"I'll get my own copy as soon as I get back to school. Did Jessica mention anything about me?"

"Not a syllable. It's natural that she'd be very protective. She's spent a good many years caring for you. Your talent is somewhat 'unusual,' and she wouldn't want you to be misunderstood."

Jesus, he was clever. He had watched and listened and put the puzzle pieces of their lives and relationship together. "And do you understand?"

"Do you mean believe? Perhaps. I spent a lot of my early years in the East, and I've seen stranger things. It certainly doesn't make me uneasy."

Melissa studied him. "No, it only interests you. Jessica told me you dealt in information, and I can see how you'd be good at that. You gather and dig and analyze…You find it exciting, don't you?"

"Yes. Since I've been cursed with boundless curiosity, it's definitely an addiction."

"And dealing with Cassie is a quick fix for a few weeks of boredom?"

"I'm not quite so callous. I wouldn't use that nice kid just to relieve the monotony. I help her, she helps me." He chuckled. "Though I didn't realize until you appeared on the scene how intriguing the next few weeks may prove to be. When did you realize you had this bizarre talent? Your sister didn't mention anything about it in her book."

"She didn't know about it. She was so happy she'd brought me back that I didn't want to spoil anything for her. I wouldn't have told her about it if we hadn't run into this problem with Cassie. She's not like you. It makes her damn uneasy."

"I can see why. She impressed me as being a very solemn, pragmatic lady."

"She's had to be pragmatic It's not as if she doesn't have a great sense of humor. She didn't have much chance to-"

"Okay, okay. I didn't mean to insult her. She seems to be a very caring woman." He changed the subject. "You didn't answer me. When did you realize you were broadcasting on a different wavelength?"

"About five months after I came back. It scared the hell out of me." She stood up. "Now, take your curiosity and stuff it. That's all you're going to get out of me."

"You can never tell. I haven't even started yet." He got to his feet. "Let's be perfectly clear. You're warning me to stay away from your sister and Cassie?"

"Where did you get that idea? Cassie needs you."

"And do you need me, Melissa?" he asked softly.

"Yes, but I'm working on it." She bent down and retied her left running shoe. "So don't get used to the idea. You're going to be replaced." She straightened. "Jessica is the most decent human being on the face of the earth. I won't have her hurt." She held up a hand as he started to speak." I don't care that you don't intend to do it. Right now the most important thing in her life is getting Cassie well. If Cassie dies, she'll be devastated. So you're going to make sure she doesn't die. You're not going to walk away if you see something more interesting on the horizon. You're going to stay until Cassie's on the road to recovery if it takes years."

"Are you quite finished telling me what I'm going to do?"

"No, you have to promise to protect Jessica. The President put you here because you needed to be kept safe. I don't want any of the flak surrounding you to impact her."

"Is that all?"

"For now."

"Good. Then I'll race you back to the gatehouse." He looked back over his shoulder. "And this time you won't win, Melissa."

He hadn't promised anything, but she hadn't really counted on it. It was enough that he knew what she expected of him. "It won't bother me." She started after him. "I'll just work on it."

I'll just work on it.

Travis stood in the doorway and watched Melissa race up the drive. That single sentence seemed to sum up Melissa Riley. Courage in adversity and a determination to have her own way no matter what it took. On the other hand, maybe that sentence didn't encompass her entire personality. He'd never seen anyone with such glowing vitality. In her book Jessica had talked about the first months after Melissa had come back. Not only had her sister displayed a superior intelligence, she had also shown an insatiable thirst for life, which Jessica had attributed to the desire to make up for lost time. She'd said she expected the effect to dwindle after a few years.

Well, those few years had passed and he had an idea Jessica had been wrong. Melissa Riley was a firecracker and more complex than any of them might be able to imagine. Jessica had bargained and handled him with reason and maturity. Melissa hadn't tried to bargain. She'd analyzed his character and then thrown down a challenge…and a threat.

How phenomenally well she'd read him in such a brief encounter.

Interesting…

"What were you doing down by the pond with Travis?" Jessica's voice was disapproving. "Not a good idea, Mellie."

"He's not off limits anymore." Melissa grinned over her shoulder as she started up the stairs. "And he's more interesting than I first thought. He's very bright, and intelligence is mega-sexy."

"The President may have said he's not off limits, but I didn't. For God's sake, he's a criminal."

"And you want me to find a lawyer or a doctor or maybe a computer executive. What about a banker?"

"Sounds good to me."

Melissa smiled. "Okay, I'll look for one the minute I go back to school."

"I'm not joking, Mellie."

"I know you're not. You think I need a stabilizing influence. You're probably right. Stop worrying, I didn't ask him to go to bed with me. We just took a little run together."

Jessica moistened her lips. "I didn't think you-I wouldn't ask you to tell-"

"But I'll tell you anyway." Her smile faded. "I'd never do anything to cause you concern. If you don't want me to go running with Travis, it stops right here."

"And you think I'm a nosy bitch."

"I think you love and care about me. And not running with him is no great loss. Our little jog couldn't have been more casual."

"It didn't look casual. It looked damned intense."

And it had felt intense. For the few minutes they were running together, Melissa had been aware of a weird sense of intimacy. And when they had been talking at the pond, she had almost felt the sparks, the undercurrent, that lay beneath every word. It had been…exciting. He had been exciting.

Well, danger was always exciting, but Travis could become an enemy in a heartbeat.

So? Playing games with the enemy was stimulating too.

Still, that didn't make it the best option to choose in this circumstance. She started back up the stairs. "Nah, it's definitely the banker for me, Jessica."

Amsterdam

"Something very interesting is happening," Provlif told Deschamps over the phone.

"You found Cassie Andreas?"

"No, but while my CIA contact was nosing around trying to locate her, he stumbled on another bit of information. Andreas sent Air Force One on a hush-hush trip to Amsterdam a few weeks ago."

"Carrying his daughter?"

"No, it was a retrieval. They picked up Michael Travis and brought him to Andrews Air Force Base."

"Travis?" Deschamps was puzzled. It didn't fit with the information he'd gathered. "The CIA captured him?"

"They picked him up and delivered him to the President. They left together for an unknown destination."

"You're sure?"

"My source in the CIA is impeccable."

"Then why can't they tell you where the girl is?"

"The CIA and the Secret Service seldom confide in each other."

"Find them."

"Whatever you say. As you know, I've been concentrating on finding Cassie Andreas only since you told me that's what you wanted me to do."