"Counterespionage," Robert murmured, his eyes cool. The presence of these two particular agents meant that the FBI had already been investigating PowerNet. "Good guess, gentlemen. Please sit down."
"It wasn"t much of a guess," Agent Brent replied ruefully, as they took the offered seats. "A corporation such as yours, which handles so many government contracts, is unfortunately a prime target for espionage. I"m also aware that you have some experience in that area yourself, so it followed that you might need our particular talents, so to speak."
He was good, Robert thought. Just the type of person to inspire trust. They wanted to know if he knew anything, but they weren"t going to tip their own hand if he didn"t mention PowerNet. That little charade was a screen of innocence, behind which they could exhibit surprise and consternation if he informed them that he had discovered a leak at the company, or hide their own knowledge if he didn"t mention the matter.
He didn"t let them get away with it. "I see you"ve picked up some disquieting information yourselves," he said remotely. "I"m interested in knowing why you didn"t contact me immediately."
William Brent grimaced. He had heard that nothing got by Robert Cannon, but still, he hadn"t expected the man to be so acute.
Cannon was looking at him with a slight, cool lift of his eyebrow that invited explanations, an expression most people found difficult to resist.
Brent managed to control the inclination to rush into speech, mingling explanation with apology; he was astonished that the impulse even existed. It made him study Robert Cannon even more closely. He already knew a lot about the man, as he had made it his business to find out. Cannon came from a cultured, moneyed background, but had made himself much wealthier with his own astute business sense, and his reputation was impeccable. He also had a lot of friends in both the State and Justice departments, powerful men in their own right, who held him in the greatest respect. "Look, here," one of those men had said. "If something crooked is going on with any of the Cannon Group companies, I"d take it as a personal favor if you"d let Robert Cannon know about it before you do anything."
"I can"t do that," Brent had replied. "It would compromise the investigation."
"Not at all," the man had said. "I would trust Cannon with the country"s most sensitive intelligence. As a matter of fact, I already have, on several occasions. He"s done some...favors for us."
"It"s possible he could be in on it," Brent had warned, still resisting the idea of briefing a civilian outsider on the situation developing down in Alabama.
But the other man had shaken his head. "No. Not Robert Cannon."
After learning something about the nature and magnitude of the "favors" Cannon had done, and the dangers involved, Brent had reluctantly agreed to apprise Cannon of the situation before they put any plans into operation. Cannon had derailed that by calling first, and they hadn"t been certain if he already knew, or not. The plan had been to keep quiet until they found out why he had called. It hadn"t worked. He"d seen through them immediately.
Brent was used to reading men, but he couldn"t read Cannon. His persona was that of a wealthy, cultured, sophisticated man, and Brent supposed he was all that, but nevertheless, it was only the first layer. The other layers, whatever they were, were so well hidden that he only sensed their existence, and even that was due only to his own access to privileged information. Watching Cannon"s leanly handsome face, he couldn"t catch so much as a flicker of expression; there were only those remote eyes watching him with unlimited patience.
Making a swift decision, William Brent leaned forward. "Mr. Cannon, I"m going to tell you a lot more than I had originally planned. We have a definite problem at one of your companies, a software company down in Alabama-"
"Suppose I tell you what I know?" Robert interrupted in an even tone. "Then you can tell me if you have anything to add."
With calm, precise sentences, he recounted what Davis Priesen had told him. The two agents shared one startled, involuntary glance that revealed they hadn"t discovered as much as Davis had, which upped that young man"s stock with Robert even more.
When he had finished, William Brent cleared his throat and leaned forward. "Congratulations. You"re a bit ahead of us. This will help us considerably in our investigation-"
"I"m flying down there tomorrow morning," Robert said.
Brent looked disapproving. "Mr. Cannon, I appreciate your desire to help, but this is best handled by the bureau."
"You misunderstand. I don"t intend to help. This is my company, my problem. I"ll take care of it myself. I"m merely apprising you of the situation and my intentions. I don"t have to take the time to set up a cover and get inside the operation, because I own it. I will, of course, keep you informed."
Brent was already shaking his head. "No, it"s out of the question."
"Who better? I not only have access to everything, my presence wouldn"t be as alarming as that of federal investigators." He paused, then said gently, "I"m not a rank amateur."
"I"m aware of that, Mr. Cannon."
"Then I suggest you talk this over with your superiors." He glanced at his watch. "In the meantime, I have arrangements to make."
He had no doubt that when Brent took this to his superiors, he would be surprised and chagrined to be told to back off and let Robert Cannon handle this problem on his own. They would provide every a.s.sistance, of course, and have backup in place if he needed it, but Agent Brent would find that Robert was calling the shots.
He spent the rest of the day clearing his calendar. Felice made the open-ended flight arrangements and his hotel reservation in Huntsville. Just before leaving that night, he checked his watch and took a chance. Though it was eight o"clock in New York, it was only six in Montana, and the long summer daylight hours meant ranch work went on for much longer than during the winter.
To his delight, the phone was picked up on the third ring and his sister"s lazy drawl came over the line. "Duncans" Madhouse, Madelyn speaking."
Robert chuckled. He could hear in the background the din his two young nephews were making. "Had a busy day, honey?"
"Robert!" Pleasure warmed her voice. "You might say that. Would you be interested in having your nephews for a prolonged visit?"
"Not until they"re housebroken. I won"t be at home, anyway."
"Where are you off to this time?"
"Huntsville, Alabama."
She paused. "It"s hot down there."
"I"m aware of that."
"You might even sweat," she warned him. "Think how upset you"d be."
His firm mouth twitched at the amus.e.m.e.nt in her voice. "That"s a chance I"ll have to take."
"It must be serious, then. Trouble?"
"A few glitches."
"Take care."
"I will. If it looks as though I"ll be down there for any length of time, I"ll call you and give you my number."
"All right. Love you."
"Love you, too." He smiled a bit as he hung up. It was typical of Madelyn that she hadn"t asked questions but had immediately sensed the seriousness of the situation awaiting him in Alabama. In six words she had given him her blessing, her support and her love. Though she was actually only his stepsister, the affection and understanding between them were as strong as if they had been connected by blood.
Next he called the woman he had been escorting rather regularly lately, Valentina Lawrence. The relationship hadn"t progressed far enough that he would expect her to wait until his return, so the easiest thing for both of them was if he made it clear that she was free to see anyone she wished. It was a pity; Valentina was too popular to remain unattached for long, and he suspected he would be in Alabama for several weeks.
She was just the sort of woman Robert had always been most attracted to: the thoroughbred racehorse type-tall, lean, small-breasted. Her makeup was always impeccable and understated, her clothing both stylish and tasteful. She had a genuinely pleasant personality, and enjoyed the theater and opera as much as he did. She would have been a wonderful companion, if this problem hadn"t interfered.
It had been several months since he had ended his last relationship, and he was feeling restless. He much preferred living with a woman to living alone, though he was perfectly content with his own company. He deeply enjoyed women, both mentally and physically, and he normally preferred the steadiness of a long-term relationship. He didn"t do one-nighters and disdained those who were so stupid. He refrained from making love to a woman until she had committed herself to a relationship with him.
Valentina accepted the news of his prolonged absence with grace; after all, they weren"t lovers and had no claim on each other. He could hear the gentle regret in her voice, but she didn"t ask him to call when he returned.
That final piece of business concluded, he sat for several minutes, frowning as he allowed himself to think about the relationship that hadn"t quite developed into intimacy, and how long it would be before he had time to attend to the s.e.xual part of his life again. He wasn"t pleased at the prospect of a long wait.
He wasn"t casual about s.e.x in any way. His intense s.e.xuality was always under strict control; with the difference between a man"s strength and a woman"s, a man who wasn"t in control could easily brutalize a woman, something that disgusted him. He tempered both his s.e.xual appet.i.te and his steely strength, reining them in with the icy power of his intellect. He never pressured a woman, though he always made it clear when he was attracted, so she would know where she stood. But he let his lady set the pace, let the intimacy progress at her speed. He respected a woman"s natural caution about opening her tender, vulnerable body to a much bigger, stronger male. When it came to s.e.x, he treated women gently and took his time so they could become fully aroused. Such control was no hardship; he could spend hours caressing soft, feminine skin and intriguing curves. Lingering over the lovemaking helped satisfy his own hunger, while intensifying his partner"s.
There was nothing like making love that first time with a new partner, he mused. Never again was the experience so intense and hungry. He always tried to make it special for his lady, to make her feel special. He never stinted on the little details that made a woman feel treasured: romantic dinners for two, candlelight, champagne, thoughtful gifts, his complete attention. When the time finally came to retire to the bedroom, he would use all of his skill and control to satisfy her again and again before he allowed release for himself.
Thinking about what the problem in Alabama was causing him to miss made him irritated.
He was roused by a knock on his door. He looked up as Felice stuck her head in. "You should have gone home," he reproved. "You didn"t have to stay."
"A messenger brought this envelope for you," she said, approaching to place it on his desk. She ignored his comment. No matter how late, she seldom left before he did.
"Go home," he said calmly. "That"s an order. I"ll call you tomorrow."
"Do you need anything before I go? A fresh pot of coffee?"
"No, I won"t be staying much longer myself."
"Then have a good trip." She smiled and left the room. He could hear her in the outer office gathering together her possessions and locking everything up for the night.
He doubted that anything about the trip would be good. He was in a vengeful mood and out for blood.
He noticed that the manila envelope had no return address. He opened it and slid several pages out. There was one grainy, photostated picture, a recap of the situation and what they already knew about it, and a brief message from Agent Brent, identifying the woman in the picture and informing Robert that the bureau would cooperate with him in all matters, which was only what he had expected.
He picked up the reproduced photograph and studied it. It was of very poor quality, but pictured a woman standing on a dock, with motorboats in the background. So this was Evie Shaw. She was wearing sungla.s.ses, so it was difficult to tell much about her, other than she had blondish, untidy hair and seemed to be rather hefty. No Mata Hari there, he thought, his fastidious taste offended by her poor choice of clothes and her general hayseed appearance. She looked more like a female mud wrestler, a coa.r.s.e hick who was selling out her country for greed.
Briskly he returned the papers to the envelope. He looked forward to bringing both Landon Mercer and Evie Shaw to justice.
Chapter Two.
IT WAS A typically hot, sultry Southern summer day. The sky overhead was a deep, rich blue, dotted with fat white clouds that lazily sailed along on a breeze so slight it barely rippled the lake"s surface. Gulls wheeled overhead and boats bobbed hypnotically in their slips. A few diehard fishermen and skiers dotted the water, ignoring the heat, but most of the fishermen who had gone out that morning had returned before noon. The air was heavy and humid, intensifying the odors of the lake and the surrounding lush, green mountains.
Evangeline Shaw looked out over her domain from the big plate-gla.s.s windows at the rear of the main marina building. Everyone on earth needed his own kingdom, and hers was this sprawling skeletal maze of docks and boat slips. Nothing within these few square acres escaped her attention. Five years ago, when she had taken over, it had been run-down and barely paying expenses. A sizable bank loan had been required to give it the infusion of capital it had needed, but within a year she had had it spruced up, expanded and bringing in more money than it ever had before. Of course, it took more money to run it, but now the marina was making a nice profit. With any luck she would have the bank loan paid off in another three years. Then the marina would be completely hers, free and clear of debt, and she would be able to expand even more, as well as diversify her holdings. She only hoped business would hold up; the fishing trade had slacked off a lot, due to the Tennessee Valley Authority"s "weed management" program that had managed to kill most of the water plants that had harbored and protected the fish.
But she had been careful, and she hadn"t overextended. Her debt was manageable, unlike that of others who had thought the fishing boom would last forever and had gone deeply into debt to expand. Her domain was secure.
Old Virgil Dodd had been with her most of the morning, sitting in the rocking chair behind the counter and entertaining her and her customers with tales of his growing-up days, back in the 1900s. The old man was as tough as shoe leather, but almost a century weighed on his inceasingly frail shoulders, and Evie was afraid that another couple of years, three at the most, would be too much for him. She had known him all her life; he had been old all her life, changing little, as enduring as the river and the mountains. But she knew all too well how fleeting and uncertain human life was, and she treasured the mornings that Virgil spent with her. He enjoyed them, too; he no longer went out fishing, as he had for the first eighty years of his life, but at the marina he was still close to the boats, where he could hear the slap of the water against the docks and smell the lake.
They were alone now, just the two of them, and Virgil had launched into another tale from his youth. Evie perched on a tall stool, occasionally glancing out the windows to see if anyone had pulled up to the gas pump on the dock, but giving most of her attention to Virgil.
The side door opened, and a tall, lean man stepped inside. He stood for a moment before removing his sungla.s.ses, helping his eyes adjust to the relative dimness, then moved toward her with a silent, pantherish stroll.
Evie gave him only a swift glance before turning her attention back to Virgil, but it was enough to make her defenses rise. She didn"t know who he was, but she recognized immediately what he was; he was not only a stranger, he was an outsider. There were a lot of Northerners who had retired to Guntersville, charmed by the mild winters, the slow pace, low cost of living and natural beauty of the lake, but he wasn"t one of them. He was far too young to be retired, for one thing. His accent would be fast and hard, his clothes expensive and his att.i.tude disdainful. Evie had met his kind before. She hadn"t been impressed then, either.
But it wasn"t just that. It was the other quality she had caught that made her want to put a wall at her back.
He was dangerous.
Though she smiled at Virgil, instinctively she a.n.a.lyzed the stranger. She had grown up with bad boys, daredevils and h.e.l.l-raisers; the South produced them in abundance. This man was something different, something...more. He didn"t embrace danger as much as he was danger. It was a different mind-set, a will and temperament that brooked no opposition, a force of character that had glittered in those startlingly pale eyes.
She didn"t know how or why, but she sensed that he was a threat to her.
"Excuse me," he said, and the deepness of his voice ran over her like velvet. A strange little quiver tightened her belly and ran up her spine. The words were courteous, but the iron will behind them told her that he expected her to immediately attend to him.
She gave him another quick, dismissive glance. "I"ll be with you in a minute," she said, her tone merely polite, then she turned back to Virgil with real warmth. "What happened then, Virgil?"
No hint of emotion showed on Robert"s face, though he was a bit startled by the woman"s lack of response. That was unusual. He wasn"t accustomed to being ignored by anyone, and certainly not by a woman. Women had always been acutely aware of him, responding to the intense masculinity he kept under ruthless control. He wasn"t vain, but his effect on women was something he largely took for granted. He couldn"t remember ever wanting a woman and not having her, eventually.
But he was willing to wait and use the opportunity to watch this woman. Her appearance had thrown him a little off balance, also something unusual for him. He still hadn"t adjusted his expectations to the reality.
This was Evie Shaw, no doubt about it. She sat on a stool behind the counter, all her attention on an old man who sat in a rocking chair, his aged voice gleeful as he continued to recount some tall tale from his long-ago youth. Robert"s eyes narrowed fractionally as he studied her.
She wasn"t the thick-bodied hayseed he had expected. Or rather, she wasn"t thick-bodied; he reserved judgment on the hayseed part. The unflattering image he"d formed must have been caused by the combination of bad photography and poorly fitting clothes. He had walked in looking for a woman who was coa.r.s.e and ill-bred, but that wasn"t what he"d found.
Instead, she...glowed.
It was an unsettling illusion, perhaps produced by the brilliant sunlight streaming in through the big windows, haloing her sunny hair and lighting the tawny depths of her hazel eyes. The light caressed her golden skin, which was as smooth and unblemished as a porcelain doll"s. Illusion or not, the woman was luminous.
Her voice had been surprisingly deep and a little raspy, bringing up memories of old Bogie and Bacall movies and making Robert"s spine p.r.i.c.kle. Her accent was lazy and liquid, as melodious as a murmuring creek or the wind in the trees, a voice that made him think of tangled sheets and long, hot nights.
Watching her, he felt something inside him go still.
The old man leaned forward, folding his gnarled hands over the crook of his walking cane. His faded blue eyes were full of laughter and the memories of good times. "Well, we"d tried ever way we knowed to get John H. away from that still, but he weren"t budging. He kept an old shotgun loaded with rat shot, so we were afeard to venture too close. He knowed it was just a bunch of young"uns aggravating him, but we didn"t know he knowed. Ever time he grabbed that shotgun, we"d run like jackrabbits, then we"d come sneakin" back...."
Robert forced himself to look around as he tuned out the rest of Virgil"s tale. Ramshackle though the building was, the business seemed to be prospering, if the amount of tackle on hand and the number of occupied boat slips were any indication. A pegboard behind the counter held the ignition keys to the rental boats, each key neatly labeled and numbered. He wondered how she kept track of who had which boat.
Virgil was well into his tale, slapping his knee and chortling. Evie Shaw threw back her head with a shout of pure enjoyment, her laughter as deep as her speaking voice. Robert was suddenly aware of how accustomed he had become to carefully controlled social laughter, how shrill and shallow it was compared to her unabashed mirth, with nothing forced or held back.
He tried to resist the compulsion to stare at her, but, to his surprise, it was like resisting the need to breathe. He could manage it for a little while, but it was a losing battle from the start. With a mixture of fury and curiosity, he gave in to the temptation and let his gaze greedily drink her in.
He watched her with an impa.s.sive expression, his self-control so absolute that neither his posture nor his face betrayed any hint of his thoughts. Unfortunately, that self-control didn"t extend to those thoughts as his attention focused on Evie Shaw with such intensity that he was no longer aware of his surroundings, that he no longer heard Virgil"s cracked voice continuing with his tale.
She wasn"t anything like the women he had always found most attractive. She was also a traitor, or at least was involved in industrial espionage. He had every intention of breaking her, of bringing her to justice. Yet he couldn"t take his eyes off her, couldn"t control his wayward thoughts, couldn"t still the sudden hard thumping in his chest. He had been sweating in the suffocating heat, but suddenly the heat inside him was so blistering that it made the outer temperature seem cool in comparison. His skin felt too tight, his clothing too restrictive. A familiar heaviness in his loins made the last two sensations all too real, rather than products of his imagination.
The women he had wanted in the past, for all the differences in their characters, had shared a certain sense of style, of sophistication. They had all looked-and been-expensive. He hadn"t minded, and had enjoyed spoiling them more. They had all been well dressed, perfumed, exquisitely turned out. His sister, Madelyn, had disparagingly referred to a couple of them as mannequins, but Madelyn herself was a clotheshorse of the highest order, so he had been amused rather than irritated by the comment.
Evie Shaw, in contrast, evidently paid no attention to her clothes. She wore an oversize T-shirt that she had knotted at the waist, a pair of jeans so ancient that they were threadbare and almost colorless and equally old docksiders. Her hair, a sun-streaked blond that ranged in color from light brown to the palest flax, and included several different shades of gold, was pulled back and confined in an untidy braid that was as thick as his wrist and hung halfway down her back. Her makeup was minimal and probably a waste of time in this humidity, but with her complexion, she didn"t really need it.
d.a.m.n it, how could she glow like that? It wasn"t the sheen of perspiration, but the odd impression that light was attracted to her, as if she forever stood in a subtle spotlight. Her skin was lightly tanned, a creamy golden hue, and it looked like warm, living satin. Even her eyes were the golden brown hazel of dark topaz.
He had always preferred tall, lean women; as tall as he was himself, he had felt better matched with them on the dance floor and in bed. Evie Shaw was no more than five-four, if that. Nor was she lean; rather, the word that came to mind was luscious, followed immediately by delicious. Caught off guard by the violence of his reaction, he wondered savagely if he wanted to make love to her or eat her, and the swift mental answer to his own question was a flat, unequivocal "yes." To both choices.
She was a symphony of curves, not quite full-figured, but sleek and rounded, the absolute essence of femaleness. No slim, boyish hips there, but a definite flare from her waist, and she had firm, round b.u.t.tocks. He had always adored the delicacy of small b.r.e.a.s.t.s but now found himself entranced by the soft globes that shaped the front of the annoyingly loose T-shirt. They weren"t big, heavy b.r.e.a.s.t.s, though they had a slight bounce that riveted his attention whenever she moved; they weren"t exactly voluptuous, but were just full enough to be maddeningly tempting. Their soft, warm weight would fill his hands, hands that he tightened into fists in an effort to resist the urge to reach out and touch her.
Everything about her was shaped for a man"s delight, but he wasn"t delighted by his reaction. If he could respond to her like this, maybe Mercer was her p.a.w.n rather than the other way around. It was a possibility he couldn"t ignore.
Not only was she nothing like the women he had previously desired, he was furious with himself for wanting her. He was down here to gather evidence that would send her to prison, and he couldn"t let l.u.s.t make him lose sight of that. This woman was wading hip-deep in the sewer of espionage, and he shouldn"t feel anything for her except disgust. Instead he was struggling with a physical desire so intense that it was all he could do to simply stand there, rather than act. He didn"t want to court her, seduce her; he wanted to grab her and carry her away. His lair was a hideously expensive Manhattan penthouse, but the primitive instinct was the same one that had impelled men to the same action back when their lairs were caves. He wanted her, and there was nothing civilized or gentle about it. The urge made a mockery of both his intellect and his self-control.
He wanted to ignore the attraction, but he couldn"t; it was too strong, the challenge too great. Evie Shaw was not just ignoring him, she was totally oblivious to the pure male intent that was surging through him. He might as well have been a post for all the attention she was paying to him, and every aggressive cell in his body was on alert. By G.o.d, he would have her.
The door behind him opened, and he turned, grateful for the interruption. A young woman, clad in shorts, sandals and a T-shirt, smiled at him and murmured, "h.e.l.lo," as she approached. Both the smile and the look lingered for just a moment before she turned her attention to the two people behind the counter. "Have you enjoyed your visit, PawPaw? Who all has been in today?"