"I'm trying to be."

He held her arm as they walked to the small cluttered office. Daniel pulled out a metal chair and she sat. He knelt in front of her and she stared into those warm, concerned eyes. She needed that more than anything. The fear inside her began to subside.

"This won't take long, then we'll get lost somewhere."

"You can't do that. You have to catch this killer and find the snitch in your department. My life is not the only one involved."

"At this moment I'm only concerned about you."

Her eyes melted into his and she wanted to absorb her whole body in him until the nightmare went away, until she could breathe normally again, until...

The door opened and Carlos came in. "Found something you might want to see."

Daniel stood and Sarah followed him out to the car. The hood was up and he pointed to a small gadget in one corner. "There's your problem. Someone's attached a tracer to your vehicle."

"G.o.ddammit." Daniel ran both hands through his hair. "Don't touch anything."

"I know better than that," Carlos snapped. "I'd say someone was mighty interested in where you were going."

"Yeah. Stay with the car until Russ arrives. I'm taking that gray sedan over there."

"Keys are in the office," Carlos said.

Sarah grabbed her things and once again they were on the highway.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "We're probably being watched right now."

Sarah ran her hands up her arms to shake that foreboding feeling.

"Boyd called us a bunch of Keystone Cops and I'm beginning to believe he's right. We're running in circles without a clue."

"That's only because someone close to you is feeding him information."

"Yeah, and tomorrow I'm getting up close and personal with my officers."

"So we're staying in Dallas?"

He thought for a moment. "I think we should stop hiding."

"What do you mean?"

"They seem to know where we're at anyway so we're going to my condo. That's the last place they'd expect us."

"Okay."

Daniel drove into a condo area and Sarah couldn't see much because of the darkness.

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small remote. He pushed a b.u.t.ton and the garage door went up. After they drove in, it immediately went down again. It was a two-car garage and she noticed a black Jeep to her left. She got her bag and they went into the house through a laundry area then into a kitchen and breakfast room.

"It has an alarm system and I've set it, so that might put your mind at rest. Have a seat. I have to check in with Russ and my lieutenant."

Sarah walked into the large den. It was light and airy, with overstuffed comfortable furniture that gave it a homey, country appeal.

She collapsed into an oversize chair and tried to gather her thoughts. She was here with Daniel and she felt safe, but she couldn't still that uneasiness inside her. Someone was trying to kill her and they'd been watching Daniel and her. Who was it? It could be anyone. That had her nerves stretched to the breaking point.

Daniel came into the room. "Lieutenant Tolin's steamed about this turn of events and he's calling a meeting of narcotics and homicide first thing in the morning. All the dirty laundry will be thoroughly aired and he won't stop until he gets an answer. Forensics is working on the door and the car."

He removed his jacket and laid it over a chair, his eyes on her white face. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Beside the obvious?"

"Yes. You have that look on your face I've seen before-that look that says 'leave me alone.'"

He was beginning to read her so well, she wasn't sure what to say to him. She could only be honest. That's what she'd told Chad.

"I'm just so scared and I'm trying to control it."

"Me, too," he said just as honestly. "But whoever is after you will have to go through me to get to you. You do understand that I won't leave you until this guy is caught."

A change came over her face. "Last time I leaned on Serena and now I'm leaning on you. I'm tired of being weak and I'm tired of being the victim. I need to go back to my job, my life, and stop running, stop hiding. If this man wants me, then he has to come out into the open and find me. I've had karate and self-defense cla.s.ses and I'm suppose to know how to protect myself. Yet I'm hiding like a coward and the killer is watching and enjoying my fear. Well, no more." She jumped to her feet. "I'm going home."

"Whoa. Whoa." Daniel caught her before she could take a step. This was the Sarah he'd witnessed during the trial, the one who'd stood in open court and pointed a finger at Boyd and said he'd shot Greg in cold blood three times without even blinking. He could almost feel the fire coursing through her-the coldness she'd mentioned earlier was completely gone. She was fighting mad.

He held her by both arms. "Listen to me. The lieutenant gave me four days to get this thing solved. I've got two left. Please, give me those two days."

The fire in her eyes flickered and dampened. "Okay. But I'm going with you wherever you go. I'm not sitting in a room somewhere. I want to help."

"Okay. Deal."

"I just want it over," she murmured, stepping closer to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. Her arm rubbed against his gun-a reminder of their situation.

He did what any red-blooded male would do; he held her tight. Pushing her away wasn't even in his mind.

"Do you feel something happening between us?" she asked, her head beneath his chin.

He took a deep breath. "Yes."

"A few days ago I wanted you out of my life and now I can't imagine my life without you in it."

He closed his eyes, trying not to read too much into her words.

"You're thinking it's out of fear, aren't you?" She looked up at him.

He opened his eyes and the truth was there for her to see. He did and she had to make him understand. "I knew that if I faced my feelings for you then I'd have to face my past, deal with it and get on with living. I told myself I'd already done that and it had nothing to do with you. But deep down I had all those negative feelings about you seeing me naked in Boyd's apartment. I didn't want to be a helpless victim to you." She trembled slightly.

He gently cupped her head with his hands. "As I told you, I've never, not for a second, thought of you as a s.l.u.t. I think, as I did then, that you're a beautiful, brave and incredibly strong young woman. I also thought Greg was lucky to have had you in his life and I was..."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"I was jealous that he met you first."

She smiled and his heart fluttered uncontrollably. "But we have now."

His hands slid through the thickness of her hair and he gently kissed her lips. She moaned, a sweet happy sound, and returned the kiss with an ardor he was beginning to a.s.sociate with her-fiery, like her hair, and unforgettable, like her touch.

She opened her mouth and the kiss deepened as they tasted, explored and reveled in the emotions that took them away to a place of need, joy and pleasure. Daniel's hands traveled from her hair to her back and held her tight against him.

"Daniel," she breathed against his lips.

He kissed her nose, her cheek. "Hmm?"

Suddenly the alarm blasted through the condo. In a split second Daniel pulled his gun and pushed her behind him. "Where's your gun?" he asked in a hoa.r.s.e voice.

"In my...in my bag."

He grabbed her bag out of the chair and handed it to her, looking at the alarm panel in the kitchen. "The front door light is blinking. Someone's coming through the d.a.m.n front door." He glanced at her. "Do you have your gun?"

"Yes," she answered, her heart hammering so loud she could barely hear him.

"The alarm will go off at the police station and someone will call here in a few minutes. I'm going to the front door." He stared into her eyes. "Use the gun if you have to."

She nodded, unable to speak. She wanted this to be over and she had to stay strong to see it through. The gun was cold and heavy in her hand, but she gripped it tightly. She'd never fired a gun before and the mere thought caused her stomach to churn with a sick feeling.

To protect Daniel, to protect herself, she'd pull the trigger. She wasn't being the victim again. Not ever again.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

SARAH WAS BARELY breathing. She waited. The alarm continued to blare through the house, making her edgier than she already was. Then she heard voices-the high pitch of a woman and the baritone of a man.

"It's my parents," Daniel called out.

A long sigh of relief escaped her and she released her grip on the gun. She walked to her bag and slipped it back inside as the alarm cut off.

"I thought you were in France," Daniel was saying, clearly aggravated.

"We got back yesterday," the woman's voice said. "I was fed up with your father's partying."

Daniel entered the den with two older people. A well-dressed woman with blond hair cut in a fashionable pageboy, sized up Sarah with her blue-green eyes. The tall, lean gray-haired man had brown eyes and Sarah saw where Daniel got his looks. They both stared openly at her and she felt like a specimen under a microscope. She resisted the urge to squirm.

The phone rang and Daniel ran to answer it.

"Who are you, my dear?" his mother asked.

"A friend of Daniel's," she answered in a cautious manner, not liking the way the woman was looking at her.

"Are you the reason he hasn't returned any of my phone calls?"

"I wasn't aware you were trying to get in touch with me," Daniel replied as he came back. Sarah was glad. She didn't want to deal with Daniel's mother.

"I left at least ten messages on your machine. Didn't you get them?"

"I've been rather busy."

His mother glanced at Sarah. "Yes. I can see."

"Mom, Dad, this is Sarah Welch. Sarah, these are my parents, Muriel and Dan Garrett."

Muriel bristled. "Daniel, could I speak with you privately?"

Daniel walked into the dining room with his mother and Sarah stared at Dan Garrett, unsure of what to say. But she didn't get a chance because Muriel's voice could be heard, preventing any conversation.

"Isn't that Aurora Farrell's granddaughter?"

"Yes," Daniel said.

"The stripper? The one who was in all the papers?"

"She is not and never was a stripper," Daniel answered, his voice as sharp as a razor.

"I will not have you dating this woman." Muriel's voice trilled. "I want her out of this house."

"Excuse me?"

"This is the wrong type of woman for you. What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking she's the right kind of woman for me."

"You can't be serious."

"I am, and I've heard enough." Daniel's voice grew louder. "I want you out of my house and I want my key back to prevent any more of these surprise visits."

"What!"

His father looked at Sarah. "I need a drink. How about you?"

"No thanks," she mumbled, her mind on Muriel's words. They ran through her head like a song in the wrong key-jarring, offensive. Stripper. Stripper. Stripper. Wrong type of woman.

Dan raised his gla.s.s of scotch to Sarah. "My wife's very high-strung and is known to stick her nose in where it doesn't belong. I don't pay much attention to her and you shouldn't, either."