'You want me to take you to Tracy 's?'

'I want to spend some time with you first. There's something that we need to talk about.' Her face was composed and empty of emotion, and I thought it must be her game face. The same face she would use in court; the face she had used when she was working her way through college on a tennis scholarship.

'Okay. Do you have bags?'

'Only this.' She let me carry her bag, and as we walked to the car she said little. Focused, I guess. Sleek and stripped down and ready for war. Or maybe she was just scared.

Once we were on the freeway, she brought my hand into her lap, holding it tight with both of hers. I thought she might fear letting go. I said, 'Does Ben know what's going on?'

Her eyes were not quite on the creeping red lights ahead of us. 'No. I've always kept the bad things between me and Richard from him. I've thought that was best.'

I nodded.

'I didn't want him in the middle.'

'Of course.'

She glanced at me. 'I don't want you in the middle either.'

I looked at her. A woman in a black Jaguar cut in front of us and I had to brake. 'Luce, there is no middle here for me. I love you, and I'm with you. I'll help any way I can.'

A tiny smile worked at her lips. The smile was so small that it was almost impossible to see. I almost didn't. She said, 'I know that you do, but I have to do this without you.'

I didn't say anything.

'It's important to me that you understand that I'm not being selfish. This isn't about Ben.'

'All right.'

'When we got divorced, I offered Richard open visitation rights. He never took advantage of it. When Ben would stay with Richard on weekends, or during the summer or on holidays, Richard was never there. He would hire a sitter, or drop Ben at his grandmother's. What's happening now isn't about Ben, it's about me, and Richard's need to control me, so please don't think that I'm this horrible woman who's stealing a man's child.' She looked at me then, and something in great pain was peeking through the composure. 'I am not the villain here.'

'Luce, you never could be.' She said it all as if she'd spent most of the flight thinking it through. I guess that she had. 'And you don't have to explain yourself or your former marriage to me.'

She looked at our hands, twined there in her lap. 'I know you want to help me through this. You already have, and I'm grateful, but you can't help me anymore.' She tugged at my hand, and when I looked over I think she was trying not to cry. 'I will not have my life defined by triangles. It's not fair to you, and it's not fair to me. Richard is my mistake, and I have to live with it.'

I didn't know what to say.

'What's going on now is between me and Richard, and only us. I need it to be that way. Do you understand?'

'No.'

She frowned. 'This is all about control, and he has to know that he can't control me, or intimidate me.' She frowned harder. 'I have to know that, too.'

I stared at her. Lucy Chenier seemed like the most uncontrollable woman I'd ever met, but maybe she hadn't always been so, and maybe she needed to remind herself. 'I could just shoot him. That would solve the problem.'

She smiled, and it was warm. 'I know, but then you would have saved me, and I wouldn't have saved myself. 'This is for me.'

'Okay.'

'I am the saver, and not just the savee.'

'You don't want me to be with you at KROK.'

She squeezed my hand again. 'No, you can't be there.'

I didn't like it, but I tried not to look sulky.

'Richard and I will be the only two players on the court, and when I kick his ass, and get his good-old-boy buddy up the proverbial creek, Richard will think twice about ever trying anything like this again.'

I looked at her, and thought that she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. 'Can I shoot him later?'

She smiled again, and this time patted my hand. 'We'll see.'

Something to live for.

'When are you going to see the KROK people?'

' Tracy arranged a meeting for tomorrow afternoon.'

Tomorrow was when the scanner arrived at LAX. Pike and I would be there waiting. We would be following the scanner, and hoping it brought us to Clark.

'I'll be working.'

She squeezed my hand again. 'Of course you will, my dove. That's as it should be.' She squeezed my hand another time.

'And I will be loving you.'

'Good.'

We continued up through the Sepulveda Pass into the Valley, and then on toward the safe house, riding in silence.

CHAPTER 23

The condo in Studio City smelled of rosemary and baked chicken. Joe and Teri were in the kitchen, and Winona and Charles were in the living room, but the TV wasn't on. Guess Pike had drawn the line. I said, 'That smells terrific.'

Winona bounced in from the living room. 'Teri and Joe made chicken. Hi, Lucy.'

'Hi, sweetie.'

Charles peered at Lucy from the dining room and grunted hello. Teri didn't say anything. She was behind a little forest of pots at the stove, frowning.

Lucy went into the kitchen and gave Teri a hug. 'How are you doing, dear?'

'Fine.' Tight and terse and futzing with the pots.

Lucy said, 'That smells wonderful. What is it, rosemary chicken?'

'Um.'

Lucy came back to me and took my hand. Teri frowned harder, then suddenly smiled brightly at me as if Lucy wasn't there. 'I saved some for you, Elvis.' The bright smile turned sad and she looked at Lucy. 'But I don't think there's enough for two.'

I stared at her.

Lucy said, 'Oh, that's all right. I should call Tracy and tell her how to get here.'

'I'll take you there.'

Lucy grinned, and you could tell she was trying to keep the grin from growing wider still. 'No. We made plans to discuss strategy over dinner. She wants to take me out.'

I stared at Teri some more, then showed Lucy to the living room phone. She sat on the edge of the couch to make the call.

Teri beamed at me from the kitchen. 'Heating the chicken shouldn't take long. When would you like to eat?'

'Later.' What was with this kid?

Teri hustled away in the kitchen, the pots and pans rattling. I'll get started now. Then you can eat whenever you want.' Happy is the little homemaker, happy as a bee. 'Can I bring you a beer?'

'No.'

Winona said, 'Did you find our daddy yet?'

'Not yet.'

Charles eyed Lucy on the couch, then edged closer and craned his head. I watched all the craning, then figured it out. He was trying to see up Lucy's skirt. I said, 'Charles.'

He scuttled away. 'I didn't do anything.' Just another fun evening hiding out with the Cole posse.

Lucy spoke with Tracy, then asked me to give Tracy directions. I did, then they spoke a few more minutes, and Lucy hung up. ' Tracy says it should take her about a half hour to get here.'

Pike glanced up the stairs. 'We should talk.'

Charles said, 'Why ya gotta go upstairs? Why don't ya just say it here in front of us?'

Teri said, 'Elvis knows what he's doing. Leave him alone.' Teri turned back to the stove, and put cool eyes on Lucy. 'I'll call you the second your friend arrives.'

I looked from Lucy to Teri, then back to Lucy. Lucy's eyes glittered and she pulled me toward the stairs.

When we got upstairs and closed the door, I said, 'Do you have frostbite?'

Lucy smiled wider. 'You don't know?'

'Know what?' Mr. Idiot.

Lucy glanced at Pike, and Pike's mouth twitched. I said, 'What?'

'She's got a crush on you, dopey.'

I looked back at Pike. 'You think this is funny?'

Another twitch. Everyone was having a good time with this but me.

Lucy said, 'Think about it. She's always been the caregiver. She's never had a male authority figure take care of her before, and now you're doing that.'