Hotshot P.i.. B.J. Daniels

her better than he knew himself. But that was years ago and a lot of water under the bridge. For all he knew, she was a killer. Let her rot in prison for all he cared.

      You’ve become a cold-hearted bastard, haven’t you, Hawkins. Reluctantly, he admitted it was true. Something had died inside him that day at the trial. He’d lost Clancy, and he’d lost his father. Only, Clancy had voluntarily chosen to leave; his father hadn’t.

      He watched her flick a glance at his outstretched hand but make no move toward it or the boat. Instead, she brushed her hair back with her fingers and looked toward shore as if she were thinking of making a break for it. Silently, he dared her to try. So help him, he’d take her over his knee and”Clancy,” Jake said softly. “There’re a few things you should know. One, I hate being lied to. Two, these dirty little secrets of yours? I’m going to know them all before I catch a plane back to Texas, and you can bet the farm on that.” He extended his hand again. “And three, if you try to run again, I’ll track you down no matter where you go, and you won’t like it when I find you.”

      He flashed her a smile. But to his surprise, she took his hand, stepped into the boat and came right up to him. If he’d thought he could intimidate her, he’d been wrong. Her gaze met his, challenging him, daring him to take her on.

      “Jake, there’re a few things you should know,” she said as softly as he had. “One, I don’t have the time or energy to lie to you. Two, I have no intention of helping you send me to prison. And three—” her smile deepened “—I’m going to ditch you just as soon as I possibly can.” She moved past him to slide behind the wheel. An instant later she started the boat.

      Jake smiled to himself as he took a seat next to her. He’d forgotten how much he’d liked Clancy Jones’s spunk as a kid. He was glad to see it was one of the things that hadn’t changed about her. Unfortunately, it didn’t alter the fact that she’d lied about his father or that she was lying to him right now about not jumping bail. If she wanted to play hard ball, he’d play, too. But he doubted she was going to like his rules.

      * * *

      THEY PICKED UP the expensive bright red Mustang convertible he’d rented with Kiki’s money at the mainland marina. The marina was one of several his father and Clancy’s had owned as partners. Jake saw Clancy raise an eyebrow as she climbed into the car’s leather seat and realized he’d dropped another notch or two in her estimation.

      “Doesn’t it bother you to take my aunt’s money on the pretense of helping me?” Clancy asked.

      “No,” Jake replied, angry to discover that what she thought of him mattered.

      “I thought you hate being lied to,” she said. “Or do you overlook it when you’re lying to yourself?”

      He floored the gas pedal, sending gravel flying as he headed into town. Beside him, Clancy smiled. Jake cursed. What an impossible woman! He’d expected her to still be that cute little tomboy he’d grown up with, someone he thought he could handle—not some beautiful woman who knew how to push all his buttons. He swore to himself. What had made him think this job was going to be easy?

      She smiled, seemingly amused. “You’re certainly wide awake this morning. I don’t remember you being such a morning person.”

      He didn’t want to be reminded of their past or of the foolish, love-struck nineteen-year-old he’d been. Not that he was about to let that past distract or dissuade him from what he’d come to Montana to do. He’d come to settle an old score, and he had no intention of taking any trips down memory lane along the way.

      “I’m forced to be wide awake at all hours around you,” he said as he pulled out into the traffic and headed for the office complex. “Want to tell me why you were about to jump bail? Or do you want me to guess?”

      “Guess,” she said, looking out the side window.

      “Look, why don’t you just level with me. I’m going to find out, anyway.”

      She glanced over at him, and to his surprise, her eyes glistened with tears. “What if you’re wrong, Hawkins? What if I didn’t lie about your father?”

      He felt a sharp stab at his heart, followed instantly by an unexpected desire to take her in his arms and comfort her. What was it about this woman that made him feel protective? Had always made him feel that way?

      He shoved away the desire, the same way he’d shoved her away ten years ago. “You lied and we both know why.”

      She shook her head and looked away.

      “You could tell me the truth now and save us both a lot of grief,” he said, letting the old rancor replace any warmer feelings he might have had for her.

      “And save you the satisfaction of blackmailing it out of me?” She shook her head. “Not a chance, Hawkins. Let’s find out just how good a private eye you really are.”

      Jake drove toward Kalispell, furious that she could still get to him. He blamed it on that silly childhood crush he’d had on her. He’d opened up, letting her get closer than any other person in his life. Now he bitterly regretted having done that. It made him vulnerable. And it gave her the upper hand.

      Okay, so she wasn’t going to make it easy. She was going to make it pure hell. But what she didn’t seem to realize was that he’d already been to hell and back because of her. And it was payback time.

      * * *

      CLANCY BREATHED A SIGH of relief when Jake finally pulled up in front of Lake Center, a large old hotel that had been made into an office complex. All she wanted to do was to get out of the close confines of the car and put some distance between the two of them. With a little luck, a lot of distance.

      But as she started to open her door, he grabbed her arm. She pretended she didn’t feel the jolt from his fingertips that seared her bare skin.

      “I wish I didn’t know you so well, Clancy,” he said, sounding as though he meant it. “Whatever’s on that conniving mind of yours, forget it. We’re going to see your lawyer and find out what evidence they have against you.”

      She gave him what she hoped was one of her most innocent looks. “All right. But I’m starved. Why don’t I go get us some breakfast at that café up the block and bring it back. What can I get you?”

      He laughed as he opened his door and got out. She stepped out of the convertible, only to find him waiting for her. She watched him lock the car, her overnight bag in the rear seat. Then he linked his arm with hers and steered her toward the building’s front entrance.

      She didn’t resist the gentle strength of his persuasive hold on her. It wouldn’t have done her any good if she had. But while she also wouldn’t admit it under Sodium Pentothal, she liked the feel of his skin against hers; she liked his touch, as dangerous as it was to her future, to her heart. And she glimpsed something in his expression that made her wonder if he wasn’t as immune to her touch as he wanted her to believe.

      “Geez, Jones,” he said as they headed for the elevator. “Breakfast? A bit too predictable and not very imaginative. But a nice try, nonetheless.”

      Too predictable, huh? Not imaginative enough for him? Well, she’d see what she could do about that.

      * * *

      JAKE STUDIED CLANCY as they stepped into the elevator and she pushed the third-floor button. She’d been like a kid in church, squirming in her seat on the way into town, glancing at her watch every few moments, tapping her toe to a nonexistent tune. She reminded him of a woman about to jump off a ledge. Actually, more like a woman about to jump bail, he corrected himself.

      As the elevator climbed slowly to the third floor, Jake wondered what Clancy would have done this morning if he hadn’t been there to stop her? With the depth of her bank account, she could probably disappear without too much trouble. At least for a while. But why run? Unless she was guilty of Westfall’s murder and knew she was headed for prison.

      But