It was sex. Pure and simple.

That’s what this was. Nothing more. Nothing less. Linc knocked on Regina’s door and she opened it immediately. The dampness of the ends of her curls and her change of clothes told him she’d taken a quick shower. The look in her eyes told him she’d been looking forward to this moment as much as he had.

She wore a simple pair of jeans that were anything but simple on her curvy frame, and a plain pink T-shirt that was anything but plain.

Damn, but she was beautiful.

And sexier than any woman had a right to be.

He cleared his throat. “Hi.”

She smiled. “Hi.”

And then he was kissing her.

Linc wasn’t clear on how he moved from Point A to Point B so quickly. All he knew was that one moment he was closing her apartment door…the next he was pretty near swallowing her whole.

And she was eagerly returning his hungry attentions.

It seemed both of them were intent on making sure she didn’t fall asleep again….

Dear Reader,

What happens when the subject of your investigation becomes the object of your desire? We’ve used the “stakeout” theme before, but never quite in this red-hot way….

In Wicked Pleasures, tall, dark and dangerous Lazarus Security partner Lincoln Williams is only interested in one thing—his job. It’s not until sexy Regina Dodson catches him with his pants and guard down that he starts to question the imbalance in his life. But what happens when Regina discovers the true reason behind Linc’s interest in her?

We hope Linc and Regina’s soul-searing story keeps you awake long past your bedtime…and tempts you to pick up the third and final title in the Pleasure Seekers series, Undeniable Pleasures, featuring Jason Savage (from Reckless Pleasures) next month.

We’d love to hear what you think. Contact us at P.O. Box 12271, Toledo, OH 43612, or visit us on the web at www.toricarrington.net or www.facebook.com/toricarrington, where there’s fun to be had every day.

Here’s wishing you love, romance and HOT reading.

Lori & Tony Karayianni

aka Tori Carrington

P.S. Check out the Blaze Authors’ Pet Project at www.blazeauthors.com.

Wicked Pleasures
Tori Carrington

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award-winning, bestselling duo Lori and Tony Karayianni are the power behind the pen name Tori Carrington. Their over fifty novels to date include numerous Mills & Boon miniseries, as well as the ongoing Sofie Metropolis, P.I. comedic mystery series with another publisher. Visit www.toricarrington.net and www.sofiemetro.com for more information on the couple and their titles.

We dedicate this story to miniseries-loving readers

everywhere; life is about connection, so why

shouldn’t that also apply to the books we read

and write? And, as always, to editor extraordinaire

Brenda Chin, who puts the “it” into editor…

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

1

LINCOLN WILLIAMS knew two things to be true: he was damn good at his job…and he was damn good at his job.

The rest…well, the rest was a crapshoot.

As the only son of a single Caucasian mother and an African-American father he had never met, he’d been relegated to the fence separating each culture: not white enough to feel completely comfortable in his mother’s world; not dark enough to belong in the unfamiliar black community.

So he’d learned early on that the only thing he could control were his actions. And it was those actions on which he insisted he be judged. Not by verbal agreement, but by tacit understanding. It wasn’t until he’d become first a Marine, then was recruited into the FBI at Quantico, that he’d come into his own. Learned not only to embrace his preference to go unnoticed, but to use it to his advantage. Something he was damn good at, despite his height of six foot four and muscular two-hundred-and-fifty-pound build.

Of course, only he knew about his recurring dream of disappearing altogether.

It was on the heels of just such a nightmare that he’d abruptly resigned his position with the Bureau ten months ago and signed on with fellow ex-Marines to establish Lazarus Security based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Their most public success to date was assisting in the recovery of a missing seven-year-old girl in Florida.

But what Linc had to do now was in no way connected to Lazarus: a man he had helped put away for a thirty-year term of incarceration had just escaped. And he fully intended to return him to the six-by-eight-foot cell where he belonged.

If his reasons stretched beyond the fact that he’d been the one to capture the sadistic criminal two years ago while still with the Bureau…well, that was between him and his target.

Thankfully, the Friday staff meeting at Lazarus didn’t include anything that required his undivided attention.

He looked over the twenty recruits listening to two of the partners, Megan McGowan and Darius Folsom, as they went over ongoing assignments and upcoming contracts. Just before they drew the meeting to a close, Linc ducked out of the room, as was his M.O. at every meeting.

“Hey.” Dari caught up with him afterward. “You good with contacting your sources on the James contact?”

“Check.”

His longtime friend, fellow Marine and now business partner grinned. “Didn’t have to ask, did I?”

Linc glanced at him.

“Hey, why don’t you drop by the Barracks later? We’re putting together details on Jason’s surprise birthday party next week.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

The Barracks was a bar and Linc was known to stop in from time to time, mostly to appease his friends who liked to unwind at the local establishment. He had other plans tonight, but figured it shouldn’t take too long to toss a few bucks into the kitty for a gift for their fellow partner. Especially since it wasn’t that long ago that Dari and Megan—who were as much partners outside Lazarus as inside—nearly split because of something that went down with Jason.

It was reassuring to see things were back on track.

Besides, soon Dari would be reclassified as combat ready, following an injury he suffered a month ago, and redeployed overseas. He’d like to spend a little time with him before that happened.

Dari smacked a hand against his shoulder and said, “Hope to see you there.”

They parted ways, Linc heading for a room designated as his office, although it was a space he spent very little time in. He had everything he needed on him, which was the way he preferred to work. But this afternoon he wanted to wrap up a few business-related items so he’d be free to pursue his personal agenda.

Namely, to apprehend one Billy “the Bank Robber” Johnson and return his ass to jail where he belonged.

And he knew exactly where to start: with Johnson’s girlfriend, Regina Dodson.

“COME ON, REGINA! You act like you’re sixty instead of twenty-six. I finally talked you into coming out with me. Is it too much to ask you to actually have fun?”

Regina Dodson thought it was more than an act; she felt sixty. And had for a good long time. Too long. It was one of the reasons she’d reluctantly agreed to come out with Vivienne tonight. The outgoing redhead was the first friend she’d made when she moved from Livermore Falls, Maine, to Colorado Springs a year and a half ago.

Moved? More like escaped. She’d packed up everything, changed her name and was making a new life for herself in the small city nestled against the Rocky Mountains south of Denver.

Still, there wasn’t a day when she didn’t wake up terrified this would be the day her past would catch up with her.

And for some odd reason, lately she couldn’t help feeling she was being watched.

She absently rubbed her arm and then took in Vivienne’s animated face over the rim of the margarita she’d been nursing for a good two hours. Club lights blinked, dance music pulsed and all she could think about was how much she wanted to go home and climb into bed with a good book. Funnily enough, it was through books she and her friend had originally met; more specifically, a library book club to which they both belonged. They were the only two unmarried women in the group that didn’t have kids, and were under the age of a hundred, as her friend liked to say.

“You need a drink,” Vivienne pronounced, waving for the bartender.

Regina held up her margarita. “I have a drink.”

“No, you need one you can’t pretend to sip for hours on end.” The girl stepped in front of them. “Six shots of tequila. And don’t forget the salt and lemon.”

Regina stared at her. “I’m not drinking six shots of tequila.”

“You’re right, you’re not.” The woman behind the bar lined up six shot glasses and began filling them. “You’re going to drink three,” Vivienne added.

“I’m not drinking any,” Regina said over the sound of the loud music, scanning the throng around them. Too many people.

She’d never been much of a drinker. One glass of wine with dinner every now and again was about as adventurous as she got.

Vivienne paid the bill and then edged one of the shot glasses in Regina’s direction. She licked the back of her hand between index finger and thumb and then sprinkled salt there before pulling a bowl of sliced lemons closer, nodding for her to do the same.

“Ready?”

“Viv…”

“Come on. What’s the worst that can happen? The ice wall around you might melt?”

Regina drew her head back. “There’s no ice wall around me.”

“No? I’ve watched you freeze out four great-looking guys in an hour. What would you call it?”

“Smart?”

All four had reminded her of her ex in some way: the first in looks; the second in attitude; the third in his approach; and finally the fourth in his choice of clothing.

Of course, Santa Claus would probably remind her of her ex at this point.

Over recent months, Vivienne had ceaselessly invited her out and she’d ceaselessly resisted. It had only been in the past few weeks she’d finally stopped reading every word of every online newspaper searching for signs that shadows from the past were about to stretch over and suffocate her present.

Still…she wasn’t quite ready to go out and act like a carefree single woman just yet.

Viv laughed and nudged her shot glass even closer. “One. You can at least do that for me.”

Regina stretched her neck. “One?”

Her friend smiled.

If that’s what it was going to take to shut Viv up, Regina figured she could handle that.

So why did she have a feeling those were going to be her famous last words?

She followed Viv’s lead, licked her hand and then sprinkled salt on it. On the count of three, they simultaneously licked the salt, downed the shots of tequila and then quickly took a lemon slice and sucked on it.

Viv hooted. Regina shuddered.

“Another!”

She should have known her friend wouldn’t settle for stopping there. But rather than be upset, she found herself laughing. The seemingly harmless liquid was already beginning to warm her insides, as if it were, indeed, melting the ice wall to which Viv referred.

She shook salt onto the back of her hand and reached for the second shot. Viv cheered and counted to three. They both smacked the shot glasses onto the bar and then reached for the lemon.

Before she knew what she was doing, she was downing the third shot.

Regina smiled. She had to admit, the liquor was beginning to soften the world’s hard edges. She leaned against the bar rather than standing ramrod straight. Thankfully, every guy no longer seemed a variation on her ex. The lights looked soothing instead of garish. The music wended around and around her, making her want to dance. Something she hadn’t done in a long, long, long time.

Something she’d never expected to do again.

Vivienne raised her hand to wave the bartender back, but Regina caught her arm. “No more.”

Her smile must have convinced her friend that she had, indeed, been cured, because Viv laughed and grabbed Regina’s hand instead.

“Let’s dance.”

Suddenly, it seemed like the best idea she’d heard all night…

TEN STOOLS DOWN, Linc watched the scene between the two women. He’d have known Willa Nelson aka Regina Dodson anywhere, despite the lengths she’d gone to to change her appearance along with her name. Where once her hair had been wheat blond, long and straight, now it was a warm honey brown and curly, barely brushing her slender shoulders.

At one time he might have needed to physically trail someone in order to track their activities, but now he had but to plug their cell-phone number into a high-tech app in his own cell phone and their location popped up. When he’d seen Regina was at a downtown club, he’d immediately gone there, wondering if Johnson might try to contact her.

When he’d gotten word a couple of days ago on Johnson’s escape, and he’d looked up Willa’s whereabouts, he’d been surprised to find she’d moved into his own backyard. Of course, he hadn’t lived in Colorado two years ago—“home” had been little more than a standard-issue Bureau box of an apartment in D.C. then. But to discover they both lived in the same place seemed like more than coincidence; it appeared providential.

From his safe, invisible position down the bar, he’d watched Regina’s friend—he knew her name was Vivienne Cruise—coax his target into doing tequila shots. He’d been slightly amused at Regina’s open shudder at the first…and surprised, then intrigued when she’d gone on to do the second and third.

The two women were now dancing. And he suspected that even if he didn’t have to watch Regina, he would have anyway. There was something ultimately alluring about the hesitant yet intrinsically sexy way she moved her slender body, despite the shapeless green dress and low heels she wore, contrasting with her friend’s fire-engine-red skirt and blouse and strappy black stilettos.

An odd couple if ever there was one.

The friend caught his gaze from across the room.

Damn.

He turned back toward the bar, but caught sight of the woman in the mirror as she grabbed Regina’s hand and started in his direction…

2

“WHERE ARE we going?” Regina asked, nearly stumbling trying to keep up with Vivienne’s long strides toward a destination she couldn’t see. Still, you weren’t supposed to fight the hand leading you. And she was feeling good. Perhaps a little too good.

“Well, hello there.”

Regina realized they had stopped. She stepped up next to her friend to find her addressing the wide back of a guy seated at the bar.

At first Regina thought he wasn’t going to respond. Then he slowly turned, looking her full in the face.

She caught her breath.

“My God!” Vivienne said. “You look just like that wrestler…or actor. What’s his name? The Rock.”

Regina fairly gulped as she stared into the man’s pitch-black eyes. While she understood the comparison her friend was making, this guy was different in significant ways from the actor. First of all, his features weren’t as sharp, but more angular. Second, he was slimmer, his build more ropy than bulky.

She took in his simple black T-shirt and dark denim jeans and then blinked to look back up into his mesmerizing eyes. He had yet to acknowledge her friend.

“Hi,” Viv said, obviously amused. “My name’s Vivienne. And the one you’re interested in is Regina. What’s your name?”

“Lincoln.”

Vivienne’s smile widened. “Wanna dance, Linc?”

His brows rose as he looked them over. “With both of you?”

“Uh-huh,” Viv confirmed.

Regina glanced at her. She wanted all three of them to dance together? She raised a hand to her forehead, pushing her hair back, wondering if it had been a good idea to drink those shots…

“Sure.”

Before she knew what was happening, she was back on the dance floor between Viv and Linc. She hadn’t realized he was so tall when he was sitting on the stool, but now he towered over her by a good foot. Her friend put her hands on her hips from behind and swiveled her to stand face-to-face with Linc. She stumbled and he automatically reached to balance her.

“I’ve always wanted to do that dance from my favorite movie!” Vivienne said from behind her.

“What movie?” Regina asked.

“Dirty Dancing. You know, the one where Jennifer Grey dances with Patrick Swayze and his partner?” She reached for her right hand and then Linc’s and put them together, then resumed her place behind Regina, complete with hands on her hips.

Regina slowly looked up into Linc’s striking face. God, but he was handsome. And the way he looked at her melted away whatever might be left of her reserve. Her heart thudded loudly in her ears, nearly drowning out the music. Her skin tingled all over. And an ache she hadn’t experienced in what seemed like forever took up residence between her thighs.

“Come on,” Vivienne said. “Let’s move.”

Linc moved his right foot forward and she dropped her left one back as Vivienne did the same behind her, the hands on her hips guiding her into the next step.

There was something naughtily hot about the movement. Especially when Linc leaned in closer, points of his body making contact with hers. Mmm…he smelled good. Like deep woods and fresh air and hot male. And his hand where it held hers was big and warm, sending little shocks of sensation up her arms and across her chest, hardening her nipples under her dress.

Much, much too much time had passed since she’d been this close to a man. Her senses didn’t seem to know what to do with the overwhelming input washing over them. Of course, the alcohol probably heightened that effect.

Just then, Regina didn’t care how or why she’d come to be in that particular spot at that particular time. She was merely enjoying that she was. And didn’t want to be anywhere else…

DAMN, SHE WAS INTOXICATING.

Linc wasn’t much of a drinker—he preferred to remain in control at all times—but on the few occasions he had indulged, he’d had a similar rush to the one he was feeling right now, looking down into Regina’s face.

He easily led the steps Vivienne suggested, finding the scene reenactment subtly sexy. The movie was one of his aunt’s favorites and he’d been forced to watch it with her no fewer than a dozen times over the years during his visits.

Somehow in all his research, he’d missed the fact that Regina was stunningly attractive. Then again, maybe he hadn’t missed it so much as hadn’t anticipated his reaction to her being this close. It wasn’t often he came into face-to-face contact with one of his subjects, much less cheek to cheek.

His gaze skimmed her features, taking in the arch of her soft brows, the sizzling warmth in her green eyes, the almost poutlike quirk of her full lips. This close up he also understood that she wasn’t as thin as he’d originally thought. There wasn’t a single sharp angle to her.

His jeans tightened incrementally with each brush of his body against hers.

She readjusted her hand in his. He looked at her fingers and short, clean nails, totally unlike the bloodred polished ones her friend had. He knew Regina worked as a waitress at a small downtown diner and imagined she must do a lot to keep her hands as soft as they were.

He’d already guessed she didn’t drink often. If he needed further proof of that, her unsteadiness on her feet was clear evidence.

As she swayed toward him, his body instantly reacted, need, sure and swift, exploding through him.

“Sorry.” He saw her speak the word rather than hear it as she looked up into his face, her nose mere millimeters from his.

He swallowed hard, wanting to kiss her so much in that one moment it was all he could do to stop himself.

Interestingly, he didn’t have to. Because she kissed him.

He wasn’t surprised to find she tasted as good as she looked. Strawberry lip gloss teased his taste buds even as the tang of tequila remained on her breath.

“I say we get out of here,” Vivienne said behind her.

Regina blinked and drew away. “What?”

“I don’t think the lady’s ready to leave yet,” Linc said, not wanting to let her go just then.

“I meant the three of us…”

Linc looked from Regina to Vivienne and back again.

He couldn’t have agreed more…

3

REGINA TRIED TO open her eyes, but she feared they were fused shut. She rubbed her eyelids and then blinked against the bright morning sunlight flooding the bedroom in her small apartment. Her head pounded and her body ached in places she hadn’t been consciously aware of until that very moment. She groaned and closed her eyes again, rolling over…straight into something.

Before totally registering someone else was in the bed, she was out of it. It took her a moment to realize she wore nothing but her birthday suit. She grabbed the throw that had been lying on top of her bed but was now on the floor.

A groan and then the figure under the sheet rolled over.

“Vivienne!” she said. “For God’s sake, you scared me half to death.”

“Why are you whispering?” Her friend smiled and looked around. “Is this your bed?”

Regina pulled the throw closer. Sleepovers had never been part of the plan before. Never mind open nakedness. Viv’s casual tone inched her uneasiness higher.

Slowly but surely, some of last night’s events played out in her mind. Little more than blurry snippets of candlelight, music, wine and more, um, dirty dancing in the living room.

And her and Linc and other naughty goings-on.

Oh, no…

She stared at the bed, her heart hammering in her throat even as heat warmed her blood.

“What happened?” Viv asked, stripping back the top sheet.

Regina started to close her eyes to keep from seeing more than she wanted, then realized her friend was wearing her bra and underpants—red satin with black lace. The type of lingerie Regina would never dare buy herself no matter how much she might want to.

She let out a long breath. While the undergarments weren’t what she was used to seeing her friend in, it wasn’t complete nudity. She’d seen more of her in her bathing suit.

“Coffee?”

Regina squealed at the sound of the male voice behind her. She whirled to face none other than the guy they’d met at the bar last night.

He was here?

Still?

Her gaze trailed to the bed, to him and back.

Oh, no…

His grin was one hundred percent pure sin.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.”

His words contradicted his naughty expression.

He openly looked her over, his gaze lingering in places that made her blush everywhere but on her cheeks. Well, at least those on her face.

She glanced down. She held the throw between her breasts, leaving them both bare. When she’d faced him, the fabric had twisted around her legs, her pubis clearly visible.

She gasped and turned around to adjust the material, then realized she was giving him a full back view. She couldn’t move fast enough to cover herself even as she ducked into the connecting bathroom.

Oh, no…oh, no…oh, no…

Regina leaned against the doorjamb, her eyes closed, her lungs refusing air.

This wasn’t happening… It wasn’t even remotely possible she…

What was going on?

Her mind reeled, racing from one thought to the next. Had all three of them spent the night together? In the apartment? In her bed?

She remembered kissing Linc. She ran her tongue over her lower lip. Boy, did she ever remember kissing Linc. And she even recalled some clothing removal. And soft moans. And…

Oh, God…

INCREDIBLE. She was even more beautiful in the morning. Short hair mussed and framing her face. Smudged mascara darkening her eyes, her mouth swollen.

Linc put down the coffee cups on the nightstand, noticing the way Vivienne lay back in the bed staring at him invitingly.

An invitation he wasn’t interested in acknowledging much less accepting.

“Well,” she said with a suggestive purr. “Since Reggie couldn’t tell me what happened last night, perhaps you can.”

He smiled rather than grimaced. “I’m heading out. Pass on my goodbyes.”

“Leaving so soon?” she asked. “Don’t hurry out on account of me.”

She was exactly the reason he was leaving.

“Nice meeting you, um…both,” he said.

Within moments, he was closing the front door of the ground-level apartment behind him. It would be nice if he could leave the image of Regina’s nakedness behind as easily.

Oh, nothing had happened. At least nothing near what the two women might believe. Not because the opportunity hadn’t existed. But in the end, no matter how attracted he’d been to Regina, he hadn’t been able to take advantage of her when she’d been so obviously intoxicated.

The memory of the taste of her mouth made him groan even as he allowed himself the freedom to recall exactly what had gone down last night. And what hadn’t…

They’d returned to the small apartment complex on the edge of town, a place like many that was short on quality but high on location, the view of the Rocky Mountains to the west enough to make a hole-ridden tent look appealing. He’d viewed it from the outside on several occasions over the past few days, but it was the first time he’d gotten a glimpse inside. He’d been surprised to find it so stark, barren of all sign of the woman who lived there. Well, except for the stacks of books, some that bore the plastic covers indicating they came from the library.

It reminded him of his place.

As he climbed into his company SUV, he ousted the reflection and replaced it with the memory of kissing Regina.

Or had she been kissing him?

Definitely a mutual kiss.

They’d been dancing in her living room, her face alluring in the flicker of the candlelight. Her friend Vivienne had essentially passed out on the sofa, an empty bottle of Merlot tucked in her arm, leaving him alone for all intents and purposes with Regina. Which is what he’d been angling for all evening.

She’d seemed to read his thoughts and swayed into him, her mouth millimeters from his.

Oh, he’d kissed her all right.

And kissed her and kissed her and kissed her.

He couldn’t recall a time when he’d enjoyed feeling a woman’s mouth against his so much.

Then she’d pressed her hips against his in an instinctively female way that set his every male instinct ablaze and he’d suddenly wanted much, much more.

In that one moment, he hadn’t cared if she stumbled a bit when he walked her toward her bedroom. He’d only known an intense desire to be buried deep inside her. To watch her mouth open in a soft moan. To hear her throaty sounds as they had sex.

They were no sooner in the bedroom than she was pulling open his jeans while simultaneously trying to strip him of his T-shirt. He’d chuckled, helping her even as she tugged at her own clothes.

Within seconds they were both naked…and she was dropping to her knees to take his pulsing length into her sweet mouth.

Linc swallowed hard, his jeans tightening at the mere memory. It had felt so good having her attention focused so intensely on pleasing him. More, it appeared she drew pleasure from the sexual act. He knew plenty of women who did it as part of a show, looking up at him perhaps in approval, or to check to make sure they were getting the reaction they were after. Not Regina. Her attention was solely on what she was doing.

And oh, she had done it so very, very well…

He hadn’t planned to come, but he couldn’t help himself. She’d easily adjusted, smoothing his semen over his still-hard length then licking him clean.

Hell, he’d nearly come again just watching her.

Then she’d stood up and nearly fell over.

And he knew he couldn’t take it any further.

He groaned now as he had then. He’d had every expectation that sex with her would be even better than the blow job, but he’d known it wasn’t a good idea to go any further than they had. Especially since he was afraid he’d allowed things to go too far already. He didn’t want her regretting anything that passed between the two of them. Ever.

As he drove toward his own apartment across town, he reminded himself there was another, primary reason why he needed to keep her friendly: she was the key to his catching her ex.

He grimaced. How had a woman like Regina ever become involved with the likes of Billy Johnson? It was a thought he wouldn’t have entertained for more than two moments before. Who cared, so long as he met his objective? But now that he’d spent a little time with her, he couldn’t help wondering what she’d found attractive in the no-good criminal.

As far as he could tell, she led a clean life. Even under her own name, she held no record.

She was the only child of a single mother. She’d grown up and had lived her entire life in the small town of Livermore Falls, Maine…until leaving after Johnson’s sentencing.

Could limited options have been the reason she’d hooked up with Johnson? A check of an online high school yearbook found Johnson had graduated two years before her. In a town where the entire senior class was only thirty students, he figured opportunities would have been greatly limited.

It was something with which he personally couldn’t identify having grown up in the Bronx, where he couldn’t have named ten percent of his graduating class much less every one of them.

At any rate, that was a long time ago.

His cell rang. He picked up on the second ring. “Yeah.”

“Some information came in on that fugitive.”

One of his contacts from Quantico.

“Shoot.”

“There’s a report out of August, Maine. It’s believed he was pulled over for speeding eighteen hours ago.”

“They’re holding him?”

“No, they let him go. They didn’t realize who they had until an hour afterward.”

Linc had heard far too many stories of a similar nature. Close calls, near misses. Of course, in this case, it was probably a good idea the officer hadn’t been following national news bulletins or he might have ended up dead.

He didn’t see Billy Johnson allowing himself to get nabbed during a routine traffic stop. Had the officer tried to arrest him, no doubt Johnson would have pulled out the gun he undoubtedly had. And he would have used it.

“So he’s hanging around home, then.”

“Looks that way.”

He thanked the contact and disconnected even as he pulled into the parking lot of his apartment complex. Ten minutes. That’s all it would take for him to grab a shower, dress and be back out in the car. He needed to check in at Lazarus, then map out Johnson’s possible whereabouts and try to figure out where he might be heading next.

And how long it would take him to make his way to Colorado Springs.

In the meantime, it was still a good idea to stick as close to Regina as possible.

His immediate jolt of desire at the prospect made him grimace…

4

“HEY! WATCH IT!”

Regina grabbed napkins from the table holder to mop up the water she’d just accidentally spilled on a guest. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know where my head is today.”

A lie, to be sure. She knew exactly where her head was. And where it had been all morning.

She was an hour into the lunch rush and this was the second time she’d spilled something. Unfortunately, the first time had been coffee. Fortunately, it hadn’t been on the customer.

Seeing as she worked mostly for tips, she figured she could rule out getting anything from the upset businessman who snatched the napkins from her and then waved her away.

Sigh.

She hadn’t been scheduled to work until later that afternoon, but the owner, Trudy Grant, had asked her to come in when one of the other waitresses called in sick. No matter how much she would have liked to decline, she could use the extra money. And anyway, she’d hoped keeping busy would take her mind off other, um, uncomfortable thoughts.

When she’d finally come out of the bathroom earlier that morning, she’d found Linc gone and Viv dressed. She and her friend sat down in the kitchen to drink the coffee he’d brought them (if that’s what you could call her choking down a small portion of it), but she’d quickly found out Viv wasn’t any more enlightened on the previous evening’s events than she was.

“God, I hope nothing happened,” Viv had said.

Regina had nodded in full agreement, relieved she shared her hope.

“Although not for the same reason as you, I suspect.” She’d sipped her coffee loudly. “If something like that goes down, I want to remember every last sweet moment of it.”

Regina had found an excuse to usher her friend and her outlandish ideas out of the apartment as quickly as possible. Then she’d spent the next two hours frenetically cleaning the place from top to bottom, although it hadn’t needed it. The physical activity had made her feel marginally better. But when she’d gone in to catch a shower, she’d discovered her mind going straight back to Linc and the night before.

She distinctly remembered him backing her into her bedroom…kissing…lots of kissing…and then she’d gotten down on her knees…and…

Oh, hell…

She spilled water from the pitcher again, this time on her way back to the kitchen. Brian, the busboy, shook his head and grabbed a mop to clean it up before someone slipped on the wet tile.

“Are you all right?” Trudy asked.

Regina finally put the water pitcher down and wiped her damp palms on the front of her white apron. “Late, um, night.”

“You? Well, then, you must tell me all about it.”

LINC SPOTTED REGINA the instant he walked into the diner.

It was just after seven and the dinner crowd was mostly gone. Regina sat at the end of the counter. One of her shoes was off and she slowly rubbed her bare foot against the shin of her other leg, engrossed in something she was reading in front of her. She was half turned away from the door, so he could see little more than her profile. But even in her plain gray uniform and white apron, her hair pulled up haphazardly, she was still the prettiest girl in the room, regardless of what room or how empty or full it was.

Damn. He’d hoped seeing her again would provide the evidence he needed to prove she was nothing special; allow him to forget how incredible it felt to have her full mouth on him. Instead, he couldn’t help noticing what made her unique, and the desire to sample that mouth seemed to have doubled.

Regina lifted her head as if hearing something. Then she turned and met his gaze as if knowing he was there looking at her.

He couldn’t help smiling.

And his groin tightened when she easily smiled back.

“Can I help you?” a girl who was probably no older than sixteen asked.

“I’ve got it, Tiffany,” Regina said, coming up behind her.

“I thought you clocked out?”

“Well, I just clocked back in.”

“Whatever.” The girl walked off.

Linc chuckled and Regina smiled.

“Need I ask if this is a coincidence?” she said, motioning for him to take a seat at one of the front booths. He slid in and she did the same opposite him.

“Is what a coincidence?”

“This. Your stopping by the same diner where I work.”

His grin widened. “You suggested I stop by. Remember?”

She looked down at her hands in her lap.

“You don’t…”

Of course she didn’t, he knew. She hadn’t said one word about where she worked. But he guessed she recalled very little about last night, which left him a lot of room in which to wiggle. And he planned on doing a lot of moving. Whatever it took to nab her ex.

His objective tonight was to find out if she’d heard from Billy. And if she had, to get an idea of where he might be.

“Did I suggest anything specific?” she asked. “You know, did I invite you here or…?”

He squinted at her, trying to follow her line of thinking. Then he shook his head. “No. I’m just here for a meal. And some good company.”

She pulled one of the menus in a stand free and slid it in front of him. She looked ill at ease. Much like this morning. Only with clothes.

He found his gaze dropping to where the material of her uniform stretched against her chest. Not overly generous, but he’d seen enough the night before to leave him with a lasting impression. Along with a lingering desire to sample each.

“Look,” she said, clearly uncomfortable. “Before you order, I need to ask you something…”

He waited, not about to let her off the hook she strained against, but not enjoying watching her struggle nonetheless.

The truth remained that he could have easily taken advantage of her last night. And while he got the distinct impression she’d been acting out of character and wasn’t the type to indulge in one-night stands with perfect strangers, well, what could he say he knew about her?

And what if it had been someone else her friend had pulled up to dance?

“Okay, I don’t know how to say this except just to say it,” she said finally. She lifted her eyes to stare into his. “Did we…sleep together last night?”

He liked her directness. As well as the earnest expression on her face. As if prepared to face the consequences, whatever they may be.

“You don’t remember anything?” He was a little disappointed she didn’t remember putting her mouth on him. Especially considering the impact it’d had on him.

Her lashes created shadows on her cheeks as she looked down, a pink blush covering her skin. But if he wasn’t mistaken, there was a little, naughty quirk to her lips as she said, “Well, I remember one thing…”

Linc shifted in the booth. So she did recall their encounter. That pleased him.

“Nothing happened,” he said.

She blinked to look at him. “Pardon me?”

His gaze locked with hers and for a moment, everything seemed to stop.

He wasn’t sure what it was about this one woman, but she seemed capable of seeing him in a way he hadn’t been seen in a good long time. And it both calmed and agitated him.

“Well,” he said quietly, sure his own lips were doing a bit of quirking. “Outside the one, um, thing…”

She laughed.

The sound was a welcome and sexy surprise. It told him she wasn’t sorry about what had passed between them, while leaving the door open for perhaps something more. Still, it spoke of her relief that her memory wasn’t faulty.

“Nothing?” she asked, a decidedly suggestive glint emerging in her green eyes.

His pants grew tighter. “Yet.”

“So are you going to sit here with him or wait on him?”

Linc hadn’t heard the irritating teen waitress approach until she popped her gum and intruded on the moment with her question.

He watched Regina’s smile widen as she reached down to take off her apron and fold it on the table in front of her. “I’m hungry. How about you?” she asked him.

Suddenly he was ravenous. And not for anything on the menu, either…

THE NIGHT WAS PLEASANT enough compared to the recent heat wave they’d been experiencing lately, and the air was filled with the scent of flowers. So much unlike summers in Maine when evenings like these might require a sweater.

Regina couldn’t remember a time when she’d so thoroughly enjoyed a man’s company doing something as simple as taking a walk after a meal.

“Haven’t you been on your feet all day?” Linc asked.

They both looked down at her sensible, thick-soled shoes, reminding her she still wore her uniform. Funny, she half expected to be clad in something comfortably appealing, based on how she felt.

“Yes.”

“Would you prefer to go someplace where we can sit?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m actually enjoying a walk longer than the length of the diner. Besides, this is nice.”

Silence fell between them, something it seemed to do often. Linc didn’t appear to be a man much for talk. And she liked that about him. Liked that there could be quiet without either of them feeling the need to fill it.

And for the first time in what seemed like forever, she felt…safe somehow. As if she didn’t have to keep looking over her shoulder, waiting for the shadow dogging her heels to rise up and suffocate her.

“So, are you from Colorado Springs?” she asked.

“No. New York.”

“City or State?”

“Technically, both.”

“I can’t say as I’ve ever met anyone actually from New York City.”

“Well, you can now.”

He had a great smile. One that seemed to surprise him as much as it did her whenever he used it.

“Which part?” she asked.

He hesitated for a heartbeat. Something that might go unnoticed in mixed company, but that she made a mental note of. “The Bronx.”

“I’m from Maine,” she offered without being asked, surprising herself. The story she’d concocted to protect herself had her from Boise. Why had she just told him the truth?

“I thought you said you were from Idaho?”

“Did I?” She must have shared more than she realized last night. What else had she said? She hoped not too much. She’d been so good over the past year and a half. So why was she revealing so much about herself now? And why to him?

“Yes.”

She tried for a casual laugh. “I must have been really drunk.”

“And you told me you were from Idaho because you were afraid I’d look you up?”

“Something like that.” She moved closer to him as another couple approached from the opposite direction. Her arm brushed his, sending shivers across her skin. “So, you know I work at a diner…”

“And are studying, if the books I saw you poring over earlier are any indication.”

She’d stowed the textbooks in her car before they went for their walk. “Yes, I’m studying to become a registered nurse. I volunteer ten hours a week at Beth El.”

He didn’t look surprised.

“So what do you do?”

“Me?”

“Mmm.”

“What do you think I do?”

“If I had to guess…” She looked over his close-fitting T-shirt and jeans with an appreciative eye. “Personal trainer?”

His chuckle filled the night. “A personal trainer?”

“Yes. Why is that amusing?”

“So, I look dense?”

“What, are you saying personal trainers are stupid?”

He didn’t respond, merely shook his head and continued walking.

“So what do you do then?”

“I’m in security.”

She was a little more careful with her response this time. “Like a night watchman?”

His chuckle tickled her ear. “Slightly more advanced.”

“Oh?”

His answer was another smile.

“Okay. A mystery.”

“Hopefully one you don’t feel compelled to solve.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to do an internet search on you.” His expression sharpened. “I’m not that kind of girl.”

A heartbeat of silence and then he offered, “Maybe you should be.”

His words struck her as odd, and her footsteps slowed until she’d stopped altogether.

5

OKAY, ON the moron-o-meter, that comment ranked somewhere between asinine and flat-out stupid.

“I’m just saying that in this day and age, well, checking someone out may not be a bad idea. The technology’s there—it’s dumb not to take advantage of it.”

“Is that what you do? Do you perform background checks?”

“No.”

She’d resumed walking and he slowed his steps to allow her to catch up.

“I’m a partner in a private security firm. We handle various aspects of a company’s needs.”

“And before that?”

“I was a Marine.”

He kept his eyes trained forward but felt her gaze on his profile for a long moment.

“I can see that,” she said quietly.

He looked at her.

“My father was a Marine,” she said.

He hadn’t known that. Of course, her background material merely noted the basics: father deceased when she was six.

“Once a Marine, always a Marine,” he said.

The light briefly left her eyes. “Yes, well, then my dad is a Marine with wings. He was killed in combat when I was young.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Thanks.” She looked down at her feet and then at him. “What about your dad?”

He shrugged.

“Would you rather not talk about it?”

“There’s really nothing to talk about. I don’t know my father outside the name on my birth certificate.”

A long silence and then she asked, “Have you thought of looking for him?”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Closure, I suppose.”

“I’m not even sure he knows he has a son.”

“Don’t you think he deserves to know?”

“What?” He stared at her.

“I guess I worded that wrong—wouldn’t you want to know if you had a son out there?”

He’d never quite looked at it that way before.

The truth was, his mother had never really mentioned his father outside of saying he wouldn’t want to have anything to do with him. He had been a one-night stand. And both his parents had been no more than sixteen at the time. Linc had been raised by his aunt.

He hadn’t realized he’d spoken the words out loud until Regina asked, “What happened to your mom?”

Lord. Had he ever told anyone this before? He must have at some point. But damned if he could remember. Which made it doubly interesting that he was sharing the information so easily with Regina.

“She moved to L.A. when I was an infant. I barely saw her while I was growing up. I talk to her every now and again, but for all intents and purposes, my aunt has always been my maternal figure.”

Her arm brushed against his and then she was entwining her fingers with his. He was glad for the touch and squeezed her hand. The desire to squeeze much, much more was growing with every step they took.

“My mom and I were always close,” she said quietly. “I miss her now we’re so far apart.”

“She still in Maine?”

She nodded and then looked in the opposite direction as if to keep him from seeing her expression. “I keep trying to talk her into moving out here with me, but…well, she says that’s where she was born, that’s where they’ll bury her.”

She looked sad somehow. Alone.

And Linc was surprised by the desire to protect her that surged within him.

Before he knew that’s what he had in mind, he was tugging her close and tilting her chin up so he could look directly into her face. Her mouth hung open slightly, both in surprise and, he guessed, anticipation.

He kissed her.

REGINA’S EVERY MUSCLE melted like a marshmallow over a fire. Funny, Linc seemed to taste exactly like that. Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she understood that it was because he’d had a piece of Trudy’s chocolate-marshmallow pie. But right then, she couldn’t seem to concentrate on anything beyond the way her heart pounded an uneven rhythm in her chest, and how her mouth watered with the desire for Linc to deepen the kiss.

Then he did…

His tongue stroked hers in a slow, deliberate way that robbed her of breath and made her tighten her hands where they rested on the hard muscles of his upper arms. He leaned into her and she discovered, with a silent moan, that his arms weren’t the only hard thing she was able to feel.

The memory of having taken his long, thick length into her mouth the night before might have made her blush…but not now. Right now, all that was on her mind was the desire to enjoy tasting him without the blurriness of drink.

“Damn,” he said quietly as he broke off the kiss but made no move to resume walking.

“What?” she whispered.

He looked into her eyes and the impact was just as powerful as his kiss had been.

“I never thought I’d hear myself say these words. Your place or mine?”

Her throat was so thick she nearly couldn’t speak. “Which is closest?” she managed to whisper.

“Yours.”

“Then mine it is…”

LINC HAD BEEN THINKING about this moment ever since forcing himself to push Regina away the night before. And it was proving sweeter than he could have imagined.

Twenty minutes after their kiss on the sidewalk, they stood in her bedroom, a small lamp from the living room casting a soft, red glow against her skin where she stood naked in front of him. The moment they closed the front door, they’d come together like a couple of thirsty travelers, kissing and tearing at each other’s clothes as they stumbled their way to the bedroom.

And now here they both stood, about to fulfill what had begun the instant their gazes met at the club last night.

Regina’s fingers skimmed around the girth of his erection and then firmly grasped him. The air hissed from his mouth at her confident touch. She moved her hand, causing his hips to buck involuntarily.

He wanted to be inside her. Now…

He drew her closer, kissing her deeply, reveling in the feel of her taut nipples against his chest, her hand trapped between them. He skimmed his fingers down her back and over her firm bottom, then sought out her shallow channel from behind. He groaned without sound. So wet…so ready…

“Protection,” she rasped.

He continued kissing her. “What?”

“Condom. Do you have one?”

God, she tasted like ripe fruit. “No. Don’t you?”

She made a low sound and then stepped back, leaving him practically panting in front of her.

“Oh, hell. You’ve got to be kidding me.” He ran his hands over the top of his close-cropped hair several times in barely concealed agitation.

This wasn’t happening. Not twice in as many nights. If he were a superstitious man, he might think the Fates were trying to tell him something. But he wasn’t and even if they were, he had no intention of listening.

“There doesn’t happen to be a drugstore that delivers, would there?”

Her laugh released a bit of his pent-up need. “Nope. Although that’s a good idea. Think of the business they’d get.”

Damn. Damn, damn, damn, damn.

He reached for his jeans that were near the bedroom door. Leaving her standing there, looking so ready to be made love to, had to be the most difficult thing he’d done in a good long while.

“Where’s the closest place?”

“About a mile up the road.”

“Of course. It couldn’t be up the block, could it?”

She reached for her clothes.

He caught her hand. “Don’t.”

She blinked at him.

He scooped her up and deposited her on top of her bed. God, but she looked so incredibly sexy, her honey-brown hair tousled around her face, her mouth swollen from his kisses, her breasts full and accessible. It was all he could do not to beg her to go without protection just this once.

“Don’t move a muscle,” he said.

Her laugh was almost gigglelike, touching something inside him.

He couldn’t have moved any faster for the door had he broken into a run.

REGINA LAY BACK against her bed, listening as the door slammed closed behind Linc. She smiled and snuggled deeper into the bedding, squeezing her thighs tightly together, delighting in the tiny shivers that swept over her skin.

She felt giddy and high and feverish, and none of it had a thing to do with alcohol. She skimmed her hands over her hypersensitive breasts, catching her breath at her immediate response to her own touch. Her nipples were so hard and achy. She swallowed, edging her right hand down her trembling abdomen. She spread her thighs slightly and slid her fingers into the damp tangle of curls there. She stretched her neck, realizing she could come so easily…

She slowly drew her index finger the length of her shallow crevice, unable to remember the last time she’d been so wet and needy. Correction, unwilling to. All she wanted to think about was the here and now. And Linc…

She recalled their interaction last night in bits and pieces, but nothing had prepared her for holding his length in her palm tonight. So long, so big…

She groaned as the tip of her finger dipped into the pool of heat between her legs. Her heartbeat quickened and just like that she achieved orgasm…

6

LINC WAS SWEATIER when he finally returned to Regina’s apartment than after his morning ten-mile run when the air temperature was at least twenty degrees hotter. He let himself into her apartment, tearing into the box of condoms he’d just purchased as he strode toward her bedroom. He should probably climb into the shower first, but…

The hell with a shower.

He stopped in her bedroom door. She was right where he’d left her. Beautiful, bare…and fast asleep.

For the second time that night, he let out a string of curses.

This was not happening…

He stood in the doorway for a long moment, taking in the way her hand rested on her upper thigh, the curve of her breasts, the sound of her soft snores.

He knew she’d been on the job since early that morning. He also knew she hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before. And, of course, worry over what had or had not happened had probably worn her out on top of the physical stress.

He thought about catching that shower and then climbing into bed next to her, rousing her from sleep. But considering they barely knew each other, he decided that wouldn’t be much better than taking advantage of her while she was intoxicated.

Damn. Damn, damn, damn, damn.

He quietly put the half-opened box of condoms on her nightstand and then reached to push a soft curl from her brow before covering her with the top sheet. She was so out of it, she didn’t move a muscle.

Moments later he stood outside her door, battling back the urge to go back inside. He thought of a handful of phone numbers he could call, but no matter how much he wanted release, he only wanted it with the woman sleeping in the apartment behind him.

Another run, maybe. Yes. And a nice, long, cold shower…

TWO DAYS LATER, Regina tightened her boxing gloves and then gave the punching bag another one-two whack. Over the past year and a half, she’d taken nearly every self-defense class available. Then, at the health club she’d joined, she’d stumbled across boxing classes. The physical activity made her feel better somehow. One of the pros suggested it was like aiming darts at a picture of someone unlikable…but better. She agreed.

Especially now.

She still couldn’t believe it had happened again. She’d woken Sunday morning to find herself pretty much in the same position Linc had left her, a box of condoms on the nightstand along with a note: “Didn’t want to wake you.” He’d signed it simply “L” and included his phone number.

She’d beat the pillow down and then gone to the gym to do a better job on a punching bag.

She couldn’t even allow herself to entertain the idea of calling the number he’d left so she might apologize.

At this point, she wouldn’t be surprised if he never wanted to see her again.

She lost focus and the bag swung and hit her in the shoulder, nearly knocking her off balance.

“You’re supposed to hit it, I think, not the other way around,” Vivienne said from the doorway of a connecting room filled with other fitness equipment where the majority of club members worked out.

Regina caught the bag and then wiped the sweat from her brow with her bare forearm. “Every now and again I like to let it think it stands a chance.”

“Speaking of hitting things, you ready to hit the showers?”

She sighed. “Yeah.”

Thankfully, Vivienne hadn’t mentioned Friday night again, both of them back into the regular workweek swing of things. Viv was a paralegal at a midsize law firm, and Regina had attended classes in the morning, then worked the lunch shift at the diner. They met three times a week at the club, depending on their schedules.

She’d debated telling her friend about Linc’s visit to the diner Saturday night, then decided against it. There was no sense saying anything if she was pretty sure she wasn’t going to see him again.

She grimaced as they walked to the showers. Besides, she didn’t want to chance her friend’s asking to be included in any future goings-on.

“Oh, he’s new,” Viv said, openly appreciating a guy lifting weights as they passed.

Regina gave an eye roll as she untied her right glove with her teeth and then pulled it free. “You’re impossible.”

“No, I’m single.” She put her arm over Regina’s shoulder. “And so are you. Now, where are we going to eat afterward…?”

“HEY, EVERYTHING ALL RIGHT?”

Linc stared at where Jason Savage stepped in front of the crosshairs of his semiautomatic rifle, blocking the target. He swung the weapon so it pointed toward the dirt of the Lazarus training grounds.

“Shit, Savage. I could have shot a hole the size of Colorado in your ass.”

The first rule in arms safety was never to step into the path of a loaded weapon. What in the hell was his friend and business partner thinking? Of course, Jason had always run more on guts than strategy. Thankfully, he had the natural ability to pull it off.

His friend grinned. “Yours is about the only gun I’d dare step in front of.”

Linc unloaded the weapon and slid the ammo magazine into his back jeans pocket. Jason walked with him toward the main building.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Jason said. “Oh, wait. Of course you didn’t answer my question. You never answer my questions.”

“Everything’s fine.”

Savage opened the door for him and he passed through. “Right. And if it wasn’t, would you cop to it?”

Linc stared at him.

“Didn’t think so.” Savage followed him to the arms room. “I think that’s the longest I’ve ever seen you spend on target practice.”

Linc hadn’t noticed the time passage. He’d merely experienced an intense urge to squeeze off a few rounds. To make himself feel useful.

And to stop thinking about how a certain sexy female had looked sleeping in her bed naked.

“Needed to put the time in,” he ground out.

Jason wasn’t known for asking a lot of questions. Especially ones he wasn’t likely to get answers to. Which made his asking this one stand out.

Was his agitation that obvious?

Since Saturday night, when he’d left Regina asleep alone in her bed, he’d thought it a good idea to take a step back. And he had. He watched her as she went to work at the diner. He’d followed her to the library. And he’d tracked her remotely via his cell phone when he couldn’t be near her.

Speaking of which, she should just be finishing up at the gym. He checked his cell. She was still there, but she wouldn’t be for long.

“Hey, I was hoping to talk to you about something,” Savage said, leaning against the prep table where Linc cleaned his weapon before putting it away in the rack against the wall.

“Shoot.”

“Dangerous word to use, considering.”

“Considering you stepped in front of my barrel, you mean?”

“That, too.”

Linc cracked a smile.

He waited for Jason to get around to whatever he had to say.

Finally, his friend cleared his throat. “Look, you know everything that went down in Florida…”

Linc squinted at him.

It had been a great trip for the company, in that they’d found a crucial piece of information that kept the search for little Finley going. It had been bad, though, in that Savage had slept with Megan, a Lazarus partner who was another partner’s girl.

“Anyway, things haven’t exactly been, well, the same since…”

His words trailed off.

“Go figure,” Linc offered.

Jason nodded his agreement. “Yeah. Which is why I’m thinking of maybe pushing up the date on opening that satellite office in Baltimore.”

Linc finishing wiping down the M16 and placed it in the rack behind him.

“I haven’t talked to anyone else about it. I thought I’d run it by you first, you know, see what you thought.”

Linc faced him and crossed his arms over his chest. “How soon you talking?”

“Tomorrow too soon?”

They certainly had the resources for the expansion. Business income had already overshot their original forecasts by four hundred percent, and the next three months looked to double that again.

He checked his cell.

“Am I keeping you from something?” Savage asked.

Boy, he was really slipping when it came to keeping his thoughts to himself. First at the firing range, now with checking his cell phone. Of course, here he was surrounded by others trained in the art of observation, but he had the feeling he’d be just as transparent to an outsider.

“There’s somewhere I need to be,” he admitted.

Jason quirked a brow. “Need help?”

“I got it.”

Jason pushed away from the table and slapped him on the shoulder. Savage was one of the few men Linc allowed such familiarity. Others risked physical injury even thinking about making such a move. “Well, think about what I said.”

Linc gave his friend his full attention, considering the implications of his suggestion. “You’re serious about this?”

“I’m serious about it.”

Linc nodded. Then it seemed to him it was only a matter of time before it would happen…

7

REGINA CURLED HER legs under her on the love seat and called her mother again; again, there was no answer.

She left a second message and then sat for a long moment wishing she’d gone ahead and gotten that cell phone for her mother last Christmas. At least then, she’d be able to text her. Or if she was out somewhere, she could still reach her. Her mother was active, what with her job at the supermarket and volunteer work. But it was after ten on a Monday night. Where could she be?

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