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between them? It seemed almost visible to her.
    Maybe I’m just imagining all this.
    Or maybe not?
    “Lauren?” Mark’s voice broke into her thoughts and a hand waved in front of her face. “You still with us?”
    She blinked. “I’m sorry. What?”
    “I said, Troy will be staying here. Is that going to be a problem?”
    “We’ll work it out,” Troy answered for her, then slid his gaze to her. “Your safety comes first, right, Lauren?” The heat was still there, and the look he gave her did nothing to subdue it. In fact, she was nearly mesmerized by it.
    “Oh.” She blinked again. “Yes. Of course. Thank you. I guess.”
    “Good.” Dan took a final swallow of his coffee and looked at his watch. “Has this guy ever contacted you anywhere but at home?”
    She shook her head. “I really don’t travel much for this. I try to refer those calls to people in their area.”
    “But you have gone out of state,” Mark persisted. “Faith has gone with you.”
    “Yes, although I’m sure it’s a real pain in the ass to her.”
    “Not at all. And she always says the change of scenery helps clear her head when she’s stuck on a plot.”
    Lauren had met Faith when she’d gone to a signing for one of Faith’s romantic thriller best sellers. They’d connected, gone for coffee and since had become very close friends.
    “All right.” Dan nodded. “That at least makes it a little easier. The security people should be here soon so let’s get ready for them.” He set his tablet down on the table and carried his mug to the sink. “And Lauren? Along with the people you did accept, I’d like you to make a list of everyone who ever contacted you that you didn’t or couldn’t help for one reason or another. Your stalker may be related to one of those people.”
    “There aren’t many people I’ve turned down,” she told him. “I always check out the patient carefully to make sure someone isn’t trying to scam me. You know, want me to, as they say, put on a show for them and their friends. If they are, those are the ones I turn away.”
    “What about a real case that you were unsuccessful with?” Mark asked. “Didn’t you tell Faith and me that there were two people you actually couldn’t help?”
    Lauren felt the tragedy of those two cases surge up inside her. “One of them was a young boy who was paralyzed. There was no way I could regenerate dead nerves. My power doesn’t work like that.”
    “What was the other one?”
    “That one was too bizarre. A girl had a leg amputated and her family somehow thought I could help her grow a new one.” She shook her head. “When people get desperate, they grasp at any chance at all.”
    “Okay.” Dan picked up the tablet again and brought up a blank screen. “Give us all the names I asked for, and I’ll get them checked out. Give us a list of your neighbors while you’re at it. You never know if one of them got a bee in his or her bonnet. Mark, you work with her on that. Troy, I think the security company’s here. I’ll get Andy doing some more digging and also check on what’s happening back at the office. All right, folks. Time to get busy.”
     

Chapter Three
     
    The Cleaner was furious. He could barely contain his anger. How dare she have someone answer the telephone? And who was this asshole anyway? She never had men at her house. In all the times he’d called her, he was certain she’d been alone. And since he’d been in San Antonio, he’d always seen her alone. So where did this man come from who spoke so arrogantly and rudely to him?
    Surely he wasn’t someone with a personal interest in her. Didn’t he know what she was? He’d have to do something about that. A woman with a heart that black, who practiced the skills of the devil, should not have a mate. She might produce a spawn who would be just as evil. And possibly destroy the unsuspecting mate at the same time.
    And where had this guy come from all of a sudden? And what gave him