Leap of Faith

by Arianna Hart

  “Susie must have called before getting nabbed by the police,” Jane said.

  “What’s going to happen now?”

  “I’m not sure yet. The DA is going to have to figure out what’s a criminal charge and what’s civil. Technically, telling her friend about Sarah wasn’t illegal.”

  “But using EIS resources to locate DEA patrols sure as hell was!” Lex growled. His hand tightened on Jane’s slightly battered one and she winced.

  “I know. Like I said, I’m going to have to go over things with the DA to make sure all the charges are accurate and stick. I’m also going to have to do a complete overhaul of the computer system to find out how she accessed those files. It’s encrypted information and she shouldn’t have been able to get into it.”

  “Crap,” Lex groaned. “That means everything is going to be down for months.”

  Jane glared at him. “What are you worried about? You’re not going anywhere for a while with that bullet hole in your side.”

  Did he want to go on another assignment so soon?

  “I know, but when we’re not on assignment we get stuck doing paperwork. You have no idea how much paperwork is involved in billing and filing reports and we won’t have Alice to help out. I hate filing.”

  An idea popped into Jane’s head and out of her mouth before she had a chance to stop it. “I could help. Filing is one of my specialties, and I know more about billing than I ever wanted to from when I had my own practice. At least with you I wouldn’t have to deal with insurance agencies.”

  “We can’t ask you to do that. You’re a doctor, not a secretary,” Mac said.

  “I’m also currently unemployed. I could help out around the agency until I find another job or you find a replacement for Alice,” Jane said, liking the idea. She’d be doing something constructive while she figured out what direction her life was headed in and she’d be able to be near Lex. It was a win-win situation as far as she was concerned.

  “Listen to her, Mac. You know you can trust her and she doesn’t mind filing. Quick. Hire her before she comes to her senses!”

  “I had a something else in mind for a woman of Dr. Farmer’s talents.”

  “Oh?” Jane asked. He’d said something about her working as support before but she’d been rather confused and didn’t remember it very well.

  “What are you talking about? I don’t want to see Jane hurt. She’s taken enough bruising for EIS already.”

  “Something more behind the scenes.”

  Lex opened his mouth to protest but Jane cut him off. “Shh. I want to hear what he has to say.”

  “Are you kidding me? You almost got shot back at the ministry. How can you think about putting yourself at risk again?” He shouted, then clutched his side in pain.

  “It’s my decision to make. I might refuse, but it will be my decision.” She stared right into his flaming eyes and dared him to argue with her.

  He didn’t look happy but he kept his mouth closed.

  Turning to Mac she asked, “Now, what is it you had in mind?”

  “Profiling. With your background and instincts you could work up a psychiatric profile on potential targets for our field agents. Your input could be invaluable.”

  “I’m not a profiler, I’m a therapist. I don’t have the training or expertise to do that job.”

  “EIS could provide any additional training necessary. You have good instincts about people, that’s worth more than any schooling. I think you’d be a great fit for EIS. Besides profiling you could help prepare agents before they go undercover. With your knowledge of human behavior, you could give them some great tips about how, say an abused child would react to his abuser.”

  Jane didn’t answer right away. Her first impulse was to laugh at him and tell him he was nuts. She counseled people, she didn’t profile them. But the more he spoke, the more sense he made.

  “What if I’m wrong? What if I evaluate someone and I’m completely off the mark? Psychology isn’t an exact science.”

  “That happens to all agents. People make mistakes. Your evaluation would just be one of the tools used, not the end all of the case.”

  “You’re not seriously considering this, are you?” Lex asked. “You’re a talk-show host for God’s sake.”

  “I was a talk-show host. I got fired.” His concern was obvious, but she couldn’t let his feelings run her life. “I’m not going to make any decisions right now. I need a little time to get re-oriented. But I am thinking about it. I’m sorry if that upsets you, but I can’t back down just to make you happy.”

  “I’m just worried about you, babe. You almost got killed.”

  “So did you,” she said softly. Her bones had melted into mush at the emotion in his eyes.

  “Yeah, but I’m trained for this stuff. You’re not.”

  “She could be,” Mac said from the end of the bed.

  “You keep out of this. All you see is the advantage she’d be to the company, not the danger she’d be in. Someone has to watch out for her safety.”

  “I can see to my own safety. I know what I want out of life, and it isn’t hiding away anymore.”

  “I’ll leave you two to discuss this.” Mac backed out of the room.

  Lex waited until Mac left before rounding on Jane.

  “Do you know what you’re in for if you sign on with him? He’s only shown you his suave businessman face. You’ve never seen him tear a strip off someone when he’s pissed off. He can be damn ruthless.”

  “I’m sure he can. I’ve also seen him scared to death about you. Don’t tell me that he purposely puts his employees into danger.”

  He grunted. “No, he does his best to minimize the risks.”

  Jane brought Lex’s hand up to rub across her cheek. “I know you don’t want to see me hurt. I don’t want to see you in danger either, but we—”

  “Hold it right there—” He cut her off, “—I know what you’re about to say. We didn’t make any commitments. It was due to the dangerous circumstances and all that other crap. Well that’s bullshit. You’re not the type of woman to go to bed with someone you don’t care about. You can’t tell me that we don’t have something between us whether we talked about it or not. You’re mine. Got it?”

  Jane’s mouth dropped open at his diatribe. She should really be insulted at his macho speech but she was too thrilled to be angry. He didn’t want it to be over either.

  Still, she couldn’t let him get away with his caveman tactics. If she let him do that once, he’d walk all over her for the rest of her life.

  “Do I get a say in this?”

  “No.” He set his mouth stubbornly. “Fine! What do you have to say about it? And don’t try any of that psychoanalysis crap about how intense situations create insubstantial emotions. I’ve been through plenty of intense situations and I’ve never felt like this before.”

  More warm tingles bubbled through her veins like champagne.

  “All I was going to say was that even though I don’t want to see you hurt, I can’t expect you to live in a box for the rest of your life. If we want to live life to the fullest we have to take a few risks. I’m sure I’ll be scared to death every time you leave on a mission, but if I’m working for EIS I can do my darndest to make sure you have all the support you need to come back to me safely.”

  “You’re not going to argue about the ‘you’re mine’ comment?”

  “How can I argue about the truth? Everything you said so indelicately is true. But you forgot one thing. It works both ways. You’re mine too.”

  “You got that right.”

  He pulled her down for a kiss that curled her toes. His mouth took possession of hers as if he’d never let her go. That was just fine with Jane. She didn’t want to be anywhere else.

  The sound of applause broke them apart and Jane jerked to attention. Lex’s family and half the nursing staff stood outside the curtained doorway clapping madly. Mrs. D’Angelo dabbed at the corners of her eyes and his sisters
laughed through their tears.

  “Welcome to the family,” Lex said wryly.

  “You must come stay with us until Luther is out of the hospital. We’ll take care of you too.”

  “And you thought working for EIS was going to be risky?” Lex murmured.

  Jane gazed at Lex’s battered form and then at his family’s smiling faces. The risks were definitely worth it. Sometimes you had to take a leap of faith. At least Lex would be there to catch her.

  About the Author

  To learn more about Arianna Hart, please visit www.ariannahart.com Send an email to Arianna at ari@ariannahart.com or join her Yahoo! group to join in the fun with other readers as well as Arianna Hart. friendsofari-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

  Look for these titles by Arianna Hart

  Now Available:

  A Man for Marley

  Take Your Medicine

  Surprise

  Spitfire

  Dark Heat

  Devil’s Playground

  Snowy Night Seduction

  All small towns have secrets. This one could be deadly.

  The Seduction of Shamus O’Rourke

  © 2007 N.J. Walters

  Book 4 of Jamesville.

  After her father’s death, Cyndi Marks returns to Jamesville, determined to settle here and lay the ghosts of years ago to rest once and for all. But the past has a way of catching up—and hanging on.

  When her car breaks down outside of town, a handsome stranger stops to help. He intrigues and attracts her, but then she discovers who he is.

  Shamus O’Rourke enjoys his job, his family and small town living. What he’s missing is someone with whom to share it. Immediately drawn to Cyndi, he is determined to get closer to her, even as he senses her pulling away.

  But not everyone in Jamesville is happy to see Cyndi. People are hiding secrets. Secrets they would kill to protect. When violence erupts in her home, Cyndi turns to the only person in town she can trust—Shamus.

  In a situation where family loyalties are strained, Cyndi’s life is threatened and everyone is a suspect, will their emerging love survive?

  Enjoy the following excerpt for The Seduction of Shamus O’Rourke

  Jamesville, Maine. It looked so peaceful nestled down in the valley below, but Cyndi knew that even a small town had dirty little secrets. Turning her back on the picturesque scene, she strode to the trunk of her car. She needed to keep focused on the task at hand and right now that included getting her car back on the road so she could reach her destination before dark.

  The sun was low in the afternoon sky, but she had an hour or so until it finally sank. Lots of time to change a flat tire and get to the lawyer’s office before it closed for the day. Unlocking her trunk, she pocketed her keys and hauled out her two suitcases, setting them beside the car. Next came her laptop, which she tucked into the backseat for safekeeping. Two boxes containing her pillows and comforter, specialty teas, and her favorite snacks were next. She figured she’d need all the comforts she could get. She was under no illusion that the task ahead of her would be easy.

  Cyndi ignored the small voice in the back of her head that whispered she didn’t have to stay. She’d made her decision and she wasn’t about to back down now. It was time for her to face down the demons of her past and put them to rest once and for all. The only way to do that was to settle in Jamesville. She’d put all her belongings in storage, let the lease on her apartment lapse, and quit her job as manager of an upscale bed and breakfast. For better or worse, she was here to stay.

  Dragging out the jack and the spare tire, she carried them one at a time to the front of the car. The left-hand tire was as flat as a pancake. She must have picked up a nail or something. As soon as she hit town, she’d have to go to a garage and get it seen to.

  As she was shoving the jack beneath the car, she heard another vehicle rumbling up behind her. She scooted in front of her car, not wanting to be out in the road as the other vehicle passed. She’d pulled her car as far off the road as she could, but the shoulder wasn’t that wide and part of the vehicle was still on the pavement. A dusty, blue truck passed her, but the brake lights flashed almost immediately, and the vehicle rolled to a stop several yards up the road.

  Cyndi climbed back into the driver’s seat and locked all the doors. Maybe she was overreacting, but a woman on her own, on a fairly deserted stretch of road, couldn’t be too careful. She knew what Jamesville used to be like, but that was a long time ago. The whole world seemed to have changed in the intervening years.

  The truck door opened and a long, jean-clad leg came into view, quickly followed by another. The man who got out of the vehicle was huge, standing at least several inches over six feet. His shoulders were wide, straining the seams of his dirty, white T-shirt. The short sleeves of the shirt did nothing to hide his thick biceps and muscular forearms. His jeans were faded white at the knees and crotch area. Cyndi forced herself to look away. A stranger was coming toward her, and she was staring at his crotch. It had to be the stress she’d been under making her so loopy. Still, she did enjoy the view.

  His large, booted feet quickly ate up the distance between them. Cyndi reached into her purse and yanked out her phone, ready to call for help if necessary.

  The man stopped beside her door, leaned down and tapped on the window. “Didn’t mean to frighten you, ma’am.”

  Cyndi got her first, really good look at his face and it started her heart pounding, but not from fear. The man was gorgeous, in a rough sort of way. His thick, molasses-brown hair was tied back at the nape, falling just below his shoulders. His face was all sharp angles and planes; his nose was large, but somehow suited his face. Eyebrows the same color as his hair were straight slashes above a pair of concerned, blue-gray eyes, eyes the same color as the sky just before a storm.

  “Ma’am?” She heard his voice through the glass and realized she was sitting there like a fool simply staring at him.

  Quickly she rolled the window down, but just a crack. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

  He tilted his head to one side, staring at her. Cyndi knew she looked a mess. She’d been traveling for hours, and the past few weeks had been extremely stressful. She knew she had dark circles under her eyes and wasn’t wearing any makeup, save her clear lip balm. Her days of dressing to please other people were long over.

  “I said that I didn’t mean to frighten you.” He smiled then, a slight upturn of the corners of his mouth, but the effect was devastating.

  Butterflies danced in her stomach and she felt a throbbing between her thighs. She shook her head, desperately trying to fight the unwanted burst of physical attraction. She was thirty-nine years old, for heaven’s sake, long past the stage of being ruled by her hormones. And he looked to be at least ten years younger than her.

  “A woman alone can’t be too careful these days.” His words echoed her earlier thoughts. “You stay put in the car and I’ll take care of that flat tire for you.”

  “No,” she snapped. Realizing what she’d done, she softened her tone. After all, it wasn’t his fault she was attracted to him. All he’d done was stop and offer to help. “That’s fine. I’ll take care of it myself.”

  He scrubbed his hand across his jaw and her eyes followed the action. She could see the five o’clock shadow on his chin. It made him appear even sexier, if that was possible. There was something elemental about this man. Even dressed in old work boots, faded jeans and a dirty T-shirt, there was an air of barely restrained power about him.

  “I figured you could handle the problem on your own, ma’am, but there’s no need for that now that I’m here.”

  Was he for real?

  Will her need to do the right thing cost them everything?

  Anything But Mine

  © 2008 Linda Winfree

  Public Defender Autry Holton, honor-bound to defend an accused serial killer, is in a “shunned if she does, disbarred if she doesn’t” position. To complicate matters, she’s pregnant
and hasn’t yet told her ex-lover he’s the father. The reason? She’s pretty sure he won’t want the baby.

  After raising one family and suffering a failed marriage, Sheriff Stanton Reed never believed he was the right man for Autry. Then an attempted break-in at Autry’s home highlights the real danger she faces, and all he can think of is protecting her. When she tells him the truth about their baby, the past doesn’t matter. He wants both her and their child in his life.

  But just as Autry dares to hope there’s a future for them, an act of homegrown terrorism shatters her trust—and threatens their lives.

  Book Four of the Hearts of the South series.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Anything But Mine:

  This had to stop.

  Autry put her lotion away and wrapped a towel around her body. Irritation and unfulfilled desire had her nerves jumping and the worst part was she had herself to blame even more than Stanton. Sure, he was clueless about other people’s emotions, let alone his own. She’d known that going in. Now suddenly, she wanted him to change into Mr. Perfectly-in-touch-with-his-feelings? So being pregnant had made her emotional and now completely irrational. Instead of sitting around whining about how blind he was, maybe she needed to show him where to go.

  He’d asked for more time. That had to mean something.

  They were having a baby together. She wanted to forge a relationship with him. He said the same thing.

  What was she accomplishing by holding him away?

  Sleeping in the spare room wasn’t getting her any closer to him, wasn’t in any way binding him to her.

  So what are you going to do?

  Taking a deep breath, she knotted the towel at her breasts. Before her spurt of courage and resolution could desert her, she marched into the bedroom and gathered her things. Her hands full, she slipped down the hall to Stanton’s bedroom. The door stood slightly ajar and the fresh smell of his soap hung in the air.

  Her stomach turning slow rolls, she nudged the door open with her knee. The bedside lamp shed soft light in the room. Stanton lay on the bed, arms under his head, clad only in his khaki slacks. At her entrance, he glanced her way, his eyes dark and shuttered.