could formulate a coherent thought, given the way his body protested their separation.
He pushed the door open and pressed his hand to her back, guiding her inside. The cat sprang out the door, bolting past them for freedom.
Jason waited until she shut the door behind him and turned the lock before heading to his car, where Trouble perched on the hood. The cat’s attention was small consolation to Jason, who had a long sleepless night ahead of him.
THE DOCTORS AND NURSES thought Beth was unresponsive. Near catatonic. And she had been for almost a year. She had selective recall of those months. She’d heard her sister talking to her on sporadic visits in a childlike singsong voice.
Awareness had come to her slowly, over a period of time. Slowly enough that she’d been able to think and plan. Thanks to Lauren, who liked to reassure Beth that everything was going to be okay and why, Beth had been able to plan accordingly. She wouldn’t reveal her recovery until the time was right for
Like Nurse Stupid, as Beth liked to call the woman. She was an easy target. She’d gotten lazy and kept her cell phone in the front pocket of the white labcoat she always wore. Beth knew this and filed the information away, just as she knew the woman called her boyfriend during her half-hour breaks twice a day. Beth knew this because she would sneak out of her bed and watch the staff’s routine. It was the only fun she had in this godforsaken joint.
That and seeing her lover.
Another human being without many brains, but at least as a construction worker he had the muscles to compensate. It was Beth who had to figure out that on Tuesdays and Thursdays when the nurses had meetings, the guards were occupied playing poker outside her wing. The construction crew had been working here for the past six months and were allowed in and out during daylight hours. Nobody paid them the least bit of attention anymore.
Picking her lover had been easy. Seducing him easier. And convincing him she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him easier still. The dumb sap. But he was able to come and go from this place at will.
He did her bidding. Like searching her grandmother’s house for the hidden diamonds that her ancestors used when they invoked the infamous Corwin Curse.
When Lauren told Beth about her plan to sell the house, Beth had nearly burst a blood vessel in her brain. Playing comatose wasn’t as difficult as it was boring. But as long as it kept her in minimum security with a chance of getting out one day, it was worth it. Thanks to her grandmother’s trust in her, Beth knew about the diamonds stashed somewhere inside the house.
The Perkins family had founded the town, building their fortune in shipping. The diamonds had come from overseas, adding to their wealth. The jewels could be anywhere. Inside the walls, under floorboards, behind paintings. No one knew where. Because, according to Beth’s beloved grandmother, an old diary entry foretold that removing the hidden diamonds would lift the ancient curse. And no Perkins wanted to lose the power that came with it.
But now, with her do-gooder sister selling the house, Beth had no choice but to get her hands on those diamonds before they were gone forever. Her lover had already broken into the house before Lauren had moved in but hadn’t found anything. Not that he could check everywhere but he’d done some strategic hacking into the plasterboard with no luck.
He needed prolonged access to the house before Beth’s nest egg was gone forever.
CHAPTER EIGHT
LAUREN WAITED for Jason’s car to pull out of the driveway before calling for Trouble to come back inside. As much as she hated to admit it, she liked knowing the cat slept on her bed at night. He snored, which somehow made her feel more secure.
When the furry feline didn’t come running, she decided to try the back door off the kitchen and was shocked to find it already ajar. No way had she left the door open. Annoyed and frustrated, Lauren slammed it shut and tried to turn the lock, but it wouldn’t budge.
Broken.
“Fine. It’ll just have to wait until morning,” she muttered.
When Jason returned.
Which brought her to the real reason for her bad mood. She was upset with herself for letting his family bother her. For letting Jason’s kiss breach defenses she shouldn’t have to raise in the first place. She was a grown woman and she ought to be capable of having sex without commitment or entangled emotions. That was what she wanted and needed in order to leave her heart intact.
She tossed and turned for the better part of the night, wishing she’d made him stay.
She woke up later than usual, exhausted and cranky, which led her to the conclusion that the man who’d caused the tossing and turning was also the solution. She’d just resume their sexual relationship as if that awful dinner at his father’s house had never happened. Because clearly she’d feel worse and get less work done if she denied her desire for him.
She’d given Jason a key and could now hear hammering coming from the far end of the house. He and the three men in his crew, Nate, Connor and Ross, always began working farthest from the bedroom, giving her privacy until she joined them.
Since she couldn’t do anything about her sexual needs right now, she would settle for coffee to begin her day.
She had taken two steps toward the kitchen when her cell phone rang; she pulled it from her pocket. A glance showed a restricted number.
A shiver raced through her as she hit the send button to take the call. “Hello?”
“Ms. Perkins? This is Dr. Shaw at the penitentiary. I’m your sister’s doctor. I thought you should know there was an incident this morning.”
She gripped her cell phone tighter, nausea rising in her throat. “What kind of incident?”
“Your sister became unruly this morning. I don’t know how else to explain it. She started to scream and yell and we had to sedate her in order to calm her down.” The doctor’s tone was compassionate.
Lauren swallowed hard. “I don’t understand. She’s been completely nonresponsive. Staring ahead at nothing for almost a year. Do you know what caused the outburst?”
“No. I’m considering asking that she be sent to the hospital for tests, but that would take a court order, which would take some time.”
Lauren stared up at the ceiling and caught sight of a large, ugly crack. Another thing to add to the To Do list.
She refocused on her call. “I’ll be there in a little over an hour,” she said.
At least a half day of work would be lost, but what choice did she have?
“I wouldn’t suggest you come now. She’s sedated and sleeping. There’s nothing you can do for her at the moment.”
Lauren closed her eyes. “I see. Well, I’ll call later to see how she’s doing.”
“That’s fine. As soon as I think it’s helpful for you to visit, I’ll let you know.”
Lauren nodded. “Thank you, Doctor.” She disconnected the call, feeling more agitated than before.
As much as caffeine wouldn’t calm her nerves, she still needed to start her day with the comfort of routine, and that meant coffee.
Wearing an old button-down shirt and soft sweats, her feet bare, she walked into the kitchen and stopped short, frozen in place. Because sitting on the granite counter was a mouse. A light gray, beady-eyed mouse with a long tail.
She blinked.
It wriggled and moved its tail. An old memory of the rat-infested walls in her New York City apartment flashed through her mind. One of
