The Cold Case Detectives series heats up with a sexy new hero in this story of revenge and desire.

A tough ex-SEAL turned private investigator, Lucas Curran vows that solving his sister’s murder must come first. Even before his raging attraction to Rachel Delany, who might be a fresh lead in the four-year-old case. It’s just that he can’t trust the down-on-her-luck beauty. He’s already been devastated once by a deceitful ex. Then there’s Rachel’s rap sheet…and her infuriating tendency to withhold the truth.

But when Rachel’s life goes up in flames, they’re forced to rely on each other. Because Rachel is more than just Lucas’s ticket to outsmarting a killer and serving up justice—she’s his second chance at a burning love he never thought possible.

“Please tell me what’s going on, Rachel.”

His grip tightened in her hair. Rachel stared breathlessly up into his intense face, seeing the strength of his concern for her and his angst that she wouldn’t trust him.

He brought his head down for an energy-packed kiss.

The impact stunned her, and an instant later fire melted any thought of resisting. She let him take her mouth and fell into the velvety passion, desire so strong she couldn’t comprehend where she ended and he began.

His kiss eased into a series of gentler, quicker ones.

“He almost killed you.” He kissed her again, hard, seeking reassurance that she still lived. “I thought he was going to.”

“Lucas.”

His mouth covered hers yet again, his tongue going in for more drugging passion. Then he eased off. “I can’t lose another woman, Rachel. I can’t fail again.”

As he continued kissing her, she answered with equal fervor.

“Tell me,” he rasped.

Hearing his desperate need for her to trust him in at least that, Rachel nearly capitulated. But she could not trust him this way.

“I can’t,” she whispered harshly.

* * *

Be sure to check out the next books in this miniseries.

Cold Case Detectives: Powerful investigations, unexpected passion…

Dear Reader,

If you like cold case action, my new miniseries is for you. In A Wanted Man, you met Kadin Tandy, a sexy former New York detective who lost his daughter to kidnapping and murder. Now he’s focused all his intelligence—and bold brawn—on solving victims’ cases that have gone cold. He’s out to make criminals of violent crime pay, and he hires only the best to do the job.

Meet Lucas Curran, ex-marine, former LAPD SWAT cop who’s got personal reasons to solve the next Dark Alley Investigations murder case. Mystery. Murder. Action. What more could you ask for? How about another story after this one? I’d love to entertain you.

Jennie

Justice

Hunter

Jennifer Morey

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Two-time RITA® Award nominee and Golden Quill Award winner JENNIFER MOREY writes single-title contemporary romance and page-turning romantic suspense. She has a geology degree and has managed export programs in compliance with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) for the aerospace industry. She lives at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in Denver, Colorado, and loves to hear from readers through her website, jennifermorey.com, or Facebook.

MILLS & BOON

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For Mom. Thanks for visiting me in my dreams. Moments cherished.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

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

Extract

Copyright

Chapter 1

Lucas Curran bent his head against the biting Wyoming breeze, wondering for the hundredth time why a man like Kadin Tandy would choose a place like this to headquarter his renowned cold-case investigations agency. Similar to Lucas’s hometown in Montana, Rock Springs offered Wild-West isolation. No concrete jungle here. Very few violent crimes and yet...that was exactly what Dark Alley Investigations fought.

Crossing the street, he took in the classy sign jutting out from an old, two-story brick building. Quaint. Understated. No one would guess what grisly crimes this agency took on. A row of shops lined Main Street, Christmas lights off on this cringe-worthy, overcast day. Some cars crept along the sleepy, snow-swept road. A few hearty geriatrics walked the sidewalks. A couple hurried into a coffee shop. Other than that, only the snow looked busy and bustling.

He stepped up to the charming storefront, which had been renovated with tinted, bulletproof windows. His salvation. His ticket to revenge.

Excitement surged forth again, as it always did with the prospect of taking charge of his sister’s murder investigation. He wouldn’t rest until he avenged her, until he cornered and caged her killer—whoever thought he’d gotten away with the crime. Lucas couldn’t wait to look into his eyes the very moment realization struck that Lucas had caught him.

Charming or not, Dark Alley was his weapon. Above the hanging sign, a second story promised warmth, clean white blinds and gossamer scarves, hinting at a feminine touch. Kadin Tandy lived there—with a woman. No wonder the place looked so deceiving.

Opening the door to the jingle of a bell he would more expect in a bookstore or gift shop, Lucas stepped inside. Kadin Tandy had opened this godsend to those who’d given up on more traditional methods, and he intended to take full advantage of all its resources.

“Can I help you?” a woman behind a desk across the entrance asked. A little on the heavy side, but a real beauty.

The door swung closed with another jingle, shutting out the biting wind and snow. Pictures of cities hung on the walls, and a freshly painted bookshelf to the right had more than books artfully arranged on its shelves. More feminine touches. A Christmas tree dead-center in front of the window had wrapped presents beneath its pine-smelling branches. So cozy. So welcoming...for a hard-core violent crimes special ops unit. He wouldn’t put a mere private investigations label on this agency. Not with a man like Kadin in charge, not with his past and experience, and not with his thirst for bringing ruthless justice down upon the destroyers of innocence.

He walked forward, his black leather combat boots thudding on the refurbished wood floor. “I have an appointment.”

“Lucas?” she asked with a friendly smile. That congenial trait must have helped her land this job. Dealing with grieving, scared families had to be akin to dealing with death in a funeral home.

“Yes.”

“Come on back,” Kadin called from his office, the door left open.

The woman stood up, and when Lucas went inside the office to see Kadin getting up from his chair, she closed the door. All very sensitive to the nature of the business.

Lucas shook Kadin’s hand.

“Welcome aboard,” Kadin said.

He’d contracted him earlier this week and asked him to come in for what he called orientation. All of his operatives were contracted, not hired directly. To allow more freedom, Kadin had explained. Freedom to take risks. Freedom to use force. All without any liability to the company.

“Thanks. I’m happy to be part of the team.”

“Have a seat.”

Lucas sat on a black, real leather chair separated by a table. Kadin took an identical one on the opposite side. Reaching for one of two envelopes on the table, Kadin then handed it to him.

Lucas took it and parted the opening to slide out the pages within. Kadin opened his file on the table and leaned over to read the first page.

“These first few pages summarize what’s in your contract.”

“I read my contract.”

“This is just to make sure you didn’t miss the most important parts.”

“I didn’t miss anything.”

Kadin’s eyes lifted to look at him. “I’m not going to tell you how to carry out an investigation. You should already know that. If you screw up, that’s your responsibility.”

Ah, the price of freedom. Lucas didn’t mind. He’d rather have freedom than let others do the doing for him. And he wouldn’t screw up.

“That wasn’t in the contract.”

“I have three rules that can never be broken,” Kadin said, gaze unflinching. “If you break any of them, I reserve the right to terminate your contract and possibly turn you over to the feds.”

“Rule number one,” Lucas said before Kadin could. “Make sure the evidence can stand up in court.” No cheating when it came to evidence. No lawbreaking. “Rule number two—no vigilante kills.”

“And the third?”

“Always put the victim first.”

That seemed and sounded like a no-brainer to Lucas, but in Kadin’s terms and conditions, he referred—in coded language—to lawbreaking as opposite from evidence gathering. The law could be broken to save victims. Freely broken. Protect the innocent, no matter the cost. If saving a victim meant losing key evidence, then justice took on a different set of rules, an unwritten set of rules. Meaning, there were none. Unfortunately, people came to Dark Alley long after the victims had died. Kadin referred to the danger of chasing killers as the collateral damage.

“Do you think you’ll have any trouble with any of those?” Kadin asked.

“No.” Not when Lucas didn’t see it as a vigilante kill.

“Not even rule number two?” Kadin probed, as though predicting his thoughts.

He’d worried over Lucas’s motive when he’d first met him.

“Especially rule number two.” He had an unquenchable thirst for the freedom Kadin offered, and he couldn’t promise he wouldn’t kill his sister’s murderer, but he could promise he’d do it justly. Kadin may not agree with his brand of justice, however.

Kadin stared long and hard at him. He didn’t quite believe Lucas had come to Dark Alley out of a deep sense of nobility. But instead of calling him on it, he said, “Good. Now let’s talk about your sister’s case.”

On some level, Kadin must understand how Lucas felt. Four years had passed since his sister’s murder. Police had little to go on and no witnesses. An innocent life had been taken, and a guilty one still lived on.

“The last person to see her alive was her husband, Jared Palmer,” Kadin said. “He looks like a suspect.”

Lucas gripped the arm of the chair, squeezing his fingers to stave off the wave of anger just the mere mention of Jared’s name stirred. “She was alive when he left for work the morning of her murder.”

Kadin’s eyes rolled up from the page in the open file for another hard stare.

Lucas continued. “When he came home that evening, she left dinner ready for him before she went out for her monthly outing with friends at the country club. That’s all been verified. Her club friends said she left at ten. Jared claims she arrived home at ten twenty and came to bed.”

Kadin sat back, elbow on the arm of his chair, rubbing his chin before dropping his hand. “And he claims he saw, heard or noticed nothing else the rest of the night.”

“Correct.” That had always infuriated Lucas. He’d always felt Jared had lied, although his story had never changed, not one detail. That made him either a really good liar or innocent.

“I can see why you’d think he did it,” Kadin said.

“I still think he could have done it.”

“Were it not for the affair,” Kadin said.

That was the newest piece of information that had developed in the case. Jared had recently called a woman named Rachel Delany. Police hadn’t known about her, but the conversation clearly indicated the two had known each other before Luella’s murder. Intimately.

“The woman has an interesting résumé,” Kadin said. “Have you read her background?”

Lucas nodded. “In and out of juvie. All grown-up now but can’t hold a job. Doesn’t have many friends.” He showed Kadin a photo he’d pulled out from the envelope. “Beautiful.”

Kadin’s brow lifted and he nodded. “Very beautiful. But even pretty women are capable of murder.”

“How did they meet?” Nothing in the file indicated that, and Lucas found it odd that a man as well-off as Jared would end up in an affair with a woman like Rachel.

Lucas turned the photo so he could see her again. Rachel’s shiny hair tapered into a sophisticated chocolate bob, drawing striking lines on each side of golden-brown eyes rimmed by liner and long thick black lashes. Those eyes looked right at the camera, sultry, daring and full of dangerous mystery. This woman had seen the rough side of the tracks, but must have found a way into the pinkies-up crowd.

“Has she done this before?” Lucas asked, not liking how the woman’s hotness stirred baser instincts. He flipped the pages, skimming through them and finding a paragraph on her previous relationships.

“Yes,” Kadin said as he read. “She’s had other affairs, not with married men, but with wealthy men. The relationships never last.”

Lucas closed the file. “No surprise there. She’s not very together, and the type of men she chooses must figure that out sooner or later.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions. She might be innocent.” Kadin leaned forward again. “What’s your plan?”

* * *

“I’m sorry, folks. We’re going to have to get another bus and transfer you. Engine problems.”

Rachel Delany stared at the bus driver, unable to believe the bus had broken down now, today of all days. She’d just finished her last college final before the Christmas break and had a thirty-minute window to get to work. She had five minutes left. Grabbing her backpack, she stood and walked down the aisle toward the front, where the midfifties black driver saw her in the rearview mirror.

“It’ll be a few minutes before the other bus gets here, Rachel,” he said.

“I don’t have time, Larry. I’ll walk the rest of the way.”

“It’s a couple of miles to the next stop,” he said. “That mean ol’ boss of yours can wait. Let me take you the rest of the way.”

She smiled big. Larry knew all about her troubles. “A little snow won’t hurt.”

His dark, bushy eyebrows lifted over trouble-free eyes and he smiled back. “What’d you say your degree was? Weather girl?”

Rachel laughed on a soft breath, envying his humble existence. Whenever she felt the struggle of her own life too much, all she had to do was think of him. He made a happy living on a low wage.

“Don’t stop to talk to anyone on the way, now,” Larry called.

Still smiling, she waved and stepped off the bus. She talked to people on the bus all the time. Strangers had such interesting stories, like sitting with Forrest Gump on a park bench.

She tipped her head back and let the cold flakes peck her cheeks. A little cold and a long walk never bothered her. Bozeman, Montana, wasn’t known for its balmy weather, and she hadn’t chosen this area for the fluff. She had a little Larry in her—along with a dream to make something of her life.

Checking the time, she broke into a jog. Her female boss had already warned her about being late. One minute didn’t seem too late to Rachel. She wished she could tell her boss where to go every time she nit-picked over silly things, but she needed this job until she graduated and found one with more requirements than clock-watching.

Reaching the mall, she entered with a few stomps to shed the snow and then decided rushing wouldn’t make any difference. She’d get her last check and leave. One more job to dribble into her past.

Dodging someone coming the other way down the mall corridor, Rachel’s backpack bumped against the metal door as she cut the corner too close at the store entrance. Her boss stood behind the counter, alone. Leaning against the back wall, she watched her with disapproval marring her pudgy, wrinkled face. She made a show of looking up at the clock on the wall above her head.

Two thirty-four. More than thirty minutes late. Even Rachel would call that late.

“I had a final and the bus broke down,” she said, only for the slight chance that the woman would listen to human logic.

Her boss sighed in that huffy way that so annoyed Rachel and then walked around the counter. “Rachel, I’ve given you more than enough chances to prove yourself here.”

“It was my last final. I’m on break now until January.”

“At which point you’ll only be late again,” the woman said. “I need someone more devoted.”

Rachel humphed. “It’s a retail job.”

The woman immediately took offense. “Any job has its responsibility. You’ve shown me none with yours. You’re late more than you’re on time.”

True, but Rachel considered this a means to achieve something more rewarding. “I rely on public transportation. I depend on bus schedules. They don’t always match my work schedule. I’ve asked you to consider that when you write my schedule.” She began to wonder why she even tried to defend herself and come up with excuses.

“I’m sorry, Rachel,” she said. “I can’t arrange everyone else’s schedule to suit yours.”

“This is the first time I’ve been more than a few minutes late.”

The woman eyed her upper body as though her jacket didn’t cover enough of her shape. “Late is late.”

She’d often eyed her like that. Rachel let the spitfire that lower-class living had set free in her take over.

“You’ve never liked me,” she said, a revelation. Why hadn’t she seen it before?

The woman’s eyes flitted all over Rachel now, down her trim body and back up to her blemish-free face. “Liking you has nothing to do with why I’m firing you today.”

“You’ve looked for ways to fire me. One or two minutes late isn’t late. You censure the way I talk to customers.”

The woman stiffened, telltale offense. “Flirting isn’t professional.”

“I never flirt here.” The woman invented things!

“I did you a favor by hiring you. It isn’t my fault you turned out to be a disappointment.” She reached over to the counter and picked up an envelope. “This is your last paycheck.”

Rachel took the money. The envelope, its feel in her hand and the knowledge of what it contained, nearly did her in. No more checks would follow. Her will spared her from crumbling. Slowly, she looked up.

“Thank you,” Rachel said. “This is best for both of us.”

The woman’s lower jaw fell slack, and misunderstanding twitched above her nose. She expected another reaction. Would seeing Rachel hurt satisfy her, a woman driven by jealousy?

“I can do better than this.” With that, Rachel pivoted and walked toward the exit.

“If you’re thinking about filing a complaint, you should know I’ve documented everything,” the woman called after her.

File a complaint. As if she’d wasted her time on that negativity. Rachel didn’t turn or respond, just left the store. A man in a nice suit stood at a sunglasses kiosk. He didn’t look her way as she passed.

Rachel checked her phone. Her boyfriend still hadn’t texted her. She’d tried to get ahold of him all day, but he hadn’t responded. Someone to talk to right now would be nice.

She saw a woman dressed to the nines, carrying four bags and looking into the window of a jewelry store as she passed. Did she have a husband taking care of her, or had she made her own way in this vicious world? Rachel slowed her pace and watched her come to a clothing store and go inside, her face peaceful and tastefully made up, giant rock on her ring finger sparkling under the store lights. Rich husband. Pampered woman. But happy.

Rachel loved seeing people this way, comfortable in their environment, the world they created with decisions. The beautiful, sophisticated woman didn’t give off any airs. She had money, her man’s money. Rachel imagined her man treated her as though his money belonged to her just as much as it belonged to him. Equals.

Why did life have to be such a struggle for some people and so seemingly easy for others? Rachel wanted that. Just once, she’d like to know what it felt like to be that woman, the willowy one with shopping bags, admiring a sparkly dress as though contemplating an upcoming party, no worries in the world.

All her life, nothing had ever come easy for Rachel. Granted, she’d gotten herself into trouble as a teenager, but that girl had grown up. Finally. Now that she wanted a good, honest life, life seemed to oppose her every effort. What was she doing wrong? She tried so hard and never got ahead. The constant battle had become routine. She’d gotten fired today, and it had barely fazed her. Routine.

Leaving the mall, she didn’t feel like going home. Somehow, getting fired deserved some kind of memento. Rachel adjusted her backpack as she crossed the street, glancing back to see the man in the suit had left after her. Was he crossing the street, too?

As she walked down the sidewalk, she began to get an uneasy feeling. Nothing like this had happened in years, not since the disastrous affair she’d had with that executive. He’d contacted her last week, trying to reconcile. After all this time, why? His call frightened her. She’d gently refused his invitation to dinner. Had that started up trouble again?

O’Shuck’s was a few blocks from here. She covertly looked back. The man in the suit still trailed behind her. He seemed to catch her notice of him but didn’t stop following her. She didn’t recognize him, but he was far enough away not to be sure. Would Jared stalk her?

Alarm kicked up the knock of her pulse. She walked another block and looked back. Still there. He was following her.

Rachel walked faster. O’Shuck’s was just up the street now. She could see the lights. Almost at a jog by the time she reached the door, she checked the sidewalk. The man walked toward her, looking right at her.

Rachel entered the pub and breathed her relief. What was she going to do now? What if the threats started again? She wasn’t sure if it had been Jared who’d threatened her the last time, and she didn’t recognize the man following her now.

Trying to appear calm, Rachel walked toward the bar. O’Shuck’s drew a nice working-class crowd and boasted Haggis and Irish coffee. She came for the short walk to her apartment, the company and the atmosphere, which was much better than her apartment. Anything was better than that.

Dropping her backpack and putting her cell phone on the bar, she took a seat and waited for Hans to see her. Glancing back toward the door, she didn’t see the man in the suit.

“Hey, Rachel.” Hans had a deep-creased grin for her and a sparkle in his Viking blue eyes. He stepped over to her. “The usual?”

“Make it a vanilla latte.”

“Coming right up. Special occasion?”

“I was fired.”

Hans winced and then said, “Ooh. That is rough. That old bitty come up with a reason?”

“The bus broke down and I was thirty minutes late.” She looked back again and saw the man in the suit standing just inside the door, looking right at her. What the...

He was tall and well built and now that she saw him close-up, blond with a buzz cut and a handsome face. Definitely not Jared Palmer. But had he been the man who’d threatened her before?

Hans put the drink before her. “Sorry, Rachel. You’re good peeps. You don’t deserve that.”

The stranger began to approach.

“That man followed me from the mall,” she said.

Hans looked to the man. “You sure?”

“Positive.”

“Sir,” Hans said to the man as he stopped next to her chair. “The lady says you followed her. Do I need to call the police?”

Hans to the rescue. She felt safe...for now. But what about when she went home?

“You’re very observant,” the stranger said.

Of all the things a dangerous man could say, Rachel didn’t expect that. She sensed nothing sinister about him, not as sinister as she’d felt the last time.

The ding of her cell phone indicated someone had texted her. She looked down and saw her boyfriend had finally answered her. What the text said made her pick up the phone.

Sorry. No easy way to say this. I met someone else. You’ve been great. Take care.

That effectively shifted her focus. Rachel read the text again to make sure it said what she thought.

“You’ve been great?” She scoffed as the insult began to mushroom. “Take care.”

Had she really dated someone this insensitive and clueless? Lowering the phone, she looked up at the stranger, who reached into his jacket for something while clips of the last six months passed in her mind. Her boyfriend had been fun to be with but now that she had a bird’s-eye view, his superficiality became obvious. She hadn’t known anything deep about him.

“I believe this is yours.”

Startled, she looked down at what the man had taken from his jacket. Her wallet. He put it down on the bar.

“How did you—”

“I’ll have what she’s having,” the stranger said to Hans as he sat on the stool next to her. “And put hers on my tab.”

“How did you get my wallet?” she demanded. Then she recalled what he’d said.

She backtracked what she’d done with her wallet. She’d had lunch and put it back in the zipper pouch. Hadn’t she zipped it shut?

“I saw you go into a shop at the mall. Your backpack bumped the door frame and your wallet fell out. I started to go over but I heard you talking to your boss.”

She had bumped the door frame. But had it been hard enough for her wallet to slip out?

“I’m Luke Bradbury.” He swiveled to face her better.

She looked down at his offered hand and then back up at his drool-worthy blue-gray eyes, crinkling with an all-out charm-packed grin. Now that she wasn’t afraid of him, she could appreciate his looks. He was a great package. Dressed as though he had money, too.

Ordinarily, a man like him would capture her interest. He did capture her interest. But something about this one had her holding back. No, not him. Her boyfriend had just broken up with her in a text message. He was a successful businessman like Luke must be. She’d dated a lot of men like that. Successful men attracted her. Their stability. They had what she wanted. But maybe her criteria needed some tweaking.

Beyond his attractiveness, Rachel began to wonder why he’d come to this pub.

“Why did you follow me here?” Why hadn’t he approached her after she left the shop?

“I confess.” More charm oozed from him. “You looked so upset. I didn’t want to intrude.”

Intrude? “You had my wallet.” Hardly an intrusion to return it...

While he didn’t frighten her the way the other man had after her affair, she had to be careful. She didn’t know who’d threatened her back then. And Jared contacting her may have stirred danger. She snatched up her wallet and put it into her backpack, this time making sure she zipped it shut.

“Yes.” His smiling eyes made a pointed journey down her body and back up. “A perfect excuse to meet you.”

She gaped at him. Was he for real? She kept going back and forth between seeing him as an attractive man and someone untrustworthy. “Not interested.”

His confident grin slipped as she turned back to her coffee and sipped.

“In what?” he asked, as if he didn’t know.

Seeing his genuine perplexity, she said, “Thanks for returning my wallet, but I’d like you to leave me alone now.”

“Uh...sure...okay.” He continued to look at her.

Rachel decided to hurry and finish her coffee and go.

“I’m sorry.”

She turned to him. Why was he sorry?

“I shouldn’t have come on to you like that.”

“That’s not the only reason I want to be left alone.” She didn’t know why she kept talking to him. She really did want to be left alone now. “My boyfriend broke up with me in a text message.”

“Is that the, ‘You’ve been great. Take care’ guy?”

Rachel reeled again from the callousness of those heartlessly chosen words. “Yes.” She leaned a little closer to the stranger. “Do you all do that?”

“No. I always break up in person. If I’m the one doing the breaking up.”

Rachel didn’t think that happened to him very often. And she didn’t want to hang around to be the next woman he broke up with in person. She stood from the stool, lifting her backpack and tucking her phone in the same compartment as her wallet, zipping it shut.

“You’re leaving?” Luke asked.

“Yes. I came here for company but now I need to be alone.”

As she put the backpack on, Luke watched her, reluctant to let her go.

“When will I see you again?” he asked.

“You won’t.” She waved to the bartender. “Thanks, Hans.”

Luke noticed her friendly exchange, and Rachel realized she’d just revealed she knew the bartender, which also revealed she came here regularly.

Luke stood. “All right. I’ll see you here again sometime, then.”

She stopped from turning to go and his towering height flustered her, as did his impossibly blue-gray eyes. “Will I have to avoid my favorite hangout?”

“You’d avoid it?” His flirty grin returned.

Rachel feared her unwanted interest had begun to show. “No. Just you.”

He chuckled. “Have dinner with me, then. Somewhere nice. Quiet.”

“I told you I wasn’t interested.”

“I could have kept your wallet. Thank me for returning it by having dinner with me,” he said.

“You’d have kept my wallet?”

“No.”

She started for the door with a “Goodbye” tossed over her shoulder.

He didn’t say anything. When she glanced back, he didn’t seem so confident anymore. She’d shot him down, and he couldn’t believe why.

Rachel smiled before going outside. Luke Bradbury wasn’t a man accustomed to being rejected. His tenacity flattered her, but the cautionary instinct that had reared up when he’d said he’d followed her remained.

Walking up the street in falling snow, she caught sight of a car parked across the street and a man sitting inside. He looked right at her. Another admirer? The way he just sat there made her think not.

She walked faster toward her apartment.

Chapter 2

Lucas’s stepfather slapped his hand down onto the wooden desk, more indignant animation than anger. “I can’t lie!”

Joseph Tieber owned Bozeman, Montana’s, busiest private air transportation and tourism company. A pilot for more than thirty years, he now sat behind a desk and employed several young airplane and helicopter pilots and numerous other staff. Lucas wasn’t the executive he’d personified for Rachel, but his stepdad did make a lot of money on his passion for flight. He and Luella had been young when their dad died and their mother married Joseph less than a year later. While the transition had been rough, growing up with Joseph had always been an adventure.

“Even for Luella?” Lucas hated lowballing, but his motive had a lot of bite.

His stepdad sighed, full of defeat. He lowered his head as sorrow weighed him down, running a hand through his hair.

After a moment he rested his hands on the desk and lifted his head. “If you want me to hire this woman, why not create a job for her?”

“I mean to win her trust. Offering her a job like this will go a long way toward achieving that.” He hoped anyway. He may have difficulty convincing her to take the job. He hadn’t believed how quickly she’d shot him down. He’d dangled a subtle money carrot and she’d gotten up and left, refused an expensive dinner.

“I may be able to get her to talk, too,” his stepdad said.

Lucas was relieved he was coming around to his way of thinking. “Yes.”

“What if she recognizes me?” his dad asked.

“There wasn’t much news about Luella’s murder. There was something about the search for her for a while but nothing that will lead back to me. And you never adopted us. Luella and I are Curran, not Tieber.”

“She may have looked Luella up after she found out about the affair.”

“Luella didn’t like social media. There isn’t much about her on the internet. I checked. The news didn’t mention her maiden name. Right now Rachel only knows Luella as Luella Palmer, not Curran. She might put it together, but not before I get what I need from her.”

After mulling that over a little, his stepdad said, “I’ll swear my assistant to secrecy and temporarily reassign her elsewhere in the company. But I’m only doing this for Luella. For the record, I don’t approve of your deception.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Lucas stood.

Joseph stood with him. “Before you go, I want to talk to you some more about this vigilante agency you’ve gone and joined.”

“On my own I don’t have access to databases or certain types of equipment. Dark Alley has everything I need and more. Kadin even arranged for my fake identity. I have a driver’s license and everything.” He’d be a believable Luke Bradbury for Rachel. “I can work anywhere, too. Right here.”

“Your mother and I are thrilled you came home, Lucas, but we’re concerned with how far you’re taking this. We’re wondering if you should leave the investigation up to the local police.”

“Her case is cold.”

“They’re going to be pursuing the affair just like you are. I don’t see why you have to get involved. You should be concentrating on your own life. When are you going to settle down? We didn’t raise you to be an ineligible bachelor the rest of your life. Your mother would like grandchildren. Are you going to take that away from her?”

This had become an issue after his sister’s murder. It had been a small issue before, but now his mother had grown anxious over her reduced family. She was lonely, Lucas supposed, and mourning, still, the loss of her only daughter. His mother had crumbled after Luella’s death. Lucas would never forget the call early one morning. Some hikers had found a body, and police believed it was Luella. She would never be the same woman. A lot of his dad’s light had dimmed, too. Once a vivacious man who yearned to explore, he now went through his days with less fizz.

His father had never been one to push this before. His mother must be having a rough time. That only gave him more of a reason to be involved. The sooner he solved his sister’s murder, the sooner they all could move on with their lives.

“I’m doing this for all of us, Dad. I’ll give Mom grandchildren.” Just not right now. His first marriage had ended badly. He wasn’t in a rush to try that again.

* * *

A few days later Lucas waited for Rachel to leave her apartment. He’d planted a listening device in her wallet, a small, thin USB-like wireless voice-activated transmitter with a range of more than fifty feet and long-lasting batteries. He’d tucked it into one of the pockets behind the credit card sleeves. So far she hadn’t noticed it. He’d followed her the few times she’d left her apartment and heard her working on a computer, most likely looking for a new job. She’d walked to the grocery store once. Now he spotted Jared Palmer’s BMW, and sat up straighter in the driver’s seat.

Jared parked along the street and walked toward the apartment building entrance, glancing around as though making sure no one saw. Lucas had purchased a car with tinted windows. He also had an SUV. When Jared’s gaze passed over his vehicle, he paused a second and then looked elsewhere before facing the doors. He disappeared inside and moments later, Lucas heard Rachel let him up to her apartment.

“What are you doing here?” she asked when she let him in.

“You haven’t returned my calls.”

Lucas heard them move into the apartment, which was small enough for him to hear everything.

“I thought we decided not to see each other anymore,” Rachel said.

“It’s been a long time since Luella died. I haven’t forgotten you, Rachel.”

The rustle of clothes indicated Jared touched Rachel.

She moved away, going into the kitchen and turning on water. Did she need something to do? Did she still have feelings for Jared?

“I love you,” Jared said, having followed her.

Still? After all this time? Lucas found that peculiar. Why hadn’t they kept seeing each other? His wife had been murdered, but if he truly loved Rachel, wouldn’t he find a way to keep seeing her? Maybe he had. Maybe no one knew.

Rachel turned off the water and didn’t respond. Did she love him back? Maybe she’d loved his money.

“I’ve apologized for not telling you I was married.”

“Yes, but it doesn’t change the fact that you deceived me.”

So his lie about being married had run her off. But her heart may still be invested in him, even if her mind wasn’t.

This, Lucas hadn’t anticipated. That Jared had lied to Rachel, that she might not have gotten involved with him if she’d known he was married.

“Enough time has passed,” Jared said. “We can be together again. For real.”

For real. Their relationship had been a secret, until now, if Rachel agreed with whatever he proposed.

Again, Rachel said nothing.

“I can make your life easier, Rachel. I’m not a poor man.”

Lucas heard something metallic falling into the sink. Rachel must have dropped a utensil.

“I don’t care about money.”

Didn’t she? Jared must have doubts, too, because he chuckled and said, “Yes, you do.”

“I used to. Now I can see it just brought me unhappiness. I need to figure out what I really want in a man.”

She continued to surprise Lucas. Was she telling the truth?

“No one knows about us,” Jared said. “We can say we just met.” Had they split up to avoid suspicion? Lucas found this conversation highly questionable, at least on Jared’s side. He wasn’t sure about Rachel.

“I need you to stop calling me and coming over here. You don’t know what finding out you were married did to me. You hurt me.”

“I know that. I didn’t mean to. I met you and...it just happened. I’m sorry. I told you that. I’ve never been unfaithful to anyone until I met you.”

“I did have feelings for you, but that doesn’t matter anymore. You should go. And don’t come back.”

“We can be together,” Jared insisted. When she again didn’t respond, he said, “Think about it. I’ll call you in a few days.”

“No. Don’t.”

Jared sighed hard, her rejection frustrating him. “Just think about what I’ve said. Think about how good it was with us.”

Before she’d discovered he’d cheated, the ultimate betrayal.

“Go. Please.”

After a long pause, Lucas heard him going to the door.

The door closed and Rachel sighed. A thumping suggested she’d let her head fall against the door.

How did she feel about Jared? Something in the tentative way she’d sounded made him think she feared him.

* * *

Rachel brought her laptop to O’Shuck’s and sat at a table with her diet soda, logged on to the free Wi-Fi, searching for work on an online job board. It had been more than a week and still no prospects. She’d hoped to be back to work by now so she wouldn’t have to dip into her savings.

“May I?”

Startled, Rachel looked up to see Luke standing at her table, indicating the chair beside her. Before she could say no, he pulled out a chair and draped his leather jacket over the back.

“I thought I made myself clear the last time.” Although she’d known he’d try to catch her here, she’d hoped he’d show up at the wrong times. Had he followed her again? Apprehension made her tense. Jared’s visit couldn’t be a coincidence. Could it? Was it all starting again?

“Yeah, but I know you’re at least a little curious about me.” He sat down.

Curious. In a scary way. A weird way. Wary of his true purpose, but not wary of the genuine attraction they had. He’d picked up on that hint. Maybe he thought he could use it to his advantage. She’d play along for now.

She noticed he wore jeans tonight. No suit. Leaning back against her chair, she said, “Dressing down tonight?”

He gave himself away when he glanced down at his chest—a very impressive chest in the snug black Henley. “Not working.”

“You work?” She deliberately goaded him. What was his story anyway? The way he’d waited to return her wallet, claiming to be attracted, felt true but something rang off about him.

He smiled in a staged way. “You don’t think I work?”

“I think you wore that suit for a reason, but I don’t think it was work.”

“Really? Why not?” He seemed impressed by her keen observation, and a little wary.

“Who goes to the mall in a suit at dinnertime?”

Leaning back, he propped his ankle on his knee. “Probably lots of people.”

“Not you.” She drank some of her soda, eyeing him with acute awareness.

After a few moments studying her, his smile smoothed into genuine sincerity.

“All right. You’ve got me. I’ve seen you before I found your wallet. I dressed in the suit to impress you. You losing your wallet presented me with what I thought was a perfect opportunity to meet you,” he said.

“So you’re admitting to spying on me.”

“No. I didn’t spy on you. I saw you at the mall when you were working. After I couldn’t get you off my mind, I went back.”

“So, you’re a stalker?”

He grunted a laugh. “No. I saw you in passing. I didn’t hang around to watch you.”

“Go to the mall often?”

“Men need clothes, too.” He put his foot down and sat relaxed in the face of her interrogation.

She eyed him, not completely buying his story. Maybe he had dressed in the suit to impress her, and when that had failed, he’d dressed as he normally did. Why the suit, though?

He may be sincere, but she still felt unsure of his true motive. Had he ever taken no from a woman? With his hot looks, she didn’t think so. Unfortunately for him, she’d had too many bad experiences with men to be interested in giving another a chance anytime soon.

“I told you before, I wasn’t—”

“I’d like to help you with a job,” he cut her off.

Offer her a...

“What?”

“I have a friend who runs a transport company. His assistant quit, and he needs someone to replace her.”

She scrutinized his face, looking for signs of falseness. She found none. He’d come here to help her find a job.

“I heard you talking to your boss. I heard her fire you. You’re beautiful. I wanted to meet you, but the timing seemed bad. I followed you and here we are.”

She bought that he’d been attracted. She also maybe bought her getting fired had ruined his plans to meet her. But she didn’t feel he’d given her the whole truth. Did she want to start something with him?

He might have a job for her.

“You must have other intentions,” she said.

He grinned. “Of course. I buy time to woo you out to dinner with me.”

By arranging work for her—with his friend—he’d have opportunities to come and see her, to try and get to know her, to try and...

She ran a look down his broad, muscular chest and back up to the tough planes of his blond, stubbled face. Maybe she should say no. Then she thought of her graduation, how close she was to achieving her dream. If she took this job, she didn’t have to date Luke. He couldn’t make her do anything she didn’t want to do.

“How do you know your friend would hire me?” she asked.

“I’ve already spoken with him. Do you know how to use Microsoft software?”

“Yes. I’ve actually...done that kind of work before.” She didn’t say where or for whom.

“Then it’s settled. All you have to do is call him.” He took out a card and handed it to her.

After staring at him through her uncertainty, questions racing over whether she should follow her impulse and trust him, she reached out and took the card. She read the name. Joseph Tieber, Chief Executive Officer and founder of Tieber Air Transport.

She moved her gaze to him, dumbfounded. He offered her a lifeline, this stranger who found her attractive. A thousand red flags waved in her mind, but if he was going to hurt her or threaten her, wouldn’t he have done so by now? The man who’d threatened her before wouldn’t have offered her a job. He had to be someone different. Luke wasn’t that man.

“Why are you doing this?” she finally asked.

He grinned, and she thought he looked a little triumphant. “Because I can. And I’ve told you, I have a selfish reason. I’d like to take you to dinner.”

Rachel placed the card on the table and rested her hand over it. She needed a job. Desperately. Her plans would be ruined without income. She patted her hand up and down on the card.

He reached over and put his on top of hers, stopping the nervous action. “Give it some thought.”

It was the second time in a short period a man had told her to think about something personal. She looked from his ringless hand to his muscular chest and strong biceps, up to his amazing eyes. Warmth zinged her unexpectedly, a purely physical reaction to a drop-dead gorgeous man.

Unsettled over her quick and passionate reaction that could get her into trouble, she said nothing as he stood.

“Wait.” She wasn’t sure why she stopped him. Something nudged her to get to know him better. He’d just offered her a job, a perfect stranger. She had to know why, and it had to be more than finding her attractive. What was his story? Why had he singled her out?

He turned back to the table, studying her and coming to some conclusion he didn’t share. Had she caught him off guard? Did he know she had questions about him and did he not like that?

Rachel prided herself on being street-smart. She could tell when someone wasn’t being completely open and honest, and this man fit the bill.

“Why don’t you have a soda with me?” She gestured to the chair he’d vacated.

He looked down at her glass as though surprised. “Soda?”

She smiled, content her tactic had worked. Distraction for extraction. Extraction of information, that is. “I always have soda when I come here. I only drank coffee the last time because I was fired that day and I was feeling reckless.”

He grinned, sitting down while she waved to Hans.

“One more for him. No diet, though.” She checked him to confirm and he nodded once.

She watched him settle back against the chair, eyes shrewd and onto her.

“All right,” he said, “now you’ve got me. What do you want to know?”

She held back the smile that pushed to spread. His sharp intelligence tickled her senses despite her reservations. But did he think she’d invited him to stay out of sexual interest or interest in his motives?

“I’d like to know more about the man who’s supposedly getting me a job just because he thinks I’m sexy.”

“Supposedly?”

“Nothing’s sure until it’s sure.”

He hesitated, seeming reluctant to continue, catching on that her interest was not sexual. “I recently bought some property outside of town. I’ve been working on it for a few months.”

That was something personal, all right. “A ranch?”

“Yes, but not a working ranch. It’s purely for my selfish enjoyment.”

He had money. A lot, from the sound of it. Normally, that would appeal to her, but now she wanted to be more careful. Her financial hardship should not stain her decisions when it came to men, as it had in the past. When she graduated, she’d get a great job and take care of herself. She’d have fine things, things she wanted—whatever she wanted. She didn’t need a man to obtain that.

“I’m the son of a dot-commer,” he said in her silence.

So his rich parents would give him everything. Weird how that disappointed her. Affluent men had always intrigued her. Their ambition. Their way of life. Their intelligence. She may have had a tough start to life, but she would finish grandly. Her intelligence matched any man with money. If she was totally honest, though, she’d say money made life easier. She wanted an easier life. That was why she’d gone to college.

“Did you ever want to do anything professionally with your degree?” she asked. “Or have you?”

He hesitated again. “No, not professionally. I trained to be a SEAL after college.”

That took her aback. “Really?” He was a big man. Tall. Muscular. But not overly so. He had the rugged appearance to be good at something like that.

His gaze dropped, and he turned the glass of soda on the table.

“You’re a SEAL?”

“No.” He hesitated yet again. “I quit before the end of training.”

She could tell he had difficulty talking about this. His quitting bothered him. Uncertain as to whether she should question him further, Rachel held off. She didn’t know him and wasn’t sure she wanted to know him any more than she did. She liked successful men. She didn’t consider his being born into money his own success. And he’d quit SEAL training. The fact that it bothered him didn’t make him a quitter.

She resisted real attraction brewing, deeper than any suit could ignite. This man had a heroic streak in him. No corporate executive could compare to that.

He turned away, giving her time to calm her stirring excitement.

“Why did you quit?” she couldn’t resist asking.

Slowly, he faced her again, in control of his emotions. “I didn’t want to.”

Rachel didn’t press him to say more. He’d quit; he hadn’t been disqualified. He hadn’t failed the training. He’d quit. He’d aspired to be a SEAL, and something had happened to make him quit. She caught herself looking all over his face and upper torso. Sexy. Strong. A definite fit for SEAL material...but...heir to a dot-commer...

It didn’t fit.

How many pampered men like him tried out for SEAL training? Did he think he was special, or was he the real deal?

“What about you?” he asked, turning on the charm again. “All I know about you is that you’re beautiful.”

She couldn’t help smiling. What girl didn’t like compliments like that? “I graduate in May next year. Business. I’m getting my MBA.”

He whistled. “MBA? How long have you been going to school?”

“Years. I take classes when I can.” When she could afford to.

He looked at her differently now, as though he’d just learned something unexpected about her.

“What,” she teased, “haven’t you ever met a poor college student before?”

“No.”

She supposed he wouldn’t, growing up with all that money.

“How old are you?” he asked.

“Thirty-one. I started college after...” She drifted off, not meaning to take the conversation there.

“After...”

She turned to him. “That’s all you need to know...for now.”

He sat there, relaxed on the chair, comfortable, confident and wholly absorbed in her—in her sharp wit...and her looks, of course. She felt the draw to that.

“I’m thirty-seven.” He stood up. “I should get going. Call my friend. He’ll give you a job. It’s a good job.”

A good job. Would it be?

“See you soon, Rachel.” With that, he walked out of the pub without a glance back.

When he vanished from sight, Rachel picked up the card. She almost picked up her cell and called right then. Instead, she refrained. His job came with strings, invisible ones.

Chapter 3

Rachel decided her future took precedence over her wariness of Luke. She needed a job. Her landlord came by last night, asking for rent again. This morning she called Joseph, and he told her to come meet him at two o’clock. Dressed in gray slacks and a collared white blouse, she sat in the reception area, open to four floors above, closed doors off the square and light streaming in through the atrium overhead.

A woman appeared through one of the double glass doors, walking like a runway model in her sleek black skirt suit and blouse peeking through the opening of her fitted jacket. She checked Rachel out as though sizing up the competition.

“Rachel Delany?”

“Yes.” She plastered a smile on her face and stood, reaching for the woman’s hand.

The woman looked down at her hand and then turned without taking it.

“Something I said?” Rachel muttered.

The woman didn’t glance at her so maybe she hadn’t heard.

“Do you have a name?” Rachel asked.

“Marcy Sanders,” she said without looking her way.

“Nice to meet you, Marcy.”

The woman stopped at an office and pushed the door open wider, backing out of the way to allow Rachel to pass, bestowing her with unfriendly regard as she passed.

“Thank you,” Rachel said.

Marcy shut the door.

“Rachel Delany.” The tall, trim man with salt-and-pepper hair and glasses stood from his mahogany desk and leaned across the shiny wood to extend his hand.

She took it for a brief shake. “I can’t thank you enough for this.”

“No need. My... Luke’s told me all about you. I’m happy to help out when I can.”

“This is a big way to help out. My landlord will be relieved.”

He smiled and sat down as she took a seat.

“Will I be stepping on toes taking this position?” she asked.

“Never mind Marcy. She’ll recover just fine when I tell her what she’s being compensated for shifting positions.”

“Oh, so I’m taking her job.” Rachel nodded. “Mr. Tieber, I really don’t want to—”

He held his hand up to stop her. “First, call me Joseph, and second, you aren’t taking anyone’s job. Marcy wanted to transfer anyway. She’ll be working for General Counsel.”

“Does she know that?”

“She knows she’s transferring. I haven’t told her where yet because I had to make arrangements with General Counsel first. She’ll be happy, don’t worry.”

Rachel felt better. “Then I’m excited to be a part of your team.”

“After I tell Marcy the good news, she’ll show you around and train you for your new role. Welcome to Tieber Air Transport.”

Rachel couldn’t subdue a beaming smile, one that Joseph noticed.

“How exactly did you meet Luke?” he asked.

Embarrassment threatened to flush her face. “He returned my wallet to me after I lost it.”

“He said as much. He also said you were fired the day you met.”

“Yes. The bus broke down and I was late getting to work.”

“Will you have trouble getting to work here?”

“No. I’ll take the bus.”

“Well, if you’re going to be late because of the bus, just call me and let me know.”

“I will. Thank you.” What a nice man. He made her feel so welcome.

He picked up the phone. “Marcy, would you please come in?”

Rachel started to stand.

“No, you stay here.”

Marcy came into the office with her stormy scowl. She stood beside the chairs. “Yes, Mr. Tieber?”

“I spoke with Mr. Jordan this morning. His assistant put in her notice last week, and he has an opening. You’ll start there in the morning.”

Marcy’s mouth opened, and her eyes brightened. “Really?”

“Yes, so I’ll expect you to be nicer to Rachel, here. I need you to train her to do your job.”

“Of course. I’d be happy to.” She smiled at Rachel. “Come on, let’s get started.”

Rachel left the office and followed Marcy to her new cubicle. Marcy sat down, and Rachel pulled a chair beside her.

“Did you really get fired because the bus broke down?” Marcy opened her email. When Rachel turned in silent question, Marcy added, “I listened to you talking to Joseph. Sorry.”

“That’s my luck.”

“You’re that unlucky?” Marcy breathed a laugh. “It can’t be that bad.”

“Oh, yes, it can. It started when I was thirteen.”

“A handful for your parents, huh?”

“My parents are dead. But yes, I was a handful.” The regret in her tone rang true. Rachel couldn’t hide the emotion and wished she’d never brought it up.

* * *

After giving Rachel a few days to get settled in, Lucas arrived at his stepdad’s company. Rachel wasn’t at her desk when he went into Joseph’s office.

“It’s about time you showed up here,” his dad said.

Lucas shut the door and went to the chair before the big desk.

“When are you going to tell Rachel the truth?” his stepdad asked.

“When I’m sure she had nothing to do with Luella’s murder.”

“She isn’t the type of woman to do that. Marcy just told me all about her. Apparently, they’ve been getting close through her training. Did you know her parents died when she was thirteen?”

“Rachel’s?” She hadn’t mentioned it, but then, they didn’t know each other yet. And she kept her distance from him.

“Ran away from two foster homes. Arrested for theft.”

She sounded like a perfect suspect. “And you want me to tell her who I am?”

“She stole food and money. She lost her parents. She was going through a rough time. She’s a sweet girl, Lucas.”

He couldn’t believe it. His stepdad had fallen for Rachel.

“She just might be good for you.”

“I barely know her. And you don’t, either.” It hadn’t even been a week, and Joseph had him seeing Rachel romantically.

“She got her GED at twenty, and now she’s going to graduate with a business degree. She’s turned her life around. You should tell her before it’s too late. You should have never lied in the first place.”

“I want her to talk about her relationship with Jared.”

“Well, hurry up and do it. I don’t like being part of this deception.”

All right. Lucas would step up the pace, turn on the heat a little more—seductive heat. With Rachel, that would be easy.

* * *

Rachel looked up as she heard Joseph’s office door open, startled to see Luke appear. She hadn’t seen him come in. She shouldn’t be surprised to see him. He and Joseph were friends.

“Rachel,” he said with a disarming smile.

She prepared herself to be wooed. “Hello.”

“Have dinner with me tonight.”

For a moment he tempted her. But something about him still kept her wary. “I have to study.”

“I’ve given you a few days. Now it’s time for you to thank me for getting you this job.”

“Thank you for getting me this job.”

“I’m not taking no for an answer.”

Behind him, Joseph stood in the doorway. “Go on, Rachel, he doesn’t bite.”

She caught the wily way Luke glanced at him and wondered what the exchange meant. Well, she had an opportunity to ask him, get him to open up.

“All right. Dinner.” She reached for her purse.

“I’ll have a car brought around,” Joseph said.

While Rachel wondered why he went out of his way to accommodate, Luke extended his hand to her.

She stood without taking it. “Slow down, fancy man.”

Joseph had a limo waiting for them by the time they made it down to the lobby. Her suspicion grew.

“What did the two of you talk about?” she asked.

The driver opened the door and she got in, Luke behind her.

“You,” he surprised her by saying.

“Me?”

“He told me about your parents.”

Not expecting that, Rachel faced forward.

“I’m sorry. That must have been rough on you.”

Rough. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to not having them around, or the sudden way they had been ripped out of her life. All through junior high and high school, she’d felt so different from everyone else. No one understood her loss. Other kids had parents who picked them up and took them to activities and showed up for events at school. Not her. She had to take care of herself. As an only child, she’d been close to both her parents.

“They were a lot of fun to be with,” she said.

“Any kid would have rebelled. I hope you don’t regret what you did.”

She didn’t respond for a while. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything to Marcy.” She’d been so easy to talk to, though, once she realized she had nothing to fear from her.

“You straightened your life out.”

She breathed out a scoff.

“You’re not in jail.”

No. Not in jail. She’d been close to crossing a bad line.

“What changed it for you?” Luke asked.

She found the question awfully insightful for a man who knew so little about her. He and Joseph must have really had a talk about her. He got her thinking about that. The only thing she hadn’t told Marcy was about Jared. The juvenile record must have come up in her background check through the hiring process.

“After my third arrest, the judge made me go to counseling and said if I didn’t go he’d keep me in jail. The counselor helped me. He talked to me about my parents and reached me. He asked what my parents would think of the way I was behaving.” That still had the power to choke her up. Such a simple thing to ask, and yet such a profound impact on her. “They would have been upset. Disappointed. Unhappy. I didn’t want to do anything that would make my parents unhappy. It took me a few years to figure out what to do. I worked a job or two but stayed at my third foster home until I got my GED and saved enough money to get a place of my own.”

“So it was the counselor who changed it for you?”

She hadn’t thought about the path in her life like this before, that there had been some exterior trigger that had steered her in the right direction. But it hadn’t been the counselor. He’d helped her emotionally.

“No,” she said. “It was the job I got at an insurance company, my first real job. I made good money for someone who had a juvie record. I felt really lucky.” And then she’d discovered something about the company that had ruined it all. As her thoughts ran into everything that had followed, she didn’t feel like talking anymore.

“What company?”

The limo had stopped in front of the restaurant.

“We’re here,” she said, and got out before the driver could open her door.

Stepping up to the entrance, she endured Luke’s curious glances. He’d noticed her unwillingness to talk further about her one and only good job. She stole a closer look at him. He met her gaze and in the brief moment, they connected, enough for her to see suspicion...or maybe disappointment.

* * *

Lucas rode in the back of the limo with Rachel, neither of them saying anything since leaving the restaurant. He’d tried to get her to talk about her job at the insurance company over dinner, but she’d fielded his questions—or more like blatantly changed the subject. She handled herself professionally, graciously countering his attempts with questions of her own.

How did your friend get his business going?

How long have you known Joseph?

Have you ever worked for him?

After the third question she refused to answer, he’d given up. He could tell she hadn’t missed his probing. She must realize he wanted to know more, even, perhaps, that he found her reluctance suspect.

While his wariness of her remained intact, her golden-brown eyes kept flashing up to his—strong, unflinching and magnetizing. Her beauty threw him off when he least needed.

The limo came to a stop in front of her apartment building. Cracked concrete, missing bricks, boarded-up windows and next to no exterior lighting brought the gentleman out in him. Frustrated or not, he couldn’t allow her to walk to her apartment alone at this time of night.

“I’ll walk you.”

“No need. Thanks for dinner.” She opened the car door.

Lucas got out with her, stopping the driver from doing so, as well. His long strides easily caught up to her as she headed for the front doors.

“I can handle myself just fine,” she said.

She must have lived like this for a long time to say something like that. Ignoring her, he opened one of the doors for her, not seeing a doorman anywhere, or even anyone at the enclosed desk.

She went to the elevators, facing him after pressing the up button. “You can go now.”

He couldn’t leave on a note like this, with her bothered by his probing and him bothered by her secrecy. “The door isn’t locked. Anyone can come in here.”

“Of course they can. This isn’t Manhattan.”

The elevator doors opened. Rachel got in and reached for the close button, but he stepped in before she could shut him out.

She moved to the back and leaned with her arms folded, her avoidance in talking about her past hanging between them. If he was going to win her trust he had to ease up on her, and maybe lighten the mood. Even dressed conservatively in a knee-length, slightly flaring gray skirt and white, ruffle-collared blouse, she looked sexy. Silky brunette hair draped over her shoulders to the tops of her round breasts. Her outfit didn’t conceal her curves. Lucas doubted anything would do that. She’d have to be wearing a bag for that to happen.

He noticed how she became aware of his inspection, a warming one, and she responded. He loved how she did that, such an unconscious reaction. Her instincts kicked in and their attraction heated the elevator. He took a step toward her just as the doors opened.

Grinning, he offered her to precede him. With the tiniest of smiles, she did. One small step toward winning her back over to his side.

He glanced at her on the way to her apartment. She noticed, and the physical awareness worked in his favor. Even if she sidestepped him with her secrets, a baser part of her had other ideas. At her door, she faced him.

“Well, here I am,” she said. “Safe and sound.”

He stepped forward, testing her space. Her eyes grew less playful, but heated curiosity remained. Never before had he deliberately kissed a woman. He’d always waited for the right moment. Not this time.

She put her hand on his chest, and for a moment he thought she’d refuse him. “Are you always this pushy with women?”

“Is this pushy?” He leaned in slowly, watching her eyes, feeling her hands press firmer on his chest, but not enough to pass as refusal. He hovered over her mouth just in case. Those golden-brown orbs blinked. Softly, he caressed at first, moving over her lips awhile before reaching with his tongue to ask for entry.

She parted her lips, and he kissed her as expertly as he could. He put all his experience into this kiss. A lot rode on its success. But as she responded with a warm sigh and an answering tongue, he lost control. No longer deliberate, desire made him slide his arm down to her rear and angle his head for a deeper connection. The sweet confection of her mouth, the soft curves of her breasts now crushed against him, the feel of her firm butt in his palm, all swarmed into his consciousness, obliterating reason.

Nearly a full minute later, he withdrew, so inflamed he didn’t think he could step back and leave. No, he wanted to go inside with her.

He stood breathing with her, his forehead against hers.

She tipped her face up, and he found himself kissing her again. Blood rushed to his groin. Already hard from the first kiss, he could burst now.

“Let me in,” he said, kissing down her neck to the top of her blouse.

“Oh,” she breathed. “I don’t even know you.”

“We can talk first.” He came back up to her mouth. “Maybe.”

She laughed with him, deep, sultry sounds. Then she turned in his arms and unlocked her door while he kissed her neck. She managed to get the door open and he followed her inside.

Those few seconds opened enough clarity for him to slow down. As she backed up with fiery eyes cooling, he could see she’d begun to simmer down, as well.

“Uh... Coffee?”

“Sure.” He followed her into her kitchen, just a couple steps from the entrance. A two-chair table took up most of the small dining area. Her apartment was little more than a hotel room, with a daybed on one side of the studio and living area on the other.

Rachel went about preparing a pot of coffee. “You never did tell me why you quit the SEAL training.”

For a moment he wondered if she’d asked on purpose, digging for the most personal information on him. To douse the passion? How could she know the weight of her question? He considered doing as she’d done, blatantly changing the subject. But then he’d lose ground in winning her trust.

Clamping down angst, he said as neutrally as he could, “I got married.”

Rachel paused in her task to look back at him. “Didn’t she support your wishes?”

“She told me she was pregnant. I didn’t want to quit, but I didn’t want to have a baby and be gone all the time. My plan was to work as a SEAL for a few years and then settle down. I thought being careless with her was just as much my fault as hers.” He wished he didn’t have to continue.

The coffee had begun to brew, the rich aroma filling the apartment. Rachel got out two cups and put them down.

“What happened?” she asked when he didn’t go on.

Bitterness welled up as always when he thought of this. Was telling her worth using it to gain her trust? Luella’s smiling face and laughter came to him, a memory of the time when they were kids and she threw water balloons at him. He’d just come home from his job as a burger-flipper, his first one. He’d had a really bad day and yearned for college so he could get away from fast food. As soon as he’d gotten out of the old Camaro, she’d sprung out from the garage with an armful of balloons. She’d dropped some, but a couple had gotten him good.

He’d found her stash and broke a few of them on her. They’d both been dripping wet by the time they ran out of balloons. That was Luella, spontaneous, worry-free, always looking for her next source of laughter. That day the source had been him.

Later, he’d found out his mother had told her he’d had a rotten day. He’d talked to his mother after he left work because she’d left a message asking him to stop for a pound of hamburger meat for dinner.

He and Luella had been so close growing up. And now she was dead. All her bubbly life had been taken from her.

Yeah. She was worth telling Rachel about his ex-wife.

“After we were married, she told me she wasn’t pregnant. She tried to tell me she had a miscarriage, but when I asked her to show me her medical records, she wouldn’t produce them. That led to a long fight. Finally, she confessed and said the only way I’d marry her is if she told me she was pregnant.”

Rachel’s mouth dropped open, an automatic response.

“I got a divorce,” he said. “But that didn’t get me back in SEAL training.”

Now Rachel shook her head. “Why do people lie about things like that?”

“She fought for me to stay married to her, too.” He scoffed at the audacity.

“I might be able to forgive but, yeah, never able to trust or love that person again. If anyone can carry out a lie that size, what else are they willing to do to get their way?”

She meant Jared. Like her, Lucas had learned the hard way that people could say things that sounded believable when inside their thoughts ran another agenda. His ex had been that way. He’d believed her teary profession that she was pregnant, that she was so sorry, that she hadn’t planned on it happening. The one thing he believed most was her claim that she hadn’t been thinking when they slept together. He hadn’t, either. But she had been thinking afterward.

He recalled how she’d pursued him, a hot navy SEAL trainee. Young. Virile. She’d been upset when he’d told her he quit. She wanted a SEAL for a husband. No doubt she’d have enjoyed his deployments, freeing her up for affairs.

“You’re really upset about that,” Rachel said.

He looked down to see the steaming cup she offered. “I made a mistake quitting. I’m not a quitter, but the SEALs see it differently.”

“You think you should have married her and not quit.”

“Yes. I’d have learned she lied either way.”

“You put fatherhood first. There’s nothing shameful about that. She lied to you. You did nothing wrong.”

“Justify it any way you like. The fact remains that I quit.”

“There are worse things in life.”

“Dying. That’s it.”

She sipped her coffee. “Well, you didn’t die, so be thankful instead of bitter. There’s nothing you can do to change the past.”

Everything happens for a reason? “Is that how you view your juvenile record?”

Holding the cup with both hands, she averted her gaze and then returned it to him. “I’m not perfect. I wish I could change my past, but yes, I know I can’t.”

“You’re bitter about it?”

“No, not bitter. Just...regretful. I used to be angry at the world and the universe and God for killing my parents. Now... I realize it’s just...life.”

They shared a long look. She seemed so good. Nice. Honest. Nothing like what he’d expected. Maybe he should give her a chance. Maybe he should tell her the truth.

He’d just gotten finished telling her how his ex-wife had lied to him. She could see how much that had hurt him. How could he do the same to someone else? Granted, his lie wasn’t as life-altering as his ex’s, but it was still a lie.

She stepped toward him, reaching for his face, caressing him, and then pressed her body to him.

“Rachel...” How could he begin?

“Shh.” Her forefinger ran across his lips and stopped in the middle. Then she slid her hand around to the back of his neck as she rose up onto her toes to kiss him.

“There’s something...” I need to tell you stayed in his mind as she opened her mouth and kissed him in earnest.

He drew her closer, intense passion firing. Just a little more of this and then he’d tell her. He felt her fingers in his hair, felt her move as though yearning to be closer. Kissing her became strained. He wanted her naked. Sexual desire gnawed at him.

“This is crazy,” she whispered against his mouth.

He kissed her. Crazy. Yes. She had no idea.

“Why do you turn me on so much?” She dug her fingers into his hair again, pressing him to her mouth for another firecracker kiss.

“I want you so much,” she said. “I’ve never felt this kind of passion before.” And then, with that, she stepped back, her hands still on his chest as though stopping touching him was the most difficult thing she’d ever had to do. “Why you?”

Logic sank through the drugging desire. What a question. He didn’t have an answer. He could ask the same about her. Why her?

Chapter 4

Rachel couldn’t stop thinking about Luke. Over dinner he’d been so obsessed with her job at the insurance company she wondered if he had something wrong with him. Would he turn into a stalker or something equally weird or more dangerous? But then that inexplicable attraction she had, and he for her—she felt it between them, a living thing that kept expanding. That was what made her invite him in.

Talking the way they had changed her perception of him. He’d revealed himself, more than he had so far. Where before she felt he’d played a role, last night she’d gotten to know the real Luke Bradbury. And she liked him.

Leaving the break room toward the end of her workday, she started down the hall toward her desk. Hearing a laugh that sounded like Marcy’s, she stopped and headed in its direction. Might as well say good-night.

“I know. She thinks this is real,” Marcy said. “Like we’re all really her friends.”

Rachel stopped short on the other side to the cubicle wall.

“What’s Joseph going to do when she finds out?” another woman asked.

Was she talking about Rachel? She had to be.

Rachel felt coldness spread through her face, and prickles of apprehension sank down her arms, making her hands tremble.

“Hire somebody else, I guess. I’m not going back to work for him. He knows I want the job in Legal.”

They were talking about her. No.

Betrayal snaked into her. In seconds she added up what this meant.

“Why did Lucas lie to her? Why not tell the truth?” Marcy’s friend asked.

Yeah, Rachel wanted to know the same thing. Lucas? Was that his real name? He’d lied to her about his name? His identity?

“His ex-wife’s been calling, did you know that?” Marcy didn’t answer her friend’s question.

“No. Are they getting back together?”

Rachel swam in confusion. Who was this man? Did his ex-wife really lie to him? Had he made it all up?

“I bet she’d like that. Who wouldn’t? He’s hot.”

“And rich.”

The two laughed in borderline giggles.

“I almost feel sorry for Rachel,” Marcy’s friend said.

“She’s going to find out what he’s up to eventually,” Marcy said. “It won’t be too hard for her to figure out.”

“Did Joseph tell you why Lucas wanted him to hire her or why they lied about who they were?” Marcy’s friend asked her question again.

“No, but I heard Lucas joined some hotshot private detective agency. Have you heard about that guy whose daughter was kidnapped and killed a few years ago? Kadin Tandy?”

“No. Who is he?”

“He’s famous for his involvement in cold cases. Dark Alley Investigations is the name of his agency. He only takes cold cases. People go to him for help in finding their lost kids or family members, or to help them solve their murders.”

“Really? Lucas was sexy before, but that makes him even more so. Maybe we should tell Rachel about him. Have you seen the way he looked at her yesterday?” Rachel pictured Marcy’s friend fanning her face in her pause. “Could have lit the place on fire.”

“Are you sure?”

“Oh, yeah. I don’t even think he’s aware of what he’s doing.”

Marcy’s cell phone chimed. “Gotta go. My new boss is texting me.”

“Don’t stir up any trouble,” her friend said.

Marcy laughed softly and left the cube. She saw Rachel and froze.

Rachel pivoted and headed for Joseph’s office. He was still in his meeting. She didn’t care. She went to the boardroom and flung the door open so hard it banged against the wall.

Joseph sat at the head of the conference room table, four other men in suits lining both sides. He looked up at her and didn’t have to be told what she’d just found out.

“Why did Lucas lie to me?” Of course, she already knew. This must have something to do with her job at the insurance company. And Jared...

“Rachel.” Joseph stood up while the other four men watched in riveted interest. “I didn’t want to go along with this.”

“Why?” She felt tears threaten and refused to give in to them now.

“Lucas should explain it to you. I warned him not to lie to you. I told him he should be honest.”

He wasn’t going to tell her. Rachel turned and walked fast to her cubicle—no, not her cubicle, Marcy’s cubicle. Except Marcy wouldn’t take her job back, one she’d had to vacate to allow for this farce to play out.

“Rachel, we found out about you and Jared, and Lucas wanted to try and get you to talk about it.”

Talk about what? What about her and Jared. Not needing to hear another word, afraid of what might come to light, she grabbed her purse and hurried for the exit.

Joseph followed her. “Rachel. Just let us both explain.”

She reached the front entrance, security guards and a few visitors stopping what they were doing to watch.

Joseph took hold of her arm and stopped her.

Rachel looked away but didn’t try to pull away. He’d seemed so nice to her, like a father figure. That stung most of all.

“I told him what a lovely young woman you are. You aren’t what he initially thought. I knew this would end badly. And now it has, and I regret my part in it. I offer you my sincerest apology. Please believe I have tremendous respect for you and sympathize with all you’ve been through. You are a kind, giving and brave woman. I can only ask that someday you’ll forgive at least me.”

That softened her marginally, but not enough to make up for the hurt.

“I thought this was for real,” she said, tears threatening again. The last time she’d cried was the last night she’d spent in jail.

“It can be. The job is still yours if you want it. Take all the time you need.” With that he let go of her arm.

Rachel saw genuine regret and apology in him and had to believe he’d meant what he said.

“Unfortunately, I think it’s too late.” She turned and left the building, wiping a tear away, angry it had slipped free.

She walked to a faraway bus stop and finally boarded, staring out the window all the way to the stop near her apartment. Had everything Luke—Lucas—told her been a lie? Last night had seemed so genuine. But he’d left out a few facts, more than just his real name. He worked for a place called Dark Alley Investigations, a place that investigated cold cases. It could mean only one thing.

Lucas had joined the agency to look into Luella Palmer’s murder. Was Joseph her father? Was Lucas his friend, as he’d said?

She took out her older model smartphone and began to slowly navigate the internet, searching for anything relating to Joseph Tieber. She searched for Luella as well, and found a news story on her murder. An obituary said Joseph Tieber was her father and Lucas her brother. Lucas Curran, not Bradbury. Reading that stung. Who was he? She didn’t know him at all, a man she’d slept with.

Was Joseph his stepfather? They had different last names. Had Luella been Tieber or Curran before she married Jared? She had an urgent need to know and berated herself for allowing her feelings to run her out of the office before making Joseph tell her. Humiliation didn’t make her eager to face him again. Or Lucas.

Not wanting to go home with all the chaos mixing in her mind, Rachel stayed on the bus, and then two hours later found herself walking toward Joseph’s house. She remembered his address from some documents that had required she list it. All she needed was information. The truth. Not knowing who Lucas truly was would prevent her from getting closure. She’d rather face Joseph than Lucas. Joseph should be home from work by now. She’d talk to him and then she’d put this behind her and move on with her life.

Another hour later she walked up Joseph’s spectacular street, huge and luxurious houses spaced far apart on giant lots. She went up to the front door and knocked.

A woman answered. Dyed blond hair, average height and weight, she looked well preserved and warily curious.

Rachel heard a television somewhere inside; the sound echoed in the cathedral-like entry. She had never seen anything so grand in her life. On TV, but not in person.

“Yes?” the woman asked.

“Is Joseph here?”

“He isn’t home from work yet. Who...” The woman searched Rachel’s face as though trying to place her.

“I work for your husband. A-at least, I used to work for him.”

More understanding smoothed the woman’s face, but her confusion remained. “What are you doing here?”

“I...” Rachel lowered her head, at a loss for how to explain and not sure she should. This woman was a stranger, and Rachel didn’t feel like explaining what had occurred.

“Wait a minute.” The woman pointed her finger as something dawned on her. “You’re that girl. The one who had the affair with our daughter’s husband.”

“I’m sorry.” Rachel started to turn, expecting animosity. “I intruded. I’ll go now.”

The woman stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm. “Wait.”

Startled, Rachel looked into blue-gray eyes much like Lucas’s, and instead of wrath, she saw kindness. Warmth.

“I assume you found out?” Lucas’s mother said.

“Really, I should go. I shouldn’t have come here.”

“Joseph said you would.”

Rachel didn’t understand what she meant.

“Find out,” the woman clarified, hooking her arm with Rachel’s. “Come in. Let’s talk.”

The woman guided her inside, taking her to a wide-open living room that magnetized Rachel.

“Have a seat and we’ll talk this through. My son and husband don’t give the technique much credence when they really should.”

Rachel didn’t resist the woman’s wishes. Joseph must have told her some things, things he’d asked Rachel to believe.

She sat on a gigantic sectional. Something shifted in her, a deep, long-forgotten sense of caring, of being cared for. This woman could have turned her away. Instead, she welcomed her. Since her affair and the loss of her one good job, Rachel had alienated herself from her friends. She had no family, other than a few distant cousins too far removed to count.

“I’m Gloria Tieber. Why don’t you start by telling me how you did find out?”

Rachel would have retreated, were it not for Gloria’s simple approach. “I overheard Marcy talking.” She turned away with the renewed sting that memory packed.

“Don’t mind her. Whatever she said, she said it because she’s jealous. Joseph was going to transfer her no matter what. He isn’t a game-player. He won’t tolerate anyone who is. He prefers people who shoot straight. Like you.”

Rachel brought her thoughts back around.

“It’s not like him to lie,” Gloria said. “But he’d do anything for Lucas. They’ve been close ever since Joseph and I met. Took to each other right away.”

“Lucas isn’t his son?” She already knew, only needed confirmation, or maybe just to have it embedded into her head so she didn’t imagine there’d ever be any hope for her with Lucas.

“Next best thing. Stepson. My first husband died at a young age, when Lucas was just four. Luella was just a baby back then.”

Rachel watched as the woman’s thoughts wandered. The awfulness of losing a husband and the good memories of Luella had to feel like sorrow sprinkled with sugar.

“That must have been very difficult,” Rachel said.

Gloria smiled, the sorrow remaining. “It was such a long time ago. And Joseph is a wonderful man.”

Rather than continue down that line, Rachel asked, “Lucas and Luella weren’t adopted?”

“We decided not to arrange for Joseph to adopt them, in memory of their father.”

She could see Joseph being the kind of man to go along with that. An insecure man may not be so understanding. Lucas was a lot like that, too. As that thought popped into her head, the hurt churned on a new wave. “Why did he lie?” Rachel asked. “Does he think I had something to do with Luella’s murder?”

“I think he needs to investigate every possibility.”

The neutral way she answered told Rachel that he hadn’t ruled out any possibility.

“I didn’t know about Luella until after her murder,” Rachel said, feeling obligated to, as though she had to defend herself. “I saw it on the news.”

“Joseph told me.”

One morning she’d awakened like any other, with the sunrise, the news and a cup of coffee while she prepared for work. Her new schedule. She’d finally arrived. She was one of the commuters in the traffic report. Might seem insignificant to most, but she’d never had a job with hours that coincided with rush hour.

Then a breaking story had come on with video of Luella Palmer’s crime scene. When the screen changed to her place of residence, she’d recognized the house instantly. Jared had taken her there on a few occasions, not often, but often enough to keep her from becoming suspicious. Luella must have been traveling or out with friends. She’d stood there, stunned with a mounting storm of emotion. Betrayal, disbelief, a surreal unreality. He couldn’t have...

But he had.

How could he?

Next, the news showed Jared Palmer walking into the police station for questioning. The husband was always one of the first suspects, but what motive would he have?

“He tried calling me afterward,” Rachel said. “I didn’t answer. I never wanted to talk to him again. I didn’t even want to hear his explanation, because to me, there was no explanation worthy enough to hear. He lied about being married. He made me the other woman without my awareness.”

“Why didn’t you go to the police?”

Had Lucas already judged her for not doing so? She had to be careful how much she said. “I wanted nothing to do with him. I had nothing to do with Luella’s murder. I didn’t even know she existed. I wasn’t with him the night she was killed. For all I could see, he could have killed her. What if he lied to police?” Part of her had hoped he’d be sent to prison. If she could have helped that process along, she would have.

Gloria leaned back, crossing one leg over the other. “Lucas has always believed Jared killed her.”

“Why? What has he discovered?” Surely, Lucas must have unearthed something. And then another thought came. “If he’s so convinced Jared killed Luella, then why go after me?”

“Your affair, of course.” Gloria bestowed her with a shrewder look. “And the fact that you didn’t go to the police.”

Rachel didn’t back down. But neither did she offer any further explanation. No one would look out for her except herself, and revealing too much could draw danger to her door.

“And I wouldn’t say he’s gone after you. He just...needed a way to get information.”

Rachel wasn’t sure she liked this woman. She put on a friendly front, but boy, look out for what lay beneath.

“I should get going.” As she stood, she saw Lucas step out from the entry.

She froze with shock. How long had he been there? Had he listened to her conversation with Gloria?

“Hello, Rachel.”

The way he said Rachel had her on edge. She replayed all she’d said. Nothing too terrible.

Hearing Gloria stir, she watched her stand and smile at her son. “Lucas.” Going there, she hugged him. It all looked genuine. “I can’t imagine what’s brought you here.”

In other words, she had a crystal clear idea. He held his mother, but hard eyes targeted Rachel.

Why did he look at her like that? The kissing. His touches. The passion. None of that mattered now. Flustered, unable to grapple with the conflict between him last night and him now, she stepped toward the entry, intending to pass Lucas and his mother. She would have walked right past them, but Lucas moved in her way.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

What would he do to stop her? Rachel stepped back and out of his reach. Passion had stolen her mind last night. Today she saw his true agenda. She should have never let down her guard. She’d sensed something off in him. She should have listened to the silent warning.

Well, she’d listen now.

“You told my mother you haven’t spoken with Jared,” he said.

Why had he zeroed in on that? What interest did he have in Jared, other than his possible involvement in his sister’s murder?

“I didn’t,” she said. “Not after I found out he was married.”

“But you have talked to him.”

She began to have a bad feeling. How would he know if she’d spoken with Jared or not?

“He tried to restart things with you,” he said.

His mother turned sharply to her, and Rachel drew her head back, an involuntary flinch.

“How do you know that?” Then her jaw went slack as the reason came to her. “You spied on me?” Not only had he lied to her, he’d spied on her! He knew about Jared. Furthermore, his ex-wife was trying to restart things with him. All the distrust she felt with Jared rushed forth with Lucas. She refused to be victimized again.

Giving him a shove, she went to the door.

He caught up to her, taking hold of her arm and pulling her back toward him. “What are you hiding, Rachel?”

“Let me go.” She’d feared consequences like this, both the danger to herself and those close to her. While she even now didn’t second-guess her decision, she often wondered if she should have been braver.

“Tell me about your job at the insurance company. It was Jared’s, wasn’t it? You worked for him.”

Oh, God, no. This could not come out now. She yanked her arm free and left the house.

Lucas followed her. She walked down the street.

“If there’s something you know, you have to do the right thing and tell me.”

She ignored him and kept walking.

“Rachel.”

“Leave me alone. I wish you well and that you find your sister’s killer. I don’t know anything that will help you or the investigation.” She glanced pointedly at him. “If I did, I’d have gone to the police.” If she had something concrete.

“The smallest detail could change the direction of the investigation,” he said.

The smallest detail...

Telling him about the first and last time she saw his sister wouldn’t hand him the killer, and she didn’t qualify what little she did know as a small detail. Or the things that had occurred afterward. But dare she reveal anything?

Without responding, she kept walking. He sighed with resignation.

“Where are you going?” he finally asked.

“Bus stop.”

“Wait.”

He seemed awkward over a shift in his mood, going from angry and frustrated to needing something from her. Information.

“I’ll drive you home,” he said, his persuasive side coming out in a forced way. He must have sensed she held back and didn’t like that, but he’d try to get her to talk. To what extent would he go? He’d already lied to her. She had to expect he could lie again.

“No, thanks. You did that last night.” And he had his ex-wife to deal with. She wanted no part of him with even the slightest chance he’d go back to her.

“This has nothing to do with last night.”

How could he say that? “Last night was based on a lie.”

“I have to find my sister’s killer, and you aren’t exactly a fountain of information.”

She wasn’t helping him at all. She couldn’t. “I didn’t kill her.”

“Do you know who did?”

Rachel thought of the faceless man who’d stalked her, frightened her and still did. “No.” She reached the bus stop, where she’d have to wait twenty minutes.

“Let me drive you home.”

She eyed him, seeing his distrust and lack of appreciation. He’d like to let his irritation loose, she’d bet.

“You lied to me, and all you care about is what you think I might know, which is nothing,” she said.

His attitude changed in an instant. He softened and regarded her contritely.

“It’s cold out here,” he said. “Come on. I’ll drive you home.”

“There’s nothing I can say that will help you,” she said. “So maybe you’d rather not waste your time on a girl like me.”

He blinked acknowledgment of her insight. “I won’t be wasting my time. And I’m sorry for lying. But as you can see, this case is very important to me. Come on, Rachel.” He held out his hand. “Come with me.”

She wasn’t ready to let him off that easy. “What about your ex-wife? Won’t she mind if you take me home?”

He took a second or two to piece together what she’d said. “I don’t care if she does.”

Jared would have said something like that to her. Experienced liar.

She looked away.

“Hmph,” Lucas scoffed. “You think I’d actually take her back after what she did?”

She rolled her eyes his way. His lying bothered her more than the threat of his ex-wife.

“I’m not Jared,” he said. “And I resent you comparing me to that.”

Again, she turned away.

Lucas took her hand and pulled her toward him. “I get why you don’t trust easily, especially since I lied to you. But you aren’t in any danger if all I do is drive you home.”

Pulling her hand free of his, she started toward his black SUV.

“Where’s your car?” she asked.

“In my garage. I have more than one vehicle.”

Of course he did. He had money.

It was the cold, not him, that made up her mind. She’d be a fool to trust this master manipulator.

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