A wh.o.r.e?

Well, at least there was one place she could draw the line.

"I'm not cashing the check," she said through her tears.

"What?" He leaned back. "That's the one thing you should do."

Now it was her turn to be surprised. "How can you say that? He blackmailed me. That money's dirty. I don't want it."

One of John's dark eyebrows went up. "It's only dirty if you got it by doing something illegal or you use it for the wrong thing. Think what you could do with a hundred grand. New equipment, more help at the clinic. Think of the animals you could save. The minute you cash that check it goes from dirty to clean, just because of the good it will do."

"No!" Leah knew her vehemence was a result of the secrets she was keeping. But she couldn't tell John the truth. Even if it meant he wouldn't understand her reasons for not cashing the check.

"All right. Do what you want." He held his hands up in surrender. "Let's forget about it for now. Dinner's getting cold and I'm hungry."

He got up and went to the table, poured wine for the two of them. Leah knew he was upset with her.

She sat down and they both tried to pretend nothing had happened, that it was just an ordinary night, but the damage was done. The conversation throughout the meal was strained, and when dessert was done she was relieved when he told her he had to go home and get ready for a midnight shift.

"I'll call you tomorrow," he said as they stood on the front porch.

"Okay." Suddenly she felt bad. She'd used him the way a cat used a scratching post, and it wasn't fair. "I'm sorry I was such a b.i.t.c.h, but the whole thing has me really angry. If I cash his check, then every time I spend some of that money I'll be reminded of how he treated me, how he made me feel."

"I know." John leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "But this isn't just about you. Maybe you need to put your feelings aside and think about all those people with sick and dying animals. Good night, Leah." He turned and walked away before she could reply.

She was left standing alone on the porch, her cheek warm where his lips had touched, her stomach churning as guilt and frustration did battle inside her.

In the living room, the phone rang.

Two houses down, one of the two men in the unmarked white van turned to the other. "Got a call coming in."

Del McCormick looked away from the darkly tinted window through which he was aiming a parabolic, long-distance microphone. "Put it on speaker and record it."

"Gotcha."

Del watched Leah DeGarmo go inside to answer the phone.

A hundred grand. If I time it right, I could get the girl and the money...

Leah's voice, made tinny and small by the speaker mounted in the rack of electronics Del had purchased, filled the van. "h.e.l.lo?"

"Good evening, Doctor DeGarmo. I take it you received your payment?"

Leah froze at the sound of Tal Nova's baritone voice.

"Ms. DeGarmo?"

Her tongue unlocked. "I'm here. What do you want?"

"Just following up. I had a large sum of money delivered to your home, and I wanted to make sure it arrived safely."

"I got it." She started to say she was going to tear it up, but something stopped her. Hearing Nova's condescending tone, eloquently hidden behind cultured p.r.o.nunciation, lit a fire inside her, the flames fueled by indignation and rage.

Screw them. They probably expect me to throw that money away. Serve 'em right if I cash the check. In the back of her mind she could hear John congratulating her.

"Excellent. Now, I was wondering if you might be available to perform another small favor."

Oh no. Dammit, I knew this would happen.

She sat down at the kitchen table, a feeling of calm acceptance filling her the way it did before a difficult surgery when she accepted that the animal on the table might not make it, no matter what she tried.

"No."

"I'm sorry?" Nova's voice sounded genuinely surprised.

"I said no. I'm not doing anything for you or Marsh again. Ever. We're through."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Doctor. Maybe you just need a little time to reconsider. After all, some decisions are hard to make, especially when you know what's riding on them. We'll talk again in the morning. Good night."

There was a click as he hung up.

Leah considered dialing John and explaining everything to him, but then remembered he would be getting ready for work.

I'll call him first thing in the morning and tell him the whole story. He'll know what to do. I can't hide it any longer, not when we could both be in danger.

She set her alarm for 9:00 a.m., then got ready for bed even though it wasn't even ten yet. She tossed and turned for an hour before finally giving up and taking two of the muscle relaxers she had left over from the time she'd sprained her back the previous year.

By the time David Letterman began his Top Ten list, she was sound asleep.

Chapter Fifteen.

Tal Nova stared at the list of names while he opened another stick of gum. It was a list he kept only on a special personal laptop, the one that he'd never hooked up to the Internet. Totally untraceable, it had never even left Tal's apartment.

Which was exactly the way Tal wanted it because the information on it represented a potential death sentence if the wrong people-or person-ever saw what it contained.

Relaxing against the thick cushions of his suede couch, the apartment dark and quiet around him, Tal considered each name in turn, mentally reviewing the information he had on file for that particular person and how that information could best be turned to his, and Marsh Enterprises', advantage.

While he did plenty of dirty work for Marsh, the company-and the man-primarily conducted business aboveboard. Too many dirty secrets, too many cloak-and-dagger initiatives, and sooner or later something was bound to leak out. That was why Marsh kept them to a minimum, a principle Tal agreed with wholeheartedly.

Or, at least, had agreed with. Until Leah DeGarmo came along.

The veterinarian represented an opportunity for Tal to set things in motion that would catapult Marsh Industries past its compet.i.tors, and in the process deliver large amounts of money, in the form of stock options and annual bonuses, into Tal's bank account. All with Marsh being none the wiser.

Even if the old man did catch on eventually, it would be too late to take back what was done. And, pragmatist that he was, Marsh would no doubt see that, in retrospect, Tal had made the right choices. And if he didn't?

Well, DeGarmo would be the solution to that problem as well.

A glance at the clock showed it was getting late. He turned off the laptop and returned it to the hidden compartment built into the base of the coffee table. Time to get some sleep.

Tomorrow was going to be a big day.

Chapter Sixteen.

Someone was shaking her. Calling her name.

"Doctor DeGarmo? Wake up. It's time to go."

Why is James Earl Jones talking to me?

She opened her eyes, tried to focus on the smiling face hovering over her, illuminated by weak morning sunshine.

Tal Nova.

A strong hand slammed down over her mouth, cutting off her scream before it had a chance to escape. Nova's other arm came down on her chest, pinning her to the bed. She tried to squirm free, and in response he pushed harder, until it felt as if her ribs might snap under the pressure.

"If you scream, if you try to run, if you do anything other than what I say, your cop boyfriend dies. Got it?" His lips never stopped smiling, but his voice was cold as winter snow.

Leah stopped struggling, nodded her head.

"Good. Let's hope for both your sakes I can trust you." Nova took his hand away and Leah rolled to her side, gasping for air. Once she had her breathing under control, she lifted her head and looked at him.

"What do you want from me now?"

Nova stood up. "As I said last night, I have need of your services. I am willing to pay you well for those services. However, I am also prepared to inflict a great deal of misery should you decide not to help me. That choice is ultimately yours. The choice to accompany me today is not. You have five minutes to get dressed."

"But I-"

"No questions." Nova pulled a cell phone from his pocket. "Do as I say, silently, or I make a call and your boyfriend starts losing body parts."

Leah sat up, anger and fear battling inside her until she thought she might scream. She would have, too, if she hadn't believed Nova's threat. "Can you at least turn around?"

"No." He moved to the side, simultaneously blocking the door and allowing her access to her dresser. "You have nothing to worry about. I'm not a rapist. I simply don't trust you alone in a room with doors and windows."

"Fine." Leah got out of bed, and immediately her bladder screamed for attention. "I have to pee."

Nova waved a hand toward the master bedroom's bath. "Go ahead. But leave the door open and come back out immediately."

Thankful she'd worn pajamas to bed the previous evening, instead of her usual T-shirt and panties, she crossed the room, aware of his eyes on her the entire time. The feeling reminded her of a pit bull that had been brought to the clinic by the police. They'd captured it during a drug bust; trained for killing, it had watched her from its cage all day with eyes that exuded pure violence and hatred. It was the only time in her life she'd ever been truly afraid of a dog.

Leah considered climbing out the bathroom window. It was already open, and she was sure she could knock out the screen and escape before Tal Nova made it across the two rooms. But then there was the two-story drop to the ground. All it would take was a twisted ankle and she'd be right back at his mercy. Even if she did escape, what about John? She pictured Nova dialing a number and giving the order to put a bullet into John's head.

I can't put him in any more danger than he's already in. Unfortunately, that meant doing what Nova asked, and trusting there'd be a way afterwards to let John know the truth about everything.

"Hurry up in there," Nova said from the other room. Leah finished, flushed and took a moment to swish a capful of mouthwash before returning to the bedroom.

"Three minutes." His voice carried no inflection; he could just as easily have been timing an egg as counting down someone's death.

Leah opened a drawer and then paused. "How should I dress?" She hoped that wouldn't violate the no-questions rule.

Nova frowned. "I don't know yet. Wear what you'd normally wear if you were going to the city with a friend. If you need something else, we'll buy it later."

Without responding, Leah selected a bra, some underwear, a plain blue blouse and a pair of jeans. She stared at Nova for a moment, hoping he'd show some courtesy after all, but he simply continued staring at her.

Turning her back while she dressed didn't make her feel any less humiliated, but at least she couldn't see him looking at her while she was naked. After slipping into socks and comfortable sneakers, she turned back around. "I'm ready."

He tapped his watch. "You're almost two minutes over the deadline I gave you."

A cold pit opened in Leah's stomach and threatened to suck her down into its dark depths. But before she could protest, he motioned for her to leave the bedroom. "You're lucky I'm a patient man, Doctor. Next time your lover boy will suffer the consequences."

Leah followed him out to the waiting limousine, knowing that she-and John-had literally dodged a bullet.

There won't be a next time, she promised herself as she climbed into the long, black car.

But even as she thought it, she wondered if she'd ever be free of Tal Nova.

The ride to Manhattan gave Leah an eerie feeling of dej vu. The only difference was that this time Nova didn't offer her anything to drink. He just sat across from her, his eyes half-closed, looking for all the world like he was dozing while the car crept along in the rush-hour traffic.

Leah didn't trust that look. He was like a cat, wired tightly and ready to pounce. Probably sleeps with a gun under his pillow, his hand ready to grab the weapon and fire at a second's notice.

The idea that she'd become involved with people like Tal Nova and Leonard Marsh turned her stomach. d.a.m.n this Power! Although she'd kept her ability a secret all her life, until now she'd never really wished she didn't have it. Just knowing she could help so many animals had made the a.s.sociated problems worthwhile.

And then she'd finally found a man who seemed to like her as much as she liked him, a man she could trust, who didn't seem put off by what she could do, who understood her need for secrecy.

Only to have it all torn away by two men who were no better than common criminals.

Please, G.o.d, keep John safe. Just a little longer. Just until I get out of this mess and I can talk to him.

Thinking about telling John the truth scared her almost as much as the hulking man sitting across from her. Leah knew there was the very real chance her admission might drive him away. After all, who'd want to be involved with someone whose very nature put everyone around them in mortal danger? The idea that she might lose him because she hadn't been truthful from the start stabbed at her soul like a dagger.

But I have to tell him. His life is worth more than my happiness.

Tears brimmed in Leah's eyes, and she turned her head toward the window so Nova wouldn't see her crying. Something inside her told her she shouldn't appear weak in front of him. He was like an animal.