Her looking had to last a lifetime, so she walked backwards reaching behind her to snap the lock into place and reduce the lighting to one beam on the table and Jake. In the shadows, she let her eyes be hungry and longing, then reined it in for the walk back to him. At least she thought she'd reined it in, but the closer she got to him, the more her body throbbed for him, for the painful peace of passion acted on. She wanted him so bad it hurt like a sore tooth not to do something.

She stopped on the opposite side of the table. If somebody didn't do something-

Somebody did.

In the heated silence, they both heard the sound of a silenced gun fired into the flimsy front door lock.

Chapter 9.

Passion made an abrupt departure as Jake?s training took over. Before the sound of the lock giving faded away, he had his gun out and was taking aim at the light. Phoebe shook her head. "Wait."

She was right. No reason to warn the intruders they were armed.

"Is there another way out of here?"

Before she could answer, they heard glass shatter from the direction of her office, followed almost immediately by the sound of the back door being kicked open.

"This way," she said, heading for the dubious cover of the bar.

The front door gave just as they reached the bar. Jake crouched down beside Phoebe and realized she was still one step ahead of him when she opened a panel to reveal the breaker box. He only had time to grin at her before she took out the lights. That left only a triangle of light just inside the door.

"Phone's dead," she said, her lips against his ear.

"I've got a cell phone."

"Let's find some better cover first."

She was right, behind the bar was the first place anyone would look for them.

"We could use another gun."

"As much fun as it would be in a shoot-out at JR's bar with you, I think we can do this with less mess."

"They'll have the exits covered."

"Not this one." She shifted closer, until he could feel her body against his. "You said you can climb?"

His eyes were adjusting to the pitch black. Now he could see her outline against the reflection from a row of bottles. He nodded, wondering if she could see the movement.

She could. She'd always been able to see like a cat in the dark. Despite this highly useful skill, Phagan had refused to let her participate in their real heists-until now.

She touched his arm, then followed it down until she found his hand, their fingers meshing like yin and yang. It touched her that he didn't hesitate to follow where she led. Not many men would have, particularly when it became apparent she was leading him into a corner.

It was too dark to see her but he felt the warmth from her body when she stopped.

Behind them, the search was heating up. Flashlights flickered in the back rooms, coming closer. She took Jake's hand and placed it against the log wall, urging him forward until he could feel the junction of the logs. "We can climb up to the support beams and get out the roof access panel."

Jake started climbing. She was glad he didn't waste time with any ladies-first crap. The guy knew his stuff, knew he'd be in a better position to provide cover above her than below. As soon as he was higher than her head, Phoebe started up, too, the path a familiar one for her. She'd raced the guys up every corner in this room. Most of the time she'd won. She made the beam before two flashlights stabbed white light into the main room. The intruders found the bar. Footsteps moved that way, separating to cover both ends.

She tapped Jake's arm and pointed toward the center of the ceiling where all the beams came together. It Wasn't a perfect path-they'd be moving toward danger and if they were heard, they'd be exposed and vulnerable-but it was better than the inevitable shoot-out. Jake nodded, gesturing for her to go first.

Phoebe had walked this beam at least a hundred times, but never without light. She wished she'd had time to take off her boots. She did better when she could feel the surface with her feet. It was slow going, trying to place her boots squarely without making a sound. She sensed, more than heard, Jake following her.

They were halfway to the center when the hunters below went quiet. Phoebe and Jake froze, too. Phoebe halted her breath, then let it out slow and easy. Time for a distraction. She patted down her pockets. Empty.

"Where the hell did they go?" a male I'm-in-charge voice asked.

"Dunno. Thought they'd be behind the bar. Only cover in the whole room."

"Maybe they slipped past us in the dark," a third voice spoke.

All three voices came from the same general area'almost directly under them. That helped the odds a bit. Jake tried to recall how far the drop was, estimated how far they'd climbed and came up with something definitely in the leg-breaking range.

"I wonder..." the in-charge guy said.

One of the lights started to track toward the rafters. Jake sighted his gun along the light, but before he could shoot, he heard a soft ping in the direction of the doorway. All three figures did a stampede in that direction, making just enough noise for Phoebe to say softly, "Button."

Jake chuckled.

"Farley, you go out the back. Harley, you take the front. Do a circuit of the outside and check their vehicles. I'll check the office again. If we come up empty, head for the car and we'll get the hell out of here."

They sounded as if they knew they'd lost, but Phoebe didn't start moving again until they were well out of range. Careful and clever.

In short order they were beneath the panel. Phoebe popped it open, Jake helped her push it up, then gave her boost up onto the roof. She lowered the panel quietly and soon he was beside her on the sharply peaked roof. They lowered the panel back into place.

"You come up here often?" Jake whispered. It felt good to be out in the fresh air. The towering pines cast a long shadow on their position, so there was little fear their silhouettes would be visible against the waning moon. He followed her to the peak and peered over, careful to keep low as normal night noises got lost in the sounds of the search. Finally they heard a motor start and tires spinning against gravel.

The car moved out from the cover of the trees, but when Phoebe had thrown the breaker, she shut off the big parking lot lights, too, so there was no way to see the color or a plate.

"I couldn't tell," Jake said softly. "Did they all leave?"

"I think so," Phoebe said. "Saw at least two for sure."

"How-" Jake began.

She rolled onto her back, tucked her hands behind her head and gave him her toe-curling smile. She looked as relaxed as if she were on her own bed instead of the steeply peaked roof. "Ate a lot of carrots as a kid."

Jake laughed, even as he fought back the urge to just kiss the girl. He rolled over, careful not to make contact, and stared up at the night sky, where the moon was fading as fast as his self-control. Maybe if he didn't look at her, he could do this.

"Another story?"

Her chuckle was husky and bedroom soft. "No stories tonight, Curious Jake. I'm too tired, and-"

She stopped, but her mind finished the thought. She was too curious about what would happen if she just rolled toward him. But if she breached the wall, broke the rules, she'd be breaking faith with herself and Kerry Anne, not to mention Phagan, who had loved Kerry, too. Kerry Anne had sacrificed more than her life for her little sister, more than any sister should have to sacrifice for anyone.

She hated bringing the poison of the past into this moment, but she needed it to keep her from making that roll Jake's way. It was almost Harding's moment of reckoning, and she couldn't sell that for a roll on a roof, no matter how enticing the guy.