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in his special report: Who
Wanted Tierney Evans Dead?”
    Tierney sighed as Kiel clicked off the TV. “Maybe I should
watch Hawk’s special. I’d like to know who wants me dead, too. I dated him
once, back when he was still pretending to be straight.”
    “Who haven’t you dated?”
    “There’s no call for that, Kiel . The child is shaking so bad I can
hear her knees knocking. Be nice.”
    “I didn’t mean anything.” He stood,
she squinted her eyes as she followed him up. “I’m sorry, Tierney. We all have
a lot of baggage. I have no right putting you down.”
    “No, you don’t!” she spat and walked
back to the galley. She was wearing the pink polka dot bikini and shorts. Kiel tagged along behind her; she turned,
almost bumped into him. She noticed he was moving his gazes along the crest of
her cleavage. He licked his lips, she tingled. It was really going to be hard
to keep her hands off of him.
    “Did you say we were going to your … hacienda ?”
    “Yeah, it’s in Baja, near the sea. My
folks had it built there forty years ago.”
    “ Your … oh,
Travers told me about them. They died in an earthquake?”
    He threw Travers a fierce glance.
“Yeah, they did. They were explorers and philanthropists. They were down in Chile doing some work for Unicef in the 90s when a big quake
hit.”
    “I’m sorry. You were just a kid,
right?”
    “Sure, but I survived. A person can
survive anything if they try.”
    “Oh, Travers, what about your family? Won’t they believe you’re dead,
too?”
    He entered the galley. “I called them
last night, made sure they knew I was okay, and that they needed to pretend I
wasn’t … for awhile. The cops had already been to see them once. They probably
will again.”
    “I hate that you two were dragged
into this mess! Maybe I should go home and try to straighten it all out.”
    “No, I don’t want you stepping into
any more booby traps. We’ll all be safer at my house.”
    He went on deck without explaining.
    “What’s he mean? Is someone after
him, too?”
    “I’m afraid we’ve all stepped on some
booby traps, Tierney. Do you think you can handle it if things get rough?”
    “What choice do I have?”
    “Good girl. Have another donut?”
    She shook her head, wondering what
sort of danger she was in now.
    Kiel’s hacienda was more like
a palatial fortress; made of concrete with white, hand-veneered plaster, a red
tile roof, brightly colored tile floors throughout, sturdy, comfortable
furnishings, with a secure wall surrounding the property. The interior of the
grounds was lush and cool, thanks to a mango orchard, a stone fountain and
long, lazy palm trees. There was even a freshwater pond full of fat, happy koi .
    “I thought you were kind of a …”
    “What, a drifter?”
    “Well, yeah, you seemed down on your
luck, anyway. How can you afford this place?”
    “It was built by my parents. I told
you that. My great granddaddy got rich in South American oil.”
    “Oh. Kiel , did your parents love you?”
    “They said they did. Why?”
    “I was just wondering.”
    He led her and Travers through the enormous
foyer and up a winding staircase to their rooms.
    “I think I’ll take a nap Kiel . It’s been a hard week.”
    “Sure, bud, I’ll call you when
dinner’s ready.”
    Kiel opened a door near the back of the
house and ushered Tierney in. “How do you like it?”
    She walked in, examined the giant
carved wooden bed and elaborate furniture then she
tested the veranda, smiled at its seaview .
    “It’ll do, I suppose.”
    “You know you like it.”
    She smiled again. “I do. I can’t understand
why you’d leave it. If it was mine, I don’t think I ever would!”
    “I thought that way, a long time ago.
But then I made some bad mistakes …”
    “What mistakes? Tell me, please? I’d
like to help you if I could.”
    He watched her mouth as she talked;
his gaze intense, hungry. If he could let his guard down long enough she knew
she could make