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“Hospital?” A
“Yes. It seems he got into an altercation with one of the other inmates and came out the worse for it.”
“How bad?” A
“He has a fractured skull and a broken leg.”
A
“Of course they do, but fights among convicts are commonplace—they really can’t be stopped completely.”
“My brother is not a convict, Mr. Caldwell,” A
“Certainly not, it was just a figure of speech, please forgive me. I am so sorry to be giving you more bad news, but I thought you should know about this new development immediately.”
A
“What was the result of your conference with Mr. Bodine?” Caldwell asked, obviously hoping for a ray of light in this ocean of darkness.
“May I call you back tomorrow, Mr. Caldwell? I’ll discuss it with you then.”
“Certainly, but don’t wait too long. If your brother has become a target in this particular jail, he could be in for more trouble once he is released from the hospital.”
“Can’t you have him transferred or something?”
“It’s not as easy as it sounds, Miss Talbot. I would have to show cause...”
“A fractured skull isn’t cause enough?” A
“I will try. I just can’t promise anything,” the lawyer said. “I know this is a difficult time for you, but we have to address this whole situation quickly, not just the transfer, but the matter of Tim’s bail. If I could get him released, we obviously wouldn’t have to worry about the rest of it anymore.”
“Work on it, and I’ll call you first thing in the morning,” A
When she finally stood, there was a determination in her movements that bespoke a renewed purpose.
She went into the adjoining bathroom and turned on the shower full force, waiting until the steam billowed out into the bedroom before shedding her clothes and stepping under the gushing, almost scalding water. She took a long, luxurious shower, letting the heat soak into her bones and the purifying steam clear her head. By the time she turned off the water and reached for the hotel robe hanging on the back of the bathroom door, she had made up her mind.
A
She was sitting in the armchair next to the phone ten minutes later when it rang.
“You called me?” Heath said without preliminary when she picked up the receiver and said hello.
Just the sound of his voice made her hands start to shake. “I’d like to get together and discuss the details of your offer,” A
“I’ll meet you for di
Obviously he didn’t care.
“Fine,” she said.
A
When you made a deal with the devil, common courtesy was probably de trop.
She sat back in the chair and for the first time since she’d returned to Florida she let her mind dwell on that fateful summer eleven years earlier, when she first met Heath. She had pushed the memories back for so long that when she finally opened the floodgate they all came rushing through, under pressure, drowning her in technicolor images of the past. She saw Heath as he had been; then as now the most beautiful man she had ever seen.
Chapter 3
Eleven years earlier...
A
A
There was none.
Muttering to herself, she climbed down into the front of the boat and walked around to the rear well. There a deeply ta
“I’m talking to you,” A
The man turned to look up at her, and she froze under his stare, finally taking a step back and draping her towel self consciously over her shoulders.
She felt as if he were undressing her with his eyes.
He was about six feet tall, his skin nut brown from the sun, his hair and brows and lashes blue black, the color of anthracite. His face was arresting: wide amber eyes, a narrow nose, high cheekbones and a sculpted mouth with a thin upper lip and a full, cushioned lower one. His expression was not friendly as he looked her over, taking in her scanty bathing suit, bare feet and hair pi
“I want you to stop making all this noise,” A
“You from the house?” he said, jerking his head toward the lawn. He climbed out of the engine well and dropped the hatch.
“Yes.”
“You giving me an order?”
A
A
“You hired me. If you want me to stop, I’ll stop.”
“My father must have hired you. It’s his boat.”
The workman wiped his forehead with the back of his arm and then pulled a folded sheet of paper from the rear pocket of his jeans. “Henry Talbot?” he said.
“That’s my father.”
“I’m from Jensen’s Marina. I have an order from Henry Talbot to tune up this engine—it’s been misfiring. It can wait if the noise is bothering you too much. I’ll come back.”
He was looking at her with his cat’s eyes, hands on hips, waiting for her response. A
“No, go ahead. It’s getting too hot out here anyway, I’ll go inside.” A