Lunar Heat: 1 (The Heat Series)

by Susan Kearney

  “What!” Jamar roared. Since he’d only trusted the natives’ competence so far and couldn’t afford a mistake, Jamar had dirtied his own hands to pour the ring of gasoline, a messy, smelly task. And his brother Cade should have burned alive—the only thing that could account for Jamar’s failure would have been Cade’s increased powers. Ingesting the salt on this world must be strengthening the underfirst more quickly than Jamar had assumed. “Are you certain?”

  “The fire chief assured me personally that his crew found no bones in the ashes.”

  “So what happened to the former occupants?”

  “No one knows.”

  “Find out.”

  “There’s the small matter of my expenses.”

  “I don’t care what it costs. Just find them.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Well, what are you waiting for?” Jamar finally released the man to his own control. “Get going.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The private eye turned around. He caught sight of the twit who had braced to endure her shame. But Jamar was no longer in a mood to enjoy her humiliation.

  If Cade wasn’t dead, then the underfirst was on the way to Mars and had a head start. However, Jamar knew exactly where he was heading. Cade might have ingested some salt and grown a bit stronger, but he was no match for Jamar’s intelligence or his faster spaceship.

  22

  Teresa Alverez’s office, one block off Rodeo Drive in posh Beverly Hills, possessed the kind of quiet, yet elegant appearance that inspired confidence. The double steel doors with polished silver handles opened on soundless hinges, and Teresa’s efficient assistant ushered them into the study. A holovid fire blazed and crackled in a stone hearth. The expensive model even put out the scent of pine logs burning. A sumptuous leather couch with clean Italian lines and custom cherry shelves lined with lunar sand sculptures made the room almost homey.

  Shara knew from previous visits that a scrambler and a jammer prevented eavesdropping. Teresa’s efficient assistant carried a laser stunner, and security vids were manned by the best surveillance robots as well as ex-UNFBI and UNCIA agents.

  Dressed in impeccably tailored black slacks, a long-sleeved, V-neck white blouse, and a black pearl necklace, Teresa Alverez joined them. She’d pulled her hair back into a tight knot that emphasized her intelligent chocolate-brown eyes.

  Her robot made certain everyone had coffee, green tea, or glacial water and then withdrew. Shara made introductions and told Teresa everything—from Cade’s alien status to Jamar’s mission to stop him, leaving out only one critical piece of information: Jules’s prediction that if Shara didn’t stop Cade from building the portal, disaster would occur.

  Teresa’s gaze rested on Cade. “What exactly do you want me to do for you?”

  Cade returned her look, his expression neutral. “Shara said you could find Jamar or his base of operations.”

  “That’s not going to be easy. Do you know what name he’s using? Which country or planet he’s operating from?”

  Cade shook his head.

  “Do you have his holopic?” Teresa asked. “A last known address? Or the name of places he frequents, people he knows or has hired?”

  Cade shook his head and reached for his vidlink. “Would a sketch be helpful?”

  Teresa shrugged and turned to Shara. “I’d like to help, but you haven’t given me anything to go on. Jamar’s alien status means he has no history. No parents from Earth. No schools. Associations. Hobbies. Work history.”

  Jules refused to give up. “You found Shara’s stalker, and you didn’t have much then, either.”

  “But in that case we protected Shara until the stalker came out of hiding.” Teresa drummed her fingers on the arm of her chair. “Why not let me protect you this time?”

  “Because we have to move fast to locate the portal pieces, and security measures will slow us down,” Cade answered without looking up from his sketch.

  “Not necessarily,” Teresa countered.

  “Additional people will draw more attention to us. With disguises, Shara and I can easily pretend to be a couple on vacation. A group will be noticed.”

  Cade launched his sketch. A three-dimensional replica of his brother’s face turned in midair. “What do you think?”

  The detailed holo-pic depicted a handsome man a few years older than Cade. He wore his hair shorter, and his mouth and eyes possessed the same shape as Cade’s. If Shara had seen the two men side by side, she had no doubt that she’d have noticed the family resemblance. But where Cade’s eyes were warm, Jamar’s had the icy glare of a fanatic, and his mouth twisted in a cruel smile.

  In just a few minutes, Cade had captured his brother’s essence as well as his features, portraying a skill she hadn’t known he possessed. She couldn’t help wondering what else she didn’t know about Cade.

  Teresa studied the sketch and then raised her warm brown eyes to Cade. “Does this man share your skin coloring?”

  “Yes.”

  “One of my people is a whiz at this. How about we take a holopic of you and then overlay the sketch of your brother on top to see close we can get to a definitive pic for my team?”

  “Fine,” Cade agreed. “Just observe Jamar from a distance if you find him. He must never know your people are watching him. He won’t hesitate to kill.”

  Teresa didn’t call in an assistant, and Shara suspected that the moment Cade had agreed, Teresa had the artist snap the picture from a camera already hidden in the room. But ever since Teresa had saved her life from the stalker, Shara had trusted her, as well as the discretion of her employees.

  “What else can you tell me about Jamar?” Teresa asked.

  Cade didn’t hesitate to explain.

  Teresa crossed her legs and leaned forward, her expression intent as Cade painted the personality portrait of a sociopath with superhuman strength, keen intelligence, and the startling mind control ability. When he finished, she leaned back.

  “Unless we get lucky, I don’t have much hope of finding him from just a holopic especially if he’s altered his appearance since you saw him last.”

  “That’s unlikely,” Cade said. “He’s too—”

  “Blood! I see blood.” Jules spoke quietly, her face going pale. “I see blood all over this room.”

  “Here?” Shara took Jules’s icy hand. “What else did you see?”

  “That’s all I got.” Misery coated Jules’s voice. “I’m sorry.”

  “Teresa, you’ll do your best to track him down?” Shara asked, holding Jules’s hand tight.

  “Of course.” Teresa stood and took them all into her gaze. “But why don’t we try to flush Jamar out of hiding?”

  Shara liked the way Teresa thought. “What do you have in mind?”

  “I’ve brought in people to disguise your identity. But before they go to work—why don’t we let the paparazzi find you?”

  “Why?” Shara asked, not liking that idea at all. One of the boons of living on Haven was that the paparazzi were no longer part of her life. Inviting them back sounded almost sacrilegious.

  “We’ll use the press and then observe who comes looking for you. Maybe Jamar will show up, and then we can tail him.”

  Cade frowned. “We don’t have time.”

  “I can set it up within hours. I’ll leak your whereabouts to the press. By the six o’clock news, I’ll have planted a rumor that you’re in town to attend a premiere this weekend.”

  “We can’t stay that long,” Cade protested.

  “I don’t expect you to.” Teresa grinned. “After the paparazzi spot Shara, you switch hotels, change your appearance, and rocket out of town. My people will holovid the crowd at the premiere’s runway this weekend and see if our face recognition software finds your brother. And if we do spot him, we keep our distance and follow.”

  “Sounds like a plan. I like it.” Shara stood and shook Teresa’s hand, refusing to look at the liquor decanters on the sidebar that had fortified
her for encounters with the press in her past. She’d have to face them sober this time. “Let the paparazzi know we’ll check into the Beverly Hills Hotel within the hour.”

  23

  “Why are we stopping?” Cade frowned as Shara asked their limo driver to hover in front of a very exclusive boutique and spa. He’d assumed they’d fly straight to the hotel.

  “We need to shop. Your clothing is about to quit working. You need a suit. I need a dress, shoes, a mani-pedi, a collagen fresher facial, and to have my hair cut and styled. If my face is going to be splashed across the solar system, I intend to look better than good.”

  Jules grinned, and her eyes lit with teasing. “Not even you can get ready in an hour.”

  Cade refrained from rolling his eyes at the ceiling, a gesture he’d learned Terrans often used when frustrated, but he couldn’t contain his sigh. He hadn’t seen the vain holovid star part of her before, and yet, seeing her in a dress would be interesting.

  Although he much preferred fantasizing with her in no clothes at all, he imagined seeing her all prettied up might be fun. So he contained his impatience.

  He trailed behind the woman as they entered the exclusive boutique and spa, a place that smelled of unusual and exotic spices. A fountain of water gurgled in the lobby. Polished marble floors, decorated wooden beams on the ceilings, and soft piped-in music gave the area a luxurious and exclusive feel.

  A man dressed in a black suit with a light blue shirt and a yellow tie caught sight of Shara and sashayed over. Cade couldn’t help but stare. Dressed like a man, he nevertheless swayed with a feminine grace, and his squeal of delight sounded absolutely girlish.

  The man squeezed Shara in a quick embrace. “Sweetie, Shara. Where have you been hiding yourself? By that exquisite tan, I see you’re still living on that savage asteroid.”

  “George. Good to see you—and Haven’s a wonderful place.”

  “If you say so.” George made it very clear he didn’t believe her. “But my God, what have you done to your hair?”

  “Nothing.” Shara laughed. “And I’m only giving you one hour to work your magic on me and my friends.”

  Cade shook his head. “I don’t need any work.”

  George’s interested gaze gave him a thorough going-over from head to toe, and then he nodded approvingly. “Shara, where did you find him? He’s absolutely divine.”

  Clearly George didn’t expect an answer. He strode to his desk and called in his assistants—six of them—who ushered them into a back room. Within minutes, George had a collagen fresher on her face and was cutting Shara’s hair. Others worked on her hands and feet, while still more people did the same to Jules, a gift from Shara.

  Cade was offered a comfortable chair, a newsvid, a drink, and little cookies that he could pop into his mouth without taking a bite. Someone came by and measured him for clothes, but they otherwise left him alone.

  These people looked as if they considered it an honor to speak with Shara. Cade could see the admiration, excitement, and respect in the workers’ eyes, and it startled him. On Rama those who served did so because they must to survive. But here, it was clearly different. From the look of adoration on the manicurist’s face, he suspected she’d be telling her friends and family about her encounter with a star for many years.

  That Shara garnered so much respect for her work made him all the more curious why she lived on Haven. Yes, he’d read about the tragedy on his newly purchased vidlink, but why did she choose to punish herself for an accident? Why did she take herself away from her own kind and a work that garnered so much adoration?

  While Shara and George conversed, a bevy of young and beautiful people brought out clothing items. Shara shopped for a dress, shoes, slacks, shirts, coats, belts, jewelry, purses, hats, and sleep clothes as well as underclothing for all of them. She also picked out disguises.

  Cade was most amused by her underclothing of filmy lace. As he imagined Shara’s body wrapped in one provocative item after another his discomfort grew, reminding him that never in his adult life had he gone so long without a woman.

  To hide his arousal, he crossed his legs and set the newsvid over his lap. But his gaze returned to Shara again and again. Although Jules sat beside her, undergoing much the same treatment, she didn’t glow like Shara. Before his eyes, Shara transformed from a beautiful woman . . . to a gorgeous work of art.

  Her haircut, the styling, the makeup, and finally a change into a simple delicious black dress, the bodice wrapping across her chest, had altered her into a goddess. And the dress looked as if it would slip off her shoulders at any moment, since the tiny shoulder straps barely kept it on. Shara had morphed into a creature so stunning, he stared in amazement.

  He had no trouble imagining lowering the straps, slipping the material down her body, inch by inch. First he’d look his fill, then touch, then taste every luscious part of her.

  What the hell was wrong with him? Cade couldn’t ever recall a woman fascinating him the way Shara did. When he contrasted this sophisticated beauty to the dripping wet one who’d fished him out of the sea, he couldn’t say which image of her he preferred more. But Cade couldn’t deny she intrigued, compelled, and captivated every soul in the room—even the effeminate man who had looked at Cade with hungry eyes.

  When Shara’s gaze found Cade’s, she must have seen the approval there, or perhaps his simple lust, because her eyes brightened to match the dusting of sparkles that now graced her shoulders. He had to fight to keep his eyes focused on her face instead of her chest, where every man in sight must be imagining her skimpy bodice falling off to reveal . . . more.

  Jules went to change her clothing. The assistants and George vanished.

  Shara walked over to him. Cade’s mouth went dry. He couldn’t take his gaze off her, because something had changed besides the hair and makeup and clothing. It was as if Shara had slipped into a role of pure glamour.

  As she neared the alcove where he’d been waiting, he breathed in her scent, a scandalous mix of spices and a salty tang that he found irresistible. She knew she looked fantastic. She knew how she affected him. He read the confidence in the angle of her head, in the set of her jaw, in the poise of her stance, and the sexy sway of her hips.

  “You’ve transformed into someone I barely recognize.”

  She arched one delectable eyebrow. “You sound as if you don’t entirely approve.”

  Cade’s voice came out deep and sincere. “There’s not a man on any planet that wouldn’t approve.” He shot her his most charming grin and offered his arm to escort her from the premises.

  She hesitated. “It’s a role I play.”

  “You do it very well.” He let her hear his genuine admiration.

  He leaned in and sniffed. “Your scent . . . is . . .?”

  “Vanilla cream.”

  “I’ve never tasted vanilla cream.” He leaned in until their lips almost touched. Every molecule in his body ached to kiss her.

  He braced himself, the hair on his nape standing on end, waiting for her to stop him. His heart pounded. The moment stretched taut.

  Instead of protesting once again, she slid her hands up his back and into his hair. Tugged his head closer to her mouth. “Taste me.”

  Stars! He didn’t need a second invitation. After waiting so long, he took his time, letting his lips touch hers with the lightest caress. He skimmed his hand around her tiny waist, skimmed his palm onto the delicate skin of her back.

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes.” Her pupils dilated.

  Her scent was so heady that desire ripped through him. When she nibbled on his lip . . . he had no words for the shock. Sensation sizzled over him, and his flesh tightened. He’d never felt so alive. So needy. So filled with a raw hunger.

  For her.

  She gave him playful gentleness. He tried to give back the same. He made a low, deep purr in his throat. Took the kiss slow, kept it sensual.

  But blood roared in his ears. His ni
ps and licks encouraged her lips to part. His tongue dipped, danced. Plundered.

  She held him tighter, arched into him. Stars!

  He wanted to kiss her everywhere. Lick everywhere.

  24

  “Damn it, Shara. I saw you kissing him.”

  “So?” Still flushed from the sensual heat wave Cade’s kiss had caused, Shara reapplied her lip gloss in the mirror of the spa’s ladies’ room, pleased that her hands had finally stopped shaking.

  She’d always suspected Cade’s sensuality could sweep her off her feet, but she had yet to regain anything close to normal balance. His mind-blowing kiss had suffused her with energy and heat. She felt as if she was glowing from the inside out.

  Wow, the guy could kiss.

  “You like him way too much.” Jules cornered Shara, stopping her exit.

  “You have to admit, there’s a lot to like,” Shara quipped, but when she noted Jules’s brooding expression her smile ebbed.

  “You can’t let your feelings stop you.” Jules’s troubled eyes brimmed with tears. “While you were kissing Cade . . . I saw more this time . . .”

  One look at the anguish in Jules’s eyes, and Shara’s gut plummeted. “What did you see?”

  “I was drawn in so deep that I couldn’t break out.” Jules shuddered and grabbed her arm, her fingers gripping so tightly, Shara winced. “You must believe me.”

  “Of course, I believe you. But even you have told me we can change what you see by altering our actions.”

  “That’s why I’m praying you can stop him. Because if you can’t . . .”

  “What exactly did you see?”

  Shara had seen Jules upset before. Her friend usually wore her emotions on her expressive face for all to read. Those emotions helped convey her visions. But Shara had never seen her so wild-eyed and yet determined.

  “Everything was red. Red blood. Red flames. Red explosions. Dust clouds covered the sky and blocked out the sun. It was like a vision of hell . . .”