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  * * * * *

  “Did you get the photos I sent?” Reid McFadden asked his boss.

  “I did,” Olberman told hm.

  “I want you to know I played hell getting them. The guy in the house is very cagey about being seen. That house is shut up like a fortress, plus they’ve got a guard sitting in a car down the street.”

  “I hope you were careful.” Olberman’s tone was sharp.

  “I know the score. Don’t worry. I got lucky. I was doing my usual once-a-day drive- by just at the moment he came out to toss some idiot off the porch.” Reid took a sip of smooth Scotch. The day had been a real bitch and Olberman was getting on his nerves. “Haven’t got the others yet though. Can’t hang around too long. But I figured if you found out who one of them was it might tell us who her friends are.”

  “You were right about that. The man in the house is Troy Arsenault. He’s a partner in The Phoenix Agency.”

  Reid wrinkled his forehead in thought. “I don’t think I know them.”

  “All ex-military. They do corporate security, hostage negotiations and rescue. They’re really a security and paramilitary firm. I’m assuming the others are some of his partners. Two of them live in San Antonio.”

  “That doesn’t sound so good.”

  “Oh I don’t think they’ll be a problem.” Olberman’s voice was thick with confidence. “I’ve got people who can chew them up and spit them out. You just get that woman to the hospital. I’ll do the rest.”

  Reid disconnected and sat for a moment staring into his glass. And wondering why he had a sudden uneasy feeling that things were going to get far more complicated than anyone expected.

  Chapter Six

  Lauren and Troy were in the kitchen drinking coffee when Troy’s cell phone rang. By now Lauren was used to the harsh intro to AC/DC’s War Machine. She listened carefully to his side of the conversation, trying to read the expression on his face. When he hung up smiling she relaxed a little.

  “Good news?” she asked. “Did they find out who my stalker is?”

  “I wish I could say yes, but we might have a new angle to try.”

  She quirked an eyebrow. “Really? I thought Dan was having Andy crunch the lists and identify possibles. What else can we do?”

  He took one of her hands in his, rubbing his thumb lightly over the knuckles. Just that simple touch made her breath catch and her pulse stutter. How was it possible, she wondered, that in such a short time she, who had become adept at avoiding entanglements, was wrapped so tightly with this man? Trust was a scarce commodity with her. Life had taught her not to give it easily. But Troy had breached her defenses, reached deep into that part of her that she guarded so carefully. And somehow she couldn’t make herself regret it. Not yet, anyway. Not ever, she hoped.

  “Do you remember my telling you that each of my partners’ wives had a special psychic gift?”

  “Yes. I thought it unusual that each of you fell for someone who had that kind of ability.”

  He grinned. “Another example of truth being stranger than fiction. Oh, and just to clarify. With Rick’s wife, Kelly, it’s the dog.”

  Lauren widened her eyes. “A dog?”

  “Uh huh. A Caucasian Ovcharka. Russian sheepdog. They’re known for bonding only with their owner and those family members it’s trained to protect.”

  “So what makes this one so unusual?” she asked.

  “When Kelly and Rick met, Xena immediately took to Rick. Almost unheard of with these dogs.” He took a swallow of his coffee. “Rick was in a pretty dangerous assignment and the dog kept warning Kelly, even though they were separated by thousands of miles. Saved his ass more than once.”

  “That’s a pretty remarkable dog. But what does all this have to do with me?”

  Troy took her hand again, lacing his fingers with hers. “Dan’s wife Mia is a precognitive. Do you know what that means?”

  She nodded. “She has visions of things in the future.”

  “Yes, but with Mia it’s a little different. She doesn’t go into a trance or anything. These visions can come to her out of nowhere when she’s doing something very ordinary. Like sitting at a traffic light or making coffee. And they don’t come to her as anything clear-cut. She gets bits and pieces in flashes and often what she sees are clues to the real thing.”

  “Are they focused on a person or an event?” she wanted to know. Lauren knew about precognition but she’d never really studied it a lot. She had enough to keep up with learning about and using her own psychic gift.

  Troy leaned back in his chair. “When Dan and Mia met she’d already had a vision about him, only he was a warrior come to fight a battle. Which wasn’t so far off the truth. He came to San Antonio to help his friend, Chase Carpenter, whose top-secret government gizmo was in danger of being ripped off. And Mia had had fragments of visions about that too. So in a way her visions were a portent of Dan’s arrival and their connection.”

  Lauren frowned. “Okay, but what does all that have to do with me?”

  “When Mia gets her precognitive flashes, they either have to do with someone she knows or someone she’s about to know. She and Dan talked about it last night and thought maybe if you agreed to meet her, let her get to know you a little, her mind might pick up something that would lead to your stalker.”

  “You mean, like sensitives? She can touch me or something of mine and get vibrations from it?”

  Troy shook his head. “Not like that at all. Although she does say she gets vibes from people she connects with. Anyway, I thought it was worth a shot.”

  “I agree.” Lauren finished the rest of her coffee. “I’ll try anything to get rid of whoever this is. When are they coming over?”

  “Dan suggested later this morning. I have to call him back and let him know it’s okay.”

  Lauren rose, rinsed her cup in the sink and put it in the dishwasher. Turning back to Troy, she waved her hand in the general direction of the front of the house.

  “What about all those cretins camped outside my house? If they see someone new coming in here they’ll fall on them like bloodsuckers.”

  “They’ve seen Dan coming in and out. Mark too.”

  “But you know they’ll try to swarm them. Badger them for information.”

  “Sweetheart.” Troy stroked his knuckles down the slope of her cheek. “Believe me when I tell you tougher people than the idiots outside have tried this with us before and failed. It’s all good. Really.”

  “I hope so.” But she was none too sure. Whenever she went through one of these sieges they could last from hours to days. It just depended on how hungry they were for news and how tenacious they decided to be.

  “When I came downstairs before you this morning I checked, and the crowd seems to have dwindled a lot.” He ran his hands up and down her arms. “I think we’re about at the end of the latest frenzy. If we could just get this stalker taken care of you could draw a full breath.”

  “Don’t I wish.” She leaned her head against his chest. “Sometimes I think maybe my folks are right and I should just give up using my gifts completely.”

  “Hey.” His voice was soft and warm. He slid two fingers beneath her chin to tilt her head up.” “I don’t want to hear that. You can’t let them win.”

  “I know. I know. It’s just I’m so tired of this always happening. And if they go away now and you catch this stalker, what happens next time? Will I always be running from something?”

  He touched his mouth to hers. “Let’s get this taken care of first. I promise you the future will handle itself.”

  Lauren looked hard into his eyes. Did he mean what she thought? Hope swirled inside her, something she didn’t remember feeling for a long time.

  “That’s a promise,” he repeated, as if reading her thoughts. “Meanwhile let’s shower and dress. Dan said Andy was trying to refine the lists we narrowed down so I’m going to give him a call.”

  The heat of the water paled in comparison to th
at generated by Troy and Lauren as they stood naked in the shower. At the sight of his erect cock, the muscles in her pussy contracted and she was consumed with an urge to take him inside her. Just his touch had her aroused and hungry for him.

  “It probably would have been a better idea if we’d done this separately,” she laughed as Troy slid his soapy hands over her body. But she was nervous about meeting Mia Romeo, and Troy was certainly doing his best to distract her.

  “You know what they say.” His deep voice rumbled in her ear. “Save water, shower with a friend.”

  “So this is strictly an environmental thing?” She clung to his shoulders as his lathered hands moved effortlessly over her skin and down to cup her ass.

  “Not quite.” He nipped the lobe of one ear. “It gives me another chance to get my hands on you everywhere.” His tongue traced a soft line around the shell of her ear. “And I mean everywhere.”

  He slid his fingers into the crevice between the globes of her buttocks. When he touched the puckered rim of her anus, a delicious shiver skated over Lauren’s soap-slicked skin and she tightened her muscles around him.

  “Like that, sugar?”

  The deep tenor of his voice rumbled through her. She nodded, clutching his shoulders to keep her balance.

  “Anyone ever take you here, Lauren? Ever slip his cock into this hot, dark tunnel?”

  She shook her head.

  “Good. I want to be the only one.” He pressed the tip of one finger against the opening, just breaching it, before he moved his hands away and turned her around.

  She looked down and saw that his cock was definitely standing at attention, the head a dark plum. Almost automatically she reached for it, closed her fingers around it and stroked slowly up and down. She heard the hiss of his indrawn breath, saw the tightening of the muscles in his body.

  “You’re playing with fire here, sugar,” he warned.

  “Maybe I’m finding out I like the danger of fire.” She tightened her hold on him just a fraction. Lust whipped through her at the sound of his groan.

  “You sure you want to get burned?” His hands had come up to cradle her face, tilt it up to him so he could look in her eyes.

  “I think I can handle it.” Was that really her talking? What happened to her firm resolution not to get involved again? To avoid all those pitfalls?

  Troy Arsenault is what happened. Please don’t let me be making another huge mistake.

  The thing was, he wasn’t handing her a polished line. There was definitely something that exploded between them, hot and instantaneous. Like him, she couldn’t turn away from it. And also like him, she wanted to see where they could take it.

  And right now where she wanted to take it was to bring him to a climax right here in her shower. In her hand, so she could feel the warm semen spilling over it.

  Gaze locked with his, she increased the pace of her strokes, now and then rubbing her finger on the wet velvety head. He flexed beneath her touch, bracing himself against the wall with his hands on either side of her head. When she slipped her other hand between his thighs to cup his balls, squeezing them gently, he rocked his hips into her touch.

  She felt power, a new and unusual sensation for her as far as sex was concerned, and it thrilled her. She worked him harder and faster, her gaze still never leaving his. The ropy vein that lay on the underside of his shaft pulsed with blood. Lauren knew when he was getting closer, saw the muscles in his body tense even more, felt his shaft swell incredibly in her grip.

  And then he was over, his eyes closed tightly, her name rising roughly from his throat. He jerked in her hand once, twice, as the thick, warm liquid spilled from him. Then he was still, drawing in deep breaths, trying to steady himself.

  When she lifted her hand and slowly licked his cum from her skin with slow sweeps of her tongue, his eyes darkened. His fingers threaded through the wet strands of her hair.

  “Your turn.”

  And that thick coil of lust swirled through her body again.

  Jesus!

  She just did it to him. Really did it to him.

  The last thing he’d expected when he told the Hallorans he’d help their friend was this explosive sexual chemistry with a woman who was so far from his usual type. Lauren Cahill was earthy but with an ethereal quality about her. He suspected it came from the psychic gifts that had been passed on to her.

  The first time they’d made love—even someone who’d become as jaded as he was knew the difference between having sex and making love—he’d realized this could be something very special. Every hour they spent together, despite the stress and anguish, reinforced that feeling.

  He knew the force of what they had scared her. Life hadn’t handed her the best of experience. It thrilled him to see her take the lead, be bold. Want to give him pleasure.

  And now he was going to return the favor.

  Capturing her breasts in his palms, he rasped his thumbs over the hard, pebbled tips, loving her sudden intake of breath and the way her teeth bit down on her full lower lip. Bending his head, he traced the outline of her mouth with his tongue and when she opened for him thrust his tongue deep inside.

  Holy shit, she tasted good. She still had traces of his liquid on her tongue mingled with her own unique spicy flavor. He drank her in, sucked her tongue into his mouth, his hands squeezing her breasts.

  When she tried to scrape her fingernails over his nipples, he captured both her wrists in one hand and held them over her head against the tiled shower wall. That left his other hand free to roam her body, sliding over all those sexy hollows and dips and curves. He cupped her pussy with his hand, her curls wet against his palm, her inner lips slippery with the water from the shower, the lather he’d scooped from her body and her natural liquid.

  He found the tight knot of her clitoris and pressed the tip of one finger against it, teasing it, feeling it swell beneath his touch. Troy was glad she’d worked him to his release before, or he wasn’t sure he could take the time he needed for what he was doing. Usually just touching her made him instantly hard. He worked her clit, pinching it lightly between thumb and forefinger before sliding his fingers lower and into her pussy.

  Her inner muscles tightened around him and her body stiffened. He still had her mouth captured with his, his tongue dueling with hers. As he added a third finger he used his leg to move her thighs farther apart. The delicious little groans of pleasure she emitted thrilled him.

  She arched to him, rocking her hips. Knowing she was close, he moved his fingers faster and faster, his thumb working her clit, until…there! She was there, her pussy muscles contracting hard against his fingers, her body shuddering with the force of her climax. His mouth never left hers as spasm after spasm wracked her. Finally she stilled, limp, his body and his grip on her wrists the only things holding her up.

  He lifted his lips away from hers and eased his fingers from her body. Releasing her wrists, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to his body, murmuring softly in her ear as the shower continued to rain down on them.

  “This showering with a friend thing is a pretty good idea.” She gave a shaky little laugh. “We’ll have to try it again.”

  Troy moved one hand to tilt her face up to him. “Count on it.”

  She let out a huge sigh. “But now I guess we’d better get out of here before we use up all the water. And get dressed before your friends show up.”

  He chuckled. “Spoilsport.”

  He made sure all the soap was rinsed from both of them, turned off the shower and grabbed the two big towels he had waiting. They were both still a little shaky but managed to get their clothes on. Lauren brushed her hair back and gathered it in a clip then added the minimal makeup she wore. He watched her fasten gold hoops in her ears, then turn for his inspection.

  “Well?” She did a little twirl. “Think I’ll pass inspection for your friends?”

  “Sugar, you’ll pass it for anyone. You look great.” He took her hands in his
. “You’ve already met Dan, and Mia’s a real sweetheart. They’re just ordinary people like you and me.”

  Another shaky laugh. “Troy, there’s nothing ordinary about you. Or your partners.”

  “Sure there is.” He kissed her lightly. “You’re the extraordinary one. Now come on. Let’s go downstairs and make some coffee. I’m sure we’ll all need it.”

  * * * * *

  The Cleaner opened his eyes, sat up and rubbed his face. Exhaustion had finally claimed him and for a few blessed hours he’d slept and been free of the headache. But now, as soon as he was able to focus, it began to creep up on him again.

  It was that damned she-devil. Apparently he didn’t even have to be anywhere near her to feel the effects of her black magic. He was sure she’d sent some kind of spell his way to drive him insane with pain.

  But he wouldn’t let her win. He’d get to erase her existence. That was his endgame. Then she couldn’t ever damage another family again. He just had to figure out how. He’d stopped sending the letters awhile ago. Each time she stopped he was sure she was through practicing her black arts. But then she’d taken another so-called patient, so he began calling her. He was sure when she heard his voice and what he had to say she’d finally stop. He could say more, let her know he saw what was directly in her black heart.

  But then she’d taken this latest patient, and now he didn’t even have that tool anymore. The bastard who was in her house had stopped her from answering her phone. So the only thing left for him was to confront her in person. And that would be tricky. She had that guy in her house and another car parked down the street. Oh they thought they’d been so slick but he’d spotted it on one of his drive-bys.

  He had to be careful with those too. Didn’t want to show up too often and call attention to himself, even though it seemed half the world passed by, stopping to stare at the house with avid curiosity. He’d taken the time to drive around the block and scoped out the scene from all sides. Her house had a big yard in the back but it wasn’t fenced, so easy access. He was sure by now she had a security system but he’d spent a lot of time—of which he had an abundance—studying even the most sophisticated and learned there were ways to fool them electronically.