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talk to them. You stay in the car and lock the doors. Get behind the steering wheel so we can make a fast getaway if we need to.”
    “I really don’t like the way that sounds.”
    “This isn’t goingto be a problem. I’ll be back here before you know it.”
    He opened his car door and got out. At the same time, the limo driver emerged. A stocky guy with a thick neck, he looked as if he could also be a bodyguard.
    “Mr. Spencer,” he said, “Mr. Radcliff will see you now.”
    His civilized attitude didn’t fit with the situation. “Why were you following me?”
    “Convenience.”
    Heheld open the rear door to the limo, and Nick entered. He hoped he’d be able to come back out in one piece.

Chapter Five
    Monday, 12:48 p.m.
    In the rearview mirror, Kelly watched Nick disappear into the back of the long stretch limousine with tinted windows. It worried her that she couldn’t see him. She held up her cell phone, ready to call the police at the slightest sign of trouble.
    The limo driver closed the door behind Nick and strolled around the car toward the gleamingfront grill where he leaned against the fender and gazed across the road into the forested area on the other side. Though his attitude was relaxed, he looked like the kind of guy who would carry a gun and know how to use it. Why was she thinking about guns? Maybe she’d been in Texas too long.
    She checked the mirror again. Sunlight flashed off the silver chrome. She hated limos. Her ex hadalways insisted on taking a limo when they went to gala events because he liked to make an entrance. In his tailored tuxedo with his diamond-stud cuff links, Ted Maxwell was a very handsome man. Heads always turned when he walked by.
    And she had followed in his wake, aware that she’d never be as pretty as he was. He’d tried to coach her about what to wear and how to behave. The only bit ofgrooming that had really worked was the way she’d highlighted her straight brown hair, which was the only thing she’d kept after the divorce. According to Ted, he’d fought to become an associate partner at a top Denver law firm before he was thirty-five. He’d done the hard work, and all she had to do—her only real job as his wife—was to look good and back him up. She’d been a miserable failure,emphasis on the miserable.
    Not only had she been a dud when it came to style, but her profession hadn’t been classy enough for his society friends. When he introduced her, he’d always said she was in medicine, rather than admitting that she was only a nurse.
    That snub had been the final straw. She’d always been proud of what she did and refused to pretend otherwise. Instead of trailingbehind him in uncomfortable and ridiculously expensive high heels, she’d opted out of the fancy dress balls and political fundraisers. Better to stay home with a good book.
    His new wife must be more adept at gorgeousness. Kelly had heard that they were a power couple on their way into the national political arena. They already had one child, even though Ted hadn’t been interested in childrenwhen he was with her.
    She checked the mirror again, hoping to see Nick coming toward her. No such luck. It was kind of a bad omen that when she met him, he was wearing a tux. Was he anything like her ex? Ted had more polish, but Nick was definitely a head-turner. Handsome and rich made for a dangerous combination. Even though Nick seemed funny and down-to-earth and had complimented her onher nursing skills, she’d keep her eyes wide-open. The first time he insisted that she slip into a pair of four-inch heels, she was out of there.
    Nervous, she turned around in the seat to stare at the car behind her. Oh, yeah, she hated limos.
    * * *
    T HE PLUSH , BEIGE LEATHER interior of the limo reminded Nick less of luxury and more of a mobile office. The pudgy, little man who introducedhimself as Barry Radcliff sat on the bench seat at the rear behind a narrow desk that swung out from the wall. A laptop was