A few moments later,
Rachel returned to his table. “Is there anything else you’d like?”
A few answers, he
wanted to say but didn’t.
“Would you like more
tea or anything else?”
“No, thank you. I’m
fine.”
“Well, your burger
should be right up. How’s the soup?”
“It may be the best
I’ve ever tasted.” He offered her a light smile.
“Thanks, I made it
myself.”
A thief of the
biggest medical breakthrough in history, and she could cook too. Just how many
talents and law-breaking commandments did this woman possess? “It’s tasty and
gone.”
“Can I take your
bowl? Or would you like some more? Refills are free.”
“You can take the
bowl.”
Zack moved the bowl
closer to her at the same time she reached for it, and her hand brushed against
his. It was nothing more than a light touch skin to skin. But her touch sizzled
on him. His mouth suddenly went dry.
He wanted her.
Just like that.
He wanted her in a
way he hadn’t wanted any woman, ever. He could easily envision standing and
kissing her. And he didn’t care who watched.
He sucked in a
breath and fought down a shiver as his insides grew tight. When he swallowed,
he found his throat painful.
The bowl slipped
from Rachel’s grasp, but she managed a quick catch.
“Careful there.” He
cleared his throat.
“Sorry,” she said at
the same time.
He met her gaze, and
the need to shiver was gone. Now he felt warm all over. It was as if she’d
touched him again, like putting her palms flat on his chest or his abdomen.
Neither of them had moved. Who the hell
is this woman? He’d met hundreds of women, some of whom he thought worthy
enough to stand by his side. And yet, he’d never reacted to one like this. He
shook his head to clear his thoughts.
What am I thinking? I can’t want this woman.
I can’t desire this woman. Now or ever.
A tiny voice touched
him and said, why not enjoy her, and then
destroy her?
Because he didn’t
work that way, that’s why. He was not that kind of monster.
Perhaps she
recognized him. Perhaps she knew why he was there. Perhaps she knew he was
there to stop her.
She didn’t look at
him as if she knew who he was.
But she did look at
him as if she wanted to know who he
was.
A few moments later,
she brought his food out.
“So what exactly are
you doing in town?” she asked as she slid the plate in front of him.
She tried to make her
question sound casual, but there was just too much bluntness in her words.
And like lies told
in board meetings, Zack recognized a need-to-know question when he heard one.
“Just a vacation.”
“It’s a bit cold for
that, don’t you think?” she asked.
He wanted to ask her
if the lake was too cold for diving since that was how she’d managed to steal
his computer program—by retrieving it from the lake after Darrel Green tossed
it in. “Well, it’s never too cold to do a bit of ice fishing, now is it?”
The grin she gave
him was enough to say, yeah, right. “I don’t mean any disrespect, but you don’t
look like the fisherman type.”
Her words told him
she was as interested in him as he was in her. This could get very interesting.
“Oh? What type do I look like?”
“The type who’d be
in a boardroom dressed in a tan suit. Or perhaps a guy who works with computers
all day.”
For a long moment,
Zack couldn’t reply. Damn, he didn’t like how well she read him. Perhaps she
had a file with his picture and information under the counter. He’d never know.
What he did know was that she was too observant for a waitress in an
out-of-the-way diner lost in the mountains in the middle of nowhere.
“Okay, so I have a
confession,” he said. “I do sometimes wear a suit. And I do know how to find my
way around a computer. But it was suggested that I take a vacation. A colleague
told me about this place, said it was a beautiful escape, a place to get away
from the rest of the world. So here I am.” Not exactly all a lie. The man in
charge of the security detail had said those exact words when he’d told him
where Darrel Green had gone with his stolen information. And the smile Zack
gave her was one he often used to get what he wanted.
“Well, good for
you,” she said.
He thought she
bought his words.
“So where are you
staying?”
“I rented a house
for a month.”
“You did need to get
away, didn’t you?” She grinned, and it looked genuine.
He grinned back,
liking the way her mouth softened. He pulled a piece of paper with directions
and the address of the house out of his jeans pocket. “Yes, I did. Maybe you
can tell me the easiest way to find this place. I had hoped to arrive here in
the daylight but couldn’t quite seem to make it.”
She glanced at the
address and the picture of the house he’d rented. “Yes, I know that place. The
backyard has a deck that stretches all the way to the lake. I think you’ll like
it. If you go back down Main and take a left on Oak, you’ll come to the lake.
Take another left on Lake Drive. It’s the third house on the right. You can’t
miss it.”
“Thanks.” He folded
the paper and stuck it back in his pocket.
“You’re welcome.
Enjoy your burger.”
And a moment later
when she came back with the pitcher of tea, she didn’t bother to ask if he
wanted more. She just refilled his glass.
Later, he stood the deck of his rented log house and looked
at the frozen lake before he took in the dark house next door. He stopped at
the sight of Rachel and her dog, Mav, standing on her own deck watching him.
The fire in him grew
steadily.
He sucked in a lungful
of cold air and discovered there was no controlling his reaction to her. There
was only learning to live with it. “I’m afraid you had the advantage.” His yell
was unusually loud over the snow and distance and stillness.
“Oh?” she called
back
“You knew we were
neighbors before I did. You could have said something.”
“Sorry.” Her answer
was short.
He grinned, knowing
full well if she was sorry about anything, it was that she’d gotten caught
spying on him. But he let it go. “I’d invite you for a drink, but my
refrigerator’s empty.”
“And I’m afraid you
have the advantage.”
He sure as hell hoped so.
“You know my name,
but I don’t know yours.”
For a half second,
he contemplated giving her a fake name. Then he chose not to. He would have to
live down an alias with everyone in town if he did. And he may need the trust
of others in the future. He couldn’t start things off with a lie. “Zack
McCullin.” Under the moonlight, he studied her, watching for any sign of
recognition or worry or perhaps even fear at the sound of his name.
“Well, Zack
McCullin”—she spoke his name without any hesitancy or worry or fear in her
voice—“why don’t you come over here? My fridge isn’t empty.”
Night had settled in
like a dark blanket over the lake. The misty snow was still in the air but not
as hard as before.
By the time Zack
reached her, Rachel was still peering out over the lake through a pair of
binoculars. The dog watched the lake, too, as if he expected to see a creature
break its way up through the ice.
“See anything
interesting?” He bit his tongue to keep from adding, Like someone breaking a hole in the ice and dropping in a plastic,
watertight container with a flash drive?
She took the glasses
from her eyes and looked up at him. Her light eyes sparkled with reflected
moonlight, and her face looked somewhat softer to him, not on alert, although
still looking ready—ready for what, he had no idea. Her eyes looked a bit less
haunted, too, but not by much.
“Nothing unusual,”
she replied. “Everything’s calm.”
He shrugged. “That’s
good, right?”
“That’s very good.”
The dog nudged him.
Zack reached down and scratched his chin. “Hi, Mav.”
Satisfied with his
greeting, Mav moved away closer to the edge of the deck and looked out at the
lake again.
The flatness of
Rachel’s confirmation told him there had been a time once when things weren’t
so calm. He wondered what had caused the ripples.
“I promised you a
drink. Let’s go in. We shouldn’t be out here in the dark, anyway,” Rachel said
before she turned and headed up the deck, which, unlike his, was completely
cleared of snow. The dog stared at him a long moment, as if to say come on,
what are you waiting for? Then he too followed.
“Why not?” he asked.
“Afraid of the bogeyman?”
She paused in her
step and turned back to meet his gaze. “As a matter of fact, yes, I am. And you
never know when he might be lurking out here.”
Zack didn’t like her
serious tone. In fact, he fought down a shiver. There was more to this place
than met the eye. There was even a scent in the air, something more than
mountain freshness. Zack couldn’t place it. But he was determined to find out
what the secret was.
