’s busy acting right now,” Riley said very quickly. “I’m sure he can find his own person. Vancouver is crawling with them.” “Call Craig anyway,” ordered Mary. It was hard to believe that this imperious little woman had given life to the rather insipid looking, high-living Blake, thought Robbie. In the family enterprise her only living son had walked in her shadow, done everything the way she deemed it should be. “So, your business will keep you here for a while, Robert?” Mary asked, blue eyes impish. “I’ll be in town indefinitely,” Rob said. “You haven’t left some nice young woman behind?” “Not that I know of,” he said, smiling. “I’m single and looking for a wife.” He caught Riley looking at him. Gaping. He’d thrown her for a loop by saying that he was looking for a bride. She quickly averted her jolting, pale green gaze. “Can I get the waiter back for something to warm you up, Jane?” he asked. “Maybe a hot toddy? Coffee?” “No, thank you,” Riley Jane answered primly. “I don’t need anything.” “I like you, Robert,” Mary said enthusiastically. “I know a good man when I see one. You’re very straight forward.” “I try to be.” “There’s a depth to you.” Riley rolled her eyes and covered her smirking mouth with an elegantly made, short-nailed hand. “Would you like to come to dinner tomorrow?” Mary asked out of the blue. “At the house? We have an excellent chef.” Riley’s lips parted but she snapped them shut. Mary caught the narrow-eyed look she gave Robbie and barked at her, “For God’s sake, Jane. Does this man look like a serial killer?” She took so long to answer that he almost laughed. “Not at all, but then neither did Ted Bundy. And Bill Clinton didn’t look like a philandering jerk-wad.” Rob guffawed. He couldn’t help it. Mary waved her hand in dismissal. “It’s my home. I do what I like. How does one get to know new people if one doesn’t have them over?” Mary said. “I get sick of how things are these days. Everyone too worried about getting taken by a con man or having their throats slashed to be friendly to a newcomer.” Mary turned back to Rob. “Will you come?” “It would be my pleasure, ma’am.” “I’ll make sure that Belinda is there. I’m sure the flibbertigibbet will stay put for one evening if someone as handsome as you will be coming. Especially if she knows that you’re actually marriage-minded.” “I’d like that very much, Mrs. Connors.” “Call me Mary, dear.” Riley rolled her eyes again at the endearment. “The night you want to have Mr. Murphy over is already taken. It’s Joy Mitchell’s sixtieth birthday party.” Riley flashed him a triumphant look. “It’s been on the calendar for months and you’ve already sent in your RSVP to say you’ll attend, Mary. I’ve even bought the gift.” “Amazing, isn’t she?” said Mary. “Miss Jane is a regular font of useless knowledge and activity.” “It is what you pay me for.” Mary laughed. “True. Well, Robert, how about let’s put on our thinking caps and outwit Miss Jane?” “I could go for that.” “I know! Why don’t you come with me to the party? There will doubtlessly be some eligible young ladies there. Joy has a herd of granddaughters. Ellen Phillips has some, too, though, I’ll warn you, boy, they’re really not much to write home about.” “I’m sure they’re lovely,” he said. “Did you say a herd?” Mary chortled with glee. “I won’t have an escort. My late son used to always go with me. I’ll miss him this year. I’m bound to get maudlin without something nice to distract me.” “You’ll have me as an escort,” Riley put in. “I’d love to come,” Rob said quickly. Mary offered him one of her bejeweled hands like Queen Victoria . He didn’t bend and kiss it, of course, but gave the withered hand a gentle squeeze between his two hands. She was with it, this old broad. He could tell. He felt a rush of admiration and knew instinctively that she couldn’t be a party to any of the dealings her son or grandson might have had or have with Louis Vasco. He also felt another uncharacteristic stab of guilt at having to use her this way. “Good to meet you, Robert. I look forward to it and that’s a miracle these days. I just spotted Leslie Anderson, my lawyer’s wife, so I’ll leave you with Miss Encyclopedia Jane Brown. She will give you the particulars about the party. She remembers everything.” She glared at Jane. “If you get the address wrong, Jane, heads will roll.” “I hear you, Mary.” The old lady wheeled off and Rob was left alone with Riley, who was looking rather ill-at-ease and tight about the mouth. He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring grin. “Are you up to something, Mr. Murphy?” she asked him outright. “Pardon me?” he answered with feigned incredulity. “Are you after something from Mary? There are ways of having people like you checked out. To see if you’re who you say you are.” He fixed her with a level stare. “With what I just heard about you in the hallway, I doubt that Mary would be the type to worry about people who aren’t what they claim to be.” “What you heard about me is my--” “--your business, Miss Turner. I remember that and what I recently heard about your taking off your clothes at strip bars is not going anywhere.” She lifted her chin. “That wasn’t exactly true.” He felt slightly relieved at that--though he did wonder at the wording--not that he cared about anything she’d had to do to survive. And he knew she was a survivor. He hoped he could claim to be the same. He told her with counterfeit coolness, “Please, have me checked out if you like. I did get a traffic ticket a few months ago, but that’s all I can think of recently. Do you want the particulars from my identification papers?” he asked her. Her finely sculpted nostrils flared. “Am I supposed to believe you’re here simply hoping that Mrs. Connors will introduce you to some eligible young woman?” “Is there something so weird about that? That I’m getting to the point in my life where I have to find the right girl and get cracking on a family?” Her gaze swept him from contact-disguised eyes to the tips of his monstrously expensive kid leather shoes. “Have you looked in the mirror lately? You really shouldn’t have a problem getting a date--with any of the women here or elsewhere.” He smiled. “Wow, Jane. I’m flattered. A compliment.” She lifted her pretty chin. “Take that however you wish.” “I’ll take it that you think I’m hot.” She stayed calm. “Whatever.” “Believe it or not, these days I feel lukewarm at best. I just can’t seem to make anything stick with a girl past a month or two lately. My last relationship ended badly.” “Maybe you should aim higher than girls just out of their teens.” “Ouch. And where would you suggest I look for women? Having had my heart broken recently, I have no idea where to look this time around.” “How sad for you. A broken heart. Don’t tell me you’ve never broken any hearts yourself, Mr. Murphy,” she declared with undisguised cynicism. “It’s a matter of opinion, I guess. I may have broken a few hearts in my time. I’m not proud of it.” He didn’t even flinch saying that. “Why do you want to get married?” “Why else? It’s time.” “And you need a rich woman?” “Not really, but my parents are quite particular about the girls I bring home: the future mother of the grandchildren and all that.” She gave him a look of pure disgust. Like he was a rich wimp she’d use to wipe something distasteful off the floor. “You’d have to aim high just in case she runs off with the gardener and the silverware? Right?” “True. There’s always that problem.” He reached up in a habitual gesture to swipe back his once long hair, but his fingers found it ruthlessly shorn. “Don’t say that you’ve never met anyone else of like mind to me since you’ve been working for Mary and revolving in these circles.” “I revolve on the fringes, Mr. Murphy. I’m well paid for this. I have no illusions.” “I’m sure you don’t.” “I’ve met plenty of men at these parties. They turn out to be jerks mostly. Actually, I wish you all the best in your efforts. You seem harmless. Especially admitting you’re a dud with the ladies. Don’t hurt Mary or her granddaughter in the process.” “I’ll try to remember that. Would you like to dance with a dud, Miss Turner?” He couldn’t bear another minute not having the chance to hold her in his arms. “I’m only asking because I see Mrs. Connors’ creepy grandson heading this way.” Riley lifted her chin and muttered something under her breath; Rob thought it might have been something about his being the lesser of two evils. She grabbed his arm, quickly slipped off her high heels and pushed them under the table with her toes, then pulled him onto the floor. She actually let him take the lead while they danced. Rob remembered a time when he’d had to fight her for it. ~ * ~ “You weren’t very nice to him, were you?” commented Mary in the car later. Riley had been staring out the window of the Bentley into the night thinking about him, about how it had felt to dance with Robert Murphy, how his long, leanly muscled body had felt pressed against her own for that all too brief time. Even having her hand enveloped in his large one had been a lesson in sensuality. Imagine a man that sexy admitting he was looking for a socially suitable wife! That fact alone put him way, way out of her league. She was not wifely material for a society male and she well knew it. Well, maybe Robert Murphy would see her fitting his needs for a juicy little affair, but certainly for the long-term-- Why was her mind even going there? And why did the idea of a go-nowhere affair with a man like him--a sexy, funny, fascinating man--seem almost palatable? “I wasn’t rude to him. I just don’t understand why you were so trusting, Mary. Inviting a man you don’t even know to a party?” Mary shrugged sparrow-like shoulders inside her silk-lined sable coat. “I thought he was perfectly wonderful. I’m old, Jane, not dead. I enjoy looking at a handsome male as much now as I did when I was a young girl. Maybe more so.” Riley smiled. “Okay, I’ll admit Mr. Murphy is a good-looking man.” “Therefore, all the more reason not to trust him?” “I never said that.” “He was very engaging: A good wit. He listens. He drinks beer.” Riley laughed. “Beer? So?” “That means he’s a man’s man. He’d be good for Belinda, don’t you think? A wealthy not-that-much-older man who could settle her down? Give her some needed direction in her life.” “Just like a camp counselor,” Jane muttered sarcastically. “Oh, she’d like that.” Mary laughed. “You liked him, didn’t you?” Riley squirmed in discomfort. “It has nothing to do with me.” “True. But you’ll give me your opinion anyway.” “I think Belinda will be just fine finding her own love interests. If you poke your nose into her business too much she’ll just get more rebellious and restless. She’s doing okay for the most part, but she’s still grieving her father’s death. Don’t presume to choose men for her, Mary. That’s terrible.” “Her father handled her all wrong. Remember when he made her stop seeing that older man they met in France ? Just before his accident. I never did find out who the fellow was, maybe even some friend or business associate of his. Was he French or Italian?” she mused. “I don’t know. I wasn’t with you then.” “Well, Blake may have been right. He was awfully worried about Belinda for once: so unlike him. He used to get nervous whenever Belinda left the villa, for goodness sake. It was puzzling. I never got to discuss it with him. I feel so guilty now. He wanted my help, I think, but I just told him--wrongly--that he was carrying his stress from work home and bringing me down.” Sometimes Mary made a very short reply into a convoluted epic. “I know you suggested Blake take a holiday, Mary, but it wasn’t your fault that he died in that accident.” Mary agreed somewhat reluctantly. “I think Blake would have liked this Robert Murphy. Too bad he’s not going to meet him.” Mary sighed, leaning her cheek on her hand. “And to think I used to wish they’d all move away so I’d have the house to myself. I miss Blake even though I used to complain about the trouble he caused me in his forty-eight years. And I find it hard to let go of Todd and Belinda now that their parents are dead. They have to become adults sometime.” She brightened. “There is one thing I will do this month.” She wagged a finger at Riley. “I’m going to lay down the law. Blake was too lenient with those children. Too wrapped up in his own needs. When he finally started paying some attention it was too late. My fault.” Riley sat up a little straighter. Mary was rambling and it was hard to keep up. “What are you going to do?” “First things first. I’ll put the kibosh to Todd’s friends and so-called business contacts dropping by unannounced. I can’t believe Belinda took up for that boy the other day when I complained about it. Stuck her nose in where it wasn’t needed. I suppose it means she’s becoming more responsible in her own way.” Riley didn’t know about that. “She stands up for him?” “Yes. Just the other night. We had an argument about it. She thinks he needs to take responsibility for his own actions and for the company he keeps.” Riley bit her lip. “What did you say to her?” “I told her that I couldn’t ignore it. There is a time and a place for visiting and people should announce themselves and show up at a decent hour. Don’t you agree?” Riley knew Todd sometimes received visitors, even late in the night, but she hadn’t before heard Mary grumble or comment on it. Riley had heard them in Todd’s suite on several occasions when she went to take her nightly swim in the lap pool, but she hadn’t said anything to Mary, assuming that it wasn’t her place to say anything. She was pretty sure Blake hadn’t worried about it in the past and had assumed Mary would feel the same. “Unless it’s someone like Robert Murphy. He could ring the bell and park his boots under the bed anytime.” Riley sighed deeply. “Anyway, that grandson of mine is headed for trouble. Don’t ask me how I know, but I do. I don’t like it. All the money and status and privilege he has and it’s all going to waste, I’ve heard he’s not even turning up at the office for work lately. Maybe he is in trouble.” Riley said nothing. Having been raised in the midst of it, she was pretty sure that her own idea of trouble and Mary’s were two completely different things. Blake might just be doing something as simple as smoking pot with his buddies or something. She knew he was going to seedy strip clubs. It could be something as obvious as having so-called friends who took advantage of his wealth and stature. Or it could be worse. Maybe even cocaine or something. Mary sighed wearily. “Something’s changed. Or maybe I’m just noticing things I’ve never let myself see before.” “He’s quite young yet.” Riley suppressed a shudder at the thought of what had passed between her and Todd that evening. She didn’t dare mention it now. Was Todd snorting things up his nose? He’d seemed very sweaty, talking fast. “Talk to him when you’ve had some rest. It’s always better that way. Now that the gala’s over and you have time on your hands.” “You are the voice of reason, dear. And that’s true about being young, I suppose. Blake was silly at that age. Blake was easily led his whole life. I made many an excuse for his behavior, for his choices. He married an idiot. God rest her soul.” Riley laid a gentle hand on Mary’s. “Try not to worry too much, Mary. You don’t want your blood pressure to get too high.” Mary snorted. “As if I care about that. Speaking of rising blood pressure, let’s get back to the subject of Robert Murphy. You just can’t believe I got myself a date with a young stud at the ripe old age of seventy-eight. You’re jealous, aren’t you?” Riley laughed. “Of course I can believe it. You’re still a babe, Mary, and you have one hell of a lot of sex-appeal.” Mary hooted. “Oh, that makes me feel better! That’s why I hired you, my girl. What do you think the ladies at the birthday party tomorrow are going to say when I show up with a hot, young stud?” Her eyes lit up in anticipation of the evening to come and for the mere fact that thinking of Rob Murphy could make Mary so animated and happy, Riley was grateful to the man. Not trusting, but grateful all the same. “They’ll be most impressed, no doubt,” Riley said as they pulled into the massive cobblestone, conifer-lined drive that led to the Connors mansion. “Maybe he’ll have to work his charms on you a bit, but I’m sure you’ll come around,” Mary said. “Don’t count on it,” Riley replied dryly. “That man is not my type.” Mary just looked smug.             Three When Riley’s bus pulled up directly in front of a modest South Vancouver bungalow the next morning, Aggie was waiting on her steps with her plump arms wide open. “Riley, my love! How are you?” Aggie Richards, at seventy-one, no longer worked for the provincial ministry as a foster mother, but she had not given up on her kids by any means. She still worked tirelessly downtown helping street kids and she maintained contact with as many of her foster children as she possibly could. In Aggie’s arms, Riley felt like she’d just been wrapped in a hand-crocheted blanket. Aggie’s love was like that: warm and all-pervading, like the scent of apple pie on a Sunday afternoon. “I know it’s been a while,” Riley said, kissing the older woman’s weathered cheek, “but I’ve been working so much--” “Don’t explain. I’m glad you’re doing so well. Come in. I’ve just put on coffee.” Aggie led her back down a narrow hall to the kitchen that smelled of Pinesol and fresh coffee. The place had changed little since Riley had lived there, but the kitchen was gleaming new. A few years ago she and Craig had arranged a big work crew of former kids and they had all chipped in for materials and worked like maniacs to give Aggie a beautiful new kitchen. Last time they were at Aggie’s together Craig had mentioned that the back balcony was rotting away. Apparently it was time to put together a new work crew to fix that as well. Riley held up a small bakery box. “I brought your favorite Italian pastries from Commercial Drive ,” Riley said. Aggie gave a small frown. “I’m supposed to lay off that stuff, according to my doctor, but just let him stop me having one. Sit down, love. Tell me what’s been going on with this job of yours.” Half an hour later Riley had finished her first cup of strong coffee and was licking the last delicious vestiges of double cream, almond and puff pastry from her fingers. “Delicious.” “Eat another. You can’t be thinking of leaving them all for me!” “I can’t eat another. I ate two. Can you imagine the calories and fat I’ve consumed already? Craig will be here later. I’m sure he could do serious damage to that box.” “You could use some fat grams. You’ve gotten thinner. Don’t those rich people eat steaks every day?” Riley laughed. “No. They have a chef who prepares superbly balanced meals. Cuisine,” she said, emphasizing the last syllable. “I can use the gym equipment and the indoor lap pool whenever I like. I’m not thin, just in really good shape now.” “An indoor lap pool. Imagine that,” Aggie said. “The house is huge. I used to get lost in it. It’s good exercise trying to make my way from one end of the house to the other. But on my days off I always go for a big, juicy hamburger and fries.” “And I know where,” said Aggie with twinkling brown eyes. “White Spot Drive-In. You still can’t beat it in my books.” “So, my girl,” said Aggie, rising from her chair with a slowness that Riley had not previously noticed. The old woman seemed stiff, wincing a little, but Riley knew better than to point it out because Aggie would just deny that she was having any difficulty. “When are you going on holiday? You’ve been working well over a year without a break.” “I’ve been to Europe with Mary. That felt like a holiday.” “You do need some time to yourself. One half-day off a week doesn’t give you much time to pursue your own needs.” “I have plenty of time for my own needs. They’re few, believe me. I don’t even think of working for Mary as a job. Not to say that she doesn’t make me work hard. The secretarial duties are huge, what with the charities she belongs to.” “That’s what I mean.” Riley ran a hand over her light taffy-brown hair, pulled tightly back from her face in a ponytail. She didn’t even have to leave the Connors mansion to get haircuts. Mary’s stylist did it for her in Mary’s ‘beauty’ room. She feared that the style was starting to look a bit old-ladyish. Next thing she knew she’d be getting a purple rinse. “I will take a holiday soon. I promise. I’m waiting on some information because I hoped to kill two birds with one stone.” Aggie stared at her, hand crooked on her hip. “You’re not still looking for Grace, are you? Haven’t you decided to start concentrating on your own future, starting your own family?” “I do think about my future.” A family? That was a bit of a stretch. What did she know about families? “And how did that Internet search pan out?” “It didn’t. Grace would have to have logged onto those sites looking for me. She hasn’t bothered to do something like that, I guess.” “Did you contact the company from the U.S. that does searches? I remember you talking about it.” “I’ve tried a few of them. It cost me a lot of money.” Aggie shook her head. “Well, dear, maybe it’s time you gave up.” Riley sighed. “I’m thinking about it. Craig was ragging on me about it, too.” Aggie returned to the table and put her arm around Riley’s shoulder. “I shouldn’t say anything, dear. Try to find her if you need to, but after all these years I know how it feels to look for people who don’t want to be found. Or can’t be found because--” She broke off with a sigh. “Have you tried to find someone, Aggie? One of the kids that had to leave?” “Of course I have. There have been some kids who stayed here--even for a very short time--that I just can’t forget.” Their eyes met and held and Riley knew immediately that she was thinking of Robbie. The enigmatic Robin Butler had apparently had this way of making people love him, care about him, almost against their better judgment. In the small amount of time she’d known him, he’d held her in thrall as well. “Have you asked yourself recently why you need to find Grace so badly, Riley? Have your priorities changed?” “What do you mean?” “Is there something, or someone, missing in the life you have now? Is there something else that you might find to fill that void if you were willing to open yourself up to possibilities?” “I like the life I have now.” Aggie sipped her tea and stared at Riley thoughtfully. Aggie had done a lot of counseling in her time and was adept at knowing when to offer opinion and when to stay quiet. Riley wished she’d stay quiet now. “My sister can’t be replaced by some man, you know, Aggie. If that’s what you’re getting at.” “A man could give you a child of your own to love.” “I’ll have that someday if I want it. With or without a man.” Riley took a deep, shaky breath. “I’m looking for Grace because I have to do it. She’s my sister and I need to keep trying avenues until there’s nowhere left to look, nothing left to try. I need to have that connection to her. Not just anyone. Her. I need to know who she is. Who I am.” Aggie nodded and her sad eyes gazed out the kitchen window at an old birdhouse gracing the corner of the porch. It wasn’t just any birdhouse, but one of spectacular scale that had encompassed hours of work and planning, with different levels, and feeding porches and shuttered windows. A bird hotel, Aggie called it. “The robins always come back here,” the old woman said. “They build a nest right inside. It’s big, the perfect size for robins. Do you know if robins mate for life?” asked the old woman. Riley shook her head. “I don’t know. Jays do.” The paint on the structure was now faded, cracked and peeling, but even if she and Craig were to tear down the rotting balcony, the bird hotel would have to go back to its perch because it meant so much to Aggie. The same way its builder had meant so much to Aggie. Not that she’d ever showed favoritism with her charges, but there was something about the look in her eye, the sound of her voice whenever Robin’s name had come up. Riley remembered the way she’d looked at him when he’d come back that summer. You could see how proud Aggie was of him, despite her disappointment that he’d screwed up again. She told Rory once that it was because Robin reminded her of the biological son who had died when he’d been the same age. They’d said her son’s death was probably a suicide, but the police had never been able to tell her for certain because he hadn’t left a note. His body had been carried off by a tide and found weeks later caught in a log boom. “You’re thinking about him now, aren’t you?” Riley said, sorry she’d led the conversation down this path. “Yes, I think about both of them, my poor John and Robbie. I think about them often.” “I only knew Robin for a summer.” For the extent of what had transpired between them late one August night, certainly she had not known him well enough. That night had made her question her true character for years. That she’d asked a boy she hardly knew to sleep with her had made her question her judgment and her morals for the longest time. She’d seen herself as a mirror image of her screwed up mother where men were concerned. No one had stayed to love and look out for Riley either, so in a way she was exactly like her mother. “I still think of him every day, Riley. He was gifted in so many ways. A wonderful mind. Funny. A wisecracker, but never cruel. Sensitive, even. Good with his hands. His heart was always in the right place. What he could have been under different circumstances,” she lamented. “I heard a rumor that he went to prison somewhere in Alberta .” “That’s true. That was when I lost contact with him completely. He had a hard time, Riley. That boy had a hard life filled with neglect, abuse and poverty. Far worse than anything even you can imagine I’m sorry to say.” Aggie twisted her wrinkled, brown hands in her lap. “Have I ever told you about the letters?” Riley’s heart did a little flip-flop in her chest. “What letters?” Aggie bit her lip. “They started coming about a dozen years ago, each one with some cash in it. No written letter, actually, just money in a plain envelope.” Riley crooked a brow. “Cash? How much cash, Aggie?” “It started out small amounts. Then the amounts got bigger until the person had to start sending International money orders.” “You’re kidding.” She shook her head. “No. I never used the money at first. I kept it in a shoe box. I was afraid it might be tainted, you know, perhaps money from something questionable. But after several years when it just never stopped coming, I started using it to help the street kids I work with on Granville Street . I’d buy blankets and first-aid supplies and food for their dogs and cats.” “It must have been hard to keep that a secret, Aggie,” Riley said softly. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?” “I was afraid to talk about it. I’ve never told anyone before, but now that money’s doing some good for others, so--” “Someone obviously cares a lot about you.” “I’ve been blessed,” Aggie said simply. “You could have told me about it,” Riley gently admonished the old lady. She chuckled. “Maybe I was afraid you’d think you’d have to match it. And you’re fiercely curious and competitive, Riley. And you always were a bit of a snoop.” Riley grinned. “I used to be. That’s settling down somewhat, though Mary has a nasty nickname for me: Miss Encyclopedia Brown.” Aggie bit back a smile. “It suits you. You’d have been like a dog worrying a bone wondering about this mystery benefactor. I was afraid you wouldn’t let this lie.” Riley laughed. “You know me too well.” “Let it lie now, dear,” Aggie urged. “I’ll just deny it if you mention it again. And don’t tell anyone else.” “Maybe someday you’ll find out who it is.” “In my heart I know who it is.” Riley shook her head, running a finger over the crocheted place mat. “Not Robin Butler. Aggie, it couldn’t be--” “It could,” she asserted. “You think our dear little Robin Hood is bilking the rich to give to the poor?” Riley scoffed. Aggie just smiled. “He may well be a very successful man these days. I pray that’s true.” Riley frowned and reached for another pastry. She almost considered telling Aggie about the man she’d met the night before, the tall, devastatingly attractive man who claimed to be from a well-to-do family back East. The man she imagined could be some sort of con man. But it would be silly to mention Robert Murphy to Aggie. Silly to say that he reminded her of a boy she hadn’t seen since she was a kid. Just as it had never been of any use to tell Aggie what had happened between her and Robin Butler that long ago summer. Or what pain had ensued after he’d packed his bags and disappeared for good the following day. ~ * ~ Otis was either going to laugh his ass off or fly off the handle and drag him home. So far Rob had made not an inch of headway with Belinda. She’d barely spared him a glance. Sometimes shit came together and sometimes it just fell apart. Maybe this was one of those fall-apart times. It was going to tick off Otis. For now Rob thought he might be able to gain access to the Connors house if he concentrated his charms on the old lady. It might be harder than he thought, seeing as she was guarded by a beautiful, leggy bull-terrier by the name of Riley Jane Turner. He’d spent the rest of the night after the gala working surveillance on the mansion, a stint that lasted from two until seven in the morning. There had appeared to be no unusual comings and goings by anyone, though Belinda hadn’t come home at all. Todd Connors had sped home around four, obviously under the influence, and almost took off the right headlight of his Viper on the gate post. The kid was an ass. Riley had left the mansion at seven the following morning. Rob followed her. She went for a walk in the park and had a coffee--something he’d been dying for--then headed off by city transit. He knew that she was headed for Little Italy after three blocks of following her bus. Not feeling right about spying on Aggie’s place, Rob just went back to the hotel to catch a few hours of sleep. Rob decided to meet Mary at the birthday party, though she’d called his hotel and offered him a lift in her limo. As he declined he’d wondered if the ever observant and wary Miss Jane Turner had been relieved about that. The party was in full swing when he arrived. Old ladies in sequins outnumbered the other people five to one. There were quite a few eligible younger ladies there, but no Belinda. Mary had told her to come, but it appeared she’d defied orders. Shit. Did nothing go right? Rob looked over at Riley. She was chatting with a group of laughing women. She wore a pantsuit in a deep reddish shade. He was a bit color-blind so it may have been purple or something; all he knew was that the color brought out the red glints in her hair and made her greenish eyes gleam. The outfit was tailored in a mannish-style that was probably meant to be understated. Maybe on another chick it would be. It skimmed over her beautiful body in all the right places. And the shoes were killer: high-heeled, strappy and definitely sexy. If he was in bed with her, he’d ask her to please leave them on. He hadn’t said much to her yet. Not really his choice. She’d so far been polite, but distant, most likely uneasy. During his one chance to have Riley to himself, Rob had been dragged away by an enthusiastic Mary to be introduced to an endless conga-line of old ladies, all her friends, some of whom he’d met the previous night. He’d wanted to impress them, so had committed their names and faces to memory. His memory was exemplary, if he said so himself. He’d wiped their powdery scent and lipstick off his face at least twenty times. Once during the ordeal he’d caught Riley watching him, her full lips quivering in suppressed mirth. Rob had safely crossed the crowded living room, hoping to see if he could engage Riley in some polite conversation, when the room erupted in delighted female squeals. He thought about checking to see if his fly was at half-mast when he noticed a dude dressed like a chef, complete with the high poufy hat heading for the center of the room. Oh, craptastic... Someone turned up the volume on the stereo. The hat came off first, followed by a huge, thick wooden spoon the man pulled out of his baggy pants. Pretty original outfit for a stripper, but Rob decided then and there that he didn’t want to watch some other dude take off his clothes. Otis had made him strip in a club once when he was starting out and the thought of it made him want to puke. Obviously Riley didn’t want to watch either. She averted her gaze, turned quickly and headed for the French doors that led onto the balcony. Fascinated by her reaction, he followed her. The old ladies were far too busy watching the half-naked stripper bump and grind to take notice of Riley’s escape. Did women actually get off on that pelvic thrusting stuff? Rob wondered. And if they did, why was Riley looking sick to her stomach rather than titillated? Maybe she knew the guy. He’d seen something in her eyes. Did they know each other? Did it have something to do with her aborted stint with that strip-o-gram service? He’d known about that before witnessing her encounter with Todd Connors last night. He had a hard time believing she was ashamed of it. But even if she wasn’t ashamed, these people would make an issue of it. It was okay to watch someone take off their clothes for a giggle; it wasn’t okay to have one of these people live in your house. Rob found her leaning against the balcony railing, her hand cradling her temple. “Jane. Are you okay?” he said, feeling a flood of concern that unsettled him. Riley almost jumped out of her skin when she saw Rob Murphy standing there. Oh, great, she thought. “I’m fine,” she managed. “I have a bad headache. Too much Joy and White Shoulders in there, I think.” “White shoulders?” he said. “I guess that guy was a little pasty for a male stripper, wasn’t he? You’d expect he could spend a few of those bucks in his g-string and visit a tanning booth. As for joy? I wasn’t exactly getting off on it.” Riley couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re a closet dork, aren’t you?” He smiled. “Possibly.” “I meant the perfumes. White Shoulders. I hate the cloying smell of that stuff and half the old ladies in there bathe in it.” “News to me. I don’t even know the names of any women’s perfumes. You have a very infectious laugh, Jane.” “So I’ve been told. It doesn’t happen too often. So, you don’t give fine perfume as gifts to your lady friends, Rob?” “Nope. I like women to smell like soap and themselves. Women like to get more personalized gifts anyway.” “Oh? Do you buy them underwear?” she cracked. “Gosh, golly, Jane, who needs underwear?” That made Riley laugh again. She couldn’t help it, but she had to stop it now. Stop this attraction to him in its tracks. He gave that wide, heart-melting grin of his. He was very appealing, she decided ruefully. No wonder Mary liked him. He had a good, twisted sense of humor and quite a lot of patience, even with sharp-tongued, stand-offish women. Charm aside, she knew instinctively that he thrived on getting the upper hand with people. He liked to control the situation: was very obviously good at it. It was subtle, but it was there, in the stance of his perfect male form and the glint in those fathomless, onyx eyes. He liked to call all the shots. He was no dork. There was not a vulnerable, nerdy bone in his body despite the humor. And she told herself that she hated that. Maybe she only perceived this man as threatening because she was falling for his charm. A relaxed and entertaining alpha male, she decided, was definitely not what she wanted in her life. “You can go back in if you like,” she told him. “Back to that, are you?” “What?” “Dismissing me? I’ll stay here, if you don’t mind. Like I said, I’m not really into that weenie-wagging stuff.” He grimaced, puffing out his wide chest a little. She almost expected him to yank up his pants and spit. “Too hetero, Robert?” He gave her a crooked grin. “I’m just as God made me.” Riley giggled. “That will be disappointing to Charles, the stripper, because he’s totally gay. I’ll bet he noticed you.” “You know that guy, eh? I thought so.” Riley sighed. Her hands, griping the rail, were white knuckled. “Yes, I did. A long time ago.” “Feel like telling me? I promise I’ll keep it to myself.” Riley shook her head. But what the hell did it matter? “Todd wasn’t completely off-base about me. I never worked at a sleazy club, but I used to work with the same strip-o-gram service as Charles. Just a few parties. It was nothing sordid; maybe a little naughty, but enough to convince some people that I was ruined, I guess. I modeled for artists, too, at the community college.” “You can’t be judged for that.” “Oh, yes, I can be in this world. Your past always comes back to haunt you and I really don’t need it haunting me now.” Why she had just admitted all that to him, she didn’t know. She believed he wouldn’t tell Mary, but if he thought she was easy pickings now, he had another think coming. “I take it Mary doesn’t know.” “ I know I have to tell her about it one day.” “Do you have to do that?” She stared at him. “I have to tell her. I lied.” “You never lied. I think you’re one of the most honest people I’ve met.” She grinned. “You might be a bad judge of character.” “That’s possible. You omitted a few things on your résumé. I don’t think it really matters, Jane,” he said gently. “You don’t need to explain yourself to anyone. Who you are now is what counts and you seem a pretty exceptional woman to me.” What he said made a warmth bloom in her tummy. She bit her lip, rubbing her aching temples a little. She knew it was ridiculous to take his kindness as a personal endorsement. “Thank you, Robert. I’ll keep that in mind.” “Do you want me to get you something?” “Pardon me?” “For your headache?” he asked. “I’m sure the hostess has aspirin.” “I’m fine. Just haven’t eaten in a while.” “There’s a lot of food in there.” “I’m not hungry for that fancy stuff. They put little bits of caviar on everything. I really hate sushi and dim sum and caviar. I have very unsophisticated tastes in food, I’m afraid.” “Do you want to leave? I could take you home,” he suggested. “I have my rental car--” “Mary will need me.” “Mary’s having a wonderful time with her friends. If you’re ill, she’ll understand. It’s your day off anyway.” “How do you know that?” Riley asked him. She looked at his profile, his bold nose in sharp relief, the lovely curve of his generous mouth and firm chin. “Mary told me how unselfish you are about things like that, giving up your free time for her. There are still gifts to open before supper starts, apparently. Did you see the pile of gifts in there?” Riley grinned. “Probably all naughty. I don’t know what to make of these old ladies.” “You could help me out, if you wouldn’t mind?” he said. “Help you out? How?” she asked cautiously. “Find some eligible woman you want to attract in there?” He smirked over his shoulder. “Not in there. God, I only met one woman tonight who was under sixty.” “Okay. She’s only sixty. So what’s stopping you?” Rob grinned wider. “Well, she might give me a few good years. She was blabbing about how she runs marathons and eats only soy and crap like that.” “No burgers? Give me the simple life when that wasn’t frowned upon.” His face brightened. He looked so cute he made her knees weaken. “I have simple tastes, too. Take me to a good burger place, Jane. Are there any out-of-the-way grease haunts around here? I miss Harvey ’s in Toronto .” “We have the White Spot. It makes Harvey ’s look sick.” “Bite your tongue, lady.” He laughed softly and loosened his silk tie, revealing a smooth, deliciously tanned throat. “Now you have to take me to White Spot. I have my curiosity roused, and when that particular part of me’s aroused it got to be game over for anything else. Want to go fill our boots? I’m starved.” “I really can’t, Rob--” He stared at her mouth for a long moment. “What? Is my lipstick smeared?” she asked. “No, but the night’s still young. You’ve been saying my name. Not Mr. Murphy. Rob... and I like the way it sounds, Jane.” She looked down at her hands, resisting the urge to chew her thumbnail like a dumbstruck schoolgirl. “Trust me. Just a burger and I’ll take you home.” Riley bit her lip. What could it hurt? She was starved, too. “Okay... I will go for a burger with you, but I want to take a cab back to the Connors’ place--” He stared at her for a long moment and nodded. “We’ll do whatever you like.” “Meet me at the front door in ten minutes.” “We could--” “Separately, please.” He showed her the flats of his large palms in mock supplication. “Whatever you say, Jane. I know when not to push my luck.” He started to turn, then gave her a wink over a wide shoulder. She watched him stride away--not quite a strut--hands shoved deep in his pockets so it drew even more attention to a perfectly shaped backside. Oh, damn, she groaned to herself. Why did he have to be so sexy? If he was a plain old normal guy she could be casual friends with him, but looking the way he looked, being rich and eligible, people were going to assume that she was looking at him the way a woman looked at a potential mate-- All she could expect would be a part-time lover. God forbid, but it did sound so damned good. The thought of being in those strong arms for a night. Peeling off those expensive clothes item by item to reveal the glorious male form beneath-- She felt a sudden pang of longing deep in her belly and breasts. She wanted him. There was no denying it.             Four The man liked to eat. And Riley liked that. Men who were afraid of fat and a few calories seemed prissy to her. She knew he probably normally ate for good health and worked out religiously with that body, but it was nice to see a guy licking Triple-O burger sauce off his pinky finger. “God, that was good,” turning to look at her in the front seat of the car, a satisfied grin from ear to ear. “How was your milkshake?” “Delicious,” she said truthfully. She was at that point in the vanilla shake where it was melting and slightly thin. She loved that. “I think I just may steal some of your fries.” She covered the paper container with the flat of her hand. “No way, Murphy. People who do that find themselves minus a finger or two.” He laughed. “You’re ruthless when provoked, aren’t you?” Riley set down her authentic metal milkshake cup. “You should turn on your headlights now. I used to work here as a kid. It takes forever to get one of the carhops to come to life and get the tray; the place closes at twelve.” “Then you’ll just have to let me finish your fries.” Riley laughed, pushing over the paper dish. “Okay. Fine, Robert. You go for it.” “Did you put vinegar and pepper on these?” Rob asked, grimacing after a few. “I did. It was survival of the fittest where I came from. You had to do that so other kids wouldn’t take them.” She’d just stuck her foot in her mouth. Thank God it seemed to go over his head. He took another fry and bit into it. “It’s not that bad, really, if you ignore the sogginess. How old were you when you worked here?” he asked. “I worked here when I was seventeen, until I quit at nineteen. I worked after that as a cocktail waitress in a club. Frankly, I liked this job a lot more.” He gave a slight nod. This man couldn’t possibly know what it felt like to juggle two, sometimes three, go-nowhere jobs, to have no exciting future to speak of--unless it was going to come by divine intervention. “What’s your field now? Do you have formal training?” “I’m trained as an occupational therapist. I got my degree a little over a year ago after my friend Annika’s father had a stroke. I used to go visit him in the hospital and I got hooked. Being a companion to Mary is my first job since school.” “What exactly does an occupational therapist do?” “Well... there’s this sort of lame joke that explains it. How many occupational therapists does it take to change a light bulb?” “Don’t know.” “None. We teach the light bulb to change itself.” Robert smiled. “Good one. That explains it very clearly. So... you’ve got a good job, a career you love--I assume that’s the case. What’s next, Jane?” “What do you mean?” “You’re pretty young.” “If pushing thirty-two is young, I guess I am.” “Do you see someone? Is there a future husband in your life? Kids. All that stuff?” “I don’t know. There are some other things I have to take care of in my life before I can think about dating and future kids and things like that. I’m looking for someone I lost a long time ago.” He stared at her for a moment, his lips parting. She’d probably gone too far, blurting things she usually kept private. His sudden silence was a little perturbing. “A man?” he asked. “No!” She laughed. “God, no. I’ve never lost a man I wasn’t glad to be rid of.” “That’s brutal.” “It’s true.” Sort of true. “You don’t stay friends with old boyfriends?” “I don’t like this line of questioning. I’m not a nun. I see men from time to time. No one steady at the moment. I have male friends, one in particular.” “Oh... Okay. Well, that’s good to hear because I was thinking that you’re single because you are a nun, or gay, or maybe the men around here are blind idiots.” It was such an outrageous thing to say that Riley couldn’t help but laugh. Fortunately the carhop came back just then to take the tray and she didn’t have to talk about her lack of male companionship any longer. “So, what is it that keeps you so busy that you can’t set aside time to find the right man? Are you a die hard career woman?” Riley sighed. “No, though I’d like to go somewhere in this career.” “Who’s this lost person you’re looking for?” She hesitated. “My half sister. I really don’t feel like discussing this at the moment. Not with someone I’ve just met.” His eyes softened--as much as eyes so dark could soften. “Sure. I can understand that.” She switched the focus back to him after the distraction. “Are you sure you didn’t see anyone you liked tonight, Robert? A future Mrs. Murphy?” “I saw a few nice looking women other than the sixty-year-old running, jumping soybean lady. Don’t know if any of them seemed right for me.” “Maybe you should try putting an ad in the paper,” she teased. “Maybe the Georgia Straight newspaper’s singles section. There are some interesting possibilities there, so I’ve heard from my friend Craig. Not that he needs the help.” “Yep, Jane. That might be the way to go with this thing.” He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot onto the busy main street. They drove in silence for a while. Then he said, “I’m really curious about your sister. I know you really don’t want to discuss it, but why’s your sister separated from you?” he asked after a time. “I promise if you don’t want to tell me I’ll just drop the subject for good.” Riley thought that he had dropped the subject once already. She might have known that Robert Murphy was not the sort of man to let go of something that intrigued him. Riley sighed. “I didn’t have the ideal childhood. Unlike you.” He raised a brow, but said nothing. “My mother had some psychological problems. She was bipolar and possibly schizophrenic. She was with a lot of different men. Grace was her daughter from a prior relationship. Grace’s father came one day and took her away somewhere and I never saw them again. It’s like they disappeared off the face of the earth.” “That sucks,” he said succinctly. “Yes.” She gave him a smile. “It does, rather.” He took a corner expertly, if a little fast. He drove like a man who loved to be on the road, preferably in his own car. A far hotter, faster model than the staid rental he drove. “Was there anything good in your childhood, Jane?” he asked softly. “All depends on how you look at it. If not having everything I dreamed of as a kid was bad, I guess I had a hard time. I did okay, though. I found out that there were people who loved and cared for me as much as blood family could. I just had to make myself be open to it. But I guess you’ve noticed that I’m still not completely open sometimes--” “To intimacy, you mean?” He looked right at her mouth. She swallowed hard at that. Good Lord. Thankfully, at that moment the cellular phone in her purse rang. She fumbled in her bag, so glad that Mary had chosen this moment to interrupt. She was the only one allowed to call her on this particular phone. “Hi, Mary. Is everything okay?” ~ * ~ Rob watched in the half-light from the street lamps as Riley’s lovely face went from relieved to concerned. “Isn’t Brian going to come back to the house?” she asked in a near panic. Rob knew that Brian was the chauffeur. “Oh, no, that’s okay. I planned take a cab back. I can stay at the house by myself... Mary, of course I’ll be fine alone... I want you to have a good time with your friends as long as they look after you. Do you have your pills? Belinda will be gone for the night, will she? What about Todd?” She crinkled her forehead in a frown. “Oh... you couldn’t get hold of him.” She gave a small sigh. “Yes. I’ll see you tomorrow. If you need me for any reason--” Rob suddenly took the phone out of her hand. Her lips parted in dismay and she tried to wrestle the tiny phone back. “Hi, Mary,” he said. “It’s Robert Murphy. I’m a little concerned about Jane staying alone in that huge house of yours. No doubt you have adequate security, but--” “Give me that damn phone,” Riley hissed at him. If she’d had a gun, he’d be nailed by now. Rob didn’t give the phone back. Mary was saying exactly what he hoped she’d say. “You think I should do that? Stay with her? She does seem a little nervous--” “What!” she sputtered. “I’d be happy to stay with her. That hotel’s getting a bit boring and I doubt she’d come there to stay with me.” He raised an eyebrow cheekily. “Give me that phone!” she demanded, trying to get the cell phone out of his hand. She almost climbed into his lap in the effort. He had to pull over quickly with one hand. The car practically jumped the curb. With the car parked, after a fashion, he lowered the phone, dropping his voice to a low growl. “That was stupid, Jane. That spaz-attack could have killed us.” “As if!” she sputtered. She was livid. Her bright green eyes flashed like a neon sign. “You didn’t do what I asked you to do, Robert Murphy!” “No, I guess I didn’t. That’s a problem, I take it?” “I hate men who don’t do what I ask them to do. I hate men with personal agendas.” “I’ll bet you do. You’re a control freak.” Her nostrils flared in furious reaction. “Let me say goodbye to Mary. You behave yourself, Jane.” He lifted the phone, watching her sputter and huff. “Bye, Mary. Nope, everything’s fine. Don’t get too crazy tonight.” He nonchalantly handed Riley the phone. Riley put the phone to her ear. “Mary? Hello?” “Is she gone?” he asked. She turned to Rob, looking like she wanted to punch his lights out. All he could think about was kissing her full lips, pressing his mouth to that place on her throat where her pulses fluttered wildly. “What the hell was that about, Robert? You don’t think I can stay in that house by myself?” “Have you ever had to do it before, Jane?” he asked calmly. “Once.” “Was Todd hanging around making his creepy advances towards you?” Riley took in a huffy breath but she looked like she was grappling with something huge that she didn’t quite believe herself. “I told you that I can handle him.” “I believe that to a degree.” “I don’t know you! Who says that I’d want to be in that house alone with you? What if you’re really a crazed psycho and you tie me up, steal the silverware and remove one of my kidneys to sell on the Internet?” He laughed. “The ‘tie you up’ part I like. But only if I get to be tied up, too.” “I think I hate you,” she muttered, tilting her head back against the seat. It was about all Rob could take. He made a quick decision, leaned over and kissed her, pressing his mouth over her full parted lips, swallowing the testy little gasp of surprise she made. He thought he felt her relent for what amounted to one second, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to push it. She’d probably bite him. He moved reluctantly away. Riley stared. “What the hell was that?” “Not much, I’ll admit. I can do one hell of a lot better, but I didn’t relish getting my eyes scratched out.” Riley lifted her hand. Her fingers hovered at her lips for a few seconds. “I meant what was that for?” Rob shrugged. “I haven’t made a single pass at you up until now.” “That I’ve acknowledged, you mean.” “Yeah. You’re one tough little cookie.” Her eyes widened. “Was that inept kiss a pass?” “Nope. It’s out of my system now. You kinda taste like onions anyway. I guess I should have had them leave the onions on my burger.” Her mouth dropped open in horror. “Listen, I got tired of waiting for you to make the first move. I’m going to let you make the next one, seeing as you’re the bossy type.” She glared at him. “Next one? I hope you like long waits, Robert. I’ve only known you two days.” “I feel like I’ve known you for years, Jane.” “I don’t like cads.” “Cads?” he sputtered. “You think I’m a cad? Is that payback for saying you’re bossy?” “That’s how I see you. You are a cad.” She worried her lip with her teeth. “I’ve just decided to go to a friend’s place. I’m going to call him right now.” “Is this a good friend?” Rob asked. “Yes. I sleep over at Craig’s all the time.” He nodded, satisfied with that reply and yet... Rob had known deep down that she wouldn’t let him in the house, but he hadn’t expected her to say that she had a male friend she could just hop on over and sleep with. Who the hell was this Craig? Rob steeled himself not to think about it. He had a job to do. He’d go to the mansion alone tonight and get it over with. He’d have time to snoop around the Connors’ mansion, get the lay of the land, have a peek through Blake Connors’ office and see if he could figure out the security codes. What Otis didn’t know about break-ins wouldn’t hurt him. She was already punching in the numbers as he turned his key and revved the car’s engine to life. “Craig, you’re home! Thank goodness. I’m coming over. You don’t have company, do you?” ~ * ~ Ten minutes later Rob insisted that he walk Riley up into the building even though she had her own keys to Craig’s place. She was still reeling from the fact that he’d kissed her. She wanted to tear his head off for the onion comment, even though it was likely true. She may have considered for a mere second the idea of asking them to leave the onions off her burger. She really adored raw onions. She’d left them on the sandwich out of stubbornness, not dreaming that he’d kiss her. Or maybe wanting him to kiss her and knowing that he’d be grossed out. Idiot that she was. “This is a pretty seedy part of town.” “It was. It’s very chic now. And how would you know the seedy parts of Vancouver anyway? Not being a native.” “I’m not an idiot either, sweetheart,” he snapped back. “You’ve seen one reclaimed warehouse area, you’ve seen them all.” Subdued by his indignation, she didn’t reply. Craig came to the landing door before she could get her keys in the lock. He was dressed in a black silk bathrobe and matching boxers with golden Oriental medallions on them. On a lesser specimen than Craig they’d look silly. Craig was the essence of cool, especially out of his clothes. Riley had to admit that Robert Murphy might have the edge on the remarkable Craig for sheer masculine presence. She wondered how he’d look in nothing but black silk boxers. He’d look phenomenal in all likelihood. “Hey, Riley Jane. It’s late.” Craig gave her a kiss on the lips. Good man, she thought, clinging to him a little longer than necessary. That seemed to take both men aback. “Yuck,” said Craig. “What the hell did you eat? Onions?” Oh, thank you , she thought. This is icing on the cake. So why did she want Rob to think that she had a man in her life, especially when she hadn’t spent a minute since she’d met him not drooling over him? If she wanted him, she could have him. There was no law against it. He wanted her, too. So why the hell did she feel she had to fight this attraction? It had been a year since she’d had sex with anyone other than the firefighter’s calendar and that hadn’t been at all satisfying. Craig grimaced. “Whoa. Been scarfing the menu at White Spot again, Riley?” She glared at him, partly for the use of her real name. “Shut up, Craig. What are you doing home on a Saturday night anyway?” she asked grumpily. “I have a sore back. I threw it out last night.” “Please, don’t tell me how.” “Playing rough hockey, not hazardous horizontal mambo.” Craig grinned at Rob and stuck out his hand. “Have we met before, dude?” he asked. “Rob’s a friend of Mary’s. And I mean that lightly,” Jane said. “Rob, this is Craig Armstrong. Craig meet Robert Murphy, your current rival for the eligible ladies the other night at the gala.” “You look weirdly familiar to me, man,” Craig said. “Maybe like some geeky guy you knew in high school,” Rob said. “I get that a lot. You look familiar to me, too” “Never went to high school. Too busy getting high in those days. I act in commercials. Some movies. Maybe you’ve seen them.” Craig almost preened. “And my face is on some bus stop benches. The real estate thing I do so’s I can eat.” Craig asked Rob if he wanted a beer. Before he could answer, Riley broke in. “He’s eaten a ton. He was just walking me up here for some reason. Robert has this totally silly idea, after knowing me less than forty-eight hours, that I’m some kind of helpless wimp.” Obviously enjoying himself, Craig said in a stage whisper. “Well, she hates spiders, you know, and there are a few other wimp traits about this chick that I could name offhand--” “Shut up, Craig. Thank you, Rob.” She extended her hand to Robert like a guy might do. He looked down at it with what appeared to be amusement. Oh, she was sorry again when his warm, rough palm wrapped around hers. “Maybe I’ll run into you again before you have to return to Toronto ,” she said, hoping he got the hint. “But not if you can help it?” Rob fired back at her. “Is there some unresolved sexual tension here?” Craig teased. He looked fascinated. As an actor he loved any kind of drama and he could make it out of any situation. As for Riley, she just wanted to get away from Robert Murphy and into the oblivion of a hot bath in Craig’s massive tub. “Bye, Robert,” she said with meaning. Rob backed out the door. “Thanks for taking me to dinner... um... Riley. Nice to meet you, too, Craig,” he said, his words swallowed as she rolled shut the heavy door. Oh, God, he’d heard her real name and used it. Lighten up, she told herself. It didn’t matter. “I take it you’re hot for this guy?” Craig drawled. “That would be the reason you’re treating him like he has virulent herpes?” “What do you mean by that?” Riley crossed her arms over her chest. “I talking about this frantic urge to get away from him, slamming doors in his face. What’s that all about? And since that was the dude who was my nemesis at the gala last--” “Mary found him. I want nothing to do with him. Anyway, he’s--Get this!--looking for a beautiful, wealthy, socially acceptable, young woman to bear his children.” “Well, Rye ... your qualifying in two out of four categories ain’t bad.” Riley whacked Craig on the arm as she moved into his ultra modern living space. She flopped on the modular sofa. “Ouch. I was joking. You are young and beautiful and you do have those ever-popular child-bearing hips, Riley Jane.” “I do not!” Was he saying she was fat? “That dude was jealous of me. He was polite about it, but he didn’t want to leave you here. I’ll bet he thinks we’re doing it right now.” He made a few pelvic thrusts, then howled with laughter. “Oh, gross, you jerk!” “You should have gone to bed with him. God, knows, you could use some hot, monkey lovin’.” She swore at him. “Can you imagine that? To just admit that you were looking for a hot prospect to fill your nursery? To a woman who is obviously not in the running? Can you imagine his thinking that I would warm his bed until he finds the genuine article?” “Did he say that?” Riley lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “No, not exactly.” Craig had always had this way of making her see her own foolishness. “He seemed okay to me. He looks damned familiar, though. Where the hell have I seen him? That’s the kind of guy even other hetero males can find attractive without feeling too gay. He sort of looks like Hugh Jackman but with a big nose. I have a big talent crush on Hugh Jackman.” He turned on the television to the movie channel. They sat down and watched some adrenaline-driven car bust-up thing. Riley took in little of the plot. “I think he looks like Robbie Butler,” she said softly after a time. “That guy Ginny and Rory are trying to track down? The thug who ended up doing hard time?” “Yes.” She didn’t defend him. “Wow, really?” “A bit. He looks a bit like him.” With dark irony, Craig asked. “You hated him, didn’t you?” “I never had any opinion on him at all.” “You sure? Aggie said you did.” “That’s not true.” “Aggie doesn’t lie. I saw his picture at Aggie’s once. Let’s put sunglasses and an Apache bandana on this guy and see what we get.” “Let’s not and say we did. I’m being so ridiculous, it’s embarrassing me.” “Gee, big of you to admit that for once, Rye .” She frowned blackly at him. “Ever since I met him I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Robbie. The eyes are different, of course. Robbie’s were that pure blue. And Robbie had that broken front tooth and he was way younger then and smaller... but there’s a quality that--” “So is that why you won’t give this dude the time of day? It’s been fifteen years, Rye . You’ve got to be over him by now. I mean, if you did actually admit to feeling something for the guy back then.” “Okay, I did feel something. It was over so fast. I don’t talk about it.” “But you’re not over it, are you?” “Of course I’m over Robbie. Do you think I’m a moron? That I can’t forget my first crush?” Riley shook her head in disbelief. “You know what I think?” “What?” “I think I have just been coerced into coming here.” “Really? Coerced.” “I was hoist by my own petard. I fell for it. That man makes the manipulation of females into a rare art.” Craig grinned. “I’ll have to get together with him over some beers.” “Robert Murphy is worried about me staying in the mansion just in case Todd comes home.” “I don’t blame him.” “He can’t do this, Craig. He can’t presume to tell me what to do. I don’t even know him.” She smacked her fist on the highly polished marble coffee table. She crossed her arms over her chest, gave a loud harrumph and glowered at the television. Not really interested in her show of pique, Craig fished under the seats of the sofa and pulled out his ab-belt. Craig was into sending for things from the Internet and info-mercials, anything from chest-hair remover to household gadgets. He gave her a long-suffering look after a while. “Don’t look at me like that,” she told him. “This ab thing just makes my face do that. I know you like him.” He shook his head. “And I can’t believe you still think about some teenage crush after all these years. That blows me away, Rye . Robbie Butler is the measuring stick for all the men who have come along since him.” “No way!” “That’s a fact, Jack, and you know it. Good or bad.” He was right. And it was dumb. “I like this guy. If he likes you, too, go for it. You look good together. The man isn’t a tool. I can tell.” “It wouldn’t last.” “Well, nothing lasts for people like us, Rye . We have big issues. Baggage. A whole set of Samsonite. That’s why I always go for it when I can.” Riley blinked as Craig’s tanned, well-toned muscles jumped beneath his skin. It made her wonder what Rob Murphy’s ab muscles would look like doing the same thing and she wanted to kick herself. “You look like you have Saint Vitus Dance.” “Goes with the ADHD.” “You know what, Craig?” She bent to pick up her coat and purse from a chair. “I’m not staying here. This was all his idea, not mine. I’ve stayed at Mary’s house alone before with no problem. He can’t tell me what to do.” “Don’t be ridiculous. Stay here, Rye . I’ll stop being a jerk. I was just having you on.” “I’m not ridiculous! I have never been less ridiculous. And don’t be fake nice to me when I’m pissed off at myself. I hate that.” “We’ll watch another movie. A chick movie this time. Talk about why you’re getting so lathered up over this dude.” “I’m not lathered up. You are so gross. And since when did you ever listen to what I have to say? I end up listening to you whine about your latest bimbo.” She marched towards the door. “Will you call me a cab, please? I don’t know the number of a cab company. I’ll wait for it outside.” “Riley--” “No, thanks. I don’t want to hear anymore about how I’m stuck in a fifteen year Loserville time-warp.” “I’ll drive you,” Craig said with a sigh. “I might as well, Riley Jane. Once you make up your mind--” “Thank you. I hate cabs.” Riley gave him a small grin. “Just take off the ab-belt, please. I don’t want us to crash into a telephone pole.”             Five Fortunately there were no guard dogs at the Connors’ mansion. He hated that. He’d been bitten twice in the last six years. It had been a piece of cake to scale the sandstone wall near the edge of the property--it backed onto a private stretch of beach--and find the back door servant’s entrance. Like most grand homes the servant’s entrance had a bypassed alarm. It prevented having one’s hired drudges try to remember codes--a good thing for the average break-and-enter artist. Not that Rob was an average break-and-enter artist. Once he was in, Rob discovered that the alarms were not engaged anywhere else within the house, but the outside doors and windows gave the obligatory buzz as soon as they were opened. He was pleased. They’d made it easy for him. Someone had walked out and left the huge, opulent home virtually open. He was home-free for as long as he needed. There had been no cars in the Connors’ drive and no neighbors in close sight or hearing range. He would have preferred to have had a schematic of the house so he could go directly to his target, as he’d had in most other operations lately, but that was just his personal leaning. He’d once liked flying by the seat of his pants, but as he got older he found a simple, well-executed plan was better. As he’d expected, the office was alarmed by a separate system, but it only took him about five minutes to disarm it. There was no one in the house in the way of servants, but he could hear the excited yips and yaps of a couple of small dogs behind one of the doors. He didn’t like dogs as far as a break-in job was concerned, but these exuberant little guys probably behaved like this all the time. The room next to Mary Conners’s must belong to Riley. He decided that he’d check out Riley’s room after he finished in Blake’s office. Not that he’d really come to suspect her of any involvement with Vasco, but stranger things had happened. Maybe she had some information on her sister somewhere in her room that he could use to help her. He knew that she wasn’t likely to come to him for help, even if she had reluctantly told him about Grace while they were at the burger place. If he could find out what she had so far--the sister or her sister’s father’s last name, some birth info--he might have something to he could use to help her. He also wanted to see where she slept. Rob sat down in a sumptuous leather chair at the late Blake Connors’s mahogany desk. He searched through a ledger and had a peek through the drawers. He was in no big hurry. He figured he had an hour. Maybe more. It took the better part of a minute to get into the safe, ten more to search the hard copy files in a cabinet hidden behind a mahogany panel. When it came to the computer Rob discovered that for a man who had a crappy safe and a cheap file cabinet, access to the hard drive was extremely well protected. There was no way he was going to figure out how to crack the codes tonight. All the files were heavily encrypted, not necessarily proof that Connors had been doing bad stuff before his untimely demise, but very interesting all the same. He decided he’d have to come back and steal the whole hard drive. Otis and the boys could open it up and have a good look at their leisure. He closed the office carefully, reset the alarms and headed back down the hallway. As he’d have suspected, Riley’s door was locked. Not much of a lock, he discovered after six seconds of fiddling. It bugged him, especially with that sleazy Todd slithering after her. Robin looked around the room where Riley lived. Everything was neat, orderly. Almost pathologically perfect. She didn’t even leave her nighty lying on the pillow. If she wore one. He looked over at the queen sized bed with the thick, pristine white coverlet and sucked in a breath, imagining Riley reclining there in all her glory. Honey hair spread over the pillow, full breasts thrust up, arms beckoning him to come and do whatever he wanted. What she wanted, too. Rob felt his sigh tug in his chest. Damn. Damn he wanted that. He wanted her so badly he could taste her. He looked around. She didn’t have much. Not like you’d expect a young woman her age to have. She owned mostly plain serviceable clothes from places like the Gap and Old Navy, half a dozen pair of shoes. No valuable jewelry, and certainly no stuff that might have been given to her as gifts by boyfriends or lovers. A good sign because Vasco was reputedly generous with his lovers. If Rob was her man he’d buy her something she’d wear to tell the world she was his. Tell everyone else hands off. She had good taste in music. From her CD collection she liked what he liked. Pete Yorn. Weezer. Marshall Crenshaw. Ryan Adams. Early Bowie and Led Zeppelin. A little bit of early Elton, but you’d have to beat on Rob to make him admit he liked Elton. A nice mix of stuff. He searched the desk, coming up with correspondence that pertained mostly to Mary and her charities. There was nothing personal to be found at all, other than Riley’s ledger of personal expenses, her checkbook and her own income tax stuff. She was paying off a huge student loan every month. He admired the hell out of that. That she paid her debts on time. He walked over to a highboy against the wall, looking down at it with a stab of conscience that fled quickly. Had to do what he had to do. He started with the bottom drawers. Most people were more likely to store important papers in the bottom drawer. There was a photo album. He opened it, finding lots of pictures of Riley and Craig, probably taken sometime after he’d left town. She didn’t seem to have that many close girlfriends that he could see. Maybe she didn’t go out that much with the girls. Other women probably found her coolness and beauty intimidating. He found her graduation photo. She’d been a mature student, but she’d gone through all the pomp and circumstance anyway. His heart twisted at how happy and excited she looked in her blue cap and gown, holding a bouquet of red roses. There were pictures of her at a graduation party, flanked by Aggie--looking like she was suppressing a flood of tears--and the handsome Craig, who was proudly bussing Riley’s cheek and pinching her butt. They made a great looking couple. Rob didn’t even want to go there. He went methodically through the other drawers, coming upon ones reserved for lingerie. She had a real nice stash of underwear, mostly serviceable cotton and work-out stuff in one drawer, but there was another drawer with several hot little numbers. Silk panties. Stay-up stockings with wide lace bands that would hug her slender thighs. Scanty bras in size thirty-six-C. God damn... Robin Butler didn’t normally get off on looking at lady’s underwear; to him it was more about what was in the underwear, but hell... All he’d done the last few weeks was fantasize about her. And what he’d been doing to quell the urges wasn’t all that intellectually satisfying. He reached in with his gloved hand and took out a racy little pink lace high-cut bikini. The garment wrapped around his fingers with a will of its own. He could smell perfume, something floral, wafting up from the dainty article. What the hell, he decided. He was a thief at heart and he wanted something to remember her by. Rob tucked the panties into his pocket. That was when he heard the beeping from the vicinity of the foyer. He heard the hurried steps on the marble staircase. Someone was in; someone was coming to this floor. Rob couldn’t open the balcony door. Whoever it was would hear the alarm buzzer sound in the panel in the hallway. Damn. The plantation shutters that covered the balcony doors were good enough to hide behind until she went into the bathroom. The dogs, who had settled down within a few seconds of his being in Riley’s room, started yipping in the next room again. ~ * ~ There was no one as useless or irresponsible as that spoiled brat Todd, fumed a deeply aggravated Riley. The alarms weren’t even activated and he’d been the last person in the household to leave that night. Todd acted like a six year old sometimes. A lot about Todd resembled a six-year old. Riley had taken the liberty of checking converted stables, now the garage, for Todd’s favorite car. The Viper was gone and that gave her a sense of relief. The fact that every other car belonging to staff or family was gone as well was not that comforting given that she was feeling nervous. Like she wasn’t alone. She just hoped Todd didn’t come home right now and catch her near his luxurious guest house. Riley decided to head upstairs for a bath and hopefully a deep and dreamless sleep. She was going to meditate herself into a state of calm. She’d go to her imaginary beach, she decided as she slipped off her jacket and kicked off her shoes. She’d be blissfully alone on the vast beach with the sugar sand, azure sky with clouds like the swirling tops of Dairy Queen ice-cream cones, a sun like a bright yellow balloon-- Suddenly the balloon popped and there was Robert Murphy, lounging beside her on a towel, holding out a rum punch and wearing nothing more than a sheen of suntan oil, nice lean muscles and a wide smile-- Dammit . She muttered something else under her breath and tromped up the cold marble staircase. The dogs were barking like crazy. Hadn’t Alice bothered to feed them before she left? Usually they were curled up together on Mary’s bed. She wasn’t going to bother with them. She didn’t relish the thought of a face licking with their disgusting poodle breath. They were lazy little beggars and would settle down soon enough. They could do their business in their litter box. ~ * ~ He was right. It was her. Shit. She’d just had to come back, hadn’t she? Damn her for doing that. Bloody predictable, unpredictable Riley Jane Turner. She was stubborn. Stubborn to the point of stupidity. Reckless girl thinking she was safe. He was here, wasn’t he? She’d come back because she was pissed at him and that pissed him off. Riley flipped on the television as she yanked off her jacket. He could see the television flicker through the shutter slats. Some sort of soap opera was on the television. She’d taped it. Passions if he wasn’t mistaken by the theme music. He’d fallen out of a third story window a year and a half ago, did a stint in traction and had gotten hooked on the damned thing. Hadn’t watched it since, but he’d lay odds that the plot hadn’t progressed too much. That little doll kid was likely still up to a lot of weirdness. He watched as she tossed the jacket on the chair. She was wearing a black lace camisole top of some kind. It hugged her body like a second skin; the stretchy fabric charted her curves, calling attention to the creamy tops of her firm breasts, long neck and toned arms. Beneath--no bra. The lace thing seemed to be support enough for her. He could see the outline of her nipples just obscured by black lace swirls. She bent at the waist and undid her shoe straps, kicking them off one by one. Satiny dark honey-brown hair flopped over her shoulder. She undid the side zip on her pants next. Why were side zippers so damned sexy? He found himself biting his lip, clenching his hands against his thighs. The teeth of the zipper slid down revealing the pale curve of one hip, the thin strap of a black lace panty that stretched as high as her waist. Something tugged hard in Rob’s groin. It was that old firecracker thing again. He bit back a moan. The silk trousers slithered down around her trim ankles. She stepped out of them, clad only in her tiny panties and that sweet little lace camisole thing. God... damn. She quickly divested herself of both and tossed them on the chair. Okay, poke me. I’m done , thought Rob. Riley was just so freaking beautiful. She bent and retrieved her clothes, breasts bouncing, her butt jiggling just a little because she wasn’t skinny. She was a real woman, rounded hips and lovely, curvy ass. Shapely legs. All in proportion. He knew she wore a size nine shoe. Her waist was thinner than it had been when she was a teenager, a sensuous curve, her smooth belly incredibly sexy. Rob’s breath caught again almost in an audible gasp as she turned and offered him a view of her back. His heart tripped. The sassy little birthmark was there, low on her back and right above one of those twin dimples near her spine. Hell, no wonder Todd wanted her in his bed. A man would be crazy not to. Rob’s sex was hard enough to pound nails now. Rob pressed his head back against the wall and tried to think of something really nasty: like a biker business meeting on a hot day after day-old sushi for lunch; or banana slugs; maybe rusted prison toilets. God. This was a first. Even thinking about his stint in prison didn’t help. But half the time when he’d been horny in prison it had been Riley Turner he’d thought about. God damn. He was in total lust. Maybe even love. No way this was love. He didn’t do that. He did not do love. Robin Butler was smart enough to know that love didn’t exist. And even if it did, it didn’t work out for anyone but a chosen few. He couldn’t remember a time when desire had hit him this hard. He longed to touch her smooth, moist skin, to taste her flesh, warm and scented from her bath. Hell, what they’d had as kids could be classed as nothing more than frenzied groping compared to what he wanted now. He wanted to explore Riley Turner’s body on a whole other level, a level one could only have at maturity. Cripes, he had to get his act together. If he screwed this up now Otis was going to have his currently aching balls on a silver platter, passing them around the office like burnt offerings, claiming that the unvanquishable Robin Butler had been vanquished. By a broad, yet. ~ * ~ Walking naked across the room, Riley dug a cotton tee and panties out of the highboy intent on escaping into her private bath--a luxury she didn’t have to share with anyone--where the huge tub was filling with something decadent from the Lush soap boutique. The familiar scent of jasmine did little to calm her jumpy nerves, however. She’d checked this floor of the house but she felt strange and restless, like she wasn’t really alone. She was just paranoid about Todd, she supposed. She thought about calling Mary to see if everything was okay, but that was silly. She knew Mary’s close and caring friends would see to all of her needs quite admirably. Riley picked up her trousers, tossing them on a chair with a twinge of regret. They were going to get creased and she hated ironing. She looked after everything of a personal nature herself, but she never took any of it for granted. It was lovely coming home to these scrupulously clean surroundings each day and each day she remembered exactly where she’d come from and where she might end up should things not go her way. She recalled some of the places she’d lived with her mentally unstable mother, or in the foster care system. As far back as she could remember she’d lived in an atmosphere of upheaval and uncertainty. She supposed some shrink would tell her she was scared to get comfortable or feel good about things because it could all be taken away in the wink of an eye--or the slash of some social worker’s pen. She pinned up her hair, a dense not-quite curly mass that she struggled with on a daily basis, leaving the bathroom door open into the room so she could hear the soap opera she and Mary taped daily. Mary had gotten her hooked on One Life to Live and Passions. It was ridiculous to think that she would ever wait with baited breath to find out what the crazy people on Passions were up to each day. As she lowered herself into the tub she could feel the tension leave her stiff muscles. As usual her feet were killing her, her calves still crampy and sore. As her body was warmed and soothed, Riley’s mind went back unbidden to Robbie Butler again. Why did she keep thinking about him? It was like her memories of Robbie and her burgeoning feelings for Robert Murphy were inescapably bound. She didn’t for the life of her know why. The thought that they were one and the same flitted through her head again, but that was impossible. Totally ludicrous. Everyone in the world had a look alike. Riley remembered how she, a cynical girl who’d erected a chainlink and padlocked fence around her young heart, had melted like a Popsicle on a hot day at the sight of him. He’d been a lanky boy with a shock of medium-brown hair, broken front teeth and eyes of an otherworldly blue. Not perfection, but to her, damned close. He wasn’t really one of Aggie’s kids when she’s known him. He’d been almost eighteen then, and had come back to rebuild a rotted garage on a neighbor’s property, something to do with payback for a juvenile offense. Aggie had convinced the courts to give him a chance again, since his roll in whatever had transpired was a minor one. He’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time, so she’d argued. Robbie was sleeping in a beat-up trailer at the back of the man’s property when he wasn’t working on the roof. Robbie had left the foster care system at sixteen, as was allowed in the province. With no family that wanted him, he’d been on his own for a while. Riley wasn’t going to leave the system until October. Her stepaunt and uncle wanted to take her and she knew why: they had four bratty kids under the age of five that they wanted her to care for so they could hang around at the beer parlor every night. She was determined to be on her own, too. Aggie had told her that she could stay as long as she liked, but Riley had known it would be too much of a burden. Aggie needed the room for a kid who could bring in the full monthly stipend, no matter what she said to the contrary. Riley hadn’t had a clue what she’d do with her life. Her dream was to get a degree in fashion design, but that was hopeless. She knew she wouldn’t have the money for extras that made a student special to her teachers and competitive with her peers, or the time to spend on her homework; she feared she’d wind up begging for money on the street or on welfare and living with a string of jerks like her mother had. “Two can live better than one,” her mother had always said. Her first glance of Robbie Butler drove self-doubt right out of her mind and she’d walked around in a daze that first week he was working on the garage, unable to keep her eyes off the shirtless boy. He wasn’t attractive in the conventional sense, but full of mystery and shadows, with his lean, agile body and long hair as shiny in the sunlight as a rich lady’s mink collar. The chipped front teeth were his only absurd feature and probably the reason he rarely gave anyone a full-on smile. He’d had this aloof way of holding himself, the brooding angle of his shoulders and the fierce look on his face off-putting to every adult but Aggie, a woman who could storm anyone’s personal form of defense. Because of that brooding quality, there were girls who talked about him and stopped by to flirt and Riley had just told herself there was no way he’d speak to her, let alone notice that she was interested in getting to know him. She told herself that she didn’t need to be interested in a troubled kid like him--a kid who was as poor and screwed up as she was. But it happened anyway. He became her first fantasy in the morning and her last at night, until the night of that crazy party at a neighbor boy’s. Robbie had been there and the fantasy had become real. Even across the room his face had been a bit of a blur to her, because she refused to wear her glasses. At the party she longed to get them from her purse and have a good look at him, see if her imagination and the real thing were in sync. She drank a lot that night. It was nerves. He seemed to be avoiding her. Finally she’d gotten the courage to go up to him and asked him to dance. It was a Bowie song. Ashes to Ashes. She still liked it to this day. The words were really rather appropriate now. They’d danced for hours to The Cult and The Jam and The Clash. He’d danced like a madman, like he was totally into it. No shame, no pretense. He pulled her in and made her feel crazy and happy and free for once in her life. She didn’t care what anyone thought about her. Except him. Everything about him, his energy, his touch, took her breath away. It was the first time that had ever happened. She’d always been aloof. She knew something had to be wrong. Reality was never that good. She’d kissed him on a tide of excitement; he’d thought she was offering up more than she’d intended. Maybe she had intended it, but it spooked her and she tried to cool it. Robin Butler didn’t walk away or reject her. He just smiled and pulled her onto the dance floor again. They’d danced some more and tried to talk over the din. He’d told her in a quiet moment that his favorite thing in the world was chocolate chip cookies. He said he’d been craving them for weeks but that Aggie wouldn’t bake any because he’d gotten himself into trouble again. It was a tough-love thing she used on him. Robin Riley was trying his best to be good so that Aggie would relent and make him some cookies again and, with that boyish confession, Riley had fallen even harder. She’d just up and decided Robin Butler was going to be the one. Maybe not forever, but he was her choice. It was her body and he was going to be her prize. She really wanted to get sex over with, find out what all the fuss was about. She’d gone home to Aggie’s house, totally drunk and starry-eyed, sneaked into Aggie’s kitchen and baked cookies. Then she’d marched over to that dank old trailer with her gift. She’d been scared at first, but touching him, hearing his soft, low voice thanking her for the cookies had boiled into pure, sweet chaos in her heart and her body. “No one’s ever done anything like this for me before,” Robbie said softly, brushing back a lock of her hair. There was a knowing look dallying in his half-lidded blue eyes; something that only intensified the sensation that she might be overstepping her limits. She almost turned and ran at that moment. But when he leaned in to her, his mouth taking hers in a way that compelled her toes to curl, Riley pushed aside all thoughts of escape. “How tall are you anyway?” he asked between kisses. “Um... I’m five-feet eight and one-half inch in my stocking feet. But not tall enough to go to New York and be a model” She told him that with reluctance. “That used to be a secret.” “I won’t tell anyone.” “Am I too tall for you?” she asked, nervous. They met almost eye to eye. “You’re perfect. I’ll just will myself to grow several inches by morning. Okay?” He tongued her earlobe, making her tremble in his arms. She gasped at what he was doing to her, what he was making her body feel, trying to wriggle away from him a little. Robin Butler nibbled at her lips, covering her mouth in baby-soft kisses, his mouth slightly open, his tongue flirting with her lips until she could almost not bear it, until she was desperate for more, breathing in little gasps. Finally he put his tongue fully into her mouth and kissed her again like he really meant business, his hands at her waist, pulling her flush against his masculine hardness. Riley slid her own tongue into his mouth. He abruptly groaned and she felt an enlightening surge of the power she held over him. She let her hands drift down his chest to his waistband. Her hands stole up inside his shirt, a little clumsily, but she wanted to feel the warmth of his bare skin, the light sheen of sweat covering the pleasing curve of his back. He smelled heavenly, like Irish Spring soap, shaving cream, Aggie’s ever present Snuggle Fabric Softener and what she guessed must be potently aroused male. She loved the smooth, satiny hardness of his chest muscles, the way he moaned and quivered at her untried explorations. “Want to take this slow? Or fast,” he whispered against her neck, sliding her tee down over her shoulder, his tongue laving the hollow below her collar bone, covering her bare skin in seductive kisses that set her skin on fire. “I’m not sure,” she said softly. She was glad that the trailer was dimly lit so he couldn’t see her face, see how scared she really was. She was kind of glad she couldn’t see him either. See if she was doing everything wrong. He read her mind. “Are you scared of me?” Robbie asked. “Yes. Maybe a bit--” “Don’t be. We’ve known each other for weeks. From a distance...” “Not like this.” “Oh, yeah, like this. In my dreams anyway.” It was the first time she’d really seen his eyes up close. They were as patient as his kisses were ardent, the blue of sun baked sky. “You’re in good hands. I’m more scared than you are, anyway. Being with you is unreal to me, Riley Jane. Being inside you is going to be so wild. I want to make sure that you’ll like doing this as much as I will.” Oh, God. Why was he saying this stuff? Being inside. “I’m not on the pill.” “It’s okay,” he said, smiling. “I have something.” Riley was thinking that it should have bothered her, the fact that he knew this would happen, but she was glad he made himself accountable for moments like this one. Robbie grasped her waist and turned them around, so that his back and shoulders were resting against the sloping wall of his tiny bedroom in the ancient trailer. She looked down at his body and shivered at how erotic he looked propped against the dingy wall, right against a poster of Bono Vox. His shirt was pushed up around his ribs--she wasn’t even aware that she had done that--his sexy, flat belly exposed above the faded and frayed band of his denim jeans. His mussed dark hair fell into his blue eyes, half covering his face. He suddenly pulled the shirt over his head, tossing it onto the floor. His breathing became labored as if had run hard for a mile or two. She could see the taut muscles of his chest heaving. Something intense and mind-blowing happened to her body as she looked at him, at his sleek, naked torso, the way his skin stretched over corrugated ribs and abdominal muscles. He was maybe a bit too skinny for some girls, but to her he was perfect. Riley swallowed hard as the stirring, quivering sensation took her over, weakening her legs. Her teeth even stared to chatter. His little male nipples beaded up tight as she touched them. She could see his armpit hair, long, thick and damp. How could that be so erotic? His skin was hot, taut, barely leashed-in energy vibrating beneath her fingers. She could hardly wait to get the rest of his clothes off so she could see him stark naked. She looked down at the button of his fly. She saw the hard ridge of male flesh straining the placket and almost changed her mind. He wasn’t scrawny in that department. His fingers skimmed the sides of her over-sensitized breasts as he eased her top up over her head, letting it float to the floor as if his fingers had lost strength. He just looked at her for a long time, not saying anything, his hands settling on her shoulders, skimming down her arms to take her hands, threading their fingers together. He kissed her knuckles then let go of her hands. “Oh, God... Riley Jane,” he said huskily. “Oh, God...” She knew he could see everything: her nipples, the shadowy cleft between her full breasts and she wanted to cover herself. “Oh, Jesus... damn, Riley,” he said. “I can’t believe you came here to me.” He reached out and brushed the backs of his fingers over her puckered nipples, then slowly over the crests, lifting them in his hands. She bit her lip and lowered her head shyly to his shoulder as she felt her breasts tauten almost to pain, twinge from his attentions. “You’re awesome,” he rasped. “So sexy. My nightly fantasies didn’t come close.” Robbie was still braced against the wall, his head a little lower than hers. He pulled her mouth down for another kiss, moving up into her, letting her think she was taking control. She knew she was out of it, totally out of her mind. His hard, work worn hands cupped and lifted her breasts, the rough texture of his thumbs and fingers grazing her nipples, sending arrows of pleasure to flare between her legs. Robbie kept kissing her; his body couldn’t seem to be close enough to hers, his hands all over her. He ground her hips down against his braced thigh, making her gasp and sway as he trailed his tongue down her shoulder to her breast, his eager mouth sucking hard on one tender nipple while one hand clasped her hip, holding her tightly against his body. Too fast. Too much. Not quite enough. Then she could feel his hand slide over her thigh, gliding over the curve of her buttocks. His fingers eased up the loose fabric of her shorts, delving along the edge of her panties. She felt him shudder, felt his long fingers glide over her. She was so wet, so juicy, she felt ashamed. He pressed insistently against her. She jerked--flustered even though she knew what was happening--ready to bolt and hide. The look he gave her changed her mind about bolting. No one had ever looked at her quite like that: reverent, anxious, wanting to please. “You really want me to do this, don’t you, Riley?” She wasn’t sure if it was a question or a statement. She nodded because it was true. She did want him. More than she could imagine wanting anything--anyone. He stroked between her thighs again with slow deliberation, watching her face. She bit her lip to stifle a cry, her body immediately answering the touch of his clever fingers. Things were happening everywhere, beyond her control. She felt dazzled, like a stranger in a sparkling new realm. Her head fell back in helpless shock as he slowly rubbed her tingling flesh, drawing her breast deeply into his mouth once again. Riley felt something exotic and astounding happening, a dark, deep quickening inside of her. The dubious prospect of losing herself forever to this boy flickered to mind and she was crying out as rapture suddenly burst within her. Robbie led her to his mussed up bed, his blue eyes now glittering slits, his voice grinding with effort. The backs of her shaky legs bumped the edge. “Did you just come?” he asked. She could feel his body trembling against hers as they fell. Robbie really seemed to care about her part in this. She liked that, cherished the boyish play of emotion she saw on his face. “I never knew that it would feel that nice with--” she muttered. She was such a weenie. He had to know that! “That was the first time you ever--” He smoothed her hair back, his touch tender. “--that someone gave you one?” “Yeah, I guess,” she answered softly, shaken and self-conscious. She brushed her fingers over his kiss-swollen bottom lip. “Thank you.” He smiled. “I hear it gets even better with practice.” “You practice this a lot, do you?” He gave an awkward laugh and mumbled something she didn’t quite catch about being intimate with tube socks. Tube socks? She felt so naked sprawled there, her flesh still throbbing between her legs. He devoured her breasts with his beautiful eyes as he undressed, shrugging his jeans, his underwear and socks down and off in one smooth motion. She swallowed hard at the sight. Heat shot through her, weakening her limbs. Maybe it was fear. She was insane. Maybe this, this particular part, was a little too much. His body covered her, his mouth locked again on hers, one hand braced on the mattress, the other supporting her waist. She felt the damp surface of his chest against her bare skin as his lips trailed over her neck, her shoulder. “Riley, you don’t have to do this.” His voice sounded throaty, almost harsh. She looked into his blue eyes; they seemed to be brimming with worry: the very real fear that she’d stop him most likely. “It’s okay,” he said, brushing her hair out of her face. “I’ll understand if you want me to stop now.” “I know.” Robbie was being far too accommodating. He made her want to cry, to take him up on his offer to halt this fearful desire, ask him if he would please just hold her close instead. He ran his fingers lightly down her thigh. “We don’t have to go all the way. I like touching you a lot. Maybe you could touch me.” She stared at him, lost to his charms forever now, knowing that everything he said, did, the way he looked at her, made her want him more. She didn’t know the words to say so she didn’t say anything else. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a breathless kiss, her fingers pressing into the smooth flesh of his shoulders, telling him without words. He broke the kiss, trembling as he slipped her shorts off, gazing into her eyes the whole time, his rough-skinned hands rasping her skin. He slid her panties down her long legs, letting them dangle on one ankle. She kicked them off. Her leg accidentally brushed his groin. He jerked and groaned as if in pain, then he laughed. Robbie buried his face in her neck, still laughing; sifting her hair in his fingers. “You’re so beautiful, Riley Jane. You feel so good. Your hair smells like chocolate chip cookies. I’m never going to eat cookies again without thinking of you. God, I don’t want to hurt you.” She closed her eyes, swallowing hard, wondering if he meant now--the sex act--or some hazy time in the future when he might break her heart? “It’s okay. I want you to do it.” Robbie turned from her, fumbling with a foil packet, then came back to her again. He kissed her deeply, but not long enough, then parted her legs and entered her in one, smooth thrust, sucking in his breath as he filled her. She arched upwards with a cry. It hurt. Really bad. He began to move experimentally inside her. She could tell that he was holding back. He was sweating, wanting to thrust harder. He held himself rigid, straining, the muscles of his arms on either side of her neck tensed like iron. She tensed against the pain. “I need you,” Robbie groaned, lowering in a push up of sorts, kissing her hair, her temple, her closed eyelids. “Tell me if it hurts. I’ll stop. Don’t make me stop... this feels so good.” “It’s okay,” she lied. “Don’t stop.” She was not going to cry but she could feel the urge building like a mass in her chest, filling her throat. She held on tightly to him, wrapping her arms around his lean waist. His skin was warm and smooth and damp and his body was so solid despite his lean build. She was overcome by what he made her feel, a love she’d always tried very hard to suppress. Robin’s orgasm was turbulent, intense. His body stiffened as he lost himself within her, groaning and shuddering, saying her name like a litany. With it her pain left and she relaxed, overcome by pride that she’d given him such sweet release. For the sheer emotion he’d been able to stir in her, no one else in her life had ever come close, she thought hurtling back to the present. It seemed stupid to think now that she’d never gotten past the hurdle of her blind, doomed love for that teenaged boy. Riley suddenly felt better, maybe more at peace, having allowed herself the luxury of remembering that right of passage now.             Six Rob heard the toilet flush, heard the splash of the water in the tub. He waited a second then reached up into the top of the French door casing. The house was old, wired for security probably only recently. He rubbed his fingers along the wood, found the wire and gave it a tug. The magnet that caused the beeping signal was just sitting there, secured by a bit of glue. It slid out easily. Disarmed. He opened the door and slipped out onto the patio, taking gulps of cool air into his lungs. He’d come close to blowing it. For someone who took great pride in what he did for a living, he was really close to losing whatever so-called credibility he’d actually possessed. That thought had just crossed Rob’s addled mind when he heard the unmistakable grind of the double front gates. A pair of headlights lit up the drive, hopefully not shining brightly enough to illuminate his position on the verandah outside Riley’s room beside a huge potted topiary. Todd and some buddies here for some drinks? Rob mused. Or a late night business meeting? From the way the men who’d followed him in exited their cars and met a wobbling Todd in the drive in a sort of showdown, Rob suspected it wasn’t for drinks. He looked through the glass. Riley had just walked back into the room, fresh from her bath. He took in the knee-weakening sight of Riley in a tee shirt and tiny, white cotton panties, sitting cross-legged on the bed to comb out her thick, wet, caramel-colored hair. She was laughing about something on the soap opera. He imagined the sound of it in his head. He’d never forgotten that husky little giggle, never would as long as he lived. Maybe he could coax that giggle out of her if he tried a little harder. He decided to stay put for a while. Knowing that she was alone in the house with Todd and his friends, it was a no-brainer that he’d be spending a cold night crouched on a marble floor behind a potted plant. ~ * ~ Riley lay awake staring at the ceiling long after she’d heard Todd’s car come back. While knowing Todd had come back to the house with his friends caused her some concern, there was little to do about it, so she might as well try to get some sleep. If she called Craig and asked if she could come back to the loft, he’d laugh at her. If she got dressed and left the house she’d just rouse Todd’s notice, so she might as well stay where she was. Where the hell would she go anyway? Rob Murphy came into her mind. She shivered, getting a sudden, disturbingly strong mental picture of Robert in his hotel room. In bed in his hotel room, to be specific. Splendidly naked to the waist; nothing more than a white sheet rucked over his lean hips. He was giving her this wide, come-hither smile and patting the empty side of the bed with one of those big, manly hands. Damn! What the hell was she doing? She flipped over on her stomach, pressing her face into the pillow. Oh, God, he was gorgeous. She remembered that kiss from hours ago. Not really much of a kiss as far as kisses went, but it had promised so much more. Just a taste of what could be. She longed to feel it again. Feel his body pressed against hers, feel his hands on her face. The longing was so wild she could barely believe it. Thoughts of tanned, muscled, naked torsos were suddenly conquered when she heard some loud voices in the hallway. Todd? What were they doing on this floor? Were they coming this way? Or going to the suites and offices at the other end of the corridor? The voices did not get louder. They were obviously going to Blake’s wing. Mary had made that part of the house out of bounds to anyone but the maid since Blake’s death. Riley closed her eyes, counted to ten and willed herself to relax. She really wanted to rock back and forth against the mattress, hugging herself close, a comfort thing she’d done as a little girl. It had always worked to get her to sleep, to dispel the anxiety of hearing her mother during one of her psychotic episodes or when her mother was fighting or having sex with one of the strange men she frequently brought home to the small apartment. Riley hadn’t stopped rocking herself to sleep until her teen years when she’d finally felt safe in Aggie’s house. Later she didn’t know if she’d really been asleep or just in the midst one of those weird twilights states, half in dreams, half awake, but she woke to loud voices. Todd’s voice was the loudest. He didn’t sound like he did when he was in one of his snits with his grandmother. Todd usually had come off as smug, thinking he’d win those battles. At the moment he sounded scared witless, not even striving for swagger. What the hell was going on? Whatever it was, it was none of her business. She wasn’t going to go out there and stupidly try to put a stop to it. She couldn’t do anything. She just hoped she didn’t have to get the police involved for Mary’s sake. She opened her door a crack, sure that with the yelling no one would hear the noise of the creaky door hinges. Todd stood at the end of the hall near Blake’s office with two men. They didn’t look like his usual kind of friends. More biker types, one sporting a braid that reached the small of his back. The other was slender, black-haired, bearded and leather-clad. Scary. He looked like the kind of guy her mother often brought home. “Look after it, buddy. We’ve given you long enough. This little problem is yours now. He’s getting impatient and he don’t like it when he gets impatient.” said Pigtail. “Sure. I know that,” a visibly agitated Todd was saying. “Like I told you the other day, it’ll be taken care of. Everything will be fine. I just had some other things to look after. I was gambling a little too much, then I had problems at the office. I have to be careful there--” “Just take care of us first. We’re counting on this. Playing around in the paddling pool isn’t going to do you any good anymore, kid. We’ve got big sharks with us, and they’ll hurt you bad, if you get my drift.” Bearded man looked at Pigtail and they laughed. Riley didn’t quite get the drift, herself, but the aquatic imagery was compelling. Hopefully that idiot Todd would think so, too. Cement boots didn’t quite compare to alligator shoes. “I can get the money to pay those other people off by tomorrow, then I can devote my time to you guys. I swear it was just an oversight. No problem. Don’t like sharks much.” He tittered. It sounded so funny Riley wanted to snort with glee. What kind of sharks exactly? she wondered. Loan sharks? Riley pondered, her spine tingling. Oh, poor Mary... “You’re sure you guys want a Mercedes this time?” Todd asked. “Yeah. That’s what the big man wants. Go figure.” “It’s a nice little car,” Todd said. “I can get the car by Monday. No problem. Any color preference? I’ll just have to get some papers in order and arrange a few things.” “Color preferences?” The other man laughed. “How about blue to match the bruises you’ll have if you crap around like you’ve been doing. We need to get this car on its way to Mexico by Wednesday. The client is anxious to have it for a birthday gift. If you want to hang onto your balls, do it kid. Remember those sharks like a nice big breakfast. We’ll be in touch.” “Interesting way to put that,” Todd said with a stiff laugh. “In touch.” Riley could have sworn that she heard something from the balcony just then. What the hell? Was someone out there? Had the wind just blown over one of the geraniums again? That had to be it. A wet, cold wind was blowing off the inlet tonight. Her agitation had caused her to lean on the door a bit and it gave a slight creak. It sounded loud as thunder to her, but maybe Todd wouldn’t have heard it. A few minutes later she heard a car drive away. She’d just climbed back into her bed when the phone beside the bed rang. Riley almost leapt out of her skin. She fumbled for it before it rang again. “Yes?” “Jane, I know you’re there. Open the damned door,” Todd hissed in the phone. “I’m standing on the other side talking on my cell.” Her heart hammered. “I can speak to you perfectly well this way. And keep your voice down. Mary’s sleeping in the next room. You know she wakes easily.” Lies had never come easily to Riley, no matter how many of them she’d told in her life. “She’s here? Where’s the Bentley?” “She gave Brian the car for the rest of the night. He went to his girlfriend’s place, I think.” It wasn’t uncommon for Mary to do that. Her driver was a good guy and trustworthy. “We came home early. Mary was tired.” “What did you hear?” “Just now? Nothing. I looked out in the hall because I was surprised to hear voices. I assumed you had some noisy friends here and that you’ve been looking for the key to the wine cellar. Mary’s gotten after you for that before.” She’d just given him an easy out and hoped that he was actually smart enough to catch on. “Yeah.” Riley heard the catch of relief in Todd’s voice. “I was doing some business. I left important papers up here in Dad’s office and we were going to have some hundred year old brandy to seal the deal.” “I’m sure Mary will understand that. I won’t say anything to her about your being up here.” Not until I find out what the hell you’re up to, Riley thought. Loan sharks. Gambling. Maybe even smuggling luxury cars. Fool. “You say anything and I’ll get your pretty little ass fired.” “Really?” she scoffed. There was a pregnant pause. “Or maybe we could make an arrangement. I keep your little secrets. You keep mine.” “Not interested in any deals, thanks.” Riley had a hard time keeping the quaver out of her voice. “Make sure you’re quiet so you won’t wake Mary. We’re leaving early in the morning for a spa treatment.” If she knew Todd, he’d sleep until noon . She set the phone back in its cradle and ran her hands through her hair, hugging her knees under the covers. She had to do something about this. She wasn’t a fool. And she wasn’t stupid enough to let something serious like sexual harassment slide just because she had a job and good money at stake, was she? Was she? Did she risk telling Mary about Todd’s late night meetings with big, harsh biker-type bruisers in the very sanctity of Mary’s house? That her grandson was playing with sharks? That he had gambling debts? She told herself she could handle this--her friendship with Mary was worth a little inconvenience. She had a feeling the crap was going to hit the fan soon enough for good old Todd. Mary was already onto him. Maybe Todd would get kicked out on his plump butt and she wouldn’t have to deal with him any longer. Riley found herself grinning as she snuggled into her covers, but that sense of peace was not to last. She woke again around four to the sounds of shrill exclamations in a familiar female voice. She was swearing, foul words, turning the air blue. The poodles had started to yip and scratch. This time Riley didn’t hesitate. She flung on her robe and headed out into the hallway. It was Belinda this time. She never came up on this floor. She’d been in Mary’s room. Mary’s door was open. “Belinda? What are you doing?” Riley hadn’t thought about Belinda’s whereabouts tonight. The girl often spent weekends with her friends partying. Riley wrinkled her nose as the girl walked toward her, swaggering with the aplomb of someone who knew her vaulted place in the world: Belinda smelled strongly of expensive perfume and cigarettes. She rested her French-manicured hands on her sleek hips. “What are you doing home, Jane? The Bentley wasn’t in the garage. Where’s my grandmother?” she demanded. Riley hesitated. “She’s not here tonight, as you can see. What are you doing in here?” “The dogs were barking. I was checking on them.” As if. What did she think? That Riley had just fallen off the turnip truck? “Why don’t you go to bed, Jane?” the girl said. “Not until you tell me what’s going on here.” She shook her head. Shiny blonde curls bounced around like in a shampoo commercial. “I don’t need to explain anything to you.” “I think you do.” She moved into Mary’s room. Stuff spilled out of the bathroom drawers and the dresser by the window. What was that on the bed? She’d spilled Mary’s Halcion pills all over the silk spread. Was that what this was about? Borrowing prescription medication? “I need to get Gram’s keys to Daddy’s office.” “So you ransacked her bathroom?” “She loses her keys everywhere. I know you have her spares. Why don’t you just give the keys to me and we’ll call it a night.” “I can’t do that.” “Oh, really?” she asked in a very good imitation of a belly-pierced diva. “And why not?” Riley walked to the bed and calmly scooped the spilled sleeping pills back into the bottle. “I can’t let you into Blake’s office. That room is on an alarm system anyway. You’ll have to talk to Mary about it when she gets back. What’s so important that it can’t wait for Mary to come back?” “If it’s any business of yours, I need to look for something. Something my father promised I could have before he died. My grandmother hasn’t given it to me yet. She’s been weird about that. About my touching my daddy’s stuff.” “I know that. She’s upset and still grieving. Can’t it wait? I assume this isn’t something that just came up.” She lifted her chin huffily. “I want it now.” “If you tell me what it is I can ask her in the mor--” Belinda glared at Riley petulantly. “If you must know, it’s a piece of jewelry that belonged to my other grandmother and I want it now. It has nothing to do with Mary. It’s mine and I want it.” “I’m sorry, Belinda. I can’t go against Mary’s wishes,” Riley said. An angry look marred Belinda’s pretty looks. “Why don’t you get that stick out of your butt, Jane? Maybe if you had a man in your life you’d stop obsessing about my pleasing my grandmother. What are you anyway? Old spinsters like you need to get a life.” What was it with these two? Belinda and Todd. Otherwise known as Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber. Riley amended that second moniker to Tweedle Mean. Belinda swore under her breath. “Have you seen Todd tonight?” “No,” Riley lied. “I heard his car. I assume he went to his apartment.” She nodded, saying nothing. That was the first time she’d ever heard the girl inquire about her brother’s whereabouts, despite what Mary had told her the other day. They had one of those sibling rivalry things going on. Daddy Blake had obviously liked Belinda best. That whole thing drove Mary to distraction sometimes. Riley could swear she smelled pot as the girl leaned closer. Wasn’t it thought that the stuff was supposed to make one mellower? “Maybe you could fill me in on something.” “Try me.” “Who’s the man my grandmother was yakking incessantly about at breakfast this morning?” “I believe you’ve met Mr. Murphy. Robert. At that party on Friday night,” Riley said tersely. “He told me you’d met.” “What? Really? He told you that?” “He spoke to me for a minute or so.” “What does he look like?” Against her better judgment, Riley described him briefly. “He’s good looking. He said that he danced with you.” “Tall, dead sexy body, dark eyes and hair. Broken nose sort of like Mel Gibson’s?” “I think that’s him.” Belinda laughed. “I noticed that guy.” “You’d have to be dead from the tits down not to,” Riley mumbled, before she could bite the words back. Why did she hate hearing Rob’s description coming out of those bee-stung, painted lips of Belinda’s? “Do you think he’s hot, Jane?” teased Belinda. “That doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, does it?” Belinda laughed. “What does Gram’s toy boy do? Surely you’ve ferreted out that information already?” “Insurance. Family owned.” Belinda rolled her eyes. “Boring. But maybe he’s a good lover. You know what they say about men with big feet. I think that I noticed that while we were dancing.” She lifted a creamy shoulder and a glittery bra strap fell down. “Robert Murphy might be fun for a lark. I wouldn’t mind doing him. Gram would be pleased. I’ve been slipping from her good graces lately.” Riley couldn’t come up with a reply. She was having these disturbing visions of Robert with Belinda. Maybe she should think that way more often. It would put her stupid out-of-control libido back on the right track. “I think I’ll keep him in mind. Maybe I’d like to settle down one day soon. Insurance, huh?” “Yes. I thought you were seeing someone.” Riley couldn’t help asking. She actually wanted to smack Belinda hard. Belinda stiffened suddenly, more reaction than Riley expected. “What do you mean?” “I don’t know. Your grandmother tells me things. She said you were seeing someone in Europe that your father and she didn’t approve of. An older man. Is that all over?” “Since when do you care?” “I don’t. I’m making conversation. We rarely talk, do we, Belinda?” “I’d prefer to keep it that way. Less gets back to Gran.” She gave a cat-like smile. “Maybe you could get it back to her that I’m interested in this Robbie-hunk. Okay?” “I’ll do that,” Riley said. “I’ve made you jealous,” Belinda teased. “Not hardly. You’ve just made me see a few things I’d never noticed before. It was interesting talking to you. Are you sure you don’t want to talk about these?” She shook the pill bottle. “Gran offers them from time to time when I’m wired and can’t sleep.” Riley would have to talk about that with Mary. “I’ll mention to Mary, that you were looking for the jewelry, Belinda.” “What?” “The reason you’ve been in Mary’s room?” “Don’t bother. I’ll do that.” Belinda flashed a manufactured smile. “I’m looking forward to getting acquainted with Robbie, Jane. Thanks for the heads up.” With that she turned and sashayed down the hall, leaving Riley to stare after her, wondering if the girl was stupid as a sack of bricks or as smart as a whip.             Seven She hadn’t slept a wink until dawn after Belinda came back. Rob knew that for a fact. Riley was probably as tired as he was, Rob thought, watching her walk down the front steps of Mary’s home. It sure didn’t tell on her, however. He didn’t know what was more impressive: the huge house in daylight, or Riley Jane Turner in a pair of tight, hipster jeans. He was choosing the latter. Rob lifted Mary’s wheelchair out of the trunk of the car and stifled a groan of misery. His back was killing him. Served him right for spending half the night sitting on a cold slab of marble on the balcony. Otis would laugh, tell him he’d get piles or something. It was his fault for brushing that plant pot with his sleeve and making her more edgy than she already was. Twice, she’d skulked out there to check things out, to make sure there wasn’t one of Todd’s creepy visitors lurking in the shadows. Rob was still curious to know what had transpired in the conversations between Riley and Todd and later, Belinda. Those two were a couple of spoilt brats who needed their heads clanged together. The thought of romancing Belinda was becoming more distasteful every minute. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that. He still hadn’t gotten anything back from Otis about the license plate number of the SUV that he’d seen here last night. He doubted the plate would give him any real clues to the visitors. If these guys Todd was meeting worked for Vasco, any information about them in the public system was probably going to be as fake as his own identity. Rob tried not to stare at Riley, but it was hard not to let his gaze fall on that two inch strip of her gorgeous, toned belly. He willed himself not to look specifically there, but the stuff above and below was so nice, he didn’t know where the hell to look. “Mary? Where’s Brian? Did he forget you?” If Brian, the driver, is smart, he’s probably locked in the arms of his girlfriend this cloudy morning, thought Rob. Possibly he was still a little freaked about finding the air out of every tire in the Bentley. “The Bentley was vandalized. He called me this morning and said he’d be very late getting to the house,” piped Mary, quite cheerfully. “I called Robert. I wasn’t feeling all that well and I didn’t want to come home in a cab.” “Not feeling well? How?” “A bit dizzy is all.” “You could have called me, Mary,” Riley sputtered. “I didn’t want to call you, my dear Jane.” Rob bit his cheek at the look that crossed Riley’s face. He picked Mary’s slight body up and set her carefully into the chair. “I’ve invited Robbie to spend the day at the house,” Mary said. “Tell Angela that we’ll need a nice substantial lunch. And get that look off your face, will you? You look like a dead guppy.” “Angela and Tony are off today. Like usual.” “Then you can make us something, Jane. Like usual.” Mary smiled up at Robert. “She’s a fabulous cook, you know. She can make anything. On a moment’s notice with what’s straight out of the pantry.” “A regular Martha Stewart,” Rob said, unable to keep the teasing out of his voice. Riley rolled her eyes. “Angela must have plenty stocked in the pantry,” Mary said. “I fancy a nice quiche. A lovely smoked salmon quiche.” “Of course,” Riley said with a frown. “I’ll just whip up a smoked salmon quiche. Do you like quiche?” she asked Rob with saccharin sweetness. He smiled. “I hear that’s allowed for males since the eighties. Anything’s fine with me.” “I’ll serve you raw pork and Kool-aide then,” she snarled under her breath. “Maybe some week-old sushi.” He laughed and Mary looked up at them, eyes dancing. “Did you know that Robert plays bridge, Jane?” Mary said. Riley’s eyebrow lifted. “Gee. What a surprise.” “Not at all. I’ve been playing for years. I’m quite good at it.” “He’s going to give the Sunday afternoon Bridge girls some pointers,” Mary said. “Too bad that’s all we can hope for. Bridge pointers.” She giggled like a schoolgirl. “I could go for a little spank and tickle, if I had to, Mary.” Mary crowed with laughter over that. “Don’t tell me you play shuffleboard, too?” remarked Riley. “No. Never liked that game very much. I’m much more proficient at croquet,” Rob said. Riley almost grinned at that. He could tell she had to stifle it. She was very good at verbal sparring, but she obviously knew when she’d met her match. He liked that they could be a match. “There were a few things I wanted to talk to you about in private, Mary,” Riley told her employer. “About something that happened last night--” “I need to talk to you, too. About how you treated Robert after he was so kind to you.” Rob didn’t want Mary to know about Todd’s escapades just yet. He wondered how to change the subject. “Robert was patronizing me. He assumed I couldn’t take care of myself, Mary. He was all wet, but I’ll forgive him for that.” “I was all wet,” he admitted. “I don’t want to hear about this now, Jane. We have a gorgeous young man visiting and he seems to have forgiven you for being so ridiculous.” “He’s forgiven me?” Riley’s voice squeaked. Mary swept her hand in Riley’s direction. “Robert, would you like a beer?” “I don’t normally drink this early,” “Oh, nonsense. A beer, not a bloody cocktail.” “I’d love one. Got some Moosehead?” That comment got another snort from Riley. The sound was not quite scornful. More like he’d delighted her against her will. It pleased him unduly and he reminded himself to cool it. He wasn’t here to make her laugh. Next thing he knew he’d be making another pass. God, he wanted to make a pass, but Belinda was still an option and he had to remember that getting to Belinda was the way Otis wanted it. He’d already gone against the grain enough in this case. If he made a pass at Riley, took her to bed, that was about all it could be. He wasn’t the type of guy who could commit himself to a normal life, make things work in the real world. He told himself to be cool, get the job done and he could get out of here, get back to the life that had become important to him. He knew well enough that it wasn’t possible for him to have exactly what he wanted in life so he’d take what he could get. He began to wheel Mary into the house, usurping Riley’s duties again. He could tell that bothered her. “Have you ever been to Monte Carlo ?” Mary asked him. “A few times.” “It’s been a year for me. I miss it. I’m thinking of going. That would free Jane up for her own vacation time. She has time coming and I’ll have to force her to take it at this rate.” “I will, but I--I didn’t know you were thinking of going to Monte Carlo , Mary,” Riley sputtered. “I did a lot of thinking last night. I don’t have to tell you everything.” “Mary, of course you don’t--” “I am weak with hunger, Jane. I didn’t eat enough this morning and that’s bad for my diabetes.” Her tone was testy and Rob almost resented the way she was treating Riley. “Get lunch started as soon as possible.” Riley patted Mary’s shoulder. “I’ll go and see to it. But there are a couple of important things I wanted to tell you in private, Mary, after lunch--” She gave Rob a long-suffering look. Mary was having none of it. “I’ll talk to you privately later, Jane. I’d like to find out what Robert thought of Monte Carlo while you make lunch. Where did you stay when you were there, dear?” He scrambled. He’d been there once, but spent more time in back alleys than in the fancy spots. It had been a strictly in-and-out job. “I stayed in a nice Winebago at a trailer park. With Princess Caroline and the kids.” Mary laughed. “What time of year?” “Summer. Fall. I don’t think I noticed. She was so beautiful.” Riley rolled her eyes as he and Mary talked about Monte Carlo . From the look on Riley’s face she wasn’t quite as taken with his quips about Monaco as Mary seemed to be. Maybe he’d misread her reaction to the beer comment. Maybe she was still holding a grudge over that kiss in the car. That kiss could have been one hell of a lot longer and hotter. “I’m starved, Jane. Do you think there are some crackers in the pantry, too?” he asked Riley as they crossed the grand foyer. There was one of those round marble tables in the middle with a floral arrangement that would rival anything at Windsor Castle . He’d had to avoid it in the dark last night. “I’ll go and see. Please stay with Mary.” Rob watched her walk away in those damned, hot hipster pants and wondered how he was going to talk Mary into staying around town so he could complete his investigation. He had to get cracking tonight if he wanted to find anything in this house that linked the Connors to Louis Vasco. The only drawback to getting this thing wrapped up soon, Rob decided, was going to be saying goodbye to Riley Jane Turner. This time likely forever. ~ * ~ “You’re a great cook,” said Rob from behind her shoulder after Riley had started to wash the pans from the lunch she’d prepared. “Is it pretty hard to make a quiche?” he asked. She’d splashed the front of her blouse when he’d spoken, but she told herself to be cool. She’d been standing there at the sink, thinking of how good he looked out of a suit. She liked the way he filled out a pair of jeans--maybe a little too stiff and new looking--and the black polo shirt with a little logo on the chest that showed his well-honed arms. He was a sexy man and from the looks of it Belinda was beginning to appreciate that fact. She’d been giggling and flirting with him all through lunch. That was part of the reason Riley hadn’t joined them in the dining room. She knew what she was. Servant. Employee. Mary, by her demeanor today, had helped Riley once more to see that. “Quiche isn’t hard at all,” she explained. “I lived with a lady who taught me to cook. She could make delicious stuff from nothing. You’re not really in here to talk about food, are you?” “Not really. Mary felt a little bad when you wouldn’t sit down at the table with us.” “Did she say that?” “Not exactly--” Riley smiled. “I don’t really mind cooking, you know, or cleaning up. It’s my job. And being bossed around by Mary is expected since she’s the boss.” She grabbed the pot she had just rinsed and dropped it on the drain board with a bang. “I told you this before: I know my place.” She stared into his dark eyes, willing him to understand, then hoped he would turn, walk out and leave her be. He didn’t move, just nodded, commiserating, something she didn’t want or need. “It must be weird for you. Getting drawn into personal stuff and suddenly having to make an about face and forget what you heard, make yourself invisible because they are the ones who sign your paycheck. I’ll bet you do need the time off that Mary mentioned.” “I’m happy with the arrangement here. And it’s rare that I get involved in personal matters regarding this family.” She thought of the previous night. “Of course since Blake died so recently some unexpected issues pop up. As for the time off, I plan to take it soon.” “I don’t believe you,” he teased. “About taking time off?” she sputtered. “No. The personal thing. I think you’ve been drawn into more than you’d like in this place.” “How would you know? Have you drawn a lot of servants into your personal world?” Robert smiled slowly. “If they were all as beautiful as you are, I couldn’t help myself.” She felt a weird little thrill travel up her spine at the compliment. “Believe what you want.” “What’s your opinion on this Monte Carlo thing? Is she always so impetuous?” “I think it would be good for Mary to spend a week or two in Monte Carlo with her friends. She can certainly afford it.” “But you’ll worry about her.” “She takes a million pills and has diabetes, but her friends are wonderful with her. And Belinda can be called upon to help, if need be. I’m sure she’ll want to go. The shopping there is first class.” Robert’s brow went up. “She’s young and impulsive at times, but she’s not clueless where Mary’s concerned. Belinda’s quite devoted to Mary.” She didn’t know why she was saying that. Especially after last night. She kept thinking about those pills that Belinda spilled on the bed. What had that been about? “Let me dry,” he said suddenly, taking a tea towel that she’d draped over her shoulder. His long, hard fingers brushed her neck. She willed herself not to shiver at that slight touch. His fingertips were quite calloused considering the elegantly turned-out man he was. They felt almost like those of a man who had done some hard work recently. That was possible, she supposed. Maybe he sailed, tugged a lot of ropes or rudders, or whatever sailors did. Maybe he played squash. Whatever he did with his free time, she was not going to think about it. Thinking about what he liked to do, who he was, just made her wonder what she was missing, made her wish things that she shouldn’t wish. Like how those hands would feel skimming her thigh, her waist... “There’s not much left to do here. Mary will wonder where you are,” Riley said softly. “Go back,” she ordered. “They booted me out for a while. Belinda wanted to talk to her about a necklace or something.” “Oh... then it’s nothing important.” She sagged in relief, her heart giving a guilty little kick. She didn’t want to see Mary upset about Belinda going through her things so she would just watch over Mary’s room like a hawk from now on. They’d work it out. It didn’t concern her... but she’d still watch over Mary’s room. Robert was right about Mary’s being impatient today. The old lady seemed to be a little off, acting slightly peculiar and crotchety, doing things that were not really like her. Like inviting strange men into the house, for one. Riley hoped she hadn’t had another of those mini strokes. “Is there something wrong?” Robert Murphy asked. “No. I’m sure that it’s nothing. I was wondering if there’s a full moon.” Maybe it wasn’t the moon at all, just him. He cast spells on people. “I noticed that Belinda seemed worried about something. She didn’t eat anything at lunch.” “She never eats.” Riley glanced up from her dishes. “You actually take the time to notice things like that? That a woman’s worried?” He grinned. “When I wasn’t shoveling in the food, I did. When did you form the opinion that all men are self-engrossed pigs, Riley?” “Jane. My name is just Jane.” “Whatever. So, Just Jane, are men pigs?” She found herself smiling. “I’ve known some very nice men in my time. It runs about one in five. Gentlemen to pigs.” He laughed. “Not very good odds.” Riley shrugged her shoulders. “No, not really.” “What was your father like?” She stiffened. “I didn’t know him.” That was out before she could bite it back. Rob rested his lean hip against the counter, threading a tea towel through his fingers. “Is your mother still alive?” “No. She died a long time ago.” “You’re quite young to have lost your mother. That must have been rough.” “I’m fine now.” “I take it you say that a lot. That everything’s fine.” Riley smiled. “It’s true and even if it isn’t, it makes me feel better. I’m very independent. Sometimes to a fault, Craig would say.” “Are you close to him? To Craig?” “Very.” “Do you see each other?” Riley raised a brow. “Do you mean: Are we lovers?” He nodded. “No. Never. Though I liked him when I was seventeen. I--I was on the rebound from someone else then.” She could have kicked herself for letting that out. She’d begun to babble because having him stand there so close was making her nervous. “Craig’s more like a brother to me. He listens to me. Tells me when I’m all wet. He’s insanely funny. Cute, but totally impractical. And he’s a lady killer. I could never be with a man like that. He sort of makes me think of you sometimes. But you’re richer.” Rob laughed. “That’s telling it like it is.” “Another of my many faults.” “You don’t have that many that I can see.” His dark eyes swept her from head to toe. Some men could make you feel naked with a look like that. Naked and self-conscious. Robert Murphy just made her glad she was female. She had to stop this. Telling him she had been with Craig on the rebound from Robin! Next she’d be telling him how he made her think of her first love and the man she’d imagined he could be, walking into her life again at the exact right moment. Grown up and changed. Knowing exactly what he wanted. An unstoppable force. Riley carefully rinsed the sink. He watched her the whole time. She’d never felt so aware of herself. She felt like she was magnified ten times, like he could see directly into her pores. Everything her body could possibly reveal, emotional or physical, was hanging out on display. It was very hard to feel this vulnerable with a man. She couldn’t even remember the last time. “It’s really hard for you to talk about yourself, isn’t it? Or is it just me? Maybe I make you feel uncomfortable.” “I’m sure everyone else opens up to you, Robert. You draw people to you with your looks and charm. You just have that way about you. Mary’s a perfect example of someone succumbing. It amazes me. But at least one of us is almost immune.” “Almost?” Rob laughed again, rubbing his temples. “You give me a raging--” He paused for a minute. “--headache, Jane. You really do. I know you think that I’m a lady killer. You called me a cad the other day.” She shrugged sheepishly. “I shouldn’t have called you a cad. I’m like that. Judgmental. I’m sorry for that.” “May I ask you one more thing before you brain me with that pot?” “Shoot.” “Is there a man in your life now?” “Didn’t you ask me that already?” “I don’t remember. It’s on my mind every time I see you. I haven’t been thinking straight the last few days.” “Rob, like I said before, I don’t have a man in my life. I sleep alone out of choice. When I find someone I want to sleep with, you’ll be the first to know. Deal?” Goodness, that came out rather wrong, she thought. Why did he have to make her feel so flustered? “I’m happy about that, Jane. That you’re not sleeping with anyone else.” She had just gone to hang the copper pot on the rack over the stove. The look in his eyes made her feel legless, unable to get a full breath into her lungs. He was behind her in one smooth step, taking the pot and hanging it for her. He stood there gazing down at her with those dark eyes. She saw the need there. It was a just physical thing for him, this attraction he had for her. She knew all about that--purely physical need--and she understood it completely. She told herself that she had to just let it slide or she’d get hurt. She didn’t like to be hurt. “Jane--” he said in the soft, deep voice of his. “The man you choose is going to count himself as one lucky dude.” The tone of his voice held a wistful edge. “I’ll tell him you said that when he comes along.” He nodded, hesitating. “I want you to know that I really... I really thought I might be interested in Belinda, that she might suit me. That was part of the reason I agreed to come over to Mary’s place, to get to know her better.” “I guessed that was the plan. You should keep at it. Mary likes you.” “I don’t think it’s working,” he said. Riley bit back a triumphant smile. “You can trust me, you know. I like Mary. And I’m not going to hurt anyone she loves.” “I don’t have to trust you just because you tell me so.” He picked up a small skillet. “I’ll be honest with you, Jane. I won’t say things to you that I can’t back up. Mary’s already had me checked out. Did she tell you that?” He gave her a long hard look. “What?” Riley sputtered. “I haven’t spoken to her alone yet today.” “Her lawyer contacted my office in Toronto last night. She told me about it this morning. There’s a fax in her purse. Ask her to show it to you. She’s not stupid and there’s no cause for you to worry that I’m some sort of dirty rotten scoundrel.” “Okay. I won’t worry about it any longer. Mary’s a smart old lady.” She moved away from him, refusing to be swayed by his rugged good looks, his self-depreciating humor or his smooth as brandy voice, or those wide, wide shoulders covered in smooth cotton. “Thanks for helping me with the dishes. I have some things to do,” Riley told him bluntly slamming a drawer shut. “If I don’t come down before you leave this afternoon--” “I’m not leaving this afternoon. Mary asked me to get my bags from the hotel. I’m going to stay here in the house for a few days.” Riley sighed in wretched defeat. He reached across the counter for a forgotten spatula. His lightly furred arm brushed hers. “You really don’t like me, do you? It’s as simple as that. Not as Mary’s friend. Not for Belinda’s future hubby. Not as your--” “I never said that I didn’t like you.” He polished the utensil with those gorgeous hands of his. “Then you do like me?” “What’s not to like? Even when you’re being a jerk there’s something charming about you. It’s ingrained, I’m sure. But I don’t know you. I just work for people like you.” That statement seemed to give him pause. “In the end my opinion doesn’t count. I think we’d both do well to remember that.” “That’s so antiquated.” “I’m an old-fashioned gal, Mr. Murphy. I’m also a margarine kind a girl living in a butter world and I’m well aware of it. I’ll never have a granny with sixty-million bucks or the pedigree to match.” “I wish things were different.” “Yeah, you want to slum it for a night or two? No, thanks.” Riley’s eyes rolled upwards into her sockets in scoffing disgust. He smiled. “If I slap you hard on the back they’ll stick that way forever,” he teased. His words made her breath catch in her throat. She bit her lip hard. “Do you always say that?” “Do you always roll your eyes?” he returned. “It’s a bad habit. My foster mother, Aggie, used to say that to me all the time. About having my eyes stick. Called me on it. Your saying that surprised me.” “It’s an old joke. I had a nanny who’d tell me just that. I guess I did some eye rolling, too. Do you only roll your eyes at the men who push your buttons?” he asked. “I’ve never thought about it.” “I kinda like pushing your buttons, Riley.” “A few men in my past have pushed my buttons, Robert. But only once or twice, then I get back at them.” He laughed again. Rattled, she thrust the last saucepan into the rinse water. “There’s coffee made. If you go back to the morning room, I’ll bring it to you. And the name is Jane.”             Eight That evening Mary was imperious and unapologetic. She’d already had a fit about the bed sheets. The maid had changed her customary fine cotton to fine jersey knit ones that would keep her warmer at night. Her circulation was bad lately. “These stretchy sheets are cheap. I don’t like them.” Riley folded Mary’s cashmere shawl after she tossed it over a chair. “Oprah uses them.” “Bully for her. I’d like you to call your friend Craig Armstrong. Maybe he could show Robert some nice places to lease. It looks like he’ll be here in Vancouver for a while. It’s a very prestigious firm his family owns, by the way. Did I show you the fax I just got from Toronto ?” “I believe you. He’s a paragon of virtue.” “If he did get interested in Belinda, she couldn’t do much better. Not that she’s impressing him very much. She’s been downright peculiar tonight, that girl. I’m going to go shake her silly. That is not the kind of man you let get away.” Riley tugged the jersey pillow cases off the plump down pillows and replaced them with smooth Egyptian cotton. “Are you trying to kill that pillow, or is something bothering you?” Mary asked. “Nothing’s bothering me. I didn’t sleep that well last night.” Mary finished wiping off the last of her foundation at the dressing table. “Did Todd show up after the gala?” “I don’t think so,” she muttered. She shook her white head. “Damn those grandchildren of mine.” The old lady stroked the side of her neck behind her ear, something she only did when she was agitated or getting one of her migraines. Riley hoped it wasn’t one of those. Riley spoke gently to the older woman. “Don’t worry, Mary. You won’t sleep well if you get upset. Belinda will come around, I’m sure. Mr. Murphy is a good catch.” “Yes, he is, isn’t he?” Mary looked at her triumphantly. A devious smile lit her withered face. “I plan to sleep like a log. I took a pill and it’s made me feel a bit woozier than normal. I did have fun playing bridge with Robert tonight, Jane.” “I’m glad. Is he good? At bridge, I mean?” Riley helped the old lady into her bed jacket, then carefully moved her from chair to the edge of the bed. Mary gave another impish grin. “He’s not really as good as he says he is. Robert overstated his talents, I think. He likes poker better and says he’ll teach us how. Mentioned strip poker, the scamp. I’m tempted to let him stay here indefinitely. I wish I could marry him myself.” Strip poker? Good Lord. Riley didn’t want to even go there. She wouldn’t put anything past him, not even lewd card games. “I’ll call Craig tonight about finding him a place.” “It’s too bad he and Belinda have no chemistry. You really don’t have to like each other that much in these merger marriages, though. Mine was like that. I’m sure Robbie understands all that.” “It’s Robbie now, is it?” “You know, Jane, the boy stares at you a lot. I’ve noticed the look in his eyes. You’re a beautiful woman. If Belinda doesn’t clue in and you want to have a fling with him--” “I don’t want a fling with him!” “I would be angry with you, Jane. Be discreet or you’ll find yourself unemployed.” Riley felt herself redden. “Mary, really. Did you take your other pills today? All of them? Something’s out of sync.” Mary lay back against the down pillows. “I think I will sleep now, Jane.” Riley frowned at her, yanking the rest of the covers over the vexing old woman. “Yes, please do,” she said. “Sleep late tomorrow.” ~ * ~ Rob contacted Otis by cell. “You’re in the house,” Otis said. “I think that’s a new record for you. I’d love to have your part of this job, buddy,” Otis chuckled. “No, you wouldn’t. And I didn’t have to seduce anyone. I did it strictly with a load of bull and my prowess in card games. The old lady was smart enough to check me out. The information you guys faxed to Mary Connors was perfect.” “We do our best,” Otis chuckled. “She’ll never know it from the real thing. Have you got anything new to tell me?” “No. I may have more for tonight if I can get into the office again.” “Again? What does that mean?” Rob winced. “Nothing. It all depends on how quiet it is around here. I think everyone’s asleep by now,” Rob said. “Be careful. Take your time. Is the companion as pretty as she looked in that picture?” Rob took a deep breath. “She’s pretty enough. Prickly, too.” “Too bad. From what you can tell, is she on the up and up?” “Definitely. She’s so straight and steadfast a stiff wind couldn’t topple her.” Rob sighed, thinking about how close he’d come to blowing everything in the kitchen. He still couldn’t believe the crap that had been coming out of his mouth. His brain and his body parts still felt out of sync. Thinking about Riley made him crazy. Maybe it would be better if he came clean to Otis now... “What’s the matter, boyo?” “Otis, the girl’s kind of a problem.” “Which girl? The companion?” “Yeah. She’s too smart. I think she’s onto me. I’ve been kind of saying dumb-ass stuff. I feel like I’m going to blow it. I’m coming off like some kind of scumbag nerd.” “Really? That’s a new one.” “Come on, man. I told you I was out of my element here. I am what I am. I have zero class, dude. You can’t make a silk purse--” “You just have to remember your training. I think you have to start thinking with your brain and not what’s between your legs. I can arrange to get rid of her for a while.” “I’ll kill you if you arrange anything where she’s concerned.” “Really? And why would that be? Anything to do with that foster home you used to live in?” Rob sighed. “You know.” “You think we’re stupid, boyo? This has been a test of sorts. See if you can pass it. Want to go back to jail, kid? I can arrange it. When will you be checking in again?” In professional mode, Rob said, “If nothing big happens, it’ll be a few days. And I don’t expect anything big to happen. I think what we have here are weird rich folks and a pair of screwed-up, spoiled, not-so-smart kids who are waiting for the big windfall. The insurance claims on the cars may just have been a run of bad luck like Todd Connors claimed they were. I don’t really believe that Connors was involved with Vasco in a business sense at all.” “You’ve been wrong before.” “Yeah, I sure have,” Rob agreed. “That’s putting it bluntly, Otis. Go home and go to bed before your wife gets pissed at you.” ~ * ~ When she heard the ruckus downstairs Riley was in the midst of one of those strange and unsettling dreams that come hand in hand with mental fatigue and a kind of frustration she’d rather not name. She didn’t want to go down there to check out what the hell was going on, but went anyway, finding Robert and Todd in the dimly lit kitchen. The first thing she noticed when she walked in and flipped on the upper banks of lights was Rob’s impressive bare chest, bedecked with a silver pendant of some kind. It hung between impressive pecs, winking like a hypnotist’s amulet. Thankfully she was distracted quickly from the spectacle of his chest by the sight of Todd. “My God! Were you in a car accident?” she asked. “I fell face first down a flight of stairs,” he muttered. “You look like you ought to be in the hospital.” Riley looked up at Rob who was in the process of wetting a tea towel at the kitchen sink. “Don’t you think he should get this checked by doctor?” “He says he’s okay. As far as I can see, he’s not concussed,” replied Rob. “I’m fine,” Todd insisted. He almost flew out of his chair when Rob applied the cold, wet towel to his cheek. One of his eyebrows was split open and his mouth and nose were still trickling blood. There was no way a simple fall down a staircase had done that. “I’ve seen Fight Club. I know when a guy’s been hammered in the face. Don’t you think the police should be called?” Riley demanded. “Why? To arrest the staircase?” Rob replied smugly. “There’s no need to be a smart ass,” Riley bristled. “Don’t tell me you believe him?” “What are the police going to do? He says he’ll handle this himself. I don’t think he has any broken bones. Maybe a cracked rib.” “What if his spleen ruptures?” Riley asked smugly. “Then it ruptures and he croaks.” Rob shrugged and grinned down at Todd. Todd was looking physically ill. “Right, kid?” “Mary’s going to freak out about this,” Riley said. “Jane, I don’t need you--” Todd hissed as Rob applied ice to his brow. “--tattling to my grandmother.” “Mary doesn’t need to know. Todd’s going to lay low for a few days. Take a bit of a vacation or something.” “Fine...” Riley lifted her chin. “Well, thank goodness Robert was here. He’s proved himself invaluable once again. I’ll leave you fellows to conspire alone now. Don’t forget to clean the blood off the floor. Alice won’t like it.” ~ * ~ Later, unable to sleep, Riley watched from her window as Rob crossed the yard, returning to the kitchen from Todd’s suite above the stables. Riley slipped on her robe again and found him in the kitchen cleaning the blood spatters off the kitchen floor. He wielded a mop with expertise, she observed, not exactly what one would expect of a pampered Eastern society-bred man. If she didn’t know better she’d believe he’d done a stint swabbing decks. Rob, thank goodness, had slipped on the white shirt he’d worn at dinner. It was still open and the tails flapped around his lean hips. He rested on the mop handle, gazed at her for a long moment, then flashed that devastating smile. “What are you up to, Rob?” she asked from the doorway. “It looks like I’m mopping the floor.” “You know what I mean. What’s going on?” Rob raised a dark brow. “I thought you had sense. You’re in the insurance business, right? Isn’t it better to have this trouble with Todd checked out, just in case there are any legal ramifications?” “He got the piss knocked out of him, Riley. That’s about it.” He gave the floor another swipe, slopping water over the bucket. He set the mop against the counter. “Todd said it had to do with a fight over some stripper at a bar. Okay? He doesn’t want anyone to know. I suggest we let him handle it. And let him face the consequences. I figure the kid’s had too many people fighting his battles. He has to grow up sometime.” Riley let out a deep sigh. She couldn’t really argue with that. “Is Belinda home?” “I don’t know. I haven’t seen her since dinner,” he said. “Why the interest in Belinda’s whereabouts?” She stiffened. Did he think she was jealous? “I thought the two of you might have gone clubbing.” Rob said nothing about that. “Would you like something to drink?” he asked. “No, Thanks. Alcohol never helps me sleep. I’ll just go back to my room.” “Maybe something warm?” Riley hesitated but agreed. “I’ll make tea if you want to finish that floor.” They both went to their tasks. Rob watched her as she made the tea, wishing she wasn’t the naturally suspicious type. The last thing in the world he needed was to get the police involved. The cops might find out that Todd had a hand gun in his jacket pocket. Rob hadn’t mentioned noticing it to Todd, but the gun made things one hell of a lot more interesting. The kid was in trouble of some kind, though the ass-kicking seemed a little unsubtle for Vasco’s exacting standards. It wasn’t clear to Rob who’d kicked Todd’s ass or why. He figured if he could ingratiate himself a little further into Todd’s good graces, he might get a little more information. It was going to get him a lot further than romancing that twit Belinda. That was like communing with a bag of doorknobs. He just hoped someone didn’t finish the job on Todd before he could get a few names. He was a little miffed at Riley for interrupting, but looking at her in that body-skimming silk robe and wondering what she had on beneath it had pushed this mess in the back of his mind. She carried tea and a bottle of Grand Marnier to the table, leaning a bit to place a cup in front of him. He caught the scent of something light and floral, maybe her bath soap. Rob had to fight an all pervading desire to take her in his arms, to slant his mouth over hers. “Thanks.” He sloshed the liqueur liberally into his china mug of steaming tea. “Want some?” She bit her lip, aggravating his libido further. “Oh, why not? Want some chocolate chip cookies? I know where the cook keeps the stash.” He remembered the night they’d made love in that trailer in old Farley’s yard: the night that had been the beginning and the end for them. “Okay,” he muttered. “Careful crossing the floor there. It’s pretty wet.” She avoided the wet spot to get the cookies. Her hands shook a little opening the bag. Rob ate several cookies just to fill the void in the conversation. He didn’t know what to say to her. He wanted to steer this impromptu tête-à-tête away from the subject of Todd, but he knew her mind was on what had happened. Riley was like a dog with a ham bone when she was worried about something. “Don’t worry about this, Riley. Todd’s just kind of a goof, isn’t he? No doubt he’s been in trouble before,” Rob assured her. “He’s a spoiled brat. He needs to take care of himself.” “True. Maybe he should get his own first-aid kit for the guesthouse,” Rob said with a chuckle. “Maybe he could hire a buxom nurse.” She smiled at that, wrapping her fingers around the mug. “Why was it that you were still awake and heard him come in?” she asked. “I had a new bed to get used to. I’m sort of an insomniac. These cookies are good,” he said taking another cookie. “Chocolate chip’s my downfall.” “I like my homemade ones best. Angela won’t let me in the kitchen except on her day off. Lately I forget to make them. These are from a bakery on Commercial Drive .” “Do you make cookies for guys you like?” She frowned at him. He wished he knew what she was thinking. “I did once. He didn’t deserve them.” “Guess I’m out of luck then.” She shrugged. “I didn’t say that.” Rob popped the last bite of his cookie into his mouth. The man really was impressive , Riley thought again. And she really had to let this go. He talked for a while, telling her about the cities he’d been and where they had the best cookies. He had an affinity for Mrs. Fields. The best cookies he’d ever eaten he’d had in New York , at some little bakery on the Upper East Side . “Do you think we should check on Todd? Just in case?” she asked later. “He’ll live,” Rob said. Riley sighed. “Then I’d best get back to bed. I think you may have put a little too much booze in my tea. I never drink.” “Why not?” “Because I’ve had a lot of substance abusers in my family. That’s why it’s hard to see Todd behave this way. He has everything going for him and he chooses to waste it all. Do you want me to do the dishes?” Rob smiled in his easy way. “I’ll do it. I know how to load a dishwasher. I can also do laundry, shut the lid of a toilet seat and cap the toothpaste.” “Wow. You’re going to make some woman very happy one day.” “That’s what I’m hoping for,” he said huskily. She gave herself a mental shake and got quickly to her feet. “On that note, I’ll say goodnight, Robert. Hope you get some sleep.” The corner of his mouth lifted in a small smile. He’d been looking at her legs. She was pretty certain of that and she couldn’t help but be flattered. She walked two steps across the ceramic tile floor before her foot slid in something: a puddle of water that Rob had left when he was mopping.             Nine Rob leapt up from the table, but it was too late. Her feet went out from under her, landing her on her butt in the wet patch. “Oh, cripes. Riley, are you okay?” Rob said, crouching over her. She gritted her teeth. “Guess you should stop bragging about your domestic skills.” She yanked her robe back over her bare legs, which were bent akimbo. She figured he could probably tell her what color her panties were. Thank God she was wearing them. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “I can do it myself,” she growled. “Don’t be ridiculous.” “This is ridiculous.” “Jane, just let me help--” He tried to help her to her feet, his hands under her armpits. His knuckles brushed the side of her breast. She stiffened, the wet floor hindering her. Her heart hammered against her ribs. “Let me do this. This is so--” “This is perfect.” Rob pulled her up to her feet, right into his arms. “I couldn’t have planned this better.” Riley swallowed, looking up at his mouth. Her hands were splayed over his hair-dusted chest and she wondered why they weren’t at least cooperating by pushing him away. She could feel the flutter of his heart through his warm skin. “I should--” Riley didn’t know what she should do. She knew too damned well what she shouldn’t. She dropped one hand, but it grazed his hard, bare stomach on the way down, setting off a lightening reaction in her body. Oh, boy... Maybe it was just heightened olfactory nerves, but his subtle cologne--if it was cologne--ought to be branded a deadly weapon to female defenses at this close range. She had to get as far away from him as she could, get back to her room, maybe indulge in a cold shower. Maybe don a dress of sackcloth, something appropriate for a martyr. She looked down at his chest, so very close to hers--a big mistake. He was breathing hard. His nipples were beaded hard as pearls. It was cold in the kitchen. That was all it was, she told herself, not some crazy sexual electricity that arced between them. He gazed down into her eyes. “Are you okay?” “I’m fine.” “God, sweetheart, you certainly are.” Robert smiled, slowly lowering his dark head. She knew what was coming and she told herself she ought to push him off and get out of there in a big hurry. This was not good. Not good at all, but her brain didn’t seem to be connected to her body at the moment. Her body seemed an entity all on its own and it knew exactly what it wanted to do. Robert pressed a light kiss to her forehead, brushing his lips over her temple, then the curve of her cheek, making her shiver. She should have moved right then, just let that be enough, but Riley closed her eyes and the next thing she knew Rob’s warm, commanding mouth had covered hers in a kiss that sizzled a searing path all the way to her toes. Riley found herself sliding her palms up over the taut muscles of his chest, through fine, dark hair covering warm skin, her hands cupping his wide shoulders beneath the soft fabric of his shirt. The kiss grew more intense, his tongue teasing the seam of her lips; Riley’s hand slid up further, curling at the nape of his neck to grasp his hair. Oh, God, she thought crazily, he tasted so good. Faintly like toothpaste and tea and chocolate and a delicious flavor all his own. He made her body ache with need, every limb suddenly weak and trembling. She wanted to take him up to her room or follow him to his, damn the consequences. The sound of someone clearing her throat broke the spell. Riley wrenched herself out of Rob’s hold, staring up at the intruder. It was Belinda Connors and she was dressed to the nines in a back leather halter top, matching hipster pants and stiletto heeled boots. Right in fashion for a Vancouver glam girl. She made Britney Spears look tame. Riley suddenly experienced a surge of resentment and envy that appalled her. “Hi,” Belinda drawled. “What’s going on here?” “A little midnight snacking,” Rob announced. Riley gave him a look that could have peeled paint. “Whatever,” Belinda said, tilting her head, obviously amused. “I was looking for you, Robert. I went to your room but you weren’t there.” He cleared his throat. “Oh?” “I wanted to know if you’d take me to a party.” She gave Robert a sexy little smile. “It’s a little late to be leaving for a party, isn’t it?” Riley asked. “Maybe for some people,” Belinda said looking pointedly at Riley. “Robert’s sophisticated enough to know that people don’t turn into pumpkins at midnight . As a matter-of-fact, midnight ’s when everything gets fun.” She walked over to the table, picked up a cookie and extracted a chocolate chip. She nibbled at it. “Have you two seen Todd tonight?” she asked. “I think Todd said that he worked late tonight. He was beat and went up to bed.” Rob told her. Beat? Riley almost giggled out loud. “My brother worked late? That has to be a joke.” “Why would you even want to know?” Riley asked bluntly. Belinda shrugged a tanned, glittered shoulder. “I ran into some mutual friends who wanted me to say hi to him. They wondered how he was doing lately. That’s about it, if it’s any of your business.” “You’re quite right, Belinda. It isn’t my business. I ought to remember my place,” Riley said, and with that excused herself and walked out, mindful this time of the still slippery floor. She couldn’t even bear to make eye-contact with Rob. Even without looking at him she could feel those perceptive, near-black eyes blazing a path to her soul. ~ * ~ “You’ve got to do this for me,” she hissed at Craig the next evening. Craig flashed a smile. He was draped like a bad, half-naked bordello painting over the massive leather couch. “I can only show him lofts if he wants to see them, Rye . I can’t force people to use my services.” “Robert Murphy needs to look at lofts. He said he wanted to about a week ago. Please. Just call him.” Riley pulled her legs up onto the seat of her chair and hugged her knees. She took another sip of her almost full bottle of beer. It was totally unlike her to drink the gruesome stuff but she was stressed out about Robert Murphy. She’d even had to tell Mary that she wanted to take her vacation at the beginning of next week because she couldn’t stand it any longer. Now she had to scramble to make sure that she was organized enough to continue her search for her sister. She had this feeling it was all going to be a colossal waste of time, as usual. She was going to try to conduct the actual search in Washington State this time. Mary had told her she could use a cabin she owned not far from Mount Baker , so she didn’t have to squander money for a motel. And if she found anything she wouldn’t have that far to travel. It was the aloneness she wanted. ‘Cabin’ was not really the word Riley would use to describe Mary’s place. From the pictures Mary had shown her, it was more like a log mansion. It had once been Todd’s favorite place to go with his grandmother. The stories Mary told about his antics, his love for nature and animals, made Riley almost want to like the hyper little kid Todd had been. Belinda had hated going there because Mary refused to get satellite television, of all reasons. Apparently her son, Blake, couldn’t stand the place either when he was alive. “Hello, Riley?” asked Craig. She shook her muzzy head. “Sorry.” “I’ll give him a call. See if he wants to see a hockey game with me. We can discuss apartment hunting.” “That’d be great. Just don’t talk to him about me.” “Why not?” He was laughing at her again. “Because there’s nothing to talk about. We have nothing in common.” Craig’s eyes twinkled. “Yes, you do, Riley Jane. That’s the problem, isn’t it? You’re interested in the dude and that freaks you out.” “Whatever. Why don’t you apply this psycho-babble to your own demented life?” Craig laughed. “Maybe I should. Why don’t you come along to the game with us?” Riley sighed, reaching for her bag. “Don’t be a goof. I hate sports, with a passion. I should get going. I have a lot of things to get done before I leave.” “Are you coming out to Aggie’s to work on the porch?” “Oh, God. Is that this weekend?” she groaned. “Yep. Me and Ernie already knocked down the porch and cleaned up the debris. You handle a shovel pretty well for a chick. We need someone to help dig the foundation when you’re not helping Aggie get food on the table for us hungry men.” Riley smiled. “Okay, Neanderthal. I’ll be there.” ~ * ~ Riley had seen Rob that week but had managed to avoid being alone with him. It was not an easy feat, but she imagined that maybe he was avoiding her, too. Perhaps even having second thoughts about giving her that kiss. That thought made her stomach twist into knots. Maybe she was inept at kissing or something. She’d gone stale in her old age. She kept telling herself not to think about it, but it was like poking a sore tooth with her tongue. Impossible to stop. It was a glorious kiss, probably the best one she’d had in years. The man was an expert. It was a wonder some woman hadn’t managed to get him to the altar. It had been a matter of days and she craved his taste like an addict. Splurging, Riley took a cab to Aggie’s house at seven on a sunny, warm Saturday morning. She was running late, had missed her breakfast and was dying for a cup of coffee. She looked like hell, wearing no makeup, an old jogging suit and a backwards cap, but she was working on a porch so she didn’t care. Aggie answered the door. The old lady seemed flushed and agitated about something. Her hand shook against the aluminum screen door. Riley considered asking if she was feeling okay, but knew that it would get her nowhere. Aggie would never admit that she was under the weather. “Hi, Aggie,” Riley said softly, giving the older woman a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Am I late?” “Believe it or not Craig was here at six.” Riley quipped, “Wow. He’s an eager beaver. He couldn’t have had his usual Friday night last night.” Aggie laughed. “That boy probably didn’t go to bed. It’s all going to catch up to him one day. Um... he brought a friend with him.” “A friend? You mean Ernie?” “Oh, no. This is a new friend. Craig say’s that Robert is a friend of yours as well.” Aggie peered up into Riley’s eyes. It was like she was expecting Riley to betray some sort of reaction. Riley’s heart sank in her chest like an anvil into a pit of doom. “I sort of know Robert.” “I was thinking that myself...” Aggie muttered absently. Before Riley could ask her to explain, they were in the kitchen. Aurora Taylor, known as Rory, Jenny Parker and Annika Lindstrom, all former foster children of Aggie’s, were hard at work in the kitchen. As Riley walked in the three women, all in their late twenties, were giggling like schoolgirls. Riley received warm hugs from the three women, all the cream of Aggie’s success stories. “So... what can you tell us about the hunk?” asked Jenny in her blunt way. She was pretty and athletic looking, with dark blonde hair and clear blue eyes, six feet tall in her stocking feet. “You’re not going to ask how I’m doing?” Riley teased. Rory guffawed, tossing back her gleaming swath of dark red hair. “He’s all we’ve talked about since arriving. It’s a big deal. Usually we just have Craig to look at and we all know what he’s like. Sexy as hell, but totally devoid of a heart.” Rory and Craig had always had a twisted relationship, had never seen eye to eye on much of anything. Rory was the only person in history Craig couldn’t charm. “Rob seems really sweet,” said the ethereal-looking Annika. Craig always said that Annika Lindstrom looked like she floated down off the top of a Christmas tree. Riley frowned at her. “He’s okay. What I know of him. But he’s looking for a woman with family money and social connections.” The three women stared at her for a moment--like she had three heads and carried a huge pointed stick to burst their bubbles. Finally Jenny laughed and said, “Guess that puts all of us mongrels out of the running. And how the hell do you know all that about him?” “He told me,” Riley said simply. “What can I do to help here?” Annika leaned closer, whispering in a soft Swedish accent. “Try to get Aggie to sit down and have some tea and a bagel. She doesn’t seem herself. When we got here she had the strangest look on her face, like she had seen a ghost or something.” “Sure. I can do that.” ~ * ~ No way, thought Rob with a grunt, shoveling heavy cement into the wheelbarrow. He was being paranoid. Aggie didn’t know him. He looked too different. It was not probable that she’d know him after all these years, after all of the changes. She was an old lady and it had been a long, long time. Rob straightened and wiped his forehead with the back of his suede glove. He wasn’t used to this kind of physical labor. It felt damned good. He’d wanted to see Aggie again. He’d mulled it over last night after Craig had asked him if he felt like helping build Aggie’s porch because he was short one worker. All night Rob had tossed and turned, trying to decide. By the time Craig called in the morning he’d convinced himself that he wouldn’t be doing any harm. That it might be a good idea, satisfy the old longing to see her that had plagued him since he’d left. He knew he had made a huge mistake coming here today. Just another mistake in a long line of them. One look in Aggie’s eyes and he’d felt like he was sixteen years old with his snaggletooth smile, no muscles and that old mullet haircut. An open book. Rob had watched Craig and Eddie, both of whom had come after him by some years, hug the little woman like one would a mother; Rob had longed to do the same. Just once. Afterall, Aggie was Rob’s closest thing to a mother, too. Aggie had said nothing, but something about her silence was telling. He’d always felt guilty about the abrupt way he’d left--like a thief in the night. He’d told himself that he didn’t deserve to see her again after she’d put so much faith in him and he’d failed her. He’d failed her by joining up with people she’d tried to steer him clear of, activities that she’d warned him to leave behind him or risk destroying his life. Leaving Vancouver had been the hardest thing he’d ever done. It had been pounded into him as a kid that it was inevitable: he was born to be bad, a loser. He’d told himself back then that his reckoning might as well come sooner than later. What he’d done with Riley had been the final straw. After Rob had met Otis and had the opportunity to alter the course of his life by using some of his very specialized talents, he’d thought of coming back to see Aggie. He’d just never found the right time. Things were just too complicated, too up in the air. He’d told himself it was because he never knew when one job was going to end or when Otis needed him to go somewhere else. Having a normal life with friends, or people he thought of as family, had never seemed an option. Robin just threw himself into his new, exciting world--a world of make-believe, danger and intensity. He told himself that it was all he really needed. He’d begun to send Aggie money secretly, hoping she’d use it to give her a better life. He’d never wanted to know what she’d done with the money. Rob looked up. He was about to find out how Riley felt about his being here today. She was approaching him with her purposeful stride, her arms crossed over her lovely breasts. The wary body language was at war with the determined approach and made him want to tease her, but she’d likely pick up the shovel lying on the ground and whack him with it. “Hi, Jane. Or should I call you Riley Jane around here?” he asked. She was a little flushed. It was too early in the season to be from the sun. “I don’t use that name anywhere.” “Seems to be what everybody around here calls you.” Riley pressed her soft, peach-tinted lips together in a tight line. “Old habits die hard, I guess. It was nice of you to come and help Aggie, Robert.” “It’s no big deal. I like working outside. Beats the gym any day.” He mixed in another shovel of cement. She looked at his bare belly for a moment, then her eyes flitted away. It was obvious she liked what she saw and that made him want to strut around and crow. “There’s some iced tea or pop if you want some. Aggie’s really opposed to beer before four o’clock , unlike Mary.” She started to turn away. “Maybe you could bring me some of that tea and we could talk. I have to finish rinsing this cement mixer out.” She hesitated. “Afraid to talk to me?” “I could send one of the other girls. Rory would love to talk to you, I’m sure.” “The one with the red and black striped hair?” “She thinks you’re quite hot.” He smiled. “I’m flattered, but I think she likes Craig.” Riley raised a caramel colored brow. “What made you think that?” “He sprayed her with the hose. She was pissed but she glowed. Looked like sixth grade romance to me.” “She hates him. Believe me.” Rob shrugged as he picked up the hose. “I calls ‘em as I sees ‘em.” He began to rinse out the metal barrel of the miniature cement mixer. “She’s got a fantastic job,” Riley told him. “Cool.” “There’s no family money, though.” “Gee, too bad. She’s kind of sexy. Not as sexy as you are, but--” Riley’s lips twitched. He knew he’d gotten to her. “I’ll get you the tea,” she said smugly. “But I’m not going to talk to you.” She came back a few minutes later with two cans of tea and several pastries wrapped in a napkin. She told him that Annika, the Nordic blonde he’d met, had made them. “She’s the pastry chef at the Tudor Hotel. She’s getting really well known and wants to start her own business soon.” “How long did she live here with Aggie?” “About six months. Her older sister was raising her, but she died of cancer.” “Was that during the same time you were here?” She nodded. “I was on my way out the door. I’m older. Craig wasn’t supposed to tell you about my past.” Rob stared at her for a long moment. “Because you don’t want Mary to know about the way you were raised?” “I don’t want anyone to know. Having been in the system makes people think differently of you. They assume you’re not the same as they are. It’s just a given. I don’t want people wondering about me. Period. Or feeling sorry for me. Or thinking that I’m to be admired because I rose above my circumstances, pulled myself up by my little bootstraps. That condescension so sucks.” “From what I’ve seen this morning, you’re all pretty successful. People find that admirable.” “That’s all thanks to Aggie. And I don’t know how successful I am yet. I didn’t do as well as some of the others. I’m a late bloomer. I had to make a lot of stupid mistakes before I got on track.” She stared straight ahead, clutching the can in her hand. “You told me your mom had some problems once.” She nodded. “I did do that in a weak moment, didn’t I? She was really messed up. I was in and out of foster care. The only stability I had was when my gram was alive, then she died.” “Tell me about it.” She sat down on a hummock of grass, pulling at the tufts with her fingers. He sat down beside her. “Where did your sister end up?” “With her father. He didn’t want me... I wasn’t his kid and he hated my mom for what she put him through. I haven’t seen Grace since I was little.” He reached down and stilled her busy hand. She stiffened but she didn’t pull away. “Did you know your own father?” “No.” “As far as I can see, you did pretty well, Riley. You should be proud of yourself.” “Pride is sometimes my downfall.” She sighed deeply. Rob let go of her hand, reached for one of the pastries and took a big bite. He groaned in pleasure. “Wow. This cake thing is really wild.” Riley smiled. “Jenny coined a very pornographic name for those pastries she makes. You just proved it applicable.” “Want a bite?” he asked. “No.” Oh, yeah. She was so tough, denying herself pleasure. She just had to lick her lips, didn’t she? He stared at her moist mouth, felt his groin react. “How’s Todd doing?” He hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the guy in days. It had been a lousy, slow week. Nothing was turning up and Otis was clamoring for information. So far it was all circumstantial, including what had been on the computer hard drive. He’d sent that material off days ago. There was nothing solid to link the Connors operation with Vasco. He was convinced they were barking up the wrong tree but Otis insisted he stay put. Riley seemed reluctant to talk about Todd at first. “I think he’s lying low. Brian, the chauffeur, told me he’d seen him a few times. He’s been taking all of his meals in the guest house.” Rob licked cream off his thumb. “Mary mentioned the other night that Todd had called her and told her he was planning to go somewhere for the long-weekend. He wouldn’t say where. You’re going somewhere, too, I hear?” “Not with him!” “I didn’t assume that.” “I’m off for a week or so, as it happens.” “You’re going to the mountains. Washington ? Mary mentioned it to me.” “That’s the plan.” “Why?” She lifted her chin. “To be alone.” “You and Greta Garbo. What will you be doing?” “I’m writing the story of my sordid life,” was the slightly sarcastic reply. “You’re using the time to find your sister, aren’t you?” She stared at him. “Yes. I want to find her.” “I could help you. I know people with access to a lot of information. Insurance people have a lot of contacts.” He took a long pull from the can of tea. “I wouldn’t think of imposing on you that way.” “You wouldn’t be doing that, Riley. I’d be happy to help you.” She considered that for a moment. “I’ll think about it. I don’t want to stick my nose into things Grace wouldn’t want me to know.” “We’d keep our search simple.” Riley reached for the plate of pastry. “Like I said, I’ll consider the offer. Thanks.” “Where’s this cabin?” “Near Mount Baker .” Rob smiled. “You want company?” “Who? You?” “I like the mountains. Camping out. Living off the land. That sort of thing.” He’d think of some lie to tell Otis. He could swing a week in the mountains with Riley. He’d chase off bears, carry in the newly cut wood, build a roaring fire, chase Riley around the cabin... “No, thank you. And if you dare mention your coming along with me to Mary, I’ll change my plans.” “I thought you’d say that. Are you still mad at me? I’ve given you quite a number of days to get over it.” “To get over what?” “That kiss. That kiss that rocked my world until that idiot Belinda walked in.” He stared at her mouth wanting to do it again. “I’m not mad at you for doing it, but--” “You liked it, didn’t you?” “I didn’t like it that much,” she sputtered. “It had been a while for me. It was... it was a novelty.” Rob actually guffawed at that. He caught her suppressing laughter of her own. “Gee, thanks.” She grinned. “You’re a really good kisser. And I’m man enough to admit that to you, Robert Murphy.” “You are all woman, Riley Jane Turner,” he breathed, looking at her beautiful mouth. “Listen... I don’t want to kiss you again.” He looked at her mouth. “Oh, yes... you do. It was great for both of us. We both felt it clean to our toes. You just admitted as much.” “I don’t get involved with men like you.” “That’s what I get for putting the rush on smart girls.” “I don’t do casual, Robert. I’m sorry.” “You don’t do casual? What does that mean, Riley?” “That’s what you’d want, isn’t it? Just sex? A good time while it lasts.” He didn’t know what to say to that, so he didn’t say anything. She went on in a rush. “I’d be looking for a serious relationship if I were looking. And I’m not looking at the moment. And there’s no chance in hell that I could meet your criteria in a bride--” “Oh, hell... Riley, I--” “Can we drop this, Rob?” she asked. “I just noticed that the others are staring at us and I wouldn’t want them to get the wrong idea.” He sighed. “Whatever you like.” “Listen... I don’t want to come off as a bitch. I like you, but I don’t think that I can be your temporary squeeze, Rob.” “Then it’s not a flat out no? You don’t think... You mean that you’d have to think about it?” “I may have phrased that wrong--” “Don’t rephrase it. Riley, honey, what if we--” He leaned closer to her, his lips very close to hers. So close that he could smell her skin, the slight floral fragrance of her hair, the whisper of lemon tea on her breath. “I have some things to do for Aggie.” She scrambled to her feet suddenly, like the big, bad wolf was after her, and hurried across the lawn. Rob watched her, unable to believe that the desire he was feeling to take her in his arms--to be wanted by her and only her--went all the way to his bones. Pierced like an arrow through his chest.             Ten Rob sluiced his head with water from the tap at the side of the two story house. He was thinking about Craig’s antics. It seemed he had a bit part as a male belly dancer in some Hollywood blockbuster being filmed in Vancouver . He was practicing what he’d learned wearing his tool belt, making nails and hammers fly all over the place. It was great to see Riley in stitches, to know she could really loosen up and have a good time. He wished he could make her laugh like that. Rob had just turned off the hose when Aggie came up to him. His heart did a strange little flip-flop. She handed him an old towel that he’d left draped over the ancient and familiar rust-painted bike stand. “You could have used the bathroom downstairs. You know where it is, Robin James Butler.” Rob stared at her for a long moment. “I didn’t--” “Don’t hand me any bull, Robin. I knew it was you after less than a minute. The changes are remarkable. Even your own mother would scarcely know you. That horrible black hair and the contacts really change your face.” “The part about my mother not knowing me is hitting a little below the belt, Aggie. Half the time she didn’t know me when I was living with her,” he growled softly, wiping his face and his dyed black hair. He draped the towel around his shoulders. “Why, Robbie? Why are you back? And like this? Telling lies.” His heart felt like a small stone in a vast canyon. “I can’t talk about it right now. When what I have to do is done, I’ll come back and explain.” “So you’re not back in town for good?” she asked. He shook his head. “Nope. Not for good. I just wanted see you again and when Craig asked me for help, I figured you wouldn’t know me.” “You figured wrong,” said the cagy old lady. “You figured very wrong.” Rob blew out a deep sigh. “I’m sorry for lying. It seemed like a good idea at the time, Aggie. Curiosity got the better of me.” “You’re not involved in something illegal and dragging poor Riley into it, are you? Tell me that’s not what you’re doing Robbie.” He looked her in the eye. “Nothing illegal. I give you my word.” “You’ve lied to me before. Then why the hair dye and the contacts?” He swallowed hard but the lump in his throat never went away. “I swear there is nothing illegal.” “Then why lie to this Mrs. Connors. She’s a sweet old lady. Why pretend to be someone you aren’t?” “There have only been a few lies. Can we talk about this another time?” Aggie snorted. “Knowing you, there won’t be another time.” “There will be. When I’ve done what I have to do.” “Riley told me you’re romancing the daughter, looking for a rich wife amongst the cream of society. Is that what it is? Is this some way to get money? A con job?” Riley had mentioned him to Aggie? That he was looking for a wife? Rob dropped back his head and grinned. “This was a huge mistake. Coming here today was a huge gaff. Aggie, I am not conning anyone. I promise you that.” She didn’t seem convinced. “I’m worried about Riley Jane.” “Don’t, Aggie. She’s fine. She’s having none of me. She doesn’t recognize me. She won’t get hurt.” “You’ve fallen for her again. Haven’t you?” she said in wonder. “After all these years you’ve come back to--” He gritted his teeth. “I haven’t held on to some teenaged fling for all these years, Aggie. Neither has she.” “So you say.” “She’s a beautiful woman now, Aggie. As for falling in love... I don’t know what the hell that is. I never did.” “You would know love if you’d let yourself, my boy.” Rob could see tears threatening to fall from Aggie’s eyes. Her glasses were a bit fogged. He was afraid one of the others might come back here and see them talking, wonder what the hell was going on and his cover would be blown completely. “I always wondered what had happened to you,” she said. “I wondered if I’d ever see you again.” “I know. I wondered the same thing about you. You were the closest thing to a mother I ever knew, the only person who ever really cared what happened to me.” He laid a hand over her thin shoulder. She looked up at him as one lone tear fell from beneath her glasses. “Don’t cry, Aggie. Please. I’m sorry.” “Tell me that you have nothing to be sorry for.” “Not at the moment. I will get this all straightened out later.” “She doesn’t know it’s you, does she?” He shook his head. “I’m pretty sure she doesn’t. We were young. She didn’t know me too well. We were only really together that one time. I used her. I know that.” “The disguise is incredible. The changes. What happened to your nose?” Rob winced at the memory. “I met up with a brick wall. That’s all I’ll say.” “Oh, Robbie...” “Believe me, Aggie. I met some people who convinced me there were pretty exciting, almost totally legal ways to make a living.” “Almost totally legal?” she repeated ruefully. He laughed. “I’m okay. I’m not going to hurt anyone.” Her eyes searched his, saw through to his soul. “Are you a good man? Make me believe that.” “I’ll try. I don’t know how close I can come to your idea of a good man, Aggie. That would be hard to live up to.” He felt an unaccustomed flush suffuse his cheeks. “I’m being as good a man as I can be,” he assured her. “I suppose even you’ll settle down someday.” “It’s good to see you, Aggie. So damned good. Just be sure that you keep this secret for me. For a while... please.” Aggie chewed her lip. “I was glad to see that my bird hotel is still standing.” “Still occupied, too.” Aggie gave a rusty, husky laugh he remembered so well. Something thick caught in his throat again. “How long do you think you can fool her? She’s not a stupid girl.” “I know that.” “Is she safe, Robbie?” He thought for a minute and nodded. “As safe as she’ll let herself be. She’s headstrong. She’ll be fine. She’s going on holiday. It’s a good thing. I’m not saying what this is I’m involved in, but it will be over soon. It has nothing to do with her. You worry about her a lot, don’t you?” “I worry about you, too. I should go inside. Lunch will be ready soon.” Aggie started to turn away. “Thank you, Robbie.” “What for?” “You know what for. There are a lot of kids in the streets who feel a little more loved, thanks to you. I’ve always wanted to tell you, in person, where the money was spent.” With that she turned and walked away, taking her hankie out of the sleeve of her sweater and blowing her nose a few times. ~ * ~ It was past seven and Robert Murphy was studying the faded, peeling birdhouse that Robbie Butler had built when he was barely fifteen. It gave her a strange feeling to look at the picture he made, a fanciful shiver traveling up her spine to the back of her neck. A Ryan Adams tune called Firecracker was playing on Craig’s boom box and Rob was nodding his head in time with the beat, something Robbie Butler used to do. Her heart lurched. But people did that. Almost everyone nodded their head to a beat. “You’re a hard worker,” she said truthfully. He turned his head. There was sawdust in his black hair and a big band-aid on his forearm. Jenny had provided the first-aid over the raucous protests of Rory. Riley hadn’t offered but she’d been damned jealous of the woman who treated the scratch he’d suffered. Riley knew how that warm, hair-roughened skin felt under her fingers... “I do my best,” he said softly, touching a tiny porch swing in the veranda of the little house. “The boy who made that was very talented.” He nodded. “You seem to know construction. That’s sort of odd for a country-club raised city boy.” “Is it? I took tech-ed like the plebeians.” She smiled at that. She liked that wry wit. “Good for you, Robert.” “You could call me Robbie, you know. Your friends are doing it. It almost made me feel at home.” That made her heart turn over. She chewed her lip, clutching the new porch rail. “I wanted to come out and say thanks before I leave. Aggie’s grateful to you.” “I was glad to do it. Are you leaving right now?” “I have to. I have some packing to do. Some on-line banking and stuff. Did I hear Rory say you were going home for a while?” “I have to go back to Toronto . It seemed as good a time as any.” “Oh...” “Don’t look so cheerful, Riley. It’s just for a few days. Just some business I can’t do with a laptop and fax machine.” Riley should have felt relief. She didn’t think the hollow place in her stomach was that particular emotion. “If I don’t see you, have a nice--” “--life?” he finished. “Time. Have a nice time with your family.” He laughed. Robert had a great laugh, low and husky and seemingly from the heart. “Have a nice time in the mountains, Riley.” “I will.” “I hope you make some headway in finding Grace.” “I hope so, too.” “Mary has my cell phone number in case you decide to take me up on that offer I made.” “Oh... yes. About Grace.” He laughed again. “Yeah. About Grace. But the other offer still stands, too. I’d change my plans in a heartbeat.” He pushed away from the sturdy new railing where he’d attached the old birdhouse, boldly entering the invisible no-fly zone with which Riley surrounded herself. For once Riley didn’t retreat, but the screen door gave a rusty squeal and Rory stepped out with a tray of after dinner coffee. “Hi, Robbie, I brought some coffee for you. Hope you like it strong.” “That’s great, Rory. I take it black, thanks,” Rob told the other woman with one of his warm smiles. Why did that smile make envy arc through her? Riley wondered. Ridiculous. ~ * ~ Riley lay in bed later that night with a novel she’d been waiting eons to be released. Normally that would have made her happy: a potentially good book, a cup of hot chocolate, the wind and rain howling outside while she was cozy and warm in a lovely room. But she couldn’t concentrate on the antics of her favorite detective heroine. She was thinking too much, her thoughts drifting to her trip and how she was leaving tomorrow, wondering if she’d get lost trying to find the cabin. It shouldn’t be too bad if she took her time, stopped often to look at the map and for landmarks and didn’t panic. She had a terrible sense of direction. No one should ever give her directions involving compass directions; she just wasn’t one of those people. She wasn’t a damned bird. But she was a twit. She was thinking about him too much. Oh, God... Robert Murphy. He’d surprised her. He seemed a well-grounded man. He’d fit in with her friends while knowing his position as a newcomer. He’d held back a bit at times, yet he’d been willing to put in his two cents at others. Everyone had liked him. Well maybe Aggie had been a bit reserved, which Riley found odd now that she thought about it after the fact. Aggie was usually so accommodating. Maybe Aggie had picked up on Riley’s vibe. Or Rory’s. Rory had practically thrown herself at Robert but he’d managed to politely hold her at arm’s length. That had to be it, she decided. Maybe Aggie had picked up on Riley’s distrust of him. That distrust was abating. Slowly but surely Robert Murphy’s easy charm was eating away at Riley’s resolve. He’d come right out and made a pass at her today. She knew exactly what he had in mind. And Riley, instead of being turned-off by the whole idea, kept thinking what if. What if she actually took the plunge and had an affair with him. Who would it hurt? ~ * ~ Riley opened the cabin door to a dubious surprise. It looked like a hurricane had struck the place. She picked her way through the living room, righting an overturned antique rocking chair as she found her way through the mess. The place reeked of stale beer, cigarettes and garbage. “What the hell...” she muttered to herself. On second inspection, things were not that bad, mainly cosmetic. A good scrubbing would clean things up, but there was a busted window in the back door that would have to be fixed. There was glass all over the place. She knew a fair amount about the type of people who would do something like this, so she wasn’t too worried. It was just a crime of opportunity, and the perpetrators were likely long gone, but she’d have to call Mary and let her know about it and tell her she’d got there safely at the same time. Riley called Mary and instantly regretted it. Mary was concerned. She was also irritated and feeling ill and insisted that Riley go into town and find a bed-and-breakfast inn at her expense. She went on and on about hoodlums and terrorists and the way the world was changing. She said a lot about Todd, too. “It’ll be fine, Mary. It’s no big deal. Really.” “There was break-in, Jane. That gives me the willies. You couldn’t stay alone there tonight. They might come back.” Riley laughed with a little more confidence than she felt at the moment. “No, they won’t come back. They were just here because it was empty and easy to get into. Maybe they were homeless or cold. I don’t know. I already have the kitchen halfway scrubbed out. It’s not that big of a deal. I can have it livable in two days.” She hoped there were clean sheets for the big bed upstairs in the loft. No telling what had gone on up there. She hadn’t the nerve to look yet. “Scrubbing isn’t what you’re there for. Now, I want you to call the sheriff immediately. And if you insist on staying there, you stubborn girl, there’s a lady in town who cleans the place out. Has for years. Her number’s in the list by the phone. I should have thought to have her come in before you got there. Where are my brain cells? Call her now.” “That reminds me, Mary, the phone’s not working.” “Wonderful.” “I tried it from both jacks. I have my cell phone, though, but I have to recharge it, so I might not be calling for twelve hours,” Riley warned. “Don’t go assuming that I’ve been offed or something.” She heard Mary sigh deeply on the other end of the line. “Do you remember if Todd’s been here recently, Mary?” “I wouldn’t know. Why? Are you thinking something--” “No, Mary, I’m not thinking anything.” “Well... I would think it. Todd may have had his wild friends up there. It just makes me angry that he’s so damned irresponsible. I can forgive it in Belinda. She’s silly like her mother. There’s a biker place nearby. What do they call those biker places? Those places they gather to socialize?” Mary mused. “Socialize?” Riley giggled. “Maybe you mean a club, Mary. You’re not all worried about bikers, are you? I’m not about to go into any biker bars, though I may be a little bored tonight. I left my leather thong underwear and my micro-mini at home.” Mary didn’t laugh. Riley wished she could give the old lady a reassuring hug. “I wish you’d come back home, Jane.” “Mary, this break-in is not a big deal. I wouldn’t have bothered you with it, but I was afraid that they may have taken some of your collectibles.” “Hang that stuff. It’s junk.” “I just thought you should know.” “You did the right thing in calling me, girl.” “I think you should try not to worry. Maybe do something fun with your friends, Mary. They always distract you.” “That may be an idea. Belinda’s gone off somewhere, too, so I’m alone here with Alice . I don’t like Alice very much.” “Where’s Belinda?” She found herself praying that Belinda hadn’t hooked up with Robert. “She’s off on some sort of spa weekend... I miss Robert, you know. Now why couldn’t he be part of my family? I don’t suppose he still wants Belinda, does he? I mean to change that girl’s attitude!” Riley’s heart thunked like an icy glacier had bumped against her ribs. “I’m sure he’ll be back from Toronto soon.” “Do call the sheriff, Jane. He’s a nice fellow. I’ve known him forever.” “I’ll do that. Don’t worry about me.” ~ * ~ After her chat with the sheriff, Riley felt uneasy. It wasn’t like he said anything to scare her, just that there were bikers coming and going in the area and sometimes these people attracted the “negative elements of society”. His words. He had agreed with her that the mess in the cabin could have been made by kids looking for a new place to party. He told her that he’d drive by to check things out. He’d walked around the house poking about, but hadn’t noticed anything noteworthy. Riley decided to light a big roaring fire in the fireplace as an oil delivery for the furnace wasn’t expected until the following week. She feared running low and letting the house get cold like her mother always had done when Riley was little. Riley hated being cold, especially the wet Pacific chill that seeped into one’s bones during a spell of inclement weather like the one they’d been having. The nights were still very cool and Riley decided that after dinner she’d curl up with a blanket and a book. She really wanted to plug in the laptop Craig had loaned her and look into some of the search engines for sites of people who were seeking missing loved ones, but the phone company said they couldn’t get the lines fixed until next week. Everything would be fine. Just like she’d assured Mary.             Eleven It was getting dark already and she hadn’t had any dinner yet. It seemed to get darker more quickly in the country. She hurried out to the well-stocked woodpile at the side of the cabin, wary of lurking rodents, hoping she could remember how to build a fire from what she learned in seventh-grade outdoor school. She had just loaded her arms with wood and was turning the corner to the house when she heard it, the roar of a motorcycle heading up the drive. She knew she couldn’t get into house fast enough to lock the doors and call for help because she could see the interloper getting off his bike already, a tall, lean specter dressed in black leathers, a mirrored helmet over his head. He headed up to the front stoop. She dropped all the wood but one heavy log. That one she held in front of herself like a baseball bat. “Stop right there, you,” she cried, as her heart hammered at her ribs. “Don’t come any further. This is private property.” The man slipped off his helmet, running a gloved hand through mussed dark hair. “I’m glad I found it. I was afraid I took a wrong turn.” The sound of that deep, resonant voice was both a balm and a curse. Oh, God, what was he doing here? Had Mary called him? “Are you going to brain me with that, Riley Jane?” Robert Murphy asked. Riley took a shaky breath. “I don’t know. I’m considering it. Did Mary send you here to baby-sit me?” “She was worried, Riley. I happened to call her right after you did. I’d just gotten back to town this morning.” He walked over to her, bending to retrieve a few pieces of fallen wood. He stacked it in the crook of one arm. From where she was standing she could smell him: body-warmed leather, the smoky scent of the pine laden air, bike fuel and his own clean essence. It was a heady combination and it made her already weak knees go a little weaker. “You ride a motorcycle?” she said. Even if he wasn’t an experienced rider, he sure suited the clothes. She’d rarely seen a man fill out a pair of leather riding pants so well. “Yep. I do ride.” “You’re just full of surprises, Robert.” “Am I? You like surprises?” “Sometimes.” He grinned. “But now isn’t one of those times, I take it?” She gave him an exasperated look. “How long have you been back?” “I just got into town yesterday.” “Where did that huge bike come from?” “I was kind of sick of the rental car so I got myself a bike. I’ve wanted one of these babies for a while so I indulged one of my fantasies.” “Nice that you can do that.” His dark eyes gleamed under a boyish hank of hair mussed by the helmet. “I have to indulge some of my fantasies, Riley. The best ones seem to be on hold.” She didn’t comment. She was too busy trying to breathe properly. “What do you think?” “It’s a Harley, isn’t it? Very flashy. Why exactly are you here?” she asked in a resigned tone. “I wanted to make sure you were safe. I also had something to give to you. And something important to talk to you about. Would you mind if I came in?” ~ * ~ For a moment Rob thought she was going to tell him to take a hike. But she nodded, gracefully bent and picked up a few more pieces of wood that had fallen to the ground and led him into the cabin. It was beautifully constructed, the windows of the A-frame looking out at the gleaming, blue-white peak of Mount Baker . The mountain was painted with light by the setting sun, but dark clouds lurked in the distance. “It’s beautiful here,” he said inanely. “Yes, it is.” “I would have expected it to be decorated up. You know those chi-chi country places that are so popular with the wealthy.” “You would know, I suppose. Do your parents rough it in style?” Rob just smiled. If only she knew. “I was teasing. I know what you mean. This is all pretty authentic. Mary likes it like this, though it’s hardly roughing it. All this furniture is antique. Maybe you could come back someday and see the view in the morning. It’s so clear and serene you’d think you were looking into one of those toy Viewmasters.” He didn’t say that he wished nothing more than to stay until the following morning and see it then. He imagined standing behind her, gazing out that window, his arms wrapped around her slender waist, his nose nuzzling her sweetly scented hair. “I’m sorry I scared you back there,” he said, setting down by the fireplace the logs he had carried. “It’s okay. Maybe it is better you came. I noticed that I’m short of wood and I might have tried chopping it myself. I don’t think I’d be too good at it. Might come home minus a digit or two.” “God forbid that. I’ll do it before I go.” “No, Robert, I was joking about the wood. It’s not a problem. There’s plenty, I’m sure. I get a little anal about that stuff.” She tucked all of the wood neatly in a box by the fireplace. She was a little fussy. In a good way. “What was it that you came out here to give me? Something from Mary?” “No,” he returned. “Nothing from Mary.” He reached into his leather jacket and took out an envelope. She took it, her fingers barely grazing his. “From me,” he told her. “Some names and leads on your sister.” Riley looked down at the white envelope. He noted the suddenly trembling hands. When she stared back up at him her face was pale and her green eyes glittered like wet glass. “How?” she breathed. “How did you do this so fast?” “I called Craig and he told me a few of the things you’ve told him about your family. I hope that’s okay. I got this feeling that you would never take me up on my offer.” Her jaw tightened as she tried to suppress her emotions. She didn’t seem able to speak. “You tend to be a little independent, Riley.” “Stubborn is more like it.” “I wish there was more to go on there. Maybe we could have a look through that and you could tell me what we can use and we’ll start from there.” She glanced down at the paper, her beautiful face suddenly animated--as if all her hopes and dreams had suddenly come true and the joy was beaming outward. He was glad he’d helped put that look on her face. “It’s more than I’ve had in years. Thank you, Robbie.” His heart squeezed like a tight fist when she called him that. “I just hope that it helps. Don’t thank me for anything unless it pans out.” “This is really good of you.” He looked around the room. “From the way Mary described the mess, you must have been working all day to clean up this place.” “Mary tends to exaggerate a little,” Riley said. “I doubt it. She called the sheriff and he told her it was mess.” “Oh... I didn’t know she did that. Well, I’ve made a good start at getting it straightened up. All I have to do tonight is change the bed...” Her voice trailed off and she flushed a pretty pink. How interesting, he thought. She got flustered when she mentioned the word bed in his company. Hopefully they were of like mind now. “So, the sheriff just thought there was a party going on? Nothing worse?” he asked. “He seemed unconcerned. He asked me about Todd, though. I’m sure Todd has had a few drinking sessions up here.” “Could be.” “Have you eaten?” she asked. He shook his head. “Not since breakfast. I should probably get going. It’s a long way back.” “I haven’t eaten yet. I was going to make some pancakes... if that doesn’t sound too awful for supper--” “You don’t have to feed me.” “I like cooking. And it’s not that much of a meal, so--” “I’m not that fussy. Okay, it sounds good.” “Aggie always made pancakes on Friday nights because she was Catholic. I thought that was so cool. Any excuse for butter and syrup, even if religion was involved.” He grinned at her, wishing he could share that he’d once thought the religious custom was pretty cool, too. Aggie had always made him bacon and sausages as well because she’d thought he was too small, something he’d despaired about for half his teens. “Eat this extra plate, Robin,” she’d say. “One day you’ll grow to be over six feet. I promise.” Riley frowned. “You’re kind of a big man--” He smiled. “Just make a few extra.” “Okay. I never got into town to shop for fresh food.” She moved into the kitchen with her characteristic grace, reaching into a cupboard for a bag of pancake mix. Every part of Rob appreciated the athletic way she moved her lithe body. He’d decided on his way here to tell her. As soon as he’d found the information on her sister he’d had this all-consuming urge to come clean to her about who he was. The only trouble with that was explaining what he was doing here. He didn’t give a damn if it destroyed his cover, but Otis would kill him. He kept seesawing on that. One minute he didn’t give a damn what Otis thought, the next he thought about how many years they’d been tracking Vasco and how close they were to getting what they wanted. The payoff at the end of this dirty job was huge in so many ways. If he had his cut he’d be that much closer to doing what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. The thing was, his dream may have changed. One fresh look at Riley, one taste of her mouth had changed everything. She made dinner quickly, refusing his help. He insisted on setting the table after he finished building what he considered to be one hell of a nice fire. Rob occupied himself trying to figure out where the forks and knives went because he didn’t have to say anything. He looked out through the huge triangular window. Nasty black clouds seethed in the distance, blocking out the setting sun and turning the pink hues that had lit the mountain to an angry purple. He didn’t relish the thought of riding home with cold rain leaking down the back of his pants. “Do you drink Tang?” she asked, frowning at an envelope in her hand. “The astronaut stuff? Can’t say I have in a while.” Riley grinned. “It’s an acquired taste. Apparently you can use this stuff to clean toilets. It’s very versatile.” “Wow. Sounds great.” She laughed. “I’d have bought real orange juice if I knew I was having a guest. I have no pretensions to being Martha Stewart.” “I have some pretensions to being Rod Stewart,” Rob said. He sang a little bit of Do You think I’m Sexy. That made her laugh again. He’d always loved her laugh. Loud and very goofy. “Sit down. It’s all ready. I have only honey and strawberry jam right now. No syrup. What do you like?” “I’m easy.” Truer words were never spoken at that particular moment in time. They sat down and he stuffed his face with pancakes. He wondered if he could tell her now. Maybe when his stomach was full he’d blurt it out. I’m Robin Butler and I had to lie to you. Just like always. “Have you been here before?” Rob asked her. She cut into an impressive stack of pancakes. Where the hell did she put the calories? “We came up once near Christmas, but it was really sad. Mary thought she could handle the strain of getting up the stairs to the loft, but she couldn’t. It was terrible to think she has to abandon something she loves so much. I’m sure Todd will want to keep the place in the family. Maybe it could be made wheelchair accessible.” He nodded. “I’m sorry for showing up out of the blue like this.” “It’s okay. I have to admit you scared me a little. I was thinking all day about what I’d do if some crazed biker showed up. You looked so big and scary all dressed in black.” “I’m not that scary.” She studied him. “Certainly not with strawberry jam on the corner of your lip.” He flicked at the corner of his mouth with his tongue. He saw her lips part in reaction and a flash of heat arced through him. “So, Riley Jane, are you counting the minutes until I leave?” She swallowed a gulp of Tang. “I wasn’t really thinking about that.” “Are you scared to be alone here after you found that nasties had partied here?” “Honestly?” she asked. “Yes.” “I was at first, but I’ll work through it. I’ve been staying alone at night since I was five.” “Your mother did that to you? Left you alone?” “Yes. It was scary sometimes. She’d put me in bed, then she’d go off to the bar. I learned at a really young age to like my own company and to rely on myself.” She said it matter-of-fact, like she was describing anyone’s childhood. His childhood he didn’t even care to think about in any terms. What was past was past. Maybe he’d have to sit down and look back at it with clear eyes one day. “Do you like your own company, Robert?” “Not all the time. I guess there’s a big difference between being alone and lonely.” “I’m not lonely,” she said softly, defiantly. “You just don’t think you need anyone.” She stared at him for a long moment. Rob was rarely alone because of his job. But he knew what it was to be lonely. Maybe it was because his world wasn’t real. At one time he’d thought he liked it that way, perhaps he was born to be alone... “You seem like the kind of man who can entertain himself.” “Yeah, just give me a bit of string and some used chewing gum.” She laughed again. “You know what I mean. I couldn’t believe how industrious you were at Aggie’s. I’d have sworn someone like you wouldn’t know a hammer from a hole in the ground.” “I’ve never been called industrious before, especially by a pretty girl who’s feeding me.” “There are a lot worse things to be called. Do you want more pancakes?” He shook his head. “No. I think ten is plenty. Do you like industrious guys?” “Yes, I guess I do.” “Good. I guess that means you like me.” “Have we had this conversation before?” Riley smiled and reached for his plate, stacking it on her own. “Maybe this is all just a ploy to get me to do the dishes,” he said. “It’s nice to know you don’t think of me as a mere rich dude anymore.” “I don’t think anything about you is mere.” Frozen rain started to ping at the windows. It was completely dark now, like someone in heaven had reached over and suddenly flicked off the lights. “Did you say you wanted to talk to me about something important?” “I did say that, didn’t I?” He supposed it was now or never. Suddenly the room flashed with blinding light, followed immediately by a loud crash of thunder. Was that a sign from God? Rob wondered. Maybe he ought to just keep his mouth shut. It happened again with more violence. The lights flickered for a second and came back on. Riley sighed with relief, but too soon. One more lightning crack and the lights went out completely, plunging them into semi-darkness. The only light came from the fireplace. “Damn,” she swore. “I don’t believe this.” “I’m glad I’m here. Is there a flashlight?” She spent the next ten minutes searching for emergency supplies in the dark kitchen, swearing under her breath for not thinking to bring a flashlight. Luckily there were some candles and a couple of lanterns. “I’m sure the lights will be back on soon,” she said. ~ * ~ From her seat on the sofa, Riley looked up at Rob as he poked at the fire. He looked even more delicious in candlelight. She was so glad he was here. She would have been terrified otherwise. She wasn’t too proud to admit that. “It might be hard to dispatch hydro crews up here. We’ll give it some time. If the lights don’t come back on in an hour, I’m staying. I assume there’s a guest room? The couch in here will kill me.” Riley nodded, swallowing hard. There was an extra room in the loft. It adjoined the master suite by a bathroom. Oh, God. The lights didn’t come back on and Rob insisted on staying. She wouldn’t have made him leave anyway to make a dangerous drive home in the rain. She wasn’t heartless, even though he probably assumed she was. They spent the evening keeping the fire going and searching for the kerosene lamps. They finally found them in a wooden crate in the overstuffed shed that abutted the house. Riley counted the minutes until she could say she was tired and needed to sleep. She filled his arms with blankets and pillows because the bed in the guestroom was unmade. After saying an awkward goodnight and leaving him to tend the fire again, Riley had her shower first and got into bed quickly, leaving her lantern lit, taking out a novel she’d had in her duffle bag, a Stephanie Plum she’d been saving. She could hear Rob in the bathroom, expecting to hear the torrent of the shower at any minute. Instead she heard the steady rush of the taps. She read the same page over three times, squinting in the dim lantern light. Was he bathing? Oh, God. Why? Why couldn’t he just have a shower? Sheesh. She was pretty sure she’d left enough of the dwindling supply of hot water for him after her own shower. She’d just jumped in and out, wanting to conserve! She heard wet, bare male flesh slide noisily against the deep slant of the old-fashioned claw-footed tub. She heard a soft moan of satisfaction as hot water met skin and taut muscle. She imagined him sliding his long body down, inch by incredible inch, sinking into scented bubbles. What was he thinking about as the hot, silky water enveloped his body? She imagined him gliding the washcloth over his smooth, tanned skin, gilded by the faint glow of the flickering kerosene lamp. She imagined that wide chest she’d had a glimpse of at Aggie’s, firm flat pectorals, tiny hard nipples. She imagined his arm lifting as he washed his torso, his biceps bunching, his muscles sculpted strong by hard labor and sports. Then she imagined his hand washing that strong, gorgeous face, trailing down the column of his neck, over sculpted collar bones, over the vulnerable, pale skin at his nape, stirring his loose waves of black hair to curl a little, darkening the strands to ebony. She envisaged a strong weather-rough hand, followed by her paler, slimmer one, gliding over his torso, his washboard belly, flawless ridges of muscle over his flanks, over buttocks with deep gorgeous dips at the sides. She imagined her mouth and her tongue drifting over sleek, male flesh, then back up over that little line of hair that fanned up his midsection and up his chest. The sound of him cleaning the tub and the gurgle of the drain jolted her out of her reverie. The sink taps went on again a few seconds later. He must be brushing his teeth. The taps went off again with a rumble of the pipes. Riley closed her eyes and knew she wouldn’t sleep because her body was aching, trembling, thrumming. The room was cold, the large bed so empty. Imagination was a shocking, awesome thing. A tall, sexy male body that wanted her body was a terrible thing to waste. Riley rolled over on her side and groaned. She needed to take an over-the-counter sleeping pill or she’d be awake all night. She knew she had one in her cosmetic bag. The bag was still in the bathroom. She reached for the lantern and got out of her bed, opening the bathroom door slowly so as not to disturb him. She wasn’t expecting to see what she saw. She just stood there at the entrance to the bath and stared. Gaped. Drank him in. He’d left his side of the bathroom’s door wide open, dammit. He was standing in the middle of the guest room. It was nothing unusual or planned, nothing blatant about it. But Robert Butler was naked. Stark naked. Ready to climb into bed. His kerosene lamp painted him with a silvery-gilt glimmer, like one of the old master’s brushes might have done. Oh, God, he was beautiful. Rob looked up and saw her there in her doorway. Their eyes met. He just stood there. Proud. Male. Shoulders back, chest thrust out, arms ready at his sides; he had that kind of natural grace, that elemental primed-to-do-battle sort of posture that he didn’t even have to think consciously about sustaining. He was so relaxed. So at ease with himself, his body and the fine male specimen he was. Riley bit her lip as the ultimate male part of him rose to attention. Saying hello across the room. Frantic, she shut the door hard on the tableau and leaned her back against it, gulping air into starved lungs. Damp heat surged between her legs. She half expected him to come through the bath, knock and say he was sorry for upsetting her. But he didn’t. She waited a long time in the dark, sitting up in the cold bed, listening to the heavy rain lash the windows. And he did not come to her. ~ * ~ Rob lay in bed for while, waited about ten minutes for her to come, and decided he really was losing his touch. Not that he’d planned what had happened after he took off his towel. He honestly hadn’t known she was there watching until he turned around. He closed his eyes and rolled the pillow under his neck. He was the type of person who could be asleep in five minutes. The talent didn’t fail him. He began a quick slide into unconsciousness. Rob didn’t expect her to wake him. He hadn’t been deeply asleep but he lurched up like a jack-in-the-box at the touch of her hand on his arm. They almost bumped heads. “Robert?” She was bending over him. He caught the scent of her skin and hair. Cinnamon and something sweet he couldn’t name. Maybe almonds. Yes, that. “I knew you’d come,” he said with a grin. “You knew I’d--” She gave a derisive snort. “Did you do that deliberately?” She was just this side of pissed. “Do what?” “Flash me?” “No. I just forgot to shut the door. I wasn’t displaying my wares.” He was a little bit offended by that. Like she thought he was waiting there like some strutting male peacock hoping to give her a show. “I thought you were settled. Why were you snooping around in the dark if you didn’t want an eyeful?” “I wasn’t snooping around. I just had to get something in the bathroom. I never expected to see... to see that... believe me.” “What do you want? To talk about that?” “What do I want? Oh...” She averted her eyes from his chest. “I just heard something. It was weird. It may have been one of those twilight sleep things: a waking dream. Something crashed through the woods. Close, but not that close.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Maybe it was an animal.” “There’s a ravine nearby. Maybe a tree got hit and broke off. Crashed down the gully.” “That could have been it.” She let out a sigh of relief. “I’m sure you’re right. I’m sorry that I disturbed you.” Her hand brushed his arm. She was freezing. “You didn’t disturb me. I can get back to sleep in a wink. You’re cold, Riley. Climb in here with me. I’ll bet your feet are like ice.” “I’ll just go back.” “This is a double bed. There’s plenty of room.” She considered it for a moment, then climbed into the bed, tugging the covers over her flannel pajamas. She drew up her knees and wrapped her arms around them. She was shivering. “Your pajamas are sexy.” “What are you? An idiot? They are not sexy.” “Ever wear just the tops?” he teased. “No.” “Just the bottoms?” “Rob, this isn’t going to--” “Don’t be silly. Want me to give your shoulders a rub?” “I’m okay.” “You really need to relax.” “I’m not going to have sex with you just so I can relax.” He smiled at her. “What? You think that’s what I’m thinking about?” “I know that men think that every five seconds. And I’m the nearest warm body.” “You’re way more than that. You’re having a hard time keeping your hands off me, aren’t you, Riley Jane. Admit it. I can tell.” Riley pressed her cheek to her knees, laughing softly. “Shut up. You’re so awful. You’re worse than Craig.” He laid his hands on her taut shoulders over the soft fabric. He heard her sharp intake of breath as his hand trailed over the tense muscles of her lower back. “Riley, I can help you relax and unwind. You’ll be asleep in no time.” She groaned softly, so ready to give in to him, so ready to enjoy what he had to give, it wasn’t funny. “Stop saying that stuff to me.” “What stuff.” “Innuendoes, Robbie. Relax,” she mimicked. “I like it when you call me that. What do you girls do at sleep-over parties when you can’t sleep?” She turned her head. “What on earth are you talking about?” “Do you play cards? Talk about movie stars? Paint your toenails? Got any nail polish? I’d love to paint your toenails.” “No. Are you insane? A sleep-over party?” “Might as well be. It doesn’t seem to be a make-out party.” Yet. “Okay... I’ll just go b--” Riley started to rise. This was insane! She was not about to let this go any further. He placed his hand over hers where it lay on the mattress. The quilt had slipped a little lower when he’d moved. She could see the angle of his hip. “Are you naked?” she asked cautiously. “‘fraid so,” he told her. “I sleep in the all-together.” She considered that for about a second. He rubbed her shoulders a little more. She heard herself make another deep, unbidden sigh that ended in a half-baked groan. He was right. She was still tense as hell. “I feel...” “Do you feel good? That’s what I want. I just want you to feel good. I want to make love to you, Riley Jane, but things with us are always better when you think they’re your idea.” She wondered for a moment what precisely he meant by that choice of words, then supposed he was right. “You make it really hard for a woman to say no.” “Don’t say no.” He slipped an arm around her, his hand rubbing her arm. He ran his hand up her arm under the elbow-length sleeve. Her head tipped back a little. A rusty, little sound somewhere between a whimper and a gasp escaped her throat as he pressed his hot mouth to her shoulder, kissing her through the flannel. Rob fingered the tendrils of hair over her ear. She was trembling, waiting for what might happen next. He surprised her, his voice coming out a little husky. “The bed’s big,” he told her. “Go to sleep if you want to. It’ll be okay. I won’t force you into anything.” Riley lay there beside him for what seemed like a long time, neither one of them close to finding sleep. She had to will her fingers not to move down the mattress to touch him. He lay on his back, breathing hard; she imagined that she could see his sex straining adamantly against the fabric of the sheets and the quilt. Riley felt as if she could burn into a cinder just being in his bed. She wanted him. She wanted him like she wanted to breathe. She rolled over on her side facing him and moved her arm, laying her hand over the quilt, letting it rest on his flat stomach, telling herself she was a fool if she did and a fool if she didn’t. “God... Don’t... If you touch me and I...” “I can’t fight this anymore, Robbie.” His profile was painted by the light of the lantern she’d brought into the room and left burning. “What if I suddenly wasn’t in the mood?” he joked. “I’d have thought otherwise.” Rob took the hand that was resting rather innocently now across his stomach, threading his fingers through hers. He studied her, just looked into Riley’s eyes for a long, long time, thinking he might see some trace of uneasiness or indecision. There was nothing he could see, just that usual steady resolve. It totally thrilled him. “Do you have condoms?” he asked. “I think there are a few in my case. They might be expired.” He wondered about that for a minute, wondered about the last man she’d been with, then rejected the thought. He was glad she was prepared. His heart was doing cartwheels across his chest. She slipped her long fingers out of his hand and went off to the bathroom. He rested his back against the headboard and waited. Seconds seemed like forever. She returned, slipping a small bundle under her pillow. He lifted his hand and she placed hers into it as she climbed into the bed. She was still icy cold, obviously nervous. He’d see what he could do the warm her up. Rob stared at her face in the half-light. He wanted to tell her how gorgeous she was, but he was afraid anything he said would sound trite. Instead he leaned over and found her mouth, kissing her with deliberate slowness until she sagged against him. He loved kissing her. She tasted of toothpaste and warm, slightly ambivalent woman. Her soft, full breasts pressed against his chest. She returned the kiss, her tongue soft, sweet and tentative against his. He felt her fingers trail across his belly over the quilt. Her wrist brushed against his rock-hard erection. He closed his eyes as white-hot desire knifed through him. Unable to take much more of slow and restrained, Rob pulled her up over him so that she was seated on his lap in her flannel pajamas. She made a helpless little sound, wrapping her arms lightly around his shoulders. He nuzzled her neck, toyed with her earlobe, tasted her smooth, lantern-lit skin. She was wearing a tiny hoop in her ear and he pulled gently at it with his teeth. Riley smelled so sweet and lush. She lowered her face to his, her lips brushing against his hair, along his temple. He reached up, cupping her face in his hand, trailing his hand lower, down her long, slim neck, to the opening of the pajamas. He flicked the buttons open one by one. Rob parted the top slightly, so that he could look at her. She was breathtaking in the half-light. He felt her sharp intake of breath as he bared her chest a little more, slid the panels of shirt apart slightly to frame her breasts. They were firm: fuller, rounder than he recalled, the cleavage deeper, the nipples a delicate pink. He wanted to taste them so badly he felt like he’d die of it. He closed his eyes. There hadn’t been anyone else in a while. And if Robbie Butler had his way, if he got what he wanted--and he knew what he wanted--Riley was the last woman to whom he was ever going to make love. Thank God he had yanked the blanket over himself to put a barrier between them; he was far too aroused to take it slow otherwise. He reached up and took her face in his hands again, his fingers threading in her slightly damp hair, drawing her down so their mouths met. He wanted to tease her a little, make it build, but the moment their lips met a jolt of pure joyous heat went through him, making him feel as if he’d found home at last. Riley moved her hips against him and Robbie almost went wild, igniting as the smooth sheet and her weight brushed against his straining flesh. He wanted her so much, wanted her tongue in his mouth, wanted to taste her, wanted himself deep, deep inside her. He wished he’d shaved closer because her fair skin was going to look like hell in the morning from his heavy beard. He planned to love her all night. He tore his mouth away, licking her taste from his lips, pressing his forehead to hers, getting his breath and his bearings, fumbling for the tie of her pants. It was tight and he had big, clumsy fingers at that moment. While he bared her belly to his gaze, she ran her hands over his bare shoulders, down his chest. Her face was flushed, her chest stained rosy from lust. He knew from the way she held herself, the way her hands fluttered up, she was still a bit uncertain. He stared with breathless admiration at her. “God, your gals are so pretty,” he said. His voice broke like a prepubescent kid’s. He knew it sounded silly, but he didn’t care. She laughed, so that was good. He cupped the jiggling, soft mounds in his hands, weighing them. She was as aroused as he, her nipples hard and pointed. He moved his hands over velvet-soft skin, teasing the small, pale peaks with his thumbs, the edge of his fingernails. They darkened, puckered further, hard as diamonds, far more precious a gift to him. Riley’s head tilted back in pleasure. She was so sexy, so ripe, he thought, and so perfect. Robbie buried his face in her sweetness, lifting her breasts to his mouth, suckling them, then laved her ribs, tasting her flat tummy until she arched her back and groaned, his hands firmly supporting her hips as she rode his thigh. He felt her tremble against him, felt the rush of heat of her body against his over-sensitized skin. “You’re killing me,” Riley said, laughing. “Oh, I knew you’d be too good at this.” “You make me feel like a new man,” he said, bringing her to a kneeling position, lifting her to her knees between his legs, just holding her lush body tightly against his. She lowered her mouth and pressed her lips to the top of his head, cradling his face in her hands, weaving her fingers through his hair. She lowered her face to his again and he kissed her full, mint flavoured lips until they were both breathless and shaking with desire; he kissed her with what he hoped was such skill, that had she been wearing socks, he’d have knocked them clean off. “Lady, you still have on far too many clothes.” He slid the top down her arms and tossed it away. He eased her over to her back, tossing the sheet away from his hips. She lay back against the pillows watching him, her honeyed hair mussed in loose curls, her lashes crescents on her cheekbones, half shuttering her lovely darkened green eyes. She reached for him, running her fingers down his arms, his chest. Her body was beautiful: so lush, so pale and creamy in hue, so smooth in texture compared to his. He slid the pants off her hips revealing the long, slim legs he remembered so well. How many times had he dreamed of her? She was perfect for him. Light where he was dark. Soft where he was hard. Curved where he angled. He knew they fit each other like a dovetail joint. Like they were made to be partnered. Robbie wanted Riley to take him into her: body, heart, life. Take everything he had to give her: his life, his worldly possessions, his children. Everything he would ever have or ever be. He wanted her with him. It was something he known since he’d spotted her on Aggie’s doorstep. He couldn’t tell her in words yet, had never had been able to do that, but he could tell her this way. I love you, Riley . I fell in love with you that night. He covered her breast possessively with his hand. He’d never touched anything so soft, yet her nipples were so taut. He imagined them aching for his mouth, his mouth alone. Looking at his large, dark hand splayed over her breast aroused him more than he could ever remember being aroused. He felt mighty, so hard. He pressed urgently against her thigh, kissing the side of her face, nuzzling against the warm hollow of her neck with his chin, his jaw rasping against her skin. He kissed her again slowly, his tongue deep in her mouth, then trailed his open mouth down to her shoulders, dragging his lips slowly down her rib cage, to her belly, until she arched her body up against his. “Oh, God... you’re not--” “Yes, I am. Relax.” Her laughter became a soft drawn-out sigh and she let him do what he wanted, had to do. He nuzzled her tummy with his cheek, smelling the soap on her skin, the warm rich scent of her femininity. He kissed the soft skin on the insides of her thighs. He tasted her body, spicy-slick and warm and she jerked at his advance. She was so ready for him, her response so honest, so heartfelt. He wanted to forget about everything else but plunging himself into her dusky softness. He wanted to lose himself in greedy release, lose himself in her. He’d waited so long. Riley arched against him, making a little moaning sound of pleasure as he sipped her, sucked the sweetness of that tiny rise of womanly flesh. She began to quiver, enticing little cries escaping her lips, her muscles tightening in response. He didn’t pull away then and enter her as he longed to do. He let her find her pleasure. She found it quickly, coming against his mouth with a lusty cry of his name that almost sent him over the edge. Robin . She’d called him Robin. He raised himself up so he hovered over her. She looked up at him, dazed and panting, her hair fanned on the pillow, her deep forest eyes searching his, her arms reaching for him. She touched his cheek and he closed his eyes in pleasure, a longing so profound it made him shake. “Oh... my...” she said. “Thank you...” He kissed away the words before he groped for the condoms. His big hands were clumsy on the foil packet. “Let me,” she said. She opened the tiny packet and slid the rubber dam slowly over him. He was so primed he had to grit his teeth to keep from thrusting against her hand. With a low groan, Robbie settled her down on the bed beside him again, stroking her breasts, her soft skin, until she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him down to her. His tongue plunged between her lips, echoing the movement of his hips as he pressed himself into her body, burying himself to the hilt. He revelled in the tight, velvety feel of her surrounding him. Her legs wrapped around his waist, taking him inside her like a clenched fist. He thrust against her and she took him soaring to the peak far quicker than he’d have liked, but he knew they’d take it slower next time. They had all night. ~ * ~ Riley woke up at eleven. Eleven! Normally she was awake with the birds. Come to think of it she had been but he’d waylaid her with some rather interesting propositions. Rob was spooned against her, snoring slightly in her ear, one arm over her waist. He muttered something and flopped back onto his back, still deeply asleep. Riley couldn’t help but watch him. He looked so sweet, so boyish with his dark, tousled hair and his slightly parted mouth. The man made lovemaking into a fine art. She flushed thinking about it. It had been their first date, for goodness sake. They’d spent the entire night doing things that she’d never have dreamed of doing even after months of dating and not unless she’d convinced herself she was halfway in love with the guy. Sex was supposed to be sacred, to mean something. Was she in love with him already? Oh, God, she was in trouble. She knew this was going nowhere, didn’t she? Riley got quickly out of the bed and used the bathroom as quietly as possible, slipped into some clean clothes and headed for the kitchen. She’d told Mary she’d call. A part of her hoped Mary wasn’t going to be home because she didn’t know what she was going to say. “It’s about time,” admonished the irascible Mary. “Sorry, Mary... I... uh... slept in.” “Interesting. Did Robert show up?” “You sent him here, didn’t you?” “I was worried about you. Anyway, he said he wanted to see you. What was that about?” “Nothing much...” Riley had tucked the phone under her chin as she poured water in the coffee pot. Thank goodness the power had come on. She needed the jolt of caffeine so she could think clearly. “He’s still here. It stormed too hard for him to leave. Did Todd ever show up? I know you were worried.” “That’s a swift change of subject,” Mary said. “No, not at all.” “I won’t pry.” “Ha!” “I still want him for Belinda.” What an awful thing to say , thought Riley, cringing. It was almost obscene. She’d known that, though, when she’d let it happen. That he’d never be hers, not really. Robbie was about as far from belonging to her for real as the frigging sun. Mary sighed. “Todd never showed up. I don’t know what’s with that boy. His secretary called this morning. He had made some important appointments. Belinda has gone into the dealership today to make sure everything is running smoothly.” “Belinda?” “I know what you’re thinking. But she came home last night and she was the one who offered to help out.” Wonders will never cease. “That’s great, Mary.” “At least I can count on one of my grandchildren.” “He’ll show up.” “Probably as drunk as a coot,” Mary spat out. Riley could hear the undertone of concern that belied the harsh words. There was also another edge. Like she was exhausted or in pain. She couldn’t seem to form all of her words completely. It was like the old woman had reverted back to the first days of her stroke. “Do you need me there?” Riley asked. “Of course not. What could you do? Help me kick Todd around the block?” “Are you unwell?” “Tired, is all I am. Just tired.” “Any weakness in your limbs, Mary? Headache?” “No. I’m not about to have another stroke, dammit. I won’t allow that. I always feel funny after I take those damned orange pills.” “Not the Altace? I can call your doctor from here and see if--” “I’m hanging up now. That ham-handed bitch you hired is going to help Alice give me a bath. Lord, I love an audience. My breasts look like tennis balls in the bottom of tube socks.” The call ended with Mary’s usual abruptness. She looked up just as Rob came down the stairs. From his damp hair and smooth jaw, he’d showered and shaved--just as he’d promised he would after scratching her with his heavy beard last night. He was buttoning his shirt over the sexiest torso she’d seen in thirty-odd years of living. The grin he gave her could have melted the iron will of a nun. Riley sighed. “Was that Mary?” he asked. Riley swallowed hard and nodded. “Power’s back on. There’s some coffee ready. I guess the shower was hot enough, was it?” “It was fine.” He started to move towards her, but she felt awkward and stepped over to the fridge. What they’d done in the light of a kerosene lamp last night seemed so unreal now that watery daylight was streaming like melted butter through the windows. “I’m really short on food. I hope you don’t mind cold cereal and bananas. I planned only to feed myself.” “Don’t apologize. It’ll be fine. Is something bothering you? Is everything okay with Mary?” “Mary’s not quite herself. But then she’s very much herself.” Rob nodded. “I think I get that concept. What about you? Are you yourself?” “Yes. Maybe I’m getting back to being myself.” “After last night? You mean I was sleeping with some other chick? The wild chick who never sees the light of day?” “Chick? You know, Rob, some of the things you say are weird. Like a man educated at fine prep-schools couldn’t possibly ever think of saying.” “I watch a lot of Sylvester Stallone movies. I read Mickey Spillane books.” Riley smiled. “I guess that says it all.” “Are you having regrets about what happened?” Riley set the milk jug on the table with more force than she’d intended. She didn’t know what to say in answer to such a direct question. She found the box of Special K. “Are you having regrets, Rob?” “I might have known you’d answer a question with a question. And the answer is no. I wanted it to happen. Maybe I willed you to come to me.” “I heard a noise outside.” It seemed so lame now. Thinking about it now she knew she had heard something weird. He took the cereal box from her hand. He tipped up her chin so she had to meet his eyes. “We have to talk about this--” Talk. Since when did men want to talk? “We both know how things are with us, Robert. We know where this is going.” “I like it a lot better when you call me Robbie.” She frowned up into his dark eyes. God, how she wished she could see into those eyes. Despite the things he said to her they seemed always to be shuttered. “I knew another Robbie once. He was my first love. And I really can’t call it love because it was over before it ever began, the story of my life where love’s concerned. What happened last night will not be misconstrued in any way. I’m not going to let this hurt me the way it did with the first Robbie...” He visibly flinched. “Riley, I--” She stopped his words by pulling away first. “Could we just eat? I’d really like it if you could stay long enough to go over the information you found about my sister with me. Some of it’s a little confusing.” “I’d be happy to do that.” “Good. What if we start with the school records you’ve found. How do you think I should proceed on those leads?” They worked though the afternoon. Robert’s cell phone had some kind of Internet capability and he was able to get her a little more information about Grace, but when Riley called the town hall in Oregon about the boarding house where Grace may have lived in the mid-eighties, they were told that the old lady who had owned it had died childless a few years previous. There were no records of her tenants. What had seemed so promising a lead was gone in a blink. Riley waited for that familiar black pall to cover her. Instead she looked up and saw the man beside her, his eyes encouraging, his voice steady--someone to depend on after so many years of having no one but herself. She just wanted Rob to hold her, to snuggle in his strong arms, press her ear to the steady, calm beat of his heart and have him help her forget there was a troubling world out there beyond this cabin. She couldn’t let herself do that. She couldn’t let herself believe it was possible. She could not take that chance. She didn’t dare start counting on him, relying on his help. She couldn’t take the risk of relying on anyone. She had been hearing Rob’s stomach growl after his insubstantial breakfast since midmorning. “Want to grab something to eat in town?” he asked setting his pen down on the coffee table. Riley shook her head. “No, but I think that you should go somewhere and get something to eat. Canned vegetable soup isn’t going to be enough for you.” “Meaning that I should go now?” “You need to get back to Vancouver , don’t you? You never meant to stay here in the first place.” “You mean you want me out of your hair?” Riley stiffened her shoulders and lifted her chin. “I think I should get back to what I intended; a solitary holiday in the woods. I need to think about some things.” “About what just happened with us?” “Maybe.” “To talk yourself out of it, you mean.” She bristled at that. “Don’t put words in my mouth. We know what this is. I know what you want and it’s not me, Robert.” He gave her a long, hard look. She swallowed audibly. “I’m sure that the oil delivery truck and the telephone people will be here any minute.” “And we wouldn’t want them to catch us in a compromising position, would we?” he said quietly. “I can take a hint. Call me if you need to.” “Thanks.” She pretended to be busy with her papers as he slipped on his jacket and found his helmet. Watching him prepare to go away made her feel crazy inside, like she was losing him for good. How did you lose something that was never--would never be--yours in the first place? Nevertheless, she wanted to grab him around the waist and never let him get out the door. It was ridiculous. “See you, Riley. I had a good time.” She nodded, her throat thick. Her stomach lurched as he shut the door. She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for the sound of his bike driving away, her throat thick as if she might cry.             Twelve The sound of a motorcycle roaring to life never came. Maybe he was standing out there just waiting for her to relent. Maybe he... She laid her hand on the knob, making a sudden decision, something totally out of her character these days. She was going to ask him to stay with her at the cabin until they could get things straight between them, hang all her fears about the future. He was worth it, dammit. The door opened almost bonking her in the nose. “Why are you back?” she asked. Rob looked decidedly perturbed. “My bike seems to be gone.” “Gone?” she repeated. “Did someone steal it?” “Not exactly. The part of the driveway I parked it on--” Thick black eyebrows met over his noble nose. “--doesn’t appear to be there anymore. I think I found the source of the crash you heard last night.” ~ * ~ It had to be fate. Riley’s first thought was that God was either very much against her or very much in her corner. The second thought she had was she just had to kiss his beautiful mouth. They never even made it upstairs to the bed. She didn’t care that they were about to make love on the floor of the living room. For that brief glimmer in time Riley didn’t think about anything but what Robbie could make her feel. His face was rapt above her, so fierce and splendid in his need to please her. The cords of his neck were drawn taut, the muscles of his chest quivering beneath her hands. She tore open his shirt under the leather jacket and brushed her fingers over his small flat nipples, making him shudder, then stroked down the long length of his beautifully-cut torso. He jerked as her fingers glanced lower over his bare belly above the top button of his pants, then he stilled her hand. “No... just you,” Robbie said. He lifted her head slightly and fused his hot, sweet mouth over hers. She felt dazed by his ardor, the indisputable claim his body staked for hers. Wetness flowed between her legs and her nipples went diamond hard. He gave another seductive, surrendering groan, his heart thumping an erratic rhythm beneath her palm he slid his tongue between her teeth, eagerly sweeping her mouth. Riley forgot what sanity used to feel like. His lips trailed across her cheek to press kisses down the curve of her neck. She looped her fingers in the thick, dark hair at his nape and pulled him closer, wishing that she could absorb him through her skin. Robbie moaned something against her neck, words almost lost to her in the sublime sensation of his mouth pressing kisses over her collar bone, his rough-tipped fingers caressing the curve of her back and waist. “I know this thing with us is going too fast for you, Riley. I’ll make it work this time. I promise.” She couldn’t answer him. The words confused her. This time? She arched as his large hands moulded the curve of her breast though her shirt and bra. She wanted his mouth on her nipple to relieve the ache that bloomed deep in her breast. Robbie read her mind, pulling her tee shirt upwards, helping her yank it over her head. He looked down at her breasts, swollen and spilling up over the cups of her white bra. “You’re a miracle, Riley Jane Turner,” he whispered as he quickly divested her of the rest of her clothes. He, by contrast, remained clad completely in his leather gear and open denim shirt. It was undeniably erotic. Riley’s eyes drifted closed. She felt her toes curling up as his tongue tasted the slope of her jaw, attentively tonguing and teasing the tender, ticklish spots behind her ear. He massaged the front of her thigh, skimming over the jut of her pelvic bone, fingers smoothing across the slight swell of her tummy, then stopping short to grasp her hip and bring her flush against him. The leather of his pants was body-warmed and smooth against her bare skin. She wrapped a leg around his leather-covered hip. She could feel a furnace-like heat emanating within the solid wall of his chest, his body surrounding her like a steel blanket. His lips smouldered against hers, sliding downward, his jaw smoother today against her skin, though strands of her hair still caught in the beard bristles. He lowered his dark head and licked her sensitized nipple, opening his hot, eager mouth over the puckered areola. She inhaled as he nipped with guarded teeth, causing an even deeper, enthralling heat to blossom between her thighs. As he suckled her, his hand smoothed down her belly, his fingers finally sliding down. “Oh, God... you’re so ready,” he rasped, stroking the moistness between her legs. Those words, further avid attention to her breast and three slow, deep stokes of his fingers were enough to set them both aflame. A low groan of desire rumbled from Robbie’s throat and Riley’s climax burst in a glorious surge of heat. She shuddered in his arms, crying out, her face pressed against his shoulder, her fingers grasping his upper arms as the delicious tremors drained her energy and coherent thought. ~ * ~ Rob awoke with a start, stark naked and sprawled on the bed. He checked his watch. It was four and his empty belly raged like a caged beast. Riley was not on the bed beside him. His boots, his leathers and his shirt and underwear lay on the floor in a trail from the door. Looking at the clothes and remembering made him groan. He sat up, pushing his hair back from his face. He hadn’t told her who he was. He’d come back in the house to tell her the truth after looking for his bike, but then she’d kissed him. One taste of that honeyed mouth was all it took to undo his resolve. Again. He quickly got dressed, wishing he had some other clothes, and went down to the kitchen. She wasn’t there. There was a note on the table telling him that she’d gone into town to buy food. Rob sighed and dropped the note back on the tabletop. Since he was up he might as well see if he could find his bike in the ravine. Hopefully the damned thing hadn’t slid down too far. It might almost be funny, but that bike was one of his favourites. Plunder. The spoils of a private war on narco-terrorism he had helped to fight. It had belonged to a biker from Alberta . It took him a good hour to climb down, then out of the wet and muddy ravine. While he was there he went through the leather bag of essentials he kept locked in the bike. His gun was still there in its hidden chamber--he’d thought it best to bring it--deciding that it was better to slip it into his jacket pocket and take it into the house. No sense leaving it in the bike, just in case he had to get help to drag it out of the ravine. He was covered with mud and pine needles anyway, so he decided to chop some wood for the fire, then grab another hot shower and maybe search out some clothes. He’d noticed a few shirts in the cabin that may have been Todd’s. By his calculations Riley ought to be back soon. His heart beat a little faster at the thought. The wood chopping went quickly. He soon had enough to last the night. He felt as if he had dirt behind his coal-black extended-wear contacts so he popped them out in the bathroom and laid them on the counter, frowning at the way he looked in the mirror. The bright blue eyes in his tanned face almost disconcerted him. It was bloody weird how those flat black eyes altered his whole appearance. He took the gun and laid it beside the contacts, tossing a bath towel over it, then climbed into the shower. ~ * ~ Riley bought everything that she thought a healthy specimen like Rob would eat, including the makings of a batch of Aggie’s special cookies. She knew how to make those by heart. She bought enough food for several days but realised they’d probably starve before she could get meals made. The idea made her smile and flush like a teenager. She decided to stop at a truck stop that was half way home from the cabin. She and Mary had been there the last time they’d come to town. The food was simple but good. She was pretty sure Robbie would like the fried chicken and coleslaw. Smiling to herself, she pulled into the parking lot. There was one big rig from California parked there along with a couple of battered trucks. There was a beautiful black sports car parked there, too. Just like Todd’s. Her heart did a little somersault. She got closer to it, her breath catching as she peered out her window. It was Todd’s car. It had a British Columbia vanity plate that said: FUN LVR. What was Todd doing here? Had he shown up at the cabin last night? Riley sat stunned in her car and considered going somewhere else so she didn’t have to face him. Then she decided she was being silly. She’d confront him. She’d ask him why the hell he hadn’t called poor Mary, why he made her worry like that. She’d just shoved open her car door when two biker types came out of the diner. Her heart bumped against her ribs as they walked towards Todd’s car. They were the two men she’d seen that night in the hallway with Todd. Pigtail and his buddy. She was almost certain of it. One of them rounded the driver’s side of the Viper. The car’s security lock beeped and he climbed in. The other climbed in, too. It was a two-seater car, so there was no way Todd was hanging somewhere inside the diner and intending to come out soon and join them. What in hell were those men doing with Todd’s car? His pride and joy. There was no way Todd would give his car to those men. Had they stolen it? She watched as the car sped up, kicked up the gravel on the shoulder and headed for the highway. Riley got out of her car and ran into the diner. There was a tired looking blonde waitress wiping down the red Formica counter. She looked up and grinned. “What can I do for you, honey?” “I’m... I was wondering... about the two men who just left. Was there another man with them? Tall, pudgy, but good-looking. Blonde.” “I think I’d a known about him, honey. No good-looking men came in here today. There was a guy I haven’t seen before who came in for coffee yesterday morning. He was yummy, let me tell you. Dark hair--” “How did they pay for their meal? I need a name.” “They used a credit card. But I--” “I’m not a cop or anything. One of them owes my boyfriend a bundle. I just need his name.” “I’ll just have a look. I had a boyfriend who was always loaning cash to friends. What is it with men?” She rifled through the receipts. She picked one out of the bunch and squinted at it. “Here it is. His name is Todd Connors.” Riley’s heart fell into her shoes. “Thank you. I appreciate this,” she managed. ~ * ~ Robert had chopped a lot of wood, Riley noted, almost tripping over some of it as she stumbled in the back door. In her anxiety to reach him, to tell him what had happened, she left all of the groceries she’d bought in the car. She needed to know what he thought. Should she call Mary first or just call the police? Riley’s heart told her that none of this could be good, and even though Todd had never treated her well, she didn’t want him to be hurt or for Mary to suffer should anything have happened to him, her only grandson. “Rob,” she called tentatively. “Robbie?” She ran up the stairs, relieved to hear the shower. He was singing in an off-key voice. Something by Led Zeppelin. Too anxious about Todd to consider Rob’s modesty--not that there could be any physical revelations between them now--Riley opened the door from her side of the room. She took a deep breath, looking at his beautiful male form though the opaque green curtain with the fern leaves printed all over it. He was ducking his head under the spray, gurgling a bit. Unable to keep from grinning, despite this worrisome thing with Todd, Riley reached for the towel draped over the counter top so she could hand it to him. Not that he should worry about her seeing him naked. She’d already committed every exquisite inch of him to memory. The towel caught on something heavy, made the object beneath the towel scrape on the Formica. What the hell? The towel came loose and fluttered to the floor revealing a dark object. A gun? A gun! And strange, modern looking little black job. From what she knew about spy shows the weapon was likely meant to be concealed, not the kind cops strapped on. Beside it on the white counter were two little black dots. Contact lenses. Riley’s lips parted soundlessly as a cold shiver coursed the length of her spine. She couldn’t move for a moment, couldn’t do anything but stare at the gun. The shower thunked off and Rob sighed in pleasure. The curtain parted and he stepped out, groping blindly for the towel. Riley’s gaze travelled up that long, lean naked body, straight into a pair of surprised eyes. They were blue. The same blue as forget-me-nots, the exact same unsullied blue as a summer sky. The exact same pure, unforgettable blue of Robin Butler’s eyes. “Think you could hand me that towel?” he asked in a calm voice. His reasonable, I-do-this-all-the-time tone made Riley’s temper boil over, heated her blood and sent it rushing dizzily to her head. Delayed reaction made her knees almost collapse under her and she felt like she might pass out on the tile floor in a heap and totally disgrace herself. “Riley? Are you okay, honey?” ~ * ~ The mock-concern and the honey thing just added fuel to the already raging fire. “Okay?” she grated. “Am I okay? What is this? Guns. Disguises! You’re wearing a disguise?” Her voice was now high, shrill and panicked enough to alert any dogs in the neighbourhood. The biggest dog was standing right before her naked as the day he was born and appearing to be quite unashamed of the fact. He looked at the counter, then back at her. “Yep, you’re right. That is a gun.” Part of her was praying that he’d announce that he was a cop, a secret agent, just about anything to explain this gun without his turning out to be one of the bad guys. But her luck had never run to good. With all her luck he was the baddest of the bad. “Do you carry that thing all the time?” “No, but I do some of the time. Would you hand me that towel so that I can get decent and try to explain some of this to you?” “You have a long way to go to be decent,” she snarled. That made a black brow rise upward in infuriating amusement. She shoved the towel at him, the backs of her fingers scraping across his bare, wet belly. A little thrill went through her and she hated herself for it. “You’d better have a good explanation for lying to me, Robin Butler. For using me this way.” If his real name on her lips shocked him , he didn’t show it. “Using you?” He wrapped the towel around his waist. The rest of him remained wet, sleek, tiny droplets clinging to the hair on his arms and chest. “I know damned well that using me is what you’ve been doing. You know, Robin--” she paused to take a much needed breath, “--on second thought, I know all I need to know about who you are, what you are. And I don’t care to even hear your lame--” She began to back away toward the door. “--explanation.” His reflexes reminded her of a lizard. He caught her at the doorway with disturbing speed, not even losing the towel. She could feel him warm and wet against her back. If she was not mistaken the act had aroused him a little beneath the towel. She could feel him, hard against her hip. She wanted to be frightened, but what she felt was an excitement that appalled her. She slapped at him with her free hand, forcing him to wrap a hard wet arm more tightly around her waist. “Just calm down, Riley. Take a few deep breaths.” She twisted her head and glared up at him. “Really? Calm down? Do you plan on keeping me in this bathroom against my will, Robin?” “You can stand right there and do whatever you like. Just keep your hands to yourself. I’d like to get my clothes on. I’m not letting you out of my sight until I’m wearing my pants and boots. Then I promise that I will try to explain some of this to you.” “Some of this? What do you mean by that? Some of this.” He reached for the gun, making her swallow hard on a lump of pure fear. With the gun held up over his head, Rob propelled her out the door, set the gun carefully on the dresser top and reached for his pants which were draped over a chair. All the while he held on to her. “Seeing that you’re the one with the gun, I guess I have to do what you say.” “The gun stays there. Don’t get any stupid ideas. I don’t want you to hurt yourself. Or me.” The tight lines around his mouth softened slightly. “I’d never hurt you, Riley,” he said in a rough whisper. She rolled her eyes. “Tell me another one.” Robbie turned her. Their eyes were inches apart. His lashes were clumped into stars, the heavenly blue quite sombre looking in the darker room. Heat emanated from his smooth skin and he smelled delicious, like her soap and his own scent mingled together. She backed up out of pure self-preservation until her knees hit the edge of the bed and she was forced to sit. “Thank you.” He dropped the towel with little compunction. Riley looked away but she could see his reflection in the door’s mirror. Skipping his underwear, he pulled his black leather pants over his long legs--no mean feat because he was still wet. He slipped on the shirt, leaving it gaping open and yanked the heavy boots over his bare feet. It was like a striptease in reverse. She didn’t even want to think about the awful ways her body betrayed her just watching him. “Have you had that gun in this cabin the entire time?” she demanded. “No. It was hidden in a compartment on my bike. I had to go down in the ravine to get it out. The bike is going to be a problem. I can’t get it out of there without your help. The storm has brought down a lot of branches and stuff.” “If it gets you away from me really fast, Robin Butler, count on my help.” She heard him give a low, flat chuckle. “Why do you carry a weapon?” She shuddered as she asked. “Protection,” he replied. Riley looked him in the eyes. His blue gaze was as disconcerting as it had always been. That blissful shade of sapphire didn’t belong on a man like him. Maybe an innocent soul or an angel or something, which he definitely wasn’t. “Are you going to listen while I try to explain, Riley? Or do you just want to get all the venom out of your system? Ask me inane questions. Accuse me of things? Call me names?” “Inane questions? My questions are not inane.” “Let me rephrase that. Dumb questions.” “Does this scheme of yours have anything to do with me? Did you find out where I work and use me for your own nefarious ends?” His laugh made her shiver. “Yeah, Little Nell,” he drawled. “Me and Snidely Whiplash. We’re both heavily into nefarious.” “I hate you, Robin Butler,” she muttered. “You probably should hate me, Riley. It would be better for you if you did.” She glared at him all the harder. “I found out you were working for Mary Connors before my plans could be changed. I had to work around you, so to speak.” He pushed his thick dark hair into some semblance of order. “Did I screw up your little con? Did I get in the way of whatever you planned for Belinda and Mary? Or any of the other rich women in their social circle?” Robin Butler tilted his good-looking head back like he was perusing the heavens for guidance. “You know this actually might be better. You just go on and think that I’m some kind of swindler who preys on rich women.” “You’re the one with the gun and the altered identity, Robin. What do you expect me to think?” “Listen, Riley, I’ll admit to a few lies--” Riley could help but snort. “A few lies? Your good family back in Toronto ? The family with the insurance business? You just had to find yourself the perfect bride because you can’t wait to settle down and have babies?” Her voice broke a little at the end of that speech. She despised her own weakness. “Some of that’s true, in a way.” Riley shook her head in pure amazement. Oh God, this was so bizarre. Frightening. Fascinating... Was he going to keep her here indefinitely? Was that all he wanted from her? God, why had she been such a fool to sleep with him? She could have ten more years of guilt this time round. “Riley, stop looking at me like that. I’m not Jack the Ripper. There’s not much I can tell you at the moment without compromising a lot of work--” “Work? Just an honest day at the office, Robin?” “I promise you that the minute I have gotten what I’m looking for, I’ll clear things up. You’ll be free to go on with your own business.” “How generous of you. But there’s no need for you to clear anything up. I’m going downstairs right now to call the sheriff. He can clear this up for us.” She stood up, lifted her chin and threw out her chest in shaky defiance. “What would you tell the sheriff?” “Plenty. First that you have a gun and that you’ve threatened to keep me here against my will. I think that’s known as abduction.” “Yeah, I think it is. Kinky.” He grinned infuriatingly. Then they heard it. The roar of motorcycle engines in the driveway. Riley leapt off the bed. Rob reacted, yanking her against him, covering her mouth with his hand. He dragged her to the window and looked out. “Take a quick look. You know those guys?” Riley looked down through the blinds, her heart squeezing in her chest. “Do you know them?” he asked. Didn’t he know them? she wondered. Her stomached lurched again. It was them. Pigtail and his ugly friend. He took his hand from her mouth. “I’ve seen them with Todd.” What were they doing here? Had they seen her at the diner? Had they come after her? “Are these the men who came to the mansion the night I dropped you off at Craig’s? I saw their car that night, but I couldn’t make them out from your balcony.” She stiffened. “You were on my balcony?” “All night. Right outside your room. I watched you get ready for bed.” “My God.” “Did you see Todd in town tonight?” Robin asked. “Is that why you were upset?” “No. I saw these two creeps an hour ago at the diner when I went to get some chicken.” She explained quickly about the credit card, the car in the parking lot. He pulled her away from the window. “They’re coming up the drive. They might be looking for you. We have to go down the upper deck from the master bedroom. Down the ravine. You think you can make it down there?” He pinned her with that heated blue gaze again, grabbing the gun and his cell phone from the dresser top. He stuffed the gun in the front of his leather pants. She almost feared for his manhood. As if she cared. Riley had never been overly fond of heights. By the time he scrambled down the deck and dropped easily to the clearing beneath she was thoroughly spooked. “Jump,” he told her. “I’ll catch you.” Her legs didn’t seem to want to hold her. She looked down at Robin and shook her head. “It’s either them or me, baby. I suggest you jump. Climb partway down the trellis first.” “I don’t know--” She made her way slowly over the ledge. “Do it.” She squeezed her eyes shut, and flung herself off her perch. He lay under her for a second after she was safe in his arms, looking slightly stunned. He’d taken all her weight, then pitched backwards. “Did I snap your spine?” she asked, breathless, but proud of herself. He was still holding her and she was glad of it. She could feel his heart pounding wildly under his shirt. He smiled. “I’ll live. You weigh a ton.” “I do not!” “Come on.” He got to his feet, took her hand and led her through a wicked tangle of blackberry brambles, careful to protect her from the barbs. She could see the bloody scratches that covered his hands and one that had marred his jaw. He spoke in whispers as he dragged her though the undergrowth. “Tell me everything you saw, Rye . Don’t leave out anything. Did you get their license plate number?” “That was easy,” she whispered back. “It was FUN LVR. Todd’s plates. They were driving Todd’s beautiful Viper sports car. Are you a cop?” she asked hopefully. Maybe, she prayed, just maybe he was a cop after all. “No, Riley. I’m not a cop. Tell me the rest.” She told him all she could recall. “You’re on the wrong side of the law, aren’t you? Do you work alone? Or for some syndicate? The Mafia? Or a gang?” “Yeah. The Carry-on Gang. I used to be the one with the bad teeth.” He sighed deeply, brushing pine needles out of his dyed black hair. It was so obvious to her now that he was Robin. “You didn’t call anyone, did you, Rye ? You didn’t call Mary from town and blab anything?” “Of course not. I didn’t have my phone. And, for your information, I do not blab.” “This doesn’t look good for Todd. Why would he willingly give them his car? His credit cards?” Riley nodded. “That’s what I thought. As much as I dislike him, I’d hate to think about anything bad happening to him. He’s really not that bad of a kid when he’s sober.” Robin sneered, “I could kill him for what he did to you that night at the gala.” “Men have done shit like that to me all my life. Do you think he could be dead?” “I don’t know, Rye . I don’t know what this is, or what kind of weird shit he’s into.” “Do you have something to do with these men?” He took too long to answer. “No, I don’t. I’m interested in them. That’s all.” He reached into his pants and took his cell phone out of the pocket. She stilled his hand. “Who are you, Robin? Can you just tell me that?” she begged. She was at the point of desperation. “What is this all about?” He didn’t answer her for a long time. “I’m looking for someone. I don’t know who. I don’t even know what he looks like for certain.” “You’re losing me, Robin.” “I can’t tell you anything else. It’s not safe for you. I want you to be safe. Those guys will be back out here any second.” “You’re looking for someone you can’t even describe? I’m to believe that?” His smile barely reached his eyes. “Yep. He could look like Barney the purple dinosaur for all I know.” “So why do you need to find him?” This was getting curiouser and curiouser. “He has something I have to retrieve.” “Something that belongs to you?” Deceptively sunny blue eyes impaled her. “No, not mine. But not his either.” “This is something illegal, isn’t it? A shipment of arms or drugs?” “You have a one track mind, lady, and you are getting way too snoopy for my comfort.” “You can’t force me to stay here against my will,” she hissed. He cocked his handsome head towards the cabin. “You’d rather be with those guys, Rye ?” “I’m still going to call the cops, you know.” The words came out in a low huff. Robin reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened at the contact, but deep inside some elemental part of her craved his touch. “Do you want Mary to be safe? Mary and her family?” he whispered. “Of course I want that. What are you saying, Robin? Why do you keep saying the word safe? Are you threatening them? Or protecting them from harm?” “I’m not threatening them. And I don’t know how the hell I can protect anyone, but I’m going to try. Listen to me carefully. Clear your mind of all the crap that’s whirling around in it like a Cuisinart gone berserk. It’s not the time to get the cops involved. The Feds always screw things up. I hate working in this country. Too much red tape. Too much law enforcement and none of it in sync. Will you please just shut up and chill so I can make a call?” He was right about the cops. Her head was spinning. “You would say that about the cops. I’ll bet you’ve met up with a lot of them in your time.” “I’ve met up with a few. I’m not in with the guys who took Todd’s car, Riley. I am not dealing drugs or planning to kill people. Just because I was a bit of a hood as a kid doesn’t mean I grew up to be the bad guy.” He removed the gun tucked in the front of his sexy leather pants and she shuddered. “Besides cops, the bad guys are all I can think of who carry guns.” She chewed her lip. “Are you a bounty hunter? Tell me that you’re a bounty hunter, Robin.” “Would that kill the questions and make you trust me? Look... dammit.” He jerked her around and made her look up, his body half covering hers so she had to peer over his shoulder. “They’re up on the front deck. Probably coming back this way. Get on the ground now. Flat as possible.” He pushed her down. “I don’t know what to think of you, Robin.” “Think anything you like. I can’t tell you anything else without compromising you, and I hate like hell to tell you more lies. And anything I have told you or that you have seen regarding these two men and Todd stays with you and me for now. At least until you can talk to Otis. Is that clear?” Otis? Who was Otis? She didn’t answer him. “You have to trust me.” He gave her another small push downward. “You trusted me a few hours ago. I’m the same man I was then. Ah, craptastic... I doubt I can get a good look at those two without my contacts in. Dammit, I should have had that surgery. I’ve been blind as a bat since I was a kid.” “You were myopic? Those ultra-cool mirrored sunglasses were prescription?” He smiled. “Yep.” “How many inches did you grow anyway?” He gave her an evil grin. “You mean...height?” “Yes, I mean height,” Riley snarled. “Six or so inches in one year. I was eighteen when it finally happened. Every bone in my body felt like I was being stretched on a rack.” This was incredible. She’d felt ashamed of herself for so long because of what she’d once done, coming on to Robin Butler like that, half-drunk on cheap wine and puppy-love, practically begging him to take her virginity there and then. After making her feel like a princess, the most cherished creature in the world, he’d rejected her with total detachment, to the point of not even saying goodbye or telling her she’d been tolerable to sleep with, just disappearing into thin air. It had taken Riley years to work through it, to get her head straight and her heart hardened to the deceitful way some men worked. What a bloody joke. Robin Butler, in the guise of an open-hearted, fun-loving stranger, had single-handedly shattered her illusions yet again. The thing was, this time, she knew she had nothing to be ashamed of as far as her sexual performance went. She knew damned well by now that she was good enough for any man. “I couldn’t tell you who I was, Riley,” Rob murmured close to her ear, as if reading her mind. “I should never have come when I knew you were here. I should have stuck to the plan, but I had to know...” There was some prickly weed digging into her bare stomach. “Know what?” “Just to know. Know what I’d missed. What I’d left behind. What I was too damned scared to face about my rotten self.” Riley stared at him coldly. He went on. “I can’t tell you now. There’s no time. I’ve got to do some damage control.” He started to punch in what seemed an endless amount of numbers on the cell phone. He talked briefly to someone, then lost the signal. He rolled his eyes and muttered a nasty swear word. “I should have known you were Robin Butler. As a matter of fact, I think I did know it was you all along.” “Of course you did. And that’s why you slept with me again.” His blue eyes sparkled with something she hoped was just humor. “We were meant for each other, Riley, whether you like it or not. I was your first lover. I mean to be the last. Maybe we’ve come full circle. Back to where we started, where we’re supposed to be.” They heard the voices and the footsteps at the same moment. The two creeps were back at Riley’s car. Big boots crunched loudly on gravel. As Rob had predicted, they broke into the vehicle in three seconds flat. “Think that broad will bother to look for Todd?” said one of the men. “Nah. He told me she hates his guts. If the babe comes out to look for Toddy-baby she’s gonna find nothin’ more than a rotten corpse in the woods.” The other man gave an ugly laugh as he slammed the hatch. “She’s harmless, man. Just doin’ her thing from what Todd’s told me. Lookin’ after the old bat.” “I haven’t seen this chick, but according to Todd she’s hot, man. Used to be a stripper. I’d come back and do a hot looking stripper in a minute.” Before Riley could gasp, Rob covered her mouth with the palm of his hand. Some crows began to make a din up in the cedars. It was hard to hear what the men were talking about for a minute or so. “Did you call her like you were supposed to?” asked one of the two. “Nah. We’ve done what she paid us to do. I’m not supposed to do nuthin’ I don’t want to do.” “She wants us to talk to Vasco’s guy tonight. We’re supposed to meet him at the Ball Breaker. See if there’s anything he wants us to finish up. Then we get the rest of our pay.” “Whatever. I could use a beer. Man, the broad who’s staying here can’t be far, can she? She’s left her car and all her stuff. I’d really like to stick around and get to know this chick.” “We’ll come back later.” They roared off on their bikes. Rob looked over at Riley. She was pale and shivering. Scared to death. “You okay?” he asked. “Do I look okay?” “They’re not coming back to do you. Just see what happens if they try.” “Oh, I forgot. You have that puny little gun, don’t you, Robin?” His cell phone vibrated. He started with a pleasantry, but Otis was already yelling. “Yeah, man. Stop yapping. I’ll fill you in.” Riley started to move away from him. He reached out to stop her, yanking her back by the scruff of her neck, holding his hand over her mouth until he could speak to Otis. She dug her nails into his fingers until he released her. “Let me go, please, Robbie. I’m going to be sick,” she moaned. Riley turned her head and retched all over some weeds. His heart twisted to hear her. God, how was he going to get her through the rest? It wasn’t over by any means. “Otis, you have to take it from here. I have some problems to deal with,” Rob said. “This cloak and dagger shit isn’t in my job description. I steal the pretty baubles back, man. That’s it. This sucks, man.” He told Otis about what Riley had seen, what they’d heard about Todd. When Otis suggested that he take Riley to the Ball Breaker that night to help them get a positive I.D. on the two men, see whoever it was they were meeting, Rob almost went ballistic. “There’s no way she’ll cooperate, Otis. There’s no way I want her there.” Otis was the essence of calm. “Do this for me and your part in this thing is all over, son,” he told Rob. “You’re home free, boy. I promise you that. We’ll be there. She’ll be perfectly safe. I guarantee it.” “How much backup do we get?” Rob asked. “I want a freakin’ militia, you old fart...” “Why?” Otis chuckled. “Why? Why?” Because I love her. “I love her. Is that clear enough for you? If anything happens to this girl, I’ll kill you.” Rob clicked off the phone before Otis could reply. Riley was staring at him in disgust, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. Tears coursed down her smooth, pale cheeks. “I know my timing stinks,” he told her. “I meant every word of it, Rye . Every damn word. Even if it’s too late for us, I love you.” Riley just shook her head. She didn’t meet his gaze.             Thirteen It was entirely possible that Todd’s little foray into the dark side was not connected in any way to Vasco’s international operation. Maybe the kid was just the simpleminded stupid ass that Rob believed he was. Maybe he’d just stumbled into something that he couldn’t handle. Otis’s sources might be all wet. But Rob had heard that creep mention Vasco’s name with his own ears and it had chilled his soul. He’d also heard a woman mentioned. Who was the woman and what did she have to do with all this? It seemed peculiar to Rob that Vasco, with his high-living ways, would lower himself to associating with bikers and women. He apparently hated women except for the basest masculine needs. It just didn’t fit. He was by all accounts far above this sort of scheme, especially now. His scams were more European in sensibility, far more grand. He’d be more likely to associate with high-profile terrorists than bikers. If he was involved--if his far-reaching hand was dipping into this little pie--this new venture of Vasco’s must be broader than Otis had ever imagined. Vasco had stashed away more valuables than even he could want in the last years and may have turned to something more profitable. Even more sinister? It made everything a little more dangerous, made Vasco seem even more untouchable. But maybe there was a simple, local twist that Rob was missing. Could someone other than Todd be involved? Could someone Otis and Rob had discounted be calling the shots here? Was there some unknown player--to whose identity Rob was completely blind--in on this thing? Could they have missed something? The only person whose innocence he was certain of was Riley. Dammit, why the hell had Riley been dragged into this? It was partly his fault. He set down his coffee, running his hands anxiously through his too-short hair. She was asleep on the couch, passed out in a boneless sprawl since they’d come back, after he’d allowed her to clean up. He’d been amazed that she could sleep like that. She wasn’t faking it. He’d gone off to the washroom himself, half-hoping that, when he came back, she’d have made a run for it. If he could let her go now, he would. If he knew she’d be absolutely safe, he would let her go. But she was better off with him, where he could see her, protect her. He had to know she was okay. Rob checked his watch. They had half an hour before they had to leave. He walked over to her and pressed the back of his hand to her dream-furrowed forehead. She wasn’t feverish, which meant she probably wasn’t ill and he was glad of that. She stirred and lifted her head from the pillow. Her cheek was printed with the lines of the corduroy sofa. She looked up at him, gave a bleary little smile, then quickly seemed to remember where she was and who she was smiling at. The smile slid from her pretty face, replaced by a glare that was all ice. “Did you drug me?” He almost laughed. “No. You’re tired. We were busy all night. Remember?” She flushed. “I’d rather not.” He explained what his plans were, or rather what Otis had planned for them to do at the Ball Breaker. She stared at him in mute disbelief. “I won’t help you.” “You have to, Riley. You’ll be safe. We need to come up with some kind of disguise for you. I’ve been calling around. There’s a hair styling place in town. We need to get you a wig. They’re only open until six.” “A wig?” “I’m not taking any chances that someone will recognize you. Either we do that, or I can give you a haircut myself.” She stared at him in utter horror. “I took up the trade in prison for a while,” he teased. “I’ll bet you took up a lot of things in prison, Robin.” He shrugged. “I did okay there, actually. I wasn’t there for that long, mind you, but I never intend to go back, if that’s what you’re worried about. Don’t even have a record now, so Otis tells me.” “I’ll take the wig, thanks,” she muttered, sitting up. “You’ll do this, then? No fighting me?” “I don’t have a choice, do I?” she said. She was looking at his hands. “Those bramble scratches look angry. They’re going to get infected if you don’t put something on them.” The ones on his face and neck hurt more. “I’m okay. I’ve had worse. I fell head first into a rose bush once.” “Sit down at the table. I’ll look for something to clean them. Take that shirt off. You have some deep ones on your neck, too.” He took his time about complying. He didn’t want her to touch him. He might react, touch her back, do something he’d regret. He finally took off his shirt and hung it over the back of the chair. He told himself he had plenty of willpower. Riley couldn’t watch him take the shirt off that beautiful torso. Her whole body felt over-used, achy, like she’d been dragged through a knothole backwards. She took a few long, deep breaths but they didn’t calm her. Rob stretched his long arms over his head like a cat. The sound of his slight groan and the sight of his naked back, sleekly muscled, coated with a light sheen of sweat, brought back a stark, sweet memory of their lovemaking last night ... Oh, God... “Do you always conk out like that?” he asked her. “If you do, it’s cool.” “No. But sometimes I’m like a windup toy that just stops. I’ve suffered insomnia sometimes. I had a car accident once and I didn’t sleep for a month or so.” “Was it bad? The accident?” “Bad enough. It was a rainy night on a bridge. I wasn’t driving at the time. A guy I almost married was driving.” She found the first-aid kit in the pantry. “You almost got married?” Riley frowned. “Yes. It turned out we weren’t suited very well. He liked to drink and party too much.” She didn’t know why she’d told him that. She washed a steel bowl carefully and ran hot water into it. She shouldn’t do this. Talk about her past. Clean his wounds. She ought to try to get away. She ought to fight him tooth and nail. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt,” he said. “I’m glad you never got married, either.” Riley almost found herself smiling as she set the bowl of soapy water and a few clean terry tea towels on the table. “Have you ever been married?” The horrible thought occurred to her right then. “Are you married now, Robin?” He gave her a scornful look. At least she assumed it was scornful. “Never.” Her stupid heart skipped a beat in relief. “Because the right girl never came along?” “She came along. I wasn’t the right guy for her,” he said softly. Her hands trembled as she wrung the small white washcloth in the pan of soapy water. “Tell me if I hurt you. It’s going to sting. It can’t be helped.” “You won’t hurt me, Riley.” She worked as quickly and carefully as she could. He didn’t move, didn’t flinch as she cleaned the worst of the deep scratches on his smooth, sinewy shoulders. Blackberry thorns could do a lot of damage. His body beneath her fingers was tense as steel. The hair at his nape, by contrast, felt like the softest silk. She had a sudden flash of the dream she’d had while she napped on the couch. In her dream he held her, telling her he loved her. Promised to stay. He’d woken her before she knew the outcome. She knew the outcome. “Where do you live when you’re not hoodwinking old ladies, Robin?” “ Vancouver ’s where I have a small place. But I live everywhere. Anywhere I have to go,” he said, looking up at her under his lashes with those mind-blowing blue eyes. “You’ve lived this close to me and I never knew it?” “I’m not here that much. It’s a huge city. There’s no reason why we should run into one another.” “But we did run into each other, didn’t we? That really wasn’t planned?” She started to take off the medallion that hung around his neck. She hadn’t really thought about it before, but it was a religious medal. St. Christopher. From Aggie? She knew in her heart it had to have been a gift from her. His hand covered hers. “I’ve never taken it off.” “Okay. So I’ll work around it,” she said softly. “I told you the truth: that I never planned to use you, or to even see you. I can do the rest of this for myself.” He reached up for the cloth. “I’m almost done. How long have you done this job, if I can call it that? And what exactly is it you do?” “I’m a recovery specialist.” “And what exactly is that?” “Like I said before, it’s hard to explain. I’ve been at it since I was twenty-one or so. Before that I drifted around. Got into some trouble with some unpleasant people. Like I told you, I did a short stint of time in prison. Luckily I fell into this.” “Was the prison thing for something really bad?” “It was bad enough. Armed robbery. But I never killed anyone. Came close a few times, I’ll admit.” Riley’s hands shook as she took out some bandages. He told her he didn’t need them. She covered the scratches in ointment instead. “Is everything you do dangerous?” “Not everything. Some of it can be risky. I’m fairly careful. At least I was until a few weeks ago. I kind of faltered from the path.” She gave him a look. “So what caused you to falter?” “Something crazy came over me.” Riley looked down into his blue eyes. “And this job you do? It’s simply because of the money?” “The thrills are good, but for me the money came first, I guess. I’ve never had a reason for doing what I do other than the money. I haven’t got an altruistic nature.” She stared at him, thinking of Aggie’s dear Robin Hood. He rubbed a bit of the salve into one of the deeper scratches on his lightly-furred forearm. “The money is rather phenomenal. Quite legal, too, if that’s what you wanted to know. Most of what I do is legal.” “Most?” she scoffed. His grin was sheepish. “Most. I straddle the fence at times. It’s all a means to an end.” Riley shook her head. “If you weren’t hurt, I’d slap you silly for being obtuse, Robin Butler.” “You should slap me silly. My whole life’s about being obtuse.” He looked up at her. “I’m sorry about this. I’m sorry about everything. I’ll make it up to you.” She lifted her lip in a smirk. “What? You’re going to give me my share of the profits from this particular assignment?” “If you want it, it’s yours, Riley. Anything I have.” She left him and poured the bowl of bloodied water in the sink. The look of that pink blood washing away made her feel ill. “I don’t want your ill-gotten gains, Robin Hood. Thank you very much.” “What do you want?” Riley sighed. She could have told him that in one word. It was insane that she was still thinking in those terms after what she’d learned about him. Ex-con working for a shady organization as a thief for hire. And she wanted him still? What exactly did that say about her? So much for her big talk about classy guys like Colin Firth. He was beside her suddenly. She started as his big hand came out to take her arm. His eyes searched hers. She could smell his freshly bathed skin and she wanted to turn, take him in her arms and kiss him, just as she’d done the previous night. Her body ached for his touch. “Thank you, Riley. You’re one in a million. I mean that.” “I’m a fool, Robin.” ~ * ~ The waitress dropped a tray of glasses on the floor when someone pinched her ass and Rob unaccountably flinched at the loud noise of glass shattering on sticky linoleum. Something about the atmosphere wasn’t sitting right with him. He couldn’t put a finger on what it was. Maybe it was the residual effect of his guilt. The silent treatment by Riley in the car on the way had accomplished nothing towards putting him at ease. The way she looked at him, like she was being held against her will, like he was a psycho, made him feel sick inside. She was a captive. She knew it. He knew it. He’d warned her before they came in about saying a word, even breathing wrong. So far no one had so much as bothered them in their booth near the bar. Despite their tough, ugly reputation, bikers could be pretty amiable guys. Unlike the urban legends, they didn’t automatically string up people who happened to wander innocently into their meeting places. Rob had been to hundreds of bars like this and rarely had a problem, unless he was wearing the colours of an enemy gang. He wondered who Otis had in place. He didn’t recognize anyone. The waitress--a forty-something woman he’d met the day before when he’d checked out “The Ball Breaker”--looked a bit agitated when she came to deliver the beers he’d ordered. Riley didn’t so much as make eye-contact with the woman as she set down the bottles. Rob was pretty sure the ass-grabbing incident minutes ago hadn’t helped the waitress’s mood, or Riley’s, for that matter. “What’s going on?” Rob asked the tired looking woman. “It seems quiet here. A little tense. No one’s having a good time.” “Evening’s young. There’s been a little trouble in town lately,” she’d told him tersely. “A turf war or something?” “I can’t really talk about it.” “I can understand that. That’s cool with me. Annie? Is that your name, honey?” he asked the waitress. Riley rolled her eyes in that annoying way of hers. “Are you a cop?” she asked cautiously. He gave her a grin. “Me, Annie? Hell, no.” “A biker? You don’t look like a biker. Way too pretty.” Riley rolled her eyes again and he pinched her thigh under the table. She gave a small start. “I’m not a biker or a cop. Like I told you when I was in here before, I’m looking for some old friends. I’ve heard they live out this way. One has a long pigtail--” “Don’t know him.” She looked down at Riley, who was wearing a mousy brown wig and her tortoiseshell specs. “This isn’t really a place for a lady, if you get my drift,” she told him. “You’re a hunk, darlin’, but I got other customers to take care of. I get off at two if you’ve a mind to talk then.” The waitress left with a hefty tip. “Gee, maybe you’ll get lucky,” Riley snarled. Rob looked around hoping to see someone he recognized. Otis had assured him everything was in place. “Don’t worry about what she said,” Rob told her. “I could care less who you sleep with.” “I meant about the turf war, but I can understand how you’d be jealous.” “Oh, I forgot. You and your panty melting smile are going to keep me safe. Right?” “I’ll try my best.” Riley frowned. “I figure I’m better off with you than with one of them.” “Lesser of two evils?” he prodded. “Whatever. I don’t see any cops I can run to for help here.” He nodded in the direction of the beer the waitress brought. “Take one of those beers. When you’re in a place like this, you drink beer. I took the chance of looking like an oddball and ordering it in bottles. Everyone drinks what’s on tap in these joints. If you don’t like the taste of it, pretend to drink it.” His tone switched from authority mode. “And thank you again for doing this.” “Whatever. I don’t need your thanks. I just want to be away from here. And you.” “Soon.” He frowned at her, looking around. There were a lot of bikers here wearing colours. He knew what the patches and the wings meant. Ugly stuff. Scary dudes. He decided he liked pretending to be someone he wasn’t at fancy galas in hotel ballrooms a lot more. But then again, maybe he didn’t. Maybe he just wanted to be real now, whatever his particular reality was. Last night with Riley seemed as genuine as he could imagine, considering she’d thought him Robert Murphy, not Robin Butler. The thought that he’d put her in harm’s way assailed him again. The sheer joy of finally sticking it to a murdering, thieving bastard like Vasco faded badly with the idea that he was allowing Otis to put Riley in jeopardy. “Lovely ambiance,” she observed. “Especially the little skull lights around the bar.” “Just tell me if you see those dudes. I’ll call Otis, then we’ll go.” “I don’t see them. You know, if you called the FBI now and gave them a description of Todd’s car, you wouldn’t have to do this. They could do it for you. You could get busy on a new scam, couldn’t you? There are a lot of rich old ladies in the big city.” Rob had positioned his own back to the door, a risk he’d normally rather not take; Riley’s back was to the bar. She was safer there and she could see anyone new who might come into the place. He’d asked her to dress in dark clothes: jeans and a black sweater. She still looked damned good to him despite the understated threads. Maybe because of them. He knew very intimately the hot-blooded woman beneath. “What exactly is a turf war? And have you ever been involved in one?” she asked him. “Yeah, I have. And it’s what it sounds like.” Rob looked into her bright green eyes and could think of nothing more than taking her home to make love to her. Forget everything. This woman was worth more than the million or so he’d get for his part in this job. He didn’t care a hoot about that now. Hadn’t since the first moment he’d laid eyes on her on the surveillance tape. “Is it as simple as pack behaviour? Protecting territorial interests? Like street gangs?” “You got it, Pontiac . Dog eat dog. It gets dirty. Power and money are at stake.” “What’s it like living with bikers? Is it like they make out in the movies?” He shrugged. “Better than a lot of things I’ve done.” She seemed perturbed by his answer. “What time is it?” she asked. “Past ten.” “We’ve been getting curious looks. Are you worried? You look sort of concerned for someone who says we’re perfectly safe.” she said. He shook his head. “I didn’t notice any curious looks. They’re just looking at you and wondering how a scruffy guy like me happens to be with someone as beautiful as you are.” Riley snorted. “Robin, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you’re the least scruffy looking guy in the room. You’re attracting curious stares from everybody. You look about as dangerous as Richard Simmons.” She gave him a terse frown. “A least until you get surprised in the bathroom. You were pretty scary then.” “When?” Rob found himself grinning. He could almost like this sparring with her if his crazy radar wasn’t flashing warnings all down the back of his neck. “You mean last night’s peepshow?” She flushed a delicate rose. “This afternoon. With the gun?” “I got careless. I’m trained better than that. Thinking about making love to you again went to my head. Made me reckless. I would never have hurt you.” She sighed deeply. “What you just called making love? That was sex.” “That was more than just sex, Riley Jane. And you know it.” She looked away to hide her reaction. “Do you bring all of your dates to places like this?” “I don’t date much,” he said. “Really?” She snorted again. Riley obviously didn’t believe him. “But you do get laid a lot on the job, don’t you? A silver-tongued stud-muffin like yourself?” “Riley--” She looked down at the paper label from the untouched beer in front of her. She’d been shredding it and dropping the little green and silver curls in a pile. A new song came on the jukebox and she lifted her head, shaking it slowly. It was The Clash. Train in Vain. Rob listened to that line that accused the lover of not standing by. Not staying. Running away. His heart lurched in his chest as he remembered. “Gee, Robbie, they’re playing our song,” she said. She remembered it, too. “That’s our song?” he lied. “You learn something new every day.” She shook her head, looking a little miffed. “You don’t remember much about that night, do you?” “That night we celebrated Jimmy Allan’s birthday?” he asked. She nodded. “I remember a lot of things about that night, Riley Jane.” His voice came out too husky. “I remember one hell of a lot.” “The obvious things. That we had sex.” She spat out the last words like she’d just said they’d spent the night catching rats. “We danced to that song. It was the first one of five we danced together. We were exhausted and breathless and sweaty. We’d been jumping up and down in Jimmy’s basement, laughing and hitting our heads on the acoustic tiles. Then later you kissed me and... kaboom,” he told her. “I didn’t kiss you first.” She averted her green gaze once more. He reached out and touched her jaw, forcing her to look at him. “I guess I remember it differently than you do, sweetheart,” he finished. She gave a wry smile. “I suppose it was me that started it. More like I grabbed you round the neck and melted all over you. It was too sudden and crazy. I was so out of my comfort zone it wasn’t funny.” “It wasn’t sudden. The crazy part I agree with. I’d been crazy about you that entire summer. I kept screwing up the shingles on that old man’s garage roof every time you’d come out on Aggie’s porch. I wouldn’t go over there and visit Aggie unless you’d gone to work. She was pissed at me anyway for screwing things up again.” “I thought you thought I was a geek or something. Not worth your time.” “You mean because of the ultra-cool and bad-ass bandana and sunglasses?” “You looked cool.” He laughed. “I was going for that look to make me look cool. Inside I was mush. By the way, I thought you were beautiful.” “You didn’t even say two words to me until that party.” “I didn’t know what to say. I figured you’d laugh at me if I asked you to see a movie with me. Aggie wanted me to stay away from you.” Riley nodded. “I really wish you had.” Did she? That hurt. “Aggie told me you were smart, that you were special, that you would be one of the kids who’d find your way out. Have a future. Hell, every guy in that neighborhood drooled when you walked by, Riley. It took every ounce of courage I had just to let myself dance with you when you asked me. I thought your asking me was a joke, that someone had put you up to it,” he admitted. “There was another guy at the party who was talking about asking you out and I hated his guts, so I said I would dance with you.” “You needed courage to dance with me? You, Robbie?” He bit his lip. “Riley, everything confident about me was an act. I couldn’t look in the mirror back then without wishing that I was Brad Pitt. Anyone but who I was. I believed half my life that I’d crawled out from under a rock.” His stepfather had never missed the chance to tell him how butt-ugly, how skinny, how weak he was. Every shove, every sucker punch, seemed to tattoo that important fact into his brain. “I thought you were the most beautiful boy I’d ever seen. A little bit on the scrawny side back then... I actually thought I loved you.” Rob swallowed hard at the husky quality of her voice. “God, Riley... I couldn’t believe it when you showed up with those cookies an hour after the party ended. Cookies fresh out of the oven.” He gave a low chuckle. “No girl had ever done anything like that for me before.” She flushed. “You’d said you liked them. And I wanted to impress you. I wanted to make you love me. I wanted to do anything to make you love me. It took all the stealth I could muster to keep from being caught by Aggie baking cookies at two in the morning.” “You wouldn’t have had to do anything but smile at me.” “That night should never have happened,” she said softly. “What we did. It never meant anything to you.” His guts twisted. “Yes, it did.” She shook her head. “You just went away, Robin. Disappeared into thin air. Never told me why. Never even told me what I’d done to displease you. You never said goodbye to me.” “God, I’m sorry. You were perfect. It wasn’t anything to do with you, Riley. And yet it was everything to do with you.” She stared at him, lost in his incredibly blue eyes, forgetting all the mind-boggling and alarming things she’d learned--and hadn’t learned--about him in the last day and night, wanting only to believe he was her knight in shining armor come back to find her after years away on some quest. Just as she’d wanted to believe back then. She could be such a fool. “I wanted you more than anything in the world, Riley. I still do. I’ll admit I took advantage of you.” “Then and now?” His reply was honest, at least. “Yes.” “I wanted you, too, last night. It was sex, Robin. Let’s just look at it that way. Things don’t work out happily for people like us.” “I don’t believe that. For once, I don’t.” He meant it. Maybe he had meant what he’d said that afternoon. I love you. She took a huge gulp of her beer, grimaced and swallowed it, shuddering. “Oh, yuck.” Riley gave a short, slightly strangled laugh. “This is really kind of interesting. Now I’ll know how my mother spent her Saturday nights.” Riley saw the look of shared understanding that passed over his face. He rubbed his jaw with his palm and pushed his untouched beer away. She wished she’d never brought up that night they’d spent together as teenagers. She was supposed to hate him right now for what he was doing to her. Not believing he was sincere, that he’d thought she was beautiful then. That something about that night was so powerful and real it had scared him into running away. But it had happened last night and he seemed to be saying he wouldn’t run this time. Was he sincere? She pushed that thought out of her head. “Have you ever seen that Pee Wee Herman movie?” she asked, looking over Rob’s shoulder at the entrance. The door opened and some men came into the bar. Hairy and tattooed and dressed in dirty leather. A total contrast to the cool, clean man dressed in black leather in front of her. Her heart stopped. “They’re here,” she said in a whisper. One of them had a waist length, greasy pigtail. “Don’t move. Just talk to me, baby. They’re supposed to be meeting someone, remember, and we have to get a good look at whoever it is. You’re fine.” “Are you going to call your people now?” He shook his head, taking swig of beer. “I’m wearing a wire I keep in my bike kit. They can hear me.” She gaped at him. “What are they doing?” he asked her. “Nothing. Just looking around.” He reached under the table and grasped her knee, giving it a squeeze. She was so wired her heart was tripping. His steadfast, almost loving look, his firm touch freaked her out. He was proud of her. She could tell. He believed she could do this. She realized she wanted to make him proud of her. It was so dumb that she felt like that. She couldn’t trust him. She shouldn’t trust him. This was getting ridiculous, she thought, trying to center herself. She wanted to go back to the cabin and fall into his bed, wrap her arms around his strong back, open her eyes on a fresh morning to the sight of his sleep-drenched blue ones smiling down at her-- She wasn’t going to let it happen again. Not now. Was she? How could she consider giving herself to him again? Knowing what she knew? Did she know anything remotely concrete? Just that he was Robin James Butler, her first love. Could she involve herself further with a mystery man whose values she didn’t respect? A man who gave her nothing more than shivers of lust now and a future of empty arms and regrets? Pigtail looked directly at her, made eye-contact. He turned his head and spoke to his companion. Riley’s head swam. The room seemed to pitch with the rise in her blood pressure. Rob leaned forward. “Riley?” “He knows me, I think.” “Shit.” The door opened and some men came in. They didn’t exactly fit in here somehow. She didn’t know why. Rob pushed back his chair suddenly. “It’s over, Otis.” Riley didn’t know who the hell he was talking to for a minute. “I’ve changed my mind, man. This idea sucks. She’s not safe here.” He reached for her hand. “Let’s get out of here, Riley.” His words were suddenly drowned out by something she could only describe as pops and bangs. She heard the shrill scream of the waitress as some of the glass shelves and several of the liquor bottles behind the bar exploded. Someone was shooting up the place with an automatic weapon! She saw Pigtail go flying, the front of his leather vest imploding in a sickening bloom of blood. A wave of panic hit her. She did the first thing she thought of and leapt to her feet, wanting nothing but to get out of there, determined to bomb straight though the nearest exit. “No! Get down, Riley!” Rob cried, grabbing her painfully by the arm and dragging her to the floor. He held her by the hair, shoving her as far under the table as she’d fit. Before she went under she saw the glass partition over their booth shatter in a hail of bullets. Glass flew everywhere. She thought she heard his gasp of pain as he covered her with his body. It seemed an eternity before the quiet came. There was silence, eerie in the extreme; an utter stillness, like they’d passed through the eye of a tornado. Then she heard the wail of police sirens and the sound of a woman whimpering. He was still covering her with his body. He was heavy and warm. She shoved at him. “Robbie, I’m okay. Get off me.” She pushed at him again. Robbie didn’t move. Her heart sank like a stone. She shoved at his big, hard shoulder again. Her fingers came away covered in something warm and sticky. Blood. “Robin?” she whispered. “Robbie, answer me.” Oh, God. Oh, dear God, he’d been shot. She started to wriggle out from under him, impeded by the cast iron base of the table. She didn’t care if the baddies were still roaming around with their guns. Oh, God, what if it was too late? What if he was dead? She managed to squirm out from under him. Losing the support of her body, Robbie fell face down on the floor. Blood dripped out of his hair and onto the filthy linoleum. Then he moaned her name, lifting his head slightly. “Riley? Are you okay?” she heard him rasp. Her body sagged with relief. “Robbie, don’t move. You may have been shot.” She looked up just as sheriff’s deputies rushed through the doorway, guns drawn. “I’m not shot. It just creased me,” he said. “Maybe it was glass.” She shuddered at his words. He’d come millimetres from death. God, she almost couldn’t bear thinking about it. “Don’t move.” “I’m okay, dammit.” She leaned close to him. There was a wicked slice cut through his flesh from hairline to eyebrow. It was bleeding profusely, blood tricking over his ear and down the side of his neck. “I have to get you out of here,” he said. “I should never have done this. I shouldn’t have used you this way.” She stroked the slope of his shoulder. “It’s okay.” “We have to get out of here. Now.”             Fourteen Riley awoke from a restless sleep at five, amazed she had even gone to sleep in the first place. The sun was almost up, though the rain made it dark outside. What had happened the night before came tumbling back in a rush of images. She and Rob coming here to Mary’s cabin after they escaped the bar; how he’d spent an hour yelling into the phone to this mysterious Otis; how she’d tried to close the wound in his head with butterfly bandages from the first-aid kit. He’d kept going to the window to check for intruders but Pigtail and his friend were probably already dead. They hadn’t slept together. Did that mean anything? Rob’s door was ajar and she peered inside to see if he’d bled to death. His bed had not been slept in. Riley hurried downstairs. The fire had gone out. Where was he? Had he left her alone here? She told herself she was more angry at him for being a fool than for leaving. She slipped on some boots, suddenly seething with the notion that he may have stolen her car, but when she charged outside the small SUV she’d borrowed was there in the drive. She thought she could hear rustling in the bushes. “Robin? Robin, are you down there?” “Riley, stay there!” “What are you doing? Are you trying to get that bike up by yourself again?” “Riley, I’ve found something. Just go back in the house.” “What have you found?” There was a long silence. “There’s something down here. I just have to get down a bit further to check it out.” She walked a little closer, peering down the edge. Without her contacts she could just see him, a dark blur through the budding alder branches. It was raining and slippery and she didn’t want to fall. He didn’t say anything for a full ten minutes and she got more worried for him. “What is it? Bigfoot?” “Not quite.” “Riley, could you just throw down a blanket, then go in the house until I get back up?” Her heart faltered in her chest. “A blanket? What is it?” “Get the blanket, dammit.” “Will you be able to get back up, Robin?” “I’ll manage it.” She hurried into the house and got the blanket. She wadded it into a ball, stuffed it in a bag, then tossed it down to him. He thanked her. “Riley, there’s going to be a helicopter coming in the next half hour or so. Watch for it,” he yelled. “When it lands on the road, go out and find them. Show them where I am.” “A helicopter? What are you talking about? A police helicopter? What’s going on?” She couldn’t imagine... Had he found something bad? A body? Her mind reeled. Todd? “I have my cell phone down here with me. I’ve called some people. They’re coming here now. Everything will be fine. I have to stay down here until they come.” “What have you found?” she yelled. “Maybe I can help. You’ll start bleeding again.” “Just stay calm, Riley. I’ll tell you soon.” “You actually work for people who will come on a whim in helicopters? Within moments of your call? For something you’ve found in a stinking ravine?” she sputtered. “Yes, I do. And stop with the questions.” She ran her hands through her hair, feeling her voice going. “You don’t want me to question that, Robin? I have to question that! This defies all rationality.” “I know. Everything about me defies rationality. Go, Riley, get a warm coat. Wait for the helicopter.” ~ * ~ They were still out there. The portly man with the gruff voice and the pinstriped shirt had sent her into the cabin with a woman who had a tape-recorder. No one bothered to answer her questions, but she was seated like a balky child and made to answer theirs. She’d described at least three times in detail the two men she’d seen with Todd’s car. It was pretty clear to Riley that Robin Butler wasn’t some small-time lone-wolf criminal type as she’d once suspected. That was a relief. Maybe... She didn’t quite know what she was relieved about. What if he was some kind of special agent? That raised a whole new mountain of questions and complications. Just who were these people? The door to the cabin opened with a blast of cold wind and she almost jumped out of her skin. Robin came in. He looked worn to the gills, but the smile he gave her was heartbreakingly perfect. It almost seemed like he was going to take her in his arms for a second, but he kept his distance. Hard to believe he was that troubled young boy she’d loved so long ago. Right now he was charged with energy, in the thick of something and excited by it. Her heart turned over in response. The very fact that he seemed so dangerous made her heart turn over, so nothing had changed. She was a sicko. “You’re bleeding,” she observed without reproach. His black hair was dripping. His bandage was gone. “I know. I’ll be okay. They’ll look after me. Are you sure you’re okay?” “Yes. No one has told me what the hell is going on here. I’d really like to know.” He nodded and smiled. “I bet you would.” “Do you work for the CIA?” He shook his head. “No. We’re not affiliated with the American government. We’re more international in scope. More covert.” “More covert than the CIA?” she marvelled. “The way we operate is slightly different; we have a distinctive way of looking at things. An enhanced reach, if you will. Maybe we have a less romantic, one-sided code of ethics.” “Cloak and dagger stuff?” “Not if I can help it. I just do my job for them, get what they need and get out in one piece. It could have been that way without the beautiful distractions.” His eyes swept her body. She shivered. “Have there often been distractions?” she squeaked. He just smiled. “None as beautiful as you, Riley Jane Turner.” A thrill shot up from her toes. “What do you do for these black helicopter people?” “I steal.” “You steal?” “I’m good at it. I find stuff they need. Track things down that have been taken. Figure out how the nasty people pull off the things they do. I go undercover sometimes to gather information on how the bad dudes operate. I’m, for lack of a better term, a hunter. I know how to get information from places and people. Maybe you could even call me a hired con man. I get paid well for it.” “Maybe we could just call you Robin Hood?” “Not exactly. I’m no hero. Never have been.” “What was that down in the ravine, Robin?” “I can’t tell you now. I’m still under orders.” She stared at him. “You’re not kidding me, are you?” “Riley... it’s better that you don’t know everything. For once I agree with them.” She walked closer to him, lifting her chin, hands on hips. “Tell me.” He winced. “No.” “Was it a person?” He tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling, heaving a sigh. “Yes.” “Dead?” He shook his head. “Barely alive. It was a miracle I found him.” “Good God. Did he talk to you?” “Barely. He managed to tell me something we needed to know. And now they’ve taken him to be treated and possibly soon we’ll know more.” “Robin, was it Todd down there?” He didn’t meet her gaze. “I can’t say. And if you’re smart, you won’t mention it again. The same people who chased that guy down there may come after you. They’ve assumed he’s dead, no longer a worry. You are still alive, Riley, and I mean to have it stay that way. If you were smart, you won’t go back to the Connors’ place, but I know for damned sure you will.” “You know me that well, do you?” “I do now.” He said it in a husky whisper. “So your covert friends are letting me go?” “You’ll be free to go at the moment, but you may be under surveillance.” “F-for real?” she stammered. He rubbed his unshaven jaw. “Until it’s safe they’ll watch over you. You won’t even notice.” “What the hell was Todd involved with? Has this all got to do with drugs?” “I can’t comment on that.” Riley shook her head. “Poor Mary.” Robin nodded. “Riley, I have to go now. They’re going to see that you get back to town.” Riley stared up at him. “You’re just going to leave me?” “I have to. I told myself I’d finish this one job. I want to give you something before I go.” He reached into his jacket and took off the pendant. “Aggie gave me this when I left her house. I want you to have it, Riley.” He dropped the chain with the religious medal--the silver still warm from his body--into her palm. She looked up and searched his blue eyes. “Why? Why do you want me to have this?” “It’s precious to me. It’s like a talisman and I want you to take it.” “To remember you by?” she asked, her throat thick. “I’ll be back. I’ll see you again soon. Try and stop me this time.” She didn’t know if she believed him, but she slipped it on over her neck and tucked it down inside her sweater. It rested between her breasts, strange and yet familiar, the metal oddly warm against her skin. “Don’t worry, Riley. Everything will be okay.” “I’ll bet you spy guys say that to everyone.” “I’m not a spy guy.” He chuckled softly, pulling her into his arms. She didn’t stop him. Instead of kissing her, he tucked her head under his chin and held her tightly. She breathed in the scent of his skin, imbued with leather and cedar, mossy-earth and sweat, the metallic scent of the blood still on his jacket. She listened to the quick beat of his heart. “I need you to be careful. Mind your own business like you always have. Don’t call attention to yourself. Will you do that for me, Riley Jane?” “I’ll try.” “Try to ease Mary’s fears about Todd, but keep this close. She’ll know soon enough what’s going on. So will you, my love.” Riley nodded. His hand splayed in her hair made her want to sob against his chest. “Take care, Robin.” He kissed her forehead just as someone rapped at the door. “I have to go now. Stay in here until someone gives you the word.” With that he turned swiftly on his heel and was gone. Before she could even say his name. Before she could kiss him goodbye. ~ * ~ “Riley, for the second time, please pass the plum sauce.” Riley came back to earth with a thunk. She’d been thinking about Mary. Two days ago, to Riley’s amazement, Todd had apparently called Belinda to pass on the news that he was in France . Mary was so excited she immediately arranged to visit a resort in Cannes that she loved. They’d meet Todd in Paris later. Belinda had enthusiastically agreed to accompany her and to handle all the arrangements--a first. Mary had insisted that Riley go along, too, something that had seemed to irk. Maybe she was imagining Belinda’s reaction. After the events of the week before, everything that happened in Mary’s home was looking suspicious to Riley. Riley passed the plum sauce to Jenny. She, Rory and Riley were eating take-out Chinese and working on the plans for the reunion. Annika was working that night. “What time’s your flight tomorrow, Rye ?” asked Jenny. “Ten.” “Do they only give rich people on their way to Cannes decent flight times?” Rory asked snidely. Riley smiled. “They still have to be there two hours early and go through security like everyone else.” Riley didn’t really want to go to Cannes , ridiculous as that sounded. She kept holding out the hope that Robin would turn up. He’d already called Mary with the lie that he’d gone back to Toronto because of a problem with the family business. He hadn’t asked to talk to her. Riley went to sleep each night wondering if she’d ever see him again and if he did come back, what he’d want of her. Obviously he led a very exciting and dangerous life. Why would he want to give that up for a wife, kids and a house with a picket fence? She was ashamed to admit that her thoughts kept heading in that direction these days. They never really had, except maybe in the days when she was young and naive. She wasn’t even sure he was one of the good guys. She just hoped he was. She reached up and touched the chain of the medallion he’d given her. So far she hadn’t removed it. Had giving her this meant something more than just keeping her safe? And were his ‘people’ really doing surveillance on her? If they were, they were good. She hadn’t noticed anyone yet. God, there were so many questions unanswered. No wonder every little thing--from Belinda being so solicitous, to Brian--the driver, up and suddenly quitting his job last week--made her uneasy. ~ * ~ “Have you got everything I need in your purse?” Mary asked Riley the following morning. It was seven-forty and Riley felt exhausted after a restless night. Mary hadn’t been feeling well again and Riley had tried to talk her out of going, cancelling everything until a later date. She’d hear none of it. “I can’t look in my purse right now, Mary. I have to push your chair.” Riley had counted out all the items she needed to have several times, checking each one with Mary. Mary’s attention had been wandering ominously all morning. Riley prayed she wasn’t headed for another stroke. “Are you sure you feel okay, Mary?” she asked once more. “You are taking all of the meds I’m giving you?” “Don’t be daft, girl. I take anything that you lay out for me, don’t I? For all I know, you could be giving me poison and I’d take it.” “Mary, really. Sometimes you forget. I’ve found pills you’ve dropped in the bed. Are you sure you’re well enough--” “I’m fine. I’m thinking I’ll leave you behind, Jane Turner. You have been on pins and needles since you came home from the cabin. Has this weirdness got anything to do with Robert Murphy?” Riley felt herself flush. “Nothing whatsoever. I haven’t even seen the man.” “He’s a bad boy for not calling.” “Why would he call? I told you, there’s nothing going on. Mary, he’s gone back to Toronto . Family troubles. He told you.” “Who has the tickets?” she groused. “Belinda has the tickets. I’m pretty sure we’re fine for everything. Don’t worry. You’ll be sipping champagne in Cannes by tonight,” Riley said, wheeling Mary’s chair to the waiting limo. “Seeing Todd.” “ Champagne ? Will you actually let me have it?” “I’ll pretend not to notice.” The replacement limo driver was tall and had a droopy white mustache. As a matter of fact, everything about him drooped, his shoulders, his entire body, which slumped against the car. He wore dark sunglasses, even though it was overcast that morning, sporting an ill-fitting black wool coat and gloves. A septuagenarian limo driver who might pass out behind the wheel. Just great, Riley mused. Belinda came out of the house. She stopped short when she saw the driver. The man nodded to her. “Where’s the man I talked with yesterday?” she asked sharply. “Daniel?” “Daniel took ill,” the man told her. “You’re old enough for the grave,” said Belinda. “I can drive ye well enough, lassie,” he said in a thick Scottish brogue. “Best be off, or ye won’t make yer flight.” “Grandmother, I need to make a phone call,” Belinda said suddenly. “There’s time for that in the car,” Mary snapped. “Get in. I’m sure this fossil can drive as well as this bloody Daniel person.” The driver stepped forward and handed Belinda a card. Belinda scanned it and Riley saw her shoulders relax. A feline smile curved her frosted lips. “Fine. Everything’s fine, Grammy.” The airport was a good forty minutes away. The driver explained that he’d take an alternate route to escape traffic. As with all international flights since the disaster in New York they had to be at the airport two hours in advance for security reasons. “Take a faster route, please,” Belinda suggested after they were settled. “I know just the one, lass.” Riley wished she hadn’t tucked her glasses case into the carry-on. She was trying to gage where they were headed, but the street signs were a blur. She had a feeling that the driver had made a drastic mistake on this alternate route of his, but didn’t open the window and crane out her neck because it would look absurd, even under the circumstances. She and Mary had already had a terse talk about Riley’s lack of enthusiasm regarding the trip. Maybe she really was getting paranoid. He mind kept returning to Robin as it seemed to do every waking moment. What if Robin was really working for the bad guys? That was a distinct possibility. She didn’t know for sure that he hadn’t been duping her. She only knew what he had told her. It could have all been lies. He’d lied before. Oh, God... She didn’t have to trust him. She had no real reason to trust him. She’d just been momentarily swayed after he’d been hurt in that bar. Especially after he’d played the hero, covering her body with his. What if those black helicopters and those people he worked with were from a terrorist network or something? Or drug dealers? It was plausible, wasn’t it? She knew what she’d seen with her own eyes. It was possible she and Mary and Belinda could be in serious trouble right now, caught up in something bigger than they’d ever imagined. She looked out the window. They’d passed the Krishna Temple ! Even blind as she was, she couldn’t miss the glittering golden spires! That should have been his signal to take a left. Belinda didn’t seem to notice. She gazed out the window with a private little smile on her face. What the hell was this? Riley decided she had to do something. She pressed the intercom button to alert the driver. Nothing happened. Perplexed, she reached out to tap on the glass that separated them from the driver’s seat. “What are you doing?” Belinda snarled. “I have to talk to the driver. He’s headed the wrong way.” Riley went to tap again. The girl grabbed Riley’s wrist, digging pink polished fingernails into her flesh. “Don’t bother.” Riley jerked her arm away. “This driver is headed the wrong way, Belinda. We have to tell him--” “He is not headed the wrong way, Jane.” “Belinda--” “Jane, mind your own business. You don’t even own a car so where do you get off backseat driving--” Riley stared at the girl, her mouth open in disbelief. “I don’t feel very well, Jane,” Mary said from the seat across from Riley. “I think I need my heart pills.” Riley got her purse and searched through it. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. There were no pills. None. Someone had taken them out of her bag. She spilled the contents onto the seat beside her in a panic. The car swerved right and stuff from Riley’s purse bounced all over the floor. She knew for certain now they were not headed to the airport. They were in a rural area. Riley could feel the difference in the road surface. “You’ll be fine, Mary,” Riley told the old woman. “Belinda, get the driver to stop. Maybe I transferred everything into the carry-on by mistake.” She didn’t think so, but it wouldn’t hurt to look. Mary was now shivering, moaning against the seat. Riley pounded on the glass harder. “Belinda, dammit!” Riley cried. She rapped on the glass again. The window whirred open. “Keep driving,” said Belinda coolly. Riley could take no more. “Shut the hell up, Belinda! Driver, this woman is ill. Mrs. Connors needs to get to a hospital.” Riley said, unable to hold her temper. Then something hard jabbed her several times in the ribs. Riley turned her head to look at Belinda. She was posed there quite calmly in her Versace dress, a gun in her small hand. She lifted the gun and smiled, pointing it at Riley’s face. “What are you doing? For God’s sake, Belinda! Is this a sick joke?” The girl gave a catlike smile. “No joke. This is sort of like a kidnapping. Unfortunately you and my grandmother are going to be the victims. Don’t worry. You’ll die a hero, Jane. In her case, it’ll be of natural causes.” She looked down at Mary, who was slumped in the seat. “Doesn’t the old bat look peaceful without her mouth going a mile a minute?” “You actually planned all this?” Riley asked. She seemed affronted. “Of course I planned all this.” “Where are you taking us?” “We’ll board a private plane, a Lear that belongs to a friend of mine. You’ll both die in an accident in Europe . It’s going to look better that way.” Riley looked down at Mary. Her face was pale, her lips drained of colour. “She’s ill, Belinda. She may be dying.” She turned away from Belinda, beseeching the driver. “Help me, please...” “He’s in on this, idiot. He works for my lover,” Belinda said crossing shapely legs. “It wasn’t supposed to happen quite like this. I was told that the alterations to her medications would take days to kick in rather than a week. I thought she’d just die in bed and Louis would take care of it.” She sounded worried for a second, then brightened. “This is a better plan. Louis will still look after it for me now, of course, like he looked after everything else for me.” Riley stared at the girl, horrified. “Will you at least let me make her comfortable? She’s flopped there like a rag doll.” Riley’s heart clenched just seeing Mary’s pitiful little form. “No need. She’ll be dead soon. Like you will,” Belinda said. Riley shook her head in disbelief. “I want to know something, Belinda. Was Robert in on this? Robert Murphy?” “That clown?” Belinda scoffed. “I never saw him before that party. I’ll admit he might be exciting to sleep with, but in a matter of days I’m going to be with a man who puts every other man to shame.” She said this with the zealous, glassy-eyed affirmation of a cult member. “I’m going to marry a man whose power is legendary. I am going to marry him and be the freaking queen of the world,” she bragged. She almost wanted to giggle to think that Belinda was killing her family to become queen of the world, vacuous little princess that she was already... Riley appealed to the driver again. “Will you please let me help this lady? I need to see if she’s still breathing.” Belinda gave an icy little smile. “Sorry. He can’t do that.” Anger and fear made a vein in Riley’s temple throb painfully. Mary was going to die. She was going to die, too. “You had Todd killed, didn’t you?” Riley stated in a quiet voice. “Todd?” She gave a little laugh. “I didn’t have to do anything really. He was stupid. He sealed his own fate getting involved willingly in that drugs-for-cars thing. Louis said he’d go for it like a cat to cream.” “A drugs-for-cars thing?” Riley repeated. “Louis just had to introduce him to some people who’d take him where we wanted him to go,” she said, her wide blue eyes growing more and more maniacal. “And you think you’re going to inherit all Mary’s money now? Is that the plan?” “That’s the plan. If she dies I get it all.” The car lurched suddenly and Belinda was tossed in the seat. Unfortunately she didn’t drop the gun. Riley had been trying to keep her head from ricocheting off the car’s roof, too. “God, you stupid old man. Can’t you drive better than this?” Belinda shrieked, banging on the glass. “Sorry, m’dear,” the driver called. “And are you going to hand all that cash over to this new husband?” Riley asked. Belinda stiffened slightly at that. “I suppose he’s a modern man. He’ll allow you to handle it all yourself, won’t he? Have you thought about what might happen if Todd isn’t really dead?” Riley inquired. “Have you thought about what might happen if he turns up and tells the cops what he knows?” Belinda flinched ever so slightly. “You may have screwed up here, Belinda,” Riley said. “As a matter of fact I know you screwed up.” “What exactly do you know, Jane?” she asked. “I saw him.” “You are lying!” Riley smiled. “I saw him being pulled out of a ravine in Washington . He was alive, as far as I could see.” “He’s dead. That call from Monte Carlo was faked.” Riley shrugged. “Whatever.” “I’m going to enjoy killing you, Jane. This is taking too long, driver! I have to meet someone in less than an hour.” The driver looked into the mirror, his mirrored sunglasses revealing nothing. “I’ll get you where you should be. But I suggest that you put down the gun, Miss Connors. Before it goes off.” The man’s voice! Robin... Oh, God... What was this? Was Robin here to save her or harm her? Riley schooled her features to show no recognition. She probably looked so terrified anyway, so Belinda wouldn’t notice a change. “Put the gun down, Belinda. This is all over,” he said suddenly, softly, finally. “Who the hell are you?” she asked, sitting up like a demented chipmunk, obviously astonished. The man took off his glasses and his hat. A silvery powder that had covered his hair floated around the cab, lit by a beam of sunlight through the windshield. Belinda’s face blanched. “No. No!” “Give up on this, please. It’s over.” Before Riley could move, Belinda lifted the gun and aimed at the back of his head. Robin did nothing, just grinned in the mirror. “Shut the window, Robin!” Riley cried. He did nothing. She grabbed at the small, manicured hand that held the gun. It went off with a loud report, the bullet slamming through the glass divider and shattering it into little square pieces. It missed Robin by inches. The car swerved into oncoming traffic. He kept it on the road as car horns blared behind them. Riley had to give up trying to keep the unconscious Mary on the seat when Belinda grabbed Riley by the hair and viciously yanked. She fell to her knees on the carpeted floor and grabbed blindly at Belinda’s arm, digging her nails into flesh. Belinda swore and the gun went off with a loud report. The car swerved on the soft shoulder again and Riley realized that she’d been shot. It was weird. It had barely hurt at all, more like a blow to her shoulder, like someone had punched her hard. “Hang on!” Robin cried. “I can’t pull over on this bridge.” Belinda answered by pulling the trigger again. The bullet slammed through the front seat and the car lurched again, scraping the cement guardrail with a loud screech. Suddenly a bone deep calm filled Riley. She launched herself at the girl with all the strength that she had, mashing Belinda’s face into the leather-clad door frame. Belinda still had the gun. Riley wondered how many times it would fire. She didn’t know how much longer she could hold off Belinda. She felt weaker by the moment as blood soaked through her beige wool jacket. It didn’t even register that the car had stopped until the door suddenly flew open behind her screaming adversary and the two of them toppled like rag dolls into the muddy culvert. Riley landed on top of Belinda, finally able to wrest the gun from her hand. ~ * ~ “What’s going on?” Otis was screaming in Rob’s ear. “What the hell are you doing?” “It’s all over, Otis. I don’t give a crap about getting Vasco. This gig’s finished. Call in for some medical help fast. The old lady’s in some kind of coma and Riley’s been shot.” Rob ripped off his headset and tossed it on the ground. He yanked the stupefied Belinda out of the muddy water of the drainage ditch, dragging her by the scruff of the neck to the back of the car and cuffing her to the bumper with his belt. Riley, who was bleeding, but quite alert, had scrambled up the bank herself trying to get to Mary. “Riley, darlin’, go sit in the front seat. Let me see to the old lady,” he told her. Riley’s green eyes welled with tears of pain and anger. “Will you be able to save Mary?” There was a crowd forming on the highway shoulder. He heard police sirens wailing in the distance. Mary didn’t look good, but she was alive. “Someone will be here any minute. She’s still breathing, Riley. Let me look at that gunshot.” She stiffened. She was covered with mud and blood and weeds from the ditch. She had never looked more beautiful to him. She was alive. “No, I don’t need your help. You used me again, didn’t you? Your people?” “Riley, I’m sorry. You knew that we had to do this. After what Todd told us--” She blinked. “He’s still alive?” “He’s recovering at a secure location. No one was supposed to get hurt. We assumed it was simple, that Belinda was rendezvousing with Vasco’s people. We intended to follow. I’m sorry. She did it all for him. We didn’t know how she’d try to kill you and Mary. We assumed that she’d arrange Mary’s death in Europe .” “She did it for this Vasco? She would have killed for him?” “Yes. We know she tried to have Todd killed. She wanted the entire inheritance. She did it all to be with Louis Vasco. Even after she knew he may have done something to cause her father’s death.” “Guess that’s what happens when you fall for the wrong man.” Rob gave a dry little laugh as he approached her. “Guess so. Riley, why? Why didn’t you just let her shoot me?” “Don’t be an ass, Robin.” He shook his head, pulling her hand away firmly from the wound and applying a more steady pressure to her shoulder. “You’re a very brave girl.” “I think I’d have to be to get mixed up with someone like you.” “This isn’t bad,” he said tightly. “It’s probably passed through muscle.” “Will you be able get this character now? Will you get what you’re looking for?” He spoke though gritted teeth. “That doesn’t matter anymore. He’s probably slipped through the cracks again. I don’t care. Let Otis worry about it.” He could hear the whir of the helicopter blades in the distance, the sound of sirens finally reaching their location. “Help’s coming now, Riley Jane.” He had no hands free so he used his chin to smooth back the hair that had tumbled across her face. She was ashen pale now and her lips trembled with the chills that racked her slender body. He’d already covered Mary with his coat so there was nothing he could do to warm Riley except hold her close, exactly what he wanted to do anyway. She was getting shocky. “I hear them,” she whispered. “You’ll be okay, love. Hang on.” Anger surged through his blood again at what he’d put her through. “Why the hell did you do that for me? I’m not worth your life. You could have been killed. I could have lost you. I won’t lose you again, Riley Jane.” She gave him a small smile. “You can’t really lose what you never really claimed as yours, Robin. By the same token I can’t change how I feel about you either. Is this where you disappear on me again?” She passed out before he got the chance to answer. ~ * ~ Riley wondered where Aggie was. She hadn’t been that thrilled by the location they’d chosen--a trendy country club--and the planning committee had all been happy with the turnout. So far the celebration had gone off without a hitch, even though Aggie had caught on a few weeks before the event. Despite the fact her arm was still in a sling and she had some residual pain, Riley was holding up pretty well. Robin Butler had not come to the reunion. Now they were back in Aggie’s yard, just the six of them, and she was thinking about saying her goodbyes. Not that she was expecting Robin to come. He had called her a few times in the first week after her injury, but their conversations had felt strange, strained. He’d told her very little of what was going on with Vasco, just that he was working with some ‘colleagues’ on the case, whatever that meant. Riley didn’t know if the stilted conversations were her fault or his. He’d told her he had a lot of things to clear up as far as work went, had said he might be tied up for a while. And when he got untied, what then? Did he come back to see her? Did they start something? She wasn’t going to speculate on that. She still wasn’t quite sure what Robbie did, just that it was covert and involved stealing things back from the bad guys. All she could picture in her head to describe what he did was a modern day Robin Hood. Robbie would look damned hot in tights and a doublet, whatever those things were called. Riley just hoped, for Mary’s sake, that something good could come out of it. Mary still didn’t believe a scheme to murder her entire family for her inheritance was something Belinda had come up with alone. Maybe this Vasco person was nothing more than the seducer of an impressionable and selfish young woman, as Belinda now claimed. Maybe he had coerced her into it. What would happen to Belinda when the smoke cleared was anyone’s guess. So far she was cooperating with the international police in an effort to track down Vasco. Belinda was incarcerated for now, bail having been denied. As for Todd, his health was improving and Riley hoped he’d learned his lesson about getting involved with the wrong people. Riley was applying for jobs since Mary had gone last week into intermediate care. She was not bitter about any of it. She’d just close this short chapter in her life, learn her lessons from it and move on. If she could stop thinking about Robin--missing him when she closed her eyes at night... She closed her eyes against the tears and the feelings that threatened to overwhelm her. “Riley Jane?” Her heart stopped beating for what felt like a full minute at the sound of that voice. Robin Butler walked towards her. He was wearing a beautifully tailored, grey suit that was perfect for the occasion. His hair was a bit mussed and longer, back to the colour of espresso, and he hadn’t shaved. She liked him that way. Sort of scruffy and sexy. The closer he got to her, the harder Riley found it to breathe. His eyes were blazing blue and there was a smear of lipstick on each cheek: one red smear and one apricot. “Hi,” she said, inanely. “You’re here. You missed the party.” “How are you doing?” he asked. He didn’t kiss her, but he looked at her mouth for a long moment, sweeping his eyes on a possessive journey down her body. “Feeling better?” “Yes. I’m fine. It’s stiff sometimes but my therapist is pleased.” “Hope he’s not some handsome young guy,” Robin said with what she hoped was a jealous smirk. “He is, actually. Did Aggie see you? I think one of those smears of lipstick is hers.” He rubbed his cheek making the smears worse. “Nope. Rory and Annika were a little enthusiastic about my turning up here. Are you mad at me?” “No.” She wasn’t. She was just glad to see him, glad he was in one piece. Riley wanted to rub at a smear near his mouth with her fingers. Touching him would be like holding lightening in her hands. Her whole body ached at the thought. “I called Aggie the other day,” he said. “I promised I’d come. I didn’t mean to be so late. I’m sorry.” That surprised her a little. “I’m glad you did,” Riley said. “Thank you for the roses you sent me. How long are you here? Or do you have to go back and clear up more things with that Otis person?” “I’m here for as long as I want to be.” She stared at him, her heart fluttering wildly. “Did they catch this Vasco character?” “No and I doubt they ever will catch him. He’s one slippery bugger. By a fluke I did get what we were originally looking for through something Belinda inadvertently told us.” “What was that?” “A few stolen paintings and sculptures we were trying to track down.” “That’s good, isn’t it?” He nodded, smiling. “It was lucrative. It was nice to go out on a positive note.” Go out? What did he mean by that? “What do you do next?” she managed, hope making her heart flutter. “I want to ask you out dancing for a start. I had this hankering to take you in my arms on the dance floor again, but I’m too late.” “Have you really had a hankering?” she asked him. Heat arced through her. “How long has this hankering been going on?” Robin’s blue eyes sparkled. “Going on about fifteen years, I’d say.” “I don’t believe that for a minute.” He laughed. “It’s true... I like dancing with you. Oh, before I forget, I have something for you.” He reached into his pocket and took out an envelope. “Here. It’s hopefully going to help you find something you’ve been looking for.” She looked down at it. “Grace? You found Grace?” “I’m not certain. I don’t want to get your hopes up but a friend of mine called yesterday to tell me he may have a good lead this time. His number’s in there. I hope it works out.” “Oh, Robbie, thank you.” “It’s not a sure thing, Riley. I just hope this is the one.” Riley swallowed hard and nodded. Tears threatened to blur her vision. “I know. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.” She looked up at him, at the strong face that had become so dear to her. “You never really said what happens next. Not that it matters really, but--” “I’m thinking about a consultation business. Security. Insurance. That sort of thing. I was hoping--” He broke off with a shrug. “Hoping for what?” “I’m hoping to find a woman who’d like to take a chance on a guy like me, someone who wants to settle down with a man who has a few hard miles on him.” Riley stared up at him. “Are you? Are you looking for that, too, Riley Jane?” “Am I looking for a man like that?” she whispered. “I know I had a criminal record. I’m clean as the driven snow now thanks to some rather creative effort on my part and Otis’s.” He looked sheepish. “Mind, you, all legal--” Riley couldn’t help but laugh at that. “All legally accomplished, I swear. I paid my debt to society.” “I believe in you, Robbie. I really do,” she said softly. She walked towards him another step or two. Close enough that she could catch his subtle sandalwood scent. She took his hand and entwined her fingers with his. His palm was slightly rough-skinned, warm. His thumb caressed the top of her hand. He was actually trembling a little. “Riley, I’ve wanted you since the day I saw you on Aggie’s steps. You knew that. You came to me that first time because you wanted me, too. I’d have gone on just wanting--” “I did come to you.” “Even from a hundred feet away seeing you rocked my world. I never believed I was good enough for a girl like you. I would have stayed away from you altogether, but I couldn’t. Then after it happened... I wanted it to stay perfect, and I knew it wouldn’t. I thought nothing was ever going to be perfect for me because I didn’t deserve it.” He lifted her hand and touched her fingers with his lips. “You come close to perfect, Robin Butler.” He shook his head. “Not me. I always used to walk away as soon as things got good for me. I couldn’t handle the idea of failing. You know how that feels?” His eyes searched hers. “Yes.” “But I didn’t get spooked by how hard and fast I fell for you this time, Riley. This time... this time I knew what I wanted. This time it’s forever. I’m not that wild kid anymore. He’s still here sometimes, with me, but I know I deserve something good in my life now, Riley. I’m the right man for you. You are the right woman for me. I’ll spend my life proving that, if you’ll let me.” She looked into his clear blue eyes. “I know that, Robbie. I know what I want, too. I loved that wild kid. I baked him cookies and tried to take advantage of him.” “Wow, you sure did,” he said on a sigh. “You still got that recipe?” “I think I may have it somewhere. If I don’t, I’ll improvise.” “I love you more than anything, Riley Jane.” He reached for her, pressing his lips softly against hers. Riley tasted his mouth briefly then aligned her body with his. When he kissed her it felt like she was finally breathing, living again, for the first time since she’d seen him walking across Aggie’s yard a few moments ago. Breaking the kiss to hold him, Riley watched over his wide, sturdy shoulder as a fat red-breasted robin flew in with his drab mate and began to feed at Aggie’s bird hotel. “I love you, too, Robin,” she whispered. “I’m glad you returned to me.”                     Meet B. G. McCarthy B. G. McCarthy has dreamed of writing since reading Ivanhoe at twelve, mainly because she thought the hero ended up with the wrong girl. Still suffering an irresistible urge to rewrite other peoples’ stories, B. G. started writing Internet fan-fiction for a television spy show. Encouraged by fans of the storyboards, she decided to leave that realm and weave her own stories where the right girl gets the guy and there is always a happy-ever-after. She loves quirky heroes, slightly snarky heroines with issues and swears that the ubiquitous secret baby plot will never show its diaper in her own fiction universe. She walks, gardens, paints, is addicted to the BBC channel and Food Network and is raising two almost-perfect teenage girls, a neurotic Jack Russell Terrier and a husband who races sports cars.           VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR THE FULL INVENTORY OF QUALITY BOOKS :   http://www.wings-press.com     Quality trade paperbacks and downloads in multiple formats, in genres ranging from light romantic comedy to general fiction and horror. Wings has something for every reader’s taste. Visit the website, then bookmark it. We add new titles each month!