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  “Yes, but that still doesn’t prove it’s one of my people.” She eyed him again warily. He was very sharp. She was suddenly curious to know just what the truth was behind the rumors that floated around about his smuggling past.

  But now was not the time to ask him personal questions. Besides, she’d come to him precisely because of his shady background.

  “You still haven’t told me how you discovered it was Martinez who stole your dolphin.”

  His challenging tone made it clear he had his doubts about her theory. “Actually, I found out accidentally.” She shifted so her back rested squarely against the wall and pulled her knees up to her chest. Wrapping her arms around them, she looked directly at Cole as she spoke, knowing it was crucial he believe her. “The only way P.J. could get out on his own would be the underwater gate that separates the lagoon from the canal. The canal then empties out into the Gulf.”

  “Was the gate damaged at all?” Cole asked abruptly.

  “No, there’s been no damage to the gate or the fence. But I’d already ascertained that none of my employees had accidentally opened the gate, so the only other possibility was that he’d been taken. Stolen.”

  “And of course the first person who came to mind was an international crime lord.”

  Kira frowned at Cole’s sarcastic response but didn’t let him bait her into a sharp retort. Even she realized how fantastical it seemed. “Of course not. I set up a meeting with all my employees to discuss how we would handle P.J.’s disappearance with the media and the adjustments that we’d have to make for the upcoming investors’ presentation. At the time I wasn’t sure exactly how he’d disappeared. Actually it took a while to really comprehend that he had. The whole idea of someone taking him was so bizarre that I wanted to believe there was some simple explanation. So I didn’t call the police.”

  Cole snorted in obvious disgust.

  Aggravated by his condescending attitude, Kira heatedly defended her decision. “If I reported a stolen dolphin to the police, it would have become a matter of public record. As I said before, P.J. has been the subject of numerous documentaries focusing on his ability to work with handicapped children. Those tapes are a large part of my presentation to gain the interest of potential investors. If word got out that P.J. was missing, I was afraid some of the investors would back out. To call them a skeptical group would be an understatement. So I thought it was best to keep it quiet until we’d had time to do some investigating of our own.”

  Her tone all but dared him to comment. He lifted his bare shoulders in a shrug that said her reasons didn’t concern him, since it was too late to change what she’d done. Kira swallowed her anger and forced herself to relax. She wondered what would penetrate his seeming indifference. She smiled tentatively and pushed on with her story. “We went on to discuss the meeting, and as everyone talked about which investors seemed the most likely to drop out, the same name kept coming up. KeyMar Industries.”

  Cole sat up a bit straighter. “One of Martinez’s front companies for dumping cash.”

  Kira didn’t even bother wondering how he knew that. In fact, it would be a real boon to her if he had inside information on Martinez. “I didn’t know that at the time. All I knew was that spokespersons for this company had called several times, each time questioning a different employee at length about a number of things related to our institute. Each thought nothing of it, but when we all sat down together, it became clear that the sum of information they’d requested was more than the standard-type questions potential investors ask.”

  “I agree it sounds suspicious, but I don’t see why Martinez or any other investor would want to steal a dolphin.”

  “Neither did I.” Kira’s voice became stronger. “But it just seemed too coincidental. KeyMar had made inquiries at least twice a week for the last several weeks, but they haven’t called once since P.J.’s disappearance. It might have been a coincidence, but it was all I had to go on.”

  “Why didn’t you call the police in then? Juan Carlos Martinez isn’t the sort of man you play amateur detective with.”

  “I know.” Kira’s voice hardened as she thought of P.J. being held by a man reputed to have no conscience and even fewer morals. She forced her words past the lump forming in her throat. “I started to, but then I realized that I’d have to tell them who had him. I figured as part of their investigation they’d naturally have to question him. Considering the questions his people asked, I figured he might have taken P.J. specifically because this dolphin works best with autistic kids. But if Martinez thought he was under suspicion, he could just as easily steal another one and—” She broke off, unable to put her worst fears into words.

  “You’re right, Kira,” Cole said quietly. “If Martinez does have him and even suspects you know he’s responsible, he’ll destroy P.J. without a second thought.”

  Kira flinched at the dead certainty in Cole’s voice. It was the nightmare she’d been living with every minute of every day and every night since P.J.’s disappearance. And it was the real reason she didn’t want the police involved. Even if she lost the institute, she’d never forgive herself for putting P.J. at such risk if there was another way.

  Something about his tone penetrated through the horrifying thought of possibly losing such a valued mammal and companion. “You seem to know a lot about Martinez.” She paused for a second, unsure of how to phrase the rest of the question without risking being tossed overboard. She didn’t have to worry. As usual, Cole was one step ahead of her.

  “Is that why you chose me, Kira?” His voice was soft but contained a thread of steel. “Do you think I worked for Martinez?”

  Kira knew the next words she spoke would likely seal P.J.’s fate. She swallowed and moistened her lips. “I never really thought it out that far. I figured anyone in a … line of work such as yours would know about him. Yours was the only name I’d heard in connection with that type of, uh, lifestyle.” She studied him closely, but he was very good at concealing his thoughts, and she had no idea how he felt about her explanation. Nervously, she added, “The main reason I tracked you down was because you helped Toby Jantzen.”

  “A smuggler with a heart of gold, is that it?”

  Kira winced at the amused cynicism in his voice. And she’d imagined him to have some deep vulnerability. How stupid and totally like her to try to romanticize him so she wouldn’t feel so afraid. Her cheeks burned in humiliation. She’d been a complete fool. Cole Sinclair was hard all the way through.

  P.J. was as good as dead.

  “What did you do next?”

  Kira had been so certain his next words would be good-bye that his question took her totally by surprise. “I didn’t tell my staff what I’d learned. I figured I’d try to dig up more information first, make certain I was right. I started asking questions and quietly looking up any information I could find on KeyMar. It didn’t take long to find out Martinez owned it. After that I started to wonder why a man like Martinez would want P.J.”

  “Which brings us back to my first question.”

  “I talked to each of my employees again, individually this time. I tried to find out exactly what each of them had been asked and had revealed.”

  “Quite the little detective. Maybe you’re in the wrong line of work.” Cole shook his head.

  It was obvious he had no respect for what she’d accomplished on her own. If anything, he thought she was an idiot for taking the risk. She smiled and pretended that she thought he was really amused by her actions. “Well, I confess to being an armchair detective. But in this case, I just tried to imagine why I would want a trained dolphin bad enough to steal one.”

  “Okay, Ms. V. I. Warshawski, what did you come up with?”

  Kira’s smile was real this time. So he was a Paretsky fan too. She thought about all those books on the shelf below and wondered how many were mysteries. “A lot of the questions had to do with how the dolphins helped the kids with learning disabilities, specifically auti
sm.”

  “Considering the type of school you run, that doesn’t seem so odd.”

  “It wouldn’t be, but combined with the other questions about the dolphins’ schedule and daily routine, I began to wonder. It seemed as if the caller made certain not to ask any one person enough to make him or her suspicious, and each call dealt with one topic at a time.”

  “Do your employees make a habit of divulging that sort of information to anyone who calls?” His tone made it clear he thought she might as well have handed the thief a key to the front door.

  “Yes. Cole, it’s not like we’re guarding state secrets here. We rely completely on investors to keep our doors open. My employees are encouraged to be as helpful as possible and answer any questions they can in order to encourage the investors’ enthusiasm. It isn’t unusual for people to become very interested and devoted to the dolphins. They are really incredible creatures. Our main concern is usually keeping an overeager tourist or individual from accidentally harming a dolphin out of misguided enthusiasm or ignorance.”

  The moonlight did little to reveal if she’d swayed his opinion. Whatever was going on behind those enigmatic black eyes of his remained a secret.

  Kira purposely stopped her story for a moment. She felt she’d been cramming this information down his throat and wanted to give him time to assimilate it.

  Again, she’d underestimated him.

  “So I take it Martinez has a kid with autism, and he snatched the dolphin as a means to cure him?”

  Kira’s eyes widened. He’d been paying closer attention than she’d thought. He must have made one hell of a smuggler. Only when his gaze jerked to hers did she realize she’d spoken that last part out loud.

  “What I mean,” she rushed on before he got angry, “is that it took me a while to figure that out. I talked to every therapist and doctor I could find, trying to find out if Martinez had ever brought a child in for an examination or treatment.”

  “Did he?”

  “No. At least not that I could find.”

  Cole let out what sounded like a sigh of irritation. He tunneled his fingers through his hair, then linked them behind his head. His relaxed pose didn’t for a second hide the tension that radiated down the length of his body. “So how did you find out? Knock on his door and ask?”

  “No, of course not. I wouldn’t take that kind of risk.”

  Cole raised an eyebrow, his expression saying better than ten well-aimed comebacks what he thought of her ability to discern danger.

  She tamped down her anger. Damn the man for putting her on the defensive. “Because of the type of investor we attract, I’m invited to a fair number of social functions. I don’t always attend.” She didn’t add that invariably she felt like a sideshow act, invited only because of her connection to the dolphins that everyone seemed so intrigued about. Ever aware she could be cultivating another much-needed investor, she always answered the endless queries enthusiastically, which wasn’t difficult since the subject never tired her. But being more at home in the lagoon with the dolphins than rubbing elbows with the rich, she found it difficult to endure the endless inane gossip and industry-insider talk.

  For once, however, the invitation to a swank event had been eagerly received. She leaned forward and folded her arms atop her knees as she related the events of the evening to Cole. “I was invited to a party held by one of my investors out on Ramrod Key. Since I’d learned Martinez owned one of the small cays off Ramrod, I went in hopes of subtly questioning any possible acquaintance of his for information.”

  “I take it you were successful?”

  Kira smiled as she recalled how it had happened. “Actually, it was ridiculously easy. I had worked up this long list of every imaginable innocent question I could ask, afraid I’d blow it by asking the wrong person the wrong thing. In the end I happened to be using the ladies’ room at the same time as two of Mrs. Martinez’s bridge pals. They were discussing the difficulty the Martinezes were having keeping housemaids, and apparently thinking they were alone, one of the ladies made a nasty remark about how they might have better luck hiring a zoo keeper.”

  Kira’s tone turned progressively more bitter as she went on. “The other one responded that she thought it was simply a rumor about Carlos having a son who was so demented he kept him locked up like an animal.” Kira looked up at Cole, unable to hide the anguish and fierce anger in her expression. “The first woman seemed to think otherwise, but then someone else came in and they left.”

  Without thinking, she put her hand on Cole’s thigh. She was so angry over the injustice being done to a child, she hardly noticed the way Cole’s entire leg went rigid under her touch. “Don’t you see? It all makes sense. The questions about how dolphins help autistic children. Martinez having a son in a locked room. Cole, a man like Martinez, a Cuban who practically invented the term ‘machismo,’ would rather steal P.J. in hopes of a miracle cure for his son than admit to the world—or himself—that he’d sired a defective child. His heir.”

  Cole stared into her glittering eyes for a long moment. Despite his repeated attempts to prevent it, he was totally captivated by her. She was so certain of the truth of her story that she was short of breath. Her intensity brought on a violent rush of memories he’d kept locked away for two long years. Kira reminded him of Felicia. Felicia had had the same fierce loyalty for anyone under her protection. It had ultimately caused her death. And if Kira wasn’t careful, it would cause her death too. The mere thought of Kira being in mortal danger made his body tighten painfully for a minute; then he shoved the entire episode from his mind.

  Ruthlessly, he turned his attention to what he’d convinced himself was his real attraction to Kira Douglass. He purposely let his gaze shift lower. He watched with a forced sense of detached fascination as her breasts rose and fell in her effort to regain her breath. Feeling himself begin to harden in response to her agitated and excited state, he gave himself over to it. This response he understood. This feeling he could accept from her. Sexual desire. A hot, primal, animalistic, purely male response. He wanted to revel in the safety of it.

  Then his gaze drifted lower and collided with her hand clutching his knee.

  She seemed to be unaware of the action, but his gaze brought it to her attention. She followed his eyes downward, and as soon as she realized she was touching him, she pulled her hands away. “I … I’m sorry,” she said hesitantly.

  Cole looked up again and became trapped in her eyes. “Why?”

  The moonlight cast her face in shades of white and gray, but he swore he could feel the flush that rose to her cheeks. Still, he remained silent. Despite the voice in his head yelling at him to retract the question, telling him to just yank her onto his lap and get on with it, he wanted to know what she would say. He was daring her to put into words the one subject he’d rather die than discuss.

  “I know you’d rather I not touch you.”

  Cole had to resist the urge to grab her, to beg her to touch him anywhere she damn well pleased, and quickly. Her voice was so damn soft and honest. Her lips were made to be cherished. It took every last ounce of restraint he had to force his mind off of that carnal path.

  He’d gotten his answer. He tucked his hands deeper under his crossed arms, clenching them into tight fists against the raging desire to touch her, knowing that if he so much as lifted his hand, he’d have her naked and under him before he could breathe her name.

  Kira wasn’t one to back away from a subject just because it might prove difficult, but he refused to pursue the topic any further. “I can’t help you if you refuse to face the fact that one of your staff members is probably in on this. You’ve got to be prepared. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.”

  One word. How did she pack so much hope into one simple word? Cole felt a sudden desperate urge to order her off his boat, out of his life. Kira was a threat to him on every level. With every word she spoke, every innocent movement of her body, he wanted her more. She
was forcing him to see just how deep his deception went within himself. He’d actually convinced himself he could help her out and then take her to bed and that would be the end of that. Even when he’d begun to realize he might have to keep her in his bed for a while before he got his fill of her, he’d told himself he could handle it.

  He looked into her eyes and understood those assurances for what they were. Lies. A desperate attempt to convince himself he deserved even a fleeting moment of pleasure. Damn her for giving him that hope.

  A woman like Kira, who cared for the hurt and disabled and vulnerable of the world, had sensed the void in him where his soul once resided. And he doubted she’d let him go until she’d tried every damn thing she could think of to give it back to him.

  But his soul couldn’t be given back. He’d sold it. Bartered it away years ago for a life of lies and deceit. And if he’d ever needed proof of just how unredeemable he was, Kira had just handed it to him engraved in shattered diamonds.

  Because he was damned if he could stop wanting her even when he knew his wanting would likely destroy them both.

  “Give me two days, then meet me back here,” he said roughly, pushing himself to his feet in one fluid motion. She rocked back on her heels, and without another word he turned to lower himself down the stairs.

  Kira stood up, caught off guard by his sudden move. He was halfway down the ladder before she gathered her wits enough to form a coherent question. She leaned over the short wall in time to see him drop to the deck below. “What are you going to do?”

  He looked up at her, his expression unreadable. “Right now? I’m going to go swimming.”

  “Swimming?” Kira shouted. She didn’t wait for a reply. She swung quickly down the ladder and found herself alone. She hadn’t heard a splash, so Cole was on the boat somewhere. “Cole!” she shrieked, not caring how she sounded. She’d just poured out her heart to the man, and all he could do was issue an order, then blithely announce he was in the mood for a moonlight dip? Not while she was still breathing air.