Page 33 of Strangers She Knows

“This mansion and Ruby’s story are fuel for her imagination.”

“She knows about Mara’s grisly visit to the mortuary.”

“I wish we’d taken her phone sooner.” Max sounded savage.

“No, Max. She has to know what her friends know. But while this trip might be fraught, it’s not all bad.” Kellen cuddled with him. “Do you know what happened before dinner?”

“I cannot imagine.”

Kellen smiled into the darkness. “Rae wanted to know more about World War II. So I said, ‘The library,’ and we went there. You’ll never guess what we found.”

“A book on World War II?”

“TheEncyclopedia Britannica, 1953 edition.”

His shoulder twitched under her head. “TheEncyclopedia. Sure. Why didn’t I think of that? Did you show her how to look stuff up?”

“I did. She read about World War II, then she asked if I realized there’d been a world war before that, then she read about worms…”

He chuckled, warm and deep. “I used to do that. Look one thing up, then keep going. Living here is like being forced to return to, I don’t know, 1953.”

“I suppose that’s not bad except—” she hated to break the mood, but she had to ask “—do you suppose we’ve permanently lost Mara?”

“The report your Diana sent says she’s closing in on her.”

“She thought that last week, too. Is Mara playing her?”

Max helplessly lifted his hands. “I wish I knew. But what I do know is—if Mara dares come back to the US, she’ll be arrested and returned to prison. If she stays in Europe, she’ll be arrested by Interpol, returned to the US and returned to prison. We’re as safe here as it’s possible to be, so let’s hope for the best, expect the worst, and stick close to each other.”

Luna crawled a few inches closer to the head of the bed.

Kellen said ruefully, “I don’t know that we have much choice.”

12

Five weeks later…

A thorough search had found no secret passage in Rae’s pink bedroom, but Max and Kellen moved her into a smaller room—pale yellow, closer to them—amid reassurances Rae was welcome in their bedroom anytime.

That wasn’t strictly true, but like all parents they were very careful when and where they celebrated their union, and the need to be vigilant and discreet made them all the more frantic when they came together.

A locked bathroom door and a shared steamy shower proved to be a good solution.

Max did express frustration about the constant need for speed, and promised that when this was over and they left Isla Paraíso, they would go on their long-delayed honeymoon and spend long, slow, heated hours in bed…

The same day Max made his promise, Kellen began a regular program of running and kickboxing. Not only did she need a way to redirect her sudden thirsty desire for leisurely sex, but as she worked out, she rediscovered the pure pleasure of movement. She jogged, sprinted, punched and kicked. Something nagged in the back of her mind, some instinct burned in her gut. She needed to prepare, to train. The five weeks had been paradise in so many ways. Yet if Mara continued to slip past Kellen’s Army friend and all the law enforcement agencies…

Impossible! Yet Mara’s threat cast a long shadow, and being fit gave Kellen confidence in her ability to handle…anything.

Also, it beat practicing the piano—which Rae insisted she do every day. The dog still howled, but Kellenwasgetting better, more in control of her dexterity.

Rae romped with Luna in the house and on the lawn, devoured every book in the library—the encyclopedia had been a special pleasure—and with her dad, she worked on the truck. For the most part, she was the wonderful child she had always been.

But once she had thrown a tantrum about missing her grandmother—totally justified, for in her life, they’d never been separated before for more than two weeks—and once because someone had stolen her favorite drinking glass…which she’d left on a table in the library.

Puberty was difficult, Kellen told Max.

Patience, Kellen told Max.

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