head that Rani realized with a shock that she was not alone under the gazebo. Reacting with startled instinct and propelled by a genuine shaft of fear, she whirled in the foaming water, backing automatically toward the opposite edge of the pool.
"Gage!"
"It would seem the noble King left a little too soon, or didn't you invite him to share your bath?" Gage asked, braced on one knee by the edge of the spa. The hand holding the earphones rested on the other knee. Wearing jeans and a shirt that appeared nearly black in the dim light, he seemed unexpectedly dark and intimidating.
It struck Rani at that moment that King had definitely been wearing the color of the good guys that evening. Even the Lincoln had been white. Gage, on the other hand, was all shadow and menace. For some crazy reason she found herself remembering that his Jag had been sleek and black.
"What in heaven's name are you doing here?" she snapped, hoping the shakiness in her voice wasn't apparent "Have you been spying on me, Gage? It won't do any good, you know. Nothing you do will make me go back to Dallas with you! And it isn't just Prescott I'll be suing if you don't leave me alone!"
"Come on, Rani," he chided quite gently, "you didn't expect me to give up Just because you walked out on me yesterday at the restaurant, did you? I told you I always finish a job. The way I see it, our war has just begun. I realize now there may be a number of small skirmishes before the decisive battle."
She lifted her chin in arrogant disdain, vaguely aware that she was no longer feeling tired or drained. New energy had begun to pulse through her. Energy that could not be entirely explained by the effects of the spa and the concerto. Her hands made idle, sweeping motions beneath the surface of the water as she eyed her opponent. "What's the matter, Gage? Don't you get paid unless you bring me back? Won't Prescott reimburse you for time and expenses unless you're successful?"
"The question doesn't arise. I intend to be successful"
Rani began to smile slowly, mockingly. In the shadowy light it was almost possible to see the gleam of gold in her eyes. "There is nothing you can do or say, Gage, to make me surrender."
'"You don't know that," he countered. "I haven't tried a fraction of the weapons in my arsenal."
"Which one are you going to try tonight?" she dared.
"Logic. It can be very effective when one is dealing with a reasonably intelligent adversary. I've been led to believe you do qualify as reasonably intelligent," he added obliquely, giving her a fraction of a grin that revealed a slash of white teeth.
"You shouldn't believe everything you're told, Gage. But go on, do your worst. Let's hear the logic."
He watched her in musing silence for a long moment, as if considering carefully how to begin. Then he said deliberately, "Prescott is not without influence, Rani. Have you given any thought to how he could jeopardize your future career If you anger him? When you find a new job you're going to need references, recommendations, a good track record. Prescott could punish you very thoroughly by denying you all of that. He has power in his circles here in the Southwest He came up the hard way and he knows how to use muscle."
Rani blinked. Prescott was a potential threat only if she were to stay in the same field of business, she reminded herself silently. What Prescott and Gage didn't know, of course, was that she had no intention of going back into the same line of work The decision to buy her sister's shop had been crystallizing in her mind for months and had become a firm reality after she'd made the break with Prescott Services, Inc. That decision, she now realized, was an effective secret weapon.
"Sorry," she murmured lightly, "I can't bring myself to be suitably terrified. Any more logic?"
He studied her. "I'm serious, Rani. I've known Aaron Prescott for several years. He can be quite ruthless. Three years ago he hired me to find out who was leaking