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“That’s when I knew I had to contact you and ask for help. I’m sorry I’ve involved you, Jack, but I didn’t know what else to do. I have no idea how to deal with this. Or how to find my sister.”
“It’s okay, Mick. I’m glad you sent for me. Really,” he assured her. After a moment he asked, “Have you tried calling Colleen since that night?”
“Only about a hundred times. I’ve left messages, too. But she’s not responding.
“I’m worried, Jack. I have no idea where my sister is.”
Kate’s voice quavered on the last few words. Jack reached across the space between their seats and squeezed her hands, which she was twisting together in her lap.
“Hey, take it easy, Mick. Don’t go borrowing trouble. One thing we know for sure is, they haven’t found her yet. Those guys back there were half expecting her to be with you.”
“That’s true. But all the same, I’m really worried about her, Jack. She’s so timid. She’s not used to fending for herself or being on her own.”
“Take it easy. Colleen may be a gentle soul but she’s smart—just like all you Mahaffey women. We’ll find her. And when we do we’ll get to the bottom of this and straighten everything out.”
Kate put her head back on the neck-protector and closed her eyes, willing her taut muscles to relax. “I hope you’re right.” She turned her head on the rest and looked at Jack’s strong profile. “Thanks again for coming to my rescue. I didn’t know where else to turn.”
“You don’t have to keep thanking me, okay? I’m glad you got in touch with me. It’s been a long time.”
The gaze he turned on her held a world of unspoken thoughts and guarded emotions. Kate knew that he was thinking about the last time he had heard from her, but he returned his gaze to the highway and fell silent.
Tension began to creep back into her muscles. She knew Jack. He was biding his time, waiting for the right moment, but sooner or later he would bring up the subject of their divorce and demand some answers. She had known that would happen when she’d sent him that message.
Kate turned her head and gazed out the side window at nothing, her jaw clenched. She owed him an explanation. She knew that. But the last thing she wanted, especially now, was to dissect their marriage and explain her actions to Jack. Doing so would serve no purpose other than to stir up bitter feelings. Their marriage was finished and she’d moved on. She assumed that Jack had done the same.
He’d certainly honored her request that he stay away from her, something she hadn’t really expected he would do.
A tiny frown creased her forehead. How, she wondered, had he known about Uncle Quincy and Aunt Rose’s deaths? She had no doubt that Jack had been working in some armpit country halfway around the world at the time, yet after each death she and Colleen had received flowers and cards from him.
At the traffic signal at the junction of the Loop and the Tyler highway Jack turned left, and for the first time since leaving the woods Kate took note of the landscape on either side of the highway. Her frown returned. “Where are we going? If we’re going to find out anything we have to go back to Houston.”
“And we will. But except for catnaps on government planes, I haven’t slept in over two days.” He shot her a dry look. “And frankly, Mick, from the look of you, I’d say you haven’t, either. And since I don’t want to risk overtaking those two goons on the highway, we’re going to get a hotel room here in Palestine and get some rest, then head for Houston tomorrow.”
“A room? Oh, I don’t think so. If you think I’m sharing a bed with you, Jackson Prime, forget it.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“True. But we’re not married anymore.”
“That wasn’t my choice.”
“Jack—”
“Oh, lighten up, Kate. You’re safe. I’m too tired to seduce you tonight. I’ll get us a room with two beds.”
“But—”
“Sorry. That’s the best I can do. No way am I letting you out of my sight until this is over.”
“But…shouldn’t we start trying to find Colleen?”
“Sweetie, everyone needs to sleep now and then. Even bad guys. This way we’ll start fresh in the morning.”
Kate knew he was right. God knew, she was exhausted, and certainly Jack was after traveling halfway around the world through several time zones. He had to be suffering major jet lag. Still, the need to find her sister ate at her. She doubted she would sleep a wink for worrying.
The hotel that Jack chose was a worldwide, moderately priced chain, but it was the newest and nicest hotel in Palestine.
The instant they entered the room Kate claimed dibs on the shower and disappeared into the bathroom with her duffel bag.
With his hands hooked over his lean hipbones, Jack stared at the closed door with a hint of amusement on his angular face. You can run, sweetheart, but you won’t escape. Our time of reckoning has arrived.
After removing what he needed, he hung his weekender bag in the cubbyhole of a closet, double-checked all the locks on the doors and windows, then stretched out on one of the beds to wait, ankles crossed, fingers laced beneath his head.
About a half hour later the bathroom door opened and Kate emerged in a roiling cloud of steam, redolent with the scents of soap, shampoo, toothpaste and sweet, clean woman. A halo of wet ringlets framed her scrubbed face and she wore a knee-length, long-sleeved, flannel nightshirt.
Nice try, Mick, Jack thought, biting back a grin. He had no doubt that she was going for dowdy and nonsexual, but she looked adorable.
“It’s all yours,” she announced.
Jack rolled to his feet, grabbed his toiletry kit and headed for the bathroom. At the door he stopped and looked back at her. “I won’t be long. When I’m done we still have some talking to do.”
The flash of panic in her eyes told him that she knew exactly what the subject would be. Regaining control quickly, she nodded and murmured, “All right.”
Jack was tempted to linger under the cold spray. He had barely slept for two days, he was tired, every muscle in his body ached and to top it all off it had been ages since he’d enjoyed the luxury of an American shower. But he’d waited a long time for this showdown with Kate.
In just under ten minutes he stepped out of the bathroom rubbing his wet hair with a small towel and a bath sheet wrapped around his middle…and found his ex-wife curled into a ball on the bed, sleeping like a baby.
Jack stood beside the bed and watched her, frustrated and disappointed. And enchanted.
It was a compliment, he supposed, that she felt safe enough with him that she could relax and give in to sleep, which she obviously hadn’t done in days.
Unable to help himself, he reached out and ran the end of his forefinger along the tips of her eyelashes, which lay fanned out on her cheeks. Then he touched the spattering of freckles on the bridge of her nose. Kate didn’t so much as twitch.
Finally, heaving a sigh, Jack rolled her to the center of the queen-size bed, pulled back the covers, then scooped her up and tucked her in between the sheets and pulled the covers back up to her shoulders. With a wry smile tugging at his mouth, he smoothed her damp curls off of her forehead.
“You win this round, Mick. But our reckoning is coming.”
Kate made a sleepy sound and burrowed her face into the pillow.
Four
A sliver of morning sunlight sliced through the gap in the black-out drapes and drew a line across the bed where Kate slept. Slouched in a chair, Jack sat in the shadows, watching her.
Funny how merely looking at her made him happy, he mused. Being near her made him feel…whole, somehow. Alive. As though she filled an aching empty place in his soul.
She’d had that effect on him from the beginning.
Remembering that first encounter, the barest hint of a smile flickered over Jack’s mouth. In his early twenties he’d been restless and craving adventure and had wanted to see the world, footloose and fancy free. With that goal in mind he’d made the decision never to marry. Joining the agency after college had cemented that choice.
Then, four years later, he’d met Kate.
From the moment he first saw her he’d been drawn to her like metal shavings to a magnet. They had been at a party at the Houston home of a mutual friend, and from all the way across the room he’d noticed that she seemed to glow from within with a vitality that was irresistible.
Without waiting for their host to introduce them, he’d taken matters into his own hands and strolled over to her group, inserted himself between her and the man with whom she’d been talking and, before she realized his intent, maneuvered her away to a secluded corner.
Within moments he’d been smitten. After dating her for only a few weeks he’d been forced to revise his life plan. The mere thought of a life without Kate in it had been unbearable.
He’d always supposed it was some sort of poetic justice that he’d fallen so hard and so fast. And that Kate had not rushed into his arms, as so many a woman had before her. Though he did not think of himself as being particularly good-looking, up until that point he’d never had to pursue a woman.
However, Kate was not one of those women who needed a man to complete her or support her or take care of her. She had far too much self-esteem and confidence for that.
And why not? She’d come from a stable family, every member of which loved and supported her. She was smart, educated, talented, socially adept and ever since he’d known her she’d had a successful career of her own making.
Even back then, at the young age of twenty-four, she’d already begun to carve out a name for herself as a designer of fine diamond and gemstone jewelry. These days her designs were sold in high-end jewelry stores all over the country and she was often commissioned by wealthy patrons to do one-of-a-kind pieces.
No, winning Kate had not been easy.
But then, he’d been prepared to do whatever it took to persuade her to marry him. Hell, he would’ve gotten down on his knees and begged if it had come to that.
Jack’s gaze slid over Kate’s face like a caress. She looked about eighteen, with her face scrubbed clean and rosy with sleep and those long lashes lying against her cheeks like little fans. Her lips were bare and slightly parted, her short auburn hair mussed.
She wasn’t truly beautiful, he supposed. Her nose was too short and splattered with freckles and her mouth was too wide and full for classic beauty. Even so, she had an irresistible appeal. Maybe it was those big, expressive green eyes that made his insides melt. Or that impish grin, complete with a dimple at each corner. They even winked at you whenever she talked.
Beautiful? No. What she was was downright adorable.
She was also passionate, feisty and absolutely fearless—frighteningly so at times.
Kate had a tendency to leap into a fray before she thought. Whenever she felt that she was in the right or encountered an injustice she’d wade right in, all one hundred and five pounds of her, and stand toe-to-toe with anyone, no matter who, when, where, how much clout they had or how big and intimidating they were. When riled, his ex-wife was like a fearsome little terrier.
Jack was just grateful that in her current situation she’d recognized the serious danger that she and Colleen were facing and had the good sense to know that she was in over her head and needed help.
Although…he could imagine just how much it had galled her to call on him.
Kate made a soft sound and shifted in the bed. Jack’s frugal smile flickered again. The small protest was a sure sign that her morning waking ritual was about to begin.
For all her energy and drive, Kate was not a morning person. When fully awake—a state which took a hearty breakfast and at least two cups of strong coffee to achieve—she was a little dynamo. However, when that active mind finally shut down she slept with the abandon of a child, sinking deep and clinging to mindless oblivion as long as possible.
She shifted again, then rolled onto her side and tried to burrow her face into the pillow. Seconds later she rolled onto her back again. After another minute or two of squirming she heaved a sigh and gave up.
Yawning, she stretched one leg then the other, then raised her arms over her head and, in a slow, sinuous motion, arched her back and made a purring sound.
Jack’s arousal was instantaneous.
Aw, hell, Mick. You’re killing me here, he groaned to himself.
Unlike his ex-wife, he had not slept well the previous night, despite exhaustion and a cold shower. Awareness of Kate just a few feet away in the next bed had nearly driven him nuts.
Relaxing her body, she slumped back onto the mattress, but an instant later she cried out and jackknifed into a sitting position. “Jack!”
“Easy, Mick. Easy. I’m here,” he murmured.
Her head snapped toward the sound of his voice. “Oh.” She gave him a rueful look and raked the fingers of one hand through her hair. “For a minute there I thought…”
“What? That I’d deserted you? Left you high and dry with no warning? I would never do that to you.”
Kate’s sheepish expression vanished. She shot him a sleepy but sullen look. “That was a dig at me for the divorce, wasn’t it? For the way I handled things? You are still angry.”
“Maybe. But then, I have a right to be, don’t you think?”
Pressing the heels of both hands to her temples, Kate squeezed her eyes shut and groaned. “I knew it. I knew it. I should never have contacted you. I knew I’d regret it,” she muttered.
Dropping her hands, she sent him a bleary-eyed look. “If that’s the way you feel, why did you bother to come home at all? Or did you just use my request for help as an excuse to confront me? If that’s the case, you can leave right now. I have more pressing matters to deal with than your lingering resentment.”
“Resentment?” Jack gave a mirthless chuckle. “Sweetie, that doesn’t even come close to what I felt when I received those divorce papers. But we’re not going to have this discussion just yet. Not until you’ve had some coffee and are wide awake. You see, I believe in fighting fair.”
“I’m not going to discuss the past with you, Jack,” she mumbled, knuckling her eyes. “What’s done is done, and there’s no going back. In fact, I’ve changed my mind. I don’t need your help. I want you to leave.”
“Feeling brave this morning, are you? Amazing what a good night’s sleep can do for your outlook. Well, too bad. I’m staying.”
He unfolded his lean frame from the chair and stood up. “While you get dressed I’ll run downstairs and get us some breakfast from the buffet.”
In a blink her drowsy bravado vanished and she glanced at the door. “But what if—”
“Ah, not so courageous after all, huh. Well, don’t worry. You’ll be safe alone for a few minutes. Those guys are most likely back in Houston by now. But even if they aren’t, they don’t know about me or that I’m with you. They won’t be looking for my vehicle or for a married couple, which is how I registered us, by the way. Under the name of Mr. and Mrs. Justin Pardo, which is one of my aliases. You see, being married does have its advantages,” he added.
“Oh yeah. Just so you know, I have passports and all sorts of photo IDs in that name with me. Along with several others. In case we need them.
“For now, though, there’s no need to be afraid. From the buffet table in the lobby I can see both the elevator and the outside doors. No one is going to get past me. So shake-a-leg, Mick. If you’re not dressed by the time I get back I’ll take that as an invitation,” he added with a suggestive glance toward the bed.
It took a second for the comment to penetrate her muzziness, but when it did she reacted with her usual spunk. “Forget it, Jackson. That’s not going to happen.”
Shooting him an annoyed look, she dragged herself out of the bed, plucked up some clothes from the duffel bag and stumbled into the bathroom.
On his way out Jack heard the lock on the bathroom door shoot home with a decisive snap, and he chuckled. Who was she trying to keep out? he wondered. The bad guys or him?
Ten minutes later he returned to find the bathroom door still shut. He rapped his knuckles against the panel. “It’s me, Kate. I have food.”
Silence.
Jack might have been concerned if he hadn’t known Kate so well. “Coffee, too.”
After another beat of silence the door opened and she emerged, tight-lipped and silent. Automatically, Jack made mental note of every detail of her appearance.
For a woman who designed jewelry, Kate wore little herself except when she presented her designs to prospective clients or went to gala affairs. Day-to-day she rarely wore more than earrings and a couple of rings. This morning she wore simple gold teardrops in her lobes and a fine gold chain around her neck. Not a ring in sight, Jack thought with a bitter glance toward her left hand.
Only marginally tamed, her hair framed her face in an auburn halo of soft curls. As usual, her makeup was minimal—blush, lip gloss and a few sweeps of mascara. Kate had long ago given up on trying to hide her freckles.
She wore sneakers, jeans, a long-sleeved, blue-and-yellow plaid flannel shirt over a fitted little yellow T.
