The Chilling Deception by Jayne Castle Page B

would be simpler and more straightforward to have the necessary discussion after a blissfully passionate weekend at a luxurious resort. Or to put it somewhat more bluntly, he had sensed the talk would be better conducted after a couple of nights of concentrated sex. Guinevere was always so soft and warm and amenable after he’d made love to her. Relationship discussions with her were undoubtedly safer when held while her defenses were down.
    The truth was, he was not anxious to sit down and hammer out the details of their relationship with Guinevere when she was in full command of herself. It would be too much like negotiating a business arrangement. She was a strong independent woman, and when she was in top form she was formidable. Much better to reason with her after she’d been softened up a bit, Zac told himself. With a woman like Gwen a man had to resort to strategy on occasion.
    He was pursuing that line of thought when he caught a shadowy movement out of the corner of his eye. There was someone else in the garden. Even as he watched, the other night-walker vanished behind a hedge. Maybe someone trying to walk off a few alcoholic fumes before bedtime, Zac decided. He continued on through the gardens and into the grove of windblown firs that lined the cliffs above the sea. The moon obligingly slipped between clouds, providing some temporary illumination. In its pale gleam Zac saw Vandyke’s figure hunched forlornly at the edge of the cliff.
    Zac halted at the fringe of trees, aware of a deep uncertainty. He didn’t know a damn thing about dealing with suicidal types. If Guinevere was right about Vandyke’s state of mind, this was going to be tricky. Suddenly Zac wished Guinevere had come with him. She had an instinctive way of handling people that would make her much more useful in the present circumstances. Gritting his teeth against the cold and the task that lay before him, he started forward again.
    In that same instant another figure arrived at the edge of the trees a few yards away. Zac’s instincts immediately took command, instincts that had been nicely refined for survival. Obeying them was second nature to him. He leapt forward.
    “Vandyke! Get down!”
    The man at the edge of the cliffs turned slowly in bewilderment and found himself knocked flat on the craggy surface. He was quickly rolled behind a small heap of scruffy shrubs and boulders.
    “What in hell . . . ?” Vandyke struggled to free himself.
    “Hold still.” Zac kept him pinned with one arm while he scanned the trees. There was no movement now. “Someone in the trees. He was watching you.”
    “Watching me? But I don’t understand. I—Is that a gun you have?” Vandyke stared keenly at the object in Zac’s hand.
    “Unfortunately, no.” Zac tossed aside the rock he had grabbed a few seconds earlier. “Should it be?” he asked in a level voice as he allowed Vandyke to sit up. Whoever had been there had gone now, Zac was certain of it.
    Vandyke shook his head. “I don’t know.” He sounded vague, disoriented. Zac saw him give himself a small shake as if taking a grip on his nerve. “It’s just that Guinevere said something about you going armed.”
    “Gwen sometimes exaggerates. She’s very conscious of business images. You want to tell me what’s going on, Vandyke?”
    Vandyke glanced up nervously and then looked away. “Nothing’s going on. I came out here to take a little stroll before going to bed. Probably whoever you saw was doing the same thing.”
    “Probably.” Zac let the patent disbelief show in his voice. “Well, whoever it was, he’s gone now. Let’s get back to the hotel. A man could freeze out here.”
    “Yes. Yes, it’s very cold, isn’t it.” Vandyke stumbled to his feet. “I’m sorry about this, Zac. I didn’t mean to alarm you.”
    “Do you always go out walking in storms without bothering to put on a coat?”
    Vandyke exhaled slowly. “I just had a call from my wife. It was upsetting. I