Against the Law Read Free Page A

sigh.

Two
    â€œPromise me, Lark. Promise me you’ll do it!” Heather lay, pale and emaciated, a small shrunken figure in the rented hospital bed in her living room. Her hand tightened for a moment around Lark’s fingers.
    A thick lump swelled in Lark’s throat. “You know I will, sweetheart. I’ll find her, no matter what it takes. I won’t stop until I do.”
    Heather managed a last sweet smile, then her eyes slowly closed. A soft breath whispered past her lips and the lines of pain in her face eased away. A look of peace settled over her pretty features, now ravaged by the illness that had stolen her young life.
    â€œI’ll find her,” Lark repeated, the ache in her throat so fierce she could barely speak. “I won’t let you down again.” Leaning over, she pressed a final soft kiss on her sister’s forehead and allowed the tears she had been fighting to cascade down her cheeks.
    A knock at her door jolted Lark awake. She blinkedowlishly, surprised to discover she had fallen asleep on the sofa in her hotel room. She took a deep breath, steadied herself as the dream faded away, and rose from the sofa.
    Yesterday, after leaving the investigator’s house, she had driven over to her sister’s condo. It was past time she dealt with Heather’s belongings but the memories of those last final weeks had simply been too painful.
    Perhaps it was talking to Dev about Heather, or maybe taking the first steps in the search for her sister’s daughter that had given Lark the push she needed. Whatever the reason, she felt ready at last to begin getting past her grief.
    Thankfully the rented hospital equipment had all been taken away. Lark had spent the afternoon sorting through Heather’s clothes, bagging them up for Goodwill; boxing up the rarely used pots and pans; going through old photos, crying as she worked, and feeling a strangely comforting connection to her sister.
    She had worked till well past midnight, then returned to her hotel room. This morning she had ordered coffee, sat down on the sofa to wait for its delivery and fallen asleep. Another knock sounded. She yawned as she crossed to the door, stepped back to let the room service waiter into the room with coffee and croissants.
    She was staying at the Biltmore in Scottsdale, a beautiful old hotel designed by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright. She loved the art-deco architecture and her big, beautiful room overlooking the vast green sprawl of manicured lawns that stretched all the way to the foot of the rugged Arizona hills.
    She could afford to stay anywhere she wanted, but the graceful hotel was a favorite and it had been redone several times so that it was completely modern. And the landscaped grounds were incredible.
    She checked the time. It was seven o’clock. As soon as the waiter left, she poured herself a cup of coffee and carried it into the bathroom to shower and dress for her meeting with Devlin Raines.
    She was excited to get started. And working with a good-looking man didn’t hurt, either. She hadn’t dated in months. She liked men, liked sex with the right man, but lately none of them seemed appealing.
    She couldn’t say the same for Dev Raines. She hadn’t felt such a jolt of attraction in years. Maybe never. He was single, she knew. She wondered if their relationship would progress beyond client-investigator. Kind of hoped it would. Just for a bit of fun. She wasn’t interested in any sort of serious relationship.
    Not with the plans she had for expanding the company and her goals already in place.
    Still, the days ahead could be…interesting. As long as Raines did his job and helped her find Heather’s baby.
    Â 
    Lark arrived fifteen minutes late. Dev wasn’t surprised. He was a little unnerved by the rush of lust that hit him when she walked into his office, cherry cola hair fluttering beside her cheeks, long legs moving with determination. For an