Dan stood in the doorway. He had an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne in one hand, two stemmed glasses balanced in the other.

“God, honey, I’m sorry. I called to you when I got home. The trip’s off. I guess you didn’t hear me over the water.”

“You nearly scared me to death.”

“Honey, I am so sorry!” He walked past her, set down the ice bucket, champagne and glasses and closed and latched the glass door, then turned back to her. She hadn’t retrieved her towel. He smiled, looking handsome, ruffled, worn, and glad to be home. When she did start to reach for the towel, he approached her quickly. “Honey, don’t. You look like a million bucks. I’m sorry about working so much, honest to God. I just can’t seem to get out of it…but I do love you, Kaila. You and the kids mean more to me than anything in the world. I swear it.” He drew her against him, wrapping her in his arms. She was wet and chilly in the air-conditioned room, and he was very warm. He felt good and secure, and she was suddenly glad of him, wanting him. He could touch her, kiss her, lick her anywhere, and it would feel natural and delicious. It was just that she’d been married so long….

“I love you,” she told him.

“I’m off all day tomorrow. I’ll take care of the kids from morning till night.”

“Oh, God, Dan, that’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard!” she told him gratefully.

He started to kiss her, first her lips, then the length of her naked body. His tongue snaked over her flesh, between her thighs…

Stepping up into Jaime’s van, Madison suddenly shivered fiercely. She sat in the front passenger seat, buckling her seat belt, fighting the vision that was clouding her mind.

She saw shadows, but within the shadows, two lovers, intimately entwined with one another.

She couldn’t really see the people, and she had the awful feeling of intruding on something that was not just intimate but warm and special. She could see that…

The woman was a redhead.

She wasn’t watching them through her own eyes, she realized.

Strange words ran through her mind.

Killer is watching, Killer is watching….

The vision faded suddenly.

All that remained was the memory that the woman was a redhead.

And the words…

Killer is watching, Killer is watching…

They kept repeating, a refrain that haunted her mind. And she knew that no matter what argument they might be having, she was going to have to tell Kyle what she had seen with her strange mind’s eye.

9

Madison smoothed her hair, collecting herself and ignoring the others as they argued over where they should go for dinner.

The voice and its haunting refrain faded completely, and Madison began feeling rather silly. She was frightened, yet not in a tangible way. She was surrounded by people; she was safe.

Hell, she even had her own personal FBI agent following right behind the van in his rental car.

She realized that Jaime was staring at her, frowning with concern. He had left the decision of where to go to Hector and George, who had agreed on a rustic crab house near Sloppy Joe’s.

“You all right?” Jaime asked her as he helped her out of the van. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I’m fine, honest.”

He suddenly reached forward, pinching her cheeks. It hurt. “Jaime!” she protested.

“That’s better! You don’t want the government asking the same question, do you?” he queried, arching a brow devilishly.

She started to protest again, then shrugged. “Do I look better?”

“Ah, Madison, you look stunning! If looks could kill, you’d be lethal! Come on now.”

He linked an arm with hers. And though the place was crowded, he had the right pull. They were quickly seated.

She had expected that Kyle might feel awkward at dinner, being a stranger to everyone but Madison, but he actually seemed more comfortable than she did. Everyone knew about his father’s upcoming gallery opening, and their enthusiasm for Roger Montgomery’s work and commitment, were contagious. Madison, relaxing, forgot the strange sensation of being watched that had seized her earlier. The restaurant was boisterous, but not too loud. The company was very pleasant, laid-back.

Kyle was even being merciful and not hounding her about the fact that she had left town without telling anyone. In fact, he assured her early on during dinner that her father knew she was going to be at his house; Jordan Adair had talked with Darryl that afternoon. Then Michelle diverted his attention, but Madison didn’t care. She was finally beginning to unwind. The company and drinks were numbing her mind. Even memories of her vision were fading. Then, as they talked, she was startled to hear a pleased squeal from across the room. With an alarming feel of dismay, she watched as a petite dynamo hurried across the room to them. Sheila.

“Madison! What a lovely coincidence! And Kyle Montgomery. What a pleasure.”

“Sheila, what a surprise!” Madison said helplessly. Kyle pulled out a chair for Sheila, and Madison introduced her to the others. “Sheila plays keyboards with the Storm Fronts.”

“Yes, of course, your delightful musical group!” Jaime said with pleasure. “I’ve seen you play with Madison, but we have never been formally introduced.” He kissed Sheila’s hand in greeting.

Sheila was delighted. “Naturally, I know your work, as well! It’s spectacular!”

“You’re too kind,” Jaime protested. “Well, now and then, we all have a stroke of genius, sí?”

“Sheila, we’d love to have you stay with us,” Madison said. God, she was lying through her teeth! And Sheila was a friend! “Of course, we’ll understand if you’re here with friends.”

“What luck! I was here celebrating my sister’s birthday, but she and her husband—and even Mom and Dad—have just left.”

“What luck,” Madison agreed.

Sheila joined them, advising them on the local beers. Madison hadn’t planned on having anything with alcohol, but now she changed her mind. The fresh catch was dolphin, which they ordered for the table, along with a shrimp-wrapped-in-bacon appetizer and conch chowder.

The conversation turned first to music, then to art. Madison, at her end of the table, far from Kyle and Sheila, listened as Kyle avidly joined in the discussion. She watched him, thinking about how he so seldom let others see his own talent. But beyond that, it seemed that he really did love art and had a greater appreciation for his father’s interests than she had ever imagined.

He caught her watching him once. And it was a strange moment, because she knew that he was reading her thoughts, but somehow that made him strangely vulnerable to her.

A nice switch, she thought.

Conversation was easy. They all laughed. Madison felt comfortable, relaxed, secure.

It was inevitable, though, that someone would ask Kyle about his work.

“I read about some of your work once in Time,” George said. “Can you tell us what you’re doing down here? Is it that serial killer the papers have been writing about?”

“Well, we definitely believe we have a serial killer on the loose in the area,” Kyle said solemnly. “Most of the recent developments will be making the late news tonight. Like my breaking into Madison’s house,” he added dryly.

“What?” she asked, startled.

He shrugged, looking around at the others again. “Over the last four months, there have been four gruesome murders, all occurring around the fifteenth of the month, and each growing more and more violent. The victims were all young, beautiful, vivacious women. When you’re working with something so heinous, you have a tendency to worry about the people around you.”

“Dear Lord,” Sheila murmured, leaning an elbow on the table and propping her head on her hand as she looked at him. She shuddered fiercely.