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The room had obviously been designed for comfort. The overstuffed sofa and chairs, adorned in a country print, faced a wall-sized stone fireplace. A TV sat in one corner, a bookshelf in the opposite. The room was large and shared space with a kitchen that held an old trestle table made of pine. It was simple and inviting.
    "The beds come with feather mattresses," Max said.
    "How many bathrooms?"
    He hesitated. "There's a half-bath in the loft but only one with a tub, and it's in the hall across from the bedroom where you'd be sleeping. If you decide to stay."
    Jamie nodded her approval. "Nice place you got here, Holt."
    "Muffin found it while we were still chasing bad guys in Beaumont. From what I understand, it was in bad shape. A team of contractors practically rebuilt it from the ground up in less than a week."
    "Jeez, I can't get a toilet repaired that fast."
    "You do what you have to do."
    "Won't people think it strange that the cabin was repaired almost overnight? What if the contractors talk?"
    "They work for me."
    "Why am I not surprised?"
    "So what do you say? You want to give it a try?"
    Jamie pondered it. She had promised herself to stay as far away from Max Holt as possible, but here she was, standing only a few feet from him and wishing she didn't find him so sexy. On the flip side, Jamie knew she needed him for the job at hand. He had the technology and the contacts.
    Max smiled. "You're chewing your bottom lip. That means you're considering it."
    "We should set a few ground rules."
    "You're right. You'll have to stop giving me the come-on."
    Her look was deadpan.
    He sighed. "What are the rules?"
    "We agree to keep this strictly business."
    "That depends. Do you plan to walk around in those short skirts and tank tops all the time?"
    "Be serious."
    "I'm being very serious."
    "I have to dress like this when I meet with Harlan. I'm trying to bait him."
    "Damn good bait if you ask me. I'd bite."
    She tried to ignore him. Yet she couldn't help but admit she derived a certain amount of satisfaction knowing she had captured Max's imagination. "Rule number two: I want to know everything that's going on at all times. No surprises. I'm serious about getting my story, so I have to be able to document everything as it happens. I'll also need to use some of the background information you've gathered on Harlan and the mob."
    "Some of the information came from, um, sources that I'm not supposed to know even exist."
    "Oh, great. Meaning you and Muffin have been busting through computer firewalls and deciphering codes again."
    "Sometimes I break the rules." He saw her look. "Not that I have any intention of breaking the rules you're setting right now, of course."
    "Yeah, right."
    "And I might enjoy helping you with your story. I happen to know a little bit about the newspaper business if you'll recall."
    Jamie was reminded that was one of the reasons he'd been eager to invest in her fledgling newspaper to begin with. Max had worked for his cousin's newspaper, and she had also seen firsthand how savvy he was when it came to what readers liked.
    Finally, she shrugged. "I'll listen to suggestions," she said, "as long as you realize I'm not giving you editorial control, and you're not getting a byline."
    "You're a hard woman, Jamie. Does this mean you're in?"
    "Show me what you've got on Rawlins."
    Max handed her a folder.
    Jamie sat on the sofa and opened the file. Max took a chair opposite her. After a moment, she looked up. "I'm impressed."
    "And so you should be."
    "How did you know Rawlins wouldn't be touring at this time?"
    "We got lucky. If he'd been on tour we would have come up with a different plan. It just worked out this way."
    "I see he actually received his master of divinity from one of the best seminaries in the country."
    "With a heavy emphasis on pastoral counseling," Max said. "Which permitted him to take all the psychology courses he wanted. Bottom line: He knows people."
    "No wonder he makes such a good shark.