Sexy/Dangerous Read Free

of the SUV and dug out a pair of long-handled bolt cutters. A few minutes later she was driving slowly through the open gate while Ossie and Ruby loped alongside.
    The narrow road twisted, turned, and climbed. The pines lining the way were so tall that for part of the way the sunny day became shadowy as dusk. Once the trees cleared and the sun came out again, Max was treated to a view of the sparkling blue waters of Lake Michigan that was awesome. Having traveled all over the world, she’d seen her share of beautiful vistas, and this one ranked in her top ten. She studied the house as it came into view. It was a large brick structure with Tudor lines that seemed more suited to an old world city like Boston. Her briefing materials from NIA mentioned that someof the houses along this stretch of the Lake Michigan coast were originally built during Prohibition as summer homes for Chicago’s mobsters. She wondered if this stately old mansion had been one of those. She had a thing for historic architecture, and looked forward to checking out the inside.
    With that in mind, Max led her canine escorts up the wide steps and rang the bell. No response. Keeping her temper in check, she hit the bell again, leaning on it for a good fifteen seconds or so.
    Moments later the door was snatched open by a short, brown-skinned young woman dressed like someone in the Junior League. She had on pearls, a gray silky blouse, a navy skirt, and black patent stiletto pumps. The pearls weren’t real, and neither was the weave, but the hostility in her eyes sure was. She snapped, “We’re not…”
    The words died away as she actually looked at Max and her attire.
    Max didn’t take offense. She assumed the household didn’t get a lot of callers wearing sunglasses, black Stetsons, and green snakeskin boots, so she let Ms. Junior League get a good look, then said, “I’m here to see Dr. Gary.”
    The woman seemed to regain her composure, and with it, her bad attitude. “Dr. Gary doesn’t see anyone. He’s in the middle of a project.” She cast a disgusted look down at Ruby and Ossie. “And he doesn’t do dogs at all.”
    Max had no idea who this weave-wearing young woman might be. The child didn’t look a day over twenty-five, and there was nothing pertaining to her in the Gary file. On one level, Max was glad to see that Gary at least had someone guarding his door, but shehadn’t traveled all this way to be chased off by a Chihuahua in pearls. “Dr. Gary is expecting us.”
    “No, he isn’t. I’m his secretary and there is nothing on his calendar. You’ll have to make an appointment. Have a good day.”
    She made a move to close the door in Max’s face, but Max pushed it, and her, out of the way. “Excuse us,” she said calmly.
    Outraged and wide-eyed, the woman shouted, “You can’t just bust in here!”
    By now Max and the dogs were already past her. Max told the dogs, “Find the doc, would you guys?”
    The dogs split up and took off.
    The woman yelled angrily, “I’m calling the police!”
    Max didn’t break stride. “That’s your choice, but I’d hold off on that if I were you.”
    Max passed room after room. All were empty. No furniture. No drapes. Not even a lawn chair. Why no furniture was a mystery to her, but it would have to wait. She had to find Dr. Gary first.
     
    Down in his basement office, Dr. Adam Gary was more tired than he was willing to admit. He’d spent the last few days and nights in his lab trying to come up with a way to get the prototype to generate more heat and to do it for longer periods of time. Right now, Black Satin could only produce heat for a little over an hour. He knew he was on the edge of a breakthrough—he could taste it—but no matter how many times he fiddled with the formulas or studied the models generated by his computers, the solution still eluded him. Looking at the equations on the monitor now, all he could say was, “What am I doing wrong?”
    That’s when he saw the