The Stars of Mithra: Hidden Star

“It can’t hurt, but let’s just think of it as a lazy game to play in the shade. Ready?”

She nodded, kept her eyes closed and let herself be lulled by the swing of the hammock. “All right.”

“City.”

“Crowded.”

“Desert.”

“Sun.”

“Work.”

“Satisfaction.”

“Fire.”

“Blue.”

When she opened her eyes, started to shift, he snuggled her closer. “No, don’t stop and analyze, just let it come. Ready? Love.”

“Friends.” She let out a breath, found herself relaxing again. “Friends,” she repeated.

“Family.”

“Mother.” She made a small sound, and he soothed it away.

“Happy.”

“Childhood.”

“Diamond.”

“Power.”

“Lightning.”

“Murder.” She let out a choked breath and turned to bury her face against his shoulder. “I can’t do this. I can’t look there.”

“Okay, it’s all right. That’s enough.” He stroked her hair, and though his hand was gentle, his eyes were hot as they stared up through the shady canopy of leaves.

Whoever had frightened her, made her tremble with terror, was going to pay.

While Cade held Bailey under the maple trees, another stood on a stone terrace overlooking a vast estate of rolling hills, tended gardens, jetting fountains.

He was furious.

The woman had dropped off the face of the earth with his property. And his forces were as scattered as the three stars.

It should have been simple. He’d all but had them in his hands. But the bumbling fool had panicked. Or perhaps had simply become too greedy. In either case, he’d let the woman escape, and the diamonds had gone with her.

Too much time had passed, he thought, tapping his small, beautifully manicured hand on the stone railing. One woman vanished, the other on the run, and the third unable to answer his questions.

It would have to be fixed, and fixed soon. The timetable was now destroyed. There was only one person to blame for that, he mused, and stepped back into his lofty office, picked up the phone.

“Bring him to me” was all he said. He replaced the receiver with the careless arrogance of a man used to having his orders obeyed.

Chapter 6

Saturday night. He took her dancing. She’d imagined hunkering down at the kitchen table with books and a pot of strong coffee as soon as dinner was over. Instead, he swept her out of the house, before she’d finished wiping off the counters, barely giving her enough time to run a brush through her hair.

She needed a distraction, he’d told her. She needed music. She needed to experience life.

It was certainly an experience.

She’d never seen anything like it. That she knew. The noisy, crowded club in the heart of Georgetown vibrated with life, shook from floor to ceiling with voices and busy feet. The music was so loud she couldn’t hear her own thoughts, and the stingy little table Cade managed to procure for them in the middle of it all was still sticky from the last patron’s pitcher of beer.

It astonished her.

Nobody seemed to know anyone else. Or they knew each other well enough to make love standing up in public. Surely the hot, wiggling moves done body against body on the tiny dance floor were nothing less than a mating ritual.

He bought her club soda, stuck to the same harmless drink himself, and watched the show. More, he watched her watch the show.

Lights flashed, voices echoed, and no one seemed to have a care in the world.

“Is this what you usually do on the weekend?” She had to shout into his ear, and she still wasn’t certain he would hear her over the crash and din of guitars and drums.

“Now and again.” Hardly ever, he thought, studying the ebb and flow of the tide of singles at the bar. Certainly not a great deal since his college days. The idea of bringing her here had been an impulse, even an inspiration, he thought. She could hardly brood and worry under these conditions. “It’s a local group.”

“I’ve been duped?” she repeated doubtfully.

“No, no, this band is a local group.” He chuckled, scooted his chair closer to hers, slid his arm around her shoulders. “Down-and-dirty rock. No country, no soft crap, no pap. Just kick ass. What do you think?”

She struggled to think, to tune in to the hard, pulsating and repetitive rhythm. Over the driving ocean of music, the band was shouting about dirty deeds and doing them dirt-cheap.

“I don’t know, but it sure isn’t the ‘Ode to Joy.”’

He laughed at that, long and loud, before grabbing her hand. “Come on. Dance with me.”

Instant panic. Her palm went damp, her eyes grew huge. “I don’t think I know how to—”

“Hell, Bailey. There’s not enough room out there to do more than break a couple of Commandments. That doesn’t take any practice.”

“Yes, but…” He was dragging her toward the dance floor, snaking his way through tables, bumping into people. She lost count of the number of feet they must have trod on. “Cade, I’d rather just watch.”

“You’re here to experience.” He yanked her into his arms, gripped her hips in an intimate and possessive way that had her breath locking in her throat. “See? One Commandment down.” And suddenly his body was moving suggestively against hers. “The rest is easy.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever done this.” The lights circling and flashing overhead made her dizzy. Giddy. “I’m sure I’d remember.”