Her hands grasped the edge of the concrete. She dug bleeding fingers into the hard stone as she was jerked over the side by the force of gravity, and tried to hang on. It was at least a fifty-foot drop. If there was water beneath her, she knew she could swim to safety. If there was land below, she’d be dead.
Oh, God.
She swallowed the fear and gripped the concrete tighter.
“This is so much better than I planned,” Swanson growled from above. Her shadowed face, highlighted by dim lights on the bridge, came into Lisa’s view. Blood ran
down her cheeks. Dirt was smeared across her forehead. “Beg. Beg for me to save you, Dr. Maxwell.” She wrapped one hand around Lisa’s wrist and pushed slightly. “I want to hear the words.”
Terror clawed at Lisa’s chest. She wasn’t going to die like this. Not on a bridge in downtown Miami only a mile away from the man she loved. Not when she finally had something real to believe in.
Lisa’s blood ran hot as she looked up into ice-cold eyes. A memory flashed, one of the rare instances Doug had talked about his family, about his sister who was afraid of the water. She quickly twisted her wrist and wrapped her hand around Swanson’s forearm. “Still hate the water, bitch?”
Swanson’s eyes went wide with fear and realization. “Wh-What?”
Lisa yanked hard. Swanson’s body shot off the bridge. Lisa let go so she wouldn’t be pulled down. Swanson kicked frantic arms and legs as she plunged into the darkness below with a bloodcurdling scream.
Lisa reached up to grip the barricade. Her hands were sweating, her fingers slipped, and she dropped a fraction of an inch. Her muscles screamed from the weight of her body. She couldn’t hold on much longer.
Oh, God, she was going to fall.
Voices echoed from the bridge. Below she thought she heard the rumble of a boat’s engine and another voice. For a moment, a spotlight swept over her, highlighting the concrete barricade that had become her lifeline.
Her fingers slipped again. Her heart rate jumped. Sweat slicked her skin, and she fought against her own weight, but the effort was futile. Her raw fingertips slid against the gravelly edge, and she managed one shrill scream before she plummeted into utter blackness.
Brisk air whooshed around her. She hit the water feet first and rocketed downward. On instinct she kicked as hard as she could, held her breath and swam upward with every bit of energy she had left.
Just when she was sure she was swimming the wrong way, she broke the surface and gasped. Her lungs burned as she drew air in and out in shallow breaths. Above, faint sirens echoed in the night, followed by voices yelling down at her from the bridge.
She closed her eyes and tried to steady her racing pulse. Someone knew she was down here. She wasn’t going to die, not to night. Not when she had a whole life ahead that suddenly looked better with each passing second. She just had to hold on until a rescue boat came to get her.
“Lisa!”
Limbs aching, she treaded water and turned a slow circle, peering into the darkness for a voice she was sure she’d only imagined. Lights swept across her, forcing her to blink against the blinding beams. The roar of an engine sputtered and died somewhere close.
“Jesús, Maria y José.”
Rafe.
She hadn’t dreamt him. He was real. Her heart lurched in her chest.
Water splashed, and in an instant his strong arms were around her, supporting her and tugging her with him. “Are you okay? Jesus, Lisa, talk to me. Tell me you’re okay.”
Words choked in her throat. He hauled her up the swim ladder, dropped onto the floor of the speedboat and cradled her in his lap. His heart raced against her skin. Warm water ran in rivulets off both their bodies. His hands streaked over her, checking every inch to make sure she wasn’t hurt.
“I’m okay,” she managed on a shaky breath. “Rafe.” She placed a hand on his arm to stop his frantic search for injuries. “I’m okay.”
He let out a strangled groan, pulled her tight against him and dropped his forehead to hers. “Jesus, I…When I saw you dangling off the bridge, I thought I’d lost you.”
Her heart skipped a beat at the raw emotion in his voice. She sank into him and closed her eyes, for the first time in as long as she could remember feeling…free.
“You can’t get rid of me that easy, Slick.”
His arms tightened around her. “Don’t tease me. Not right now. I can’t take it.”
There was no humor in his voice. He pulled back enough to look down, eyes dark and intense and locked solely on her. In those gleaming obsidians she saw the same fear that had almost crippled her moments before, and it shot warmth through her whole body. She curled her fingers into his damp shirt and pulled him closer. “Rafe.”
A blinding spotlight swept over them, followed by the wail of a horn signaling the arrival of the U.S. Coast Guard Search and Rescue boat. Lisa dropped her head against his chest. His fingers slipped into her hair as he held her tight against him and waved to the Coast Guard with his other hand.
This was what she wanted. Him. Nothing else mattered. As soon as they were out of the water and back on dry land, she was going to tell him.
She wasn’t going to lose him, either.
The early morning hours after the accident were a blur to Lisa. Rafe had been adamant she go to the hospital for observation, but she’d brushed off his concerns and let the EMT check her out instead. She now had a butterfly ban d-age across her cheek and bruises over most of her body, and felt like she’d been hit by a Mack truck.
But for all the bad things she
could
focus on, if she tried, for the first time in her life she was excited about the future. She’d never planned on falling in love at this point in her life, didn’t need a man to complete her, but she was counting her blessings for the one who’d had the good sense to hustle her in Milan.
They’d been separated for questioning after the accident. Lisa cooperated in any way she could, filling in details about Doug and the Furies and Christy Swanson’s demented need for revenge, omitting of course any reference to illegal activities she or Rafe had participated in, including theft, breaking and entering and how she’d come to acquire Alecto in the first place.
She sensed the detective interviewing her knew there was more to the story, but she didn’t really care what he thought. All she wanted was to curve into Rafe and fall asleep for at least a week. Shane, having cooperated as much as possible in the investigation, sensed her weariness and stepped in to help.
He’d needed three stitches for the gash in his forehead, had to have his shoulder wound redressed, and was given instructions to watch for infection. Even though he was probably more exhausted than Lisa, he hadn’t left her side. For that, she was thankful.
Satisfied she’d answered enough for the time being, the detective finally let Lisa leave the station and promised to track her down at Lauren’s estate if he thought of anything else. Back at the house, she went up to Rafe’s room, slipped out of her clothes and slid between the silky sheets to wait for him to come home. Sleep pulled at her within minutes of her head hitting the pillow, and in the morning when she woke, she sat up, surprised to find she was still alone.
As she was twenty-four hours later.
Rafe had left several messages on her cell, but every time she’d tried to call him back, he’d been out of range or unavailable. And she wasn’t sure just what that meant. So when Pete called that morning and asked her to come in to Odyssey, worry gnawed at her reserves.
A little voice in the back of her head said Rafe had left because their partnership was over. He didn’t need her anymore, not in the same way she needed him.
Shane pulled the rental to the curb and killed the engine. He glanced across the seat toward the massive double front doors. Palm trees lined the ritzy street with its quaint cafés and trendy shops. It didn’t surprise Lisa this was where Odyssey was located, in the heart of glamorous Miami Beach.
“Want me to stay in the car or go in with you?”
“Go in with me.” But she didn’t move. For some reason, she was almost too afraid to find out what was going on.
Feeling like a wuss, she pushed the door open and stepped from the sedan. She’d dressed in lightweight slacks and a silk sleeveless top, and though the Florida heat was already intense at ten in the morning, it didn’t bother her.
Lisa pulled the glass door open and was immediately
surrounded by a cool breeze that sent a shiver down her back. Ceiling fans turned slowly in the massive outer gallery. Paintings lined the walls, statuary and pottery occupied every inch of space.
A brunette appeared from a door to their left. “Dr. Maxwell, Detective. Mr. Kauffman is waiting for you.”
Fighting back a little jolt of panic, Lisa followed the woman up to the third floor. The brunette knocked on the door at the end of the hall, and when a voice said, “Come in,” she gestured for them to go ahead.
Pete rose from the desk and smiled as they stepped into the office, looking every bit the consummate professional in slacks, a white dress shirt and red silk tie. Not for the first time, Lisa wondered just what it was that made Peter Kauffman tick. He was gorgeous and single and loaded. But in the few short days she’d known him, she’d sensed something was off.
Yeah, he was smart, and driven, and easy to be around. But lurking behind his stone gray eyes, there were a host of secrets. Secrets and regrets that made Lisa wonder just what had happened in his life. Or whom he’d lost. She recognized the pain he hid, because for fifteen years, the same things had haunted her. But not anymore.
Pete shook Shane’s hand and greeted Lisa with a hug. “Thanks for coming by.”
She eased out of Pete’s arms and glanced around the empty room, refocusing on why she was here. “Where is he?”
Pete’s smile faded. “He wanted to be here, but Teresa’s not doing so well. Rafe and Billy took her home to Puerto Rico.”
That explained his sudden disappearance. Lisa closed her eyes and steeled herself against the quick stab of pain in her heart. She would have gone with him. Didn’t he know that?
“I heard they pulled Swanson’s body from the bay early this morning.”
Pete’s voice brought Lisa’s eyes open.
Shane nodded, perched the hand of his good arm on his hip. “They’re still looking for Winters. Won’t be long before they find him.”
Pete nodded and gestured toward the table. “I have something to show you both.”
Lisa looked toward the long conference table to her left where a black drape was laid out across the surface. As much as her heart was hurting, her pulse beat just a little quicker at the thought of seeing Alecto again.
She and Shane stepped toward the table.
“You know,” Pete said with a smile in his voice, “this has got to be my favorite part. When a client finally has what they’ve been looking for.” He pulled the fabric back, revealing not just Alecto, but Tisiphone and Magaera as well.
Shane drew in a sharp breath at her side. “Wow.”
Lisa’s mouth fell open. All three pieces were joined together, the small notches in the sides uniting them as had originally been intended. She recognized Alecto in the middle with her arms crossed over her chest, wings jutting out of her back and her weight perched on one foot. Tisiphone floated in the air to her right, wings spread wide, eyes looking toward the heavens. Magaera, seated to Alecto’s left, had her legs angled away from her body, weight supported on one hand as she looked up at her sisters. Snakes encircled each of their heads, and while they might have looked tame at first glance, there was no mistaking the seriousness of their quest: eyes hard, cold and dangerous.
Daughters of darkness. Tormentors of evildoers.
They’d taunted Lisa for nearly fifteen years, but not anymore.
“They’re amazing, aren’t they?” Pete asked.
She forced thoughts of Doug from her mind for good and refocused on Magaera. “How did you—”
Pete smiled. “Teresa’s maiden name was Los Cruz.”
“What?” Lisa looked up sharply.
“Her grandmother gave it to her when she moved to the States with Rafe’s father. It’d hung in their family dining
room for years. Teresa had always liked it. And Rafe, well, he’s always had a thing for art history. She passed it down the family line to him.”
Stunned, Lisa looked back down. “He had it all this time, and he never said anything?”
He’d kept so much from her. There were moments she thought she hadn’t known him at all.
A paper slid next to her hand, drawing her attention. “What’s this?”
Pete set a pen on the table. “Acceptance of terms. All you have to do is sign, and they’re yours.”
“Mine?” Lisa’s gaze shot up. “But…that’s not what we agreed on.”
“The deal changed.”
“He needs to sell them for—”
“He doesn’t need the money anymore,” Pete cut in. “He sold the boat, got Billy to agree to sell the property in Key West. He paid back what he owed me for financing the search and has enough left over to get Teresa set up until it’s over.”
Until it’s over.
Lisa’s chest tightened.
“But what will he do after? That’s not what we—”
Pete shook his head, a wry smile curling his mouth. “Rafe’s resilient. He’ll figure something out. Trust me, I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t listen.” His voice softened. “He wants you to have them, Lisa. You earned them. All you have to do is sign.”
She lifted the pen when Pete pushed it toward her, stared back down at the paper. She’d never expected Rafe to go back on his word. She’d never once anticipated he’d give up the one thing he wanted most in the world. All for her.
You earned them.
She hadn’t. Not on her own. They’d earned them together. Without him, she never would have found the Furies. She never would have uncovered the part of herself she thought she’d lost. She never would have discovered a heart she’d buried long ago.
She had known him, the best parts of him. He’d made her think about a future that wasn’t bleak and lonely. He’d made her dream of things that weren’t centered around her career. He’d made her believe in love again.