"It's a fact," he said.

I didn't see a way out of this. I didn't think Blane would actually harm me. But Kade might. The very fact that they were brothers would impede anything Blane might try to do to help me - blood is thicker than water, or so my dad had always said. And I was definitely the water in this scenario.

"Fine," I spat. My capitulation could not be termed gracious. I turned toward a nearby chair and put my right foot on the seat, high-heel and all. As I pulled up my skirt, I realized both men were watching me avidly. Inwardly, I smiled in satisfaction. It appeared men the world over had the same weaknesses. Running my hands up my nylon-encased leg, I inched the skirt up until the top of my thigh-high stocking showed, ignoring the stillness in both Kade and Blane. Reaching inside the top of the stocking, I pulled out the tiny thumb drive CJ had given me. "A precaution," she'd said, and I could only be grateful for her foresight.

"Sorry your hands were too busy elsewhere to search me properly, Blane?" I asked innocently, brows raised. His eyes jerked to mine and the look in them said I was playing with fire. Show's over, I thought grimly, removing my foot and dropping my skirt. I tossed the drive onto Blane's desk with a clatter and he quickly scooped it up.

"How are you going to trace it?" I asked and Kade answered.

"We need to get into their infrastructure, but I'm working on that." I raised an eyebrow at Blane, silently asking him to elaborate. I didn't bother responding directly to Kade.

"He hasn't been able to hack into their network yet," Blane answered my unspoken question.

"Yet being the key word," Kade said arrogantly.

"Your time is running out," I said. "Wouldn't it be better if you had someone on the inside?"

"That would make things a lot easier, yes," Blane said, "but our last lead died with your friend Mark."

"Maybe I could help you," I offered. Kade laughed out loud and my cheeks flushed.

"What are you going to do, princess?" he asked snidely, stepping closer to me. "f.u.c.k the information out of Santini?"

The crack of my hand against his jaw sounded loud in the room, and for a moment, no one moved. Kade's furious eyes locked on mine and neither of us spoke, the tension in the room so thick I could barely breathe.

"Kade," Blane barked, "take a walk." Kade didn't move. I stood my ground, but was shaking inside. Finally, after an endless moment, he turned and stalked out of the room. My knees nearly buckled in relief and I grasped the back of the chair next to me to steady myself.

"I apologize for him," Blane said quietly. He'd come around the desk and now stood next to me. "You didn't deserve that." My eyes stung but I blinked back the tears. Why should I care what vile things Kade said about me?

"Is he always such a charmer?" I asked dryly.

"He's just...a bit of a cynic," Blane answered. Sliding his arms around my waist, he pulled me toward him and I didn't resist. I knew I shouldn't allow myself to believe that he felt anything more than a pa.s.sing interest in me, but my heart refused to listen to reason. It felt good, it felt right, to be in his arms.

"Not that I'm going to complain that you two don't get along," Blane continued, and I looked up questioningly. He lowered his head until his lips were millimeters from mine before whispering, "I don't like compet.i.tion." His mouth slanted across mine in a kiss that brought back the memory of his body on top of me, inside me. My hands lifted of their own volition to clutch his shoulders, the muscles strong and solid under my fingers.

Blane's hands moved to cup my rear, pressing me to him, and I felt his arousal against my stomach. I gasped when his mouth moved to my neck, my head dropping to the side to give him better access. He moved a hand to my hair trailing in waves down my back, fisting some in his hand.

"So beautiful," he murmured against my skin. His breath was hot and my hands were itching to touch him. I couldn't think when he did this and I struggled to hear the whisper of caution in the back of my mind. This wasn't real. Not in the way I wanted it to be. I was only useful for one thing, apparently.

"No, stop," I said breathlessly, pushing against him. He didn't seem to hear, his tongue flicking wetly against my earlobe, sending a spike of pleasure through me. I pushed harder.

"Blane, stop!" This seemed to finally get through to him and he abruptly released me. I stumbled backward.

"What's the matter?" he asked. His eyes burned with desire and I wanted to tell the little voice in my head to shut the h.e.l.l up so I could dive back into his arms.

"I can't do this," I said, trying to sound more resolved than I felt. "I can't be your..." I searched for the words I wanted, "flavor of the month." His eyes glittered.

"I never said you were," he countered.

"Then what am I?" I asked, trying not to betray my hope. His lips pressed thinly together and I had my answer.

"Thought so," I said grimly. I grabbed my purse and turned to go.

"Kathleen, wait," he said, grasping my arm. I looked up hopefully. He looked like he was about to say something and I waited. Then his jaw clenched tightly shut and my heart sank. Turning my hand palm up, he deposited something in my hand. Looking down, I saw it was a set of car keys.

"To get home," he explained, and I closed my fist around the cold metal. He was standing so close I could smell him and I inhaled greedily, keeping my head down so he wouldn't see the disappointment on my face.

"Thanks," I managed. I pulled away and he released me. Turning to leave felt like I was swimming against the tide, and it wasn't until I'd reached the door that something struck me.

"Wait," I said, turning back to find him still watching me. "Aren't these the keys to Kade's car?" I asked, frowning. Blane's lips curved in a grin.

"Yeah," he answered. "It'll really p.i.s.s him off." I laughed. That, I would be glad to do.

"Blane," I began hesitantly, looking up at him, "why were you there tonight? Are you a...customer?" I had a hard time getting the word out. His smile faded.

"I know I haven't given you much reason to trust me," he said, "but believe me when I tell you that no, I'm not a customer."

Relief filled me. I hadn't wanted to believe that Blane could so willfully partic.i.p.ate in paying prost.i.tutes for s.e.x.

"Then why were you there?" I persisted.

"It's safer for you if you don't know that," he answered flatly.

My lips thinned in disappointment, but I knew I'd get nothing more out of him.

"Bye, Blane," I said simply.

"Bye, Kat."

I walked out of the house and didn't look back.

Chapter Thirteen.

I drove home feeling physically and emotionally spent. I tried not to cry, I was sick of crying, and it seemed overly emotional anyway to cry over Blane. How could we break up when we hadn't even been together? But despite appealing to my logical a.n.a.lysis of the situation, my heart wasn't having any of it.

I tried to regret sleeping with Blane, but I just couldn't. I doubted I'd ever again meet a man like him and I couldn't bring myself to regret our short time together, though the greedy part of me wished it wasn't at an end. For the first time, I wished I was more like the other women Blane dated. They thought nothing of getting involved in a relationship that was doomed before it even began, having fun for as long as it lasted. I knew Blane wasn't a commitment or monogamous kind of guy, and unfortunately, I couldn't pretend that didn't matter to me.

As I locked Kade's car, a very nice black Mercedes with tinted windows, I realized I needed to tell CJ what had happened. When I knocked on her door, she opened it quickly. Cigar stuck between her teeth, she surveyed my gown.

"You dress very...unusually," she finally said with a puff of smoke. I laughed, the first time I'd done so in a while today, and she pulled the door open so I could go inside.

"Thanks so much for helping me last night," I said, collapsing in a heap of blue fabric on her couch. "I found out some things today," I began, then told her about having to give the code to Blane and Kade, how they were working to track the code, and how it was much more widespread than we'd thought. Her eyes widened and she took quick puffs on her cigar as she listened.

"Do you trust them?" she asked me when I was through. I thought about it.

"I want to," I finally said, "but I'm not sure." I did believe that they knew about the code and were trying to trace it, but I wasn't sure their motives were as selfless as they'd implied.

"You still want to go tomorrow?" she asked and I nodded.

"I think we should do what we'd planned," I said. "Speaking of which, were you able to get me inside?" CJ had said she would be able to hack into a local temp agency and make sure I was not only employed there, but also scheduled to work at TecSol come tomorrow morning.

"Of course," she said. "Once you're inside, you'll need to hook this up to a network port." She handed me a square box with a short antenna on top. "This is a wireless access point. I've already configured it so all you have to do is plug it in somewhere. Once it's working, I can access their network."

"Where will you be?" I asked.

"I'll be in my car outside. Once I get to the network, I'll need you to get me to a computer there. Will you be able to get access to someone's computer?"

"If I have to, I will," I said simply. I'd have to make it up as I went along. We couldn't plan everything.

"We'll only have about ten minutes from the time you plug in the access point to when they track it down and disable it. Once I get on a computer, hopefully that will be enough time to find where they're housing the code program."

"What then?" I asked. "Are you going to fix it?"

"I don't think I can," she said regretfully. "We'll just have to break it." She handed me another of those little thumb drives like the one I'd given Blane.

"What's this?"

"It's a last ditch emergency," she said grimly. "If I can't upload the program to the right server or if I get disconnected, this will install a worm that will do it."

"Why is it last ditch?" I asked, taking the drive.

"Because it has to be plugged in to the actual server," she explained. "It won't work over the network. But if it gets plugged in to the right server, it'll do what it needs to do."

"Got it," I said, closing my fist over the drive. "I'll be at TecSol by 8:30. Give me until 9:30 to find a port and a computer. I'll call you right before I plug in the device."

"Sounds like a plan," CJ said as I got up to leave. "And don't forget," she said as I opened the door, "make sure you're not in the same room as the access point when they find it or you're toast."

"I'll be fine," I said with more confidence than I really felt. "I'll call you when everything's in place."

"Good luck," she said and I smiled tightly. I had to finish this. Mark and Sheila were counting on me and I couldn't just give up now because I was afraid. My dad hadn't raised a coward.

I retreated to my apartment, stowing the access point and the thumb drive in my purse and regretfully examining my gown as I undressed. Somehow I doubted I'd ever have the need to wear it again. But I carefully folded it and set it aside so I could have it cleaned. After showering the grime and makeup off me, I felt more like myself. Cinderella turned back into a plain working girl. Pulling on a pair of underwear and donning one of the few t-shirts I could find, I set my alarm and fell into bed.

I wasn't sure what woke me. My eyes flew open but I lay still. It was very early, the darkness of the room just beginning to fade with the onset of dawn. A slight noise made me sit bolt upright in bed and I choked back a scream. Kade was sitting in a chair opposite my bed staring at me, his usual c.o.c.ky grin unfazed by my surprise.

"What the h.e.l.l are you doing here?" I said, angry and alarmed at his intrusion.

"I see you helped yourself to my car," he said. Of course. He'd come for his car. No problem. I'd give him his keys and he would leave.

"Blane let me borrow it to drive home last night," I explained, quickly leaping out of bed and grabbing my purse, digging inside for the keys. When I turned to give them to him, I noticed his eyes were taking in my appearance, and when they met mine, they glittered with an emotion that made my hand start to shake. I clenched my fist around the cold metal.

"Here's your keys," I managed to say. I held them out to him, unwilling to step closer and fervently wishing I had more clothes on.

"We have a problem," he said, making no move to take the keys. My arm dropped back to my side.

"What kind of problem?" I asked, my stomach tightening in a knot.

"Gage found Jimmy's body last night. Not yours. They know he didn't kill you."

I swallowed. "Does that mean they'll send someone else after me?" I asked weakly. Kade's eyes met mine again and now they were cold.

"They already did," he answered coolly. I felt my heart begin to pound and my knees turn to jelly as realization struck.

"You," I breathed. Kade smiled but it was without humor.

"You're smarter than you look," he said, but I ignored the insult. "And worth more, too. They gave me twenty thousand in cash to take care of you."

"Twenty thousand dollars?" I squeaked in alarm. c.r.a.p. I might even be tempted to off somebody for that kind of money.

"Murder doesn't come cheap, princess," Kade said. My mouth was dry as sawdust. I had nothing to bargain with now, no reason to give him to not kill me. I wasn't even with his brother anymore. But that didn't stop me from trying.

"Blane-" I began, but he interrupted me.

"Blane doesn't know." My heart sank at his words. Panic struck and I ran to my bedside table where I'd stored Blane's gun. Yanking open the drawer, I scrabbled inside until my shaking hands touched the cold metal.

Kade's arms closed around me, his hands like iron bands on my wrists, the fabric of his jeans rough against the backs of my thighs. I watched helplessly as he pried open my fingers and took the gun.

Fear iced my veins. I couldn't move, his arms effectively pinning mine to my sides. Would he make it quick? He hadn't shied away last night from letting me know how much he loathed me. I despised how terrified I was, but I wasn't a big fan of pain.

"Let me go," I managed to grit out, struggling to get out of his grip.

"Believe it or not," he said, "I'm not here for you. I was looking for Blane and thought he might be here." I went still.

"Isn't he at his house?" I asked stupidly, and could practically hear Kade roll his eyes.

"If he was, do you think I'd be wasting my time here with you?" Kade abruptly released me and I stumbled forward before turning around to face him.

"Then where is he?" I asked, anxiety beginning to well inside me. "I left him last night in the study. You were there. Where could he have gone?"

"That's the point," he said like I was an idiot. "I. Don't. Know."

I shoved a hand through my hair, worry gnawing at me. Then I felt like I was being ridiculous. Blane was certainly capable of taking care of himself. "He's probably fine," I said, not sure if I was trying to convince Kade or myself. "He's probably at work or the courthouse or something."

"I thought so, too," Kade said, "until I found these on his desk." He tossed a large manila envelope onto the bed and some photos spilled out. I picked them up, shock going through me. They were pictures of him and me last night. We were on the couch together and my dress was pulled down, his mouth on my breast. Face flaming and feeling slightly nauseated, I flipped through the rest. Blane with his hand up my skirt, my head thrown back in desire, his lips on mine. Each moment of our interlude stared up at me in relentless black and white.

"Why would someone do this?" I whispered in dismay. The thought that someone had been there, watching, taking pictures, sickened me.

"Blackmail," Kade said shortly. I looked at him questioningly. He grinned mirthlessly. "You were a prost.i.tute last night, remember?"

I paled. The thought of someone using me to hurt Blane was difficult to absorb. Anger flashed through me as I realized Simone, at least, had to have known. Was that why she'd been so anxious to welcome me into the fold? Because she'd somehow found out about my connection to Blane?

"Why would someone want to blackmail him?" I asked. "He's just a lawyer. And single. Why would anyone care?"