THIN COVER

by Zelma Orr

© copyright by Zelma Orr, June 2001
Cover Art by Jenny Dixon
1-58608-263-9
Gemstar Edition 1-58608-376-7
New Concepts Publishing
Lake Park, GA 31636
www.newconceptspublishing.com

Chapter One

"Justice is blind."

Aeri Stone marched from the courtroom, moving faster, getting madder. She turned right at the first wide hallway, charged through open doors, ran lightly down twenty-one marble steps to the crowded street. Twenty-one steps. Why not twenty or thirty? Why the hell stop at twenty-one?

Aeri’s mind seized on something material, something she could stomp that wouldn’t stomp back, something she could dirty with her tapping high heels without feeling dirty herself.

Evidence, tons of it, condemned Murphy Chappell, outlining in lurid, frightening detail his part in murders, money laundering, extortion -- you name it, he’d done it. That puny little Judge Orson Dredge -- good name, he’d been dredged from the bottom of some sulfur-perfumed swamp. The dregs, the pits, staring down his curved beak at her like some buzzard on the desert highway waiting for a rabbit to be squashed for his lunch. A long narrow head misshapen as if part of it had been left out. Or he’d had to give part of it to keep his seat on the bench. Eyes the color of ripening field peas, undecided whether to be brown or green.

Undecided.

"You must consider the advisability of sending an upstanding citizen to prison under these circumstances, Miss Stone," he said, his voice stern, fatherly. "It is repugnant to think of associations forced upon him in this situation."

"Maybe he’s right," she muttered. "Think of all those darling felons who might be his cell mates. Have to wait on him hand and foot, perhaps take care of his sexual needs."

Whatever made me think I could change anything in the courts of law in this state? They’re bought and paid for, tied up tighter than Harrah’s’ ten million dollar jackpot, lined up on the blind side of justice. I should give it up and get on with my life, find something less nerve-straining and better paying. Something that wouldn’t put me on antacids for the rest of my life, a perforated ulcer or heart attack.

Damned judges. Damned smart-ass crooks, thumbing their noses at the courts and getting away with it. Too bad I’m not smart enough to be a crook. I’d be more successful and richer.

She continued to fume, walking faster all the time. She found her car in the five-acre parking lot where junior attorneys had to park, slid into the driver’s seat, and tamped a bit of heat from her anger.

Damned lawyers. Damned judges.

I’m so mad I’m repeating myself, something I try never to do.

There were good lawyers. She was one, honest, law abiding, never accepted bribes, never threw a case. This low-life murderer would go free in three years with his plea-bargaining and his smart, crooked lawyer.

Past Harrah’s, The Tropicana, The Taj Mahal, the trappings of Las Vegas, she drove without seeing it. She didn’t have to. She’d seen it a million times, in reality and in nightmares. Gambling wasn’t just a business; it was a disease, a contagious disease that spread poisonous tentacles through tourists and locals alike. Aeri had nothing against gambling as a business. It was the side effects she hated.

Like the one she’d just left in the courtroom. A small-time casino owner, trying to get along and make a living, refused payment to the ‘big, bad boys’ like Murphy Chappell and ended up in a gutter with his throat cut. And Murphy Chappell tools around town in his Lincoln or Mercedes or Porsche or whatever the hell kind of car he was using this week, one that some poor sucker like the casino owner had paid for in blood.

She made all the correct turns and stops until she pulled into the underground parking area of her apartment building. Her mind continued on in high gear. She’d realized recently that her job wasn’t exactly what she’d wanted it to be, hoped it would, anyway. Everything she’d worked for, planned for, was in the judicial system, but she wanted, no demanded, a fair and impartial, and levelheaded system. Exactly opposite of what she’d gotten.

One thing she’d decided: Her expensive education to become a good trial lawyer was going by the board. She loved the challenges of the judicial system, the digging, the research, sometimes finding out things she’d rather not know, but the system was designed for fast burnout.

She’d had it. Joining the ranks of the unemployed held no terrors, easy pickings compared to the past three years. Grunting an unintelligible obscenity, she locked her car and headed for the elevator.

If she hadn’t been so mad, she’d have been more observant, but the morning’s disappointment had severed any connection between common sense and the dangers of everyday life. She rounded a concrete pillar and faced a thick figure in khaki coveralls and ski mask, and a gun aimed at her bellybutton.

One hundred degrees in the shade and he wears a ski mask, she thought, and let go with her briefcase straight at the white mask. She bent and launched her body right behind the case, and hit the man in both knees. He let out a squawk, a curse, and a scream of pain in that order. By that time, Aeri had him face down on the dirty cement floor, hands yanked behind him, and a gun pointed at his head.

"What the hell, Aeri. You trying to take my job?"

Police Chief Cord Yandell sat on the corner of a scarred desk and looked at the woman with a dirty streak down her white linen suit jacket, a smudge on her chin, and a grim smile on a wide, unpainted mouth.

"Sorry. I was pissed."

Chief Yandell sighed.

"As usual." He went behind the desk and lowered his bulky figure into a chair that squeaked in protest.

"This hood anyone you know, Cord?"

"Don’t have a printout yet, but preliminary finds put him down as just that. Small-time hood down on his luck, and you looked like easy pickings."

"I suppose."

If he’d had a chance, Yandell would have warned the would-be robber Aeri Stone was the wrong woman to term ‘easy.’

"What riled you this time?"

She gave a brief account of Murphy Chappell’s neat sentencing because ‘he was questioned without due process’ or some such shit.

Yandell had known Aeri since she came to Las Vegas from a suburb of Seattle, took the job in civil court three years ago, quickly promoted to trial attorney. The first time he’d met her, some drunken tourist had mistaken her for a hooker, made a pass at her and ended up much the same as her latest attacker, except he’d gotten a broken nose in the bargain.

"You think you have a sort of personal magnetism for men looking for trouble?"

"Maybe I should dye my hair. Is it true blondes have more fun?"

"Don’t try it, Aeri. I’m afraid to test the theory."

Yandell watched Aeri’s agitated movements, sympathizing with her even though he knew nothing would change unless Jimmy Hoffa got reincarnated from his watery grave or cement mixer or whatever his killers had done with his body. If that happened, maybe they could talk Hoffa into working on their side and removing killers, prostitution lords, underground terrorists and organizations. Just seeing him walk in would be enough to convert the unholiest of the wicked.

"You’re a tough gal in a tough business, Aeri. You get used to having manure shoved down your throat."

"No, I don’t." She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. "I’m looking for a job. You got any connections?"

Yandell stared.

"Never thought I’d see you quit."

"You just did."

"Edward Stone will have a hissy."

"He’ll be thrilled to see me come to my senses."

Her father had encouraged, prodded, cajoled, threatened and loved his daughter through intense studies, until she graduated number one in her law classes at Stanford. A firm believer in women’s rights, self-defense and protection, and an avid gun collector, retired from the army as a full colonel, Edward taught Aeri to shoot, to conceal weapons, the best and worst protection, and boosted her interest in karate, judo and any martial arts that could be taught.

"You’re a woman," Edward had told his daughter. "You deserve to be protected, but what you’ll have to do is prepare yourself to do that protecting," he reminded her more than once. "Learn all you can about self-defense and self-protection, and if you never have to use it, that’s all right. If you do need it, you have knowledge and ability your assailant doesn’t know you have. They don’t expect a woman to know how to fight. That gives you an edge, but knowing how to fight, how to damage your attacker, that’s the edge you want."

Aeri had never forgotten a word her father said.

"Know anyone who needs a bodyguard?"

Yandell laughed.

"Woman bodyguard?" He leaned forward. "You’re serious, aren’t you?"

"Hell, yes. Find me some billionaire like Madonna who wants to feel a bit safer, and tell her what an expert I am at protecting myself. I can do the same for her." Aeri gave him a tired grin.

Eyes the color of Las Vegas cement streets looked over the woman in front of him. The lawman had known her three years and even though they disagreed on any number of things, he knew her as a smart, professional, levelheaded woman. In court she was cool, elegant, contained. In person she tended to speak language he imagined was picked up in military life. Earthy. He knew, too, her frustrations in the judicial field, knew them first-hand. He’d faced them -- and given up on trying to solve them -- all at one time or another.

Aeri Stone was attractive in a gawky kind of way. Tall, five-foot eight inches or so, one hundred and twenty pounds, he’d guess, eyes a deep blue-violet, a short nose with seven freckles he’d counted the first time he ever saw her. Fair skin in direct contrast to the velvety black hair, cut short, waved close to her head. She reminded him of a balky colt, skittish and headstrong, but determined to get where she was going her own way.

He liked her.

"You’re sure about this?"

Aeri nodded. Lots of celebrities now looked for personal bodyguards for their children. There were so many threats from crazies out there, and it was easy to become paranoid. Rich kids made easy targets for kidnappers. Maybe she could live in the lap of luxury for a while, kowtowing to royalty or their bratty children. On second thought, maybe she’d rather guard Attila the Hun.

"Let me make some calls." Yandell drummed thick fingers on the desktop. "Might be." He stopped and shook his head. "Give me a couple of days. In the meantime relax and enjoy your new-found freedom from judicial restraints."

Aeri went home, this time paying attention to her surroundings when she got out of the car. No one lurked by the concrete pillars, or in the elevator, or near the doorway to her apartment. Inside the bright rooms, she looked around.

As an army brat, she’d learned not to be a pack rat, and her furnishings, while quality items, were few. A long slate blue couch with pillows her mother made. Teakwood end table they’d brought from a small island in the Pacific. A Boston rocker her grandmother had given to her. The kitchen was small, functional, modern-day built-ins, with a pale yellow and beige ceramic tile counters with matching parquet floor.

She stopped by the refrigerator and got a glass of water, standing at the sink to drink it. Her one kitchen window looked out over a golf course with a man-made lake glittering like a diamond in an emerald setting.

Probably owned by Murphy Chappell.

She snorted and headed for the bedroom, kicked off her slippers, slid out of the soiled suit-dress and pulled on red shorts and red-striped, cotton tee shirt. Barefoot, she padded into the living room and switched on an easy-listening FM station.

She lay on the couch, both feet slung across the back, and thought of throwing ten years of mind boggling studies, which included four years of courtroom hassles, to the winds. Since she was ten, watching the old Perry Mason trials, she’d wanted to be a lawyer, one of those fair-minded, legal servants of the people, freeing the innocent and convicting the guilty. Edward Stone had tutored her in military justice, taught her how courts were swayed and juries led to free dangerous criminals. When she spoke of her lifetime commitments, he was the one who pointed out the shortfalls, but he also told her the satisfaction in seeing justice done.

And how few times she’d see it come to pass.

"You’re right, Dad," she mused aloud. "Winning one case out of ten isn’t my idea of justice prevails."

The phone rang, and she was tempted to let the answering machine get it. But it could be Mom or Dad.

It was Chief Yandell.

"Can you be at my office at nine o’clock sharp tomorrow morning?"

"You gonna arrest me?"

She could picture the slow grin, reaching the sand-colored eyes, a deep wrinkle slicing between caterpillar brows to a warped nose that had met its share of fists, one hand swiping at his jowly face, sliding upward to follow a receding hairline with fuzzy growth across a wide swatch of skin.

"It’s a thought. Probably be better for my peace of mind if I know exactly where you are. Thing is, I’ve talked this guy into seeing you. He needs a bodyguard for his sixty-six year old mother who fights like crazy to keep from having one."

"Why does she need a bodyguard?"

From babes to senior citizen on one phone call. Maybe she could at least keep up with the woman. Hope she’s not a bridge nut. I hate card games.

"You ever hear of Austin Dock and Shipping Works, Austin Real Estate, Austin Refineries Incorporated, and so on down the alphabet?"

"I’m new in town, remember. I vaguely recall the real estate. Owns that little town down by Hoover Dam, doesn’t he?"

"Among other towns and dams. Anyway, Jared Austin is the man who reluctantly agreed to talk to you."

"Reluctance I don’t need. Send me to someone who wants my honest services."

"Just listen," he said. "Jared Austin is a fighter. He fights corruption any and everywhere, hates organizations engaged in doing exactly what your friend Chappell does, and refuses to have any gambler-connected dealings."

"Where does the bodyguard for his mother fit?"

"Austin has always kept a low profile, never went public with his accusations of wrongdoing by well-known public figures, but they know he’s after them. He’s gone ahead with plans to clean up the illegal dumping politicians are approving around our state, attracting a lot of attention from people who have had it easy for a long time. He plots long and hard to rid the streets and schools of drug traffickers and pushers and users. This arouses some deep resentment in high circles. Lately, there have been threatening messages left on answering machines, notes left beneath his windshield wipers, and calls directly to Mrs. Austin giving details as to what will happen to her unless Jared eases up. Don’t say change the phone numbers. You know he’s done that plenty of times."

"Extortion, kidnapping, life threats. Yes, I do remember someone predicting that he wouldn’t live long unless he knuckled under. Looks like he might be the one in need of a bodyguard."

Yandell frowned at a polished shoe he swung back and forth.

"A couple of tries have been made to get him."

"And?"

"He loaded the perpetrators into his pickup, hauled them back to their employer, and left them in front of a mansion out on Lake Drive with his initials carved on their privates and a blueprint on what would happen to all of them if they sneezed within fifty miles of him again."

"I like Jared Austin."

"He’s not a likable person. In fact, he has very little feelings for anyone except his mother. And she’s so much like him that he has to accept her as she is."

Aeri still thought she’d like him. Anybody who hates most humans can’t be all bad.

"Austin’s a wheel, rich, powerful. Why can’t he ferret out these low-lifes and let me bring them to trial. With him behind me, we can cut a swath through the plea bargaining epidemic in this town."

"He’s not afraid for himself, but he can’t keep up with Faye, and she’s too damned hardheaded to listen to him. He can’t control her, but he does love her."

"So do I. Love my mother. Okay. I’ll meet your Mr. Austin. Thanks, Cord."

Cord Yandell hung up the phone. He wasn’t sure she ought to be thanking him for the tip. On the other hand, things could get lively when a Stone is cast among the Austins.

If Cord Yandell thought he had run interference for her, he was mistaken. Aeri was having one helluva time getting anywhere near Jared Austin. His secretaries or associates guarded his privacy with the tenacity of a pit bull. Every time she called, he was in conference, out of town, on the phone, at the bank, at lunch.

Didn’t he ever work?

She used one last tactic via telephone.

"This is Mrs. Austin. Is Jared about?" She had no idea what Mrs. Austin sounded like, so she imitated what she thought a cultured lady in her sixties would sound like.

There was a small hesitation, and then the soft voice said, "Of course, Mrs. Austin."

The next voice surprised her. It was deep and businesslike, but strangely gentle. And sexy as all get out.

"Yes, Mother. How are you today?"

"Mr. Austin, this is Aeri Stone. Chief Yandell said he’d called and that you’d interview me about a job as bodyguard for your mother."

She heard the indrawn deep breath.

"Miss Stone, I did talk to Chief Yandell, but I’ve decided a woman is definitely not what I want as bodyguard for my mother."

"Why?"

"It should be obvious." The voice was decidedly cool.

"It isn’t."

"Then I’ll explain, Miss Stone. The people who threaten me through my mother are terrorists, but they’re also cowards. They are bluffing."

"Do you actually believe that?"

"My mother does. And she refuses to have a bodyguard underfoot as she goes to the club, hairdresser, volunteer work and to the bathroom. I’m sorry, Miss Stone, but I don’t believe it would work. Goodbye." The disconnect hummed in her ear.

Dammit.

She dialed the number again.

When the same soft-voiced woman answered, Aeri identified herself.

"I was cut off. Please ring Mr. Stone again."

The obliging secretary rang through again, and when Jared Austin answered, Aeri spoke quickly.

"At least, meet me and talk about it, Mr. Austin."

"Take no for an answer, Miss Stone," he said and hung up.

She drummed her fingers on the table, then grabbed her car keys and left her apartment. She parked near the building where she knew the Austin Shipping Offices were, checked the directory near the elevators, then walked up three flights of stairs. Suite #1 was directly in front of her and sitting at an enormous blond oak desk was a gray-haired woman, neatly attired in a peach-colored linen dress, rimless glasses sliding midway of her straight nose.

The woman looked up and smiled. "May I help you?"

"Yes. I’m Aeri Stone. I want to talk to Mr. Austin."

The desk plate read "Mary Wright" and now Ms. Wright peered over her glasses at Aeri.

"Mr. Austin made his point quite clear that he wasn’t interested in whatever you’ve presented to him, Miss Stone."

"Well, he’s going to listen. I intend to sit right here until he talks with me face to face. I have a service to offer that he needs for his mother’s safety and his peace of mind. He might as well talk to me now because I’m going to cling like the proverbial leech until he does."

She wondered briefly at her tenacious insistence on pursuing an unlikely position as bodyguard for a negative-minded son of a hardheaded old woman. Hadn’t she had enough rejections recently? Must have been something in the stubborn attitude of Jared Austin that made her want to go toe to toe with him on the question of female bodyguards.

Ms. Wright’s lips pinched.

"I’ll give Mr. Austin your message." She got up and went across a wide foyer, knocked lightly, and disappeared into the other office. It was two minutes later that she came out.

"Mr. Austin will see you now, Miss Stone."

Aeri followed the slim figure of Jared Austin’s secretary along a wide hall where the woman stepped aside and motioned to the open door. The woman smiled with uplifted brows. There was a question in the brown eyes that caused Aeri a moment’s wonder.

Then she faced Jared Austin. She’d seen pictures of him, but had read very few of the lengthy articles written about him, considering most of it to be gossip, but she did remember that he was an eligible bachelor. A rich, eligible bachelor.

He stood as she approached the wide leather-topped desk and came around to extend his hand. There was no welcome in his grim expression. He was tall enough that she had to look up even with three-inch heels elevating her own five-feet eight inches of height.

"Miss Stone," he said and retreated behind the desk. He picked up a silver pen, laid it down, and leaned forward with his arms crossed.

"I owe Chief Yandell many favors. Otherwise I’d have you thrown out on your shapely bottom. Say what you have to say. I have work to do."

"Did Chief Yandell mention that I’m looking for a job?"

"He said you were an attorney who might be able to help me. At the time, I assumed he meant in finding evidence for the fight I’m waging against industrial waste being shipped into Nevada from the east. He mentioned bodyguard, and, for a moment, I was tempted. But truthfully, Miss Stone, I wouldn’t feel any more reassured with you as bodyguard for my mother than with nothing."

"I have superficial knowledge of regulations regarding contaminated waste disposal. Enough to know it’s a crock like most of this state’s predicaments."

An impatient frown brought thick black eyebrows together over dark gray eyes fringed by obscenely long lashes. The mouth she’d just thought of being firmly sensual drew into a straight line. H e leaned back, watching her. The look had intimidated a lot of people.

It didn’t faze Aeri. She’d been scowled at before.

"All right. How may I help you?"

"If your mother is the object of threats from unknowns, I can be of great help to you and her."

He was amazed. The woman was attractive in a neat sort of way, a kissable mouth with strong white teeth she flashed in a brief smile, a pointed chin jutting at an angle that could only mean one thing: Someone as hardheaded as Faye Austin.

"Whoever gave you your information, Miss Stone, must have also hinted that I want my mother protected. She’s the object of what I call terrorists who threaten her to get to me. My mother, bless her flinty little heart, tells me what I can do with a bodyguard. And don’t tell me to hire one in secret. She’d know it before she came from under Henri’s newfangled hair dryer."

Aeri wasn’t sure she even wanted this job, so why was she being so persistent? Already Jared Austin had dismissed her as useless. She didn’t want to start a new job arguing whether she was capable. But, sooner or later, she’d have to buy groceries again. Money was needed for that.

"I don’t blame Mrs. Austin for not wanting a hulking brute who stands out like the Wall of China to guard her. I have an advantage in that I can blend in with family, friends, and associates. I can go to the bathroom with her, the beauty shop, try on dresses in her favorite shop. I’m an expert in martial arts, all self-defense tactics, and when attacked, I play dirty. Nothing sporty about me when I want to protect myself or someone else. I can shoot a gun as good as any man alive, and I can conceal a weapon in a bikini."

Jared listened in astonishment. A lithe, athletic man, he could hold his own with adversaries. A woman like Aeri Stone, though not diminutive, could be handled easily by him or someone half his size. He got up and moved around the desk opposite Aeri.

"Stand up, Miss Austin."

In one fluid movement, Aeri came to her feet. She braced herself as Jared came for her, and a moment later, he was face down on the floor, arms pinned behind him with Aeri’s knee planted solidly between his legs in a vulnerable area.

"I told you I play dirty when threatened. If you were an assailant bent on harming me, I would have poked fingers in both your eyes, broken your nose with my knee, and given you a slight concussion by slamming my crossed hands to the back of your head as you went down." She wasn’t even breathing hard. "Besides that, your sex life would have suffered for a few days." She released him and stepped far enough away that he couldn’t grab her legs.

Jared Austin had no intention of grabbing the shapely long legs Aeri Stone stood on. He got to his feet slowly watching her with wary eyes.

"You’re an intelligent man, Mr. Austin," she said without smiling. "But it was a stupid mistake to think of me as a mere woman."

"Where did a sophisticated trial lawyer, a female lawyer, learn to fight dirty with her body rather than words?"

"I’m an army brat. My mother was a colonel in the nurse corps, and my father was a colonel in the infantry. He is a gun collector who taught my mother and me how to use everything from a twenty-five automatic to a nine millimeter to a .357 Magnum. I learned martial arts from age five while my parents were stationed in Korea and Japan."

"Tell me something." Jared walked gingerly around the desk and sat down gently. "Why are you a lawyer?" He picked up the silver pen.

"It’s been my dream since I was ten. I was educated for it."

"But you’re giving it up."

"Disillusionment has set in. I’m sure you’re familiar with the feeling."

"You’re young for it to have made such an impression."

"I’m thirty-one years old and sometimes feel twice that."

He nodded. He’d thought her a good bit younger.

The huge office was quiet. Not even the hum of air conditioning nor sounds from the street nor voices from nearby offices.

He leaned back and threw the pen on the desk.

"How about coming to dinner tonight and meeting my mother?"

"What time?"

"Be there at seven."

"Fine." Aeri gathered up her handbag and said goodbye.

Austin watched her graceful movements as she disappeared through the doorway.

"Should be an interesting evening," he said aloud.

He wasn’t sure if he felt sorry for Aeri Stone or not. Any woman who could read his moves as clearly as she did and respond with a no-nonsense viciousness didn’t need his sympathy. He’d let Faye take care of her.

Well, maybe just a tiny bit of sympathy for Aeri Stone.

Chapter Two

Faye Austin was not happy. In fact, she was royally pissed. An invitation to dinner at Jared’s home meant a wonderful meal prepared by Yvette and D. D., served in style, and no dishes to wash. What didn’t sit well was hearing that someone by the name of Aeri Stone would be coming to the same dinner, and at that dinner, Jared intended to hire the woman, a woman, as Faye’s bodyguard.

"If a woman can take care of me, then I can take care of myself, my son. I don’t need you to manage my life. I’ve done a fair job of it since your father died."

"I know, Mother, and I can appreciate how you feel, having someone underfoot twenty-four hours a day, but --"

"I will not have it, Jared," she said. She stood, an elegant five feet and two inches of bristling rebellion. "In all the years we were married, Adrian allowed me to come and go on my own, and no one’s ever attempted to steal me away. At my age, they aren’t likely to start."

Faye wore an ankle length chiffon lavender and blue print dress, semi-fitted to a still-slender waist, long full sleeves ending in a narrow cuff buttoned with three small pearls. A single strand of pearls lay against the delicate material. Sling back sandals with four-inch heels matched the dress. The hands she swung gracefully to emphasize her words were free of jewelry except for a platinum band of diamonds on the third finger of the left one.

"Mother." Jared’s voice was gentle. "Dad didn’t get into cruddy things as I’ve done. He started it, but he wasn’t well-known in the gangster circles."

"And I suppose you’ve become a household word in this arena?"

"It’s coming to that. As hard as I try to keep from drawing attention to myself, you know I can’t do it any longer. There are too many prominent names involved, and it’s going to get worse."

"You get out of it, then, Jared. You’re the only son I have, and I don’t want to have to fish you out of the river." Gray eyes like her son’s that had sparkled with anger now showed concern. "Don’t you have enough to do without dirtying your hands in other people’s meanness?"

"Even if I decided to quit right now, I’d still be on somebody’s hit list. Which makes you also vulnerable. This woman is skilled in self-defense and not afraid to use it." He didn’t tell her how he knew of Aeri’s talents.

"Absolutely not. I refuse to be watched night and day on the farfetched chance someone means to harm me. And I’m not going to hide from the world here in your house. I’ve got work to do, and I don’t have all that many years left to do it."
"You’ll have even less if someone decides he can get to me through you."

Faye pointed a finger at him.

"No. Absolutely not, Jared. That’s my final word."

"Mother," he said in a voice much more patient than he felt. "You don’t have any choice. You are going to have a bodyguard."

The smart dress slipper stamped the floor, slender hands resting on her hips, arms akimbo.

"I’ll disinherit you, Jared," she said. "I’ll cut you out of my will and leave you without a cent." She tossed her head, silver hair seeming to shoot sparks to match those in her eyes.

"Mother." He tried for tolerance. "I own half the shipping business, most of the oil wells, and have long since made enough money to live happily ever after without your help."

She flung out her arms.

"I told Adrian he was spoiling you."

She whirled away from him and walked across the thick piled wine-red carpet to flounce on a couch quilted in basket-weave material of pale grays and blues. She glared up at him.

"When do I meet this superwoman bodyguard? Humph. Female bodyguard. The least you could do would be to hire Tom Selleck. I wouldn’t mind living in Hawaii until your private war’s over." She sighed in exasperation. "A woman protector. A girl. Probably looks like Attila the Hun."

Jared stuck his tongue into his cheek to keep from grinning.

"Close, Mother," he said. "Very close."

Attila the Hun would have won every battle if he’d looked like Aeri Stone.

Aeri stepped out of her car and looked at the ells and gables of a three-storied house set on two acres of desert landscaping, so many different species of cacti that she’d have to spend a month in the desert fauna and flora dictionary to identify half of them. The curved driveway where she had parked wound around the house and disappeared, framing the house in a picture-postcard setting, it’s off-white stucco finish trimmed in darker beige and brown, blending into desert surroundings.

"Looks like a castle," she murmured.

Well, what did you expect of an Austin? You know what Cord said: owns half of Nevada and holds the mortgage for the other half. Might not live to enjoy it if the disgruntled gangsters have their way.

She sighed inwardly when, in answer to the chimes when she pushed an onyx -- onyx? -- button, a young woman clad in a black uniform with starched white cuffs, collar and white stiff hat sitting on perfectly coifed dark hair opened the door.

Wouldn’t you just know the Austins would have all the accouterments of the rich and famous? Well, if he can have a maid for all occasions, why can’t he have bodyguards, male as well as female?

"Mr. Austin is expecting you, Miss Stone," the soft voice said.

Aeri followed the maid down the hallway and was about to walk in the direction of the maid’s extended arm when she looked up and saw Boris Karloff in the flesh. Might as well have been. The man stood six feet six if an inch, arms folded across a wide chest, hands hidden beneath thick biceps. Probably has a machete in each. Huge head, billiard-ball smooth, ears lying flat alongside a bristly jaw, and an absolutely square chin with, by God, a dimple!

Why doesn’t Mr. Austin just let him carry his mother around under one arm? No one would dare look at her much less harm her.

The man suddenly smiled at her, and Aeri gulped. She hoped he didn’t bite. With teeth like that, she wouldn’t even be a tasty morsel.

"Good evening, Ma’am," he said and bowed from the waist.

When he straightened, laughter lurked in the deep blue of wide set eyes, and the wide mouth moved as though he fought to control a grin.

"Good evening," Aeri said and found herself smiling back at the apparition in tuxedo and black tie. Beneath that well-fitted jacket, she’d bet there was a three-fifty-seven Magnum specially outfitted automatic that could blow away half of Las Vegas.

"Miss Stone." Jared Austin appeared and extended his hand. He was smiling what looked like a genuine welcome.

Aeri doubted that. She took the firm hand, felt a little squirm of unease when her own tingled, and smiled. "How are you, Mr. Austin?" She continued to look up at him.

His mouth moved as though he was suppressing a secret smile, but dark gray eyes went over her trim figure with approval.

Perhaps she had unconsciously taken more care than usual with her appearance. Her figure-hugging jersey dress, pale yellow, was sleeveless and had a demurely high neck in front with a low vee in the back and was set off by a single strand of her great-grandmother’s priceless pearls, passed on down through generations. Somewhere in his army travels, her dad had found pearl earrings that matched perfectly.

"You look lovely, Miss Stone. Come and meet Mother."

Why did she feel like a lamb being led to the slaughter?

Faye Austin rose from a wing back chair and extended her hand towards Aeri. A small hand, a firm clasp, and gray eyes like her son’s, went over Aeri like a federal inspection. If she approved of anything about Aeri, it wasn’t evident.

"Miss Stone," Mrs. Austin said and dropped gracefully into the chair.

Drinks were at her elbow as Aeri sat on the couch across from the two Austins. Rather than meeting the two pairs of accusing eyes, she glanced around the room. Perfectly appointed, everything matched, not overdone. Soft mauves and wine colors in the carpet were picked up in the long couch and matching wing back chairs. A long solid wooden table with hardback books and magazines, no ash trays. A fireplace of onyx -- someone likes that particular stone -- covered the far end of the long room.

Actually, it was a warm and friendly room quite unlike its owner. Or owners. She wasn’t sure if Jared Austin’s mother resided with him. Certainly the place was big enough for two dozen people.

Mrs. Austin leaned forward.

"Jared tells me he plans to hire you as a bodyguard, Miss Stone."

Aeri flashed a glance towards the man. He stared right back at her.

"I understood you were in need of one, Mrs. Austin."

The older woman sipped from the square-cut glass the maid had left for her. Aeri thought the liquid looked like plain whiskey.

"Let’s get this straight, Miss Stone. I don’t need anyone to look after me. Jared has gotten himself into the bad graces of the gangster element here in Vegas, but that doesn’t mean I have to hobnob with them."

"Mother," Jared said. "We all know the reasons why you need protection. Miss Stone’s resume is impressive, and with her qualifications, she can be a deterrent to anyone who wishes to do you harm on my account. Do behave."

Aeri felt better. At least, Mr. Austin had looked at her qualifications and was considering her on that basis.

"Listen to me, Jared." The small hand lifted, and she pointed a finger at her son. "No one is qualified to direct my every move. I am sixty-six years old, and at this time in my life, I want freedom. I do not want to have to give an account of my actions to you or anyone else, and certainly not to some -- some." She eyed Aeri. "To some society brat who thinks it’s a kick to play at guarding an old woman. I don’t want, don’t need, someone trailing after me."

"You see what I meant when I said Faye would be hard to convince, Miss Stone."

"Yes, and I do appreciate your feelings, Mrs. Austin. However, in the world we live in now, it makes a difference whether we wish it to or not, the way lives have become entangled with public, sometimes unsavory, characters. Mr. Austin’s profession is high profile, his delving into shady actions and businesses and people is bound to reflect on his family. All he wants is for you to be safe to enjoy your chosen lifestyle."

Mrs. Austin stood up, spun on her spike heels, and looked down at her son.

"And you think this young lady is capable of keeping some thug from gunning me down or from kidnapping me or running over me with a dump truck or --"

She stopped, obviously seething over this insulting intimation that she couldn’t take care of herself. She’d done it for years, before and after Adrian Austin, and she was perfectly capable of continuing to do so.

Aeri sympathized with her. To a degree. She pictured herself as always having someone looking over a shoulder, saying you can or can’t go there, you will or you won’t see this or that person. She wouldn’t like it, either. Not worth a darn. But, in order to live a few more years, she’d put up with it.

"I’m well-trained in taking care of people without being blatant about it, with no obvious motive other than enjoying your company. I can do a lot towards making your life more safe as well as pleasant. I promise not to be an anchor around your neck nor interfere with your lifestyle as long as it doesn’t take you where I know there’s danger."

Mrs. Stone drew herself up and glared at Aeri.

"That’s exactly what I’ve been telling Jared. I will not have you tracking me everywhere, advising me, advising me, what I can do and when. I have lived more than twice as many years as you, young lady, taking care of myself in unsavory situations, and I will not give up my lifestyle so some lowbrow hoodlum can brag about driving us to the brink of insanity in fear of his reprisal for something done in the business world. I have no part in it, and I do not intend to run and hide from it. Especially am I not hiding behind another woman’s skirt." She looked Aeri over. "Or pants."

"Mother, that’s the wrong attitude about the situation. It won’t be for long, and this is the best way I can see to handle your protection. It’s necessary."

"Miss Stone may be proficient, efficient and successful in her chosen profession, but I don’t need the intimacy of another woman living as close to me as a Siamese twin." She lifted both hands, arms out, towards her son. "No, Jared. Pay Miss Stone whatever she charges for her time and forget it."

Aeri resented anyone talking about her as though she weren’t there, and this spoiled, hardheaded mother of an equally hardheaded man was irritating the hell out of her. Let some lowlife hoodlum catch her outside Henri’s one day. The man would likely release her in self-defense against her dictatorial personality.

She gathered up her purse and rose, her eyes moving from son to mother and back again.

"I appreciate your position, Mr. Austin. I wouldn’t want to force your mother to accept a companion she doesn’t want or need. Perhaps she’s right and this is overreaction on our parts. I do hope that’s the case."

She turned towards the door, surprised to see Boris Karloff standing there.

"If you’ll excuse me, I’ll say goodnight."

"Miss Stone," Jared said. "I’m sorry, but --"

"Miss Stone," Mrs. Austin said. "I do not care for people who are invited to a private home for dinner and discussion to leave before we’ve arrived at a solution."

"Mrs. Austin, if I was anything but the polite daughter of Edward and Phyllis Stone, taught to be respectful of my elders if not in awe of their riches, I’d say ‘Screw you’ and walk out as I fully intend to do right now. Goodnight to both of you."

She strode past Boris who remained stiffly attentive and reached the wide foyer as the maid entered from another door. She stared with her mouth a round ‘O’ as Aeri swung the door open and disappeared into the darkness beyond.

Aeri was mad enough to bust wide open. Hell. Let Faye Austin get blown to bits by some smart-ass drug lord or crooked politician or less-than-honest businessman. Shot down as she emerged from Henri’s newest hair dryer. Someone could just trip her in those ridiculous high heels and break her neck, blaming her death on natural causes.

Jared Austin should worry about her. Spoiled, rich widow who had never been told to do anything she didn’t want to do in her life. Hog-tie her, if it comes right down to life and death, but I for one, can do without that job.

Still, Jared Austin was something to look at. She remembered the hard body bluntly against hers as he advanced towards her with the intention of showing her how little protection she could offer his mother. Under a different set of circumstances, perhaps --.

Hell. He’s so far out of my reach he could be on top of the Swiss Alps.

This sure hadn’t been much of a success story. Might as well go home and call Cord and tell him she’d screwed up.

Chapter Three

Chief Yandell didn’t even try to stop the grin when he heard Aeri’s obviously disturbed report.

"Didn’t make any progress, huh?"

"Progress?" Aeri actually sputtered. "That woman is so intent on being independent that if I was her son, I’d let her have her way. Maybe he’ll get lucky and someone will kidnap her."

"At least you got a well-balanced, free meal out of it."

Yandell frequently wondered how Aeri managed to hold a hundred and twenty pounds when he didn’t recall seeing her put a bite of food in her mouth. Nothing but those awful Pepsi Colas she was so fond of.

"No, I didn’t," Aeri said. "I was so mad at those two, if I’d taken a bite of food, I’d have thrown up on that woman’s five hundred dollar shoes."

"Dammit, Aeri, you gotta learn to take advantage of people at least a little to help yourself."

Her laugh was low and sultry. Too damned bad he was old. He’d likely reach across the phone lines and give her a big hug.

"Meet me at the Cadillac and let’s have a hamburger, Cord. I’ll buy."

The Cadillac was a noisy, out-of-the-way joint frequented by people who merely wanted to talk, eat a decent sandwich, and have a beer without worrying about a mortgage to pay for it or getting ptomaine. Bert Skowron, the owner, was one of Yandell’s ex-deputies who had caught a small time hoodlum’s bullet in the left shoulder, far enough above the heart to let him live, but the arm had never worked well afterwards. They buried the hood.

Bert loped over to their table and slapped Yandell on the back.

"Thought you’d forgot my address, Cord. Ain’t seen you since you chased that stripper through the Gold Nugget claiming you saw a gun hidden in her G-string." He grinned at Aeri. "Bet Cord put that scrap in his scrapbook."

Aeri laughed.

"You’re wrong, Bert. It’s in a gilt frame sitting on the grand piano in his drawing room."

Bert’s laugh could be heard over the buzz of conversation.

"Didn’t even know Cord could draw." He leaned on the table. "What can I get you folks?"

"Hamburgers. Burnt, loaded, and give the ticket to Aeri. Her treat."

"You bribing him not to arrest you, Aeri? Heard you quit the law-abiding court shysters after that deal the other day." He straightened and frowned. "You think we’ll ever get a fair court system?"

"Might if you’d stop throwing away your jury summons," Cord said.

"You had one of the best lawyers in Vegas and let her get away. That’s gotta tell you something."

"Don’t rub it in, Bert. Just bring our ‘burgers and drinks."

"Right." He punched Cord’s shoulder and waved to Aeri before making his way behind the counter once more.

Cord looked at her.

"All right. What happened?"

Aeri’s black hair, softly fluffed around a heart-shaped face, gave off a velvety sheen. Eyes, the color of ripe Concord grapes, were troubled.

"I don’t know, Cord. It looked as though Mr. Austin was ready to accept the inevitable and hire a bodyguard for his mother, someone who knows the law and how to apply it, and can still react quickly if it comes to that. But she absolutely forbid it. Threatened to disinherit him."

"Disinherit Jared Austin? Hell, he’s got more money and businesses and fingers in pies than Faye or Adrian ever thought of having."

"Gonna get those fingers burned, too, from all I hear. I went to the archives after I talked to him that first day, and the man’s walking a thin edge. Someone’ll push him over if he’s not careful. Chances are, his mother will get caught in whatever calamity awaits Austin."

Cord knew as much about the Austin family and their holdings as anyone aside from the lawyers handling legalities. He had known Adrian Stone twenty years prior to his death, fishing and hunting, skiing when they were younger. Adrian and Faye had been in love for so long their minds ran the same roads, they could pick up each other’s thoughts with one in San Francisco and the other in Las Vegas. Adrian minded the businesses and Faye volunteered for mostly nursing home duty, deeply sympathetic to the old people. She’d been a nurse and still cared that people suffered and died from lack of medical treatment. Sure as hell didn’t have to worry about finances, but her life might not be worth a plug nickel if Jared’s enemies went on the warpath.

"He’ll have to convince her, Aeri. The people he’s going after, no matter what their sins, aren’t going to give up without a fight. And they fight dirty."

"How about Austin? Clean fighter?"

"Not when it’s Faye you’re talking about. He might let her talk him out of it but he’s still thinking, and when it comes right down to the nitty gritty, her safety or her hardheaded rejection of the bodyguard idea, Faye will lose."

"Think I might still have a chance at the job?"

"Stay loose a few days. Something’s gonna give, and when it does, you be ready."

Bert brought their hamburgers and Pepsis.

"Made the special sauce you like, Cord," he said, and placed a small bowl to the side. "Peel the hair right off your tongue." He moved away. "See you next week."

"What happens next week?" Aeri said and took a huge, satisfying bite of her sandwich.

Cord ladled thick sauce over the generous meat patty.

"I got a few day’s off coming, and Bert’s taking me out on his houseboat for some honest gambling." He bit into the sandwich.

"Where?"

Cord sucked in his breath.

"God, he’s right. Musta spilled a bottle of Tabasco in this." He sipped ice-cold Pepsi and breathed hard. "Lake Mead. Ever been out there?"

"No. Heard it was for rich people. Maybe I should open a hamburger joint and make money instead of trying to be the main character in Presumed Innocent.

Cord eyed her over his sandwich.

"I hate like hell for you to give up your profession, Aeri. You see, we have too many lawyers who follow the straight and narrow path chosen by others and that leads to high political profiles and riches. There are too few in it for the good of their fellowmen. Excuse me, fellow persons. I’m gonna miss your sweetness and light shining through the dingy court halls." He grinned. "And your profanity which, I must admit, has a nice originality about it."

Aeri stared at the sheriff.

"Sounds a bit like a compliment. You sure you didn’t have a drink before lunch?"

"It’s a compliment, and I haven’t had a drink in three months."

"Why not?"

"Made a bet with my doctor that I could stay off all alcoholic beverages for six months. This houseboat trip with Bert might lose me money. Besides what I lose at his so-called honest tables."

It was Aeri’s turn to laugh.

"You realize, Cord, that I haven’t put a quarter in a machine since I’ve lived in this town?"

"What? How can you do that? That’s why people live in Vegas, to gamble. What the hell brought you here if not the lovable one-armed bandits?"

"I had severe bronchitis two years straight, and my doctor said go to a warm, dry climate. I worked my way down from Mercer Island to San Francisco, then some well-meaning citizen from Nevada told me to take a look down here."

She stopped talking to take a bite.

"And then?"

"I should have stopped in Reno, got a job as hat check girl in one of the popular spots, bought a place on Lake Tahoe and retired while I’m still in good health and my right mind."

"Just think of all the fun you’d have missed, and I’d never have seen the lively Ms. Stone kick up her heels, literally, and belt a few criminals."

"Would be nice if we could belt a few judges."

Aeri used her fingers to nab a slice of pickle from the edge of her plate. She raised twinkling eyes to the man opposite her.

"You ever daydream about what you’d do with your favorite lawbreaker if you had the chance?"
"Every lawman does. I sometimes spend hours devising ways to hang a wife beater by his ingrown toenails. Or put a child molester in a stockade and give people poison-tipped darts to throw at him. Or making these graffiti expert hoodlums remove their art work with tiny brushes dipped in acid."

"About follows my line of thinking."

They were quiet as visions of justice ran through their heads. Aeri thought of Faye Austin. Obstinate, hardheaded, determined socialite, traveling the world at her own speed, unwilling to compromise her lifestyle in favor of some criminal who has the audacity to threaten her son.

"You know, Cord, Mrs. Austin is right in a way. She shouldn’t have to hide, shouldn’t have to have someone to watch over her shoulder. None of us should have to live like that. That’s why we need a strong judicial system that won’t kowtow to the lowlife element and ignore people who try to make it a better world to live in. Dammit, I’m tired of arguing things that I shouldn’t have to argue. Tired of bending over backwards to present the law in favor of the regular, law-abiding citizen rather than Al Capone’s clone and counterpart bent on taking whatever he wants from whomever happens to have it. Even if it is an old woman who should be retired and enjoying life to the fullest."

"Then don’t run away. Stay and fight. For Faye or that little first grader or the teenager or the abused wife and mother."

"If I thought I had a chance, a ghost of a chance, at changing just one person’s mind, of swaying just one jury in favor of the victim rather than the accused, impress on them that the judge isn’t God Almighty although he thinks he is. From where I sit, it’s hopeless."

"Your daddy wouldn’t like to hear you say that."

Aeri sighed.

"You’re right. He’d likely turn me over his knee and swat my bottom like he did when I was four."

Cord grinned, trying to visualize a four-year-old Aeri throwing a temper tantrum, and the dignified Colonel Stone paddling her butt.

"You get many spankings?"

"Probably deserved more than I got. Mother told me I wrapped Dad around my little finger just after I wiggled it at him and got everything I wanted. And more." She smiled across the table. "Luckier than lots of kids. I got plenty of hugs along with the swats."

Cord leaned back and wiped his mouth.

"What now?"
"Think I’ll take your advice."

"For a change."

"Yes. For a change."

"And do what?"

"Absolutely nothing. Maybe visit the library a few times. Haven’t been able to read enjoyable material in a long time. I’ll just steer clear of the law books and concentrate on Sidney Sheldon. He likes women."

"Well, hey, so do I."

"Yeah, but he’s a multi-millionaire novelist, and all his heroines are strong. Sometimes they get even with the bad guys."

"Maybe we could hire him to write us a scenario to play between you and Mrs. Austin."

"Likely the only way we could get the lady to consent to being guarded. Hire Sidney Sheldon."

Cord grunted in agreement.

"Sit tight and stay out of trouble, Aeri. Visit your folks, get drunk, get laid, just don’t get into trouble you might need my expertise to get you out."

She didn’t promise.

Aeri was in bed, propped against two plump pillows, when the phone rang. She glanced at her watch as she lifted the receiver. Ten-thirty-five. Probably Dad up there in Washington State wondering how his daughter’s making out in the courts of Nevada.

Not so good, Dad, she’d have to tell him.

"Hello?" She almost added, "Dad, send me an allowance. I’m out of a job." She grinned and waited.

"Miss Stone?"

Well.

"Good evening, Mr. Austin."

Guess I’m gonna get bawled out for walking out on his grand dame mother. Try it. I’m ready for you.

"First, I’d like to apologize for Mother’s behavior."

The man’s full of surprises.

"That’s nice of you, Mr. Austin."

"I actually thought once she’d met you, she’d agree to having you accompany her as a companion."

"Why? I mean, knowing her as well as you do, you must have known she’d object strenuously, and that’s putting it mildly."

"Yes. Yes, I knew she’d object, but the more I think of her being in danger, the more inclined I am to have her protected."

"How about Boris?"

"Who?"

"Your man of the hour who escorted me into the drawing room. By the way, your home is absolutely beautiful."

"Thank you. Boris, his name is actually Constantine Palicio. He is my chauffeur and watches over me, more or less."

"I should think you’d need watching over with your probing instincts and expose’ articles on any and everything that could possibly come to mind."

"You’ve read my stuff?" Surprise showed in the deep voice.

She’d never admit to doing research on him at the library.

"Yes. I agree with about 99 and one half percent of what you get into print. I’d love to see the journals and notes that never hit the papers."

Jared laughed.

Aeri’s breath caught at the sound. She’d never tell Jared that, until Cord sent her to him for the interview, she’d never really paid attention to the name of Austin. Just another rich family among thousands in the same money bracket. Since then, however, she’d run back articles on the microfiche in the library, hunted up trade journals and political forum columns featuring Jared Austin’s work.

He’d better have a bodyguard, she’d thought while reading. Even though he presents his material honestly and intelligently, he’s squashing toes in every sentence in addition to making recommendations unpopular with local politicians, lawmakers and the court systems. Cord told her that at one time, Jared Austin maintained a low profile, working through contacts and representatives rather than pushing his personal views.

Things changed.

One particular detailed work in Profile magazine had singled out Las Vegas as the boiling cauldron of political intrigue involving real estate, water rights and underhanded deals for storage of radioactive wastes. Even the railroads didn’t escape notice.

When she read about the railroads’ involvement in shady manipulations, Aeri leaned back and thought about it.

"Whew! When that man gets wound up, he latches on with steel teeth."

Or at least plastic fangs on a computer keyboard. She decided right then Jared had better watch his step. But from everything Cord said, Jared Austin had been waging his own type of private war more than a decade, in and out of print.

The upset came when Faye Austin’s name began to surface in personal threats. Jared Austin didn’t appreciate that. Still, he had doubts a woman could protect his mother. As Faye told him, she’d taken care of herself a long time and wasn’t about to accept a socialite to defend her.

Aeri didn’t consider herself a socialite by any stretch of the imagination. Her parents would get a kick out of that.

"Perhaps you could come to my home tomorrow, and I’ll show you some of my, uh, columns. I don’t do etchings."

"Thank goodness. You’d expect a critical review and I know nothing about art. What time tomorrow?"

"I have breakfast about seven-thirty. Would you join me?"

Aeri held the phone away and looked at it. She’d had some invitations to dine before but never for breakfast. Unless it was a clandestine meeting, and she sort of steered clear of those.

"Is that too early?" Jared said. "We can make it eight o’clock."

Aeri grinned at her toes wiggling beneath the creamy lace coverlet.

"I wouldn’t want to upset your schedule, Mr. Austin. I’ll be there at seven-thirty."

Breakfast was her favorite meal. Sometimes, it was the only one she got.

Chapter Four

Cord Yandell was delighted when he answered his phone to find Jared Austin on the line.

"About Aeri Stone."

Cord waited. It wasn’t like Jared to beat around the bush about anything. To anyone.

The younger man cleared his throat.

"You really think Miss Stone is capable of handling a job like the one I require, Cord? You know Mother, and you know my lifestyle isn’t the most popular around here. Mother and Miss Stone could be in double jeopardy. Now that I have Mother’s attention, perhaps we could recruit from a bonafide security agency with people trained in protecting clients."

"My instincts say hire Aeri. In the first place, a bodyguard with Connie’s physical stature will stand out like a red light district. Aeri will blend into Faye’s lifestyle as a friend, companion, chauffeur, anything Faye does could reasonably be expected to reflect something Aeri would do without appearing to be a bodyguard."

At least, Jared was listening to him.

"Let me give you some background on the lady." Cord settled back in his recliner, legs stretched over the footrest. "She’s lived all over the world, and that has given her a first rate education simply because Edward and Phyllis Stone saw to it. excellent upbringing without becoming a spoiled brat as some in her circumstances might do. She’s strong, mentally and physically, attended Stanton University and graduate studies at Yale, but she’s not an educated snob. She’s used her knowledge to guide her towards what she hoped would be an enjoyable profession as a lawyer. Her biggest fault is she still expects justice to prevail in all cases."

Cord stopped talking, and the line hummed with silence.

"That’s a damned scary description, Cord. I’ll be afraid to speak in her presence."

"Uh huh. Sure you would. Maybe it’s a bit farfetched to you, but you and Miss Stone sorta run along the lines of idealism and optimism mixed with a certainty that each of you expects too much."

"Did you drink an elixir of staid philosophy today?" Jared’s smile came through the dryness of his words.

"Nope. Just filling you in. But, listen, I agree with Aeri. With your tendency to stir hornets’ nests, Faye could become a target to shut you up."

"Faye and Miss Austin didn’t hit if off too well."

"I heard. Aeri said maybe you’d be lucky, and someone would take the peppery Mrs. Austin off your hands."

Jared laughed.

"Sounds like what she would have said as mad as she was when she walked out of the house."

"I told her the least she could have done was wait until she’d had a good meal out of you before she got so mad."

"And you said she was smart." Silence for a beat. "You recommend I talk to Miss Stone again."

"Yes. I don’t thing you’ll be sorry."

Chapter Five

Office.

To Aeri, it looked like a combination library and lavishly appointed deck on a luxury liner. Thin slatted vertical blinds, opened to allow light without glare, covered waist-high windows. Over a long oak desk angled to get the best view out those windows were stained glass panels, breathtakingly beautiful. Three walls held filled bookcases. Under her feet, sand-colored carpet was deep enough to afford comfortable sleeping.

Her host motioned her to one of the deep orange club chairs as he opened a drawer in the desk, looked at her as he straightened with a black case in his hand. With a remote control, he turned on a television screen she hadn’t noticed, slid the cassette into a VCR, and flipped the ‘start’ button.

Aeri looked up at Jared.

"You got that in the mail?"

"Yesterday."

"Nothing written? No note?"

"Just this." He reached to a telephone and switched on an answering machine.

The recording sent cold chills chasing down Aeri’s spine.

"look at the film carefully. Your mother is not always protected, Austin. If you continue to get in my way, she will disappear never to be heard from again. No guards will be able to protect her unless you discontinue your investigations into problems that don’t concern you."

The voice couldn’t be traced. It was muffled either by a handkerchief or one of those voice disguisers attached to the speakers.

"Which investigation does it refer to?"

"I’ve no idea."

"How close are you to disclosing dangerous evidence of misuse, fraud, extortion, murder and other unique businesses?"

"Very. To several of those." Austin’s eyes turned a cold gray agate. "There’s enough to fill a number of courtrooms with the elite of the gangster world." He blew out a sharp breath. "And they include people you’d rather believe were above such associations."

"By that, you mean shouldn’t be thinking of harming little old ladies."

He nodded, the squared chin with its offset dimple tightening to thin his lips over the edge of even, white teeth.

He leaned on the desk, big hands flat with fingers spread.

"Dammit. Faye isn’t just some little old lady. She’s my mother, and they have no right to involve her in dirty politics that’s strictly my field."

"You’re what, Mr. Austin? Thirty-six. Thirty-seven?"

He positively glared. "What the hell’s my age got to do with it?"

Aeri stood, walked to the wall of windows, and looked down over the city where hazy smog settled lazily along the skyline with surging morning traffic.

"You’re old enough to stop believing in fairy tales."

"I should hope so."

She swung around.

"Then you know that someone you’re bent on catching in dirty deals will stop at nothing to get back at you. Threatening your mother. Stealing your child. Throwing acid in your face. Gunning you down in broad daylight. That’s the real world, Mr. Austin, whether you’re twenty or thirty or sixty-six."

"I know what you say is true, but I can’t hide behind Connie or you or ten other people." He rubbed long fingers beneath his chin and said rather absently, "I don’t have any children."

Aeri drew in a startled breath. She hadn’t given a thought to the fact that this man was probably married to a beautiful socialite. She didn’t keep up with the society page, but if he was married, why would they threaten his mother rather than his wife?

"Are you married?"

He smiled, and Aeri stared. He wasn’t the pretty-boy or even a handsome hunk by Hollywood standards, but there was something about him above the usual cut of good looks. Maybe his bearing, as though he owned the world and most of what was in it. Or if he didn’t own it, he could if he so chose.

"I’m not married, Miss Stone."

She was tempted to ask, "For God’s sake, why not? What’s wrong with those beautiful women you associate with? Should have snatched you up long ago."

"I’m not gay, either, if that’s your next question. I just haven’t decided I’d be happy looking after more than one woman. Faye’s independent as hell, but I told Dad I’d take care of her as long as I could. He must have known that one day I’d run into something like this."

"Are you following in his footsteps? I mean, was he investigating anything at the time of his death?"

"No. Dad was strictly a businessman, paying attention to keeping his employees happy and well-paid while making enough money to be comfortable. He died of a heart attack. But not before he warned me to watch my friends and enemies, my back, front and sides, because he could see my curiosity getting me into trouble."

"It sounds as though you adored your father as well as your mother."

Icy gray eyes looked her over. "Is that so unusual?" The voice matched his eyes.

She shrugged.

"So many families today are at odds over who did what to whom, whether they’re loved, whether they’ll inherit as much as they should. Whether the parents treated the child as well as they should have, whether they were neglected while father searched for fame and fortune and mother chased society factions." She smiled into the stern face. "I can’t say much bad about my parents, either. They’re much too normal and loving to criticize."

They were still watching each other with wary eyes when the light knock sounded. Jared glanced up.

"Come in."

The door opened, and Connie stood there.

"Mrs. Austin called. She had a flat on the interstate, and I’m going to fix it for her. Shouldn’t take over an hour."

"If I had been with her, no one would have been able to kidnap her," Aeri said.

"What?" Jared sent her an astonished look.

"Don’t you see how easy it would be to puncture a tire so that air escapes slowly, and in some isolated spot, the motorist is easily picked up by anyone without the slightest trouble?"

"Get there quickly, Connie. Call me as soon as you reach her."

"Yes, Sir." Connie backed out of the door and closed it.

Jared was standing now and frowning at Aeri.

"I don’t actually think anything happened like that."

"Not yet. They’re giving you ample warning." Aeri leaned back in the chair so she could look up at him without breaking her neck. "I’d venture to say someone involved is close to you, a acquaintance, perhaps even a friend, and they don’t actually want to hurt Mrs. Austin. They will if they have to."

"Meaning if I keep on with whatever I’m doing that’s disturbing someone, they will."

"Yes."

Jared turned his wrist to check the time, blew out a long breath and sat down opposite Aeri.

"You’re hired, Miss Stone. When can you start to work?"

"I have a set of work clothing in the car. Take me fifteen minutes to change."

Gray eyes were still worried but he grinned. "You weren’t planning to dress in your car, were you?"

"Wouldn’t be the first time, and if I keep up with Mrs. Austin, it won’t be the last, either."

He nodded, soberness returning.

"I’ll tell Yvette to show you a room to change." He pushed at the silver pen. "You have an apartment, Miss Stone?"

"Yes. Tropical Court on the west side."

"I know where it is. I’d like you to move in with Faye. I’d like to have you both stay here, but getting her to allow you to live with her is going to be a major operation."

The thought of living in such close proximity to Jared Austin was tempting, but Aeri only allowed a moment of such thoughts. Better not.

"Wouldn’t be good to have all of us under the same roof, Mr. Austin. If they come after one here, they might end up with half a dozen victims. Scatter people around to make the target smaller."

He studied Aeri.

"I do like the way you think, Miss Stone. As soon as Connie returns from helping Mother, we’ll tackle our most pressing problem." He opened a desk drawer. "Do you carry a licensed gun?"

Aeri didn’t answer and when Jared looked up, he faced a small black revolver pointed at him. His startled glance went from the steady hand with the gun to her envelope-sized purse lying by her chair to the rose colored slim-line dress without pockets.

"Where the hell did that come from?"

She gave him the impish grin he’d grown to enjoy. She was such a serious person that the grin set her apart from the stereotyped forging-ahead businesswoman. She was human. He found that he wanted to discover just how human she was. In his own way.

"I told you I could hide a weapon in a bikini. Underarm pockets where no one expects them are wonderful." With a flick of her wrist, the gun was gone.

"Was Houdini one of your ancestors?" Jared couldn’t admit how astonished he was when he looked into the hole of that gun barrel, a hole that looked as big as a yawning cave.

"I love David Copperfield."

"Who the hell is David Copperfield?"

"A modern-day Houdini with a wonderfully macabre sense of humor. The next time he’s in Vegas, don’t miss him."

The phone rang, and Jared grabbed it. "Yes?" He listened, and the frown disappeared from his face. "Thanks, Connie. Is Mother going on to the nursing home?" He nodded. "All right. Thanks."

He put the receiver down, and leaned back.

"No foreign objects in the tire. A slow leak. Connie fixed it and followed her to the service station to have it checked."

Aeri waited.

"Is it possible?" he said. He’d begun to suspect Aeri Stone was right about the intentions of his enemies. They might be close or they might be distant, but they were enemies who, if they couldn’t touch Jared would go through the feisty Mrs. Adrian Austin. In her independence, she was hardheaded enough to make it easy for someone to harm her.

"Probable, too. Do you have someone receiving care in a nursing home?"

"Mother does volunteer work at two homes near the hospital. Home Care, Incorporated, and Coronado Comfort Facility."

"How long has she been doing this?"

"Since before I was born. Mother was a registered nurse, and she strenuously, and loudly, denounces the way old people are treated plus she holds nutrition classes for unwed mothers." He watched Aeri as he spoke. He was beginning to like what he saw, her serious attention to his words, the thought processes that were almost visible as she ran scenarios through her head.

"She’s a crusader."

Phyllis would like Faye Austin, Aeri thought. Her mother, still beautiful and awesomely healthy at fifty-six years of age, sounded off anywhere and anyway she could on the abominable condition of medical care in the United States. Sometimes when Phyllis got started, Aeri’s dad would disappear from the room or gathering only to return carrying a box with a chalk-drawn bar of soap on it. Her mother’s own personal soapbox from which she could speak. It was the source of a lot of genial laughter from their friends.

"Mother wouldn’t like the title, but she fits the category," Jared said. Worry lines creased the space between dark brows. "Even if she admitted to the danger she’s in, Faye wouldn’t sit still to being a virtual prisoner in her own home."

"If she’ll give me a bit of leeway in adjusting her appearances or schedules and allow me to be constantly seen with her. we can start there."

"Then what? How do you keep her from showing up at a charity show or eating in a public restaurant or walking down the street in broad daylight?"

"Let her come and go as usual, but I’ll be there. While she’s window shopping, I’ll be watching her back. When she eats, I’ll check out diners or anyone who comes and goes. My eyesight and reflexes are excellent."

Jared had been looking down at the paper on which he’d written the name of the service station Faye’s car had been taken to. He glanced at Aeri and a smile tugged at his lips.

"I can vouch for the reflexes, Miss Stone." The smile disappeared. "Would you object if we went on a first-name basis?"

"Not at all."

"Of course, I must warn you. Faye will call both of us by names not associated with great ancestors before she accepts you as a bodyguard."

Aeri was certain Jared Stone was right about that.

Chapter Six

If Aeri had been listening, she would have heard Faye’s lengthy opinion about having Aeri move into her condominium.

"Absolutely not, Jared."

Faye paced. She was tired. It had been an uncommonly stressful day at the nutrition center. Two young girls, both sixteen, in the last stages of pregnancy, had been drinking. They wouldn’t admit it, but Faye could tell. She’d seen enough of the telltale signs that their vehement denials cut no ice with her. She sat them down and in no uncertain terms described the results of hard drinking to a fetus.

And she comes home to find Jared and this, this, whoever she was, had arranged interference to her life without any consideration of her wishes.

"Mother."

Faye whirled, stepped close to Jared where he stood by the small wet bar, and shook her finger in his face.

"Don’t you mother me, Jared."

He had to admire his mother. When she fumed and expostulated, she was awesome. A tiny tornado in a mint green pantsuit, the unwrinkled face marred in a determined frown, she was something to watch. He put down his drink glass and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Mother." He shook her a little. "Mother, I’m trying to keep you alive to see your grandchildren someday."

That stopped her.

She tilted her head back. "And is this going to happen in the near future? If so, I may rethink the entire situation. You haven’t gotten Linda in trouble have you?"

"And I’m not likely to, Mother."

"Well, the way you were talking." She narrowed her eyes. "So. Do you have someone in mind who might give me grandchildren? It might be worth staying alive for."

Jared thought of serious lavender-blue eyes, a wide mouth that curved too few times into a grin, black hair in contrast to fair skin and odd-colored eyes. Aeri Stone would certainly produce lovely children.

Good thing Faye couldn’t read his thoughts.

"I’m still looking, Mother. You wouldn’t want me to be thoughtless in picking out the mother of your grandchildren, now, would you?"

She moved closer to him and laid her head on him, just above his belt buckle.

"You remind me so much of your father sometimes."

"You always claimed I resembled your side of the family."

"Oh, you do." Faye stepped back and looked up at him. "It’s your devious side that’s so like Adrian."

Jared laughed.

"Are we in tune now?"

Faye walked to the window and looked out.

"No, not yet. I know you’re thinking all of us under the same roof would be inviting total disaster, but I’d rather stay here if I have to put up with Miss Stone. I already have a suite here, so you’d only have to worry about one more inconvenience." Her voice became dry as dust. "And if you plan to advertise her as your live-in girlfriend, it would be plausible to have her in your house."

Jared thought about it. Hell. Convince one woman of one thing, then the other one comes up with a monkey wrench to pitch into the deal.

"I’ll have to discuss that with Aeri again, Mother. We’d decided . ."

"Sure. You two decided my life. Well, un-decide it and tell Miss Stone she moves in here. Or else."

"Or else what, Mother?" His eyebrows climbed into inverted vee’s.

"I’ll move to Reno and get completely out of your hair." She turned a cunning expression towards Jared. "That lovely Mr. Swanson invited me to share his mansion on Lake Tahoe."

"That would put you about number fifteen on the shared list, wouldn’t it?"

Faye snorted. Delicately, but it was a snort.

"I’d be the last one, however."

"Sure, Mother." He ran long fingers around the back of his neck, pressed at the tension there. "All right. Aeri can move into the end suite, next door to yours."

"Is that a final decision?" Faye said as she headed towards the door. "You can convince Miss Stone so easily?"

Not easily, Jared thought.

"You want Connie to help you move some things over here today?"

"There are enough of my things here that we don’t have to hurry. Next week will do." She turned back. "When will your beloved move in?"

"Tonight." If I have anything to say about it, she will.

With an ill-concealed ‘hmph’ Faye walked out.

"Why?" Aeri said in answer to Jared’s statement.

"Because it’s the easiest way to get Mother to accept you as her bodyguard. You’ll be my live-in lover, Mother’s closest friend who loves to do the same things Faye does."

Oh, yeah. I can see that.

"You do see my point about all of us being together?"

"Yes, Aeri, but on the other hand, Connie will be close by most of the time and, since I work mostly at home, so will I. In case of trouble."

"I rest my case. Six of us will be an inviting target."

"Do it my way, Aeri, and we’ll at least have Mother in our sights."

Aeri wasn’t sure that would be to anyone’s advantage, given the fervently independent Faye’s propensity towards trouble.

"When do I move in?"

Jared held the receiver away from his ear, grinned, and proceeded to tell Aeri how they would do the move.

With Faye’s surprise agreement, Aeri leaned back in the chair and thought about her new job and the ensuing new address. She hadn’t moved this often since her father was in the military.

Jared Austin.

She’d have to read all the background material she’d collected over the past few days. Cord had given her some, plus a telephone number to call Quint Heyward, the Chicago newspaperman.

Aeri recalled her father talking about Mr. Heyward, his controversial columns on Pentagon policy, on foreign affairs, on the medical catastrophe in this country -- any number of subjects that few newsmen cared to tackle. If anyone knew Jared’s background and private activities, not to mention viewpoint, it would be Heyward.

She dialed Cord’s number. When he growled into the phone, Aeri laughed.

"And good evening to you, too."

Cord’s vibrant voice made Aeri hold the telephone away from her ear.

"What kind of trouble are you into now, Aeri, and how did you get there so quickly?"

"I have seen the enemy, and they are mine," she said, paraphrasing the classical response.

"What the hell’s that mean? Have you been to visit Bert without me?"

"What it means is that I trust no one within sound or sight from this day forward." She didn’t know how often she’d remember that light statement in the coming days. Briefly, she gave him a rundown of her activity and the decisions made up until right now.

"Moving in with Jared, eh?" There was a pause where she’d swear she heard chortling. "How does Faye feel about that?"

Aeri laughed, a low throaty sound that made even Cord grip the receiver more tightly. He wondered if Jared had ever heard her laugh. It was one of the nicest sounds he could remember a woman making.

"Need you ask?" Aeri said. "I haven’t heard directly from Faye, but I’ll bet she’s lying in wait for me and will have plenty to say."

Very quietly, one suitcase in the trunk of her car per day, Aeri moved into the Austin home. Faye was not allowed to vary her schedule. She went to the nursing home two days, then to the Coronado Comfort Facility where she gave instructions and supplies to the growing group of women in dire need, unwed mothers, some no more than children themselves, battered wives, alcoholics. Jared and Connie went to Faye’s condominium to pick up certain clothing, jewelry, perfumes and knickknacks his mother refused to live without.

An uneasy truce existed between Aeri and Faye, but Aeri knew it wouldn’t last. She could hardly blame Faye. She sure as heck wouldn’t want to live under the watchful eye of a stranger, especially one who interrupted her life style, interfered with her normal activities, and posed as her son’s live-in girlfriend.

The last item still made Aeri pause and think. It held a multitude of possibilities, and she couldn’t be sure if any of them were in her favor. Jared was quiet, but she’d bet, once aroused and offended, he could be a powerful enemy.

Or friend.

She’d have to work on the latter.

Friend.

With the jittery ripples along her nerve ends when she looked up to find Jared studying her with narrowed eyes, she doubted friendship was what he had in mind. He was likely thinking she was a bit out of her mind to think she could even pretend to be his lover. She didn’t have the social artistry or connections necessary to travel with his crowd. How would he explain Aeri’s constant presence to friends and business acquaintances?

She listened now to Jared’s patient explanations to Faye of the real situation. She tried not to listen as she stared down into the desert-landscaped grounds, a picture of pastel loveliness. Quiet, unpretentious luxury, restful to eye, mind and body. Threatening violence seem far-fetched from this scene.

The doors connecting Aeri’s suite with Faye’s were disguised as a full length mirror, and she could imagine Faye looking daggers into the reflections, wishing she could break the damned glass with her fist just to show Aeri her distaste.

Danger to Faye was real, Aeri had no doubt. Jared had practically hog-tied his mother and made her listen to his instructions. In his office now, he paced.

Aeri sat on a window seat, leaning against the cornice, where she could glance outside when Faye’s cold stare penetrated. Faye sat on the coral loveseat, swinging a small foot wearing multi-colored sandals, mere straps around her shapely ankles. An embroidered chambray shirt was tucked into a full denim skirt. Faye thrust her hands into the pockets and glared at her son’s tall figure.

"You may as well start this charade tonight, Jared," Faye said.

"You have something in mind?"

"Martha Leeds has tickets to the Garth Brooks show at The Sands." She gave her son a smug look. Jared wasn’t much of a country music enthusiast.

Jared didn’t miss the look.

"And I take Aeri with me?"

"That’s the plan, isn’t it? You’re to be seen with Miss Stone and, at the same time, drag your mother along. Just one big, happy family."

"The situation is serious, Faye." Jared stood in front of her. "Several of the politicians I’ve been investigating have mob connections. They aren’t fond of me." He would never give his mother details of his investigations, the dirt he dug in that uncovered crime or criminal intent. Lots of the misdeeds were among their upstanding citizenry.

Faye’s head went side to side.

"Oh, Jared. Are you still reading those Margaret Truman mysteries? With all the Washington organizations using a microscope to keep the Senate and House on the straight and narrow, they wouldn’t dare be anything but on the up and up."

Aeri watched mother and son. Faye was a lovely woman with personality plus, and according to everyone Aeri had talked to, a heart as big as the universe and who cared for everyone who needed it, big or little, black or white or brown or yellow or purple, good and bad.

Jared was another story. He rubbed people the wrong way with his outspoken criticisms, he pushed back when he was shoved, he wrote his columns, reports and articles with an honest pen that might just be the death of him -- or Faye -- or both. Faye was certainly intelligent enough not to believe that only the true and the honest held office in Washington. She was being hardheaded and contrary because she wanted her privacy, her life to be her very own. Not recently forced to do anything she didn’t want to do, Faye was determined to make it difficult for anyone who thought of changing her lifestyle.

Aeri flinched when she recalled her conversation with Quint Heyward when she’d finally caught up with him in London.

"How are you going to use this information, Miss Stone?"

That had been Heyward’s first question when she identified herself.

"I’m trying to keep Faye Austin alive."

Heyward grunted and was silent so long Aeri was beginning to think they’d been disconnected. She heard his long drawn-out breath.

"What’s Jared working on right now? Anything other than his usual hard-line to get things moving in the right direction for the state of Nevada?"

"There’s the promise of real estate deals in exchange for dumping biological and contaminated wastes from other states. Several real estate brokers and dealers have vested interests in giving breaks to foreign investors over those of Native Americans. There’s drug running, shady deals in pharmaceutical industries, paid off doctors, gambling indebtedness of notable officials."

"When does he sleep?" Heyward said when she stopped.

Aeri didn’t answer because she didn’t know. Her research hadn’t unearthed that type of personal information.

"I have several investigative reporters on my staff," Heyward said after a bit of silence. "One of them got too close to his quarry. His nine-year-old son disappeared. They found his dismembered body in the trunk of the reporter’s car after he left it in the airport long-term parking lot."

It was a bald, terrifying statement.

Aeri looked at Jared now as he stared down at Faye. Was he thinking of that child? Did he have nightmares about similar happenings? In answer to Heyward’s question -- Aeri had to guess when or if Jared ever slept.

"Well?" Faye said.

Jared ran long fingers through rumpled silver-blond hair. Aeri wondered if he had it streaked to get that perfect match or was he naturally graying? His lithe build reminded her of a cheetah, stretching, muscled, dangerous. And a man who would never have his hair streaked.

"If you’re going to the concert, Aeri and I will attend."

Aeri stood beside Jared, her fingers nestled in his big hand. Absently, he stroked her fingers as he talked to a man he’d introduced as Richard Cromwell. Aeri knew the Cromwell name, banking, real estate, shipping magnate. She glanced at their joined hands, wondering how it had happened. She didn’t remember just when she noticed a decidedly pleasant sensation easing up her arm when he caressed her knuckles with his thumb. He was holding her left hand, and her eyes rested on her watch, showing the time as eleven-forty-five. They had watched the performance, then mingled with a small group near the reserved dining room tables.

Aeri realized she hadn’t seen Faye in the past few minutes, and her head swung around, eyes darting from group to group, until they lighted on the perfectly coifed, silver-gray head tilted towards a younger woman at least four inches taller than Faye. Aeri relaxed a bit and, unconsciously, her fingers tightened on Jared’s. She felt a return pressure and glanced up.

"Something wrong?"

Richard Cromwell was no longer in front of them.

"No. Checking that Mrs. Austin is in sight. She’s small and sometimes hard to spot in a group of taller people."

Jared looked in the direction Aeri had nodded, saw his mother laughing, obviously enjoying herself in spite of her complaints.

"Do you know the people she’s with?" Aeri said. She was conscious of Jared’s fingers entwined with hers, and she didn’t mind at all.

"Linda Forrester is the tall blonde. Phil Loringer, up and coming political challenger, is the short man next to Faye."

"Challenging who or what?"

"He’s actually a well-known county judge, but he’s contemplating putting his hat into a higher ring come election year."

"I don’t trust him," Aeri said.

"How well do you know him?" Jared was surprised she knew someone like Loringer.

"I don’t know him at all, but all judges with political aspirations are suspect."

Jared chuckled, and Aeri tilted her head to study him. He bent his head, and his eyes narrowed, turning them black. An instant longer he hesitated, then lowered his face until his mouth rested on hers.

A startled pulse leaped in her throat, and her fingers tightened instinctively around Jared’s. He withdrew his mouth, his expression grave, but then he smiled. Aeri would swear her heart said ‘pitty pat.’ It had been a while since she allowed that, but a smile from Jared Austin was worth extra attention. And his kiss, brief as it was, rated right up there with the top ten hits.

"Merely backing up Faye’s tale that you and I are closer than friends," he said.

She smiled into his eyes. "Of course. I understand."

Someone spoke to Jared, and Aeri sucked in her breath. Damned if she understood what had happened when his mouth touched hers. She’d liked it. Don’t ever, ever, let Faye Austin know that, she told herself. She looked again at Faye, now talking with an older woman in a shrimp pink gown, so plain it was exotic with her cotton white hair and cameo features.

"That’s Mrs. Loringer, Aeri," Jared said. He was so close his breath stirred her hair at the temples. "She and Faye work together at the Coronado Facility and the nursing home."

"Does Faye ever stay at home or rest?" Aeri said.

Jared laughed, and warmth slithered through her thighs. It was a gentle sound, warm and sincere. His mother was lucky to have a son who truly loved her and looked out for her. Even to claiming a lover he hadn’t known ten days ago.

"Faye was a doting mother until I turned eighteen, then she decided I could look after myself, and she turned to helping those who couldn’t. Those she helps now probably keep her awake as many nights as I did during my teen years."

"You mean you didn’t run your parents batty driving fast cars with fast women in them?"
His head lowered to catch her words, fingers caressing, moving to close around her wrist. "I was a model child."

Aeri laughed and, beside her, Jared stiffened.

He couldn’t recall a sound that caused his heart to speed up like it just did since the last bullet he dodged on his trip to Iraq. Somewhere between the low call of a mourning dove and the tinkle of pure crystal, vital and intriguing, the very softness of it sent spirals of heat through his belly straight to his loins.

I’d better find something to distract me, he thought, and let his eyes rest on Faye a moment, saw she was being entertained, and leaned to whisper to Aeri.

A mistake, too, since his lips brushed the delicate shell of her ear, and he smelled the fresh light scent of her cologne. Apple blossoms. He didn’t know women still wore that fragrance, but of course, it was now called Elixir of Orchids or some such exotic name. It smelled sexy as hell on Aeri.

"Since we’re here, we may as well lose a bit of money, Aeri." He drew her with him across the lobby and into the casino.

Aeri stared at flashing lights, every color of the rainbow and some she knew had never been named, the noise of conversation, swearing and cheering, high-pitched laughter, humming excitement.

Jared stopped and she said, "What do we do?"

"What?" He looked at her with surprise. "We put money into the machine and flip that handle then we stand like idiots and wait for the jackpot."

Her eyes narrowed with laughter.

"You actually play these things?"

Straight-line eyebrows peaked. "Doesn’t everyone?"
"I never have."

"Aeri, is that true?"

"Every word."

The woman was amazing.

"Okay. Here’s what we do."

He withdrew several one-dollar bills from his pocket. Holding her hand, he pulled her along to a brightly lit machine with no one in front of it.

"Your choice as to how hard and fast you pull the handle. Try it a few times until you get the hang of it."

Aeri wasn’t sure she’d keep her mind on such an inanimate object as a blinking machine when Jared’s fingers burned through the silk of her dress. His breath tickled her neck. She wanted to shrug away from him, and then decided she’d just as soon he wrap his arms around her.

She shook her head to dislodge her hot thoughts.

A job, Aeri. Just a job. She bit her lip, slipped three one-dollar bills into the machine the way Jared indicated, brought her hand down and watch spinning lights.

"Rumors say high rollers here have gang ties. Any truth to that?"

Jared’s lips touched the delicate rim of her ear. "Probably."

"There are enough hard-looking men around to back that up."

She shivered, not only from the thought of gang members like Murphy Chappell and his hoods, but from Jared’s light brush of his mouth. She glanced to the side, relieved to see Faye and Mrs. Loringer feeding money into a machine a few feet from them. She leaned against Jared, relaxing for an instant, and immediately knew she’d done the wrong thing.

Jared turned to smile and wink at his mother, nodded to Mrs. Loringer, and then gave himself up to enjoying the feel of Aeri’s body moving against his as she played the machine. She intrigued him. A bodyguard who knew how to handle weapons, defend herself, and was prepared to protect Faye against all comers. He couldn’t allow himself to doubt that she’d be at least a deterrent should someone come after Faye, but he didn’t like the feeling he wanted to protect Aeri. It should be feisty, hardheaded, strong-willed, fast-moving Faye he worried about. And he did worry even though up until recently, he’d never believed he would have to think in terms of a bodyguard for his own mother.

What he’d suspected -- and guarded against -- for a long time was beginning to make sense. Persistent digging, dull research in musty libraries, plus reliable informants had given him detailed, meaty information that could spell trouble for his quarry. He was getting close to something too big for powerful crooks to ignore.

And Faye was going to be the one they worked through to get to him.

His hands closed on Aeri’s shoulders as bells rang and money poured from the machine.

Twenty minutes later, they traded in tokens for two hundred and fifty dollars.

Aeri was ecstatic. "I didn’t think people actually won at these things. After what you put in there, what’s your profit."

"You started with three one dollar bills. The rest is gravy." He pocketed the money. "You can have this when we get home. Let’s collect Faye and go home."

"We don’t celebrate with champagne?" Aeri said.

"We’ll celebrate where I know the liquor’s good, and we have an expert bartender."

"Connie?" Aeri almost said ‘Boris.’

"Me," Jared said and pulled her along after him.

Chapter Seven

Faye excused herself to change into something more comfortable, and Aeri leaned on the polished railing of the balcony adjacent to Jared’s study, which also housed a bar. Jared had been mixing drinks when the telephone rang, and Aeri wandered outside when it became apparent he was talking to a woman.

Vegas was a bewitching city, preening her liquid golds and glittering multi-colors like liberally strewn gems across her ever-changing face. Bewitching -- and treacherous. Three years of watching justice sidetracked in favor of profit, laws flaunted to enhance social and financial standings, had made a skeptic of Aeri. What appeared on the surface was seldom the true picture.

In the quiet desert night, Aeri mentally reviewed the evening at The Sands. People who came by to speak to the Austins, some she recognized from newspaper articles and pictures, some she’d never heard of, friends or acquaintances from Jared’s business or Faye’s volunteer work.

Linda Forrester. Lovely, model-slim, vivacious, dark, slanted eyes drifting in Jared’s direction several times as she talked with Faye. Once Aeri saw her approach Jared, tuck her hand in the curve of his arm and lean against him. Jared’s smile had been friendly. Aeri couldn’t tell if there was anything else in his expression. The young woman seemed well acquainted with him, and certainly, she was attractive enough for any man, Jared Austin included.

Richard Cromwell. Why did the name seem familiar? Because of business interests or had she read something special in recent months? One of many suits filed against him or in his favor? She frowned. She’d have to do some research on him. Friend of the family? Of Jared? Faye? Or just business?

Phillip Loringer. Politician. Aspiring judge. One to watch, according to Aeri’s suspicious mind. He could be a loyal, sincere, and honest man, but she doubted it. Seriously. She’d reserve final judgment however. All of the above figured in her protective program for Faye.

"Sorry," Jared said as he joined her on the terrace.

Aeri smiled and accepted the frosted drink he held out to her. She turned to look out over the city, just far enough away from this location to be attractive.

"No problem. It’s lovely here."

"Isn’t it?" he said and leaned on the banister, his arm brushing hers. "Any keen observations tonight?"

So. He’d been doing some appraising of his own.

"Nothing unusual about the setting or the people we spoke with or the acquaintances who stopped to pass the time of day with you and Faye." She sipped her drink and enjoyed the mild mixture. Pina colado, maybe, or something similar. "Do you often go to shows on the Strip?"

"No. I was surprised when Faye suggested it. Usually, she refuses tickets such as those or she gives them to someone who couldn’t otherwise afford to attend."

"Is your mother consciously harassing me?"

Aeri looked at him over the rim of her glass. Her grin was teasing, her eyes black pools with the lights of distant Vegas reflecting in them.

Jared stared down at her. "Why would Faye do that?" He wasn’t sure if Aeri was teasing or if she thought it comical that the woman she was hired to protect was testing her right from the start. Knowing Faye as he did, Jared could believe that’s exactly what his mother would do.

"She’s upset because you allowed me to move here. She’s mad as hell because she’s living in the same house as her son, and positively steaming because she and I are under the same roof."

"That’s all one and the same reason."

"But with different perspectives, different approaches. That way, she can be three times as obstinate, give me that much more trouble, aggravate you until you finally kick her out of your house, any number of games she can play to prove she doesn’t need me for protection."

"Is that what clients of bodyguards do?"
Aeri’s expression changed. She raised dark eyes to his, completely serious.

"Faye hasn’t allowed herself to realize danger to her is real, Jared. Somehow, we have to convince her before she becomes a bonafide victim."

"How to you propose to do that?" He was busy watching her, the softness of her features, heart-shaped face perfectly framed by black hair that stirred with the faint breeze, a mouth made for kissing. Excitement stirred briskly in his stomach, responding to that thought, and he was aware that a slight movement on his part would have her in his arms.

He wanted that.

He made himself remember that this woman, a woman he’d known mere days was not for his enjoyment but to protect Faye, the mother he loved more than he could ever hope to show her. He had to depend on Aeri, and he couldn’t be involved romantically with her and expect her absolute attention to her job. His feelings he could control. They would simply have to wait. He’d waited before for something he wanted badly, and he could do it again.

But eventually, he would have Aeri Stone.

"Watch her closely, Aeri. Don’t let her get hurt."

Faye chose that moment to stroll into the room, at ease in a flared Hawaiian printed caftan, and barefoot.

Jared walked back into the room, brushed her cheek with his lips, and went to get the drink he’d mixed for her.

Aeri followed him to sit on a long, off-white sofa while Faye lounged easily on a brocade-covered chair, bare feet resting on a matching ottoman.

She stirred the fruit in her drink with a slim forefinger.

"Harriet and Phil are moving to their condo on Lake Mead while their home is being remodeled," Faye said. Her eyes were fixed on Jared as he crossed the room to sit on the couch beside Aeri. "Linda will be their guest several weekends, and we’re also invited."

"What did you tell them?"

Jared flicked a glance at Aeri to see her studying Faye. An arrow-thin brow peaked as Faye sipped from her glass.

"I said I’d ask you, of course."

Jared was certain Faye had her tongue stuck neatly inside her cheek.

A nerve ticked in Aeri’s eye. A sure warning sign. She stopped herself from objecting and waited for Jared to answer his mother.

"Extend our thanks and regrets, Faye. Another time, perhaps."

"Linda will be disappointed." Faye gave Aeri a brief smile. "You could use some time off. Maybe the thugs you think are after me would lose interest."

Aeri could be facetious, too.

"Casually dropping in a time or two could work in our favor," Aeri said. "It would vary Faye’s schedule and keep it from being too predictable. Which it is now."

Faye’s comments hadn’t brought the protests she’d hoped for. She stood, fairly bristling, and would have stamped her foot had it not been bare. "I have earned the right to come and go as I please, and I will not hide behind a skirt even if it is pure silk." With a fierce look at Aeri and a lift of her small chin, Faye flounced from the room.

Silence followed her departure. Aeri sipped her drink and waited for Jared’s comment. She wasn’t going to apologize. She’d been hired to protect Faye, and she intended to earn her money. In spite of the woman.

"How’s the drink?"

Aeri’s head came up as Jared spoke close to her. She blinked.

"It’s good." She placed the drink on a nearby table. "Cord Yandell will be at Lake Mead for a week vacationing on Bert Skowron’s houseboat. Bert is a former deputy with Cord’s department, and he knows Las Vegas, sins and sinners alike. We could stay there instead of with the Loringers. That might give us time to see if anyone’s seriously considering an immediate move on you. Or Faye."

"Faye isn’t going to leave the Nursing Facility or the Comfort Center, Aeri. Like you said, she’s trying to see how far you’ll go to protect her in this silly game we’re playing."

"As far as I have to, and it is not a game, silly or otherwise. I sincerely want to keep her alive."

"I know, Aeri, and that’s my plan. Faye will appreciate it later, probably does already, and isn’t about to admit it."

"Will she ever be frightened?"
"I doubt it."

Jared smiled, and Aeri was conscious of the misbehavior of her heart. Darn. This is serious. I cannot be interested in my boss. Much too distracting. She might not have a choice in the matter if her jittery nerves were any indication. Years of disinterest had made her unwary. She’d have to pay more -- and stricter -- attention to what her hormones were trying to tell her.

She headed off her wayward thoughts.

"I hate to think of leaving a job like this one and going back to criminal courts and Murphy Chappell’s form of justice," she said. Even trying to convince Faye she needed Aeri was easier than doing that. She didn’t want to retreat. It was a horrible thought.

Jared touched her cheek.

"I knew Faye needed protection even before I called Cord. But you’ve given me more cause to believe Faye’s in danger or could be in the near future with the way my work is going. You have a job to do here."

One hand touched the thin strap of her bodice, curving over her bare shoulder. She watched his fingers follow the silky material that fit smoothly over her rounded breasts. His fingers curved, and she looked up only to meet his exploring mouth. Her lips parted easily, and suddenly, they were captured in a hard kiss, a kiss that rocked her composure and literally took her breath.

Aeri’s wide-open eyes stared as Jared’s thick lashes settled over his tanned cheek, felt the forceful thrust of his tongue against her teeth with a rough and primitive need. Just as quickly, the kiss turned sweet as he explored her lips, tasting the inside of her mouth. His hands moved slowly over her, intimately touching, leaving his mark of ownership, sliding around her waist to pull her to him. She let herself go, gliding through mists of sweetness, accepting his plundering, answering with racing pulse and shimmering flickers in her stomach, warm stirrings as her long thighs pressed into his hardness. She forgot this was forbidden territory, that you never become involved with clients, and you never, ever, forget the job at hand.

This time, Aeri knew, she had her hands full. Hadn’t she already decided Austin was so far out of her league it would take David Copperfield to even bring him closer?

Jared lifted his head, started to speak. Aeri shook her head, backed out of his arms, and said simply, "No."

Then she walked from the room and headed upstairs to the rooms assigned to her.

Jared watched her go, his body stiff with wanting, his heart beating an erratic tattoo of desire. Oh, yes. Aeri Stone would belong to him. Soon.

Or he’d lose his mind.

The second cassette arrived the next day.

Aeri hadn’t slept well. As soon as Jared stopped kissing her, and she’d regained her balance -- if not her perspective -- she’d given him a long, puzzled look, and retreated. That’s what her father, the army colonel, had taught her: When to make a strategic withdrawal. Aeri had thought it time to regroup. A long night of twisting and turning hadn’t done much for her battle plans, but one thing was for sure. She and Jared would have to set limits or they’d end up doing what the unknowing public would assume - that Aeri Stone was Jared’s lover, with Faye’s blessing.

And would that be a military objective to overcome?

Aeri sipped iced Pepsi and watched Vegas come awake. A heat mist hung over downtown, but here a pleasant desert breeze cooled her hot cheeks.

"Good morning."

Jared appeared in her open doorway. She resented the fact that he looked wide-awake, as though he’d slept eight hours without interruption. He carried a cup of coffee as he stepped onto the balcony.

Aeri murmured a greeting and went back to enjoying the view.

"Sleep well?" His voice was low, courteous.

"No," she said, her voice flat and irritated.

"Sorry. I thought you’d be comfortable in these rooms." He glanced over his shoulder at the queen-sized bed, already made up with a snowy eyelet coverlet smoothed neatly into place.

Aeri took a deep breath. "I can’t get involved romantically with you and still do my best for Faye."

His voice was amused. "I thought it was your idea that we be lovers, thereby giving credence to your being here and underfoot all the time."

"I didn’t mean literally."

"I like literal translations."

She glanced at him, then back at the awakening city spread out in front of them.

"It won’t work in this instance." She placed one hand on the rail, gripped tightly. "You’re too distracting."

He pushed thick hair behind her ear and kissed the temple.

"Hmm-mm-m. Smells good."

Aeri shivered, and her legs seemed boneless.

"You may as well get used to being distracted. I have every intention of being your real lover, not just pretend. Get used to the idea."

She was saved from answering by a light knock on her bedroom door. They both turned to see Connie. He held a box in his hand.

"Excuse me, Mr. Austin, but this just came by special messenger. No return address. I scanned it for explosives."

Jared crossed the room and held out his hand. Connie didn’t release it.

"I’d better open it outside, Sir." His voice was steady, and he kept his eyes locked with Jared’s.

"You said you scanned it."

"Yes, Sir, but still, I prefer to open it outside."

"All right, Connie. We’ll watch from Aeri’s balcony."

"Why?" Aeri spoke the one word as Jared stepped outside again.

"Connie’s an explosives expert, and he is distrustful by nature. That one personality trait has served us well in the past."

"So you trust him completely."

"Yes."

Below them, Connie exited the kitchen door and rounded the side of the house where Aeri and Jared watched. Aeri’s heart speeded up as Connie took the garden hose and stood several feet from the package he’d placed in a pile of sand. Strong water jets bounded the parcel around. Beside her, Aeri saw Jared’s fingers turn white as he gripped the banister. They waited, but nothing happened.

Connie looked up and circled his thumb and forefinger in an ‘okay’ gesture.

"He was awful close had that been a bomb," Aeri said and let her breath ease out in relief.

"You’re right. We’d better pay attention to Faye rather than letting our emotional demons loose on each other."

Her eyes widened. First, she grinned. When his lips lifted in a half smile, his eyes gleaming like gray marble, she laughed out loud.

Jared’s heart tilted, then tumbled into lust, as her laugh chased tremors through his long body.

"Well said, Mr. Austin," Aeri said. "Emotional demons should not be loosed unattended, and we do have other commitments."

Jared wondered how long he could allow ‘other commitments’ to interfere with his having Aeri.

Connie brought the box to Jared.

"I took the liberty of opening it since I’d dampened the casing," he said. "It’s a tape similar to the one delivered several days ago."

"Thanks, Connie. Stick around, and let’s see what we’ve got."

The tape started out as the first one had. Faye Austin drove her light blue Mercedes to the nursing home, changed into work clothes and went through a typical day, up to the clock with hands pointing at two-thirty. She reached her Mercedes where she had parked it several hours earlier, entered it, and turned the ignition key. The car and Faye’s image disappeared in a roaring blast.

Jared jerked upright from where he’d lounged in the chair behind his desk. Aeri’s breath cut off abruptly. They watched, mesmerized, as Faye entered the Cadillac cafe. She sat down with Bert, as before, then they, too, disappeared in a fiery blast.

Neither Aeri nor Jared spoke. They couldn’t.

The next scene showed Faye guide the Mercedes past the security guard at her condominium and park in her garage. A moment later, an explosion rocked the entire building, and it fell into itself, leaving a blazing ruin. The tape ended with snowy blankness, then a voice cut through.

"This is to show you what can happen to your family -- or you -- should you choose not to heed our warnings." The voice could not be traced. It was either spoken into a covered mike or disguised by voice-over mechanics.

Aeri and Jared sat speechless.

A moment later, Jared swore. He swore continuously, using words Aeri figured even Colonel Edward Stone couldn’t match.

Chapter Eight

Whatever Jared’s plans had been for the day were scrapped in favor of a meeting among the four of them: Jared, Faye, Connie and Aeri.

Faye made her objections, but she didn’t gain any ground with Jared. His voice was quiet and authoritative, and Aeri was certain he’d hold his mother in the chair rather than let her go without hearing what he had to say.

"You sit there and watch that video, Mother," Jared said.

All four of them watched. Connie leaned forward, eyes glued to the deadly threats on the screen. Aeri watched Faye whose narrowed gray eyes slowly rounded in disbelief as she realized what the scenes meant. When the last explosion spewed smoke and ruins across the screen, Connie’s big hands clenched over his knees where they rested, and he raised fierce blue eyes to Jared’s face.

"It can be done just that easily," Connie said.

"I know," Jared said, rewinding the tape. "What I want from you is how we can tell if any of that’s been set up."

"First, give Mrs. Austin the Mustang," Connie said.

"I will not drive that beat up excuse for a car, Jared," Faye said. "At least, give me something that’s decent."

"That beat up car is a souped up piece of unbeatable equipment that James Bond would give his eye teeth for," Jared said. "Connie can drive for you if you can’t handle the five-speed."

"I cannot, and I won’t have Connie play nursemaid to me."

"I can drive a floor shift, Jared," Aeri said. She sat cross-legged, scissors fashion, wide legs of navy blue silk pants cozy against her slender thighs. "How much horsepower?"

"Four-twenty, big eight engine, four-barrel carb, racing tires."

A slow smile curved Aeri’s mouth, and for a moment, Jared lost his chain of thought. He’d kissed that mouth last night, and it had done some strange and wonderful things to his libido. Not necessarily strange. Powerful might be a better description. It made him think of Aeri in black satin with lace straps and revealing cutouts, made him wonder if Frederick’s of Hollywood might have something to enhance the lithe body he’d held so briefly, made him think of light perfume sprinkled on appealing parts of Aeri’s soft flesh.

He smothered a groan as he turned to disguise his sudden arousal. It had been eons since he’d had this type of problem. A few more thoughts like that, and he’d grab her up and drag her off to his room. The thought of ravishing Aeri’s slender body was intriguing and tempting as all hell. What had prompted the lecherous feelings towards this woman when he studiously avoided such attentions to women he knew, women who only needed the slightest show of interest to be by his side, willing to see to his sexual needs? Hadn’t he learned his lesson long ago?

Aeri was speaking again.

"My dad is a Junior Johnson fan. He introduced me to several of Mr. Johnson’s protégés who loved teaching me how to maneuver specially equipped cars." The big blue-purple eyes widened in delight. "We’ve watched Earnhart, Allison, the Pettys, and Yarborough so often we recognize their helmets before they ever put them on. Richard Petty let me drive his car into the pit after his last race."

"Doesn’t anything ever throw you for a loss?" Jared said.

She met his look with wide-open eyes.

"Occasionally."

He really would like to kiss her. Hard. And for about three hours.

It was one more mark against his tormentors that he’d have to postpone that pleasure.

The Mustang could have belonged to any zealous teenager working hard for his first transportation and not being very successful at it. Vintage circa 1973, it was white with rust spots on the driver’s door and the front bumper, boasting four hubcaps with assorted dents and scratches. Various bugs decorated the grill. The seat covers were extravagant, Aeri thought. Zebra striped fur, no less.

When she turned the key, the motor purred like a contented Jaguar. Aeri closed her eyes and listened to the powerful murmur of all that horsepower, picturing it on the autobahn or the Indianapolis speedway.

"You actually know something about cars?" Faye said. There was doubt in her voice.

Aeri opened her eyes and smiled at the petite woman beside her, strapped in by a no-nonsense up-to-date seat belt. A tiny symbol on the dash informed passengers that they were protected by air bags. Whoever modified this baby knew what he was doing. All she needed was a sub-machine gun strapped beneath the exhaust. On second thought, maybe she’d better check it out. Wouldn’t surprise her to find one.

Aeri drew in her breath. "Yeah," she said. "I know a bit about cars."

The floor shift moved smoothly, and she guided the Mustang from the garage onto the street in back of the Austin residence.

"Go to the end of the block and turn left," Faye said. "Coronado is about two miles straight down Virginia Boulevard."

Aeri followed instructions. Coronado Nursing Facility was a pink stone building set back from the street and reached by a circular driveway.

"Parking spaces for employees and volunteers are at the end over by the fountain," Faye said.

"Do you park in the same spot every day?"
"Yes. Well, mostly. Sometimes, it’s taken."

"I’m going to park at the opposite side. How far will you have to walk?"

"About the same distance except where I change clothing is at this end."

"Are your clothes inside?" Aeri looked from one end of the building to the other, one side of the parking lot around to the end and back to the other side. A few people strolled along the walkways, several in nurse uniforms walked with purposeful stride towards double doors that had Coronado Nursing Facility carved in cement above them.

Nothing seemed out of place, but then, they were dealing with professionals who knew how to blend. Aeri couldn’t see in all the cars, but they looked empty.

"I have a locker on the first floor, but I work on the third." Faye gathered her large handbag and the basket of fruit she’d had Aeri stop and pick up.

"All lockers for volunteers in the same place?"

"Yes."

"All women?"

Faye gave her a hard look. "No. There are several men."

Aeri grinned. "Unisex lockers?"

Faye opened her mouth to give Aeri a sharp answer, but instead, her lips twitched in a half grin.

"As a matter of fact, the superintendent of nurses seems to trust us not to engage in sexual misconduct in front of our patients."

"Glad to hear it," Aeri said. "Jared wouldn’t want you setting a bad example." She slid out and walked around to open Faye’s door, reaching for the fruit basket as she did so.

"I can carry that. I always do."

"Today, you have help, Faye. Act as thought you appreciate it." Aeri slammed the car door and locked it with a key.

How in the world can Faye do this everyday without slowing down? Aeri wondered five hours later. She’d bet every patient there knew Faye, and each of them had asked her a question or reached to hold her hand. Faye hadn’t refused any of them. No matter if she was sixty-six, she had untiring energy and a bottomless well of sympathy for anyone in pain.

That worried Aeri. She was so darned friendly, how in the world could they keep her safe if she insisted on being companion to the entire human race? Some of whom weren’t exactly human. Aeri would bet her first paycheck from Jared Austin on that fact.

Twice during the hours Faye worked, Aerie had left her to walk in a roundabout direction to where she’d parked the Mustang. From two cars away she’d checked out the tires, windshield and back window. She’d left about an inch of open window on the front doors. Nothing had changed. Her glance went over the parking lot once more. The same cars were there as when they arrived.

She spoke to Faye as they left the double doors at the east side of the building.

"Set your handbag on that bench and rummage as though looking for your keys. I’ll be back by to pick you up." She squelched Faye’s expected retort before it left her mouth. "You’re precious cargo, Faye. Be happy someone loves you enough to keep you alive. Look back at your day, all those people who have no one except you. They’d hate to attend your funeral."

It was possibly the only thing that would have stopped Faye’s protests. As it was, she dutifully placed her huge straw handbag down and pawed through it. She wanted to resent this ridiculous bodyguard, but unfortunately, what Aeri said made sense. Yesterday, she’d have snorted at the thought of being in danger from some unknown hoodlum, but the video had shaken her more than she wanted to admit. Adrian Austin would turn over in his grave to know she was a virtual prisoner in Jared’s home. Not that she didn’t love Jared. She positively worshipped the boy. Not only was he as perfect as any son could be, he was the embodiment of his father whom she’d loved beyond all hope. Always, Faye had hoped that Jared would find a woman special enough for him, one who would love and cherish him and get the same in return. She wasn’t certain such a woman existed.

She watched the Mustang back from its parking space and sighed. She thought perhaps the reason she’d never pushed him towards marriage was because she’d never seen a woman anywhere near his equal. Not that she was prejudiced. Faye picked up the bag and walked casually toward the unpretentious Ford now in front of her.

With her seat belt fastened, she looked through the windshield. "No bogeyman lurking under the hood?"
"Not this time." Aeri watched the rearview mirror and glanced to each side as she pulled onto the street with heavy afternoon traffic. "It’s early yet. Give them time. The people we’re dealing with aren’t amateurs nor are they particular who they hurt. They’ll squash you like a bug if they think that’s the only way to stop Jared’s investigations."

"Jared’s not an investigator."

"He’s nosy as hell, Faye, and he doesn’t hesitate to let the paying public know what kind of people are running things."

"Running what kind of things? I haven’t lived here with my eyes closed. Of course, we have crooks. Every city does. I see Jared at least once each week, and we talk. He doesn’t say anything about local or national politicians that average citizens don’t say."

Aeri checked her mirrors and pulled into the right lane.

"Would you like a hamburger from The Cadillac before we go home? You must be hungry since you didn’t have lunch."

She stopped for a red light and glanced sideways at Faye.

"You must have also noticed that you and I and John Q Public just mutter away about our dissatisfaction, but Jared works to get it changed. That’s going to reduce someone’s pocket change sooner or later."

Faye was silent a moment, and then she sighed. "Yes, I’m hungry."

Faye’s eyes rested on Aeri’s hands as she managed the floor shift easily, her long body relaxed behind the wheel, eyes constantly checking around them. How could anyone as neat and polished looking as Aeri handle someone who might be thinking dirty thoughts about them? Faye had her doubts as to how much good Aeri would be in protecting her should someone bent on her destruction decide to kidnap or kill her. Her eyes narrowed as she focused on Aeri, and a slither of cold fear danced along her spine. She had never felt like this, and she sure as hell didn’t like it.

The Cadillac was doing a good business even if it was mid-afternoon. Bert spotted them as they came in the door and was at a clean table to pull the chair out for Faye when they reached it.

He waved to Aeri and leaned to kiss Faye’s cheek. "Missed you, darlin’," he said and straightened to stare into her face. "You working too hard?"

"You know I don’t work at all, Bert."

Aeri figured that smile must have a million megawatts of friendliness, the same potent smile that had won Adrian Austin and continued to win friends and influence people. Somewhere, she’d run into the wrong ones. No, not Faye. Jared had. She listened to the light exchange between Faye and Bert, her mind busy with possible trouble spots.

A restaurant. Poison. No. Not here.

Aeri’s glance slid past a couple, obviously quarreling, the woman with a pouty mouth and lowered eyes. The man with tightly closed mouth, hands clenched around a bottle of Coors Light. Four men argued over the upcoming boat races on Lake Mead. A waiter dodged two men engaged in conversation using hands and arms for emphasis.

"Isn’t that right, Aeri?" Faye said.

Aeri blinked. "I’m sorry, Faye. My mind wandered. What did you say?"

"We’re starved and would like two hamburger specials, burnt, with onion rings."

"Sounds like a winner," Aeri said and smiled at Bert. "When do you and Cord leave for your vacation?"

"Sunday afternoon." He swiped across their table with a clean cloth. "Can’t wait to take old Cord to the cleaners." He yelled their order across the room to McVey, the cook, who nodded he’d heard.

"I’d watch him if I was you," Aeri said. "Cord’s tricky."

"Yeah, but he’s got a lot on his mind, and that makes him careless."

"Like what on his mind?"
"The doc’s orders to cut down on fatty foods and the side bet on his drinking." Bert propped a foot on the chair rung. "Ain’t no way Cord can gamble and not drink. Gotta have that pacifier, and he gave up smoking ten years ago."’

"Sounds like Cord’s got his job cut out for him," Aeri said. Her gaze shifted behind Bert as two new customers came in and sat down against the wall. Gentlemen gambler types, Aeri thought. Brooks Brothers suits, fifty-dollar ties and hundred dollar haircuts. Spiffy. But, then, they can spare it. Laundered money is easily available to that breed.

Someone hailed Bert, and he sauntered towards the counter.

"Adrian and I used to go to Lake Mead and fish," Faye said, her voice soft with memory. "Nothing like a lazy day watching a bobbing float to make one look forward to a romp in bed."

Aeri’s eyes swung to Faye and met a mischievous grin.

"Not that we needed any incentive besides each other." Faye toyed with her water glass. "I see Adrian in Jared every time I look at him, but I still miss the big lug."

Aeri thought it an endearing trait for a stubborn old woman to admit she missed her husband. She’d bet Faye didn’t admit to many weaknesses, if that could be considered as one.

Their orders came, and they talked about the nursing facility, its plusses and minuses.

"Of course, there’s never enough money," Faye said. "But I see a lot of places they could cut corners. I don’t like the way they fill prescriptions, but every time I mention it, they say the government requires all those extra steps for Medicare and Medicaid benefits."

Faye wiped her mouth after a bit of the juicy burger. She frowned.

"If I sat on the Board of Trustees," she said, "I’d check out some of the prescriptions they write and some they don’t’."

"What do you mean?" Her words raised a red flag in Aeri’s mind. Antennas of curiosity waved at the mention of misuse of medical prescriptions. She’d been involved in court cases where charges were filed against pharmaceutical companies and doctors to know that mistakes weren’t isolated. No matter how involved the charges, she’d never been witness to a conviction, even though Heaven knows she’d tried.

Faye raised her head to look at Aeri.

"I don’t have a specific complaint, but I have noticed some of the elderly patients have days when they suffer more than others, and there’s no medication available. I asked for some for Mrs. Kenway today, and they said she’d had all she could have. Yet, her chart says she should be given the medication every four hours."

"Had it been four hours?"

"Yes. Not only that, it was just two o’clock and some should have been left for six and ten o’clock. The nurse said she’d get it tomorrow."

"What’s wrong with Mrs. Kenway?"

"Besides Alzheimer’s, she has shingles, an extremely painful condition."

Faye glanced across the room to where Bert engaged in conversation with the bartender.

She’s really an old sweetie, Aeri thought, and wondered why Faye fought so hard against a temporary bodyguard -- companion, really. Aeri’s warm thoughts were interrupted.

"If Jared wants to fight a cause, let him go busting into all the nursing homes, the clinics that doddle along on what the politicians reluctantly dole out, the street people."

Faye’s jaw tightened, and Aeri would swear she looked so much like her son that it was comical. Determined. Hardheaded.

Aeri sighed. "Why don’t you ask Jared about that?"

Mother and son were both suspicious of her abilities. Doubtful she’d be worth what she was being paid. Aeri had a feeling she was going to earn every penny -- and more.

Faye sipped water, slapped the glass down so hard liquid splashed out of it, and glared.

"Because he’d do just what he’s done now. Order me to stop poking my nose where it doesn’t belong and stay home where I’ll be safe. Safe. Huh. Who wants to be safe if you can’t be free?" She stood up. "Let’s get out of here before I lose my temper."

Aeri thought it might be a good idea.

Faye paid the bill, waved at Bert, and they walked out the side door nearest where the Mustang was parked. She reached to take Faye’s arm when they were jostled from behind, and Aeri found her arm pinned in a vise-like grip. Someone not interested in being gentle shoved her along.

She tried to turn, heard a growled, "Don’t even think it, Bitch." And was dragged beside Faye who was being held on the opposite arm in a similar fashion. Aeri couldn’t turn her head, didn’t see anything but legs clad in Brooks Brothers pants and Gucci loafers. Her gentlemen gamblers from The Cadillac.

The man holding Faye switched sides, bringing her close to Aeri, and said to his companion, "You gonna take the Buick or her car? A Fifty-seven Magnum pistol was carelessly pointed at Aeri.

The question didn’t make sense. Why would they take the Mustang that could be traced? Unless they planned to dump them in Lake Mead where neither car nor women would ever be found.

Over my not-yet-dead body, she thought.

She hadn’t thought a move by the threateners would be made so quickly, thought perhaps they’d wait a few days, bide their time before pushing Jared. Give him time to think about the graphic video. It was her mistake, so she’d better correct it.

Aeri didn’t dare take a chance on getting her own gun, neatly tucked beneath her arm. Either man looked willing to shoot first and ask questions later.

She bent her head near Faye’s ear and whispered, "Fake a fall as we cross the curb."

For her trouble, Aeri was jerked upward by the strong-armed hoodlum. But Faye had heard her, and Aeri watched.

As they stepped from the curb, Faye’s ankle twisted, her knee bent awkwardly, and she grunted loudly. Faye’s abductor swore and stumbled along with her, trying to straighten her up. Faye might be small, but a dead weight was hard to manage no matter what the size.

Aeri went limp, dropped flat on her rump, and rolled as she hit the ground with the thug hanging onto her arm. She felt the pull of muscle, gritted her teeth to keep from moaning at the pain. She rolled, taking the hood with her into the legs of Faye’s captor. Heads crunched, and Aeri dug her slipper heel into the side of the nearest jaw, ripping flesh as she brought it down. The heel of her open hand caught the second one in the nose. Warm blood splattered her hand, but she squeezed and twisted. A loud yell settled into a painful whimper. On her knees she scrambled crab-like over one twitching body, and swung her right leg to dislodge the weapon in the thug’s limp hand. The first man sat up, his gun aimed at Aeri. She curled into a ball, arms across her chest, and barreled into him, her head cracking into his chin, her elbow punching his abdomen. The accompanying grunt was a satisfying sound.

Aeri kept rolling until she came up beside Faye who sat on the curb, holding the hood’s gun on them. She handed it to Aeri and wiped her hand on her skirt.

"Are you hurt?"

Aeri shook her head and grinned at Faye.

"I don’t like guns, you know," Faye said. Her narrowed eyes fixed on Aeri. This woman, she thought, is something. Life could get interesting around her. She might just earn her money.

Faye’s thoughts were interrupted by the squeal of brakes. A black sedan skidded across the left lane and stopped in front of the fallen crooks. Hands yanked both men into the car, which zoomed off before the door closed.

"Damn," Aeri said. "There’ve been times I was more alert."

She caught Faye’s arm, half lifting her. "Come on." Aeri fairly threw Faye into the Mustang and was around to the driver’s side before Faye caught her breath.

"Hang on. This might get hairy."

It was an understatement, Faye thought, fingers white as they clutched the armrest and side strap. The black car stayed in sight, the temporary tag in the rear window unreadable, smeared so as to prevent tracing. Aeri downshifted, cut sharply across a parking lot to skid into the street behind the bigger car, braked, then inched up until the Mustang bumper nudged it. The driver hadn’t seen her move in but now, he hit the gas, pulling away from Aeri. She lost a few yards, floored the accelerator, taking a curve on two wheels, and found herself on a one-way street headed the wrong way. Outraged motorists blasted horns at them.

The Mustang’s speedometer read 78 miles per hour when the sedan roared across railroad tracks inches ahead of the Silver Streak. Aeri slid sideways alongside the tracks before coming to a stop.

The train roared past them, and the black sedan was out of sight.

"You ever had a speeding ticket?" Faye pushed what had been sleekly coifed hair from her eyes.

"Not since I was eighteen." Aeri drummed her palms on the steering wheel and swore at the innocent train.

"Were they real kidnappers?"

"They were indeed."

"You may just earn the fabulous sum Jared has to pay you," Faye said.

Aeri nodded, but she wasn’t really listening.

Now they knew for certain: They weren’t dealing with amateurs.

Chapter Nine

Jared paced from his desk to the darkened window and back again.

"They’ve already made a fix on the car. Serious already, no fooling around, letting us know they mean business, and we’re in deep trouble."

A shaken Faye had finally gone to bed with Connie lounging in the hallway outside her door. Her suite of rooms had a balcony, and Jared had warned her against going outside after he set the intricate alarm system for the double French doors.

Jared had read the police report, talked to the investigating officer, and waved away reporters. The attack on Faye and Aeri was cited as a routine assault and robbery incident even though nothing appeared to have been taken. The gun had been turned over to the police. Untraceable.

Aeri had given Jared a detailed account of the incident involving the would-be kidnappers, describing in graphic terms appearances and body language of the two men. Faye had added more to it.

"Aeri’s a fast thinker."

Faye glanced at her son, shrugged, and smiled. She couldn’t come right out and admit she liked what she’d seen of Aeri’s actions, but she was close. "I think you’re going to get your money’s worth out of her. If she doesn’t drive that Mustang over 90 miles per hour."

Jared’s dark brows shot up.

"Ninety?"

"Nice pick-up," Aeri said and grinned. The grin disappeared. "The only thing our attackers don’t know is that the Mustang has more power than their Buick."

She tucked her feet beneath her, her mind busy trying to filter out all the blank spots and come up with the positive stuff.

"You’re closer to someone’s hidden secrets than you know, Jared," she said.

He left the window and went to lean against the onyx mantel. A silvery lock of hair fell across his forehead. The light blue knit shirt clung to a hard chest, emphasizing the narrow waist and slim hips of an athletic type.

Hmm-m-m. Too bad she never mixed business with pleasure.

Jared rubbed his chin, and then passed his hands across his eyes. It was only ten o’clock, but he’d been up late last night, transferring detailed notes of his latest findings on a disk he could carry in his suit pocket. Copies were on another floppy disk plus the computer’s spacious hard drive. Connie had taken the printouts to safe deposit boxes in two separate banks.

"What did you say about Cord and Bert being at Lake Mead, Aeri?"

"They’re going out there Sunday and take it easy for a week or ten days. Cord’s doctor says he needs to relax, and Bert can’t stand the thought of Cord lazing around without him. They have a few side bets to make things interesting."

"Bert has a houseboat. I forgot about that. Could be the solution to our problem of how to get Faye out of the limelight for a while. Take her out there."

His thoughts wandered as he studied a relaxed Aeri. How would that slender body feel outlined against his? She was strong. How would those arms feel around him? His body responded instantly to his rambling thoughts. Soon, he would have to do something about it. How long would he have to wait? She gave no sign of any attraction to him besides the fact she’d responded to a couple of kisses. He needed more from her. Much more.

"How will you get Faye to Lake Mead without the watchdogs knowing? Some sort of disguise? It seems they already know every move Faye makes." He wondered who was passing this information to his enemies.

Aeri kept her hands still with an effort and tried to remember when a man had affected her breathing just by looking at her. Probably didn’t even see her as he contemplated the best way to protect Faye.

Jared’s lowered lids hid his eyes from Aeri. Good thing. His thoughts weren’t pure as the driven snow, to coin a phrase. She was a picture, dressed in a dark teal silk jumpsuit, a gold mesh belt cinching a small waist, a thin gold chain encircled her neck and matched small gold dots in her ears. Jared’s eyes blazed with new interest as he took in the slender throat, muscles taut as she leaned back, her softly rounded chin begging to be cupped by his hand, and a jaw made for caressing. He wasn’t inclined to pass up the opportunity.

Aeri didn’t see it coming. With her legs tucked beneath her, hands linked and resting on the chair arm, she made one soft sound of protest as he bent to place his mouth over hers. Before she could do anything else, he’d scooped her out of the chair and sat down to place her in his lap. His fingers trailed up her arm, hesitated as they swept against the firm curve of her breast, brushed back and forth in rhythm with his mouth slanting to fit hers, gently forcing her lips apart.

He felt the nerves clench in his stomach, the harsh pumping of his heart, an uncustomary fluttering beneath his ribs, and Aeri’s hesitant response. When her head slid back against his shoulder, he tightened his clasp, teased with his tongue until she opened for him.

Aeri’s world went slowly topsy-turvy as Jared’s mouth worked its magic, his hands tracing her body’s outline through the soft fabric, skimming her ribs, her breasts, to bring forth sighs of pleasure. Mindlessly, she shifted, one hand slipped behind his head to pull him closer, the other dug restlessly into his shirtfront.

He forced her lips farther apart, slid his tongue in to duel gently with hers. His body rippled and threatened to explode. He tried to think why he shouldn’t be doing this, shouldn’t be enjoying this erotic by-play with Aeri Stone, but there was simply no way to stop. It had been so long, too long, since a lovely woman had been able to get this close to Jared Austin. He’d made certain of it. Aeri had paid no heed to his protective barricade and, without much effort, was destroying it.

He didn’t care. Ruthlessly, he plundered her mouth; his hands touched and awakened the sensitive hills and valleys of her body, sliding down the long thigh, stroking the tender inner portion. His mouth left hers.

"How do I get into this infernal thing?"

"It’s too small for you," she whispered.

He shoved her head back with his chin, eyes gray fire, smoky and dangerous.

"Smart alecks I don’t need," he muttered.

"It’s fastened with Velcro."

"What the hell’s that?" He shook his head. "I’m not in the mood to discuss female garment designs."

"Are you in a hurry?"

"Aeri, in one second . ."

"Just take hold of the collar and pull down."

He stared, his eyes clearing somewhat.

"Rip your suit?"
"Try it, you’ll like it."

One instant longer he looked straight into her dark eyes, then caught the top of the jumpsuit and yanked downward. He swore at the soft tearing sound.

"It’s okay," she said, finished the opening and shrugged out of the sleeves. She lay against him, nicely rounded breasts held erect by white lace.

He buried his face between them, breathing deeply, then his tongue reached out to caress the pink flesh visible through the peek-a-boo material. A heated groan started deep in his throat, and he wondered how long he could keep from dragging her to the floor. Not his usual method of making love, but she was driving him crazy, something he never allowed a woman to do. It had been a helluva long time since he’d felt this way.

Aeri jolted as heat streaked from his tongue to her thighs, on down to curl her toes. She sucked in her breath as his fingers slipped beneath the suit and under the lacy band of her panties.

His mouth came back to hers, touching and nipping, opening and closing until she arched against him, hands on his shoulders holding onto him.

Somewhere a telephone rang. And rang. And rang.

Jared smothered a curse and raised his head.

"Saved by the bell? Lady, you’d better believe it."

He lifted her easily and placed her on the couch, and turned quickly so that his discomfort wouldn’t be too obvious.

Aeri watched dazedly as he stomped towards the offending instrument ringing like there was no tomorrow. The usually poised and calm Jared was anything but calm right now. She sort of liked seeing him lose his composure. She lay there, alternately cursing and blessing whoever was on the other end of that infernal telephone line.

She half listened to Jared’s low voice, catching a word now and then. His back was ramrod straight, one hand massaging the back of his neck. She could imagine the tenseness there -- if he was anywhere near as uptight as she was.

He talked a long time in a low voice, but the hand rubbing his neck moved and clenched, fist opening and closing. He held the telephone away from his ear and looked at it, then dropped it into the cradle. He stared out the window, his absorption complete.

Aeri sat up, her interest keen on the man standing as though frozen. A few minutes ago, he’d been making passionate love to her, taking her through sensations she hadn’t experienced in too many moons. Her body fairly hummed with newly awakened feelings, emotions stirring, nerves dancing a breathless response to Jared’s unexpected caresses. Business-like, controlled Jared with his defenses down. She fastened the front of her jumpsuit, aware that her breasts were ultra-sensitive, the nipples erect, hot.

"What is it?" she said when he turned and stared at her.

"Quint Heyward. Newspaper man. Haven’t heard from him in several months."

"I’ve talked to him," Aeri said. "He always thought you’d end up in deep trouble for some of your explicit exposé’s."

"You discussed me with Heyward? What for?"

"I checked you out after Cord talked to me about the job as Faye’s bodyguard."

"Checked me out?" His eyes smoldered gray fire, but his outraged expression was comical.

"You did the same thing in my case, didn’t you?" Aeri stood up, slid her hands down the side of her jumpsuit to smooth it.

"Yes, but I’m your employer. I’m supposed to check out any newly hired personnel."

"I’m a lawyer first, an employee second. I want to know who I’m working for."

"Did you find out anything interesting?"

She shoved her hands into her pockets. "Yes."

He waited, but when she didn’t add anything he sounded annoyed.

"What did you find out?"

"You have a four-inch scar over your left ribs where a bullet was removed after an assassination attempt in Iraq." She stood in front of him. "So what does Mr. Heyward want that makes you so concerned?"

This woman is learning too much about me.

Jared reached out and ran his forefinger along her bottom lip, stirred to the quick by the memory of her kisses.

Aeri shivered at the intimate touch.

"Quint told me that if he printed the last column I sent him that I’d be a marked man. Faye would be on the hit list, also."

Aeri’s heard skipped several beats.

"Our suspicions confirmed, what do we do now?"
"I’ve never liked living in a cocoon, and you know Faye better than that. We go on doing just what we’d do every day."

"My advice for both of you is to buy a bullet-proof vest."

"What about you?"
She grinned, and he wanted to yank her up and crush that mouth.

"If I can’t outrun it, I’ll hit it with a karate chop."

"Damn it, Aeri, be serious."

"Never more so, Jared."

One hand dropped to her shoulder, and the other swept her to him. His mouth came hard on hers. It was as though he couldn’t get enough of her, deepening the kiss so that it seemed to search her very soul.

Aeri’s long fingers clamped Jared’s arms, trying to decide whether she should push away or just collapse and enjoy the electricity-like jolts shooting through her. She compromised, raised her arms, looped her hands behind his head. Her stomach pressed into his hardness, blatantly outlined in well-fitted slacks.

A sigh shuddered through Jared, and he lifted his head.

Her eyes opened to stare into gray ones very close to hers. She could get used to feelings like this.

"This will have to do for a while, I’m afraid." One hand came up and fingers traced her mouth, bruised and moist from his. He studied her face, a lovely face with translucent skin, tiny, practically invisible, freckles on the pert nose, thick lashes curled upward to reveal those wide near-purple eyes.

"Will you wait for me?"

What the hell did he mean by that? This woman was his mother’s bodyguard, and whether he liked it or not, they were in a life or death situation. A hot love affair was something he couldn’t afford right now. He couldn’t even be interested in one.

He chuckled, the sound deep in his chest, vibrated against Aeri’s breasts.

"I didn’t think it was a funny question," Aeri said.

He rested his forehead against hers, a move she had enjoyed before.

"Wasn’t meant to be funny. Odd, maybe, not hilarious." He sucked in his breath. "I’m talking myself into letting you go with one voice and telling myself it isn’t possible in the next breath. I do find that rather comical."

Aeri pushed herself up on tiptoe and nuzzled his neck.

"We get down to unpleasant business now and sort out our hormone problems later, shall we?"

"How can I disagree with such a logical statement?" He brushed her lips with his and set her away from him. "Don’t get too far away," he said. "And, Aeri, be careful. For both of you."

"Right."

Aeri stepped away from him. She was a bit disoriented, feeling shy and awkward. Jared wanted her with unconcealed urgency, and she could have spent several hours right there in his arms. Just wasn’t meant to be. Not now, perhaps never.

Never is a long, long time.

"Are you going to the police with this new information?"

Jared was back at the window, staring into the darkness. "No."

"How about Cord?"

"He’s on vacation. No need to bother him."

Aeri sat on the arm of the chair where Jared had held her. She stared down at the deep mauve brocade.

"What about Mr. Heyward? Where does he fit into this?"

"He put the article on hold for a few days. He’s worried. That’s not like Quint, which means we’re facing something he’s had some dealings with."

"Did he tell you about his investigative reporter whose son was killed?"

Jared turned. "No, he didn’t. Which reporter?"

"He didn’t give me a name, but told how he was running down a story on disorganization, money laundering, drugs, involving a prominent citizen in a large midwestern city. I guess Chicago although he didn’t say. The reporter parked his car in the long-term lot at the airport, and when he returned a few days later, the dismembered body of his son was in the trunk."

Color drained from Jared’s face.

"Joe Norbrook. I didn’t know him personally, but he was a dedicated newspaperman according to Quint." He kept looking at Aeri, but she was sure he didn’t see her. He shoved long fingers through his hair, and disheveled the silvery mass. He reminded Aeri of a snow leopard, pacing, angry, and ready to attack.

She hoped never to be on the receiving end of Jared Austin’s anger.

Chapter Ten

Faye prowled around the suite that had been furnished with her in mind several years ago when Jared bought the house and had it redecorated to suit his own personality. A sitting room with state of the art entertainment groupings and sound system to rival any music studio. It was pale lemon and mint green, furnished for comfort with occasional and club chairs cushioned for leisurely enjoyment. Double French doors opened onto the terrace, but she knew better than to go outside since the intricate security system had already been set.

An arched alcove was the entry into the bedroom furnished with a queen-sized bed covered by a mint green spread and lemon colored throw pillows. Faye sat on the edge of the bed, kicked off her slippers, and lay back on the bed, staring up at the marbled ceiling.

She hadn’t planned to like Aeri Stone. Quite the opposite. No intention of allowing a young upstart of a female bodyguard -- bodyguard -- shadow her every step. Now she found herself liking the woman, even trusting her. Faye didn’t want that at all. Not only that, in spite of her protests, she was beginning to feel she needed Aeri. She didn’t want to give in gracefully, but Aeri did deserve a chance.

Why did Aeri Stone remind her of herself as she was years ago? Knowing a lot about life but still believing anyway. Looking for fairness and justice where there was none. Searching for paradise in Satan’s inferno. True, the world needed people like them even if they did get battered in the process.

All right.

I’ll trust her -- for now. Faye blew out her breath and thought about the situation.

Faye hadn’t always been accustomed to the easy life, starting out from the wrong side of the tracks, the town, and the money belts. As the saying went: You’ve come a long way, Baby. No one knew how she hated not being able to do what she wanted to, what she’d worked long and hard for, just because some person or persons thought Jared was intruding on their private affairs.

The gold mines of California had long since reverted to ghost towns when Faye Jardin graduated from nurse’s training. Her life had never been an example of plenty. At fifteen, she sold her body to get food for her starving family after a drifting father disappeared, caving in under the pressures of caring for a growing family. At seventeen, she became pregnant, miscarried, and made up her mind the world was full of people who gave up, but she never would. She went to school, worked day and night to become a registered nurse. She had seen too much neglect, sickness, abandonment, and hopelessness, and was determined to make the world a better place to live for some of the downtrodden.

She knew the path they walked, the fear and utter brutality of life without enough food, medicine and love. She gave unstintingly of all she had. In a Palm Springs hospital, she met Adrian Austin when he was brought in for treatment of a skiing injury. Adrian fell in love with the lovely Faye, took her home with him as his private nurse, married her, and six months later, and became the father of Jared Austin. It had been a marriage of love, kindness, and mutual respect. Faye hadn’t known young Austin was from the southwestern Austins, rich and prosperous, and for a while she’d been shy about her dreams.

Until one night, Adrian found her crying over a young woman who had to give up a child for adoption because she’d been beaten and left destitute by a rotten husband.

"Does she want the child?"

Adrian’s thick brows drew together as he watched the woman he loved grieve for this unknown pair.

"She has no way to provide for it, Adrian. The man she’s married to is a drunk, beats her, and she’s afraid if she keeps the baby, he’ll eventually kill both of them."

"Get her out of that man’s clutches before I have to kill him myself," Adrian said.

Already so in love it scared her, Faye found herself worshipping the man she’d married. It lasted the way the vows read: Till death do us part.

She still missed Jared’s kind and generous father. In Adrian’s memory, she had started holding classes for unwed mothers. She taught nutrition and basic health care, constantly volunteering in nursing homes. Now some idiot dared interfere with her life’s work, the few good things she could do and see positive results, the dream that Adrian had helped her make a reality.

Faye resented it all to hell.

And, by God, if Jared was gunning for these -- these -- hoodlums, they needed flushing out.

"Where did you get these?" Aeri said.

She glanced up at Faye when she read the first page of the file. It was a copy of a computer printout of drugs, treatments, amounts, and strengths, all ordered by the same person, Dr. Aaron T. Rinquist.

Faye held a small brandy snifter, watched the amber liquid she swished before taking a sip.

"I just happened to be given that list to file." She hadn’t given a second thought to copying them. Now she wondered what Aeri would do with it.

"Is that unusual?"

"No, but I don’t often have time to look at anything but subject matter before I file it," Faye said.

"Why was today different?"
"One of the drugs was the one Mrs. Kenway was supposed to get. Twenty dozen boxes with 100 bottles in each one. The drug costs forty-five dollars per bottle with ten capsules."

"Drugs are ordered by volume from most companies," Aeri said.

Faye stared over her glass at Aeri.

"The order was canceled by Dr. Rinquist. I happen to know those boxes were loaded into an unmarked van, destination unknown."

Aeri’s eyes darkened with interest.

"And would you have any idea where they were headed?"
"Yes." Faye smiled. "I followed the van while you were bathing Mrs. Stalman."

Aeri glared at her. "In whose car?"

"Mr. Franklin was visiting his mother, and I told him I needed to run an errand and didn’t want to bother you."

"Faye, I could spank you." Aeri leaned forward. "And?"
Faye’s heart speeded up. Bless Aeri. She was going to take this information for what it was worth and run with it. The woman wasn’t afraid.

"It was delivered to a warehouse on Union Court that supposedly holds outdated one-armed bandits."

"One-armed bandits?"

"Yes. You know, the machines in the casinos you put money in hoping you’ll hit the jackpot." Faye eyed the younger woman. "Remember the night we were at The Sands? Those machines."

Aeri shook her head distractedly. Jared had said something about one-armed bandits, but it hadn’t registered, she guessed. Too many other interesting things around that night. She’d never even been inside a casino until she went with Jared and Faye. Gambling wasn’t one of her weaknesses. That wasn’t exactly true, either. Every time she went to court, she gambled on whether the judge would be sympathetic to her client or to the criminal. Lately, her losses far outweighed her wins. She might as well play the machines and maybe win more.

"How are the drugs for patients accounted for? Are there a lot of people involved in the issuance. Do they come from the same pharmaceutical companies? Do different doctors file requests or is it a coordinated effort?"

Faye sipped her brandy.

"I don’t trust the drug dispensing program whoever does it, and it’s done in similar fashion at all the places I work."

"Different than when you worked as a registered nurse?"

"That’s been a long time, and everything has changed. Back then, the system was much simpler, drugs were more easily controlled because fewer people handled them. Now, you have controlled substances, the lighter drugs, over the counter medication that does as much as the controlled drugs once did. The difference now is the unbelievable amount of money they cost and how many people profit from price fixing, underhanded dealings, doctors, pharmacists, even nurses."

"I’ve heard drug dealing is a lucrative business. Look at the court cases involved in it."

"That’s only the ones you read about. Beyond the obvious is the misuse, wrong prescriptions, abuse in distribution, even extortion."

Aeri’s ears perked.

"Extortion?"

"Yes. One doctor legitimately prescribes a heavy painkiller for a patient, the patient dies, and the dealers are right there to let him know they can frame him if he doesn’t play along with their requests for heavy orders of certain drugs."

"Have you seen this happen, Faye?"

Aeri was skeptical. She knew about drug dealing, drug kings, drug pushers, but to have it set in front of her as making inhabitants of nursing homes suffer because of greed -- didn’t the old people have enough problems without adding to their pain?

"The drug dispensing procedures at the centers are a farce, Aeri. I suspect some of the patients get the wrong dosage or none at all, never see a doctor although it’s all down on the official report, and charges for all drugs go to the medical board whether the patients get them or not."

"Can this be proved, Faye?"

"I know it for a fact. Proving it is another matter. The participants are ingenious in hiding their illegal activities. I’ve seen nurses question procedures only to find themselves transferred to another facility, emptying bedpans and sorting laundry."

Aeri tapped her blunt-nailed forefinger against the paper Faye had given her.

"What time is Jared due in tonight?"

"He’s in his office now. I heard him yelling at someone on the phone as I came upstairs." Faye grinned, a mischievous expression wrinkling her otherwise smooth complexion. "When Jared yells, I stay out of his way."

Aeri smiled at the older woman.

"You’re a very wise woman."

Back in her room, Aeri stood by the window gazing across the lights of the city. She hadn’t turned on any lamps, but security lights spread an amber glow over the house grounds, eliminating shadows.

Suppose someone is out there watching. They could tell by lighted windows where people are, whether it was Jared, his mother or Aeri. Servants’ rooms were across the walkway past the three-car garage. Connie lived in the main house, close by Jared and now, Faye. But determined criminals could pick and choose their targets if they got downright serious about it. Even with Connie standing guard.

The world has come to a pretty pass when you can’t enjoy old age without fearing some low-life criminal bent on having his own destructive way in the world. At the cost of the innocent.

Aeri didn’t appreciate it. Not a damned bit.

Two minutes later, Aeri knocked on the door to Jared’s office. Whoever he had been yelling at should be off the hook by now, and he’d have to calm down enough to hear her out. There was no answer, and she raised her hand to knock again when the door was yanked open.

Jared glared down at her.

"What the hell do --?" He stopped, rubbed his hand over his face, and shook his head. "Aeri." He stepped aside. "Come in."

She walked past him.

"Who did you think it might be?"

He had started back to his desk.

"Faye. It’s about time for her to go into her disobedient act. She’s had time to think about the aborted kidnapping and mad as hell about it. It won’t take her long to think up a way to get back at them. And get herself, and probably you, killed."

He whirled, placing his hands on Aeri’s shoulders.

"I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t want that on my conscience. I may cut this investigation short and take a long vacation."

Gray eyes were cold as glaciers.

"You expect me to believe that?" Aeri put her open palms against his chest. "You’re no more going to stop looking for these low-life’s than you’re going to be baptized and start going to church."

The ice disappeared. His lips twitched, then lifted at the corner.

"How do you know I haven’t already done that?"

"You don’t have time. You’re the bane of all ministers and priests, one of those people who can’t find the time for religion."

"Do you attend church services?"
"Used to. When dad was in the military and had to set an example for some of his rowdy personnel."

He grinned.

"And you had to suffer right along with the young men."

Aeri smiled, remembering the solemn Colonel Stone patiently explaining his thoughts to a rebellious daughter, who couldn’t sit still through an hour-long church service.

"That’s about it," she said.

Jared’s dark gaze went over Aeri’s face, cataloging the porcelain skin, velvety blue-violet eyes, a pert nose, kissable mouth free of lipstick. Just now, her eyes sparkled with remembered mischief, and her lips were slightly parted and glossy, as though she’d just licked them. That’s what he wanted to do, lick the shine from her mouth and kiss her senseless.

He didn’t stop to think how long it had been since a woman had intrigued him as Aeri did. He’d kissed her, almost to a degree that he couldn’t stop, and now he wanted more. Much more. Damn the crooks who wanted his hide. Damn them for keeping Faye from doing what she wanted to do. At her age, she should be allowed freedom as this country defined it. With liberty and justice for all and the right to pursue happiness as she saw fit.

Damn Aeri Stone for appearing in his life and turning it upside down. For a few precious minutes, he’d forget the problems facing all of them.

His mouth came hard against hers for an instant, gentled, and lifted as he murmured, "This is punishment for disturbing me, for changing my life when I don’t want it changed, for being Aeri Stone when I wish you were Attila the Hun."

He was certain the punishment fit the crime.

Aeri’s lips trembled and moved in response to his accusations. She pulled back a little, eyes wide.

"You wouldn’t kiss Attila like that, would you?"

His eyes crinkled at the corners.

"On second thought, I’m glad you’re not the Hun."

His lips covered hers and he brought her up on tiptoe to strain against him.

Her arms went around his neck, fingers sliding across the neck hairs and beneath his white shirt collar. Her hips wriggled and pressed into his thick arousal. He groaned quietly and Aeri’s lips parted, accepting a searching tongue that slid around her teeth and came back to tangle with her own, flicked over and around until fire seemed to follow it, searing them both. She felt herself being swung around, conscious that one of Jared’s hands had left her hips, heard the click of the door lock, then the hand came back to press her close once again. Her body was no longer under her control, lost to Jared’s exploring mouth, traitor to any direction she wanted to give.

Right now, she wanted exactly what Jared was doing, whatever the sensations were that rioted through her body, tearing down defenses as they went. A brief thought of impending danger, a quick flash of knowledge that they were vulnerable, and that was all. Everything faded except Jared’s mouth, his arms, and the whispered words.

Dreamily, she felt his hands on her blouse, opening it, pushing it from her shoulders, fingers beneath her bra straps, sliding them off. Gentle fingertips touched her breasts, lingering on the brown nipple, kneading, coaxing it into a hot, round ball. His mouth left hers and closed over her breast. Aeri fastened her hands in his hair to hold on. She wasn’t sure if the soft sobs were hers or Jared’s as he suckled lovingly, then moved to capture the other breast.

Aeri’s knees buckled, and in slow motion, they sank to the floor, the thick Aubusson carpet cradling them.

"Honey?" Jared’s question came thickly. He held her, his face buried in her hair. "I don’t want to stop."

"Then don’t."

She reached to pull his face to hers once more. Somehow, they undressed and lay face-to-face, naked on the thick carpet. His long fingers lifted her leg over his, and he hesitated, looked straight into her eyes.

"Put me inside you, Aeri. Now."

His eyes were half closed, his breath harsh.

Slowly, she lowered her hand between them, found the thick organ to wrap her fingers around him. He gasped and his eyes squeezed shut. Aeri moved to place her mouth against his as she fitted his arousal into her softness.

For a second, they stayed that way, then Jared entered her, buried himself deeply inside her with one desperate stroke, his tongue matching move for move of his body, thrusting, withdrawing, and thrusting again into the tight, silken sheath. Aeri whimpered with her mouth crushed against his, her body accepting his vigorous pumping.

She’d fall apart, she was certain, if she didn’t soon reach the peak towards which Jared drove her, but he was in no hurry. He withdrew his tongue and grew still within her. She could hear their harsh breathing. Her eyes flew open to stare into the dark gray ones.

"Sweetheart," he whispered.

With one last thrust, he plunged deep, tumbling her into the Milky Way, awash with stars and comets and exploding meteorites, flashing blue and white and red diamonds. Aeri cried out only to have her mouth crushed once more by his and held that way until their bodies quieted.

Sanity returned slowly, but Jared remained deep inside her.

A long time later, he said, "I’ve never seduced a woman on the floor." He raised
his head to smile at her. He kissed her lightly. "I like it." He rubbed his lips across hers,
let his tongue slip into her mouth to dance with hers.

She felt him swell inside her, felt her own senses charging as though with a
powerful battery. She moved to bring her legs around him, and her hips undulated
beneath him. His eyes widened, and then slowly the lashes curled against his cheeks. She
pressed her mouth to his, her tongue licking over his lower lip, then forced its way inside
his mouth. He took his time opening for her, but once her tongue lay against his, he
gasped, then sucked. Hard.

His loins swelled to bursting, and he was lost. He drew away, plunged, held himself inside her as long as he could without losing consciousness, then he withdrew, and with a soft shout, drove himself deep, holding there until hot seed poured into Aeri’s willing body.

Chapter Eleven

Jared was already gone when Aeri and Faye went downstairs for breakfast.

"Mr. Austin was called to Chicago this morning. He expects to return by Wednesday," Connie told Faye. "He wanted you and Aeri to stick close to home until he comes back."

Aeri wasn’t certain if she were glad or sorry she didn’t have to face Jared this morning. She wasn’t sure of anything after the evening spent in his arms. It was long past two in the morning when he’d kissed her goodnight, holding her close for long moments with his lips pressed to the top of her head.

At some time during their lovemaking, they had moved to the guest bedroom down the hall from Jared’s office.

"Sleep with me, Aeri."

His voice was husky with need. His body was sated with Aeri’s love, and he wanted her right there when his hunger awakened again. He had never in his thirty-six years, asked a woman to remain in his arms and in his bed overnight. Aeri Stone, had, indeed, brought abrupt changes in his life. In more ways than he cared to count.

Aeri wanted to remain right where she was; close against Jared’s hard body, but propriety dictated otherwise.

"I’d better stay close to Faye until we learn more about the threats. You can’t tell if the enemy is brave enough to come after her or wait for a misstep from one or both of us like the other day."

He set her away from him, his eyes still dark with hunger, desire etched into the curve of his mouth.

"Why must you be so right in this instance?"

"I hope I’m wrong."

He agreed to let her go back to her room. Reluctantly.

"So do I." He opened the door for her and smiled. "Miss Stone, may I say you’re full of surprises? Some of them are out of this world." He bent and brushed his lips across hers. "Goodnight, Sweetheart."

"Mr. Heyward is expecting you, Mr. Austin," Quint’s young, blonde secretary said.

She smiled, giving him the full effect of wide brown eyes framed by inky black lashes. Any other time, Jared would have paused to enjoy the view, but today, he gave her a preoccupied glance and strode toward the newsman’s office.

You’d think someone of Quint’s stature in the news world would work in luxurious offices. Not this man. The desk was a no-nonsense oak structure, heavy enough to discourage being shoved around, and big enough to hold a multitude of papers, folders, pads and writing paraphernalia. It sported numerous cigarette burns, scratches, even holes that could have been made by a screwdriver. Or someone with a hammer and a mad on.

The man looked up as Jared came into the room. He grinned.

"Well, well. I should warn all the bad boys that you’re on the loose again, Jared." He stood, came around the desk, and grasped Jared’s outstretched hands. "How the hell are you?"

"Grumpy." As Jared spoke, he reasoned he should be relaxed and ready for work since he’d had all the sexual fantasies he’d accumulated over the years well taken care of last night. Still, he wanted more. He sucked in a deep breath as he shook the callused hand extended to him.

Quint laughed and turned back to his chair. Seated, he motioned Jared to another leather chair nearby, and the smile disappeared.

"I wouldn’t have called if I didn’t think this small item important to your present research." Quint straightened two pencils lying side by side. "When’s the last time you heard anything about Parker Athens, Jr.?"

"Yesterday. He and Sandra are being questioned in the corruption trial of Edward Knott."

"Steel, the railroads and supplies for public transportation and commerce. Inferior products with built-in, self-destruct timers."

"You’ve done your homework as usual."

Quint frowned. "What’s Athens like now? Athens, Sr., was crooked in his own way, but he didn’t get the publicity his son seems to bask in."

Jared crossed one polished loafer over an ankle.

"When Parker and I went to Harvard, he used to brag about his father’s involvement in borderline indiscretions. Parker, Sr., owned steel business in Pennsylvania and Ohio, oil refineries in Oklahoma. Even then, he was deep into crooked politics. From all my investigations, I’d term him a larcenous bigot. For some reason, Athens, Jr., cultivated my friendship, but we were too far apart to mesh well." He gave Quint a brief smile. "He even tried to fix me up with Sandra."

"Didn’t work." Quint shook a cigarette from a Marlboro pack and offered it to Jared.

Jared shook his head at the offer. "Didn’t work. Sandra was short, horsy looking, but what she lacked in beauty, she made up for in sharp-witted cunning and downright unethical techniques."

"You learned all this in college?" Quint said.

"No. I read about Knott’s upcoming trial and got to wondering how he was connected with Sandra and Parker. I went back a few years and checked out Athens, Sr.’s, connection to the mob and payoffs for faulty materials. You don’t have to dig far to find the old adage ‘Like father, like son’ is true in this case. Here, you could add ‘and daughter.’ They’re into more rackets than Wilson Sports Equipment."

"Proof?" Quint crushed out the cigarette he’d taken two draws from.

Jared reached for the briefcase he’d dropped by his chair and removed a videotape and a thick folder.

"These are extra copies you can listen to and watch, then destroy. Some interesting deals take place during golf games and over celebratory drinks."

"I imagine so," Quint said and glanced at the folder material. "What are you going to do with this?"

"Nothing. Yet. How about you?"

Quint leaned back in the leather chair, causing it to squeak. His eyes narrowed on Jared’s face, but Jared knew that look and was certain the man didn’t actually see him. Quint’s brain was cranking out some outlandish column that would make the business world sit back on its heels and wish it could disappear for a few centuries. He waited until Quint’s eyes focused on him once more.

"Take some advice from a friend, Jared. You’re on dangerous ground, and you’re setting yourself up for a fight with crooks who don’t care who they hurt."

"I know," Jared said, and told him about the threats to Faye and the female bodyguard he’d hired. Jared’s body grew restless just from thinking about that bodyguard.

Quint’s expression didn’t change.

"And you’re still going through with the investigation." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes."

"Normally, I wouldn’t suggest Chicago as a safe place, but maybe you’d better ship Faye up here while you’re looking for ways to die young."

"I can’t die now, Quint. I’ve just discovered the inarguable reason to live to a ripe old age."

Quint’s eyebrows climbed. "A woman?" He’d known Jared Austin since he was a teenager, and women had never been his prime source of entertainment. He’d never known Jared to be associated publicly with any certain name for long. And, most of the time, Jared’s activities had been fresh meat for the press. A press that delighted in reporting his zealous attacks on less-than-honest politicians, mob actions, police brutality, anything that even looked dishonest.

"Now, what would make you think that, Quint?"

Quint laughed and reached for the Marlboro pack, then threw it down.

"I’ve known you over fifteen years, Jared. You’ve never thought much about living to be a hundred. Only a woman could cause you to change." His eyes narrowed. "She must be one helluva woman to bring you around."

Jared stood and looked down at the man who had believed in a young crusader, had published columns that made Quint the target of crooks in all walks of life because of that belief, and now was sitting on material that would cause volcanic eruptions from coast to coast if they ever became public.

"Aeri Stone is her name," Jared said. "Someday, I’ll introduce you."

* * * *

Cord Yandell opened his eyes without tilting back the cap with the Lake Mead Houseboat insignia on it. The vessel he’d been watching most of the morning was moving toward the Number Three Pier where casino gambling was the main entertainment in the Vegas Bar and Grill. Small, intimate, the bar catered to the quieter clientele who lived year round on the lake, some on houseboats, some on luxurious yachts, and some in the condominiums just opened last spring. The latter was too expensive for the average working man or woman.

Cord could see the pale orchid upstairs terrace of the condo that belonged to Loringer, at least on the real estate books. Cord knew better. Loringer’s name might be on the deed, but the real owner was Murphy Chappell. Aeri’s nemesis. Cord’s eyes narrowed as he thought of his favorite ex-lawyer.

Wonder how Aeri and the Austins are getting along?

He almost laughed out loud. Talk about explosive fireworks. Putting those three in the same building was like pulling the pin on a powerful hand grenade. He knew how headstrong each was, knew Aeri’s strict sense of justice ran parallel to Jared’s, and Faye was determined to undo all the wrongs ever done to abused women. The world needed a healthy dosage of all three.

"You ready for lunch, Cord?" Bert Skowron yelled from the lower deck.

"Might’s well go and see what that crazy cook has burnt and serving as buffalo steak. Wouldn’t surprise me none to learn he mistook the hide for the meat." Cord hefted himself from the deck chair and stretched.

"One thing. You’ll be quiet for a day or two when we get back to the Cadillac. While you’re remembering all the Mylanta you drunk while we were out here." Bert stood beside Cord. "Seen Loringer lately?"
"Nope. Saw Linda Forrester go in ‘bout two hours ago."

Bert whistled.

"That so? How’d you tell it was Linda from here?"

Cord grinned and pulled a collapsible pair of powerful binoculars from his pocket.

Bert scratched his head. "You think the Missus knows about such rendezvous?"

"Naw. But when it feels like a ten point zero earthquake has hit, you’ll know she’s heard the news."

"I’d hate to be in Philip’s Gucci loafers when that happens."

"Yeah, well, as much fire as he’s played with lately, one little explosion probably won’t be noticed. Wait’ll Jared turns loose all the information he’s collected on shady real estate deals that involve dumping nasty stuff in our county." Cord studied the subject condominium, and then shrugged. "Hell, he’s old enough to know better, Bert. Serve him right if he gets caught in the sack with the young and the restless."

Aeri took the printouts Faye had given her to the university library. In the records section she ran through several medical law decisions, trials covering the spectrum from outrageous overcharges for drugs to biological wastes to shady real estate deals. It was an article dated 15 March 1996 that she scanned now, past it, and then returned to look again. Studying the charges, people involved, monetary losses, she frowned.

What was it that bothered her about this one lawsuit? The names meant nothing to her: S. Goldman, T. Wofford, P. S. Athens, and T. Forrester. Nevertheless, she pushed the ‘print’ key and sat back to wait for the printout.

Aeri ripped off the paper, replaced the texts, and left the building. She’d left Faye in Connie’s care knowing he’d keep her in sight. There was a change in Faye, either she had accepted Aeri’s presence as necessary, or she was biding her time before she threw a monkey wrench into the system. They’d be lucky if it was the first condition. Aeri had a gut feeling about the thugs who’d tried to kidnap them at the Cadillac. Someone’s pushers, a big boy’s way of keeping Jared Austin in line.

Who? She’d bet her largest CD that Jared knew who it was. When he returned from Chicago, he’d know if his investigation uncovered anything to do with the videos and threats.

And, maybe -- just maybe -- Jared had missed her. She sighed. Since she wasn’t a gambler, she wouldn’t bet on it.

Chapter Twelve

The route to Lake Mead was a roundabout way, one of those ‘you can’t get there from here’ kinds of deals, bypassing Henderson and wending through the high desert. Aeri drove the Mustang, its souped-up motor purring quietly along the two-lane highway.

"I hated to cut my visit short, Aeri," Faye said. "They’re short volunteers, and all the beds are full. Besides, the nutrition class meets tonight, and sometimes it’s the only good meal those young women get between classes."

Aeri’s thoughts, still on the information she’d gotten from the newspaper articles switched to Fay’s comment.

"You can’t save the world all the time, Faye. They can get along without you for one day."

Aeri wasn’t about to leave Faye behind while she made the trip to Lake Mead. She really needed to talk to Cord.

Faye faced Aeri.

"Damn it, I know what I can do or can’t do, and damned if I sit under your thumb or denim skirt or whatever it is you have me bound with and let these low-lifes browbeat me. Jared can get his butt home and clean out some of these stink holes so I can get on with the necessary business at hand."

Aeri paid token attention to Faye’s arguments.

"Jared is doing his best to save your pretty skin, Faye. Appreciate it."

"Aeri." Faye stopped. She looked towards the highway that came to meet them in a late afternoon haze. "Aren’t we making too much of this? I’ve changed my mind and don’t believe for one minute that I’m in danger and --."

"No? You’ve drawn attention to yourself by arguing over medical dosages, about prescriptions, doctors’ visits, heaven only knows what else, and someone’s unhappy over your nosiness. Do you think those men who came after us were about to take us to the Taj Mahal, to a Michael Jackson concert or Garth Brooks? I doubt it, Faye. They weren’t interested in letting us sit around and look pretty. Possible we’d get to see the sun rise fifty miles out into the desert without water or clothing. If you think that’s pleasant entertainment, I have news for you."

"No matter what you do, the medical care isn’t going to improve. I’ve fussed and fussed several years, and as a volunteer, contributor to causes and a retired registered nurse, if I can’t get anyone to listen, how are you going to do it?"

"We’ll bring attention to the abuses in good time, Faye, but let’s do it slow and easy so no one notices until it’s too late to stop us. Don’t go in with guns blazing and expect to escape without injury."

"Do you think the lists I brought you mean anything?"

"Yes. If false prescriptions have been filled, if Medicare has paid made up bills, it’s in those papers somewhere. That’s fraud. Our government frowns on that. One or more doctors are involved, pharmacies, maybe nurses, and sooner or later, one of them will slip up."

"I hate to think a nurse would stoop so low."

"What about doctors?"

"Doctors, too. There are lots of good ones, but as in anything, one bad one lumps them all together, nurses or doctors."

"I know."

With lawyers, too, it’s the same, Aeri thought. With any profession. One bad one ruined the best of programs. Didn’t she know that well -- and first hand?

"It’s a pretty drive, Aeri. Wonder what Cord and Bert are up to? Maybe they have girlfriends out here."

Aeri laughed, and Faye smiled at the light sound. The young woman did have a nice laugh. Cautiously, Faye gave Aeri high marks in personality as well as attention to detail. She’d certainly handled their attackers well. Faye still chuckled occasionally at the memory of bodies flailing around and groans as Aeri connected with tender spots.

Ah, to be young and agile again.

"Might be there are interesting females around, Faye. Bert has a nifty little craft, not all that little, and I’ll bet he’s got the first dollar he made from the Cadillac."

"Wonder if he’s near the Loringer’s? I’ve heard Linda talk about the condominium they have. If Linda thinks it’s luxurious, then it’s outstanding."

"Linda Forrester. Is she wealthy?"

"Her dad and uncles are. I don’t know how much of it filters down to Linda. She doesn’t lack for anything, I’m sure."

Aeri wanted to ask if Jared dated Linda now, but she didn’t.

The sun lay on a gold-lined cloud as Aeri guided the Mustang up to the pier where Bert’s houseboat The Winner was docked.

A shout from her left brought Aeri’s head around, and she saw Cord swinging along the deck.

"Hey," he said, arms waving. "Just wondering where we could get two good-looking babes to pass a pleasant evening with."

He came across the pier, kissed Faye’s cheek, and then accepted Aeri’s smack on the lips.

"To what do we owe this pleasure?" Cord said, and then waved to someone they couldn’t see. "Look who’s here, Bert." To Aeri he said, "Come on, Glamour Puss, you’re just in time to see the full moon come up over the water. Romantic in spades."

"Why, Cord. I wasn’t sure you knew what romantic meant."

"Ah, Aeri. I ain’t that old." He turned to Faye. "You hear how she’s picking on me, darlin’?"

"Haven’t seen you in ages, Cord. How’ve you been?" Faye held onto his arm as they walked across the uneven pier. "Aeri picks on me, too. Maybe I can get some help from you and Bert."

They passed news back and forth.

"How’re your side bets doing?" Aeri said.

"Ha. That lawman is dishonest as the day’s long," Bert said. "He cheats on things that no one’s ever known how to cheat on before."

"Me?" Cord looked wounded. "Now Bert --."

They talked and laughed for an hour. Cord served them Perrier with a flourish, and Aeri raised her eyebrows.

"You actually aren’t drinking, Cord?"

"Actually aren’t," he said.

Bert smacked his lips over his beer. "More for me." He settled back, content.

Conversation slowed, and Aeri leaned toward Cord.

"I’d like you to look over a printout Faye brought from the nursing center office where she was filing reports. She has a suspicious mind when it comes to billing for drugs nursing home patients never see but Medicare still pays for."

Cord looked sharply at Faye. "Any proof?"

"Only what’s there. I didn’t know what I was looking for, but I know that some of the patients are due drugs they don’t get, that some of the bills are for drugs or needles or syringes that are never seen by the patients."

Cord took the sheets Aeri held towards him. He turned so light from a deck lamp illuminated the paper and read silently. Aeri looked up at the cheese-colored disk coming up over the water, its rippling reflection on the smooth lake surface.

Faye leaned over and peered around the end of the boat.

"Is that Loringer’s condo right there, Bert?" She pointed across the bow.

"His is the flamingo pink one with the orchid terrace, two doors down from that one."

"Flamingo pink with orchid?" Aeri stared at the building. "Was that his choice?"

"Probably already planned and decorated when he moved in," Bert said. "Actually belongs to Murphy Chappell."

Aeri’s head jerked around. "What?"

Bert chuckled.

"Thought that’d get your attention." He put his beer down on the deck. "I got curious once and checked the real estate books. Sure enough, Chappell owns that entire row of condos plus the clubhouse. Under a different name, of course."

Aeri’s breath was tight in her throat. Of course. "What name?"

Wonder what unsuspecting small businessman he murdered to get by with that? was what she was thinking.

"P. S. Athens." Bert shook his head. "No, there’s no one listed by that name in the Vegas, Reno or Carson City telephone books."

"Why would you check on something like that?" Faye said.

"Just a hunch."

"And what prompted the hunch?" Aeri said.

"Remember when the subject of contaminated wastes was first introduced in our legislature?" Bert picked up his beer, took a long swallow.

"Yes," Aeri said. "I certainly do. There was --."

"That was when a certain well-versed, female lawyer started yelling Watch it, watch it. Only no one did." Cord spoke as he folded the printouts.

"Yeah," Aeri said. "My complaint is still buried on the Clerk of Court’s desk beneath last year’s census count." She turned to Cord. "What do you think?"

"We’ve suspected this a long time, Aeri. No one’s ever come through with proof or witnesses to substantiate the charges." He gave the paper to Aeri. "What are you planning to do with it?"

"I don’t know. When Jared comes home, we’ll discuss it with him."

"When’s he due back."

Aeri looked at Faye. Faye shrugged.

"Connie said he was in Chicago. When he doesn’t call, he’s usually on his way home."

"What or who is in Chicago?"

"Quint Heyward," Aeri said.

"Oh, yeah." Cord grinned. "Time for something to hit the fan when those two get together." The grin faded. "You two had better go home and stay there until Jared gets back. If there’s a column printed hinting at or alleging to pertinent facts, it won’t be healthy for you to be running around alone."

"Faye isn’t alone. I’m with her," Aeri said, but she stood anyway. "Thanks for the drink." She slapped the folded papers against her hand. "You don’t think I should turn this over to anyone until Jared sees it?"

Cord stood, slung his beefy arm over Aeri’s shoulders.

"Right. Don’t stir up anything until you have a pot big enough to stew it in."

Aeri rolled her eyes.

"Black Irish humor will kill me yet."

* * * *

It was ten-thirty when Jared got home. Aeri and Faye were still downstairs, reluctant to end the day without seeing Jared and possibly hearing some news. He strode down the hallway, tossed his briefcase on the floor by the staircase, and bent to kiss Faye as she lifted her face to him. He caught his mother up in a big hug, but his eyes were on Aeri, standing a few steps away.

Her white off-the-shoulder blouse dipped to a tantalizing low over firmly uplifted breasts. A multi-colored skirt swirled in graceful tiers midway between knee and ankle. Vari-colored sandals with flat heels matched the skirt.

Jared’s gray eyes approved and, as Aeri met his look, Jared winked. A thrill shot through her as though he’d kissed her.

"Any earthshaking news?"

Jared shrugged out of his suit coat, and Faye brushed at the sleeve as she laid the jacket across a chair back

"Quint is into his usual rattling and shaking of bushes, trying to see what will fall out."

Jared loosened his tie, his eyes on Aeri as he slipped the knot and removed the tie to toss it with his coat.

"He thinks Chicago might be safer for you and Aeri while we try to work out what dung pile I’m shoveling has Murphy Chappell, Parker and Sandra Athens sweating."

"He’s sure what you’ve done will upset them?" Aeri said.

"Ever heard of Edward Knott?"

Aeri shook her head, frowning.

"No. Wait a minute. Yes. Isn’t he the one recently indicted on charges he said were trumped up?"

"Right." Jared watched her. "Mentioned in the same breath are Parker Athens, Jr. and Sr., and the daughter, Sandra. All categorically deny mob connections, payoffs, misuse of funds, and a few other little polite excesses."

"So did you leave him an article to print?" Aeri said.

At the question, Faye swung around from her stance by the window.

"I did."

Faye went to Jared.

"I thought we agreed not to make any waves by putting this in the paper. As soon as --."

"Nothing will mention you or Aeri. However, I want both of you to stay close to the house until we see if the article runs in Sunday’s paper. If they syndicate it, Lord knows how many people on both coasts will be upset enough to charge down here looking for us perpetrators. We may have to go to Chicago in self-defense."

"Are Loringer and Knott acquainted?" Aeri said.

"Their names aren’t linked, if that’s what you mean. Why?"

Aeri told him about the trip to Lake Mead.

"Cord says Murphy Chappell owns Loringer along with various real estate packages in the area." She reached for the paper lying beneath her purse. "Faye brought a copy of printouts from interesting medical files with names like S. Goldman, P. S. Athens, T. Forrester on them. Recognize any of the names?"

Jared took the paper and studied the information linked with initialed signatures.

"Could be Parker and Sandra Athens. Not much of a disguise, I’d say. I would have given Parker and Sandra more credit."

"Perhaps they thought it was so simple as to be effective," Aeri said. "You and Faye know Linda Forrester. Does she have family the name might fit?"
"Linda’s an only child. Her parents are dead." Jared frowned at the paper.

"Does she have a middle initial? Aunts, uncles, cousins?"
Jared’s eyes rested on Aeri’s face, and he smiled. Her heart flipped over and did a little tap dance. The man’s smile was lethal.

"Your legal mind is showing, Aeri," he said.

The softly spoken words were somehow sexy, and she recalled vividly what his mouth had done to her senses and control. Snapped them like a strong rubber band.

"This printout, Faye," Jared said. "Your suspicions are that there’s a cover-up of some kind in medical supplies as well as payments for them?"

"I don’t like to accuse people, Jared, but I know what I often see isn’t right, the way they give or withhold drugs to some patients."

"There has to be something to show where they go if the patient wants them and doesn’t get them." He looked again at the printout. The amounts and charges were definitely in the high range.

"Some of the patients don’t remember, Jared," Faye said. "And even if they were rational, the doctors would find ways to mention they weren’t always dependable in their memories of taking or not taking medication. If it’s entered on the chart, it’s taken for granted the patient got the correct dosage."

"Faye has been watching one patient in particular," Aeri said. "A Mrs. Kenway has Alzheimer’s plus a stubborn case of shingles, painful and hard to cure. Times are noted on her chart, but Faye doesn’t believe Mrs. Kenway gets the medication."

"Is there any way you can be sure without getting into trouble, Faye?"

Jared ran a pen down the printout, underlining a word here and there.

"I don’t know. Up until this week, I’d just fume about it and didn’t pay too much attention. But, then, I ran the printout and it seemed to fall into place, that something wasn’t right."

"Is there a big enough amount involved to warrant theft by big dealers? Neither Loringer nor Knott nor Chappell would risk discovery for a small deal."

"I just don’t know, Jared. Unless pharmaceutical supplies for Coronado are tied in with several others. Then, you could assume it would be profitable to siphon off drugs or alter billing or any number of procedures I know nothing about."

Jared leaned against the fireplace, his eyes going from Faye to Aeri. He straightened.

"I’ll call Quint tomorrow to see if he plans to run the column on Sunday, and I’ll mention these names. He has antennas in several directions and might have heard something on this subject. It’s worth a try. In the meantime, you two stay close for the weekend."

"I’m on all weekend at the Comfort Facility, not at Coronado. I’m really needed over there, Jared, and I want to go."

"Then Aeri stays with you," he said. As Faye moved to protest, Jared held up his hand. "It’s her job, Mother, so forget your objections and cooperate with her. Okay?"

Faye sighed.

"Why do I feel like a well-guarded kindergartner?"

"Think of yourself instead as my mother whom I love very much." Jared kissed her cheek. "Goodnight, Mother. I want to talk with Aeri a few moments."

Chapter Thirteen

Aeri sat on the couch, one leg drawn beneath her, elbow on the couch arm, head resting on her open hand.

"Frowning does nothing to hide how beautiful you are, Aeri," Jared said. His shoulders were propped against the mantel as he faced her. He was tempted to yank her into his arms and kiss her senseless, but he decided he’d postpone that pleasure. For a few minutes.

Her eyes lifted to meet his dark ones. Dark, but with a predatory gleam in their depths. Sexual tension slithered warmly into her thighs.

"I don’t recall being described as beautiful," she said.

Jared snorted.

"Are the men in your life blind? Or are they afraid if they tell you you’re a lovely woman that you’ll think they’re after your body, not your brains?"

Her lips parted on a swiftly indrawn breath.

"There aren’t any men in my life who would care if I’m attractive or not."

She wasn’t certain when she’d drifted away from a social life that included a steady male friend. It was difficult to remember an interesting one. Until Jared.

"Why the hell not?"
"Why don’t they care if I’m attractive?"

"Why aren’t there some caring men in your life?"

I only want you, Aeri thought, and blushed, wondered if she’d spoken aloud. From Jared’s questioning look, she guessed she hadn’t.

"My dad cares, and yes, he thinks I’m nice looking. Only because I resemble him so much."

He shoved away from the mantel and crossed to kneel in front of her.

"I missed you like I’ve never missed anyone, not even my family. I thought of you every time a sentence ended or one started. Quint warned me about the dangers of printing the information we have, the threats that could be coming thick and fast in the aftermath of statements he’ll make."

He rubbed his forehead against her chin, and then kissed where he’d touched. Aeri felt as though a flower opened slowly in her heart, warm and spring like and scented with love.

"Quint didn’t warn me about a blue-eyed waif with black hair and a body to make Cleopatra jealous." His mouth quirked as though to laugh at himself. "He’d fall out of that creaky old chair laughing if he could hear me bumbling around trying to tell you I want the hell out of you."

One long forefinger rested beneath her chin as he leaned to place his mouth over hers. A stinging jolt of pleasure shot through her body, and Jared groaned, moved his mouth to mutter something, then shifted her so that she was lying beneath him. Their hands moved over each other, Jared’s caressing down the front of her blouse, pushing the fullness from her shoulders, fingers stroking over swollen breasts. His mouth followed, found a tightened nipple. He kissed it, wet it with his tongue, then pulled it completely into his mouth.

Aeri gasped, her hands coming to rest in crisp hair, holding on as Jared’s marauding tongue searched for, and found, the other strutted brown tip, kissed around it, then nipped lightly with his teeth. Her hands tightened their hold, then relaxed as he moved swiftly upward, and found her mouth once more. Her parted lips accepted the hard thrust of his tongue, her body moved in rhythm to match, urged him closer and closer.

Jared lifted his head. His eyes were glazed, and he stared into Aeri’s, bright with desire.

"I don’t want to make love to you on the couch, Aeri. I’m too damned tired and want to be comfortable to enjoy you." He pushed her hair back from her forehead. "Come to bed with me." Not waiting for an answer, he slid hands beneath her knees and under her shoulders, lifting easily. He stood still, looking down into her wide-open eyes. "I don’t know what to do with you, so I’ll do what my mind, body and soul dictate and take all the love you’ll give me." He touched his mouth to the tip of her nose. "Okay?"

"Okay." She looped her arms around his neck.

He carried her up the stairs into his bedroom, stretched Aeri’s tightly nerved body on his bed, and sat beside her.

"I’m exhausted, tight as an over wound clock, and want you so much I can’t even make a clever speech." He smoothed a stray tendril of dark hair from her cheek, kissed where it had been.

Irregular breathing punctuated his movements as he pushed her skirt down, dropping her slippers with the bunched material. Aeri’s hands dispensed with his shirt, and she nipped his skin as buttons opened, stopped to lick wetly across his hard stomach.

He shivered, and then as Aeri’s fingers fumbled, he shoved impatiently at his pants, freeing his body to roll over on her.

"I don’t need a clever speech," she said. "I need you. Just you."

He lay lightly atop her. She loved the blaze that ignited in his eyes, the fire that transmitted hot kisses, gently roving hands, and a body hard and demanding molded against hers. She melted with the heat from his mouth, a thrusting, hunting tongue that claimed her breath and shot her temperature into the stratosphere.

He growled deep in his throat.

"You’re mine," he said. "I want all of you."

And he took what he wanted. Her breath became his, her heartbeat was caught in the palm caressing a breast that swelled and hardened, her legs imprisoned beneath his, and her flat stomach caved in by his strong arousal.

Aeri thought fleetingly of being an independent woman, one who controlled her life and lived it the way she wanted, ignoring the fact that it was still -- and yet -- a man’s world. This was the place she wanted a man to take control, to guide her in paths he knew best, to claim her as rightfully his. She couldn’t deny that she belonged wholly to Jared Austin, her boss, a formidable enemy to lots of people, but one who gave himself completely when he loved.

Like right now. All of him belonged to her at this moment.

"Honey."

The grated whisper told her Jared couldn’t wait much longer. His hand slid over her hip to her thighs and lovingly separated them, easing himself down until he poised at the warm entrance to her body. As he guided himself into her, he kissed her, murmuring unclear words, inching slowly into the moist opening. She wanted to hurry him, wanted him buried deep, right now, but she was fascinated by the erotic anticipation developing from his leisurely strategy.

She couldn’t wait. She arched upward, drawing her legs up to rest over his. His breath came out in a deep grunt, and he drove deep inside her, holding her pinned to the bed for long seconds. He raised his head to look at her. The deep blue-violet eyes stared back at him. She freed one hand to stroke his lips with one finger. He sucked it into his mouth and watched her eyes widen and her lips part on a caught breath.

"If you think I’m going to hurry, you’re crazy, my darling," he said. "I’m going to stay inside you until we both go off the deep end."

"Which is now," she said, and thrust upward, at the same time bringing his mouth to hers to dart her tongue inside. Every part of her body moved, forcing him to do the same. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, his hands fastened on her hips -- and he gave in.

Sensations shot like lightning through her thighs, her stomach, whirling her through passionate places she’d never been.

Jared gave up on waiting, his strokes long and pleasure seeking, making Aeri ease up to match his pace. He kissed her, hard, his tongue moving erotically over her lips, sliding along her teeth, wrapping suggestively around her tongue.

He moaned, and she knew the waiting was over. She fastened her hands behind his head, held the kisses as their bodies twisted feverishly.

"Aeri. Darling." He breathed her name, and then cried out. The hot stream from his body set her off, and Aeri’s insides uncurled, softened and whirled up to meet the rapid plunges, and she called his name as she sank into a delicious carnal mist.

They lay, entwined, their breaths slowly returning to normal. Aeri drifted almost to sleep, then became aware Jared was still hard inside her. His body barely moved, but there was no mistaking he intended to finish what he’d started.

She smiled a little and her hands slid over his shoulders, pressing into the firm flesh. His hands crossed beneath her head, now turned so that his fingers dug into her thick hair.

"Witch," he said in a drugged voice. He kissed her gently, little touches that set flames to each part of her that responded brazenly, making her writhe with pleasure.

"Aeri," he said, and immediately plunged deep, thrusting in and out. An instant later both of them cried out, their bodies moved like well-synchronized machinery, the feelings anything but mechanical.

They quieted, and Jared rolled over, bringing Aeri with him, still inside her. When he slowly withdrew, she opened her eyes to smile at him. He smiled back, a lazy, satisfied smiled, pulled her close to him, and they slept.

Aeri awakened first, lying still to stare into Jared’s face, strong features that could be hard and uncompromising, relaxed and gentle in sleep. Lips, slightly parted, touched her bare shoulder. She lay on his left arm, and his right hand covered her breast. She moved enough to press her lips to his arm, licking out to taste his skin.

"Would you like to spend the morning in bed?" Jared’s voice was lazy, his eyes still closed, thick lashes fanning his cheeks. His fingers lightly caressed the warm tip of her breast.

She stretched full length against him. "Is it negotiable?"

"Only like this."

His lips roamed her body, kissing, licking leaving a tortuous path of yearning, finding her mouth to feather kisses across it. When she drew in a quick breath, his tongue slipped inside her mouth, joining with hers, gently tugging, playing with it. In a matter of seconds his hand smoothed over her stomach to her thighs, hesitating at the warm juncture, one finger moving downward into the moist opening.

Aeri made a soft contented sound and pushed against his hand.

"No," he said, and separated her legs.

The moment he entered her, Aeri whimpered and clamped herself around him.

"Oh, God, honey, wait. Don’t make me, don’t -- not yet, darling." Even as he pleaded with her to go slow, Jared went deep as she wrapped her legs around him. They came together, stardust and magic powers pitching them beyond reason. Their bodies shuddered, trembled for long, long seconds, then stilled.

Aeri’s thoughts flitted while he held her close. Against all her training and declarations against this possibility, she was in love with Jared Austin. As his live-in girlfriend, she was viewed as being available for such liaisons, but she hadn’t bargained for this -- this wonderful, unknown opening of senses she’d thought untouchable. Jared didn’t ask. He just moved in. He was a businessman. He saw prospective profits and went after them just as he did in fighting for unpopular causes, naming names other sources steered clear of, giving the public the information they needed to make educated choices in their elected officials.

Aeri didn’t have a choice. She took a job knowing the dangers were real when she did, and knowing that falling in love with her boss was one of them. She hadn’t planned to fall in love. Certainly not with Jared Austin who viewed her as an employee strategically placed so as to protect his mother. And supply him with a friendly companion.

Damned friendly, they were.

"Happy?" Jared murmured in her ear.

Was she? Satisfied, oh, yes, that was for certain.

"Yes," she whispered back to him.

"Satisfied?" he said. He raised his head to smile at her.

"That, too."

"Then would you mind going to your room so I won’t be tempted to stay right here. I have work to do. So do you, and both of us need some rest." He slid his arm from beneath her head and sat up.

"Aeri, don’t do anything to raise suspicion at the Coronado Facility. Tell Faye she’d better just do what she’s been doing without looking through extra files. I don’t want her trying to second-guess whoever’s adjusting those records."

"Where will you be today?"

He stood up and walked towards the bathroom his muscular shoulders straight, naked hips narrow and firm.

Aeri licked her lips. He had a beautiful body.

He glanced back, eyes going over her lightly covered body.

"I need to check out some records, call Heyward, and a few other odd jobs." He touched his finger to his lips and blew her a kiss. "I’ll try to call if I’m going to be late." He disappeared into the bathroom and the door closed behind him.

Aeri lay there for half a minute, got up, grabbed her clothes and dressed quickly. Now to get to her room before Faye came looking for her and found her in her son’s bedroom.

Chapter Fourteen

Sunday’s paper was strewn all over the dining room table when Aeri fixed her first Pepsi with ice. Faye was still asleep, but Jared had already read the column with Quint Heyward’s byline, and had left the paper open at the ‘Opinions’ page. Aeri sat down to read it, her drink forgotten.

It was all there in black and white. Medicare fraud in the billions of dollars and, surprisingly, tied in with a food stamp program.

"The Agriculture Department has an annual
budget of approximately 18 billion dollars for
the present food stamp program. Fraud in
this program alone runs into billions. It’s
a lucrative business for small grocery stores
with low volume sales and high redemptions
of food stamps.

"The State of Nevada is not the worst
offender, but population wise, it runs
close." Representative Jay Stuart, Republican,
Fifth District, stated that he estimates 75%
of stores dealing in food stamps are involved
in some sort of scam whereby they rake in
four times the value of the stamps. The
issuance of food stamps to unauthorized persons
runs into another million dollar loss, possibly
more. Nursing homes, convalescent centers,
and other government programs add to high
losses and escalation of the national debt. Your
money is paying for misuse of food stamps and
fraud covered up with help by the very persons
you, the public, elect. To complain, start with our
governor, then the representative from your
district, from there to your congressman. Let them
all know you believe in the food stamp program
for the needy, not the greedy."

There was more, but Aeri put the paper down, and walked to the wide windows overlooking the city. Mornings were cooler now, quite pleasant, and fall temperatures would bring a welcome change in the dry air. She didn’t hear Jared as he entered the kitchen, but she felt him. Turning, she met his steady, assessing look. He didn’t smile as his eyes wandered over her face, the neatly brushed hair, and the wide mouth he’d kissed into submission not many hours ago.

"You have a question?" he said.

She stepped towards him, one hand out to straighten the light blue striped tie knotted just so over a darker blue silk shirt, tucked into pants of gray silk wool. Both hands rested on his chest, fingers spread, rubbing gently.

"Did you know Heyward was going to make a connection between the pharmaceutical charges and the food stamp program?"

"You didn’t read the continued portion of the article, did you?" Jared’s forefinger traced her lips.

Tingling awareness followed his touch, and she closed her eyes, savoring the pleasant thrill surging through her body.

"No. I was trying to separate the two charges he’s outlining there."

"Quint hits them with a multitude of charges then zeroes in on the worst ones, especially if he has an idea there are some big names involved."

"How does he find the names? I researched one entire summer on welfare fraud, and the closest I came to a well-known name was the janitor in the Department of Human Services building."

"Had he suddenly become rich?" Jared grinned, bent to press his mouth to Aeri’s. "You didn’t start an investigation on him, did you?"

She smiled back, shook her head.

""Have I told you, Miss Stone, you have the most elegant legs I’ve ever seen on a lawyer?"

She blinked.

"Are you always so poetically inclined at this time of day?" Aeri couldn’t remember being embarrassed over the mention of her legs. She didn’t recall Jared looking at them unless it was while they were wrapped so closely with his.

"I’ve been up for hours." He studied the paper without picking it up. "Your legs aren’t all that I find distracting."

He didn’t look up.

"I’d give a good bit to be able to take you back to bed right now. However, Quint has already called, and I have to check some things for him." He raised his eyes to look into hers again. "Watch Faye closely today, Aeri. Okay?"

"Yes. She’s due at the Comfort Facility this morning after church."

"Fine." Jared turned away. "I’ll be in the office downtown for a while if you need me." At the door, he glanced over his shoulder. "Be careful." He waited for her nod, and then he was gone.

She walked to the window and a few moments later watched Jared’s silver gray Ford Crown Victoria glide down the circular drive. It was an unpretentious, if luxurious, car, nothing really spectacular about it, but if would-be troublemakers wanted to, they could spot it and do whatever damage they cared to, knowing it belonged to a man causing them undue stress.

And Jared Austin was in to causing crooks stress. Undue or not.

She turned back to the table and found the continued part of the article she’d been reading.

No wonder Jared asked her if she’d read the last portion. Quint Heyward was turning the screws on wrongdoers. He’d written: "There’s a trick to working programs so profits and benefits go to the greedy ones. It’s called coercion by circling, looking for opportunity, and enlarging the sphere of influence until you have to deal with them or not do business at all. Backers of a particular piece of legislation have to deal with the committee controlling the bill, then the assembly and house leaders -- not to mention governor. All along the way, vested interest groups can sink your bill, sometimes even where the public mandate is clear and overwhelming."

Aeri stared at the blunt accusation. If Quint Heyward didn’t have a bodyguard, he’d better seriously consider hiring one. If and when Jared’s name surfaced in connection with the article and pending investigation, Aeri’s job would become deadly earnest, because Faye would be right there as a potential victim. Jared would be in just as much danger.

Aeri shivered. She glanced outside at the dry brightness, spacious desert-scaped gardens, tranquil beauty as far as the eye could see. Murphy Chappell and his brutally crooked entourage shouldn’t be allowed to pollute, to manipulate, to destroy Nevada and far reaches to places she couldn’t possibly anticipate. She knew, as sure as she stood in Jared Austin’s lovely home, that Murphy Chappell was the force behind the threats to Faye.

How could she keep Faye safe until she proved it? How could she stay alive in the meantime?

"That’s what Dad trained me for," she murmured. Not that he suspected I’d ever have to use his instructions, but that’s why he did it. She thought briefly of Jared’s intense love-making, the fierce possession of her body, realizing that his fight for what was right, for Faye and anyone else, would be just as intense. He wasn’t one to do anything halfway.

I should have told Jared I love him. But, then, again, it might be too soon.

She had no idea how he felt about her except for the fact he enjoyed making love to her. Being in love was a bit different. At least, she supposed so. She’d never been in love. Never dreamed a man would awaken in her the desire to surround him with feelings, with urgent desires to spend time in his arms, to mix her breath with his in a thousand heated touches, to give her heart and soul along with her body. She’d never thought of total submission to demands that stirred a glorious and flaming passion into an intense response, not until it was Jared who demanded it. Excitement coursed through her, a sense of belonging to a man to whom she’d totally surrendered without much of a fight. She allowed a moment for tender memories of time in Jared’s arms, straightened and turned her attention to how she could best protect Faye from herself -- and Jared’s enemies.

Aeri sat in what Faye told her was a gathering room, sort of a catch-all for patients to watch television, work on crafts and take naps sitting up. Eighteen people, male and female, were scattered around, some in pairs, mostly alone, staring into space, lost in another world.

It seemed Sunday afternoons would be visiting time for families, Aeri thought just as Faye came through the double-wide doors. The older woman smiled into vacant faces, patted shoulders, and kissed cheeks as she made her way to where Aeri now stood.

When Faye reached her, Aeri saw the angry sparkle in gray eyes so like her son’s.

"Now what?" Aeri said in a low voice.

"Let’s get out of this place. I’m so mad I could chew up Phil Loringer."

Aeri’s interest mounted.

"Loringer? What’s he got to do with anything?"

Faye marched ahead of Aeri, spoke over her shoulder.

"I need a good stiff drink."

Aeri caught up with the angry woman.

"Are we going home or to the Cadillac? Bert’s not there. You’ll have to pay for your own drink."

"Huh." Faye slowed down as Aeri matched her steps. "Home, I guess. Let Jared pay for it."

At the car, Aeri glanced around, checked the doors she’d marked so she could tell if someone had touched them. Everything seemed innocently the same as when she’d parked, but she didn’t feel easy about it. Twice she’d ventured outside to look around, but all she’d seen were the hapless patients of the center. She climbed into the Mustang beside Faye.

"Anything in particular stir you up or did the preacher bore you to distraction?"

"Both," Faye said, and sighed. "Aeri, I sincerely believe they scout around to all sections of the city to see which minister can preach the longest and most useless sermons to these people. Imagine those poor souls listening to his damnation of AIDS, says it’s God’s punishment for their sins. Most of them have been there so long they don’t even know what AIDS is, don’t know or care. And do you suppose they worry about abstaining from sex or think about using a condom to prevent pregnancy? If they can think at all, they wonder what they’ve done to be put where they are as punishment for living a long and useful life."

Aeri watched the rear view and side mirrors, checked the street in front of her, and then glanced at Faye.

"I’m surprised you didn’t stand up and tell the preacher his audience would welcome the chance to contact Aids if they could move well enough."

"Thought about it," Faye said. "I’d much rather kick his skinny butt all over Las Vegas." Faye’s scowl was enough to freeze the preacher had he been able to see it.

"Anything else start you on a roll?"

Faye was quiet a few seconds.

"I worked in the records section early this morning. Besides the new patients’ records, I had a stack of vouchers for drug purchases and the dispensing of medications."

"And what?"

"It’s wrong, Aeri." Faye opened the tote bag at her feet and took out sheets of paper. "Medical supplies in the designated space for them are far less than the inventory accounts for."

"What does that mean?"

"It means the situation I told you about with Mrs. Kenway isn’t an isolated case but is repeated over and over with a cost to Medicare and taxpayers running into hundreds of thousands of dollars when taking into consideration how many institutions are involved."

"Do those papers you’re holding prove anything?"

Aeri glanced at Faye, then to the side view mirrors. A nondescript white car, a Pontiac or Chevrolet, was following them; she couldn’t make out the emblem on the front yet. It had come from a side street two blocks from Coronado.

"You’d need one more record to verify so there’s no doubt whatsoever."

"What is it?"
"The original purchase order. It’s kept in the superintendent’s safe. Impossible to get into it without a master key."

"Wonder if there’s a copy of it kept somewhere else?"

Aeri checked the whereabouts of the white car. It had dropped two cars behind them in the outside lane. Aeri kept the Mustang on the inside.

"I don’t know," Faye said. "If it is, I’ll bet it’s at one of the other facilities or in the super’s house." She slipped the papers back inside the tote. "Let’s go get that drink."

"Suppose we go to that bar up the street from Bert’s."

Faye looked at her. "Why? I thought we’d decided Jared could foot the bill."

"We’re being followed. I don’t want them to get anywhere close to the house."

Faye’s eyes went to the side mirror near her.

"I don’t see anyone who appears to be interested in us."

"Don’t turn to look. White two-door car, Pontiac Grand Am, I think, three cars back of us in the right lane."

"Why don’t you just outrun them? You can, can’t you?"

Aeri would swear there was an anticipatory grin on the woman’s face.

"Yeah, I can. Want to?"

"Bet you an exotic, nerve stiffening drink you can’t do it in less than ten minutes."

"You got a bet."

Aeri drove at a sedate forty miles an hour, passing from thickly populated streets into quiet residential areas, just as though they were two bored women out for a Sunday afternoon of sightseeing. She moved into the ‘right turn only’ lane approaching a stoplight where a right turn would take them to I-10. Twenty feet from the corner, Aeri swerved the Mustang all the way across the street to the center turn lane, took a caution light, and squealed tires as she headed south instead of north toward the interstate. Horns blared, brakes screeched, and swear words possibly turned the air blue as Aeri cut people off, skimmed by inches from cars. The street curved, and a block down, she made another two-wheeled swing to the right, took an alley behind a Catholic church, through a crowded parking lot, to another narrow street.

Faye’s gasp echoed in Aeri’s throat as she missed an oncoming van by two inches, cut across a curb and bounded onto a side street. A used car lot came up on her right, and Aeri twisted the wheel, slid across the paved area and into a narrow space between two white cars.

Faye’s hands slowly unclenched to release their hold on the arms of the bucket seats. The breath she’d been holding whistled through her teeth.

"Is Junior Johnson still alive?"

Aeri’s gaze circled 180 degrees and back again, watchful of any vehicle on the move.

"Yes. Think he runs a chicken farm or something now," she said, her attention only half on what Faye said. "Why?"

"Maybe I should take driving lessons from him."

Aeri grinned. "Don’t you trust me?"
"Oh, hell, yes, but one of these days, you’re going to win the Indianapolis 500 and your services will be too high for me to afford. I’d better learn some of Junior’s pointers for my own sake."

Aeri laughed and patted Faye’s tensed fingers.

"Taking care of you is about all the excitement I can stand. I’ll pass on the 500."

Faye’s breath came a bit easier.

Aeri turned, looked back to the streets she’d driven across, eyed the few cars that moved slowly down the avenue, past the car lot, onto a thoroughfare half a block away.

"Slide down in the seat, Faye," Aeri said. She did the same but kept her eye above the dash enough to watch oncoming traffic.

They sat for several minutes without speaking.

"Okay. I give up," Faye whispered "Let’s go get those drinks. I’ll even fix them for us."

Aeri sat up and looked at the parking area around them. The three white cars, with the Mustang in the center, were the only ones of that color.

"Five more minutes, and we’ll go," Aeri said.

"Who do you think it is?"

"Friends of our friends, I’d guess." Aeri frowned. "If they saw the paper this morning, Jared could be in danger, too. Does Connie always go with him?"

"If he’s working locally, yes. Yvette said he left with Jared earlier."

Aeri relaxed.

"I wouldn’t want to tangle with Connie, and I hope Jared’s enemies feel the same way."

She started the Mustang and eased from her parking place, kept a close watch on the rearview and side view mirrors. Nothing seemed out of place, no white Grand Am waiting to take up the chase. Nevertheless, she took a roundabout way to Jared’s house, crisscrossing avenues and highways, backtracked, and finally, pulled into the garage, and waited until the automatic garage door closed behind them before she’d let Faye get out of the car.

Chapter Fifteen

The phone rang as Faye handed Aeri her drink, a colorful, slushy rum concoction that probably had a thousand calories per sip. Aeri held it up to the light, nodded her approval, and took a big swallow. She still had the glass to her lips when Faye answered the phone.

"Oh, hi, Honey. Uh huh. We just came in." Faye hesitated; eyebrows peaked as she looked at Aeri. "There was a bit of excitement as we came home. No, nothing serious. Aeri took care of it. We’ll tell you about it when you get here." Faye dropped the receiver into the cradle and blew out her breath.

"What?" Aeri said.

"Jared was a bit worried. Said not to leave the house again today. I think I promised we wouldn’t."

"No reason for his orders?"

Jared didn’t ask ‘will you?’ he merely told you to do it and expected to have his orders followed. Mostly Aeri was in agreement with him. Today, she certainly didn’t care to go out into the cold, cruel world a second time. The white Grand Am might be waiting across the street.

Faye dropped into a wing-backed chair, kicked off her running shoes and stretched narrow feet in front of her. She wiggled her toes, frowned at them as though displeased with their appearance.

"Your poor feet objecting to recent treatment? Are they talking back to you?" She was amused at Faye’s concentration. The woman hadn’t mentioned the wild ride, their pursuers, how safe or how much in danger they were. Like she did similar things any day of the week.

Faye glanced up, dark eyes narrowed until you couldn’t see the charcoal gray color.

"Jared is safe right now. We’re at home, supposedly out of danger. What next?"

Aeri didn’t pretend ignorance of her questions.

"Who assigned you to the records room today?"

"Dan Holden. Administrator, supervisor or any one of several titles he answers to."

"Does he usually work on Sunday?"

"Actually, I’ve only seen him a couple of weekends since I started at Coronado more than two years ago. Al Cortez usually handles administrative problems during weekends and holidays."

"Are you usually assigned records duty on weekends?"

"Not often, but it has happened a few times."

"Mr. Cortez on vacation or something?" Aeri took another sip of Faye’s smooth concoction. She must be tired; she could already feel the effects of the alcohol.

"I don’t know. I could check the posted schedules tomorrow. What would that prove?" Faye had finished half her drink and now leaned back, relaxed.

"Probably nothing. What time are you scheduled to appear tomorrow?"

"Eleven-thirty to help serve lunch to those who can’t get to the dining room."

Faye shifted her drink to her left hand and brushed at her smooth hair with the right one, something of a nervous gesture.

Hell, she was nervous, too. Someone following them, intimidating videos received in the mail, attempted kidnapping. She was human. Sure she was nervous.

"What are you thinking?" Faye said, watching the play of expressions across Aeri’s face.

"That Jared should contact the FBI, federal marshals and city police and fill them in on what’s happened so far."

"He hired you as my bodyguard, Aeri. You trying to pass responsibility on to someone else? Come on. Since when have you become unsure of yourself?"

"Since I think we’ve run into something more than mere threats because of Jared’s columns. Because the column today had Quint Heyward’s byline, but we’re still the target of unknowns who I don’t think are trying to find our address to leave us a million dollars."

"The same ones who picked us up at the Cadillac? And followed us today?" Faye swirled her drink, frowned at the liquid. "I can’t imagine knowing anything that would threaten anyone."

"It isn’t you, Faye. It’s Jared. He’s pushing someone beyond the comfort zone. It was okay as long as he hinted at wrongdoing, but when he outlines what’s wrong, such as the real estate deals having to do with contaminated landfills, he’s zeroing in on names, dates and places. Politicians and/or crooks don’t appreciate interference of that type. You just happen to be his mother, and that’s where the perpetrators will find Jared’s weakest link. You’ll be useful in getting to Jared."

Faye stood. "You want another drink?"

The hum of the garage door opening interrupted Aeri’s statement she thought she’d had enough to drink. They waited quietly until Jared reached the door, placed his briefcase on the floor and strode to Faye. He kissed her cheek.

"Yes, thank you, I’d love one of whatever you two are having," he said, bent over Aeri and kissed the top of her head. He ignored Faye’s questioning look. "Give me a rundown on your day. Don’t leave out anything."

Aeri gave a brief report, adding what she’d just said to Faye about reporting recent happenings.

Jared stared at her without speaking, his eyes holding an unreadable expression. When Faye handed him a drink, he smiled at her and reached for her hand.

"Might get rough in the next day or so, Faye. Call Coronado. Tell them you have a virus you don’t want to spread among the patients. Stay home with Aeri until further notice."

"I’m not going go hide in your house, Jared. Isn’t it you they’re after?" Her lips tightened. "Are you going to stay with us?"
"I can’t. I’m going to lure them out if there’s someone out there to lure."

"Dangerous," Aeri said. "Keep Connie with you. Call Cord."

He smiled, and Aeri’s heart skipped several beats. She almost felt his touch, and wished with all her heart she could just get up and go sit on his lap.

"Worry about Faye and yourself, Aeri. Yes, Connie will be with me." He sipped his drink, leaned forward. "Connie and I will be in and out of the house. Faye, you and Aeri stay inside, not out in the garden, nowhere in the yard. The inside. Understand?"

"I hate playing games," Faye said.

Aeri easily saw the similarity of mother and son’s stubbornness. She wondered which head was the hardest. A toss-up, she decided, as she watched the eye-to-eye contact of the two. She was becoming pleasantly attached to Faye. Once they’d gotten over their rocky start, Faye seemed to have accepted Aeri as a necessary addition to her way of life whether she approved or not.

Jared.

Whether she wanted to be or not, she was in love with the man. Unexpected, but his loving was so sweet and gentle, an intrinsic part of her life, necessary to her well-being. She couldn’t imagine being unable to look forward to his holding her, whispering words to wrap her in the warmest of feelings, charging her emotions with panicked excitement that demanded his touch for satisfaction. A throb of pleasure centered between her thighs as her eyes met Jared’s. It was as though he read her mind.

These days, Jared wondered about his condition. He was always ready to make love to Aeri. The moment she appeared on the stairs. When her eyes met his over a drink. As she discussed means of protecting Faye or talked about Cord and Bert on the houseboat. When she laughed with Connie over some story he told. And when he held her in his arms, the world seemed right, nothing could go wrong.

The memory of a woman he’d made love to had never interfered with his thought processes. Until Aeri. He’d had women, lovely, talented, warm women, but now he couldn’t recall a single personality trait or body measurement. He could quote Aeri’s physical statistics to the nearest millimeter. A powerful urge to drive himself deep inside Aeri roused him to a painful degree. He shuddered with desire and brought himself back to the present.

They had discussed the next day’s activities, eaten a light meal Yvette brought them, and Faye had gone on to bed. Jared had led Aeri to his bedroom and slowly undressed both of them. His warm breath caressed her cheek.

"You don’t know how close I came to ripping off your clothing and ravishing you right there in front of Faye when you looked at me like that."

"Like what?" Aeri murmured in a sleepy voice. She smiled, knew full well what he was talking about.

"The look on your face practically shouted you were ready for us to make love." He chuckled, his tongue flicked over the lobe of her ear, and she shivered. "Too bad I didn’t have a video camera on you."

She wiggled her hips and settled against his thighs, found him ready again even though they’d just satisfied each other minutes before.

"Voyeurism from you, Jared?"
"Aeri, you make me think of things I’ve never even considered before I met you." He tugged her around to face him. He pressed her lips with a forefinger. "If I ever had inhibitions, they disappear around you. I want every erotic move and touch ever invented, I want to kiss you all over, and my happiness is total when I’m deep inside you. I only regret the quickness with which it’s over. I always hope we can last a bit longer, but I’m not sure I’d live through it if we did."

Aeri stared at him. Jared, the levelheaded businessman, the man dedicated to helping right some wrongs in a world too full of wrongdoing, a quiet, unassuming fighter. A fighter, oh yes, but a lover, too. She slipped closer to his hard body, brought her leg up over his thighs.

"Aeri." He sighed. "Honey, some day, I’ll have enough of you." He kissed hard. "Should I live so long."

Aeri wheeled the old man down the dimly lit hallway and met Faye coming from the administrative office. She was crying.

Aeri left the wheelchair and caught Faye’s arm.

"What’s wrong?"

She’d never seen Faye shed a tear, not when she was so mad she couldn’t speak, not when she heard stories from patients that would tear the heart out of any human. Faye’s lips were pressed tightly together, a thin line of color remaining of her lipstick. Her eyes were red-rimmed, brimming with unshed tears. One fist clenched against her mouth.

Aeri shook her.

"Are you ill?"

A cold voice answered for her.

"Mrs. Austin isn’t ill. She has been caught mishandling files as well as medications, an extremely serious offense."

Aeri looked at the man as though he spoke a foreign language.

"If someone held a gun to Faye Austin, she wouldn’t do anything to harm Coronado or its patients."

"Circumstances say different, Miss. Now if you’ll move along --."

Aeri ignored him.

"Faye?"

Faye stumbled against her, and Aeri’s arms went out to catch her.

"It’s lies, Aeri, I didn’t remove any files nor substitute medications."

"I know that, Faye." Her arm remained protectively around Faye. "You’d better have proof or your ass is sued for the maximum. Which will be plenty." Aeri glared at the man who stared right back at her, his lips curled over big teeth.

"There’s proof. We don’t have to give it to you."

"Oh, but you’re wrong. I’m Mrs. Austins’s lawyer, and I’d say anything you have pertaining to her has to be turned over to me." Aeri wanted to backhand him. "Who are you?"

The man puffed up.

"I’m Dan Holden, supervisor. Mrs. Austin has been caught with plenty of proof of wrongdoing." He whirled away. "Come with me."

Whoever had planned the frame was thorough. Files supposedly under lock and key were found in Faye’s locker. The prescriptions of controlled drugs she had sorted for delivery had been switched to a non-controlled cabinet so anyone who used the storage facility had access to them. Only doctors and nurse supervisors had authority to release such drugs.

"So what use would Mrs. Austin have for these drugs?" Aeri said.

"There has been suspicion for months that there was a leak in controlled substance supplies," Holden said. He was on solid ground. In back of him stood a federal marshal and a representative from the medical board.

Faye leaned forward.

"I have never, never in all my life been accused of such horrible things." Some of the color was back, and the fighting temperament was speaking up. "I didn’t take any files, nor did I mix up any medications."

"The evidence points otherwise, Mrs. Austin. I’m afraid we’ll have to ask you not to leave your home until a thorough investigation is carried out."

Aeri stood.

"I’ll see she remains close by." She put her arm a round Faye. "You’ll hear from us."

"And you’ll hear from us, Miss Stone. Certainly, you’ll hear from us." Holden leaned back, satisfied with his comments.

Aeri was tempted to use a karate chop across his nose just to get his attention.

Jared was at home when they got there, and they went through the story for him. His face had lost its color as he stared at Faye, simply sitting in the big wing back chair, looking lost. Anyone who knew the Austins knew Faye couldn’t be guilty, but the notoriety of such an accusation, however untrue, would hurt. Whoever started it had a grudge against an Austin -- and it wasn’t Faye. They were after Jared. Any scandal that touched him would dilute his powerful accusations against wrongdoing in other fields. Especially if it involved politicians.

Jared walked over and knelt in front of Faye, his long fingers beneath her chin.

"It’s for my benefit, Mother, and I’ll get to the bottom of it. In the meantime you stay here, don’t leave the house. You’re not supposed to anyway. But I’m telling you again, do not leave here. If you want something, send Connie or Yvette or D. D. Aeri stays, too." He looked up to meet Aeri’s dark eyes, her look one of pure anger.

"They’re smart, Jared, whoever they are. We didn’t expect to be hit from this direction."

Aeri slid her finger along the crease of her black silk pants. The black and white top of the same material draped over her firm breasts, a small cap sleeve revealing slender arms without indicating strength. Jared knew how strong her arms were. He’d been held tightly by those same muscles.

"Let’s not underestimate them again. Keep Faye here."

"Where are you going?" The question was involuntary, and for the first time, Jared turned an angry look her way.

"You don’t have to know what I’m doing or where I’ll be, Aeri. You take care of Faye."

Her own temper was waffling between calming down and flaring wide. She let it erupt.

"I think it’s damned important we know where you are and what you’re doing. It’s not as though we’re not involved in this mess. Keep me informed, dammit, Jared."

He looked hard at her, his glance sliding from sparkling eyes to lips parted in anger.

"I’ll call you. I’m not sure where I’ll be at any one time." He strode to the door and said over his shoulder. "Come on, Connie. We’ve work to do."

Aeri’s head lifted and she folded her arms across her chest. Jared’s tone hurt.

"Kiss me goodbye," she said.

Jared swung around, that impudent brow peaked. His lips twitched. His hand dropped from the door, and he moved to stand in front of her, staring at her defiant expression. Abruptly, he pulled her to him, ground his mouth to hers, his tongue thrusting inside the warmth of hers and held her there until her hands dropped to his hips.

"I don’t usually take orders from nagging women," he said.

It was too quick, too brutal, for Aeri to hide the hurt, and for a moment, his eyes warmed. Then he bent his head, pressed his mouth gently to hers, whispered, "Take care," and was gone.

Stunned, Aeri stood there, then turned to look at Faye who was looking at nothing. It was as if she hadn’t seen the interaction between Aeri and Jared. Connie, too, ignored them as he followed Jared down the hallway.

Aside from footsteps, the solid thud of the outside door closing, there was silence. Aeri walked to the window and watched the two enter Jared’s car, which had been left in the circular drive. It pulled slowly away from the house and glided from sight.

"I’m tired. I think I’ll lie down awhile," Faye said.

"Can I get you a drink or something?"

Faye was on her way out the door. She shook her head.

"No, thanks, Aeri. I just feel awfully tired."

Aeri understood.

Damn. How could they have not seen something like this coming instead of trying to figure out what Athens and Sandra Parker, Murphy Chappell and what’s his name? Phil Loringer, were doing? When Faye found files showing missing medications, shortened prescribed medications, discrepancies in the dispensing . . . She’d bet they’d left those files so Faye would see them, then they could accuse her of mishandling files as well as controlled substances. The setup had been well planned. She should have been looking for such a move.

Jared’s reaction to her question surprised her. She didn’t think she was nagging. Dammit, she was worried. She’d been right there with Faye and hadn’t been able to stand between her and the accusations made by Dan Holden, as far-fetched as they were. But the evidence -- he was right. They’d found copies of everything in Faye’s locker. But Faye’s not stupid. If she’d been guilty of doing those things, she’d have had better sense than to stow the evidence on the premises.

Someone’s running scared, so scared they weren’t all that particular how thin the accusations against Faye were. She was there. Her son pointed accusing fingers at officials so Faye was helping him by helping files disappear, careless in noting medications, and guilty of changing dosages, which any registered nurse, retired or otherwise, would never do.

Aeri watched Faye leave, knew the pain, the outrage and panic-stricken confusion she felt.

Not much more confused than Aeri, trying to analyze Jared’s sudden hostility, his anger at her, the insulting kiss followed by a gentle one, much more like what she expected from him.

It had not been a good day.

Chapter Sixteen

The phone was picked up on the fourth ring.

"Yallo?"

Aeri grinned in spite of her anxiety.

"Yallo? You’ve been around the elite too long, Bert. How’s the vacation?"

"Aeri, my love, come out and join us. I’ll treat you to a lobster dinner with all the money I’ve won from Cord." His laugh was pure deviltry.

"Would be nice, but I have a giant-sized problem I need to talk with Cord about."

"Nothing more serious than advice on your love life, I hope."

Aeri’s hand tightened on the receiver. How close to the truth, and he’s only joking, she thought.

"What I lack in love life I make up for in getting myself boxed in, Bert."

Bert chuckled.

"Anyone who looks like you can never lack for love, Sweetheart. Here’s Cord."

"Aeri. How’re things among the rich and famous?"

"I hate to interrupt what sounds like a fun time, Cord, but I need to lay some items on you and see if you can help me sort them out."

"Give me a for instance."

Cord’s lighthearted tone changed. He sensed that what she had was serious or she wouldn’t be calling.

Briefly, she gave an account of the past ten days ending with Faye’s house arrest.

Cord spluttered.

"Who’s the idiot who accused Faye?"

"Dan Holden. Supervisor extraordinaire at Coronado."

"He the regular super?"
"Yes. Someone else usually fills in for long weekends and holidays, but for some reason, Holden was on duty this weekend. Rather strange, wouldn’t you think, that he suddenly has to pull a weekend duty? Just when Faye happened to be there, and they need somewhere to lay blame."

"Are you suspicious of any one person or thing? Aside from Holden."

Aeri took a deep breath. What she was about to say didn’t exactly fit the picture right now, but somewhere it must have a bearing on it.

"Murphy Chappell, Phil Loringer, Linda Forrester, Parker and Sandra Athens, Edward Knott. Ring any bells?"

"Yeah, but . ."

"Linda Forrester and Mrs. Loringer volunteer at Coronado, too. Not as often as Faye, but on an irregular basis."

"How’d you tie them in with the accusations against Faye? How’d you find out about the two women?"

"You forget I’ve been Faye’s shadow for weeks. You get a lot of disjointed bits of knowledge that, when pasted together, make an easily solved crossword puzzle."

"What’s happened recently that would upset someone around Coronado who’s not lily white?"

"Did you read Sunday’s paper?"

"Haven’t read a paper in over a week, Aeri."

She told him first about Knott’s indictment, maybe no connection, then about Quint Heyward’s column.

"It wouldn’t take much to figure out his information came from Jared. Especially since he’s already well known for his bulldog tenacity when it comes to dirty deals and/or dirty politicians."

"Yeah. He’s been sparring, now it’s time for the real fight. You figure that’s what this is all about?" Cord stared across the calm water at a pink condominium with lavender terrace.

"I do." Aeri paused. "Remember the printouts I showed you? One covered a court decision in a 1996 trial involving outrageous overcharges for pharmaceuticals. Among names suspiciously placed in that record were S. Goldman, P. S. Athens and T. Forrester. Goldman is a vascular surgeon. Athens could be a combination of Parker and Sandra, not much disguise there."

When she stopped, Cord said, "And what about T. Forrester?"

"Linda does volunteer work at Coronado as does Mrs. Loringer, but I didn’t find a T. Forrester."

"Linda might have a middle or maiden name."

"She’s been married?"
"Yeah. Long time ago. Had it annulled or something because she was underage or her parents paid him off or whatever."

They remained silent for a moment, both thinking, running names and places back and forth against the screens of their minds.

"You think Faye’s arrest and threats to all concerned are tied in with Heyward’s column?" Cord watched a yacht glide gracefully along the smooth surface of the lake.

"Yes."

"What does Jared say?"

Aside from telling me to stop nagging? She closed her eyes, recalled the angry kiss, the sharp response to what she thought was a simple question.

"What Jared usually says. Stay at home and watch Faye. He’ll take care of it."

"He will."

Cord had no doubt Jared was capable, but if other forces were working overtime, framing Faye, putting her in the untenable position of having to defend herself against all evidence someone had gone to a lot of trouble to manufacture, then Jared would have to be in several different places at once to keep up with all the players in what had become a deadly game.

"I suggested notifying the FBI, federal marshals, and the local police. Jared refused."

"That boy is really strong-willed," Cord said.

"Read: hard-headed."

Cord nodded although she couldn’t see him do it.

"You didn’t call just to tell me you’re in trouble. What’s your solution?"

"Put out feelers on those names. If you find anything they might fit, will you call me? Collect -- on Jared’s phone."

Cord laughed.

"Reckon he won’t object to a man calling you on his phone, collect at that?"

"Hardly. Especially if it’s regarding Faye."

"I’ll get back to you in a day or so, Aeri."

She hung up the phone, and after a moment, moved restlessly around the room, stopping at the wide window. Spread out in the distance, Las Vegas had started to glow as dusk settled in, and Aeri could imagine the noise, cigarette smoke, swearing, laughter and tears, standard makeup for the City of Casinos.

What would Jared do about charges against Faye? When she’d asked where he was going, she’d meant to ask, "How are we going to deal with this?" She’d no idea he’d see that as nagging. After all, she’d been hired to keep Faye safe and out of trouble. His first stop, she figured, would be Coronado. Faye’s accusers had better have their answers down pat before he got there.

She should have made Jared even angrier and insisted on going with him, but her job was to protect Faye.

Faye.

Aeri frowned, and a tingle of alarm ran down her spine, the hairs on her neck raised against her collar. She whirled, running full speed before she got to the door. In three seconds she stood in front of Faye’s bedroom door. The door was closed. Aeri listened but heard nothing. Her fingers tapped lightly on the door, and she listened again. Holding her breath, she turned the doorknob, found it unlocked, and let it open slowly.

"Faye?"

There was no answer, and Aeri went across the thick carpet to the bathroom. The door stood open but there was no sign of Faye.
"Holy shit," Aeri muttered and ran down the stairs, checking the den, the great room, the library, the patio. Moving quickly through the dining room into the kitchen, she saw Yvette by the sink.

"Yvette."

The young woman turned and smiled. Yvette didn’t say much, but she’d grown fond of Aeri who was friendly and easy to please, making no demands on either Yvette or D. D. And, too, she’d seen Aeri leave the boss’s room not too many nights ago. Yvette thought the two well suited to each other.

"Has Faye been down here within the past hour?"

Yvette shook her head.

"Mrs. Austin went to bed early with a headache. I took tea to her room, but that was forty-five minutes ago. She brought dishes back to the kitchen."

"How was she dressed?"

Yvette frowned.

"She wore the long-sleeved blue silk jumpsuit with navy sandals." She stared at Aeri. "Why? What has happened?"

"Nothing, I hope. Faye was supposed to stay at home, not go outside the building. I can’t find her."

"Her car?" Yvette said.

Aeri was on her way to the garage and found exactly what she was afraid of: The pale blue Mercedes was gone. She went back to the kitchen where Yvette waited.

"Does Jared ever tell D. D. where he’s going when he and Connie are both away?"

"Usually." Yvette was worried now. "I’ll ring him on the intercom."

She did, and moments later, D. D. entered through the service door. Yvette explained the circumstances.

"Did Jared mention where he and Connie were going?" Aeri said.

"Yes. Here’s the telephone number. First, they were going to the records room at the newspaper, then they were to visit Coronado where Mrs. Austin works."

Aeri dialed the number quickly. She asked whoever answered if Jared Austin had been in the area. Yes, he was. Just a moment.

Aeri waited impatiently, picturing Faye driving that damned Mercedes, visible for miles, right down the streets where people waited to pounce on her. Damn the woman. Why the hell couldn’t she act like a normal, scared woman, one who’d already been threatened, chased, almost kidnapped and accused of crimes?

"Austin here." Jared’s clipped voice came through.

"Aeri. Jared, Faye’s gone."

"Gone? Where the hell to? I told you to keep her in the house. Surely you know better than to --."

"Jared, listen. She said she was tired and was going to lie down. I was on the phone, and when I went to look for her, she was gone. In the Mercedes."

"Damn it to hell, Aeri, you should have stayed with her. How long has she been gone?"

Aeri stared at the phone. Jared’s voice was cold and accusing. Well, he had a right to be shaken. That mother of his could shake up the Pope.

"Nearly an hour according to Yvette who gave her tea just after she left us."

"I’ll be right there. Don’t you dare move."

The receiver slammed in her ear and Aeri rubbed it absently. Whatever he had discovered in the paper files must be bad news. She paced from mantel to window, stared unseeing at the amber carpet that was Las Vegas and tried to imagine where Faye would go at this time of night. And why? Dammit, why?

A few minutes later, Jared slammed into the room, his expression one of murder.

"Did you hear from her?"

"No, I didn’t --."

"You know what’s likely to happen, don’t you? If the person or persons are bent on destroying me by terrorist tactics, kidnapping or harming Faye, this is a perfect chance for them to do just that."

"I know, Jared, and --."

"You were hired to protect her, Aeri," he said.

His voice was cold steel. He took a book from his desk drawer, flipped pages until he found a name he wanted.

"What the hell do you think you’re drawing a fabulous salary for?"

She shook her head, stunned at his attack. She’d known he’d be worried but to blame her entirely for Faye’s disappearance was a bit unfair. At this moment, Jared Stone didn’t give a damn about fairness.

When she didn’t answer right away, he leaned over the desk.

"I am not paying you that incredible salary to sleep with me."

Her head jerked up, and her eyes widened, turning black. She sucked in her breath, but it seemed her lungs had caved in and there was no room for air. A shaft of pain, hot as fire, cold as ice, shot into her chest. Something inside her crumbled. The love she had for this man had, in one instant, been turned into something dirty.

Jared wasn’t watching her but dialing the phone. When someone answered, he said, "I want to talk to the police commissioner. No, I do not want to speak with the captain. Only the commissioner." He waited, fist drumming the desk. "I don’t care if he’s with the president of the United States, have him call me within the next five minutes. Please."

He slammed the receiver, leaned back, and ran long fingers through his hair, leaving a tousled effect because he needed a haircut.

When he looked at Aeri, he didn’t actually see her.

"If something happens to her --." He groaned and broke off.

"Jared," Aeri said over a raw throat.

She couldn’t allow herself to become as shattered as his words made her feel. There was a job yet to do.

"Jared, I couldn’t have known she’d do this, you’d told her not to leave the house, and Faye knows as well as we do the dangers to her out there right now. The accusations from Holden were enough to convince her your enemies mean business."

Jared snared the phone before the first ring ended.

"Yes?"

His face whitened, and he sucked in his breath.

"Who is this? Wait. Don’t hang up. I’ll --." He dropped the receiver into the cradle.

"Who was it?"

If looks could kill, she’d have died on the spot.

"I have forty-eight hours to drop all investigations presently in the works before Faye becomes a statistic."

Aeri tried to think of something to say. Jared would drop the investigations, and crooks would get away with murder and everything else they attempted. But he didn’t have a choice.

"Why didn’t you stay with her?"

Sharp worry tightened his jaw. His hands clenched and unclenched.

She didn’t know how to defend herself because she’d never thought she’d have to. Not like this.

When she would have spoken, Jared cut her off.

"You’re fired. As of right now. I’ll send you your check." His cold gaze went over her as though she were an absolute stranger.

"You don’t mean that, Jared. I’ll help --."

The phone rang, and Jared grabbed it.

"Yes?" His head went down in his palm. "Yes, Sir. This is the story. I want it kept in your office, but I need your help." He went on to give brief details. He listened a moment, then said, "I’ll be there within twenty minutes." He slammed the phone down and stood. He glanced at Aeri. "Be gone when I get back," he said and started for the door.

"Jared, don’t do this. I wouldn’t hurt Faye. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt either of you. I--."

He whirled.

"Are you pregnant?"

"What?"

"I asked," he said flatly, "if you’re pregnant."

She was tempted to laugh, but that would show hysteria, which she was definitely feeling.

"Answer me."

He had straightened away from the door and turned fully towards her.

"No."

The room seemed to tip, Jared’s face blurred, and she was certain her heart was no longer whole enough to beat. It had shattered into a million pieces.

"Are you sure?"

"I haven’t checked, if that’s what you mean."

The hard mouth softened, and he seemed about to smile, then the chill was back.

"Let me know if you are."

He yanked the door open.

She didn’t answer. She couldn’t.

"Aeri?"

"Why?"

"You’ll need help," he said. "Just let me know. Goodbye, Aeri."

It was impossible to believe that Jared had reacted the way he did. Sure, Faye is worrying him into an early grave, and Aeri was scared to death of what was going to happen. By now, Faye was safe somewhere, holed up at Coronado, at the Cadillac, or maybe at the Comfort Home with her wayward girls.

Aeri would simply love to break Faye’s neck. Jared’s, too. She loved them both and damned them in the same breath.

She placed a phone call to Cord, and when he answered, she said, "I’m desperately in need of help right now, Cord."

"You want me in the city?"

Bless him. He knew she’d not call a second time without reason.

"Meet me at your office as soon as you can."

"Barring road construction detours, drunken drivers, and witless motorists, I’ll be there within four hours."

Aeri hung up the phone, buried her face in her hands, and let the tears fall.

Chapter Seventeen

Aeri’s eyes darted from street to rearview mirror to side views, blinking often. Her eyes ached from shed and unshed tears; her throat was raw, like her nerves. Misery steeped itself into her blood and turned it to ice.

Go back to your own apartment. Stay out of trouble. Get out of my life. I’ll mail you a check. I don’t pay you a big salary to sleep with me.

For an instant, she hated Jared. Then wished with all her heart she could hate him. He was worried sick, but that was no excuse to demean her, to toss her out of the way like an irritating tumbleweed.

The muted sound of the Mustang’s powerful motor rasped in her ears like thunder. She’d taken the Mustang because her car was still in the garage at her place. In Jared’s present state of mind, he’d likely accuse her of grand theft.

No matter. Nothing could be as painful as being fired and dismissed from his life like an annoying bug. Suppose she was pregnant. For a mesmerizing moment, she allowed herself to think she was and what it might mean in Jared’s opinion.

"You’ll need help."

She breathed deeply. If she was pregnant, Jared Austin would never know. Of that, she was certain. She was a lawyer; she knew ways to keep him from ever seeing a child she had, even if he did just happen to be the father.

Anger overrode hurt. She set her mind on immediate goals and switched thoughts. Give Cord another three hours before he’d reach the city. It was seven-fifty in the evening according to the bank clock on the corner. Aeri avoided the heavily trafficked areas, bypassing gaily-lighted casinos, hotels and abodes of the rich and famous. Some infamous.

She allowed herself a grim smile. Somewhere in the mire of money, jewels and miscellaneous riches sat Murphy Chappell, smug as his crooked lawyers would allow him -- which was plenty. He was untouchable.

Something, somewhere, would trip him. One day he’d push someone too far or dip into one till too many. One day. But would she be around -- and alive -- to see it? Doubtful. He was smart and hadn’t gotten as high in mob ranks as he sat now by doing anything stupid.

Loringer.

How close to Chappell? Linda Forrester. Wonder if her annulled first husband was named Thomas? Ted? Timothy? She’d love to make a connection between the names they’d found on the printouts Faye had copied.

Faye.

Pain shafted through her. Dear God. If they harmed Faye --.

Aeri straightened, teeth clamping into her lips. Stubborn, one-way, indomitable, aristocratic Faye. Lovable and loving, in danger because Aeri failed to shadow her as her job dictated. A fatal flaw in Jared’s eyes. And death dealing to their love affair. Their first kiss had warned her she wouldn’t walk away unscathed from associating with Jared Austin.

She should have listened to that warning.

Conscious of her heart’s rapid beat, heavy throbs that echoed in her head, Aeri drove in crisscrossing patterns, watching closely for signs that she was being followed. Nothing obvious.

Would the abductors just release Faye and quit if Jared stopped his dirt digging? Aeri couldn’t quite believe they would. Were they waiting for Jared somewhere along a darkened street? He was giving them ample opportunity to find him.

Convinced no one was following her, Aeri drove to Cord’s office and parked in the darkened side lot. Hers was the only car. She patted the narrow fanny pack on her right hip, checked the Lady Smith thirty-eight. Security lights from three-story office buildings next door provided her with enough illumination to see if anyone passed. No one did.

It seemed forever before Cord’s pickup pulled up beside her. She hoped he never had to hide from anyone with that truck of eye-catching fire engine red, visible for blocks. Cord sat a moment after turning off his headlights, just like Aeri, checking out the premises before he stepped out of the truck.

She got out, pushed the Mustang’s door closed quietly behind her. They met in back of her car, and Cord hugged her.

"Sorry I’m a bit behind schedule," he said. "Had to round up a couple of papers I’ve been holding onto for some reason." He held her arm. "Come on."

"Thanks for coming without questions, Cord," Aeri said and put her free hand over his. He nodded but didn’t speak again until they were inside. He pulled the blinds, and then turned on one desk lamp. He looked at her, the reddened eyes with circles beneath them.

"Jared blames you for Faye’s disappearance." He didn’t ask. He knew.

"He does. In spades. He fired me."

"What?"

Cord ran a hand over his thinning top.

"Hell. You’re setting some kind of record, aren’t you, Aeri? Fired twice in three months."

"I wasn’t fired as a lawyer. I quit, but it won’t look good on my next resume’."

Cord grunted.

"You’re right. Now, give me some details."

They talked, argued, speculated and decided.

"My little voices tell me Loringer, Chappell, maybe the Athens family, even Forrester, are involved," Aeri said.

"Linda?" Cord drummed thick fingers on the metal desk. "Lots of Forresters in the phone book. I checked. Found a Thomas, a Torrance, and a Thelma. You got any other ideas?"

"Not unless the annulment had a name change along with it or it’s someone entirely different from the Linda Forrester Jared and Faye know. But think about this. Linda and Mrs. Loringer volunteer at Coronado. They see Faye on a regular basis and know her routine better than Jared or you or I do. Information could be given to anybody, and Faye’s a sitting duck."

"What the hell’s she thinking about, going off alone like that? She walked right into their arms, and I’d bet on it."

"She’s mad. She’s hurt. And don’t forget she’s an Austin, as determined and unmovable as the Rock of Gibraltar."

Cord lifted sandy brows to look at Aeri who sat ramrod straight in that old uncomfortable plastic chair. Deep purple eyes contained the only real color in her face. Her lips were a pale slash across a chalk-white face.

"Forty-eight hours from when?" Cord asked after a brief silence.

"About six-thirty."

He thought about that.

"Let’s set this up and see what happens."

He picked up an envelope he’d dropped on the desk and walked into the next room where a computer sat. Without turning on a light, he slid a disk into the "A" drive and tapped keys, punching buttons until the blank screen became a blue background with white lettering. Then graphics appeared.

"What building is that?" Aeri said.

"Continental Pharmaceuticals."

"Distributor for nursing homes, hospitals and other profitable businesses."

"Right." Cord tapped more keys, and then pointed. "See the shaded area right there?"

"Yes." Aeri leaned over his shoulder to study the diagram. It somehow looked familiar, but she was sure she’d never been there.

"Set up is similar to a hospital so drugs are easily stored, catalogued, computerized and distributed to the correct people with small chance of a mix-up. Unless, of course, subject mix-up is intentional."

"In that case?"

Cord leaned back and waited for additional information to come up.

"In that case, it’s even easier for someone to walk in with an authorization no matter how false and be certain to get the correct pharmaceuticals, equipment, labels for authenticity."

Aeri turned her face towards Cord. He was looking at her and grinning.

"Holy shit," Aeri said.

How easy, how available, for those who knew the setups in medical facilities. She looked back at the screen.

"I don’t suppose your little detective there could tell us if a Medicare fraud has been perpetuated in this area."

"Not absolutely. But it will tell you that every transfer of supplies and equipment goes to non-existing warehouses and doctors who have been dead for fifty years."

Aeri grunted.

"Hell. Welcome to the real world." She looked at Cord, eyes narrowed. "You just happened to have this disk on hand?"

"Sort of. We had a break-in some time ago at this location, but when we got to this place --." He pointed at the graphics. "There were six giant economy-sized guards with orders from the boss not to allow anyone past the barriers unless he was with them."

"Who was the boss?"

"I should have said ‘unnamed’ boss."

"You never got inside even though you were called for the investigation?"

Cord scratched his head.

"The final conclusion was that one of his own men had broken in, and the boss, again unnamed, would deal with it in his own way."

"Might be a body lying around underneath the cement."

"Yeah. Could be," Cord said.

"So. Where did the disk come from?"

"One of the guards is a police informant."

Aeri stared.

"Gosh, you mean they actually do that? Have informants in strategic places? I thought that was only in L. A. Law situations."

Cord leaned back and folded thick hands over his belt buckle.

"We learn by doing."

"Uh huh," Aeri said. "What do we do now?" She studied the computer screen. "Whoever framed Faye had a whole sheet of requests and releases ready for just the opportunity to pin it on her and have her conveniently removed from the scene."

The condemning words glared at them from the screen.

"The other day, Faye had printouts that showed suspicious prescriptions and orders, copies she’d been told to file. When I asked if they were solid proof of wrongdoing, she said the original voucher was needed for that."

"And that voucher wasn’t in the file," Cord said. "Makes sense in this case."

"Faye said Dan Holden took files home with him, supposedly to work over weekends, and she’d bet it was either in the downstairs vault or at Holden’s house."

"Difficult to obtain, in order words."

"Right. Somehow, the article that came out in Sunday’s paper has convinced our troublemakers they need a hold card in case Jared goes forward with investigations and accusations as predicted by Mr. Heyward." Cord watched Aeri. "If you’d been with her, they’d have two hostages instead of one."

"Yeah. Maybe." Aeri wished she’d been with Faye. They’d have given an accounting of themselves if there had been two. But knowing the type who’d abducted Faye, Aeri reasoned there would have been too many for her to have subdued this time. They’d learned their lesson a couple of weeks ago.

"So. Charges against Faye and her abduction are tied together. Do we look for her first or start looking for proof of Faye’s innocence, and in the process, find out who’s back of it all?"

Aeri leaned forward, re-reading the sheet from the top. She pointed.

"What does that mean?"

Cord looked. He didn’t see anything they hadn’t already examined.

"Behind the warehouse?"
"Yes. There’s a string thin line that goes north, then northeast." She caught her breath. "Cord, is there a back road to Lake Mead?"

"No. You can only get there by . . Wait a minute. There’s an old abandoned army missile site beyond Henderson." He studied the area where Aeri pointed. "Damn."

"Right." Aeri straightened. "Bet Faye’s out there where you just came from."

They stared at each other.

"A beautiful condominium on the shores of Lake Mead would be a lovely spot to hold a kidnap victim and no one would think to look there. You’re right, Aeri, why the hell didn’t that occur to us sooner?"

He clicked off the computer, grabbed the papers.

"Come on."

"Cord, don’t you think we should notify the FBI or marshals or someone since kidnapping is a federal offense? I’m a lawyer. Ignorance of the law is no excuse for anyone and especially no-no for a lawyer to barge ahead when she knows it’s expressly forbidden. In spades."

Cord studied her intense expression.

"How far are you prepared to go in this?"

"All the way, Cord. To hell and back."

"Do you have any idea how to reach Jared?"

She shook her head. "D. D. would know. Connie’s with Jared."

"Call D. D."

The phone rang only once and D. D.’s sonorous voice rasped out.

"Yes?"

"It’s Aeri, D. D. I need to get hold of Jared. We have information that might help in the search for Faye, so don’t tell me he can’t be interrupted."

"Where are you?"

"In Cord Yandell’s office. With Cord. Tell Jared that and have him call us here. Right now." She read off the number.

"Very well, Aeri." The connection was broken.

She looked at Cord and shrugged.

"We can only hope he’s still speaking to me." She gave him a haggard grin. "I used your name for influence."

He patted her shoulder.

"He’ll call."

They waited four long minutes before the phone rang. Cord snatched it up.

"Yes?"

"Jared here. What do you know and what the hell’s Aeri doing there with you?"

"One question at the time. Aeri called me and told me about Faye. I’m sorry, Jared. I didn’t think they’d do anything so stupid. Now, Aeri and I tracked some printouts Faye had copied. On one page of sketches, we’ve discovered what looks like a back road leading to Lake Mead. We think Faye’s in Loringer’s condominium out there."

Jared swore.

"He can’t be that dense."

"Not dense. Smart. Who’d think a kidnap victim would be holed up in a respected millionaire’s home?"

"In reality Chappell owns that property, doesn’t he?"
"Yes."

"Cord, do me a favor and take Aeri to her old apartment and keep her there."

"You’ve got to be kidding. Aeri has suggested we call the FBI and federal marshals to deal with this since she does, in effect, represent the law."

"Forget it. Faye’s abductors have told me what they’d do if anyone’s called in, and I’m not taking chances. Take Aeri home so she won’t have anything to do with it." Jared figured he could at least get her out of harm’s way.

From twelve inches away, Aeri shook her head.

"If he’s saying for me to butt out, tell him where he can go. Quickly. We’re wasting time."

In Cord’s ear, Jared was yelling, "Put her on the phone."

Cord handed it to her, brows raised comically high.

Aeri snatched the phone.

"Yes, Jared?"

Her voice was cool and impersonal. Her heart slammed against her ribs where she tried to hold it with her left hand.

"Go home, Aeri. I don’t want you in this. You weren’t with Faye when they took her. You’re not needed now."

Aeri squeezed her eyes shut. The cold, hard voice made her shiver, but Jared would never know how she hurt.

"You do what you have to do, Jared. You fired me so that’s the end of your authority over me. Good luck." She banged the receiver down.

The phone rang immediately. Aeri turned away and let Cord answer it.

"What’s she planning to do?"

Cord spoke in a mild voice even as he watched Aeri with sympathy.

"I’m not totally positive, Jared, but I’d say she’s on her way to rescue Faye. If you want in on the action, you’d better hire her for your driver. I believe she can make it to the lake faster than Connie. She’s got the Mustang."

"Dammit, Cord, arrest her and lock her up for her own good." Jared gritted his teeth and tried not to yell. "I don’t have time to argue with her if I want Faye alive."

"Do my best, Jared. Do my best. See you at Lake Mead."

Cord hung up.

Drew Kennedy looked like a little league football coach. Squared shoulders topping a solid muscular body, militarily short haircut, square face with a big nose. Black-rimmed glasses magnified intelligence in level brown eyes. The Police Commissioner reared back in a leather chair with padded arms worn smooth from constant friction of a big man changing positions.

"Are you going to quit, Jared?" Kennedy said after a long silence. He’d listened to Jared’s story of the charges against Faye and her subsequent abduction by unknowns with a 48-hour ultimatum. It was scary for him. He could imagine what it was doing to Jared Austin.

Jared had moved restlessly to the window to stare down onto exercise grounds behind the police academy. He didn’t doubt Faye would disappear forever if he didn’t give up his revealing investigations, and there would be no evidence of who committed the crime. Then, too, he figured even if he promised to destroy his files, he would likely never see Faye alive again. Her abductors couldn’t afford to let her live once she knew their identity.

His shoulders sagged, and his voice was heavy.

"I’ll promise them anything, but I won’t give up on what Quint Heyward and I started. We’ve worked on this particular travesty for six years."

"They’ll want more than promises. You’ll have to print a retraction. You don’t have all that long to do it, either. They’ll expect it in tomorrow’s afternoon edition of the paper at the latest."

Jared nodded but didn’t say anything. He was thinking of the look on Aeri’s face when he told her she was fired. She was of super intelligence. Surely, she knew he was goading her to quit to get her out of the line of fire. Her expression haunted him, nevertheless. She had looked as though her world had ended with those words, and it was all he could do not to turn and hold her close and reassure her. In that case, she’d have insisted on being with him wherever he went, whatever he did in his effort to rescue Faye. He couldn’t put them both in danger. He just couldn’t. The question of her pregnancy was a spur of the moment thing. If he made her mad enough, she’d leave of her own accord.

If he lived long enough, she’d be pregnant with his child, but it would be by plan, not by mistake. A thousand tangled thoughts had his head splitting, and after he had talked to Cord and Aeri, he was certain he’d have a heart attack or stroke before the present fiasco ended.

He looked at Drew.

"Why in hell did Adam ever part with that rib?"

Drew Kennedy threw back his head and laughed.

Chapter Eighteen

Cord and Aeri looked at each other. Cord shrugged.

"The time to back out is now. Once we move, you’re committed to doing something whether it’s right or wrong."

"The alternative?"

Aeri sat on the desk swinging one sandal-clad foot, frowning at it.

"Delaying action will go against Faye. However, what Jared’s doing could be the safer of the three options."

Her brows peaked over tired eyes.

"Who has the third option?"

"Loringer and/or Chappell and/or whoever the unknown player is."

Aeri went still, petrified by his words.

"They’re just stupid enough to kill her, Cord."

"I don’t know. The stakes must be high for them to go this far and whatever decision they come to is bound to be harsh. Unless Jared gives in."

"Even if he agrees to drop his investigations, they might not give her back in one piece."

"Might not," Cord said.

She didn’t dare even think Faye would be harmed, that there was a good chance she’d be killed. Maybe already dead. She just couldn’t, wouldn’t, believe it. That is, until she thought of other disappearances of witnesses, other violent deaths, ones she had dealt with cases on the defendant’s side.

"Time isn’t on our side, Cord. What do we do now?"
"You want to tackle the condominium? The vault? Or Holden’s home file?"

"Let’s say Faye’s in the condominium. How many guards?"

"Plenty."

Aeri paced.

"Suppose Mrs. Loringer and Linda Forrester invited Faye out to Lake Mead. That would be an uncomplicated way to get her into Chappell’s clutches. Faye would go just because they’re her friends, and she needs time to think about what has happened so far."

"They might have. If Chappell’s behind this."

"You have any doubts?"

"If he is, Aeri, he’s covered it so well you’d have to skin him to find out information."

"I’m willing to do that. Do we call and invite ourselves out there or is there a more subtle way to approach him?"

Cord thought about it.

"We can go to Bert’s and work out a plan. He might have an idea or two, and he needs to exercise his brain occasionally."

"Are we traveling the highway or that cow path we discovered?"

"The fastest way. The back road is probably closer."

"Wait a minute, Cord. That back road was just barely marked. Like maybe it was an afterthought."

"So?"

"Could be they were showing us a primrose path."

Aeri stopped speaking, kept her eyes on her swinging foot. She looked up at Cord from beneath thick tangled lashes, causing the man to wonder what in the world was wrong with an intelligent man like Jared Austin, to even think of throwing her out of his house. Not to mention his bed.

"And?"

Cord figured he’d let Aeri’s thoughts pursue whatever plan she’d hatched. Her voice was quietly thoughtful.

"Since it’s the shortest route to the lake, the kidnappers could have gone that way, leaving behind small things to deter us should we try to follow."

"Not many people know about that road, Aeri," Cord said. "We wouldn’t have if we hadn’t been looking for --."

He stopped and nodded.

"See what you mean. We might run into a roadblock that way?"

"We’re in a hurry, should fall for that, Cord, but as it is, we’d better take the main road. I’ve driven it, and if someone chases us, I know where the sharp curves are."

"Yeah. That means we’re taking the Mustang?"

"Right."

Aeri came off the desk and strode to the door. "Let’s go."

Inside the Mustang, they strapped on seatbelts, and Cord braced himself. He’d heard of Aeri’s driving talents and wasn’t sure he was up to this. But, as she’d said, they were in a hurry, and his truck wouldn’t do over sixty. He took a moment to be thankful she was driving on a paved highway rather than that unfamiliar back road. And hoped to hell he’d sent in his last insurance premium.

"Hang on, Cord," Aeri said.

She pulled onto the road heading towards Lake Mead. In rapid succession she went through the drives of the powerful little car. When she straightened out on the road, Cord glanced at the speedometer. It sat on ninety-three. A few seconds later, his fascinated gaze rested on the needle as it slid past one hundred. From then on, he didn’t look.

Aeri was quiet, but her mind was busy. Once, she started to say something to Cord, saw the hypnotized look as he watched the speedometer, smiled to herself, and went back to letting her thoughts flit over their options.

First and foremost, save Faye.

After that, they’d decide what else common, ordinary citizens could do. At eleven thirty-three on a Thursday evening, traveling in a nondescript Ford Mustang on a two-lane highway at one hundred-plus miles per hour, Cord didn’t think they would qualify as ‘ordinary’ citizens.

As fast as they traveled, it was a seemingly unending highway to Lake Mead. Aeri’s mood swung from deeply frightened to optimistic to outrage. How dare someone -- anyone -- think they could manipulate and destroy innocent people to clear the way for their criminal activities? And remain untouched by the law? Her blood boiled, then iced over, knowing full well it could, and did, happen. Too often.

Her thoughts went to Jared, waiting out Faye’s abductors, picturing what they might do to Faye. Someone he’d hired Aeri to protect. Stay with her, not leave her. He had told her with no holds barred that she’d failed at her job. But who could keep up with the unpredictable, tireless, Faye Austin, long on her own and doing as she damned well pleased?

There was a hollow emptiness when she thought of losing Jared. She could take the loss of a job, but to have found a man she loved beyond thought and lose him cut her so deeply she fancied she felt blood dripping inside her.

They came to the last turnoff before entering the residential area of the lake. Aeri turned off the Mustang’s headlights, and slowed to guide the car into what was a mere lane leading toward Bert’s houseboat.

"Bert might be in bed, Aeri. He wasn’t feeling well when I left."

"Has he been ill?"

Cord’s teeth flashed.

"Ever since I won three pots from him."

Now that he thought they might survive Aeri’s mad race, he had begun breathing again.

"How much money?"

"Oh, maybe fifteen dollars."

Aeri laughed.

"I’m sure that made Bert sick." Antics of the two friends could always make her laugh.

"Just the idea, Honey. Just the idea." Cord sucked in a long breath as Aeri switched off the ignition. "Are you ready for this?"

"No, but that has nothing to do with the problem."

They left the car and silently moved over the dock and the short gangway to board the houseboat.

"Forget something?" Bert’s voice came from the darkness.

Cord, with his Three Fifty Seven held alongside his thigh, growled, "Don’t do that, Bert, dammit. These are trying times."

"What happened?"

They filled him in.

"Fits with all the activity I’ve been watching," Bert said. All three looked towards the well-lighted luxurious buildings a mile away going around the lake shore, ten minutes by boat. "Got a plan?"

"How close can you get to Loringer’s condo in your little boat, Bert?" Aeri said.

"Right at the back lawn if my field glasses don’t lie."

"Get me there, and I’ll see what I can do."

Cord propped a foot on the rail.

"Suppose you get to the house, it’s locked tight, guarded by God knows how many hoods, dogs, electric fences. What then, Aeri?"
"I pick the lock, disarm the hoods, tranquilize the dogs and short out the electricity. Easy."

Aeri leaned against the rail, eyes busily scanning the lake. It wasn’t exactly dark but there was only faint illumination.

"You got a license for all of that?" Cord said.

"Not exactly," Aeri said. "However, what I lack in licenses I’ll make up for in cunning."

"That’s what I thought. What lawyer do you recommend we use to spring you? Chappell’s?"

"Smart-ass. You got a better plan?"

"We’ll take the skiff and get close to shore. From there, we can formulate a tighter plan." Bert had a paper in front of him. "I’ve been sketching the layout I recall from being in the area." He pointed. "Look, Cord. There’s the fence. Easy enough to short it out so you can go over it. The top roll is barbed. Without the current, though, you can push it up and slide under it."

"Who is this ‘you’ we’re talking about?" Cord said.

"Aeri. She’s the smallest, not to mention the smartest."

Aeri grinned, eyebrows raised.

"Naturally." She looked over Bert’s shoulder. "This the layout of the condominium?" Her finger traced a jagged line blocked off in odd shapes.

"Yeah. It’s a simple design, but sizable."

"I can’t believe I’m sitting here listening to a plan to break into a millionaire’s home when my job is to prevent just such a happening." Cord paced around the small galley where they had gone to study the setup.

"Then don’t listen," Bert said. "That way, you don’t have to admit to knowledge of such actions."

"Uh huh. What about my conscience?"

Aeri and Bert raised their heads at the same time and smiled at Cord.

Cord threw up his hands.

"Okay. Okay. So I’ve always dreamed of committing the perfect crime. Lead on, my criminal friends."

Even with vast amounts of lighting around the Loringer condominium, the place Bert guided the small skiff into was dark as midnight. Aeri, a black latex diving suit Bert had unearthed from somewhere clinging like a second skin, slipped into the shallow water.

"Any run-in whatsoever, Aeri, and you move out. Understand me?"

Cord was at the nail-biting stage.

Bert crunched an old pipe between his teeth. His eyes gleamed with anticipation, and he wished he was in Aeri’s shoes. Er, wetsuit. Not with her. Heaven knows, she fills it out nicely without my help.

"You can dive from the second floor balcony, Aeri," Bert whispered. "Just don’t hit that railing coming down."

Aeri stifled a hysterical giggle. Here she was, a respected lawyer (well, probably not), a heretofore law-abiding citizen, about to commit the crime of the century. Maybe get caught and spend time in prison.

Would Jared visit her? Bring her chocolates, since she didn’t smoke. No, he’d never forgive her for starting everything in the first place.

She winced.

And her parents.

God, it would kill her parents if she got caught breaking into a prominent politician’s house. But it isn’t Loringer’s; it’s Chappell’s. Law abiding, he is not. Still . .

She took a deep breath, flipped her hand in salute, and slid into the dark, surprisingly warm, water.

No wonder crooks can go anywhere and steal anything, Aeri thought. Disposing of the electrically charged fence was as effortless as clipping her toenails. Scaling the rough wall wasn’t a problem. Flattening herself enough to slip beneath the barbed wire was even easier. No dogs. No guards. Hard to believe.

Hell. We were wrong. Faye isn’t out here or they’d have more people guarding the place. Her heart sank. They were wasting precious time when they could be looking elsewhere.

But since I’m here, she thought, I may as well go a bit farther.

Too soon, Aeri reached the balcony, swung herself over it, and walked in shadows up the outside stairway. At the second floor window, she paused, peering through a separation of drapes. No one in that room. It appeared to be a den or sitting room with a large television, one complete wall a full bookcase, the only things visible to her from this vantage point. She passed two more windows, stepped across a low balustrade, and crossed to a set of double French doors. Voices came from inside, and she moved closer in order to hear them.

"I don’t care if Jared is ready to blow the thing wide open," Linda Forrester said. "This is the craziest scheme Murphy’s ever dreamed up. And he’s had a few that turned into nightmares. There are just so many times even Murphy can get away with murder. Pardon my pun."

"Relax, Linda," a man out of Aeri’s sight said. "As soon as Austin retracts his statements and apologizes, nationwide, Faye can go home where she belongs, none the worse for wear."

"I don’t like it, Phil," a woman’s voice broke in. "No matter if she was blindfolded and her ears covered, Faye’s going to know who we are and where she is. We had to let her know who Linda was so she’d agree to come out here."

Aeri couldn’t really tell, but she guessed the new voice belonged to Mrs. Loringer.

"The drugs will take care of her." This was Linda again. "At least, I think you were right in doing that to her. But I can’t see hurting her at all. I don’t trust Murphy."

"You’re the one who knows more about him than anyone else, Linda," the one Aeri now knew was Philip Loringer spoke again.

"Don’t remind me," Linda said. "I could write a book on Murphy Chappell’s cruelties. What that man can’t think of, those Sons of Frankenstein bodyguards of his can."

Linda, dressed in flowing, pale green harem pajamas, came into Aeri’s view.

"I’d advise you not to write a tell-all book until you’re ready for retirement, Honey. Permanent retirement."

A sheet of ice coated Aeri’s backbone at Phil’s dry voice. You didn’t have to be a well-read lawyer to get the true meaning of that statement. Murphy Chappell played rough -- and for keeps.

Linda stopped, and her head dropped with her chin resting on her chest. Then she straightened.

"I may never be able to get out of this involvement, Phil, but if I do, I swear I’m going to spend a lot of time with young people, especially women, who think drugs and alcohol are a panacea for the world’s problems." She swung around. "Too bad I didn’t meet Faye a long time ago and listen to her tales of what happens when young women think men mean it when they offer the world by the tail. Just sniff this bit of gold dust, and all your cares will vanish. I wish I’d never set foot on Murphy’s yacht."

The bitterness in Linda’s voice made Aeri cringe. It reflected complete hopelessness.

"Well, it’s a bit late to fix everything right now, Linda. Go check on Faye. We don’t want her to hurt herself trying to escape. And we damned sure don’t want her to escape," Phil said.

Aeri watched the flowing material of Linda’s garment glide away and heard a door close. She released her breath and passed close to the railing towards a window several feet away. Thin lace panels covered that window. Aeri could just make out a shadowy form lying on the bed. The door opened, and Linda came in. Aeri knelt by a thick column, straining to see into the room and hear what was being said.

The figure on the bed pushed itself into a sitting position.

It was Faye. She wore the navy blue pantsuit she’d worn to Coronado that day, the one she’d had on when she was accused of substituting medications or stealing them. Aeri’s blood pumped hotly, and invigorating anger swept through her.

Damned idiots. Somehow, Chappell and Loringer would pay for Faye’s discomfort and embarrassment. Philip Loringer, aspiring politician, supposedly a friend. Mrs. Loringer and Linda worked with Faye. How could they take part in a dreadful thing like kidnapping? What had Linda meant by the statement of drugs and alcohol? Was she an addict? And the other remark: Chappell’s ‘got away with murder.’ Aeri bet that could be literally translated. She’d been around him enough to know he was extremely capable of the cruelest activities, murder possibly the kindest of all.

Aeri studied the room. Linda stood close to the bed with Faye looking up at her. Faye looked so tiny, so vulnerable. Aeri took a chance on getting closer, and placed her ear next to the glass panel, strained to hear what Linda was saying.

".. not going to hurt you, Faye. Just don’t try anything." Linda pushed wearily at her hair. "I’m sorry, but you’ll have to stay here a while longer." Linda moved toward the door. "I’ll bring you a drink after things calm down."

"Is something exciting happening?" Faye said. Her voice was low, but strong.

"I doubt you’d think it’s exciting," Linda said. "I’ll be back in about a half hour."

Half an hour. If I can get this door open, that’s long enough.

Aeri worked with a tiny tool she’d carried in a pocket made over the wrist of the rubber suit. Soft plastic, it made no noise as she twisted it, retrieved it, and then re-inserted it into the hole. When it caught, Aeri closed her eyes and oh, so gently, withdrew it, her fingers pressing the door inward. There was a soft click, and Aeri held her breath, waiting for a screeching siren to blast her off the terrace. Nothing happened except Faye turned to look at the glass doors.

Come on, Faye, Aeri begged silently. Walk across the room and see if this damned thing has a security latch on it.

As if she’d heard her, Faye slid from the bed and came towards Aeri. She walked as though half asleep.

Drugged. Dammit. What Linda had said was true; they’d given her a sedative.

Evidently didn’t knock her completely out because Faye moved one foot in front of the other as if walking a tightrope.

When Faye stood directly in front of the door, Aeri whispered, "Faye, it’s Aeri. Don’t speak, but see if the doorknob will turn from the inside. Carefully."

Faye didn’t move. Her head tilted slightly to one side, her hands hung limply.

"Faye?" Aeri’s heart hurt, seeing the woman she’d become fond of, the one she’d cheerfully strangle at least once a day, seeing her groggy, uncertain of what she should do. An alert Faye would have had that door open and been out on that terrace in ten seconds. She watched as Faye put one hand out and grasped the intricately carved brass knob on the French door.

Faye swayed, but she pulled on the door as Aeri pushed from the opposite side. It came open, then stuck.

A time warning, Aeri guessed. Quickly, she worked the miniature tool into the opening, leaned on the door, and it swung away from her. She didn’t cross the threshold, but reached in and drew Faye outside. Faye was barefoot.

"We have to hurry, Faye." Aeri whispered softly as though speaking to a child. "Are you able to navigate steps?"

Faye didn’t answer, just stared at Aeri.

"Oh, Faye," she said and put her arms around the older woman. "What have they done to you?"
"Nothing you can’t fix, Aeri," Faye said. Her voice was slow and thick but plain enough. "They drugged me, but I tried not to swallow all of the drink." She trembled, and Aeri’s arm tightened. "Just turn me whatever way you want me to go."

She leaned heavily on Aeri. Working their way back across the way she’d come, Aeri tried to picture where Bert or Cord might be. They’d better be close. Real close.

"Here, Aeri," a voice said. "Can Faye walk?" It was Bert directly below them.

"Not good. I’ll get her down one flight and lift her over the rail if you can catch her. She’s been drugged."

Aeri heard muffled swearing, but she didn’t slow down. Working her way cautiously downward, she guided Faye, half lifted, half dragged her.

"Sit down, Faye, and slide your bottom down step by step. You understand?"

Faye nodded, her breath a tremulous sigh. Aeri gritted her teeth, glanced back to make sure no one had re-entered Faye’s room.

This is too easy. All hell could break loose any moment. She prayed a little, sorry she hadn’t thought of that particular request for help earlier.

"Can you step up and put your leg across this rail, Faye?"

"Yes."

With Aeri’s help, Faye dropped one leg across, then Aeri lifted the other one.

"I’m going to lift you, Faye, and hold you far enough over so you don’t hit the steps. Relax, and I’ll drop you. Bert will be there to catch you. Might bump a little, but just do it. Okay?"

"Okay." Her whisper was thin.

Aeri put her hands beneath Faye’s arms, braced herself to hold a dead weight in already aching arms. With one knee wedged against the rail, Aeri assumed a spread stance, leaned most of her weight forward. Clutching Faye, she extended her arms straight out from the rail, shifting Faye so she could lean way down and still retain her balance. Hot pain shot through her shoulders, and she gritted her teeth.

"Bert?"

"I see both of you, Aeri. I’m right below you."

"All right. On the count of three, I’m letting go." Aeri breathed hard and fast, her shoulders and arms throbbing.

"Right. Go ahead, Aeri."

She peered past Faye’s head, saw Bert’s shadowy figure, counted and let go. A grunt, an oath, and then Bert said, "I have her. Let’s go, Aeri. Move it."

She almost made it.

As she hit the bottom step, a massive figure blocked her way. His hand came up with a gigantic weapon in it.

"Go, Bert," Aeri shouted. "Don’t wait for me."

She flung herself at the guard’s knees. Long arms flew skyward as he tried to keep his balance, failed, and rolled with Aeri onto the damp grass. He still held the gun, but Aeri’s elbow connected with his throat and knocked the breath from him. She was up, and her foot kicked out to dislodge the gun. She grabbed the gun and took off towards the skiff.

A wild melee took place behind her. There was the muted sound of a gunshot, and something hot tore into her side. She didn’t slow down. No one would call police because the gun had a silencer, the sound unheard more than a few feet away. She reached the spot where the skiff was supposed to be, but it was gone.

There was no moon. It was pitch dark. She saw nothing but the flat, black surface of the water.

Well, she’d told him to go.

A sob tore at her throat. Holding her side where the bullet had hit, feeling warm blood trickle over her fingers, she tried to decide if she could swim the quarter mile across Lake Mead to Bert’s houseboat.

Not a chance.

"Aeri." Bert’s voice was close by. "Come on, Baby."

The skiff was right at her. She waded into the water, and Cord pulled her up, dumped her unceremoniously into the bottom. Faye scrunched into a tiny ball with her. Aeri dropped the gun, grabbed Faye and held on tightly.

Back of them, Aeri heard swearing, muted yells, and several shots.

"Keep down, both of you," Cord said. "Can’t you make this canoe go any faster, Bert?"

"Not legally."

"Yeah. And since we haven’t broken any laws tonight, no need to do it now," Cord said. He stared back towards Loringer’s condominium. It was ablaze with lights, inside and out. "I wouldn’t want to be the guard who let Aeri take Faye right out from under them."

"Phil and Shirley Loringer. Linda Forrester. Murphy Chappell," Aeri said.

"Surprise, surprise," Bert said.

"Sandra and Athens Parker," Faye said.

Her monotone voice made Aeri shiver. She stared up at the millions of stars over Lake Mead. They blurred, and she realized with surprise that she was going to pass out. Dimly, she wished for Jared, then the familiar voices faded into darkness.

"Damn," Cord said. "Aeri, did you know about the Athens family? Hell, Jared’s always had an idea Parker, Jr., was crooked as Chappell ever thought of being."

Aeri didn’t answer.

Cord bent over the two women lying close together. Faye’s eyes were open, staring unblinking into his face. Shock. Aeri’s eyes were closed, thick curled lashes lying on pale cheeks.

Cord swore. He put his fingers to Aeri’s throat where a pulse pounded erratically.

"Something wrong?" Bert said. He watched to see if anyone followed by motorboat or other fast craft. If so, he’d be in trouble. He hadn’t seen any pursuit so far.

"Aeri’s been shot. She’s bleeding pretty badly."

"Hell."

Bert twisted to look at Cord bent over Aeri’s still figure.

"Okay. We’re ready to tie up. Might bump a little."

A few moments later, he had tied up to The Winner and Cord was helping Faye to her feet.

"Let’s get Faye inside, then I’ll be back."

Bert swung up on the dock, turned back to reach for Faye as Cord lifted her towards him.

His first step brought him up against a tall figure dressed in black.

Chapter Nineteen

Bert almost dropped Faye’s limp form.

"Faye!"

The one word held a wealth of feeling. Anger, desperation and a multitude of other worry nuances. Faye was snatched from Bert’s arms, and before he could protest, the cold voice went on.

"If she’s hurt, I’ll kill you."

Bert sighed. He’d only met Jared Austin a few times, always in The Cadillac where Bert was easily identified as the owner. Cord spoke of Jared often enough that Bert couldn’t mistake the man’s identity right now.

"Cord’s there." He didn’t turn his back on Jared but pointed over his shoulder. "I need to help him get Aeri out of the skiff."

"Aeri?" Jared’s voice grew incredulous. "What --?"

"Better get Faye inside, Jared, and let me help these men."

A figure stepped from behind Jared.

"I’m Drew Kennedy, Police Commissioner." He introduced himself to Bert.

Great, Bert thought, and nodded as he turned back to help Cord. Jared Austin and the police commissioner. We’re in deep Dutch for sure. It would just have to wait.

"Aeri’s gonna have to diet if she wants me to carry her around," Cord said and grunted as he pushed her into Bert’s arms. He placed a foot on the dock and a hand reached down for him. He caught and pulled himself up, looked into the surprised face of Drew Kennedy.

"Well, Cord, I see you’re still applying the law according to the Wild West interpretation," the commissioner said.

"Hell. Where were you when I needed you?" Cord said and heaved himself up beside Kennedy.

They followed Jared and Bert into the lighted living room area of The Winner.

"I’m all right, Jared, just tired," Faye said and patted Jared’s hand that was holding hers. "When the drug wears off, I’ll think more clearly and walk straighter." She smiled briefly then closed her eyes.

Jared leaned over her, his finger on her pulse. It was slow but steady. His shoulders slumped in relief.

"Better get her to a hospital," Bert said.

Jared looked around, his eyes fastened on Aeri’s white face. Velvety black hair was drying now, enough to curl against her cheek. Not a vestige of color except inky eyelashes lying in a perfect arc, contrasting starkly with her paleness.

"What happened?" Kennedy said. "Better fill us in on what you’ve done and what might be the results of it."

"They shot her," Cord said. As he spoke, he picked up the phone and dialed 911.

Jared’s lips tightened into a straight line.

"What the hell was she doing over there?"

"Rescuing Faye. What else?" Cord said.

He gave directions to the emergency center and now knelt beside Aeri, placing a white towel across her right side to slow the flow of blood.

"I told her --." Jared’s voice trailed off. He’d said lots of things, mostly hurting ones, to Aeri. She listened to him about like Faye: Without hearing a word he said. Right now, he desperately wished he could tell her he loved her, that he didn’t mean the harsh things he’d said as he read her the riot act, trying to keep her from doing exactly what she’d done anyway. Gotten herself hurt. He wanted her soft and warm and giving as only Aeri could give.

Jared glanced at Faye who lay unmoving. Drew Kennedy held her left hand. Jared moved away and knelt beside the narrow couch where Aeri lay covered with a white blanket. He touched her cheek. It was cold as ice. He winced.

Leaning, he pressed his mouth to Aeri’s. Surprisingly warm, her lips parted beneath his. He shuddered as hot desire shot through him. It was almost more than he could do to pull away.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up at Drew Kennedy.

"I’m going to call in more backup, alert the FBI crew, and move in on Loringer before he can destroy any evidence."

"Don’t know what kind of evidence you’ll find, Sir, but add the Athens family to your suspects," Cord said.

Jared’s head swung towards Cord.

"What?"

"Faye said they were involved along with Phil and Shirley Loringer and Linda Forrester. Don’t know in what capacity, but she flatly included Sandra and Parker Athens."
"You were right then, Jared," Kennedy said. "We’ll take care of it. You look after this side." He touched Jared’s shoulder as he stood. "We’ll be in touch."

And he was gone.

Aeri and Faye were placed in a double room at the hospital. Faye’s problem was after-effects of the drug she’d had to swallow, plus shock. The bullet wound in Aeri’s side was painful, but not life threatening. The bullet had grazed a rib then exited through her side. Jared stayed with them until he found they were in no immediate danger, left them with two doctors he trusted, and went to call Quint Heyward.

Aeri couldn’t imagine where she was. She tried to roll over, and that hurt. She tried to sit up, and that was disastrous. She grunted as pain seared her side.

"Lie still, Aeri," Faye said from her chair beside the window.

Aeri turned her head. Faye rose and walked carefully towards Aeri’s bed. The faded, gray-striped seersucker hospital coat hung on her small frame. The Faye Austin Aeri knew would have died before letting anyone see her hair looking like it had been fixed with a hand mixer. Disposable bedroom slippers flapped on Faye’s small feet.

"Going to a fashion show?" Aeri held her side as she fought to keep from laughing.

"Maybe tomorrow. How do you feel?"

Aeri’s head fell back on the pillow.

"Like I’ve been shot."

"Oddly enough, you have."

Aeri frowned, and dimly recalled the last conscious scene she’d witnessed.

"What about you, Faye?"

"Fortunately, they just curbed my wilder instincts by using some of the pharmaceutical supplies they accused me of stealing."

Faye lifted her narrow hips to sit on Aeri’s bed.

"Cord and Bert got us out of there before more damage could be done. Thanks to your daring-do, of course."
"Of course?"

Aeri thought briefly of what Jared must think of their actions. She hadn’t acted exactly as a law-abiding lawyer.

"You are my bodyguard, aren’t you? Who else was supposed to charge in and rescue me?"

"Oh, Faye. When you disappeared, Jared was mad enough to execute me without trial or jury."

"I told him it was my fault, that I decided I could find enough evidence to clear myself and at the same time, determine who was actually doing the dirty work." Faye’s small hand covered Aeri’s where it lay on the white spread. "I’m used to solving my own problems, Aeri, and I didn’t even stop to think that this could be way beyond my abilities nor that I would put anyone in danger. Especially, I wouldn’t hurt you or Jared."

"Did Jared believe you?"

Faye shook her head.

"He didn’t want to hear anything about what either of us had done. He’s been on the phone with Quint Heyward, the police commissioner, the FBI, and God knows how many other individuals and organizations."

One name stood out in the list.

"The police commissioner? Drew Kennedy?"

Aeri groaned. Oh, Lord, there goes any chance I might have had of coming out of this unscathed. Jared takes my heart and throws it away. Commissioner Kennedy would take whatever license she had left and throw it in Lake Mead, scene of the crime. Or Lake Tahoe. It was bigger and deeper.

Faye’s gray eyes twinkled.

"Aren’t you interested in what happened as a result of our well-intentioned but not well thought out escapade?"

"Anything good?"

"Charges against me have been dropped and passed on to Dan Holden and three doctors from Coronado. Edward Knott pleaded guilty for a lesser charge in order to --."

"Dammit. Why the hell do they give in to these criminals and let them walk away without paying for any of the misery they’ve caused? They’re excused and go their merry way to commit any other crimes they can think of. Dammit."

Aeri tried to sit up, gasped as pain shot beneath her ribs, and lay back, breathing hard. The judicial system never changes. How had it survived all these years with all the plea-bargaining and outright dismissal of criminal charges against dangerous men and organizations?

"Let me finish," Faye said. "Edward Knott sang loud and clear, implicating your particular nemesis, Murphy Chappell, the Athens family, and Philip Loringer."

"What about Shirley and Linda?"

Aeri stared at Faye, recalling Jared was a long-time friend and former romantic partner of Linda Forrester.

"Possible indictment, but I think they’ll plea bargain also and tell some revealing tales to enhance their pleas."

Aeri gritted her teeth. Plea-bargaining was the dirtiest word in her vocabulary. However, from what she’d heard, Linda was in over her head before she realized she couldn’t just walk away from it. Shirley was very likely in the same position.

Aeri lay back on the pillows and closed her eyes. Her hands, clenched into the bedspread, relaxed.

"How long will we be in here?"

"Don’t know about you, Aeri, but I’m being sprung within the hour." She pushed at her stiff hair. "A good soaking bath, then I can’t wait to see Henri."

"Is Jared coming after you?" Aeri said without opening her eyes. She wasn’t sure she could stand to see him, the cold gray eyes, the hard mouth that felt so right on hers.

Inside, she cringed. It hadn’t taken her long to fall for Jared Austin, but she’d have a helluva time before she could blast him out of her heart. At least, she could devote her full time to ridding herself of his memory. She no longer had a job. Of any kind. Not lawyer. Not bodyguard. At its best, the latter had been a thin cover, not destined to endure.

"Connie’s doing the honors, I believe. Jared is testifying or charging someone or doing something useful."

"Do me a favor, Faye. Call Connie and tell him to have Yvette get a set of my clothing and bring it to me."

"You aren’t being released yet, Aeri."

Aeri smiled. "Watch me."

"Jared won’t like it," Faye said.

He’ll think himself well rid of me, Aeri thought. I can’t stay here and wait for the other shoe to drop, can’t stand to see him look at me and decide whether to strangle me or horsewhip me.

Let me know if you’re pregnant. Did he consider that the ultimate in concern? Cold, heartless statement. You’ll need help.

Yeah. So, I’ll help myself.

"You shoulda called me, Aeri," Connie said, his wide features stern as he bent over her.

"You were with Jared, remember?"

"You coulda told D. D. what was going on, and he’d have alerted me."

Aeri sighed.

"I really didn’t know what was going on, Connie, nor what we were going to do. All I was trying to do was get Faye out from under suspicion without getting her or me or Jared killed."

Connie nodded.

"Mr. A. Now, he’s some concerned about Miss Faye and you. He’s got a lot of clues he’s chasing, lot of people calling on him, lots of questions he has to find answers to."

Aeri frowned, recalling a not-quite remembered dream where Jared kissed her and murmured something sweet. Yeah, that must have been last week when he stopped long enough to make love to me. Her hands moved restlessly, picking at the covers.

"Yes, I realize he’s busy, Connie. That’s why I want the clothes. When they release me, I can call a cab so no one will have to bother with me."

"You planning to do something foolish like leave the hospital before Mr. A. gets home?"

Arrow-thin, black eyebrows inched upward.

"You have a suspicious mind, Constantine."

"And knows you quite well, too, Aeri."

Faye came from the bathroom where she’d put on a pale blue pantsuit with a red striped blouse sporting a floppy bow at her throat. She had coaxed her hair into a workable back sweep so it no longer looked as though she’d rolled it with corkscrews.

She bent and kissed Aeri’s cheek.

"Take an old woman’s advice and stay here until they say you’re well enough to leave. I’m going to tell Jared you’re not happy here as soon as he comes home, you know."

Aeri smiled.

"That should give me plenty of time to leave this place, as wonderful as it is, behind."

She waved to Connie and Faye as they went out the door, then glanced at the clock.

Ten-thirty. Friday morning.

At ten-fifty, Aeri called a cab from her room phone, and at eleven-twenty, she opened the door to the apartment she’d left -- how long ago? A complete, irrevocable lifetime, ago. It held the air of an abandoned space and why not? It was.

She opened drawers and closets, removed clothing and hangers, tossing them on the bed. The largest suitcase was on a high closet shelf, and she reached to pull it down, grunting when the wound beneath her ribs objected to being stretched. She’d forgotten about it in the dark thoughts that kept her company after Connie and Faye left, and during the time between the arrival of the cab and reaching her place.

Aeri thought fleetingly of the Mustang. Nice car. Handled well. Dad would love it, she thought, and smiled. The smile disappeared. Her parents had to be faced, and she didn’t look forward to revealing her unemployed status. Nor her involvement in the quick-paced actions just passed.

Why she worried, she didn’t know. Her parents would take whatever she did in stride. Unless it was taking the law into her own hands and finagling it a little. Not only that, but in collusion with one law enforcement officer and one ex-lawman.

Her strength deserted her quickly, and Aeri stretched out on the bed. Idly, she made plans. Get out her five-year-old Probe, check out tires, oil, windshield washers, and other important things. It had been in the garage, unused, and should be all right, but her dad had taught her always to check before driving a car that hadn’t been driven for a while. She tried to think how long her car had been there without the motor being started, but sleep overtook her.

With a long sigh, she gave up and slept.

* * * *

Jared slung the briefcase into the back seat, slid in beside Connie.

"Is Faye all right?" he said.

"I told you she was about two hours ago," Connie said.

His boss grinned a bit shamefacedly.

"Thanks, Connie. I’ve been tied up with questions coming at me from all directions and no one satisfied with the answers until I just want to hear a friendly voice give me a positive answer."

Connie guided the car into the late evening traffic, glancing to each side and the back strictly from habit. No hangers-on tonight, no one trying to point a Three Fifty Seven Magnum in his or Mr. A.’s window.

"No problem, Mr. A. It’s nice to have a quiet household again."

Jared looked at him.

"Speaking of quiet, how is Aeri?"
"Recovering as of this morning. You know how young people are. They bounce back real quick."

"That puts me out of the young bracket then. I feel like I could sleep twenty-four hours without turning over." And I’d love to have Aeri in my arms. Sleep with Aeri in my arms? He chuckled at the idea.

"Something funny happen, Boss?" Connie said.

Jared shook his head. "Just thinking."

At least, Connie thought, it’s pleasant. Just wait till he finds out Aeri’s quit the hospital without leaving a forwarding address. Miss Faye can tell him that. Let her take the flack that’s sure to be forthcoming from Mr. A. Was a time he’d thought Aeri and Mr. A. would combine forces, business and love-life, but the course of true love doesn’t always run smooth, he’d heard, and something had come between them.

Connie frowned. Mr. A. had seemed happier the past weeks than he had in years. It was strictly because of Aeri Stone. Aeri with the wide, happy smile, teasing lavender-blue eyes that could snap with anger when she saw something not right, but warm as spring rain when she looked at Mr. A.

"Has Faye talked to Aeri today?" Jared said.

"Saw her when Miss Faye checked out, then Aeri called later in the day."

"When will she be dismissed?"

Jared’s voice was casual, but there was an underlying tenseness.

"They weren’t sure," Connie said, believing that evasion was the best action for right now.

Jared sat quietly for a moment, and then reached for the car phone. Connie swore silently and steeled himself for the explosion as Jared dialed the hospital number.

It wasn’t long in coming. Jared spoke, then listened, his free hand clenching into a fist.

"What? Who the hell let her out? Let me speak to the doctor in charge." He listened, and then shouted, "Get me the floor supervisor, someone who’s in charge. This is Jared Austin, and no, I will not call back later."

A moment later, he clicked off the phone and swore.

Chapter Twenty

"Take me to Aeri’s place, Connie," Jared said.

Connie looked at his boss, wary of the quiet voice. Jared had been sitting still since he jabbed at the disconnect on the phone, not speaking, his hands clenching and unclenching on his knees. He didn’t ask Connie if he’d known Aeri had left the hospital, and Connie didn’t volunteer the information. Actually, he wasn’t certain, because she’d only said she was leaving. He didn’t really know whether she had or not. Weasel wording, Connie realized, but he didn’t relish the thought of Jared’s wrath turned on him and Faye.

When Connie stopped at the curb in front of Aeri’s condominium, Jared opened the car door and turned to look at him.

"Tell Faye where I am and for her to stay put." His lips tilted in a half-grin. "Please. Tell her I said ‘please’ and maybe she’ll listen."

"You know for certain Aeri’s here, Boss?"

Jared stepped out of the car.

"If she isn’t, I’ll call a cab."

* * * *

Aeri awoke, completely disoriented. The room was familiar, but it took a moment for her to realize she’d made her way back to her own place. Like a homing pigeon. She’d come home to roost. Her eyes went over the neat, uncrowded space, spotted a suitcase on the floor by an open closet. She didn’t recall putting it there.

She rolled over, pushed herself upward, and groaned. Her side hurt. She eased herself back onto the pillows. The events of the past several hours came back to her. Too clearly.

Like a video in the fast-forward mode, she relived the past several days, from Faye’s kidnapping and Jared’s cold accusations and dismissal until she felt the bullet tearing into her flesh.

She shivered. She’d read descriptions of bullets entering human flesh and exiting. Coroner and medical examiner’s reports were sometimes brutal, but she’d never thought about experiencing it. It wasn’t something she’d care to repeat.

Jared. And Faye.

She shook her head and closed her eyes, but the image of Jared’s angry, accusing look, his don’t-you-dare-say-a-word cold voice made her want to cover her face. Both hands came up and long fingers spread over her eyes, dropping to press against her mouth to still trembling lips. Their pressure kept her from screaming when the doorbell shrilled loud enough to wake the residents of Oak Garden Mausoleum.

It took her long seconds to roll over and get her feet placed on the floor. She looked at herself, clothed only in a gauzy yellow caftan. No wonder she was cold. The garment wasn’t meant for warmth.

The doorbell rang again, on and on, as though someone held a finger on it with no intention of letting up.

"I’m coming," she muttered. "Hold your horses."

She stood, swayed, and sat hard on the bed. The room wasn’t too level and seemed to be sliding back and forth. She tried again, got a foothold, and held to the bed as she walked around it.

Someone banged on the door.

"Dammit," she yelled. "I’m trying to get there. Stop making so much damned noise."

She leaned against the wall and worked at the door lock, breathing hard and fast when it finally swung inward.

Jared stepped into the room. He was furious. He didn’t even say hello but grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

"Haven’t you any sense at all? What the hell do you mean leaving the hospital when you can’t do a damned thing for yourself?"

Aeri’s head had fallen back, and now she caught his shirtfront to hold on. She gasped at the pain in her ribs. It was then he realized she was unsteady on her feet, pulled her against him, stared into her dark eyes.

"Sorry, Honey."

He lowered his forehead to her tumbled hair, cuddling her to his chest. Both of them were breathing hard. His arms tightened, his fist kneading her back.

"You’re hurting me. I, I need to sit down."

He eased her down on the bed, pushed two pillows beneath her head. His eyes drifted over the thinly concealed body, returned to her face, and the gray was no longer ice, but blazing.

"Do you realize?" he said carefully. "Do you realize that at the moment I’m torn between strangling you and ravishing you like a hormone-crazed teenager?"

"Either one would hurt like hell," Aeri said. Her lips struggled with a smile.

He stared.

With the fast-moving events of the past few days, he’d kept in mind that one wrong move on his part, and he’d have nothing but bodies remaining of Faye and Aeri. One minute too late, and he’d never quarrel or laugh with Faye again. One minute too late, and Aeri would be a warm, heart-stopping memory.

Now, Faye was safe at home, and he’d thought Aeri safe in the hospital with the worst of the offenders jailed or on their way to court.

Jared bent over her.

"I don’t care, you know. I don’t care if it hurts, I’m going to hold you, and I’m going to kiss you. Move over." He slipped one arm beneath her shoulders and lifted as she scooted a few inches farther onto the bed, then he lay beside her.

"Can you turn towards me without hurting your side?"

"It only hurts if you touch it directly. I’m sore, but I can move if I don’t do it too quickly."

She rolled onto her side, and Jared fitted his body to hers. His left hand caressed her shoulder and moved down her arm to her waist, hesitating then his fingers curved around the firm breast covered only by the thinnest of materials. He realized her body was barely covered, that through the movement of his fingers, he could almost taste her.

"Aeri."

She tilted her head back, and her eyes drifted closed. He trembled as his lips skimmed hers, grazing, back and forth until hers parted. Gently, his tongue sought entrance, and a soft, mewing sound brought forth a moan from Jared. His mouth, no longer quiet, opened and closed over Aeri’s, teeth nipping and tongue caressing along her lower lip, seeking her own. She touched him with her tongue, nestled it around his, withdrew, and sucked in her breath.

He opened his eyes to look into purple depths, pools of desire, a hunger he wanted to fill. He craved her as a starving man views a loaf of bread, wanted to feast on her. Her fingers moved through his hair and slid down his cheek to his lips. Her forefinger eased between his warm lips, touching his teeth. He nibbled, then wrapped his tongue around the finger, drawing it into his mouth to suck, his hands in rhythm with the movement, caressing her breasts that grew hard in his palm.

Blazing excitement swept her, and her long throaty moan hit him like a blow. She wasn’t sure her body could take him, neither was she sure she’d live if Jared didn’t bury himself inside her. Murmuring softly, she uttered words of entreaty, tiny pleas, bordering on insanity as she clung mindlessly to him.

"Aeri, Honey." It was a harsh whisper.

He was fighting a losing battle. He knew that, but when Aeri’s body writhed, pressing closer to him, his arousal was full and throbbing. She couldn’t take him inside her, he was certain, but he could make love to her, fulfill her desires and give her some relief. Easing his leg between her thighs, Jared pushed the caftan aside. His hand soothed across her smooth belly to the nest of thick curls, and cupped her warmth. One finger separated the opening, delving into the velvety smoothness, hot and wet.

"Jared, no." She twisted, wanting him inside her.

He pushed his finger inside her warmth with a long, slow stroke. Her fingers dug into his back, one leg thrown restlessly across him. Aching more than he thought possible and live, Jared continued the in and out movement, staring into Aeri’s face to watch her eyes glaze, drift closed. He kissed her, hard.

She wanted to stop him, knew she couldn’t stand it if he quit, wanted to shout her pleasure, to let him know she was flying. He kissed her and stole her breath, his tongue thrusting in time with his hand movements. She shot over the edge like a rocket, scattering and burning, feathering down to earth as softly as a snowflake.

He held her squirming body achingly close to his, her hiccuping little sobs made him smile in spite of the sharp pain in his groins.

A long time later, she spoke.

"Why?"

"I wanted to make love to you. That was the only way," Jared said.

He still had an arm beneath her head, one hand lightly brushing over her breast. Her hand went between them, found him. He stiffened as her fingers wandered over the front of his pants, blatantly revealing the huge bulge.

"I can’t take much more, Honey. Don’t -- do -- that." He hissed, gritted his teeth against the desire to slam himself into her softness, to bury his hard organ deep inside her tender body.

"Kiss me."

As his lips met hers, she pushed the pants zipper down, found the opening to his shorts and curled her fingers around his pulsing arousal. She moved closer, lifted her leg, and guided him into her wet sheath.

With a soft cry, he surged against her and buried himself, with one desperate stroke, deep inside that silken glove. His hands cupped her hips, held her as he drove with a fast, furious rhythm, conscious of Aeri’s arms holding him tightly as he cried out. His release was violent and satisfying. He held himself there, unwilling to give up his savage possession of Aeri’s body. He savored the taste of her, gloated over feelings he’d never known before.

Before Aeri, there had been nothing.

"Aeri?"

"Yes."

"Are you all right?" He pressed his lips to her forehead. "Tell me I didn’t hurt you." He held his breath, wondering if she’d tell him if he had, indeed, hurt her.

"I’m fine. How could I be otherwise?"

"I was afraid."

She made a satisfied sound.

"Jared, you don’t know what scared is. When that hood aimed his gun at me, I thought, ‘Jared will never kiss me again, never hold me. Never get mad at me.’" She rubbed her lips across the hard pulse in his throat. "That’s when I hit him." She leaned her head back. "Damned if some thug hired by Murphy Chappell was going to ruin the best job I ever had."

Jared rose up, propped his head with his hand.

"You’re still fired, Aeri."

Well. Back to the real world. Faye wouldn’t need her anymore, so it shouldn’t surprise her.

Aeri traced his lips with one finger. Jared still wanted her body, but he didn’t want her in his life, not as an employee, anyway.

Where did that leave her?

She was tired. In spite of her denial, her side ached, there were intermittent pains in her chest, but that could be from Jared’s words.

She sighed.

"You’ll have to go home, Jared. Take care of Faye. I need to rest. I don’t recall being so tired."

"I did hurt you," he said. "You left the hospital too soon, Aeri." His long fingers closed over her shoulders, and he shook her lightly. "Why can’t you listen once in a while when it’s for your own good?"

She lay back on the pillows, pushed his hands away.

"You didn’t hurt me. I’m tired. Just tired, and nothing more. I’ll be fine once I’ve rested. You can’t rest in a hospital. Ask Faye."

He snorted.

"She’d agree with you out of pure orneriness, Aeri. If I didn’t know for sure that Yvette had put her to bed at my place, I’d search this place just to make sure she wasn’t getting ready to resume her duties at Coronado."

He leaned over Aeri. Her face was turned partly away from him, and she breathed easily, her breasts, so recently filling his mouth and hands, rising and falling. He all but groaned, remembering her body going wild as he caressed her, and in turn, her hands wantonly driving him to the brink of insanity -- and over.

His body was instantly ready for her.

He bent forward.

"Aeri?"

She was asleep.

He moved away, straightened his clothes, and then put the caftan over her legs, pulled up the sheet, then bent and pressed his mouth against hers. She didn’t move.

For a long moment, he looked down at her, taking in the paleness, the smooth, almost transparent skin, the fullness of lips free of any color, black hair fanned over the pillow. There were bruised shadows beneath her eyes, a scratch he hadn’t noticed on her right cheek. He’d been so happy to have her and Faye home alive, to know the gunshot wound was painful but not fatal, that he’d overlooked other effects of the incident. It would take time to get back to normal, everyday lives.

Jared turned to leave the room, noting for the first time the open suitcase by the closet. Must have been left there when Aeri discovered someone was already aware she and Faye were somehow linked together. He went downstairs and called Drew Kennedy.

Jared explained where he was.

"If you want, Jared, I can leave a man outside Miss Stone’s place. Good for your peace of mind," the police commissioner said. "Are you coming downtown?"

"Quint Heyward’s coming in at eight tonight. I’m to meet him at the airport."

"Fine. I’ll send Haverhill and Brewer over there right now. You bringing Heyward here?"

"Yes. He has a lot of questions for Athens as well as Murphy Chappell."

Jared stared out the window at traffic outside Aeri’s apartment. It was well-lighted, nothing suspicious moving around. There shouldn’t be, not with the main perpetrators safely off the streets. But he didn’t want Aeri to be unguarded for a couple of days. Then he’d see where she wanted to live: His home in Las Vegas or the one in the smaller town of Boulder City. He could work from either place.

"Want me to go with you to the airport?"

"No, thanks, Drew. I’ll pick up Quint, and we’ll be there as soon as possible."

He checked Aeri, still asleep, and left her a note.

"Don’t leave the house. There are police patrols in the neighborhood."

Aeri read the note twice when she awakened. Police patrols. Guards.

She shook her head and went for a long, hot, then cold, shower. When she left the bathroom, she was feeling marginally better. Her side was sore, but nothing she couldn’t manage. Her body still tingled. She couldn’t rid it of the feel of Jared.

The radio clock said nine-twenty. On a Friday night? She flipped on the television to the weather channel; saw that it was a warm eighty-one degrees on the tenth of October.

Police patrol and guards.

She turned out the living room lights and pushed curtains aside to look down into the terraced front yard of the building. Across the street there were two cars, a dark sedan and a light-colored one. No one in them that she could see.

Guards. If they were law-enforcement, they’d be certain to remain out of sight. That meant down the street or around the corner, but close by.

Thoughtfully, she went to add a few pieces of clothing into the open suitcase.

Aeri was good at evasion tactics, too; so bypassing whoever might be guarding her or patrolling the neighborhood, was a mere exercise in discretion. She simply called a cab, and dressed in a long sequined gown with film lace mantilla, strolled out to meet it, got in, directed the driver to a small off-beat hotel known for its delightful cuisine and large casino payoffs, tipped the driver, told him to meet her at the far side entrance, greeted the maitre d’ and followed him to a table, excused herself, and walked through another door, entered the cab and went back to her apartment. The driver let her out halfway of her block in back of her address, and she strolled through a neighbor’s garden and used her key to the back door.

By the time she got into her own place, she was exhausted and had to rest. She spent the time by staring out the darkened window without seeing anyone who might be a guard.

Twenty minutes later, she backed the Probe out of the underground garage, turned opposite downtown Las Vegas, and headed west by northwest.

Chapter Twenty One

Aeri rubbed her arms. The change from Las Vegas dry warm air to the island’s damp chill had her shivering a good bit of the time. She’d been home three days, and it seemed like weeks. The bullet wound had mostly healed but was touchy. Her entire body ached, but she wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or virus she was fighting or if she felt like this because of Jared’s cold refusal to believe in her.

And the final irony. Assign guards to keep her from -- what?

"You’re fired. You’re being guarded."

She shook her head. It made no sense to her at all.

How could he still distrust her so much? Certainly, he loved Faye, but he should know that Aeri had grown to love the stubborn old lady, too, and she’d never do anything to put Faye in danger. Faye was more dangerous to herself than anyone else could ever be.

"No, Dad, I’m not in trouble." She took a deep breath and answered her father’s concerned question. "Just escaped it, I have to admit."

She pulled the afghan around her, and snuggled. She’d been cold ever since the last time Jared’s arms were around her. She might as well get used to it. She’d thought they were over the really bad stage when he made love to her so furiously, as though he couldn’t assuage a hunger that wouldn’t let either of them go.

"What happened with Jared Austin’s mother?" Phyllis said.

She had told her parents most of the story, some of it had even appeared in the local papers. She didn’t go into all of the details, didn’t want to worry them too much. Most of her bruises and wounds had healed. In time, her heart would, too.

"Faye did her level best to get into trouble, and it wasn’t all that hard. Trouble seemed to sit on the curb just waiting for her to pass. That, coupled with the fact she thinks she’s supposed to take care of every disadvantaged person in the state of Nevada, usually means there’s plenty of action around her." Aeri brushed her hair back from her pale face. "It’s never dull around Faye, believe me."

"That job’s finished, so what’s your plan? Going back to being a top-notch lawyer?"

Her dad was stretched out in the recliner, magazine in his hand, feet propped on a hassock. On the television, a National Geographic program showed breathtaking scenery in the Rocky Mountains. The sound was barely audible.

Aeri played with the fringe on the afghan.

"No. Yes." She grimaced. "I don’t know, Dad. Nothing appeals to me right now. You still have that cabin in the mountains?"

"Sure. Nice this time of year, perhaps a bit chilly." He looked at his daughter’s rapt attention to the fringes of the colorful afghan wrapped around her.

"Yeah. Quiet and peaceful."

She needed peaceful.

"You planning to go alone?"
"Just thinking about it. Right now, I don’t have enough energy to make any kind of plans."

On the relatively short trip from Las Vegas to Seattle, she’d had to stop overnight three times. She hadn’t told her parents how long it took her to get home. They’d think she was dying.

"You two mind if I hibernate here a week or so?"

Phyllis moved close to Aeri.

"Stay as long as you like, Dear. We love having you, but you really should see Dr. Dunbar. You don’t need a recurrence of bronchitis to drag your strength down. You’re already weak, and that’s all you’d need to really put you under." She pushed Aeri’s hair from her face. "You’re awfully warm. Let Dad call him."

Aeri raised her eyes to see Edward hiding a smile behind his magazine.

"You still looking after me, Mother?"

"Someone needs to." Phyllis looked at her husband. "Call Mac and tell him to come by and check Aeri."

Mac Dunbar had been a family friend as well as physician since the Stones retired and moved to Mercer Island.

Dr. Dunbar frowned, peering over half glasses at Aeri.

"You have a fever of over a hundred, Aeri, and for you, that’s high. Ed can get these prescriptions filled, and if the fever’s not down by noon tomorrow, I want to see you in my office at two."

Aeri opened her mouth, but he shook his head.

"Don’t argue. With your propensity towards bronchial infections, we will not take the slightest chance." He signed two forms and handed them to Edward. "You seem to be run down, Aeri. Don’t you city slickers stop long enough to eat decent meals occasionally?"

She recalled with affection Yvette’s and D. D.’s fabulous menus. It’s just that she hadn’t had a chance to sample them recently. Nothing, it seemed, had gone right lately.

"Thanks, Dr. Dunbar. I’ll do my best to recover before noon tomorrow. Are you sure that’s the latest deadline you can give me?"

She felt like it would take forever to get over the exhaustion weighing her down. Part of it, she was certain, due to her misery over losing Jared.

Face it, she thought. You were just close enough for convenience, not only for Faye but also for Jared. She curled into a ball beneath the afghan.

Damn. How could it still hurt when he let her know he definitely didn’t trust her with his heart any more than he had with Faye’s safety?

Eventually, as with all things, the hurt would go away. Or at least, become easier to bear. At one time, a career as the best lawyer in the west had been her ambition. Now, it didn’t seem important at all. Probably because she was feeling rotten physically. Of course, it was. With luck, Jared would become unimportant as well.

Right

She tossed and turned, half asleep, half awake. Her back, legs and chest ached. Phyllis came sometime during the night, wiped her face with a cool cloth and gave her a capsule.

"Turn over, and I’ll rub your back, Honey," Phyllis said. "Careful of your side."

Aeri wanted to protest but her throat hurt and it sounded more like a moan than words. Her mother’s hands felt good, firm and gentle at the same time, massaging her sore muscles, pressing lightly on the tender spots.

When the blanket was tucked around her once more, Aeri drifted between sleeping and waking. A fit of coughing brought her upright, holding her side, as she reached for the glass of water by the bed. She propped against the headboard and sipped, letting the liquid soothe her throat a little at the time. When her head slipped sideways, she realized she had dozed and placed the glass back on the table. She snuggled down and slept.

By morning, her fever was way up, her cough a deep, grating rasp.

Phyllis called Dr. Dunbar at nine, and at nine forty-five, they were in his office.

"When’s the last time you had an attack like this, Aeri?" Dr. Dunbar said, peering into her red, watery eyes.

"Three years ago when I moved to Las Vegas." She croaked rather than spoke.

"Well, young lady, I think you’d be wise to return to the arid southwest. Our moldy atmosphere doesn’t agree with you at all."

He worked swiftly with needles and vials and alcohol soaked cotton balls.

Aeri felt the icy swipe of the cotton, a tiny sting, and then an achy throb of discomfort.

"What did you hit me with? A horse needle?"

The doctor chuckled.

"Close. Gave you a double shot that should brunt some of the pain. You stay here for twenty minutes so I can see whether you have a reaction to it. I’ll give you a prescription for a stronger cough medication, too, see if we can get rid of that croupy rattle."

"I hope so," Phyllis said. "She sounds like the lead bass in a male quartet."

Mugs of steaming broth and two doses of the cough medicine finally lulled Aeri to sleep. Phyllis watched over her, kept the blanket tucked closely around her shoulders, and finally left to fix a light evening meal for Edward.

Aeri awakened with a dry mouth and throbbing head, moaning as she turned and stretched. Whoever had beaten her had done a thorough job of it. Through blurry eyes she stared at the sun-dappled ceiling above her, trying to recall what day it was. She gave up, closed her eyes, and sank into a feverish stupor.

Dozing, awakening, and sleeping fitfully again, she tried to think whether it was worth getting up to go to the bathroom or not. Her mouth was stuffed with vile tasting cotton, her throat was clogged with horrible junk, and she rattled when she took a deep breath.

Really messed up, she muttered. This time, you went too far.

She didn’t know exactly what she was talking about except she wasn’t long for this world if the pain and discomfort were any indications.

"How are you, Sweetheart?"

Edward came into the room with a glass of orange juice in his hand.

"Don’t ask," Aeri said.

"That’s some sexy whisper you’ve developed."

She tried to smile, but her lips were dry and felt like they were splitting.

Edward sat on the bed.

"Sip some of this." He helped her sit up and slipped a pillow behind her back.

She winced.

"Sorry, Honey. I know you’re sore and stiff."

Her hands shook as she took the glass and lifted it to her lips. The juice burned her lips, but it was cool, and felt good trickling down her throat. After three swallows, she handed the glass back to Edward.

"You’ve had several phone calls since last night."

She frowned, trying to think who’d know to call here.

"Who? Cord Yandell?"

"Mrs. Austin. Jared Austin."

Edward watched his daughter closely. Blue-violet eyes met his. Accustomed to brightness and laughter in those eyes, he found instead, glazed pain.

"Faye all right?"

Edward nodded. "She’s anxious to talk to you. So is Jared."

"Tell him I died."

Edward smiled in sympathy.

"I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that, Honey. Why don’t you talk to him?"

"There’s nothing for me to say, and all he’ll do is accuse me of neglect of duty where Faye’s concerned. I don’t want to hear it, Dad. I heard enough." Her hands clenched in the blanket, and she pulled it over her chest.

"I don’t think he had that in mind." Edward touched her warm cheek. "He was concerned when I told him you had been seriously ill."

"Certainly. He’s afraid I won’t live long enough to suffer what he thinks is my due."

"What are you talking about, Honey?"

"He blames me for everything that went wrong. For leaving his mother alone when I should have been with her." She sniffed. "He should know better than anyone that Faye is so damned hardheaded you can’t tell her anything once she’s made up her mind. Just like Jared. Two of a kind. They deserve each other."

She stopped as her voice dropped to a husky wheeze.

"He asked that you call when you’re able."

She didn’t answer, and when her eyes drifted shut, Edward tucked the covers around her and adjusted the pillow so she could lie down.

"I talked to Mac this morning. He’ll be by this afternoon."

"’S okay," Aeri said. Her eyes flew open. "Dad, I really have to go to the bathroom."

He laughed.

"All right. Come on."

It took some time, but finally Aeri came out of the bathroom. She had rinsed her face in warm, then cool, water, and brushed her teeth. One layer of medicine breath had been removed. Gratefully, she allowed Edward to help her into bed, swallowed a spoonful of cough medicine, and went back to sleep.

* * * *

Jared paced his office, glared at the phone, then back to stare out the window. Bright sunshine lit the terraced rows of desert landscaping, the ugly-beautiful scenery that Aeri loved. He missed her. Missed the hell out of her. He couldn’t count the telephone calls he’d made to Mercer Island nor the ones to Cord Yandell to see if he’d heard from Aeri. None of his calls to Aeri had been returned.

"Haven’t talked to Aeri, but I talked to her dad," Cord had told him last night. "Aeri’s pretty sick. Not responding well to treatment. ‘Course, you know that bullet wound is still healing."

"Why don’t they put her in the hospital instead of letting some quack take care of her?" Jared thundered the question at Cord.

Cord grinned. Mac Dunbar would take a bit of an exception to being called a ‘quack.’

"Phyllis is a nurse, Jared, and their doctor is one of the best in the western hemisphere. Take it easy. Aeri had a lot to contend with the past couple of months."

"Don’t remind me," Jared said harshly. The only thing that kept him from being right by her side was the after-effects of the roundup of Murphy Chappell and his sidekicks. Including Coronado officials. It was about to be wrapped up, and then he’d take care of Aeri himself.

"She didn’t get a lot of help from you, as I recall," Cord said.

Jared stopped pacing, fists knotted at his side, and stared at the floor.

"If you don’t love her, tell her so," Cord said bluntly. "So she can get on with her life."

" I don’t want her to get on with her life unless I’m with her." Jared paced like a caged animal. A snow leopard with that silvery blond head thrust forward, clenched fists pushing against each other. "You don’t think she’ll forgive my stupidity, Cord? Maybe accept a temporary insanity plea? I’ve heard her bargain in the courts."

"You’ve never heard Aeri ask for a ‘not guilty by reason of temporary insanity.’ You’ve heard her say someone was insane, but if they were guilty, to Aeri, they were guilty. You can’t torture a victim, murder, and rape and think you can bargain with her. Not a chance."

Jared slowed his steps.

"You’re right. If guilty of a crime, and convicted, that’s as much justice as she wants."

"I hate to say this, Jared, but you’re going to have to plead guilty and take your lumps."

Jared stared at the phone, picked it up and dialed the now-familiar number. Edward Stone answered.

"This is Jared Austin," he said. "I don’t want to make a pest of myself, Mr. Stone, but please tell Aeri I’m on my way up there. If she runs away, I’ll have the sheriff set the K-9 Corps on her."

"She’s not quite up to running, Mr. Austin," Edward said, and grinned to himself.

There was a slight hesitation.

"I’d like very much to see her if you think she’s up to it," Jared said.

"If you’ll give me your flight number, I’ll meet your plane."

Edward replaced the receiver and winked at Phyllis who had listened to the conversation with interest.

"Better tell Aeri she’s going to have company."

Edward Stone recognized Jared Austin as soon as he stooped to come down the plane exit ramp. A man accustomed to adjusting to low heights to keep from bumping his head.

"Over here, Mr. Austin," he said as Jared came even with him.

"Mr. Stone."

They shook hands, measuring each other.

"Aeri?"

"Fussy," Edward said. "She looks awful, smells terrible, her hair’s a mess, and all the things a woman tries to cover when she meets her favorite male."

Jared looked at Edward in surprise. He hadn’t dared hope she thought of him in any favorable light. He grinned.

"In other words, she’s beautiful."’

"Right. Here’s the car."

On the thirty-minute drive to the Stone home place, the two men talked. Mostly about Aeri. Edward decided he liked the man and figured Aeri and Jared would work out their differences. He’d never known his daughter to think about a man more than two days straight. Until Jared Austin came along.

Jared looked over the two-story clapboard house that rambled back from a quiet tree-lined street. Lovely and well-taken care of. Inside, Phyllis Stone shook his hand and met his questioning gray eyes. No wonder Aeri’s eyes were such a distinguished color, obviously a combination of her parents’ two different shades of cobalt.

Aeri had showered, but it was too much effort to dress. Instead, she’d put on a gown of mint green with frothy lace at her throat and on the long sleeves with a matching peignoir over it. She felt overdressed. Her skin was sore to the touch, her eyes felt sunken, and she was irritable. Brushing her teeth hurt. Wiping cleansing cream from her face hurt.

She didn’t want to see Jared. Why couldn’t he stay away and let her die in peace? Why didn’t he just --.

"Hello, Aeri."

Her head jerked around at the familiar deep voice. He wore a dark gray suit, white shirt with gray striped tie. You’d think he was on his way to court. She stared, unaware of her pouting lips and stormy eyes, turning a deep purple.

Before she could speak, he was there, dropping onto the bed, his hands braced on either side of her. He bent until his breath mingled with hers.

"Don’t you dare threaten me in my own home," she said fiercely.

"Is it okay if I kiss you to death, then?"

He suddenly smiled, the most beautiful smile she’d ever seen.

"Honey."

The word was a moan as he gathered her into his arms, murmuring into her hair, brushing his lips over her ear, to her throat. Her arms had gone around him; one hand opened and pressed his head to her. His lips moved down into the lacy gown front, moist and warm, kissing her breasts through the layers of soft material. He raised his head, stared into Aeri’s half-closed eyes, and kissed her. Hard.

His hands were all over her, his mouth moving, whispering love words, asking forgiveness, bawling her out, all at the same time. Mindlessly, she allowed him freedom to touch and taste, until he stretched beside her, his lips near her ear.

"I love you. You worried the life out of me. I want to take care of you, Aeri. I want to hold you forever, possess you, give you freedom when you need it, but belong to me in whatever way you wish."

"Covering a lot of ground, aren’t you, Mr. Austin?"
He grunted.

"I’ll probably be sorry tomorrow, but right now, I’d promise the moon and sixpence."

His head lay on her breasts, and a small move put his lips over a barely-visible brown tip. His fingers pushed aside the filmy gown, and he cupped the firm mound, holding it as he kissed the taut nipple, lavished it with his tongue, and then pulled it completely into his mouth.

"Ah-ahhh," Aeri breathed.

He lay there, holding the intriguing morsel lightly between his teeth, suckling now and then. When he finally let go, Aeri was trembling.

"Reminds me of the last night in your apartment," Jared said. "I thought I would die if I couldn’t have you. That’s the way I feel right now."

"Can you wait until tonight? My parents are sitting out there with their eyes on the stairs, waiting to talk about our adventures."

He sighed.

"Since it’s your parents, and we’re in their house, I suppose the polite thing to do would be talk to them." He raised his head and smiled. "I imagine I’m in for a third degree."

She nodded.

"Bet on it."

"All the political intrigue taken care of?"

Edward and Jared were sharing a drink. Edward reared back in the recliner with Phyllis on a hassock at his feet. Jared sat close to Aeri on the couch. He held her left hand.

"Yes, although there are loose ends." He glanced at Aeri. "With Aeri and Faye to testify, I don’t think Murphy Chappell will be able to plea bargain his way out of this one. Linda Forrester and Shirley Loringer will probably turn state’s evidence. Phillip Loringer lost all his backing, and will be indicted along with Knott and the Athens family."

Aeri didn’t take much part in the discussion. She sympathized with Linda and Shirley who had been used by their husbands and lovers, but it made her mad, too. Somewhere along the way, they’d had a choice and had made the wrong one.

When Phyllis and Edward went to bed, Jared picked Aeri up and carried her upstairs, placing her gently on the bed. Slowly, he undressed her, kissing each inch of satiny skin as he uncovered it. When he touched her breasts, he lingered, nibbling, licking, and finally pulled the hardened nipple into his mouth.

They both groaned as arrows of heat brought their bodies to a state of readiness that wouldn’t be denied. Hands wandered, lips touched, legs became entangled, fierce demands murmured.

And finally, Aeri took him inside her, locking her legs around him so that she absorbed him. Totally immersed in her, Jared stared with enraptured fascination into desire-darkened eyes. This was what he was living, breathing, waiting, for. His gaze locked with hers, he began to move, slowly at first, gradually increasing the speed with which he entered and withdrew. Her body was alive, pulsating with erotic energy, and he forgot her injuries, forgot everything except the throbbing demands of his own body.

"Aeri."

It was a whisper because he had no breath to shout. He drove himself into her, felt her lift beneath him, his moans mingling with Aeri’s as he filled her with his love.

They lay together, drifting downward to earth once more.

A long time later, Jared withdrew from her body and lay beside her, holding her close.

"You will marry me."

It was a statement and question. Jared held his breath, waiting.

"Why?"

"Why? Why?"

He snorted and rose on elbow to look down at her.

"Because I love you, Aeri. Why the hell else would I want to tie myself to a headstrong, hardheaded, honest lawyer who’s hell-bent on creating a balanced judicial system everyone else deems impossible?"

"Just asking."

"Well?"

"I love you, Jared. Yes."

For better or worse, she was his, honesty, integrity and all.

He sighed.

Happiness, too, was his.

Finally.

* * The End * *