The Specialist

“Never had any judo or martial arts training?”

His breath whispered across her cheek, reminding her of the last time he’d pinned her like this. Then his hand had cupped her breast. Now her nipples rose in memory and she knew that he was as aware of that fact as she was.

“No formal training,” she agreed totally flustered as she tried to shove him off without success.

Rafe smiled, a wickedly slow, superior sort of smile. Instantly, her temper flashed.

“But I’m a real fast learner.”

And she kicked him in the shin right before she socked him in the jaw.

Chapter Three

“Kendra Kincade is exactly who she says she is,” Penny informed the meeting of the Confidentials the next morning. “Twenty-nine years old, originally from El Paso, Texas, parents, Tina and Martin Kincade.”

“El Paso was Rialto’s old haunting grounds,” Rafe muttered.

“Yes. Kendra is a computer programmer who works as an independent contractor for anyone who will pay her pricey fees and let her work from home. She must be good at what she does because she has a huge client list despite being something of a recluse.”

“Like that character in the movie where they erased her life?” Cody asked.

Penny shook her head. “Not quite that bad. Her neighbors do know her. She’s friendly, but she keeps to herself. She’s been known to travel to meetings when absolutely necessary, but most of her business is conducted through e-mail and the telephone. Her parents moved to Arizona after she graduated college, but they gave Kendra the house where she grew up. She seems close to them even though she only visits at Christmas.”

“She seldom leaves her house yet she came here,” Rafe said thoughtfully.

Penny nodded. “This trip is a total departure for her. She turned down three lucrative contracts last week, telling employers that she was going on vacation. The one I spoke with said it had never happened before. According to him, she’s as good as she claims with a computer—fast and thorough.”

“What about her assertion that Rialto had somebody close to her killed?” Rafe asked worrying about the one area that truly concerned him.

“I’m working on that.”

“Any other family?” Jake wanted to know.

“Not that I know of, but I am not a computer whiz. This kind of investigation takes time.”

“Something we have little of,” Mitchell reminded them.

“Well, as far as official records go, she’s never even had a parking ticket.”

“That’s a little too squeaky clean for me,” Brady muttered.

“Not if she seldom leaves the house,” Penny pointed out.

“Keep checking,” Mitchell advised, chomping on his unlit cigar.

“Try going back to her college roommates,” Rafe suggested. “Maybe a roommate or a boyfriend had some connection to Rialto.”

Humor sparked to life in Brady’s gray eyes. “Speaking of which, how’s the makeover coming?”

The others around the table shared grins. Rafe rubbed his sore jaw and shook his head. “She’s a stubborn little thing, but I’ll give her an A for determination.”

“Need a referee?” Cody offered.

“You’re a pal, but there’s only going to be one outcome to this bout.” He felt the weight of her knife in his pocket. “I showed her a few moves yesterday.”

Someone snickered.

“Defensive moves,” he corrected. “I’m going to take her out back today and see how she does on the firing range.”

“Better clear the ranch first,” Brady suggested. “No sense putting innocents in her line of fire.”

“I think the only one in jeopardy here is Rafe,” Cody said with a wicked grin. “And we all know innocent isn’t a word we’d use to define him.”

“Very funny.”

“Putting an ambulance on stand by only seems prudent,” Jake offered. “Rafe here seems to be the one doing the learning—the hard way.”

Rafe grinned good-naturedly. “Cute. I don’t think she’ll shoot me until she gets what she wants.”

“Excuse me, but I thought the makeover was about looks,” Penny said.

“One step at a time,” Rafe protested. “I’m doing the easy stuff first.”

Two of the men chuckled.

“Chicken?” Cody asked.

“Absolutely. You ever tried telling a woman how to dress?”

“I place a much higher value on my life.”

“Exactly.”

“All right folks, we’ve got a lot to do, so let’s get to work,” Mitchell ordered.

“And speaking of work,” Penny added, opening her notebook, “Mrs. Skerritt called here again. Something about two other dates you are supposed to keep in mind?”

Rafe groaned. Lydia could turn into a problem. Neither she nor her brother knew anything about Texas Confidential, and Rafe knew Mitchell wanted to keep it that way.

“I gave her the number for the bunkhouse, so do check your messages, Rafe.”

Jake stretched. “The joys of bachelorhood. Personally, I’m glad all I have to deal with nowadays are ornery cows, bad weather, construction crews, a wife and daughter.”

Brady shared a smile with him. “Their day will come.”

“Not a chance,” Rafe and Cody both vowed.

“NO!” RAFE MOVED alongside Kendra, trying to ignore the tug of awareness he continued to feel every time he touched her. He positioned his hand along her arm to straighten her stance and her wide eyes blinked up at him from behind her big ugly glasses covered by safety goggles.