Follow the Sun Read Free Page A

queen-size bed, and tried to read her book.
    Surprise. Jeopard Surprise. Who was he? What was he—aside from being a Redford imitator? And why did history suddenly seem so dull in comparison to current events?
    J EOPARD HELD A cold glass of water against his forehead as if it could ease his pain that way. Gone was the wisecracking facade, and in its place was his true persona—quiet, serious, brooding.
    All his smiling at Tess Gallatin Benedict had given him a headache.
    He picked up the phone beside his bed, called the shore operator, and had her patch him in to a Florida number.
    “Kyle? Yeah, it’s yours truly calling from Hell.”
    Kyle Surprise laughed until Jeopard cut him off with a terse string of obscenities. “Is she as beautiful as the pictures in the surveillance report?” Kyle finally managed to ask.
    Jeopard hesitated for a moment, shut his eyes, and remembered long legs, high breasts, and cheekbones a model would envy. He remembered a noble, slightlyhooked nose and alluring, deep-set eyes that revealed her Cherokee heritage.
    He remembered exotic dark hair that wasn’t quite black, and skin the color of a deep, golden tan. He remembered a melodic voice that sounded sweet even when she was annoyed.
    He remembered that she was as sleek and expensive-looking as the silver Jaguar she kept in the marina parking lot.
    “She’ll do.”
    “Did she seem inclined to fit the report’s description? A bed bunny? Ready to hop for every carrot that comes by?”
    “She watched me as if she might entertain the notion, but she didn’t exactly leap into my hutch. God, she’s so young. I felt ancient.”
    “Chill out, gramps, you’re only thirty-eight.”
    “I’m too old to play a male Mata Hari.”
    “This is a curse cast by all those poor women who trailed you over the years. For once, you have to be the chaser, not the chasee.”
    “Remind me to go back to my old career. Busting spies and terrorists was easier than playing private investigator for the rich and famous.”
    There was dead silence on Kyle’s end of the phone. Then finally, softly, “Not for me, bro. Not for me.”
    Jeopard winced. “Hey, kid, what did the doc say yesterday?”
    “A few more operations and I’ll only resemble Frankenstein when I’m in
bright
light.”
    Jeopard felt a familiar ache of regret. Kyle had been badly hurt a year before during a mission in South America. A Russian agent had tossed him into a locked room with a pack of kill-trained dogs.
    It had been the end of Kyle’s enthusiasm for security work, and Jeopard had seen the end coming for himself as well. Millie, their youngster sister, had begged them both to give it up, but particularly Jeopard.
    The years of danger, of losing friends and lovers to an honorable but deadly game, had taken a toll on him.Never one to mince words, Millie had told him that he was becoming something worse than the enemy he fought. He was becoming a machine.
    And so he and Kyle had formed Surprise Import/Export, Inc., based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The innocent facade hid a quiet, lucrative trade in high-level investigative work. It could be dangerous at times, but compared to the old career, it was easy.
    Or so it had been, until now. This fluffy Tess Benedict job was perfect for Kyle—charming, outgoing, fun-loving Kyle. Only, Kyle didn’t think his face qualified him for such work anymore.
    Jeopard hinted hopefully. “Even with scars, bro, you’d be better with this Benedict woman than I am.”
    Kyle’s jaunty tone returned. “Oh, no, Jep. You’re gonna learn to enjoy being coy and cute. I insist. Consider it a challenge.”
    “Maybe I can find out if she has the Kara diamond some other way.”
    “Oh?”
    “Yeah. I’ll threaten her with my Cary Grant routine. She’ll have to tell me about the diamond or die laughing.”
    Kyle was still guffawing when Jeopard hung up the phone.
    T HE ANTLER CHARM . Tess was sitting on her cabin floor the next morning, surrounded by