She chewed thoughtfully, made a face and delicately spit the pancake into a napkin. "I probably did when I was a child," she admitted. "I got stubborn as I got older. I didn't like anyone telling me what to do and after a while I just refused to do anything. I got so I liked making people uncomfortable before they trashed me. I figured it was going to happen anyway, so why not? Especially the police. I dealt with them quite a lot when I was younger."

"Didn't anyone recognize that maybe you needed help?"

She blinked. Drew swirls in her peanut butter. Her gaze locked with his. "No one ever asks me questions like that."

"I'm interested."

She sighed. "Lev, everyone believed I murdered people by setting houses on fire. I was strange and that just added to their conviction that I was the guilty one. Maybe I even acted guilty. It occurred to me that I was setting the fires in my sleep."

Lev watched her push away the plate and cross to the breadbox. She looked over her shoulder at him as she extracted a piece of bread. "Why in the world would someone eat those things when they could put peanut butter on bread?"

He waited until she sank back into her chair, drawing her knees up, feet tucked up where no one could see while she spread peanut butter on the slice of bread. He wasn't going to get drawn into another discussion on the merits of peanut butter, not when she was giving him pieces of her childhood.

"You were thirteen when the first fire broke out?" He prompted. "Do you remember much about that night?"

She jumped up and paced across the floor with a quick, restless movement. She poured herself a cup of coffee before she turned and regarded him from what she must have considered a safe distance. There were shadows in her eyes and her mouth trembled. "I remember everything about that night." She took a small sip of coffee and turned to stare out the window. "My mother told me I could read in bed. I couldn't sleep much and she or my dad stayed up with me as a rule, but if they'd gotten a book I wanted that day, they'd often let me read. I loved reading." She turned around, leaning back against the sink. "They'd given me the complete works of Sherlock Holmes the week before and I was anxious to start it. I'd wanted it for so long, and when we'd gone to the bookstore to get it, there was a terrible wreck on the freeway. A huge pileup. Both my parents were injured and taken to the hospital. I'd been so scared, afraid I'd lose them. I didn't read a word. I sort of made this pact with God, you know-let my parents live and I'll be so good. The kind of thing kids do."

He watched her drink her coffee to steady herself. Her hands trembled slightly. He doubted if anyone else would have noticed that small sign. He wanted to put his arms around her and hold her but he knew she wouldn't allow it. She was holding herself together by a thread and one touch would shatter her.

She sent him a small humorless smile over the coffee mug. "I was already so strange, you know. I couldn't do things like other children. I was clumsy and never quite got their social cues so school was extremely difficult. My parents were my safety zone so you can imagine how frightened I was. My dad was able to leave that night, but my mom couldn't. So my idea was that I wouldn't read my book until she was home."

"Was Sherlock Holmes worth the wait?" He kept his gaze locked on her, observing-absorbing-her reaction. He knew he'd been trained for interrogation, for gathering information, and he automatically had fallen into the examination mode. In the back of his head he recognized-as he usually did-that this information was important and he needed to file it carefully for future reference.

She turned abruptly and dumped the rest of the coffee in the sink, set the cup on the counter and simply walked out the back door. He caught the glint of tears in her eyes as she turned her head. Lev sat there quietly finishing his breakfast while his mind turned over what she'd said, continuing to dig through the facts to get to the reasons anyone would target her for death in such a particularly ugly manner.

He sat back and contemplated what to do. His head wasn't completely better, despite all the energy he'd spent trying to heal himself. The force of the waves had been tremendous, slamming his body into the rocks. Even with his special gifts, he hadn't been able to combat the power of the ocean. He was dizzy most of the time and his head still pounded with alarming vigor, threatening to explode if he moved around too much.

All of a sudden, he felt a sense of urgency, and for a man who lived in the shadows with no real name and only one purpose, it wasn't a good idea to ignore his feelings. He had recovered enough memories to know he didn't want the man he'd been to come back from the dead. As far as Lev was concerned, Sid Kozlov was going to stay in the sea, his body lost for all time. He had already identified himself to Rikki as Lev so he'd already come up with a variation of that name, making it more American. It was time to put the finishing touches on his new identity, one he could use here with her, because he was staying and that meant he had to use his head and force his memories to cooperate.

He needed an untraceable computer to finish the process, and he needed to get into the small town close by. He'd left himself a few packages scattered around for emergency exits if the need was there-a major requirement in his profession. He just had to remember where his safety stashes were. He carried the dishes to the sink and meticulously washed them while he tried to force his memory to cooperate.

He knew how to make up a new identity that would pass inspection by any official-he'd been doing it for years. He was certain he had plenty of money and he'd hidden more weapons and ammunition, but he couldn't quite remember where everything was. That small, important fact continued to elude him. So, identity first. He had to get strong enough to go outside her home and study the surrounding terrain and set up warning systems. And he had to get on her boat. Her boat was far more vulnerable than her house. He'd been aware of the harbor, a small open community with a park right there where people could easily come and go. Her boat was tied up to the dock and anyone could rig it to blow, or rig her air compressor so she died of carbon monoxide poisoning while she was beneath the water.

He looked around the kitchen to make certain everything was in place before he went out onto the porch. Rikki was curled up in a chair, her bare feet tucked under her, her dark glasses pushed onto her nose, covering her eyes. He sank into the chair beside her and took possession of her left hand, tracing circles with the pad of his thumb.

"I didn't mean to upset you, Rikki."

"You didn't." She sighed and indicated the trees with her chin. "I love that grove of redwoods right there. That many redwood trees indicate water-a lot of water. I love that I might be living with water running just under me."

"I can see why that would appeal to you." The peace of her farm appealed to him. Trees surrounded the house, tall and majestic, as if guarding her property. She kept everything neat and orderly. There was no lawn, but she had terraces of plants, bright, colorful flowers and shrubs in every shade of green. The rockwork on the terraces was beautiful and obviously done with care by someone who handpicked each stone.

"Tell me about that night. Did you hear a noise? Did you see anyone? Were your parents acting different? Worried maybe?"

She was silent a long time. He waited patiently, giving her space, letting her work out whether she trusted him enough to give him something that personal. The wind rustled the tree leaves overhead and birds flitted from branch to branch. A squirrel chattered and another answered. He noted it all rather absently as he watched in the distance for the telltale dust rising that would indicate a car on the road leading to her house.

Rikki was utterly still, no squirming, no sound, she simply stared out into space, her face averted, her eyes hidden behind her dark glasses. She hadn't pulled her hand away, and Lev pressed his thumb into the center of her palm and closed his eyes, feeling his way. Immediately he "saw" numbers in his head. She was counting to herself, and she was on seventy-eight.

She took off her dark glasses, turned her head to look him straight in the eyes. The jolt was like a powerful punch straight in his gut. Hard. Encompassing. She did something to his insides, where he was tough as nails, strong and impenetrable. She slipped past his guard and managed to penetrate deep. His reaction to her bordered on primal.

"You think my entire family was a target and whoever killed my parents missed me and is still hunting me."

He wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her close, but her entire demeanor screamed "hands off," so he continued to stroke caresses over her open palm, satisfied that she hadn't pulled completely away from him. "If it was a contract hit, they wouldn't stop, not until they were dead, and even then, the contract could be given to another hit man."

"Are you a hit man?"

A day earlier he wouldn't have been so certain. "No." He kept his gaze on hers. "I don't know exactly what I did, and I've certainly killed, but I'm not certain why. My memory is coming back in pieces, but it's definitely returning." And he wasn't all that happy about it.

She moistened her lips, shoved her dark glasses back on her nose and turned to look out over her trees again. "If someone is trying to kill me for whatever reason, why the gaps between fires? And why fire? Wouldn't that be an unusual choice for a hit man?"

"Yes, very unusual. My memory is coming back slowly, so maybe I'll eventually remember someone who uses that method. It isn't in any way familiar, but that doesn't mean it couldn't happen. Were your parents different? Upset? Was there anything unusual that you can remember in the days or weeks before that night?" He pressed her because he was certain he was on the right track.

"You have the instincts of a bodyguard," she pointed out.

He didn't allow his smile to surface. She had no idea what instincts he had, and he wasn't going to enlighten her and risk getting kicked out-but they sure as hell weren't that of a bodyguard. He remained silent, waiting.

She chewed on her lower lip for a few moments. "My mother was my stability. Without her I was lost and all I really remember is being alone with my father. He tried to understand me, but he was disappointed that I was so different. Don't get me wrong. He loved me and he tried to do all the things Mom did, but he was stiff and annoyed most of the time. He tried to hide it, and when Mom was in the hospital, we both were so miserable that anything else would have been impossible to notice."

"The car accident when she was hurt. Could that have been deliberate?"

She shook her head. "It was one of those pileup things, where everyone is sliding into everyone else. A couple of the cars caught on fire and the rescuers pulled everyone out fast and made us stand as far away as we could get, even those injured. There was such chaos that if someone wanted us dead, they could have killed us right there and no one would have noticed. Several people died in that accident. It was horrible."

"What happened to your mother?"

"Her leg was smashed. She was in the hospital for a week and I remember my father crying, afraid she was going to lose her leg. He was there the first night, with broken ribs and a concussion as well, but then they allowed him to come home with me."

Lev frowned as he brought the tips of her fingers to his mouth and rather absently scraped his teeth back and forth over the sensitive pads as he tried to make the pieces of the puzzle fit together. He had a feeling-more than a feeling; he was certain she was a target, and that meant if there was a contract, she was in very real danger.

"That night, how did you escape?"

"I was reading and the house was very quiet. I was listening to classical music while I read and I had earphones on, but I knew my parents had gone to bed. I checked a couple of times because I liked the sound of them moving through the house turning off lights and getting ready for bed. It always comforted me." She spoke very matter-of-factly and there was no expression on her face.

Lev held his thumb against the center of her palm and let his mind expand to encompass hers. She replayed the sound of her parents moving through the house to herself often. He brought her hand back to his mouth and pressed a kiss there.

She jumped and swiveled around to face him, her eyes wide and startled behind the sunglasses, but she didn't pull away. "I read for a long time after they went to bed and suddenly I was coughing. I noticed it was difficult to see the words on the pages and blinked. Inside me, there was this strange calling, and I yanked off my headphones and looked around. The room was smoky and I could hear a roaring sound. I dropped to the floor and crawled to the door. I wanted to get to my parents. I tried, but every room was on fire. We had a carpet in the hallway and it melted into my skin while I crawled. I remember the sounds and the heat vividly."

"Do you remember calling water to you?"

She nodded. "The pipes in the house burst, at least that's what the firemen told me later. I hadn't realized I'd done it, of course, not until much later, and I still wasn't entirely certain it wasn't all a huge coincidence." She pushed her free hand through her hair in agitation. "My mother couldn't walk. It appeared that my father tried to carry her out and a piece of the ceiling fell on them. The fire burned hot and fast. There was an accelerant poured inside the walls as well as outside."

"Why not in your room?"

"At the time, the investigators said my light was on and probably whoever did it didn't want to risk getting interrupted. Later, of course, they figured it was to allow me an escape, although they couldn't figure out why I didn't go through the window."

He turned his head toward the road, his internal radar sounding off loud. "You're about to have company."

"Probably one of my sisters."

"I'll go inside and wait."

"Don't shoot anyone."

He grinned at her, leaned down and brushed a kiss across the top of her silky head. She felt alone to him. He knew exactly what that was like and he didn't want it for her. "I'll be close if you need me."

She looked up at him, but she didn't reply.

9.

RIKKI watched the door close behind Lev and her heart began beating normally once again. She hadn't realized that she'd been barely breathing. Lev had pressed a kiss into the center of her palm and for one moment she'd felt it-physically felt it-deep inside her most feminine core. Her womb had reacted with a clasping gasp of shock, and the bundle of nerve endings felt raw and sensitive. She had been unable to think clearly after that brief touch of his mouth on her. She felt raw and needy and so empty inside.

Sex with Daniel had been, at best, rote. She didn't believe she could really enjoy it because she didn't like close contact, but he was good to her and she cared for him. It made sense that they could dive together and make a good living. Daniel was content to have quick sex as long as she was available to him, and because he was the first and only person she'd felt affection-even love-for, she wanted the relationship. They made sense.

Lev made no sense. None. And it was terrifying to feel the sensations he produced in her, yet she craved his touch now. Craved the way he made her feel both in her head and in her body. His kisses were extraordinary, reaching inside of her and melting her until her entire body flowed against him like water.

Blythe's car distracted her from her thoughts. Her stomach tightened. What in the world was she going to say? Guilt was sharp and edgy, a knife cutting her open. She didn't lie to Blythe-not ever. Not even when she wanted to. She knew Blythe would never approve of Lev, and she wouldn't understand about not taking him straight to the authorities. Blythe believed in the law; she'd never seen what false accusations could do to a person.

Rikki sat up straighter and pushed at her glasses to make certain they were firmly in place. She would not betray Blythe by lying. But Lev ...

Blythe got out of her sporty little Spider and walked up to Rikki slowly. "Are you all right?" She took off her glasses to study Rikki's face.

Rikki was certain guilt was stamped there. Color rose in spite of her determination not to allow it. She shrugged. "Yes." That, at least, wasn't a lie.

Blythe dropped into the chair Lev had vacated, and for a moment Rikki was afraid the warmth of the seat would give him away. She would have noticed and she was certain Lev would have as well, but Blythe was too busy inspecting her. "You don't look sick."

Rikki shook her head.

"You missed a diving day this week. On Thursday, the weather was perfect, the sea was calm and you didn't go. You always go."

"Too many boats out there." Again she felt relief, she was still telling the absolute truth. She hadn't wanted to share her sea with so many and it was dangerous. A boat could get too close and cut her hose.

"Honey. Talk to me. You've had the soup for two months and suddenly you're buying more. And Inez said you were in this morning and needed groceries. She asked if you were putting on a dinner party. I know you better than that. What's going on?"

There it was, the direct question she'd been dreading. She sat in silence, her mind working fast, discarding ideas as soon as they popped into her brain.

It's all right, Rikki, I'll handle it. Lev's voice slid into her mind and she turned, knowing exactly what he was doing.

He pushed open the screen door and stepped out. He looked tough and dangerous, his jeans riding low on his hips and his shirt stretched taut across his broad chest. It was impossible to miss the defined muscles rippling beneath the material. He looked gorgeous to Rikki.

Blythe stood up and backed up a couple of steps, her eyes wide with shock. Lev smiled at her and offered his hand.

"I'm Levi Hammond," he announced. Make certain you use Levi instead of Lev, he cautioned Rikki.

Blythe reluctantly shook his hand, all the while looking at Rikki. She couldn't have failed to notice his bare feet or the intimate way he brushed his hand through Rikki's hair before toeing a chair close to her and straddling it.

"Blythe Daniels," Blythe muttered, and raised her eyebrow expectantly toward Rikki as she took her seat, a determined, almost alarmed, look on her face.

"I'm hoping for the tender job on Rikki's boat," Lev announced.

Rikki choked. She glared at him.

I'm telling the truth.

He sounded so innocent. She kept her face averted from Blythe. Damn the man. She could already see what was going to happen. He was going to use Blythe to manipulate her into letting him aboard her boat.

Her mouth tightened. "I told you, I don't need a tender." The moment the words left her mouth she knew she'd made a major mistake. If she'd just kept her mouth closed, Blythe would be concentrating on Lev's dangerous look, not on whether she needed someone watching over her out at sea. And that was exactly how Blythe saw it. She knew nothing about urchin diving, but she wanted someone on board checking on Rikki's safety. And Lev looked like the kind of man who could handle things.

"Of course you need a tender," Blythe objected, falling neatly into Lev's trap. "I've told you so for a long time. It's just much safer with someone up top looking out for you."

Behind the dark glasses Rikki rolled her eyes. Although she'd offered on the day of the wedding to go to sea with her, prior to that, Blythe had refused to even go out in the boat after the first time when she'd been so sick. The water had been calm the day Rikki had taken her out, but Blythe had been terrified. She was certain a great white was going to come up under the boat and take a big chunk out of it, or a giant squid would rise up and wrap its tentacles around the boat, dragging it beneath the sea. Now that the word was out that a methane gas bubble was suspected in the sinking of the yacht, Blythe had one more thing to worry about.

"I don't want to have to go rescuing some amateur," she muttered.

"I know how to dive," Lev asserted.

"Tenders stay in the boat."

"Which I have every intention of doing." He managed to look pious.

"Where did you meet?" Blythe asked, looking from one to the other.

"Out at sea," Lev said. "And we were sort of thrown together in the harbor. She was diving alone and I'm out of work. I know my way around a boat, so I was hoping it might work out for both of us."

He spoke in an easy, casual tone. Believable. Even Rikki believed him. How had he gone from scary, gun-toting killer man to cuddly puppy in five seconds? He was sprawled out, his face in the shadows of the porch, which somehow softened his edged features. He looked open and honest, although still tough and strong, which would appeal to Blythe. She would want someone tending the boat who appeared to be able to pull a whale out of the ocean. She didn't understand sea urchin diving and what the very real risks were.

Rikki took off her glasses and pinned him with her darkest stare.

Blythe nudged her. "Stop trying to intimidate him."

"If he was on my boat, he'd be intimidated," Rikki muttered.

"Are you Rikki's neighbor?" Lev asked, all chatty.

Rikki clenched her teeth together as she pushed her glasses back on her nose. She should have known he could pull out the charm. He was a chameleon, and she was beginning to get a sense of how lethal he could be. Blythe wasn't a woman who could be snowed easily, and while she couldn't say Lev was lying, he certainly was misleading, acting like a docile goldfish when he was a really a shark.

Suddenly his head went up alertly. "Someone's coming."

Rikki turned to look at the road, but she didn't see any dust to indicate anyone was traveling on it. She waited a few heartbeats, and sure enough, a small cloud of debris shot into the air. Lev stood up-not exactly stood up, more like flowed to his feet, a graceful, fluid motion, more like a dancer than a big man.

"Would you like coffee, Blythe? Cream? Sugar?"

Blythe looked shocked. Rikki never let anyone in the house. It had taken her months to get Rikki to allow her to go into the kitchen, and there was Levi making himself at home.