Read Lazar's Intrigue (The Jack Lazar Series) for Free Online Page A

the side. “I’ll wait for you downstairs.”
    Jack
watched her leave without looking back, and he whispered to himself in a harsh,
scolding manner as he walked into the bathroom and forcefully removed his T-shirt.
    “Jack,
you idiot.” He stared at himself in the mirror. “What the hell are you thinking?”
    It
took only five minutes for Jack to prepare himself, and he descended the
staircase to the living room, expecting to find Sarina waiting for him there. But
she wasn’t. He noticed her half-finished glass of Scotch on the coffee table
and an open copy of Architectural Digest next to it, but no Sarina to be
found.
    A
loud whisper floated into the room from the kitchen, and Jack removed his shoes
before maneuvering in that direction with catlike footsteps, positioning
himself just beyond the doorway. He could hear Sarina talking to someone on her
cell phone, and he listened intently.
    “No,
I don’t think anything like that is necessary,” she said, whispering loudly,
the extent of her frustration very clear. “The man is harmless.” She remained
silent for a moment. “Nothing. I’ve looked through his study, and I can’t find
anything. Besides, I have a hunch about this guy. … C’mon, that’s bullshit! My
thinking is perfectly straight on this. … Look, I’ve got to go. He’ll be back
downstairs any minute now.” She sighed with frustration. “Well, just do what
you have to do, okay? I’m going to concentrate on having a nice evening, and
don’t you dare give me any shit about this. … Bye.”
    Jack
raced for the stairway as he heard her finish the call, his shoes still in his
hands so he could quietly scale the marble steps. He waited for a moment
outside his bedroom door, allowing his breath to settle down, and he wondered
more than ever what he was getting himself into.
    He
opened and closed the door to the bedroom just loud enough so it could be heard
from below, and he began to descend the staircase again. Thinking quickly, he
removed his watch and started to put it back on his wrist as he reached the
living area, pretending to have just finished dressing.
    “Hi!”
he said. “Hope you weren’t too bored down here.”
    “Not
at all,” she replied without looking at him, her attention allegedly focused on
the magazine in her hands.
    It
was painfully obvious she was being aloof. Did it have something to do with her
conversation on the phone, or was she still upset that he had rejected her
advances? There were problems already, and they hardly knew each other.
    “Good,”
he said.
    She
popped up her head and gave him a strained smile. “Are we ready?”
    “Yes
we are.” Jack offered his hand and Sarina took it reluctantly. They began
strolling toward the door, but Jack stopped without warning and spun her in front
of him.
    “Listen,
Sarina. We kinda got off on the wrong foot.”
    She
struggled to pull away as he restrained her, and she tossed back her hair
before staring into his eyes with rebellious fury. For a moment it looked like
she might hit him, but then Jack could feel her relax.
    “Let’s
start over, okay? I’ve been totally obsessed with you since the moment I saw
you running across the beach that night, and I’ve hardly done anything but think
about you for the last four weeks. I guess I was just a little caught off guard
by your arrival today.” He took his forefinger and gently lifted her chin. “Give
this another chance, okay? I know I can do better.”
    She
avoided kissing him, but instead offered a genuine smile. “You are very
charming, Mr. Lazar. But don’t take me for an impressionable little girl.”
    As
swiftly as Jack had executed his own maneuver, Sarina caressed her body up to
him and enfolded her arms around his neck, forcefully pulling down his head. She
gave him a hard, moist kiss and released him before straightening her dress, turning
toward the door and leaving him there in a state of wonder.
    “You
coming?” she asked.
    Jack
narrowed his eyes