Praise for Cara Summers

“Cara Summers knows how to write fun yet passionate plots that readers will never forget.”

—romancejunkies.com

“I can’t wait to read more by Cara Summers.”

—The Best Reviews

“Ms. Summers is a compelling storyteller with a gift for emotional and dramatic prose.”

—Rendezvous

“With exquisite flair, Ms. Summers thrills us with her fresh, exciting voice as well as rich characterization and spicy adventure.”

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

“Come Toy with Me has a great plot, mysterious suspects, a wonderful romance, and lots of adventure.”

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

“Compelling plot, interesting characters, and plenty of heat make reading this book a delight.”

—aromancereview.com on Come Toy with Me

“Mystery, adventure…a billionaire…what more could you ask?”

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews on Lie with Me

“Ms. Summers manages to weave breathtaking suspense and sizzling love scenes with a deftness that will have you turning the pages late into the night…this is one you’ll need sunscreen for.”

—romancejunkies.com on Lie with Me

Dear Reader,

I was thrilled when my editor called and asked if I’d be interested in writing a two-book THE WRONG BED: AGAIN AND AGAIN miniseries! And I had the perfect ideas in mind…

My heroine in Twin Temptation is southwestern jewelry designer Maddie Farrell, who lives on a ranch just outside Santa Fe…until she receives a phone call one day that changes her life. She learns that not only is she the daughter of famed Madison Avenue jewelry designer Eva Ware, a woman whose work she’s idolized all her life—a woman her father never mentioned—but she also has an identical twin sister, Jordan.

And if those aren’t enough surprises to handle, there’s her mother’s will. Eva Ware has left her design studio and business jointly to her two daughters—but only if they change places and “walk around in each other’s lives” for three weeks. Only, she never dreams she’ll be sharing a bed with Jordan’s roommate, the rugged and sexy Jase Campbell!

I hope you enjoy Maddie and Jase’s story—and the sizzling attraction they can’t seem to control. For news about Jordan and D. C. Campbell (Jase’s brother), visit my Web site, www.carasummers.com.

Happy reading!

Cara Summers

Twin Temptation

CARA SUMMERS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cara Summers has written more than thirty books for Harlequin Temptation, Duets and Blaze. She has won several awards, including an Award of Excellence, two Golden Quills and two Golden Leaf Awards. Last year she was also honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Series Storyteller of the Year from Romantic Times BOOKreviews. She loves writing for the Harlequin Blaze line because it allows her to write so many different kinds of stories—from Gothic romances and mystery adventures to romantic comedies. When Cara isn’t creating new stories, she teaches in the writing program at Syracuse University.

Books by Cara Summers

HARLEQUIN BLAZE

184—THE PROPOSITION

188—THE DARE

192—THE FAVOR

239—WHEN SHE WAS BAD…

259—TWO HOT!

286—TELL ME YOUR SECRETS…

330—THE P.I.

336—THE COP

342—THE DEFENDER

396—A SEXY TIME OF IT

413—LIE WITH ME

437—COME TOY WITH ME

HARLEQUIN TEMPTATION

813—OTHERWISE ENGAGED

860—MOONSTRUCK IN MANHATTAN

900—SHORT, SWEET AND SEXY

936—FLIRTING WITH TEMPTATION

970—EARLY TO BED?

To my daughter-in-law Mary Plante Hanlon—
who just happens to be a twin!

You’re also an amazing mother and a good
friend. I love you!

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Epilogue

Prologue

IT WAS a mansion right out of the books she’d read as a child—Jane Eyre, Rebecca, Wuthering Heights.

Those were Maddie’s first fanciful thoughts when she stepped out of the limousine and got a good look at the massive stone structure. Gray and solitary, Ware House soared up three stories and boasted three turrets and a roof edged in carved stone. A man could have tucked away a crazy wife in any of those turrets, she thought a bit giddily. And the fact that the sky was lead colored and cast the front of the house in shadows only added to the illusion.

But this wasn’t some English gentleman’s mysterious country home. It was the Long Island residence of the Ware family. And she was about to meet them for the first time.

A tall man who reminded her a bit of Michael Caine answered the door. He had to be a butler. His posture was ramrod-straight and his face totally expressionless. But Maddie thought she saw a flicker of surprise in his eyes before he stepped aside and said, “Come in, Ms. Farrell. Let me take your bag.” Just as if she were a regular visitor.

Still hesitating on the threshold, Maddie firmly reined in her imagination. It had rocketed into overdrive from the moment she’d received the phone call from that attorney, Edward Fitzwalter III. Gripping the strap of her purse more tightly, she stepped into the dark-paneled foyer. Since she wasn’t at all sure of her welcome, she’d asked the limo driver to wait for her. She had an escape plan in place.

“This way.” The man turned and started down a wide hallway. “The family has already gathered in the library.”

Family.

The knot of anxiety in Maddie’s stomach tightened. She was about to meet a family she hadn’t known existed until two days ago. Up until that time, she’d believed that she was the only daughter of Mike Farrell, a successful cattleman whose ranch was located about an hour north of Santa Fe. Mike had been an only child, the last of a line of ranchers, and Maddie was supposed to carry on his legacy. All her life she’d believed her mother had died when she was a baby. That was the story her father had told her…and since he’d passed away a year ago, there was no way she could ask him why he’d lied.

And according to the gruff-voiced attorney who’d called her two days ago, her father had indeed lied to her. And it had been a whopper. All these years, she’d had a mother she’d never met—a mother who’d been raised in this house and who just happened to be renowned Madison Avenue jewelry designer Eva Ware.

Oh, Maddie was very well-acquainted with the professional persona of Eva Ware. She’d studied the woman’s designs ever since she was in junior high and had first dreamed of creating her own line of Southwestern-style jewelry. Her father had known of her admiration for Eva Ware Designs, but he’d never once mentioned that the woman she’d so admired was her mother.

She was still struggling with the idea when the lawyer had told her that five days ago Eva Ware had been struck down by a hit-and-run driver.

No.

The news, shocking and unexpected, had set her head spinning. Sitting down hard on a nearby chair, she’d tried to gather her scattered thoughts as the voice on the other end of the phone droned on. Maddie had caught bits and pieces—her mother’s request…fly to New York…reading of the will…claim her inheritance.

Inheritance? She’d still been grappling with that word when the attorney had sprung another one on her. A real kicker. Sister. In addition to having a mother she’d never been aware of, she also had an uncle, a cousin and a sister—an identical twin, Jordan Ware.

For a few moments, the attorney’s voice had become nothing more than a buzz in her ear. She had a sister? A twin sister she’d been separated from since birth?

No. That was straight out of the plot a Disney movie—two of them, in fact. The Parent Trap had been one of her favorite films when she’d been a child. A memory flooded her mind of watching the older Hayley Mills/Maureen O’Hara version of the film with her father when she’d been nine or ten. And he’d never breathed a word.

No. She couldn’t accept that. Her father couldn’t have lied to her all these years. Gripping the phone as if it were a lifeline, Maddie had stood up and interrupted the man on the other end of the line. “You’re lying. If this is some kind of hoax, or some kind of scam you’re running, it won’t work.”

In a calm voice, as if he’d fully expected that reaction, he’d told her to call information and get the number of the Fitzwalter and Carnegie law firm in New York City and then to call it and ask for Edward Fitzwalter the Third. Pacing back and forth in the living room of the ranch house, she’d debated following his instructions for a full fifteen minutes.

She couldn’t, she wouldn’t believe that her father had lied to her. The man who’d called her had to be some kind of a con artist. Pausing at the window that filled one wall of the living room, she’d stared out at the land that had been in the Farrell family for five generations.

And then she’d thought of Daniel Pearson, the local real estate agent who’d been pressuring her to put the ranch on the market for the past six months. It was pretty common knowledge that ever since her father had died, she’d been struggling to run the ranch and still grow her jewelry design business. Could Mr. Fitzwalter’s call be connected to that? But how? If she had in truth inherited something from her mother, it would only help her hold on to the ranch and carry on her father’s legacy.

In the end, Maddie had succumbed to curiosity and a gut feeling that the man who’d called her was indeed Edward Fitzwalter the Third. And he had been. More than that, he’d been patient and kind enough to repeat all the information he’d given her before. He’d even told her that he’d booked an airline ticket for her on the following day. All she had to do was go to the airport and pick it up. A limousine would be waiting for her at JFK airport and it would take her to the Ware family’s estate on Long Island for the official reading of the will.

Maddie dragged her thoughts back to the present when the butler man stopped in front of a double set of paneled doors. Nerves jittered in her stomach as he turned the handles and pushed them open.

Still on the threshold, Maddie let her gaze sweep the room. It was cavernous. Three of the four walls were packed with books. The scent of leather-bound volumes mixed with the aromas of lemon wax and lilies from the vases scattered throughout the room. Four narrow stained-glass windows took up the wall directly across from her and let in a gloomy light.

And she was stalling. Screwing up her courage, she stepped into the room and one by one met the gazes of the five people who’d turned to stare at her. She began with the mustached and balding man who was sitting at the desk. She guessed him to be Edward Fitzwalter the Third. Then Maddie looked to the three people seated to the left of the desk.

Fitzwalter had given her a thumbnail sketch of each member of the Ware family. The handsome gray-haired man in the red leather chair must be Carleton Ware, Eva’s brother. Carleton wasn’t involved in Eva Ware Designs. He ran the Ware Bank, which had been established by his great-great-grandfather and whose branches were scattered all over Long Island. Carleton, his wife and son resided year round at Ware house. Eva, though she’d inherited half of the house, had lived in New York City. Carleton’s hazel eyes were cool and assessing as they met hers. The younger man seated to his right had to be her cousin Adam. He had wavy, chestnut-colored hair that he wore long and tucked behind his ears. His brown eyes held hostility.

According to Mr. Fitzwalter, Adam was very involved in Eva Ware Designs. He’d gone to work there right after college and he’d been trained by Eva from the time he was in high school. Fitzwalter had described Adam’s mother Dorothy, the woman seated to Carleton’s left, as a society matron with a very active social life both on Long Island and in Manhattan. She served on several charitable boards and spearheaded fundraisers for institutions like the Museum of Modern Art. She was a tall slender woman with a model’s figure. Her gaze was several degrees cooler than her husband’s, and superiority radiated off her in waves. Dorothy Ware’s perfectly coiffed brown hair and impeccably tailored black suit had Maddie feeling underdressed.

Growing up on a ranch had never allowed her much time to spend on fashion, and her khaki slacks, embroidered denim jacket and leather ankle boots were perfectly acceptable business attire in Santa Fe. She shifted her attention to the small Chinese man sitting farthest away from the attorney. He had to be Eva’s longtime assistant, Cho Li. He wore his long black hair pulled back into a ponytail, and it had begun to thin on top. According to Fitzwalter, Cho Li had been with Eva even before she’d opened her Madison Avenue store. When he nodded his head and smiled at her, she finally found the courage to turn to the one familiar face in the room—Jordan Ware’s.

On the long flight from Santa Fe, she’d imagined this moment so many ways. But she hadn’t anticipated the swift punch of recognition in her belly or the instant sense of connection. For a second she couldn’t quite catch her breath. It wasn’t like looking in a mirror—not exactly. In the dove-gray suit and turquoise blouse, Jordan looked as though she’d stepped right out of a fashion magazine, making Maddie feel even more the country bumpkin.

But the woman who rose from her chair and faced her now had the same blue-violet eyes and the same facial features. And though Jordan Ware wore her hair in a chic style that framed her face in a sleek curve and Maddie wore hers in a long braid down her back, the color was the same honey gold.

Everything that Fitzwalter had told her on the phone was true. For the first time, Maddie felt the reality of that sink in. She really did have a twin. A sister.

Maddie had no idea how long they stood there in that freeze-framed moment taking each other in, nor how many times Fitzwalter cleared his throat before the sound penetrated.

It was Jordan who moved first, rushing forward and taking Maddie’s hands. Looking into her sister’s eyes, Maddie saw her own feelings mirrored—curiosity, excitement and fear. Would they have anything in common? Would they even like each other?

“Welcome,” Jordan whispered.

For the first time since she’d entered the mansion, some of Maddie’s tension eased.

Then Jordan turned to the others in the room. “Uncle Carleton, Aunt Dorothy, Adam, Cho Li, this is my sister, Madison Farrell.”

For a moment there was silence in the room.

Cho Li was the first to speak. Stepping forward, he bowed. “It is my pleasure to meet Eva’s other daughter.”

Maddie found herself bowing back.

Then Carleton rose from his chair. “You’ll have to forgive us, Madison. The shock of my sister’s death coupled with the news that she had a second daughter tucked away all these years in Santa Fe…well, we’re still trying to absorb everything. Until you walked into the room right now, I’m not sure that any of us really believed what Edward had told us. Dorothy, Adam and I want to welcome you to Ware House.”

Adam and Dorothy, their eyes cool, remained silent.

Grateful that she didn’t have to walk into the room alone, Maddie let her sister lead her to a chair.

As they sat, Jordan sent her a smile and a conspiratorial wink. “Once the will stuff is over, we’ll talk.”

1

JORDAN WAS still holding Maddie’s hand when Fitzwalter opened the file in front of him and lifted the papers. Out of the corner of her eye, Maddie studied her sister. Jordan’s lips were pressed tightly together and her eyes were totally focused on the attorney.

She was nervous, Maddie realized. And it went beyond the fact that they’d just met. Since her chair was located at the right of the desk and angled in a way that gave her a view of the other occupants of the room, she took a moment to study the other Wares.

With his arm draped casually over the back of his wife’s chair, Carleton appeared to be perfectly at ease. But there was a stiffness in his shoulders and his mouth that belied that. At first glance Dorothy appeared to be bored, but her hands were clasped so tightly in her lap that the knuckles had turned white. Adam sat poker-straight, his hands gripping the arms of the chair.

If there was one thing her father had taught her it was the importance of reading facial expressions and body language. According to Mike Farrell, it was an essential skill in all kinds of activities—from playing poker to bargaining for a price on his cattle. Two things were clear to Maddie. The other Wares’ nerves were stretched as tightly as Jordan’s were. And the family didn’t seem to be very close-knit.

Why not? Had any of them provided support for Jordan as she’d dealt with the terrible news of her mother’s death? Something tightened around her heart as Maddie recalled the numbness and the piercing pain she’d felt when her father had passed on a year ago. That had been sudden too. She still felt guilty about the fact that she’d been at a jewelry show in Albuquerque, and Mike had suffered a heart attack while he’d been out checking some fences. Alone. Cash Landry, her neighbor and lifelong friend, had found the body the next morning.

Since she’d never met Eva Ware, Maddie couldn’t know exactly what Jordan was going through. Was there someone her sister could turn to as Maddie had been able to turn to Cash? As Edward Fitzwalter donned a pair of reading glasses, she linked her fingers with Jordan’s.

Gripping the papers in two hands, Fitzwalter peered over his glasses, first at the Wares and then at Jordan and Maddie. “My plan is to make this brief. If any of you want a complete draft of the document including all the whereases, wherefores and so on, I’ll be happy to make a copy. But if no one objects, I’ll get right to the bequests.”

Silence reigned in the room. When the attorney shifted his gaze back to the paper he was holding, Jordan’s fingers tightened on Maddie’s. She was worried about the contents of the will. Maddie’s heart sank. Of course she would be. So would everyone in the room. The only reason that Eva Ware would have requested her presence today was because she’d left something to the daughter she’d deserted. And that something would be taken out of someone else’s inheritance.

“To my personal design assistant Cho Li, I leave the sum of five hundred thousand dollars so that if he chooses, he can retire. But my hope is that he’ll remain in his position until the new owners of Eva Ware Designs get up to speed.”

Dorothy Ware whispered something to Adam and he jerked forward in his chair. “New owners? Who are the new owners?”

Fitzwalter glanced up. “I’ll get to that part sooner without interruptions.”

Adam opened his mouth and then shut it.

“To my brother Carleton, I leave all of my shares in the Ware Bank. I hope that he’ll finally make the fortune he’s always believed I’ve prevented him from getting.”

Maddie noted that the news didn’t seem to make Carleton very happy.

Fitzwalter cleared his throat. “The rest of my estate, including stocks, bonds, cash, Eva Ware Designs, my fifty-percent share of Ware House on Long Island and my New York City apartment, I leave to my two daughters, Jordan and Madison, to be shared equally. It is my sincere hope that they will run Eva Ware Designs together. However, there is one requirement. They must change places and walk around in each other’s lives for three consecutive and uninterrupted weeks beginning within seventy-two hours from the time this will is read. If they refuse to fulfill the terms as I’ve set them out or if they don’t stay the course for three weeks, my fifty percent of Ware House will go to my brother Carleton. Everything else, including the business and my apartment, will be sold and the profits divided equally among all my surviving relatives.”

Jordan’s mouth dropped open, and this time Maddie thought she knew exactly what her sister was feeling.

Dorothy touched Adam’s arm and he leapt out of his chair to plant both of his hands on the desk inches from the papers that Fitzwalter had just set down. Anger radiated off of him in waves, causing Maddie to sit forward in her chair.

“That can’t be right. I’ll be the chief designer now that Aunt Eva is gone. She should have put me in charge. She always led me to believe that one day I would step into her shoes.”

“He’s right.” Dorothy Ware spoke for the first time. Unlike her son’s, her voice held no trace of emotion.

Unperturbed, the attorney met first Dorothy’s and then Adam’s eyes. “I assure you that Ms. Ware’s will is in perfect order.”

“No,” Adam argued. “She had to have changed her mind since she wrote this. She was…busy. She just didn’t have the time to see you about it.”

Fitzwalter slipped the papers back in the file. “She came to my office two weeks ago and reviewed every detail.”

Adam’s face had colored to a deep red, and for a moment, Maddie was afraid that he was going to shove the oak desk over on the attorney when Carleton’s voice intervened. “Adam.”

The younger man drew a deep breath and backed away from the desk. As soon as he was a safe distance away, Maddie turned to Jordan and spoke softly. “I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t she leave the business to you—and why would she want us to change places after she’s kept us apart all these years?”

“I’ve got a theory about that.” Jordan glanced over at the other Wares who’d gone into a small huddle.

Maddie looked too. Dorothy was speaking, but her voice didn’t carry, and from the expression on Adam’s face, he didn’t like what he was hearing.

“Let’s blow this scene,” Jordan whispered. “I’ve got a reservation at an inn in Linchworth. I wanted you to myself and I thought staying over would be better than battling rush-hour traffic back into the city.”

They’d made it nearly to the front door when Adam caught up with them. He grabbed Jordan by the arm and jerked her around to face him. “You can’t get away with this.”

The fury in his voice sent Maddie into action. Enough was enough. She gripped the arm holding Jordan. “Let my sister go.”

“What?” Adam sent her a startled look.

Maddie placed both hands on his chest and gave him one hard shove into the wall. “Just because you’re frustrated by the terms of your aunt’s will doesn’t mean you can manhandle my sister. Got that?”

Adam stared at her. “You shoved me.”

“I did.”

“Adam.” The cool tones of Dorothy Ware’s voice carried the length of the hallway.

“This isn’t the end of this,” Adam said as he pushed himself away from the wall and strode back to his mother.

Jordan waited until they’d collected their bags from the butler and run down the steps to the waiting limo. Then she whirled to face Maddie. “I’ve wanted to give Adam a good shove for years.” She pulled Maddie into a hard hug. “I guess I’ve been waiting for my superhero sister to do it for me.”

JORDAN LED the way into the suite she’d rented in the Linchworth Inn. She hadn’t said a word to Maddie during the five-minute ride in the limousine. In spite of the distracting and somewhat amusing altercation with Adam, Jordan knew her head was still spinning with the contents of her mother’s will. Maddie’s must have been too. She’d tried to think, to plan her strategy. But in business, the key to any successful strategy always depended on knowing your audience.

And she didn’t know her sister very well at all. Oh, she’d done as much research as she could—first cross-examining Mr. Fitzwalter and then checking out Maddie’s Web site. In Jordan’s opinion, the Web site needed a makeover, but the jewelry didn’t. Her sister had talent. Most of Maddie’s work was focused on Southwestern belt buckles, tie clips and pins. The designs were dramatic, the workmanship exquisite, using a lot of turquoise and intricately inlaid patterns. There’d also been a few examples of finer pieces—earrings and bracelets. Perhaps she could use her sister’s interest in jewelry design as a bargaining chip.

But she needed to know more. And she didn’t have a lot of time. The seventy-two-hour clock was ticking.

Leaning down, she opened the door of a small refrigerator and then glanced back at Maddie standing just inside the room, taking it in.

Jordan let her own gaze sweep the area. It was a small suite with two bedrooms. The sitting room had dormer windows with lace curtains and was furnished in antiques. Two chintz-covered love seats faced each other across a small coffee table with a marble top.

“I can offer you some wine. Mom and I always liked white. But I can order up a bottle of red or something else if you’d prefer.”

“White’s fine,” Maddie said.

Silence stretched as Jordan uncorked a bottle of chardonnay and filled two glasses. Stalling. That’s what she was doing. What in the world was the matter with her? She was hardly ever at a loss for words.

“This is a lovely room,” Maddie said.

Jordan glanced around again and felt her throat tighten a little. “Mom liked it. We used to stay here whenever we had to visit Uncle Carleton and company.” She would never stay here again with her mother. But she couldn’t let herself think about that right now. Not yet.

“You didn’t stay at Ware House?”

Jordan handed her a glass and waved her over to one of the love seats. “The atmosphere there has always been a bit frigid. And things have gotten worse since I got my MBA and started working at Eva Ware Designs. But it goes back further than that. I don’t think that Uncle Carleton and Mom ever saw eye to eye even when they were kids. The friction escalated when my grandfather died. Uncle Carleton is one of those old-fashioned men who believes that the oldest son should inherit everything outright. Thank heavens, my grandfather didn’t agree. When he died, he divided everything up between Mom and Uncle Carleton—even Ware House. She took her half of the stocks, bonds and cash and invested everything in her design business. She was able to move into the Madison Avenue store.”

“Smart decision,” Maddie said.

“I agree, but the other Wares didn’t.”

Maddie grinned suddenly.

“What?”

“What you called them—the other Wares. I’d already started thinking of them that way.”

Smart, Jordan thought. Her twin was perceptive. That could work in her favor. Tucking her feet underneath her, she leaned back. “As a sort of peace offering, Mom agreed to let Uncle Carleton, Aunt Dorothy and Adam live in Ware House. She got to use the place for business parties, and she agreed to attend any social gatherings that had to do with Ware Bank.”

Maddie sipped her wine. “You said the friction’s gotten worse since you went to work for Eva Ware Designs.”

“Because before that, Adam thought he had a clear shot at taking over the business one day. He’d been there for three years before I joined the company. He’s a brilliant designer. Mom was very aware of that. His parents were disappointed with him because he didn’t go into banking, so I think he feels he has to succeed. Aunt Dorothy certainly does. Plus, he has a temper.”

“I noticed. He may be a fine designer, but he doesn’t have your background in business.”

Jordan studied her for a moment. “How do you know that?”

“I looked you up on the Internet. A bachelor’s degree from the Wharton School, an MBA from Harvard. Very impressive.”

Slowly, Jordan smiled. “Touché. I visited your Web site. It needs some work, by the way. But the jewelry doesn’t. What I saw was beautiful.”

Setting her glass down, Jordan leaned closer and fingered one of the earrings Maddie was wearing. The silver had been configured into fragile lace surrounding a clear turquoise stone. “This is quite lovely. Mom was always looking for turquoise of this quality.”

“She should have come to New Mexico.”

Jordan met her sister’s eyes and saw a hint of pain that she totally understood. “She was in New Mexico when she gave birth to us. I badgered Fitzwalter until he showed me our birth certificates. We were born in Santa Fe.”

“She was at the ranch?”

“I don’t know about that, but she was definitely in Santa Fe.”

“She should have come back.”

“Yes, she should have. And our father should have come here. I’m not sure we’ll ever find out why they didn’t. Or why they separated us.”

“Why does she want us to switch places?” Maddie asked. “You said you had a theory about that?”

“I do. I got it the moment I searched your name. I think she wants you to get an in-depth experience at Eva Ware Designs because she wants you here.”

“No. That’s impossible.”

“I know her. She was a very focused woman. I’m sure she was keeping track of your career, and if and when something happened to her, she wanted you to see what she’d created—to know that you could share in it.”

“But why didn’t she contact me? Why put it in her will?”

Jordan rose and began to pace. “I’ve asked myself those questions over and over. She could have been afraid to contact you after all these years. The other thing about her is that designing jewelry was her driving passion.” Jordan waved a hand. “She gets—used to get—totally lost in her work. Other things got pushed to the back burner.”

“Why three weeks?”

“She probably thought twenty-one straight days would do it.” Jordan’s smile was wry. “When she first started at her gym, her trainer told her that doing something every day for three weeks was what it took to build a habit.”

“But that’s…crazy. And it’s not fair to you.”

“It’s not crazy if you knew Mom. Eva Ware Designs meant everything to her.” Jordan paced to one of the windows before she turned back. “That’s why we have to talk about the will.”

Maddie rose also. “Yes, we do. I want you to know that—”

Jordan held up a hand. “Stop right there. Since I’m the oldest, I get to go first.”

Maddie’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know you’re the oldest?”

Not a pushover either, Jordan thought. “I told you I’d seen the birth certificates. I beat you into the world by almost four minutes.” Impulsively, she strode over and grabbed Maddie’s hands. “I want you to please hear me out before you say a word.”

Maddie nodded.

Jordan dropped her sister’s hands, whirling away. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to say this in a way that will convince you.”

“You don’t have to.”

Jordan glared at her and pointed a finger. “You said you’d hear me out.”

“Okay. Okay.” Maddie threw both hands up and sat back down on the love seat. Watching her sister made her think of her father. That glare Jordan had just given her had been pure Mike Farrell and her father had always paced when he was trying to talk her into something. But she’d just wanted to make it easy for Jordan. The money, the house, Eva Ware Designs—none of it belonged to her. It should have all gone to Jordan. How could her sister want her to take it?

“I know it’s crazy.” Jordan sat back down on the love seat. “The thing is, we have to agree to the terms of the will.”

Maddie simply stared at her. “How can you possibly want that? It’s not fair.”

Jordan ran her hands through her hair. “I know it’s not. It’s horribly unfair. Switching places will be complicated, to say the least. But I don’t see what else we can do. I saw on your Web site that you have a jewelry show in Santa Fe in four days.”

Maddie did, and in all the turmoil of the last few days it had entirely slipped her mind. “I can’t miss it. I’ve worked for months on those designs, and it’s essential that I be there to make contact with new buyers.”

“No worries. I should be able to handle the show. I’ve done several with my mother. Marketing the product is the part of the business I’m good at.”

“But there are other things—problems at the ranch,” Maddie said.

“What kind of problems?”

Maddie raised her hands and dropped them. “I’m just not the best rancher in the world, and I’ve been struggling to fill my father’s shoes and at the same time grow my jewelry business. My neighbor, Cash Landry, has been helping me, but I can’t let that go on forever. And there’s this real estate agent, Daniel Pearson, who wants to sell the ranch for me.”

Jordan moved back to the couch. “You can’t be seriously thinking of selling?”

“No.” But Maddie felt a stab of guilt. Wasn’t that exactly what she was thinking of doing? After all, she hadn’t given Daniel Pearson a flat-out no. And here her sister was, arguing that they keep her mother’s business going. How could she even think of doing less for her father?

A gleam of interest leapt into her sister’s eyes. “Maybe I can help.”

“How?”

“Three weeks will give me a chance to get a feel for what the problems are. Not that I’m a rancher—but I do have those business degrees. Plus I’ll bring a fresh perspective. How many people did you tell about flying east for the reading of the will?”

“No one. My foreman Mac and Cash were both away, driving my cattle to market, then meeting with future buyers in Albuquerque. They’re not due back for a few days yet. Cash’s foreman comes over to tend the horses and check on things when Cash is gone. But I didn’t even have a chance to tell him I was leaving.”

Jordan took a thoughtful sip of her wine. “I’ll bet I could pretend to be you at the jewelry show without anyone knowing the difference.”

“Pretend to be me? You’re serious about this.”

“Very.” Rising, Jordan began to pace again. “I know buyers prefer to talk to the designer, and I’ve learned enough at Eva Ware Designs to masquerade as you. If the ranch is deserted right now, I’d only have to pretend when I go into Santa Fe. You won’t be able to pass yourself off as me, of course. The other Wares already know who you are, and so does Cho Li. I’ll let everyone else at the Madison Avenue store know. You’ll just have to do my job for three weeks.”

“But I have no idea what you do for a job.”

“My schedule is on my laptop. And Cho Li will fill you in. He’s been working with Mom for as long as I can remember. Is there someone who can fill me in at the ranch?”

“Wait. You’re going too fast.” Maddie felt as if all her objections were being picked off like ducks in a shooting gallery. “I haven’t told you all the problems at the ranch. It might not be safe for you there.”

“Why not?”

“There’ve been some incidents of vandalism lately. Minor ones at first—cut fences, graffiti on the bunkhouse. Cash was pretty sure it was the Trainer twins. Joey, the older one, had a sort of a crush on me. But lately, the incidents have gotten more serious. Due to a cut fence, some of my cattle strayed, and we couldn’t round them up in time to drive them to market. And a couple of weeks ago someone doctored the feed in my stables and I nearly lost my horse.”

“You called the police?”

“They couldn’t do much except file a report.”

Jordan joined Maddie on the couch. “I’ll be careful. Besides, it’ll be as safe for me there as it would be for you.”

“I can handle myself.”

Jordan’s eyebrows shot up. “So can I. After all, I’ve been raised in New York City. But there’s something you should know about the store. A month ago Eva Ware Designs was robbed. Someone broke through the security codes and took approximately one hundred thousand dollars’ worth of jewelry from the main salon. The police are still looking into it. But in the meantime, the security codes have been changed. And it happened after hours, so you should be fine.”

Maddie was more worried about Jordan than she was about herself. But Cash was due back from the cattle drive in another few days, she told herself. She could call him and tell him to look out for Jordan.

Suddenly, nerves tightened in her stomach. Was she really thinking of switching places with her sister?

“Is there anyone at the ranch who can fill me in on what I have to do?”

“Cash and my foreman can when they get back from the cattle drive.”

Jordan narrowed her gaze on her sister. “This Cash—are you and he…seeing each other?”

Maddie shook her head. “No. We grew up together. He runs the ranch next to mine. My father and his father had this idea that someday we might fall in love and join the two ranches. But it hasn’t happened. Cash and I are just friends.”

“Good. Do you think I could fool him into thinking I’m you if he shows up at the ranch?”

Maddie studied Jordan. “You’re really getting into the idea of masquerading as me.”

“It’s a practical approach. I won’t have to explain to everyone about the will and switching places. Do you think your cowboy neighbor will buy it?”

Maddie considered, then shook her head. “He’s pretty astute.”

Jordan grinned at her. “Really? I love a challenge. We’ll have to write things up for each other, and we’ll keep in touch by phone. That’s what the girls did in The Parent Trap, and they were only half our age.”

“You saw that movie?”

“Only about fifteen times. When I was little I remember watching it with Mom.”

“There’s one big difference between us and The Parent Trap girls. They switched so that they could get to know the parent they were separated from. We’re not going to be able to do that.”

“No.” Jordan sat down next to Maddie again and took her hands. “We’re not. I wish with all my heart that there was a way for you to meet our mother.”

The understanding she saw in her sister’s eyes helped ease the tightness in Maddie’s throat. “Same goes about our father.”

“Maybe switching places is the only way we have left to get to know them. We can do this.”

Maddie searched her sister’s face. “I don’t understand. Why do you want to? And why would you want to share your inheritance with me?”

Jordan stared at her. “Because you’re my sister, and because our mother wanted it this way. However late it is, she must have had some regrets about separating us, and this is her way of making sure we get to know one another.”

“There are other ways for us to get to know one another.”

“Maddie, you heard the terms of the will. If we don’t change places for three weeks, Eva Ware Designs will be sold. I can’t stand by and let that happen. Our mother worked her whole life to create it, and I can’t let it be destroyed. I want her legacy to live on. No matter what it takes, we have to fulfill the terms of the will. Please say you’ll do it.”

Maddie wasn’t an impulsive person—at least she didn’t think of herself that way. But she could sympathize with what Jordan was trying to do. It was the same thing that made her want to hold on to the ranch and keep it going so that her father’s legacy would live on.

And Jordan was right. If she did switch places and step into Jordan’s job at Eva Ware Designs, it would provide her with the only opportunity she might ever have to learn more about the woman she so admired. The woman she’d never met. And it was just possible that she could find out why their parents had decided to separate them. Hadn’t that been one of the primary questions on her mind since she’d accepted the truth of what Edward Fitzwalter III had told her during that phone call?

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

“You will?”

Maddie nodded.

“Thanks.” Jordan gave her sister a quick hug. “Okay. Now for the practical matters. You can live in my apartment, of course. I have a roommate, Jase Campbell. He was a few years ahead of me in college and we shared an apartment there. He moved into my place when he came to New York and started up his security firm. The arrangement has become sort of permanent.”

“Are the two of you involved?”

“No, we’re strictly pals. He’s like a big brother to me. But you probably won’t even run into him. He’s off on some mysterious job in South America. I can’t even reach him by cell. I haven’t been able to even tell him about…”

When Jordan suddenly stopped talking, Maddie took her hands.

“I don’t think it’s totally sunk in yet that she’s gone,” Jordan said.

Maddie handed Jordan her wine. “How could it? You had to identify the body.” Fitzwalter had told her about that. “Then there were the funeral arrangements and to top it off you find out you have a sister you never knew about.”

Jordan met her sister’s eyes. “When you lost your father, how long did it take for you to accept it?”

Maddie sighed. “I think I’m still trying to adjust.” She raised a hand to her sister’s cheek. “But I think that visiting the ranch may help you. There’s a kind of serenity there.”

“I’m glad I have you, Maddie Farrell.”

“Ditto.”

“Well.” Jordan drew in a deep breath and let it out. “We only have about seventy hours left. We’d better get started.”

Maddie blinked as Jordan rose, strode to a desk and pulled out her laptop.

“There’s a lot we have to learn before we switch lives.”

2

IT WAS nearly midnight when Jase Campbell descended the steps of a small private jet at LaGuardia Airport. After nearly a month in the bowels of the steamy Amazon jungle, he welcomed the stiff breeze that had made their landing a little rough. New York City’s humidity level couldn’t even begin to compete with what he’d been experiencing.

The Cessna was the third plane he’d been on in the last twenty-four hours and the only one that had provided any amenities. Thanks to Federman Corporation, the company that had hired him as a consultant in their efforts to free three hostages, he’d been able to shower, shave and even change his clothes—luxuries that he’d sorely missed.

The one thing he hadn’t been able to do was catch much sleep. The last days of the mission were still too fresh in his mind. It had only been partially successful—one of the men hadn’t made it out of the jungle. Each time he closed his eyes, his mind would run through the other options he might have used, other tacks he might have taken with the captors.

He needed sleep, Jase told himself as he strode up the steps of the terminal building. Thank heavens his apartment was only a thirty-minute cab ride. And at this hour of the night, Jordan would be sound asleep. That would save him from being cross-examined on what he’d been doing for the last three and a half weeks.

Jordan and he had been friends since they’d been undergraduates together at Wharton. His lips curved as he recalled exactly how they’d met. He’d been a senior and she a freshman. Off-campus housing had been at a premium, and they’d arrived to view an apartment at the same time. They’d each wanted to sign a lease, so the landlord had suggested they flip a coin. Jordan had flatly refused, claiming that her luck was abominable. Instead, she’d suggested that they share the place and split expenses.

For Jase it had been an ideal solution. Unlike a lot of the trust-fund students, he’d come to Wharton on a scholarship. Jordan had drawn up a set of rules to follow so that they kept out of each other’s way. The list with its bullets and highlighted passages had been Jase’s introduction to the highly organized world of Jordan Ware.

And though she was a very attractive woman, their relationship had never progressed down a more intimate path. Instead, she’d become like a sister to him, competing against him for grades, nagging him when he’d gotten so wrapped up in a project that he’d forgotten to keep in touch with his family and even criticizing his selection of dates. In Jordan’s opinion, Jase had a tendency to attract what she’d termed “psycho babes.”

Jase’s lips curved at the memory. The first thing he’d done when he’d left the navy and decided to set up a security business in New York City was to call Jordan. His goal had been to enlist her help in finding an apartment. Instead, she’d suggested he move in with her. If it didn’t work out, he’d at least have more time to find a place of his own. That had been a year ago, and so far everything had gone very smoothly. Jordan, who’d worked for her mother’s jewelry design studio since she’d gotten her master’s degree, had put him in touch with a few clients, and he’d even done some work for Eva Ware Designs. In fact, there was a job he’d left hanging when he’d taken on the hostage-negotiation project.

Once he entered the terminal, Jase glanced around, spotted a secluded niche and headed toward it. Before he caught a cab, he needed some privacy to check in at his office. He’d been out of contact for far too long, and his patchwork of odd flights home hadn’t allowed any calls. Even at this hour, there’d be someone at Campbell and Angelis Security picking up the phone. With any luck, it might even be Dino Angelis, his partner of six months.

Sure enough, someone answered on the second ring.

“Campbell and Angelis Security.”

Jase frowned as he tried to place the familiar voice. Not Dino. His partner’s voice was much deeper and he didn’t speak with a drawl. But it couldn’t be who he thought it was. His brother D.C. was currently serving with the military police on a second tour of duty in Baghdad.

“D.C.?” Jase asked.

“At your service. Where are you? Dino and I were getting worried.”

“I’m at La Guardia. What are you doing in my office?”

“Since I got here two days ago, I’ve been holding down the fort and helping Dino out. Got my leg busted up a little, and the army decided that I should take some leave time while I got it back in shape.”

Jase frowned. “How bad is the leg?”

“Nothing that can’t be fixed.”

“Does Mom know?”

“I spent a week in Baltimore and let her pamper me. I gained at least five pounds while I checked out Darcy’s latest boyfriend.”

Some of Jase’s tension eased. If his brother had the time and energy to torment their kid sister, then he must be on the mend.

“Are you going to tell me how bad the leg is?”

“You’re as bad as Mom. It’s going to be fine. With any luck I’ll be back in Iraq by Christmas.”

Jase didn’t see that as lucky. But he knew he’d gotten as much out of D.C. on the subject of his injury as he was going to. “Let’s go back to my first question. What exactly are you doing in my office? And where’s Dino?”

“I came to pay you a surprise visit and Dino offered me a temporary job. Right now I believe he’s at his fiancée’s apartment.”

It was thanks to Dino’s pretty fiancée Cat McGuire that Jase had been able to persuade Dino, his old navy buddy, to become his partner last December.

“Where are you staying?”

“Dino fixed me up temporarily with an empty apartment in their building. Not that I get to spend much time there.”

“Business is good, I take it?” Jase asked.

“So good that you’ve been missed, bro.”

More of Jase’s tension eased. If Campbell and Angelis had to take on some extra help, Dino couldn’t have found a more perfect person than D.C. His brother had a sharp and inventive mind and the kind of intuition that made for an excellent cop. Unable to stop himself, he yawned hugely. What he needed even more than a good night’s sleep was work. One lesson he’d learned when he’d been working special ops was that the best way to dim the images from the previous operation was to immerse yourself totally in a new one.

“By the way, your roommate, Jordan Ware, has been trying to contact you. Mom told me that the two of you are sharing an apartment again.”

“When? What did she want?”

“About a week ago. She talked to Dino and asked him to pass on a message to contact her if you called in.”

Once again, Jase frowned. Jordan never called him at work. Then he pushed the small worry aside. No doubt she’d called the office because his cell phone had been worthless where he’d been for the last few weeks. At any rate, he’d see her sometime tomorrow.

“Hold down the fort. If Dino calls in, tell him I’ll be in the office tomorrow afternoon.” Once Dino brought him up to speed on all their active files, he knew exactly which case he would start on. He’d promised Eva Ware that he’d look further into that break-in and robbery at her Madison Avenue jewelry store. In his opinion, it had to have been an inside job, and that worried him a bit.

“Right now, my aim is to crash for at least twelve hours,” Jase said, then added, “Thanks for covering.”

“I live to serve.”

A BIT DIZZY from sleep deprivation and jet lag, Maddie let herself into Jordan’s Soho apartment. During the last few days, she’d managed to lose all sense of time. The only reason she knew that it was shortly after midnight was because she’d asked the cab driver who’d driven her from JFK.

According to her estimate, she’d spent nearly eighteen of the last forty-eight hours on an airplane. Severe thunderstorms in the midwest had delayed her flights both to and back from Santa Fe. She’d barely been at the ranch long enough to pack what she thought she’d need for a three-week stay in New York. Jordan, the lucky girl, had only had to make one flight.

In the very short time they’d spent together before Jordan had insisted she immediately fly back to the ranch and set things in order for the switch, Maddie had learned that her sister was a ruthlessly organized woman who gathered data, made lists, assembled files and was quite used to having her “suggestions” followed. Had Eva Ware been like that? Maddie wondered. Would she ever know? She hoped that Jordan was right and that by switching lives each of them would come to know the other parent better. But she was beginning to feel a sense of loss that she would never have a chance to talk to Eva about her design process.

And Jordan would never hear Mike Farrell’s laugh.

Not that her sister wouldn’t discover as much as she could about the ranch and their father. The woman was meticulous. She couldn’t think of one thing that had escaped Jordan’s attention. Jordan had even suggested that since Maddie possessed very few outfits appropriate for the city and Jordan experienced the same lack of wardrobe for ranch life, they could borrow clothes from one another and cut down on what they needed to pack. Maddie figured that was Jordan’s subtle way of letting her know not to appear at Eva Ware Designs in her jeans and boots.

Yawning hugely, she muscled her suitcase through the door, then sagged against it for a moment, nearly paralyzed with exhaustion.

“Just a few more minutes,” she muttered. “You can do it.”

She groped blindly along the wall until she located a switch. The muted light from a Tiffany-style lamp allowed her only a shadowy impression of the living room—stained-glass-fronted bookcases flanking a brick fireplace, an antique desk, a comfy-looking leather couch and a flat-screen TV. The furnishings with their mix of the feminine and the masculine suddenly reminded her about Jordan’s roommate—Jase Campbell.

The man’s image slipped instantly into her mind. Jordan had provided her with photos of everyone she might possibly meet during her three weeks in New York, and she’d been reviewing them one by one on the long flight from Santa Fe. From the moment she’d glanced at Jase’s picture, she hadn’t quite been able to get him out of her mind.

Maddie recalled Jordan describing Jase as a big brother. They’d been friends ever since they’d roomed off-campus together in college, and when he’d left the navy to start up his own security firm here in New York, he and Jordan had hooked up as roommates again. Jordan’s description of her relationship with Jase Campbell could have fit her own relationship with her neighbor, Cash.

However, as Maddie had studied Jase’s photo, her response to him had been anything but sisterly. He had a strong face, lean with sharply defined bones. And though he wore a jacket and a tie, he didn’t look quite…tamed. Perhaps it was the longish, windblown hair that hinted at a streak of recklessness. Or maybe it was the eyes. She was baffled by the fact that every single time she’d closed her own eyes and tried to sleep on the plane, she’d thought of those angled cheekbones, the strong jawline and firm lips.

And each time his image had popped into her mind, her palms had tingled with the desire to touch his face. When she’d imagined herself doing just that, a heat had begun to build inside her. She’d even foolishly given into an impulse to run her fingertips over the image in the photo—touching first his mouth, then the rest of those sharp features.

When the heat simmering inside her had rushed to her face, she’d glanced nervously around to see if anyone had witnessed what she’d done. To her great relief, everyone within sight had been sleeping. Something she herself should have been doing. But instead of slipping the photo back into the file, she’d glanced down at it again.

And traced her fingertips over it once more. Her desire to touch the image, to touch him was baffling…and unprecedented. She’d experienced a purely chemical reaction to a man before. But no man’s photo had ever affected her in such a physical way.

Perhaps it was because she hadn’t had any sex in a while. During the past year, between the plans she had to expand her jewelry design business and the extra work she’d had to take on at the ranch, she simply hadn’t had the time. Or the desire.

Yawning again, Maddie struggled against a huge wave of exhaustion as she turned and dragged her suitcase down a narrow hallway. The effort of placing one foot in front of the other almost defeated her.

Probably her whole odd reaction to Jase Campbell’s photo was due to sleep deprivation and the emotional whirlwind she’d been caught up in during the past few days. When she met him, she’d find him a pleasant man, and her unusual and highly sensual response to his photo would turn out to be much ado about nothing.

Not that meeting Jase was a sure thing. Jordan had mentioned that for the last three and a half weeks he’d been out of the country and out of contact. So she had no idea when he’d be back.

Maddie stopped short at the first door she came to, not sure if she could take another step. If she didn’t find a bedroom soon, she was simply going to curl right up on the floor. She bit back a groan when the door to her left opened onto a tiny bathroom. Putting all her effort into the move, she half stumbled into the room directly across the hall. There was just enough moonlight pouring through the window for her to make out a bed. Not bothering to turn on the light, she shoved her suitcase against the wall. Unpacking would have to wait. Using the foot of the bed as her guide, she moved to the side nearest the window and pulled the drapes. Then she stripped down to her tank top and panties. With the last bit of energy she could summon up, she tugged just enough of the covers back to slip beneath them. The moment her head touched the pillow, she fell abruptly into sleep.

IT WAS nearly one when Jase let himself into the apartment. At some point during the taxi ride from La Guardia, the adrenaline that had fueled him for the last few weeks had drained away as surely as if someone had pulled a plug. Setting his duffel down, he shut the door and locked it. Then, without turning on the lights, he made his way to his bedroom, shed his clothes, eased back the covers, and climbed in. Sleep claimed him before his head settled fully into the pillow.

THE DREAM came slowly, slipping into his mind as a lover might slip into his bed. A woman, soft and warm, was nestled against him. With lazy pleasure, he let himself drift in sensations, absorbing each one. The press of a palm against his chest, the silky length of a thigh trapped between his. And the scent—he had to draw her closer to place it—he’d caught that fragrance before on drives through the country—a mix of wildflowers and sunshine.

When she sighed and snuggled closer, Jase ran a hand from her shoulder to her thigh and back again, absorbing the contrasting textures of smooth, soft skin and rougher cotton. Desire tugged at him when she pressed against him and her hands moved to slide over his back.

Drifting with the sensations, Jase touched his mouth to her temple and slipped his hand beneath her shirt. The throaty sound of pleasure she made when he cupped her breast had the tug of desire turning into a sharp pull. Nothing would be simpler than to give in to the temptation to shift her onto her back and make a place for himself between her legs. To thrust into her and lose himself in her.

But equally tempting was the thought of exploring her more thoroughly and discovering how far the dream would take him. Slowly, he ran his hand from her breast down the taut length of her torso, over that firm, narrow waist until he could slip his fingers beneath the band of her panties. The soft moan she made when he found her heat and began to stroke her urged him to take his mouth on a leisurely journey over her face from her temple to jawline and back again. Her breath was hitching now and she began to arch faster and faster against his hand. Desire pulled even more strongly against his control. But first…first, he wanted to take more, to give her more. He traced her mouth with his tongue, then began to tease her lips with his. When he finally allowed himself to fully taste her, the flavor was so sweet, so potent, that he thought he might never get enough. Taking the kiss ever deeper, he slipped two fingers into her and felt her soar.

THE ORGASM shot through Maddie in one glorious wave after another until she was sure she was going to drown. When she finally surfaced, she had only a few moments of respite, barely enough time to register what that clever mouth was doing to hers before those long hard fingers began to move inside her again. She’d never dreamed anything this vividly before. Even as the incredible pressure began to build once more, other sensations bombarded her. She inhaled his scent, something dark and male. The sharp nip of his teeth on her bottom lip. And his body—it was so hot that she felt as if it was branding her at each and every contact point.

The second orgasm was sharper than the first, and before it peaked, he was there, just where she wanted him to be, thrusting into her. And then they began to move together.

Yes, she thought as she wrapped arms and legs around him. This was what she wanted—this wild, fast race. This was what she’d always wanted, and no one had been ever able to give it to her before. Holding on for dear life, she rode the climax, rode him, until they leapt over that final crest together.

3

MADDIE DRIFTED UP slowly through layers of sleep, trying to hold on to each one. The dream she’d been having was so wonderful, so real. With each breath, she drew in her lover’s scent—potent, male. His arm held her close, and she felt the length of that hard body pressed against her. The sensations were vivid enough to have her blood heating all over again.

She wanted more than anything to sink back into the dream so that he would touch her, tempt her, tease her again. But there was light beyond her closed eyelids and she could hear muted sounds. Motors rumbling, brakes squealing…

Traffic? Frowning, she struggled to remember.

The insistent beep of a horn, louder than the others, triggered a kaleidoscope of memories. Her sister, the terms of her mother’s will, the endless series of plane rides, the detailed files Jordan had insisted she study.

The horn blasted again.

She definitely wasn’t in Kansas anymore. Nor was she at the ranch in Santa Fe. She was in her sister’s New York City apartment. The last thing she clearly recalled was dragging her suitcase into the closest bedroom and falling into bed.

That’s when the dream had begun—and her lover had joined her. And he was still with her. The smooth taut skin on his shoulder was warm beneath her hand, and above the sounds from the street below she heard the steady rate of his breathing.

Was she still trapped in her dream?

A mix of emotions swept through her—fear, excitement. Anticipation? Gingerly, Maddie opened one eye. There was just enough light seeping through the slit in the drapes for her to see that her senses were not deceiving her. Her hand was indeed resting against a man’s shoulder. And the rest of her body was totally wrapped around his. Everything about him, the hint of stubble on his chin, the strength of the arm wrapped around her waist—even the erection growing harder against her stomach—seemed to be very real.

Squeezing her eye shut again, Maddie drew in a deep breath and let it out. One thing she’d learned growing up on her father’s ranch was that you had to face facts. So the dream lover who’d joined her in bed last night had been real. Was real.

And facts had to be dealt with. A cut fence had to be mended ASAP so cattle didn’t stray. Still, a real lover in one’s bed instead of a dream one presented more complicated problems—one of them being that she didn’t seem to want to disentangle herself from him. What she was tempted to do more than anything else was to push him onto his back and taste him again, touch him again.

Not happening, Maddie lectured herself. And why was she even considering the possibility? No man had ever made her feel the way this one had. Ever. And she didn’t even know who he was.

Stiffening her resolve, Maddie slowly drew her head back and this time she opened both eyes. Even in the dim light, recognition was instantaneous. After all, she’d memorized those features—the angled cheekbones, that strong chin, the firm lips.

At some point in the night, she’d made love to Jase Campbell. And he’d made love to her.

Heat shot through her. But it wasn’t from embarrassment. Her body was on fire because she wanted to repeat the experience. Right now.

Not going to happen. She had to get a grip. And she had to get out of this bed. If she could just get away before he woke up, maybe she could pretend that the night they’d just shared hadn’t happened. If he brought it up, she’d just tell him that he’d been dreaming. That would be one way to mend the fence. Maybe the only way.

Dragging her eyes away from his face, she focused on ungluing herself from him. But her body rebelled, refusing to take orders from her brain. Her hand seemed permanently affixed to his shoulder, her fingers splayed. Maddie faced another fact—she didn’t want to stop touching him, and she knew that if her hand moved at all, it would slide down to wrap itself around the length of his erection which was pressing against her stomach more insistently with each passing moment.

When he sighed, his breath feathered along her temple, and his arm tightened more firmly around her waist. Maddie barely managed to stifle a moan. He was waking up. Once he did, the pretend-it-never-happened scenario would no longer be an option. But it wasn’t panic she was feeling, it was a wild thrill.

What was happening to her? Why was she reacting this way?

He stirred again. Maybe there was still time to slip away. She focused all her effort on pushing against his shoulder. It was like trying to dislodge a boulder. Then she felt his whole body stiffen. Before she could blink, he slipped a hand beneath her chin and tilted it up so that she had to meet his eyes.

She was aware of several things at once. The body pressed against hers had grown harder, and the heat that seemed to leap from him to her was enough to melt her bones. But it was his eyes she couldn’t look away from. The photo hadn’t captured the color. The mix of dark green and blue reminded her of some of the rarer turquoise stones she worked with.

Then suddenly his gaze narrowed, darkened, and his fingers tightened their grip on her chin. Their mouths were close, nearly touching. If either one of them moved…Just anticipating the brush of those lips against hers, Maddie felt her brain cells wink off one by one. Yes.

NO. Jase felt his mind clouding over and fought to clear it. He was holding a woman in his arms, and he had no idea how that had come to happen.

The last thing he remembered was reaching his apartment and falling into bed. Memories began to trickle in. That’s when the dream had begun. There’d been a lover waiting for him, hungry for him. What she’d ignited in him had gone beyond anything he’d ever experienced before. Desire had never been so compelling. Passion had never been so consuming.

But what had happened during the night hadn’t been a dream.

It was morning now. The sound of traffic floated up from the street below. Her hair was just brushing his chin, her breath was hot on his chest. She was very real. And so was the fresh surge of desire he was feeling. A thin stream of sunlight fell across the delicate line of her cheekbone.

If he gave into temptation and traced a finger along the path of the light, he knew just what her skin would feel like. Soft as the petal of a flower, warm…

Jase clamped down on the heat that shot through him. She wasn’t a dream. This was a real woman. And she was wrapped so tightly around him that he wasn’t sure he could ever break free.

And he still wanted her. Desperately. Her mouth was so close, barely a breath away. His leg was already nestled between hers, and he could feel that she was ready for him. More than anything, he wanted to sink into her, to lose himself in her again.

No. Gripping her shoulders, Jase disentangled himself, pulling back far enough so that he could see her face clearly for the first time. It was the eyes that drew his attention first. They were dark—a deep blue that bordered on violet. And they were very familiar. The color, the shape—they were Jordan’s eyes. And she had Jordan’s face. But…Narrowing his gaze, he studied her more closely.

“You’re not Jordan.”

He would have staked his life on it. Her scent was all wrong. Jordan always smelled like some exotic French perfume. This woman smelled like wild flowers and sunshine. And Jordan’s hair wasn’t long enough to pull into a braid.

Then there was the chemistry. As long as he and Jordan had known each other, there’d never been any spark between them. And spark was far too tame a word for what he’d experienced with this woman.

Those eyes, damn them, were still clouded with desire. The pulse at the base of her throat was hammering. Whoever she was, he could have her again. Right now. Jase wasn’t usually one to throw caution to the winds either in his personal or his business life. But for one precarious moment, he was outrageously tempted.

He tightened his grip on her shoulders. “Who are you and what are you doing in my bed?”

THE NOTE of command in Jase’s voice snapped Maddie out of the trance she’d fallen into ever since he’d pulled back and she’d looked into those mesmerizing blue-green eyes. A moment ago, she’d been sure he was going to kiss her again. And she’d wanted him to. More than that, she’d willed him to. But he hadn’t. And now he seemed to be focused on getting answers. Okay, maybe he had a right. But so did she.

She squirmed backward, intending to get out of bed. But she was naked. Sweeping her hand beneath the covers, she searched for her tank top. Without success.

“I’m still waiting for an answer.”

The sudden hint of humor in his tone had her chin lifting and her temper surging. This was not funny. “What I was trying to do here was sleep. When I arrived last night, I was nearly blind with exhaustion and I simply got into the wrong bed. Do you know how many planes I’ve been on in the past three days?”

“Not as many as I have, I’ll wager. Is this what you’re looking for?”

She glanced up barely in time to catch the tank top he tossed her. Then her gaze focused on him. Big mistake. He was lying on his side now, his head propped on his hand. The sheet barely covered him to the waist.

An intense wave of hunger shot through her. Why was this happening to her? Baffled, she tore her eyes away from him, slid off the side of the bed, and tried to cover as much as she could with the tank top. If she wanted to think clearly, her best bet was to get out of the room. But the door was on his side of the bed. There was just no way to make any kind of a dignified exit.

“You haven’t answered my first question. Who are you?”

She shot him a narrow look. He was definitely enjoying this. “I’m Jordan’s twin sister and Eva’s other daughter.”

It gave her some satisfaction when a bit of the humor faded from his gaze.

“You’ll have to do better than that. Jordan doesn’t have a twin.”

“Yes, she does. Turns out we were separated when we were babies, and neither one of us knew anything about it until four days ago.”

For two full heartbeats silence stretched between them. He was studying her as if he were weighing what she’d told him. And she couldn’t take her eyes off him. Worse, she could feel her brain cells start to click off again. She had to get a grip.

“Where is Jordan?” he asked.

Her chin lifted. “She’s at our father’s ranch in Santa Fe.”

“Why?”

Maddie welcomed the surge of temper. “Look. It’s a very long story, and if you were any kind of a gentleman, you’d leave right now and give me a chance to get dressed. Then I’ll be happy to answer all of your questions.”

He smiled slowly, fully.

Maddie felt the heat shoot all the way to her toes.

“Never let it be said that my mother didn’t raise me to be a gentleman.”

Maddie stared as he threw back the covers and got out of bed. For the first time, she got a good look at what she’d explored with her hands during the night—the broad shoulders, the strongly muscled back, the bronze skin that ended with a clearly defined tan line at his waist.

And his butt. There were muscles there too. She remembered exactly what they’d felt like beneath her palms, tensing and then relaxing as he’d moved inside her. When he turned, Maddie’s throat went dry as fresh need thrummed through her.

“My jeans…ah, there they are.” He leaned down to scoop them up. “But these are yours, I believe.” He laid her panties on the foot of the bed.

She ignored the panties and focused her gaze on his. He knew exactly what effect he was having on her. Damn him.

Still smiling, he took another step toward her, extending his free hand. “I’m Jase Campbell, by the way. I’m Jordan’s roommate. And your name is…?”

“I’m Maddie Farrell.” She sent him a thin smile as she shook his hand. The instant he relaxed his grip, she hooked her foot behind his right ankle, then used both hands to shove hard against his chest. His butt hit the floor with a very satisfactory thud. There, she thought. Enjoy that.

He grinned up at her. “Nice move, Maddie Farrell.”

She snatched her panties off the bed. “I believe you said something about your mother raising a gentleman.”

He winced a little. “So I did.” He stretched out a hand. “You wouldn’t want to give me a hand, would you?”

“Do I look as though I have stupid branded on my forehead?”

“No. But it was worth a try.” He rose in one graceful movement, but she noticed that he took his time walking to the bedroom door. When he reached it, he turned back. “I’ll make us some coffee, Maddie Farrell. Then we’ll talk.”

For a full thirty seconds after he’d disappeared from view, Maddie didn’t move. Because she wanted to run after him? What in the world was wrong with her? The man thought this whole situation had a humorous side to it. Maybe—in a hundred years—she could agree with him.

Biting back a groan, she sank onto the bed. Maybe if she burrowed under the covers, she’d wake up and discover that it was all a dream.

But it wasn’t. In a few moments she was going to have to join him for coffee and answer his questions. Besides, she wasn’t the kind of person who ran from problems. On a ranch you just couldn’t do that.

You grew up around men. You know how to handle them.

All she needed was a plan.

4

JASE LEANED his hip against the counter and sipped coffee. He could hear the shower still running in the bathroom, so he had a few more minutes to figure out what in the hell he was going to do. Usually, he wasn’t at such a loss. But the night he’d just spent with the woman who called herself Maddie Farrell had been unprecedented. She’d scrambled his brain.

And she was going to be a problem for him.

For the first few minutes after he’d left her in the bedroom, he’d struggled hard against the urge to forget about the questions he had and just walk back in there, toss her onto the bed and make love to her again. Instead, he’d run water in the sink and splashed it on his face. He might not be a gentle lover, but caveman tactics weren’t his style.

Then again, no other woman had ever shoved him onto his ass. His lips twitched at the memory, then he sipped more coffee. He’d told her the truth about his mother. His father, a career army man, had died when he was ten. D.C. had been nine and their sister Darcy had been six. Their mother had gotten a teaching job in Baltimore and had proceeded to raise her children the way she managed her classes—with a firm hand.

Problem was, he didn’t want to be a gentleman with Maddie. If he did make a move on her, she wouldn’t resist. Just in those few moments that they’d lain together in his bed after they’d awakened, he’d sensed she was as reluctant as he to pull away. And she was just as curious as he was about what it would be like to make love while they were both fully awake. That made the temptation almost irresistible.

If he joined her in that shower now, they could both find out. In a matter of seconds—perhaps ten to get into the bathroom and another five to strip out of his jeans—he could step under the spray and…

With an oath, Jase set his mug down, then gripped the edge of the counter with both hands. Being this enthralled by a woman just wasn’t like him. He couldn’t deny that he had a reckless streak. He and D.C. had gotten into more than their fair share of trouble in their teenage years. According to his mother, they were responsible for turning her hair prematurely gray. But college with a major in business and four years in the navy, two in special ops, had pretty much drummed recklessness out of his system.

As he glanced down the hall at the closed shower door, guilt moved through him. Hadn’t he already taken enough advantage of her? Sure, he’d been exhausted, sleep-deprived, but the bottom line was that he’d allowed himself to be lulled into making love to a woman he’d found in his bed. He should have fought harder against the dream she’d enveloped him in. Making love to her had been a mistake. A big one.

And he shouldn’t have to be fighting so damn hard against the desire to repeat the experience. If she was telling the truth, she was his best friend’s sister.

Jase refilled his mug and took a long swallow. Time to step back, look at the big picture and come up with a plan. That was what had saved his life several times during his special-ops missions in the navy.

He should be focusing on what she was doing here, not joining her in that shower. And what in the hell was Jordan doing on a ranch in Santa Fe? He nearly grinned at the thought. Talk about a fish out of water. From the time he’d first met her, Jordan had been a city girl right down to her weekly manicure and pedicure.

While he’d waited for the coffee to brew, he’d tried to contact Jordan on her cell to check out the twin story, but she wasn’t picking up. Then he’d typed Maddie Farrell into his laptop.

Madison Farrell was a Southwestern jewelry designer in Santa Fe. In addition to her photo, her Web site featured images of finely carved silver pins, belt buckles and rings, all with a clearly Southwestern flair. When he’d searched Santa Fe’s newspaper, The New Mexican, he’d found an article praising the intricacy and modern artistry of her designs. Like mother, like daughter, he’d thought. He’d also come across an obituary for a local rancher, Mike Farrell, who’d died a year ago and had been survived by his only daughter, Madison.

So, she was evidently who she said she was, and she looked enough like Jordan to be her twin—but he still had questions—a lot of them.

And until he got some answers, he was going to put any plans for taking Maddie Farrell back to his bed on hold.

MADDIE TURNED a complete circle in the shower and let the hot water sluice over her. Her body ached in places it had never ached before, places where Jase Campbell had touched her. And it felt wonderful.

With a sigh she rested her head against the shower wall. She had to think—and not about Jase. What had happened between them in that bed of his during the night had been crazy. Wonderful. Amazing. But it had been a mistake. And mistakes were for learning, not for repeating.

Waking up beside him had distracted her. Big-time. He didn’t even know about Eva’s death. Jordan hadn’t been able to reach him.

Pouring shampoo into her palms, she lathered her hair lavishly, then rinsed it, wishing she could wash the man right out just as easily as soap. It might not be that simple, but she was going to try. She had to be practical, use some common sense. And get herself back on track.

After all, she only had three weeks to walk around in Jordan’s shoes, and she had a lot to do. It hadn’t been just to please her sister and fulfill the terms of the will that she’d come to New York, she reminded herself. Before she went back to Santa Fe, she intended to find out everything she could about Eva Ware. If Jordan was right and Eva had been truly interested in a daughter who designed jewelry, why had she waited so long to act on that interest? Too long.

Each time she thought about the fact that she’d never really get to meet or talk with Eva, a little band of pain tightened around her heart.

If she could, she was going to find out why she and Jordan had been separated. The key was there. She was sure of it. Though she hadn’t mentioned it to her sister, she had a theory that Eva might have confided in someone that she’d had twins. She’d bet that Cash’s father had known. But he’d passed on a year before her own father had.

Getting the answers to her questions and getting to know as much as she could about Eva Ware—those had to be her priorities.

Twisting off the faucets, she stepped out of the shower and wrapped her hair in a towel. Then she swiped the steam off the mirror over the sink and faced her image.

“You have too much on your plate right now to fit Jase Campbell in.”

And wasn’t it possible that Jase felt the same way about her? After all, he’d been out of the country for over three weeks. He must have a lot to catch up on at his office.

Bending over, Maddie began to towel-dry her hair. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that she might have hit on the key to extricate them both from an…awkward situation.

Reason and logic—that was the strategy. After all, she’d grown up surrounded by men—her father and Cash, to name two. The business of running the ranch had always been the men’s primary focus. Her father had even missed her first jewelry show because he’d had to meet personally with a buyer in Albuquerque.

Though it had hurt at the time, she’d come to understand his decision. How many times during the past year had she prioritized her growing design business over the ranch? Often enough that Cash was growing concerned. He’d taken over more and more of the work she should have been doing, including driving her cattle to market.

It had helped to talk to Jordan about her concerns that she really couldn’t run the ranch on her own. How much longer could she rely on Cash’s help? She hoped that Jordan would have some ideas on that score, because she didn’t want to have to sell.

Maddie hung up the towel and pulled on the clothes she’d unpacked from her suitcase—her old standbys—jeans and a T-shirt. Then she frowned as she glanced at her image in the mirror. Her problems at the ranch had to go to the back burner for now. Jase Campbell was the big issue she had to deal with. Surely he’d understand that what had happened between them was, no, had to be, a one-time fling. A mistake that could not and would not be repeated.

Her frown deepened when she felt the sharp twist of regret. She wondered for a moment just who it was she was trying to convince that the time they’d spent in Jase’s bed couldn’t be repeated.

WHEN JASE heard the door to the bathroom open, his first instinct was to turn away. But there was no time like the present to discover just what effect Maddie Farrell would have on his senses after their short reprieve. Her walk was a lot like Jordan’s—long purposeful strides—but Maddie’s was slower. And he’d never found himself staring at Jordan’s legs. He slid his gaze up body-hugging denim and over the white T-shirt that revealed everything about that tight compact body he’d only begun to explore during the night. The clothes were nothing that he’d ever seen Jordan in. Even when she went casual, she looked like a fashion plate.

When Maddie finally came to a stop in front of the island that separated the main room of the apartment from the galley-sized kitchen, Jase shifted his eyes to her face. It was there that he noted the biggest difference between the twins.

He’d accepted the fact that the two women were twins. They had to be. Except for the length of their hair, they might be mirror images of each other. And it was just his luck that he found the single braid that fell over one of Maddie’s shoulders sexy as hell. Each time his eyes strayed to it, he felt an urge to loosen it and run his fingers through it.

Tucking his hands firmly into the back pockets of his jeans, Jase transferred his attention to Maddie’s other features. Jordan’s expression was more animated, and her eyes often held a glint of humor. Maddie, with her chin lifted and her eyes solemn, looked as if she were about to face a firing squad. There was a resolve there that he couldn’t help but admire.

The little twist of guilt he felt had him putting himself in her shoes for the first time. She’d come to New York, and as part of her introduction to the city she’d found herself in his bed. And he’d taken full advantage of it. No matter that she’d cooperated fully. Quite suddenly, it became his goal to set her at ease and to wipe that facing-the-firing-squad expression off her face.

“We have to talk,” she said.

“We do. How do you take your coffee—plain or loaded?”

“Plain—if that means black.”

“Good taste. Jordan barely puts a dollop of coffee in her cream and sugar.” He filled a mug and handed it to her. “Do you want an apology for what happened in my bed last night?”

Surprise had her nearly spilling her coffee. Gripping the mug in two hands, she said, “No. Of course not.”

“Good.” He slid onto one of the stools on his side of the narrow island, keeping his eyes steady on hers. “Because I’m not sorry it happened. Are you?”

“I…” She paused as if to consider the question. “I suppose in a way, I am. Because it complicates things.”

“But…?”

Twin spots of heat flared in her cheeks. He couldn’t recall Jordan ever blushing.

“But in another way, I’m not sorry. Because I’ve never…It was…”

He smiled slowly. “Yeah, it was for me too.”

She could have evaded his pointed questions. Lied. But she hadn’t. His admiration for her shot up another notch.

“While we’re on the subject, there’s something else I need to ask. Are you protected? I didn’t use a condom last night.”

Two spots of color reappeared on her face. “I’m on the pill.”

“You’re seeing someone then?” Jase was surprised at how much he disliked that idea.

“No.” Her chin shot up. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

Relief warred with amusement. She certainly had her sister’s temper. He was careful to bite back the grin. “I’m not seeing anyone either.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Did I ask?”

How often had he heard Jordan use that same haughty tone?

“Look.” Maddie set her mug down on the countertop and sat on the stool across from his. “I think we need to agree that what happened between us last night was a mistake. And when I make one, I don’t like to repeat it.”

He narrowed his eyes on her. “Why was it a mistake?”

She braced a hand on the counter, fingers spread. “Because it’s a complication I don’t have time for. I need to explain why I’m here and why Jordan is in Santa Fe.”

Yes, you do, Jase thought. And he was baffled at how her mere presence in the room could distract his mind from that pivotal question.

Maddie drew in a deep breath and let it out. “Jordan told me she hadn’t had time to contact you, so I’m sorry to have to tell you that Eva Ware is dead.”

Jase’s eyes narrowed and something in his gut tightened. “She’s dead? How? When?”

“An accident. She was killed by a hit-and-run driver in front of her apartment building a week ago.”

An accident? Even as he struggled to absorb what she was saying, he reached for her hand. “I’m sorry.”

“Thank you.” Maddie linked her fingers with his. “I didn’t know her, and now I never will. I’m still trying to accept that.”

“How’s Jordan?” He couldn’t stop thinking that he’d been away. Jordan had been alone.

“I don’t think she’s had time for the loss to fully sink in. She’s been busy handling details—the funeral and then the will. The whole thing will probably catch up with her at the ranch. It’s a very special place. I’m hoping that being there will help her.”

“Why is she there—and why are you here? Why aren’t you together?”

“Because of Eva’s will.”

Her fingers were holding on to his like a lifeline now. “Tell me everything.”

Maddie did just that, beginning with the phone call from Fitzwalter, then the meeting with her sister and the other Wares, the reading of the will and their decision to meet its terms.

“And Jordan’s alone at the ranch?”

“Yes.” A frown furrowed her forehead. “I’m a little concerned about that. We’ve had some problems lately—vandalism, and my horses had a close call.”

“How so?”

“Someone poisoned their feed, but don’t worry—Cash is due back tomorrow.”

“Who’s Cash?”

“My closest neighbor. We grew up together, actually.”

When Jase noticed that his knuckles had turned white gripping the handle of the coffee mug, he set it carefully down on the counter and flexed his fingers. “And you’re involved with this Cash?”

“When it comes to the running of the ranch, you could say we’re involved. Since my Dad died, Cash is always poking his nose in, making suggestions, offering to do things. He’s gotten very protective. The last few days he’s been helping my foreman get my cattle to market. He doesn’t even know about Jordan or about anything that’s happened.”

Jase found that he didn’t like the idea of some cowboy—childhood friend or not—hanging around Maddie. It was the second time that she’d made him come close to feeling jealous. And he’d only known her—what? A handful of hours?

In the silence that stretched between them, Maddie’s stomach growled.

“You’re hungry.” Jase rose from his stool and pulled the refrigerator door open. Nothing except two bottles of energy water. He pulled them out and set them on the island. “When was the last time you ate?”

Maddie shrugged as she opened one of the bottles. “They served some pretzels when we were stranded for three hours on the runway at O’Hare.”

Jase began a methodical search of the cupboards. “Jordan doesn’t cook, and she’s a regular old Mother Hubbard when it comes to stocking provisions. But she usually keeps a stash of cookies.” Giving up on the cupboards, he opened the microwave door. “Aha, success.” He pulled out a bag. “Chocolate chip. Will these tide you over?”

Maddie selected one from the stack he piled in front of her. “They’re my favorite. I always keep some in my studio at the ranch.”

Jase smiled. “Another thing you and Jordan have in common besides temper, I guess.”

When she’d finished the first cookie, she began to fiddle with her braid. Jase found himself wanting to reach out and touch it too—instead of asking some important questions. Alarm bells had been going off in his head ever since she’d told him that Eva had been the victim of a hit-and-run driver. Three weeks after her store had been robbed.

“Maddie, do you have any idea why Eva made out her will that way?”

“Jordan thinks that in the event of her death, Eva wanted a daughter with a flair for jewelry design to get involved in her business.”

Jase didn’t much care for the way Eva had set up her will, but all he said was, “Do you know if anyone knew about the terms of the will ahead of time?”

As she reached for another cookie, she considered the question. Then she shook her head. “They all seemed pretty shocked when Fitzwalter read the will. Except for Cho Li. Besides Jordan’s, his was the only friendly face in the room.”

“Why do you think Eva wanted you and Jordan to change places?”

She set down the cookie. “I’m not sure. But I’m not comfortable with Jordan’s theory. I don’t like the idea of taking something that belongs to her. I’m hoping that Eva’s plan had a broader design and that she wanted Jordan to experience what she’d missed all these years by not growing up on a ranch. While she’s out there, Jordan’s going to try to see what she can do to help me make the ranch more profitable.”

Jase studied her. “The ranch is in trouble beyond the vandalism?”

Maddie sighed. “I’m not the rancher my father was. And I can’t help feeling guilty about that.”

“Guilt can be hard to deal with.”

Maddie’s eyes flew to his. After a moment she said, “I’m sorry. All I’m doing is talking about myself. Jordan said that you were away all this time because you were trying to free some hostages. Were you successful?”

“Partially. There were three. We lost one of them.”

This time, she was the one who reached for his hand. “I’m sorry.”

For the first time since he’d left South America, Jase felt something loosen inside of him. Then he said aloud what he’d been telling himself ever since he’d looked down at the body of the man he hadn’t been able to rescue. “The two we did free were a man and his son. They were reunited with the rest of their family in Panama City yesterday.”

“Sometimes, no matter what you try to do, you lose someone. For months after my father died, I kept thinking if I’d just been with him—or if I’d just done something differently. Maybe if I’d nagged at him more not to ride out by himself. He had a heart attack while he was alone. If he’d just had someone with him…”

His fingers tightened on hers. “You shouldn’t blame yourself.”

“Neither should you.”

As the silence stretched between them, Maddie became intensely aware of the pull between them. She’d felt it the moment she’d stepped out of the bathroom and started toward him. But now she sensed that it was more than a pull. As she looked into those blue-green eyes, something moved through her. Recognition? How could that be? They were strangers.

Dragging her gaze away from his, she glanced down at their joined hands. His was so large that hers was barely visible. And even though her skin was tan, it was shades lighter than his. They were so different, yet somehow her hand felt just right in his. She might be baffled by it, but she couldn’t deny it was true.

“Maddie, I don’t think what happened between us last night was a mistake.”

Even as she jerked her hand away, she met his eyes again. What she saw had her bones melting. She fought against losing brain cells and swallowed hard. She’d had a clear plan when she’d stepped out of the bathroom. She’d just gotten off track. “Whether it was a mistake or not, it just can’t happen again.”

“Why not? Especially if we both want it to?”

The man was nothing if not direct. And the hint of recklessness she saw in his eyes triggered not panic, but a thrill. Maddie tried to ignore it. Logic and reason. Those were the keys. “Like I said before, we’re both busy. And I only have three weeks.”

“But you’re not saying you don’t want it to happen again.” He rose and moved around the island.

She slid off her stool but held her ground. “If you come nearer, you’ll end up on your butt again.”

“It might not be so easy if you try that a second time.”

She felt her temper rise, and she very nearly said, Wanna bet? But she swallowed the words.

He took a step closer. “On the other hand, it might be fun to find out.”

Maddie absolutely hated the fact that a part of her agreed with him. She detested that she took two steps in retreat. But she couldn’t deny that that the way he was advancing on her had excitement streaming through her.

Reason and logic. Reason and logic. She struggled to infuse both into her voice. “That’s just it. I don’t have time for fun and games. That’s not what I came to New York for.”

She very nearly sighed in relief when her words stopped Jase. But he was only a couple of feet away. If she reached out, she could touch him again. Disgusted with herself, she fisted her hands at her side.

The recklessness in his eyes faded. “You’re right, Maddie Farrell.” He reached out to toy with the end of her braid. “I’m not sure why I keep getting distracted by you, but I’ll figure it out. In the meantime, there’s a phone call I have to make. I want to find out what really happened when your mother was run down.”

5

“DAVE, I need a favor.” Jase paced back and forth in the small kitchen, his cell phone at his ear. He was very much aware that Maddie’s eyes were on him. He knew from the line furrowing her forehead that she was worried. That might be a very good thing.

On the other end of the line, Detective Dave Stanton drawled. “And what can the lowly NYPD do for a top-notch security ace like yourself?”

Stanton was a giant of a man with chocolate-brown skin, and his jovial teddy-bear exterior hid a tough cop. Jase had run into him on a case he’d been working six months ago and they’d since become friends. Stanton had also been assigned to the break-in and robbery at Eva Ware Designs.

“It’s about Eva Ware—the hit-and-run. I’ve been working a case out of the country for the past three weeks or so, and I just heard about her death. Can you check into it and call me back?”

“Won’t have to. I’ve been keeping tabs on the investigation. It’s stalled out but the file is still open.”

“What do you know?” Jase stopped pacing when Maddie slid off her stool and strode toward him. He switched his cell phone to speaker so that she could hear too.

“She was run down on her way home from the gym when she was crossing the street to her apartment,” Stanton explained. “It was part of her regular routine to visit the gym twice a week right after she left the Madison Avenue store. She walked home taking the same route. According to her doorman, she always crossed the street directly in front of her apartment instead of walking to the corner.”

“So someone could have been waiting for her?”

“That’s the bug I put in the ear of the two detectives assigned to the case. They followed up and someone in her building with a window facing the street remembers seeing a light-colored sedan parked across the street in a delivery zone. Says it was there for some time before it pulled out and clipped Ms. Ware.”

“There was a witness to the accident?”

“Several of them, including the doorman of her building. All agree that it was a light-colored car. One insisted it was a Mercedes. But no one got a plate number. That’s where things stand.”

“So Eva Ware’s death probably wasn’t an accident.”

“That’s my gut feeling.”

“You know a lot about a case you’re not working,” Jase said.

“I liked Eva Ware. She was a classy lady. So is her daughter Jordan. How’s she holding up?”

That’s exactly what Jase wanted to know. He still hadn’t been able to reach Jordan on her cell. “I haven’t had a chance to connect with her yet. Thanks, Dave.”

“No problem. Keep me in the loop if you find out anything.”

“Will do.”

As Jase closed his cell, Maddie shook her head. “Jordan never said a word about Eva’s death being anything other than an accident.”

Jase lifted the coffeepot and topped off both of their mugs. “That’s probably how the original report read. It sounds to me like Detective Stanton was the one to push looking into it more carefully. By that time Jordan was probably caught up in making funeral arrangements. I wish I’d been here.” It ate bitterly at him that Jordan had had to handle everything on her own.

“I wish that I could have been here for her too. I don’t know if I could have made it through my father’s death if Cash hadn’t been there for me.”

Tilting her head, Maddie studied Jase for a moment. “You believed that Eva’s death wasn’t an accident even before you called Detective Stanton. Why? Is there someone who would want to harm her?”

“Perhaps.” For a minute, Jase debated how much he wanted to tell Maddie and decided she’d have to know it all. Jordan too. “Have you been able to reach your sister? I tried her cell earlier with no luck.”

“Cell signals are seldom available at the ranch. And the land line seems to be out. I called before I showered. There was a nasty storm predicted last night. But she intends to go into Santa Fe today and visit the hotel where they’re holding the jewelry show tomorrow. Her cell should work there, and she’ll call. It’s our plan to keep in daily contact. And you must know how Jordan is about plans.”

Jase smiled. “A real stickler.”

Maddie set her coffee on the counter. “You haven’t answered my question. Why did you instantly suspect that our mother’s death might not be an accident?”

“Do you ever have gut feelings that something isn’t quite right?”

She met his eyes. “Yes. I get them sometimes when I’m designing a piece of jewelry. Then I know I’m going in the wrong direction.”

Jase leaned against the counter and crossed his legs at the ankles. Maddie Farrell was a good listener, astute too. Maybe it would help him to talk it out. “I got one the minute you told me that Eva had been run down. A few days before I left for South America, your mother’s store was broken into and approximately one hundred thousand dollars worth of jewelry was stolen.”

Maddie frowned. “Jordan told me about that. She said that they’d gotten past the security. Considering the kind of pieces I’ve seen on Eva Ware’s Web site, I’m surprised they didn’t steal more. Some of her individual pieces go for two or three times that.”

Smart girl, Jase thought. “The break-in occurred in the main salon. Most of the designs are kept in the safe and only brought out at a specific customer’s request. But there were more expensive pieces on display. The police thought that the thief or thieves purposely took small pieces that could easily be fenced. And they only took pieces with gems.”

“Which could be taken out and sold.”

“That was the thinking. Detective Stanton worked the case, but Eva asked me to look into it also. I would have anyway since I was the one who’d installed the security system. The robbery was a very slick job. Either the thief was a highly sophisticated pro, or he’d had help from the inside. I thought the latter and I told Eva. She hired me to look into it further when I got back from South America. I suggested that she let me turn the investigation over to my partner, Dino Angelis, but she refused.”

“Maybe she wanted a little time to gather information herself. Could be she suspected who the insider was and she wanted to be able to confront him or her.”

Jase studied her. “Yeah. That’s what I thought at the time, but how did you make that leap? You didn’t even know Eva.”

“I guess because if I were in her place, that’s how I’d want to handle it. Jordan tells me that the business meant the world to Eva, that she’d devoted her life to it. On a much smaller scale, I know how I feel about my own fledgling design business. And I can sympathize with Eva wanting to try to handle it herself. Maybe she didn’t even want the thief prosecuted.”

“Why not?”

“Perhaps she didn’t want a scandal. As I understand from Jordan, almost everyone there has been with her a long time.”

“Good point.”

Maddie climbed on a stool and folded her hands in front of her. “So. How are we going to find out who broke into Eva Ware Designs?”

He frowned at her. “We’re not.”

“We have to.”

Jase straightened from the counter. “Maddie, if Eva did figure out who the thief was and threatened exposure, that person might be the one who ran her down. If he or she killed once, they won’t hesitate to do it again.”

Maddie swallowed hard and tried to ignore the sudden chill that radiated through her. Hearing the words spoken aloud in that blunt tone was a lot worse than thinking it. “You believe the thief killed Eva?”

“It’s a strong possibility, and I think that’s why my friend Dave Stanton is keeping an eye on the file.”

His eyes had gone as flat as his tone. He was purposely trying to scare her. “But you’re going to look further into the robbery?”

“Yes.”

If he was right and someone had run Eva down, there was no way she wasn’t going to do her best to find the person. She just had to find the right strategy to convince him. “I can help.”

“No. It’s too dangerous. Do what you came here to do—get to know your mother and her jewelry design business. My office will handle looking into who might have been behind the break-in and robbery.”

A plan was already forming in her mind. Maddie leaned forward. “But I’m going to be on the inside. And my cover is perfect. Jordan has told everyone about me. I’m Eva Ware’s other daughter, the one she left behind. I can play on the sympathy factor. Not from my cousin Adam, but perhaps from the others.”

Jase moved to her then and covered her folded hands with his. “I’m sorry. It’s got to be rough on you.”

“On Jordan too.”

“Yes.”

“That’s exactly what the others are going to think. And I’ll be expected to ask a lot of questions anyway. I already intend to talk to people about Eva—what she was like, how she got started in the business, what her creative process was like. It’s the only way that I have of getting to know her now. I’m going to insist on a tour of her workroom.”

Jase was looking at her, saying nothing. But he was thinking. She could almost hear the wheels turning. Reason and logic. “The break-in could come up as a part of those kinds of conversations. I could find out things that they’ll never tell you if you come into the office in your official capacity.”

“You’re not a trained investigator.”

Her chin lifted. “No. But I already have an idea of where to start.”

Jase slid onto his stool. “Don’t keep me in suspense.”

“I’ll be right back.” Whirling, she raced down the hall to Jordan’s bedroom. Once there, she grabbed the file her twin had prepared for her along with her bag.

When she returned, Jase was waiting. She placed the file on top of the island and dug in her purse for her appointment book. It was an old-fashioned leather-bound volume with a ribbon she used as a bookmark. Right now it was stuffed with business cards, paper clippings and sticky notes. Next she drew out the neatly printed papers Jordan had given her. They contained her hour-by-hour schedule for the next three weeks.

Jase regarded them in silence for a moment. “Explain.”

“They’re appointment calendars. Jordan and I have very different styles. She keeps track of her daily and weekly schedule on some high-tech thing she carries in her purse.” She patted the bursting leather book. “I do it in a less high-tech way. My father used to give me one of these every Christmas. I’m betting Eva would have kept some version of an appointment calendar. If not, her personal assistant must keep one.” She paused to consult her file. “Her name is Michelle Tan. According to Jordan, she started out as an intern and took over the job of Eva’s personal assistant when it opened up. Jordan says she’s been with Eva for nearly a year now.”

“And you’re interested in Eva’s appointment calendar because…?”

“If you’re right and Eva had some idea of who was behind the break-in, it makes sense that she would have confronted him at some point. And I’m betting that she wouldn’t have done it at Eva Ware Designs. But she may have made note of the meeting place in her calendar.”

Jase’s eyes narrowed as he considered. “You may be right. She came to my office when she decided to hire me to investigate further. And she told me not to mention it to Jordan until we had something more concrete to go on.”

“See? She was being discreet.”

Too discreet, Jake thought. It might have gotten her killed.

Jase pointed to the stack of cookies. “You going to finish those?”

“Help yourself.”

He took a cookie and bit into it. He was being manipulated. Living with a mother and a sister, he and D.C. had learned early on what that felt like. The thing was, Maddie made sense. Eva’s appointment calendar was a good place to start looking. And Maddie did have a good cover. Plus, she was going to poke her nose into this whether he wanted her to or not. If Jordan were here, he’d be facing the same problem. The two of them were as curious as Alice when she’d decided to follow that rabbit down his hole.

Maddie leaned forward. “My father was a firm believer in two heads being better than one. Whenever there was a problem at the ranch, he used to talk it over with our neighbor, Jesse Landry. After Jesse died, he’d talk with Cash and me.” She beamed a smile at him. “Admit it. You could use my help.”

For a moment, the smile and the way she was looking at him had his thoughts scattering. Jase firmly anchored them in place. He was going to have to learn to deal with her effect on him if he was going to keep her safe.

“I’ll go along with this, but I’m going to be your constant companion.”

Her brows shot up. “Constant companion?”

“For the next three weeks—or until we get this sorted out—I’m going to be at your side.”

“No way. That will spoil everything. You run a security firm. I’ll never be able to get any of them to talk freely with you hanging around.”

“Jordan has dragged me to Christmas parties and a couple of other events Eva threw at her apartment. So they know me mostly as Jordan’s friend and roommate. When I went to check the security system after the break-in, it was after hours. And as I mentioned, Eva came to my office when she decided to hire me to investigate further.”

“But that’s not going to explain why you’re tagging along after me.”

He smiled slowly at her. “Here’s my cover. Even though we just met, it was love at first sight for you and me. And I’m determined to spend as much time as possible with you during the three weeks you’re here.”

♥ Uploaded by Coral ♥

6

“WE'RE SORRY that we cannot complete your call at this time. Please try again later.”

Maddie frowned at the handset as she replaced it in its cradle. It was the second time she’d tried the number at the ranch since she and Jase had returned to their separate bedrooms. Both times she’d received the metallic, recorded message. Even if there’d been a storm at the ranch last night, it had to be over. The phone lines should be working.

She needed her sister’s help. Her gaze strayed to the small bookcase the phone was perched on and for the first time she noted the framed photo that sat on the first shelf. Jordan was in her cap and gown, and Eva Ware stood close, her arm around Jordan. Both smiled into the camera.

A little band of pain tightened around Maddie’s heart. It was immature and not fair to Jordan to be jealous of the fact that Eva hadn’t been at her college graduation, nor had she witnessed all of the other milestones in Maddie’s life. Her father had been present, she reminded herself. And Mike Farrell had missed all of Jordan’s big events.

Maddie swallowed hard as she studied Eva’s face and noted the braid that fell over one of her shoulders. She fingered her own. It was hard even now to really get her mind around the fact that Eva Ware was her mother. In her own thoughts and even when talking to Jase about her, she was still referring to her as Eva Ware.

Would she ever get used to the idea? She set the photo carefully back on the shelf. Why? Why had her father and Eva decided to separate? Why had they each cut one daughter out of their lives? She was determined to find an answer to that question before she left New York. Maybe she would discover at least a partial answer as she came to know Eva better.

The second shelf of the small bookcase was filled with paperback books. Curious, she ran her fingers along the spines. Her lips curved when she realized that Jordan lined her paperbacks up alphabetically according to the last name of the author.

Didn’t that just figure?

But what really surprised her was that she had nearly half the same books in the small bookcase in her bedroom at the ranch—starting with the Brontës and Jane Austen. Then there were more modern writers—Linda Howard, Jayne Ann Krentz, Karen Robards, J.D. Robb, Nora Roberts and Robert B. Parker. Maddie’s smile widened as she realized Jordan obviously shared her own weakness for romantic suspense and mysteries.

Then she glanced at the bottom shelf and simply stared. The books there were alphabetized too, but they were all westerns—Zane Grey, Louis L’Amour, Luke Short, Larry McMurtry. She recognized the authors because they were her father’s favorites. There were two copies of Lonesome Dove—one that was falling apart and another that seemed to be brand new. How many times had she teased her father about rereading that novel? It appeared that her sister might have the same addiction.

Could a taste in reading run in a family? And what else might she and Jordan have in common? Certainly not their taste in clothes. Striding toward the full-length mirror on the open closet door, Maddie studied the outfit she’d selected. She’d searched high and low for a plain pair of slacks and a blazer—but Jordan didn’t seem to believe in them. Her twin favored clothes that were either a little too frilly or fashion-forward for Maddie’s taste. Her own wardrobe consisted almost entirely of jeans or slacks and jackets and T-shirts.

Simple, flexible—and you seldom had to worry about color coordination.

She’d finally decided on a suit she’d initially been drawn to because of the color—a pale blue that reminded her of a summer sky in Santa Fe. The skirt had a flouncy, fluted ruffle along its hem. Turning in a half circle, she watched it flare out. The jacket had feminine bell-shaped sleeves. It was certainly not something she could wear at the ranch, but it was growing on her.

She dropped her gaze to her bare feet. What she needed now was shoes. She sent a worried glance at the rows upon rows of them that took up a wall in Jordan’s closet. So many choices, so little time. The shower in the bathroom had stopped running five minutes ago. Since then, she figured Jase had probably shaved and now was dressing.

And she doubted he was stumped by shoe selection. The problem with Jordan’s was they all looked to be ankle-breakers. Still, there was a dark blue pair with a silver buckle that her eye kept returning to. Moving into the closet, she ran her finger over the buckle. But they’d never been worn. She didn’t feel right about wearing a pair of shoes that Jordan never had.

Which was one of the reasons she needed to talk to her sister. Striding back to the phone, she once more punched in the number of the ranch. To her surprise, it rang. Then she listened to her own voice telling her to leave a message.

When the beep sounded, she said, “Jordan, this is Maddie. Pick up if you can. Otherwise call me back ASAP.”

A glance at her watch told her it was nine-thirty. “I’m running a little late, but you should be able to reach me at Eva Ware Designs a little after ten. Jase is coming with me.”

She’d lost some time trying to talk him out of his plan to become her constant companion, but he’d remained firm. Until they had a clearer idea of what was going on, he was going to stick to her like glue. And he hadn’t missed his chance to tell her that two heads were better than one. There was nothing like having your own words come back to bite you.

“You didn’t mention in his file that he was mule-headed. Anyway, it’s a long story, and there’s something else I need to tell you.” There was no way she was going to mention what they’d discovered about the investigation into Eva’s death on an answering machine.

“So call me.” She was about to hang up when she remembered. “One other thing. There’s a pair of shoes in your closet that doesn’t look as if it’s ever been worn. Hope you don’t mind if I break them in. Bye.”

She stared at the handset for a minute after she’d replaced it. She hadn’t exactly asked permission. But those blue shoes were definitely calling her name.

Striding to the closet, she plucked them off the shelf, stepped into them, and winced. Was this what Cinderella’s stepsisters had felt like when they’d tried on the glass slipper?

But they were the right size. She’d checked that out. The tight fit had to be due to the fact that she was used to wearing boots. Very comfortable, worn-in boots. She took an experimental step out of the closet and had to slam a hand into the door frame to keep her balance. Maddie shifted her gaze to the mirror. “This can’t be that hard. You learned to ride a horse, rope a cow and shoot a gun.”

She took one step and teetered. This time she didn’t reach for the wall. “You can learn to walk in these. Millions of other women have. How hard can it be?”

Turning away from her reflection, Maddie started for the foot of the bed, stumbled, and nearly went down.

“About as hard as learning to walk on stilts,” she muttered. Then she focused on her destination. It was less than ten feet away. Concentrating hard, she raised her arms for balance the way a tightrope walker would and put one foot gingerly in front of the other. By the time she reached the bed, she could lower her arms.

And breathe.

So far, so good. She took another breath and started toward the dresser on the other side of Jordan’s bed. She raised her arms again, but by the time she was halfway there, she no longer felt the need to use them for balance. Thank heavens the learning curve for navigating around in the shoes was going to be short.

On the surface of Jordan’s dresser lay a silver-plated brush and comb, a small box of hairpins and a jewelry box. Raising her eyes, Maddie regarded her image in the mirror and frowned. The hair was definitely wrong for the outfit.

In her mind’s eye she pictured Jordan’s sophisticated, layered cut. Much better. There had to be something she could do. Quickly, she unraveled the braid and ran her fingers through it. Then using the hairbrush, she pulled it smoothly back from her face into a ponytail. Finally, she twisted the ponytail into a bun and secured it to the back of her head with pins.

Better. But were the earrings okay? With a critical eye, she studied the tiny silver horseshoes that dangled from each of her ears. The sky-blue of the turquoise was fine in terms of color. But her hand was already reaching to open Jordan’s jewelry box. What she saw inside took her breath away.

Of course, she’d seen Eva’s jewelry in magazines and on the store’s Web site, but nothing had captured the delicacy of the designs. In comparison, her horseshoes looked almost gaudy. She was reaching for a froth of lacy gold in a teardrop shape when she suddenly became aware that she wasn’t alone in the room.

Turning, she saw Jase standing in the open doorway. How long had he been watching her? The way he was looking at her, the heat in his eyes, had her throat going desert-dry. Quickly she dropped her gaze from his. Not that it helped. He’d changed into a dark blue T-shirt and blazer which only emphasized his broad shoulders. And he wore jeans that fit snugly at the hips and hugged his legs like a second skin.

And, in spite of everything she’d said to him, she wanted him again. For a moment, as the silence stretched between them, she became very aware of the fact that they were separated only by Jordan’s bed. If she moved toward it, would he? A wave of longing struck her, so intense that for a second, she nearly lost her balance.

It wasn’t the shoes this time.

It was the man.

And she could have him right now. She could tell by the expression in his eyes. An image filled her mind of the two of them on the bed, naked, their limbs entwined, their bodies moving as one.

No! Maddie fisted her hands at her sides. She had to get a grip on the way he was affecting her. Everything she’d said to him was true. She didn’t have time to indulge in…this…this…craziness. She had to learn to walk around in Jordan’s shoes. Literally as well as figuratively. She had to get to Eva Ware Designs.

Dragging her eyes back to his face, she forced her mind back to the problem that had consumed her before Jase had entered the room—what she was wearing. She raised her hands and dropped them. “What do you think?”

FOR A MOMENT Jase didn’t respond. How could he when he simply wasn’t thinking at all? His thoughts had scattered the moment he’d caught sight of her on the other side of the bed. He’d stopped in the doorway because he hadn’t trusted himself to go farther into the room.

Or perhaps it was because desire had struck him with the force of a Mack truck. When she’d loosened her braid and run her fingers through it, he’d nearly lost it. He’d grabbed the doorjamb with one hand and held on tight as his mind emptied and filled with sensations—of how that long, loose hair would feel between his fingers, on his skin.

He didn’t even know how long he’d been standing there staring at her. Long enough for him to weave a nice little fantasy about getting her out of that suit and touching her. Really touching her. He’d pictured them on that bed—this time in the daylight when they were both awake. And he knew exactly how that skin would feel—soft as rainwater, smooth as the petal of an exotic flower one might come across in the steamy jungle he’d just left.

“Well?”

Jase gathered enough of himself to note that her hands had fisted on her hips and one foot was tapping. And still he couldn’t get a word out. For the first time, something like fear moved through him.

No woman had ever tied his tongue in knots before.

“If this outfit is that bad, you’d better come right out and say it. I’m used to wearing jeans and slacks, so I don’t have much fashion sense when it comes to fancy clothes. I went for the color. But Jordan has lots of other clothes.”

Jase pulled himself together. And finally found his voice. “It’s fine.”

She studied him as she moved toward him, giving the bed a wide berth. He appreciated the strategy and took some satisfaction that he wasn’t the only one thinking about tumbling her into it.

“You’re not just saying that? You’re sure?”

“Yeah,” he lied. The only thing he was really sure of was that she wasn’t going to be wearing the outfit much longer if they didn’t get out of Jordan’s bedroom. And until he found out exactly who might have run down Eva Ware, he needed to be able to think clearly. Still, he couldn’t prevent his gaze from raking her one more time. “Are you going to be able to walk in those shoes?”

She glanced down at them. “Yeah, I’ve got that under control, I think.”

Control. That was the key word, Jase reminded himself. He released his grip on the doorjamb, flexed his fingers to assure himself that they were still there. Last but not least, he dragged his gaze away from the bed and led the way out of the room.

TRUE TO FORM, New York City traffic was crawling along at less than a snail’s pace. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Maddie was staring wide-eyed out the open window of the taxi, craning her neck to take in the buildings, the people, and breathing in the mix of scents—hot pavement, rotting garbage, exhaust fumes—that he took for granted.

He glanced at his watch and saw that it was nearly ten. Even though it was only a twenty-block walk to Eva Ware Designs, he’d decided in deference to her shoes to hail a cab. But what should have been a five-minute cab ride was stretching into thirty. Even in the ankle-breakers she was wearing, they could have easily arrived at the jewelry store by now.

Brakes squealed as the car in front of them came to an abrupt stop. Someone stepped out of the passenger door and hurried into a small store that specialized in fresh produce. Their cabbie leaned on his horn and shouted something out the window in a language Jase wasn’t familiar with. Glancing out the rear window, Jase could see that their taxi was neatly boxed in.

He looked at Maddie and saw that she was staring at a policeman astride a horse. They hadn’t said much to each other since they’d left the building. She’d been intent on drinking in the sights, and he’d welcomed the reprieve of just being away from the apartment. They’d have to go back there eventually and good idea or not, he was sure that they were going to end up in bed together again.

He’d never met a woman who pulled at him the way she did. Even now his hand was fisted on the seat because he wanted to reach out and touch her. Just to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear or to run a finger down her throat.

But that wouldn’t be enough. He’d need more. And he’d have more. It might be the biggest mistake of his life, but one way or another, he did intend to make love with Maddie Farrell again.

Right now, he had to put that aside and switch gears. She still had her eyes on the mounted policeman, and he reminded himself that she had just switched places with her sister and was feeling her way through a strange, new world. Maybe he could help with that.

“In the file she gave you, did Jordan mention that she keeps a horse on a farm just a little north of the city?”

“No.”

For the first time since they’d entered the taxi, she turned to face him. He read both surprise and interest on her face. “It’s a stallion. She bought him when she moved to the city to work for your mother. She named him Julius Caesar because he was born on the Ides of March.”

Maddie stared at him. “My horse is Brutus. What are the chances?”

“Jordan has always loved horses. She started riding lessons when she was six, and she was a natural. She began competing two years after that and didn’t give it up until she started college.”

A small frown creased Maddie’s forehead. He’d seen the same expression before when she was carefully considering something.

“A penny for your thoughts,” he said.

“It’s just…odd. No, ironic is a better word.”

“For what?”

The frown on her forehead deepened. “I love riding, and I enjoy living on a ranch, but I’ve discovered that my real passion is designing jewelry. And Jordan seems to have a passion for horses and riding the way my father did. From what I saw on her bookshelf, they even share a passion for westerns.”

“You’re thinking they picked the wrong daughters when they made their choices.”

She nodded.

Even though he knew it was a mistake, he took her hand in his. “I doubt that either your father or your mother would feel that way.”

HE UNDERSTOOD. Something tightened in Maddie’s throat. Even though her hand was clasped lightly in his, she was aware of the pressure of each one of his fingers. But it wasn’t a sizzle of passion that moved through her blood. This time it was something warmer and much sweeter. He leaned toward her and brushed the merest hint of a kiss over her lips.

Without thinking, she raised her free hand to his face—to push him away? To keep him there?

Before she could decide, he drew back and said, “Do you think you can manage three blocks on foot?”

Maddie frowned at her feet. “No promises, but I’m game to try. After all, I’m supposed to be walking around in Jordan’s shoes.”

He grinned at her. “She always wore her sneakers when she walked to work and carried the ankle-breakers in her bag.”

Maddie glared at him. “You might have told me that before we left the apartment.”

“It’s only a couple more blocks.” Jase passed the taxi driver two bills. Then he grabbed Maddie’s hand again and pulled her with him to the sidewalk. As they blended into the flow of pedestrians headed uptown, a cacophony of noise enveloped them—horns blaring, engines thrumming, one-sided snatches of conversations as passersby chatted into their cell phones.

Jase raised his voice. “How are the shoes?”

“Glorious to look at—but agony to wear.” She shot him a determined look. “It’s going to be worth every bit of discomfort when I walk into that store not looking like the country bumpkin they’re probably expecting.”

“You’ll be fine. Just remember the roles we’re assuming.”

“I’ll be playing myself—the other daughter.”

Taking her hand, he raised it to his lips and kissed her fingers. “And I’ll be playing your lover.”

Heat shot through her and Maddie was sure that if there had been room in the shoes, her toes would have curled. In spite of the role Jase was playing, she intended to keep her focus.

Suddenly, she stopped short and a startled pedestrian jostled her as he passed.

Gripping her shoulders, Jase pulled her out of the flow of traffic into a doorway. “What is it?”

“I forgot the earrings.”

“No, you didn’t. You’re wearing them.”

She shook her head. “I was going to take these off and put on one of Eva’s designs. My style is so…different. Next to hers, my earrings look…” She paused, searching for the right word.

“Beautiful.” He reached up and ran his finger down one of the horseshoes.

Her thoughts scattered. He was going to kiss her again. She could see the desire in his eyes, feel her own response rip through her. The noises that had surrounded them since they’d left the cab faded to a dim buzz. Her mind constricted like a spotlight on a stage until there was only Jase.

He slid his hands from her upper arms over her shoulders, then framed her face. It seemed as if it had been forever since he’d touched her. Had it only been a matter of hours?

Using his thumbs, he tilted her chin up. “I want to kiss you. I thought I could wait until later when we got back to the apartment. Back to my bed. But I can’t.”

He lowered his mouth slowly until it was nearly touching hers. Then he paused.

She should push him away, Maddie thought dimly. She’d always prided herself on having a logical, practical turn of mind. But she’d never experienced this kind of desire before. Each time he touched her or even looked at her, she wanted. It was just that elemental.

“I can’t wait either.” The words tumbled out of her on a ragged breath as she slipped her arms beneath his jacket and rose on her tiptoes. Finally, finally, their mouths were touching, tasting, exploring as hunger deepened into a fierce need.

The kiss was so much more than she remembered. What had happened between them during the night seemed more like a dream. This was reality. Each sensation was so intense—the hard planes and angles of body pressing her into the unyielding glass of the display window, the scrape of his teeth on her bottom lip, the heat of his hand as he slipped it beneath her jacket and ran it possessively from her waist to the side of her breast. Then he changed the angle of the kiss and she sampled again the flavor of his need. Irresistible.

Jase ran his hand down to her waist and then back up again. It seemed that he’d been waiting forever to touch her. She was driving him crazy. That had to be why he was acting this way. It wasn’t that he hadn’t lived dangerously or taken risks before. He’d made his living so far doing both. But he’d always been in control. Maddie Farrell was draining that away.

The taste of her surrender poured into him. He drew her closer until every curve of her body was molded against his. The thin material of her blouse was tempting, maddening. He wanted her out of it. Desperately.

They were standing in the middle of a busy Manhattan street. In some dim corner of his mind that hadn’t yet shut down, Jase reminded himself of that. But it was almost impossible to keep a grip on reality when the concrete sidewalk beneath his feet seemed to shift as easily as sand on a beach. He struggled to keep his balance. Shocked, he tried to strengthen the slim grip he had on his control. He should be damning himself for acting like a hormone-driven teenager. He should be damning her for driving him to this. But all he wanted was more of her.

When it finally struck him that he might not be able to stop himself from taking more, a sharp stab of fear gave him the strength to draw back. Releasing her, he took a step away. Even then he struggled, his mind battling against his emotions, and he very nearly dragged her back and kissed her again. He might have if a woman hadn’t chosen that moment to walk by them and enter the store.

Jase backed up another step. The first completely coherent thought that slipped into his mind was that he wasn’t capable of controlling this. The realization stunned him.

Maddie spoke first. “This is ridiculous.”

Jase studied her closely. There was a vulnerability in her that he hadn’t noticed before. And because he wanted badly to reach out to her, he slid his fingers into the pockets of his jeans. “That’s not exactly the word I’d choose.”

“I don’t understand what’s happening between us.”

“It’s a puzzler all right.”

“We’re on a crowded street and all I could think of was that I wanted to kiss you.”

“The feeling was mutual.”

She frowned at him then. “That only increases the problem. What we need is a solution. What are we going to do about this?”

Jase dropped his gaze to her mouth, then met her eyes again. “I think we both know the answer to that.”

She frowned at him. “I don’t like it. It’s going to interfere with everything. I have enough on my plate.”

“Me too.” The fact that the frustration in her tone was such a perfect match to his own eased what he was feeling. He managed a smile. “I guess we’ll just have to compartmentalize and work around it. And speaking of work, Eva Ware Designs has been open for a good fifteen minutes. I suggest we resume this discussion later.”

Maddie lifted her chin. “Fine. Good. We’ll keep our focus on our investigation.”

Together, they threaded their way back into the stream of pedestrians.

“I meant to tell you in the car that I have an idea about what we should do when we get to Eva Ware Designs.”

Jase glanced at her. “Don’t keep me in the dark.”

“We seem to have two goals. You’re primarily interested in figuring out who on the inside might have robbed the store. Of course, I’m interested in that too. I want to learn as much as I can about Eva, but I also want to find if there’s someone there Eva confided in.”

“Someone who might have known about you?”

Maddie nodded. “The more I think about it, the more I believe she must have confided in someone. And that someone may be able to shed some light on why Jordan and I were separated.”

Jase held his tongue. His impression of Eva Ware was that she was a very self-contained woman. He’d had some time to think in the shower earlier. As he’d turned it over in his mind, he’d become convinced that she’d had some idea of who had broken into her store from the very beginning, yet she confided in no one. Not in Jordan. Not in him. She was a private woman and she knew how to keep a secret. She’d kept a very important one for twenty-six years.

“And I want to see Eva’s appointment calendar. It might be better when we get there to separate and gather our information separately.”

It wasn’t a bad idea, Jake thought. “As long as I don’t have to let you out of my sight.”

“I have a question,” she said.

“Ask away.”

“Do you have any thoughts on why my mother asked Jordan and me to change places?”

Jase thought for a moment. “I think Jordan’s theory that she wanted the two of you to experience the life she and your father had separated you from is a strong possibility. Did the fact that you’re a talented jewelry designer play into it? Perhaps. But I also think she may have been experiencing some regret.”

“It that’s true, why didn’t she just bring us together? Why put it in her will so that our coming together would only occur after her death? Now, I’ll never get to know her.”

“I don’t know the answer to that question, Maddie. But this way she’ll never get to know you either. Her loss.”

“I’m going to get some answers.”

When they stopped at the corner, he ran a finger down one of her earrings. “By the way, I like these. For what it’s worth, your mother might have wanted you to experience Jordan’s life—but I don’t think she wanted you to stop being true to yourself.”

7

EVA WARE DESIGNS was housed in a building on the corner of Madison Avenue and 51st Street. Because her nerves had been steadily building during the last few blocks, Maddie slowed and focused her attention on the display windows. As distracting as the man beside her was, she was going to put him out of her mind and concentrate on what she’d come to New York to do—learn as much as she could about Eva and Jordan.

The white marble facade of the building framed four two-foot-square windows, two on each side of the glass-doored entrance. Each window was artfully lit and showcased a single piece of jewelry.

Bait, she thought. The minimalist approach intrigued her, especially when she recalled the more cluttered window displays in the boutiques that carried her jewelry in Santa Fe. Most of the shop owners had no acquaintance with the idea that less might be more.

Maddie moved from one window to the next, not as a delaying tactic anymore, but because she was fascinated. Her eyes widened when they spotted the solitary emerald set in a delicately woven gold band. She guessed the ring to be at least two full carats, and yet the craftsmanship of the design made it look so delicate. Eager to see more, she bypassed the entrance and walked around the corner.

“We haven’t even gone inside, and you look like a kid in a candy shop.”

She grinned at Jase. “That’s exactly how I feel.” She waved a hand at a window holding a pair of earrings, each offering a mini explosion of tiny, multicolored gems. “Putting only one piece in each window—it’s a brilliant marketing idea. It forces the viewer to focus solely on the artistry of the piece.”

“It was Jordan’s brainchild. It took her almost six months to win your mother over. Your cousin Adam fought her tooth and nail.”

The last window held a pendant, three inches square. The gold was hammered and though it was crafted on a much smaller scale, it still made her think of a breast plate that an ancient warrior might have worn into battle. Wanting to get a closer look, she barely kept herself from pressing her nose against the window. There was a diamond set in the center of the pendant and radiating out from it were four rows of turquoise stones.

Something tightened around her heart. “I didn’t know Eva worked with turquoise.”

“Sorry,” Jase said. “I don’t have much information on that. I knew about the display windows because Jordan vented about it for several months.”

Maddie pressed her fingers against the glass, wanting very much to touch the pendant. “It’s a little like some of the pieces I’ve designed—except I don’t use diamonds or gold. I’d like to know how she developed that hammering technique.”

“We should go in. That’s the kind of question your cousin Adam should be able to answer.”

Yes. She turned to look at him and saw that he was leaning against the white marble wall, regarding her steadily.

She cocked her head to the side and regarded him right back. “You’re thinking that I’m stalling. And I have to admit, my window-shopping started out that way. And then I just got caught up in out-and-out gawking. I’ve been in awe of Eva Ware’s jewelry ever since I started to dream of designing some myself.”

Straightening her shoulders, she moved past him and around the corner. “And you’ve made your point. I didn’t come here as a besotted fan. I came to get some answers.”

She pulled the front door open, then paused and shot him a look over her shoulder. “When I talk to Adam about Eva’s techniques, I can ask him other questions too.”

Before she could enter the store, Jase took her hand.

Maddie tried to tug it free and failed. “I thought we agreed to postpone our…personal situation until later.”

“Our personal situation?” Jase grinned. “Yeah, we’ll deal with that later.” Thoroughly, he thought. “This is work related. Remember my cover?”

When he leaned down to kiss her nose, Maddie froze. She was aware that two people in the store had turned to watch them—a sturdily built, well-dressed woman at one of the display cases and a very distinguished-looking man who must be the manager.

“You’re making a scene,” she breathed.

“That’s the plan. The first time I spotted you, I fell hard. Haven’t been able to think straight since. As long as we’re in the store, I’m your besotted boy toy. If everyone buys in to that, I won’t come off as any kind of a threat.”

Boy toy? That much she could see. But even with the windblown hair and wearing jeans and a blazer, it was hard for Maddie to imagine Jase Campbell not coming across as a threat.

ONCE THEY were inside the store, Jase released Maddie’s hand. Touching her in any way clouded his thoughts, and he needed a clear head. The rather flip description of the role he intended to play as her besotted admirer was a bit too close to the truth to suit his liking.

But he’d worked enough special ops and cases to know that it was sometimes essential to make use of the cards you were dealt. He kept the two occupants of the store in his peripheral vision. The man in the pin-striped gray suit and ruthlessly knotted tie was staring at Maddie now.

Jase searched his memory. Jordan had introduced him as the store manager at a party she’d dragged him to at her mother’s apartment. What was his name? Arnold? Albert? His face was tanned, his graying blond hair carefully styled, and he still reminded Jase of Sean Connery.

Arnold Bartlett. That was it. Jase noted that the portly woman who favored the kind of outfits Queen Elizabeth wore, right down to a pink pillbox hat, had turned her attention back to the display case.

Three steps in front of him Maddie twirled in a circle. A kid in a candy store didn’t quite do justice to the expression on her face. It was such a mix of wonder, excitement, pride—and jealousy?

He could understand all of those. Jewelry was a business to Jordan, but it was clearly Maddie’s passion. This was her mother’s world. What must it feel like to have been cut out of Eva’s life? To have been denied the experience of growing up beside her sister? And now, she would never have the chance to talk to Eva about it.

He thought of his relationship with his own family—his sister Darcy, his mom, his brother D.C. What would his life be like, what would he be like now if he’d been denied a relationship with them?

Maddie moved back to him. “It’s so lovely.”

Once more she let her gaze sweep the room, drinking in every detail. He’d only been in the store once before, after hours, when he’d come to check out the security system his firm had installed. He’d been impressed. The floor was white marble, the walls a creamy color broken every five feet or so with raised carvings of Greek columns. Potted plants and vases of fresh flowers were scattered throughout the room.

Even here the jewelry was displayed discreetly—just a few pieces in each of the five display cases. That too had been Jordan’s idea. Since so much of the store’s business consisted of special orders, she’d argued that the display cases as well as the windows should have the purpose of giving their customers ideas.

Scattered throughout the main salon, antique couches and chairs were grouped in conversation areas. On an intricately carved sideboard near the front of the store sat silver urns offering coffee and tea. Another sideboard offered chilled sparkling water.

Over Maddie’s shoulder, Jase saw Arnold Bartlett pick up a phone.

“I’m so out of my league,” Maddie said.

His eyes cut to Maddie’s as anger moved through him. It wasn’t directed at Maddie, but at the two people who’d put her in this situation—her parents. He grabbed her shoulders. “You’re not. You belong here every bit as much as Jordan does. You remember that.” Then he pulled her close for a quick hard kiss.

Maddie tried to keep her focus as her brain clouded and her knees went weak. He was playing a role, she reminded herself. And she had to do her part. Plus, she had to keep her mind on her goals.

A deep masculine voice said, “Ms. Farrell.”

When Maddie turned toward him, the dignified-looking man smiled and extended his hand. “Arnold Bartlett—store manager. I want to welcome you to Eva Ware Designs.”

Beaming a smile at him, Maddie shook his hand. “Thank you, Mr. Bartlett.”

“Call me Arnold. Your sister does.” He studied her for a moment. “Even though Jordan told us about you, I…The resemblance is striking. When you first walked in, I was sure you were Jordan. She sometimes wears her hair pulled back.”

Still smiling, he shot a look of polite inquiry at Jase.

Jase threw a friendly arm around Maddie and pulled her possessively close. “Jase Campbell. I’m an old pal of Jordan’s.”

“Ah, yes. But I assumed Maddie would be coming here alone.”

Jase gave Maddie a little squeeze. “Since she’s only going to be here three weeks, I just can’t bring myself to let her out of my sight. I’m sure you can understand why.”

“Yes, well…”

“Madison?”

Maddie’s gaze shifted to Adam Ware who was striding purposefully toward them.

“Adam told me to notify him the moment you arrived,” Arnold Bartlett explained. “He wants to give you a personal tour.”

Maddie stifled a surge of nerves as her cousin approached. He was even more classically handsome than she recalled. Today he wore a pale gray suit and a silk shirt and tie in varying hues of the same color. His longish chestnut-brown hair was shoved behind his ears revealing a single diamond in his right earlobe. His features were chiseled, his skin tanned and his profile might easily have graced some ancient coin.

Adam reminded Maddie a bit of the real estate agent, Daniel Pearson, who’d been so intent on getting her to let him list and sell her ranch. Both had a sheen of smooth sophistication. Adam was a bit more volatile, but she was reluctant to put her trust in either of them.

The man standing at her side with his arm around her was anything but smooth. Though if he decided to act the role of the city sophisticate, Maddie had no doubt that Jase could pull it off. Her father would have liked Jase, she suddenly realized. If for no other reason than that he seemed to be able to lie like a trouper.

When Adam reached her, he gave her a smile that didn’t succeed in reaching his eyes. That was another difference between the two men. Jase’s slow and easy smiles always reached his eyes.

“If you’ll come this way, I’ll show you to Jordan’s office.” Then he turned to Jase. “You’ll have to stay here. We don’t allow anyone but employees or family beyond the main salon.”

A little flare of anger began to build inside Maddie. Jase tightened his arm around her, and Maddie knew he was going to say something. To warn him off, she shifted her balance and pressed one of her narrow heels into his foot.

He stiffened, but he kept silent.

Maddie brightened her smile. She wasn’t going to allow herself to be intimidated. She might not have been a part of Eva’s life for the past twenty-six years, but she was here now.

“I came here for more than a tour, Adam. I’m stepping into Jordan’s shoes for the next three weeks, so you’re going to see a lot of me and Jase. And Jase will be accompanying me beyond the salon as my special guest.”

Drawing Jase with her, she strode toward the elevator she’d seen Adam step out of.

“Nicely done.” Jase spoke in a voice only she could hear.

She jabbed a finger into the call button. Once they were all in the elevator, Maddie said to Adam, “Before you take me to Jordan’s office, I want to see where Eva worked.”

Her cousin stared at her. “No one is allowed in there except members of the design team. That’s a strict rule that Aunt Eva made.”

Maddie raised her eyebrows at him. “I’m sure that Jordan has been allowed into the workroom?”

Now Adam frowned. “Occasionally, but she doesn’t work there. She’s not a designer.”

“Well, I am. And since I’m Eva Ware’s other daughter and a fellow jewelry designer, I’m certain she wanted me to visit.”

“Oh, very well.” Adam’s tone was less than gracious as he punched the button for the second floor. “Our workroom is adjacent to our office.” Once again he shot a look at Jase. “But I can’t allow your friend access to the design studio. It’s one of Aunt Eva’s hard and fast rules that outsiders are never allowed in her workroom. No one is permitted to see works in progress. She’s even kept my parents out.”

“The thing is, Eva Ware isn’t in charge here anymore,” Maddie said.

Adam’s face turned red. He opened his mouth, shut it and finally said, “Very well.”

The elevator door slid open on a small, high-ceilinged room with three offices opening off it. Desks and cabinets were partially visible through the open doorways. Oriental rugs in muted pastel shades dotted the marble floors. Sunlight poured through narrow windows. An antique cherry desk sat in the center of the room, and a young Asian girl glanced up, then rose and moved toward them. “Welcome to Eva Ware Designs. I’m Michelle Tan.”

Maddie summoned up the name from the notes Jordan had given her as she shook the hand the young woman extended. Then as the Michelle’s gaze shifted to Jase, Maddie said, “This is my friend, Jase Campbell.”

“Ah. Jordan’s roommate,” Michelle said. “She’s spoken of you.”

“I hope in a positive way,” Jase said.

Michelle smiled, but Adam interrupted before she could speak. “They’ve asked to see Aunt Eva’s workroom. We’ll be back shortly.” Then he turned and led the way down a short hall.

“You’re doing a nice job of handling your cousin, darlin’,” Jase murmured for Maddie’s ears only. “The pushier you are with him, the more easily I can fade into the background.”

“His mother isn’t here to prompt him. He seems more assertive when she is.” Then she shot him a look. “Darlin’?”

“Payback for my foot.”

The short exchange eased the nerves in Maddie’s stomach.

“When we get in the studio,” Jase continued, “I’ll distract your cousin so you can take your time.”

Adam opened the door and strode into the room. Over his shoulder, Maddie could see Cho Li, her mother’s long-time assistant, bent over something at a desk. He wore jeans and a loose-fitting chambray shirt.

“Cho, what are you doing working in Aunt Eva’s space?”

Adam’s voice had the small man swiveling in his chair.

Cho Li wore rimless glasses.

“I was finishing a design that Eva was working on,” Cho replied in a calm voice. “She would want it completed.”

For a moment the gazes of the two men clashed. In the end, it was Adam who dropped his. “You remember Madison Farrell.”

Cho rose from his chair and moved toward Maddie. When he reached her, he bowed.

Jase released Maddie’s hand as she also bowed. He knew from Jordan that Cho Li was in his midseventies, but he looked younger and his eyes were smiling. Jase quickly scanned the room. It was large, nearly twice the space of the office area where they’d left Michelle. Tall narrow windows along two walls let in plenty of light, and there were three clearly defined workspaces.

“Welcome, Ms. Farrell,” Cho Li said. “What can I do for you?”

Maddie smiled at him. “Please call me Maddie.”

He nodded his head. “Maddie then.”

“I’d love to see the design that you were completing for Eva.”

A smile spread over Cho’s face. “Come.”

When Adam started to follow them, Jase put a hand on his arm. “I wonder if I could have a word with you.”

“What about?”

Jase glanced at Maddie, then lowered his voice. “In private?” Then he drew Adam over to the far end of the room. He settled his hip against a worktable so that Adam would have to face him. “The thing is, I need some help.”

Adam’s eyes narrowed. “With what?”

Over Adam’s shoulder, Jase could see Maddie and Cho standing in front of the worktable. Cho was holding up a ring of yellow gold with a smaller ring of white gold inside it.

Jase met Adam’s eyes. “Maddie and I have only just met. Jordan and I have been pals for years, and they look so much alike. But when I met Maddie, something just clicked. You know what I mean?”

“Your relationship with Madison is of no interest to me. Now if you’ll excuse—”

Jase put a hand on Adam’s arm. “The thing is, I’d like to buy her something while we’re here. Can you help me with that?”

Adam frowned at him. “Do I look like a salesperson? If you came to purchase something, Arnold could have taken care of you in the main salon.”

Jase shrugged. “You’re one of the designers, aren’t you?”

Adam’s chin lifted. “Yes, I am. Now that Eva is gone, I’m the head designer at Eva Ware Designs.”

“And you’re Maddie’s cousin. Family’s important to her. I was thinking that one of your creations might be just the ticket. Something exclusive that hasn’t made its way downstairs yet? Do you have some pieces that I could look at?”

Adam was torn. Jase could see the struggle in his face, but in the end ego won out. He opened a drawer in his worktable, took out a thick ring of keys and led the way to a cabinet in the corner. “I can show you three of my latest creations.”

MADDIE TOUCHED the pendant of concentric gold rings that Cho had been working on when they’d entered the room. “Would you mind if I picked it up?”

“Go ahead,” Cho said.

Maddie examined it more closely. The larger ring was yellow gold and the smaller circle dangling inside it was white gold. Cho had nearly completed hammering the finish onto the larger ring.

“There’s the sketch your mother was working from.”

Maddie shifted her gaze to the corkboard that formed the walls above each workspace. There were at least a dozen sketches pinned to the wall, and it took her a moment to locate the right one. She saw that the inner circular ring was supposed to be hammered too.

She looked back at the pendant now nestled in the palm of her hand. “It’s beautiful. Just beautiful. I’ve been experimenting with a technique like this one.”

“Why don’t you try your hand on the silver?”

“Silver?” Maddie’s eyes narrowed on the inner ring. “I thought it had to be white gold.” But it wasn’t. She could see that now. “I didn’t know that Eva worked with silver.”

“She had just started.” Cho held out the small hammer. “Go ahead.”

Her fingers itched to take it. Instead, she met Cho’s eyes. “You knew her for a long time.”

He nodded. “I worked with her for a year before she opened this store.”

Maddie drew in a deep breath. “Did she ever tell you about me?”

“No. I’m sorry.”

Maddie read both sadness and understanding in Cho’s eyes. Swallowing her disappointment, she glanced back at the tool he held in his hand. “I think you’d better finish this. I’m not sure she’d want me to work on her pieces.”

“But she brought you here,” Cho said.

Maddie stared at him. He was right. Eva had brought her here with the terms of the will. She must have wanted her to be here. When Cho swiveled the chair and she felt it at the back of her knees, she sank into it.

He sat down beside her. “One thing I can tell you. I worked with her for a year before she signed the lease on this building. There were three other places she looked at, but she told me that she wanted a store on Madison Avenue. She believed it would bring her luck. It did.”

Maddie took the tool that Cho offered and turned back to the circular rings. Then, drawing in a deep breath, she hit the first stroke.

8

WHILE ADAM had waxed on and on extolling the design values of first a ring and then a bracelet, Jase had taken the time to study the room. The worktable that Cho and Maddie sat at ran nearly the length of one wall. It had two workspaces. Adam’s desk and worktable sat on the opposite wall.

Occasionally, Adam would glance over to see what Maddie was doing. Jase had used those opportunities to take a quick inventory of the sketches that nearly covered the walls. He knew from Jordan that Cho didn’t create any original jewelry, that he worked on executing and occasionally modifying Eva’s designs.

Adam’s jewelry was bolder than Eva’s, and his use of gems was more dramatic. Jase glanced down at the piece Adam had described as a tennis necklace of multicolored gems nestled between stations of etched gold. It was a stunner, and it was the only piece Adam had shown him that might suit Maddie.

“How much?” Jase asked.

“One hundred and fifty thousand.” Adam glanced over his shoulder to check on Maddie and Cho again.

Jase took advantage of his distraction to pull open a second drawer in the small chest. It held hundreds of gems separated by colors into different compartments.

“Stop that.”

It was only his lightning-fast reflexes that kept Jase’s fingers from being caught when Adam slammed the drawer shut.

“That’s a lot of bling,” Jase commented.

“Yes.” Adam held out his hand for the tennis necklace. “If that tennis necklace isn’t to your taste, Arnold has more on the main floor.”

Instead of handing it over, Jase poured the necklace from one hand into the other. “I heard there was a robbery here about a month ago. I guess they didn’t get in here.”

“No,” Adam said shortly, wiggling his fingers impatiently for the necklace. “The thieves hit the main salon.”

“I heard that what they took roughly amounted to fifty thousand less than the price of this necklace. But I suppose something like this would be harder to fence than the smaller pieces that were taken.”

Adam stiffened. “Every piece that was taken was one of a kind. It was a terrible loss.”

“Were some of your pieces stolen?”

Something flashed into Adam’s eyes. Anger, or maybe fear. “As a matter of fact, none of my pieces were stolen. If your theory is correct, the thieves might have found my designs a little too pricey. Now, if you’ll give me that necklace?”

“Actually, I like it. But it’s a little large for Maddie. Could you make one a little bit daintier with smaller stones?”

Though Jase hadn’t supposed it possible, Adam grew even stiffer and his voice rose slightly. “Absolutely not. I never alter one of my designs.”

Jase allowed a puzzled expression to fill his face. “But Jordan told me that was why so few pieces were on display in the main salon—so that customers could consult with the designer and place special orders.”

Adam snatched the necklace, placed it back in the cabinet and locked the drawer. “That’s Jordan’s strategy. Aunt Eva went along with it. I didn’t.”

“But wouldn’t you have made more money in the long run by following Jordan’s strategy?”

Adam’s chin lifted. “I’m an artist. I won’t modify my designs.”

Jase would grant Adam was creative. But if he had to choose two other words to describe Maddie and Jordan’s cousin, they would be arrogant and rebellious. The rebelliousness was something he and his aunt Eva had shared. According to Jordan, both had shunned going into the family banking business. Perhaps Eva Ware had seen a bit of herself in her nephew. But in the end, she hadn’t seen enough to leave him her business.

At the far end of the room, the first hit of a hammer sounded.

Adam whirled toward Maddie and Cho. “Wait a minute. You can’t—”

Jase gripped his arm and kept him firmly anchored in place. He pitched his voice low. “Actually, she can. You have no authority to stop her.”

Adam’s face went red with fury. But whatever he would have said was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. He glanced impatiently at the caller ID and then took the call. “Mother, I’m…No…Yes. I can explain.”

Adam glanced once more at Maddie and Cho; then with frustration radiating off him in waves, he whirled and left the room.

What exactly did Adam Ware have to explain to his mother, Jase wondered. Whatever it was, he didn’t seem happy about it. On the bright side, it had gotten Adam out of the room.

Jase shifted his attention to Maddie and Cho. Their heads were bent low over the pendant Maddie was working on, and Cho was speaking in a low murmur. They were so absorbed in their work that he doubted they were aware that Adam had just stormed out.

Satisfied, Jase moved to a far window that looked down on 51st Street. Pedestrians moved quickly along the sidewalks in steady streams interrupted only by the changing traffic lights.

Adam Ware was going to be a problem. Jase knew from Jordan that Adam was twenty-nine and he’d joined Eva Ware Designs right out of college. He’d already been working there for three years and designing his own line of jewelry when Jordan had come on board. He’d resented her presence from the beginning and complained regularly about any changes she wanted to make.

And Jordan hadn’t been a jewelry designer. How much more resentment was Adam feeling about Maddie? And just how dangerous was that temper that flared so close to the surface? Frowning, he glanced back at Maddie, saw her hold the pendant she was working on up to the light. Cho murmured something to her before she set it back on the worktable and once more picked up the small hammer.

The more Jase thought about it, the more he was convinced that Eva had stirred up a real hornet’s nest of trouble with the terms of her will. In college, Jordan had described her mother as having an acute case of tunnel vision. And while it might have interfered with her personal life and relationships, Eva’s ability to focus almost solely on her designs and business had served her career well. Jase had no doubt that the woman hadn’t considered even for a minute the problems her daughters might encounter as a result of her desire to reunite them. Toss Eva’s probable murder into the mix, and the terms of the will made a real recipe for disaster.

Jase didn’t like any of it. But part of the Adam Ware problem could be solved—temporarily at least. The best way to get Adam off Maddie’s back for a while was to distract him. And Jase had an idea of just how to do that.

Assured that Maddie and Cho were too engaged in their work to pay attention to anything he said, he turned back to the window and pressed a number into his phone.

“Campbell and Angelis Security.”

Jase recognized his brother D.C.’s voice immediately. “Holding down the fort, are you?”

“So you’ve finally risen from the dead? From the way you were talking last night, I didn’t expect to hear from you until at least midafternoon.”

“Is Dino there?”

“He’s due back momentarily. But I’m available,” D.C. said. “And bored. Answering the phone is not really my true calling.”

“I’ve got a list of names I want you to write down.” Keeping his voice low, Jase rattled off the names of everyone they’d met so far at the store. “They all work at Eva Ware Designs.”

“Sounds like you’re working on a case.”

“Yeah. It was one I agreed to before I left for South America. There was a break-in at Eva Ware’s Madison Avenue jewelry store. That’s Jordan’s mother. She was struck down by a hit-and-run driver last week. I’m playing catch up and keeping an eye on Maddie, Jordan’s sister.”

“Wait a minute. Jordan has a sister?”

It occurred to Jase then that D.C. didn’t yet know about Maddie. Hell, he’d only known about the will and Maddie’s existence himself for what? Less than twelve hours? Quickly, he gave D.C. a condensed version of what Maddie had told him and then filled him in on what he’d learned from Dave Stanton.

D.C.’s reaction was summed up in a low whistle.

“What do you need?”

Jase nearly smiled. He knew D.C. had a million questions, but for now, he’d focus on the job. “Have Dino or one of the other men get financial information on all of those names—look for the disappearance or appearance of significant sums of money from their accounts. The jewelry that was stolen from the store had a value of approximately one hundred thousand dollars. And see what else pops.”

There was a silence on the other end of the line, and Jase could picture D.C. writing everything down in the small notebook that he always carried with him. Cops, even of the military variety, always seemed to carry notebooks. There had never been much opportunity for jotting down notes on a special ops assignment, so Jase had learned to keep track of everything in his head.

He let his gaze sweep the street below. It was shortly after eleven, and pedestrian as well as vehicular traffic had picked up. He was about to turn around and check on Maddie again when he shifted his eyes back to the corner diagonally across from the store on Madison. Something had caught his attention. What?

Then he spotted her—the same matronly woman who’d been examining jewelry when he and Maddie had first entered the salon. She was wearing the same pillbox hat, the same pink suit. She stood in the recessed entranceway to a designer leather-goods store, but she wasn’t window-shopping. Instead, she seemed to be watching Eva Ware Designs.

“Earth to Jase. Are you still there?”

The woman in the pink suit chose that moment to turn and walk into the Louis Vuitton store. Jase refocused his attention. “I’m here.”

“Anything else you need?”

“Yeah.” Jase flicked a glance toward Maddie. She was chewing on her bottom lip and beginning to wield that hammer like a pro. A few strands of hair had fallen loose from the knot she’d twisted it into.

“This is a job for you and it takes priority over the research for now. I want you to call Eva Ware Designs and ask to speak with Adam Ware. Identify yourself as a freelance writer. You’re working on an article for Vanity Fair on up-and-coming jewelry designers. Ask him for an appointment ASAP.” Jase glanced at his watch. Eleven-ten. “As soon as you hang up, if possible.”

D.C. laughed. “Sounds like fun. I suppose you’re not going to tell me why.”

“Later. Just put the plan in action.”

“Dino just came in so it shouldn’t take us long. Anything I should know about this Adam Ware?”

“He has an ego the size of Australia.”

“That should work. What do they say—the bigger they are, the harder they fall? Am I stuck with your scenario or can I make up one of my own?”

Jase bit back a grin. “Going to improvise, are you?”

“When we were kids and got into scrapes, I always came up with a better story than you did.”

Jase wouldn’t admit it out loud, but it was true. Not only was D.C. inventive, but he had a real flare for playing his audience. “Just keep it believable. And while you’re creating your scenario, see if you can keep Ware busy for the next few days or weeks if possible.”

“Got it. You know the military police never get assignments like this. Maybe I ought to get out and come to work for you.”

“Anytime,” Jase said before he closed his cell. If D.C. was serious, he and his brother would have to have a talk.

Later.

Cho and Maddie were now holding up the pendant to compare it to the sketch of the design. Neither of them glanced up when he moved to Adam’s chair, sat down and propped his feet on the desk. It was his favorite position for thinking—and there were several things he needed to mull over.

At the top of the list was Maddie Farrell. Even now when he should be thinking of solving the puzzle of who’d robbed Eva’s store and then run her down, he couldn’t keep his eyes from returning to Maddie.

What he was feeling for her was growing beyond that initial chemical connection that had ignited between them. Little by little he was coming to know her as a person. She was smart, brave, certainly not afraid to try new things. Her spunk reminded him of his mother and sister. His lips curved as he thought of the game way she’d taken on the challenge of walking in Jordan’s killer shoes, then handling her cousin. And now, she was also throwing herself into the task of working on one of her mother’s designs.

As he watched, she picked up the pendant again and held it against the sketch. Though her back was to him, he knew that a little line was furrowing her brow. She’d inherited at least some of her mother’s focus. And she shared Jordan’s energy. And he’d experienced both of those qualities when they’d made love.

Just thinking about the night they’d spent together had his body hardening and desire moving through him with rusty claws. It wasn’t just that he wanted to make love to her again. He had to. He needed to taste her again, touch her, to thrust into her when she knew it was him and not some dream lover.

The only question was, how long could he wait?

IT WAS two hours later when Jase and Maddie walked out of the work studio. Adam had checked on them once early on. Other than giving Maddie and Cho a frustrated look, he’d done nothing to interrupt them before leaving. “That was quite a design you finished.”

“Thanks,” Maddie said. “How did you manage to keep Adam distracted for so long?”

“Charm.”

Maddie snorted. “I didn’t think your brand would work on him.”

“Piece of cake. All I had to do was ooh and ahh over his designs. And then he got a phone call from his mother and left.”

“My impression is that she rides him pretty hard.”

“He certainly didn’t look like a happy camper when he got the call. What did you learn from Cho?”

She drew in a deep breath and let it out. “That my mother wanted me here.”

Jase stopped dead in his tracks and turned to her. “That’s the first time you’ve referred to Eva as your mother.”

“I know.”

“Did Eva tell Cho she wanted you here? Did he know about you?”

“No. Cho says Eva never mentioned me. He never knew that Jordan had a sister until I was invited for the reading of the will. But Cho said the will proves that my mother wanted me here. I hadn’t thought about it quite that way before.”

“He’s right.”

“I still have questions, hundreds of them, but it helps to look at the will that way—as proof that she really wanted me here. That she wanted to unite Jordan and me. Cho also told me that she specifically wanted a store on Madison Avenue because she believed it would bring her luck. Am I foolish to think that means she was thinking of me?”

Jase raised their joined hands to his lips and kissed her fingers. “No, it’s not foolish at all. You’ve had a good day, Maddie Farrell.”

“Yes. The next thing I’m going to do is to ask Michelle about my mother’s appointment calendar.”

But when they stepped into the office area, Michelle was on the phone and Dino Angelis was filming her with the video camera he had resting on his shoulder. Jase realized that when D.C. had promised fast action, he’d obviously meant it. Through the open doorway to one of the offices, Jase spotted Adam sitting behind his desk. Facing Jordan’s cousin, with a cane hooked over the arm of his chair, was D.C. Adam seemed to be hanging on his every word. Jase wondered if the cane was a prop or if D.C. needed it for that leg injury he’d mentioned. The latter, he bet. He made a mental note to stop by the office later in the afternoon.

Putting down her phone, Michelle waved them over, and Dino moved toward the door to Adam’s office.

“What’s going on?” Maddie asked.

Michelle leaned closer and though her voice was pitched low, there was a thread of excitement running through it. “Those two men came to talk to Mr. Ware. The one with the cane is Mr. Duncan Dunleavy. He’s producing a new reality TV show about artists in the city. They want to feature Mr. Ware on it. They’ve already taken some footage of him downstairs in the main salon.”

“Wow,” Jase said.

Maddie shot him a look, then turned back to Michelle. “And they just showed up out of the blue?”

“Oh, no. They phoned first, but they were in the area, and Mr. Ware told them to come right over. And he told me to send them right in when they arrived even though he was still talking with his mother.”

“Dorothy Ware was here?” Maddie asked.

“She still is.” Michelle put her fingers to her temples. “I was supposed to fetch you from the workroom, but I forgot. Then we all got distracted by the filming. Mrs. Ware too. She had a lot of questions for Mr. Dunleavy. She’s waiting in Jordan’s office to talk to you.”

Maddie’s nerves began to jitter the moment that she entered Jordan’s office and saw Dorothy Ware sitting ramrod-straight in one of the chairs. The older woman was wearing a linen suit in raspberry red, a pair of black patent-leather pumps and her hands were resting over a designer clutch bag on her lap. It was ridiculous to be intimidated just because she looked as if she’d just come from a cover shoot for Vogue magazine.

Reminding herself of the things that Cho had told her and of how she’d felt when she’d been working on the pendant her mother had designed, Maddie circled around Jordan’s desk, sat down in the chair, and folded her hands in front of her. “What can I do for you, Mrs. Ware?”

“I’m here because I want to know what your plans are for my son. He doesn’t seem to have the capability or the ambition to ask that question himself. If he’s not marked for success here, his father can always find a place for him at Ware Bank.”

The cool detached way Dorothy Ware was speaking about her son and his future sent a little chill through Maddie. “From what I’ve seen, Adam is a talented designer and he’s been very successful here.”

“Not successful enough for my sister-in-law to leave him the business. And when I called him a few hours ago, he felt threatened. I had to cancel a very important meeting to come over here. Carleton and I are chairing a fashion show to benefit a new children’s cancer wing at Mount Sinai Hospital.” She glanced at her watch. “I’m due back there right now. So I’d like to clarify this matter once and for all.”

What matter? Maddie wondered. “Adam didn’t look threatened when I last saw him. In fact, he appeared to be excited and very engaged with the man in his office.”

“Yes. Adam introduced me. Mr. Dunleavy wants to feature Adam in a TV show.” Dorothy raised a well-manicured nail and pointed it at Maddie. “That ought to give you some idea of how valuable Adam is to Eva Ware Designs. Eva depended on his genius.”

“I know how valuable Adam is.”

Dorothy met Maddie’s eyes steadily. “He believes that you intend to take over as head designer and push him out.”

Maddie drew in a deep breath. “I don’t know where Adam got that idea. For the next three weeks all I intend to do is fulfill the terms of my mother’s will.”

“I understood that you were to merely step into your sister’s shoes and do her job. Jordan doesn’t work in the design part of the business.”

Maddie raised her chin. “Well, I do. And I intend to work with Cho Li to bring the sketches my mother left to fruition. However, I have no intention of getting rid of Adam or pushing him out. From what I’ve seen he’s a brilliant designer. I assure you his job is secure.”

There was a beat of silence, then Dorothy Ware rose from her chair. “Thank you. If Adam was able to speak for himself, I wouldn’t have had to waste my time with a trip over here.”

Maddie managed to suppress a shiver until Dorothy Ware had swept out of the room and Jase had closed the door. “Is it my imagination or did the temperature in the room just warm up a few degrees?”

“She’s a cold one,” Jase murmured. “I wonder if Adam ever pleases her.”

“We’re not seeing any of them under the best conditions. The terms of the will must have thrown everyone in the family a curve ball.” She turned to him then and gave him a speculative look. “Speaking of curve balls, Adam seems to be completely caught up in this reality-TV thing. Did you have something to do with it?”

Jase smiled slowly. “You’re a sharp one, Maddie Farrell. What tipped you off that I had something to do with it?”

“The timing. It was very convenient. Do they work for you?”

“Duncan Dunleavy is my younger brother, D.C. And the man toting the video camera is my partner, Dino Angelis. I phoned and asked D.C. to come up with a distraction while you were working with Cho.”

“It’s not going to be pretty when Adam finds out it’s all a hoax.”

“No worries,” Jase assured her. “When the time comes, D.C. will have a plausible exit strategy. It won’t come back to bite you. And it may give Adam the time he needs to stop feeling so paranoid.”

Maddie rose, walked to him. Then, rising on her toes, she kissed him lightly. “Thanks.”

Jase found it took some effort not to grab her and deepen the kiss. Later, he promised himself. Then he wondered how much longer he could wait.

MADDIE SANK onto one of the luxuriously upholstered couches in the ladies’ room. With D.C. and Jase’s partner filming, the only way Maddie could get Michelle alone was to bring her here. The restroom was a true lounge. In addition to three stalls as well as a double sink, there was a comfortably furnished outer sitting area. A mirrored wall allowed ample room for retouching makeup, and Michelle was making good use of it. Maddie made a mental note to use some tomorrow. In Santa Fe, she rarely bothered with anything more than a moisturizing sunscreen and a touch of lipstick.

When Michelle finally turned, Maddie said, “Before we go back out there, would you mind if I asked you a question?”

“Anything. I can’t imagine how difficult this must be for you, and Adam is being so rude.”

“Does that surprise you?”

Michelle shook her head. “No. He’s very absorbed in his work. In himself. But he doesn’t treat Jordan the way he’s treating you. Maybe it’s because you design jewelry and he sees that as a threat to his position here at Eva Ware Designs.” Michelle glanced at her watch. “I’d better get back. I’m not supposed to be away from my desk for long.”

“Just one question,” Maddie said. “I’m assuming that Eva kept some sort of appointment calendar?”

“She had a Palm Pilot.”

“I’d like to see it. I don’t want anything important to slip through the cracks while I’m here.”

Michelle grimaced. “The Palm Pilot should be in her desk drawer—top right. That’s where I put it each time I updated it from her desktop. But she never really got the hang of it. She always used one of those old-fashioned leather-bound books with a ribbon to mark the current page.”

Something tightened around Maddie’s heart. She reached into her tote and pulled out her own day planner. “Was it like this?”

Michelle’s eyes widened. “Just like it.”

“Do you know where I could find Eva’s?”

“That’s yours?”

Maddie nodded.

Michelle thought for a moment. “Eva always took it home with her at night. I imagine it would have been with her…effects. Jordan might have a better idea.”

As she followed Michelle out of the room, Maddie reminded herself that she needed to talk to her sister.

LEANING AGAINST a doorjamb, Jase watched the two women walk out of the restroom. A ringing phone had Michelle rushing for her desk.

It was only as Maddie drew close that he noticed how tired she looked. Little wonder with the emotional roller-coaster ride she’d been on all morning. There were dark smudges under her eyes. He reached out and rubbed a thumb over one of them. “Tough day.”

“But I’m making progress. I just learned that my mother kept an appointment calendar in a book very similar to mine.”

Jase tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. “Like mother, like daughter.”

She swallowed. “Maybe. I’m still getting used to thinking about her as my mother. And every time I do, I can’t help but wish I could have met her, talked to her. Had a chance to work at her side.”

Jase traced a finger along her cheek. “I know.” He experienced a sudden urge to take her away and give her a break. Give them both a break.

Behind them, the phone rang again, and Michelle said, “Eva Ware Designs.”

Maddie glanced around. “Where’s Adam?”

“They’re in the work studio. D.C. wanted to get some footage of the designer at work. The reality-TV gig should keep Adam out of your hair for a while.”

“Jordan?” The excitement in Michelle’s voice had them both looking at her.

“Yes. Yes, she’s right here.” Turning to Maddie, Michelle continued, “It’s your sister. Why don’t you take it in her office?”

Maddie hurried into the room and picked up the phone.

Closing the door, Jase said, “Put it on speaker.”

Jordan’s voice filled the room. “Maddie, something terrible has happened. Are you alone?”

“No,” Maddie said. “Jase is here. I’ve put the phone on speaker so he can hear.”

“Jase is back?”

“I’m right here, Jordan. We’re in your office. What’s happened?”

“It’s Maddie’s design…” Jordan’s voice broke, and suddenly there was a man speaking on the other end of the line.

“Maddie, this is Cash.”

The cowboy, Jase thought as he stepped closer to the desk. “Jordan never cries,” he muttered to Maddie. He raised his voice. “Is Jordan all right?”

“She’s fine. Who are you?”

“Jase Campbell.”

“Jordan said you were in South America.”

“Maddie said you were out on a cattle drive.”

“I’m back.”

Maddie stared at Jase. Not only had he tensed up, but he’d used a more polite tone with Adam.

“Is Maddie all right?” Cash asked.

Maddie shifted her gaze to the phone. There was an edge to Cash’s voice too. “I’m fine. Put Jordan back on—or better still, push the speakerphone button.”

“Maddie?” Jordan’s voice was stronger now. “I don’t want you to worry. I can get it all fixed while I’m here. As far as we can tell, nothing was stolen. I wasn’t even going to tell you about it, but Cash said I had to.”

“Tell me about what?”

“Your design studio. Someone broke into it and…destroyed everything.”

Maddie felt Jase’s hand close around hers, and she gripped it hard. “But you’re all right?”

“She’s fine,” Cash said. “She told me about this will her mother left. I was thinking that perhaps someone vandalized the place to upset you enough to have you flying back here. Or perhaps to scare Jordan so she would leave. So stay right where you are, Maddie. I’m going to stick close to Jordan for the next three weeks. We’ll hire Mitch Cramer to repair the damage. And I’ll get one of my men to stand guard.”

“Cash, you insisted Jordan tell us because you’re afraid that something similar might occur on this end too?” asked Jase.

“Something like that.”

“Good thinking.”

Maddie studied Jase. The tension she’d sensed in him earlier had faded.

“You should stick close to Maddie,” Cash said.

Jase squeezed Maddie’s hand. “I intend to. We’ve got some bad news on this end too.”

“What? Has something happened at the store?” Jordan asked.

“Everything’s fine at the store except that Adam isn’t happy that Maddie’s here.”

“Surprise, surprise,” Jordan said in a dry tone.

Maddie exchanged a look with Jase and saw the quick flash of humor in his eyes. She might not have known her sister for very long, but she sounded more like Jordan now than she had when she’d first called.

“It’s not good news,” Jase warned. “You might want to sit down.”

“I’m fine standing.”

Maddie kept her fingers laced with Jase’s as he told Cash and Jordan about the investigation into her mother’s death.

“It wasn’t an accident.” Jordan’s voice was steady, and since it wasn’t a question, Maddie and Jase remained silent. “The police are investigating a homicide.”

“A possible homicide,” Jase corrected. “I have a hunch the hit-and-run is connected to the break-in and robbery at the store. Your mother and I both suspected that it was an inside job.”

“She never mentioned that to me.”

“I don’t think Eva wanted anyone to know.”

“Who in the store would do something like that?” Jordan asked.

“That’s the million-dollar question. Any ideas?”

“No,” she replied.

“She hired me to look into it, and I told her I could put someone on it while I was in South America. She refused the offer. She insisted I handle it personally. Hindsight is twenty-twenty. I think she had some idea of who the thief was.”

“Then she definitely would have followed up on that,” Jordan said. “Eva Ware Designs was her baby. If she was right and someone on the inside had robbed the store, she would have wanted to avoid scandal at all costs. I wouldn’t have agreed. That’s probably why she never mentioned it to me. Maybe I should fly back.”

“No.” Cash, Jase and Maddie spoke in unison.

For a moment there was silence. Then Maddie said, “Remember why we agreed to change places, Jordan. I’ve only just seen the store and Eva’s workplace, but you don’t want her work and her legacy to die. I don’t want that either. And you haven’t had a chance yet to explore the ranch.”

“Okay. Okay, you’re right,” Jordan agreed.

“And I’m working with Jase,” Maddie continued. “We’re going to find out who did this.”

“What can I do to help?” Jordan asked.

Maddie was relieved to hear that her sister’s voice was calmer. “Eva’s appointment calendar—the leather-bound volume—we’re trying to locate it.”

“That old thing. Even with Michelle’s help, I couldn’t drag her into the twenty-first century.”

“Where is it?” Maddie asked. “Michelle said she took it home every night. Do you know where we could find it?”

“She always put it in her tote bag.” There was a pause at the other end of the line. “When I picked up her stuff at the morgue, I couldn’t bear to bring any of it back to my apartment. So I dropped the box off at hers. You’ll find everything in the front hall closet. Why do you want it?”

“If she confronted whoever it was she suspected, she may have noted it in her calendar. It’s the kind of thing that I would do.”

“If you’re right that someone at Eva Ware Designs murdered Eva, and he or she discovers that you’re looking into it, you could both be in mortal danger,” Cash commented.

“Yeah,” Jase said.

There was a knock on the door.

“Just a minute,” Jase called out. Then he said, “We’ve got to go.”

“You take care of Maddie,” Cash said.

“You got it,” Jase said. “Same goes for Jordan.”

“Got it covered.”

As the connection went dead, Jase said, “I like your Cash Landry.”

Maddie raised an eyebrow at him. “Good to know that he has your stamp of approval. I like him too. He’s been like a brother to me. And he’ll take good care of Jordan. It’s thanks to his careful instruction that I was able to knock you on your ass this morning.”

Jase grinned at her and slung a friendly arm around her shoulder. “I don’t think he has the same ‘brotherly’ feelings toward your sister. And she’s such a city girl.”

Maddie was still trying to absorb Jase’s implication when the knock sounded at the door again.

“Yes?” Jase said.

Michelle popped her head in. “I’m about to order in for lunch. Would you like me to get something for you?”

Before Maddie could answer, Jase said, “Nah. I’m going to take Maddie out for lunch. I think she needs a break.”

9

JASE’S IDEA of a “break” was an impromptu picnic in Central Park. Maddie was delighted. The morning had been intense and so much had happened, her mind was still whirling with it. They’d used the 60th Street entrance, and the first thing that had caught her eye was the long line of tourists waiting for a horse-and-buggy tour.

“Don’t even think about taking a carriage ride,” Jase said.

“I wasn’t.”

“Liar. I can tell by the way you’re looking at those horses. If you want, we can come back tonight when the traffic is lighter. In the meantime, you need something besides chocolate chip cookies to sustain you.” He waved a hand at the array of vendors hawking their wares. “What are you adventurous enough to try?”

She met his eyes. “Surprise me.”

“Do you have objections to onions?”

“Not as long as you eat them too.”

With a laugh, he leaned down and kissed her. It was brief, friendly, and it shouldn’t have made her knees melt. Still, she couldn’t trust her legs to carry her, so Maddie stood where she was and watched Jase join a long line at a hot-dog stand. Even at a distance, she could feel the strong, steady pull he had on her senses.

And on her.

What had happened in his bed had connected them in a way that she’d never before experienced with a man. And over and above the strength of the chemistry that existed between them, she was beginning to know him as a person.

He’d made his way to the head of the line, and as she watched, he leaned against the cart and said something to the man behind it that had the vendor suddenly grinning. Beneath that easygoing, laid-back persona he projected lurked so many other qualities. She’d glimpsed the hint of recklessness in his eyes and there’d been a no-nonsense toughness in the way he’d initially handled Cash on the phone. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Jase could be ruthless when he wanted to. But she’d also been on the receiving end of his kindness. She thought of the way he’d searched the kitchen for Jordan’s stash of cookies, the way he’d hailed a taxi to save her from having to walk over twenty blocks in Jordan’s killer shoes, and of the creative way he’d gotten Adam Ware off her back for the time being.

Her stomach did a little flip. And it wasn’t merely from hunger. Being involved with Jase Campbell had the potential to be the biggest mistake she’d ever made in her life. But she’d gone way past the point of being able to draw on reason and logic. There’d be a price to pay when she had to go back to Santa Fe, but that was not going to stop her from making the most of the time she had with Jase.

But for now, she was going to stop staring at him like a gawking teenager. Turning, she found a space to sit on a nearby bench and eased her feet out of Jordan’s super-stylish shoes.

Glancing down, Maddie saw that her toes had turned red where the shoes had put pressure on them. She was beginning to think that the only way that the Sex and the City women had managed to survive their fabulous footwear was to walk in the shoes only while on camera.

Then pushing the thought of her aching feet away, she simply tried to drink in everything around her. Though she’d seen plenty of pictures of Central Park on TV and in the movies, none of it had accurately captured the experience of being here.

A wide range of sensations bombarded her—from the familiar aroma of horses and leather to the more foreign smells of exhaust fumes and sunbaked pavement. Layered through those were the scents of food—onions, pizza—and humanity.

The sun beat down and moist heat bounced up from the cement sidewalks. Flowers bloomed everywhere, spilling out of pots and neatly bordering the walkway. Others grew among the rocks and boulders.

But it was the people who fascinated her. Throngs of them passed by pushing strollers, riding bikes, clicking cameras. There was such a variety of voices, accents and foreign languages. She recognized Spanish easily but was hard-pressed to identify most of the others.

And there were so many different types, ages and sizes—from teenagers racing around in skimpy halter tops to elderly couples walking at a more leisurely pace. A dignified-looking older man using a motorized wheelchair caught her attention. A portly woman in a pink suit hurried by him carrying two large shopping bags. Maddie had to look twice, but she was sure it was the same woman she’d seen in Eva Ware Designs when they’d first entered the main salon. It seemed to her that perhaps half the population of New York had chosen to take a lunch break in the park.

“C’mon, we have to find a picnic spot.” Jase reached for her hand.

She glanced down at the shoes. “Can’t we eat here?”

Leaning down, he scooped the high heels up and handed them to her. Then he urged her off the path onto the grass. It felt cool and soothing beneath her feet.

“Barefoot in the Park. There’s an old Neil Simon movie by that title,” he remarked as he led her further away from the footpath.

“Starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford when they were in their twenties. You know that film?”

“Jordan has a copy of it. She’s a real movie buff. One of her favorite ways to relax is watching old films.”

“I used to watch movies all the time with my dad. He has an amazing collection. Some of them are really old—The Thin Man and some Charlie Chan movies.”

“You’ll have to look through Jordan’s collection. How about here?” Jase asked.

“Great.” He’d chosen a circular stretch of grass at the foot of a hillside banked with large boulders. A line of trees branched off on either side providing plenty of shade, and a soft breeze offered respite from the heat. Maddie glanced over her shoulder. The footpath was still visible, but it was a couple hundred yards away and the sounds were muted.

Jase settled himself cross-legged on the grass, and after hitching up her skirt, she joined him.

“Sorry there’s no picnic blanket.” He dug into the bag and handed her a hot dog and a bottled water.

“I’ll complain later when I see the grass stains. Right now I’m too hungry to care.” She turned her attention to the hot dog. The spicy aroma of onions and chili had her stomach growling.

“I ordered it loaded,” Jase explained.

She licked mustard off her thumb, then bit into the hot dog. The explosion of flavors on her tongue had her closing her eyes and sighing. “It’s great. I can even taste some of the flavors of Santa Fe.”

“It’s the chili,” Jase said around a mouthful. “Although I like mine hotter.”

“So that it cauterizes your throat.”

“Exactly.”

“Me too.”

The second time she paused to lick condiments off her fingers, Jase dug in the bag and produced napkins.

For a few moments they ate in silence, except for the muted sounds from the footpath. And farther away, she could hear the sounds of New York City traffic—the horns, the revved motors. But here in this spot, the buzzing of bees was louder.

She’d eaten nearly the whole hot dog when she set it carefully on a bed of napkins and opened her water bottle. As she swallowed the cold liquid her thoughts slipped back to the four-way conversation they’d had with Cash and Jordan.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Jase said.

She met his eyes. “Ever since I got that phone call from Mr. Fitzwalter, my mind has been filled with questions.”

Jase used one of the napkins to wipe his mouth. “Maybe I can help. Ask away.”

Maddie hesitated. She didn’t want to return yet to the questions that had been plaguing her about her parents’ separation, about Eva, about Eva’s death. Not when the sun was shining so brightly and they’d found a little oasis of seclusion in the teeming city. So she asked, “Tell me about your family.”

His eyebrows rose. “I’ll bet that’s not the question at the top of your list.”

“Maybe not.” She smiled as she stretched out her legs and leaned back on her hands. “But I asked it. I already know you have a brother.”

Jase gathered up their trash and put it in the empty bag. “D.C., aka Duncan Dunleavy, is a captain in the army’s military police. He’s served two tours of duty in Iraq, and he’s currently on leave because of a leg injury. Last night when I landed at LaGuardia, I called my office and he picked up the phone. He visited my mother and sister in Baltimore for a while and then a couple of days ago he decided to drop in on me.”

“But you were out of the country.”

Jase nodded. “He decided until I got back that he’d work at my office. My partner being the smart man that he is took D.C. up on the offer. My brother likes to keep busy. You might have a chance to meet him in person later today—depending on how long his charade runs with Adam.”

“And the rest of your family?”

“My father was a career military man in the marines. Nineteen years ago, when he was just a year short of early retirement, he was killed by friendly fire.”

“I’m so sorry, Jase.”

“It was a long time ago. D.C. and I were nine and ten, and we were very close to him, which is probably why we both ended up joining a branch of the military. Then there’s my mother, who’s a high-school principal in Baltimore.” He smiled. “You’d like her. She’s a petite woman—but tough. She takes no prisoners. And there’s my sister Darcy who’s still in college. She’s not sure yet what she wants to be when she grows up. Currently she’s torn between law school and joining the staff of our congresswoman. D.C. and I don’t want her going into the army or the navy, so we’re bad-mouthing lawyers and politicians.”

Maddie’s eyes widened. “Why?”

“We learned when she was two that anytime we offer advice, she does the exact opposite.”

She laughed, and he joined her. The way he described his family, she could almost picture them.

“I’ve got a cousin too. Sloan Campbell. He trains horses out in the San Diego area. His father and mine were stepbrothers. I haven’t seen him in years.”

She tilted her head to one side. “How did you end up in the security business?”

Jase’s eyes grew more serious. “I guess one answer is that my father’s dream was to open his own private-investigation firm once he got out of the army. I always thought that one day D.C. and I might join him—a sort of family business. That’s why I went to Wharton and majored in business. But I also got into security and investigation because I like solving puzzles.”

“Puzzles?”

“It was the same thing that drew me to special ops in the navy. Oh, I liked the action and adventure, the adrenaline highs, but it was coming up with a plan that I liked best. There’d always be this goal, and I’d enjoy coming up with more than one way to get to it. Because a good op always needs back-up plans.”

Maddie studied him for a moment. The man had a natural bent for making light of things—even serious issues. But there was something more serious in his eyes when he talked about his work. “It sounds a bit like designing jewelry. I get a vision of the finished product in my head, and then I have to figure out a way to get there.”

“It’s a lot like that.” Jase reached out and took her hand. “Now, why don’t you ask me the question that put that frown on your face when you were eating?”

Maddie sighed. It helped that Jase had taken her hand. It was a question that had been nagging at her ever since she’d started to get to know her sister. “What can you tell me about Jordan’s relationship with Eva?”

“Jordan never talked much about it, but I sensed it wasn’t as close as she may have wanted it to be.”

“Why not?”

“Eva was a very self-contained woman, very focused on her art. Jordan never put it into words, but I think your sister believed that if she had inherited her mother’s talent for designing jewelry, she and Eva would have been closer.”

Something tightened around Maddie’s heart. “Do you think that’s true?”

Jase shook his head. “I think Eva distanced herself from everyone because the most important thing to her was her art and Eva Ware Designs. Your sister called it tunnel vision. That’s why Jordan’s description of how your mother might have wanted to handle the robbery rings so true to me. I should have anticipated that Eva would have wanted to keep it quiet and minimize the scandal.”

Releasing Maddie’s hand, he rolled to his feet and paced to the boulder. “That’s why she came to me instead of going to the police. I should have pressed harder to convince her to let my partner Dino work on it. But I was scheduled to leave the next morning and I was thinking about the three hostages they were holding.” He whirled to face her. “I’m betting Jordan’s right and Eva did some investigating on her own.”

Maddie got up off the ground and moved to him. “You believe she figured out who broke into the store.”

“Yes. And I’m betting it was someone we met today.”

The faces ran through Maddie’s mind on a little video loop—Arnold Bartlett, Cho, Michelle Tan, Adam. She didn’t want it to be any of them.

“If I hadn’t taken that case in South America, if I’d just been here…”

Maddie lifted her hands to his face. “The father and the son you helped rescue might be dead. It won’t do any good to blame yourself for Eva’s death. We’ve got to concentrate on solving the puzzle. Who ran Eva down and why?”

AT HER TOUCH, Jase felt his temper and frustration with himself ease. “You’re right. And we should get on it.”

“So what’s the plan? I was thinking before we go back to the office, we should go to Eva’s apartment and find the appointment calendar. I’m sure it will tell us something.”

He took her wrist in his hand intending to guide her out, but then he felt her pulse speed instantly at his touch and it drew an immediate response from him. They had places to go, people to see. But what he felt when he looked into her eyes had him backing into the boulder and drawing her closer.

“Jase?”

It wasn’t objection he heard in her tone. It was invitation. That alone had fire moving through his veins and whatever good intentions he had went up in the smoke. He’d promised himself that he could wait until they went back to the apartment.

But wasn’t this why he’d brought her here to this out-of-the-way spot?

He drew her closer until her body was pressed fully against his. Then, wondering if he’d had any choice at all, he murmured, “Maddie,” and touched his lips to hers.

If she had protested in any way, made a sound, put those hands on his chest to push him away, he might have been able to keep it short, quick and simple as he had earlier when he’d kissed her in the office. But her mouth went from cool to hot in an instant, burning with an urgency that mirrored his. Her arms went around his neck, she threaded her fingers through his hair and pressed herself close to him, pushing him harder into the granite boulder.

He simply had to devour her. He ran one hand down her back to her hip and splayed his fingers, drawing her closer. Her body was so strong, so soft, so supple. Just as he remembered. And those sounds she made in her throat. It seemed he’d waited forever to hear them again. He ran a greedy hand over her. More heat surged through him, incredibly, impossibly.

Suddenly frantic, he grabbed her hair, drawing her head back so that he could plunder the sweet, moist recesses of her mouth. Then, murmuring her name, he spun her around and rammed her against the granite boulder. In some part of his mind that was still functioning, he knew that he should draw her around to the other side of the rock where they would have more privacy. Then he could have her. He was skilled enough, she aroused enough. It would be crazy, wild. Wonderful.

He could raise her skirt and sink into her, lose himself in her the way he had during the night. He spun her again, moving her closer to the other side of the boulder. The second time he turned her, he felt a chip of rock sting his face.

There was only one thing Jase knew of that could dislodge a piece of granite like that. A bullet.

While his mind rocketed to full alert, his body operated on instinct, pushing Maddie behind the outcrop of rock and shoving her down.

He heard her suck in air. “What?”

“Shh.” He clamped his hand over her mouth and listened hard.

Nothing.

He glanced down at Maddie. Her face had gone white, and her eyes held both questions and fear.

He lifted his hand from her mouth and shifted his weight a bit so she could breathe.

She touched his cheek. “You’re hurt. What happened?”

“Someone shot at us.”

“I didn’t hear—”

“They used a silencer.”

“And they hit you?”

“No.” Relieved that she wasn’t going into shock, he continued, “The bullet dislodged a piece of granite.”

“Who?”

“It’s a pro,” he said, thinking aloud. “He may think we ducked behind here to make love.” Jase figured that thanks to him their actions had pointed in that direction.

“In that case, he’ll wait us out,” Jase mused. “But if the shooter doesn’t buy into that idea, it’s not going to be long before he circles through the trees to come at us from the other side to finish the job. That’s what I’d do.”

Maddie’s lip trembled, but her eyes stayed clear and focused on his. “What are we going to do?”

Jase wriggled out of his blazer, took his gun out of its holster and stuffed it in the back waistband of his jeans. “I’m going to see if we can sell him on the fact that we’re back here having at each other. And you’re going to stay put.”

Rolling off her, he crumpled up his jacket and lobbed it so that half of it fell just beyond the edge of the boulder. Hopefully, it would lie well within the sight line of the shooter.

“Now, give me yours.”

Maddie levered herself up and tugged off her jacket.

Jase took it and tossed it a little to the left of his blazer.

“Now what?” Maddie asked.

Jase’s eyes shot to her face. Her lips weren’t trembling anymore. The trace of fear was still in her eyes, but so was a gleam of determination. She was game for anything. He took her chin in his hand and kissed her quickly. Then he took his cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. “You’re going to dial 911, fill the operator in and describe our location. We’re about half a mile into the park off the 60th Street entrance. Then cross your fingers and pray that the shooter thinks we’re back here having a good time.”

She moistened her lips. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to use the rocks for cover, crawl into the trees and circle behind him.”

“No.” She grabbed a fistful of his T-shirt. “You stay here too until the police arrive.”

“He’s a pro, Maddie. He might not have waited to see me toss our clothes. He could already be heading this way to fulfill his contract.”

“Then it’s too dangerous.”

He gripped her shoulders and let his eyes go hard. “You have to trust me. I’ve done this kind of thing before. Besides, it could be more dangerous if I stay here. We could both end up dead.”

He waited until he saw acceptance in her eyes, and then he crawled away.

WITH TREMBLING HANDS, Maddie set the cell phone on the ground beside her. The police were on their way. Talking to the 911 operator and focusing on describing their location had distracted her. But she’d lost track of the time. Plus the adrenaline that had flooded her system when Jase had told her they’d been shot at had faded.

Only the fear was left. She was still looking at the spot where Jase had crawled into the trees. How long ago had that been?

Too long.

As fear raged through her, images and snatches of what he’d said to her before he left drifted back into her mind. She pictured the way he’d handled his gun before he’d stuffed it into the waistband of his jeans. He was a pro too, she reminded herself.

You have to trust me, he’d said. I’ve done this kind of thing before.

And he had, she lectured herself. He’d worked special ops.

He’d be all right. He had to be. But why wasn’t he back? Why hadn’t the police arrived yet?

Fisting her hands at her sides, Maddie listened hard. But all she heard was the distant traffic and the muted sounds of park visitors as they passed by on the footpath below. No sirens. No gunshots.

A sudden thought occurred to her. The man who’d shot at them had used a silencer. He could have already killed Jase without making a noise.

Then she heard the shots. One. Two. Three.

Without another thought, she shifted onto her hands and knees and began to crawl toward the trees just as she’d seen Jase do.

10

JASE HAD KEPT crawling for a good hundred feet before he’d gotten up. As long as he’d been on hands and knees, he’d been able to keep the sounds of his progress to a minimum. Once he had started to run in a zig-zag pattern through the trees, there was a good chance the shooter could hear him.

The upside of that was that it would take the hit man’s attention away from Maddie. The downside was that it increased Jase’s chances of getting shot. He hadn’t let himself think about that. When he thought he’d covered enough distance, Jase took cover behind a thick tree trunk and listened hard.

Nothing. Even the birds and squirrels had been silenced by all the noise he’d made. While he listened and caught his breath, he focused on the grid he’d imagined of an equilateral triangle. The boulder where he’d left Maddie and the shooter’s position lay at opposite ends of its base and the point of the triangle was about a hundred yards into the trees just where he was now.

Initially, the woods had been cool, but there was no breeze. Sweat trickled down his back. When a bird returned to a tree overhead and began to sing, Jase began to make his way slowly and carefully toward the point of the triangle where he’d figured the shooter had positioned himself.

Of course, nothing was certain. The man could be long gone by now. But Jase didn’t think so. He’d always figured that being a hired assassin required almost unlimited patience. And he was betting that the shooter had decided to wait Maddie and him out. After all, how long did it take for a little lunchtime quickie in Central Park?

When Jase figured he was nearly where he wanted to be, the hair on the back of his neck stood up and a coolness settled over his mind. He slipped behind the nearest tree. Though his instincts weren’t as sharp as his partner Dino Angelis’s were, he trusted them.

He waited. The shooter wasn’t the only one who could be patient. One minute stretched into two and then five. As each one passed, Jase became more certain that his opponent was nearby.

The intermittent soft breezes he felt told him that he was close to the treeline. The shooter had to be somewhere in that direction. Very carefully, he edged his head out enough to scan the trees.

He saw nothing. And if he’d given his position away, some bark would be flying off the tree. Jase glanced at his watch. If Maddie had followed his instructions, the police should be here very soon. There’d be sirens. Once warned, the shooter would take off.

Should he wait? Jase pondered that for a couple of seconds. Nah, he decided. Squatting very carefully, he picked up a small rock, then straightened and tossed it to his left.

The moment Jase heard the thud, he poked his head out again and scanned the area. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw bark fly. He figured he had about five seconds to spot the shooter while his attention was focused on the place where the rock had fallen.

But there was no one. It was only after he’d pulled his head back out of sight that he realized he’d seen something in his peripheral vision—a black canvas bag at the base of a tree about ten feet away. He was betting his shooter was in that tree.

Drawing his gun, he clasped it in both hands, drew it up, and risked another quick look. He spotted the man on a branch about fifty feet off the ground. He wore all black. A bullet thudded into the tree inches away from his face. Operating on instinct, Jase threw himself to the ground, rolled twice, then took aim at the tree limb and fired three times.

The branch swayed, then cracked, and the shooter fell. Jase kept his position and counted to ten. The man had dropped his rifle and it was lying on the ground about two yards out of reach. So far he’d made no move to retrieve it.

Slowly, Jase got to his feet and walked forward. Nothing moved. There was absolute silence. The shots that had been fired had sent birds flying out of the trees. When he reached the prone body, he realized two things. The hit man was a woman, and she’d been playing possum.

Too bad he didn’t realize the latter until she’d hurled a rock at his forehead. He fought off the grayness that threatened to envelop him while she leapt to her feet, grabbed his gun hand and flipped him to the ground.

MADDIE WAITED only until she reached the cover of the trees before she hauled herself to her feet and ran directly to her left. That was where the shots had come from. Shots from Jase’s gun, she told herself. He was all right.

But she never would have heard the shots from the other gun because it had a silencer, nagged a little voice at the back of her mind.

A fresh jolt of fear had her hitching up her skirt and forcing more speed into her legs. Being barefoot slowed her down. The carpet of dried leaves helped, but stones and branches still cut into the soles of her feet, causing her to skid and stumble. Once she saved herself by grabbing the trunk of a tree. The next time she went down on all fours. She stayed there for a moment dragging breath into her burning lungs.

And she listened.

She heard it then—grunts and thuds, the crunch of leaves. Sounds of a struggle. Hope blossomed within her, and she pushed herself up again. She raced for the line of trees and tore across the grass toward the noise. She’d just dashed into the trees again when she heard the sirens. The police were coming.

Maddie skidded to a halt the moment she saw them. A woman and Jase were rolling over the ground locked in a vicious struggle. First one was on top, then the other. Blood pouring from a gash on Jake’s forehead was putting him at a disadvantage.

The sirens grew louder, but they weren’t going to arrive in time. Maddie glanced around quickly and spotted Jase’s gun. She raced toward it, picked it up and whirled. The woman was on top again. Raising the weapon in both hands, Maddie took aim. They rolled over once, then again.

Her hand was steady. She knew how to handle a gun. Her father had seen to that. But she didn’t want to hit Jase. She glanced around the area again. Then she spotted something. Trading the gun for a fat tree branch, she cocked it over her shoulder and dashed toward them.

The woman rolled on top and wrapped her hands around Jase’s throat. He grabbed for hers. The sound of ragged breathing filled the air.

Maddie evened her stance and swung the branch. The woman fell forward onto Jase. Dropping her makeshift bat, Maddie dragged her off him.

“Maddie?” Swiping blood out of his eyes, Jase got to his knees. “You were supposed to stay put.”

“I heard shots. I didn’t think the police were going to get here in time.” She dropped to her knees too and forced herself to take a closer look at the wound on his forehead. “Did she shoot you?”

“Nah. She suckered me by playing possum, then threw a rock. I’m going to have a hell of a headache. What did you take her out with?”

“A tree branch.”

“Good job.”

With great effort, Maddie shifted her gaze to the woman who lay facedown in the dirt. “Is she…dead?”

As if in answer, the woman moaned.

“Evidently not. But I’m not taking any chances this time.” Jase drew a pair of plastic restraints out of his pocket and fastened her hands behind her back, then secured her feet.

The sirens that had been growing steadily louder abruptly stopped.

Jase shoved himself to his feet and moved to a nearby tree where he knelt down beside a black duffel Maddie hadn’t noticed before. “Before we go out to talk to them, I want to take a quick look in our shooter’s bag.”

He unzipped it and the first thing he drew out was a pink pillbox hat. Then he lifted a pink jacket and a padded vest. He shifted his gaze to Maddie.

“It’s the woman who was in the main salon of the store when we arrived.”

“I saw her later across the street watching the front entrance,” Jase said as he stuffed everything back into the duffel.

“And I saw her enter the park with two shopping bags.”

“To carry the duffel and the rifle.” Jase rose, slung the bag over his shoulder. When he reached her, he pulled her close. She wrapped her arms around him and for a moment they stood still and merely held on. It wasn’t passion that moved through her. It was something else, warmer, sweeter. Maddie knew that she could have stood there for a very long time.

But there were footsteps approaching, so she lifted her head. Jase met her eyes, and his were cool and hard. “One thing we know now. Only someone who knew you were visiting the store this morning could have set this up. And that someone wants you dead.”

Then to Maddie’s surprise, he gripped her shoulders hard and gave her a hard shake. “So the next time I tell you to stay put, follow orders.”

IT WAS with some relief that Jase opened the door and let Maddie precede him into his office. Thanks to Dave Stanton and the fact that he’d done some favors for a few detectives at the precinct, they’d been delayed less than two hours giving their statements. While one of the policewomen had helped Maddie wash up in the restroom and had lent her a pair of sneakers, Jase had called Michelle Tan to explain why they wouldn’t be returning to the store. Then he’d called Dino and D.C. to fill them in and ask them to join him ASAP at the office.

Maddie hadn’t talked to him during the taxi ride to his office. She was annoyed. But he was the one who had a right to be annoyed. She should have stayed behind the boulder. Every time he thought of what might have happened, what almost had happened…

Mostly, he was angry with himself. He should have taken better care of her.

Dino rose from his chair as they entered and walked toward Maddie, his hand extended. “You must be Maddie. I only met your sister Jordan once, but the resemblance is striking.”

“Thank you.”

To Jase’s annoyance, Maddie beamed a very warm smile at Dino. Dino not only returned it but he held on to her hand a moment before releasing it. If Jase hadn’t been sure that Dino and Cat McGuire were totally in love, he might have been jealous. But he wasn’t.

“I hear you saved my partner’s life,” Dino said.

Maddie sent Jase a look. “He’s mad at me about that.”

“I’m not mad,” Jase said.

She turned back to Dino. “Instead of saying thank you, he told me to follow orders next time. Can you picture that?”

Much to Jase’s annoyance, Dino grinned. “He’s a stickler for following orders.” Then he shifted his gaze to Jase. “Any news on your hit woman?”

“She’s not talking. But they’ve got her fingerprints and the gun, and they’re running a background check. Soon as they give me a name, we’ll run our own.”

Dino nodded and held Jase’s gaze then. “Right before Christmas, we were involved on a case, and you gave me some good advice. At the risk of taking a left to the chin, I’m going to return the favor.”

Jase knew exactly what was coming. Dino was about to tell him that playing the blame game was only going to interfere with solving the case. Jase already knew that. He also knew that if Dino was ready to duck a punch, Jase was allowing his temper to bubble too close to the surface. He rarely allowed that to happen. It was a delayed reaction, he told himself. “It was close. I nearly lost her.”

“I nearly lost you too,” Maddie said, striding toward him. “But I didn’t.” She poked a finger into his chest. “And if I had just sat there by that boulder waiting for the police, you might not be here.”

Summoning up more control, Jase drew in a breath. “You’re right. Thank you.” Then he drew her into his arms and for the first time since that chip of granite had sliced his face, he felt some of his tension begin to ease.

“Should I come back later?”

At the sound of his brother’s voice, Jase released Maddie and turned to find D.C. leaning on his cane.

“No. Join the party,” Jase said with a smile. “And meet Maddie.”

Jase noted that in crossing the room to take Maddie’s hand, D.C. moved with only a slight limp. A little knot of tension inside him eased.

“Sorry I’m late. It took me a little time to turn Adam Ware over to Tony and Carter. They’ll be on-site from now on filming. That ought to help with security issues for Maddie.”

“Thanks, bro.”

“No problem.” Easing himself into a chair, D.C. looked first at Dino and then Jase. “What did I miss?”

Jase leaned a hip against his desk. “We’re just getting started. On the surface there seem to be three cases. The first is the robbery at Eva Ware Designs. Before she died, Eva Ware hired me to investigate that. Detective Dave Stanton worked the case. He and I believed it was an inside job. Someone not only had the security codes, but they knew how to disable the alarm. A top-notch pro could have done it, but the thief was very selective about what he or she stole. Eva estimated the value of the jewelry at somewhere around a hundred thousand dollars. Another half a million dollars worth in the display cases was left there—untouched.”

“Interesting,” Dino said. “You’re thinking someone had a certain sum in mind, knew the value of what he or she was stealing?”

“That’s my hunch. I have a contact who may be able to give us a line on who might have fenced the jewels locally. I’ll put him on it. The next thing we have is the strong possibility that Eva’s hit-and-run wasn’t an accident but a homicide. Perhaps connected to the robbery. Maddie, Jordan and I all think that she either guessed or discovered who the thief was and perhaps confronted them. Finally, we have the attempted hit on Maddie.”

D.C. stretched out his good leg. “The question is, do we really have three separate cases?”

Maddie studied the three men continuing to discuss details as if she weren’t in the room. All three were good-looking, with Dino being the most classically handsome. On the surface, D.C. and Jase didn’t look at all alike. D.C. was a little shorter and his coloring was darker. She also sensed that the hint of recklessness she’d seen in Jase might be more pronounced in his younger brother. Her gaze returned to Jase. In the park she’d gotten her glimpse of his ruthlessness. And now she was seeing a focused intensity as he and his partner and brother picked away at the puzzle.

“Good question,” Dino was saying. Leaning back in his chair, he laced his fingers behind his head. “A mother killed and a daughter almost killed within a week? Hard to believe there’s not a connection.”

“I’m not a great believer in coincidence,” Jase put in. “But there’s plenty of motivation to get rid of Maddie without it being connected to her mother’s death and the robbery.”

Maddie felt a chill move through her. “Why would someone want to kill me?” Her mind had been trying to avoid that question ever since Jase had given her that hard shake and told her that someone wanted her dead. Of course, that hadn’t been much of a problem because her mind kept returning to those endless minutes when Jase and the hit woman had been rolling around on the ground.

“The will.”

When the three men spoke in unison, Maddie steadied herself by leaning against a desk.

“If you’re dead, the terms of the will can’t be fulfilled, and there are others who benefit,” Jase said. “Money’s a powerful motivator.”

Maddie swallowed hard. This morning her biggest worries had to do with getting to know her mother, finding out why her parents had separated her from her sister and figuring out what to do about Jase Campbell. And now someone wanted to murder her. Mentally, she gave herself a shake. One thing she’d learned from her father was that it never worked to play ostrich and try to ignore a problem.

“Okay. Someone wants to kill me because of the will. So far, we’ve been thinking about the robbery being connected to my mother’s death. Could it be connected to the will also?” she asked.

“She may be onto something,” D.C. said. “What if someone expected to get a lot more when Eva died and they wanted to hurry her along?”

“That’s a possibility,” Dino agreed.

“It still goes back to money,” Jase said. “We have to find the money trail.”

“I’ll get right on it.” D.C. pulled his notebook out and turned to a computer.

Dino moved to look over his shoulder. “Why don’t I take Cho Li, Michelle Tan and Arnold Bartlett. Then you can concentrate on the Wares and the Ware Bank.”

Maddie turned to Jase. “You suspect Cho Li?”

“Until we learn otherwise, everyone’s a suspect. It pays to be thorough.”

“We have to warn Jordan,” Maddie said.

All three men turned to stare at her.

“If someone is trying to kill me over the will and they haven’t succeeded, they could try her instead.”

“Or perhaps the plan is to get rid of both of you.” Jase picked up the office phone and handed it to her. “Call the ranch. Leave a message if you have to. Tell Jordan it’s urgent. Tell her to use my cell number to get back to us.”

Maddie nodded and her stomach knotted when she got the answering machine. “She was planning on going into Santa Fe today to visit the venue for the jewelry show. If they’re there, Jordan’s cell might work.”

She punched in the number, and to her relief, Jordan answered. “Jase?”

“No, it’s Maddie. We’re at his office.”

Jase punched the button to turn on the speakerphone.

“It’s Jase too, Jordan. Something more has happened at this end. Is Cash with you?”

“Yes, he’s listening.”

“Someone—we think someone at Eva Ware Designs—hired a hit woman to shoot Maddie this—”

“Maddie, are you all right?” Cash interrupted.

“I’m fine.”

“I’m worried about Jordan,” Jase explained. “So’s Maddie. It could be that the attempt on her life is connected to Eva’s hit-and-run—and we’re thinking all of it may be connected to the will.”

“The will,” Cash said. “Because if one or both of them is eliminated, someone else inherits?”

“Correct.”

“That’s what I’ve been afraid of. Can you keep Maddie safe?” Cash asked.

“I’ve put extra men on it. I want to send my brother out to Santa Fe to play back-up on your end.”

There was a beat of silence on the other end of the line. “That might be a good idea.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Jase said and disconnected.

“I’ll handle the background checks.” Dino got to his feet.

“I’ll book my flight,” D.C. said.

Maddie wanted to feel relief but Jase merely frowned at the phone. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“The cowboy,” Jase said. “He agreed pretty easily to the back-up. My impression before was that he thinks he can handle pretty much everything.”

“That would describe Cash in a nutshell. He’s a lot like my father was.”

Jase met her eyes. “I’m thinking that something has happened that Cash and Jordan haven’t shared with us yet.”

11

WHEN THEY LEFT the office, Jase bypassed the elevator and opted for the stairs. Her borrowed sneakers helped Maddie keep pace with him. At ground level, he steered her to an exit door that opened onto an alleyway.

The scents of beer, human sweat and ripe garbage assaulted her senses. “I see we’re taking the scenic route back to the apartment.”

“We’re not going back to the apartment.”

“I really need to change my clothes.”

“We’ll buy something.” At the end of the alley, he drew her with him toward the nearest corner. “For the time being, I’m not letting you go anywhere near that place. Whoever is behind this has to know you’re staying there. And they also know who I am and where I work. This time we’re not going to give anyone the opportunity to tail us—or to know where we’re staying.”

The light changed and they crossed the street.

“So your cover of acting as my brand-new lover probably didn’t fool the killer.”

“It didn’t have to. The hit had to have been set up before we got to the store. It might have been arranged as soon as Jordan told them when your first day at Eva Ware Designs would be. This way.” He drew her with him into a coffee shop on the corner.

At three-thirty in the afternoon, the lunch crowd had thinned. A black woman in a deep purple waitress’s uniform was leaning over the counter, flipping through a newspaper.

“Edie,” Jase said when he reached it.

The woman straightened and her face lit up. “Long time no see, sweet cakes. I missed you.”

“I’ve been working an out-of-town case for a couple of weeks. Just got back.” Jase circled behind the counter, gripped her shoulders and kissed her cheek. “I missed you too.”

“Go on now. You missed my apple pie.”

Maddie could have sworn that the woman was blushing. And Jase…well, it was the first time since they’d left the park that she’d seen the easygoing Jase Campbell. She wasn’t sure which side of the man fascinated her most.

Jase grinned. “That too.”

“Sit down. I’ll fix you a piece.”

“No time. I just stopped in to say hi.” He slipped a folded bill into the pocket of her uniform. “I need to use your back entrance.”

Edie glanced at Maddie, then back to Jase. She waved her hands in a shooing motion. “You’re working another case. Go ahead.”

At the swinging doors to the kitchen, Jase paused and looked over his shoulder. “If anyone comes in and asks, the lady and I are—”

“Using the facilities,” Edie finished. “I know—the usual cloak-and-dagger stuff. I’ll save you that piece of pie.”

A few of the people working in the kitchen smiled or waved at Jase as they headed toward the back door.

“Get followed a lot, do you?” Maddie asked as they exited.

“Now and then.”

She noted that the moment they left the coffee shop, Jase was back in security mode. After cutting through another alley, he crossed to the edge of the sidewalk and hailed a cab. Once inside, he leaned forward and said, “The Donatello.”

Five minutes later, Maddie found herself walking into one of the most luxurious hotels she’d ever seen—except in the movies. Couches and chairs offered spacious seating to guests in the lobby, and the soft sounds of a Mozart string quartet could be heard beneath the muted conversations.

They passed an array of shop windows displaying high-end clothes and jewelry. Everywhere she looked, mahogany shone and brass gleamed. Three crystal chandeliers hung from a carved ceiling, and a vase of fresh flowers as tall as a Christmas tree graced a marble-topped table.

When they arrived at the registration desk, a young woman wearing a black suit with a nametag that read Jessie beamed them a smile.

“I’d like to speak to Mr. Benson,” Jase said.

“Certainly, sir.” She disappeared through a door and a few minutes later a man of medium height with dark hair and a perfectly trimmed mustache stepped out of the same door. He wore the black suit that seemed to be the uniform of the hotel staff and the same nametag. His read Louie. The moment he saw Jase, Maddie noted that the serious expression on his face lightened just a bit.

He bowed slightly when he reached the counter. “Mr. Campbell, welcome to the Donatello.”

Jase leaned forward. “Louie, I need a favor.”

“Certainly, sir.”

“I need a room for a few days. The lady here is in a bit of a jam, and I need a place to keep her on the q.t.”

His expression still perfectly serious, Louie Benson raised one eyebrow. “You’re using the Donatello as a safe house?”

Maddie detected a slight note of horror in his tone.

“So to speak,” Jake said. “And I can’t use a credit card. It’s too easy to trace them. You’ll have to bill my office.”

“Very well.” Louie typed rapidly into a computer and within seconds tucked a plastic key into a folder and passed it to Jase. “Your suite is on the top floor. You access it by taking the private elevator down the corridor to your left. Press the button for the penthouse.”

Jase nodded toward the row of shops. “Can you make some credit arrangement with the shops? I’ll have to get her some clothes.”

“No problem,” Louie said. “I’ll tell them to put any purchases on your bill.”

Jase smiled at him. “Thanks, Louie.”

“No.” Louie’s smile was thin, but it reached his eyes. “Thank you, sir.”

“How did you do that?” Maddie whispered as they moved down the short hallway to the private elevator.

“What?”

“Get us a room in this hotel with no reservation. We don’t even have any luggage.”

“I know,” he said on a sigh. “There goes my reputation.”

Maddie couldn’t prevent a laugh. “I’m serious.”

Jase punched the elevator button. “I did a favor for Louie about six months ago. Someone was stealing from the guests by breaking into the in-room safes. The police had been called in twice and everyone was being discreet. But if the thefts had continued, it was bound to get into the papers, and the reputation of the Donatello would have been irreparably damaged. Louie called my office and asked me to solve the problem. I did. The thief turned out to be one of the hotel detectives.”

The elevator doors slid open, and they stepped through them. The three walls were lined with mirrors. As the car began its ascent, it was suddenly very quiet, and the air seemed closer. No Mozart, no chatter of guests. For the first time since they’d left Jase’s office, Maddie let herself think about the fact that she and Jase would be alone once they reached the suite.

She could see Jase reflected endlessly in the mirrors. Perhaps that was why he seemed to fill the space. He was leaning against the brass rail on the wall across from her. He’d been easy and relaxed when he’d been talking to Louie, but he wasn’t now. There was tension in his jaw, in his shoulders, and the knuckles of one hand showed white where he gripped the railing. The fact that his face looked a bit battered from their encounter with the hit woman made him look tougher and sexy as hell.

In the back wall of the elevator, she could see the profile of that lean face and the length of that rangy, male body. A body that she had touched. A body that she could touch again. All she had to do was take a few steps to close the distance between them and she could slip her arms around him, run her hands over those taut muscles and feel his heart pound against hers.

Her bones were already in meltdown when she met his eyes. What she saw stopped her breathing. She was trembling, aroused by the fantasy she’d spun—and by the man.

It was shocking how much she wanted to make love with him. Terrifying. In her mind she’d always been practical, cautious. She should be worried that her life was in danger—that her sister’s life might be in danger too. But right now all she could think of was making love with Jase again. It was as if she was a totally different woman with Jase Campbell.

Worse yet, she had no desire to return to what she’d been before she met him. What she wanted was for him to touch her again, really touch her. To feel his hands skimming over her naked flesh, making it burn, taking her to a place where there were only the two of them. Only the now.

“Maddie?”

His voice was hoarse, raw.

Her throat went dry. “Yes?”

“I promised myself that when we got to the room, I would let you sleep. I’m not going to do that. The moment we get to the room, I’m going to make love to you.”

Maddie wondered if her heart had actually stopped. Somehow she found her voice. “Why do we have to wait until we get to the room?”

He moved then, very quickly, first to punch the button that stopped the elevator between floors. As the car jerked to a halt, Maddie felt her heart skip a beat. Then he trapped her against the wall. And at last, his body was pressed against hers.

A scorching wave moved through her. Everything about him was so hard—his hands, his chest, the angle of his hip, even the long length of his thigh as it moved between hers. She arched helplessly against him.

His mouth hovered a breath away from hers. “I was going to bring you here for lunch. You looked so tired. Instead, I took you to the park. I told myself it was so I could keep my hands off you.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and threaded her fingers into his hair. “That didn’t work out.”

“No. I can’t stop wanting you.”

“Same here.”

“I have to figure this out.”

“Me too.”

“Later.” They spoke the word in unison.

He brushed his mouth over hers, drawing back just enough to nip her bottom lip before sliding his tongue between her lips.

She arched helplessly against him. Even his mouth had grown harder, more demanding, as if he believed that there was some flavor that he had yet to discover.

And all the while his hands, his clever, ruthless hands were moving over her, pressing, molding, claiming. When those lean fingers slipped beneath the hem of her skirt and pushed it up, flames seared her nerve endings.

Still gripping her waist, he sank to his knees, slipped her panties down her legs and tossed them aside. In her peripheral vision, Maddie saw the white lace arc before settling on the floor of the elevator. The sight had a hot thrill shooting through her.

To steady herself, Maddie wrapped both of her hands around the brass rail as he eased her thighs farther apart. With his thumbs, he separated her folds, then he began to use his mouth on her.

She was sinking, drowning in a storm of sensations, each one more erotic that the last—the soft texture of his tongue, the scrape of his teeth. First she burned, then she shivered.

And still she wanted more. Widening her stance, she arched her hips to give him more access. His fingers dug into her buttocks at the same instant that his tongue pierced deeply into her.

He knew exactly when her orgasm began, and when she peaked he heard her cry his name. The sound urged him to send her flying again. And again.

When she went limp and lost her grip on the handrail, he caught her and guided her to the floor. Need battered him as quick and hot as lightning flashes. His fingers fumbled as he tore his belt free and lowered his jeans. Then he moved over her and drove into her.

The sharp stab of pleasure nearly stopped his heart. For a moment he held himself still, wanting the moment to last. But when she wrapped arms and legs around him, when she opened her eyes and met his, she filled his vision, his mind, his world. Together they began to move, quickly, desperately.

“More.”

Had he said the word? Had she?

All he knew was that there was more. Impossibly more. The single word became a drumbeat in his head as he drove her, drove them both higher and higher until they reached the peak together and shattered.

LAYER BY LAYER, Jase’s mind found its way back to reality. The scents were the first to penetrate—body heat—a mix of his and hers and sex. His mouth was at her throat, the memory of her taste still haunting him. Beneath him, her heart beat fast. One of his hands was tangled in her hair though he had no clear recollection of how it had gotten there.

It had all happened so fast.

Opening his eyes, Jase confirmed what he already knew to be true. He’d just made love to Maddie Farrell in an elevator at the Donatello. And he was still sprawled on top of her. In spite of that, he didn’t seem to have the will to move.

With great effort, he managed to lift his head. Her eyes were open, her face flushed and her mouth still moist and swollen. In his peripheral vision, he could see their reflections in the mirrored wall. Their clothes were in disarray, their hair wildly mussed. They each looked as if they’d just survived some kind of natural disaster. Barely.

He plucked a twig out of her hair. He hadn’t been gentle with her—not here and certainly not when he’d shoved her against that boulder in the park. He frowned. “I was rough with you. Are you all right?”

“Better than all right.” She studied him for a moment. “I’m a lot tougher than I look.”

“Yeah.” He thought of how she’d clocked the hit woman with that tree branch—and how she’d knocked him on his ass earlier that day.

Earlier that day? It seemed impossible that he’d known her for less than twenty-four hours. So much had happened.

“How about you?” she asked. “Are you all right?”

Something in her tone finally eased the knot of guilt that had tightened inside him. “Much better than all right.” He grinned down at her. “I haven’t done anything like this since I was sixteen.” And he’d been a randy teenager then.

“I’ve never done anything quite like this—ever.”

“Good.” He didn’t want to imagine her making love in semi-public places with anyone but him.

Her eyes widened. “You’re…”

“Yeah.” Incredibly, he could feel himself growing hard inside her again. Experimentally, he rocked into her and watched her eyes cloud.

“Jase.”

The word was half question, half demand.

With a groan, Jase eased himself up to his knees. First he did his best to rearrange her rumpled clothes. Then he managed to pull up his jeans. Finally, he got to his feet and helped her up. “I think we’d better take act two to our suite. Louie might decide that the elevator has malfunctioned and if anyone sees us like this, he might not ever do me a favor again.”

He shoved a button, and the elevator began to climb.

MADDIE WOKE to the sound of rain, the hard, pounding kind that often produced flash floods at the ranch. She was going to use it as an excuse to spend an extra hour in bed before she went to her studio. Burrowing more deeply into her pillow, she tried to slip back into her dream.

But the scent was all wrong. It wasn’t the lavender from the fabric softener she used on her sheets, it was stronger, male.

Jase.

Opening her eyes, she sat straight up and found herself in the middle of a bed. Alone. The covers were tucked neatly around her. The last she recalled the bedding had been rumpled, some of it on the floor.

Come to think of it, she and Jase had been on the floor too. Using both fists, she rubbed sleep out of her eyes and tried to clear the fuzziness out of her brain. Then she looked down at the bed again. He must have tucked her in. Something inside her softened at the sweetness of the gesture.

How long had she been out? She was reassured when she spotted a sliver of sunlight sneaking through the drawn drapes. That’s when she realized that what she’d mistaken for rain was the sound of the shower in the next room. The last thing she remembered, Jase had been on his cell phone, first with Dino and after that, she was pretty sure he’d talked to someone about who might have fenced the jewels. That was when she must have shut down.

A double-toned chime sounded.

Not Jase’s cell, she decided, glancing at the small table near the bed where he’d left it.

The chime sounded again.

Maddie crawled from beneath the covers and reached for the hotel robe Jase had thoughtfully left on the foot of the bed.

When she reached the door to the suite, she used the peep hole. On the other side was a tall woman in her late thirties wearing a black suit. Her long dark hair was curly, and she reminded Maddie of Julia Louis-Dreyfus from Seinfeld.

“Yes?” Maddie said.

“I’m Sabrina Michaels and I’m delivering some packages Mr. Campbell ordered from the shops at the Donatello.”

Maddie opened the door and took the bags.

Sabrina smiled at her. “If there’s any problem with the selections, just let me know. Mr. Campbell was pretty specific with his requests, but I can certainly bring up more for you to look at. You can reach me through the hotel operator.”

As soon as she shut the door, Maddie couldn’t resist. Jase was still in the shower, and she didn’t want to wait. She carried the bags further into the main room of the suite, and set them on one of the long glass-topped coffee tables. Jase had been pretty specific with his requests, Sabrina had said. That must have been after she’d fallen asleep.

In the first bag she found a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved blue chambray shirt that Jase had evidently ordered for himself. Beneath those, she found a black scarf and a pair of sunglasses. For disguise purposes? Setting the first bag aside, she lifted a pair of cream-colored strappy sandals out of the second one. Unable to resist, she ran one finger over the buttery soft leather and sighed. The heels were only half as high as those on Jordan’s blue shoes, but they were still very stylish. And she was dead certain they’d be easier to walk around Manhattan in. At least for her.

In the second bag, she found a summer-weight blazer in the same creamy white. And instead of a matching skirt, she found a pair of slacks.

Slacks.

Hugging them to her, she sank down on one of the sofas. Jase had remembered her saying that she felt more comfortable in them. Maddie felt her heart take a little tumble. She’d grown up around men, and her impression of them was that while they were well-meaning, they weren’t the most attentive of creatures.

But Jase was different. With a little sigh, she rose and laid the slacks carefully over the back of the couch.

When she peeked in the third bag, she found lace panties, a bra and a silky black nightgown. Definitely more seduction-wear than sleepwear. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that if Jase had ordered the slacks to please her, he’d ordered the frothy black nightgown to please himself. She made a mental note to wear it that night.

That night.

After the hours they’d just spent together, she was actually thinking of making love to Jase Campbell again. Something must have happened to her brain. Perhaps the pollution in the Manhattan air had affected her synapses. She’d never before developed an intimate relationship with a man she barely knew.

Correction. She hadn’t known Jase at all when they’d first made love. That had been a mistake made by two strangers because she’d accidentally crawled into the wrong bed.

Maddie sighed again. But making love to Jase Campbell never felt like a mistake. It always felt so right.

Jase was different for her. In so many ways. And because of him, she was becoming different too. She’d never known she could be this way—happy, sexy, desperate, crazy. Every time he touched her she felt something new.

It wasn’t just the sex. Not when she looked at him or thought of him and something inside her tilted. That was emotion.

Maddie thought of the strategy she’d developed to handle Jase when she’d been in the shower this morning. Logic and reason. Hah! Being logical and reasonable just wasn’t part of the equation where Jase was concerned. She wanted him and he wanted her. It was just that simple. Just that elemental.

She also recalled telling him that she only had three weeks to accomplish her agenda in New York, and that making love again with him would only complicate things.

Maddie turned and walked toward the bedroom. Like it or not, making love again with Jase Campbell had become an important part of her new agenda in New York.

And she was certain that she was going to like it. A lot.

12

JASE STARED at himself in the mirror. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d spent this much time in the bathroom. He’d showered and shaved. He’d even considered using the hotel hair dryer to do something with his hair.

Pitiful.

But Maddie needed some sleep. And he hadn’t trusted himself to stay in the same room with her and not make love with her again.

Even when she’d finally fallen asleep, he hadn’t been able to stop himself from watching her. Finally, he’d moved to the bed and stroked her hair. He couldn’t seem to prevent himself from touching her.

That’s when it had happened. It was while he’d stroked her hair that he’d felt something move through him, something that had nothing to do with the fact that he wanted very much to make love with her again.

Trying to figure it out, he’d studied her sprawled across the bed. She slept with the same intensity that she did everything else. And she was a lot tougher than she looked. He’d experienced the strength and passion that she brought to their lovemaking. But right then as he’d looked down at her, what he’d wanted more than anything was to protect her. To cherish her.

The fact was that he was coming to have feelings for her other than those of a casual lover. Feelings that went far beyond making sure that she wasn’t killed.

He thought of what she’d said to him that morning in the kitchen—that if they made love again, it would complicate things. Well, she sure as hell had been right about that. But he hadn’t brought her here to the Donatello just to make love to her. And though it had been a long day, they still had a call to make. After what Dino had told him on the phone, he very much wanted to see what Eva Ware had written in her appointment book.

He ran his hands through his hair and started toward the door to the bedroom just as it opened and Maddie entered the bathroom. Both of them stopped in mid stride.

MADDIE’S THROAT went dry, and the air in the room was suddenly thick. Jase’s shoulders still glistened with droplets of water from his shower. The towel was tucked low over his hips.

The silence stretched between them.

Maddie finally broke it. “I want you again.”

“Ditto. But we need to get to your mother’s apartment.”

“I know. The clothes you ordered came. I need to shower.” But hadn’t she known what she really wanted when she’d stepped into the bathroom?

“Right.” On his way to her, he dropped the towel and then he shoved the bathrobe down her arms. Finally, he scooped her up into his arms.

“What are you doing?”

“We might as well try the age-old solution.” He twisted the faucets. “A cold shower.”

Maddie screamed as the icy water sluiced over them. “Turn it off! I’m freezing!”

“That’s the idea.” He set her down but used his body to block her in.

Through the wet hair plastered to her face, she glared at him. “I don’t like this idea.”

“It does have its drawbacks.” There was laughter in his voice. “But I thought you were tougher than you look.”

She raised both hands and gave him a hard shove. She might have had more luck with the boulder in Central Park. Sputtering, she made a blind grab for the faucets.

He grabbed her wrists. “No cheating.”

“I’m sure I’m turning blue.”

“That is one of the drawbacks.”

He backed her farther into the shower, and a fresh spray of icy needles pelted her.

“I’m going to get even for this.”

“I’m looking forward to it. But for now, since you don’t like a cold shower, I thought we’d shift to plan B.”

“No, you—”

He cut off her protest by covering her mouth with his. With one arm holding her close, he slathered soapy lather all over her body.

Incredibly, her skin began to heat. When his fingers slipped between her thighs, found her, pierced her, she began to burn. Wrapping her arms around him, she drew him even closer. The fire he’d ignited built rapidly then. With his hand alone he took her on a desperate ride, driving her up and up until the climax shot through her with a violence that left her trembling.

That was enough to drive him to the edge. When she whispered his name, he lifted her and wrapped her legs around him.

“Maddie, open your eyes.”

She did as he asked, and he looked into those blue-violet depths. When he drove himself into her, he knew she thought only of him.

When she murmured his name, he thought only of her.

He pulled out, thrust in again, over and over. She shuddered again and again. When he could no longer help himself, he drove them both into the madness.

MADDIE WAS just slipping into her new shoes in front of a full-length mirror when Jase’s cell phone rang.

He tucked it under his chin and listened silently while he shrugged into the new blue shirt, then buttoned it. He left it hanging loose and tucked his gun into the back waistband of his jeans.

The man was definitely efficient. As a security agent, as a lover, as a friend. And he seemed to be able to shift between his various roles effortlessly. Since they’d left the bathroom, he’d been all business again and she was learning to follow his lead.

But something had happened while they’d been in the shower. It was as if some question between them had been asked and answered. Maddie just had to figure out what it was.

Jase shut his cell phone, then tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “D.C.’s plane is boarding. He’ll be in Santa Fe tonight. Between him and Cash, Jordan will be all right.”

She’d already told herself that, but it helped to hear Jase say it.

“Ready to hit the road?” he asked.

“Yes.” They’d decided while they were dressing that they were going to go to her mother’s apartment and get the appointment calendar. But it wasn’t finding the calendar that had nerves knotting in her stomach. It was the idea of seeing the place where her mother had lived.

“There’s a strong possibility that whoever it is we’re dealing with will have Eva’s apartment staked out. In their place, that’s what I’d do. They have to know by now that the hit failed, and they may have a back-up plan.”

“What are you saying?” Maddie asked.

“We have to take precautions. I already asked Dino to post one of our men near the entrance. His job is to see if anyone else is watching. But we’re going to have to be fast. We can ditch the taxi a few blocks away, and I’ll pay the driver to wait for us across the street from the apartment so we can make a quick getaway. You’re going to wear the scarf and the sunglasses I had sent up.” Plucking them out of the bag, he tossed them to her. “It’s standard celeb wear.”

His eyes when they met hers were sober. “I don’t suppose there’s any way I could talk you into waiting here and letting me get the appointment book?”

Maddie shook her head firmly. “No way at all.”

“Figured.” He took her arm and they were halfway to the door when his cell rang again.

He checked the caller ID, then said, “Yeah?”

For a few minutes, Jase said nothing. He merely listened. When he finally repocketed the phone, he opened the door of the suite.

“That was Dino checking in again. While you were sleeping, he called to tell me what he’d found out about Michelle Tan.”

“Michelle?”

“About a month ago, three days after the robbery, in fact, a bank check for one hundred thousand dollars was deposited into Michelle’s bank account. The money was withdrawn in cash two days later.”

She shot him a look. “Can Dino hack into a bank’s computers?”

Jase grinned at her. “Sure. He’s getting better at the technical stuff. But it was a bank check, so he doesn’t know yet who it came from.”

“I see.”

“Even more intriguing, it turns out that Michelle’s the granddaughter of Cho Li.”

“GOOD JOB,” Jase murmured as they rode up the seven flights to Eva Ware’s apartment.

“Thanks. It seemed the easiest way.”

And it had been. She’d gotten them past the doorman by lowering her scarf and pretending to be Jordan. It had also saved them some time. And Jase wasn’t sure how much time they had. Whoever was behind this was smart and prepared. In his experience, people who were prepared always had a back-up plan.

He glanced sideways at Maddie. She’d been very quiet during the short cab ride to Eva’s place. Because she was trying to absorb the news about Michelle and Cho? He could understand that. He was trying to figure it out too. The two least likely suspects for robbing Eva’s store had risen like cream to the top of the group.

He was positive Jordan hadn’t known about the relationship between the two. She’d certainly never mentioned it to him, nor had she put it in the notes she’d given Maddie. Had Eva known? Or perhaps suspected? The appointment calendar just might tell them something.

But Jase had a hunch that what was bothering Maddie now went a little deeper.

“Have you ever been in Eva’s apartment?” she asked as they left the elevator.

“No.”

“After we find the appointment calendar, I’d like to take a little time to look around.”

When he didn’t immediately reply, she continued, “I know you’d prefer to get in and out, but I won’t take long. I’d just like to get…an idea of how she lived.”

Jase thought of the doorman, a fit enough looking man. But he was in his fifties and a pro could take him out in seconds. He reminded himself that Dino had stationed a man across the street who was a pro also. “Sure.”

She unlocked the door with the key Jordan had given her and hesitated a moment before stepping into the foyer. Then she simply looked around. Jase had noted before that she was good at standing still and absorbing her surroundings. Perhaps every artist had to have that quality.

The foyer opened into a short hallway with high ceilings. The apartment itself was located in one of Manhattan’s oldest buildings, but the wainscoting and the chair railings had been artfully restored. Beneath the rich hues of an oriental carpet lay gleaming dark hardwood floors.

Jase tried to put himself in Maddie’s shoes. She’d been to her mother’s workplace and seen the professional side of Eva Ware. But this was personal. Intimate.

First things first. He opened the double doors of the closet and found the cardboard box on the floor just as Jordan had described.

“So far, so good.” He quickly pushed aside the clothes that Eva had been wearing the night of her accident and found a tote. Inside was a leather-bound appointment calendar. Like Maddie’s, it was stuffed with folded notes and newspaper clippings. Handing it to her, he thought, like mother, like daughter.

She ran her fingers over the cover and then tucked it into her own tote. Linking his fingers with hers, they started down the hallway together. At the end of it, Jase could see the kitchen. The reddish hues of the setting sun poured through louver-covered windows, glinting off stainless-steel appliances and black granite counter tops. An archway to their right opened into a formal dining room, but Maddie drew him through the archway to their left.

Here the light was dimmer, but Jase could make out on the wall facing them a brick fireplace flanked by two bookcases with leaded-glass doors. And there was a desk to their immediate right, its surface stacked high with sketch books. One was open, a pencil lying on its surface.

Maddie was already moving toward the desk as he felt along the wall for a switch. When he flicked it on, his attention was drawn immediately to the oil portrait over the mantel.

His eyes went first to Eva, seated in a delicately carved armchair wearing pale gray slacks, a matching jacket and a pink sweater. Her long blond hair had been twisted into a braid that fell over one shoulder. Next to her a much younger Jordan stood in a pink dress trimmed in ruffles at the neck, sleeves and hem. Her hair had been fastened back from her face with bows and fell in curls to her shoulders.

It was a family portrait, Jase supposed. Mother and daughter. He shifted his gaze to Maddie and saw that she was studying it also. Was she imagining what the portrait might have looked like if she’d been in it too, standing on the other side of Eva?

The surge of anger took him by surprise and had him striding toward her and taking her hand. Why in hell had two sane people who’d obviously loved both their daughters each cut one out of their lives?

“You should be in that portrait. They were stupid to split the two of you up,” he said.

“I’d like to think that they loved us so much that they couldn’t bear to part with both of us.”

Jase turned to study her. “Is that why you think your father kept you?”

“It’s what I’d like to believe.” She moved closer to the portrait, drawing him with her. “It’s odd.”

“What?”

“My father never had a formal portrait done. But on my eleventh birthday, he had a photographer come to the ranch. Dad insisted that the man take the picture outside near the stables. I’d been riding Brutus, the horse he’d just gotten me for my birthday. We didn’t dress up or anything. Dad posed the picture with me on the horse and him standing beside it. Later, he framed the photo and kept it on the dresser in his bedroom. Jordan will see it the moment she walks into the room.”

“Your sister looks to be about eleven in the painting.”

“That’s what I was thinking. It’s an odd coincidence that they’d both decide to have a formal picture taken when we were about the same age.”

Jase turned to her. “Do you think your parents kept in touch over the years?”

With a sigh, she shrugged. “Maybe that’s just what I’d like to believe. There has to be some explanation for what they did. Why they did it.”

Jase traced a finger along her jawline—so strong, so stubborn. “If there is, you’ll find it.” Whatever else he might have said was interrupted by a sound—metal scraping against metal.

“What’s that?” Maddie whispered.

“We’re going to have company,” he whispered back. Motioning her to one side of the archway, he flipped off the light, then flattened himself to the wall on the opposite side of the arch. From his position, he had a partial view of the door to the apartment as it swung open. In the dim light, he saw a shadowy figure move into the hall. He or she turned immediately to the closet door, opened it and pulled out the same box that he had searched earlier. By that time, his eyes had adjusted to the dimmer light and he recognized who it was.

Flipping the light on, he stepped into the hall and said, “Can we help you, Michelle?”

MADDIE FOLLOWED Jase into the hallway in time to see Michelle Tan drop Eva’s tote bag. The contents—wallet, a matchbook and a small sketchpad—clattered out onto the floor.

“I—” Michelle placed a hand to her heart and took a deep breath.

Maddie wasn’t sure who was more surprised—Michelle or herself, but she managed to ask, “What are you doing here?”

Without answering, Michelle dropped to her knees and began to stuff things back into the tote.

“Yes, what are you doing here?” Jase repeated.

“I came to see if I could find Ms. Ware’s appointment calendar,” Michelle mumbled.

Maddie noted that the young woman’s hands were trembling. She put a hand on Jase’s arm as she moved past him, caught his eye and mouthed, “Good cop.” Then she dropped to her knees in front of Michelle and stilled her hands. “Why did you think the calendar would be here? And how did you get a key?”

Michelle’s head popped up at that, and her voice was suddenly stronger. “Ms. Ware gave me a key. Sometimes she would get to work and remember that she’d left a sketch of a design at home. She’d ask me to come here and pick it up.”

Okay, Maddie thought. That jelled with Jordan’s description of Eva as a bit disorganized. Plus, she’d seen the sketches littering Eva’s desk. “She trusted you then?”

“Yes. Yes, she did.”

“Why did you think the journal was here?”

Avoiding Maddie’s eyes, Michelle sat back on her heels and folded her hands together. “I knew you were interested in finding it. I was on my way home from work when I remembered Jordan saying that she’d brought everything that the police had returned to her to this apartment because she couldn’t bear to go through it yet. It’s right on my way home, so I decided to stop in and see if it was here.”

Liar, Maddie thought.

“I don’t think so.” Jase’s voice had turned so clipped and cold that it nearly sent a shiver down Maddie’s spine. “I think you eavesdropped on Maddie and me when we were talking on the speakerphone with Jordan.”

Michelle shook her head. “No.”

“Yes. Then when I told you that we were going to be tied up for some time at the police station, you saw an opportunity to get hold of it before we did.”

Michelle shook her head again.

“Jase,” Maddie said. “Can’t you see she’s upset?”

“She should be upset. What’s so important about that appointment calendar that you had to sneak in here to steal it, Michelle?”

Michelle looked at him then. “Nothing. I wasn’t going to steal it. I was just trying to help.”

“Help yourself, maybe,” Jase said. “You were worried about something that it might contain.”

“No. Why should I be? I have nothing to hide.”

“Jase.” Maddie injected a note of warning into her tone. Then she took Michelle’s hands in hers. “We know that you deposited one hundred thousand dollars into your checking account three days after Eva Ware Designs was robbed of over a hundred thousand dollars worth of jewels.”

Michelle’s eyes went wide with shock, then flooded with tears. “You think—no. You can’t. I didn’t.”

The young woman’s emotional reaction could be fake, Maddie told herself. “Then where did you get the money?”

Michelle opened her mouth, shut it, then shook her head. “I can’t tell you.”

When Jase didn’t say anything, Maddie pushed forward. “You’re going to have to. We already know that Cho Li is your grandfather.”

Michelle dropped her head into her hands and began to cry.

A HALF HOUR later, Jase stood next to Maddie beneath the awning of Eva Ware’s apartment building watching as two uniformed policemen helped Michelle into the backseat of a patrol car.

She hadn’t said one more word while he’d called Dave Stanton and they’d waited for the police. Neither had Maddie.

Stanton had sent someone to pick up Cho Li and he was going to question Michelle personally as soon as she reached the precinct. He and Maddie had been invited to come down and watch.

“I don’t like it,” Maddie murmured as the patrol car pulled away.

There were quite a few things that Jase wasn’t liking, the top one being that they’d stayed a lot longer than he’d intended at Eva’s apartment, plenty of time for someone watching the place to put a plan into operation. And he had a bad feeling about that.

He’d insisted that she put on the scarf and sunglasses again, but the disguise was a thin one. He scanned the street, spotted a taxi blocking the entrance to an alley across the way, and recognized the driver as the one he’d tipped heavily to wait for them.

“C’mon. Our ride’s over there.” He took Maddie’s elbow and urged her toward the curb. The street in front of Eva’s apartment was narrow. Vehicles took up every parking space and two were double-parked. Since it wasn’t a Manhattan thoroughfare, traffic was minimal at this time of night. Still, Jase paused to look both ways. His bad feeling hadn’t eased.

A car was moving slowly toward them from the left. Jase eased Maddie to his other side, using his body to block hers. Once the vehicle had passed by, he said, “Let’s go.”

“I can’t believe that she robbed Eva Ware Designs, can you?”

“A good investigator keeps an open—” The roar of an engine cut him off, and he caught the sudden blur of movement to his right. He had just enough time to register that the cream-colored sedan matched the description of the car that had run Eva down.

Maddie turned her head and he felt her freeze. The headlights flashed on, blinding them both.

There was no time to think. No time even to panic. He just let his reflexes take over. Whipping his arm around Maddie’s waist, he lifted her.

The roar of the motor grew louder, the lights closer. Jase leapt into the air and twisted his body to take the brunt of the impact as they landed on the taxi’s hood. Holding Maddie tightly, he rolled and brought her with him to the sidewalk on the other side of the cab. This time it was his shoulder that took the hit and his breath whooshed out. For a second, he just held on tightly. Then he said, “You all right?”

“Yes. You?”

Easing her next to the side of the taxi, he got to his feet. But all he could see were the taillights of the car just before it careened around the corner.

MADDIE LAY flat on the sidewalk, her mind still spinning while she tried desperately to process what had just happened. Her body was cold and numb. And all she could hear was a sort of soft buzzing sound like white noise.

Someone had tried to run her and Jase down.

When she’d heard the racing motor and turned her head, those blinding lights had been so close. She’d even been able to see the hood ornament.

Voices began to penetrate. She recognized Jase’s. Someone else was speaking with an accent.

“I saw part of the plate number. You blocked my view when you landed on the hood of my car.”

“What kind of car?”

Jase’s voice again.

“A light-colored sedan, a Mercedes,” replied the voice with the accent.

“Did you see the driver?”

“He was wearing a jacket with a hood.”

It had really happened then. Someone had almost succeeded in running them down. If it hadn’t been for Jase’s quick reflexes, they would both be lying out in the street. Bleeding. Dead.

And the driver of the car would have gotten away with it. Again.

The bastard.

Fury gave her the energy to scramble to her feet.

Jase turned to her and joined her on the curb. He ran his hands up and down her arms as he studied her. “You’re all right.”

“You too.” She wrapped both arms around him and simply held on. Something else moved through her then, something that had the fear and anger fading. And another kind of fear building. She realized that she didn’t want to let Jase go. Not now.

Maybe not ever.

13

MADDIE STOOD with Jase and Detective Stanton in a small anteroom. In the adjacent room, beyond the one-way glass, Michelle sat with her hands folded on a table, her face drawn, her knuckles white. Although the detective had questioned her for over an hour, Michelle hadn’t varied from the story she’d told Jase and Maddie.

“I’ll keep after her for a while,” Stanton said, “but she’s pretty stubborn. She denies ever having the security code to the Madison Avenue building or having anything to do with the robbery.”

“Cho could have had the security code,” Jase pointed out.

“True. She refuses to talk about the hundred thousand in her account.”

“It didn’t stay in her bank account very long,” Jase said. “According to my partner, the money appeared via a bank check, but was withdrawn in cash two days later.”

“It’s the amount and the timing that are so incriminating,” Maddie said.

“I agree. It looks as though she needed some cash fast and she knew just how to get it,” Stanton replied.

“My partner is tracking down where it came from,” Jase said. “And I’m expecting to hear back from an informant who knows a lot of fences in the area.”

The detective turned to Maddie. “You look better than you did when you came in.”

She managed a smile. “Thanks. I want to know who was driving that car.”

“Working on it. I’ve sent a couple of uniforms to go door to door. The bastard had to be waiting for you. Same way he waited for your mother. We’re running the partial plate number. Your description of the hood ornament matches well with the taxi driver’s certainty that it was a light-colored late-model Mercedes, so that should narrow the search.”

Jase slipped his hand into hers. “Maddie, the car that ran down your mother was also described as a light-colored sedan.”

She turned to him. “You think it might be the same driver?”

“Could be,” Stanton said. “Killers are unbelievably cocky. The bastard got away clean the first time. Probably figures he can do it again.”

“The one thing we know for sure is that Michelle wasn’t behind the wheel,” Maddie pointed out.

“Right. But she could have an accomplice,” Stanton said. “We haven’t been able to locate Cho yet.”

Maddie shook her head vehemently. She’d already had this discussion with Jase on the ride to the station. “I can’t see Cho running anyone down. I’ll bet he doesn’t even drive.”

Stanton glanced at Jase and then back at Maddie. “I’m checking all possibilities. I’ll be at Eva Ware Designs with a search warrant when it opens tomorrow morning, and I’ll be questioning everyone again about the robbery. Nothing like a couple of suspects to jog everyone’s memory.”

Turning, Maddie studied Michelle through the one-way glass. “My guess would be that she’s gone silent because of her loyalty to her grandfather. I never should have mentioned Cho’s name.”

Stanton’s eyebrows shot up. “You don’t like him for the hit-and-run, but you suspect him for the robbery?”

“I don’t want to,” Maddie said. “They make a pair of unlikely jewel thieves.”

He snorted. “They didn’t have to be pros if they had the security codes. And Eva Ware trusted Michelle enough to give her the key to her apartment.”

“She may open up when you get Cho in here,” Jase said. “Or he may open up once he sees that she’s under suspicion.”

Stanton glanced at his watch. “I’ve had men stationed outside his apartment ever since you called. There’s no sign of him. The apartment is dark, he’s not answering his phone or his door.”

“Maybe he skipped,” Jase said.

Maddie turned from the window to face Stanton and Jase. “Even if Cho or the two of them robbed Eva Ware Designs, I still can’t see either of them running Eva down.”

“Money does strange things to people,” Stanton said.

“Maybe Eva was onto them and confronted them. With her gone, their jobs are secure, Cho’s reputation is golden.” Jase frowned. “The thing is, neither of them has a motive to hire a hit woman to kill Maddie.”

“The two things don’t have to be connected,” Stanton said.

“No,” Jase mused. “But something tells me they are.”

Once again Stanton sighed. “Me too.”

There was a knock at the door, and a young uniformed officer poked his head in. “I’ve got something on the plate that you might be interested in, sir.”

“Report,” Stanton ordered.

“A cream-colored Mercedes sedan with a license plate containing the three numbers we have on the partial is registered to a Ms. Eva Ware.”

For a moment there was dead silence in the room.

Stanton finally turned and said what they all were thinking. “That means that Eva may have been run down by her own car.”

Maddie dug into her tote for the ring of keys Jordan had given her. “I have the key. Jordan told me that Eva kept it in a garage on the block directly behind her apartment building.”

Stanton pulled the key off the ring when she handed it to him. Then he glanced through the one-way glass at Michelle Tan. “The question is whether Eva was as generous with her car keys as she was with the key to her apartment.”

SITTING cross-legged on the sunken floor of the suite’s living room, her back against one of the sofas, Maddie once more pored over the last weeks of Eva Ware’s life as they were minimally recorded in her calendar. After assigning two uniforms to check out the garage and see if the Mercedes was there, Dave Stanton had sent them home.

But the excitement she’d been feeling when they’d arrived at the Donatello and first opened the leather volume had steadily drained away.

Dino had dropped off some things at the desk for them while they’d been out. In addition to clothes for both of them, he’d left Jase’s laptop and a file of the financial information he’d been able to dig up so far on everyone either related to or employed by Eva Ware. Nothing had popped on any of them except for the hundred thousand dollars that had briefly resided in Michelle Tan’s bank account.

Eva had used a personal shorthand, mostly consisting of initials, but they were pretty easy to decipher. And there were very few appointments. On Monday mornings at nine there was an S.M., a staff meeting. Wednesday noon, lunch with J. Jordan. Maddie ran her finger over the initial. Had Eva been so focused on her business that she’d had to pencil Jordan in to spend time with her? She thought of the easy relationship she’d always had with her father, the constant companionship he’d offered. And she felt sorry that Jordan had missed out on that.

“Find something?”

Maddie met Jase’s eyes. He was seated on the floor across the coffee table from her, his long legs stretched out. “Just that Eva has Jordan penciled in for lunch every Wednesday.”

“That was your sister’s doing. They’d go out to lunch, and Jordan would either produce tickets for a matinee or she’d make your mother go shopping with her. She thought Eva spent too much time focused on her work and insisted that she take at least Wednesday afternoons off. Jordan had some theory that the time they spent visiting a museum or seeing a play would actually foster Eva’s creativity.”

“Jordan sounds just like my dad. He was always nagging me that I worked too much.”

“Was he right?”

“I didn’t think so at the time. I wonder if Eva’s focus on work was one of the reasons they broke up.”

“You may never find out the answer to that,” Jase said.

“But if I find enough pieces, maybe I can put the puzzle together by myself.”

He smiled at her then, slowly. “You’re absolutely right.”

She nodded and shifted her gaze determinedly to the appointment calendar. “For tonight, I have a big enough challenge with this particular puzzle.”

“Patience is a requirement if you want to find all the pieces.”

Maddie would have settled for just two pieces that would lock together. Every puzzle needed that first match.

The week after the robbery Eva had jotted J.C. in the five-o’clock Wednesday slot. Jase had confirmed that was the day she’d come to his office. The next day he’d left for South America.

Twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, P.T. had been noted in the same time slot. Since Eva’s routine had been to visit the gym on her way home from work, Maddie guessed that P.T. stood for personal trainer. Except for lunch with J., none of the initials jotted in various time slots seemed to connect to anyone who worked at Eva Ware Designs or members of the Ware family who stood to profit from the will.

Scattered randomly on each page were doodles that Maddie suspected were the beginnings of design ideas. Some were elaborated upon in more detail on a later page. Others were abandoned or scratched out.

In Maddie’s mind, Eva had used the semi-empty pages of her appointment calendar to test out new ideas—or perhaps to help her think through problems. On a hunch, she flipped through the earlier months and noted that the doodling had increased after the date of the robbery.

And that meant exactly what? Hadn’t they already surmised that Eva suspected someone on the inside of pulling off the robbery? Maddie had been so hoping that the appointment calendar would provide them with a new clue.

Discouraged, she glanced again at Jase who was sorting through the clippings and sticky notes that Eva had stuffed inside the appointment calendar. On the dining table on the upper level, they’d dumped the contents of Eva’s tote bag and discovered nothing more than what had tumbled out when Michelle had dropped it—a wallet, a pack of matches and a sketch pad half-filled with embryonic designs.

Every so often Jase would pause and scribble something on a piece of hotel stationary. Maddie was doing the same on a message pad she’d located by one of the phones. His list was longer than hers. But then he was a trained investigator.

Jase glanced up at her, then at the pizza they’d smuggled into the Donatello. “Do you want another piece?”

“Go ahead.”

He reached for the last slice, folded it neatly in half with one hand, and took a bite. With his other hand, he continued to lift and examine the various pieces of paper Eva had stuffed into her calendar.

She glanced back down at the two pages that captured the last week of Eva’s life. It was the fourth time she’d gone over them. There had to be something she’d missed….

The only unusual thing was that on the day before Eva had been run down, she’d scratched out P.T. and replaced it with another doodle. This one looked vaguely familiar. Perhaps it was a revision of an earlier sketch.

Frustrated, Maddie tapped her pencil on the notepad. “I’m getting nowhere. If Eva confronted either Michelle or Cho at work with her suspicions, she wouldn’t have had to write it down. All she records are standing appointments. Other than that, she used her calendar to sketch design ideas.”

Jase swallowed a last mouthful of pizza. “It’s the same with the papers she slipped into the book.” He held up an advertisement torn from a glossy magazine. In the margin was what Maddie guessed to be an earring in the shape of a spiderweb.

Eyes narrowing, she reached for it.

“What?”

“The design.” The moment Jase handed it to her Maddie placed it carefully next to the page she’d been studying. “It’s the same one she drew in the five o’clock time slot the night before she was run down.”

Rising, Jase stepped over the coffee table and knelt down next to her so that he could study the drawing too.

“I don’t think it’s a design,” he said. “It’s the logo for the club that’s being advertised—the Golden Spider.”

Quickly, Maddie scanned the ad. There were quotes from newspapers and magazines extolling the virtues of the Golden Spider club as one of Manhattan’s premier night spots—“the latest place to be seen in the Big Apple.” The in place to be. Then she saw it. The text was layered over a faint drawing that matched what Eva had doodled in her appointment calendar and again in the corner of the ad.

Frowning, she flipped back through the pages to the night of the robbery. Then using one finger she began to skim down each page until she found what she was looking for. A week after the robbery, on the day she’d visited Jase at his office, Eva’d sketched the same spiderweb. “Here it is again. I assumed it was an idea for a piece of jewelry, but maybe not.”

Jase strode to the dining table on the level above them. “Something’s tugging at the back of my mind. I’ve seen it before someplace.”

Maddie studied him. The energy that he always seemed to keep tightly leashed was much closer to the surface. “You think it means something?”

“Maybe.” First he leafed through the sketch book. “Nothing here.” Then he picked up something from the table. “Well, hello.” He tossed it to her.

Maddie caught the matchbook, and her heart skipped a beat when she got a close look. “The Golden Spider.” She glanced up at Jase.

“I’d say we have a clue.” He descended the two steps and began to pace. “I’m still thinking that I saw that design before. Some place besides the matchbook. I saw a lot of jewelry sketches pinned to the wall while we were in the workroom at Eva Ware Designs. Would your mother have seen a logo like that one and purposely sketched it with the idea of turning it into a piece of jewelry?”

“I…don’t know. We’ll have to ask Jordan.”

“No.” Moving forward, Jase dropped to his knees beside her and grabbed her shoulders. “I’m asking you. You’re more like your mother than you realize.”

A skip of panic moved through her. “I don’t think so.”

“You’re both designers. Your brains are hard-wired in a certain way.”

“That doesn’t mean I know her.”

“Fine.” But he disagreed with her. Maddie was coming to know her mother more and more. The problem was she wasn’t quite comfortable with that knowledge. Releasing her, he picked up the message pad she’d been taking notes on and held it for her to see.

Maddie studied the doodles she’d made in the margins. She hadn’t even been fully aware of drawing them. A few were designs she’d been experimenting with for quite a while.

She drew in a deep breath and let it out. “I sometimes do that when I’m worried or thinking through a problem.”

“Yeah. From the looks of it, your mother had the same habit. So now I want you to take your best guess. Would your mother have seen something like the spider design and ‘borrowed’ it as the basis for a piece of jewelry?”

“No,” Maddie said firmly.

Jase nodded. “Then she had to have some other reason for her doodles. My theory is that your mother came across it in the ad or on the matchbox, or some other place. Either way she started thinking about it or worrying about it. I can’t imagine that she was doodling this because she was a regular visitor at the Golden Spider. You with me so far?”

Maddie thought of the desk in Eva’s apartment, piled high with sketch books, littered with drawings. It had been a potent testimonial to what Eva had done when she got home from the gym or the store every night, and it argued forcefully against her mother having had any nightlife. Come to think of it, Maddie herself didn’t have a nightlife either. How many evenings did she return to her studio to work? There was a sudden tightness around her heart that had her rubbing her fist against it.

“In the morning, I’ll have Dino see what he can dig up on this club. And I want to get to Eva Ware Designs before anyone else does, including the police. I’m still thinking that I saw the spider logo somewhere when we were there today. I’ll also fill Stanton in. He’s going to be questioning everyone at the store tomorrow. He might as well ask if any of them have been to the Golden Spider.” Jase smiled slowly. “That may just stir something up.”

Maddie narrowed her eyes. “You want to stir something up, don’t you?”

Jase’s smile faded. “You bet I do.”

He pressed down hard on the anger that had been simmering inside him ever since he’d seen that car in his peripheral vision. “I want to get my hands on the bastard who nearly ran us down and who killed your mother.”

Just saying the words had an image he’d been battling against for hours running through his head—Maddie lying in that street, bleeding. Lifeless.

Ruthlessly he blanked it out, but beneath his rage something else—determination—iced.

“Me too. Got any ideas?”

“Not yet.” That was the hell of it. “I’m drawing a blank. Not even the spiderweb makes sense—yet. But it will. Investigative work is a matter of gathering pieces that don’t seem to fit and then finally seeing the whole picture.”

His cell phone rang and he fished it out of his pocket. The caller ID told him it was Stanton; he tilted the phone so that Maddie could hear too. “Yeah?”

“Mixed news. I’ve gotten nowhere with Michelle Tan, and Cho Li has yet to appear at his apartment.”

“Could something have happened to him?” Maddie asked.

“I doubt it. One of the uniforms watching the building chatted up the doorman. The guy claims Cho stays out all night two or three times a week.”

“Maybe he has a lady friend,” Jase said.

“That’s my first guess. I’ll have my men bring him in as soon as he shows up. We’re having better luck with Eva Ware’s car. It was parked in her garage. The dent on the hood and the fabric we found on the undercarriage suggest that it was used to run her down. I hope to have lab results confirming that tomorrow. There’s no garage attendant on duty. The gate can only be opened with an electronic key card. You find anything like that in her effects?”

“No. No spare car keys either,” Jase said.

“So someone close to her could have seized an opportunity to lift both,” Stanton mused. “There’s a surveillance camera that takes pictures of anyone leaving or entering the garage. I’m hoping to have the tapes early tomorrow, and we may get lucky. Anything new on your end?”

“Have you ever heard of a night club called the Golden Spider?”

“Can’t say that I have.”

“Eva referred to it a few times in her appointment calendar, and I’m going to have Dino check it out in the morning.”

“I’ve got a friend over in Vice. I’ll see what I can find out.”

Jase repocketed his cell, then turned to Maddie. “My gut instinct tells me that things are going to start to move quickly tomorrow. That’s one of the reasons I want to arrive at Eva Ware Designs before anyone else does. I always found when going into an op, it paid to get there early.”

“How can I help?”

“Depending on how the morning goes, we may have to improvise on the spot.” He thought of what she’d done with Michelle, playing the sympathetic cop. “Think you can follow my lead?”

She met his eyes, lifted her chin. “You haven’t lost me yet, have you?”

“No.” He leaned down and kissed her mouth softly. He meant to keep it short, sweet, but he couldn’t resist lingering, luring. I nearly lost her. When he felt himself sinking, he reluctantly drew away.

“Let’s try a different tack.” He pushed aside the notes he’d jotted down and handed her a blank piece of hotel stationary. “How good are you at sketching faces?”

She stared at him. “Sketching faces?”

“Yeah. I want you to draw likenesses of the people who may have had access to the security codes at Eva Ware Designs.”

Maddie began with a quick drawing of her cousin Adam. Jase passed her a second sheet and she attacked Cho.

As he watched her pen fly across the page, he marveled at how good she was. She was biting down on her lower lip, concentrating hard. He’d seen Jordan do the same thing sitting at her computer.

“I have photos of everyone in the files that Jordan prepared for me.”

“That would spoil the experiment. You’re like your mother. You think while you draw.”

“Oh.”

Her hand paused for a moment, then continued to fly across page after page. The sketches were clever and insightful caricatures. She managed to accurately capture Adam’s ego, Arnold Bartlett’s pomposity, Cho’s serenity and Michelle’s eagerness and seeming innocence.

“Where did you learn to do this?” he asked.

She glanced at him. “In high school, I worked on the school newspaper.”

“Try Carleton and Dorothy.”

At her raised eyebrow, he elaborated, “If Adam had access to the security codes, theoretically so did they.”

When she’d finished, he lined the sketches up in two lines. “If Michelle, Cho, or Arnold robbed the store and Eva suspected one of them, their jobs would be at stake and there would have been a scandal that would have made the front pages of the newspapers.”

“But if family was behind it—” Maddie lined up Adam, Dorothy and Carleton next to the others “—then the scandal would go even deeper. Eva might have been afraid that the store or the business would have been hurt.”

For a few moments, silence stretched between them as they studied the two columns they’d fashioned out of the drawings.

“It all comes back to the same old suspects—someone in the family or someone employed by Eva Ware Designs.”

“The question is, who has the most at stake?” Jase said.

“And if Eva’s murder is related to the robbery, who stood to gain from both?”

Jase gave her shoulders a squeeze, then gathered up her sketches and stacked them into a pile. “Enough for tonight. Sometimes I find the best way to shine new light on a problem is to sleep on it.” He rose, drawing her to her feet with him. “Let’s go to bed.”

14

TAKING her hand, Jase drew Maddie with him into the bedroom. When they reached the bed, he said, “I haven’t let you sleep much.”

Maddie smiled at him. “I think that I made my contribution to the no-sleep agenda.”

When she reached for him, he took her hands and raised them to his lips. “Something’s happening between us, Maddie. Something I don’t quite understand.” But he thought he did understand. He was very much afraid that he was falling in love with Maddie Farrell. And it had him feeling jittery.

It gave him some satisfaction when he saw the change in her eyes. Perhaps he wasn’t the only one feeling a bit out of his depth.

“You feel it too,” he said.

“Yes. A little. I’ve given it some thought, and I think it would be wrong to make too much of it. We’ve been on a roller-coaster ride, emotionally, physically.”

Impatience flared but he tamped it down.

“We’re smart. We’re adults.”

Her fingers had tensed in his.

“What we’re feeling right now—”

“Is real,” he insisted.

“Perhaps. But it could fade when the crisis is over.”

Knowing the value of keeping an opponent off balance, Jase raised their joined hands and kissed her fingers. “You may be right. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

But he was pretty sure his feelings weren’t going to fade. He’d just have to convince her that hers weren’t going to either. “We have an early morning. I think we should go to bed.”

“I thought you’d never ask.” Her hands were already busy, gripping the hem of his T-shirt and pulling it up and over his head. But he intended to keep the pace slow. Even when they tumbled onto the bed and began to strip off the rest of their clothes, he kept nibbling her mouth, tasting, teasing. He wanted, no, he needed to savor her—something he hadn’t allowed himself to do before.

Her taste was familiar now, sweet, potent, drugging. And yet each time their mouths clung, separated, then fused again, there was something new.

Her hands moved faster than his and he felt the energy in her, heard her moan his name and sensed the imminence of the all-consuming fire. Still, he fought to keep it at bay.

“You don’t have to seduce me,” she whispered.

But he did. He wasn’t sure if it was for her or him. But he did.

She framed his face with her hands and whispered against his mouth, “I want you.”

The three words took his breath away as surely as a sucker punch to the gut. He felt his head spin, his heartbeat quicken. He levered himself up far enough that he could see her. In the moonlight pouring through the window, her skin was pale, delicate. Her hair the color of spun gold. He took out the pins and threaded his fingers through it.

“Jase…”

“I just want to look and touch.” With one finger, he traced her forehead, her cheekbones, then moved along her jawline to her throat where her pulse beat hard and fast. He continued to touch her—breasts, stomach, thighs—and then he took his mouth on the same journey. Desire stabbed through him when the hands on his shoulders went lax and she began to tremble. Little by little he lost himself in the sound of her breath catching, then releasing on the whisper of his name.

STEEPED in sensation, Maddie felt herself begin to float. This wasn’t what she’d expected, wasn’t what she’d thought she wanted. Even when his mouth finally returned to hers, there were so many new things to absorb. The flavor of his lips was different, and it went to her head like wine. Totally seduced, she began to run her hands over him, learning his secrets just as he was learning hers. Wherever she touched, he trembled. Wherever she tasted, he shuddered.

“Maddie,” he murmured as he made a place for himself between her legs and entered her. His face, his eyes filled her vision, her world.

Even then, they moved slowly, watching each other as they climbed higher and higher. When they drew close to the edge, he lowered his mouth to hers and with one final shudder, they tumbled over together.

AFTERWARD, Jase held Maddie tightly, her head resting on his chest, her legs still tangled with his. One of his hands was pressed against the small of her back, holding her in place; the other was in her hair. The steadiness of her breathing told him that she was sleeping. But his own mind wouldn’t shut down.

Instead of trying to fight his wakefulness, he let his mind run through some of the things they’d learned. His gut instinct told him that Maddie had been right all along, and Eva’s appointment calendar had given them a vital clue.

His instincts also told him that time was running out. Eva’s hit-and-run had been carefully and methodically planned. Hiring a professional hit had also taken planning. But the person who’d tried to run Maddie down had taken a huge risk by using the same car.

A killer driven to desperate measures was more dangerous than a careful and methodical one.

Maddie sighed, then settled.

And they hadn’t narrowed their list of suspects down one bit.

The digital clock on the night stand read 2:53 a.m. If he wasn’t going to sleep, there was work he could be doing. Instead of waiting until morning to give Dino the job, he could be finding out what he could about the Golden Spider club and why Eva had been so worried about it during the last few weeks of her life.

But he simply didn’t want to move.

As long as they were here in bed together, he could keep her safe.

And she was his. She’d been his from the moment she’d climbed mistakenly into his bed. Only it hadn’t been a mistake. It had been right. She’d been right for him from the beginning. The certainty of that moved through him like a slow-running river. There were things he wanted to tell her. Needed to tell her. But it wasn’t the time. Not just because a killer still had her in his sights, but because her life had turned into chaos.

Instinctively, he held her even closer. Patience was a virtue he’d cultivated over the years. He’d needed it when he’d been working special ops. He also needed it in his business.

But he wondered just how long he could wait before he settled things with Maddie.

MADDIE STIFLED a yawn as Jase hurried her along 50th Street. He’d woken her at six-thirty and told her to get ready. The attentive lover from the night before had morphed into security-agent man again. He’d already showered and shaved, and while she gulped room-service coffee and struggled to catch up, he’d been on his phone—to Dino and Stanton she supposed.

It wasn’t until the cab had dropped them off on Fifth Avenue around the block from Eva Ware Designs that the caffeine finally began to clear the fog out of Maddie’s brain. She’d asked why the taxi hadn’t dropped them off directly in front of the store, and Jase explained that the store was probably being watched.

The blunt reminder that she was still a target had her nerves knotting and her mind going on full alert. Somehow working to decipher her mother’s appointment calendar and then making love with Jase had pushed fear about the imminent danger to her life onto the back burner. Quite suddenly, as if everything had shifted into sharp focus, Maddie was very much aware of her surroundings. Brownstones lined up like so many soldiers on either side of the street. In spite of the early hour, a few people were out and about. They passed a man in work clothes fiddling with an awning. A young woman in shorts and flip-flops was walking her dog. A taxi pulled up about three buildings down, and a woman in a business suit hurried down the steps. Jase’s hand tightened on her arm, and she was very much aware that his other hand had slipped beneath his jacket to his gun.

Even as her throat went dry, the cab pulled away. Jase picked up the pace and drew her into a narrow alleyway. “We’re going in the back way to the store.”

“Why are we here so early?”

“I want to make sure no one is lying in wait for you. This is the one place that they can depend on you showing up to today.”

Maddie glanced sideways at him. His mouth was set in a grim line, and she could see that his attention was focused on their surroundings. She forced herself to look where he was looking, but she couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. The alley appeared to be deserted.

“I also want to tour the place without being interrupted. I can’t rid myself of the idea that I saw something similar to that Golden Spider logo yesterday.”

When they reached the back entrance to the store, Jase positioned her between himself and the wall of the building while he dealt with the security code and opened the door.

“Can you get in any place this easily?” Maddie asked.

“It helps that I installed the system and the codes.” His voice was pitched low. “I’ll go in first. No noise. No conversation. You stay behind me until I make sure that each area is clear.”

“You really think someone is in there waiting for us?” she whispered.

The eyes that met hers were cool. “I’m playing it safe. I didn’t play it safe enough yesterday when I took you to the park. I changed the security codes for Eva the day after the robbery, but Arnold Bartlett has the new code, and I imagine Jordan has it. There’s no way to be sure that Eva didn’t give it out to someone else.”

Maddie swallowed hard and they slipped into a room that appeared to function both as storage and a break room. Jase led the way into the main salon. The faint scents of coffee and lilies lingered in the air. Lit only by the early-morning sun, the room lacked the glitter and fantasy that she’d experienced the day before, but for Maddie, it still had a quiet elegance.

She followed Jase past the elevator to the stairwell and together they climbed to the second floor and exited into the office area. It was empty. Maddie kept half a step behind Jase as he moved silently from office to office, scanning each one. Satisfied that they were deserted, he moved down the short hall to the door of the workroom. Then he stopped and listened. Maddie counted ten beats before she heard it—a faint tapping. Even muffled, she recognized it as the sound of a hammer striking against metal and it was coming from inside the workroom.

Jase motioned her to stay where she was, then took out his gun and stepped forward to open the door.

“Cho?” he said.

Startled, the man whirled in his chair. The small hammer clattered to the floor when his eyes fastened on Jase’s gun.

IT WAS shock and fear that Jase recognized on Cho’s face. Gut instinct told him that Maddie had been right about him. Whatever was going on, Cho wasn’t behind it. The moment he lowered his gun, Maddie rushed past him.

“Cho, what are you doing here?” she asked.

Cho rose from his chair. “I often come in early to catch up on work. I got behind yesterday because of the cameraman.”

Maddie motioned him into his chair and then sat in her mother’s. Perfectly willing to let her play good cop again, Jase left the door behind him open and moved to a far corner between two windows. From his position, he could keep his eye on both Madison Avenue and 51st Street and still be ready for anyone who tried to enter the workroom.

He’d learned a long time ago to trust his instincts and they were still telling him that something was going to go down today.

“You haven’t spoken to the police then?” Maddie asked.

“Police?” Cho’s gaze shifted to Jase, then back to Maddie. “Why would I speak with the police?”

Maddie quickly filled him in on what had happened at her mother’s apartment and later at the police station. While she did, Jase scanned the room, searching for what had been tugging at the corners of his mind ever since he’d come across that ad for the Golden Spider and seen Eva’s doodle in the margin of her calendar. Maddie had been right, it wasn’t among her mother’s sketches.

After glancing down on both streets, he moved to Adam’s desk. He’d done the same thing yesterday, then turned and leaned his hip against the corner so that he could talk to Adam and still keep his eyes on Maddie and Cho. He repeated the movement and was midpoint in turning when he caught it out of the corner of his eye. On the shelf above Adam’s desk was a framed photo of the Golden Spider logo.

A tingle of excitement moved through him as he moved back to the corner between the windows and refocused his attention on Maddie and Cho. Instead of growing agitated about his granddaughter’s troubles, Cho appeared to have become more relaxed as Maddie finished.

“The police know she’s your granddaughter, and it’s the timing that looks so bad,” she explained. “The money went into her account three days after the robbery, and she won’t tell the police where it came from or what she needed it for.”

“I gave her the money,” said Cho. “Michelle is very proud. She was embarrassed to have to ask me for help.”

“Where did you get the money?” Jase asked.

Cho’s chin lifted slightly as he shifted his gaze to Jase. “Eva lent it to me.”

“Eva lent you the money?” Maddie asked.

Cho nodded. “Michelle needed it right away, and it would have taken time for me to get that amount out of my retirement fund. I would have had to sell some stocks at a loss. When Eva died, I told Jordan everything. You’ll get the money back.”

They hadn’t had a chance to tell Jordan about the money in Michelle’s account, Jase thought. But the fact that Cho had told her would give his story more credibility.

“Why did Michelle need the money so quickly?” Maddie asked.

Cho shook his head. “As I mentioned before, she’s a very proud girl. That was the reason she didn’t want anyone to know that we were related. She was determined to get this job on her own. She was still living in a dorm when she interned here. But as soon as she was hired full time, she decided she needed to find her own place to live. And since she was working here and was being paid well, she decided to buy a place. She needed thirty thousand dollars for a down payment. Instead of coming to me for help or advice, she borrowed the money.”

“Not from a bank,” Jase said.

“She tried and was turned down. Then a friend told her about a place where they were more understanding about young people starting out on good career paths.” Cho raised an eyebrow. “I believe they call them loan sharks in this country. She says she read the paperwork and that she was given an amount to pay monthly. Which she did. Then a month ago, she was told that she wasn’t even covering the interest on the loan and that her current balance was a hundred thousand dollars. Michelle’s a proud girl, but she’s not stupid. She knew that she was in trouble. That’s when she came to me for help.”

Maddie studied him for a moment. “Did Michelle know that you borrowed the money from Eva?”

“No. Eva withdrew the money from her account on the day we talked and she gave me a bank check. There’s no way that Michelle could have known. It would have shamed her even more to know that Eva was involved.”

Maddie glanced over her shoulder at Jase and then back at Cho. “I think that the reason she won’t talk to the police is because she wants to protect you.”

“From what?” Cho asked.

“It’s the timing again. I’ll bet she thinks you robbed the store and that’s how you got the money.”

Cho thought for a minute. “Perhaps.”

“You’ll have to go down to the police station and explain everything,” Jase said. A flash of movement on Madison Avenue caught his attention—two men getting out of a taxi. He recognized his operatives, Tony and Carter. If they were arriving, Adam Ware wouldn’t be far behind.

When he turned back, Cho was clearing his desk. On a hunch, he took the photograph from Adam’s desk and showed it to Cho. “Do you know anything about this photo?”

“Yes. That’s a design Adam created for a nightclub. It’s also the place where Michelle went to pay back her loan. I insisted on going with her to deliver the hundred thousand.”

THE WINDOW in the hallway outside the workroom led to a fire escape and offered a view of the alleyway. Through it Jase watched Cho exit through the back door and head towards 51st Street. He’d already phoned Stanton to let him know that the man was on his way, and he’d given him a brief summary of Cho’s story.

In return, Stanton had explained what he’d learned about the Golden Spider club and its owner from his friend in Vice. Then Jase had checked with Tony and Carter, who were still hanging out at the front of the store, and confirmed that Adam was due to arrive any minute.

He relayed that information to Maddie and added, “Tony and Carter are here on the pretext of getting some shots of Adam in the workroom before the store officially opens. It’s as good a time as any for us to discover if your cousin has the new security code. Or if he’s going to have to cool his heels until Arnold Bartlett arrives and opens for business.”

The moment Cho disappeared from view, Maddie turned to study Jase. “There’s something in your eyes—a sort of excitement. Have you fitted the puzzle together yet?”

“No. But I’m closer than before.”

“Because Adam designed that logo for the Golden Spider?”

“Yes. It proves he had a connection with the club’s owner, John Kessler, and/or that club. Stanton says that Kessler has been under investigation for some time. The problem is that they can’t get any hard evidence on him. Socially and politically, he’s very well-connected here in the city. The Golden Spider is the place to be seen in New York right now. All the big movers and shakers hang out there. But the man is suspected of using the club as a front for a very sophisticated loan-sharking business. Kessler finds his client base there. So far he’s kept his distance from the shadier side of the business. The two victims who have gone to the police have gone missing. But those two clients seem to have been selected very carefully. They were young, they worked in the city at upwardly mobile jobs and they had access to money.”

“Michelle didn’t.”

“She worked here. We know that it wouldn’t have been hard for her to get her hands on one hundred thousand dollars’ worth of jewels. That’s eventually what she might have been pressured to do. They may even have thought that’s what she’d done when she was able to produce the money. And if encouraging their young clients to steal money from their workplaces is their modus operandi, that may be why the police haven’t been able to get any hard evidence. The victims aren’t going to admit to being thieves.”

“Michelle can give them hard evidence. She didn’t steal anything.”

“True.” Jase watched a cab pull up at the mouth of the alleyway on 50th Street. “Stanton will encourage her to do just that if Cho’s story checks out. In the meantime, Stanton is going to put both Michelle and Cho in protective custody for now.”

“And what about Adam? He has a connection to the Golden Spider club too. The thing is why would he need to steal jewels or borrow money from a loan shark? Jordan told me he has a trust fund, and his father runs a bank.”

“Good question. But he fits the profile of the victims Kessler targets,” Jase pointed out. “Everything we just said about Michelle is true about Adam in spades. He might even be the “friend” who told her about Kessler’s operation. Plus, for the last two years he’s seen Jordan as a threat to his future here at Eva Ware Designs. With Eva gone, he probably assumed he’d step into her shoes. Then he learns that you’re a designer also. Last but not least, with you or Jordan out of the way, Adam stands to inherit a lot more money because of the terms of your mother’s will. He’s under pressure from his mother, he has a temper and a rebellious streak. You can bet that Stanton will question him very closely about his connection to Kessler.”

A man emerged from the taxi and started down the alleyway. Gripping Maddie’s shoulders, Jase turned her so that she could see.

“Adam,” she murmured.

Together they watched as he let himself easily into the back door of the store.

“That answers one question. He has the new code. So he could stage another robbery at any time.”

“Or he could just pilfer a few pieces here and there, hoping that no one would notice.”

He turned to her, smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Good theory. Have I told you that I like the way your mind works?”

Then Jase opened the window and climbed out onto the fire escape. There was an ominous creaking sound.

“What are you doing?” Maddie asked.

“Getting out of here.”

“We’re going down the fire escape?”

Jase held out a hand. “C’mon. While two of my best operatives are keeping Adam occupied, we’re going to go on a little field trip to your cousin’s apartment.”

“Why?”

“We may find another puzzle piece there. And I want you out of the store. I took a chance even bringing you here. This is where that hit woman picked you up yesterday.”

As she placed her hand in Jase’s and threw her leg over the sill, Maddie made the mistake of glancing down. Her head spun once, and the moment she shifted her full weight onto the grated flooring, it creaked again.

“Don’t look down.”

“Already did.”

“Think you can make it?”

She met his eyes. “You haven’t lost me yet.”

“No. And I don’t intend to.” Leaning down, he kissed the tip of her nose. “I’ll go first.” He shut the window. “We have to move fast. Do you think you can run in those shoes?”

“Sure.”

Jase turned and led the way down a flight of steps.

Keeping her eyes fastened on Jase’s back, Maddie took a firm grip on the hand railing and followed one tense step at a time. Rattles and groans joined the creaks. She was surprised that no one had run into the alleyway to find out what all the noise was about. When Jase reached the first landing, the whole fire escape swayed.

Maddie’s head spun again. “I don’t think this has been used in a while.”

“Hang in there. It’s almost over.” Dropping to his knees, Jase lowered the ladder. It made a little shrieking sound and particles of rust rose in a fine spray. “I’ll be right beneath you.” He turned and began to climb down.

Maddie braced a hand against the brick wall of the building as the fire escape groaned and swayed. Then she heard the sound of the impact as his feet hit cement followed by a soft grunt.

“C’mon. I’ll catch you.”

For a minute, Maddie closed her eyes. Don’t think about it. Then, drawing in a deep breath, Maddie gripped the railing, ignored the slight sway. Think of something else. Jase. In her mind, she pictured him standing beneath her, ready to catch her if she slipped. With that thought in mind, she turned around, dropped to her knees and found the rung of the ladder with her feet. Slowly, she began her descent.

“Atta girl,” Jase said.

She kept his image in her mind as she located the next rung and the next. She pictured what his face looked like when he was above her, thrusting into her, the crinkles that formed at the corners of his eyes when he was grinning. She recalled the concern she’d glimpsed briefly in his expression when he’d watched D.C. walk with that cane. The cold steel she heard in his voice when he went into security mode.

She’d known him less than forty-eight hours and yet she knew so many sides of him. Her right foot dangled in the air and she gripped the ladder tightly.

“Just drop. I’ll catch you.”

For only a moment, she hesitated. But even then, she didn’t picture the distance to the ground. The image in her mind was Jase below her, his arms outstretched, that long, lean body braced to catch hers.

When she let go and fell, she felt her heart take the same fast tumble.

Arms as strong as steel clamped around her. “Gotcha.”

For an instant, she felt him sway. Then he set her solidly on her feet.

“Ready?”

She turned to him then. And the fear that snaked up her spine had less to do with the fact that her life was in danger and much more to do with the man. She wasn’t sure she was ready for what she was coming to feel for Jase Campbell. But she was going to get ready. Taking his hand in hers, she said, “Yes.”

Side by side, they raced for the end of the alleyway.

15

TWENTY MINUTES later, Jase and Maddie climbed the stairs in Adam’s apartment building.

“You’ve given me a whole new perspective on the lack of security in New York City dwellings.”

Jase slanted a look at her. She hadn’t commented as he’d gotten them into the basement of the building through an emergency-exit door. The alarm had sounded, but before anyone had appeared in the hallway, he’d urged her into the stairwell. “This one has excellent security at least at the front end. A doorman and another man on duty at the desk.” That was why he’d chosen a different entrance.

“Can you get into any building this easily?”

“Depends. I was in a hurry, and I was lucky.” He knew enough not to depend on luck for everything. He’d been able to hail a cab on Fifth Avenue and he’d switched taxis twice before arriving at Adam’s building. He was as sure as he could be that they hadn’t been followed, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d overlooked something.

On the fourth-floor landing, he pushed through the exit door. “Another time I might have pulled a D.C. and spun a story for the doorman that would have gotten us into Adam’s apartment in a more legitimate way.”

When they reached apartment 457, Jase motioned her to one side of the door. Then he knocked loudly. He counted ten beats, then knocked again.

Nothing.

Only then did he take the small case out of his back pocket and begin to work on the lock. Less than two minutes later, he had the door open. Still on the threshold, he scanned the living room. Something had his gut clenching, but there was no sound, no movement and nothing to be seen but dust motes dancing in a slant of morning sunlight.

Hurry, he told himself as he stepped into the small foyer. All he caught was a blur of movement, but it was enough to have him turning slightly. As a result, the blow hit him in the side of his head instead of the back.

“Maddie, run.” He managed to choke out the words as the pain, immediate and fierce, grayed his vision. Then his world went black.

MADDIE STOOD frozen as she watched Jase crumple to the floor. Then a hand grabbed her arm and jerked her forward into the room. Even then, she wasn’t able to shift her eyes away from him. Blood was oozing from a cut on his head.

A shove from behind had her stumbling past Jase’s lifeless body. A spurt of anger freed her from paralysis. She whirled on her attacker. She would have lunged forward had it not been for the gun in the woman’s right hand.

“Dorothy?” Maddie stared at the impeccably dressed woman standing in front of her, taking in the details as her sluggish mind raced to keep up. Adam’s mother was wearing a royal-blue suit today. The color contrasted nicely with the blood dripping from the fireplace poker Dorothy held in one hand. Jase’s blood.

Maddie swallowed the hysteria threatening to bubble up. She had to think, she had to find a way to help Jase. She’d been trained in self-defense tactics by Cash. The first rule was to distract your opponent. For now, she just had to stall. Keep Dorothy talking.

“What are you doing here?” Maddie asked.

“Adam called me.”

Dorothy took two steps forward, and Maddie backed up in retreat. They were out of the foyer now, farther away from Jase. That was good. But in the stronger light, what Maddie saw glinting in the older woman’s eyes had fear nearly freezing her again.

“He saw you leaving by way of the fire escape,” Dorothy continued. “I was still on my cell talking to him when the police arrived to take him in for questioning. That was your doing. Don’t bother to deny it.”

Dorothy’s voice was calm, composed, making the lethal weapon in her hand seem surreal. Keeping the gun steadily aimed at Maddie, she moved sideways to the fireplace and hung the poker on its hook. Good, Maddie thought. There was only one weapon to worry about now. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t play innocent.” Dorothy moved closer, and this time Maddie held her ground. She had to if she was going to get that gun away.

“I know what you’re doing. Your friend runs a security firm. Jase Campbell. Adam recognized the name the moment you introduced him.”

“He’s also Jordan’s apartment mate,” Maddie said. “And a good friend.”

“But that’s not why you brought him with you to Eva Ware Designs. Before she died, Eva told Adam that she’d hired Jase Campbell to investigate the robbery. And I knew when I saw him with you yesterday that you intended to stir everything up again. It’s all part of your goal to push Adam out of Eva Ware Designs. And for that you have to die, just as Eva had to die.”

DIE. That one word penetrated the fog clouding Jase’s brain. Then he remembered. The woman standing just inside the foyer. Maddie was in danger. How long had he been out? Experimentally, he opened his eyes just a little and rode out the wave of pain. He could just make out the two women standing in a slash of sunlight about ten feet away.

Dorothy Ware had a gun aimed at Maddie. Anger and fear flooded through him. Jase shoved both aside and resisted the urge to get up. When he moved, he’d have to be fast. And he had to be sure that he wouldn’t get dizzy. Wouldn’t stumble. Slowly, carefully, he raised his head off the floor. Pain spiked at his right temple, but there was no dizziness.

MADDIE SAW two movements at once. Jase lifting his head and Dorothy raising the gun slightly. Don’t panic. Stall.

“Is that why you hired the hit woman?” Maddie asked.

Surprise flickered for a moment in Dorothy’s eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I prefer to handle things on my own.”

Maddie didn’t let herself look at the gun. “You still haven’t told me why you’re here.”

With her free hand, Dorothy gestured toward the purse that sat on the arm of one of the sofas. “Adam asked me to come and take away the jewels.”

“The jewels?”

“Adam is not entirely stupid. He knew he wouldn’t get away with another robbery. So instead, he’s been bringing pieces here one at a time. Eventually he’ll sell them in the same way he sold the others. He couldn’t afford to leave them here now that the police are involved.”

A chill snaked its way up Maddie’s spine. Dorothy spoke about her son’s actions in the same matter-of-fact tone she might use to discuss the weather. Don’t panic. Just keep her talking.

“Adam robbed Eva Ware Designs? Why? He’s rich.”

Dorothy sighed. “Not anymore. He has a gambling problem, and he hasn’t conquered it yet. He’s gone through his trust fund, and Carleton wouldn’t help him out. He claims he can’t because money has become very tight at the bank. Plus he’s still annoyed with Adam for not taking a job at Ware Bank. He could be a VP by now. So Adam had to borrow money elsewhere.”

“At a high interest rate?” So Jase had been right.

“Yes. Luckily, I sit on the MOMA board with a man who helps people in Adam’s situation.”

“John Kessler?”

Dorothy frowned. “How did you know?”

“The man’s a loan shark,” Maddie said.

“Nonsense. He helped Adam when his father and I couldn’t. Of course, I did what I could to help him with the payments, but I couldn’t go on doing that forever. I told him he had to be a man and take care of the problem. And for once in his life, Adam stepped up to the plate.”

The pride in Dorothy’s voice had Maddie’s blood turning even colder.

“He robbed Eva Ware Designs of a few baubles to take care of the debt once and for all. Everything would have been fine if Eva hadn’t figured it out. When she confronted him about the robbery and discovered that Adam was still gambling, she actually threatened him. Adam, in spite of his faults, is a Ware.”

“Did she threaten to have him arrested?”

“Of course not. Adam’s family. She told him that she would settle his additional debt, but that he would have to leave Eva Ware Designs. Can you imagine that?”

For the first time, Maddie heard a thread of emotion in Dorothy’s voice.

“She was going to fire Adam! Adam, whose dream was to run Eva Ware Designs one day. I couldn’t allow that to happen. That’s why I had to kill her. That’s why I have to kill you.”

Beyond Dorothy’s shoulder, Maddie saw Jase spring to his feet and lunge forward. Later, she remembered everything in freeze-framed moments. Dorothy started to turn. Jase was still too far away to reach her in time. Without any thought on her part, Maddie flew forward and brought the edge of her hand down hard on Dorothy’s gun arm. The gun fired into the floor.

The shot was still ringing in Maddie’s ear when she grabbed the arm she’d just hit and kicked Dorothy’s feet out from under her.

Jase flipped the woman over and sat on her while he put plastic restraints on her wrists and ankles. Then he pulled out his cell, punched in a number, and handed it to Maddie. “You talk to Stanton. He’s going to yell at me and my head hurts.”

As she took the phone, he smiled at her, then winced and said, “Is that one of the moves your friend Cash taught you?”

“Yes.”

“I owe him one.”

IT TOOK a lot of charm, arguments and dogged determination, but in just three hours Jase was letting Maddie lead him down the hall to his bedroom. The stop at the emergency room had been at Maddie’s insistence. Stanton had joined them there and questioned them both in the waiting room.

While he’d been X-rayed, poked, prodded, stitched up and given a prescription for twenty-four hours of bed rest, she had stayed by his side.

That’s when Maddie had asked the question that was foremost in his own mind. “You don’t think that it’s over, do you?”

“Hard to say,” he’d replied. “That’s why I haven’t called D.C. yet. I don’t want anyone in Santa Fe letting down their guard until we know more.”

According to Stanton, Carleton Ware had been shocked when he’d heard the news about his wife and son. Stanton’s take was that the reaction rang true. Neither the wife nor the son had implicated him. Carleton was out of town attending a conference, but he’d sent a team of lawyers to the station. However, the hard evidence had started to dribble in. The security cameras at Eva’s garage had caught a good shot of Dorothy behind the wheel of Eva’s car on the same night that Eva was run down. And Dino had tapped into Eva’s bank account and found a withdrawal of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars two days before her death. Apparently that had gone to Adam to pay off the additional debt he’d incurred since he’d robbed the store. Jase’s informant had also phoned in. One of the fences he’d contacted had given a description of Adam.

“I don’t believe Dorothy hired the hit woman who shot at us in the park,” Maddie said. “I don’t think she could have faked the surprise I saw in her eyes when I asked her about it.”

“I’m not so sure she hired the hit either. Perhaps Adam did,” Jase said.

“The terrible thing is his mother would be proud of him if he did.”

They’d reached his bedroom, and Maddie steered him through the door and onto the bed. He let her fuss over him, rearranging pillows. But when she turned to go, he took her wrist and pulled her down on top of him.

“Jase,” she said. “The doctor said bed rest. You have a possible concussion.”

“That doctor was only twelve years old. Besides, it’s equally possible that I don’t have a concussion.”

“Either way, you need rest.”

With one hand he held her in place. With the other he drew her head down and brushed his lips over hers. “Stay with me.”

When she melted against him, a little of his tension eased.

Lifting her head, she said, “We’re just going to rest.”

He smiled slowly. “For now.” He eased her to his side and turned to face her. It occurred to him that they were in the same position as when he’d opened his eyes and first seen her. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ve waited a long time to get you back here in my bed, Maddie.”

When he saw the nerves flash into her eyes, he felt his own knot more tightly in his stomach.

“We don’t need to talk now,” she said.

Patience. He’d thought he could draw on it. Promised himself that he would. But he couldn’t.

“I know that you have a lot on your plate. Your aunt has been arrested for murder, your cousin for robbery. You’ve just begun to get settled in at Eva Ware Designs and get your questions about your mother answered. We haven’t even had time to search Eva’s apartment or office to see whether there’s any evidence that she and your father kept in touch over the years.”

“I have an idea about that. A hunch. We can check it out later. Right now you need to rest.”

Hadn’t he promised himself during the eons of time they’d spent in that emergency room that he’d wait for later, too? There were so many reasons why he shouldn’t push her now. And one reason why he had to.

“I can wait to make love with you, Maddie. But I need to settle something. I thought I could give you time, but I have to say this. We both thought that making love that night was an accident, a mistake. But it wasn’t. There’s something about you that’s felt so right—from the beginning.”

When he paused and she merely stared at him, impatience bubbled over. “Dammit, Maddie. I love you.”

For a moment the words hung in the air between them while Maddie’s head took a bigger spin than it had on the fire escape. Jase loves me?

He gripped her shoulders. “I want you here in my bed. Not just for tonight or the next three weeks. I want you here permanently.”

Permanently? Wasn’t that the word that she’d been afraid to let herself think about? Hope for?

Jase began to look panicked when she still remained silent. “I know that we come from different worlds. But we’ll find a way to build a bridge between them. I figure even after the terms of the will are met, you’ll want to keep your hand in at Eva Ware Designs. And who knows how Jordan will feel about ranching? Maybe Dino and I could open a branch of our business in Santa Fe. We can work something out.” He was babbling, Maddie realized. Jase never babbled.

“Wait.” She placed her hand over his mouth. “I think it’s my turn to say something.”

She smiled at him and framed his face with her hands. “I love you too. Let’s build that bridge.” She drew his mouth to hers.

The kiss was filled with promise and joy. Not just right, but perfect.

Epilogue

“THIS COULD have waited until tomorrow,” Maddie said as they stepped into Eva Ware’s apartment.

“I rested for nearly four hours.”

She shot him a look. “Some of what we did in your bed didn’t qualify as resting.”

He grinned at her. “You’re an irresistible temptation to me, Maddie Farrell. Besides, I think making love to you was just what the doctor should have ordered. I feel much better now.”

The truth was he’d felt wonderful ever since she’d said she loved him. Foolish as it might be, he wanted to shout it from the treetops. Before they’d left the apartment, he’d settled for calling his brother, but D.C.’s phone had gone straight to voice mail. So had Jordan’s. It wasn’t enough to worry him. If there were serious problems at the ranch, D.C. would have found a way to contact him.

“You said you had a hunch,” he continued. “I know what it’s like to have one of those and not be able to act on it right away. You’re not going to rest easy until you check it out.”

She led the way out of the foyer and paused in the doorway to Eva’s library. Outside, the early-evening light was dimming, so Jase flipped on a switch. They were facing the portrait of Eva and Jordan.

“I could be wrong,” Maddie said. “I still don’t really know her all that well.”

Jase took her hand. “You know her better than you think you do.”

“You said that before, and it started me thinking. I want to believe that my parents kept in touch all these years—that they had some interest in the daughter they didn’t raise. But that may be wishful thinking.”

“Or it could be the reality. You’re not going to know until you follow your hunch. Tell me what it is.”

“It may come to nothing. But my mother and I did use the same old-fashioned appointment calendar, and I have this box at the ranch—something my father gave me when I was little—to keep photos, souvenirs and mementos in. I was wondering if Eva might have something similar.”

“Good idea. Where do you want to start looking?”

“We could start here…but that would be stalling. I’ve always kept mine on a shelf in my closet.”

“Let’s go.”

Eva’s bedroom opened off the library. Maddie gripped Jase’s hand tightly as they crossed to the closet. “It might not be here. She could have rented storage space. It could be at Eva Ware Designs.”

“Let’s see.” The moment Jase opened the door, he heard Maddie’s breath catch. There were two boxes on the shelf above the neatly hung clothes. One was labeled Taxes; the second box was red and unmarked.

“The red box—it’s exactly the same as the one my father gave me. What are the odds? He must have sent it to her.”

Without a word, Jase lifted down the box and carried it back to the library. Then they sat down on one of the leather couches and Maddie opened it.

It was filled with photos and letters from Mike Farrell. Maddie lifted them out one by one. Most of them marked milestones in Maddie’s life—her birthdays, graduations.

“This was my very first jewelry show,” Maddie said, giving him the picture.

“The photos have been handled, Maddie. Look at the worn edges. Eva looked at them.”

She met his eyes. “But she never called, never came to visit. And I can’t just blame my mother. My father went along with whatever it was they decided. I don’t understand it.”

Jase lifted an envelope out of the box and examined it more closely. “This one is addressed to your father, and it’s never been mailed.”

“Open it.”

When he did, they read it together.

May 15th

Dear Mike,

It seems strange to be writing to you after all these years. You, of all people, know what a coward I am. I’m afraid to pick up the phone. And if you don’t answer this letter, I’ll understand.

I’m regretting the agreement we made all those years ago. You told me I would, and you were right. I just couldn’t see it at the time. Of course, keeping me informed about Maddie’s life through photos helped.

I’ve been to her Web site, and her designs are beautiful. I haven’t been nearly as good about sending pictures of Jordan. But at least you have the ones when she was competing in horse shows. And when you’ve sent presents, I’ve seen that she’s gotten them—even if I didn’t tell her who they were from. She’s a talented young woman with a very good head for business. I’m fortunate to have her with me. You were right about that—and so many other things. I owe you a great deal.

Enough stalling. I’m writing because I wonder if it’s time that we brought the girls together. I’ve been struggling with the idea for over a year now. They’re both out of college, independent young women. What do you think? I’m so afraid that they’ll hate me for what happened.

And perhaps after all these years, you’re happy with the way things are. Let me know and I’ll abide by your decision.

I hope this letter finds you well.

All my best,

Eva

Jase waited while Maddie skimmed the letter a second time. “She wrote it but she didn’t send it. He wouldn’t have gotten it anyway because he died on the twelfth of May that same year. But I would have received it, and I would have probably opened it and read it.”

“Perhaps she changed her mind and called your father after all.”

Maddie sighed. “There were so many calls after he died.”

“And if she’d asked for Mike, you would have told her that he’d passed.”

“Yes.” She glanced again at the letter. “This raises even more questions than it answers. I’m so afraid they’ll both hate me. Why would we hate her? Because it was her idea to separate us?”

“Perhaps.” Jase took the letter and placed it on the table. Then he took her hands in his.

“So a year ago, she was thinking about bringing us together, and when my dad died, she changed first her mind and then her will? Why wait until she was dead to bring us together?”

“You may never get all the answers, Maddie. And you may not get the ones you want. But I can theorize about the timing. You’ve discovered how focused Eva was on her work. But at the time she wrote the letter Jordan had been working at the Madison Avenue store for about a year. She’d come back after six years in college and graduate school, and she was insisting that she and Eva spend time together—having lunch, going to the theater, shopping. Eva was getting to know Jordan as an adult, and perhaps she wanted to know you too. Then when your father died, she may have lost her courage. Perhaps she was afraid of losing both of you if she revealed what she and Mike had done.”

“So she arranged to have us meet after she was dead? What a waste.”

“I agree.” Jase leaned down and brushed his mouth over hers. “You know, we don’t have all the answers yet. You were both born in Santa Fe and there may still be people who remember your mother being there, however briefly. I’m betting Jordan is investigating that possibility.”

“We have to call her, fill her in. And find out why she’s had her cell phone off for the past few hours. But now that Adam and Dorothy are in police custody, she should be safe, right?”

“She should be, but I’m going to ask D.C. to stay out there for a few more days.”

Maddie drew out her cell phone. But before she punched in the numbers, she turned to him. “Whatever questions or criticism I have about my mother, she did one thing right with her will.”

“What’s that?”

“She brought you into my life. I’ll be forever grateful to her for that.”

“Ditto,” he said, and he pulled her closer for a kiss. He would be forever in Eva’s debt for bringing him Maddie.

ISBN: 978-1-4268-3421-9

TWIN TEMPTATION

Copyright © 2009 by Carolyn Hanlon.

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