“Good.” Steve sounded relieved. “It’s probably all right then, but I’d like to run some blood anyway,” he insisted. “Stop by in the morning.

Won’t take but a minute.”

“Okay.” Dar exhaled. “I’ve got a plane to catch, but I’ll swing by the office first.”

“Great. See you then, Dar.” Steve hung up, leaving an echoing click behind him.

Dar set the phone down and regarded her friend. “Damn.” She wasn’t sure how to react. “I wasn’t expecting that. I thought it was just a damn bug.”

“What was it?’ Kerry asked. “Does he know how it got in you? I heard you say by touch. You mean it’s absorbed through the skin?”

Dar nodded thoughtfully. “Well, only two people touched me that day, so that blows that theory out.” She tugged on a lock of wet blonde hair. “You and Dad.” She looked up as a soft knock clearly sounded through the open door. Leaning over, she pressed the intercom button.

“Yes?”

“Hey, Dardar.”

“Hey, Dad. C’mon in.”

“Dar!” Kerry gave her a look. “In case you forgot, we’re naked.”

“He’s seen me naked,” Dar protested mildly, as the door opened and ambling footsteps crossed the tile. She glanced down. “Course, I was a little smaller then.” She looked up. “Hi, Dad.”

“’Lo there—Jesus H. Christ!” Andrew turned his head. “Paladar Roberts. Get yer clothes on.”

“Does that mean I can stay naked?” Kerry inquired innocently.

“Cool.”

“No, young lady, you most certainly can not.”

“C’mon, Dad. They’d get all wet in here.” Dar chuckled. “We’re under the bubbles, look.”

“No.”

“Really, we are. You can only see our heads.”

Andrew peeked, spotting two sets of sparkling eyes very close to the water. Dar had turned the jets up and the whirlpool provided a frothy, but effective screen otherwise. “You two little barnacles are gonna get scraped one of these fine days,” he growled.

“We love you too, Dad.” Kerry grinned cheekily, splashing him a lit-280 Melissa Good tle. His face was visibly sunburned, the color obscuring the worst of the scars and heightening the contrast of his pale eyes, and the tense lines had relaxed considerably in the past week. A corner of his mouth quirked, uncannily like his daughter’s often did and he stuck a hand in to splash her back. “Have you been having fun?”

The quirk edged into a smile. “We’ve been busy, if that’s what you mean,” he remarked. “Found us a new home.”

“Oh yeah?” Dar forgot her concerns for a moment. “Where?”

“South Beach Marina.”

Twin puzzled looks peered back at him. “South B—” Dar started to say.

“Where?” Kerry asked simultaneously.

“Yer mother liked that damn boat so much, we figgered maybe we’d get us one and live on that,” Andrew answered placidly, rocking back and forth on his heels. “So we did. Went down and ordered me one the other day. Be ready in about a week or two.”

“You ordered a boat?” Dar blinked. “Like…as in one like ours?”

“Bigger.” Her father smirked. “Some sixty damn feet long and ah had ’em put a pair of the biggest damn engines I could find in the back end of it.”

Dar just gaped, totally stunned by the news. “I…” She tried to come up with something to respond with. “But…”

“Wow.” Kerry leaned her chin on Dar’s shoulder. “I can’t wait to see it. I bet Mrs. Roberts is going to make the inside so cool.” She smiled.

“Can we have a boatwarming?” She managed to push the knowledge of her trip tomorrow out of her mind, replacing it with the excitement of seeing her friend’s new home. “I wish it were next week already.”

Dar sighed. “Me too.”

Andrew cocked his head and regarded them from under grizzled eyebrows. “What’s yer troubles?” He glanced at Kerry. “I know you got to go north tomorrow.”

Kerry nodded, then looked up at Dar. “Dar has to go to Houston.”

Dar found herself under a very familiar scrutiny and she felt years younger all of a sudden. “That guy I told you was causing me trouble?”

“Yeap.”

“He did,” she admitted. “I don’t think I’ll be working for ILS after tomorrow.”

Andrew looked truly stunned. “Why?”

Dar glanced at Kerry, then shrugged. “Scandal. They’ve got a BS

lawsuit pending, and I think they’re going to ask me to resign, to keep all that from going public.” She couldn’t meet his eyes anymore and looked at the roiling water instead. “I…um…broke the rules with Kerry.”

Her father snorted. “After all this damn time, they’re gonna ask you to bail out fer that? C’mon now. Gimme a Christly break. They need t’get their heads out of their keesters.” He paused. “Ye’re not seriously gonna do it, are you?”

She gave her head a tiny shake. “I don’t know.”


Eye of the Storm 281

Andrew leaned over and took her chin, forcing her eyes up. “You listen to me, Paladar. You’ve been givin’ them people two hundred percent since you was fifteen years old. Don’t you walk away from them with your tail tucked.”

Kerry could, in that moment, have easily kissed him. It was exactly what she’d wanted to tell Dar, but had been reluctant to, since she was so close and so involved in the whole situation. Besides, that kind of thing sounded better coming from her daddy. Her instinct was to fight what she saw was an intolerably unfair situation and she was glad to see Andy was on her side. She slipped an arm across Dar’s stomach under the water, and ran her fingers over the toned surface.

“I don’t know if they’re worth the fight,” Dar objected quietly.

“Maybe they ain’t, but your pride is,” her father responded. “Losing’s one thing—we all gotta do that sometimes. But quittin’s something else.” His jaw bunched. “You’re my kid and I didn’t raise you to run from nothin’.”

Her lips tensed into a grim smile. “No, you didn’t,” Dar allowed.

“And I never have.” She closed her eyes and tilted her head in tacit agreement and felt her jaw released and patted gently.

“That’s my girl.”

Yeah. Dar exhaled, accepting it. So she’d go out swinging. It would make a good story anyway, right? “Wish I had something to throw in his face, though.” She shifted a little. “Mark couldn’t find a damn thing on him.”

“You’ll think of something, Dardar,” her father predicted. “This that same guy that came after you that night?”

That night. “Yes.”

“Lucky he turned you loose, munchkin. He ’bout had mah boot up his hinder quarters there.”

Turned me loose... Dar straightened up and stared out at the horizon.

She touched a spot on her upper arm, as she stirred her memories of that night. “He did grab me, didn’t he?”

Kerry’s eyes widened. “Ankow?” She sat up as well. “He touched you? That night? That little piece of slimy…”

Andy blinked. “Possessive little thing, ain’t you?” he remarked.

“No, no. Dr. Steve just called. He found out some poison stuff was what got Dar sick last week. He said she got it through her skin,” Kerry blurted. “I bet that son of a bitch did it. I bet he did. That slime bag. Boy, if I get my hands on him I’ll—” She started to stand up.

Dar grabbed her and pulled her down as Andrew yelped and covered his eyes. “Calm down.” She found herself tangled with her friend, eyes meeting at a distance of inches. “Let’s not jump to conclusions.” The angrily coiled body in her arms slowly relaxed as Kerry slid back under the water.

“What’s she talking about?” Andy asked, still with his hands over his eyes. “What’d Steve find?”

“It’s safe, you can turn around,” Dar told him. “He found some kind 282 Melissa Good of toxin. Didn’t say what it was. Just that it was something you absorbed through your skin, and it was nasty. He wants me to drop by tomorrow so he can make sure it’s all gone.”

Blue eyes peeked out, then the ex-SEAL blinked. “T’morrow huh?

Mind if I tag along?” His gaze had sharpened and his whole attitude shifted subtly. “I’d like to hear about this.” He cleared his throat. “Might as well say hello to the old dog too.”

Dar nodded absently. “Sure.” Her brows creased. “You don’t really think he...” She forced a laugh. “C’mon. This isn’t some trashy thriller novel.”

“Ah don’t know.” Andrew touched the skin on her arm where Ankow’s hand had clutched. “But ah aim to find out.” His voice had lowered and deepened into a throaty rumble that was more purr than speech.

For a moment, there was danger there. Then Andy straightened and thumped the edge of the Jacuzzi. “Came t’see if you two’d like to join us for a cup of something down yonder.”

“We have to get dressed then, huh?” Kerry murmured, from her warm spot nestled against Dar.

Andy raised one brow.

“Sure,” Dar agreed. “We’ll join you in a few minutes.” She watched him leave, hearing the faint clang of the gate as he exited the garden and headed towards the beach.

DAR PUT HER sunglasses on, as she pulled off the ferry and turned right on the causeway. Her father was sprawled in the seat next to her, wearing a pair of, for him, festive dark green shorts and a sweatshirt with its sleeves pushed all the way up. “It was nice of Mother to take Kerry to the airport.”

Andrew turned from his review of the streets. “She likes the little kumquat.”

“So I gathered.” Dar smiled wryly. “The feeling’s mutual.” She turned onto the beach road that held Dr. Steve’s practice and headed south. She had a bag packed in the back of the Lexus and had agreed to her father’s offer to take the SUV back from the airport rather than leave it there overnight.

She had shared breakfast with Kerry, out on the patio as they’d watched the sun rise together, and she’d spent an extra few minutes just hugging her lover before she’d gotten dressed and started off, wishing she were going to Washington instead of Texas.