warmth of his touch, still seeing the sudden gentleness of his eyes. She was vaguely conscious of the music that had playedsteadily while he was with her, the machine automatically restarting itself after playing one side of the tape. And in the back of her mind, a small voice spoke up wryly.
No wonder Hagen said I’d be no good to him once I fell in love
.
She had taken that step; there was no going back. None of her painfully won defenses had been able to stand against him; she couldn’t fight what she felt. And Raven wondered what—and whom—she might have sacrificed to love a man.
“No more cavorting in parks,” Kelsey told her cheerfully when they met quietly two days later. “You seemed a bit distracted, so I thought you might have needed reminding that we’re on a tight schedule.”
“I’m glad you did.” They were in a museum, and Raven was gazing at the large abstract painting on the wall near the bench on which they sat. The huge room was deserted except for them.
Kelsey sent her a thoughtful look. “I couldn’t help but wonder who he was.”
“Don’t give me that. You ran his license plate.”
He chuckled. “So I did. Car’s a rental.”
“Yes. So?”
“So,” Kelsey said softly, “I got back a lot of gibberish from the computer.”
Raven turned her head slowly and stared at him. “The rental company would have had an agreement—”
“You’d think. But I couldn’t trace that plate. Oh, the company acknowledged the car was theirs, but they said it was being serviced, not rented.”
The hollow feeling inside Raven grew. “His name is Joshua Long,” she said quietly. “At least that’s what he told me, and I saw an ID.” She remembered then, and added slowly, “Just a business card with his name and a phone number. A New York number, I think.” He’d given her a card, but Raven didn’t have it with her and couldn’t remember the phone number.
“Rings a bell.” Kelsey frowned. “He’s not from L.A.? Where’s he staying?”
She told him. She was simultaneously close tolaughter and tears now that it was her turn to suspect Josh of being something other than he seemed. She didn’t like the uncertainty. She didn’t like it at all.
“How’d you meet him?”
“He’s the man I knocked down in the hotel.”
Plainly worried, Kelsey ran fingers through his hair. “I’ll check him out. Meantime, I hope you sent him on his way.” When she remained silent, his voice sharpened. “Raven?”
“I’ll see him only at home,” she said softly, not about to tell Kelsey that Josh had found her in Leon Travers’s penthouse.
Kelsey felt faint surprise, but only because it hadn’t happened until now; he’d always known Raven would fall hard when she finally did fall. “I’ll check him out—quickly,” he said.
“I still don’t understand what I’m doing here,” Rafferty Lewis complained to Zach as they sat in the den of Josh’s suite. “I’m an attorney, not a detective.” His humorous brown eyes flicked aglance at the third man in the room, a rather strikingly handsome gentleman with a leonine mane of blond hair and sharp blue eyes. “Lucas is the detective.”
“You’ve got to remember,” Lucas Kendrick told the lawyer in his curiously compelling voice, “that the boss didn’t send for us. Zach did. And though I’ve been here only a day, I agree with him. There’s something very fishy going on.”
“Well, what?”
Zach, never stirring from a deep chair where he somewhat grimly contemplated the remainder of the brandy in his glass, told the newly arrived lawyer everything that had happened up until that day, finishing with, “Lucas has been following the lady; he’ll tell you the rest.”
The chief investigator for Josh’s empire took up the story. “I asked questions about her at the apartment building where the manager denied to Josh that lady lived there; she made the same denial to me. Claimed the place was empty. Then I checked out the
No wonder Hagen said I’d be no good to him once I fell in love
.
She had taken that step; there was no going back. None of her painfully won defenses had been able to stand against him; she couldn’t fight what she felt. And Raven wondered what—and whom—she might have sacrificed to love a man.
“No more cavorting in parks,” Kelsey told her cheerfully when they met quietly two days later. “You seemed a bit distracted, so I thought you might have needed reminding that we’re on a tight schedule.”
“I’m glad you did.” They were in a museum, and Raven was gazing at the large abstract painting on the wall near the bench on which they sat. The huge room was deserted except for them.
Kelsey sent her a thoughtful look. “I couldn’t help but wonder who he was.”
“Don’t give me that. You ran his license plate.”
He chuckled. “So I did. Car’s a rental.”
“Yes. So?”
“So,” Kelsey said softly, “I got back a lot of gibberish from the computer.”
Raven turned her head slowly and stared at him. “The rental company would have had an agreement—”
“You’d think. But I couldn’t trace that plate. Oh, the company acknowledged the car was theirs, but they said it was being serviced, not rented.”
The hollow feeling inside Raven grew. “His name is Joshua Long,” she said quietly. “At least that’s what he told me, and I saw an ID.” She remembered then, and added slowly, “Just a business card with his name and a phone number. A New York number, I think.” He’d given her a card, but Raven didn’t have it with her and couldn’t remember the phone number.
“Rings a bell.” Kelsey frowned. “He’s not from L.A.? Where’s he staying?”
She told him. She was simultaneously close tolaughter and tears now that it was her turn to suspect Josh of being something other than he seemed. She didn’t like the uncertainty. She didn’t like it at all.
“How’d you meet him?”
“He’s the man I knocked down in the hotel.”
Plainly worried, Kelsey ran fingers through his hair. “I’ll check him out. Meantime, I hope you sent him on his way.” When she remained silent, his voice sharpened. “Raven?”
“I’ll see him only at home,” she said softly, not about to tell Kelsey that Josh had found her in Leon Travers’s penthouse.
Kelsey felt faint surprise, but only because it hadn’t happened until now; he’d always known Raven would fall hard when she finally did fall. “I’ll check him out—quickly,” he said.
“I still don’t understand what I’m doing here,” Rafferty Lewis complained to Zach as they sat in the den of Josh’s suite. “I’m an attorney, not a detective.” His humorous brown eyes flicked aglance at the third man in the room, a rather strikingly handsome gentleman with a leonine mane of blond hair and sharp blue eyes. “Lucas is the detective.”
“You’ve got to remember,” Lucas Kendrick told the lawyer in his curiously compelling voice, “that the boss didn’t send for us. Zach did. And though I’ve been here only a day, I agree with him. There’s something very fishy going on.”
“Well, what?”
Zach, never stirring from a deep chair where he somewhat grimly contemplated the remainder of the brandy in his glass, told the newly arrived lawyer everything that had happened up until that day, finishing with, “Lucas has been following the lady; he’ll tell you the rest.”
The chief investigator for Josh’s empire took up the story. “I asked questions about her at the apartment building where the manager denied to Josh that lady lived there; she made the same denial to me. Claimed the place was empty. Then I checked out the
Similar Books
